| PenBay Pilot

CAMDEN — She goes by the nickname Peytonius Maximus and she rocks. No, literally, she rocks out in an all-female band as the drummer and she just won a category in Hardy Girls Healthy Women’s statewide contest Girls Rock!, which celebrates Maine girls' voices, leadership, and activism.

She is Peyton Feener, a 17-year-old student at the Community School, in Camden. Oh there’s no doubt she’s one of the Rad Kids. Within two seconds of meeting her at The Rig a few weeks back, she gave off this bubbly, goofy vibe, very playful, just open to the world.

In the Midcoast, the rainbow-dyed hair, piercings and rocker chick attire is still, to some degree, an alternative look (although in the cities it has become somewhat ubiquitous) and to a surprisingly large amount of adults in this area, it is a scary look Maybe not scary, but unnerving. The stereotypical association with alternative kids around here is: they’re on drugs; they’re not doing well at school; they defy authority.

Peyton is a perfect example of why you should always approach every kid in this town with an open mind. She’s a musician/ singer who is working on a demo album for a prominent record label at the moment. She participates in Roller Derby as a Jeerleader; she DJs for WRFR’s radio show “Out! On the Air With Peyton and friends.” She volunteers for Project AWARE, and Out As I Want To Be. She even worked on Obama's reelection campaign.

Sitting with her family on one of her rare days off at home, we watched as her little sister, Maggie, brought over a doll with the same multi-color hue as Peyton’s.

“I’m part mermaid,” Peyton explained, pointing to a mermaid mixed-media piece she’d created that hangs in her family’s living room.

By her own admission, she stumbled early on in her high school career, dealing with some personal issues.

"Summer of 2010, I was not doing well at all," she said. "And then I went to the Community School. There, I still not doing well and I left after a couple of months, so they told me,’ if you want to come back, you've got to work really really hard.’ I had this case manager who helped me work through things and then I did an art show at Waterfall Arts. After that, I started to get involved with all these other things,” she said.

With her parents’ and teachers’ support, she is a whole different person now. “Community school is freakin’ amazing," she said.

"It's beast." The staff, "is the best thing in the world."

She said she's thriving there. After a nine month program, she graduates in May, where she hopes to still continue working at the Good Tern.

Yeah, that’s right. On top of school, a dizzying array of volunteer roles — she works too.

“It's really hard sometimes,” she said. “I have to call my mom all the time and ask her: ‘what do I have on my schedule today?’ But I want to be involved with everything.”

Her only day off is Saturday.

"It's my chill day. Most of the day all I want to do is sleep and watch TV or movies, hang out with my roommates.”

Coming up on April 5, she will be honored among other young women in Maine in an all-day event titled Girls Rock! Weekend in Waterville Maine hosted by Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

She was nominated for Health Advocacy category and won partly for her participation in Project AWARE’s educational PSAs about teen pregnancy, sponsored by Family Planning. “I acted, wrote the storyline and did hair, makeup and wardrobe,” she said. She is also honored for her continuing work with Out As I Want To Be, a Midcoast organization that supports LGBTQ teens.

“I like working with groups that not a lot of people volunteer with because they don’t have a lot of help and I like to help, especially with LGBTQ rights, animal rights, water conservation and civil rights.”

She has a lot of LGBTQ friends and the discrimination they face daily makes her angry.

“It’s just not fair. It’s messed up. People should not have to vote [on same sex marriage] because it’s a person’s right to be happy and get married to someone they love. It shouldn’t even be arguable. It’s everyone’s human right to be loved.”

After some tea, we hang out in her room, waiting for her band mate, who goes by the name, Tuesday, to arrive. Her posters of Johnny Cash, Johnny Depp, Freddie Mercury, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain frame a bed still decorated with Teddy bears. A black drum kit sits in the corner, where she will practice for up to seven hours today, on her only day off.

It’s time to get down to practice. She lifts the drum sticks like she’s about to rock. Well, we already know she does.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a new feature highlighting teens with artistic or musical talent. Another place to check out what the kids are up to is Sound Off, a monthly feature sponsored by Five Town Communities That Care to publicly recognize the contributions that middle and high school teens are making in our community.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Peyton getting ready for drum practice. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

THOMASTON - It’s a little like Christmas, at first. The thrill is in opening up an old wooden crate to find bottles packed in form-fitting straw encasements. What we have here is pre-Prohibition bourbon whiskey from 1907, an extremely rare find.

“I guess this is what you’d call turn-of-the-century bubble wrap,” said Chris Burke, owner of Billy’s Tavern in Thomaston, as he put a bottle of Atherton whiskey on the bar. Lifting the straw encasement off the bottle, he peeled away the thin, crumbling tissue sleeve. The fonts on the bottle’s label alone are retro enough to make any graphic designer giddy. The label’s writing says this whiskey has been aged four years, so its total age is 110 years.

“Whiskey only ages in barrels, but it can mellow over time in the bottle,” said Burke. “The flavors can change and become more complex."

Burke explained this was true Kentucky bourbon, named after the place it was made, in Athertonville, Kentucky. On the bottle it is labeled a whiskey, even though technically, because it is from Kentucky, it is a bourbon. Back then, the distilleries didn’t actually make the distinction — that came much later.

Burke, a die-hard whiskey enthusiast, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, right across the river to Covington, Kentucky. Kentucky is where all bourbons are made. Because bourbon was such a cultural fixture (as Allen’s Brandy is to Maine) Burke and his brother, Billy, were well versed in its taste.

“Bourbon has a very distinctive quality," he said. "Now I love single malt whiskey, but back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, most of what you would see were the Johnnie Walker Blacks and Reds, the Dewar’s, Famous Grouse — blended whiskies. Growing up on bourbon, these blended whiskies had this very cloying, thin, medicinal taste, so I stayed away from them."

When Burke was around 30 years old, his brother Billy introduced him to Lagavulin, a single malt whisky, which became Burke’s instant favorite.

“It is so smoky and peaty, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “At any rate, this Lagavulin had everything I hated about scotch, but it had such a preponderance of it, it took that thing I didn’t like and blew it up; so then I loved it.”

Because of the Lagavulin, Burke found himself immersed in the subject of whiskeys, reading about them, tasting them, and searching for them. This led him to finding the case of the pre-Prohibition Atherton whiskey. He won’t say where he purchased it or how much it cost (“it’s a trade secret") but he alludes to the fact that growing up where he did, he “knew what he had when he saw it.”

The label boasts: “Unexcelled in purity and quality. Exceptional for medicinal use.” In pre-Prohibition times, Burke said, distilleries would always make this kind of reference to a whiskey’s “medicinal use.”

“It’s very pretty old bottle,” he said. If you found a whiskey this rare, it would probably sell for $100 an ounce or around $150 per glass. Though he hasn’t sold the one empty bottle he now possesses, he said he’s seen them for sale for upwards of $500.

It’s time to taste it

But first, Burke takes me through a very detailed journey through the origins and regions of bourbon and whiskey. For the novice, a fine whiskey is like the cream that rises to the top. What makes old whiskey so expensive is that as much as 30 percent can be lost to evaporation (called “the angel’s share") depending on how long it has been aged. In the case of single malt whiskies, add to this the fact that only 10 percent of the whisky in Scotland is retained for bottling as single malts. The vast majority of the rest of it goes to making blended whisky, such as Dewar’s. (Note: for those of you spell-checking, whiskey is generally spelled with an "e," but in the case of Scotch whisky such as Dewar's, the "e" is dropped.)

Burke sets up a glass of ice atop an elegantly cut glass with a sip of the pale straw Atherton whiskey and gives me a glass of Old Grand Dad to try first as a base for comparison.

He coaches me to try it.

“First, when you’re smelling whiskey, it’s not like when you are smelling wine," he said. "The alcohol will fry your nose, so you’ve got to open your mouth when you smell it. You’ll feel a little silly, but you won’t get bombarded with the alcohol.”

As predicted, the Old Grand Dad, a solid, affordable staple, tastes oily, with some sweetness, some apple, and a lot of burn.

A sip of water to cleanse the palate, and now comes the Atherton.

“As you smell it,” Burke said, “ you’ll notice it smells lighter, sweeter, more fragrant.” The scent is much more sophisticated.

As I sip it, Burke helps put words to what I’m experiencing.

“It’s so soft, right? A tiny little spark on the back of your throat and then the flavor keeps coming,” he said. “Not a big alcohol punch, you don’t wince. It’s like a cognac.”

I try to hold onto this taste. I don’t know whether it’s because it is so old or so rare, but it is sublime.

“To me it’s like drinking Haley’s Comet,” he said. “You’re never going to run across this again.” He added, “I know of 10 other bottles from pre-Prohibition times that are in a private collection and I don’t know of any more.”

So what we’ve just had, maybe a few other people will taste in this lifetime. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

“There will be people who will seek this out, knowing what it is,” he said. “Anybody who hangs out here knows I love talking about whiskeys. One of my favorite things is to encourage people who think they don’t like whiskey to try it. You just have to find the right one and match it up to the person. I know I can turn them on to a whiskey they will love.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Billy's Tavern is the place to go if you want to try a new whiskey. (Photo by Kay Stephens)(Photo by Kay Stephens)

ROCKPORT- Overheard at the Center for Contempory Maine Art this weekend: "I just saw that piece on the wall and thought, 'Wow, that must have taken four or five months to make.' "

Nope. Just 24 hours. One and you're done, kid.

The 2013 "Resisting Entropy II" artists who participated in this 24-hour art-making event at CMCA included Jared Cowan, David Allen, Johanna Cairns, Andy White, Bethany Engstrom, Andy Hamm, Siglinde Langholz, Jonathan Laurence, Eric Leppanen and Trelawney O’Brien.They started at around 10:30 am on Friday, and by Saturday at noon, they were exhausted, but done. A lot of eighties music fueled their evening. "From 5:30 to midnight was the longest section of the whole 24 hours," said Jared Cowan, one of the event's main organizers. "But once we got past 1:00 a.m., it really did fly by. For me, when it started to get light out, I got a little extra energy." A few hours of sleep and they were back at CMCA for the opening reception on March 23. "There was virtually no fighting over any of the materials," said Cowan. "Everybody knew what each person was looking for and started associating certain materials with someone's art piece and suggesting it to him or her."

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at what possessed their minds to make what they did. Click on each photo for more information.

The exhibition will run March 23 - April 7. For more information visit: Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

David Allen did a suspended art installation made mostly out of lobster trap warp line. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

David Allen: "I wanted to do some kind of sea theme, so this ended up being some kind of a prehistoric jellyfish or something out of a Frank Herbert novel." Note the bicycle wheels. (Photo by Kay Stephens).

Siglinde Langholz "I was exploring shadows, contrast, movement and the static." Elana Allen poses with her red tights. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Eric Leppanen sits at the functional drum kit he created out of discarded buckets.

Six-year-old Elana Allen poses at the drum kit, which features a working kick drum pedal. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

The Two Headed Pope by Jared Cowan. "It actually came about when I saw the styrofoam heads, the red roller skates and the roll of canvas and I thought why not work in white? It's so unusual." (Courtesy Jared Cowan)

Andrew White created this shingle structure held only together by compression. "I work in the trades and we always work with shim shingles for everything, doors, windows. " (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Each shim shingle was stained a subtle color to reflect the colors outside the window: dark blue, black, white, grey. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Johanna Cairns did this fun hidey-hole installation under the stairs featuring a wacked-out testimonial on screen. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

The gigantic pile of junk that still remained even after the installations were created. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

A cell phone in a jar of water, naturally. Why didn't somebody use this? (Photo by Kay Stephens).

Trelawney O’Brien is a fiber artist and this yarn installation was set to look like a loom. She painted the shadows the yarn strings made on the wall for a permanent effect. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Andrew Hamm: " I was responding to the pile. It was me vs. the pile. I wanted to destroy the pile. At first, I was behaving, not sculpting. The big piece was a discharge. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Andy Hamm did this piece which looks like an ancient scroll suspended off the wall. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Andrew Hamm:" When I began the smaller piece, I wanted viewers to occupy a space that was quieter, more meditative and intellectual." (Photo by Kay Stephens)

The exterior of Jonathan Laurence's "Habitat 2.0", complete with mailbox. "I started assembling little things like electronics, but it was so messy in here, so I started just building this instead." (Photo by Kay Stephens).

Laurence prefered to kick back on a bean bag chair with a PBR inside the structure so people could just duck in and chill out whle talking to him. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

A lot of pallets and scraps of vinyl siding made up this structure with a shed roof. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Power was brought into the structure so one could electronically sharpen a pencil if so desired. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Bethany Engstrom: " I used the pages to create origami envelops and arranged them on the wall with this idea of time and entropy that we were working with." (Courtesy Bethany Engstrom)

Our reviewers have some of the best suggestions on what to read, what to see and and what to listen to each month. Let Lacy Simons of hello hello books, Jim Dandy and Tiffany Howard of Opera House Video and Nathaniel Bernier of Wild Rufus Consignments fill you in on this month's killer book, movie and music reviews.

Books

The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World.
Reviewed by Lacy Simons

This month's pick is Lewis Hyde's classic The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. (Check out one of the covers to see its former subtitle, which I guess was too misleadingly suggestive to use for the 25th anniversary edition we have for you in the shop.)

We've been reading this aloud at home in dribs and drabs, which is, as it turns out, a sensical way to read it, given one of the early themes of the book: give it away, give it away, give it away now. (Oh, hello, early '90s. I didn't see you there. Move along now, will you?) Early on, Hyde pulls in folktales to illustrate the value and necessity of sharing your gift, whatever it may be, with a community of your choosing, even if that community is just one other person. This all sounds potentially treacle and gag-inducing, but (despite the impression its current Hallmark-card cover gives) the book is anything but. It's erudite without being forbidding or boring; it's inspirational without being gimmicky or simplistic. And, as the LA Times points out, "Over the years, The Gift has developed a cult following among writers and artists who rarely lend their names to anything as potentially sentimental as a book on 'creativity' — David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith and Geoff Dyer among them. To Jonathan Lethem, it’s 'a life-changer'; video artist Bill Viola calls it 'the best book I have read on what it means to to be an artist in today’s economic world.'"

Pick it up! It's March, and we all need a pile of inspiration.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away
Reviewed by Jim Dandy

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a good circus. Somewhere in one of my past childhoods there must have been a wondrous tent filled with unimaginable fantasies come true. Or did I just dream it? I can almost smell the dirt floor, the sweat and manure. Well, step right up! Now, through the magic of DVD, you can direct your attention to the center ring from the comfort of your own living room. Your seat awaits. Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away will fulfill fantasies you never knew you had. See gravity-defying Japanese feudal battles performed right before your very eyes. (Hint, it's done with wires.) See freaks and other oddities as they act out a thrilling mash-up of Beatles classics. See the sad clown as they set him on fire. See the young lady chase the handsome aerialist through dream after dreamlike fantasy, all for the benefit of a thin plot to tie together all of of these wondrous sights.

This was my first Cirque De Soleil experience and I was blown away. The acrobatics and costumes defy description. So, friends, whether you love the Beatles or just hate clowns, see this movie. It's a visual masterpiece. The circus has never smelled so sweet.

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Rebirth by Jimmy Cliff
Reviewed by Nathaniel Bernier

I hadn't listened to any Jimmy Cliff for a few years, save for some of the classics, but hadn't turned up a full album. This recording starts out with such gusto and such a heavy amount of energy that I have listened to it over and over since picking it up. Working with punk musician (Rancid) and sometimes-producer Tim Armstrong seems to have really helped turn this album back to a root origin. In fact, in the song Reggae Music he unfolds a history of his own path, starting way back in the 1960s with Leslie Kong, recording songs "in the style of ska." This song kind of sets the mood for the entire 46-minute ride.

This new release for one of the pioneering voices from Jamaica seems to really open up a lot of old doors, conjuring up memories of the ska sounds of the past, the styling of which he started with. It's a similar production style as T-Bone Burnett did with BB King's hugely successful One Kind Favor album from 2008, when Burnett basically had BB revert back to his single-amp reverb sound of the 1950s. And Cliff nails it here, what an amazing way to pay homage to your humble upbringing by digging up that "old sound" and putting new life to it. The old-school style of horn-heavy, skankable ska really shines on this. A few slower-paced reggae songs are thrown in to mix it up for your aural pleasure. All in all, this rebirth of Jimmy is exactly what the doctor ordered. This is five-stars.

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of Wild Rufus Records (Consignments), previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists. He is located on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music. Find him at www.wildrufus.com or wildrufus.blogspot.com/.

ROCKPORT — For 24 hours on March 22, 10 local artists will be confined at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art to create experimental art installations out of a giant pallet of discarded materials donated from tradesmen, carpenters, and fishermen, as well as items collected from machine and automobile junkyards.The next day, March 23, they'll catch a few afternoon zzzs, then come back to CMCA for the opening reception, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Jared Cowan, artist and owner of Asymmetrick Arts in Rockland, first conceived of this one-creative-day event with friend, Alan Clark, in 2010. With the original eight participants further molding the shape of the project, they hosted "Resisting Entropy" at his gallery.

Now revised in scope and with an extended roster of artists, the 2013 "Resisting Entropy II" group includes Cowan, David Allen, Johanna Cairns, Andy White, Bethany Engstrom, Andy Hamm, Siglinde Langholz, Jonathan Laurence, Eric Leppanen and Trelawney O’Brien.

"Being at CMCA, we're thinking we can do even bigger installations with a wider array of materials to choose from," said Cowan. Materials donated include construction debris, auto parts, cast-off fishing gear, and even moose and deer bones. Once the doors open at noon Friday, each artist will dive into the process, garbage picking, sifting, layering and tinkering with items to build a unique art installation. They aren't supposed to come into the event with any pre-conceived ideas, but rather, will form a theme based on what they can pick and sort, working together to transform the pile into unique and unpredictable artworks.

