In 1040 AD a Danish king by the name of Harthacnut took control of the English throne through a massive display of military force. He then sustained his power as king by re-instituting an oppressive war tax, called the “heregeld.” The heregeld drove England into poverty and, when towns around the country began to revolt against the tax, he ordered his vassals to destroy these towns and murder their own people.

Wake up at 6 a.m., head to hair, makeup and wardrobe, and you’re off to the beach.

Sounds like a typical summer on the Vineyard, right?

That was the regular routine for the cast of The Vineyard, a reality show set to premiere on ABC Family on July 23.

It was the summer of 1974 and John and Judy Belushi pulled up to the Woods Hole ferry terminal with a guidebook, a sense of adventure and no ferry reservation. The two were working for National Lampoon at the time and were enjoying a real vacation for once in New England.

Aaron Carter has a deep, gravelly voice. This may not be what you remember coming from the gangly, thirteen-year-old blonde kid who rapped about his block “party of the year” and his dream game of one-on-one against Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. “Everyone will start to see that I’m not going to be the same as I was back then, and I’m not afraid to express myself,” Mr. Carter said in an interview with the Gazette. “I’m going to do new, big things.”

How often in nature do we see a single standing beetlebung tree? Not often, thinks Kara Taylor.

“A beetlebung alone is a really unique sight to see,” Ms. Taylor said last week in her new Chilmark gallery space. “Alone, the tree takes this amazing shape. I can only remember one place where I’ve seen this.”

So she decided to paint it.

The wood panel oil painting with 23-karat gold leaf, entitled West Tisbury Beetlebung, is one of 13 paintings in Deciduous, Ms. Taylor’s first show in her new location.

As long as Gigi Horr Liverant has been visiting the Island she has been painting it. For 30 years, she has studied the landscape, the archetypal and the commonplace of the Vineyard, and committed it to canvas with pastels, acrylics and oils. While she’s here she takes photographs, makes sketches and brainstorms ideas about what to paint.