Artist and mother, Lee Parent, of Belfast, was watching the 2005 movie, V for Vendetta with her husband last week, (the movie in which Natalie Portman had her head shaved for the role) when she turned to her husband and said, "Let's do this."

After some more back and forth discussion, her husband, Keith Maynard, got out the clippers and held them up to her temple.

"Then I went no, no, no, no," she said, stopping him. "I took the shaver in my hand and began inching it across my temple. I had to be the one to do it. So, once I got started, it was like: 'All right, here we go.' And I shaved a straight line down the center of my hairline."

Parent said she'd wanted to chop it all off for years, but was afraid of the usual things women fear when it comes to their hair: that it would make her lose her femininity, or that it would change people's perceptions of her.

"After having a kid, my body completely changed in a way that it's never going to go back," she said. "I'd been clinging on to the notion that I might not feel sexy or powerful, if I cut all my hair off," said Parent, 36. "I think I never did it before because I felt I had to lose 15 to 20 pounds to pull it off."

After it was all off and her dark brown hair lay in wisps on the floor, she said, "I think I said, "Holy sh--, but then I felt l moved through something. I felt both relieved and powerful at the same time. It's not a big deal."

For many women, their hair is a big deal, representing youth and eternal beauty. It can be a contentious topic, but a billion dollar hair industry has tapped into women's subconcious need to feel attractive. With models and celebrities in our faces 24-7 on TV shows, movies, magazines and Internet articles, long, luxurious hair (often augmented by strategically placed hair extensions) is the gold standard of female beauty-a message, society endlessly emphasizes to youngest girls through stories, myths and Disney movies.

Her daughter, Ayla, 3-and-a-half woke up in the middle of the night and Parent came into her room to check on her. Ayla was visibly upset when she saw her mother. "Mama," she said. "What happened to your hair?"

Parent had shaver's regret right then. "For awhile, I felt it was selfish of me to shave my head. My daughter is into princesses and long hair. But I just put my face to her face and told her, 'Mommy is still Mommy. I just always wanted to know what it felt like to have no hair."

That morning Parent took her daughter to school and when they walked into the room, Ayla announced to the class "Hey, my mom shaved her head!" So Parent took off her hat, squatted down and asked the kids if they wanted to feel it.The kids all glommed around her, rubbing the stubble on her head. "And that's when I could see Ayla had a moment of being proud," said Parent.

The public reaction once she posted it on Facebook was overwhelmingly positive. "I was suprised," she said. "I expected people to say nothing as in 'if you can't say something nice, don't say it at all.' " Asked if it mattered to her if people didn't like it, she analyzed that it was one of the reasons she'd done it, because she cared so much what people thought. "Now I can own the fact that this is what I wanted, regardless of what other people think."

One unexpected reaction has come from from a number of people who assumed she's done this because she was going through chemotherapy. To the people who have to shave their heads not out of choice, Parent offers a little insight. "I was surprised how beautiful I felt without hair. I stripped myself down so that all people see now is my face."

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

This is a calendar of Editor’s Picks and the kind of events or scenes that are happening in the Midcoast that you’ll probably want to be hip to.

The Fog Bar & Cafe on Main Street in Rockland will be hosting an Indie Craft Show on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. The show will feature works from a select group of local artisans along with handmade treats from Rockland's newest gastropub, FOG Bar & Cafe.

“There are a ton of craft shows going on in the area this time of year,” said Maggi Blue, show co-organizer. “What sets this one apart? It's totally handpicked, all handmade and hosted by a hot new spot in Rockland... and let's face it, it'll be bitchin' and you won't want to miss it.”

Artisans to be featured in this warm and intimate setting include:

• Annie Bailey from A Bee Design (anniebaileyart.com) offering animal inspired creatures made out of recycled fabric, reusable gift boxes and bags, and juggling bags.
• Maggi Blue from Magpie Creative (magpiecreative.com) offering handmade fused glass and silver jewelry.
• Lillian Harris from Lillianka (lillianka.com) selling a diverse range of of well-made and affordable tote bags, purses and accessories for the homemade with vibrantly colored natural fabrics.
• Marcie Howard from Sustainable Stitches (etsy.com/shop/SustainableStitches) offering one-of-a-kind creations felted and repurposed from wool sweaters making them very warm and cozy and environmentally sustainable.
• Lindsay Pinchbeck, a printmaker and the founder of Sweet Tree Arts in Hope (sweettreearts.org) will be selling selling block print original cards and American-made kid's applique T-shirts. A percentage of proceeds goes to arts education and outreach.
• Leith MacDonald, local artist, will have orginial, handmade screenprinted shirts, onsies and totebags – all made with a Rockland slant.
• Austin Smith with Austin P. Smith Ceramics (austinpsmith.blogspot.com) offering have an array of fine porcelain pottery.

The Fog Bar & Cafe is a gastropub located at 328 Main Street in Rockland. Visit them on Facebook for more information: https://www.facebook.com/Fogbarcafe

For the holidays, we’re launching a new series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

A Sixer of Home Brewed Soaps

The backstory

Home Brewed Soaps was born out of a love for making soap and a love for beer! Good Beer! Melanie Landi, who lives and works out of Rockland, said, "My boyfriend Sam makes beer and I make soap so it only made sense for me to start making my soaps with his home brewed beer." Beer Soap is made with their own crafted Home Brew ranging from stouts to ales. Included in the six-pack are: Sexy for Him made with ale, Clove & Ale, Creamy Stout, Oatmeal Stout, and True Grit Hand Scrub & Earth. Having made both beer soap and non-beer soap, said Landi,  "I believe that beer adds extra creaminess to our soaps. Our beer soaps will each have different degrees of creaminess dependent upon the beer that we use, the amounts and types of hops, grains, malts, fruits and or nuts used when brewing our beer. If the soaps are left unscented there will be a faint light scent of the beer ingredients that will come through."

Where to find it/price range:

Online, at Home Brewed Soaps, $33

In their words: "Do not worry, you will not smell like you just bathed in a bottle of beer; you will just feel the added benefits and your skin will thank you!"

Wild Rose and Raw Honey Elixer

The back story

Kathy Langelier is behind Herbal Revolution, based in the Midcoast, where she wild gather herbs in a sustainable way from the salty coast, vast fields and forests. She also organically raises herbs in her garden while using other local organically-raised herbs that when needed. Herbal Revolution products are made in small batches to ensure the integrity and quality of the herbs that are being used. Every step in the process is taken with great care and respect. I love that she makes a living off the land and especially dig the 1990s vibe on her product labels.

Her Wild Rose and Raw Honey elixir is made with hand-picked wild rosa rugosa petals off the coast of Maine. This sacred flower is wonderfully nourishing for the nervous system, gently opens the heart and uplifts the spirit. Roses are rich in bioflavonoiods, which are needed for the absorption of Vitamin C, helping to maintain healthy capillaries and blood vessels and is a natural antibiotic.

The raw honey is also locally sourced in Maine. Raw honey is a live food that is full of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C, The entire B complex, Vitamins D, E and K, along with amino acids, niacin and folic acid. Unheated honey is antibiotic, antiviral anti-inflammatory, immune stimulating, cell regenerating and so much more. You are bound to fall in love with this elixir. It can be taken in water, tea or just a dropper full right into the mouth.

Where to find it/price range:

Online, through her Etsy account at $12 per bottle

In her words: "I go to these pristine, beautiful islands on gorgeous days to hand pick these rose petals on the ocean.  I can't wait to go rose harvesting each year; it's really nourishing, just like the product itself."

Hope Elephant cards

The back story:

The wild animal card is a block print card featuring the Hope Elephants. Fifteen percent of all sales will go to the Hope Elephants education project, which Sweet Tree Arts also supports. 

Cards can be found on their website for $3.50 apiece.

In her words: “The goal of the card line is for artists to spread their work through our cards and to give back to arts education at the center, giving back to community and supporting art on many levels. By buying cards from Sweet Tree Arts, you are supporting local artists and investing in artists of the future.... please buy locally."

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

Ian McKenzie, a teacher at Camden-Rockport Middle School, was looking for a cause that would be fun to raise money for. He is, self-admittedly, not the type to run a 5K mile in order to reach a fundraising goal.

“I came across this strange thing called Movember, where men around the world grow mustaches in the month of November to increase awareness for men’s health issues such as diabetes and prostate or testicular cancer,” he said.

Last year, McKenzie recruited several of his colleagues and friends and put together a local team of about a dozen men, calling themselves Mo Bros.

'Some of us are more blessed follicly than others'
-Ian McKenzie

“Nobody really knew why we were all growing these mustaches, but we ended up raising about $1,200,” said McKenzie, officially, the Midcoast United Mo Bros Team Captain. “I think Movember campaign has hit the tipping point. Keith Carson on Channel 6 news is participating in Movember and just last week it was featured on the sitcom, The Office.”

This year, there are about 10 men participating in the Mo Bros and they are at nearly half their goal with about $400 raised. Here’s how it works. Starting on Nov. 1, to the horror of most of the women in their lives, the Mo Bros began the month clean shaven and began to grow facial hair.  As the month progressed, the growing mustaches served to remind people to donate to their cause and to encourage men to make appointments with their doctors to get a check up.

By Nov. 30, all mustaches, no matter how sparse, how scraggly, or how creeper-like, must be at their final stages. (See the accompanying chart to see just how many creative ways there are to grow facial hair.)

On Dec. 1, the Mo Bros will hold an end of Movember party at the Smokestack Grill in Camden, starting at 9 p.m. The entertainment will be “Just Teachers,” which consists of all local mustachioed Midcoast teachers (McKenzie plays keyboards). If folks don’t come with a mustache, face painters will be on hand to paint one for them. They will have a prize for "The Mo That Needs To Go" at the end of the night.

“We’re hoping that this party we throw this Saturday night allows us to get to that $1,000 mark,” said McKenzie. “Money for research and prevention is only part of the cause, but raising the awareness is even more important. Men don’t take care of themselves as well as they should. I’ve known several men who have been through prostate cancer. When we feel bad physically, we tend to muscle through it, so part of this is: tell a man in your life to get checked.”

Hear that ladies? Every time you stare at that raccoon coat on his face, it’s your cue to pick up the phone and make him an appointment for a physical and a check up.

This international Movember movement originally started in New Zealand about a dozen years ago. Together, Movember and its men’s health partners, PCF and the LIVESTRONG  Foundation, work to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research. To date, Movember has raised $93 million worldwide.

 For more information, please visit www.movember.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

At first, it’s hard to grasp just what this object Angela Lorenz created is. Is it a piece of art? Is it a book?

The Mansion of Thought: Making Knowledge Visual in Three Dimensions is a mixed-media adult picture book that folds out unto itself like origami. It contains much of Lorenz’ studies and research in drawing, printmaking, fine arts and semiotics (a field equivalent to communications).  Lorenz, who studied in Bologna, Italy, in the mid-1980s and divides her time between Bologna and Searsmont, has a lot going on up there. A lot.

“I probably have about 50 projects going on at the moment,” she said. As the creator of multiple mixed media pieces, interactive presentations and exhibits, she has enviable talent, and — what most artists yearn for — a limitless fount of ideas; yet, she is very quiet in her approach. While she is known internationally and has been interviewed by The Boston Globe, she keeps a low profile in Maine. No one has really heard about her here.

The book is made of acid-free paper and was assembled and printed in Italy. The interior of the book was designed like a paper pair of pants. When she holds the simple design that was cut down the middle, the two “legs’ of the pants are what she can then intricately shape and fold into a variety of shapes, such as cubes, a hexagon and a house, which alludes to the title of the book.

“There’s always a struggle to making something that is user-friendly and not caving to commercial concerns, like ‘Will there be enough display space?’ she said. “Not wanting to be too hard for people who have trouble folding up maps, yet, creating something purposeful that communicates the ideas is what I tried to do.”

Conceptually, the book is 20 years in the making. It contains 67 watercolor images Lorenz has made based on cultural ideas and language and religions from around the world she’s studied since college. Some of her original artwork, including paintings from this book, appear in more than 100 private and public collections in North America and Europe, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Graphische Sammlung Albertina in Vienna.

“This is 4,000 years of history from Babylonia and upward. It’ s basically the tendency of humans to make knowledge visual in three-dimensions,” said Lorenz.

To demonstrate, she unfolds the casing of the book, which exposes a built-in essay as well as what looks like a Parcheesi game, which is actually a Central American game board.

“This talks about the intersection of games with pilgrimage and labyrinth,” she explained.

Rather than make a singular one-off sculptural piece, Lorenz sold the paintings in this book and used the proceeds to make 2,000 copies on her own as a way to make this artwork accessible and affordable to everyone.

The book itself is like opening a present. On both the front and back cover, a Hebrew and Latin phrase (or frieze) serves as the book’s introduction.

“And these are actually carved in the sides a building from the the 1500s in Bologna.” Inside are dozens of symbolic illustrations. Each hand-drawn symbol or imagery comes with an explanation, something Lorenz provides on her website.

For example, one of her original watercolor images is of Borobudur, a Buddhist monument, created in Java, Indonesia circa 800 AD. 

“It actually exists as a three-dimensional stone monument, built as a mandala. One of the hugest mandalas in the world, in fact. And you can progress, like a labyrinth up the steps and go through the phases of Buddha’s life.”

It’s an apt metaphor, this labyrinth, as it very neatly characterizes what it is like to open this enigmatic book and use your fingers to explore the many possibilities of The Mansion of Thought.

Copies of her book can be purchased at Left Bank Books. For more description to go with each symbol in the book visit www.angelalorenzbooks.com

For the holidays, we’re launching a new series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Woodriver Stones, Inc.

The back story:

It’s clear that Brandon Kimble, who owns Brandon T. Kimble Designs custom furniture and cabinetry, has a knack for working with wood. Last year, he decided to launch a new business making wood “stones” from more than 100 species of trees from all over the world. Calling it Woodriver Stones, he says, “After almost a year of trial and error, a few bloody knuckles and some very bad first efforts, we found that it was easy to make crude stone shapes — the hard part was making the stones beautiful and refined.”

