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Celebrating the Best of Nantucket
Thursday Evening, June 12, 2014
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Issue Number 1022

 

~ Juke Box Heroes: The Muse (Candy Bearman)

 

~ Could Meghan Trainor's Newest Pop Song Vie for "Song of the Summer"

 

~ Water Defense to Release Cumulative Water Testing for Cape Cod and Islands 

 

~ Photo Album: The 21st Annual Dreamcatcher Auction & Dinner (Gene Mahon)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Juke Box Heroes: The Muse
Candy Bearman

I grew up on the edge of a lot of things. One was wild and wonderful West Virginia, which has proven itself both wild and wonderful, much like The Muse here on Nantucket. Maybe that is why whenever I wander into The Muse I feel right at home. I have seen a shirtless man with a beer belly the size of a dump truck do the funky chicken bare-footed at a bar in West Virginia and although I have not seen anything quite like that at The Muse, I have seen Air Band. Come to think of it, that shirtless man would have made an impressive lip-sinking Meatloaf, if only he could teletransport and knew that a place like The Muse, or the showmanship of Air Band, existed here on wild and wonderful Nantucket. 

If you're wondering what "Air Band" is, allow me to educate you on one of the island's most spectacular summer traditions.

 

Basically, it's a really extravagant lip sync competition. People go all out and dress in costumes. There is dancing, deejays, and fabulous prizes - I'm talking trips to Jamaica fabulous prizes. Air Band happens every Sunday all summer, so if you have a hidden desire to dress in drag or be a rasta Meatloaf, now is the time to start planning.

It takes a special kind of establishment to host such a competition, let alone my sister and I when we're looking to cut loose, so I won't criticize the Meatloaf's of the world. God knows I've attempted and shamed myself as Pat Benetar at times. Notice I'm writing now and not singing, enough said.

The first watering hole my sister and I would hit when we left Nantucket for holidays or getaways is called the White Stallion. It's just across the Pennsylvania border in West Virginia, and if we raise hell, at least the possibility of border hopping exists, which thank God had yet to become a necessity but remains a conceptually pleasing option, especially when the Bearman girls saddle up to a bottle of tequila and a stack of Keno cards. (Note: one may not border hop on Nantucket. Call a cab, or ride the bus. There are two bus stops in front of the Muse.)

The Muse is the only place on Nantucket to play Keno and I love how those little pencils are provided, such as to dignify a gambling fix and make it more like a serious round of golf at a prestigious course. Easy travel, keno, mini pencils, pizza slices, Air Band, cold beer and tequila. What more could there be? Comfort. Come as you are. I can't think of another place where such a cross-section of the Nantucket population can be found.

I don't need to dress up to go there. I could sit easily in my cut-off shorts beside a scalloper and talk about his take this past season, although if I sneaked out of a lame dinner party and happened to be in a dress and heels I wouldn't necessarily be out of place either.

 

Maybe you've been to The Muse on Jamaican Night. It's like a whole tribe of Beyoncé's take over in a fabulous display of bling and rhythm, and this summer will be no exception. Air Band, Jamaican night, what else? A diverse beer selection. Veteran bartenders. Ping pong. Rumors of bingo. And music.

If you happen in on an evening when there isn't something musical and spectacular to be seen on stage, don't worry, there's always the juke box. And what a juke box it is.

The Muse boasts one of the island's most technologically advanced juke boxes. For true musical techies, there's a downloadable app that allows you to play selections from a wireless device without ever leaving the comfort of your bar stool. During my last visit, giant speakers were being installed right in the bar. And if sitting is not your style - not to worry, they have games and pool tables galore. Speaking of pool tables, you would not believe the stuff people shove in the pockets of a pool table. Let your imagination run, like Prego. It's in there.

Open daily at 11, The Muse is great for any wild and wonderful adventure you want to cook up. From pool tables to Keno or neighbors to new friends: it's in there.

In 2005 Candy Bearman took a one year leave of absence from her position as a special assignment international flight attendant - where she served the NFL, NBA, and the US Military - to chill out on Nantucket. When the Fed Ex envelope arrived with return-to-duty instructions in 2006, Candy promptly deposited the envelope directly into the garbage can. A twenty year veteran of the service industry, both on the surface of the Earth and above it, Candy's travel and food and beverage experience leave her with plenty to write about. She enjoys most pondering "the one" - the one in every crowd - and writing developed character study.



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Could Meghan Trainor's Newest Pop Song Vie for "Song of the Summer"

Last summer in N Magazine, Jen Laskey reported on island native Meghan Trainor's success in Nashville, signing with Big Yellow Dog Music, who sent Meghan to Sweden to learn more about writing pop songs in one of the popiest places of all. 

Here might be the first of a new songwriting style for Meghan called "All About the Bass", and at least one web site has in effect nominated the tune as this year's "Song of the Summer". Watch it now, and you'll be singing it all day.
 
Nantucket's Meghan Trainor

If you really like it, you can download the song for free before it goes on sale on June 30. Follow the instructions here.







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Water Defense to Release Cumulative Water Testing for Cape Cod and Islands

Water Defense today announced that its founder, Actor, Director and Advocate Mark Ruffalo and Chief Scientist Scott Smith will hold a press conference during the Nantucket Film Festival to announce Water Defense water testing results for Cape Cod and the Islands, inluding Nantucket Harbor and the Head of Hummock Pond. 

Water Defense will also introduce its Open-Source Mapping System, which will provide a way for local governments, academics, community leaders and nonprofit organizations to share water testing data though a centralized and interactive online map.

As part of its "We are There" campaign, Water Defense has responded to more than 45 water contamination disasters around the world. Using the real world as his laboratory, Smith and his team have gathered data to set new water testing standards and have now teamed up with Dr. Sarah Oktay of UMass Boston to put these new standards into action on Nantucket and Cape Cod. The goal is to establish baseline water readings and monitor for contamination for the entire nation, starting with Massachusetts.
 

Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo at the 2012 Nantucket Project (Photo by Gene Mahon)

"Thanks to the collaboration between Smith and Dr. Oktay, we are changing the way our nation's waters are monitored and protected based on proven science," said John Pratt, executive director of Water Defense. "Surrounded by water and made up of progressive thinkers, Cape Cod is the perfect place to start our mission and there is broad support for transparent and open-source sharing of water testing data to help preserve the environment. Since the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the $50,000 line item amendment to support our collaboration with Cape Cod Community College, we have made progress developing important baseline data and impacting change."

Water Defense Founder Mark Ruffalo added: "On behalf of the future generations on the Cape and Islands along with the rest of the world, we would like to thank Massachusetts State Representatives Brian Mannal and Tim Madden, along with all other elected officials representing the Cape and Islands, for their unwavering support of the community and their constituents to help support our mission."

Founded by Mark Ruffalo, Water Defense is a non-profit organization dedicated to use technology and public engagement to keep our waterways and drinking water sources free from contamination and industrial degradation.

Twitter: @WaterDefense
UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station  
June 28, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. Open to the public







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The 21st annual Dreamcatcher Auction & Dinner took place on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at Galley Beach with dinner, dancing and an auction benefiting Palliative and Supportive Care on Nantucket, the island's primary supportive care organization for those who are living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. This is part 1 of the photos. Photos by Gene Mahon, assisted by Amanda Morgan. More at MahonAboutTown.com.

 






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