Surrounded by unblinking stars in the shadowy vacuum of space, I’m not entirely sure how I’m breathing. I tread across an enormous asteroid towards a museum, a building that looks like a cross between a Greek temple and a greenhouse. Smaller asteroids hover far above me: One has an enormous head (with its tongue lolling out) sprawled across the rocky…
It was the middle of the night, but the dark presence on the ceiling above my bed was unmistakeable. A blackbird? Then I heard the heavy flutter of its wings. It was no mere bird. I managed to get it out of my bedroom and opened a window, then closed the door as it careened around the apartment before escaping. Even though there…
In the basement of the Old State House at 150 Benefit Street in Providence – where prisoners were once housed while awaiting trial in the courtroom upstairs – sits the office of two archaeologists most residents don’t even know exist: Charlotte Taylor and Tim Ives. They work for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, and together, they oversee…
Shipyard Shorts newportFILM and the Atlantic Cup team up before the weekend’s inshore races for a free night of adventure and eco documentaries at the Newport Shipyard. First up is Slomo, the story of a neurologist who traded his IRA for a pair of roller skates and a new life in California. Next, see North of the Sun, a tale…
Smokers will soon have to find a new place to stock up on cigarettes. The Woonsocket-based CVS Caremark announced today that it plans to stop selling tobacco products at its more than 7,600 pharmacy stores across the United States by Oct. 1, 2014. It is the first national pharmacy to do so. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature…
Natural history has long been a homeless orphan among the sciences — you don't find professors of natural history at our universities, or required courses in our schools — but here in Rhode Island, we're lucky to have natural-history advocates who work to enhance our awareness of the plants and animals that share our state. Now Governor Chafee has officially…
The Dawn Treader is a tiny sailboat – less than twenty feet from stem to stern – but she's about to become a ship of exploration, heading off into the well-charted yet little-known waters of our own Narragansett Bay. Her captain, Trip Wolfskehl, of Newport, and his crew, David Gracer, from Providence, are setting sail July 1 to visit every…
It's hard to imagine a better site for science than our own Ladd Observatory – the place has it all: a cool retro architectural vibe, an interesting history going back to the early days of Providence, a lovely setting surrounded by trees and grass, a convenient location on Hope Street on the East Side of Providence, and a dedicated staff…
Everett Company, Stage and School in Providence forgoes dusty playbills filled with decades-old ideas for progressive, thought-provoking material that can’t be seen anywhere else. The company, cofounded in 1986 by Dorothy, Aaron and Rachael Jungels, is known for producing powerful pieces of hybrid dance/theater backed by thorough academic and community research. Members are currently in the midst of a two-year…
A doctor who wants to wipe out Hepatitis C in Rhode Island. And a designer who wants to see the state’s parks, playgrounds and vacant lots dotted with shipping containers recycled into mobile design labs. The Rhode Island Foundation announced today that Dr. Lynn Taylor and designer Adrienne Gagnon have won innovation fellowships for up to $300,000 over the next…