As you can see from the photos, the bloody knuckles were worth it after all. They make all of their stones by hand, one at a time. Each stone is cut, shaped and polished at their shop in Camden.  They use wood species from all over the world and when possible, use reclaimed or recycled wood.  They also take advantage of the trees native to Maine such as poplar, cherry, oak, ash, maple, and fir. 

Where to find it/price range:

• Once A Tree, Camden
• Abacus Gallery, Freeport, Kennebunk, Portland

Prices range according to each store.

In his words: “With so much scrap wood going into the landfill, we decided that we would make something with it.  There has not been a better time to start being more environmentally conscious than now!”

LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls

First of all, how can you not love the fact that the owner’s name is Cyndi Prince and her email is cyndi@loo-hoo.com. (For those of you who don’t immediately get the reference, you need to brush up on your How The Grinch Stole Christmas, in which little Cindy Lou Who melts a little piece of the Grinch’s heart.)

The back story

You know what? We’ll just let Cyndi tell it.

“I learned about wool dryer balls in 2009.  A wool dryer ball is a felted ball of wool that you use in your clothes dryer to help separate your clothes.  Having several in your dryer creates a constant motion that allows for more air to circulate around your wet laundry so your clothes will dry faster. When we made the decision to cloth diaper our son, I realized that we would have to give up using dryer sheets.  At first I really was sorry to see them go.  They eliminated static, and added very fragrant smells to our laundry.  But after doing some research, and learning about the harmful chemicals that are in dryer sheets and the negative impact they can have on clothes and on your dryer, I was happy to make a change and consider a more natural, healthy alternative.  That’s when I discovered wool dryer balls.  I purchased some online, they worked great and I started to see all the benefits that they offered, but the quality was lacking and only lasted a few months before they started to unravel.  So, I gave it a shot and tried to make some of my own.  I have a creative background and have always loved to make things so it was and is a lot of fun going through the trial and error stage to come up with a solid finished product.  During this time, I had taken New Ventures course through Women Work and Community and have known for awhile that I wanted to start and run my own business.  In Oct. 2010, I launched LooHoo (formerly Wooly Rounds) in Midcoast Maine.  I love that this business is really about providing a sustainable alternative that will help protect your family’s health and that helps to reduce our impact on the environment.”

Where to find it/price range:

Online, loo-hoo.com, $27.99 for a Deluxe starter pack.

Also can be found at:

• Clean Bee Laundry, Camden
• Maine Cloth Diaper, Damariscotta
• Jo Ellen Designs, Camden

In her words: “I saw that there was a demand for wool dryer balls and a lack of companies that were producing them in large enough volumes to supply the retailers that were interested in selling them.  Also, I think it's amazing to be in the business of creating a product that helps reduce the environment impact that clothes dryers have on the planet and to help homes take steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle.”

FlowFold iPad sleeves

The backstory

Charles Friedman, 24, has been all over Maine news in the last couple of years with his 100 percent made-in-Maine sailcloth wallets. Featured in Downeast Magazine, Maine Today Media’s “Forty Under 40” entrepreneurs, as well as other statewide publications, there is a reason why he is getting so much attention. This is how the story goes: As a teenager Charles Friedman worked sewing sailboat sails in Yarmouth. When his grandfather’s old leather wallet fell apart, he crafted a new one from scrap sailcloth and the first Flowfold wallet was born. The company officially launched in 2010 on Peaks Island. Over the years, hundreds of prototypes were made and put to the test. They have refined their methods and produce wallets, business card holders and iPad sleeves with a conscious decision to make everything locally and sustainably. And (this just makes you want to hug the guy), this past spring the company adopted four baby leatherback turtles from The Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) in Malaysia. They did this with a donation derived from the sales of one of their special wallets.

Where to find it/price range:

Online, at Flowfold.com, $24-35

In his words: "We are really excited at the opportunity to make functional products at a reasonable price, it makes buying quality local products more accessible."

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

ROCKLAND — Stacy Campbell, a bartender at Archer’s on the Pier in Rockland, has been experimenting with creating a holiday drink for about a month now and her very tasty (and timely) invention is the Cranberry Compass Rose.

As to what’s the meaning behind the cocktail’s name? “It’s going to point you in the right direction and keep you feeling rosy,” said Campbell.

Ooh, but this one is tricky. Gonna sneak right up on ya! “It’s tart, with a little sweetness, but with very clean ingredients and refreshing,” said Campbell. “You’ve got to watch it though. It makes you forget you’re even drinking a cocktail.”

The two special ingredients, fresh Maine cranberries and St. Germaine liqueur, can be easily found in the Midcoast. Campbell's version uses a simple syrup made from boiled down cranberries from Moody Farm Cranberry Bog in Lincolnville, just after peak harvest season. The cranberries are dry-harvested, which is the only way they can be sold fresh. Campbell said Archer’s on the Pier makes all of its accompanying juices and simple syrups from scratch. A bottle of St. Germaine can be found in most local liquor and grocery stores.

"The more it is shaken up over ice and the more it blends with the ice in the glass, the more balanced the flavor," said Campbell. "So, let it sit just a while."

Watch the video to see how the cocktail is made. You’ll need:

• 2 shots of Hendrick’s gin
• ¾ shot of St. Germaine, a liqueur made with fresh wild elderflowers picked in the Alps
• ¼ shot of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ shot of fresh cranberry simple syrup
• Sprigs of fresh basil
• Orange peel
• Whole cranberries

Anecdotal evidence shows the night before Thanksgiving to be one of the biggest drinking nights at bars and restaurants everywhere. So, watch your intake (and drive safely) if you try one at Archer’s on the Pier. Better yet, get the ingredients and make this your signature cocktail at home for the holidays. Happy T-Day!

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to take the foodie industry in Maine so seriously or make it too precious. Her culinary adventures stem largely from her own small farm in Lincolnville; what’s ridiculous is how she makes it look so easy.

As you'll get to know from previous Sailor's Rest Farm columns, when Ladleah Dunn gets a hunch about a certain ingredient, she will spend the next 72 hours of her life creating something delicious with it.

“My friend Kevin at Hubbard Brook Farm in Unity grows the most amazing peaches and when they’re perfect, I just want to make everything out of them,” she said. “It was one of those impulse buys, where I was going to get a case of peaches to do various things, you know, like make peach pies or peach preserves.

“So, when I went to pick up the peaches (and proper etiquette of course is to call ahead so you don’t just show up at the farmer’s market and take them all) — he set some aside. He says, ‘Well, I’ve got these other yellow peaches. They look like sh — but they taste real good.’ So, I said 'I want ‘em. I’ll take them all.' These were beautiful; he didn't spray them, so they were a little mottled here and there. But the flavor was incredible.”

Turns out the yellow peaches were about to be turned into a homemade wine. Everybody loves a neighbor who makes homemade wine. Though Ladleah has made wine with other fruits like blueberries and wild grapes, this was her first attempt with peaches.

What’s so cool is how easy it really is to make what she calls “totally Appalachian hillbilly wine.”

“You basically take out the pits and stems, crush them up with your hands, and mix them with some water, sugar and wine yeast and let it ferment in a bucket known as a carboy,” she said, prying the plastic lid of the carboy up so we could see what was inside. It just looked like a chunky peach smoothie.  “Wine is best when it is years out, technically speaking,” she said. “My previous experience with fruit wines is that they can be sickeningly sweet and boozy. Total headache material. So, I sort of scaled the ratio of fruit, sugar and yeast so it would be dry, but with a high alcohol content.”

Tasting it ourselves, it was surprisingly dry and tasty as young as it was. Slightly fruity, and almost evervescent, it tasted a bit like a peach prosecco.

“It’s good,” Ladleah said sipping. "If you don’t look at it, it’s good.”

Young wines are always cloudy at the beginning. As they age, the particulates settle out. “I’ll give it a couple more weeks, then I’ll bottle it and then I’ll try to leave it until next year," she said.

Asked if she really will leave it a year.

“Yeah, because of curiosity more than anything, it won’t happen," she said laughing.

Killer Piks is a monthly review of books, movies, and music by people who are obsessed with books, movies and music.

Books

And the Pursuit of Happiness

by Lacy Simons

Did you know that George Washington had 36 dogs, and one of them was named Sweet Lips? And that the botanist John Bartram, a great friend of Benjamin Franklin, named a camellia-like tree in Franklin's honor? (The Franklinia, which blooms in late summer.) I know these things now, and so much more, because of Maira Kalman. (You'll likely recognize her style from her earlier books, including The Principles of Uncertainty and piles of children's books, as well as numerous New Yorker covers.) Her latest book--a gorgeous, heart-melting combination of writing, painting and photography called And the Pursuit of Happiness--was first published in the New York Times as a 12-part illustrated blog. Energized and inspired by the 2008 election, Kalman traveled to Washington, D.C., launching a year-long country-wide investigation of American democracy and its workings, and the result is as idiosyncratic and goosebump-raising as can be; each chapter delves into a different story, a different meditation on democracy and happiness and humanity. It sounds treacly and overearnest, but it couldn't be farther from that. Maira Kalman is magic, and this book tells you all you need to know about what I mean.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker, and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

Crooked Arrows

by Jim Dandy

“Long ago, the medicine game was given to the people of the Haudenosaunee to entertain the creator.”

This opening line sets the tone for Crooked Arrows, a film that honors the sacred origins of lacrosse and the traditions of the Native Americans who play. Brandon Routh is Joe Logan, a mixed-blood Native American and former prep-school lacrosse star with big plans for expanding his tribe's casino. However, college and success have clouded Joe's vision. Before he can close the deal between the investors and the the tribal council, he is tasked with re-examining his spirit. Joe must prove himself worthy to the council by coaching their losing lacrosse team. By showing them the true meaning of tribal spirit, he can restore pride to his people and to the game, while learning the value of loyalty himself.

Sound like good medicine? It is!

Crooked Arrows is a feel good sports movie, rich in tradition as well as an authentic portrayal of native Americans today. "There's nothing wrong with a crooked arrow. As long as it follows its own path, it will find its way."

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Tomorrowland

by Nathaniel Bernier

With Ryan Bingham's first album since the magnificent 2010 release, Junky Star, and the first on his own label without his usual backing band, The Dead Horses, I was definitely interested to put my ear to this.  The first song is a frolicking Americana tune whipping some strings into a frenzy, as his gravelly chords churn up the dust from the floor of a lonesome saloon.  A little angry in this first cut, perhaps socially as well as politically, he rips into each transition with fervor.  The second cut starts out and dances along at a more steady, melodic pace, urging one to sing along.  The amount of layering in this six-minute cut drives it through the mountains and valleys and over the streams and scrubby wasteland, but you won't notice as you'll be inspired to shut your eyes and listen intently.

Chunky guitars fraught with reverberation and twisted knobs open up the punk attitude-soaked Guess Who's Knocking, a song the Ramones could have easily sung.  I think my favorite song comes in at a funky rockabilly cut with lifting old-school country lyrics about loving a little honey while loving all the amazing great music found in these parts.  A jumping juke, this song really shows the versatility of this amazing showman and songwriter.  Bluesy guitars open up the next tune and a thumping drum and bass-line drive it along.  Wonderful tunes continue to spit out of my player, one after another.  Slowed-down acoustic pieces that explore a very talented songwriter who, maybe, really was finding himself on this record.  He seems to pull from other genres more so than from his more straightforward alt-rock country twists.  Strings, keyboards, blues riffs, rockabilly- it's all here and it's all great.  This young man will be around for a nice long time, living in a place of yesterday, today and Tomorrowland.

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of Wild Rufus Records previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists.  He lives on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music.  Find him at http://www.wildrufus.com or http://wildrufus.blogspot.com/

Taking the pulse of the Midcoast wedding Industry just a week after Maine voters made history by being the first in the country to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, the overall reaction from Midcoast vendors and venues has been positive. However, the majority of businesses interviewed admitted it’s still too early to determine how they’re going to actively pursue gay and lesbian clientele.

Currently, the referendum has to take up to 30 days to certify, with the law taking effect after another 30 days. If all goes to plan, it’s looking like early January before same sex couples can legally wed in this state.  “I don’t know if there’s been a whole lot of talk about that yet,” said Marina Macho Seekins from The Belfast Chamber of Commerce. Echoing this sentiment, Maine Coast Weddings & Special Events planner Linda Lewis said, “We haven’t really discussed it yet, but we’d be more than willing to help anybody out have a wonderful life together.”

According to The Huffington Post, The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that same-sex couples in the three newest states may spend more than $166 million over the next three years. Expounding on what this means for Maine, Penobscot Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Staci Coomer added, “According to the Williams Institute, the impact on Maine’s economy could be significant, with spending totaling almost $16 million. This could impact businesses in multiple industries across the region and allow for potential growth.”

Many vendors who have been doing commitment ceremonies for a number of years are delighted to work a larger influx of LGBT couples. “I have catered quite a few civil unions over the years and see marriage equality as a real good thing, for business, yes; but, even more so for our society. The welcome mat has been out for a long time,”  said Karen Federle, owner of Trillium Caterers. “We have catered many same-sex wedding celebrations and do anticipate an increase now that the law offers the same basic rights to everyone here in Maine,” said Lucien Willette, a coordinator for Maine Coast Catering.

Other vendors whose services have mainly been used primarily by heterosexual couples, are open to new possibilities. “Weddings, rehearsal dinners, shuttles, airport transportation and events for guests are a big part of our business,” said Jim Gamage, owner of All Aboard Trolley & Limousine. “I am thinking we could see a substantial boost to our business. Time will tell but we are very excited and optimistic.” Hillary Bousum, known as the Camden Cake Lady, announced on her Facebook page the day after the historic vote: "I'm so pleased that I can make wedding cakes for ALL couples getting married."

With same-sex marriage legal in Maine, it opens the doors to a host of other vendors, such as officiants. “To me what matters far more than gender, is that the couple's relationship and commitment is based on an abiding friendship, love, mutual respect and support,” said Captain Ken Barnes, a Notary Public and as a Merchant Captain who officiates weddings locally.

The Camden Harbour Inn, which has historically attracted LBGT clientele, has taken the lead in the Midcoast to advertise to gay and lesbian couples. “We received many press requests from all over the U.S. and Canada with regards to same-sex marriage, said Raymond Brunyanszki, co-owner of Camden Harbour Inn. They already have two offers through their website; one is called “Maine Is For ALL! Lovers Wedding Package,” which was picked up by Travel and Leisure Magazine just days after the historic vote.