"This year, we've gotten everything from lobster trap wreckage to action figures, along with a lot of soft goods like cloth. It's a bit of everything. We tried to select artists of different mediums, so we have painters and photographers as well as installation artists and sculptors," said Cowan.

The last "Resisting Entropy" event had crazy cool elements, such as the "Kitchen" installation made by Belfast artist, Eric Leppanen, which literally looked like some jury-rigged Mad Max type of kitchen, complete with a full bar. Another cool installation created by Cowan was "Jawbone," which ended up being a unique gameboard crafted out of animal bones without any thought of what the game's rules would be.

The exhibition will run March 23 - April 7. For more information visit: Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

Lisa Diane listens to Bethany Engstrom's "Stand Pipe" installation at the original Resisting Entropy in 2010. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a darn good cook. More importantly, she aims to not take the foodie industry in Maine so seriously or make it too precious. Her culinary adventures stem largely from her own small farm in Lincolnville; what’s ridiculous is how she makes it look so easy.

Even though snow covers the greenhouse and it seems as though we’ll never see green shoots poking from the ground ever again, there’s always something cooking at Sailor’s Rest Farm. It’s been awhile since we checked in with Ladleah Dunn, and you’d think winter would be her downtime, but she has been far from idle.

For more than a year, she has been working with recognized food expert Nancy Harmon Jenkins doing recipe testing for Nancy’s new book on olive oil coming out next year. As a result of their association, Nancy and Ladleah collaborated on hosting a special fundraising dinner for the Maine Farmland Trust on March 3.

The beauty of this dinner was the self-imposed constraints Ladleah put herself under. “A late winter harvest” was the theme. With the exception of anchovies and olive oil, she was committed to prepare seven courses with everything made 100 percent from Maine ingredients.

“I love a challenge and at first I thought, no problem. As it got closer to the date, there was definitely an element of panic. All the things you take for granted — like sugar, black pepper, salt, etc., I couldn’t use regular sugar from the bag, for example. It had to a native sweet element from Maine, so preparing the meal took extra care and consideration with each step,” said Dunn.

Procuring the ingredients took more than a month to plan and spanned three days to collect, buying from Maine farmers and producers. “It’s not like going to Hannaford and getting your shopping done in an hour,” she laughed. “I am very lucky to have such a great network of food folks and in one instance, I worked with a farm in Belfast 50 days in advance to get radish sprouts.”

Jumping on an urban trend called a “pop-up” restaurant, where a high profile chef borrows someone’s commercial kitchen for one night to make a multi-course meal for numerous people — a Lincolnville store allowed Ladleah and her ersatz staff to use their commercial kitchen and space to serve 30 people.

At 4 p.m. that Sunday, the scene was set. The long tables were decorated with fresh produce representative of the season; kales, leeks, potatoes, eggs, apples, etc. Each course would be paired with its own wine, provided by Ladleah’s friend Rodney Winchell, a sommelier, who has appeared in previous columns.

To appreciate the full intensity of what went into each course, here’s a peek behind the scenes, in Ladleah’s own words.

Passed and stationary appetizers

We wanted to do fried Maine chicken livers with summer pickle and shallot petals because they have such a sweet and intense flavor along with corn meal clam fritters, which were one of the recipes Nancy will be featuring in her forthcoming cookbook, because they’re just so delicious. Sam Mudge, a farmer here in Lincolnville, produces the best corn meal I’ve ever had. With Maine shrimp at the peak of their season, the stationary centerpiece featured ceramic spoons of shrimp ceviche sprinkled with touches of toasted dulse and D'avignon radish with whipped butter and wood charred toasts.

First course
Bacon, Cornmeal Fried Smelts over Carrot and Parsnip Chips

This was a take on seasonal fish and chips. I’d gone around and around on this course, because it was the first impression, but I immediately thought smelts, because they’re running up the river right now. The smelts came from up-country; the bacon fat was rendered. The chips were hand-shaved and flash fried in a deep fryer.

Second course
Ravioli in Brodo

This is a traditional Italian dish, basically an egg yolk in a large ravioli surrounded by a super rich broth. Our girls (their chickens) aren’t laying enough right now so we got them from a number of different small farmers. We separated the egg white from the yolk and carefully placed it into a handmade ravioli made from flour grown in northern Maine and milled in Skowhegan. We made a cheese filling with farm cheese from Rockport, wild-harvested chanterelle mushrooms we harvested the year before, and spinach grown by a friend of mine. You settle the unbroken yolk in the nest of cheese, close it up and boil in salty water. Then you serve in a bowl with this flavor-intensive brodo. It took a couple of days to render this broth, from what I like to call the “barnyard blend” of beef knuckles, pigs feet, lambs ribs and turkey carcass with a mirepoix, which is essentially, carrots, onions and celery. We garnished it with a crispy kale, that blended into the broth.

Third course
Intermezzo

My mom turned me on to this Swedish chef who is doing this back-to-the-land cook hipster thing where they only use native ingredients. So, we decided to pick a bushel of new growth white pine tips, and cook them down with a syrup of honey. Then, we extracted, blended and strained them. The honey produced around here is so flavorful, it’s almost overpowering, so I was up at 6:30 that morning, tasting it, noting it was too sweet. We had buckets full of maple sap from our own farm, so I just started diluting sap straight out of the tree into the mixture. Then I put in cider vinegar produced in Lincolnville and whipped it by hand in the ice cream maker until it had the right balance of what I was looking for.

Fourth course
Roasted Lamb On Cedar Boughs with Potatoes Dauphinoise

When I first learned we might be doing the dinner, I went straight to Maine Street Meats in Rockland, because I trust they were going to have exactly what we wanted. From them we got saddle of lamb from Northstar Farm in Windsor. A couple of days ahead, they allowed me to come into their kitchen and dress the lamb with a homemade “shmear” of butter, garlic, anchovies, sage, rosemary, and thyme before the butcher trussed it and vacuum packed it for a few days. The night of the dinner, we pan-seared it and roasted it on top of fresh-cut cedar boughs. Nancy felt very strongly that roasted lamb should be served with potatoes dauphinoise, which is like an au gratin. We used some of our potatoes that we grew, along with some celery root. One of our cooking mistakes ended up being a batch of heavy cream accented with buttermilk and chamomile that didn’t work as an ice cream, but resembled cheese and was incredible with the potatoes.

Fifth course
Cheese board and Salad

It’s actually a really nice way to settle the stomach after an intense feast to end with cheese and salad, rather than that be the first course. We served Hahn’s End Blue Velvet, (blue cheese), and St. David (a triple cream) and a York Hill goat cheese aged for one year. We served the cheese on pieces of slate that my husband specially cut. The accompaniments on the slate itself were candied cubes of ginger grown in Maine, cooked in honey, as well as cubes of pickled beets. We wanted something nutty with texture to go with the cheese, but there are no nuts native to Maine, so we smoked Maine sea salt in the smoker and added that to the Maine-grown rye crackers we made, along with homemade oat cakes. As for the salad greens that are actually growing in greenhouses right now, there was watercress, this scarlet frills mustard and I got my husband to run out to our greenhouse and pick some baby kale.

Sixth course
Dessert

To wrap it all up, we made a honey-sweetened chamomile buttermilk ice cream served with maple oat shortbread and apples, donated by John Bunker of Fedco Trees, poached in a Bartlett apple and blueberry wine.

“You run the risk of sounding trite when you go into all this detail standing in front of the tables,” she said, which is why it works better to deconstruct it after the effect in a column. “My motto is go for the unsung heroes in the protein and vegetable world and make the meal part of what you’d make for yourself every day.”

Because of the elaborate nature of this pop-up dinner, Ladleah has now received numerous requests, from all over the state, for more specialty dinners.

“The goal is that it continues to be not only gorgeous dinners, where people enjoy themselves and are fed well, but that it gives back to the communities that are helping contribute to it," said Dunn. “For one, when we do a fundraising dinner, I never ask farmers [who work hard] for donations. If they want to donate, that’s up to them. But I firmly believe that farmers need to be paid for their hard work."

Many times when a chef is asked where they got something special, they’ll say it’s a trade secret. For Ladleah, it’s the opposite. She wants you to know where she got the special garnish or ingredient, because she wants you to buy it yourself from someone local.

“I’ve got this incredible network of people who grow or make just about anything you want. The more you give your secrets away, the more it comes back. People who cook the food, consume it and the people who grow it are all inter-connected,” she said.

To read past columns on Ladleah’s cooking adventures, visit our Pinterest page for “Whipping up something good at Sailor’s Rest Farm.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

ROCKLAND - Dodgeball. Just the word conjures up sensory memories of painful welts developing on the back of your legs.

For the past six weeks at the Rockland Rec Center, a number of adult Dodgeball teams have been working up to the final tournament. During the last championship game, it was pretty apparent from watching the competitors that there are two kinds of dodgeball players: those who take it way too seriously and those who don’t.

Yay, just like middle school all over again!

Erica Sanchez (Dodge name: The Dirty Sanchez) organized her team The Dodgefathers largely through Rock City Café where she and a number of her teammates work. Though they take the game seriously, they have a lot of fun in the process with their roller derby-like costumes and Nacho Libre wrestling masks.

“We’ve been super energized and animated," she said. "Some on our team do this crazy jumping, some go all the way to the floor. There is a lot of physical activity going on.”

What about those painful welts? Teammate Corwin Flynn (Dodge name: Tiger) said: “People don’t generally get hurt. I have taken one of the balls to the nose, but it was okay.”

No sooner did Flynn say that when one of the Dodgefathers, Cole Fisher (Dodge name: That Guy) did a flying squirrel leap to catch the ball and landed on his face. It opened up a good inch-long cut just beyond his eyebrow but rather than go to the E.R., he slapped a butterfly bandage and got back in the game. That is why this team is called The Dodgefathers and not the My Pretty Pink Princess Ponies (Mariah Carey: Sorry that name has already been taken for my Dodgeball team).

Another interesting factor to the game is that some teams decided to choose all male players and some, like The Dodgefathers, decided to make it an equal-opportunity sport. “We don’t have to worry about getting a shot to the dingus,” said Sanchez, citing one of the advantages of being female.

Even though The Dodgefathers gave their all in the double elimination rounds, they didn’t win. Who cares, right? They all high fived each other anyway with big smiles on their faces. After each game they go to the Time Out Pub, who happens to sponsor the team, and celebrate whether they’ve won or lost. In Maine, the Five Rules of Dodgeball are: dodge, dip, dive, duck and drink.

It's been thrilling as all heck to see alternative sports like Roller Derby and Dodgeball develop in the Midcoast. Any sport where you can dress like a cross between Richard Simmons and Halloween is going to bring out a whole different kind of competitor and spectator. It's stuff like this that reminds the city kids they're not the only ones having fun. The next sport that needs to take root in the area: trampoline volleyball and dirt bike polo. Anyone?

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The Dodgefathers show what it takes to have "game." (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

HOPE — From inside the newly-built, rustic shop across the street from the Hope General Store, Chris Pinchbeck plays Irish music on his iPod while he works on a couple sets of Scottish smallpipes for customers. They're about three weeks from being completely finished. Behind him is a 1938 South Bend machinist's lathe that he found on Uncle Henry's that he uses for boring holes, for chanters and metal cutting.

Pinchbeck grew up in Guilford. Graduation from the University of New Hampshire was followed by a few years in California, and then he came back to Maine to resume his photography business, where he met his future wife, Lindsay. Together they built this bagpipe shop — along with a new children's arts center next door called Sweet Tree Arts — from an 1820s Colonial farmhouse. Lindsay also happens to be the sister of Andrew Stewart, owner of The Hope General Store, and it's a delight for Hope residents to have this family running three artistic and community-minded businesses in the center of town.

Given that Andrew and Lindsay are both Scottish, and that Scottish kids grow up playing pipes the way American kids do with recorders and harmonicas, the obvious question was: did they teach him to play?

"No, I was playing the bagpipes long before I met Lindsay," Pinchbeck said with a laugh. "In fact, she jokes with me, 'if you'd learned how to play the pipes after you met me, then I probably wouldn't have married you.'"

Pinchbeck first started to play bagpipes nearly 19 years ago and his deep passion for the music has turned into a business.

"They say it takes 22 years to become a bagpiper, and yet I don't feel like I'm even a 20th of the way there yet," he said. For him playing the highland bagpipes naturally led to playing the Scottish smallpipes, which are not only easier to handle, but, in his words, "less obnoxious sounding."

"There are about 200 kinds of highland pipes. Every culture has a set they call their own, the Irish and the French, and so forth. They were originally designed as 'war pipes' to be as loud and jarring as possible when played well. Behind a hill with a few men playing them, they were designed to scare the the enemy into thinking that there were thousands of men behind the hill waiting for them," he said.

The Scottish smallpipes, which are much smaller — have a more melodic, quieter sound. They were developed back in the 1980s and are "kind of considered the new kid on the block, " he said. "These were invented as a way to practice playing the larger highland pipes without the blasting volume and to blend this highland music into playing with other instruments, such as fiddles, guitars and concertinas."

For the past 15 years, he has worked on mastering the Scottish smallpipes. Only in the last four years has he set out to craft each individual piece of the pipes himself.

"You have to start somewhere and dive in. There's not a lot of tutelage on how to make a set of bagpipes," he said, pointing to his "wall of shame" (a window ledge) holding early templates that weren't up to his standards. Pinchbeck is now one of five commercial Scottish smallpipe producers in the U.S. and finds his customers through the Internet, at workshops and through local word of mouth.

"It's not an easy instrument to play," he said, strapping a custom bellows on across his chest. It takes years to learn all the fingering and the right amount of pressure to put on the bellows and bag so that air flows through to keep the instrument in tune and steady. He picks up the chanter, the actual piece that he will play, which looks like a cross between an oboe reed and a bassoon. The drones are the pipes that rest on his shoulder.

Pinchbeck said he has no plans for playing out on St. Patrick's Day, as he's got to take care of his two young children, but check out his website, pinchbeckpipes.com, for more information and any future public perfomances.

Watch our video to see Pinchbeck play a tune called Jenny Nettles. "All my friends laugh at me becuase this is the one I play the most," he said. That tune thenwhich then blends in with another called, The Piper is Weird. (Assuredly, he's not.)

Contact Kay Stephens at news@penbaypilot.com.

Chris Pinchbeck displays his own set of Scottish smallpipes. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

First off, interviewing Bob Marley takes a lot of discipline, because if you laugh too much, you can't hear the playback on the tape recorder. Too late. He killed inside three seconds of the first interview question and I missed about 30 percent of the interview answers because of my own hyena cackling.

Maine native Bob Marley, known as the New England King of Comedy, is an everyday kind of guy — as at home at a tailgate party as he is on stage with David Letterman. He's been a stand-up comic going on more than 15 years, has done the Laugh Factory on both coasts, Comedy Showcase, MADtv, and the Steve Harvey, Letterman, Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson talk show circuit. Variety named him one of 10 comics to watch.

Based in Portland, Marley is on the road touring at least four days a week. In Las Vegas, it's more like 14 shows a week. "It's crazy, but it's a good problem — what we call first world problems," he said via phone today.

Marley is performing at Oceanside High School in Rockland for their Project Graduation on Wednesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. In anticipation of this event, we bring you "Five Things You Need To Know about Bob Marley."

Q. As a Maine comedian, you have been all over the country. What impressions do people have of our state and its people, from the good, to the bad, to the off the wall?

A: Well the good stuff is that people are always saying, 'Oh Maine is so beautiful, it's a wonderful place and the people are nice.' The bad stuff is: 'How do you live there, it's so cold! What are you people doing up there? How do you eat food, how do you find it?' And then they always want to talk about lobster, which isn't a bad thing, it just becomes annoying after awhile. They ask, 'Do you eat a lot of lobster?' I'm like, 'Not really.' It's like if you live in Texas, you don't just go tackle cows.

Q: When you do shows at home, your material has many inside joke topics that Mainers respond to, like Allen’s coffee brandy, mud season, going upta camp and so on. Do you stick with this same material when you do shows in other states or do you have to come up with new material that applies to their culture?

A: You know with my accent, I sound like a Mainer and that's what shines through, that's what they like. They're like 'Who's this guy? We don't have one of those.' When I talk about Amato's or Mardens or Renys, it's more provincial. But 90 percent of my act I can do on the road. Like a lot of Maine people will ask, 'How do you do your act anywhere else? It's all about Maine.' But I joke about putting beers in the crisper, where you put your vegetables in the fridge. I go, 'If you're putting them in the crisper, you're an alcoholic.' And everybody goes, 'Oh yeah, that's Maine people' and I say, 'No, that's everybody.' It's kind of a magic trick. A lot of places I go to they like the Maine point of view, the voice, the attitude. When I go to Arizona in May and I'm the whitest guy in the room, they're looking at me like what's wrong with him and I'm like, 'Listen, we still have snow.' Last year, I went there — it was 118 degrees and I thought, I'm probably going to die right here. I went to the hotel pool, which is, by the way, what everybody in Arizona wants to see, a white Irish guy from Maine making his first poolside appearance of the year. The cocktail waitress is like, 'You're going to need to go in now, sir.' I'm like, 'What did something fall out of my shorts?' She's like, 'No, your skin is bubbling, you're gonna want to head in."

Q: Who did you grow up with that influenced and inspired your type of comedy (both personal friends) and stand-up comics you admired?

