Valley Futures

Late May.

Must be summer time, or close to it, here in Vermont.

Unchain the season of the mindless action movie blockbuster!

And what better way to usher it in than with “X Men”?

Here’s what some of our local REEL REVIEW consultants had to say about the latest X-Men film:

“The film is not going to prime the pump for date night,” notes Jed Kalkstein, “but X Men can’t be beat for a night with the lads.”

“X Men’s predictable cycle of heart-pumping action scenes made it feel like an interval workout from a seated position,” explains Terry Kellogg.

Translation? Two thumbs up.

And yes, Aussie uber man Hugh Jackman is back as James Logan/Wolverine, in the latest installment of the lavish and hugely profitable cartoon franchise.

How did James Logan become the tortured spike-sporting keen smelling anti-hero we know and love? The film purports to answer this question,

Gone are all of Wolverine’s mutant sidekicks from the first films. Instead, the focus of the story is Logan almost exclusively – we see Wolverine grow up in a culture of endless war, recruited by a mysterious character named Stryker to join an elite government killing team staffed by bad-ass dudes with special powers. We also meet Wolverine’s brother Victor/Saber Tooth, played by a menacing but surprisingly engaging Liev Schreiber, who gets all o the film’s few toss-away one liners. “You never call, you never write,” he says to his long lost brother just before they mix it up.

Back up a minute: After six years of retirement as a Rocky Mountain lumberjack (by day) bedding a bodacious schoolteacher (by night), Logan is dragged back into the fray by Stryker, complete with dog tags stamped “Wolverine,” as “weapon X,” tricked out with a bonded ademantium-reinforced skeleton. The excruciatingly painful process goes awry, but Logan is saved by the kindness of an old farming couple. (Once again, farmers save the day.)

From here, things get much more exciting, if confusing, and I’ll save the twists and turns for you, dear viewer, to discover. Suffice to say, this is a big, sprawling messy film – rough around the edges. The action scenes are sloppily shot, the narrative arc shoddily constructed, the special effects poorly assembled, the acting compellingly mediocre. Very few funny one liners, either – a staple of summer action blockbusters. And I really missed Patrick Stewart (wait until the very end) and Ian McKellan – their absence left a void that no one really filled here.

Worse, maybe, is the complete absence of any of the interesting ethical questions – how does any society handle individuals who differ from the rest of us? – that made the other X Men films marginally relevant to real life. Passing trash talk about “preemption” and “our country needs you” rhetoric doesn’t even ring, let alone ring true. And watching Logan and his bad boy broher tear down the neighborhood is fun, but grows old after a while.

The X Men franchise has had a good run – but it will take learning from this film’s shortcomings to revitalize the genre if and when they make the next one.

Most likely when.

Tags: Arts and Media by Rob Williams
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From the Twitterverse – some 140 character summaries of the Round Barn “Tweet Up” held last night. Thanks to Candace Page at the Burlington Free Press for her coverage, as well.

Signgal@roundbarnfarm Fantastic tweetup! I expected hors d oeuvres, you fed us dinner! With table linens and $1 ginger ales. Thank U!!!22 minutes ago from web

SigngalMet the @bobbin Mama’s at @roundbarnfarm last night, too.They sew, they craft, they make shopping bags out of t-shirts. Terrific!12 minutes ago from web

likebeer@roundbarnfarm If you think you can help with our wedding you can DM or email me what you have in mind, maybe you can cut me a deal?11 minutes ago from Tweetie in reply to roundbarnfarm

SigngalJesse, aka @chelseagreen, gave us the lowdown on how to us Twitter at the @roundbarnfarm Tweetup.He’s a good person to follow. #VT #BTV4 minutes ago from web

http://twitpic.com/63850 – crowd watching demo by @thebobbin (fabric recyling)about 10 hours ago from TwitPic

http://twitpic.com/637r5 – #VT Tweetup agenda… (food, IMO, better draw than ‘social media’)about 10 hours ago from TwitPic

http://twitpic.com/637jy – Back from the #VT tweetup at Round Barn. The food line (I got there late)about 10 hours ago from TwitPic