Those in the wedding industry might want to review their marketing materials to appeal to a broader base. With same-sex couples all over the world now eyeing Maine as a destination wedding spot, competition will be steep. Many gay and lesbian couples look specifically at vendors and venues that provide an inclusive tone on their marketing materials as well as same-sex images and testimonials.

Another way the Midcoast wedding industry can make a concerted effort to attract this clientele is to list their services on gay and lesbian wedding directory websites. Two websites with a notable Maine presence include: gayweddings.com and purpleunions.com with multiple vendors and venues from the Midcoast already listed, including: The Samoset Resort (Rockport), Bay Leaf Cottages and Bistro (Lincolnville), Etienne Perret (Camden), White Doves of Maine (Washington), Alda’s Maine Wedding Flowers (Freedom) and Blue Skye Farm (Waldoboro) to name a few.

Several other national wedding directories such as engaygedweddings.com and RainbowWeddingNetwork.com  barely have any Maine vendors at all.

Yes, it's still early. It may take a little legwork to get Maine's “welcome mat” up to speed to match other states that have legalized same-sex marriage, but the Midcoast is a spectacular spot with good-hearted people and with time, the outgoing message will be matching the incoming opportunities.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — The show will go on. On Nov. 2, Christopher Kenney and his alter ego drag sensation Edie, who also serves as host and emcee of Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity" in Las Vegas, was scheduled to come to Camden and put on a parody show of the cult classic film Mommie Dearest. However, that was the week of super storm Hurricane Sandy. Cancelled flights, flooding and several stranded Mommie Queerest cast members made it necessary to reschedule the show to Friday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. at the Camden Opera House.

This week, Kenney and the full cast are going to be in Camden, come hell or wire hangers. The stage parody, written by Jamie Morris, is directed by Kenney, who won the LA Weekly Theater Award as Best Comedy Director for his work on Mommie Queerest, and was named by Las Vegas City Life readers as Best Local Theater Director for his work on Jamie Morris’ trilogy of plays.

A new twist has been added to the rescheduled show. On Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. the Camden Opera House will host a free screening — with VIP seating — of the 1981 classic Faye Dunaway film, Mommie Dearest, for all ticket holders. (If you've ever been to a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening, you can just imagine what this will be like.)  Cast members from Mommie Queerest will introduce the film.

In anticipation of the show, we interviewed Kenney via email. So then, here are:

Five Things You Need To Know About Mommie Queerest

1. You were the first to bring drag to Midcoast Maine and now have a loyal core audience from the multiple years you've come back. How is this show going to make us laugh, make us gasp and make us glad the kids are in bed by 8 p.m.?

I must first begin by saying that Jamie Morris must get most of the credit. This comedy is very much a by-product of his twisted mind. I can say that because we've been partners for almost 14 years now. He has a sick sense of humor and all of it is evident in this parodied stage version of one of the campiest gay cult classic films of all time. The movie just celebrated 30 years! Can you believe it? ALL the great lines from the movie are there...with a twist. Jamie's premise is "What if Joan had really been a man all those years?" Every moment is over-the-top camp with a brilliant all-male cast and I'm honored to direct.

2. Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford. The eyebrows. The wire hangers. Please tell us there is going to be an epic scene about wire hangers.

OF COURSE the Wire Hanger Scene is in there! The audience would kill us if we left that out. I can't give it away but let me tell you that is is done BIGGER than ever. 

3. The same-sex marriage referendum just passed by popular vote last week in Maine. Saturday Night Live characterized it in a skit about two gay lobstermen who want to get married. (View skit.) What about this skit strikes you as so wrong (or so right) about how the rest of the world views Mainers and same-sex marriage? What can you please tell them, apart from the fact that lobstermen don't sound like Fred Gwynne in "Pet Sematary?"

The skit is very funny. I love that SNL always has their finger on the pulse. And the fact that a show of its caliber is spoofing such a history-making event is a very big deal. The more the issue is in the public eye and is portrayed as the new normal means a lot. I can truly feel the tide turning and it's amazing. As far as the accent and the stereotype, we all know it's not THAT exaggerated but hey, it makes for good TV and great laughs. Oh, and we WON. That also helps!

4. In your production, Daniel Pintauro, known from the hit TV show “Who’s the Boss,” plays multiple characters including the maid, Carol Ann. In your show, who's the Real Boss?

Let me just say that Danny is great, a joy to work with on and off stage, but JOAN is the real boss. Always has been. Always will be. And in this version she truly gets the last laugh. Love ya, Danny, but you understand.

5. Jamie Morris is the playwright who wrote Mommie Queerest and you've won a number of awards for directing it, with your own particular brand of stage parody. What is the key to getting people to not take themselves so seriously in theater and find a way to translate that into laughs?

Parody is a very special art form. Most everyone in the audience knows the source material, which makes for a bit of a challenge. We have to honor the original, yet give the show a new spin. And these actors do it brilliantly. They inhabit their characters with a tremendous amount of respect for the actors who originated the roles and bring so much more! And they have a blast doing it. I think if the cast is having fun, then the audience cannot help but get swept up in the moment and go on this fun, fun, twisted, over-the-top journey.

The production and film are sponsored by the Camden Harbour Inn in support of Equality Maine and Yes on 1, a victory that is important to all of the actors as well as the owners of the inn, Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest. Kenney said he is taking time out of his busy performance schedule to return to Camden, due to his love of the village, the cause and his desire to bring a Broadway class act to town.

Individual and advance tickets are available through the Camden Opera House. Dinner packages at Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn are available and include a 3-course dinner and reserved orchestra seats for the show. Following the performance, all ticket holders are invited to an after party including complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a meet and greet with the cast at Natalie’s.

For tickets to Mommie Queerest, contact the Camden Opera House at 470-7066 or book online at camdenoperahouse.com. For information about dinner/ticket packages, call 236-4200.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Fun fact: the name concrete comes from the Latin "concretus,” which means to grow together.

The path of local concrete artisans Marcel Valliere and Paul Powers has emulated the very stuff they work with. Like cement powder reacting with water, their friendship and partnership has strengthened into the Thomaston-based company, Alternative Rock, which exemplifies the core ideals of Midcoast’s creative economy.

Valliere and Powers have been hand-picked to speak as one of the eight presenters at the upcoming PechaKucha event on Nov. 16 in Union. Though concrete as a substance is about as ordinary as dirt, it’s what they do to transform it that makes them stand out.

“We try to make concrete as pretty as we can,” said Powers. “The art form is a communal effort by committed artisans. It involves art, design, as well as selecting the type of concrete. It’s not something one person can do from start to finish. Even though the business is just the two of us, sometimes It takes four to five people in the process, especially in a larger project.”

The company, founded five years ago, started like so many hobby businesses, out of a shared love for tinkering with building materials. Both men were entrenched in the Midcoast building industry; Valliere is an architectural designer who also owns and operates his Valliere Design Studios of Rockland.  Powers has years of experience in various aspects of home building and renovation. Working out of each other’s shops, they started experimenting with concrete countertops for their own homes.

“We started to hear from friends and strangers that they wanted one, and from there it grew. Before you knew it, we had a business,” said Powers.

Like so many fledgling entrepreneurs, they could only go so far without an economic boost to expand their business. At last year’s Juice Conference, they competed against 65 other companies in the Juice 3.0 Pitch Contest.  They ended up in a tie with another company. In a surprise move, both companies were awarded the $25,000 flexible financing prize.  Asked what made them stand out, Powers said, “We’re blending art with design and providing a useful product that is done locally. It’s not the type of thing you’re going to be selling or shipping to Singapore.”

Winning the prize jumpstarted the next phase of their business.

“That’s what really propelled us,” he continued. “We were working out of each other’s driveways and what we really needed was seed money to own up a shop we could operate year-round.”

Concrete countertops have long been a staple in contemporary homes, the kind you’d see in Dwell Magazine. One-third of Alternative Rock's clientele, contemporary home owners, fit that dynamic. But, Powers said, people might be surprised to learn they do lot of countertop work for old Maine farmhouses, because it fits into the overall look, as well.

The most challenging project they’d done was a standing concrete waterwall, which had to be lifted by crane to the Harbor Square Gallery roof garden in Rockland. In partnership with the gallery, they created the waterwall as a functional piece of art. As it is for sale, Powers noted, “If someone buys it, we’ve got to get that crane and bring it right down again.”

A popular statistic cited by Columbia University, shows how ubiquitous concrete is (to a disturbing degree). More than 10 billion tons of concrete are produced each year worldwide. In the United States, the annual production of more than 500 million tons implies about two tons for each man, woman and child.

It’s not a fact lost on Valliere or Powers, whose business follows the sustainability tenet of the creative economy. In their line of work, concrete can be re-used and recycled.

“Because we live in a place where the concrete industry is well-established, we can take mistakes or old designs, grind them up and make it into new paving for your driveway or a new concrete countertop,” said Powers. ‘You can’t really do that with a $100 per square foot of marble. At least with concrete we’ll use it over and over again.”

 To find out more about Alternative Rock visit: alternatrock.com 

 To learn more about the upcoming PechKucha show, visit: Midcoast Magnet

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

This is a bit of a quirky Cheap Date, but it’s kind of fun; you’ll like it. When is the last time you ever saw teenagers willingly hanging out with Baby Boomers after school having milkshakes and listening to 1950s music?

Unless you’re well into a “Back To The Future” movie marathon, the correct answer is... never. Until now.  Make a trip to Belfast on a regular school day afternoon around 3 p.m. to the Chocolate Drop Candy Shoppe, a retro-designed old-fashioned soda fountain shop on 64 Main Street.

The shop, which opened this past June, carries all kinds of old-fashioned candies and modern gourmet chocolates. Half of its interior was transformed into Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, complete with signature red stools, a low, kid-friendly counter, the iconic soda fountain handle, syrups and a bevvy of glassware. Soda jerk Dawn Desmarais explained: “We’re pretty much packed with teens by 2:20 in the afternoon. They’ll all sit at the counter ordering chocolate milkshakes, while we rock out to the '50s music. They love it. The older people who come in will even start dancing when they hear ‘their’ songs and the kids just crack up. It’s fun.”

She said it’s the only scenario where she’s ever seen the two generations hang out together.

The chocolate sodas and egg creams are most popular drink for the older folks and chocolate shakes are the most popular for the teens. They carry Round Top ice cream from Damariscotta.

“We have the least expensive prices in town because we want to make it affordable for the kids and the families,” said Desmarais.

Now isn’t this kind of a cool Cheap Date? Go in with the gang or your squeeze on a regular school day afternoon and immerse yourself in the unusual dynamics. Watch the soda jerk do it up the proper way, creating a special soda from scratch. Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain offers all homemade soda syrups, including real Coca Cola syrup.

In fact, go for an egg cream. What you’ve never had one before? Little known fact: An egg cream originated in Brooklyn and the modern way of making it does not use any egg; it’s strictly mixed with chocolate syrup, milk and carbonated water. There are multiple theories why it is called egg cream, but the explanation on Dave’s Old Fashioned Soda Fountain menu is that the original soda was modeled after a French drink called chocolate et crème.  However, New Yorkers couldn’t pronounce “et crème” so in their New York guttural twist, it became ‘egg cream’.”

 Check out their Facebook page or call 207-338-0566 for more information. and watch our video to see how a soda jerk works her magic.

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

According to the website Derby Diva, "Fresh Meat" is a term used by many roller derby leagues to identify skaters who are new, who are in training and have not been drafted to a team.

According to Bristol Smashin', president for the Rock Coast Rollers, Midcoast's first roller derby league, Fresh Meat is a term of endearment for new skaters. "Once new skaters have been with us for awhile, we call them other things like 'Old Meat' and 'Rotten Meat.' It's mostly a joke and kind of a cute way to refer to them."

This weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) Rock Coast Rollers will be hosting roller derby tryouts titled "Bring Out Your Fresh Meat" at Point Lookout in Northport. And even though the title is meant to be funny, they do recognize that competitive skating is a bit intimidating to some. However, the RCR ladies have no time for fear. And it's all about making it fun. "LOVE bruises? Us too!" is their motto.

To wit, their event poster reads:

Not sure you quite have what it takes? You don't know how to skate? You haven't been on skates in 20+ years? Afraid of falling?
SO WHAT?!

Some of us didn't either.

We will teach you the basics and build you up from there.

Though the poster is designed to appeal to a certain type of take-no-crap woman, Bristol Smashin' wants to make it clear that there is no specific "look" or body type they're looking for. In other words, the hard core, heavily tatted, pierced stereotype often depicted in movies is not a requirement.  Rock Coast Rollers is made up of single ladies, moms, teachers, business people, bakers, gardeners and self-employed women from all walks of life. "I think, more than anything, what you need to have is a sense of determination and the willingness to fall down and get back up hundreds of times before you don't fall down any more. From that, you will build your confidence," said Smashin'.

Currently, the league has made a new home at Point Lookout's gymnasium for the winter, where, after the new year, they will once again start scheduling bouts among interstate Roller Derby Leagues. "The whole idea of the tryouts is to grow our league, increase our skating opportunities and our community service and continue to cultivate the sport in the area," said Smashin'. Already, more than 50 people invited on Facebook have indicated they will show up to the tryouts. The event will be open to all women 18 and older. Rock Coast Rollers will be providing skates and protective gear for new skaters to borrow. Tryouts start Saturday Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 4 from 1-4 p.m. at The Fitness Center at Point Lookout. Participants only need to try out on one of those days, not both. Men are also encouraged to join as they are always looking for referees and officials. To the men they say: "And again, we will teach you EVERYTHING we know. Well, you know, everything we know about roller derby, not the secrets to the Universe. You're on your own with that one."

To stay glued to what the Rock Coast Rollers are up to next, join their Facebook page or visit their website.

 Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST-- Now that the wind is howling and the fall rains are coming in, we've got to find more inside Cheap Dates to entertain you. It doesn't get any cheaper than a free big screen movie at Colonial Theater in Belfast. (Side note: The last time I took in a free movie was when we saw Superman in 1978 five times in one day. We didn't even leave the theater so I guess the other four times were technically "free.")