A: I was most influenced by my two Irish uncles, my uncle Brendan and my Uncle Richard (pronounced Rich-id). They were these two hilarious Irish guys who'd sit there down at camp on an 80-degree day with a suit jacket and pants on with suspenders with tumblers full of some kind of liquid. I thought, if I can make these guys laugh, that would be great. I remember when I got to the point at sixth grade I could consistently make them laugh. I'd practice all year, come back to camp and slay those guys. But professionally, I like the older guys, I like Rodney Dangerfield, who I actually opened for and did a small part in one of his movies. And Don Rickles and Bob Newhart, all great comedians.

Q; You are in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest continuous standup routine (40 hours) with the first 18 hours without any repetition of material. Did you have those first 18 hours memorized or were you going full force extemporaneous?

A: Well, you were allowed to have a playbook, so I went down through all of my 25 albums and listened to all of them. I'd just write down one word like a trigger phrase and it's like a song in your head. It would open a door in my mind and there was like 20 minutes [of material] there. I remember 20 hours into it, my tour manager had said the Guinness rules stated you only had to do four hours of original material before you could repeat yourself. I'm like, 'Well that would have been good to know two and a half months ago. I was like down in the basement like Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting writing stuff on the window.' But it was a great event and we raised $25,000 for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital.

Q: Speaking of Guinness, are you taking a break for St. Paddy’s Day? If so, what are your plans?

A: That's a great day. I'm Irish Catholic and my mother used to boil steak. Everybody wants to be Irish. I'm like 95 percent Irish. A lot of people like to talk in percentages, like 'Yeah, I'm 4.5 percent Irish.' You go out to the bars and there's people with T-shirts that say 'Kiss Me I'm Irish' and I'm like, 'Nah, I'm good.' For St. Paddy's Day, I used to go out with my buddies and go drinking all day. But I've got three kids so we go over to Shawnee Peak and we go skiing. In the morning, I start cooking. I have a couple of shots of Jameson but I'm spending time with my kids and we call it a day.

Check out Bob Marley at Oceanside. Tickets are $15 at Oceanside East and West, Planet Toys in Rockland and Thomaston Grocery. Or visit www.bmarley.com.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

CAMDEN — Bob McGowan, a longtime butcher for French & Brawn Market Place in downtown Camden, drags out a couple of 8 pound cuts of corned beef from the cooler and lays them down on butcher paper. "Real corned beef should look gray on the outside, like ours, not red inside the wrapper," he said. "A lot of people shudder when they look at our corned beef at first, because they are used to seeing it in a grocery store and it's pink--but that's from nitrates. When you cut into ours, it's pink inside, but the outside should look gray."
This brined cut of meat is going to be on a lot of people's tables this Sunday. McGowan delves into the meal's historic origins. "Originally, it was a poor man's meal--something that would last in your cellar all year long, so you'd butcher the animal in the fall and make a brine that would pickle the meat and it would store all winter long. And on St. Paddy's Day, most Irish people wouldn't have much money. What vegetables they'd have left over in the cellar from the winter would be root vegetables--cabbage, potatoes, carrots and the like. And they would all go together naturally very well."
Salt was the main pickling ingredient. "Some people use garlic or peppercorns to corn it," he said. "We use just salt and water." McGowan said F&B makes their corned beef from Western Steer. "We use briskets because that's how it's been traditionally made.""What we do is you fill a barrel with water and add a raw egg or potato. Next we start adding canning salt until the egg or potato rises to the top. That means it's at its proper salinity for corning the beef." "It's the way they always did — it's so simple. Pretty scientific, huh?" he said, with a laugh. At this point the brisket is left to sit in the brine mixture for a minimum of four days. "To cook the corned beef place it into the boiling pot and cook it for three or four hours until you can stick a fork all the way through the meat." (He cautions against using a crock pot, which he says doesn't get hot enough.)
Corned beef is one of those comfort foods steeped in memory. "People remember going to grandmother's house and eating the whole dinner," he said.
French and Brawn sells 8-9 pound cuts of corned beef, but can trim it to any size, depending on what the customer wants.
Will he be having this meal on Sunday? "Oh yeah, I always do," he said, smiling.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

St. Patrick's Day is on a Sunday this year? Well, that's just all kinds of wrong for employers expecting bright-eyed bushy-tailed workers Monday morning, now isn't it? Regardless, there will be other things to do for the weekend leading up St. Paddy's Day. Enjoy!
Friday, March 15

Billy's Tavern, Thomaston
Billy's Tavern traditionally hosts the largest, most authentic St. Paddy’s Day Celebration in the Midcoast. This year, the celebration will be all weekend long, with Irish food and live Irish music Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

On Friday night, local favorites The Alehouse String Band will entertain with their own brand of Celtic and traditional tunes, sure to put the crowd in a festive mood. Irish food, including Billy’s own corned beef and cabbage dinners, corned beef sandwiches and Irish Egg Roll, will be served. Music starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Saturday, March 16

VFW, Waldoboro
A St. Patrick's Day dance with music by country-rock band Bad Penny will be held at the VFW Hall on Mills Street in Waldoboro starting at 8 p.m. Admission is $8 per person, $15 per couple. Wear green and get $1 off admission. Proceeds will go towards the Waldoboro Fire Department's 175th anniversary celebration. For more information, contact Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer or Assistant Fire Chief Bill Maxwell at 832-2161 or 631-7208.

Billy's Tavern, Thomaston
On Saturday, there will be live Irish music by Belfast-based An-Grian. Billy’s will be serving a full Irish menu all day. Music starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Sunday, March 17

Billy's Tavern, Thomaston
St. Paddy's Day officially will kick off at 10 a.m. when Billy’s Tavern will be offering a full Irish breakfast, corned beef and cabbage dinners, Irish Egg Rolls and lots of Guinness drink specials. A night of phenomenal Irish music will be provided by Boothbay Harbor-based, Curlew. Curlew is recognized as one of the leading, most authentic Celtic bands playing in Maine — and this show is not to be missed. For more information, call 354-1177 or you can visit their website.

Trackside Station, Rockland

Trackside is hosting a Lucky Leprechaun 5K run. Walkers start at 9:45 a.m. Runners start at 10:10 a.m. St. Patrick's Day costumes encouraged. Strollers and well-behaved dogs welcome. Proceeds benefit Go! Malawi. Pre-registration and details can be found at their website or call 691-3510.

Rock Harbor, Rockland

Rock Harbor is gearing up for a Patrick's Day Weekend with traditional Irish meals, specialty Irish drinks, new brews on tap, yummy treats, and much more, including
Guinness, and Smithwicks on tap. The Pitch Black Ribbons will playing 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. Acoustic band headed up by two brothers, PBR's music "sounds like a downhome distillery, but their soul is steeped in rock n' roll."

Rollie's Bar and Grill, Belfast
For the die-hards, there is a possibility that Rollie's will open at 6 a.m. on Sunday, if legislation passes to be able to serve alcohol at that hour. If not (check their Facebook page for updates) they'll open at 9:00 a.m. (You'll live.) They'll be serving corned beef breakfast specials, including everyone's favorite, corned beef hash and morning drink specials like Irish Coffee, and Bailey’s. For lunch and dinner, they are serving all-you-can-eat corned beef and fixings for $10.99. Traditional Irish beers like Guinness and Killians will be on tap and there will be prize giveaways throughout the day.

Point Lookout, Northport
Point Lookout will be offering an Irish brunch from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for $20.95 adults (includes complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Mary) and $10.95 fpr children 12 or younger. View their menu and call 789-200 for reservations.

Hatchet Mountain Publick House, Hope
They will celebrate St. Paddy's Day with Irish food, music and spirits including boiled corn beef and cabbage dinner, bangers and mashed potatoe, Guinness, Harp and Smithwicks on draft as well as Jamesons, Bushmill and Tullamore Dew whiskeys. Open from noon to 8:00 p.m. Call 763-4565

Stay tuned all week as more listings are added! Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN - For many people, owning one’s own restaurant is the American Dream. Night after night of working in someone else’s kitchen, chefs can’t help dream of what it would be like to run their own kitchen, come up with their own menu, and introduce regional flavors to a new community.

Tom Sigler’s time has finally come. He is the chef-owner, along with his wife, Lisa Laurita-Spanglet, of the new Latin-inspired restaurant Comida on 31 Elm Street in Camden next to Zoot Coffee. They’ve been open just a month now and word on the street is that he’s on to something here.

This tiny 24-seat restaurant is cozy but not cramped with banquettes along the walls, hand-crafted tables, a copper bar and simple, throw pillows and wall decorations. The compact kitchen feels like it belongs on a boat; two people can work beside one another comfortably. As the prep cook toasts fresh coriander in the pan, the restaurant fills up with the savory and citrus smells that compliment the warm persimmon and cream walls.

This little spot on Main Street unfortunately has had a high turnover for businesses, something Sigler and his wife plan to change. To start, they tore out some of the walls and reconfigured the space to allow more seating, building many of the tables and banquettes themselves. In the spring, they plan to make full use of the outdoor patio. They also made a conscientious decision to keep each meal on the menu under $20.

“We want to be a place that you can go back to over and over to get a small bite or on a Friday night if you want to have two or three courses,” said Sigler.

Sigler started his career in South Carolina, working in kitchens to put himself through college.

“At some point I realized I preferred cooking to philosophy,” he said.

After graduating from Culinary Institute of America, his kitchen connections brought him up to Maine, where he served as a sous chef for Natalie’s Restaurant and Atlantica. His travels in Central America and a stint as a chef consultant to three restaurants in Mexico have given him many flavors to experiment with in designing Comida's menu.

Trained in French cuisine, Sigler brings a French flair to Latin flavors from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Central and South America.

“I’ve always leaned toward Latin flavors,” he said. “I’ve worked in many kitchens alongside many Latinos, including many Guatamalans, and El Salvadorians and observed what they would make for family meals.

Comida is the Spanish word for “food” and Sigler intended to make the restaurant name uncomplicated.

“We’ve created a very rustic, but refined menu out of those tastes. Plate by plate we’re winning people over.”

He points to the plain, one-page menu that offers two sets of offerings, Platos Pequeños (Small Plates) and Platos Grandes (Big Plates).

“For example, this mole we serve over the sautéed chicken breast comes from my friend’s grandmother’s recipe. She’s from Pueblo, Mexico, right outside of Oaxaca. I twisted it a little bit, but wanted to make it respectful.”

Taking risks to try something off one might not normally order this menu pays off. For example, I expected a small plate of Ensalada con Coles de Bruseleas (Brussel sprouts, cilantro, daikon, manchengo, with a guajillo vinaigrette, $7) would be like three little hard brussel sprouts in a sauce. Instead, it presented as more of a flavorful slaw with bits of manchengo. The guajillo sauce absolutely popped with a sweet, light heat. Similarly, the Arepas Con Camerones Barbacoa ($12) offered two sweet, chewy corn cakes with Maine shrimp drizzled in the same guajillo sauce, only it was tinged with sort of a cross between New Orleans southern barbeque and a mole sauce. It’s easy to understand why this is already one of their most popular dishes.

They have a full liquor license, but are only currently offering a small selection of specialty cocktails, including margaritas and mojitos. They offer an eclectic wine and beer list, such as a zippy Vina Puebla Macabeo ($7.50) which compliments their small plate of Ensalada Batabel ($8), essentially a beet salad with freshly made queso fresco (out of locally procured raw cow’s milk), black radish and a cumin-orange vinaigrette.

“We wanted to offer beers and wines that are funky and fun for people who are interested in trying something they’ve never had before,” he said.

Sigler buys many of his ingredients locally, buying his meats and fish from Maine Street Meats, Jess’s Market, and milk and produce from Dandelion Spring Farm and Hubbard Brook Farm.

Comida is now open for lunch and dinner. You can find their menu on their website, www.comidarestaurant.com or see their daily specials on their Facebook page.

Yes, it's 40 degrees out and it is still snowing. We're almost upon mud season, yet it it is likely to snow some more. Welcome to March, the month when everyone in Maine is ready to go a little bonky. It doesn't help that your friends on vacation in Thailand or Hawaii or wherever are still finding time out of their sun-drenched days on the beach to post photos of themselves on a sun-drenched beach.
<sarcasm>I'm so happy for you guys! </endsarcasm>
Invite everyone by Facebook and Evite, but make sure you call to follow up because no one checks their Facebook or Evite request.
Cheer up, chickens, we have the will and the means to alleviate the symptoms of "the cruelest month." This Cheap Date just takes a little imagination and a list of the best places in the Midcoast to get your tropical fix. Find a partner, someone with just a little more enthusiasm and will-to-live than you, and plan a night of Tropical-Luau-Beach party at one of your houses. Invite everyone by Facebook and Evite, but make sure you call to follow up because no one checks their Facebook or Evite request.
Because I'm all about shopping local, we're going on a virtual tour of the Midcoast and where you can get everything you need for this beach blowout. Start with the decor, and go to Party Fundamentals: i.e. grass skirts, coconut bras, hanging palm trees, leis, etc. You can also get a ton of paper bags from the local supermarkets and strip them up to look like the thatching of a tiki hut. Reny's in Camden and Belfast also has cheap leis, fishing net, starfish, a limbo kit, tiki torches, bamboo skewers, cups, plates, tealights, an entire row of hot sauces and real sandals made in Hawaii. Lastly, if you're going whole hog (ha ha-luau joke) and want to dump real sand all over your floor, Plants Unlimited in Rockport has the kind of white play sand you need for only $5.99 for a 50 lb bag. Cost of cleanup, not included.
Oh, and because March is Exotic Winter Fruit & Leeks and Green Onions Month (like I'd lie about that) I'm told Hannaford Supermarket in Belfast is the best place for exotic fruits such as: coconuts, pineapples, star fruit, bread fruit, mangoes, papayas, cactus pears, kumquats and sugar cane. Use as centerpieces, parts of drinks or in dishes. For seafood in Rockland, check out Jess’s Market, which sells coconut shrimp, stuffed clams, macadamia nut Panko crumbs for lightly breaded island fish and will even special order conch for you if you want to make a sauce, salad or chowder. For a traditional pig roast, Curtis Custom Meats sells any size pig you want roasted (as well as the raw pig before roasting). Just call 207-273-2574.
And please, post all the photos you want of the fun you're having at your tropical party to our Facebook page and we'll make a gallery of it. Because you're still in Maine, nobody's going to be jealous.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

A long time ago, like a lot of adults, I used to buy into the teen complaint that “there’s nothing to do around here.”
But then I realized, it’s not the exterior world we live in that defines what we’re capable of; it’s our own interior world. There are teens who just make stuff happen. All Jalina “Jolly” Brown had to do is hear a haunting, driving song called “Sail” by AWOLNATION one day and something in her brain caught on fire. See accompanying video.
The next time a kid shows you a scrap of sketchbook or poem or says, “look at this video I made” or wants to show you a riff they just learned on their guitar, make the time.

Even if it’s not your kid, cultivate their interior world.

We’re the village it supposedly takes and the teens in this town could always use one more person on their side.
Imagery came to her in flashes.
“I heard the song and had all these images in my head of the fire, the words being washed away in the sink, the moth, the close-up of the eye, all that stuff,” she said.
She got ahold of a high quality camera and decided to make a short artistic video in two nights and edited it together in one night.
I love that in this video, she allows us glimpses of her, but not the whole her. There’s something deeper at play here. She has a story to tell in three minutes and she does it with a sophisticated filmmaker’s ability to zero in on an image and connect it to certain beats of the music, whether it is her own wide, unblinking eye, or a piece of paper seemingly boiling in an beaker. At times, the video veers from being sweetly childish to viscerally honest.
“This is the kind of stuff I get really excited about,” she said. “I hear a song and see an image and find a way to create a story. There's a lot more symbolism in the video, like how there's just a match with a small flame in the beginning, there's a large, roaring fire toward the middle, and the end has smoke. I like thinking that people can find their own symbolism within the video and interpret it in their own way.”
“Throughout the song, the singer says ‘Blame it on my A.D.D’ and I often feel like I have trouble getting my thoughts out because of my A.D.D.-like thought process. I also felt like the song made me think about the future and how, at the time, I was really nervous about picking a career in film. A lot of people told me to pick a more reliable career and that film was really just a hobby.”
Jolly is about to graduate Camden Hills Regional High School in June and has been accepted into Emerson College in Boston.
“I’m a little nervous, because I come from a little small town in Maine but hopefully I’ll get to know the city, get a job, go to school, do some writing and maybe a little acting. I get a little scared before live performances, but I think it’s good to get out there and try that.”
She’s lucky, really. Some people spend all their lives trying to be good at just one thing. Jolly’s interior world is open to most anything that is creative, so she has that young, flexible attitude that art is experimentation, art is play. It’s not work yet. If there is failure-oh well, try something else.
“I love singing. I love cinematography. I love directing. I’m into all that. My dream job would be writing and acting on Saturday Night Live because I love playing characters,” she said. “I’ve been watching SNL since I was really young and I really liked that some writer was behind the performer who could make an audience laugh. When I was in fourth or fifth grade, I’d try writing these short SNL-style comedy sketches and my friends and I would film them.”
Folks might argue that my “Rad Kid” columns all feature driven teens, kids who’ve had advantages, who are naturally adept. But the fact is no, not all of the kids I’ve worked with in this town have had those advantages. Some have actually overcome some serious disadvantages, including a complete lack of any creative cultivation from their own parents, because they are moved to discover what they’re capable of. What sets them all apart is the complete eradication of the mindset “there is nothing to do around here.” Jolly could spend all of her time on Facebook every afternoon, could waste hours watching stupid reality TV, or hang out with a crowd that doesn’t actually do anything but wish they were somewhere else.
Or she can pick up a sketchbook. Get inspired by a contest to build cardboard robots who hula hoop and skip rope. Practice writing funny sketches with her friends.
“I just create random weird things that come out of my brain,” she said.
On the other side of the camera, Jolly has done a number of live performances and auditioned for Project AWARE's public service announcement videos and played the part of a pregnant girl.
"The PSA was basically about how two seconds can change your life and how you should think about the decisions you make before you make them."
A short teaser of that PSA is embedded in this story.
Jolly’s one of the Rad Kids — she’s on a clear trajectory. But even glimpses of her interior world leave us all with a teeny bit of a lesson. There’s always something to do around here. The next time a kid shows you a scrap of sketchbook or poem or says, “look at this video I made” or wants to show you a riff they just learned on their guitar, make the time. Even if it’s not your kid; cultivate their interior world. We’re the village it supposedly takes and the teens in this town could always use one more person on their side.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Anybody who has ever seen Cake Wrecks, a blog started in 2008 with photos of "professional cakes that have gone horribly, hilariously wrong," knows that bad cake making is an elevated art form. (Well, not necessarily to the maker of the cake). But that's the point.
We asked Hillary Bousum, a.k.a. "Camden Cake Lady," a cake designer from the Midcoast, to comment on some of the worst professional cakes she's ever seen on Cake Wrecks and to give us her unvarnished opinion.
"Cake Wrecks fascinates me kinda in the same way a train wreck does... you never want it to happen to you, but you just can't not look at it... and I love a good snarky laugh," said Bousum.
"Creating edible visual sugar art is my passion and using local Maine ingredients is my mission," she said. "Making cakes come to life is always a fun challenge, however, there is always the threat of a cake disaster, whether it is spelling someone's name wrong (done it) or calling a client who was supposed to be surprised (did it). Cake delivery with stacked cakes wobbling in a car is the WORST part of the job and it is always a nail-biting experience."
She said she tries not to think of her husband's famous statement: "You know honey, someday you WILL drop a cake. Hopefully that cake won't be your wedding cake!"
She's kidding; she's a pro.
Check out her captions to the photos below and find her on Facebook.