Just got home from Round Barn Tweetup. My belly is full of great local food and my mind is inspired-one of my favorite combinations. Janiipeterson

tweeting up at the Round Barn in Waitsfield with other localvore tweeters. great local food, great music, wonderful peeps priruda

tweeting up at the Round Barn in Waitsfield with other localvore tweeters. great local food, great music, wonderful peeps feedmenow

http://twitpic.com/62sqp – nice turnout for the vt localvore tweetup – music, food, prizes & lots of tweeting the 2 story round barn … innkeepers

Here we are at the great Vermont locavore tweetup. The round barn farm is gorgeous! chelseagreen

Great Tweetup last night hosted by @roundbarnfarm!! Food was awesome! Thanks! Met some terrific folks and thought the format was inspired!
vtpcwizard Thu 28 May 06:26 via web

@roundbarnfarm So who ARE the hunky guys in your avatar? They ain’t you owners. ‘Fess up, please. We all want to know.

follownathan@roundbarnfarm – the tweetup was a smash! worked out perfectly for me and my journey! I look forward to staying in touch! I love #VTabout 7 hours ago from TweetDeck

edwardshepardrt: @hellosmalldog Thank you to @roundbarnfarm for an awesome gathering! Classiest tweetup ever. (I was there, it truly was fun!)about 8 hours ago from web

hellosmalldogThank you to @roundbarnfarm for an awesome gathering! Classiest tweetup ever. Also great to meet other #VT people & businesses!about 8 hours ago from web

north100RT @VermontCanoe: @roundbarnfarm We’re here. Serious food on the table from local farms & restaurants. Good live trio. Life is good. & yummyabout 8 hours ago from TweetDeck

JambutterThree cheers for Charlie (@roundbarnfarm), @hellosmalldog, @chelseagreen and @americanfbread for a great night at #VT tweetup. Great time!about 8 hours ago from Power Twitter

sryusenThanks 2 @roundbarnfarm for the amazing evening, @hellosmalldog for the fab goodies and 2 all for making me feel lucky to love where I live.about 9 hours ago from TweetDe

VTFlame@roundbarnfarm thanks so much for hosting – great to see old and new friends tooabout 9 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

GrunbergHausVTMany thanks to @roundbarnfarm for an outstanding tweetup tonight. Very generous of you to share your beautiful facility.about 9 hours ago from web

north100Big thanks to @roundbarnfarm & all the folks who put together a great Vermont Localvore Tweetup event & to @cocodowley for the ride!about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck

SustainableComm@roundbarnfarm Thank you!!about 9 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

DeepDishCreates@feedmenow Great chatting with you @roundbarnfarm Tweetup! Keep an eye out for: http://www.bakonvodka.com/about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck

likebeer@roundbarnfarm Had an amazing time at the Locavore Tweetup thanks for hosting it, met some very interesting Tweeps.about 9 hours ago from Tweetie in reply to roundbarnfarm

LifelineReaderthanks to the staff @hellosmalldog for providing computers for the tweetup @roundbarnfarm AND for answering my questions about my new I-Mac!about 9 hours ago from web

LifelineReaderJust met some real nice people at @roundbarnfarm localvore tweetup. @VermontCanoe @cocodowley @north100 and many other great tweeple.about 9 hours ago from web

Fiestavus@vtherbandsalad good to catch up with you guys at the @roundbarnfarm tweet-up, let’s do dinner SOONabout 10 hours ago from TwitterGadget

FiestavusThanks 2 @roundbarnfarm for the gr8 tweet-up, good to see the local tweeps #vt http://trunc.it/ac2babout 10 hours ago from TwitterGadget

north100The Vermont Localvore Tweetup @roundbarnfarm was just wonderful! Gorgeous setting, incredible food, & awesome ppl that make VT so special!about 10 hours ago from web

DeepDishCreates@vtexchange Great chatting with you on the way out the door @roundbarnfarm Tweetup! Next one: http://twtvite.com/d4ixbrabout 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

happyhollowvt@roundbarnfarm Thanks for a fun evening! Just joining the twitter world and learned lots. I missed the yak sausage, though, bummer!about 10 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

callmelou@roundbarnfarm Had a wonderful time at tonight’s locavore tweetup! Thanks so much for hosting.about 10 hours ago from twhirl in reply to roundbarnfarm

amykirschnerhttp://twitpic.com/638lk – Lilacs still in bloom @roundbarnfarm in Waitsfield. GREAT localvore tweetup tonight!about 10 hours ago from TwitPic