The Colonial Theatre's Centennial Celebration Free Movie Series is winding down - just two months remain in the sampling of 100 years of movies.  For November, they are pictures made in 2002 and for December, they're from 2011.  This Free Movie Series started last January with movies of 1912.  Here are the remaining free showings offered on three nights....(with a little IMDB description as well as some unnecessary editorializing.)

Mon. Nov. 5

My Big Fat Greek Wedding at 7:00 p.m. and Crash at 7:15 p.m.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity. Reason to watch: Bride trainwrecks are always a barrel of monkeys and that hot guy from Sex and The City stars in it. A good GNO (Girls Night Out) movie.

Crash: Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption. Reason to watch: An intellectual flick with an all-star cast if reality TV or the election coverage is driving you bonky. Good movie to impress a date with. 

Mon. Nov. 12

Chicago at 7:00 and Monsoon Wedding at 7:15

Chicago: Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago. Reason To Watch: Who doesn't love two hot mess divas duking it out in a musical?

Monsoon Wedding: A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India. Reason to watch: See My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Same train wreck. Different country.

Mon. Dec. 3

The Descendants at 6:45 p.m., The Artist at 7:00 p.m, and Hugo at 7:15 p.m.

The Descendants: With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the man who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune. Reason to watch: Two words: Hawaii and relationship dramz. That was four words.

The Artist: A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions. Reason to watch: Vintage Hollywood and fans of the 1920s will think this is the bee's knees.

Hugo: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. Reason to watch: Beautiful visuals, love adventure, mystery, wonder. That's how another review described it. I never saw it. It's probably very good.

For more information visit: Colonial Theater

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — After a few test dinners, a massive hurricane and the usual issues to smooth out before a grand opening, Fog Bar & Café, on Rockland’s Main Street, will be opening for its first full week starting Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Fog Bar & Cafe is largely a family affair. Partners Ashley Seelig her mother, Sherrie Gibson, father Warren Seelig and her fiance, Josh Cardoso, have been working out the plans for this restaurant for more than a year. Each person in the partnership brings an artistic background to the project. Seelig’s parents own the building (in which Gibson also runs the design store, Black Parrot). While Gibson has experience with interior design and had a major role in Fog Bar & Cafe's overall décor and look, Warren Seelig (an artist and professor), built the eclectic bar and dining shelves out of a patchwork collection of reclaimed hardwoods such as ash, walnut, maple and cherry.

Initially, when Rock City Café moved out of the space last year, the family was left with several options: lease it to a new restaurant, convert it into an art space, or start a restaurant themselves. After much thought, Seelig and Cardoso decided on the latter.

“We all have a lot of transferables, but Ashley is the one with the most experience with restaurants,” said Cardoso, noting that Seelig has about 10 years of experience of front-of-the-house experience in several Manhattan restaurants. Cardoso, whose background is also in art, was responsible for opening the Win Wilder Hall gallery located behind Fog Bar & Cafe.

Fog Bar & Café intends only to be an evening establishment, with the kitchen opening daily from 4 p.m. and staying open to 10 p.m. for the late night dinner crowd.  The bar will remain open until 11 p.m. Chef Nick Krunkkala, a southern Maine native who worked in New York City for nine years before moving back to the Midcoast, is running the kitchen. Krunkkala, who previously spearheaded Rock City Café’s funky, gourmet dinner menu, has shaped Fog's new signature style.

The menu is described as “French and Southern-inspired contemporary comfort food” and the bar will offer a variety of craft beers (from Maine as well as imports) and some of the best spirits Seelig and Cardoso have found on their own culinary journeys.

"Josh sourced some of the best beers in the world, including those in Maine, and we made a special effort to get those on tap," said Seelig.

They currently have eight specialty beers on tap and are looking to expand to at least 16 taps by next summer.

The menu tucks into the $10-$30 range. With Duck Nachos as a starter (duck confit on house made chips with pomegranate marmalade and finished with a Maine-made Lakins 42 Opus cheese), and Fog Bar Burgers (house-made potato-stout roll and bacon jam atop an all-natural beef burger, with Tabasco-soaked onion rings) it’s a high-low concept that matches down-home tastes with elevated style.

“The food basically comes down to the same policy as the beer we serve,” said Cardoso. “We have such incredible food and ingredients in Maine, so we go to that first. But, if there is something that we choose to put on the menu that we have to get from somewhere else in the world, you can bet it’s damn well worth it.”

Beyond the food, Seelig and Cardoso are striving to provide a contemporary hang out space that appeals to the creative economy mindset. At the back of the restaurant, a digital projector will constantly screen silent black and white movies, as well as anime for background atmosphere. Eventually, this space will also be used for bands, documentaries and videos and other artistic events.

“It’s literally the place that I was looking for when I first moved here,” said Seelig. “What I love about Rockland is that people all hang out together from my age range (25-35) up to 70. For example, the Friday Night Art Walks is a perfect example of this and that’s what we’re striving to offer; the same kind of atmosphere for that kind of crowd.”

“It feels really nice and comfortable and you can indulge in the food and drink without being somewhere that feels too pretentious or costs an arm and a leg,” added Cardoso.

Going forward, they will only be closed on Tuesdays. And they have power! Check out Fog Bar & Café or visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

It’s hard to believe after a window-rattling night that Maine has only suffered power outages from the Frankenstorm known as Hurricane Sandy. Even though thousands are out of power, I say “only” because it could have been much worse for Maine. Scanning CNN, the destruction to hit the east coast, most notably the New Jersey shores and New York City, has been described as “unthinkable devastation.”

This morning, with CNN reporting Mayor Bloomberg calling it New York’s “Worst Storm Ever” I decided to call my friend, Matt Murphy, who lives in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, after reading a Facebook post in which he basically reported that after Hurricane Sandy, “New York City is totally screwed.”

Up here, we know from the news that New York City has been declared a disaster; 750,000 are without power and the death toll in NYC is currently up to 10 people. It’s hard to know what the mood is on the street minute to minute, unless you talk to someone who is right there, watching it all unfold.

The area of Park Slope where Murphy lives escaped the water damage, due to the incremental incline of the neighborhood from the epicenter of the floods. But, he said Brooklyn was not spared. Other parts of Park Slope resemble a “lumber yard.” An area severely flooded last night included Brooklyn’s most expensive neighborhood known as DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

The lede photo to this story, taken last night by Julian Erhardt, another New York resident posted by Gothamist.com, shows the area close to where Murphy lives. The flooding is clearly seen. Murphy describes this area as “a giant bowl” between Water and Main Street.

When the tide hit last night, it was not only a full moon, but a record surge,” said Murphy. The city planners had anticipated a storm surge of 11 feet, he said, but the tide reaching a record 13 feet coursed over the sea walls into the low-lying streets.

According to New York Magazine, Mayor Bloomberg placed the majority of the Zone A neighborhood under mandatory evacuation, including areas of DUMBO. And even though Bloomberg was quoted as saying those who ignored the evacuation announcement were “selfish,” Murphy reported there were still people who chose to stay. “There were parts of Zone A that were in a dotted line area of presumed flooding, but a lot of people didn’t leave.” Asked if those people are now trapped in their buildings, Murphy said he thinks a lot of people were trapped last night, but that the flooding has gone down by now and they’re able to leave. He added residents who stayed in Queens, Coney Island and Lower East Side have not been as fortunate.

He’s been staying on top of what’s happening from TV news, personal phone calls to colleagues and Facebook. Murphy works at The LAND (League Artists Natural Design) Studio & Gallery in Brooklyn. And though he hasn’t been there today personally, “I heard from co-workers who have walked around the building,” he said. "Because of another subtle incline LAND didn’t get hit thankfully,” he said, though it sits only a block and a half from the flooded area of DUMBO known as Zone A.

Of the historic places Murphy says were flooded included Jane's Carousel (a  $9 million dollar art project) and The Tobacco Warehouse, an architectual building for community events, facts confirmed by Twitter reports and photos. Warehouse, office and residential buildings also populate this area. At least three restaurants were flooded with about five feet of water, said Murphy.

According to an MTA report, seven subway tunnels under the East River have flooded. All transportation in NYC has been suspended indefinitely. “The subways are screwed,” said Murphy, adding that some of the tunnels got deluged with brackish salt water, which has caused damage to the subways’ electrical components. According to Murphy. “It was like a tsunami that came into The Lower East Side.”

“I’m going to go out soon and ride my bike around to check on things,” he said. This column will soon be updated with his photos.

For up to date information about this area, visit the twitter page https://twitter.com/DumboNYC or gothamist.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE – Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to take the foodie industry in Maine so seriously or make it too precious. Her culinary adventures stem largely from her own small farm in Lincolnville; what’s ridiculous is how she makes it look so easy.

The best part about being invited to a casual dinner at Ladleah Dunn and Shane Laprade’s house is because "casual" for them means dozens of fresh oysters, followed by a rabbit ragout, followed by home brew made with their own hops. Naturally.

Let me back up. They have a lot of friends who visit and most tend to be foodie types or chefs; these are hard working people with a drive for authentic flavors.

It happened to be one of those down afternoons when all the farm, garden and boat refinishing chores had been wrapped up for the day. One of their good friends, Rodney Winchell, the wine guy and bartender at Street and Company in Portland, recently visited them in Lincolnville and brought up 100 Winterpoint oysters.

“He’s got all these food connections and he just happened to score a great deal, ” said Ladleah.  “And under the other arm he’s got a case of wine. That’s just how he likes to visit people.”

As mentioned in the last Sailor’s Rest column, Ladleah approaches food like jazz improvisation, choosing phrases and contours of flavors that drop in harmoniously to the original recipe. While Rodney set the oysters on a bed of ice and began carefully opening each one, Ladleah whipped up a mignonette ice, which is a savory accompaniment to raw oysters.

“Because the frost had been coming on, I’d been picking a few things,” she said. “So I used some shallots, some lemon verbena, a little bit of chile and some white vermouth. Then I froze it, spun it on an ice cream maker and spooned it over the oysters.”

Nothing is better than freshly opened local oysters, chilled and tender with a sharp mignonette ice that reminds you who’s boss.

Meanwhile, the second course was going to need some attention. And typical of a night at this house, it was going to be slow cooked, probably not ready ‘til about 9 p.m., while the wine flowed. Rodney brought up some fresh rabbits in addition to everything else.

“It’s like that stone soup kind of thing,” said Ladleah, who finds my columns about her kind of weird, because of the way I glorify cooking behaviors that are just so normal to them. It’s not “amazing” to them. It’s just food. “Everybody brings something to the table and that’s part of the creative process.”

So, the rabbits. He handed them over to Ladleah and they discussed how it should be prepared. “We always riff off each other,” she said, “and he’s a really great sous chef, but he definitely defers to me when he’s here.” She laughed. “That’s part of the fun. We say to each other — what can we go out to the garden and harvest for this dish? I send him out with a basket and some scissors and he comes back with something great.” That evening, Ladleah chooses to simply go the stock peasant route and braise the rabbit with Asian greens picked from the garden, along with her own garlic, shallots, onions and tomatoes. Slow-cooking it for three or four hours, it becomes a delicious, earthy ragout.

"So many people go Europe for this kind of agro- and gastro- tourism, where they go to a farm and participate in the harvesting and then get to create the meals from their labor, " she said, "but Maine and the Midcoast, heck, Lincolnville is just as happening when it comes to food and neighbors and friends bringing something to the meal."

That’s exactly the point of these Sailor’s Rest columns. That’s what we are doing. And because prepping and enjoying this dinner for six-to-seven hours isn’t enough, at 10 p.m., Rodney and Shane get inspired to home brew a batch of beer from hops they’ve picked from their own farm. “’Cause that’s what you do here at Sailor’s Rest Farm,” Ladleah noted, with a hint of self-deprecation, as if she just now sees how over-the-top this must seem from someone else’s perspective.

The dried green hops that had been hanging on their porch have now been gathered into a wide basket. In the process of making beer, they have cooked them down. “Making beer is like cooking down grains, making grain soup,” explained Ladleah. “The hops are what give the aromatic or flowery or bitter qualities. The grains provide the backbone for the beer.”

“The thing is,” she laughed, “making beer that late in the night after all the wine we had, the guys threw all kinds of stuff into the beer like rosemary, but it actually turned out pretty good. A nice, dark, robust beer with lots of hoppiness and herbs.”

And with that, another casual meal concluded. Follow our running column on Sailor's Rest Farm to see what else she’s got cookin’.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Jim Dandy, co-owner of Opera House Video and one of our regular movie review contributors to Killer Piks has the scary skinny on the best Halloween movies to watch before October is over... if that is your thing.

For a small store, Opera House Video in Belfast boasts one of the largest horror genre sections seen in the Midcoast, if not the entire state of Maine. Dandy, who happens to be wearing a T-shirt Zombie Island, is the go-to expert on the scariest, campiest and most horribly done horror.

“Right now, I’m leaning more toward foreign movies,” said Dandy. “All the American ones are just too predictable. When I was 10 or 11, I was in love with the universal monsters. You know, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula.”

The one that really stuck with him all these years has been Vincent Price’s Scream and Scream Again, a 1970s movie about a serial killer on the loose in London.

“That’s where my heart is, back in the 1960s, 1970s," he said. "Famous Monster Magazines was like my monster movie Bible.”

Horror tends to be one of those genres that people love with a rabid devotion or avoid at all costs.  Believe it or not, horror is an art form. Psychologists have theorized that horror movies serve the purpose of exploring our hidden fears, as well as questions about life’s purpose, death, and our connection to the spiritual world. In a white paper, Understanding the Popular Appeal of Horror Cinema, Glenn D. Walters, Ph.D. includes a Stephen King quote that aptly sums it up. According to King, horror films often serve as a “barometer of those things which trouble the night thoughts of a whole society.”

Psychologists have theorized that horror movies serve the purpose of exploring our hidden fears, as well as questions about life’s purpose, death, and our connection to the spiritual world.