THOMASTON — Over the last three years, something has been subtly shifting in the Midcoast. It hasn’t been overtly noticeable to everyone, but if you grew up here in the 1980s, raged in the decade-long party that was the 1990s, suffered through the stagnant, suffocating lack of a cultural scene in the 2000s, something is different now.
Midcoast is becoming way hipper. But it’s still an underground secret in a lot of ways.
National magazines have already picked up on the art and foodie trend in the Midcoast, and now live, original music is picking up steam.
The Strand, Camden Opera House and Rockport Opera House are largely responsible for higher profile acts, but bar bands have traditionally been small, local and well, what you come to expect from a bar band — until now. Along with Rock City Café (Velvet Lounge) in Rockland, and Three Tides in Belfast bringing in national, alternative, high-energy acts, there’s a new kid in town. For the last six months, Billy’s Tavern in Thomaston has begun to stand out as a tastemaker when it comes to attracting outstanding, up-and-coming music.
Portland band Tricky Britches (try saying that three times fast) is coming tonight to play at Billy’s. While Tricky Britches describes themselves as “old-time country, with a bluegrass kick and the bounce of a street-corner jugband” Burke puts a finer point on it.
“They bring a young, alternative and a little more edgy sensibility to their music,” he said. “They have taken the old style of bluegrass, country and freshened it up with a very contemporary feel.”
Burke is Generation X, with musical influences drawn strongly from the 1990s. “We like to bring in original music," he said. “We’re very eclectic, but want to draw a high caliber of talent. We’ve brought in Irish bands, Gypsy bands, indie folk-country-alt bands. We brought the 1920s and 1930s jazz band, Tuba Skinny. We were the first to bring Primo Cubano, a Cuban band, here, and now they’re regularly coming back to the Midcoast. Only in the last six months have we been getting very serious about making Billy’s a premier music venue, bringing bands from all over the country.”
The atmosphere at Billy’s Tavern, named after Burke’s father, Billy, is modeled after an Irish pub. The bar opened in 2007 and ever since, they’ve been finding ways to connect the small town of Thomaston into the larger developing cultural scene of Rockland. Burke, whose wife, Brooke and two children, have lived here since 1999, said, “We’re always so amazed at how many cool things are going on in the Midcoast. We’ve gotten such a huge reception to the music, that we feel that’s a way we can distinguish ourselves, even in the summer time, when people have so many great choices. You can go for a hike, go for a sail, go out to dinner and then, after 9 p.m., you can come out and hear a world-class band.”
The large expansive room with dark walls, dark wooden tables and a gas-fired stove appeals to the type of patron who likes a hometown bar to feel cozy, but not overly fancy. On live music nights, all the tables and chairs are moved out of the way to accommodate dancing. On several online reviews, some patrons have complained that the music is way too loud, but others will counter that’s why the phrase “if the music is too loud, you’re too old” was invented.
Dan Engel, who does the live music booking for Billy’s “is doing a phenomenal job,” said Burke. “He has the passion for music and a keen eye for talent.” Their spring lineup includes bands from Brooklyn, N.Y., Athens, Ga., and all over Maine. Next weekend, The Ghost of Paul Revere, a “holler folk band” from Portland will be back up to play at Billy’s.
“If you want to sit in a theater and watch an act perform, that’s great for some. But, for those who want to have a drink, dance and have some fun, it's a very different scene. We’re trying to showcase the cream of the crop in terms of original music and give people in this area an opportunity to see bands that are on a big-time trajectory. What we’re trying to do is get the bands here so people can see them before they get too big,” said Burke.
• March 1: Tricky Britches, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 and proper ID is required. To keep on top of their upcoming musical lineup, follow Billy’s Tavern on Facebook or visit their website.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

CAMDEN — Whether they're starting small lifestyle businesses or bigger operations with a few employees, women in Maine are proving themselves to be strong entrepreneurs. Former Maine Women's Fund Executive Director Elizabeth Stefanski said in the last 10 years she had seen "massive growth in women-owned businesses," with women starting them "twice as often as men."
But starting a business, as anyone knows, is not easy. Running counter to the "Superwoman" credo that women can do it all, there are roadblocks to running a business. That's where Marita Fairfield comes in. She is the Women's Business Center Program Director & Business Counselor and is known statewide as a business counselor and workshop presenter on issues related to business website development and Internet marketing.
Up until this year, if women wanted free business counseling from CEI, they had to travel to Wiscasset to the main office. But some restructuring of CEI has now freed Fairfield to travel to the Midcoast twice a month to meet with women in two outreach locations. Through the generosity of Ballou and Associates, a bookkeeping and consulting service at 48 Washington St. in Camden, which donates a free closed conference room in their office complex, Midcoast women can make appointments to meet with Fairfield regularly as they take the pulse on their businesses. Another smaller outreach location donated by Camden National Bank in Belfast will allow Fairfield to meet with women in Waldo county and counties north of Belfast.
"This is an ideal space for women to have confidential meetings," said Fairfield. "Some women just feel it makes a difference that their business counselor is also a woman. We work in collaboration with our counterparts at the Small Business Development Center as well, regardless of where Maine women are located around the state. We can have someone get back to you in person or through virtual conferencing, phone or email."
Who is the ideal candidate for this kind of business counseling?
"Either someone who wants to start a business but doesn't know how to go about it or someone who is already in business and just needs to bounce her ideas off a business counselor," she said. "Perhaps you're good at what you do, but not good at finances or you're very good with bookkeeping, but don't know the first thing about how to market your business. We find that new business owners who work with a business counselor are more successful."
Fairfield added that the majority of her clients are micro-businesses, such as one-woman businesses, couples or people with two or three employees.
CEI has just revamped its online directory, www.wbcmaine.org, which features women-owned Maine businesses and offers in-person workshops and online webinars that cover everything one needs to know about starting a business, including record-keeping and financials, applying for a business loan, Quickbooks, marketing, child care business management, and websites/ecommerce.
Women who've already started their businesses can also join this directory at the free level. A premier level allows more online visibility and better discounts for workshops. Even without a premier listing, the workshops are considered reasonably priced, at $15 to $35. And, Fairfield stresses they never want income to be a barrier for woment to get the business training they need so they also offer a fee-waiver program and financial aid.
One other way the Women's Business Center works with the realistic schedule of modern women is to offer pre-recorded online workshops.
"That way you can listen to a workshop at 2 in the morning or when you're at home with a sick kid," she said.
Sometimes women just need a little push, along with a hand to hold, to make the transition from dreamer to business owner. The way to start is to make a request for free business counseling by visiting their web page. Or call Fairfield directly at 207-882-5158 or email mfairfield@ceimaine.org. She is in the Camden office (48 Washington St.) biweekly (usually Thursdays, but it's flexible) and in Belfast bi-weekly.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

ROCKPORT-Maine's own Motor Booty Affair, the self-described "Ultimate Disco Party Band"came up to the Midcoast Friday night, Feb. 22. "The freaks from planet Funktar laid down a nasty groove of funk disco and soul" at the Rockport Opera House for Grand Banks Entertainment's Great Cabin Fever Escape Dance Party, Pt. II (Release the Funk)
The show started at 7:00 p.m. and indeed, anyone with a unitard, a pair of roller skates or a hideous caftan fit in perfectly. On the floor, there were some sweet moves that would have made Deney Terrio proud. Check out our gallery. You can tell no one had a good time!
Less than stellar quality photos by Kay Stephens. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Who do you think will win?
For 85 years, Academy Award season has centered around this question and this Sunday, Feb. 24, the Strand Theatre in Rockland will be rolling out their red carpet, offering prizes and offering live coverage of the Oscars 2013 on their high definition big screens. First, to answer the above question, we asked Kate Fletcher, the Strand's Marketing and Community Relations Manager to give us their informal list of predicted Oscar winners:
Best Picture: ARGO - unquestionably!
Best Director - AMOUR
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress - Jessica Chastain
Best Supporting Actor - Tommy Lee Jones

Best Supporting Actress - Sally Field
Best Cinematography - LINCOLN
Best Foreign Language Film - AMOUR
Best Documentary Feature - HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
Best Original Screenplay - MOONRISE KINGDOM
Asked about her Best Picture pick, Fletcher said "ARGO had everything you want in a movie, in terms of a story that was human. It had comedy. It was suspenseful, it had intrigue. In terms of history, many people know the about the Iran hostage crisis and how it turned out. But, Ben Affleck latched onto the story within the big story that few people knew about. So you assume you know how it is going to turn out, but yet, it still has you at the edge of your seat."
This will be the seventh Oscar season for the Strand since it reopened nearly eight years ago, but the theater has been around about as long as the Academy Awards and has always had something to do with the Oscars. It has turned into a much anticipated annual event for many people. "Some people get really excited for the Super Bowl, some get really excited for the Oscars-and some get excited for both!" she said. "When people arrive, they will walk the red carpet and if they're dressed up, they can take pictures in the lobby."
"They'll be able to vote for their Oscar picks on ballots before the event begins and be entered to win a variety of raffle prizes during of the evening. A grand prize of a Night at the Movies for Two certificate will go to whomever guesses all the ballot categories correctly. You do not have to be present to win."
The event is free to the public. The Red Carpet pre show coverage will be shown from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and coverage of the awards themselves begins at 8:00 p.m. The Strand balcony bar will be open for patrons 21 and up – featuring an Oscar Night Champagne and Chocolate Special. For more information visit: The Strand Oscar 2013 Party

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Every once in awhile we get one of those bad mama jama type of weekends where there are so many fun things happening, you can't actually attend them all. Here is your "fabahlus" (the correct way to pronounce it) weekend rundown of things to do in the Midcoast.

Friday Night Feb. 22
Great Cabin Fever Escape Dance Party
Rockport Opera House, Rockport
The NEMO storm of the century may have canceled the Feb. 9 Great Cabin Fever Escape Dance Party, Pt. II (Release the Funk) featuring Motor Booty Affair, but the Mother Ship has indeed landed this time and the party will go on. Notice to ticket holders, the original location of the Camden Opera House has now been moved to the Rockport Opera House. The show starts at 7 p.m. and goes to 10:30 p.m. Tickets from the postponed Feb. 9 show will be honored and new tickets are now available at Zoot Coffee and HAV II in Camden A portion of proceeds to benefit The Seton School (see our original Pilot story).

Patrons need to be 21+ with positive I.D. Cash bar provided by The ChiChi Chef. As always, outrageous disco attire is heartily encouraged.
***
Sistalicious Dance Party
Nautilus Seafood And Grille, Belfast
Two sisters, one band. One crazy, fun, dance party. Sisters Lee and Joanne Parent headine the band and play everything from Christina Aguilera to Aretha Franklin, from B52s to Earth Wind and Fire! They do R&B, Funk, Disco, Rock and Roll... and jazz too! Show starts at 8:30 p.m. and goes to 12:30 p.m.
**

Saturday Night, Feb 23
Hot Havana Night with Hot Pink Flannel
FOG Bar and Cafe, Rockland
Those insane HPF party planners are back at it again and this time, bringing in the heat with a hot Cuban salsa band, Primo Cubano at one of the hottest spots in Rockland — FOG Bar and Cafe. They're going to clear out the back of the house and it will be decorated "in a lot of bright colors, like you're somewhere tropical" said HPF co-founder Erica Sanchez. There will be drink specials and unlike the usual wacky themes, this one is geared more to the salsa theme. Guys will probably be wearing Mexican wedding shirts and bowling shirts and girls will likely be dolled up in bright colors. "Let's all have a hot, sweaty, sexy time," said Sanchez. There is a $5 cover and the party starts at 9:30 p.m.
**

Billy's Tavern Whiskey Tasting
Their Fifth Annual Single Malt Whiskey Tasting may be sold out this Saturday, but that doesn't mean there's no more wiggle room to get in This highly anticipated evening is an all-inclusive dinner and dessert, whiskey tasting, port, cigars and music for $100 per person. Jacket Required. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for warm-up drinking. Bagpipers commence at 7 p.m. And the first glass is poured after everyone has arrived, usually around 7:30 p.m. They promise "exceptional single malt whiskies from premier distilleries with sampling from the four major Scotch producing regions—Highland, Lowland, Speyside And Islay. We take whisky very seriously," said owner Chris Burke, who said the event sold out in four weeks. Asked if they were truly sold out, Burke said call him on his cell phone (207-593-2988) if your weekend will truly be ruined if you don't go to this. They might be able to squeeze a few more people in. And if the ticket price is too much for your budget, "Come on down another time and we'll give you a nice introduction to some fine whiskies," he said. FMI: Billy's Tavern
**

Three Tides and Marshall Wharf party with DJ Southpaw
2 Pinchy Lane, Marshall Wharf, Belfast
You knew that Three Tides is now open year-round, right? As such, they've been making a special effort this winter to bring in music, dance and DJs. Join them and DJ Southpaw, a.k.a Mark Kelly, who is a serious afficianado of the ska, rocksteady and reggae genres. "Mark Kelly is a great friend and all around awesome
guy," said David Carlson, co-owner of Three Tides, who noted that the subtitle of the event "Mark Kelly is a jerk" is actually an inside joke. "Mark has it dialed in and spins great music. He is in his mid 40s so has the 80s stuff, the classic alternative and dance 80s stuff down pat too." The show starts at 10 p.m. There is no cover, but patrons need to be 21 or over with positive I.D.

Sunday Night, Feb 24
Oscar Party 2013 at the Strand
The Strand Theatre, Rockland
For the seventh consecutive year, the Strand Theatre invites you to walk the red carpet and mingle with Rockland’s Elite for Hollywood's biggest award sow, presented live on the big screen in HD. Don’t miss your chance to throw off the winter flannels and dress to impress, walk their own red carpet, and maybe take home some prizes yourself!
During the show, exciting prizes will be awarded, including T-shirts, and film tickets. Audience members are also invited to fill out a ballot with their predictions of the night's winners and have the chance to win a 10-Movie Pass Card! The Strand balcony bar will be open for patrons 21 and up – featuring an Oscar Night Champagne and Chocolate Special. Red Carpet Preshow coverage will be shown from 6:30 to 8:00pm, coverage of the awards themselves begins at 8:00 p.m. and continues until the last statuette is presented. FMI: The Strand.

Kay Stephens will definitely be attending some of these and can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Our reviewers have some of the best suggestions on what to read, what to see and and what to hear each month. Let Lacy Simons, of hello hello books, Jim Dandy and Tiffany Howard, of Opera House Video, and Nathaniel Bernier, of Wild Rufus Consignments, fill you in on this month's killer book, movie and music reviews.

Books

Black Swan Green

This month, I'm revisiting one of my favorite novels, David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Simple summary from the cover: the book tracks a single year in what is, for 13-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. My summary would go on for three or four or nine pages, so I'm going to keep it simple and repeat one of my favorites of Jason's thoughts: "The world never stops unmaking what the world never stops making. But who says the world has to make sense?" This is no average coming-of-age novel; it is a masterwork of reflection on the ever-shifting human interior world.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker, and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Tiffany Howard

Sometimes a movie is so touching — almost magically so — that to analyze or deconstruct it feels somewhat criminal. Perhaps The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not so different from any other coming-of-age story, and my affection for it is simply due to my weakness for and ever-fresh memories of the heartbreak, struggle and growth of adolescence. If I had previously read the popular book this film is based on, I might not have been surprised by the story's successfully delicate balance of humor, nostalgia, and emotional honesty. This expert weaving of elements is only enhanced by those cinematic qualities a book cannot have: a carefully chosen soundtrack, unassumingly lovely lighting and photography, and evocative performances by an exemplary cast.

