Why is Maine so.... (what's the word you're looking for?)

A screen capture of a Google search drop down menu is intriguing. As you start to type your search terms, Google Instant automatically shows results for a popular search that begins with those letters.  So, when someone types in "Why is Maine so. . ." a menu of of most commonly asked queries pops up (presumably to save time).

The first four queries we got kind of sum up what the rest of America thinks of us, non?

Why is Maine so liberal...

Why is Maine so democratic...

Why is Maine so boring...

Why is Maine so white...

Fact versus perception: is Maine a state comprised of poor, liberal, white (and boring) people?

What do you think? Why is Maine so......(insert your word here.)


Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

ROCKLAND — Out! As I Want To Be is celebrating a new year, a successful fundraising goal and a new drop-in space with an open house Friday, Jan. 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.

Ever since Lincoln Street Center for the Arts' doors closed in June, Out! As I Want To Be has been meeting with advisors, teens and young people in temporary space at Youthlinks in Rockland, while looking for a new space to gather in the evenings. Out!, an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people ages 14-22 (as well as straight allies), has now secured a new drop-in space on the third floor of 328 Main St. in Rockland, Suite 305 (above FOG Bar and The Black Parrot).

Out! has another reason to celebrate. This summer the organization received a matching grant challenge from an anonymous donor, which specified through Dec. 31, all individual donations of more than $100 would be matched dollar for dollar, up to $20,000. In late December, Out! met its goal, securing the matching grant, which will start the New Year with $40,000 to better serve the LGBTQ youth. The community support will strengthen the organizational capacity and programs for LGBTQ youth, including its twice weekly drop-in and outreach in schools.

Founded in 1996, Out! provides affirmation, support, advocacy, education and outreach by and for young people in their quest for identity. Out! holds a drop-in two times a week, now at 328 Main St., Suite 305 (third floor), in Rockland on Wednesdays, 5-8 p.m., and Fridays, 6-9 p.m. One of four drop-in centers in the state, Out! is the only one that primarily serves rural LGBTQ youth.

For more information, visit outmaine.org, call 1-800-530-6997 or email outmaine@yahoo.com.

 

To reach Kay Stephens, email news@penbaypilot.com.

ROCKPORT — Yes, yes, holiday burnout, everyone has it. But coming up this weekend is no ordinary play and you may miss out on the chance to hurt yourself laughing if you don't attend.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 4, 5 and 6, the Everyman Repertory Theatre will present The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport.

Here's the back story: Scandal erupts at the North Pole when one of Santa Claus' eight reindeer accuses Santa of sexual harassment. As mass media descends upon the event, the other members of the sleigh team share their perspectives and a horrific tale of corruption and perversion emerges, which seems to implicate everyone from the littlest elf to the tainted Saint himself.

With each deer's confession, the truth behind the shocking allegations becomes clearer and clearer...and murkier and murkier. This dark, dark, R-rated Christmas comedy is a "brilliant satire of gender and sexual politics in contemporary America, filled with penetrating humor," — (L.A. Weekly), and "Wickedly Topical" — (New York Times).

Here then, are five things to know about The Eight:

1: So, our understanding is..Santa is under a sexual harassment claim from one of the eight reindeer in which "a horrific tale of corruption and perversion emerges." Any salacious details you can give us about the accuser's motivation?

As Blitzen said, “Why would she throw her career away? A Prank? PMS? No. A reindeer has a right to her own body. When a doe says no, it means no.”

2: Did you purposely time this play to run after the holidays so the smelling salts huffers wouldn't be offended? If not/so, what is your ideal audience for this play?

The play is typically performed before Christmas. Some companies do it every year. But, we felt that there was way too much going on before Christmas and then nothing at all afterwards. We’re still well within the 12 days. This is definitely a show that is going to appeal to a much younger audience than typically attends our productions, as well as our normal patrons. In fact, David Troup, our director, has put the show together like a documentary about the incidents described in the play. We’ll be showing dailies, outtakes, rushes from the film that he has put together specially for the show.

3: I quote from your Facebook page: "... I mean, do you guys even realize the kind a pressure that fat man is under? Can you imagine? Fuggetabboutit!..." - Comet from the Eight.  Quick: word association game. If you could describe each of your reindeer in this play with one word, what would that word be?

Dasher (Lou Carbonneau): Superhero
Cupid (Joseph Ritsch): Gay
Hollywood (David Greenham): Star
Blitzen (Jennifer Hodgson): Angry
Comet (David Troup): Saved
Dancer (Abigail Norman): Confused
Donner (Paul Hodgson): Sad
Vixen (Ashley St. Pierre): Resigned

4: Midcoast just doesn't get enough scathing comedy. We just had Mommie Queerest back in October, and now your The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. Is this the first satire Everyman Repertory Theatre has done?

Not at all. Our November show in 2011 – Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage was a non-stop 85-minute descent from a civilized meeting between parents to discuss violence between two 8 year olds to drunken recriminations. It’s one of the tightest and funniest shows we’ve ever done, littered with profanity and hilarious dialogue. We also did Reza’s Art at the CMCA last August, “rife with juicy one-liners, knife-sharp comebacks,” according to The New York Times.

5: What is it about your cast that gives this play its dark and hilarious je ne sais what?

This is a show that is usually played for laughs by a young set of actors in their early 20s, taking the reindeer as stock characters: biker lesbian girl, screaming queen, etc. While a couple of our cast members are in their 20s, the majority are seasoned professionals and we are all approaching our own reindeer and the show itself in a completely different way. David Troup also played Comet in the original New York production so he knows! Also we’ve been working in isolation, with Lou in New York, Joseph in Baltimore, David Greenham in Readfield, Ashley in Augusta — all under David’s guidance, but it’s meant that we’ve brought very different elements to each portrayal. Hey, these are the eight most important reindeer in the world, their characters are big, and they’re different! Some of them hate each other, some of them don’t, but when Christmas Eve comes around, all differences are forgotten because it’s the Fat Man’s big night and those presents need to get under that tree. Well, all differences were forgotten until this Christmas Eve, when the Fat Man finally went too far.

Shows on Friday and Saturday are both at 7 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Sunday. Tickets are available at HAVII and from the box office, 236-0173 and the website everymanrep.org/content/box-office.


To reach Kay Stephens, email news@PenBayPilot.com.

Remember when it only cost five bucks to fill up your gas tank? Remember when five bucks was the extent of your teenage budget for an evening? This doesn't count the "creative math" you did sneaking a fiver out of your mom's purse. (Editor: Not everyone is as larcenous as you. Kay: Valid point.) This Cheap Date is for the Boomers and Gen-Xers who only have to time-travel back to their teenage years (and budget) for a good time.

All you have is $10 to spend. First stop, French and Brawn to get the half-size Coca-Cola bottles, 50 cents each for you and your date.

Next, hit Oakland Park Bowling Lanes on a Friday night when things are slow if you really want the lanes to yourself (or just want as few people to know how badly you suck at candlepin bowling) or on a Saturday night when the place is popping. Classic moments will abound when you ponder what it would be like to actually join a bowling league, and relive scenes from The Big Lebowski, (a film, which my mom recently made me turn off the TV because there were too many "F" words. And yes, I'm in my 40s.)

Renting shoes comes to a total of $3 and two strings of bowling costs $5.50. So, all told, you're up to $9.50 out of your total budget so far. What to DO with only 50 cents left?

Two words homes: Pac-Man. Yes, Oakland Lanes owns a first-generation Pac-Man arcade game that takes a couple of quarters. There you go. No evening is complete without a few rounds of sweating anxiously to avoid the ghosts from stalking and eating Pac-Man. (Fun fact: In Japan, the sound effect for eating is “Pac Pac”.)

Oakland Parks also serves food and beer and has a wild array of arcade games, a pool table, and air hockey, as well as Dance Dance Revolution, if your date feels like pitching in a couple of clams to extend the evening's entertainment. If you go, send us a photo of your time traveling evening and happy dating!

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center in Northport Maine has 387 acres overlooking Penobscot Bay. At the top of the mountain sits the conference center with spectacular views of the surrounding sea and islands. In the winter, after a fresh blizzard, the snow looks smeared across the landscape like fresh cake fondant. It is brittle up here, the mountain is hushed. At 2:30 p.m., the sun is about two hours from setting and slanted through the heavily coated pines and spruce. You can't help picture a winter wedding up here. (And of this week, in Maine, it is now legal for everyone.) Sometimes after a really unsettling day, a few minutes with the cold, the setting sun and the quiet beauty of Maine is all you need.

Photos: Kay Stephens

You thought you were done, didn't you? All the holiday hoopla, the snow, the relatives and the clean up. No, you're not done. Pop a five-hour energy drink and wrangle into some Spanx; we've got New Year's Eve coming up Monday night and you're going to get your second wind. Here is the New Year's Eve rundown and where to go to find every type of entertainment to put you in the 2013 mood. (Oh and get this — The Midcoast Interact Club and The Rig are offering child care until 1 a.m. in Camden that night. No excuses! FMI: New Year's Eve child care


Belfast

New Year's by the Bay

Starting with the granddaddy of Midcoast celebrations, the 16th Annual New Year's by the Bay is a day-long arts and entertainment extravaganza leading up to a bring-your-own drum noisemaking procession down to the celebratory lighting of the bonfire by the bay while the Bad Daddys Blues Band rings in the New Year at The Boathouse.

The performances range from hot Gypsy jazz to Mime and Music and a whole lot of eclectic music and storytelling in between. Then, if that wasn't enough, the Activities And Dance features a Poetry Slam, interpretive dance, and more crazy boo-tay shaking music. Word on the street is that The Hips will be the best dancing band that evening, over at The Boathouse.

One button admits you to all performances & activities of the New Year’s By The Bay 2013 chem-free, family friendly, cultural celebration. Food purchases are separate. Adults – $18; Students K-12, $5; children under 5 are free. For more information visit www.nybb.org

 

Light jazz and art at Ocean's Edge Restaurant

On New Year's Eve, from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m., Ocean's Edge Restaurant (part of Comfort Inn's Ocean's Edge) will featured Hugh Bowden on guitar and John Gallagher on bass, as they play jazz standards from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Artist William Landmesser will be displaying his original artwork and answering questions from 5:00 p.m on. FMI: belfastmainehotel.com

Camden/Rockport

Music & Games at the Rockport Library

The Rockport Library has got the day-tripper New Year's thing going for people who like to go to bed at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31. (No judging! It's cool.) Singer-songwriter Alice Limoges will offer a ukelele workshop from 10 to 11 a.m. A board game bonanza is happening from 1 to 3 p.m. Folk singer and songwriter Resa Randolph and family will perform bluegrass, traditional folk, jazz and blues, showcasing guitar and banjo. Finally, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. guitarist and teacher Martin Gibson will be performing and offering a workshop.

Registration is required. For more information, call 236-3246 or email: rpl@rockport.lib.me.us

 

Natalie's Count Down Party

Make sure you join Natalie's at Camden Harbour Inn for their 6th annual Count Down Party. No admission, complimentary champagne toast at midnight, live jazz music, complimentary hors d'oeuvres and fun party favors. Count Down Party starts at 10.30pm.

 

The Samoset's Breakers Jazz

Want mellow? New Year's Eve at the Samoset Resort will feature Breakers Jazz from 8:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in the Samoset Ball Room. No Cover Charge. Cash Bar.
Big Band, Swing, Jazz, Light Rock and more! FMI: Samoset Resort

 

Ragged Mountain Ski Club's New Year's Party

The Ragged Mountain Ski Club is hosting its second annual fundraiser (hence the high ticket price),a James Bond-themed party titled Snowfall (at hearstudios, 4 Union Street, Camden) Creative Spy, Villain, and Bond Girl Attire is encouraged. This year's event will feature hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, and dancing to music provided by an amazing D.J. There will be free transportation home in the local area. Tickets are $80 each or $150 for a couple. (The guest price will be $70 for a total couple's price of $150.) For a little fun, check out the photo for your spy name ahead of time (mine is Kringler Shussing).


The Smokestack Grill

The Smokestack Grill and the local band 4Lo will be putting on a rockin' night on the town on New Year's Eve. 4Lo brings high energy to current covers and classics and The Smokestack Grill will have drink specials and eats for one really hot New Year event.

Rockland

Trackside Station

They will have dinner specials leading up to 9:00 p.m, then they are switching over to Funky Town with VJ the DJ ('80s, '90s and contemporary). They promise to be festive with six TVs to watch the ball drop in Surround Sound and will offer a champagne toast at midnight. FMI: Trackside Station


Thomaston

Billy's Tavern & The Dolphin Strikers

Billy’s Tavern in Thomaston welcomes back local rock and roll band, The Dolphin Strikers on New Year's Eve.  This five-piece band calls their brand of locally flavored music “Brine Rock," featuring growling guitar, ripping harmonica, and a pleasing array of styles from alt-country to ska to straight ahead, four-on-the-floor grinders.  Billy’s Tavern will special New Year's hours with music and dancing from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Expect a champagne toast, shenanigans, and the best house-made potato chips this side of The County. There will be a $5 cover at the door.

Waldoboro

The Bog Tavern's New Year's Eve party

Bullwinkle's Family Steak House/The Bog Tavern will be hosting their annual New Year's Eve celebration with dinner specials, giveaways, the band Midlife Crisis starts at 9 New Year's Eve toast. FMI: 832-6272

 

 Note: We will be adding more details and more New Year's events as they become available. Please check back! To contact me with more details: Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

Colleen Wellman, manager at The Smokestack Grill in Camden, offers no illusions about what's going to happen to you if you down "Armageddon," the bar's signature cocktail for this Friday night's "End Of The World" party. "This is designed for the maximum hangover," she said. "If you're going to party your last night on earth, might as well go out with a bang."

Armegeddon is Wellman's original creation designed for the maximum sweetness, a taste, she said, sailors and boat people seem to prefer. "They have been out for days and they just want something to hit them as soon as possible," she said.

This cocktail starts with a shaker full of ice, to which Wellman adds:

  • One part Smirnoff Raspberry vodka
  • One part Souther Comfort
  • One part Peach Schnapps
  • Top with equal parts cranberry juice and orange juice
  • Shake glass and pour mixture into a cocktail glass and top it off with Chambord Raspberry liqueur
  • Garnish with pineapple and a twist of orange

The end result is a persimmon-colored drink that tastes like a Jolly Rancher hard candy going down. Clearly, from all the sugars in this concoction, buyer beware: it is going to make your head hurty on 12/22/12. If there is a next day.

Friday evening kicks off The End of The World party at The Smokestack Grill, as well as other Midcoast venues to celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar on 12/21/12. To see what is going on that night, check out our "End Of The World" Rundown.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

On 12/21/12, the Mayan calendar will offically end. According to The Huffington Post, this Friday "marks the end of a more than 5,000-year era, according to the Mayan 'Long Count' calendar, which began in 3114 BC. Already people around the globe are gearing up to party like it's well... like it's the end of the world. Not to leave us Midcoasters alone in the dark apocalyptic maw that is winter in Maine, here is your "End Of The World Rundown" and where to find companionship, spirits, specials and music.

Trackside Station-Rockland

Friday, 4 p.m.

"We don't think the world is going to end Friday ... but we do want to have some fun just in case! And as a thank you to all our customers — and as a small Christmas present — we're having another Customer Appreciation Happy Hour! We'll have drinks on special from 4 to 7 p.m., including Shocktop's End of the World Midnight Wheat, FREE food and giveaways! And if you are around late night we'll have DJ VJ with tunes starting at 9 p.m. Come have fun and Get Sidetracked!"

Rock Harbor- Rockland

"So we heard a rumor that the world was going to end this Friday (12/21/12)... the good news is that we have the Pitch Black Ribbons (PBR) playing that night, with $2 16oz PBR Cans all night!"

Rockland Food Service

"Nothing says "Holidays" better than a beer and wine tasting. We just happen to be hosting exactly that on Friday, Dec 21 from 4-6."