Of the multiple genres and subgenres, horror can overlap fantasy, thriller and science fiction, ranging from Monsters (Aliens, Godzilla, Creature from the Black Lagoon) to Slasher (Halloween, Saw) to Supernatural Horror (The Exorcist, The Ring, The Omen.) Campy films (Killer Clowns From Outer Space: Rocky Horror Picture Show) are part of a self-indulgent sub-genre that celebrates cheesy plots and ridiculous dialogue, and likely out of that, a relatively new sub-genre, Comedy-Horror (Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead) has also emerged.

Dandy says he tends to avoid the slasher genre, as he doesn’t get any enjoyment out of gratuitous violence.

“It was a lot different in the 1980s, when the effects were just not that realistic,” he said.

Instead, he pulls out a few movies from his vast collection that he knows are customer favorites... or soon will be. “This is Zombi 2,” he said, pointing to the same image on his T-shirt. “This is a 1979 Italian movie by Lucio Fulci, which suggested it was a sequel to Night Of The Living Dead, even though the two films were unrelated.”

Dandy, who also tends to lean toward campy horror, is especially fond of the smart films being produced in foreign countries, such as Australia’s  The Loved Ones, about a scorned prom queen who creates her own prom night in her basement with a kidnapped beau.  Another recommendation from Dandy is: Trailer Park of Terror, in which a bunch of high school students “find terror in the form of Norma, a damned redneck reaper with a killer body.”

If you’re one of the rabid devotees to the horror genre, you’ll be delighted with Opera House Video’s extensive collection. Or want to get over your scaredy cat phobias by trying out a movie or two, dip your toe into the campy or comedy-horror genre first. You might even find Jim Dandy sitting behind an old copy of Famous Monster Magazine when you walk in. Ask him what he’s reading about.

For hours and location and recommendations of Opera House Video, visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

This Cheap Date goes all the way back to high school, where instead of gravestone rubbings, it was more gravestone whining, where we'd all sit around in the dark, complain there was nothing to do, make a few references to the zombies in Michael Jackson Thriller video, freak ourselves out and beat it.

But we're adults now. And everybody always has craft supplies stashed somewhere. Even without kids at home, I found a pile of crayons and some drawing paper and you know you have it in your house, too.

The idea is to take your boo (slang for beau and another forced Halloween reference) to the graveyard on a beautiful October day and wander throughout the property to find the creepiest gravestone, or your own name, or a series of letters, which you can then recombine into new sentences. (For example, look at this guy's tombstone dating all the way back to the Boston Tea Party!)

Take the paper off the crayon and place the drawing paper up to the stone, rubbing the crayon on its side until the letter is superimposed onto the paper. That's it. That's all you gotta do.

Gravestone rubbings make great Halloween decorations when you're done. And because I think that Boston Tea Party guy will probably rise from the dead if don't mention this, it goes without saying, be respectful of the tombstones.

This October 31, because all of the good parties will have already happened while I was away, I'll still be sitting around a graveyard complaining there's still nothing to do. Except I won't be staying up to midnight. I'm freakin' old. I'll be going to bed at nine.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

It’s not a casual statement; it’s a directive. Eat More Cheese. It's kind of neat when cheese is the boss of you.

Owners Tony and Natalia Rose opened this gourmet cheese shop last April that sits tucked behind Main Street behind Rollie’s Bar and Grill. 

It requires just a short climb up a spiral staircase to get up to the shop, but once inside, it’s a cheese lover’s paradise. With warm mustard colored walls to the earthy logo and packaging, Eat More Cheese gives off a welcoming vibe. A large glass refrigerated case of various cheeses dominates the snug space with a counter to the left and four ice cream parlor style bar stools. Every available counter and shelf space is well used, featuring wheels of local cheeses, varieties from other states such as Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, California, Colorado as well as over the world (France, Netherlands, England, Spain.)

Though the Roses weren’t formally trained in cheese-making, they jumped into the gourmet cheese business with enthusiasm.

“We just taught ourselves by eating lots of eating cheese,” said Natalia. They’d been living in Portland, and most recently Auburn with their two-year-old daughter, Sophia, before relocating to Belfast. “We always knew this was a town that had a lot going on and liked how they catered to small businesses. And also, there was no place to get good cheese up here, so we figured we’d give it a shot.”

The shop carries about 40 cheese varieties, along with five varieties of Olli Salames, classic Italian salames that go well with any cheese. Aiming to stay true to the localvore movement, the Roses source many of their cheeses from Maine, in particular, Hahn's End in Phippsburg, Lakin's Gorges  Cheese in Rockport,  Turner Farm Creamery in North Haven, and Gardenside Dairy in Jonesboro. Offering enough variety to please every cheese freak, (and yet allowing newbies to fully appreciate the many flavor profiles) Eat More Cheese offers different samples every day that takes the taster on a journey from soft-ripened goat milk cheeses to hard, flaky, nutty parmesan-style cheeses to gooey rind cheeses (think brie).

Several bite-sized samples are placed strategically around the shop, allowing for some unhurried discoveries. While the Roses take cheese seriously, some of the names of cheese they carry show their sense of humor, like Ewephoria, a Dutch gouda-style cheese or the sign they painted on the wall, “Keep Calm and Eat Cheese” ( a cheeky reference to the UK propaganda posters produced in 1939).

Rose said her favorite cheese of late is a Beemster XO, an extra-aged gouda from the Netherlands with a burnt caramel flavor, crumbly texture and creamy mouthfeel. She said she’d pair that either with a Malbec or an oatmeal brew, which it just so happens they also carry in the shop.

In fact, one whole wall of the shop is dedicated to red and white wines and craft beers. It was a surprising discovery to find every single bottle on the wall came with a little tag recommending the best cheese to pair it with. Currently they only carry a retail liquor license, "but we’re working on getting  a license that would let us serve on premises,” said Natalia. It would be easy to see this shop turn out some epic wine and cheese parties in the future.

Something worth noting before the month runs out is that The American Cheese Society is promoting a national “passport” that costs $10 throughout October and gives the bearer a deep discount on varying cheeses for each day. For example, on the day of this interview, the Big Ed’s cheese made from raw cow’s milk was 40 percent off. Big Ed's is a farm style Gouda cheese with smooth, dense texture and milky, brown-buttery flavors.

Earlier this month, they hosted an apple and cheese tasting event with John Bunker of Out on a Limb CSA & Fedco Trees. They’re currently open seven days a week and plan to stay open year-round. “We have a ton of ideas to do more public events but will probably wait until the wintertime,” said Natalia. “In between that, we’ll do private cheese parties for people who want to try several courses of cheese.”

Eat More Cheese can be found on 33 C Main St, Belfast, ME. Check out their Facebook page for daily specials and varieties.

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Cheap Dates is a new series dedicated to scrounging the most amount of fun out of the Midcoast on the fewest dollars.

Peak leaf peeping season is happening right now, now, now! Seriously. After this week, if you haven't skipped work to go on a long drive on $4/gallon, listening to a scratched Ween CD on the stereo, your only chance to catch the local color again will be on the pages of this month's Yankee Magazine that you'll probably get around to reading in March.

Because multi-tasking is the secret ingredient to a successful Cheap Date, combine wine with the outdoors and take along your bestie or love nugget. Maine has a burgeoning wine trail and believe me, all of them are worth the drive, but one of the best places in the Midcoast to sample wine while overlooking a panorama of flaming trees is Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville. Get all bundled up and sit out on the back deck overlooking the withering grapevines and Levenseller Mountain. Or take a walk all around the five-and-a-half acre property on a moody October day and make a friendly wager over which causes the leaves to change: cooler temperatures or a season of heavy rains? Loser of the bet has to make out with a tree like Molly Shannon in Superstar. 

Unlike in Napa Valley, most Maine wine tasting rooms offer tastings for free. You can't get a classier Cheap Date than this, so get to it! (Cellardoor Winery is open Monday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Remember the story we did a couple of weeks ago on the Volkswagen Beetle in Camden National Bank's Main Street lobby? Well, now the CNB branch next to Hannaford Supermarket is getting into the game.

Teller Lori Meservey said that each of the Midcoast branches has been trying to compete with one another for the most memorable floor display. The giant Barbie Doll and her convertible belong to a CNB employee's mother while the junior tow truck is on loan from Best Rates Towing and Plowing out of Owls Head.

"We're just having some fun," said Meservey, who came up with the billboard poem about issues and tissues. "It's just a little game we've all been playing to see who can be the most creative."

Oh Barbie, don't cry. That sweet ride won't conk out anytime soon.

Killer Piks is a monthly review of books, movies, and music by people who are obsessed with books, movies and music.

Books

The Last Werewolf

by Lacy Simons

In these vampire-obsessed times, it's a relief to read an incredibly written occultish tale that departs from the prevailing trends. A depressed werewolf, the last of his species, contemplates suicide despite non-stop sex and a protein-rich diet. Called "One of the most original, audacious and terrifying novels in years." Need I say more? All right: the first edition has blood-red text blocks. Sold.

Lacy Simons is the owner and operator of hello hello books, which opened in August 2011 adjacent to Rock City Cafe, in Rockland. She is a reader, a maker, and a collector of fine-point pens and terrible jokes. To find more picks and reads: facebook.com/hellohellobooks Twitter: @hellohellobooks.

Movies

My Boyfriend's Back

by Tiffany Howard

The zombie romantic comedy My Boyfriend's Back (1993) is a goofy, campy romp and an ideal Halloween movie for those who lack the nerves for jumpy suspense thrillers or the stomach for horror gore-fests.  With tongue planted firmly in cheek, this ridiculously engaging film tells the story of Johnny Dingle, a teenage virgin who comes back from the dead to take his dream girl, Missy MacLeod, to the senior prom.  But zombie Johnny faces more than a few challenges in his pursuit of true love — Missy's jock boyfriend, townspeople less than thrilled by their sweetheart dating "the dead kid," and the unfortunate reality that in order to keep from decaying, Johnny must consume the flesh of the living.  Throw in a pair of well-meaning but clueless parents, an opportunistic mad scientist, and an angry mob bearing torches and one soon sees that there is nothing easy about being a zombie, or a teenager in love, much less both at the same time. 

Directed by prolific character actor and director Bob Balaban, My Boyfriend's Back features Edward Herrmann, Mary Beth Hurt, Paul Dooley, Cloris Leachman, a clean-shaven Matthew Fox (pre-Party of Five and long before Lost), Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (back when he was just Phillip Hoffman) and Matthew McConaughey with his blink-and-you'll miss it first ever line in American cinema.  Rumor has it that Renee Zellweger also had a small role that ended up on the cutting room floor.  Along with all the familiar faces, this movie also features some of my favorite lines of all time: "I had all the right moves. I was like Tom Cruise, only dead!" and (*spoiler alert*) "I ate Chuck for you!"   With issues ranging from prejudice to teenage sexuality, this film wraps its sometimes less-than-subtle social commentary in a spoofy candy coating--the perfect Halloween treat!

Tiffany Howard and Jim Dandy co-own Opera House Video, an independent video rental store in downtown Belfast featuring an extensive collection of new releases, foreign films, documentaries, classics and television series. Each takes turns writing the movie review. Find them on Facebook at Opera House Video.

Music

Easy Star All Stars Thrillah

by Nathaniel Bernier

Covering Michael Jackson in any sense is a daunting task, but to try to mirror the best-selling album of all time from start to finish?  In a rub-a-dub reggae stylee?  Are they crazy?  Indeed.

Right out of the cannon, the swirling horn section accompanied by the usual heavy riddim bass-driven beat will instantly capture you on the cut “Wanna’ be Startin’ Somethin’.”  I have to keep listening to the tremendously well done Thriller repeatedly, due to the growling Spragga Benz’s channeling of Vincent Price.  So unbelievably cool that I would be willing to bet that Mr. Price, part of the afterlife after-party, stopped for a second and gave a sinister sneer.  The song builds and builds just like the original version with fat crescendos, this time consisting of thumping bass, blaring keyboards and brassy horns giving the zombie-tune a Jamaican flair never before created.  Michael “Grammy” Rose (of Black Uhuru fame) offers his slick vocals and trademark scatting over the fierce Beat it and I know Michael Jackson would have been proud of Rose’s performance.  Luciano takes the beat to half of its original speed on Billie Jean making it sultry and soulful as only he can do.  And Michael Jackson’s voice is replicated very nicely on P.Y.T. and the groove just jumps along urging one’s footwear to festively frolic to & fro.

With a gaggle of wonderful singers and musicians jumping on board to assist the already amazing band, this record was most assuredly going to be a home run.  Just in time to reggae-cize your All Hallowed’s Eve with a version of Thriller, your friends have never heard before.  Jacko would have been proud, maybe even thrilled.

Nathaniel "Natty B" Bernier, owner of Wild Rufus Records previously retail and now online, has immersed himself in music for 35 years, hosting several radio shows, deejaying at clubs and parties, writing music reviews and interviewing artists.  He lives on the coast of Maine and continues to live through music.   Find him at http://www.wildrufus.com or http://wildrufus.blogspot.com/

For Alice, the perfect dream job would be to live in England, wear high-fashion and design dresses for British fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Gareth Pugh.

“Actually,” she admitted, “I want to be the next Alexander McQueen.”

This shy, beautiful girl who wears oversized horn rimmed glasses and has to be coaxed into smiling for a photo (so we don’t see her braces), is one of the rad ones.

On a drizzly fall day after-school when other kids are sitting together over laptops in the cafeteria at CHRHS, Alice prefers to by herself in the basement art room, working on a painting she’s not even sure she likes.

“What do you think of it?” she asked, cocking her head.

I told her what I saw; that from what I’ve seen in her artwork, she keeps gravitating toward figurines. It’s as if she is playing with paper dolls, only she’s drawing them instead and dressing them in her own designs.

By herself, Alice moved from Chongqing, a big city in China, to the United States when she was 12 years old. Her parents wanted her to learn English and stay with host families to get an American education. She went to middle school in Skowhegan and changed host families to go to high school here at Camden Hills Regional High School. Every summer, she flies back home to visit her parents and younger brother. She misses them and communicates with them via Facetime and phone calls.

I know American teenage girls who’ve grown up with the same bunch of kids and who have dissolved into tears just fearing the transition from middle school to high school. Imagine being 12, with no friends and not knowing the language, navigating a social structure that doesn’t make a lot of sense to you and trying to fit in without your parents to come home to. There is a lot of steel beneath her fragile exterior, something she subconsciously echoes in her own artwork.