An earnest Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians) plays the meekly strong protagonist, Charlie, a lonely freshman battling challenging inner demons while trying to survive the social minefield of high school. He finds kindred spirits in the step sibling team of Patrick and Sam, played by a loveable Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and a luminous post-Harry Potter Emma Watson, as well as in a supportive English teacher and informal mentor Mr. Anderson, played by Paul Rudd (This Is 40). To say too much about this beautiful little jewel of a movie would be to do it an injustice and cheat you out of your own experience of its pleasures. I will say that if you’ve ever been lucky enough to find love, loyalty and friendship among your own island of misfit toys, there is something here that will surely resonate, leaving echoes in your heart for days and weeks to come.

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Lumineers-self titled

by Nathaniel Bernier

I got my first taste of these guys as my children flipped through the "pop music" channels and I was instantly mesmerized by the way they sounded. It wasn't until months later I decided to purchase the whole album and am very glad I did. The minimal packaging and lower price suggested I was going to receive something bare-boned--actual music, not over-produced pop crap. I love it when I gamble on an album and it deals me a 21. Bam!

Second track in "Classy Girls" is a lilting, listing, lifting piano-infused building track- a jumping party filled with fun lyrics. The song "Dead Sea" is another great tune which represents the great melting-pot mixture of genres well, including alt-country (I hear some Ryan Bingham in here), folk-rock (definitely some Bob Dylan happening) and even a hint of Steve Earle. It's done with a sometimes gravelly voice, yet thrillingly harmonious.

Their wildly popular "Ho Hey" comes in at track five and will definitely have you singing along to this wonderfully crafted tune. Plinking banjo, strumming guitar, humming cello and a hand-clap beat will surely put a smile on your face. "Stubborn Love" with its violin provides pleasant sounds sliding through my speakers while a driving drum beat churns up the air. It really got my feet stomping, making me think of what might happen in a pub in Dublin. I am definitely very well pleased with this album, a true collection of Americana and a boastful production of many instruments, pure enjoyment. Wonderful!

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of Wild Rufus Records previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists. He lives on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music.   Find him at www.wildrufus.com or wildrufus.blogspot.com/

This nugget of Pilot distractions is brought to you by the website, Know Your Meme, which is dedicated to documenting Internet phenomena, viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, web celebs and more.
“You Had One Job” is an expression used to call attention to perceived blunders made by individuals on the job. Take a look at the gallery photos to understand why someone would shout in frustration, "You had one job. One!"
Feel free to email us any photos that can be added to this gallery at news@penbaypilot.com with "Send to Kay" in the subject line. (Hint: Dollar stores in the Midcoast and Job Lots in Belfast is are great place to search for discount products that have been oddly packaged and fit this category.)

ROCKLAND-In the Dictionary of Pop Culture Literacy (not a real book, i just made it up), there should be a section alone on what a TARDIS is. I don't care how cool you are, if you don't have a working knowledge of Star Wars, Monty Python or Doctor Who and his fun time magical TARDIS by the time you're 18 years old, your parents have failed you.
Doctor Who was one of those TV programs that came on right after Batman in the 1970s. As a little kid, I got wicked creeped out by the opening sequence. It was like looking through the eyes of someone who'd just taken five hits of acid along with a shot of Justin Bieber's "sizzurp" and sounded like some cheap, tinny House of Horrors carnival ride. Needless to say, after watching Catwoman try to POW! and WHAM! the crap out of Batman in her killer leather boots, I wasn't quite ready to make the intellectual leap to embrace this hoary old British dude and his time machine.
But then I grew up and fully embraced the Inner Nerd, and so should you.
This Thursday, Feb 21, at 6:30 p.m., the Rockland Public library will present a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary screening of one of its best episodes, "Blink" with a post-screening discussion with Bill Halpin & Saskia Huising.

Here's the plotline:
Blink
When Sally Sparrow enters an old abandoned mansion to take photographs, things are not exactly what they seem…or are they? Can the Doctor (David Tennant) help her find out? Well, yes...and no. Steven Moffat’s Blink won two BAFTA Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, as well as science fiction’s prestigious Hugo Award. In addition, actress Carey Mulligan won the Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a Science Fiction Television Episode. Blink was voted the second best Doctor Who story in the show’s long history. It is also one of the most ingenious time travel tales ever filmed. Screened by permission of BBC Home Entertainment.
So this is a good cheap date to take a friend or a first date and especially someone who doesn't know what a TARDIS is, so when they say "Doctor who?" you smile and say, "Exactly."*
For more information, call the Library at 594-0310. Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com
*Note: this episode can be kind of scary for the younger audiences and may not be the best introduction of Doctor Who!

BELFAST — We're combining this month's "Look at that face!" column on adoptable dogs and cats with a super good cause. All it requires is that you pop into Rollie's Bar and Grill in Belfast this Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m. and quaff a brew, or in the parlance, down a pint for P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center in Camden.
This will be the seventh "Pints" benefit Heidi Vanorse, co-owner of Loyal Biscuit Co., has organized for animal shelters in the Midcoast.
"The community has been awesome in donating prizes for the raffle," she said. "We currently have 45 prizes and one live auction item, making this the most amount of prizes we have had so far for a Pints event."
Rollie's will donate a dollar for every pint sold and proceeds from raffle and auction item sales will go towards the P.A.W.S animals. Laura Stupca, shelter manager at P.A.W.S., said, "All the money that's raised can help us by going toward animals that need to be vaccinated, spayed and neutered. It also goes toward dog food, cat food, litter and toys."
You've likely seen Maggi, an adult Border Collie mix, in our "Look at that face!" column before. That's because she got bypassed getting adopted this weekend and one of her biggest champions, P.A.W.S. volunteer, Diane Sturgeon, wanted to make sure she got a wee bit more attention. Sturgeon who faithfully walks Maggie and other dogs at P.A.W.S. every weekend has come to know this shy girl well.
"Maggie originally came into the shelter as a stray, so we don't know much about her background, but she is head shy, so we're guessing someone was probably quite rough with her at some point in her life, which is why we need a family to come along that will be patient and give Maggie the time and love she needs to learn that people are actually okay," said Sturgeon. "She's very food motivated and would love it if you brought her some delightful meat treats for that first introduction. She's been in the kennels for months now and has reached the point where she's really sad about going back in after her walks, so she will sometimes just flop down to try to convince the human on the end of her leash to give her just a few more minutes outside in the fresh air. Let her get a couple sniffs in before you make any sudden movements, so she could get comfortable with you. You should probably know that once Maggie does get to know you, she'll want to hang with you forever and will probably ask for some serious belly rubs!"
The benefit goes from 5 to 8 p.m. Musician Paddy Mills will be providing the entertainment, along with a raffle and auction. For more information on what's available for auction visit their Facebook page.

CAMDEN — "Chuck, how many times would you say you come to the Camden Hannaford Supermarket a day," I asked.
"Oh geez, I try not to be here any more than once a day," he said.
"He's here twice a day if not more," said Hannaford Customer Service Manager Allie Bowen.
"Well it's like yesterday, I just got back from Hannaford and Kathy says, 'Did you get the half and half cream?' cause she can't stand having her coffee with just milk, so I had to come back. I'm embarassed when I have to come back again and they always say 'oh it's you again,'" said CHuck Hendrick.
Hendrick, 79, grew up in Camden and has seen the evolution of the grocery chains in this spot through the years. In the early 1950s, he said it was just a lot filled with open woods and fields. "Then they built the highway," he said, referring to Route 1. "'Cause you used to have to go through Rockport."
The town's only chain grocery store started as Camden IGA Food Liner, originally located at Tannery Lane, then later in the Reny's Plaza location, before it moved to where Hannaford now sits near the Camden and Rockport line. It was originally owned by Norman Cote, and later, by Harold Crockett. IGA was eventually bought by Graves Supermarket in 1998 and Hannaford Supermarket took over in 2007. Just this winter, Hannaford has begun working on renovating and expanding the size of the store, tearing through what was the old Movie Gallery walls to make room for its new and improved produce section.
You know you live in a small town when people are really buzzing about the grocery store's new renovations. "People are excited," said Bowen. "The renovation has been a long time coming. We're putting in a pharmacy. We're getting about 3,000 new products in the store and new things in the deli and bakery. We're getting a sushi chef and a new recyclable bottle service, so it will be much cleaner."
"It's very nice," Hendrick agreed. "There's a better selection now and I don't have to go very far. I would like to see some small golf carts to get around the place, with a basket on it. Bobby agrees with me," he said referencing Bob Josselyn, the store's general manager.
"Do you know everybody here on a first-name basis?" I asked.
"No, not really," said Hendrick.
"Yes, he does," said Bowen. "And we all know his dog, Homer, because we can hear him howling in the parking lot while we push carts."
Asked why he comes to Hannaford at least once a day, Hendrick said, "Well, it used to be once a week I'd come do a shop, but we've got a bunch of kids and they come eat all the food up. Not that I mind — they've got to eat, but then they'd take all the leftovers home so I gotta come back here."
Walking around the new section of the store, he said he liked the new paint job and the open space. "Do you know every aisle by heart?" I asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Hendrick said.
"What's your favorite aisle?" I asked.
"The rum aisle," he said. We took a walk on over to it. I like how he calls the entire aisle "the rum aisle," as if no other products there exist.
"Ever since I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, my doctor, Dr. Vickers told me to drink three fingers of rum a day," said Hendrick. "It's been three years since I did that, and my count went down. So here's where I get my Mount Gay. But you know what? Ever since I had kids, I can't have my happy hour until my kids are all settled in, 'cause a lot of kids have to be transported." Hendrick and his wife, Kathy, have five adult children and raise their granddaughter, Sydney.
Hendrick said when he goes shopping he can't get in and out without running into at least one person he knows. "Cause you've got to imagine, I grew up here. I know a lot of people," said Hendrick.
"Well Chuck, you're here for the interview," I said. "What are you going to pick up while you're here?"
"Ahh, I don't know yet. I gotta check with Kathy. Probably nothing," he said, waving as he walked out of the store.
You just know that he'll be coming back a little later on.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

Let's clear up something right away. A Hula Hoop instructor does not "stand there gyrating a hoop around her waist for an hour." That's usually the first misconception people have about Hula Hoop dancing, most likely generated from their impressions of the 1950s fad.

Maria Randolph is one of the presenters in the upcoming Pecha Kucha Night Friday, Feb. 15, at Watt's Hall in Thomaston. Organized by Midcoast Magnet, Farnsworth Art Museum, Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors, Waterfall Arts, and various creative community members, Pecha Kucha (the Japanese word for "chit chat") is an event where eight local presenters do visual storytelling in a unique presentation style. Only given a 20 minutes for their slideshow, they discuss their work, their ideas, and their creative process with 20 seconds per image within the slideshow.

Maria Randolph picked up on the hooping craze in 2010, when very few others were doing it in Maine.

"It looked silly," she said. "It looked fun. It looked beautiful. And graceful. And creative. It looked... like something I should try."

She put music to hooping and from there admitted it became an obsession. She decided to throw a random hooping introductory workshop, and due to its popularity, literally built herself a new business out of her wacky hobby. She now runs regular classes and workshops in hooping as well as hosting retreats for hoop instructors from all over the world to come to Maine.

"I'm just connecting other hoopers all over the world with the hooping communities in Maine," she said.

For Randolph's presentation, she will explain the background of hooping, but more importantly, how it has turned into a mesmerizing art form "and that it is definitely not looking like the '50s anymore," she said.

Hooping can range from high-energy acrobatic tricks to integrated dancing to weight-loss workouts. To get an idea of how Randolph uses it as a light-hearted past-time, view the short videos. In the HoopME! Rendezvous in Maine video, Randolph, her husband Dave and her daughter, Devi, reenact a silent 1920s movie scene with Hula Hoops on the beach. Randolph and her daugher's hooping skills show the kind of range that makes this activity a dedicated passion. The Breathing Breaks and Wonky Planes video is of one of the hoop instructors that Randolph has invited to Maine and shows another meditative side to hooping. Caterina Sutton, from Argentina will be coming Feb. 23 to teach a class at the Thompson Community Center.

As a departure from Pecha Kucha's typical format, once her presentation is done, Randolph will give a live two-minute demonstration of hooping to the audience.

Other Pecha Kucha presenters include:

Kerry Altiero, chef and owner of Café Miranda
Hope R. Angier, interior decorative painter
Shlomit Auciello, photographer
Anne Cox, rug hooker
Alexis Iammario, community artist

David Lyman and Chuck Kruger, The Bert and I Company of Maine creative director and show producer
Tom Ulichny, director of the Midcoast Music Academy

The doors open at 6:30 p.m. The presentations start at 7 p.m. Stay after to enjoy conversation and light snacks; $5 cover at the door.
For more information, visit Midcoast Magnet's website or email rockland@pechakuchamaine.org
Video credits: HoopME! Rendezvous in Maine by Emma
Breathing Breaks and Wonky Planes by Caterina Suttin
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

HOPE — Live storytelling has become a thing in the last decade where people stand up in front of an audience and without notes, tell a story that captivates the audience. Sometimes they're screechingly funny; sometimes they just gut you. NPR hosts its own version called Snap Judgment and The Moth.org is particularly noted for its "terrifying and exhilirating" live events. This Saturday evening, Feb. 16, the Midcoast will get a chance to witness a storytelling slam (essentially a contest of highly engaging stories from local talent) led by Judith Black, a nationally known storyteller. Sweet Tree Arts, a community arts organization in Hope, which just launched in February, are kicking off their very first event with Story SLAM.
Having been featured 10 times at the National Storytelling Festival, and serving three times as Teller-in Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesboro, Tenn., Judith Black is sought after as both a performer and workshop leader throughout the world. Her original historic stories strive to offer nontraditional vantage points on people, places, and events, in the hopes of creating a broader understanding of our national past.
Black will be running a workshop from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in which she will show people how "to take a story that you love and bring it alive," said Lindsay Pinchbeck, Sweet Tree Arts Director. "She's an amazing storyteller and has won a number of award." Her website, Stories Alive, give some clips of her past perfomances.
"Storytelling is an art that we've kind of lost. How you bring a story alive depends on your gestures, your facial expressions or body movement. The craft of it is really interesting. You don't have to nail it perfectly, you just have to tell it with passion," said Pinchbeck. "Traditionally, it's a bit of a competition, but we're just having fun with it."
Starting at 5 p.m. on the same day, the Story SLAM will kick off with five local storytellers: Andy Swift, Tracy Lord, David Lyman, Eliza Greenman and Jerry Stone. They will have five minutes each to tell a story based around the same theme: Opportunity.
"These are just five remarkable extroverts who love to tell a story," said Pinchbeck.
For example, Jerry Stone will be talking about how he went from being an orphan to an ordained minister.
Note there will be adult content in these stories and may not be appropriate for a younger audience. Tickets for this fundraiser are $25 in advance and $30 at the door available on line at www.sweettreearts.org or at the Hope General Store. A light dinner is included with the ticket and there will be a cash bar.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and there is limited seating (They have only 20 seats left.)

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Mike Bumiller, a bartender at FOG Bar and Cafe in Rockland, has created a special cocktail for Valentine's Day this year called The Love Zombie and half the fun is getting through all of the garnishes.
The very first delightful discovery with this drink will be a special sugar garnish that looks like a heart-shaped icicle and can be pulled apart like a wishbone. Just what the winner of the larger piece gets, we'll leave up to you. (Insert obligatory joke here.)
Pastry chef Kiwi Barros concocted the squiggly garnishes by combining sugar and water and bringing it up to a boil at 320 degrees, which transforms the mixture into a substance called 'hard crack." (Insert second obligatory joke here.) Before it gets too caramelized, she drizzles the mixture onto sort of like a rubber parchment paper, which allows special shapes to be peeled off without breaking.
The second garnish is a wedge of lime coated in brown sugar and cayenne pepper, adding hot and spicy to the sweet, which can be squeezed right into the drink. Bumiller describes this original ruby-colored cocktail as something akin to the Zombie, a 1920s drink made in the Caribbean with rum, brown sugar and equal parts lime and lemon. The added passion fruit is actually the tart balance to the sweetness of the rums in the drink. "We were looking for something spicy and tart," he said. "Tart is good, spicy is better. I am a big fan of rum drinks because I spend a lot of time in the Caribbean and enjoy them so much. None of the tastes really overpower one another, but that's why I layer it over prosecco, so it's not syrupy."
For Valentine's Day, Bumiller admitted, "I don't necessarily like sweet." He must be referring to the taste, because his personality is decidedly sweet. Happily married for 15 years, he's always been known as one of those bartenders who looks out for the lady patrons, makes sure no one is bothering them and makes them feel comfortable.
"This is an elixer and after a couple of these, your Valentine's Day may turn out better than you hoped," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
To make the cocktail at home, watch our custom video and try the recipe here:
The Love Zombie
In a shaker mix a squeeze of lime and lemon
A tablespoon of brown sugar
A tablespoon of passion fruit extract
A jigger of Bacardi light rum
Ajigger of Mount Gay rum
4 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
Pour a half glass of prosecco into a martini glass. For the sugar garnish, see description above. For the lime garnish, crush raw brown sugar with cayenne pepper and coat the lime.
For more of our "What's in that cocktail" series featuring original drinks made by local Midcoast bartenders, check out our new Pinterest site. Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

