This Week's Haul, July 9: Clinging to the life raft of hope
And: I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords
Good morning from eastern Maine, where this week… YIKES. And we had such a nice weekend, too! I’ll get to the big political news of the week later. Let’s talk about far less pressing matters first, shall we?
This weekend, we survived a heat wave, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, potentially limb-threatening fireworks, ODing on hot dogs and the Taylor and Travis wedding. And we found out robots will soon begin roaming the streets of Bangor. I have to admit: the latter news deeply unsettled me when I first read it, as it is a general truth that most applications of robots, AI-powered or otherwise, is a recipe for either disaster or annoyance. In this instance, however, I welcome our new robot overlords, as they will be engaged in the noble task of analyzing all of Bangor’s sidewalks and crosswalks to improve pedestrian accessibility - something that would take us fleshy humans many weeks longer to accomplish. Or at least, that’s what they’re telling us.
Really cool science reporting from the Boston Globe on an experimental forest in the Penobscot County town of Edinburg, where scientists are researching tree microbes that can consume methane as a potential way to reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere. Kind of like the astrophages in “Project Hail Mary,” except for good!
RIP to Victory Chimes, the historic Maine schooner that sank during a storm in Brooklyn, New York over the weekend. Though she was built in Delaware, she’d called Maine home for nearly 80 years, and was named Maine’s “state windjammer” in 1990 and appeared on our 2003 state quarter. I guess two guys bought it in 2023 with plans to turn it into a floating restaurant in NYC, a plan that hadn’t yet materialized, apparently. Owning a boat that’s just for fun, regardless of the size, seems like a huge pain in the ass, doesn’t it? I don’t know a single person that’s bought a boat for fun that hasn’t had tons of trouble.
This weekend is the grand opening of the new and greatly expanded International Cryptozoology Museum on Broadway in Bangor! The museum is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and will have lots of vendors, special guests, presentations and more on hand, all accessible with regular museum admission (only ten bucks for adults). True believer or total skeptic, is it not incredibly cool that something like this is now open in the Bangor area? Now, where’s my $10 million, so I can buy 74-78 Central St. and turn it into a museum and cultural center?
Top five, or seven, or ten lists about things to see/do/try in Maine are a dime a dozen. Yours truly has written more than her fair share of them over the years. I was surprised, however, by this interesting list from the BDN 40 years ago, which named the seven wonders of Maine - none of which are places that regularly appear on any list even today. I’ve heard of most of them, but I have to admit I’ve only ever been to one: Height of Land, way out in western Maine, near Rangeley, on a glorious fall day many years ago. I’d love to check out the Debsconeag Ice Caves, though! And paddling in the Great Heath sounds super cool as well. Have you been to any of these places? Let us know in the comments.
Music & Dance
July 9-15: Bar Harbor Music Festival, classical music, opera and jazz performances throughout Bar Harbor including Criterion Theatre, Jesup Library and more; click here for full schedule
July 9: Monthly sea chantey singalong, 4 p.m., Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport
July 9: Belfast Summer Nights presents Rockville and Very Greasy, 5:30 p.m., Steamboat Landing Park, Belfast
July 9: Traveling Wilburys Revue, 7:30 p.m., Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft
July 10: Lucy and Gus, Shrimp Jesus and the White Falcons, 5 p.m., 419 South St., Blue Hill
July 10: Ring and Strings acoustic duo, 7 p.m., Milbridge Theatre, Milbridge
July 10: Two Piano Jazz Duo with Scott Martin and Tom Porter, 6 p.m., Surry Arts Barn, Surry
July 10: Lazers in the Jungle, 6 p.m., Fogtown Brewing, Ellsworth
July 10: Waterfront Concert Series presents Chris Ross, 6 p.m., Harbor Park, Ellsworth
July 10: Madison Lake, Black Box Recovery, Empty Your Pockets and R0B1N Gaming, 7 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
July 10: Songwriter Ashley McBride, 7 p.m., Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
July 11: Oodelally, 6 p.m., Fogtown Brewing, Ellsworth
July 11: In The Kingdom of Nightmares, Paradise is Cancelled, Manuel, Castle Crusher and Melody of a Car Crash, 7 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town
July 11: Jammy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett tribute band, 7 p.m., Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor
July 13: Nina Emery and Ellis Sanchez Jazz Duo, 6 p.m., Hey Sailor, Searsport
July 15: Panstorm steel pan band, 6 p.m., Lura Hoit Pool Gazebo, Hampden
July 15: Summer Music Series presents the Silver Duo, piano and cello, Bangor Public Library, Bangor
July 15: Sonja & Friends Jazz Ensemble, 5:30 p.m., Alamo Theatre, Bucksport
Theatre & Comedy
July 9-12: Penobscot Theatre Company presents “The Fantasticks,” daily at the Bangor Opera House, Bangor
July 10: Opera House Arts presents “Late and Alone: An Intimate Portrait of Johnny Cash,” 7 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington
July 11: Eye Candy Dance Studio presents The Night Circus, a night of neon-lit circus arts, 8 p.m., Eye Candy Studio, Bangor
July 12: “Bait and Switch: From Hollywood to Haulin’ Traps,” one-woman show by Anna Conathan, 7 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington
July 14: The Norman Magician Experience, 6 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington
July 14: Comedian Juston McKinney, 7 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast
Arts, Books, Film & Culture
July 9: Reading and signing with Rylan Hynes of their book “Grafting,” 7 p.m., Bookspace, Columbia Street, Bangor
July 10: Reading and signing with Christina Baker Kline of her new book, “The Foursome,” 10 a.m., Bangor Public Library, Bangor
July 11: Reading and signing by horror author David Wilson, 11 a.m., The Emporium Spooky Goods, Bangor
July 12: “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” 1 p.m. screening, Colonial Theatre, Belfast
July 12-13: “My Neighbor Totoro,” 7 p.m., Black Bear Cinemas, Orono
July 14: “What Should We Remember About the American Revolution?” talk by Liam Riordan, 7 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill
July 14: “Jonathan Lowder’s Truckhouse, 1776-1779: History and Archaeology of a Revolutionary War Trading Post,” talk by Chip Lagerbom, 6:30 p.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
July 15: “Researching Women in the American Revolution,” talk by Melanie McComb, 2 p.m., Belfast Free Library, Belfast
July 15: Reading and signing by mystery author Paul Doiran, 6 p.m., Bookspace, Bangor
July 15: Leonard Lecture Series presents artist Thuan Vu, 5:30 p.m., Zillman Art Museum, Bangor
Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.
July 10-19: Orrington Old Home Week, annual community celebration, multiple events throughout the week, throughout Orrington; more info here
July 11-12: Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas, presented by the Abbe Museum, College of the Atlantic campus, Bar Harbor
July 11: Downtown Bangor Summer Sidewalk Arts Festival, art and craft vendors, food, music and more, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Central Street, Bangor
July 11: Annual Strawberry Shortcake Festival, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Old Town Museum, Old Town
July 11: Twilight nature walk, 8 p.m., Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden
… so yeah. This week sure is something. “Something” is a word. So aren’t the words “hot mess.” “Chaotic.” “Implosion.” “Men are disappointing.” Plenty of other words spring to mind when I think about the past four days and a certain disgraced Maine oyster farmer. There are also sayings, like “Don’t believe the hype” and “Opinions are like assholes; everyone’s got one.” Honestly, what is wrong with the New York Times, who claimed - falsely! - that Heather Cox Richardson and Patrick Dempsey were both considering running to replace Platner? Patently untrue and pure unsupported speculation from some overpaid political consultants. Please, large national media outlets: please just shut up and let us figure this out. I know you won’t. But please? We might make a mess of it. Please just let us do it ourselves.
Here are the words I’ll much more gladly paraphrase from my friend Rob, a compassionate scholar of politics, who said that anger, confusion and disappointment are all correct emotions to feel - but that the cold comfort of cynicism is incompatible with the belief that a better world is possible. An even more cock-eyed optimist view would be to say that the messenger isn’t as important as the message. It’s not him. It’s us. We are the ones we’ve been looking for. We’re the ones that showed up every weekend to rallies and house parties and town halls to share our fears and frustrations and to be seen and heard by one another. It is a movement - a deeply imperfect one, but a movement, bent on improving the lives of everyday people and opposing the corruption now rotting our system from the inside. As this shitstorm rains down on us over the next few weeks and, for better or worse, we eventually emerge with a new Senate candidate, I will cling to that life raft. I will hang on for dear life.