My fascination with Alice began with a shoe. At the Center for Maine Contemporary Art show last May, I came across this tortuous black ceramic high-heeled shoe, designed by Alice Wang. Lady Gaga, I thought. Turns out I wasn’t off the mark.

“I love Gaga,” she said. “When she first starting wearing costumes, people in world of fashion didn’t really get her style — it was awkward. But there was a point.  I think her designs are gorgeous, a combination of art and fashion. Alexander McQueen did these really cool high heeled shoes for [Lady Gaga’s video] Bad Romance,” she said. “So I wanted to make one in ceramic.”

Later, she sent me sketches she’d done on her own time, ethereal waifs draped in oceanic colors. These sketches became her unofficial portfolio this past summer when she sent them to the Rhode Island School of Design’s residential pre-college program. Along with 400 other high school students from around the world, Alice got accepted to the program. For six weeks, Alice lived in a dorm with other students (75 percent girls and 25 percent boys) and “worked and worked and worked” learning fashion design, fashion history and critical thinking in art and design. “It was really fun,” she said. But she said when she saw other students’ talents, she felt humbled. “In your own school you tend to think you’re dong pretty good, but when you see all of the work people around the world bring to it, you’re like a little ant.”

She told me she’s only been drawing since last year. Her own particular style is emerging. She loves to combine “harsh” geometric shapes with softer flowing shapes and mix them to create something new.

For RISD’s final project, each student had to come up with a design a model could wear on the runway. Alice designed a paper dress, spending some 80 hours on it trying to get it right. “I wanted to do something edgy and something that’s me,” she said in a soft low-toned voice. “I got inspiration from those 1700s dresses with the puffy corsets. The white part of the dress reminded me of bone, combined with what Elizabeth 1 of England would have worn.”

Asked how she felt seeing her own dress on the model as she walked down the runway, Alice hid her face. “God,” she whispered.  “I was a little nervous, because my idea was quite awkward from anyone else’s.” But she had a lot of people come up afterwards to ask her how she made it.

While her parents knew she went to the Rhode Island School of Design for the summer, Alice has not shown them any of her designs. She thinks they wouldn’t understand.  “They know what I draw and support me, but they don’t like it,” she said “They like clothes to be clothes and not like costumes.”

For now, Alice has her eye on the future. “I think I’ve spent so many years over here looking at trees and the ocean, I want something new.  When I’m here, I want to go back to China. When I’m there, I want to come back here.” When she goes to college, she plans to study fashion design either in England or the U.S., wherever she can get in.

She knows that if she pursues this career, she will have to have a tough skin. “It’s a little scary,” she admitted. “In the fashion world, it’s competitive. Either you’re really bitchy or really sweet, there’s nothing in between.” Asked how she’ll think she’ll be, she answered, “Probably the softer side.”

Those of us lucky enough to get a glimpse into the person she is, not to worry. Her talent will speak for itself.

Hail To The Rad Kids is a new feature highlighting teens with artistic or musical talent.  Another place to check out Alice's work along with other teens is Sound Off, a monthly feature sponsored by Five Town Communities That Care to publicly recognize the contributions that middle and high school teens are making in our community.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot

When Kate Shaffer of Black Dinah Chocolatiers posted this Instagrammed photo of her famous rum-glazed cider donuts on Facebook, the 30-plus reactions ranged from ravenous to almost angry.

-Really didn't need to see this.

-You're killing me!

-That is just cruel.

And yes it is, it is just cruel that she makes these donuts every year and unless you live on Isle au Haut, you are not going to taste them.

"There are riots if I don't make cider doughnuts at least once before we close the cafe in the fall," said Shaffer, by email. "Until next fall, you gotta make them yourself."

Luckily, she acquiesced to providing the exact recipe from her blog, blackdinah.wordpress.com and allowed us to repost her recipe her on PenBayPilot.The only ingredient missing from this recipe is the rum; but, we're sure you'll find a place for it.

According to Shaffer: "This latest version is much like last year’s (nothing like re-inventing the wheel), with just a few little changes. The changes, I think, warrant this second posting. The resulting pastry is dark and crunchy on the outside, and soft, buttery and apple-y fragrant on the inside. But if you can’t find boiled cider (read a great article on boiled cider here), and don’t have any apple sauce on hand, the recipe from last year will stand in as an almost-as-delicious substitute."

Apple Cider Doughnuts, redux

1 cup sugar (I use organic evaporated cane juice)

2 eggs

1/2 cup boiled cider

3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3-3/4 to 4 cups flour

Roughly 6 cups vegetable oil for frying (I use safflower oil)

About a cup of superfine sugar

Method:

With an electric beater, the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or by hand, beat together 1 cup sugar and the eggs until the mixture is light in color.

In a medium size bowl (or a large measuring cup), mix together the boiled cider, apple sauce and the baking soda. Don’t let all that foaming and frothing worry you. That’s just the baking soda reacting to the acid in the apples. Beat this mixture into the sugar and eggs.

Next, stir in the melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and vanilla. Finally, add 3-3/4 cups of flour and mix just until the batter is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to fry the doughnuts, heat the oil in a large cast iron pot to 375 degrees. While the oil is heating, turn your chilled batter out onto a well-floured countertop and pat or roll the batter to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut as many doughnuts as possible with a 2-inch doughnut cutter. Scrape the scraps together gently, re-roll and cut one more time.

When the oil has reached the correct temperature, fry the doughnuts, a few minutes on each side, until they turn a burnished golden brown. Remove them to a cookie sheet lined thickly with paper towels and allow to drain.

Mix about a cup of superfine sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a paper lunch bag. Before the fried doughnuts are completely cool, toss a few at a time into the bag, and shake to coat.

For the love of God, if anyone makes these donuts and sells them on the mainland, will you please, please tell us on Facebook so we can storm your shop?

BELFAST — Marshall Wharf Brewing Company and Three Tides bar and restaurant in Belfast are gearing up for their fifth Year of Beer and Pemaquid Mussels event Saturday, Oct. 13, and this year, foodies and craft beer freaks will be dry humping rainbows when they get a taste of the event’s special barrel-aged beers.

David Carlson, co-owner of Three Tides, said he and his team took a trip to Scotland this year to collaborate with a well-known Scottish distillery called Bowmore in order to barrel age their beers using bourbon and sherry casks or butts. They procured eight barrels from Bowmore Distillers and got them shipped back to Maine.

For the fifth Year of Beer and Pemaquid Mussels event, patrons can get a first public tasting of four of those barrel-aged beers — two different versions of the Old 59 and Cant Dog Double IPA. See Marshall Wharf website for descriptions of all the beers.

The other half of this event’s draw is the fresh locally harvested mussels from Pemaquid Mussel Company, and grown in Northport. More than 300 pounds will be reserved for this evening and served steamed in Chardonnay and garlic. The event will also will serve deep friend Belgian-style frites made from 300 pounds of organic potatoes from Aroostook County with a variety of sauces.

Both versions of those beers have been blended in two different barrels that have been aged 12 years, so that the beer picks up a level of char from the wood of the barrel, as well as a flavor profile from the original spirit that has soaked into the wood.

“While other breweries also do barrel-aging, the ones we got will take the beer in a whole new direction,” said Carlson.

Marshall Wharf, one of Maine’s 20+ craft breweries, has created barrel-aged beers before using American bourbon casks. With the success from those batches, they explored the opportunity to collaborate with Bowman’s distillery.

“No one had ever done this before,” said Carlson. “Most distilleries are owned by large corporations and are inaccessible, but we had an opportunity to go to this really well-known distillery in Scotland and audition our beers. It happened to be something they were also interested in and it was good timing to connect with them.”

To see videos of the film crew that accompanied them to Scotland and the barrel-aged process check out their videos at Craft Beer Maine.

Marshall Wharf brews about 40 beers a year. Some are one-offs, such as a special birthday beer or an anniversary beer, according to the brewer’s whim.

“If a beer is capable of enduring we’ll save a keg from batches throughout the year and then they’ll all come out for our annual event,” said Carlson.

This year, they will be pouring 34 different Marshall Wharf beers under two heated tents split up around the Belfast waterfront property.

Here’s how it breaks down. A $30 admission fee gets 10 tasting tickets (of eight ounces each), a custom glass, and access to the evening’s entertainment, Maine's own band,Toughcats. Eight taps will be available for tasting only and based on availability.  For those interested in the barrel-aged beers, they will only be available as part of the tasting tickets and when it runs out, it’s gone. (Note: no more than 10 tickets will be sold to each patron.)

Alternatively, one can get in with just a $10 admission fee, which will allow people to purchase pints from the main bar and beer garden bar, featuring more than 25 different beers, with a range from $4 to $8, depending on the brew. This ticket price also gets patrons in to see Toughcats.

Besides beer, the other half of this event’s draw is the fresh locally harvested mussels from Pemaquid Mussel Company, and grown in Northport.  More than 300 pounds will be reserved for this evening and served steamed in Chardonnay and garlic. The event will also will serve deep friend Belgian-style frites made from 300 pounds of organic potatoes from Aroostook County with a variety of sauces.

“We’ll also offer Snappy red hot dogs, because we’re big fans of those,” said Carlson, adding that the baked beans will be soaked in their Wrecking Ball Baltic Porter beer (a 10 percent porter brewed with molasses). Have you wiped the drool off your screen yet?

Most of these offerings will be in the affordable $5 range.

 “It’s kind of a crazy free-for-all.” said Carlson. ”We served well over 600 people last year. This year, I’ve got emails from people in Canada, in New York state, saying they’re coming.”

Organizers of the event will be ensuring that private taxi shuttles will be available to run people throughout the Belfast area and to hotels so they don’t have to drive. All Aboard Trolley will also be hosting a trip from Rockland to Belfast.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with Toughcats starting around 7:30 p.m.  Admittance will end at 10:30 p.m. with the event running until 11 p.m. Tickets will only be available at the door.

(Editor's note: Video courtesy Marshall Wharf Brewing Company/Rob Draper ACS)

 Kay Stephens can be reached at kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Just standing in front of a group of people to give a speech is enough to scare the bejesus out of anyone.  According to an oft-quoted 1977 study, Americans claim it’s their biggest fear.

Try standing up before a group of teenagers slouched on couches, biting their thumbnails, giving the “make this snappy, I’ve got people to text” bored look. How much more does that ratchet up the fear factor?

Bullying counselor, martial artist and licensed therapist Chuck C. Nguyen does it all the time. Whether he stands before a classroom of teens or before an entire auditorium, when he walks “on stage” he is just as poised and collected as he is standing before an opponent on a mat.

October marks National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month and Nguyen is intimately familiar with the subject. On stage, he tells a story about how he and his family had escaped war-torn Vietnam in 1980 on a rickety boat as they made their way to America. He was a small kid for his age. He didn’t have the right clothes. He didn’t know English very well and he had to walk in to a brand new school as the new kid. It’s easy to guess what happened next.

“I knew I was being stared at when all the locker doors stopped swinging. Every kid was looking at me, mouths open,” Nguyen said to a hushed audience. “I remember hearing footsteps behind me. This boy kept following me. Finally, I turned around and said ‘What?’ in broken English. He jumped back, took a deep breath. Everybody was watching and he said, ‘Man you’re ugly!’”

After this line, a burst of laughter follows. Nguyen allows a small smile. He knows what he’s doing; he has his audience hooked right in.

“You know that old story about sticks and stones might break your bones but names will never hurt?” Nguyen continued. “Well, it’s a lie. Because, while it may not break your bones, it’ll break your heart. I remember feeling so hurt. I became angry. I wanted to kill this kid," Nguyen said, letting the pause draw out. “And I knew five ways to do it.”

More laughter, but with a palpable undercurrent. The body language of the audience said all: eyes riveted, leaning forward, hanging on the next word. This man standing before them wasn’t just a bullying counselor. He'd told them he was also a martial artist. As a child, he trained in a variety of styles such as traditional Vietnamese Kung-Fu and Korean Taekwondo. If he said he had five ways to kill someone even at age nine, no one in the auditorium doubted him.

“Everybody was watching,” he said. “This was important because whatever happened next would determine how kids would view me for this point on. I took a step back and as my hand went back into a fist, I remember the last thing my grandfather told me before I left Vietnam. He’d told me, remember, the monks still exist today because they destroyed their enemy by making them their friends.”

Solemn faces on all of the teens, now.  They had all experienced this part of the story in their own lives before — or knew someone who had.

Growing up, Nguyen's grandfather had taught him about the Shaolin monks, who had created a system of self-defense to preserve their peaceful way of life.  Their system copied animal movements and forces in nature such as a tiger, an eagle, a snake, money and water.  It was the elusive and adaptable ways of water that the monks found were most effective. With the right amount of momentum and shift, water can be the most resilient, effective and powerful form of energy.

“I wanted to hurt this kid back, but something just came out of me and I look at this kid and I say, 'You think I’m ugly now, try this—' And at that moment, Nguyen parodies himself by throwing his hands up in the air and making the goofiest face he can. “That kid jumps back, confused. Then he starts smiling. Everybody starts laughing. Guess who became my best advocate for the rest of the year?” [To see more short videos of this story click here.]

Chuck Nguyen has an extraordinary effect when speaking to audiences, especially to teenagers. The exclusion, racism, and bullying he endured in his younger years could have molded an entirely different man, but Nguyen had the built-in gifts of training, skills, and an evolved spirit on his side. He has not only come through his experiences as a survivor, but has also used it to help people forge new paths of understanding and compassion in their responses to bullying.

The Power of Water is, in essence, a philosophy about the choices a target has after being emotionally injured by mistreatment. One can strike back with retaliation, but reacting blindly with violence tends to make one hardened like rock over time (like so many criminals Nguyen has worked with over the years). Or one can respond like water, moving with flexibility, creativity and with the desired outcome of peace in response to the conflict. This is what Nguyen teaches his students: being creative and peaceful yields better results than being violent, impatient, and intolerant.  

“It was the same strategy that I used to face the challenges of a new country, a new language, and ‘rocks’ who had no understanding of who I was, or what, I was about,” said Nguyen.