The Smokestack Grill-Camden

"Mark your calendars for The End of the World 12/21/2012! End it with a Bang at The Smokestack Grill! Black Lights and DJ Harry playing the best dance Music of the Century! Great Drink Specials and Giveaways!!"

If your business is having an end of the world party or specials, email kaystephens@penbaypilot.com with more details!



Killer Piks is a monthly review of books, movies, and music by people who are obsessed with books, movies and music.

Books

A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola

by Lacy Simons

A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola is an illustrated book disclosing new research in the coca leaf trade conducted by The Coca-Cola Company. 2011 marked the 125th anniversary of Coke, and the 50th anniversary of the international drug control treaty that allows Coca-Cola exclusive access to the coca plant. Did you know that last bit? I didn't know that last bit. Says the author: "Most people are familiar with tales of cocaine being an early ingredient of 'Coke' tonic; it's an era the company makes every effort to bury. Yet coca leaf, the source of cocaine, which has been banned in the U.S. since 1914, has been part of Coca-Cola's secret formula for over 100 years." You might recognize Ricardo Cortes's name and illustration style from last year's super-funny-not-really-for-kids-children's-book Go the F*ck to Sleep. Akashic, the small press Cortes worked with on that book, got behind this new project. (No surprise there: Akashic's motto is "reverse-gentrification of the literary world." They like Cortes so much they're soon reprinting his 2005 book, It's Just a Plant: A Children's Story about Marijuana. So there's that.)

The book also explores histories of three of the most consumed substances on earth, revealing connections between seemingly disparate icons of modern culture: caffeine, cocaine, and Coca-Cola. A must for addicts of all kinds!

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 Ref

by Tiffany Howard

For me, the holiday season is never complete without a screening of the 1994 black comedy The Ref.  Directed by the late Ted Demme (Beautiful Girls, Blow) and starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis, this irreverent farce is the perfect antidote to the Hallmark confections that saturate the airwaves this time of year.  Following an unsuccessful heist, hapless burglar Gus carjacks an affluent but unhappy couple in order to avoid capture.  He soon regrets his plan to lay low in their suburban home, as being taken hostage does little to quell the warring couple's relentless bickering.  Add to the mix, a son just home from reform school and squabbling relatives arriving for Christmas Eve dinner and it isn't long before Gus finds himself in the unlikely roles of marriage counselor and referee.  Though its wit is often biting, this movie is not without heart.  And, in my opinion, it wouldn't be the holidays without a little bit of both.

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

A Dave Brubeck Christmas

by Nathaniel Bernier

Upon hearing of Dave Brubeck's passing this December, I really felt a pang of musical emptiness envelope me.  Rather, it was a realization that a huge body of work would see nothing new; a massive amount of original jazz pieces would cease to be continued.  Granted, there will undoubtedly be many posthumous releases, as record companies rarely see an end to the possibilities (doesn't Elvis have a new album coming out in 2013?) and i will surely check out all those that are offered.  Having been a bit of a jazz-man in my early years, playing alto sax and other woodwinds in my youth, Brubeck's compositions were always a staple, especially the always distinguishable Take Five.  It is with a level of sadness that I write this month's review, but even more so, it's an enjoyable trek down memory lane, prompting a bevy of emotions from a storied past.

'Tis the season for a wonderful Christmas album that appeared in 1996: A Dave Brubeck Christmas, a great collection of classic re-workings and even a couple originals.  Check out classic pieces like Jingle Bells, which have been made much more bouncy than could have been thought with a piano plinking out the notes.  The tickled ivories give great flavor to all the songs here and along with the Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown'Christmas, this is a must-have for fans of jazz, fans of history, fans of Christmas music and fans of all-around pure musical talent.

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 http://www.wildrufus.com or http://wildrufus.blogspot.com/

Don’t call them hunks of junk — they’re works of art and when Larry Oakes, the owner of Automaster Collision Center in Spruce Head gets behind the wheel of one of his customized “Rad Rods,” you’d better strap in good. He’ll take a quarter inch off the back tires doing a dramatic smokeout before the thing shoots like a bat out of hell down the road.

Rad Rods are his own term for the international craze of “Rat Rods,” a style of hot rod or custom car, in which the owners assemble vehicles out of old parts, vintage features from the 40s, 50s, and early 60s… and just plain random, off-the-wall additions that make the car totally unique. (Back in October, we did a feature on Jack Churchill’s steampunk motorcycle to see another example of a "Rat Rod.")

Oakes owns two Rat Rods he built from the frame up, including a third he’s currently working on and he’s like a little kid with a big toy when he gets behind the wheel of one. (See accompanying video that shows what it is like to be a passenger taking off in one!)

As a kid, his father bought the property in Spruce Head, on which he and his family now live and operate Automaster Collision Center. The business is a family affair with his daughter, Lindsey Simms, heading up the finances.

'I’m gonna put a sign on the windshield that says: Shut up: it’s done.'

“I’ve always played with hot rods as a kid, starting with go-carts,” said Oakes, adding he learned everything on his own. “It just came to me. I’ve always been able to see something once and figure it out. I’m lucky that way and I just have fun with it.”

Oakes’s hot rods were never originally intended to be a collector’s item, the way they are today.

“Rat Rods originated a ways back when you just built up a car with a bunch of old stuff because you didn’t have a lot of money,” he said. “You didn’t have enough to finish it right, so you just grabbed what you could from this guy or this junk yard and put it all together and made it work.”

Even though he’s a collector of both motorcycles and what he calls “shiny cars,” his true love is his cobbled together hot rods.

“Guys who build them are artists, they really are,” he said. “Pretty much you can get away with making it look however you want on the interior as long as the vehicle is safe, has good suspension, and good brakes. It’s got to pass inspection... but,” he added with a smile, “They can’t refuse you for being ugly.”

Oakes’s custom “Rat Rod” pickup features shotgun stocks and rifle butts as stick shifts and arm rests. “I tow for the local police department and they trust me, so they come to me with guns they’ve confiscated,” he said. “Once they seize a gun, it will not go back to the owner, so they bring them to me, I disarm it. I pull the firing pins and weld the breeches and I put them in my hot rods.”

Other wacky features of his custom-built pickup, which sits on a Chevy S-10 frame, includes interior door panels made from Oakes’ own collection of cowboy boots.

“I’ve always been a cowboy boot fan,” he said. “I think I have somewhere around 12 pair in my closet—I just bought four more pair, so I sacrificed some of the boots that were more than 20 years old and cut ‘em up for door panels.”

Not stopping there, Oakes re-fashioned wrenches to function as the pickup’s gas pedals.

His second Rad Rod, nicknamed the “Fat Rat,” is a 1948 “all chopped up” Chevy that was built in 30 days for $1,000. A lot of the parts he already had laying around the shop. He put his collection of old wrenches in this vehicle as well, welding them with pieces of rebar to make linkages to open the doors. He used Chevy small block valve covers for arm rests and stop signs and license plates for door panels. A .38 special pistol handle was welded as a handle to manually move the windshield wipers.

Currently he’s working on a 1941 Studebaker complete with a custom frame, low to the ground.

“We’re doing a suicide straight axel front end with a ’39 Chevy front grill,” he said. He’s planning on making this one more bare bones, not as quirky, but more “Rat” he says. “We just want to go out and have fun with it.”

The downside to all this fun is that he can’t go to the convenience store to get a cup of coffee in one of his Rad Rods without it taking two to three hours. That’s because everyone stops him to ask what he’s driving, how it was made and a thousand other questions, which he takes good-naturedly in stride. “The number one question I get  all the time is: ‘When you gonna paint it?’ The patina on the truck is all Mother Nature,” he said.

“I think I’m gonna put a sign on the windshield that says: Shut up: it’s done.”

Both of Oakes’s Rad Rods have been featured in Rat Rod Magazine. They can now be seen on display at The Owls Head Transportation Museum for the winter, where Oakes will eventually do a presentation on the construction of the vehicles.

Asked if he’s been approached to sell them, he admitted, “I’ve had several guys ask about my pickup truck, yes.”  Although he is hesitant to let one go, he said, “Everything is for sale for the right price but…” he said, shaking his head. “They’re like my babies. I might have to let my daughter go before I let one of them go. No, don’t say that,” he laughed. “My daughter won’t like that much.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

Folks, it's the last week to shop local and in honor of the innocence of children everywhere, this last series is dedicated to crafters who make special things for kids by hand. All of these items can be found through the unique Maine (and green) resource, The SunriseGuide. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive. Happy holidays to all!

 

Lincoln Canoe & Kayak handcrafted sleds

The backstory

This Freeport company, known for its custom canoes and kayaks, hand-builds each sled in which you pick your own custom color and the craftsmen build to order (solids or stripes).  Their sled molds are made through a proprietary process — making them very light, very fast and effective sleds — great for sliding down hills or for pulling child while on snowshoes or skis. 

Where to find it/price range:

Find it online for a range of $120-140 per sled.

In their words: "We realized how lucky we are to live and work on the coast of Maine. In the winter, almost all of us can strap on some snowshoes, XC-skis, or skates and go for it right out our front or back doors. While many of us in the shop enjoy far-flung adventuring in different environments, we want to inspire people to get out and enjoy their home base."

 

Bella Luna Toys Jamtown Junior Rhythm Pack

The backstory

This Rockland-based business has a wild following in the Midcoast, probably because they have cornered the market for "Waldorf toys, wooden toys and natural toys to nourish the senses and inspire the imagination." Bell Luna Toys was named by Reader's Digest as one of the best online sources for fair-tade toys.

The toys featured here are handcrafted musical instruments, called the Jamtown Junior Rhythm Pack made by made by village artisans in Peru and Bali. This award-winning percussion kit features three authentic, handmade instruments for small hands and a cool bag for collecting more intruments over the years.

Set Includes:

  • Pair of Junior Coconut Claves (rhythm sticks)
  • Junior Shaker (carved dried gourd)
  • Junior Double Drum (double headed, wooden bark frame)
  • 30-page Junior Activity Guide
  • Learn-Along Songs Compact Disc
  • Simple Rhythm™ Cards
  • Junior Travel Bag 

Where to find it/price range:

Find it online for $48.95

In their words: "What I love about them is that they're real, quality instruments, they're not toy instruments. They're child-sized, child-friendly. The drum has a really great tone. It's a real drum made in Peru. I love that they're certified fair-trade made. " — owner, Sarah Baldwin

 

Island Treasure Toys Treehouse

The backstory

This Yarmouth-based business began in February 2001 as a home business on a small island off the coast of Maine where owners Melissa and Doug (who go by their first names) noticed their youngest daughter would spend many hours on the beach combing for treasures. In 2002, when they'd outgrown their home, they opened a small brick and mortar store in Yarmouth and run a business specializing in natural and Waldorf-inspired toys. This environmentally-friendly Anamalz Treehouse features swinging vines, leafy canopies, and natural high-quality construction, made of organic maple wood, cotton, wool, water-based paint, and formaldehyde-free glue. (Animals sold separately).

Where to find it/price range:

Find it online for $119.95

In their words: "Not only are their toys eco-friendly, the company is committed to giving back by way of their anamalz saving animals program." — Reviewer

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

 

Actor John Burstein, most known nationally for his Slim Goodbody character, will play Ebenezer Scrooge in John Bielenberg's upcoming adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol at the Camden Opera House Dec. 14 -16. We posed questions to Burstein, and here are five things to know about his modern take on the claasic character, Scrooge:

1. Slim is so upbeat and positive, a "super hero of health." How different from Slim is your Scrooge going to be?

Scrooge is a vastly different character than Slim. Physically, Slim is outgoing - celebrating human vitality - Scrooge is squeezed up within himself (think of chewing on a lemon, and you get the idea of what a squeezed-in sort of person he is). Slim smiles, Scrooge frowns. Slim embraces - Scrooge defends.

2. If Slim's idea of a holiday feast would be healthy servings from each food group, what would Scrooge prefer?

Scrooge would prefer that people not engage in all this nonsense about Christmas altogether. It's humbug!

3. In the classic book and movie versions of "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge completely lacks a sense of humor. Will your Scrooge be the same or will there be surprising lighter moments?

Hopefully, there will be a lot of laughs. Just because someone is greedy, doesn't mean he lacks a sense of humor. Scrooge can be very cutting, yet funny, in many of his responses. I believe Dickens wrote the character this way.

4. This adaptation is done as a musical. Will Scrooge be singing? If so, what about?

Scrooge will be singing - just a bit - but mostly in anger about people's desire for special treatment on Christmas.

5. Who is a modern-day version of Scrooge that you can relate to?

Wall Street money managers, investment bankers, Bernie Madoff - and all those who place profit above all else. Scrooge at least learns from his mistakes. I'm afraid many of those in the financial community will never see the consequences of their focus on money.

• The show will be running at the Camden Opera House on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 16 for a 2:30 p.m. matinee. Tickets are available online at camdenoperahouse.com or by calling 207-470-7066.  You can also pick them up at HAVII in Camden and City Drawers in Belfast. Tickets also available at the box office before each performance. Adults - $12, Seniors - $10, Kids 6 to 12 years old - $6.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephenscontent@gmail.com

It's rare to meet a 17-year-old author of something that's actually very put together and very good. Over an egg cream soda and a ginger vanilla at Belfast's Chocolate Shoppe, Hila Shooter pulls a manuscript with editor's marks out of her backpack. She's a little shy about showing it to me, even though it is professionally typeset and in its final editing stages before publication.

It's called Ticket to Ride, How Teens Can Fundraise and Realize Our Dreams, a project that took only a year to write (only!) with help and guidance from her parents, both former publishers. They might have encouraged her, but Hila did all of the legwork, including starting a campaign launched less than a month ago on the project funding site Kickstarter. Her own fundraising goal to get the book published was $3,500 and as of our meeting, she had already surpassed that, with donations totaling $3,750 from 86 backers.

Donations on Kickstarter came almost 100-percent from people Hila and her family knew personally. "People were just incredibly generous," she said.

This is not Hila's first successful fundraising campaign. Last year, she wanted to take a three-month semester program to go to Ecuador. As a home-schooled student from Monroe, she had the drive, the time and the desire to explore a new culture — but not the funds. It was going to take nearly $12,500 to go there, and though at the time she wasn't sure how she'd do it, she'd made up her mind it was going to happen.

An excerpt from Ticket to Ride details her resolution and the initial reaction from her friends:

  “You’re raising $8,500?”
    I let my finger drop from Ecuador on the world map I was using to show my friend Clayton. “More or less.” I hadn’t told him that $8,500 was just the tuition, leaving $4,000 in expenses unmentioned.
    He raised his eyebrows.
    We had been friends since we were six, running around with his little brothers and my little sister, playing tag and climbing trees. I knew him well enough to know that right now, he thought I was crazy.
    “How?”
    I shrugged nonchalantly. I didn’t tell him that just that morning I’d been almost in tears, not knowing how I would ever succeed.
    He looked skeptically at Ecuador on the map, then shrugged, too. “Okay then.”
     We went back to playing cards with his brothers. Neither of us knew at that moment that in a year’s time, he would also be on the plane.
    Later, as I told him more about trekking in the Andes and exploring the jungle, his eyes lit up. I showed him the Kroka Expedition blogs from past Ecuador semesters, written by the students as they lived their adventure. A smile spread across his face as he began reading.
    When I saw Clayton again the following week, his skepticism had melted and been replaced with his own thoughts of adventure. We were swinging on the play-set with my sister Cori when a friend walked by and asked how we were.
    “We’re both raising $12,000 to go to Ecuador,” Clayton called back.
    She stopped.
    “Wow, that’s… a lot.” I could tell she was trying not to discourage us. She smiled, the unspoken question in her face: “How?”
    “Well, good luck.” The meaning behind her words was abundantly clear, “good luck with that.”
    Her unspoken skepticism stung, but she had a point. I had no idea how we were going to raise it all.

