Posted By Margot Harrison on Mon, May 4, 2020 at 5:56 PM

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Photo Courtesy of Deborah Feingold

Where do we find entertainment these days? On our laptops and in our living rooms. The streaming options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. So, in this weekly feature, I review a movie or series that might otherwise be easy to overlook.

The movie:
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2019)

Where to see it:
Until May 15, stream the movie for $10 per household as part of the Vermont International Film Foundation’s Virtual Cinema program. On VTIFF’s page, you’ll find instructions for viewing the movie on your TV, plus an interview with the director from Seven Days contributing writer Luke Baynes.

The deal:
If you were a movie lover in the 1970s or ’80s, you already know the work of Pauline Kael (1919-2001), who reviewed for the New Yorker from 1968 to 1991. Her opinions were strongly worded, contrarian and frequently very funny. They carried so much power that Bob Fosse and George Lucas, both directors she’d skewered, inserted parodic references to her into their work (remember evil “General Kael” from Willow?).

Tags: Vermont International Film Foundation , What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael , Pauline Kael , documentary , streaming , Virtual Cinema , biographical , film criticism , Web Only , Image

Posted By Jordan Adams on Mon, May 4, 2020 at 11:44 AM

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Music to Feed the Soul

A group of Vermont musicians has rallied together to create a compilation album to benefit the Vermont Foodbank as the organization deals with increased demand due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Organized by Jim Heltz of rock band Transitory Symphony, the 28-track collection, Music to Feed the Soul, comprises tunes from a truly eclectic selection of Vermont-based artists. It includes tracks from jazz icon Paul Asbell, electro-pop artist Willverine, garage-rock band Yestrogen and over two dozen more.

Tags: Vermont Foodbank , Transitory Symphony , Paul Asbell , compilation , Bow Thayer , Web Only , Image

Posted By Pamela Polston on Fri, May 1, 2020 at 5:52 PM

Jan Reynolds

Five-year-old Rinpoche

Sometimes a kids' book comes along that contains some important reminders for grown-ups. Loving Kindness is one such book.

Jan Reynolds, a Stowe-based writer, photographer and adventurer — particularly the mountaineering kind — has written for both adults and children. Though an eighth-generation Vermonter, she has a proclivity for hanging out with indigenous cultures far, far away.

Several of her previous 16 books are centered on the Himalayas, and so is Loving Kindness. It tells the story of Ngawang Thrinley Palbar (aka Rinpoche), a 5-year-old Sherpa boy in Nepal who's studying to be a great lama, or teacher.

Tags: Jan Reynolds , Himalayas , Tibetan Buddhism , lama , Web Only , Image

Posted By Jordan Adams on Fri, May 1, 2020 at 3:21 PM

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File: Margaret Grayson

The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium

Four Vermont-based science museums have teamed up to create FourScienceVT, an association of likeminded organizations aiming to provide STEM education for homebound students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations are the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, the Montshire Museum of Science and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

Tags: Montshire Museum of Science , Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium , Vermont Institute of Natural Science , Echo Leahy Center for Lake Champlain , FourScienceVT , at-home learning , Web Only , Image