VTExchangehttp://twitpic.com/638h2 – A foggy night @roundbarnfarm for localvore tweetupabout 10 hours ago from TwitPic

DeepDishCreates@roundbarnfarm GREAT Locavore Tweetup tonight – you’ve raised the bar for tweetups – thanks!about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

VTExchangehttp://twitpic.com/638au – Great localvore tweetup @roundbarnfarm tonight. The agenda…about 10 hours ago from TwitPic

innkeepershttp://twitpic.com/634ev – just got to see the grounds @roundbarnfarm from the secret top of their silo… very cool #paiiabout 11 hours ago from TwitPic

MadmotionIs sorry to miss the @roundbarnfarm Tweet Up.about 11 hours ago from web

follownathanAt the @roundbarnfarm tweetup in #vt wearing dark flannel and black @TOMS shoes – 1st one to find me gets a free drink on me!about 12 hours ago from web

thisisjaceWishing I was able to make the Tweetup @roundbarnfarm, tonight. I’m at the next one, def!about 12 hours ago from web

mstonervt@roundbarnfarm Just landed SFO, thinking of Tweetup. Have a great time!about 12 hours ago from txt

AndreaLearned@roundbarnfarm, great tweetup! w/@monkeyhousemama @sryusen@kilgoreleslie. Who knew #vt has so many tweeters?about 12 hours ago from web

jkvt@roundbarnfarm any photos from the TweetUp for those of us still stuck at work?about 12 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

augustfirstat Localvore Tweetup @roundbarnfarm. Great meal of fiddleheads, misty knoll chicken… Nice to see faces behind tweets! #btvabout 13 hours ago from web

laurzRT @theshorehaminn: Feeling quite sad about missing the big tweetup @roundbarnfarm. Can almost hear the fun from here. (Me too)about 13 hours ago from UberTwitter

JaneLindholmAt the TweetUp @roundbarnfarm in Warren. What a place! And as a Twitter neophyte (still), quite an event!about 13 hours ago from web

theshorehaminnFeeling quite sad about missing the big tweetup @roundbarnfarm. Can almost hear the fun from here.about 13 hours ago from TweetDeck

thebobbin@roundbarnfarm for the Tweet up. It’s so cool to meet the peeps behind the tweets!about 13 hours ago from Tweetie

BirdDivaKickin’ it at localvore tweetup @roundbarnfarm WOW!

hellosmalldog@roundbarnfarm tweetup! http://yfrog.com/0xt7ujabout 14 hours ago from Tweetie

VermontCanoe@roundbarnfarm We’re here. Serious food on the table from local farms and restaurants. Good live trio. Life is good..and yummy.about 14 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

e_to_the_m@roundbarnfarm Good luck with the tweet-up tonight. Wish I could be there.about 14 hours ago from Tweetie in reply to roundbarnfarm

jacksonlatka@roundbarnfarm Wish I could be there. Sounds great!about 14 hours ago from web in reply to roundbarnfarm

innkeepershttp://twitpic.com/62pcf – just checked into Joslin room @roundbarnfarm – beautiful! check out the bath! about to check out their great …about 14 hours ago from TwitPic

swichi293Headed to the waitsfield #tweetup @roundbarnfarm #btvabout 15 hours ago from Tweetie

DeepDishCreatesHeading out to the Locavore Tweetup @roundbarnfarm. http://bit.ly/7p6hNabout 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

VoicesVTWhat does a healthy watershed mean 4 good food? Tell me 2nite @roundbarnfarm Tweetup! http://bit.ly/7p6hN #vtabout 17 hours ago from TwitterBerry

augustfirstHappily heading to the Valley tonight to meet up with locatweeetavores! @roundbarnfarm pingg.com http://bit.ly/169z03about 17 hours ago from bit.ly

Signgal@roundbarnfarm Fantastic tweetup! I expected hors d oeuvres, you fed us dinner! With table linens and $1 ginger ales. Thank U!!!22 minutes ago from web

SigngalMet the @bobbin Mama’s at @roundbarnfarm last night, too.They sew, they craft, they make shopping bags out of t-shirts. Terrific!12 minutes ago from web

likebeer@roundbarnfarm If you think you can help with our wedding you can DM or email me what you have in mind, maybe you can cut me a deal?11 minutes ago from Tweetie in reply to roundbarnfarm

SigngalJesse, aka @chelseagreen, gave us the lowdown on how to us Twitter at the @roundbarnfarm Tweetup.He’s a good person to follow. #VT #BTV4 minutes ago from web

Tags: Agriculture, Arts and Media, Business by Rob Williams
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Can one individual shape the future of our Mad River Valley?