Without using Kickstarter, Hila reached her Ecuador goal the old-fashioned way. She didn't ask her parents for the money. She didn't put it on a credit card. She didn't read The Secret and hope the funds would magically appear in her account. She put together a plan and worked for it by doing a series of odd jobs such as gardening and dog walking, as well as busking on the street playing her fiddle. Additionally, she tapped into all of her networks and sent out fundraising letters. This is what makes her one of the Rad Kids. The girl made her own dream come true by working hard for what she wanted. Gah! Why is this such a radical concept? Perhaps because we see endless examples of the Millennial Generation getting whatever they want — all they have to do is ask for it.

The Ecuador experience gave her the confidence and the material to write Ticket to Ride. But lest anyone thinks that was easy, the writing itself was a challenge that got her down at times. Her first draft was just a bunch of lists and anecdotes that her parents helped her shape into a how-to nonfiction book. 

"I got so discouraged," she said. "I felt like I was completely patronizing people in my writing — that was my biggest struggle, like trying to find the balance between telling my own story and telling other people how to do it. It was really tricky. I didn't want to be like 'do this or do that' and I didn't want to be (and here her voice changes to the patronizing tone) 'oh look what I did. I'm so cool.'"

It took multiple drafts to get the manuscript to where it is today, which strikes just the right balance between personable narration and realistic goal setting for teens who want to achieve a big dream on their own. Her father, an editor, was "immensely helpful," she said. When asked what she was most proud of about the book, again, her answer is no less than a superlative-laden tribute to her parents. "Well, first-off I have extremely incredible, amazing, really supportive parents. That's probably the biggest thing," she said.

Her advice to teens who want something badly but don't have the money or even the parental support is simple. "I just received an email last night from a kid who wants to go on the semester program to Vermont like I did in Ecuador and what I told him is getting a fundraising letter out to as many people as he can is a great start and to give something free back as a token of appreciation," she said. "For me, I had a bunch of handmade cards I gave to people who helped fund my trip, like a little 'thank-you.' It helps to have a specific dream you're shooting for and have a specific amount as a goal. Then look for odd jobs and get to know the people you're working for. Sometimes when they realize how hard you're working toward something, they will pay you a little bit more toward your goal."

Some of her book's tips to get kids to find work toward their own goals include:

  • Babysit
  • Clean houses
  • Rake leaves
  • Walk dogs
  • Deliver newspapers
  • Mow lawns/garden
  • Tutor
  • Utilize your skills to design something and sell it.

So far the money has been used to have the book professionally edited, designed and typeset, with the remaining funds slated to self-publish around 500 copies under her own imprint, Mountain Song Press, in the spring. She's not quite sure what she needs to do yet to market and distribute it, as this will be a new journey for her. For anyone who gets inspired by her story, all you have to do is check out her Kickstarter page to see how she has combined personal experience with social media (video testimonial) along with donation incentives. This is the future of crowdfunding (a collective effort for people who pool their resources to fund an initiative). And while the idea of crowdfunding is very exciting, never forget the one simple reason why this is a success story.

"The more you work for something, the more you get out of it. And the more you you want something, the more you're willing to work for it," she said. For more information about her adventure visit: www.tickettoridebook.com

Hail To The Rad Kids is a feature that highlights teens with artistic or musical talent.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

"Everyone has a story" — so goes the old adage. Sometimes you can see the whole story just looking into an animal's eyes.

This is Maggie's story. She's an adult Border Collie mix who has been at the P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center (formerly Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue League) since September.  She originally came into the shelter as a stray. Based on her mannerisms, she may have been smacked around, since she seems head shy and is very submissive. She's extremely sweet, but needs an opportunity to warm up to people. At first, she was adopted, but, following a run-in with a porcupine, her new owners brought her back.  The thing is, if you look in her eyes, you're not going to see the whole picture.

She doesn't show well in the kennels because she gets scared and barks; but outside the kennels, she's very sweet, shy at first. But, she'll sneak in to sniff new people and give kisses, licking people's hand before darting away. She loves long walks and belly rubs. She's extremely food-motivated, so introducing yourself to her with treats makes things go more smoothly. She likes most other dogs, as long as they are nice to her. She walks well on leash and last weekend was her first time hitting downtown, where she did pretty well going in and out of stores & getting snacks. The walk there was a bit tiring so she did need to take a break for a belly rub at Loyal Biscuit, but after a short rest she bounced right back and made the trek back to the shelter.

"It can be common for shelter dogs to behave differently when they are in their kennel," said Laura Stupca, P.A.W.S. Shelter Manager. "They may jump, bark and act like they don’t like you, when in fact they are just scared.  If people can look beyond a dogs kennel behavior they will see a truly great dog.  Maggie is a sweet girl who just needs time to warm up and once she does you will have a friend for life." 

For more information on Maggie and how to meet her visit her page at P.A.W.S. or contact: 207-236-8702

Artist and mother, Lee Parent, of Belfast, was watching the 2005 movie, V for Vendetta with her husband last week, (the movie in which Natalie Portman had her head shaved for the role) when she turned to her husband and said, "Let's do this."

After some more back and forth discussion, her husband, Keith Maynard, got out the clippers and held them up to her temple.

"Then I went no, no, no, no," she said, stopping him. "I took the shaver in my hand and began inching it across my temple. I had to be the one to do it. So, once I got started, it was like: 'All right, here we go.' And I shaved a straight line down the center of my hairline."

Parent said she'd wanted to chop it all off for years, but was afraid of the usual things women fear when it comes to their hair: that it would make her lose her femininity, or that it would change people's perceptions of her.

"After having a kid, my body completely changed in a way that it's never going to go back," she said. "I'd been clinging on to the notion that I might not feel sexy or powerful, if I cut all my hair off," said Parent, 36. "I think I never did it before because I felt I had to lose 15 to 20 pounds to pull it off."

After it was all off and her dark brown hair lay in wisps on the floor, she said, "I think I said, "Holy sh--, but then I felt l moved through something. I felt both relieved and powerful at the same time. It's not a big deal."

For many women, their hair is a big deal, representing youth and eternal beauty. It can be a contentious topic, but a billion dollar hair industry has tapped into women's subconcious need to feel attractive. With models and celebrities in our faces 24-7 on TV shows, movies, magazines and Internet articles, long, luxurious hair (often augmented by strategically placed hair extensions) is the gold standard of female beauty-a message, society endlessly emphasizes to youngest girls through stories, myths and Disney movies.

Her daughter, Ayla, 3-and-a-half woke up in the middle of the night and Parent came into her room to check on her. Ayla was visibly upset when she saw her mother. "Mama," she said. "What happened to your hair?"

Parent had shaver's regret right then. "For awhile, I felt it was selfish of me to shave my head. My daughter is into princesses and long hair. But I just put my face to her face and told her, 'Mommy is still Mommy. I just always wanted to know what it felt like to have no hair."

That morning Parent took her daughter to school and when they walked into the room, Ayla announced to the class "Hey, my mom shaved her head!" So Parent took off her hat, squatted down and asked the kids if they wanted to feel it.The kids all glommed around her, rubbing the stubble on her head. "And that's when I could see Ayla had a moment of being proud," said Parent.

The public reaction once she posted it on Facebook was overwhelmingly positive. "I was suprised," she said. "I expected people to say nothing as in 'if you can't say something nice, don't say it at all.' " Asked if it mattered to her if people didn't like it, she analyzed that it was one of the reasons she'd done it, because she cared so much what people thought. "Now I can own the fact that this is what I wanted, regardless of what other people think."

One unexpected reaction has come from from a number of people who assumed she's done this because she was going through chemotherapy. To the people who have to shave their heads not out of choice, Parent offers a little insight. "I was surprised how beautiful I felt without hair. I stripped myself down so that all people see now is my face."

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

This is a calendar of Editor’s Picks and the kind of events or scenes that are happening in the Midcoast that you’ll probably want to be hip to.

The Fog Bar & Cafe on Main Street in Rockland will be hosting an Indie Craft Show on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. The show will feature works from a select group of local artisans along with handmade treats from Rockland's newest gastropub, FOG Bar & Cafe.

“There are a ton of craft shows going on in the area this time of year,” said Maggi Blue, show co-organizer. “What sets this one apart? It's totally handpicked, all handmade and hosted by a hot new spot in Rockland... and let's face it, it'll be bitchin' and you won't want to miss it.”


Artisans to be featured in this warm and intimate setting include:

  • Annie Bailey from A Bee Design (anniebaileyart.com) offering animal inspired creatures made out of recycled fabric, reusable gift boxes and bags, and juggling bags.
  • Maggi Blue from Magpie Creative (magpiecreative.com) offering handmade fused glass and silver jewelry.
  • Lillian Harris from Lillianka (lillianka.com) selling a diverse range of of well-made and affordable tote bags, purses and accessories for the homemade with vibrantly colored natural fabrics.
  • Marcie Howard from Sustainable Stitches (etsy.com/shop/SustainableStitches) offering one-of-a-kind creations felted and repurposed from wool sweaters making them very warm and cozy and environmentally sustainable.
  • Lindsay Pinchbeck, a printmaker and the founder of Sweet Tree Arts in Hope (sweettreearts.org) will be selling selling block print original cards and American-made kid's applique T-shirts. A percentage of proceeds goes to arts education and outreach.
  • Leith MacDonald, local artist, will have orginial, handmade screenprinted shirts, onsies and totebags – all made with a Rockland slant.
  • Austin Smith with Austin P. Smith Ceramics (austinpsmith.blogspot.com) offering have an array of fine porcelain pottery.

The Fog Bar & Cafe is a gastropub located at 328 Main Street in Rockland. Visit them on Facebook for more information: https://www.facebook.com/Fogbarcafe

For the holidays, we’re launching a new series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

A Sixer of Home Brewed Soaps

The backstory

Home Brewed Soaps was born out of a love for making soap and a love for beer! Good Beer! Melanie Landi, who lives and works out of Rockland, said, "My boyfriend Sam makes beer and I make soap so it only made sense for me to start making my soaps with his home brewed beer." Beer Soap is made with their own crafted Home Brew ranging from stouts to ales. Included in the six-pack are: Sexy for Him made with ale, Clove & Ale, Creamy Stout, Oatmeal Stout, and True Grit Hand Scrub & Earth. Having made both beer soap and non-beer soap, said Landi,  "I believe that beer adds extra creaminess to our soaps. Our beer soaps will each have different degrees of creaminess dependent upon the beer that we use, the amounts and types of hops, grains, malts, fruits and or nuts used when brewing our beer. If the soaps are left unscented there will be a faint light scent of the beer ingredients that will come through."

Where to find it/price range:

Online, at Home Brewed Soaps, $33

In their words: "Do not worry, you will not smell like you just bathed in a bottle of beer; you will just feel the added benefits and your skin will thank you!"

 

Wild Rose and Raw Honey Elixer

The back story

Kathy Langelier is behind Herbal Revolution, based in the Midcoast, where she wild gather herbs in a sustainable way from the salty coast, vast fields and forests. She also organically raises herbs in her garden while using other local organically-raised herbs that when needed. Herbal Revolution products are made in small batches to ensure the integrity and quality of the herbs that are being used. Every step in the process is taken with great care and respect. I love that she makes a living off the land and especially dig the 1990s vibe on her product labels.

Her Wild Rose and Raw Honey elixir is made with hand-picked wild rosa rugosa petals off the coast of Maine. This sacred flower is wonderfully nourishing for the nervous system, gently opens the heart and uplifts the spirit. Roses are rich in bioflavonoiods, which are needed for the absorption of Vitamin C, helping to maintain healthy capillaries and blood vessels and is a natural antibiotic.

The raw honey is also locally sourced in Maine. Raw honey is a live food that is full of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C, The entire B complex, Vitamins D, E and K, along with amino acids, niacin and folic acid. Unheated honey is antibiotic, antiviral anti-inflammatory, immune stimulating, cell regenerating and so much more. You are bound to fall in love with this elixir. It can be taken in water, tea or just a dropper full right into the mouth.

Where to find it/price range:

Online, through her Etsy account at $12 per bottle

In her words: "I go to these pristine, beautiful islands on gorgeous days to hand pick these rose petals on the ocean.  I can't wait to go rose harvesting each year; it's really nourishing, just like the product itself."

 

Hope Elephant cards

The back story:

Lindsay Pinchbeck is the director of Sweet Tree Arts, which is growing into a new community arts center in Hope opening in February. Her background is a printmaker and arts teacher, and she started making cards as a way to raise some money to offer art programming to kids at local libraries and events. All of her cards are made in Maine using wind power, soy based inks and recycled card stock, and biodegradable sleeves. A percentage of profits of card sales goes towards arts education and outreach. The card line is growing too and was developed to support artists and arts education. 

The wild animal card is a block print card featuring the Hope Elephants. Fifteen percent of all sales will go to the Hope Elephants education project, which Sweet Tree Arts also supports. 

Where to find it/price range:

Cards can be found on their website for $3.50 apiece.

In her words: “The goal of the card line is for artists to spread their work through our cards and to give back to arts education at the center, giving back to community and supporting art on many levels. By buying cards from Sweet Tree Arts, you are supporting local artists and investing in artists of the future.... please buy locally."

 

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

Ian McKenzie, a teacher at Camden-Rockport Middle School, was looking for a cause that would be fun to raise money for. He is, self-admittedly, not the type to run a 5K mile in order to reach a fundraising goal.

“I came across this strange thing called Movember, where men around the world grow mustaches in the month of November to increase awareness for men’s health issues such as diabetes and prostate or testicular cancer,” he said.

Last year, McKenzie recruited several of his colleagues and friends and put together a local team of about a dozen men, calling themselves Mo Bros.

'Some of us are more blessed follicly than others'
-Ian McKenzie

“Nobody really knew why we were all growing these mustaches, but we ended up raising about $1,200,” said McKenzie, officially, the Midcoast United Mo Bros Team Captain. “I think Movember campaign has hit the tipping point. Keith Carson on Channel 6 news is participating in Movember and just last week it was featured on the sitcom, The Office.”

This year, there are about 10 men participating in the Mo Bros and they are at nearly half their goal with about $400 raised. Here’s how it works. Starting on Nov. 1, to the horror of most of the women in their lives, the Mo Bros began the month clean shaven and began to grow facial hair.  As the month progressed, the growing mustaches served to remind people to donate to their cause and to encourage men to make appointments with their doctors to get a check up.

By Nov. 30, all mustaches, no matter how sparse, how scraggly, or how creeper-like, must be at their final stages. (See the accompanying chart to see just how many creative ways there are to grow facial hair.)

On Dec. 1, the Mo Bros will hold an end of Movember party at the Smokestack Grill in Camden, starting at 9 p.m. The entertainment will be “Just Teachers,” which consists of all local mustachioed Midcoast teachers (McKenzie plays keyboards). If folks don’t come with a mustache, face painters will be on hand to paint one for them. They will have a prize for "The Mo That Needs To Go" at the end of the night.

“We’re hoping that this party we throw this Saturday night allows us to get to that $1,000 mark,” said McKenzie. “Money for research and prevention is only part of the cause, but raising the awareness is even more important. Men don’t take care of themselves as well as they should. I’ve known several men who have been through prostate cancer. When we feel bad physically, we tend to muscle through it, so part of this is: tell a man in your life to get checked.”

Hear that ladies? Every time you stare at that raccoon coat on his face, it’s your cue to pick up the phone and make him an appointment for a physical and a check up.

This international Movember movement originally started in New Zealand about a dozen years ago. Together, Movember and its men’s health partners, PCF and the LIVESTRONG  Foundation, work to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research. To date, Movember has raised $93 million worldwide.

 For more information, please visit www.movember.com

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

At first, it’s hard to grasp just what this object Angela Lorenz created is. Is it a piece of art? Is it a book?

The Mansion of Thought: Making Knowledge Visual in Three Dimensions is a mixed-media adult picture book that folds out unto itself like origami. It contains much of Lorenz’ studies and research in drawing, printmaking, fine arts and semiotics (a field equivalent to communications).  Lorenz, who studied in Bologna, Italy, in the mid-1980s and divides her time between Bologna and Searsmont, has a lot going on up there. A lot.

