Silent Film Celebrates Silent Film Era

The Artist is a movie that celebrates the silent film era even as it tells the story of its decline. The focus is on two stars of that era, an aging male lead and a rising actress, just as the medium is about to change and talkies become all the rage.

For those on the Vineyard who have witnessed the past two summer productions from the PigPen Theatre Company you know what it means to be completely transported, body and soul, to, without gilding the lily one bit, a place of imagination so powerful adults have been known to become toddlers on the spot: mute, with finger outstretched and prone to falling down in fits of giggles and wonderment. Kids, well, they simply become transfixed, the feeling so strong they refuse to watch television for weeks afterwards. It just doesn’t compare.

This was no vegetarian’s delight. Unpacking my bag of farm produce last week, I found that it contained more than this vegetable lover bargained for. The cornucopia of Island-grown goods had more than just plant matter, the produce was packing protein! Hidden among the veggies were petite podlike green gremlins in the form of aphids.

Subspecies of birds are interesting. What is a subspecies, anyway? It is best to start with species, which is an individual that has common characteristics with others and can breed and produces offspring that are fertile and similar in looks. Now, a subspecies is an individual which has notably different features than its species, but can still breed and produce fertile offspring. However, subspecies characteristics are not sufficiently different to be classified as a unique species. The differences most commonly used to separate species and subspecies include size variations and plumage colorations.

This month the Chilmark Library is hosting an art show called Sugar-Coated Barnyard on the Moon. The show is a collection of work by three Island artists and includes watercolors of barnyard animals by Lauren Clark, mixed media paintings by Darcie-Lee Hanaway, and photographs of candy by Elissa Turnbull.

Each of the artists was inspired in unique ways.

The Vineyard Nursing Association has announced the addition of a new and yet familiar face. Katie Ferreira, a 2000 graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, will join 14 other nurses on the VNA staff.

Prior to coming to Vineyard Nursing, Ms. Ferreira’s worked at Rockville General Hospital in Vernon, Conn. and Cape Cod Hospital, where she gained valuable experience in the medical/surgical ward, the intensive care unit, a medical telemetry unit and the cardiac step-down unit.

Film Festival Honored

Those living on or visiting Martha’s Vineyard have long recognized the Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival as a particular gem. Each year Richard Paradise, the director and founder, programs numerous series of movies all year round, culminating in the four-day festival each fall. The films are always ones you can’t see anywhere else; foreign films being a particular specialty of the festival.

Teddy Bear Suite

For those who missed it during the hundreds of other events during Christmas in Edgartown, or for those who missed the weekend altogether, there is still time to check out the Teddy Bear Suite at the Harbor View Hotel. The teddy bears have postponed hibernation and are waiting with open, furry, arms to hand out some holiday hugs.

They come in all sizes, even 6 feet tall (Bear, Edgar Bear, if you please).

Hockey Helps Out

What the heck is a Stuff-a-Bus you may ask? Well, it’s something you want to be a part of.

The Martha’s Vineyard boys’ hockey team is teaming up with the Island Food Pantry and trying to fill a bus with food for needy families. But they can’t do it without your help.

Tisbury School Play

The Tisbury School fourth graders are getting set to take you inside the minds of the ant and grasshopper and also up the beanstalk with dear Jack as he tries to search for his missing cow. The results are not your grandfather’s well-worn fables.

The kids have written the story, built the sets, created the music; heck they have done everything but fill the seats. That’s where you come in.