It’s all fun and games until – actually, it’s always all fun and games
If our favorite hobby here at the Insider is eating (which it most definitely and so obviously is), our second-favorite would have to be playing games. After all, we’re just a couple of kids at heart, and playing games is just what we like to do. But enough about us. We’re trying to tell you about all the games you can play right here in Concord. Whether you were already aware or not, this city is loaded with all kinds of interesting...
You can play (and live) in a fantasy world once you get in the game
Do you ever have the urge to be someone else? Or find yourself in a fantasy world, away from all the ups and downs of every day life? Well, we hear you. That’s why we created Insider Man. But you don’t have to create a fictional character who works as a journalist by day and is a superhero by night in order to escape whatever you’re trying to escape on that specific day. That does sound quite familiar, though, doesn’t it? All you have...
Believe it or not, you can win big money right here in Concord
Our years of television consumption taught us that bingo is a game played by retirees, sitting in a large hall with another retiree pulling balls out of a spinning wheel. Well, this is just another instance when television has failed us. ’Cause we checked out bingo night at the Bektash Shriners last Thursday and it’s way more popular and involved than TV ever led us to believe. Sure, there were retirees filling out cards as a...
Attention all nerds: Science Cafe is making a return to Concord
Ever wondered how autonomous cars work? Or maybe you’ve always been curious about the details of Jurassic Park-style genetic modification. Or, maybe you’re just kind of a geek who loves science, engineering and technical stuff like that – and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you fit into any of the above categories, you’ll definitely want to check out Science Cafe Concord, moderated by Monitor reporter David Brooks. Brooks, also...
Plenty of good live music and mac ‘n’ cheese for you to take in
Wednesday Who doesn’t love midweek live music? Hopefully you didn’t just say, “Me!” because DJ Rob Azevedo is hosting an artist-in-the-round monthly series, called “Granite State of Mind with Rob Azevedo,” at NEC Concord, and the series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. The first guest will be Pat Gochez, lead singer of Pat and the Hats. The night will include a live performance, with a Q-and-A session hosted by Azevedo throughout the hourlong...
Head on over to the library and pick up your Book Bingo card
You wouldn’t normally think that books and bingo go well together. Can you imagine sitting in a packed bingo hall, five cards in front of you, trying to take in a few chapters of War and Peace between each call? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. But the folks at the Concord Public Library have done the impossible: They’ve figured out a perfect way to blend the two unrelated hobbies. It’s called Book Bingo, and it serves as the...
We tried Concordland, the game invented by the previous Insiders
So we thought that since this is the games issue, we should try to play our own game, Concordland. Well, not “our” own, but the last set of Insiders, Ben and Keith, made and printed it. It ended up being a good time.
Jessica Fligg likes painting outside so much she did it for a year
Over the course of one year, starting in October 2014, New Hampshire-based artist Jessica Fligg set out to paint one en plein air painting each week. Using oils on birch panels, Fligg, a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association, painted at least four outdoor scenes each month with one month (July 2015) painting as many as seven. A selection of her work from that year experiment is hanging at the Concord Chamber of Commerce...
Mac and cheese time, ya’ll
This is a little last minute, but the pure deliciousness of what we’re about to tell you about will far outweigh any stress that will ensue. So get ready to hop online and buy some tickets because you’ll want to be at the Grappone Conference Center on Saturday. It’s the sixth annual New Hampshire’s Own Macaroni and Cheese Bake Off – and as you could probably tell from the name of the event, there will be lots of mac and cheese to eat....
Well, the first edition of ‘Insider’ Trivia didn’t quite go as planned
We don’t really ask a lot out of you. Just answer the phone when we call, read the paper each week and send us cookies every once in a while. So we never thought a little Insider trivia would be too much for you. We figured “Hey why not test their Insider knowledge from 2015 and see what kind of responses we get?” We thought we’d at least get a couple emails with a mixture of funny, correct and odd ball answers, but not a single one...
Where did we go this time?
Pam Peterson, along with her son Brandon and his partner Roberto, spent some time soaking in the beautiful sights in Gallipoli, Italy, this fall. We sure do wish people would bring us on these fun trips instead of the paper, but that works too. Send your pics with the Insider to news@theconcordinsider.com.
This Week in Concord History
Jan. 12, 1943: State Rep. Norris Cotton leads the charge for a ban on smoking in Representatives Hall during House sessions. The tobacco habit, he says, “is distasteful and obnoxious to the many non-smoking members.” He says the House is the only legislative body in the world that allows smoking during deliberations. The bill passes 203-129. Jan. 12, 1952: The Monitor reports on plans to make Main and State streets one-way, with one...
City Briefly
Last week, City Manager Tom Aspell created a game where he cut up his city memo into individual letters and had city staff put it back together. Obviously they did a pretty good job because we have it here for your reading pleasure. Get out the w2’s Time to do the taxes Through a partnership with AARP, the Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting Tax-aide, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Feb. 2 and running through April...
Book of the Week: ‘Romie Futch’
The New and Improved Romie Futch Julia Elliott 2015, 378 pages Fiction Romie Futch is a middle-aged taxidermist in South Carolina, obsessed with his ex-wife and deep in debt. Surfing the internet in a drunken haze, Romie sees an ad seeking participants for an “intelligence enhancement study” in Atlanta that promises $6,000. All he has to do is “undergo a series of pedagogical downloads via direct brain-computer interface.” At the...
The Bulletin Board
Grace Episcopal to host monthly supper Friday Grace Episcopal Church will host its free monthly community supper Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. The January supper features meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, string beans, rolls and chocolate cake for dessert. So come, bring your family and friends and take the night off from cooking. There is no charge, but donations are welcomed and support our Take-A-Tote Ministry, which helps to feed...
