A leap of faith: What’s it like to paraglide off Mount Tom?
“I know it’s not normal to run off a cliff, but all you have to do is look out and run like hell.” That was my last pep talk from expert paraglider John Gallagher moments before we sprinted off the 1,200-foot-high cliffside on Mount Tom’s peak for a tandem flight on a glorious summer afternoon in…
‘Can’t Afford Not To’: Grammy award-winning Jon Carroll celebrates release of first album in 18 years
Musician Jon Carroll, co-founder of the Starland Vocal Band, won two Grammy Awards in 1977 for the hit song “Afternoon Delight,” but his musical accomplishments extend far beyond that breakout success. His résumé includes performing with The Chicks and Mary Chapin Carpenter and writing songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Tom Jones and Kenny Rogers. Now,…
Monte Belmonte Wines: Visiting wine country at last: Discovering Albariño in Rías Baixas
As someone who has written a wine column for almost a decade and who has been tasting wines on the radio for nearly a decade before that, it’s…
The Latest
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Big stories, bold stages and a little breakdancing
Looking back at the summer’s offerings on stage, there are so many wonderful shows that it’s hard to focus on just a few. This summer has yielded a…
Mixtape: One-man band and a collection of punks: A couple local releases from two very different musical acts
Peter Lo Iacono “Waiting for Tuesday” Peter Lo Iacono (pronounced Loy-uh-CO-no) has been a guitarist for more than 50 years. He originally started out playing in cover bands…
Monte Belmonte Wines: Sipping through the semiquincentennial: Exploring the wine preferences of one of America’s founding fathers
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to look back on the semiquincentennial anniversary of certain events…
Asked to censor herself, Pamela Means refuses with ‘wide-open arms’
Before her first open mic when she was 18, Pamela Means debuted three original songs to her two best friends. They weren’t allowed to look at her as she fingered the guitar and sang to the floor. “I was really…
