Let Me Help You Shop for Info

Where in the world is Butt Mountain...

2009-07-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

...And what in the world has been happening there?

Link

Black mold's impact in the Lakota Nation

2009-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Video Link

Reaching Out: America - A monument to end child abuse

2009-07-06T08:14:00.001-07:00

Link

Edward Von Kloberg III: Advocate for the damned

2009-07-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

NY Times report on EVK's death
Washington Post report on EVK's death
Post-mortem article from The Atlantic

The Foreclosed House Next Door Wants to Kill You

2009-05-19T04:18:00.000-07:00

Link

From the desk of the Burning Book

2009-04-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

On Monday, April 20th at 8pm, there will be an Opening Party and Reception at the Swoop House Gallery, with live music, food and drinks. (The Swoop House Gallery is at 512 Progress Street, the intersection of Progress and Turner St.)

Come out for a good time, and to support the Appalachia Portrait Story Project--a mobile, networked and volunteer art-media-social phenomenon. Its primary purpose is to bring and co-generate an aesthetic practice of media solidarity to the self-determination of communities and individuals connected to the land they live on. Hundreds of individuals who live in Appalachia have been sketched and their voices are told through their narrative, which the individuals themselves hand-write on their portrait. Hundreds of the portrait-stories will be on display, mostly dealing with Appalachian culture and the resistance against strip-mining.

Come to the opening party to view the artwork, be sketched, and meet the artist! Or come view the art from April 20^th to 25^th. The gallery will be open from 10am to 1pm Mon. thru Fri. (except Wed.) and from 6pm to 8pm Mon. thru Fri, or by appointment. To make an appointment, contact Joe Kelley at (540) 449-3309

This event is brought to you by Mountain Justice Blacksburg, and the Burning Book.

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2009-04-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

'A modern-day underground railroad'

"In Minnesota, a group called the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign recently moved families into 13 empty homes; in Philadelphia, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union maintains seven “human rights houses” shared by 13 families. Cheri Honkala, who is the national organizer for the Minnesota group and was homeless herself once, likened the group’s work to “a modern-day underground railroad,” and said squatters could last up to a year in a house before eviction."

View full article

Author: John Leland
Source: New York Times

"The shame goes to the exploiters."

2009-04-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sissy Spacek shared this outlook on poverty and the Appalachian experience with Roanoke Times readers recently as she talked about her work as the narrator in a newly released documentary on Appalachia.

This link provides further details.

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A look at Senate bill 714

2009-04-02T05:25:00.000-07:00

link

A look at House 2929 & Senate 1801 in MA

2009-03-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

Link

happy 2-19

2009-02-19T11:20:00.001-08:00

ideapark.org news for Thursday, February 19 2009 - A protest event this year will bring travelers to Stockholm, Sweden on March 7. Genocide against Black Mesa residents will be spotlighted at this protest. Please stay tuned to this page for more announcements related to this event.

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AV online store

2009-02-03T15:28:00.001-08:00

link

Tunnel life in Gaza

2009-01-25T05:12:00.000-08:00

link

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2009-01-23T02:39:00.000-08:00

Katuahnet news for Friday, January 23 2009 - This evening at 7:30 pm., the Black Twig Pickers will perform at the Country Store in Floyd, where temperatures are expected to be unseasonably warm.

A 2-14 cardmaking party, organized by the Traces library for creative literacy, will also be taking place later today at 111 West Main Street in downtown Floyd to honor the Black Twig Pickers and other influential local artists. Supplies for this project are being donated by Suzy Nees, and Gallery 111 will be hosting today's event.

Street dancers and others looking to enjoy some not-so-fierce weather in Floyd, VA could hardly pick a better Friday than this one to venture out...Why not join the Katuahnet today as we welcome the Black Twig Pickers, and the coming Spring, to their stages tonight?

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2008-12-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

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more Alternate Currency comics

"Embracing Complexity in Art" by M. Koike

2008-11-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

Link

2008: Wovoka was right

2008-11-27T04:28:00.000-08:00

dear reader,

if you feel as though you have survived a series of un-survive-able experiences, and have come through them all with an astonishing sense that you are living within a surrealist opera with no ticket price, please allow me to extend a heartfelt greeting to you as a co-occupant of the bizarre survival raft we seem to be sharing.

we will have plenty of time, it seems to me, to swap stories and snaques, but for the moment I must set aside formalities to impress upon you the importance of shared vigilance against the many demons which lurk in the dark waters below us.

these demons come after we humans in a diverse array of guises, making them difficult to spot, but they seem to enjoy costuming themselves as vendors of liquor, pornography, and mortgages.

for this reason, please do not take any offense whatsoever if you should find yourself locked out of the Snaque Shaque ration box for failing to give these mofos the boot the moment they try to slime their way into our little tempest-tossed vessel.

your personal views on reality are your business, but the Nunne'hi and their associates will always take top priority as Snaque Shaque patrons, whether they are visible or not. so, please do not cry, or derisively call me a fairy-believer, when I tell you that the Snaque Shaque has no more rations for you because you let past rations get defiled when they could have fed the benevolent entities who snatched me from Babylon's stinky jaws.

let's prevent that ugly reality from coming to pass, and keep the good ship Porcupine Molly riding steady spaghetti by making sure that only the righteous get rides. and snaques.

your friend,
Nantoka

attention Snaque Shaque O-kyaku-sama

2008-09-20T15:03:00.001-07:00

dear O-kyaku-sama,

are you here shopping for Lending Industry fairy tales? or news on the upcoming glamour calendar entitled Boys of the Lending Industry Apocalypse?

ho ho ho, ow ow ow, I am Santa Nantoka and I am not going to give you that info. The fairy tales are too real. and the Boys would doubtlessly all get mobbed and/or extradited to the Roma Rez if I told the truth about how hopelessly gorgeous they are.

so, please do not be offended, Snaque Shaque O-kyaku-sama, by today's relatively skimpy information menu:

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Smith Mountain Lake Real Estate Info.

