The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

Associate Professor of Writing and Literature Elizabeth Powell

A good year for Liz Powell

Jacob Greenia February 4, 2016

2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Associate Professor of Writing and Literature Liz Powell. An accomplished poet, Powell has been awarded the 2015 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for poetry for her...

Peter Boie performs an illusion

Peter Boie: Magician for non-believers

Agathe Fredette February 4, 2016

A tall man steps onstage amid the blaring of rock music and takes a sweeping bow. Dressed in a grey t-shirt, black pants, a black blazer, and bright orange lace-up sneakers, the man—who introduces himself...

DiCaprio faces a frozen hell in “The Revenant”

DiCaprio faces a frozen hell in “The Revenant”

Agathe Fredette February 4, 2016

"The Revenant," a film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Academy Award winning director of "Babel" and "Birdman," is set within the wilderness of Utah and South Dakota throughout Arikara indigenous American...

No Jar Jar Binks in The Force Awakens

No Jar Jar Binks in “The Force Awakens”

Cayla Fronhofer February 4, 2016

"Star Wars" is kind of a big deal. When "Episode IV: A New Hope" was released in 1977, the world was forever changed. It became a cultural touchstone that the science fiction movie industry has been living...

“Between the world and me” book review

“Between the world and me” book review

Lisa Kent February 4, 2016

This book is an intimate, personal letter from Coates, a black American father, to his fifteen-year old son Samori. It is a sobering look at whites and blacks as matters of perception, from early American...

Cody Logan and Carolyn Larabee dance to “Crazy in Love”

Dance club performance well-rounded

Marilyn Tagliavia December 17, 2015

This semester’s Johnson State College dance club performance, a campus event always highly anticipated and well-attended by the JSC community, was well-rounded and found a good balance throughout dance...

McKee’s shepherd’s pie

McKee’s offers the comforts of home

Travis LeClair December 17, 2015

It’s that sweet smell of stale beer when I walk in. It’s that metronome of sports television – count them, 14, 15 boob tubes. It’s that jukebox playing country, or rap, or hair metal, 90’s...

Could be a sad day: Craig’s last waltz with 007?

Travis LeClair December 17, 2015

I speak to Daniel Craig lovers: it is a sad day. That’s not a spoiler, just a goodbye to the broody, moody Bond whose adventures have brought us through “Casino Royal,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall,”...

Jury members Patrick Monaghan, Shawn Weibel, Neil Bresnahan, Jody Kifner, Sam Lewis, Tim Melville, and Josh Baughn deliberate

Gunn’s “12 Angry Men” offers a provocative view of rough justice

Briana Morin December 17, 2015

The Johnson community got a glimpse into the complicated and controversial world of courtroom drama when the classic “12 Angry Men” was performed on the Dibden stage. “12 Angry Men” was written...

“Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” offers more Panem and more Katniss

“Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” offers more Panem and more Katniss

Travis LeClair December 17, 2015

So there I am, smack-dab in the middle of a theater full of fan-girls, high school groups, middle-aged loners, and families of Katniss worshippers. I wait for the fate of Panem to unravel, for Katniss...

“Baraka” is hypnotically watchable

“Baraka” is hypnotically watchable

Sam Hartley December 17, 2015

“Baraka” (1992) is an hour-and-a-half long visual experience that will leave you breathless or drooling from boredom, depending on whether or not you can stomach a film with no plot or characters. The...

Spitz chronicles Child’s life

Spitz chronicles Child’s life

Lisa Kent December 16, 2015

Once. I saw her just once, for a mere five seconds as my boyfriend surfed television channels. My next encounter was through Dan Akroyd during his Saturday Night Live French Chef skit. So when I started...

“The Boys Next Door” humanizes the intellectually disabled

“The Boys Next Door” humanizes the intellectually disabled

Travis LeClair November 12, 2015

It seems daunting to bring any character to life. The added challenge of “The Boys Next Door” is that JSC actors had to get inside the heads of the intellectually disabled. Opening show was Wednesday,...

VanNordens Human Canvas

VanNorden’s Human Canvas

Avery Bliss November 12, 2015

New on the Johnson State College art scene, coming this spring, is Abstract Attributes, the body painting project you didn’t know you were waiting for. Morrisville native and JSC sophomore Allison...

Knives of Anger

Knives of Anger

Hunter Mallette November 12, 2015

“This is nothing but potential,” Johnson master blade smith Nick Anger says, holding out a piece of metal the size of a brick, a piece of metal that will eventually be transformed into a knife of otherworldly...