“I probably have about 50 projects going on at the moment,” she said. As the creator of multiple mixed media pieces, interactive presentations and exhibits, she has enviable talent, and — what most artists yearn for — a limitless fount of ideas; yet, she is very quiet in her approach. While she is known internationally and has been interviewed by The Boston Globe, she keeps a low profile in Maine. No one has really heard about her here.

The book is made of acid-free paper and was assembled and printed in Italy. The interior of the book was designed like a paper pair of pants. When she holds the simple design that was cut down the middle, the two “legs’ of the pants are what she can then intricately shape and fold into a variety of shapes, such as cubes, a hexagon and a house, which alludes to the title of the book.

“There’s always a struggle to making something that is user-friendly and not caving to commercial concerns, like ‘Will there be enough display space?’ she said. “Not wanting to be too hard for people who have trouble folding up maps, yet, creating something purposeful that communicates the ideas is what I tried to do.”

Conceptually, the book is 20 years in the making. It contains 67 watercolor images Lorenz has made based on cultural ideas and language and religions from around the world she’s studied since college. Some of her original artwork, including paintings from this book, appear in more than 100 private and public collections in North America and Europe, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Graphische Sammlung Albertina in Vienna.

“This is 4,000 years of history from Babylonia and upward. It’ s basically the tendency of humans to make knowledge visual in three-dimensions,” said Lorenz.

To demonstrate, she unfolds the casing of the book, which exposes a built-in essay as well as what looks like a Parcheesi game, which is actually a Central American game board.

“This talks about the intersection of games with pilgrimage and labyrinth,” she explained.

Rather than make a singular one-off sculptural piece, Lorenz sold the paintings in this book and used the proceeds to make 2,000 copies on her own as a way to make this artwork accessible and affordable to everyone.

The book itself is like opening a present. On both the front and back cover, a Hebrew and Latin phrase (or frieze) serves as the book’s introduction.

“And these are actually carved in the sides a building from the the 1500s in Bologna.” Inside are dozens of symbolic illustrations. Each hand-drawn symbol or imagery comes with an explanation, something Lorenz provides on her website.

For example, one of her original watercolor images is of Borobudur, a Buddhist monument, created in Java, Indonesia circa 800 AD. 

“It actually exists as a three-dimensional stone monument, built as a mandala. One of the hugest mandalas in the world, in fact. And you can progress, like a labyrinth up the steps and go through the phases of Buddha’s life.”

It’s an apt metaphor, this labyrinth, as it very neatly characterizes what it is like to open this enigmatic book and use your fingers to explore the many possibilities of The Mansion of Thought.

Copies of her book can be purchased at Left Bank Books. For more description to go with each symbol in the book visit www.angelalorenzbooks.com

At first, it’s hard to grasp just what this object Angela Lorenz created is. Is it a piece of art? Is it a book?

The Mansion of Thought: Making Knowledge Visual in Three Dimensions is a mixed-media adult picture book that folds out unto itself like origami. It contains much of Lorenz’ studies and research in drawing, printmaking , fine arts and semiotics (a field equivalent to communications).  Lorenz, who studied in Bologna, Italy in the mid-1980s and divides her time between Bologna and Searsmont, ME, has a lot going on up there. A lot. “I probably have about 50 projects going on at the moment,” she said. As the creator of multiple mixed media pieces, interactive presentations and exhibits, she has enviable talent, and—what most artists yearn for—a limitless fount of ideas, yet, she is very quiet in her approach. While she is known internationally and has been interviewed by The Boston Globe, she keeps a low profile in Maine. No one has really heard about her here.

The book is made of acid-free paper and was assembled and printed in Italy. The interior of the book was designed like a paper pair of pants. When she holds the simple design that was cut down the middle, the two “legs’ of the pants are what she can then intricately shape and fold into a variety of shapes, such as cubes, a hexagon and a house, which alludes to the title of the book. “There’s always a struggle to making something that is user-friendly and not caving to commercial concerns, like ‘Will there be enough display space?’ she said. “Not wanting to be too hard for people who have trouble folding up maps, yet, creating something purposeful that communicates the ideas is what I tried to do.”

Conceptually, the book is 20 years in the making. It contains 67 watercolor images Lorenz has made based on cultural ideas and language and religions from around the world she’s studied since college. Some of her original artwork, including paintings from this book, appear in more than 100 private and public collections in North America and Europe, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Graphische Sammlung Albertina in Vienna.

“This is 4,000 years of history from Babylonia and upward. It’ s basically the tendency of humans to make knowledge visual in three-dimensions,” said Lorenz.

To demonstrate, she unfolds the casing of the book, which exposes a built-in essay as well as what looks like a Parcheesi game, which is actually a Central American game board. “This talks about the intersection of games with pilgrimage and labyrinth,” she explained.

Rather than make a singular one-off sculptural piece, Lorenz sold the paintings in this book and used the proceeds to make 2,000 copies of this book on her own as a way to make this artwork accessible and affordable to everyone.

The book itself is like opening a present. On both the front and back cover, a Hebrew and Latin phrase (or frieze) serves as the book’s introduction. “And these are actually carved in the sides a building from the the 1500s in Bologna.” Inside are dozens of symbolic illustrations. Each hand-drawn symbol or imagery comes with an explanation, something Lorenz provides on her website www.

For example, one of her original watercolor images is of Borobudur, a Buddhist monument, created in Java, Indonesia circa 800 AD.  “It actually exists as a three-dimensional stone monument, built as a mandala. One of the hugest mandalas in the world, in fact. And you can progress, like a labyrinth up the steps and go through the phases of Buddha’s life.”

It’s an apt metaphor, this labyrinth, as it very neatly characterizes what it is like to open this enigmatic book and use your fingers to explore the any possibilities of The Mansion of Thought.

Lorenz will discuss The Mansion of Thought at Left Bank Books, in Belfast, ME on Nov 30 at 7:00 p.m. 30 at 7:00 p.m. Copies of her book can be purchased at Left Bank Books. For more description to go with each symbol in the book visit www.angelalorenzbooks.books.com

For the holidays, we’re launching a new series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

 

Woodriver Stones, Inc.

The back story:

It’s clear that Brandon Kimble, who owns Brandon T. Kimble Designs custom furniture and cabinetry, has a knack for working with wood. Last year, he decided to launch a new business making wood “stones” from more than 100 species of trees from all over the world. Calling it Woodriver Stones, he says, “After almost a year of trial and error, a few bloody knuckles and some very bad first efforts, we found that it was easy to make crude stone shapes — the hard part was making the stones beautiful and refined.”

As you can see from the photos, the bloody knuckles were worth it after all. They make all of their stones by hand, one at a time. Each stone is cut, shaped and polished at their shop in Camden.  They use wood species from all over the world and when possible, use reclaimed or recycled wood.  They also take advantage of the trees native to Maine such as poplar, cherry, oak, ash, maple, and fir. 

Where to find it/price range:

  • Once A Tree, Camden
  • Abacus Gallery, Freeport, Kennebunk, Portland

Prices range according to each store.

In his words: “With so much scrap wood going into the landfill, we decided that we would make something with it.  There has not been a better time to start being more environmentally conscious than now!”

 

 

LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls

First of all, how can you not love the fact that the owner’s name is Cyndi Prince and her email is cyndi@loo-hoo.com. (For those of you who don’t immediately get the reference, you need to brush up on your How The Grinch Stole Christmas, in which little Cindy Lou Who melts a little piece of the Grinch’s heart.)

The back story

You know what? We’ll just let Cyndi tell it.

“I learned about wool dryer balls in 2009.  A wool dryer ball is a felted ball of wool that you use in your clothes dryer to help separate your clothes.  Having several in your dryer creates a constant motion that allows for more air to circulate around your wet laundry so your clothes will dry faster. When we made the decision to cloth diaper our son, I realized that we would have to give up using dryer sheets.  At first I really was sorry to see them go.  They eliminated static, and added very fragrant smells to our laundry.  But after doing some research, and learning about the harmful chemicals that are in dryer sheets and the negative impact they can have on clothes and on your dryer, I was happy to make a change and consider a more natural, healthy alternative.  That’s when I discovered wool dryer balls.  I purchased some online, they worked great and I started to see all the benefits that they offered, but the quality was lacking and only lasted a few months before they started to unravel.  So, I gave it a shot and tried to make some of my own.  I have a creative background and have always loved to make things so it was and is a lot of fun going through the trial and error stage to come up with a solid finished product.  During this time, I had taken New Ventures course through Women Work and Community and have known for awhile that I wanted to start and run my own business.  In Oct. 2010, I launched LooHoo (formerly Wooly Rounds) in Midcoast Maine.  I love that this business is really about providing a sustainable alternative that will help protect your family’s health and that helps to reduce our impact on the environment.”

Where to find it/price range:

Online, loo-hoo.com, $27.99 for a Deluxe starter pack.

Also can be found at:

  • Clean Bee Laundry, Camden
  • Maine Cloth Diaper, Damariscotta
  • Jo Ellen Designs, Camden

In her words: “I saw that there was a demand for wool dryer balls and a lack of companies that were producing them in large enough volumes to supply the retailers that were interested in selling them.  Also, I think it's amazing to be in the business of creating a product that helps reduce the environment impact that clothes dryers have on the planet and to help homes take steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle.”

 

 

 

FlowFold iPad sleeves

 

The backstory

Charles Friedman, 24, has been all over Maine news in the last couple of years with his 100 percent made-in-Maine sailcloth wallets. Featured in Downeast Magazine, Maine Today Media’s “Forty Under 40” entrepreneurs, as well as other statewide publications, there is a reason why he is getting so much attention. This is how the story goes: As a teenager Charles Friedman worked sewing sailboat sails in Yarmouth. When his grandfather’s old leather wallet fell apart, he crafted a new one from scrap sailcloth and the first Flowfold wallet was born. The company officially launched in 2010 on Peaks Island. Over the years, hundreds of prototypes were made and put to the test. They have refined their methods and produce wallets, business card holders and iPad sleeves with a conscious decision to make everything locally and sustainably. And (this just makes you want to hug the guy), this past spring the company adopted four baby leatherback turtles from The Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) in Malaysia. They did this with a donation derived from the sales of one of their special wallets.

Where to find it/price range:

Online, at Flowfold.com, $24-35

In his words: "We are really excited at the opportunity to make functional products at a reasonable price, it makes buying quality local products more accessible."

 

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

Here's the thing about the Farnsworth Art Museum. It is the home of internationally renowned paintings and art works, yes. But as locals, we don't tend to go out of our way to check it out, because many think of it as a tourist's destination. With our Cheap Dates series, the point is to look at the Midcoast with new eyes, be a tourist sometimes, or try things "that have always been there."

Here's your chance, because it's free on Saturday November 24.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the museum’s traditional holiday family festival will feature passport stations; Breakers Jazz performing holiday classics in the library; a puppet show by Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers in the auditorium; cookie decorating as well as a special hands-on craft activity in the Gamble Center; horse-drawn carriage rides around the campus; and the Share the Wonder train display at the Wyeth Center. This program is free to the public as well as free museum admission for all.

So grab your best bud or your honey and go on the best kind of date there is--a free one with horse-drawn carriage rides, jazz in the Farnsworth's handsome and regal library or check out their latest collections, such as the urban, contemporary The Homestead Project or their recent acquistions such as new paintings by twentieth-century artists Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Rockwell Kent, Marguerite and William Zorach, Elaine de Kooning and of course...

Andrew Wyeth. You know you can't leave without getting your Wyeth fix. 

For more information visit: farnsworthmuseum.org/current-exhibitions

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

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

ROCKLAND — Stacy Campbell, a bartender at Archer’s on the Pier in Rockland, has been experimenting with creating a holiday drink for about a month now and her very tasty (and timely) invention is the Cranberry Compass Rose.

As to what’s the meaning behind the cocktail’s name? “It’s going to point you in the right direction and keep you feeling rosy,” said Campbell.

Ooh, but this one is tricky. Gonna sneak right up on ya! “It’s tart, with a little sweetness, but with very clean ingredients and refreshing,” said Campbell. “You’ve got to watch it though. It makes you forget you’re even drinking a cocktail.”

The two special ingredients, fresh Maine cranberries and St. Germaine liqueur, can be easily found in the Midcoast. Campbell's version uses a simple syrup made from boiled down cranberries from Moody Farm Cranberry Bog in Lincolnville, just after peak harvest season. The cranberries are dry-harvested, which is the only way they can be sold fresh. Campbell said Archer’s on the Pier makes all of its accompanying juices and simple syrups from scratch. A bottle of St. Germaine can be found in most local liquor and grocery stores.

"The more it is shaken up over ice and the more it blends with the ice in the glass, the more balanced the flavor," said Campbell. "So, let it sit just a while."

Watch the video to see how the cocktail is made. You’ll need:

  • 2 shots of Hendrick’s gin
  • ¾ shot of St. Germaine, a liqueur made with fresh wild elderflowers picked in the Alps
  • ¼ shot of fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ shot of fresh cranberry simple syrup
  • Sprigs of fresh basil
  • Orange peel
  • Whole cranberries

Anecdotal evidence shows the night before Thanksgiving to be one of the biggest drinking nights at bars and restaurants everywhere. So, watch your intake (and drive safely) if you try one at Archer’s on the Pier. Better yet, get the ingredients and make this your signature cocktail at home for the holidays. Happy T-Day!

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

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to 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.

As you'll get to know from previous Sailor's Rest Farm columns, when Ladleah Dunn gets a hunch about a certain ingredient, she will spend the next 72 hours of her life creating something delicious with it.

“My friend Kevin at Hubbard Brook Farm in Unity grows the most amazing peaches and when they’re perfect, I just want to make everything out of them,” she said. “It was one of those impulse buys, where I was going to get a case of peaches to do various things, you know, like make peach pies or peach preserves.

“So, when I went to pick up the peaches (and proper etiquette of course is to call ahead so you don’t just show up at the farmer’s market and take them all) — he set some aside. He says, ‘Well, I’ve got these other yellow peaches. They look like sh — but they taste real good.’ So, I said 'I want ‘em. I’ll take them all.' These were beautiful; he didn't spray them, so they were a little mottled here and there. But the flavor was incredible.”

Turns out the yellow peaches were about to be turned into a homemade wine. Everybody loves a neighbor who makes homemade wine. Though Ladleah has made wine with other fruits like blueberries and wild grapes, this was her first attempt with peaches.

What’s so cool is how easy it really is to make what she calls “totally Appalachian hillbilly wine.”

“You basically take out the pits and stems, crush them up with your hands, and mix them with some water, sugar and wine yeast and let it ferment in a bucket known as a carboy,” she said, prying the plastic lid of the carboy up so we could see what was inside. It just looked like a chunky peach smoothie.  “Wine is best when it is years out, technically speaking,” she said. “My previous experience with fruit wines is that they can be sickeningly sweet and boozy. Total headache material. So, I sort of scaled the ratio of fruit, sugar and yeast so it would be dry, but with a high alcohol content.”

Tasting it ourselves, it was surprisingly dry and tasty as young as it was. Slightly fruity, and almost evervescent, it tasted a bit like a peach prosecco.

“It’s good,” Ladleah said sipping. "If you don’t look at it, it’s good.”

Young wines are always cloudy at the beginning. As they age, the particulates settle out. “I’ll give it a couple more weeks, then I’ll bottle it and then I’ll try to leave it until next year," she said.

Asked if she really will leave it a year.

“Yeah, because of curiosity more than anything, it won’t happen," she said laughing.

No, it's not Camden vs. Belfast. Poets are nice. It's "Camden Meets Belfast" tonight when four Midcoast Maine poets will give a free reading of their work in the Picker Room of the Camden Public Library at 7 p.m.

"We don't have any particular theme, but we hope to present a lively reading that will encourage people that a poetry can be a fun and accessible form of art entertainment," said Kristen Lindquist, from Camden, whose book Transportation (Megunticook Press, 2011) was a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. "You won't be getting any weird language poetry or stuff that confused you in high school from us."

"Live poetry is a great mental palate-cleanser; as old a form of storytelling as there is, and brand new the moment it gets breathed into the room," said Dave Morrison, also of Camden, whose seventh book, Clubland is a collection of poems about rock bars written in classic form. He will be introducing fail, his eighth collection of poems.