It's two days before Valentine's Day and you need a card that isn't sappy, syrupy or sickening. (Or maybe you love sappy, God help you.)
We did a little card-hunting in the Midcoast to find the best, most unique and clever Valentine's Day cards. Starting in Belfast with Yo Mama's Home, we found a rack of really funky, handcrafted cards. Lisa Agostini, buyer for Yo Mama's Home said: "I pick these cards for their uniqueness, elegance, humor. I just try to find the most unusual cards that intrigue me from an illustrative point of view."
She hand-picks her card vendors, buying from individuals, a collective of artists and independent companies that range from commercial to letterpress cards. The "friggin love you man" card came from Ferdinand, an artist in Portland, and Agostinis said she also loves Found Image, a company that offers a "nostalgic, fantastic imagery from the arts and crafts period to the crazy 1950s." She said, "We try to have a mixture of blank and message cards, in case they'd rather not have to think of what to write."
Danica Fullington, a book seller at Sherman's Books and Stationery in Camden, said they buy from several vendors, but don't get to choose which cards arrive.
"They send us a box and it's always a surprise," she said. "We read them as we open them."
The overly sexy ones are hidden in the top rack labeled "Child" because as Fullington says, "We figure kids aren't going to read any cards that are listed under the Child label anyway."
In Rockland, scoot on over to the Grasshopper Shop, where the revolving rack of V-Day cards greets vistors walking through the door. Assistant Manager Hope Billingsley said they, too, buy from several different vendors.
"We have funny cards, some more serious, some sweet and unique, some interesting," he said. "It's a wonderful way to express your feelings for someone special."
Whatever your perspective is on Valentine's Day, pop on over to any of these three stores and you'll find a card that fits your personality and makes someone's day.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

One thing people can count on when attending the annual US National Toboggan Championships is that there will be little dwellings on the ice, be it a fish shack, a sturdy tent, or, in recent years, tipis and geodesic domes. Each one of these jerry-rigged little houses makes up "Tobogganville" the once-a-year neighborhood on a frozen Hosmer Pond where friendly folks have a house party and everyone is invited, from here, from away--"it don't mattah!"
Pretty much every one of these little dwellings has always been constructed by the guys. However, 2013 marks the very first year, the girls have taken up real estate in Tobogganville with their very own dwelling. Steve and Ann Pixley created "The Panty Shanty," a feminized ice shack that Martha Stewart would heartily approve. In this gallery, we will show you the primary differences on how the girls put together an ice shack in start contrast to a boy's ice shack (in this case, "Pibbah Glade" owned by Shane Davis and Kenny Campbell).
Check out our gallery and captions.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Every year the U.S. National Toboggan Championships has tried to outdo itself in terms of ice parties, costumes and hilariously-named toboggan teams. The blizzard of February 2013 altered the event a bit, condensing the weekend's packed roster activities into one day, but not the enthusiasm.
On a sunny 30-degree Sunday, the usual suspects were out on the ice in their die-hard ice shacks, but because Saturday's events had been cancelled and Hosmer Pond was buried in snow, the high-energy vibe from the last few years was replaced with a bit more of a subdued atmosphere. Partly, it was because you had to slog through 2-feet of snow to get anywhere on the ice; partly, because the population was smaller, but the 2013 Toboggan Races actually felt like a time warp back to 10 years ago when the locals made it their event. Small, personal and neighborly.
Though there were a smaller number of teams and outrageous costumes, there were still many who came out to play. The Royal Dutch National Toboggan Team won "Best Costume" as well they should. Every year, they come up with a theme and costume that is wicked over-the-top and this year's theme of giant whistles on their heads alludes to "whistling in" the Dutch Queen Beatrix who will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, so her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander can become the first king in a century. The whistles on the top of their heads were made out of "foam and feathers from a blue chicken." Asked if they were disappointed by the storm changing the Toboggan Races schedule, they said, "No, no, we were amazed by the people here that they could make it all happen today."
The Pirates of the Dark Rose came out to pillage the chute. "We were doing a lot of screaming and "arrrgggh" ing down the chute," said one gentleman, who preferred to go by his pirate name, The Viceroy. Asked if they were keeping warm, Blood Thirsty said, "It's the the rum keeps us warm. And me mates."
"And the rum," added The Viceroy, once again.
Arma-Sledden, a wacky Mayan themed three-person team was headed up by Andrew McCabe, Deirdre Rynne, and Nicanor Garrido. "We're representing Mayan gods. The end of the world did not come to fruition, so we decided to go sledding," said McCabe.
Asked if they were prepared to meet their maker on the chute, Garrido said, "We were more worried about that yesterday with the storm." Added McCabe, "We had pictures of Nick angrily shaking a shovel at the storm fully decked out in his costume."
One of the first two-person teams I came across were the experimental team Flux Capacitors, a nod to the Back To The Future trilogy, headed up by Mainers, Kristin Cole (Marty McFly) and Josh Robinson (Doc Brown). Their sled had the actual licence plate Out A Time. Other notable costumes included the four (wo)-man team, The Desperate Housewives. Gywneth, Nicole, Sylvia, Nicole, (who preferred to go by the real housewives names) admitted their wigs and weaves and faux fur coats were a deliberate fashion choice to keep them warm.
"Nobody outside of our friends and family know what we are until we say 'Desperate Housewives' and then everyone is like 'oh yeaaah!'" said Nicole. Asked if they were desperate to win, Nicole said, "Actually, we're just desperate for a good time. We're all moms, so this is kind of a break for us."
The Ice Cold (Polar) Bears were a four-person team and first timers from Massachusetts. They deserve the "Come Hell Or High Water" award (if there were such an award) for making it up here. Gabriel Lortie, Dan Kinan, Kerry Kinen, and Nicole Hendricken planned on being here all weekend, but while the Kinens were able to come up Thursday night, Lortie and Hendricken drove through the blizzard Friday night.
"It's a great place, we're having a blast," said Lortie. "I can't believe they cleaned the parking lots and got everything ready in time," said Kerry Kinen. "We can't wait to come back next year," added Dan Kinen.
All in all, Sunday ended up being the perfect weather day to cram in all of the fun and festivities of the 2013 U.S. National Toboggan Championships. And like the Flux Capacitors and the Arma-Sleddin teams could tell you, when you're "out a time," you've got to make the most of what you've got!
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

Update 8:00 am Friday morning...err, perhaps we were a too tad optimistic with this headline....cancellations and updates will be happening all day!
With a huge 12-to 15-inch snowstorm coming our way Friday afternoon, a couple of events in this monster line up this weekend are cancelling while others are sticking it out! Here is your nightlife rundown this weekend and updates:
Friday afternoon and evening
Down The Chute Beer and Wine Tasting Challenge
The Camden Snow Bowl 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The lowdown: Twelve brewers and three wineries will be serving their best winter beers and wine. Come join us for a fun weekend at the Toboggan Championships and get to taste Maine's favorite beverages. You will receive a souvenier drinking glass and get to vote for your favorite beverage. Entry fee is $20 in advance and $25 at the door
The update: "Ticket holders and brewers are expressing enough concern that we have decided to cancel today's First Eva' Down the Chute Beer & Wine Challenge. We are heartbroken that so much hard work and planning went into this event just to have mother nature one up us. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY. We will now set about the business of refunding tickets and cleaning up all the other details."

Reggae Night with Royal Hammer
Billy's Tavern, Thomaston 8:00 p.m.
The lowdown: The Royal Hammer is a seven-piece roots reggae group based in Portland, Maine with deep and infectious grooves. Heavily influenced by Gregory Isaacs and Roots Radics, RMichael Taylor (Rustic Overtones) is backed-up by a heavy rhythm section including drums, keys, saxes, trombone and bass. There is a $7 cover.
The update: "Hey folks, due to the deteriorating weather conditions, we feel the responsible course is to cancel the show this evening. We'll be rescheduling them in the future, so no worries about getting your reggae fix! Come on in tomorrow evening for a free show with Chicky Stoltz and Noah Barnes! Be safe everyone!"
Saturday Night
Great Cabin Fever Reliever with Motor Booty Affair
Camden Opera House, 9:00 p.m.
The lowdown: Motor Booty Affair was scheduled to play the third floor of this event, but the snow will prevent their arrival up to the Midcoast. See our accompanying Pilot story.
The update: "Due to inclement weather the Motor Booty Affair Show is postponed. Hold onto your tickets. We will be announcing the rescheduled date and place soon. The new venue will be able to accommodate more people." Stay tuned to their Facebook page linked above for more details.
Juston McKinney, comedian
Camden Opera House, 7:00 p.m.
The lowdown: Juston has appeared on both the “Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno” and on the “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien”. He has numerous appearances on Comedy Central including his own half-hour presents special. In 2010 was the premiere of his one hour Comedy Central special “ A Middle-class Hole”, which was released by Warner Bros. on CD/DVD. See our accompanying Pilot story.
The update: "Anyone going to my show at the Camden Opera House Saturday night, as of now, it is still a go. I will post if there is an update/change!!" Stay tuned to his Facebook page linked above.

Three Tides presents When Particles Collide
Three Tides and Marshall Wharf Brewery, 9:00 p.m.
The lowdown: When Particles Collide is a rock ‘n roll duo from Bangor Maine and they play a high-energy, captivating set of original songs about the things that keep people up at night. The artful and simultaneously simplistic and complex songwriting akin to that of the Talking Heads, Television or The Pixies finds itself in a synergistic struggle with anthemic arena-worthy drumming like that of Carter Beauford or Mike Portnoy.
The update: "How fitting that we have two major storms colliding as we anticipate Saturday night's live music with When Particles Collide. Come shake off the flakes and your booty to this Bangor gem of a duo. Saturday 2/9 no cover 9pm 21+"
We will keep you updated as more details emerge. Have a safe and wonderful weekend in the Midcoast!
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

John Orlando is the one-man force behind Grand Banks Entertainment, a new independent events and entertainment company based in Camden. He is responsible for bringing Motor Booty Affair to the Camden Opera House this Saturday night with special guest DJ Terry Frank of Global Grooves.
Grand Banks Entertainment was founded in 2012. One side is concert promotion and the other is full-service special event planning. "The reason I started this business in Camden, Maine is that I love living in the region," said Orlando, also citing a need for more live music productions in the area. "However, like any new venture in the Midcoast, I am not quitting my day job," he said. "I actually commute back and forth to Boston to assist in a family construction business that was established in 1940 by my grandfather. We shut down in the winter and this gives me a chance to work on getting Grand Banks Events and Entertainment some legs to stand on. The bottom line is that music is my passion and with patient tenacity, I hope that someday my passion can turn into a viable and long standing business."

Q: You're bringing the "Mothership of Funk" known as Motor Booty Affair to Camden town this weekend. What is it about cheesy disco that gets people in "forget that it's winter, I'm boogying down" kind of frenzy?
It's a great way for the community to get together, dress up and enjoy each other's company. Winter is a long, and at times, difficult season for people and it's a great way to get your swerve on and enjoy each other. Cheesy: No Comment! BootyLicious: Indeed!

Q: Your events tend to have an offbeat theme. Tell us about the time you did a film about a goat on a boat? [Side note: he actually got a local charter boat to bring a goat to an island.}
I believe that offbeat is necessary for events. It's a way to be creative and have fun. The goat on a boat is actually part of a short comedy film that I am producing, which is about 12-15 minutes long. Tootsie is the goat's name. I hope to complete the film in the fall of 2013 and will send it off film festivals around the world, but there is still a great deal of work ahead on this project.

Q: What is is about events and entertainment that is your true calling?
Entertaining people, I believe, is a great service to offer and a way to be a part of something bigger than myself. I have always had a passion to work in entertainment. I lived in Burbank, CA for a while and was going to make a go of it there, but Camden is where I feel more comfortable. I figure it may take a great deal of energy and patience here, but it's worth the fight. Maine has given me much to be grateful for and it's a way of giving back.

Q: Many people don't realize that a portion of the tickets to the MotorBooty Affair event will be donated to the Seton School in Camden. What is your connection to this school?
I started working with The Seton School this past summer when Jeff Spera, a teacher there presented the idea of doing some Contra Dances at High Mountain Hall. We wanted to bring awareness and raise some much-needed funds for the school. The Seton School, like Grand Banks Entertainment, is in the beginning phases of starting their mission. David Heath, the Executive Director, is finding out what is means to follow his passion and make a difference in these children's lives. It's a community effort in Camden and we all need to help one another any way we can.

Q: Even though the event is sold out, you said some tickets may be released the day of the event. What do people have to do to get one?
Unfortunately, all tickets have been sold and no more are to be released. I do plan on booking Moto rBooty Affair in the summer at a venue that could accommodate many more people than the the third floor lounge of the Camden Opera House.
The 2nd Annual Great Cabin Fever Escape Dance Party Pt. II Featuring MotorBooty Affair will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9. For ticket holders, doors open at 8:45 p.m. Everyone must have a ticket and positive I.D. For more information, check out their Facebook event page or visit their website.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The Super Bowl always brings out everyone's A Game in the commercial industry, but this past weekend's round up of commercials were all over the map. In 2013, the average 30-second spot costs up to $4 million and people expect to be entertained, to be wowed and to be moved. So what was UP with the Go Daddy commercial Perfect Match featuring supermodel Bar Refaeli slurping faces with some nerdy kid? I mean, way to put the 'Bar' in 'Barf!" That is something my eyes cannot unsee, my ears cannot unhear, and my gorge cannot unrise.
Here are some of the best commercials in my opinion and we would love to know yours.
In order of how they appear in this article:
Doritos Goat 4 Sale
I had to watch this three times. Why are goats so damn funny? Every time the goat screamed, so did I. Note the foreshadowing of the guy in the neck brace who originally sells the goat.
Doritos Fashionista Daddy
Clearly Doritos was the winner in this year's contest. Going into this commercial, you know the dad is going to dress up and it's going to be cute, and of course, he's going to be caught. Classic situational comedy, but the real 1-2 punch at the end is the guy with the Movember beard who hasn't shaved it off since the previous Movember in the wedding dress. That killed.
OREO Whisper Fight
Having lived my entire adolescence in a library (I know, real popular) hearing people try to talk in a mock stage whisper after being repeatedly shhhhuuushhh'ed up by the irritated librarian, I couldn't help but have flashbacks when this commercial came on. If there was an eight-year-old in your house who didn't laugh when this played, that kid needs some emergency play time, STAT.
Samsung Mobile
I love Seth Rogan. I love Paul Rudd and I love the guy who plays Saul on Breaking Bad, even with that horrendous weave on his head in this commercial. It felt like an SNL teaser though. The joke is in the frustration they feel in being legally prohibited to say certain words in the commercial. Kind of like being told all your life that the polite way to say it is to "pass wind."
2013 Budweiser-The Clydesdales
Oh, hang on, just stoked the woodstove. Think an ember flicked out, catching the corner of my eye. That's all the tears are about, nothing to see here. This commercial makes seven-year-old little girls out of all of us, no lie. When a foal, all grown up, and now enlisted in the Budweiser Clydesdale parades, breaks free and gallops back to his original trainer, you will thump your chest and yell, "Why God, why couldn't I have had a horse when I was a kid?"
Lastly I'm including the gross Perfect Match commercial, so you can suffer like the rest of us.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Three years apart, alternative ed students Chloe Isis, 14, and Clio Berta, 17, have music in common. When they sing together, they can take your heart rate down to a nice, soothing level with just their high, sweet harmonies.
Clio is best friends with Chloe's older sister, but it's through their mutual music teacher, Malcolm Brooks, that they discovered they had a knack for harmonizing together. For two months they've been playing together, kicking off their first open mike in Whitefield. I caught their second open mike act at The Rig's open house on Jan. 25. One song, in particular, is childlike with its syncopatic patty cake rhythm in which the girls pick up and slam down paper cups on top of an overturned guitar to provide the percussion to their harmonies. This cannot be decribed in words. You must watch the embedded video to see how sweet this is. Like hand-clapping games and jump rope rhymes for 2013.
"I believe the song is by Lulu and the Lampshades," said Chloe. The song, You're Gonna Miss Me , in fact, was an original song by Mainer's Mountaineers in the 1930s titled Miss Me When I'm Gone. (The original songwriters last names were Mainer; they were not, in, fact, Mainers. They were old-time fiddlers from North Carolina.)
"I heard it and learned the cup rhythm, then taught Clio the cup beat and harmonies," said Chloe.
"It was pretty easy to learn," said Clio.
If anyone got super weepy watching The Clydesdale horse Budweiser commercial on Super Bowl weekend, part of the commercial's appeal came from the soulful Stevie Nicks ballad, Landslide. In the next video included in this story (recorded before the Super Bowl weekend), Chloe and Clio nail Landslide with just the right amount of poignancy.
Clio goes to school at the Watershed School in Camden and Chloe goes to Ashwood-Waldorf School in Rockport. Chloe has been playing guitar since the age of 12. She's been working on a major school project around her music composition and is in the midst of writing songs for her own CD. As for Clio, she's been playing piano since she was six, and she's already got her own CD, titled Little Sisters out on iTunes.
"These songs were done in the past seven years," she said. "So, some of these were done when I was 12 and some just this year. All of these songs were parts of my younger self, which is why I call them 'little sisters.' " She works at Zoot Coffee in the summer and has sold some of her CDs there.
Chloe and Clio plan on doing more open mike sessions together as well as some future collaboration.
"We were talking about what we could do because Clio leaves for college next year, so maybe we'll do a EP [extended play], maybe not a whole CD," said Chloe.
Added Clio: "Chloe had the idea that we should a tour around Maine this summer, just for fun doing performances and concerts."
They might even go out on the streets and do some busking this summer.
If you see the girls out and about, somebody hand them a pair of paper cups. You'll not be disappointed.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

On Jan. 25, news spread across the Internet that the Rev. Alois Bell, pastor of the St. Louis-based Truth in the World Deliverance Ministries, and her congregation had dinner at a local Applebee's. When the bill came for the party of 20, the auto-gratuity (common for parties of this size) was fixed at 18 percent.
"I give God 10 percent why do you get 18?" Bell wrote on her credit card receipt, after crossing out the additional tip amount and writing 0%. (Note: the 18 percent tip was still included on her credit card charge.) The server who discovered the credit card slip told another Applebee's server, Chelsea Welch, who then posted an image of the receipt on Reddit.
Welch reportedly said she posted the note as a joke, and because she thought others would find it "entertaining." Welch was quoted in the Consumerist.
It has been more than entertaining; it has sparked a viral debate that has pit wait staff all across America against patrons and business owners. According to The Consumerist, Welch admitted she posted the original image of the pastor's signature, because she thought it was illegible. She even provided an inaccurate physical description of the customer just to throw people off. Just when Internet sleuths began to contact her about the pastor's identity, national news outlets began to run the story and the pastor's name was figured out.
This past Wednesday, Pastor Bell reportedly lodged a complaint with the Applebee's restaurant, citing that due to the viral nature of the photo, her reputation was ruined. Welch was immediately terminated.
Applebee’s spokesperson Dan Smith was interviewed by The Smoking Gun, confirming that Welch had been terminated over the incident. He also reportedly said that his company apologized to Bell for violating her "right to privacy."
The way these things move faster than the speed of light, the pastor then apologized for her actions via The Smoking Gun in a followup interview.
Welch also told Consumerist she assumed the person who wrote the note wanted it seen, though maybe not by millions of people.
We called the local Applebee's in Thomaston to see if there was any comment to this story.
"I already know what you're going to ask me, I heard it on the radio this morning," said an Applebee's employee who asked to be anonymous. "I see both sides of the coin, but as far as Applebee's policy goes, a guest's personal information is not supposed to be shared." Pressed if she had a personal opinion, she said, "I do, but as an employee of Applebees, that's the only thing I can say about it."
An invitation to local servers to comment on this story yielded a not entirely unexpected response. One former server who also asked to remain anonymous said, "This is unfortunately still happening. There are those who feel they shouldn't pay a person to wait on them, because the wait person collects a check. Most of these morons don't realize that servers actually work for modern day 'slave wages.' I believe they can get legally paid $2.65/hour…it used to be $2.16 when I waited tables — which in and of itself is actually atrocious. Let's say the restaurant has a slow night and the wait person only gets one table — and the bill is $30. That means the wait person might get $6.00 if he or she is lucky…plus the $2.65 an hour for the eight-hour shift."
The former server went on to say: "I understand not leaving 20 percent for bad service, but if the service is seriously bad say something. Don't make the rest of the wait staff world pay for one bad egg, and for the love of God — don't use religion as a weapon. Nice way to 'win souls.'"
To comment on this story, go to our Facebook page and give it to us straight!
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.