Lazy Fascist  author and JSC alum returns to campus

Lazy Fascist author and JSC alum returns to campus

Josh Lemay November 3, 2015

Kevin Maloney, Portland-born author and alumnus of Johnson State College, visited campus on Oct. 13 to give a Creative Audience reading. He shared several short stories and read from his debut novella...

Some of the best pie in Vermont

Some of the best pie in Vermont

Travis LeClair November 3, 2015

It’s been a tradition for years: climb Mount Philo then stop by the big red pizza barn and grab a Growler. You can’t miss it along route 7, about 10 minutes on the way back to Burlington. Folino’s...

Big Daddy’s brings humor to pizza

Elena Houriet November 3, 2015

If you should ever find yourself in downtown Burlington in need of late night nourishment, Big Daddy’s Pizza, located at 177 Church Street is the place to go. Open from 11 a.m.- 2 a.m. seven days a week,...

New sushi restaurant flounders for this college student

Travis LeClair November 3, 2015

So why the hell does Burlington need another sushi spot? She’s already got Asiana Noodle Shop, Asiana House, HJ House, Bento, and San Sai. The newest addition– A Cuisine– has replaced the drywall...

Cheap food and good fortune

Cheap food and good fortune

Avery Bliss November 3, 2015

For some reason, I have a massive love for Americanized Chinese food. In fact, I’ve eaten so much of it over the past four years that I have over 150 fortune cookie slips. If you factor in the average...

“Crimson Peak” a story of sadism and tragedy

“Crimson Peak” a story of sadism and tragedy

Travis LeClair November 3, 2015

Just in time for the ghostliest day of the year, acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro gives moviegoers a sadistic, haunted treat. It’s not his first time writing and directing hair-standing flicks—...

“Monster in Paris” is adorably funny

“Monster in Paris” is adorably funny

Cayla Fronhofer November 3, 2015

Released for English-speaking audiences in 2012 by EuropaCorp, “A Monster in Paris” is a 90-minute animated film that blends adventure, humor, and genuine compassion for a truly charming viewing experience....

“Zealot” paints a  picture of historical Jesus

“Zealot” paints a picture of historical Jesus

Agathe Fredette November 3, 2015

Who was Jesus Christ? If you asked a group of people this question, you would most likely get a different answer from each person. Jesus was a prophet. Jesus was God incarnate. Jesus was a Jewish peasant....

I Am is here

I Am is here

Ian Major November 3, 2015

“I am a survivor.” “I am free.” “I am beautiful.” “I am happy to be here.” Such were just a few of the messages recorded on the large I AM installation on the quad on Oct. 21. Staff...

Humor and sorrow in “Stitches”: a senior project done right

Humor and sorrow in “Stitches”: a senior project done right

Sam Hartley November 3, 2015

“Stitches” is a dramatic comedy written and directed by Stephanie Zello. It’s the senior project of Zello and Hannah Publicover, who designed the set. According to the program, it is a “dramedy...

Pho Dang thats tasty

Pho Dang: cheap, simple and tasty

Travis LeClair October 19, 2015

The drive home from Johnson to Burlington offers few easy-access food joints that are both yummy and cheap. To boot, I was living healthy this day, so I wasn’t going submit to gas station temptation....

Dancing in the RHAW

Sam Hartley October 19, 2015

Rennie Harris Awe-inspiring Works put on a performance Sept. 30 that, while not exactly what I would call “awe-inspiring,” made for a damn fine show, especially for a company of pre-professional dancers....

“Black Mass”: so good, it’s criminal

“Black Mass”: so good, it’s criminal

Sam Hartley October 19, 2015

Scott Cooper’s “Black Mass” is easily the best crime-drama since “The Departed.” Based on the New York Times bestselling book “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the...

“Everest” presents human struggle and unforgiveable terrain

“Everest” presents human struggle and unforgiveable terrain

Travis LeClair October 19, 2015

The true story of a1996 Everest expedition came to the big screen this September. The film has delightful acting, nearly tear-inducing moments, and a pace that made me feel like I was actually inching...

The Normal Heart takes the audience behind the curtain

“The Normal Heart” takes the audience behind the curtain

Briana Morin September 29, 2015

The mark of a timelessly relatable story is that it deals with issues and emotions that are still pertinent. HIV/AIDS is still an incurable disease that hits people and communities worldwide, and the grief...

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