We don’t think so either.

That is why we want to ask you two very personal questions.

What do you love most about the Mad River Valley?

What are your fears?

We believe your answers, and your willingness to hear other answers will provide an essential foundation on which to build a healthier future for our Mad River Valley.

Would you be willing to stay with us for a night at Knoll Farm’s Center for Whole Communities on July 10th and 11th?

Apply to attend the FREE July 10-11, 2009 Valley Futures Network retreat at Fayston’s Knoll Farm by visiting the Center for Whole Communities web site.

We promise you great food, a beautiful space, engaging neighbors, and thought-provoking conversation.

This opportunity is made possible by a grant from a generous donor; it holds no cost for the participants. It will also be hosted and guided by the staff at Center for Whole Communities, who will create a safe and inspiring place for all to participate.

Tags: Announcements by Rob Williams
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Here’s the trailer for “State of Play.”

(Video disabled by request.)

First, a confession and a digression.

I confess that I hated the ending to this film, an utterly unsatisfying conclusion that gives the phrase “cop out” a new and pathetic yardstick. If I weren’t committed to nonviolent secession, I’d suggest that the scriptwriter be water boarded by the same U.S. government officials who seem to continually advocate the practice for the “evil doers” here in what we call “real life.”

That said (and I now digress), you know a new Hollywood movie exploring the unfolding train wreck that is 21st century U.S. mainstream journalism (against a backdrop of government and corporate corruption, no less!) may turn out to be reasonably engaging when said film’s opening sequence features a tune by Newfoundland party boy band “Great Big Sea” – and not just any tune, but their iconic “Paddy Murphy,” one of the best drinking songs ever penned and performed.

No surprise, perhaps, as GBS front man Alan Doyle and actor Russell Crowe are, in fact, drinking buddies. And Crowe is the front man in “State of Play,” acting as Cal McAffrey, a “Washington Globe” newsman as disheveled and unkempt as the 21st century news business itself. McAffrey represents Hollywood’s mythologizing of the prototypical “courageous and enterprising journalist” – think Woodward and Bernstein meet Edward R. Murrow without the tie and smokes. McAffrey seems principled, meticulous, and driven, working out of a tiny office cubicle surrounded by faded newspaper articles – code for the anachronistic print-driven media and a dying (so the pundits moan) 21th century industry. Oh, and he also has a sign on his desk that reads “Never trust an editor.”

McAffrey’s desperate publisher, Cameron Lynne, (a sneeringly capable Helen Mirren) has newspapers to peddle, and new headlines in the form of a breaking story involving the murder of senator’s “aide” Sonia Baker that may be the next salacious (and saleworthy) crisis de jour. Senator Stephen Collins (a wooden Ben Affleck) is the politician in question. Turns out, he’s an old friend of Crowe’s investigating the “Defense” Department’s outsourcing practices to private corporations doing business in Iraq and Afghanistan. (This would never happen in real life, of course.). The mysterious death of Collins’ assistant, and his very public emotional reaction to the news, raises immediate red flags for those paying close attention, including an enterprising young “Capital Hill” blogger named Della Frye (actress Rachel McAdams, and true to stereotypical form, she is young, perky and easily excited.) The crusty McAffrey does not think highly of Internet-driven journalism, we soon learn. “Was Collins sleeping with Baker?” Frye asks McAffrey early on in the investigation. “I’d have to read a couple of blogs before I form an opinion,” McAffrey snaps in response.

Collins, his staffers, and his estranged wife fire up damage control by making a public statement and engaging in desperate acts of P.R. (“padding, platitudes, and fluff,” McAffrey grumbles at one point). McAffrey, meanwhile, is on the case, doing what good investigative journalists are supposed to do: asking questions, following leads, making calls – “All the President’s Men” stuff. His conclusion? Corporate conspiracy. His skeptical publisher buys him some time – and suddenly McAffrey and Frye are working together on the murder. “This is a real story,” McAffrey says to her before they part ways. “It doesn’t require an opinion.”

