The Uncanny Valley: WTF? And Other Head-Scratchers, Road to Nowhere
“Curiouser and curiouser!” exclaimed Alice as she took her first steps into Wonderland. If she were making a trek through the Valley instead, we think she would say the same thing. Our little corner of...
View ArticleA Sad Moment for Valley Music
Usually, it’s a happy occasion that puts a band in the paper. This week, it’s tragic news. As you may have heard, The Alchemystics recently lost two of their circle. Drummer Demse Zullo and his...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: UFO sightings
On the evening of March 17, a driver in South Hadley reported seeing a strange triangular craft in the sky with lights on each of its three visible points. After following the craft for a couple of...
View ArticleBetween the Lines: Advocate Grand Band Slam Is Back, now with more slam!
Back in the final year of the 1900s, I stood, guitar in hand, on the steps of Northampton’s old courthouse at the main intersection. The occasion was the (then new) Valley Advocate Grand Band Slam. My...
View ArticleFreaky whales in the sky, I guess
Reporter Amanda Drane recently turned me on to this weird phenomenon that’s been recorded around the world. Out of nowhere, in the day or night, in the city or in the woods people have recorded the...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: An Occasional Pilgrimage to St. Thomas the Apostle Church...
On occasion, to keep up my health, I take a walk. Nearby my home in West Springfield is a mile-long stretch of sidewalk with no hills, few cars, and even fewer people outside. The homes are densely...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
Behind the scenes at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke in the 1990s, Stephen Petegorsky made a delightful discovery: “hundreds of taxidermed animal specimens — most of them really ratty — stuffed in...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: Jumpin’ Black Flash, A Cape Cod boogeyman
Spring-Heeled Jack, in addition to being the best-named apparition since the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, was a frequent haunter of Victorian London and, eventually, other parts of Great Britain. He was...
View ArticleThe Arts: Nominations for the Advocate Grand Band Slam are Open
WEB TEXT FOR ARTS PAGE 1 The post The Arts: Nominations for the Advocate Grand Band Slam are Open appeared first on Valley Advocate.
View ArticleWTF: Why does it say ‘Quota’ at the corner of Route 5 and Hampden Street in...
For more than a decade, the island at the corner of Hampton Street and Route 5 in Holyoke has borne the word “Quota” — spelled out in flowers in the warm weather and black plastic edging in the cold....
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Three for Crowds: Trio of Music Festivals Bringing Family Atmosphere to...
The music festival, once a haven for the young, rebellious and sometimes nude, has become a family affair. Forget Coachella, forget Bonnaroo, and forget Lollapalooza. This summer Western Massachusetts...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: WTF, Are roadside signs offering to buy homes in ‘any...
You’ve probably seen the signs — “Fast $$ for Houses,” “We Buy Ugly Homes” — tacked onto telephone poles or scrawled onto yard signs by the side of a main road. The advertising doesn’t inspire...
View ArticleA Sad Moment for Valley Music
Usually, it’s a happy occasion that puts a band in the paper. This week, it’s tragic news. As you may have heard, The Alchemystics recently lost two of their circle. Drummer Demse Zullo and his...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: UFO sightings
On the evening of March 17, a driver in South Hadley reported seeing a strange triangular craft in the sky with lights on each of its three visible points. After following the craft for a couple of...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: WTF, Whose happy place is this?
My curiosity is piqued by a recent Facebook post by fellow Advocate writer Yana Tallon-Hicks in which she documented a creepy, abandoned house complete with a puzzling sign that read, “This is my...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: Why are there ads on Springfield buses asking, ‘Do you...
Buses are big and so are the advertisements they often host — that’s no surprise. What is jolting, however, is when the typical music or beverage ad is replaced with a giant placard offering a $50,000...
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Game for a Throne: Northampton’s Jesse French Dreams Big as King of Nowhere
Jesse French aka King of Nowhere (Photo credit: Georgia Teensma) Jesse French is not your average gardener. Though by day, the Hampshire College graduate works for the Trustees of Reservations in...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: Why do some fast food fries cost more than burgers?
Why is it that a cheeseburger costs $1.22 at Burger King, while a small order of fries costs $1.70? Isn’t beef supposed to be more expensive than potatoes? Thanks for writing in, anonymous reader,...
View ArticleThe Uncanny Valley: Do Ghosts Haunt Spoleto?
by Hunter Styles Staff writer Amanda Drane has worked in the local food industry for 10 years, and she’s shared with us some truly great stories of her time in the kitchen, including a couple about the...
View ArticleMy Favorite Walk: An Occasional Pilgrimage to St. Thomas the Apostle Church...
On occasion, to keep up my health, I take a walk. Nearby my home in West Springfield is a mile-long stretch of sidewalk with no hills, few cars, and even fewer people outside. The homes are densely...
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