Short films are like visual hors d'eouvres; they're meant to be sampled in bite-sized, stimulating storylines. It's the second year that The Farnsworth Art Museum has teamed up with the Strand Theatre to offer this international film series, called Rockland Shorts: International Short Film Series. The nine films were culled from more than 300 submissions.
The title of this month's screening is "Trials and Tribulations," something David Troup, Communications Officer at the Farnsworth Museum wanted to clarify.
"At first glance, the title seems as though these films are dark or sad, but actually it's about overcoming these trials," he said. "It's actually very hopeful."
The decision to feature short films follows the Farnsworth's artistic mission.
"It allows the fillmaker to experiment with different ways of telling a story without having to worry about a traditional narrative," he said. "In a more standard film festival, you can't really get away with it. In this slate, you still have stories that are being told, but in very interesting, experimental ways."
For example, Troup noted one stand out films in the upcoming slate is Oh Willy.
"I think people are really going to be mesmerized by this one," he said. "It's claymation done in felt characters about a young man trying to come to grips with his past with flashbacks to his nudist mother. But, remember these are felt characters. It's fascinating and beautifully lit."
Oh Willy is a 16-minute short from Belgium, France and The Netherlands. Directors Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels explain its concept:
We were inspired by Diane Arbus’ photos of people living in nudist colonies. The photos are as poetic as they are uncomfortably banal and confronting. We wanted to achieve the same tension between poetry and shockingly uncensored imagery by combining the wool with the theme of naturism and question of what it means to live in a natural way.
Another stand out film Troup said to look for includes: Next Floor. "I think people are going to be pretty riveted by this one, although it's not a easy fim," said Troup. "It's a little grotesque dealing with unsustainable consumption."
This 12-minute Canadian film is described by director, Denis Villeneuve:
During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with cavalier servers and valets, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be a ritualistic gastronomic carnage. In this absurd and grotesque universe, an unexpected sequence of events undermines the endless symphony of abundance.
The slate of films starts Friday, Feb. 1 at 8:00 p.m. at the Strand and only lasts an hour. (The bar opens in the balcony at 7:30 p.m. for those who wish to get there early.) Afterwards for the next half hour, select filmmakers and media artists included in the series will join in a discussion at the Strand in person or via Skype for a conversation with the audience.
Following The Strand event, patrons are encouraged to go on over to FOG Bar, starting at 9:30 p.m, where drink specials will be served."The idea is to be able to continue the conversation of the films," said Troup. "So often when you go to these movies or events, you drive home alone and miss out on having a community to discuss your impressions with. That's what we're trying to do with these after-events, providing a place to continue the discusson."
Admission is $8.50 for the general public and $7.50 for Farnsworth members. The films are not rated. Some of the films include adult language and sexual content and are not suitable for young audiences.To find out more about the films, visit: http://farnsworthmuseum.org/rocklandshorts
Rockland Shorts is split up three times a year. The next events will be in April and June.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

NORTHPORT — For someone who doesn't "do" winter, I will admit staying inside for five-to-six months gets old. Except when it's like last week's temperatures of 20 below windchill; then you can take your ardent outdoor enthusiasm and shut-skies.
Point Lookout in Northport is changing all that with this latest Cheap Date. Just this winter, the facility off Route 1 has begun to offer snowshoe rentals for only 10 bucks per person.They have more than three miles of snow-covered terrain and trails and if you're a member of their Fitness Club, rentals are free. The snowshoes are modern and well-constructed — not the kind that look like badminton rackets that Jack London's characters might have worn in Call Of The Wild.
I strapped on a pair and went toddling up to The Summit to get a feel for the Point Lookout Trail. I might mention I've never worn snowshoes before; it felt a bit like standing on Daddy's shoes as a kid dancing at a wedding. Really weird at first. But this Cheap Date has all the perfect elements: a gorgeous view of the ocean and mountains with a companion (best bud or main squeeze). All you need to do is add a backpack of artisanal cheeses, champagne, strawberries and Funyans and this is the best ten bucks you'll spend on an afternoon in the middle of godforsaken winter in Maine.
Rentals include a variety of snowshoe sizes to fit kids up to 250-pound adults. For more information, contact Point Lookout's Fitness Center.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

About this time of year, you look at your wind-chapped nose in the mirror while pulling off a wool hat that leaves your hair looking like a cat that just got an enforced bath and you think, "Good God I need a change."
Sogno Salon, based in Rockland, feels your pain and this is the first year they've offered a free "Vugly" (a hybrid of "Very Ugly") makeover to seven local women who "have worn the same style and look for way too long." Participants had to willingly email a photo of their Vugly hair and Sogno Salon would pick the ones who most needed new haircuts and color, smoothing treatments and makeup. To top it off, they got to have a professional photo of themselves taken by photographer Amy Wilton.
Nancy Mason-Allen, owner of Sogno Salon said, "I just like to be able to make women beautiful. This is our chance for us to do it at no cost for a bunch of great women."
The salon has done Ambush Makeovers in the past, when women were nominated for a change by friends and family, but this is the first year they've allowed women to nominate themselves.
Two victims, er, willing participants, were confident to show us their before and after photos and speak to us about their experiences.
Lara Webb, 30, had almost 12 inches of hair cut off to be donated to Locks of Love.
"My hair just looked really frumpy," she said of her "Before" style. "I've had this style for maybe four years. I just really wanted a change. When I saw the Vugly contest I said to myself, 'I'm definitely going to win that!"
Jenn Baca, her stylist, explained: "We cut her hair very layered with a bob with some foil treatment to bring out highlights and dimensions. The foil allows me to place the color where I want it, to make it more chunky and pop in certain places."
Namara Hathaway, 34, another participant said, "I've had the same style my whole life from 10-years-old on, so for 24 years. I've always had long, curly hair, but it's dead. I just wanted to get rid of the dead ends and just have a style."
She admitted she was a little apprehensive to have the makeover at first.
"It is such a big change," she said. "Hair is so important because it represents who you are and how people perceive you."
As a new mother of an 8-month-old girl, Gwenaviere, Hathaway also works full time at Bank of America.
"My whole time is with her and I haven't really done anything for myself," she said.
Ten inches of her hair was cut off and colored with highlights.
"We're just putting in some more dimensions to her natural hair color," said Laura Gollard, her stylist.
She also got a makeup treatment. "I don't wear makeup, so I'm really excited to see what they're going to do."
Asked why having a makeover is so important to a woman, Webb said, "It's really important to be confident about how you look and that will reflect how you feel about yourself. As a mother, I want to be confident for my boys, for them to see that women can be strong."
Asked who'd be the most surprised about her makeover, Webb admitted, "Probably my mom, who is watching my sons right now. She said, 'Don't let them take off more than an inch!'"
Both women said they were thrilled about the makeover and makeup.
"I feel fabulous," said Webb.
"I'm very, very happy," said Hathaway. "I feel lighter, freer, able to move easier."
"I'm absolutely pleased with how these all turned out," said Mason-Allen. "We're having such a great time and everyone is so happy."
"Real change comes from within" goes the old saying. But that was likely from a man who'd never had a bad hair day in the middle of winter.
To see more of the makeovers, stay tuned to Sogno Salon's Facebook page.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT — High school morning announcements have come a long way since the days when principals would click on the intercom switch with the inevitable torque of feedback (FWWWWWWAANNG!) and some inadvertent heavy breathing before intoning, “Good morning, students....”

Welcome to the Class of 2013, where students are the ones doing the morning announcements over a live TV broadcast — turning the eye-rolling, get-this-over-with formula into high-quality (and hilarious) video entertainment, all the while delivering the school’s morning news.

Two groups of mostly seniors at Camden Hills Regional High School in Chris Walker-Spencer’s TV Studio classes are responsible for the broadcasts titled WJAM News. Recently, in between sports and the “What’s For Lunch” segment, several of those students did a Saturday Night Live-style video parody of Brad Pitt’s cringe-worthy Chanel No. 5 commercial and a school re-enactment of the viral pop song, “Gangham Style” renamed of course, “Camden Style.” (To see these videos on Vimeo click on Chanel No.5 and Camden Style.) These brief video clips, called “intros”, are prerecorded to introduce the next segment of the five-minute daily broadcast.

CHRHS has always had a video/film department since it initially opened in 2000 (originally outfitted with analog editing equipment and cameras), but when the digital revolution took off, it has steadily upgraded to a top-notch facility with state-of-the-art film and video equipment, iMacs and software, such as Final Cut Pro.

“Six or seven years ago, Apple representatives came here to take a look at our video lab and went ‘Wow, this is great. We’ve only seen one lab better than this on the East Coast, and that was in Long Island,'” said Walker-Spencer.

Since 2006, under the guidance of Walker-Spencer, students have taken over the morning announcements using the power of this video/film lab to produce a high-quality broadcast with a filmmaking sensibility.
“Basically every second period, which is 80 minutes, we have a certain amount of time to come up with stories for intros and prepare for live broadcast,” said senior Eliot Grigo.

Every week, the students rotate their various roles from working behind the scenes on script, audio and video switching, and management of the daily video broadcast to on-screen talent, where students have to get over their fear of public speaking and read the news from the teleprompter, while injecting bits of their own personality into the broadcast.

They’re having a lot of fun coming up with new ideas that not only engage their audience, but also allow them to stretch their creative video skills.
“We pick up things when we’re watching TV or Tumblr or viral videos on Facebook outside of school," said senior Kristina Alex. “If we find it funny, we’ll bring it to the class and try to make something out of it.”

"Even though it’s one person’s idea, we all combine our ideas on set,” added Grigo.

Whatever they’re doing, it’s definitely working to get the entire student body to tune in each day.
“We try to make them funny,” said senior Jordan Knowlton.

“We get a lot of positive feedback from other students,” said Grigo. “I think the Gangham style [mashup] was probably the best received.”

They’re allowed to use the high school as their background for their stories, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get in trouble from time to time. Recently, when filming a video “intro” to go with a sportscast, two of the boys brought mountain bikes into the school and proceeded to ride them to the boy’s bathroom until an administrator called them out. At that point, Walker-Spencer had to pop out from where he’d been filming the boys to say: “It’s okay. They’re in my class.”

With their newly developing parody and satire skills, the students realized they might have gone too far in a recent ‘End of the World” broadcast Dec. 21 they’d done, standing outside the school.
“We decided to do a small, live breaking news segment outside talking about the world ending,” said Gringo. “And it was a joke, very sarcastic, about the levels of water rising. We had one part where we acted like we were freaking out and swore... that’s when Spencer comes in and told us....”

“...That footage had to hit the cutting room floor on the broadcast,” finished Walker-Spencer, smiling.

With only a half year under their belt, the students are already doing quality video work that even rivals first-year film students.
“They’re always working on ways to improve their own work or try new things,” said Walker-Spencer. “Eventually we’ll put these videos out online so the community can take a look.”

Check out their YouTube videos embedded in this article. It will give you a whole new appreciation for those dreaded morning announcements. In addition, meet the WJAM News crew up close and personal in the latest issue of Sound Off, sponsored by Five Town Communities That Care.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

We've made a point of cultivating some of the best Midcoast reviewers when it comes to suggestions on what to read, what to see and and what to hear each month. At turns insightful and often hilarious, let Lacy Simons of hello hello books, Jim Dandy and Tiffany Howard of Opera House Video and Nathaniel Bernier of Wild Rufus Consignments fill you in on this month's killer book, movie and music reviews.

Books

On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks

This month, the fascinating and beautifully illustrated On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks by Simon Garfield, author of Just My Type. You know how there's all this fury about how bad Apple's new Maps program is? (My biggest complaint: Rockland is no longer Rockland; now it's "Blackinton Corners.") Simon Garfield probably has a lot to say about it. Things like "Keep it in perspective. At least your town appears on the map at all, even it is incorrectly named.” Or “Don’t whine, for heaven’s sake; you have an advanced cartographic tool early mapmakers would have killed their moms for, and you drop it on the damn ground twice a day like it’s no big whoop.”
He’d say it better, actually. He’d tell you about the history of humans and their maps, the "boastful dealers, finicky surveyors, guesswork philosophers, profligate collectors, unreliable navigators, whistling ramblers, inexperienced globe-makers, nervous curators, hot neuroscientists and lusting conquistadors" responsible for the creation, publication and usage of some of the western world's most significant cartographical landmarks. And you’d love hearing about it, and love how it shifts your sense of the world a bit. And you’d curse a bit less at your smartphone while reading it.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker, and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

Samsara

by Jim Dandy

If there were one word that could be simultaneously synonymous with beautiful, spiritual, sensuous, haunting, fascinating, disturbing, and incredible...it would be Samsara. From the makers of Baraka comes Samsara, a non verbal guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. There is no way to see Samsara and remain emotionally unaffected. It reflects who we are as humans. Our cultures, our rituals, and our relationship with the world around us.
Samsara artfully shows us contrasts and similarities between ancient civilization and modern industry. From minimalist to the extreme, East versus West, and poverty versus opulence. At times it made me feel like an alien observer in my own world. Beautifully filmed in the most visually stunning locations around the world and presented with an emotionally charged soundtrack, you will want to see it again and again.
I'm sure there are some really intelligent reviews on this film out there, if you care to look for them, but I can sum up in just one word. Awesome!

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Time Out

by Nathaniel Bernier

As a continuation of last month's tribute to recently departed jazz musician, Dave Brubeck, this is Part II of Bernier's review.

1959 saw the release of Brubeck's masterpiece, the timeless Time Out on which one of my all-time favorite jazz songs appeared: Take Five. The year before this release, the Newport Jazz Festival took place on the shore in Rhode Island. My father was there and he has since remarked how unbelievable the performance was. I can only imagine! The Brubeck Quartet out there, perhaps playing some of these tunes only a handful of times before, there, in front of thousands, pounding out these memorable tunes, amazing! Without going into much detail I will say simply this: if you must buy one jazz record this year or this decade, make sure that this one is it.

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of Wild Rufus Records previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists. He lives on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music.   Find him at www.wildrufus.com or wildrufus.blogspot.com/

You may have heard of Midcoast award-winning blogger and comedian Erin Donovan through her I'm Gonna Kill Him blog, video series and comedy show. This Saturday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m., she's transforming her blog stories to a live performance at the Camden Opera House.
The "I'm Gonna Kill Him" comedy show is an hour-and-a-half, multimedia production featuring the funniest of Donovan's work. Culling material from her days in New York City, her Match.com marriage, and her abrupt and shocking transplant to Maine, Donovan finds humor in just about every aspect of middle-aged life.

