The Answer to Disasters of All Kinds? Beer
Apparently the Apocalypse has started and the horsemen are named Sandy, Athena, Brutus and … I don’t know, Cindy? Despite the catastrophic weather hitting both coasts in an unprecedented […]
Winter Storm Watch in effect from January 25, 07:00 AM EST until January 26, 07:00 PM EST Cold Weather Advisory in effect from January 23, 10:00 PM EST until January 24, 10:00 AM EST At Providence, a...
You know how when you talk to people about something or someone they love they suddenly sit up straighter, remember things they thought they’d forgotten, and share their experiences with a sparkle in their eyes?...
Rhode Island is bursting with creative energy. Providence calls itself the Creative Capital but that concept doesn’t stick to the confines of the city’s boundaries. The creatives that help make the Ocean State one helluva...
There are some places in RI that feel less like a business and more like a trip back home. The Sandwich Hut is one of them. It all began in 1963, when Joe Tatulli, a World...
Give and you shall receive! The time of year for giving is upon us, and the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island (PSN) continuously provides care and services to the community for those in need....
Abuse is an experience that many individuals have unfortunately lived through, but it is a topic that doesn’t get the coverage it deserves. There is a stigma, along with the plethora of other emotions a...
Resolutions are great if they are realistic. However, isn’t resolving to always or never do something setting one up for failure? The best advice that I have is to set some goals that are achievable,...
On a chilly December morning, Robert recounts to me the time he played his mother's favorite song, Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" through his hi-fi system. After the cumbersome time spent lugging the equipment and then...
Okee dokee folks… Well, it’s a new year. People put way too much stock in that. Shit just carries over from the previous year. Time is a human-made construct. In the big picture it doesn’t...
Photo courtesy of Gina Montecalvo Recent news has been grim about the future of medical care in our capital city. Dire finances have essentially endangered two of our local institutions: Roger Williams Medical Center and Fatima...
I get it. It’s the new year and yes! Finally a reason to lock into some new routines. I love that. I’ve been there. However, the clock’s midnight strike is not turning your glass slippers...
News broke of an audacious operation on Jan 3 where US forces flew into Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flew them out to stand trial in federal...
Cover artist Dalton Kaplan of Pawtucket always had the art bug. “When I was a kid, I watched way too many cartoons,” the illustrator and graphic designer laughs. While sitting in front of the TV he...
At Providence, a clipper low Mon night followed by a shortwave Tue night into Wed morning will bring two separate episodes of precipitation, the first beginning as minimal snow possibly changing to freezing rain and...
Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, identified by authorities as the suspect in both the Dec 13 mass shooting at Brown University in Providence that killed two and injured nine and the Dec 15 murder of MIT Professor...
Cibber-Vanbrugh’s The Provok’d Husband, a comedy about an extravagant wife, was a huge success in Newport. And Nicholas Rowe’s brooding The Tragedy of Jane Shore, inspired by the life of the mistress of Edward IV, drew standing-room only...
We asked Motif’s resident video production supervisor to recommend some locally grown vids that made his year: 1. Dawn the Duck You may think you have a robust social life, but just know that there's a duck...
By Steven R. Porter Rhode Island is known nationwide for its vibrant arts community. But the state’s published authors, despite their talent and success, are too often an afterthought. The year 2025 saw an absolute cornucopia...
The holidays, over the years, have changed. This may be true for you as well. As a toddler most of us have followed family traditions. My late sister and I would wait for my father...
Heather Rose in Clover Okee dokee folks… If you listen to music enough you can always find lines in a song or whole songs that relate to the world around you. Lately I have been elder-Ubering...
Crash Space It’s that time of year where every asshat wants to spew their “Best of whatever year” list like someone out in the ether really gives a flying fart. These lists can be dumb, but...
I am not optimistic in the short term, but I am in the long term. I’ve watched the country go through terrible upheavals, back to the Vietnam War and the election of Richard Nixon as...
It's coming to the point in the year where we all announce resolutions that we don’t keep. So why not start with one that’s easy too? Albeit, it might take a small act of bravery....
Every year there is the great debate; Should I remain home and watch the ball drop in my Care Bear jammies, or should I open my horizons by bringing in the new year with style...
“I make art in the same way you walk, or breathe, or eat a meal,” says illustrator and designer John Gendron of Providence, who created the cover for Motif’s year-end issue. “I try to process...
At Providence, solar aurora may be visible overnight Mon into Tue and, to a lesser extent, Tue into Wed. Aurora is unusual at latitudes this far south, but it typically happens a few times every...
Even normal winter conditions can be life-threatening to anyone without proper hats, clothes, and footwear, but extreme conditions are life-threatening for anyone outside of heated shelter. According to the RI Department of Environmental Management, the interior...
Okee dokee folks… People apparently totally gloss over Thanksgiving now, not that I care. I am a vegetarian and the ritual slaughter of turkeys for holidays has always bothered me. The fact that my ears...
You don’t need to be a card reader or clairvoyant to know that the world is in an uproar. When the slower moving outer planets are in play the world moves and changes. And when...
In an era of content slop, pseudo-art, and AI, Thank God For Science is a breath of fresh air — proof that there are still art-weirdos out there who value creativity over commercial appeal. To...
Apparently the Apocalypse has started and the horsemen are named Sandy, Athena, Brutus and … I don’t know, Cindy? Despite the catastrophic weather hitting both coasts in an unprecedented […]
9 a.m., wolfing down a breakfast burrito, rushing over the suspension walkway toward the San Diego Convention Center, I end up standing in line outside for 4 ½ excruciating hours […]
Through movement, Jessica expresses her art. She teaches at Newport Academy of Ballet and religiously takes four classes a week there. A former member of Island Moving Company, she has […]
Okee dokee folks…Forward.Thank you,America! So, I had a busy week of checking out shows. Trying to make up for lost time. Jesus Christ Superstar at the PVD Social Club was […]
If you think you hear characters from Futurama around Providence next month, you’re not hallucinating. If at some point, you think you’ve seen the crew of the original Battlestar Galactica cross the street DownCity, you still won’t be hallucinating. And if you see Chewbacca walking through the Providence Place Mall … well, you get the idea.
Actor Peter Mayhew has portrayed Chewbacca, the lovable “walking carpet” from the Star Wars films, since the original film. He took a moment to speak to Motif writer Mike Ryan […]
Okee dokee folks…It’s unofficially summer. The Memorial Day Weekend starting gun has been fired. I hope that you’ve done some eye stretches and are ready to read the marathon list […]
Providence City Council members’ cell phones cost taxpayers big bucks For more than a decade, it was a perk that had largely flown under the public radar: Use of a […]
Okee dokee folks… And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Just in case you were wondering, I didn’t have a column last issue as we put out the Motif […]
Environmental agency puts turbines to good use Wherever you go on the Providence waterfront these days, they are impossible to miss: Three massive wind turbines that have changed the landscape […]