Elizabeth W. Garber, who has served as Poet Laureate of Belfast, has published three books of poetry. Three of her poems have been read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac. Her latest work, True Affections: Poems from a Small Town, explores poems that are grounded in distinctive Maine moments in town and on islands.

Lauren Murray, a performance poet also from Belfast, was featured in the 2009 Belfast Poetry Festival with her work, The Mystery of Love. Her new book, hear if you dare, explores the theme of listening within to discover one's creativity and experience the divine.

Come join a continuing tradition of writers and readers at the library. Books by each poet will be available for purchase.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

Killer Piks is a monthly review of books, movies, and music by people who are obsessed with books, movies and music.

Books

And the Pursuit of Happiness

by Lacy Simons

Did you know that George Washington had 36 dogs, and one of them was named Sweet Lips? And that the botanist John Bartram, a great friend of Benjamin Franklin, named a camellia-like tree in Franklin's honor? (The Franklinia, which blooms in late summer.) I know these things now, and so much more, because of Maira Kalman. (You'll likely recognize her style from her earlier books, including The Principles of Uncertainty and piles of children's books, as well as numerous New Yorker covers.) Her latest book--a gorgeous, heart-melting combination of writing, painting and photography called And the Pursuit of Happiness--was first published in the New York Times as a 12-part illustrated blog. Energized and inspired by the 2008 election, Kalman traveled to Washington, D.C., launching a year-long country-wide investigation of American democracy and its workings, and the result is as idiosyncratic and goosebump-raising as can be; each chapter delves into a different story, a different meditation on democracy and happiness and humanity. It sounds treacly and overearnest, but it couldn't be farther from that. Maira Kalman is magic, and this book tells you all you need to know about what I mean.

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

Crooked Arrows

by Jim Dandy

“Long ago, the medicine game was given to the people of the Haudenosaunee to entertain the creator.”

This opening line sets the tone for Crooked Arrows, a film that honors the sacred origins of lacrosse and the traditions of the Native Americans who play. Brandon Routh is Joe Logan, a mixed-blood Native American and former prep-school lacrosse star with big plans for expanding his tribe's casino. However, college and success have clouded Joe's vision. Before he can close the deal between the investors and the the tribal council, he is tasked with re-examining his spirit. Joe must prove himself worthy to the council by coaching their losing lacrosse team. By showing them the true meaning of tribal spirit, he can restore pride to his people and to the game, while learning the value of loyalty himself.

Sound like good medicine? It is!

Crooked Arrows is a feel good sports movie, rich in tradition as well as an authentic portrayal of native Americans today. "There's nothing wrong with a crooked arrow. As long as it follows its own path, it will find its way."

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

Tomorrowland

by Nathaniel Bernier

With Ryan Bingham's first album since the magnificent 2010 release, Junky Star, and the first on his own label without his usual backing band, The Dead Horses, I was definitely interested to put my ear to this.  The first song is a frolicking Americana tune whipping some strings into a frenzy, as his gravelly chords churn up the dust from the floor of a lonesome saloon.  A little angry in this first cut, perhaps socially as well as politically, he rips into each transition with fervor.  The second cut starts out and dances along at a more steady, melodic pace, urging one to sing along.  The amount of layering in this six-minute cut drives it through the mountains and valleys and over the streams and scrubby wasteland, but you won't notice as you'll be inspired to shut your eyes and listen intently.

Chunky guitars fraught with reverberation and twisted knobs open up the punk attitude-soaked Guess Who's Knocking, a song the Ramones could have easily sung.  I think my favorite song comes in at a funky rockabilly cut with lifting old-school country lyrics about loving a little honey while loving all the amazing great music found in these parts.  A jumping juke, this song really shows the versatility of this amazing showman and songwriter.  Bluesy guitars open up the next tune and a thumping drum and bass-line drive it along.  Wonderful tunes continue to spit out of my player, one after another.  Slowed-down acoustic pieces that explore a very talented songwriter who, maybe, really was finding himself on this record.  He seems to pull from other genres more so than from his more straightforward alt-rock country twists.  Strings, keyboards, blues riffs, rockabilly- it's all here and it's all great.  This young man will be around for a nice long time, living in a place of yesterday, today and Tomorrowland.

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 http://www.wildrufus.com or http://wildrufus.blogspot.com/

Taking the pulse of the Midcoast wedding Industry just a week after Maine voters made history by being the first in the country to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, the overall reaction from Midcoast vendors and venues has been positive. However, the majority of businesses interviewed admitted it’s still too early to determine how they’re going to actively pursue gay and lesbian clientele.

Currently, the referendum has to take up to 30 days to certify, with the law taking effect after another 30 days. If all goes to plan, it’s looking like early January before same sex couples can legally wed in this state.  “I don’t know if there’s been a whole lot of talk about that yet,” said Marina Macho Seekins from The Belfast Chamber of Commerce. Echoing this sentiment, Maine Coast Weddings & Special Events planner Linda Lewis said, “We haven’t really discussed it yet, but we’d be more than willing to help anybody out have a wonderful life together.”

According to The Huffington Post, The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that same-sex couples in the three newest states may spend more than $166 million over the next three years. Expounding on what this means for Maine, Penobscot Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Staci Coomer added, “According to the Williams Institute, the impact on Maine’s economy could be significant, with spending totaling almost $16 million. This could impact businesses in multiple industries across the region and allow for potential growth.”

Many vendors who have been doing commitment ceremonies for a number of years are delighted to work a larger influx of LGBT couples. “I have catered quite a few civil unions over the years and see marriage equality as a real good thing, for business, yes; but, even more so for our society. The welcome mat has been out for a long time,”  said Karen Federle, owner of Trillium Caterers. “We have catered many same-sex wedding celebrations and do anticipate an increase now that the law offers the same basic rights to everyone here in Maine,” said Lucien Willette, a coordinator for Maine Coast Catering.

Other vendors whose services have mainly been used primarily by heterosexual couples, are open to new possibilities. “Weddings, rehearsal dinners, shuttles, airport transportation and events for guests are a big part of our business,” said Jim Gamage, owner of All Aboard Trolley & Limousine. “I am thinking we could see a substantial boost to our business. Time will tell but we are very excited and optimistic.” Hillary Bousum, known as the Camden Cake Lady, announced on her Facebook page the day after the historic vote: "I'm so pleased that I can make wedding cakes for ALL couples getting married."

With same-sex marriage legal in Maine, it opens the doors to a host of other vendors, such as officiants. “To me what matters far more than gender, is that the couple's relationship and commitment is based on an abiding friendship, love, mutual respect and support,” said Captain Ken Barnes, a Notary Public and as a Merchant Captain who officiates weddings locally.

The Camden Harbour Inn, which has historically attracted LBGT clientele, has taken the lead in the Midcoast to advertise to gay and lesbian couples. “We received many press requests from all over the U.S. and Canada with regards to same-sex marriage, said Raymond Brunyanszki, co-owner of Camden Harbour Inn. They already have two offers through their website; one is called “Maine Is For ALL! Lovers Wedding Package,” which was picked up by Travel and Leisure Magazine just days after the historic vote.

Those in the wedding industry might want to review their marketing materials to appeal to a broader base. With same-sex couples all over the world now eyeing Maine as a destination wedding spot, competition will be steep. Many gay and lesbian couples look specifically at vendors and venues that provide an inclusive tone on their marketing materials as well as same-sex images and testimonials.

Another way the Midcoast wedding industry can make a concerted effort to attract this clientele is to list their services on gay and lesbian wedding directory websites. Two websites with a notable Maine presence include: gayweddings.com and purpleunions.com with multiple vendors and venues from the Midcoast already listed, including: The Samoset Resort (Rockport), Bay Leaf Cottages and Bistro (Lincolnville), Etienne Perret (Camden), White Doves of Maine (Washington), Alda’s Maine Wedding Flowers (Freedom) and Blue Skye Farm (Waldoboro) to name a few.

Several other national wedding directories such as engaygedweddings.com and RainbowWeddingNetwork.com  barely have any Maine vendors at all.

Yes, it's still early. It may take a little legwork to get Maine's “welcome mat” up to speed to match other states that have legalized same-sex marriage, but the Midcoast is a spectacular spot with good-hearted people and with time, the outgoing message will be matching the incoming opportunities.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

CAMDEN — The show will go on. On Nov. 2, Christopher Kenney and his alter ego drag sensation Edie, who also serves as host and emcee of Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity" in Las Vegas, was scheduled to come to Camden and put on a parody show of the cult classic film Mommie Dearest. However, that was the week of super storm Hurricane Sandy. Cancelled flights, flooding and several stranded Mommie Queerest cast members made it necessary to reschedule the show to Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. at the Camden Opera House.

This week, Kenney and the full cast are going to be in Camden, come hell or wire hangers. The stage parody, written by Jamie Morris, is directed by Kenney, who won the LA Weekly Theater Award as Best Comedy Director for his work on Mommie Queerest, and was named by Las Vegas City Life readers as Best Local Theater Director for his work on Jamie Morris’ trilogy of plays.

A new twist has been added to the rescheduled show. On Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. the Camden Opera House will host a free screening — with VIP seating — of the 1981 classic Faye Dunaway film, Mommie Dearest, for all ticket holders. (If you've ever been to a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening, you can just imagine what this will be like.)  Cast members from Mommie Queerest will introduce the film.

In anticipation of the show, we interviewed Kenney via email. So then, here are:

Five Things You Need To Know About Mommie Queerest

1. You were the first to bring drag to Midcoast Maine and now have a loyal core audience from the multiple years you've come back. How is this show going to make us laugh, make us gasp and make us glad the kids are in bed by 8 p.m.?

I must first begin by saying that Jamie Morris must get most of the credit. This comedy is very much a by-product of his twisted mind. I can say that because we've been partners for almost 14 years now. He has a sick sense of humor and all of it is evident in this parodied stage version of one of the campiest gay cult classic films of all time. The movie just celebrated 30 years! Can you believe it? ALL the great lines from the movie are there...with a twist. Jamie's premise is "What if Joan had really been a man all those years?" Every moment is over-the-top camp with a brilliant all-male cast and I'm honored to direct.

2. Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. The eyebrows. The wire hangers. Please tell us there is going to be an epic scene about wire hangers.

OF COURSE the Wire Hanger Scene is in there! The audience would kill us if we left that out. I can't give it away but let me tell you that is is done BIGGER than ever. 

3. The same-sex marriage referendum just passed by popular vote last week in Maine. Saturday Night Live characterized it in a skit about two gay lobstermen who want to get married. (View skit.) What about this skit strikes you as so wrong (or so right) about how the rest of the world views Mainers and same-sex marriage? What can you please tell them, apart from the fact that lobstermen don't sound like Fred Gwynne in "Pet Sematary?"

The skit is very funny. I love that SNL always has their finger on the pulse. And the fact that a show of its caliber is spoofing such a history-making event is a very big deal. The more the issue is in the public eye and is portrayed as the new normal means a lot. I can truly feel the tide turning and it's amazing. As far as the accent and the stereotype, we all know it's not THAT exaggerated but hey, it makes for good TV and great laughs. Oh, and we WON. That also helps!

4. In your production, Daniel Pintauro, known from the hit TV show “Who’s the Boss,” plays multiple characters including the maid, Carol Ann. In your show, who's the Real Boss?

Let me just say that Danny is great, a joy to work with on and off stage, but JOAN is the real boss. Always has been. Always will be. And in this version she truly gets the last laugh. Love ya, Danny, but you understand.

5. Jamie Morris is the playwright who wrote Mommie Queerest and you've won a number of awards for directing it, with your own particular brand of stage parody. What is the key to getting people to not take themselves so seriously in theater and find a way to translate that into laughs?

Parody is a very special art form. Most everyone in the audience knows the source material, which makes for a bit of a challenge. We have to honor the original, yet give the show a new spin. And these actors do it brilliantly. They inhabit their characters with a tremendous amount of respect for the actors who originated the roles and bring so much more! And they have a blast doing it. I think if the cast is having fun, then the audience cannot help but get swept up in the moment and go on this fun, fun, twisted, over-the-top journey.

The production and film are sponsored by the Camden Harbour Inn in support of Equality Maine and Yes on 1, a victory that is important to all of the actors as well as the owners of the inn, Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest. Kenney said he is taking time out of his busy performance schedule to return to Camden, due to his love of the village, the cause and his desire to bring a Broadway class act to town.

Individual and advance tickets are available through the Camden Opera House. Dinner packages at Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn are available and include a 3-course dinner and reserved orchestra seats for the show. Following the performance, all ticket holders are invited to an after party including complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a meet and greet with the cast at Natalie’s.

For tickets to Mommie Queerest, contact the Camden Opera House at 470-7066 or book online at camdenoperahouse.com. For information about dinner/ticket packages, call 236-4200.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Fun fact: the name concrete comes from the Latin "concretus,” which means to grow together.

The path of local concrete artisans Marcel Valliere and Paul Powers has emulated the very stuff they work with. Like cement powder reacting with water, their friendship and partnership has strengthened into the Thomaston-based company, Alternative Rock, which exemplifies the core ideals of Midcoast’s creative economy.

Valliere and Powers have been hand-picked to speak as one of the eight presenters at the upcoming PechaKucha event on Nov. 16 in Union. Though concrete as a substance is about as ordinary as dirt, it’s what they do to transform it that makes them stand out.

“We try to make concrete as pretty as we can,” said Powers. “The art form is a communal effort by committed artisans. It involves art, design, as well as selecting the type of concrete. It’s not something one person can do from start to finish. Even though the business is just the two of us, sometimes It takes four to five people in the process, especially in a larger project.”

The company, founded five years ago, started like so many hobby businesses, out of a shared love for tinkering with building materials. Both men were entrenched in the Midcoast building industry; Valliere is an architectural designer who also owns and operates his Valliere Design Studios of Rockland.  Powers has years of experience in various aspects of home building and renovation. Working out of each other’s shops, they started experimenting with concrete countertops for their own homes.

“We started to hear from friends and strangers that they wanted one, and from there it grew. Before you knew it, we had a business,” said Powers.

Like so many fledgling entrepreneurs, they could only go so far without an economic boost to expand their business. At last year’s Juice Conference, they competed against 65 other companies in the Juice 3.0 Pitch Contest.  They ended up in a tie with another company. In a surprise move, both companies were awarded the $25,000 flexible financing prize.  Asked what made them stand out, Powers said, “We’re blending art with design and providing a useful product that is done locally. It’s not the type of thing you’re going to be selling or shipping to Singapore.”

Winning the prize jumpstarted the next phase of their business.

“That’s what really propelled us,” he continued. “We were working out of each other’s driveways and what we really needed was seed money to own up a shop we could operate year-round.”

Concrete countertops have long been a staple in contemporary homes, the kind you’d see in Dwell Magazine. One-third of Alternative Rock's clientele, contemporary home owners, fit that dynamic. But, Powers said, people might be surprised to learn they do lot of countertop work for old Maine farmhouses, because it fits into the overall look, as well.

The most challenging project they’d done was a standing concrete waterwall, which had to be lifted by crane to the Harbor Square Gallery roof garden in Rockland. In partnership with the gallery, they created the waterwall as a functional piece of art. As it is for sale, Powers noted, “If someone buys it, we’ve got to get that crane and bring it right down again.”

A popular statistic cited by Columbia University, shows how ubiquitous concrete is (to a disturbing degree). More than 10 billion tons of concrete are produced each year worldwide. In the United States, the annual production of more than 500 million tons implies about two tons for each man, woman and child.

It’s not a fact lost on Valliere or Powers, whose business follows the sustainability tenet of the creative economy. In their line of work, concrete can be re-used and recycled.

“Because we live in a place where the concrete industry is well-established, we can take mistakes or old designs, grind them up and make it into new paving for your driveway or a new concrete countertop,” said Powers. ‘You can’t really do that with a $100 per square foot of marble. At least with concrete we’ll use it over and over again.”