Got it?

The film, directed by Kevin Macdonald, gives us plenty of twists and turns, just enough “through the newsroom looking glass” shots of suspense, and a much-needed “conflict of interest” critique involving war profiteering, mercenaries-for-hire, and private defense contractors, a story not enough real U.S. daily newspapers of record have found the time and wherewithal to cover. (A second digression – read independent journalist Jeremy Scahill’s book on “defense” contractor Blackwater-turned-Xe if you are looking for a primer.) “State of Play” also raises larger questions about the state of 21st century U.S. journalism’s ability to serve as a “watchdog,” given what is at stake.

And what is at stake?

In the film, our actors of conscience speak of $30-40 billion annually – the so-called “Muslim Terror Gold Rush” involving the for-profit privatization of Homeland Security in the name of prosecuting the
“war on terror” – the war, remember, that Mr. Cheney told us would not end in our lifetimes.

In real life?

Well, I guess we’ll have to wait for the New York Times to tell us, eh?

Or seek out the dozens of independent researchers (and yes, many of them are well-researched bloggers with, brace yourself: facts) who are already telling this story, the gist of which involves the life and death of the U.S. republic itself.

But sadly, this gets lost with the film’s surprise ending.

I left the theater with my head in my hands.

Tags: Uncategorized by Rob Williams
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Thanks to Bruce Jones for eleven years of wonderful acoustic music at the Valley Players Theater. Here’s a short video/audio snapshot of the Saturday, May 16, 2009 performance – Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem.

Another wonderful musical event in Mad River!

Tags: Arts and Media by Rob Williams
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Got Twitter? – Round Barn Chef Charlie Menard Hosts the Very First “Tweet Up” in Mad River Valley’s History

Ashton’s doing it.

Oprah’s doing it.

Britney’s doing it.

And more and more Vermonters are doing it.

The “it” in question is “Twitter,” of course, a new, popular and free Web 2.0 micro-blogging application that allows its users to build networks of “followers” who email each other 140 character messages about a whole range of topics of their choosing, ranging from the now-cliched “I had pancakes for breakfast – yum!” variety to breaking news about swine flu (“Hamthrax,” in one Twitter-led joke) and the latest local and national events (Seven Days journalist Shay Totten “tweeted” the entire legislative gay marriage hearing a few months ago, allowing his followers easy access to up-to-the-minute debates as they unfolded).

Critics are quick to call Twitter an epistemological train wreck, the latest example of a culture that has lost its mind to simplistic and silly trivialities. But Twitter users will tell you that the application is simply another fun and creative way to communicate, something the human animal never tires of doing.

One devoted Twitter user is Round Barn chef Charlie Menard (http://twitter.com/roundbarnfarm), who has organized the Mad River Valley’s very first “Tweet Up,” a fun foodie-driven event organized entirely through Twitter, to be held at the Round Barn on Wednesday, May 27 from 5-8 p.m.

“My interest in Twitter at first was pure curiosity,” explains Menard. “Once I started to find people with similar interests and to follow their tweets, I began to realize the power of community building that Twitter and social networking in general has.”

A “tweet” is simply a 140 character message send through Twitter. Popular “tweets” are “re-tweeted” by other Twitter users in their networks, amplifying the power of the message – in some cases, exponentially.

But of what value is Twitter to a Vermont chef?

“The Food community on Twitter is fantastic in general, and the Vermont “foody” presence is really amazing,” Menard explains. “You can get all sorts of news by following foodies—restaurant reviews, what a chef has just prepared for tonight’s special, what produce is coming out of gardens across the state, and of course the latest minute-by-minute news from events like the James Beard Awards.”

So what exactly is the purpose of a “Tweet Up”?

“The Tweet up is a mixer of sorts, an opportunity for our community to build and strengthen ties to our online neighbors, and a chance to meet the Tweeps behind the Tweets,” says Menard. “I know that there are some people that believe the future of Vermont is in its food. If we’re going to achieve that potential, we need to be a competitive presence in people’s lives and we also need to find a way to keep our young people in Vermont. I am truly inspired by the online community and I think that embracing the possibilities it offers will help us move forward.”

Find out more about Twitter at www.twitter.com.

Tags: Agriculture, Arts and Media, Business by Rob Williams
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