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My Fire Escape Garden: May

By Amanda Bloom

  What’s one to do when one loves to garden but hasn’t a yard?  Why, accumulate lots of pots and truck loads of soil up to one’s fifth floor apartment, of course!  This is what I’ve been doing over the past four years to create… Read more »

A bin of lettuce and spinich at left and strawberries at right.
A bin of lettuce and spinich at left and strawberries at right.
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Upcoming Events


  • Events on May 23, 2013

    'Ball Players,' drawings by Chris Durante at Still River Editions

    Starts: 8:30 am

    Ends: 5:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    ‘Mandalas and Contemplative Collages,’ works by Gloria Owens at Take Time Relaxation Center and Gallery

    Starts: 10:00 am

    Ends: 8:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    'Impressions of Light' - paintings by Dmitri Wright at Weir Farm

    Starts: 10:00 am

    Ends: 4:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    'GREEN' at Art and Frame of Danbury

    Starts: 10:00 am

    Ends: 7:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    'Art by Artists' at Get Ink Tattoo

    Starts: 10:00 am

    Ends: 7:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    ‘Stories by a Thousand Cuts' - paper cut works by Béatrice Coron at Watershed Gallery

    Starts: 11:00 am

    Ends: 6:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    Paintings by Susan Holden-Sagona & Lisa Willvonseder-Greto at Pizzeria Lauretano

    Starts: 11:00 am

    Ends: 8:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    Adult Talk Time at Danbury Public Library

    Starts: 5:00 pm

    Ends: 7:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    Trivia Tryst Thursday Nights at Two Steps Downtown Grille

    Starts: 7:00 pm

    Ends: 9:00 pm, May 23, 2013

  • Events on May 23, 2013

    Open Mic at Molten Java

    Starts: 8:00 pm

    Ends: 10:30 pm, May 23, 2013

In the Gallery

"Miller" by Walter von Egidy. Enamel and oil on illustration board.

5/25/13 – 7/6 – 1/2 Hallow’s

A Halloween inspired show featuring paintings by Walter von Egidy, John Slaney, Tess Barbato, and sculpture by William Blass.

Opening reception Friday, May 31, 7-9pm.


GMO free rally outside the state Capitol Tuesday morning.  Christine Stuart photo.

Senate Approves Bill Requiring GMO Labeling 35-1

By Jacqueline Wattles

  Connecticut business owners, legislators, farmers, and residents rallied outside the capitol Tuesday morning to press state legislators to move on a bill that would require labels on genetically modified foods.   Their calls were answered Tuesday night when the state Senate took up a bipartisan… Read more »

"Miller" by Walter von Egidy. Enamel and oil on illustration board.

It’s Halloween Again at The Mercurial Gallery

By Amanda Bloom

  Here in New England, we’ve been robbed of a proper Halloween twice in a row due to the clockwork October timing of hurricanes and superstorms. Costumes have hung solemnly in the closet, unwrinkled; trick or treating has been cancelled, and decorated houses have lost… Read more »

"The Production of Verdi's Falstaff at Milan: Falstaff Concealed in the Buck-Basket in Ford's House" from The Graphic of February 18, 1893.  Engraving by Ettore Tito.  From Wikimedia Commons.

Opera, Pressure Treated Wood and “The Truth”

By Duo Dickinson

  -fine arts architecture has left the building   One son loves opera, studies Italian to better appreciate it, and has sung it at the highest collegiate level (in the chorus). This spring he sang in Verdi’s Falstaff, where at the end of the production… Read more »


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The Porthole

Parwan Province, Afghanistan

photographs by Daniel Arthur Winkler

The Great Greater Danbury Project!

The Doors at Danbury High School in 1967.  Photo courtesy of YouTube user Rutazzurra.

#80: The Doors Played at Danbury High School

    The Doors performed at Danbury High School before their big break on Wednesday, October 11, 1967. From YouTube user Rutazurra:   “This show is primarily attended by nearby college students from Western Connecticut State College and locals of Danbury. Prior to the show,… Read more »

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#79: CT Beer Week

  The Connecticut beer industry is proud to launch the state’s “Brew & Buy Local” campaign, a joint effort among brewers, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants to support local industries. The campaign will officially launch during CT Beer Week,  May 11 through 18. This weeklong, statewide event was… Read more »

A CT Farm Fresh Express vehicle, transporting local goods to Connecticut residents.

#78: CT Farm Fresh Express

  CT Farm Fresh Express is an organization that delivers fresh and primarily organic products directly from local farms or producers to your home or restaurant, year-round.  They carry everything from fruit and vegetables to fair trade coffee, chocolate chip cookies, raw milk in glass… Read more »

Take One Academy cheerleaders.  Photo courtesy of Take One Cheerleading Academy.

#76: Take One Cheerleading Academy

  Take One Cheerleading Acadamy, located  at 36 Kenosia Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut, is owned and operated by coach Amy Pendergast and her daughter Becky. The gym offers a variety of services, from competitive cheer teams for ages three to 18, tumbling classes for all… Read more »

petri dish

#75: Local Female Tech & Science Leaders

  Nine women from across Connecticut were honored for their innovation and leadership during the ninth annual Women of Innovation awards dinner this month at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.   The Connecticut Technology Council held the awards program to recognize women in the… Read more »

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#74: Pepe’s Pizza

  We took a little trip to New Haven yesterday, and while we were there, we decided to take a walk down Wooster Street, which is at the heart of New Haven’s Italian-American community. Having only a little bit of time, we figured we could… Read more »


Steven and Sandy, the subjects of Debbie Lum's 'seeking asian female.' Photo by Debbie Lum.

Documentary: White Men Who Love Asian Women

  seeking asian female is an eccentric modern love story about Steven and Sandy—an aging white man with “yellow fever” who is obsessed with marrying any Asian woman, and the young Chinese bride he finds online. Debbie Lum, a Chinese American filmmaker, documents and narrates… Read more »

A still from Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" video.

Word of the Wednesday, May 1, 2013: “Real”

    real adjective actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed : Julius Caesar was a real person | a story drawing on real events | her many illnesses, real and imaginary. • used to emphasize the significance or… Read more »


The bear sighted on Park Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut Monday evening. Photo by Camila Bortolleto.

Bear Spotted by Danbury Mall

  Danbury, Connecticut resident Camila Bortolleto spotted a bear near her home on Monday evening and shared this video of the sighting with The Mercurial.   The bear was spotted on Park Avenue, which is just east of the Danbury Mall.   Learn more about the… Read more »

home-brew

All 50 States Now Allow Homebrewing

  On May 9, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed homebrew legalization bill HB9 into law, making Alabama the 50th and final U.S. state to legalize homebrewing.   Earlier this year, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a homebrew legalization bill that officially goes into effect July… Read more »


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Historian Speaks on Cinematic Element of the American Presidency

John F. Kennedy often dyed the gray out of his hair and changed his shirt up to three times a day. In his newest book, Dr. Burton Peretti, author of The Leading Man: Hollywood and the Presidential Image, provides insight into the influence that image and… Read more »

The Satanist-themed Swedish band Ghost: part heavy metal, part Beach Boys.

Surfing Hellfire Waves: A Review of Ghost’s ‘Infestissumam’

  What the hell makes Ghost so appealing? The band has gathered quite an eclectic fan base in a very short span of time, so what’s the deal? The songwriting isn’t complex, the music is easy to digest and covers a lot of familiar territory, and the… Read more »