 To find out more about Alternative Rock visit: alternatrock.com 

 To learn more about the upcoming PechKucha show, visit: Midcoast Magnet

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to 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.

A two-person farm isn't a hobby. It's a lot of damn work. The thing that is consistently impressive about Ladleah Dunn is how she can scrounge every last bit of her hard-worn efforts from her land into a delicious meal. Like the fable about the ant and the grasshopper, she has let none of the vegetables or herbs she has so carefully cultivated go to waste now that summer growing season is over.

For example, Ladleah grows and harvest her own fruits, vegetables, heirloom greens and herbs and sells them to a few local restaurants. She ends up selling some through the local Lincolnville bulletin board, prompting people to come to her house and buy directly from her.

“I love to get cash for what I grow because it helps pay for the infrastructure, but I’m amenable to any kind of trade and barter," she said.

She elaborates on this theme: "I firmly believe everyone should have access to good food. This comes from a desire to serve my community. Growing up on Vinalhaven, we didn't have a lot of cash flow, but I happened to be born on an organic farm with two parent who were both chefs. So, just by default, we were never in want for really good food, even if it was beans, 12 different ways.  This empowers me to pass it on. In fact, I just recently gave away vegetables to three different people who really kind of needed it.  That almost feels better to me than a cash exchange. In fact, I just had a guy who knows apple trees and has been working with them his whole life come by and give us some really fantastic advice on how to take care of our old apple trees in exchange for tomatoes. I gave him enough tomatoes to make a few batches of sauce."

In this gallery, we'll show you a few things she's harvested and transformed into food to last all winter.

Need a little something to sweeten your day? On Thursday, Nov.8, Sarah King, a chocolatier from Belmont who owns the Sweetest Things, will feature a chocolate tasting at the back of Belfast's Chocolate Drop Candy Shoppe on 64 Main Street in Belfast, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. The Chocolate Drop Candy Shoppe exclusively carries King's line of handmade, hand-dipped and hand-rolled chocolates.  Stop in for samples of Nana's Buttercrunch, Peanut Butter Bliss, and Needhams. They will also have her signature half-pound boxes and smaller sample boxes. To see a related story about this unique candy shop and its old-fashioned soda fountain, check out "Cheap Dates: The only time where being a jerk is acceptable."

For more information, check out their Facebook page.

This is a bit of a quirky Cheap Date, but it’s kind of fun; you’ll like it. When is the last time you ever saw teenagers willingly hanging out with Baby Boomers after school having milkshakes and listening to 1950s music?

Unless you’re well into a “Back To The Future” movie marathon, the correct answer is... never. Until now.  Make a trip to Belfast on a regular school day afternoon around 3 p.m. to the Chocolate Drop Candy Shoppe, a retro-designed old-fashioned soda fountain shop on 64 Main Street.

The shop, which opened this past June, carries all kinds of old-fashioned candies and modern gourmet chocolates. Half of its interior was transformed into Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, complete with signature red stools, a low, kid-friendly counter, the iconic soda fountain handle, syrups and a bevvy of glassware. Soda jerk Dawn Desmarais explained: “We’re pretty much packed with teens by 2:20 in the afternoon. They’ll all sit at the counter ordering chocolate milkshakes, while we rock out to the '50s music. They love it. The older people who come in will even start dancing when they hear ‘their’ songs and the kids just crack up. It’s fun.”

She said it’s the only scenario where she’s ever seen the two generations hang out together.

The chocolate sodas and egg creams are most popular drink for the older folks and chocolate shakes are the most popular for the teens. They carry Round Top ice cream from Damariscotta.

“We have the least expensive prices in town because we want to make it affordable for the kids and the families,” said Desmarais.

Now isn’t this kind of a cool Cheap Date? Go in with the gang or your squeeze on a regular school day afternoon and immerse yourself in the unusual dynamics. Watch the soda jerk do it up the proper way, creating a special soda from scratch. Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain offers all homemade soda syrups, including real Coca Cola syrup.

In fact, go for an egg cream. What you’ve never had one before? Little known fact: An egg cream originated in Brooklyn and the modern way of making it does not use any egg; it’s strictly mixed with chocolate syrup, milk and carbonated water. There are multiple theories why it is called egg cream, but the explanation on Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain menu is that the original soda was modeled after a French drink called chocolate et crème.  However, New Yorkers couldn’t pronounce “et crème” so in their New York guttural twist, it became ‘egg cream’.”

 Check out their Facebook page or call 207-338-0566 for more information. and watch our video to see how a soda jerk works her magic.

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

On Nov. 3, the Farnsworth Art Museum's young artists' committee, known as The Collective, surpassed all expectations with an unbelievable second annual bash to celebrate the "End Of The World." It was Off. The. Hook. They spent a month-and-a-half converting the warehouse space in the Oddfellows building above Over The Rainbow Yarn Shop into a labyrinth of eerie art installations and disturbing imagery (such as underlit wheelchairs and glow-in the-dark sodium chloride bags). Combine that with food donated by Shepherd's Pie, Fromviandoux and others (including a tortuous marshmallow roasting station), speciality cocktails called "Evacuation" and "Rejoice" served up by 40 Paper Satellite's crew, an impromptu dance session by Rock Coast Rollers derby "Jeerleaders," slammin' electronica by Portland's Mr. Dereloid and DJ Mike Said and original End Of The World costumes — it makes you wish every day was Halloween in the Midcoast. Well done, people. Well done.

Note: in regard to the individual artists: The Collective told us "The works are largely collaborative and are an extension of the group. That way when people inquire about the works, we as a group can say "we all worked together on the pieces/party."

According to the website Derby Diva, "Fresh Meat" is a term used by many roller derby leagues to identify skaters who are new, who are in training and have not been drafted to a team.

According to Bristol Smashin', president for the Rock Coast Rollers, Midcoast's first roller derby league, Fresh Meat is a term of endearment for new skaters. "Once new skaters have been with us for awhile, we call them other things like 'Old Meat' and 'Rotten Meat.' It's mostly a joke and kind of a cute way to refer to them."

This weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) Rock Coast Rollers will be hosting roller derby tryouts titled "Bring Out Your Fresh Meat" at Point Lookout in Northport. And even though the title is meant to be funny, they do recognize that competitive skating is a bit intimidating to some. However, the RCR ladies have no time for fear. And it's all about making it fun. "LOVE bruises? Us too!" is their motto.

To wit, their event poster reads:

Not sure you quite have what it takes? You don't know how to skate? You haven't been on skates in 20+ years? Afraid of falling?
SO WHAT?!

Some of us didn't either.

We will teach you the basics and build you up from there.

We fall a lot.

Though the poster is designed to appeal to a certain type of take-no-crap woman, Bristol Smashin' wants to make it clear that there is no specific "look" or body type they're looking for. In other words, the hard core, heavily tatted, pierced stereotype often depicted in movies is not a requirement.  Rock Coast Rollers is made up of single ladies, moms, teachers, business people, bakers, gardeners and self-employed women from all walks of life. "I think, more than anything, what you need to have is a sense of determination and the willingness to fall down and get back up hundreds of times before you don't fall down any more. From that, you will build your confidence," said Smashin'.

Currently, the league has made a new home at Point Lookout's gymnasium for the winter, where, after the new year, they will once again start scheduling bouts among interstate Roller Derby Leagues. "The whole idea of the tryouts is to grow our league, increase our skating opportunities and our community service and continue to cultivate the sport in the area," said Smashin'. Already, more than 50 people invited on Facebook have indicated they will show up to the tryouts. The event will be open to all women 18 and older. Rock Coast Rollers will be providing skates and protective gear for new skaters to borrow. Tryouts start Saturday Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 4 from 1-4 p.m. at The Fitness Center at Point Lookout. Participants only need to try out on one of those days, not both. Men are also encouraged to join as they are always looking for referees and officials. To the men they say: "And again, we will teach you EVERYTHING we know. Well, you know, everything we know about roller derby, not the secrets to the Universe. You're on your own with that one."

To stay glued to what the Rock Coast Rollers are up to next, join their Facebook page or visit their website.

 Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST-- Now that the wind is howling and the fall rains are coming in, we've got to find more inside Cheap Dates to entertain you. It doesn't get any cheaper than a free big screen movie at Colonial Theater in Belfast. (Side note: The last time I took in a free movie was when we saw Superman in 1978 five times in one day. We didn't even leave the theater so I guess the other four times were technically "free.")

The Colonial Theatre's Centennial Celebration Free Movie Series is winding down - just two months remain in the sampling of 100 years of movies.  For November, they are pictures made in 2002 and for December, they're from 2011.  This Free Movie Series started last January with movies of 1912.  Here are the remaining free showings offered on three nights....(with a little IMDB description as well as some unnecessary editorializing.)

Mon. Nov. 5

My Big Fat Greek Wedding at 7:00 p.m. and Crash at 7:15 p.m.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity. Reason to watch: Bride trainwrecks are always a barrel of monkeys and that hot guy from Sex and The City stars in it. A good GNO (Girls Night Out) movie.

Crash: Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption. Reason to watch: An intellectual flick with an all-star cast if reality TV or the election coverage is driving you bonky. Good movie to impress a date with. 

Mon. Nov. 12

Chicago at 7:00 and Monsoon Wedding at 7:15

Chicago: Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago. Reason To Watch: Who doesn't love two hot mess divas duking it out in a musical?

Monsoon Wedding: A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India. Reason to watch: See My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Same train wreck. Different country.

Mon. Dec. 3

The Descendants at 6:45 p.m., The Artist at 7:00 p.m, and Hugo at 7:15 p.m.

The Descendants: With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the man who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune. Reason to watch: Two words: Hawaii and relationship dramz. That was four words.

The Artist: A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions. Reason to watch: Vintage Hollywood and fans of the 1920s will think this is the bee's knees.

Hugo: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. Reason to watch: Beautiful visuals, love adventure, mystery, wonder. That's how another review described it. I never saw it. It's probably very good.

For more information visit: Colonial Theater

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Some believe that the Mayan calendar, which ends on Dec. 21, 2012, marks the end of the world. The Collective, whose purpose exists to attract a younger, contemporary audience to the Farnsworth Art Museum, believes that if we’re all going to bite the dust, there’s no sense in throwing an after party after the world ends.

Actually, it’s a little more nuanced than that.

“We really want to celebrate what we thought was a very successful year for The Collective,” said David Troup, Farnsworth’s Communications Officer. “The point is to open the Farnsworth to a part of the community that has not yet felt comfortable entering the museum, so we’re hoping The Collective’s second annual party will be the kind welcoming, inviting event for all.”

Last year’s inaugural event, held in a completely transformed space of Rockland’s Bicknell Building, blew people away. Think: DJs, distressed and dirty brick walls spotlit with a giant art installations; sumptuous displays of food (in some cases food as interactive art!) More than 350 people attended last year and more than one person commented that they felt they’d been transported to a New York City night club.

This year’s event will have to be smaller, due to a smaller space; so this is your fair warning to get those advance tickets now. There may not be any left at the door.  In keeping with the tradition of transforming an industrial work space into an underground art rave, the event will be using the third floor of the Oddfellows Hall Building on School street in Rockland, donated by Ferraiolo Construction. Troup said the steering committee of The Collective (about 15 people including young professionals and artists in the area, as well as Farnsworth staff) have spent a month and a half converting this space for one night — a huge undertaking.

“Intelligent, electronic music” will kick off this dance party courtesy of Mr. Dereloid - winner of the 2012 Portland Phoenix Music Poll for Best DJ/Dance act and his collaborative partner DJ Mike Said.

Highlights to look for: 40 Paper Satellite will be shaking the drinks ($1 - $2 drinks by Down East Magazine's choice for best cocktails in Maine) and an array of good cocktail food will be available by such caterers as Maine Coast Catering and Shepherd's Pie. Just like last year, The Collective will showcase art installations by independent artists not already associated with the Farnsworth collection. Expect the art to be intriguing and to knock you off balance. Certain pieces have been chosen for their ability to add to the overall atmosphere of the theme of ‘End Of The World,' which by the way, is open to any costume interpretation if you still haven’t gotten your Halloween kicks out (though not mandatory.)

“Choose your own ending,” said Troup. “When you see the various art installations, you’ll understand what that means. As long as you’re wearing your dance shoes, I think you’re all set.”

“Last year people called it the best party of the year,” said Marney Pelletier McKenney, in Membership. “And they’re looking forward to this one being even better!”

The party starts at 9 p.m and goes to 12 a.m. Nonmembers: $25 in advance; $30 at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at farnsworthmuseum.org/ticket-end-world-after-party, or at the Museum Store or by calling 207-596-6256. For more information on how to be part of The Collective or when they’ll appear next, visit: facebook.com/farnsworthcollective

 

 Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — After a few test dinners, a massive hurricane and the usual issues to smooth out before a grand opening, Fog Bar & Café, on Rockland’s Main Street, will be opening for its first full week starting Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Fog Bar & Cafe is largely a family affair. Partners Ashley Seelig her mother, Sherrie Gibson, father Warren Seelig and her fiance, Josh Cardoso, have been working out the plans for this restaurant for more than a year. Each person in the partnership brings an artistic background to the project. Seelig’s parents own the building (in which Gibson also runs the design store, Black Parrot). While Gibson has experience with interior design and had a major role in Fog Bar & Cafe's overall décor and look, Warren Seelig (an artist and professor), built the eclectic bar and dining shelves out of a patchwork collection of reclaimed hardwoods such as ash, walnut, maple and cherry.

Initially, when Rock City Café moved out of the space last year, the family was left with several options: lease it to a new restaurant, convert it into an art space, or start a restaurant themselves. After much thought, Seelig and Cardoso decided on the latter.

“We all have a lot of transferables, but Ashley is the one with the most experience with restaurants,” said Cardoso, noting that Seelig has about 10 years of experience of front-of-the-house experience in several Manhattan restaurants. Cardoso, whose background is also in art, was responsible for opening the Win Wilder Hall gallery located behind Fog Bar & Cafe.

Fog Bar & Café intends only to be an evening establishment, with the kitchen opening daily from 4 p.m. and staying open to 10 p.m. for the late night dinner crowd.  The bar will remain open until 11 p.m. Chef Nick Krunkkala, a southern Maine native who worked in New York City for nine years before moving back to the Midcoast, is running the kitchen. Krunkkala, who previously spearheaded Rock City Café’s funky, gourmet dinner menu, has shaped Fog's new signature style.

The menu is described as “French and Southern-inspired contemporary comfort food” and the bar will offer a variety of craft beers (from Maine as well as imports) and some of the best spirits Seelig and Cardoso have found on their own culinary journeys.

"Josh sourced some of the best beers in the world, including those in Maine, and we made a special effort to get those on tap," said Seelig.

They currently have eight specialty beers on tap and are looking to expand to at least 16 taps by next summer.

The menu tucks into the $10-$30 range. With Duck Nachos as a starter (duck confit on house made chips with pomegranate marmalade and finished with a Maine-made Lakins 42 Opus cheese), and Fog Bar Burgers (house-made potato-stout roll and bacon jam atop an all-natural beef burger, with Tabasco-soaked onion rings) it’s a high-low concept that matches down-home tastes with elevated style.

“The food basically comes down to the same policy as the beer we serve,” said Cardoso. “We have such incredible food and ingredients in Maine, so we go to that first. But, if there is something that we choose to put on the menu that we have to get from somewhere else in the world, you can bet it’s damn well worth it.”

Beyond the food, Seelig and Cardoso are striving to provide a contemporary hang out space that appeals to the creative economy mindset. At the back of the restaurant, a digital projector will constantly screen silent black and white movies, as well as anime for background atmosphere. Eventually, this space will also be used for bands, documentaries and videos and other artistic events.

“It’s literally the place that I was looking for when I first moved here,” said Seelig. “What I love about Rockland is that people all hang out together from my age range (25-35) up to 70. For example, the Friday Night Art Walks is a perfect example of this and that’s what we’re striving to offer; the same kind of atmosphere for that kind of crowd.”

“It feels really nice and comfortable and you can indulge in the food and drink without being somewhere that feels too pretentious or costs an arm and a leg,” added Cardoso.