After earning his clinical degree in counseling, Nguyen worked at the Maine State Prison. While there, he developed and facilitated a program that utilized Yoga, Tai Chi, and Zen mindfulness for prisoners.  In 2005, Nguyen began his clinical intervention and prevention work in schools in Midcoast Maine. Nguyen has presented his program, Power of Water, throughout Maine schools and conferences such as the Maine Guidance Counselor Association Conference and Maine Alternative Education Conference.   In the summer, he travels to summer programs such as the Cardigan Lacrosse Camp in Canaan, New Hamphire to teach young men the importance of being peaceful and cooperative in athletics and sports.

As a husband and father of two little boys, Chuck divides his time as clinical social worker working with kids with emotional and developmental disabilities for RSU 40.

He has also contributed strategic advice to a recently published cyberbullying book in the Midcoast called Cyberslammed: Understand, Prevent, Combat and Transform The Most Common Cyberbullying Tactics. Nguyen’s experience provided the book with a resource so far no other bullying or cyberbullying book has offered. His timeless philosophies borrow from martial arts in how one may transform a traumatic cyberbullying experience. For each cyberbullying tactic listed in the book, he instructs how to practice facing off an opponent ethically and how to be like water—that is—how to choose resiliency and personal growth over loss of self or suicide in the aftermath of a horrible experience.

For a small handful of teenagers on the national front who have made the hard-line permanent choice in response to their bullies/cyberbullies, it’s too late.  For so many others facing the same traumas, the message is clear: there is a peaceful way to get beyond your suffering and you will be the stronger for it.

For more information about The Power of Water and Nguyen’s speaking schedule for his Peaceful Martial Art programs for adults and kids, visit Chuck at http://www.powerofh2o.com

Kay Stephens is the co-author of Cyberslammed. To reach her, email kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

Fatuous: complacently or inanely foolish : silly (a fatuous remark)

We're introducing a new series called Cheap Dates because the best memories come from creative ways to spend time together, right? So check it, here's a cheap date idea for you and a buddy or a honey all throughout October in Midcoast Maine.

The Camden Snow Bowl is hosting chairlift rides up the mountain every Sunday in October from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Seven bucks apiece for adults. (When we went it was only five-even better!) You cannot beat this for a deal, particularly when what you get is a spectacular view of the fall foliage from the top of Ragged Mountain, as well as a glimpse of the ocean. Ride up and ride down or hike down. Take a picnic. It's a gorgeous way to spend a couple of hours. And if you feel like it, post a photo on our Facebook page.

To reach Kay Stephens, email kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

The Belfast Creative Coalition will host its third Artist Networking Night this evening, Oct.4, to give artists, painters, photographers, craftsmen, musicians, writers and other creative types who live in the Midcoast a chance to network, talk shop and gather resources to help their art businesses grow. 

Held every other month, the last event at the end of August featured Jackie Battenfield, author of The Artist's Guide. The event was open to the state and more than 100 artists of every stripe showed up.

At the upcoming event, the theme will be “What’s Your Next Step?”  Kimberly Callas, Belfast Creative Coalition's spokesperson said, "Following up on Jackie Battenfield's talk, we're going to explore the concept of next steps for every artist, such as idenfiying your goals for your art." Artists will be encouraged to identify what they need to do next for their art business; for example, how to take new/better images, update or create a website, write a grant, or seek new opportunities.  Photographer Susan Guthrie will give a short talk on the benefits of being in and forming artists’ groups. 

"The night will be partly informative and allow time for it to just be a party so people can meet each other. There are so many artists around here and many of them don't know each other," said Callas. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Light in the Forest Photography, 107 Church St., Belfast (next to Left Bank Books.)

Participants are asked to take a dish to pass or a $5 suggested donation. Callas said participants don't have to just be from Waldo county to attend these special networking events; however, to be listed on the belfastcreativecoalition.org website, one must be an artist and live, work, or exhibit in Waldo County.

THOMASTON — Through a dense forest of damp, rotting leaves, she sprints, dodging bare branches, her red velvet cloak filthy with mud. At the dimmest part of the glade, she trips, lunging head first into the soft, spongy forest floor. Behind her, The Queen's Huntsman appears, holding a dagger.

"Snow White," he growls. "For your last moment on earth, what's your poison?"

She holds up a martini glass, takes a delicate sip. "At the Slipway, we call it, 'Snow White's Poison Appletini'."

The Slipway in Thomaston is a few weeks from closing for the season, but bartender Shane Davis has come up with a reason to people visit the restaurant before then.

After prepping his ingredients with a saucer of simple syrup and crushing graham crackers into another saucer, he went to work, cutting up 1/4 of an apple into chunks. he muddled the apple with 3-4 basil leaves, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of raw or brown sugar and two dashes of bitters. After muddling, he added ice and five ounces of Maker's Mark bourbon with two ounces of Maine Root ginger beer. Giving the glass a good shake, he strained the cocktail into a martini glass that had been coated with simple syrup and rimmed with crushed graham cracker crust and served it with an apple slice. See our video to see how the cocktail is made.

The result is an earthy, textured taste, very fall. Sweet because of the ginger, tart because of the apple bits, but yet, the bourbon lets you know what's going on.

The Slipway will stay open until Oct. 21, so get it while you can.

To reach Kay Stephens, email kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

Every year the no-no finger comes out for Banned Books across the country and what does that make you want to do? Read them of course.

Camden Public Library is celebrating this week with wanted posters and displays for banned or challenged books. Children's Librarian Amy Hand set up a special display all over the library of books that have been banned or challenged at some point over the years in a school or library. Behind her in the photo, the young adult books she cites for example include the Harry Potter series (because sorcery and magic makes people think bad thoughts) and all of the Twilight series (which I'd ban on literary merit alone, but that's another subject). To Kill a Mocking Bird, Of Mice and Men, and The Call of The Wild, are among the most common adult books that have been banned as well for a variety of reasons (offensive language; perceived socialism, etc.) Hand also mentions a children's book about two male penguins at a zoo (a true story) who adopted an abandoned penguin egg. After it hatched, they raised it together. And Tengo Makes Three, according to NYDailyNews.com, has been the most challenged children's book in recent years.

Really? Gay penguins. That's the assumption? Maybe they were just two middle class penguins whose personal income had eroded over the last decade (not that they were working any less) and to save on expenses, decided to raise a penguin kid together like Kate and Allie.

Hand said little piles of books are scattered in every section of the library with wanted posters that explain why the books have been challenged or banned "or anything else that has caught fire."

Banned Books Week extends from 9-30-12 to 10-7-12. Let us know what favorite banned or challenged book sits on your bookshelf and why.

For a list of the frequently challenged books of the 21st century, as compiled by the American Library Association, click here.

For a list of banned and challenged classics, as compiled by the ALA, click here.

To reach Kay Stephens, email kaystephens@penbaypilot.com.

Ladleah Dunn is a sailor and a damn good cook. More importantly, she aims not to take the foodie industry in Maine so seriously or make it too precious. Her culinary adventures stem largely from her own small farm in Lincolnville. What’s ridiculous is how easy she makes it look.

“Let’s make some clams tonight,” she proposed one afternoon by the beach.  All it took was wresting some ocean quahogs out of the seabed at low tide. [Note: while collecting quahogs from certain areas of Maine’s shoreline is legal, best to check the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources for red tide and other harvesting rules.]

“There are parts of the Maine coast where you can legally dig for clams and we were lucky enough to find some of these beautiful ones," said Dunn. “So, let’s do something with it.”

The ocean quahog is like The Incredible Hulk of clams; four or five of them suffice to make dinner for four. But first, it would take six hours of preparation. For Dunn, that's no big deal, especially with a bottle of wine and friends to pass the time.

As she set the live, rinsed quahogs on ice (where they hissed through bubbly ligament that attached to its hinged shell) occasionally, a “foot” stuck out to test its surroundings.

According to the Maine Sea Grant website, ocean quahogs (also called the large surf or hen clam) are among the longest-lived marine organisms in the world, capable of living longer than 200 years. Dunn eyed the ones we were making and estimated they were about 40 years old. “Before we get too sad about this,” she explained, “I’d rather harvest this myself and use all of its parts respectfully (including shells for compost), rather than buy chicken parts under cellophane, without knowing how the animal lived or died.”

The most amazing part of this elaborately simple meal is that it was created on a whim and nothing required going to the store. "Luckily we've created a little farm here where it is like its own grocery store; there is a large variety of herbs and vegetables, fruits, eggs, meats, etc. Then we get to use all that creativity that is usually only engaged when it's for a paycheck and we just get to do it for fun," she said, as she pulled up some onions from the ground. Next, she got an armload of applewood out of the wood pile and unwrapped some pork belly from a pig they’d raised and butchered several seasons ago.

“None of this is work to me,” she said. "We just cook because we love cooking and it's the kind of inspiration and passion that drives us to stay up really late cooking for someone else. For me it's an opportunity to feed that creativity." With friends and her husband assisting, she diced the onions, prepared an outdoor grill with applewood, and chopped up the pork belly. By this time, night had descended and the long droning zipper sound of crickets filled the woods. Once the wood had turned to coals, the quahogs were set on the grill. Eventually, they began to cook within their shells and open. Setting them aside, Dunn continued to sit by the grill and sautée the onions and pork belly, while inside the house, her husband chopped up quahog meat. We opened another bottle of wine.

Finally, near 9:30 p.m., the mixture of quahog, pork belly and onions were ladled back into half shells, topped with homemade flatbread croutons, chives and orange cherry tomatoes and thrown under the broiler. What came out was a savory, bacon-y dish punched with intense flavor.  That would be the entire course, just a stuffed half shell, but filling enough. Gone, of course, in under five minutes, the way good cooking disappears, but a meal never to forget.

 Follow Dunn’s blog, Sailor’s Rest Farm to see what else she’s got cookin’.

Skin isn't the only canvas for Justin Wheeler, a tattoo artist at Siren Song Tattoo in Rockland. Upper Playground, a leader in the contemporary art movement on the West Coast, recently invited him to submit four paintings to be part of an Oct. 4 show on urban art in Portland, Oregon.

"I'd say half the guys that are in the show are people I've been modeling my myself after, artistically," said Justin. "We keep in touch through social media. I questioned [the organizer] about it when I first saw the flyer for submissions and he said there was no room left. Then he got back to me a week later and said, 'I can't get your stupid paintings out of my mind.' Wheeler said, deadpan. [If  the tone doesn't translate, this is actually a compliment.] "I was like, 'thanks man' and that's how they got into the show." 

As much as he'd like to go out and be part of the show in Portland, Wheeler said he's got too much to do. He and his wife and co-owner of the shop, Alison Wheeler, will be moving the shop from Main Street by Dunkin' Donuts on Oct. 1 to a private studio above Black Parrot.

Follow Siren Song Tattoo to see photos of the artwork once the show wraps.

I don't usually go out of my way to watch a film about cows. I'd had a vague understanding beforehand that the story would be about Maine dairy farmers going through hard times. But every industry in this state goes through hard times. In Maine, that's just the way life should be  uh... is.

Little did I know that my consumer apathy was exactly what had contributed to the heavy strain and strife among a group of Mainers' lives I was about to see up on the big screen.

Here's the back story: Betting The Farm is the story of a group of Maine dairy farmers who, dropped by their national milk company, are suddenly confronted with the real possibility of losing their farms. Banding together, the farmers launch their own milk company called MOOMilk (Maine's Own Organic Milk).  Farmers Vaughn Chase, Richard Lary, and Aaron Bell, along with their families, struggle to make ends meet as they get the company off the ground. But faced with slow sales and mounting bills, can the farmers hang together long enough for the gamble to pay off? Or will they be left worse off than before?

Here's the front story: I, and a number of my colleagues, had also recently gotten dropped by the original newspaper Village Soup, when it went dark last March. As a freelancer, I am used to it. It's happened a few times in my career. Like all industries in Maine, there is no guarantee of stability. But you don't whine about it. As Valerie Plame, a former CIA Operations Officer once said: "Life isn't fair. But somehow we always think it should be and are deeply disappointed when things don't pan out as hoped." It isn't fair, but don't let that be your excuse not to stop trying. Instead, use it as a starting point to make something better of your life.

So right away, the film's got me on this level.  They just got the old "Welcome to Pink Slipville. Population, You" announcement. Independent contractors, small business owners, construction workers, painters, builders, fishermen in Maine — we've all seen this story, too, particlarly in the last 10 years. Now... what are these farmers going to do about it?

This stoic group of Maine dairy farmers, led by the optimistic and ever-smiling CEO and Chairman, Bill Eldridge, start off with a plan to band together and forge their own path as an independent collective. They'll sell their milk to the Maine people. This is the American Dream!

So right away, the film's got me on this level. They just got the old 'Welcome to Pink Slipville. Population, You' announcement. Freelancers, construction workers, painters, builders, fishermen in Maine — we've all seen this story, too, particlarly in the last 10 years.

But if it were that easy, we'd all be happy, clueless millionaires. It's not that easy to get a company off the ground, especially if you've never done it before. That's why there is a built-in lesson to every setback, every conflict and every crushing blow. The dairy farmers have mounting bills, yet, they're still up at four every morning, milking cows, delivering on their product. Yet, the demand for so much product is still not there. And now we start to see the real human side to this story. The husband and wife, who've worked so well together like a well-oiled machine all these years, can't stop fighting. The old friends who've worked alongside one another for years are battling across a conference table over the parity of effort versus promised income. This American Dream starts to look like tattered streamers in the rain the day after the fair left town. The Bangor Hydro Electric disconnection notice sits on a corner of a kitchen table like a curled-up admission of shame. Good families who've always worked hard are having to appeal to the pity of creditors on the phone... and you can see it kills them. As it would kill anyone who is proud, who is works hard and who is loathe to rely on charity. Life is not fair.

Suddenly, it dawns on me. I am one of the reason these good people are hurting. Once again Camden International Film Festival does it. They bring a documentary to my town, entice me to watch a subject I'm not normally inclined to watch and plunge me into a world of people I'm connected to only by hundreds of miles away. I'm so frugal in the grocery store, always price-checking to keep that grocery bill low on a freelancer's salary. And here's this MOOMilk, that's been sitting there the whole time, while I reach for the less expensive brand. Every time I've made that choice, I've made that husband and wife fight; I've participated in the disconnection notice and I've sold out my own people.