Donovan is regularly featured on Bangor Daily News, Errant Parent, Aiming Low, Scary Mommy, The Mouthy Housewives and BaristaNet, as well as The New York Times. Her blog was nominated by Nickelodeon for Best New Blog in 2010. Most recently, Donovan was named by BlogHer as a 2012 Voice of the Year and won its People's Choice award in Humor. In addition, the editors from She Knows named her blog a 2012 funniest blog. Donovan currently is working on a pilot for Nickelodeon.
Once you read her answers to the following "5 Things to know about 'I'm Gonna Kill Him," you will not want to miss her show!
Q: Your blog material tends to "go there" as in "Don't go there" but you "go there." That is, you are not shy about discussing awkward marital sex, ("Cosmo's 30 Day Sex Challenge"), body image ("The Hair Down There") while skewering the modern notion of Suzy Cream Cheese Homemaker ("Co-What?). What's the overall reaction from women on your no-bulls*** sense of humor?
A: Anyone who has ever been privy to a girl's night out can attest — women have a tremendous capacity for bold and bawdy discussions. Very little remains off the table between friends. Because of that innate appetite for the real stuff of life, I've attracted a bunch of loyal female readers along the way. I've offended more than a few men with the title of the blog - I'm Gonna Kill Him - as though I am actually in the business of killing husbands. And that is just silly; I would obviously outsource that.
Q: Does your husband (nicknamed "G" in your column) ever turn to you while you're having a conversation, fight, or particularly intimate moment and say, "Don't even think of putting that in your column?" Follow up question: do you do it anyway?
A: Absolutely! But I have also learned my boundaries, allowing him to relax his grip. I do not discuss my in-laws nor do I delve into his professional matters. Basically, I try to steer clear of the people who feed me Thanksgiving dinner and those who enable us to eat dinner at all. If I sense it's a touchy subject, I'l write it in exchange for his first right of refusal after reading it. There was once a piece I wrote about my first trip to Maine, after we became engaged, that ruffled his feathers. We were living in NYC at that point, and we had decided to head north for a first Thanksgiving with my future in-laws. I was suffering a urinary tract infection and had lost all sense of humor and ability to listen to him talk in the car. He took advantage of my weakened position and played a cruel joke on me. He told me that his mother would be serving an artisinal cheese known as Fromunda cheese. I continually asked the people I am supposed to be impressing to serve me Fromunda cheese, which, as it turns out, is a disgusting word invented by men to describe the sweaty matter that collects beneath the undercarriage. From unda a man's... you get it. He didn't love the idea of me telling that story at first, but after he read it, he realized that - as I mostly do - I was poking fun at myself, not at him.
Q: Moving to Maine from New York City is like running full sprint to catch a plane on one of those people movers in airports and stumbling to a screeching halt once your sneakers leave the rubber mat. Yeah, it is kind of like that at first. How did you adjust to the different pace of life up here?
A: The first year was rough. I am a city girl. I like hustle and bustle and noise. The idea of kayaking and canoeing would send me running for the hills. Which then turns to hiking, which I also hate. But I've found myself in a really special community here in Camden. A medley of writers and innovators, and maybe more importantly for me at this stage of my life, mothers. I've made irreplaceable friendships, which warm me through the bitter winters. And I just have to look at my children thriving in this softer, slower existence to know that it was the right move for us. I often remember this one little story about the city whenever I'm feeling a longing for it: I was dining with my husband and our first-born at a restaurant downtown when a family was seated beside us. I looked over at the little girl, who was probably four years old, and asked her what she wanted to eat. She glanced at me and said, "Ehh, I had the falafel last time and it was lousy." My mind exploded at the realization that their childhood is so fleeting there. To even know what falafel is at that age, and more so to know what constitutes good and bad falafel? I still don't know.
Q: As a writer talk about the decision you made to get out of your sweatpants behind your keyboard (I'm a writer, too, c'mon I'm wearing them now) and put yourself up on stage for all the world to see you as a live performer. Was it an easy transition to make? Did you need Xanax?
A: Are you offering me Xanax?
It was a big leap for me as I wasn't one of these kids who did a lot of theater or choir. I did a lot of reading V.C. Andrews by flashlight as a kid.   When my piece, Dead Vagina Walking, won a Voice of the Year in Humor award last year, I had to read it before a crowded room of bloggers and editors and literary agents in Los Angeles. The response was so great that it lit a little flame inside me and I knew I had to evolve my work. The shows are really fun, especially here in Maine, because comedy is in short supply but particularly comedy as done by a female.
Q: Can you talk about your Nickelodeon pilot? If you are obligated to stay mum, can you at least give us a hint as to whether your column material might end up being a character on national TV?
A: I can't say much about the show other than that we filmed part of it here in Camden recently. As it's presently slated, it's a reality show about me and a few other female bloggers/humorists. I'm really hopeful...because I'm 33 years old and I'm still waiting to be discovered in the mall.
To buy tickets, visit the Camden Opera House online event page or call 207-236-7963
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Thanks to Maine Memes, this is the way Mainers are reacting to everyone complaining about wanting to go to Florida right now.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

It's got to feel like a bit of a burn when some guy who has only been home-brewing for one year beats out more than 100 contestants in Maine Homebrewers Competition, a statewide contest run out of Bangor. However, nice guys do finish first, and Zafra Whitcomb, an employee at The Belfast Co-op humbly acknowledged his good fortune.
“I’m still kind of in shock that I took first," he said. "And this was the first lager style that I’d ever done.”
In 2012, for the Maine Homebrewers Competition, Whitcomb submitted four different beers and a sparkling mead. There were 17 finalists for each style of beer and in the end, there was one absolute winner or "Winnah" as it says on the bottle's label. His beer, made with Sorachi Pils hops (a type of Japanese hop used in Sapporo), came in as the Grand Prize Winner. “It's a great summer beer,” he said.
As part of the Grand Prize, Whitcomb got to have his beer commercially brewed and distributed by Penobscot Bay Brewery, in Winterport.
“It’s really exciting that quantity of beer being made," he said. "I make about 10 gallons at home at a time. This was more than 200 gallons made in this batch."
The first batch of "Winnah" was brewed the second week of October 2012 and wasn’t ready to bottle until the beginning of December. The brewery packaged 70 cases of Whitcomb's beer and a couple of kegs, which ended up on tap at Darby’s Restaurant in Belfast and Nocturnem Draft House in Bangor. Nocturnem's kegs sold out in two weeks and this past Friday, Darby's just tapped their first keg of Whitcomb's beer (complete with his own personal tap titled "Zafra's Sorachi Pils").
The Co-op was also thrilled to be able to stock Whitcomb’s beer in their craft beer section.
“Everyone was really excited like ‘when’s your beer coming, when’s your beer coming?’” he said.
Three cases of "Winnah" arrived before Christmas and at the time of this interview, they had already been sold out. The Co-op was waiting on more cases to arrive and it is now in stock again.
As home brewers are legally prohibited from selling their brew commercially, Whitcomb said the recognition was the best perk of having won the contest. Because of the contest's rules, Whitcomb won't earn any proceeds from beer sales. Like all contestants, he also signed a waiver to grant to Penobscot Bay Brewery an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to all commercial and intellectual property rights to the winning beer.
"If I ever decided I wanted to get into the business, it’s great to have that honor,” he said. He’ll continue to brew variations on his original recipe for friends and family to be given away.
The upshot is that if all of the limited batches of "Winnah" sell out and there is a demand for more, Penobscot Bay Brewing Company may invest in renaming and relabeling the beer and continuing to sell it, as they have done for past Grand Prize winners, such as their Building 5 Rye IPA.
Whitcomb's working on a new brew for this year’s contest, trying different styles like a Porter, and a low-alcohol Polish smoked wheat beer called a Grodziskie, but he’s not sure what he’ll submit this year.
“Brewing is a fascinating thing," he said, cheerfully. "It’s a combination of all the things I like, such as cooking, chemistry, physics, biology and engineering all wrapped up. And in the end, you get beer.”
Help a guy out and drink some "Winnah" next time you're in Belfast and while you're at it, submit your own review on our Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

As mentioned in our last story on FROST Ice Bar and Lounge at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, this was to be "the hottest coolest bar and lounge" to hit the Midcoast. These photos were shot at sunset a half hour before the debut of FROST and it was a good thing the temperature was in the teens. Earlier in the week, the temps had shot up to 50 degrees, prompting the staff to have to "sit on ice" so to speak until it was cold enough to start carving. Chef Tim Pierce, of the Samoset, carved some intricate, beautiful pieces including tall tables, bar stools, ice luges, benches...even hand carved ice shot glasses, which you got to keep. The bar itself was a work of art. By 5:00 p.m., folks bundled up and headed outside, ordering specialty luge shots and cocktails. Chillin'...literally. This whole set up was nothing less than spectacular and FROST intends to be open this weekend Jan. 18 -19 as well as next weekend, Jan. 26-27 from 5:00-10:00 p.m. They may continue into the winter if the temperatures stay cold enough. Don't miss this, 'cause when it melts, it's gone...
Kay Stephens did a luge shot of Winter Wonderland and it was actually dignified. She can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

"Snowed In 5" refers to the fifth year that Three Tides and Marshall Wharf Brewing Company will be hosting its blow-out dance party in Belfast this Saturday night, Jan. 19, featuring DJ Ian Hammond and DJ Matty T.
This is also the first year that Three Tides restaurant has been able to stay open year-round. General Manager David Carlson said: "We now have a full time staff so we're able to keep the ball rolling and steamroll right through the winter. We stated this five years ago and the concept of being snowed in was kind of a joke at first because the first time we threw a party, we got a four- or five-inch snow storm."
Carlson continued: "Ian I've known for maybe 18 years. He started spinning up in Orono at the University of Maine. He's been all over the world and spins predominately French house, which is kind of like modern disco. And then Matty T. is a really good friend of ours. He's in Portland now, but used to DJ in Belfast and has spun a lot of stuff at Three Tides. So, the two of them pretty much have this on their calendar every year and come up. Every year, more and more people come out for it. I would consider it our best dance party of the year."
Snowed In 5 descibes the evening's music as "Deep, tech, funky, indie."
Ian Hammond has dj'd parties, clubs and bars in New York, Lithuania, Boston, Portland (Maine), Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, Oregon, Montana, and all over New England. "Heavily influenced by the sounds he was hearing in the early 90s warehouse parties, Ian began djing with radio shows on WRUV-Burlington (Univ of Vermont radio), and WMEB (Univ of Maine radio). He went on to develop and hone his dj skills and sound at the legendary beach raves and club parties of late '90s Nantucket Island."
DJ Matty T. is one half of the award-winning DJ duo, Jason Keith and Matty a.k.a. ATOMIK. "Beginning in 2008, Matty and Jason's parties around Portland took off like a shot. They have received many nominations from The Portland Phoenix' "Best Music Poll," and won the 2009 wepushbuttons.com award for Best Club DJs.
The show starts at 9:00 p.m. at Three Tides restaurant and bar in Belfast. There is no cover, but only open to those 21 and over with proper I.D. For more information visit: Three Tides on Facebook
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Rockport resident Douglas Day took this photo Wednesday afternoon at the Snow Bowl (note the porcupine sitting in the tree above), adding:
"Steve Pixley, intrepid Snow Bowl Patrol member, trees the ferocious porcupine, which may have endangered skiers at the top of Ragged Mountain! The beast then proceeded to eat shoots and not leave, fearing for his life with Steve still lingering nearby."
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

If you're just tuning in, the free little Half House that sits at 27 Pascal Ave. in Rockport we reported on last week (see original story here) generated quite a response and several people emailed to let us know its mysterious origins, why it was cut in half and where that other half of the house exists.

Chris Harrison of West Palm Beach, Fla., first saw the story and contacted us. He is the son-in-law of Donald Rhodes, one of the original occupants of the house.
"My understanding is that the house was a duplex built in the 1800s," said Harrison. "The neighbors on the left wanted a driveway and wanted to purchase the 27 Pascal Ave. house. However, one of the two owners of the duplex wanted to sell and the other didn't."

In response to the original story, several locals floated the speculation that the two families who lived in this duplex couldn't get along, so they cut the house in half and one of the warring owners took the other half of the house and settled it somewhere in the Midcoast.

This, apparently, is not the case.

Rhodes, also of West Palm Beach, has the full story. He was 3 years old when his parents bought 27 Pascal Ave. around 1946. Explaining how the house lost its other half, he said: "The story always told to me was that the people next door [to 27 Pascal Ave.] were the Thomases and they didn't have a driveway because the house sat so close to the property line of the duplex. The Thomases wanted to buy the whole duplex, but by then, the heirs of the duplex couldn't get together and agree to sell the whole thing so, one of the heirs sold the Thomases the left side of the duplex. The Thomases tore that side down [where a driveway still sits today.]"

When the Rhodes family moved in, the house had already been cut in half.
"That's when my dad got out of the army and bought the property," Rhodes explained. "When he bought it it was in real bad disarray."
In the 1800 sepia-toned photo you can see the two front doors right next to one another. In the 1946 black and white photo, the Half House's doors and windows have been repositioned.
"My dad put it all back together," said Rhodes. "He moved a window and today, the door is now in between the two windows."
He and his two siblings grew up in that little house, Rhodes said, adding he lived there until he turned 17 and joined the Air Force.
"Growing up in that house in the 1950s was like growing up in Mayberry," Rhodes said. "I have a lot of fond memories living there. I went to Rockport Elementary School, which was at the end of Pascal Avenue, the same building where Hoboken Gardens now sits today. My grandfather founded the family business in 1917. He was a blacksmith and built a machine shop, then a full-service garage called Rhodes Garage, across from the Baptist Church on Pascal Avenue."

By and by, the little house had changed owners. Rhodes tried to buy it back in the early 2000s, but a family dispute obstructed the sale. Rhodes's nephew, who owned the house, sold it to someone in Camden, who then, according to Rhodes, tried to leverage a foundation underneath the house, then abandoned the project.
"Either he ran out of money or something, but he did quite an amateurish job trying to renovate the house and it has sat that way for several years," he said. "I'm really so sad to see it so badly damaged."
Doug Day clarified that the gentleman who attempted the renovation actually had ambitious designs for the Half House but when his mother died, he had to let the project go.
The house was sold one more time. Today the owner is Day, who also owns the big house (28 Pascal Ave.) across the street. He inherited the Half House in its current dilapidated condition; hence his initial desire to give it away free to a willing person who could move it off the property. Since this story posted, he has been in touch with Rockport assessors with more outside-the-box ideas, including rebuilding the Half House to its original specs.
"It still makes sense to start over on the Half House," Day said. "But I've been taken by the possibility of rebuilding the original. Trouble is there's really not enough lot left. The ideas continue and the offer stands to help pay for the removal. I have two different plans for the property. One is to recreate the original, only slightly smaller. The other is another intriguing architectural design by Richard Morris Hunt."
So now that the mystery of where the Half House's other half went has been solved, we will be interested in seeing what this little property's fate will be. Like all houses, this one's story isn't over yet.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Guerrilla Marketing seems like one of those hipster terms, but it's been around since 1984, coined by author Jay Conrad Levison. It is all about promoting a product or service through unconventional, low-cost means. Several Rockland businesses have been successfully using one of its principles, called fusion marketing (whether they realize it or not) by sharing their space with artists/craftspeople.
Sweets and Meats Market, a bakery and deli in Rockland, for example, set up shelf space to feature handmade Trillium Soaps. Peter DiGirolamo, owner of Trillium Soaps, said that Sweets and Meats owner Julia McClure approached him several years ago when both shops opened to see if he wanted to include some of his soaps in her deli. "It was totally her idea and to me it sounded kind of crazy," said DiGirolamo, "but it worked. We're right next door. People can buy from us if we're open. But we're only open four days a week, so when we're closed, they come over here and buy some. It takes an extra step out of shopping for people who are already here in the cafe."
"And then I get to come over here and get lunch," said DiGirolamo, picking up a coffee and scone.
"That's how he pays for lunch--from the sales of his soaps," laughed Rick Solomon, co-manager of Sweets and Meats.
Sweets and Meats also features local artists' artwork on its walls, something Cafe Miranda in Rockland does as well. Last month, Belfast artist Eric Leppanen worked out an arrangement with Kerry Alterio, owner of Cafe Miranda to feature his artwork on the restaurant's walls. "I thought Eric's work would really fit in here. I looked at it online and it blew me away," said Alterio."I love the three-dimensional aspect of it and the really cool thing is that if you want to touch it, Eric says, 'Go touch it. Get some energy out of it.' "
"And I love this restaurant," said Leppanen. "My parents were always regulars here. It's got that high energy, diverse clientele going on. . ."
"And quirky charm," prompted Alterio.
"Yes, quirky charm. Sometimes galleries can be intimidating for people, so when you're able to sit at your own table and look up at the artwork, you're more relaxed and can get a better appreciation for it," said Leppanen.
In yet another unlikely pairing of two local businesses using the "fusion" concept, all four Historic Inns of Rockland, Maine teamed up with FIORE Artisan Olive Oils And Vinegars, also in Rockland, when inn owners began offering samples of FIORE's olive oils and vinegars in every guest room. "The FIORE/Historic Inns of Rockland alliance has been hugely successful," said Frank Isganitis, co-owner of the LimeRock Inn. "I can assure you that our guests visit their store too and make purchases. We've seensome guests spend several hundreds of dollars for holiday gifts and for other occasions. They really love it."
More small to medium businesses in the Midcoast could take advantage of this fusion concept, as a way to not only mututally generate wider exposure, but to also solidify tighter business and personal connections — the very thing that draws countless people to this area. It's not just the shops and restaurants they come for. It's that sense of "community" that provides an irresistible draw. "We've always been community-minded since the day we opened, whether it's working with young folks or charitable organizations, and I often say, 'it's all about the local'," said Alterio. "The thing is, this is nothing new. It's the way it always used to be. In Maine, I think we're all a little less removed from the way it used to be."
Almost every business in the Midcoast has a potential fusion partner or a potential tie-in. And every artist and craftsperson has a need for visibility. What's that old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups' slogan in the '70s and '80s? "Two great tastes that taste great together." Work it.
For more guerrilla marketing ideas check out: tweakyourbiz.com
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.