Dear C and Dr. B: This Thanksgiving, my husband and my mother got into an argument over the proper way to melt cheese on toast in order to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Listening to them, I had a sudden realization: OMG, I married my mother! They each had this same tone of underlying bitter sarcasm […]
Buying votes might be illegal, but Rhode Island’s politicians have a long tradition of innovative and expensive ways to ensure loyalty: Offer a group of state or local employees a raise or a better contract, with the expectation they’ll be grateful. Remember Buddy Cianci’s Cost of Living Pension Blowout? It’s the gift that keeps on […]
Okee dokee folks… I was fortunate to attend a performance of Hamilton for the second time tonight. I first saw the musical when it came to the Providence Performing Arts Center a couple of years ago and I was very moved by the experience. Not being a fan of hip-hop or rap, I was very […]
This month, since we were already on the naughty list, we hacked Santa’s database and discovered what some of our public officials and institutions are asking for this Christmas… Gifts for the Politicians Buddy Cianci wants another comeback. He’s thinking Governor again this time, figuring he couldn’t be any deader than Dan McKee. US House […]
Chip Samson, owner of Shaidzon Beer Co., is a huge fan of the URI Rams. Mike Delehanty, Operating Partner at Union Station Brewing, loves all things Providence, including the PC Friars. The two college basketball fans decided that they’d make a collaboration brew in whichever town hosted the matchup, and this year, on 12/4, the […]
Max Formal, the shop on North Main Street in Providence with the sign painted by Shepard Fairey, is not a tuxedo store. It’s an old-school dry goods store named after the owner, Paul Formal’s father. You’ll find deals on tee shirts, socks, jeans, high-thread-count linens and a fun line of “Rhode Island State of Corruption” […]
Until recently, I thought Thanksgiving was the quintessential American holiday: no politics, no religion, just friends, family and food. Then an Indigenous American told me that for them it was a national day of mourning. Revelations like that put dampers on the enthusiasm. Yet I still believe in the possibility of the American Dream. Not […]
A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles VHS tape. A jacket worn by USPS letter carriers in the 1950s. A mirrored end table with Levi Strauss & Co.’s elaborate vintage logo embossed in the center. These are just three of the many eye-catching things you can purchase at Pawtucket’s Top Shelf Vintage Co. Owner Annie Schisler, a […]
Before you flipped to this page, you probably noticed our illustrated cover.It’s evocative of a simpler holiday season of yore, before the consumerism andcapitalism drove us to the egg nog, before we ever knew that our party-hardybrother-in-law existed, and back when the idea of “holiday dinner” provokedthoughts of eating said dinner instead of the logistics […]
Last year, hand sanitizer was a popular not-really-a-joke gift. This year, you can make up for it with a locally produced and sold magic hand formula. Dry, chapped hands can be painful, especially during the COVID era of extra handwashing and sanitizing. Instead of grabbing some chemical-filled concoction from the local drugstore, if you’re looking […]
