The cauldron of problems the country is currently embroiled within is not a neatly tied gift for president-elect Barack Obama whose sweeping promises of positive change will be tough to deliver upon. The complexity of what the current administration has enacted in the world — specifically through aggression — and how to conceptualize its deconstruction is the subject of a new book, “Unintended Consequences: How War in Iraq Strengthened America’s Enemies” (Simon & Schuster) by Vermonter and international political strategist Peter Galbraith.

Galbraith descends upon Chester this Sunday as part of Misty Valley Books’ Vermont Voices series, and stands to illuminate the realities at odds with progress, from an authoritative standpoint.

Ever since I moved here, I’ve been intrigued by the bright yellow sign along Route 103 in Cuttingsville, pointing toward Over Easy’s breakfast and lunch in the Post Office plaza.

It looked like my kind of place. So when the in-laws were in town a couple of weeks ago and the womenfolk were off doing their whatever it is womenfolk do, leaving me and my father-in-law badly outnumbered by a couple of hyperactive preschoolers, it seemed like a good time to load up the trusty Mommobile and go for an outing.

It was a most excellent decision, as Over Easy’s turns out to be one of those friendly, easygoing little places that make off-the-beaten-path so worth traveling.

by George Nostrand

Friday night will be all right if you make your way down to “The Cellar That Rocks Rutland” (aka Sidelines).

The Vegas Brothers will be there to entertain. I’ve seen these guys progress over the years as they worked their way from the Cadillac Lounge to the stages here in Rutland, and heard good [...]

CHESTER — It’s time to pull out those bobby socks and poodle skirts, because the 1950s musical comedy show “Laughing with the Legends” is kicking off the 24th season of the Green Mountain Festival Series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Green Mountain Union High School.

Proceeds from this show and others in the series are used to underwrite grants to bring arts into area classrooms. This year, the series has given out $20,000 in grants.

Seventy years after it was written by Thornton Wilder and then performed across the country, the timeless portrayal of everyday New England life in the classic “Our Town” comes to Green Mountain College this weekend.

The longest continuously operating community theater group in the state, the Marble Valley Players, will take center stage in West Rutland for three days, performing Ivan Menchell’s “The Cemetery Club.”

The witty comedy for all ages is set in a cemetery and tells the story of three Jewish widows who visit the graves of their deceased husbands each month until an eligible widower is thrown into the mix.