Going forward, they will only be closed on Tuesdays. And they have power! Check out Fog Bar & Café or visit their Facebook page.

 

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe after a window-rattling night that Maine has only suffered power outages from the Frankenstorm known as Hurricane Sandy. Even though thousands are out of power, I say “only” because it could have been much worse for Maine. Scanning CNN, the destruction to hit the east coast, most notably the New Jersey shores and New York City, has been described as “unthinkable devastation.”

This morning, with CNN reporting Mayor Bloomberg calling it New York’s “Worst Storm Ever” I decided to call my friend, Matt Murphy, who lives in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, after reading a Facebook post in which he basically reported that after Hurricane Sandy, “New York City is totally screwed.”

Up here, we know from the news that New York City has been declared a disaster; 750,000 are without power and the death toll in NYC is currently up to 10 people. It’s hard to know what the mood is on the street minute to minute, unless you talk to someone who is right there, watching it all unfold.

The area of Park Slope where Murphy lives escaped the water damage, due to the incremental incline of the neighborhood from the epicenter of the floods. But, he said Brooklyn was not spared. Other parts of Park Slope resemble a “lumber yard.” An area severely flooded last night included Brooklyn’s most expensive neighborhood known as DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

The lede photo to this story, taken last night by Julian Erhardt, another New York resident posted by Gothamist.com, shows the area close to where Murphy lives. The flooding is clearly seen. Murphy describes this area as “a giant bowl” between Water and Main Street.

When the tide hit last night, it was not only a full moon, but a record surge,” said Murphy. The city planners had anticipated a storm surge of 11 feet, he said, but the tide reaching a record 13 feet coursed over the sea walls into the low-lying streets.

According to New York Magazine, Mayor Bloomberg placed the majority of the Zone A neighborhood under mandatory evacuation, including areas of DUMBO. And even though Bloomberg was quoted as saying those who ignored the evacuation announcement were “selfish,” Murphy reported there were still people who chose to stay. “There were parts of Zone A that were in a dotted line area of presumed flooding, but a lot of people didn’t leave.” Asked if those people are now trapped in their buildings, Murphy said he thinks a lot of people were trapped last night, but that the flooding has gone down by now and they’re able to leave. He added residents who stayed in Queens, Coney Island and Lower East Side have not been as fortunate.

He’s been staying on top of what’s happening from TV news, personal phone calls to colleagues and Facebook. Murphy works at The LAND (League Artists Natural Design) Studio & Gallery in Brooklyn. And though he hasn’t been there today personally, “I heard from co-workers who have walked around the building,” he said. "Because of another subtle incline LAND didn’t get hit thankfully,” he said, though it sits only a block and a half from the flooded area of DUMBO known as Zone A.

Of the historic places Murphy says were flooded included Jane's Carousel (a  $9 million dollar art project) and The Tobacco Warehouse, an architectual building for community events, facts confirmed by Twitter reports and photos. Warehouse, office and residential buildings also populate this area. At least three restaurants were flooded with about five feet of water, said Murphy.

According to an MTA report, seven subway tunnels under the East River have flooded. All transportation in NYC has been suspended indefinitely. “The subways are screwed,” said Murphy, adding that some of the tunnels got deluged with brackish salt water, which has caused damage to the subways’ electrical components. According to Murphy. “It was like a tsunami that came into The Lower East Side.”

“I’m going to go out soon and ride my bike around to check on things,” he said. This column will soon be updated with his photos.

For up to date information about this area, visit the twitter page https://twitter.com/DumboNYC or gothamist.com

 

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to 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.

The best part about being invited to a casual dinner at Ladleah Dunn and Shane Laprade’s house is because "casual" for them means dozens of fresh oysters, followed by a rabbit ragout, followed by home brew made with their own hops. Naturally.

Let me back up. They have a lot of friends who visit and most tend to be foodie types or chefs; these are hard working people with a drive for authentic flavors.

It happened to be one of those down afternoons when all the farm, garden and boat refinishing chores had been wrapped up for the day. One of their good friends, Rodney Winchell, the wine guy and bartender at Street and Company in Portland, recently visited them in Lincolnville and brought up 100 Winterpoint oysters.

“He’s got all these food connections and he just happened to score a great deal, ” said Ladleah.  “And under the other arm he’s got a case of wine. That’s just how he likes to visit people.”

As mentioned in the last Sailor’s Rest column, Ladleah approaches food like jazz improvisation, choosing phrases and contours of flavors that drop in harmoniously to the original recipe. While Rodney set the oysters on a bed of ice and began carefully opening each one, Ladleah whipped up a mignonette ice, which is a savory accompaniment to raw oysters.

“Because the frost had been coming on, I’d been picking a few things,” she said. “So I used some shallots, some lemon verbena, a little bit of chile and some white vermouth. Then I froze it, spun it on an ice cream maker and spooned it over the oysters.”

Nothing is better than freshly opened local oysters, chilled and tender with a sharp mignonette ice that reminds you who’s boss.

Meanwhile, the second course was going to need some attention. And typical of a night at this house, it was going to be slow cooked, probably not ready ‘til about 9 p.m., while the wine flowed. Rodney brought up some fresh rabbits in addition to everything else.

“It’s like that stone soup kind of thing,” said Ladleah, who finds my columns about her kind of weird, because of the way I glorify cooking behaviors that are just so normal to them. It’s not “amazing” to them. It’s just food. “Everybody brings something to the table and that’s part of the creative process.”

So, the rabbits. He handed them over to Ladleah and they discussed how it should be prepared. “We always riff off each other,” she said, “and he’s a really great sous chef, but he definitely defers to me when he’s here.” She laughed. “That’s part of the fun. We say to each other — what can we go out to the garden and harvest for this dish? I send him out with a basket and some scissors and he comes back with something great.” That evening, Ladleah chooses to simply go the stock peasant route and braise the rabbit with Asian greens picked from the garden, along with her own garlic, shallots, onions and tomatoes. Slow-cooking it for three or four hours, it becomes a delicious, earthy ragout.

"So many people go Europe for this kind of agro- and gastro- tourism, where they go to a farm and participate in the harvesting and then get to create the meals from their labor, " she said, "but Maine and the Midcoast, heck, Lincolnville is just as happening when it comes to food and neighbors and friends bringing something to the meal."

That’s exactly the point of these Sailor’s Rest columns. That’s what we are doing. And because prepping and enjoying this dinner for six-to-seven hours isn’t enough, at 10 p.m., Rodney and Shane get inspired to home brew a batch of beer from hops they’ve picked from their own farm. “’Cause that’s what you do here at Sailor’s Rest Farm,” Ladleah noted, with a hint of self-deprecation, as if she just now sees how over-the-top this must seem from someone else’s perspective.

The dried green hops that had been hanging on their porch have now been gathered into a wide basket. In the process of making beer, they have cooked them down. “Making beer is like cooking down grains, making grain soup,” explained Ladleah. “The hops are what give the aromatic or flowery or bitter qualities. The grains provide the backbone for the beer.”

“The thing is,” she laughed, “making beer that late in the night after all the wine we had, the guys threw all kinds of stuff into the beer like rosemary, but it actually turned out pretty good. A nice, dark, robust beer with lots of hoppiness and herbs.”

And with that, another casual meal concluded. Follow our running column on Sailor's Rest Farm to see what else she’s got cookin’.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

BELFAST — Jim Dandy, co-owner of Opera House Video and one of our regular movie review contributors to Killer Piks has the scary skinny on the best Halloween movies to watch before October is over... if that is your thing.

For a small store, Opera House Video in Belfast boasts one of the largest horror genre sections seen in the Midcoast, if not the entire state of Maine. Dandy, who happens to be wearing a T-shirt Zombie Island, is the go-to expert on the scariest, campiest and most horribly done horror.

“Right now, I’m leaning more toward foreign movies,” said Dandy. “All the American ones are just too predictable. When I was 10 or 11, I was in love with the universal monsters. You know, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula.”

The one that really stuck with him all these years has been Vincent Price’s Scream and Scream Again, a 1970s movie about a serial killer on the loose in London.

“That’s where my heart is, back in the 1960s, 1970s," he said. "Famous Monster Magazines was like my monster movie Bible.”

Horror tends to be one of those genres that people love with a rabid devotion or avoid at all costs.  Believe it or not, horror is an art form. Psychologists have theorized that horror movies serve the purpose of exploring our hidden fears, as well as questions about life’s purpose, death, and our connection to the spiritual world. In a white paper, Understanding the Popular Appeal of Horror Cinema, Glenn D. Walters, Ph.D. includes a Stephen King quote that aptly sums it up. According to King, horror films often serve as a “barometer of those things which trouble the night thoughts of a whole society.”

Psychologists have theorized that horror movies serve the purpose of exploring our hidden fears, as well as questions about life’s purpose, death, and our connection to the spiritual world.

Of the multiple genres and subgenres, horror can overlap fantasy, thriller and science fiction, ranging from Monsters (Aliens, Godzilla, Creature from the Black Lagoon) to Slasher (Halloween, Saw) to Supernatural Horror (The Exorcist, The Ring, The Omen.) Campy films (Killer Clowns From Outer Space: Rocky Horror Picture Show) are part of a self-indulgent sub-genre that celebrates cheesy plots and ridiculous dialogue, and likely out of that, a relatively new sub-genre, Comedy-Horror (Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead) has also emerged.

Dandy says he tends to avoid the slasher genre, as he doesn’t get any enjoyment out of gratuitous violence.

“It was a lot different in the 1980s, when the effects were just not that realistic,” he said.

Instead, he pulls out a few movies from his vast collection that he knows are customer favorites... or soon will be. “This is Zombi 2,” he said, pointing to the same image on his T-shirt. “This is a 1979 Italian movie by Lucio Fulci, which suggested it was a sequel to Night Of The Living Dead, even though the two films were unrelated.”

Dandy, who also tends to lean toward campy horror, is especially fond of the smart films being produced in foreign countries, such as Australia’s  The Loved Ones, about a scorned prom queen who creates her own prom night in her basement with a kidnapped beau.  Another recommendation from Dandy is: Trailer Park of Terror, in which a bunch of high school students “find terror in the form of Norma, a damned redneck reaper with a killer body.”

If you’re one of the rabid devotees to the horror genre, you’ll be delighted with Opera House Video’s extensive collection. Or want to get over your scaredy cat phobias by trying out a movie or two, dip your toe into the campy or comedy-horror genre first. You might even find Jim Dandy sitting behind an old copy of Famous Monster Magazine when you walk in. Ask him what he’s reading about.

For hours and location and recommendations of Opera House Video, visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

This Cheap Date goes all the way back to high school, where instead of gravestone rubbings, it was more gravestone whining, where we'd all sit around in the dark, complain there was nothing to do, make a few references to the zombies in Michael Jackson Thriller video, freak ourselves out and beat it.

But we're adults now. And everybody always has craft supplies stashed somewhere. Even without kids at home, I found a pile of crayons and some drawing paper and you know you have it in your house, too.

The idea is to take your boo (slang for beau and another forced Halloween reference) to the graveyard on a beautiful October day and wander throughout the property to find the creepiest gravestone, or your own name, or a series of letters, which you can then recombine into new sentences. (For example, look at this guy's tombstone dating all the way back to the Boston Tea Party!)

Take the paper off the crayon and place the drawing paper up to the stone, rubbing the crayon on its side until the letter is superimposed onto the paper. That's it. That's all you gotta do.

Gravestone rubbings make great Halloween decorations when you're done. And because I think that Boston Tea Party guy will probably rise from the dead if don't mention this, it goes without saying, be respectful of the tombstones.

This October 31, because all of the good parties will have already happened while I was away, I'll still be sitting around a graveyard complaining there's still nothing to do. Except I won't be staying up to midnight. I'm freakin' old. I'll be going to bed at nine.

 

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

 

 

 

It’s not a casual statement; it’s a directive. Eat More Cheese. It's kind of neat when cheese is the boss of you.

Owners Tony and Natalia Rose opened this gourmet cheese shop last April that sits tucked behind Main Street behind Rollie’s Bar and Grill. 

It requires just a short climb up a spiral staircase to get up to the shop, but once inside, it’s a cheese lover’s paradise. With warm mustard colored walls to the earthy logo and packaging, Eat More Cheese gives off a welcoming vibe. A large glass refrigerated case of various cheeses dominates the snug space with a counter to the left and four ice cream parlor style bar stools. Every available counter and shelf space is well used, featuring wheels of local cheeses, varieties from other states such as Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, California, Colorado as well as over the world (France, Netherlands, England, Spain.)

Though the Roses weren’t formally trained in cheese-making, they jumped into the gourmet cheese business with enthusiasm.

“We just taught ourselves by eating lots of eating cheese,” said Natalia. They’d been living in Portland, and most recently Auburn with their two-year-old daughter, Sophia, before relocating to Belfast. “We always knew this was a town that had a lot going on and liked how they catered to small businesses. And also, there was no place to get good cheese up here, so we figured we’d give it a shot.”

The shop carries about 40 cheese varieties, along with five varieties of Olli Salames, classic Italian salames that go well with any cheese. Aiming to stay true to the localvore movement, the Roses source many of their cheeses from Maine, in particular, Hahn's End in Phippsburg, Lakin's Gorges  Cheese in Rockport,  Turner Farm Creamery in North Haven, and Gardenside Dairy in Jonesboro. Offering enough variety to please every cheese freak, (and yet allowing newbies to fully appreciate the many flavor profiles) Eat More Cheese offers different samples every day that takes the taster on a journey from soft-ripened goat milk cheeses to hard, flaky, nutty parmesan-style cheeses to gooey rind cheeses (think brie).

Several bite-sized samples are placed strategically around the shop, allowing for some unhurried discoveries. While the Roses take cheese seriously, some of the names of cheese they carry show their sense of humor, like Ewephoria, a Dutch gouda-style cheese or the sign they painted on the wall, “Keep Calm and Eat Cheese” ( a cheeky reference to the UK propaganda posters produced in 1939).

Rose said her favorite cheese of late is a Beemster XO, an extra-aged gouda from the Netherlands with a burnt caramel flavor, crumbly texture and creamy mouthfeel. She said she’d pair that either with a Malbec or an oatmeal brew, which it just so happens they also carry in the shop.

In fact, one whole wall of the shop is dedicated to red and white wines and craft beers. It was a surprising discovery to find every single bottle on the wall came with a little tag recommending the best cheese to pair it with. Currently they only carry a retail liquor license, "but we’re working on getting  a license that would let us serve on premises,” said Natalia. It would be easy to see this shop turn out some epic wine and cheese parties in the future.

Something worth noting before the month runs out is that The American Cheese Society is promoting a national “passport” that costs $10 throughout October and gives the bearer a deep discount on varying cheeses for each day. For example, on the day of this interview, the Big Ed’s cheese made from raw cow’s milk was 40 percent off. Big Ed's is a farm style Gouda cheese with smooth, dense texture and milky, brown-buttery flavors.

Earlier this month, they hosted an apple and cheese tasting event with John Bunker of Out on a Limb CSA & Fedco Trees. They’re currently open seven days a week and plan to stay open year-round. “We have a ton of ideas to do more public events but will probably wait until the wintertime,” said Natalia. “In between that, we’ll do private cheese parties for people who want to try several courses of cheese.”

Eat More Cheese can be found on 33 C Main St, Belfast, ME. Check out their Facebook page for daily specials and varieties.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Peak leaf peeping season is happening right now, now, now! Seriously. After this week, if you haven't skipped work to go on a long drive on $4/gallon, listening to a scratched Ween CD on the stereo, your only chance to catch the local color again will be on the pages of this month's Yankee Magazine that you'll probably get around to reading in March.