So that's it then. Whatever it costs. MOOMilk will be in my grocery cart from now on. That is the power of documentary film. For even though life isn't fair, I'm still a sucker for The American Dream.

 Watch the trailer to see a glimpse of the documentary.

There are so many films and events going on this weekend, stay tuned for more on-the-fly coverage and post your own photos and comments to facebook.com/penbaypilot

To contact Kay Stephens, kaystephens@penbaypilot.com

For Camden Cash Mob’s first after-party at Fromviandoux Restauranton 20 Washington Street, bartender Mac McGaw designed the after-party’s signature cocktail. Cash is green and so naturally, the cocktail had to be green.

“And we also wanted something that was decidedly French, as well as refreshing,” he said.

The result was the Fromviandoux Flash. Start with two ounces of vodka, a half-ounce of Lillet Blanc, an ounce of cucumber juice, a half-ounce of lemon juice, and a half-ounce of simple syrup. Shake it over ice and strain into a tall glass.  Top with a little bit of Crème Yvette and a little bit of extra cucumber juice. Top with a couple sprigs of mint. McGaw said he chose the Lillet Blanc (a French aperitif wine with almost a medicinal tang) as one of the primary ingredients because it added a nice spice and the cucumber puree because it was in seasonal at the time. See our video to see how it’s properly made.

The result, when done, looks like upside down Bomb Pop (remember those from ice cream trucks?) At the first sip, the refreshing taste of pureed cucumber comes through first. If a York Peppermint Patty can make you feel like you’re sluicing down a wintry mountain on skies, then the Fromviandoux Flash feels like you’re kicking back on an inflatable tire in the middle of a cool, northern Maine river, breezing down at a delightful clip on a sunny day.

On the night that the cash mobbers came in, McGaw said he sold about 45 of these cocktails. He’d gone through so many, he said had to mix up another batch of the cocktail. They drank it all. “It was a good crowd,” he said. “They seemed to be enjoying themselves quite thoroughly.”

Asked if it will now remain on the menu, McGaw said, “Actually, it was just sort of a one-off. It fulfilled its purpose.”

And like a green flash it was gone…

It’s got to be really exciting, but a little weird, to see your first short film up on The Strand screen sitting next to the guy who is the subject of your documentary.  Oh and the guy is a filmmaker himself. No pressure there.

Seth Brown had had little sleep the morning we met. He’d been up late editing his short film, Deus Ex Machina scheduled to screen on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 12 p.m. at The Strand Theater in Rockland as part of Camden International Film Festival’s “Shorts Plus” series.

'This film is my cobbled together motorcycle.'

Brown, 25, is a refreshing departure from the hipster filmmaker. He’s a Maine boy, born and raised. Plaid shirt and jeans kind of kid.  When he speaks about his experiences, he’s humbled by what he doesn’t know. No matter how far he’s come, he’s still eager to learn. In one sentence, he described what this film has to offer. “It’s about an ex-filmmaker who builds an incredibly beautiful, but dangerous machine.”

The “ex-filmmaker,” is his mentor and Camden resident, Jack Churchill, who worked in the film industry for 40 years in New York. The “machine” is a steampunk BMW motorcycle that Churchill built last year and has ridden, though not as fast as its 90 m.p.h, limit. “I’m more afraid of this one than any other motorcycle I have,” Churchill said.  

Churchill’s retirement from film doesn’t mean he has left the industry altogether. A  film teacher at Camden Hills Regional High School for the last nine years, he first encountered Brown as a student in one of his classes.

“In class, usually what you get is a group of boys who want to film themselves and their friends doing jumps on skis or snowboards,” said Churchill. “They don’t prep it, they just cut it together and put some rap music or some dub step and call it good. And that was originally Seth’s motivation. But every year we see students with enormous potential and Seth was one of the first ones we looked at. And it’s not just potential –it’s passion. As a teacher, what you’ve got to do is get their interest in snowboarding to translate into interesting film. If you learn the craft, then anyone will be interested in seeing it because the product is so good.”

After studying film at Emerson College in Boston, Brown could have gone to New York or Los Angeles, where most aspiring filmmakers are encouraged to go. Instead, he chose to come back to Maine and make his own opportunities happen. Last year with two of his friends, Tyler Dunham and Corey MacLean, Brown dreamt up the idea of renovating an old school bus and taking it across the country as part of a social media/film experiment while doing good deeds for community service along the way.  Largely funded by individual donations while they drove to California, that phase of their lives was called Love, The Bus.

Brown said, “Every time I’d come back from college, Jack would help me with my film projects as an advisor. He helped us so much on the pitch video for Love, The Bus, always telling me, ‘fix this or fix that.’ The day he looked at it and had no critique for it, I was like, ‘Yes!’  I wouldn’t be where I am now without his help and advice.”

The concept behind Deus Ex Machina all started with a steampunk motorcycle that Churchill built. It took the better part of six months, and nearly 30 hours a week to build it…just because he’d seen a similar one at The Owls Head Transportation Museum the previous year and thought he could make one just as good. [See accompanying video of how it was made.] Now almost done [to be truly “done” Churchill said, he’d leave it out in the rain for another six months and let it rust up pretty nice] it rests under the spotlights at The Transportation Museum, its oxy acetylene torch welder handlebars and old leather horse saddle purposefully chapped and rugged. It is one smart-ass bike with way too much attitude. To a gear head (and fans of Mad Max movies) this bike is fascinating. And perhaps the story of building it is equally interesting to those who like to tinker around, spending their afternoons looking at old cars at The Transportation Museum. But to a harried stay-at-home mom of three toddlers, or a chess enthusiast with heliophobia, how interesting is it going to be? Would they really go out of their way to go out of their way to watch a 14-minute film about it?

That is, in fact, the struggle of every young documentary filmmaker--to pull a universal story out of specialized subject matter and entice the viewer to stick with it until the end.

That was Brown’s challenge from the beginning. In the last year, Brown has focused his efforts on more documentary projects while supporting himself as a part-time filmmaker for corporate videos.  All he had to do is see the machine Churchill was building to know this would be his next film project.  He had no idea what he’d so with the film once it was made—he just had to make it. “As usual, I learned so much more working around him, like using a crane for the first time,” said Brown.

Churchill added, “Seth and I have always had this mentor-mentee relationship, but in the filming of it, you can imagine how this went. He’d set up a shot and I’d say, ‘this shot would be much cooler if he pulled back the telephoto lens to show the silhouette.’ “

Brown jumped in. “One day he was ratting on me for using a 50 mm lens and I liked that lens. I kept debating with him about it. Finally, I said, I’m going to use the 50. This is my film. Back off.”

Churchill smiled.

“This is why I haven’t shown him the film, because I know he’ll have critique,” continued Brown. “It is about him, but it is my story about his story. This film is my cobbled together motorcycle.”

Churchill added, “The beauty of the experience for us is that what Seth went through creatively making this film was the same thing I went through creatively making the bike.”

Maybe it was because he was now fully awake and had warmed to his subject, Brown paused for a moment to really extract the meaning of what the two of them had just accomplished together. “What started out as a film about the construction of the bike, turned into a theme of what it means to build. Anyone who has ever constructed something, the creative process, the ups and downs, in order to see the final product through will recognize themselves in this film.”

Sounds as though Brown has found his universal story.

To check out CIFF’s short film schedule visit: camdenfilmfest.festivalgenius.com/2012/schedule/week

Though it was a drizzly day, that didn’t stop more than 150 people from heading out to the Camden Snow Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 22. The inaugural “Rocktoberfest” was rock concert to benefit Hope Elephants, a unique rehabilitation and educational facility for retired elephants located in Hope, Maine.

Out on the lawn, gourmet food trucks included 2 Smokin’ Guys, who served pulled pork and ribs, Big Bob’s Big Dogs, whose specialty was the half pound hotdog, and Taco Libre, a Midcoast vendor whose Mexican fare is fresh as it is authentic. Inside the Snow Bowl, Hope Orchards provided hot cider and Elephant Tracks (a.k.a. Elephant Ears) and Mainely Bartenders served up beer and wine.

Local musicians played constantly from 4 to 10 p.m headlined by Creatures of Habit, featuring guitarist Gary Clancy. Other guests included Josieda Lord, Tom Ulichny and Resa Randolph as more than 60 danced out under the covered back deck.

“All the teens were up on the hill side watching us dance and laughing,” said Jim Laurita, founder of Hope Elephants and one of the organizers behind the event. Laurita and Asian elephants Rosie (43) and her companion Opal (41) were the subjects of the article “Hope for Rosie” in Yankee Magazine’s September/October issue.

“It was a great first effort,” said Laurita. “We’ll definitely be back next year.”

The fundraiser took in more than $4,000, which is all earmarked for the operating expenses, the barn that will house the elephants and the costs of transporting the elephants to Maine.

It might be surprising to many who only know of Laurita as a veterinarian in Hope that in his youth, he was once an elephant trainer, treating and caring for elephants in India, at the Bronx Zoo, the Wildlife Safari in Oregon and at Cornell’s veterinary school.  His connection to Rosie goes back more than 30 years to when he worked for the circus which Rosie and Opal called home for most of their lives. 

“I have pictures of them when I’m taller than them,” he said.

Right now ,both elephants reside in Oklahoma where they have been retired from work at the circus and are kept at the circus’s winter quarters. Rosie and Opal have both sustained past injuries and suffer from nerve damage. Jim and his brother, Tom Laurita, have both been working steadily since February 2011 to find a way to bring elephants to Maine and give them superior care. With the community’s help with fundraising, the dream has turned into a reality. A heated barn with a double-steel fence and paddock will be their new home surrounded by serene acres. With the new barn’s state-of-the-art equipment, medicine and nutritional support, the elephants will receive high-end physical therapy to ease their suffering.  They will receive daily therapeutic ultrasound treatment, hydrotherapy, and low-impact exercise on the world’s first elephant water treadmill.

Laurita said the response to the Yankee article and the community anticipation to the arrival of the elephants has been wonderful.

“It’s difficult to explain in just a sentence what we’re doing," he said. "The goals of elephant rehabilitation and our over-arching goal of conservation is to help the species achieve sustainability, so I think that article really explained the nitty gritty of what we’re doing. It’s great to have a national magazine really get it."

According to Laurita, it’s only a matter of weeks when Rosie and Opal will arrive at their new home in Hope.

“As you can imagine, something like this is very complicated.” said Laurita.  “I’m going to go down to Oklahoma and come back with them, so I’m going to be very excited as we approach the Maine border.”

After a period of adjustment where the elephants will acclimate to their new home, their daily feeding and bathing schedule and human caretakers, Hope Elephants will open the doors to the public for educational presentations.

“Once we’re up and running, kids will be able to have this amazing educational experience that they can’t get anywhere else,” he said.

For more information about Rosie and Opal stay glued to the organization’s website and Facebook page. Honk for the elephants if you see a big truck with Oklahoma plates coming up Route 105!

Here’s Kierra, 15, with her side-swept bangs, backpack and flashing a metallic grin; she’s one of the rad ones. Why? Cause she unafraid to throw herself out there, whether it’s photographing weird stuff or camping out by Lily Lupine and Fern singing and playing ukulele.

“I like street art a lot,” she says of one of her photos that captured a graffiti depiction of Frank the Bunny from the movie, Donnie Darko, on a utility box behind The Cutting Edge.

“I was hanging out back here with my friends to go look at the water and I turned around and there it was," she said. "Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies, so I think this is one of the cooler [examples] of graffiti in town.”

She took her film SLR camera, one of 10 old-school and digital cameras she has acquired.

'Some people ask me if I’m going back to England,' she says, (as if she’s stuck here and can’t get a fare back).

“So I zoomed in on it and I just wanted an angular shot.”

We snapped a shot of her with the graffiti behind her, but then a swarm of bees made it clear we weren’t welcome as Kierra hightailed it.

“I have a bee phobia!” she said, running ahead. “When I was little I sat on one.” As we segway onto the topic of fears, she admits, “Another one of my big fears is everyone is going to think I’m a tourist.”

What?

It makes a little more sense as she whips out her ukulele.

“A lot of people come up to me and ask me directions when I’m in the middle of playing,” she explains. “It’s a little annoying, but sometimes they’ll wait until I’ve finished playing.”

She goes on: “I can’t read music, so the fact that it has four strings makes it so I can play it a lot better,” she says.

She started only four months ago, unbelievably, because when she plays, she owns that instrument, her voice lilting somewhere between Edie Brickell and Carly Rae Jepsen. Now, busking on the street for fun, she averages about $50 in tips in about two hours of sitting and playing. Not too shabby.

The hand drawn sign propped in front of her when she plays says: Saving Money For England.

“Some people ask me if I’m going back to England,” she says, (as if she’s stuck here and can’t get a fare back). “And I’m like ‘No, no going to England…hopefully, not coming from…back to England, I don’t know,” she says dissolving into high-pitched giggles.  Slight confusion aside, she’s got a plan.

The ukulele tips, along with her paycheck and tips working at Zoot Coffee are all pooled into a fund to spend her junior year in England. She plans to take several general courses over there to supplement her U.S. coursework, but mostly, she just wants to travel.

“My dad’s English, so where I’d be going is right near where he was living when he was younger," she says. "He traveled everywhere and has been all around the world. I don’t know, I just need a new environment for a little while.”

When she talks, that dissolving-into-high-pitched giggles thing happens frequently, especially when she’s talking about things that might seem unabashedly innocent. Going through another one of her photos, she shows one she took at Planet Toys in Rockland.

“This one was done with one of my toy cameras with a fish eye lens," she says. "It's kind of dark, so you can't see it that well. There were toys everywhere like a big pile of them and I thought it looked really cool, like this emporium of happiness and childlike wonder.”

As she finishes that sentence, it sounds as though she is laughing through helium. It’s wicked cute and she doesn’t even know she’s doing it.

Keep with us for more on The Hail To The Rad Kids series, featuring teens in the Midcoast who you’re just going to want to get to know.