Because multi-tasking is the secret ingredient to a successful Cheap Date, combine wine with the outdoors and take along your bestie or love nugget. Maine has a burgeoning wine trail and believe me, all of them are worth the drive, but one of the best places in the Midcoast to sample wine while overlooking a panorama of flaming trees is Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville. Get all bundled up and sit out on the back deck overlooking the withering grapevines and Levenseller Mountain. Or take a walk all around the five-and-a-half acre property on a moody October day and make a friendly wager over which causes the leaves to change: cooler temperatures or a season of heavy rains? Loser of the bet has to make out with a tree like Molly Shannon in Superstar

Unlike in Napa Valley, most Maine wine tasting rooms offer tastings for free. You can't get a classier Cheap Date than this, so get to it! (Cellardoor Winery is open Monday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

 

CAMDEN — Remember the story we did a couple of weeks ago on the Volkswagen Beetle in Camden National Bank's Main Street lobby? Well, now the CNB branch next to Hannaford Supermarket is getting into the game.

Teller Lori Meservey said that each of the Midcoast branches has been trying to compete with one another for the most memorable floor display. The giant Barbie Doll and her convertible belong to a CNB employee's mother while the junior tow truck is on loan from Best Rates Towing and Plowing out of Owls Head.

"We're just having some fun," said Meservey, who came up with the billboard poem about issues and tissues. "It's just a little game we've all been playing to see who can be the most creative."

Oh Barbie, don't cry. That sweet ride won't conk out anytime soon.

Killer Piks is a monthly review of books, movies, and music by people who are obsessed with books, movies and music.

Books

The Last Werewolf

by Lacy Simons

In these vampire-obsessed times, it's a relief to read an incredibly written occultish tale that departs from the prevailing trends. A depressed werewolf, the last of his species, contemplates suicide despite non-stop sex and a protein-rich diet. Called "One of the most original, audacious and terrifying novels in years." Need I say more? All right: the first edition has blood-red text blocks. Sold.

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

My Boyfriend's Back

by Tiffany Howard

The zombie romantic comedy My Boyfriend's Back (1993) is a goofy, campy romp and an ideal Halloween movie for those who lack the nerves for jumpy suspense thrillers or the stomach for horror gore-fests.  With tongue planted firmly in cheek, this ridiculously engaging film tells the story of Johnny Dingle, a teenage virgin who comes back from the dead to take his dream girl, Missy MacLeod, to the senior prom.  But zombie Johnny faces more than a few challenges in his pursuit of true love — Missy's jock boyfriend, townspeople less than thrilled by their sweetheart dating "the dead kid," and the unfortunate reality that in order to keep from decaying, Johnny must consume the flesh of the living.  Throw in a pair of well-meaning but clueless parents, an opportunistic mad scientist, and an angry mob bearing torches and one soon sees that there is nothing easy about being a zombie, or a teenager in love, much less both at the same time. 

Directed by prolific character actor and director Bob Balaban, My Boyfriend's Back features Edward Herrmann, Mary Beth Hurt, Paul Dooley, Cloris Leachman, a clean-shaven Matthew Fox (pre-Party of Five and long before Lost), Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (back when he was just Phillip Hoffman) and Matthew McConaughey with his blink-and-you'll miss it first ever line in American cinema.  Rumor has it that Renee Zellweger also had a small role that ended up on the cutting room floor.  Along with all the familiar faces, this movie also features some of my favorite lines of all time: "I had all the right moves. I was like Tom Cruise, only dead!" and (*spoiler alert*) "I ate Chuck for you!"   With issues ranging from prejudice to teenage sexuality, this film wraps its sometimes less-than-subtle social commentary in a spoofy candy coating--the perfect Halloween treat!

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

Easy Star All Stars Thrillah

by Nathaniel Bernier

Covering Michael Jackson in any sense is a daunting task, but to try to mirror the best-selling album of all time from start to finish?  In a rub-a-dub reggae stylee?  Are they crazy?  Indeed.

Right out of the cannon, the swirling horn section accompanied by the usual heavy riddim bass-driven beat will instantly capture you on the cut “Wanna’ be Startin’ Somethin’.”  I have to keep listening to the tremendously well done Thriller repeatedly, due to the growling Spragga Benz’s channeling of Vincent Price.  So unbelievably cool that I would be willing to bet that Mr. Price, part of the afterlife after-party, stopped for a second and gave a sinister sneer.  The song builds and builds just like the original version with fat crescendos, this time consisting of thumping bass, blaring keyboards and brassy horns giving the zombie-tune a Jamaican flair never before created.  Michael “Grammy” Rose (of Black Uhuru fame) offers his slick vocals and trademark scatting over the fierce Beat it and I know Michael Jackson would have been proud of Rose’s performance.  Luciano takes the beat to half of its original speed on Billie Jean making it sultry and soulful as only he can do.  And Michael Jackson’s voice is replicated very nicely on P.Y.T. and the groove just jumps along urging one’s footwear to festively frolic to & fro.

With a gaggle of wonderful singers and musicians jumping on board to assist the already amazing band, this record was most assuredly going to be a home run.  Just in time to reggae-cize your All Hallowed’s Eve with a version of Thriller, your friends have never heard before.  Jacko would have been proud, maybe even thrilled.


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 http://www.wildrufus.com or http://wildrufus.blogspot.com/

For Alice, the perfect dream job would be to live in England, wear high-fashion and design dresses for British fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Gareth Pugh.

“Actually,” she admitted, “I want to be the next Alexander McQueen.”

This shy, beautiful girl who wears oversized horn rimmed glasses and has to be coaxed into smiling for a photo (so we don’t see her braces), is one of the rad ones.

On a drizzly fall day after-school when other kids are sitting together over laptops in the cafeteria at CHRHS, Alice prefers to by herself in the basement art room, working on a painting she’s not even sure she likes.

“What do you think of it?” she asked, cocking her head.

I told her what I saw; that from what I’ve seen in her artwork, she keeps gravitating toward figurines. It’s as if she is playing with paper dolls, only she’s drawing them instead and dressing them in her own designs.

By herself, Alice moved from Chongqing, a big city in China, to the United States when she was 12 years old. Her parents wanted her to learn English and stay with host families to get an American education. She went to middle school in Skowhegan and changed host families to go to high school here at Camden Hills Regional High School. Every summer, she flies back home to visit her parents and younger brother. She misses them and communicates with them via Facetime and phone calls.

I know American teenage girls who’ve grown up with the same bunch of kids and who have dissolved into tears just fearing the transition from middle school to high school. Imagine being 12, with no friends and not knowing the language, navigating a social structure that doesn’t make a lot of sense to you and trying to fit in without your parents to come home to. There is a lot of steel beneath her fragile exterior, something she subconsciously echoes in her own artwork.

My fascination with Alice began with a shoe. At the Center for Maine Contemporary Art show last May, I came across this tortuous black ceramic high-heeled shoe, designed by Alice Wang. Lady Gaga, I thought. Turns out I wasn’t off the mark.

“I love Gaga,” she said. “When she first starting wearing costumes, people in world of fashion didn’t really get her style — it was awkward. But there was a point.  I think her designs are gorgeous, a combination of art and fashion. Alexander McQueen did these really cool high heeled shoes for [Lady Gaga’s video] Bad Romance,” she said. “So I wanted to make one in ceramic.”

Later, she sent me sketches she’d done on her own time, ethereal waifs draped in oceanic colors. These sketches became her unofficial portfolio this past summer when she sent them to the Rhode Island School of Design’s residential pre-college program. Along with 400 other high school students from around the world, Alice got accepted to the program. For six weeks, Alice lived in a dorm with other students (75 percent girls and 25 percent boys) and “worked and worked and worked” learning fashion design, fashion history and critical thinking in art and design. “It was really fun,” she said. But she said when she saw other students’ talents, she felt humbled. “In your own school you tend to think you’re dong pretty good, but when you see all of the work people around the world bring to it, you’re like a little ant.”

She told me she’s only been drawing since last year. Her own particular style is emerging. She loves to combine “harsh” geometric shapes with softer flowing shapes and mix them to create something new.

For RISD’s final project, each student had to come up with a design a model could wear on the runway. Alice designed a paper dress, spending some 80 hours on it trying to get it right. “I wanted to do something edgy and something that’s me,” she said in a soft low-toned voice. “I got inspiration from those 1700s dresses with the puffy corsets. The white part of the dress reminded me of bone, combined with what Elizabeth 1 of England would have worn.”

Asked how she felt seeing her own dress on the model as she walked down the runway, Alice hid her face. “God,” she whispered.  “I was a little nervous, because my idea was quite awkward from anyone else’s.” But she had a lot of people come up afterwards to ask her how she made it.

While her parents knew she went to the Rhode Island School of Design for the summer, Alice has not shown them any of her designs. She thinks they wouldn’t understand.  “They know what I draw and support me, but they don’t like it,” she said “They like clothes to be clothes and not like costumes.”

For now, Alice has her eye on the future. “I think I’ve spent so many years over here looking at trees and the ocean, I want something new.  When I’m here, I want to go back to China. When I’m there, I want to come back here.” When she goes to college, she plans to study fashion design either in England or the U.S., wherever she can get in.

She knows that if she pursues this career, she will have to have a tough skin. “It’s a little scary,” she admitted. “In the fashion world, it’s competitive. Either you’re really bitchy or really sweet, there’s nothing in between.” Asked how she’ll think she’ll be, she answered, “Probably the softer side.”

Those of us lucky enough to get a glimpse into the person she is, not to worry. Her talent will speak for itself.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a new feature highlighting teens with artistic or musical talent.  Another place to check out Alice's work along with other teens 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

When Kate Shaffer of Black Dinah Chocolatiers posted this Instagrammed photo of her famous rum-glazed cider donuts on Facebook, the 30-plus reactions ranged from ravenous to almost angry.

-Really didn't need to see this.

-You're killing me!

-That is just cruel.

And yes it is, it is just cruel that she makes these donuts every year and unless you live on Isle au Haut, you are not going to taste them.

"There are riots if I don't make cider doughnuts at least once before we close the cafe in the fall," said Shaffer, by email. "Until next fall, you gotta make them yourself."

Luckily, she acquiesced to providing the exact recipe from her blog, blackdinah.wordpress.com and allowed us to repost her recipe her on PenBayPilot.The only ingredient missing from this recipe is the rum; but, we're sure you'll find a place for it.

According to Shaffer: "This latest version is much like last year’s (nothing like re-inventing the wheel), with just a few little changes. The changes, I think, warrant this second posting. The resulting pastry is dark and crunchy on the outside, and soft, buttery and apple-y fragrant on the inside. But if you can’t find boiled cider (read a great article on boiled cider here), and don’t have any apple sauce on hand, the recipe from last year will stand in as an almost-as-delicious substitute."

Apple Cider Doughnuts, redux

1 cup sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice)

2 eggs

1/2 cup boiled cider

3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3-3/4 to 4 cups flour

Roughly 6 cups vegetable oil for frying (I use safflower oil)

About a cup of superfine sugar

Method:

With an electric beater, the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or by hand, beat together 1 cup sugar and the eggs until the mixture is light in color.

In a medium size bowl (or a large measuring cup), mix together the boiled cider, apple sauce and the baking soda. Don’t let all that foaming and frothing worry you. That’s just the baking soda reacting to the acid in the apples. Beat this mixture into the sugar and eggs.

Next, stir in the melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and vanilla. Finally, add 3-3/4 cups of flour and mix just until the batter is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to fry the doughnuts, heat the oil in a large cast iron pot to 375 degrees. While the oil is heating, turn your chilled batter out onto a well-floured countertop and pat or roll the batter to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut as many doughnuts as possible with a 2-inch doughnut cutter. Scrape the scraps together gently, re-roll and cut one more time.

When the oil has reached the correct temperature, fry the doughnuts, a few minutes on each side, until they turn a burnished golden brown. Remove them to a cookie sheet lined thickly with paper towels and allow to drain.

Mix about a cup of superfine sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a paper lunch bag. Before the fried doughnuts are completely cool, toss a few at a time into the bag, and shake to coat.

 

For the love of God, if anyone makes these donuts and sells them on the mainland, will you please, please tell us on Facebook so we can storm your shop?



 

BELFAST — Marshall Wharf Brewing Company and Three Tides bar and restaurant in Belfast are gearing up for their fifth Year of Beer and Pemaquid Mussels event Saturday, Oct. 13, and this year, foodies and craft beer freaks will be dry humping rainbows when they get a taste of the event’s special barrel-aged beers.

David Carlson, co-owner of Three Tides, said he and his team took a trip to Scotland this year to collaborate with a well-known Scottish distillery called Bowmore in order to barrel age their beers using bourbon and sherry casks or butts. They procured eight barrels from Bowmore Distillers and got them shipped back to Maine.

For the fifth Year of Beer and Pemaquid Mussels event, patrons can get a first public tasting of four of those barrel-aged beers — two different versions of the Old 59 and Cant Dog Double IPA. See Marshall Wharf website for descriptions of all the beers.

The other half of this event’s draw is the fresh locally harvested mussels from Pemaquid Mussel Company, and grown in Northport. More than 300 pounds will be reserved for this evening and served steamed in Chardonnay and garlic. The event will also will serve deep friend Belgian-style frites made from 300 pounds of organic potatoes from Aroostook County with a variety of sauces.

Both versions of those beers have been blended in two different barrels that have been aged 12 years, so that the beer picks up a level of char from the wood of the barrel, as well as a flavor profile from the original spirit that has soaked into the wood.

“While other breweries also do barrel-aging, the ones we got will take the beer in a whole new direction,” said Carlson.

Marshall Wharf, one of Maine’s 20+ craft breweries, has created barrel-aged beers before using American bourbon casks. With the success from those batches, they explored the opportunity to collaborate with Bowman’s distillery.

“No one had ever done this before,” said Carlson. “Most distilleries are owned by large corporations and are inaccessible, but we had an opportunity to go to this really well-known distillery in Scotland and audition our beers. It happened to be something they were also interested in and it was good timing to connect with them.”

To see videos of the film crew that accompanied them to Scotland and the barrel-aged process check out their videos at Craft Beer Maine.

Marshall Wharf brews about 40 beers a year. Some are one-offs, such as a special birthday beer or an anniversary beer, according to the brewer’s whim.

“If a beer is capable of enduring we’ll save a keg from batches throughout the year and then they’ll all come out for our annual event,” said Carlson.

This year, they will be pouring 34 different Marshall Wharf beers under two heated tents split up around the Belfast waterfront property.

Here’s how it breaks down. A $30 admission fee gets 10 tasting tickets (of eight ounces each), a custom glass, and access to the evening’s entertainment, Maine's own band,Toughcats. Eight taps will be available for tasting only and based on availability.  For those interested in the barrel-aged beers, they will only be available as part of the tasting tickets and when it runs out, it’s gone. (Note: no more than 10 tickets will be sold to each patron.)

Alternatively, one can get in with just a $10 admission fee, which will allow people to purchase pints from the main bar and beer garden bar, featuring more than 25 different beers, with a range from $4 to $8, depending on the brew. This ticket price also gets patrons in to see Toughcats.

Besides beer, the other half of this event’s draw is the fresh locally harvested mussels from Pemaquid Mussel Company, and grown in Northport.  More than 300 pounds will be reserved for this evening and served steamed in Chardonnay and garlic. The event will also will serve deep friend Belgian-style frites made from 300 pounds of organic potatoes from Aroostook County with a variety of sauces.

“We’ll also offer Snappy red hot dogs, because we’re big fans of those,” said Carlson, adding that the baked beans will be soaked in their Wrecking Ball Baltic Porter beer (a 10 percent porter brewed with molasses). Have you wiped the drool off your screen yet?

Most of these offerings will be in the affordable $5 range.

 “It’s kind of a crazy free-for-all.” said Carlson. ”We served well over 600 people last year. This year, I’ve got emails from people in Canada, in New York state, saying they’re coming.”

Organizers of the event will be ensuring that private taxi shuttles will be available to run people throughout the Belfast area and to hotels so they don’t have to drive. All Aboard Trolley will also be hosting a trip from Rockland to Belfast.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with Toughcats starting around 7:30 p.m.  Admittance will end at 10:30 p.m. with the event running until 11 p.m. Tickets will only be available at the door.

(Editor's note: Video courtesy Marshall Wharf Brewing Company/Rob Draper ACS)

 Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com