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Monster Buyers within the ecosystem contained above will be eligible to win a FREE deluxe wedding event, courtesy of the Shouseki Nation.

bye, have a good day, thanks for reading. -Suzy

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2008-09-06T07:11:00.001-07:00

a scene from Camp Coldwater

2008-09-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Fake soldiers used for RNC video

2008-09-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

link

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2008-09-01T09:41:00.001-07:00

hi everyone
hope your day is going well

I am getting positively giddy with all the Crying Helicopters Wedding enthusiasm going around...are you?

this link talks openly about some of the pitifully un-creative tactics FBI agents and other United States government representatives have been taking recently in an attempt to "help" future generations live a more Federally Compliant lifestyle.

some of you out there may already know that this sort of thing has been happening for some time with the help of dirty scoundrels like Infiltrator Anna. the very thought of this young lady used to make me unspeakably angry...but then I figured out that her heartless betrayal of her brothers and sisters will undoubtedly carry its own sobering reward.

God and Pele-sama can see you, Anna! You should tell your other "mole" friends this too.

I am just glad I was lucky enough to learn at a very early age that working for and with the Feds is a SCAM! take the advice of a former defense communications dependent...the Cree prophecy is no joke, yo! Federal paychecks are amazingly un-stretchy when compared to the compensation that Shouseki nationals receive.

here is what I have to share with the "Annas" of this world: don't find out the hard way that you cannot live without your comps etc. from the Shouseki School of Ninjutsu, the Bernard L. Nees Hobo Heritage Park, and the American Holocaust Museum of Ayuwa'si.

namaste
Suzy

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2008-09-01T04:35:00.001-07:00

hello folks
hope your 9-1-08 is going well

here is an interesting article from Wired. Songwriter D. Gray shares his views in this article about knowing that his recordings are being played in torture cells.

I hope that D. Gray will not feel shy about inviting himself to the big event our family is planning, and I hope he will not feel shy about sharing his work at that time, whether it is "Babylon" or any other of his creative works.

if you are an attendant, or hope to work as an attendant, at our Big Upcoming Shindig, please meet with your team members soon to ensure that artists like D. Gray will have a proper stage to present, and un-defile, creative works that could trigger harmful memories if not framed properly for the audience.

namaste, thanks for reading.
Suzy

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2008-08-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

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S. Branscome now being hunted in Floyd County's Indian Valley

2008-03-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

link

Cucapa Camp info

2008-03-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

link

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2008-03-28T04:36:00.001-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are doing well and having a nice day

here is some info on our town's rugby team. you will need to review this info if you plan to claim some snaques etc. at the Snaque-In that will take place soon on the slopes of Brush sama.

bye, thanks for reading. -Suzy

Olympic torch lighting info

2008-03-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

link

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2008-03-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

hi everyone

at 8:09 Katuahnet time here the Lakota Flag Song played at top volume via kiliradio.org.

following this broadcast the first steps were taken to digging a digital tunnel in the Katuahnet which would lead to China, via Wal-Mart and Tibet. A prayer-flag festooned street hockey rink is being envisoned inside this tunnel....hahahaha Zamamiro the Man and Zamamiro China. clean up your effing acts or you don't even get to look at the Katuahnet Olympics.

love, Suzy

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2008-03-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are well

things here are fine, Kid Rock did not get struck down by lightning for billing himself as Rock 'n Roll Jesus, I have no floods to report and there are two new participants in the public art project I am organizing.

that is all the news I have time for, thanks for reading & have a beautiful day.

-Suzy

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2008-02-18T16:40:00.001-08:00

hi everyone, Percy White Plume & friends are on KILI radio now talking about the ride on the 25th.

Little Big Horn Ride and Crazy Horse Ride are also being discussed. June 1-5 is the Crazy Horse ride date. I will post more info when I can. take care, have a good day. -Suzy

Black Hills art contest info

2008-02-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

Black Hills Center for American Indian Health is sponsoring an ART Contest with the theme of : How has the tobacco industry impacted Lakota tradition, culture, and values?

All artwork is due February 25th 4:30 PM

Adult category 1st prize-$800

2nd=$400

3rd=$200

Youth category 1st=$200 2nd=$100 3rd=$50

Winners announced at POWWOW on March 7th/grand entry at 6:30 pm at the Mother Butler Center in Rapid City for more info contact 348-6100 or email: rweathers@bhcaih.org

Kusun Ensemble now giving classes

2008-01-27T03:18:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
the Kusun ensemble is now teaching dance. I will dig up the info on their class schedule and post it when I can. classes are at the Winter Sun in Floyd.
bye, have a great day, thanks for reading.
-Suzy

Sunday karaoke supplies > "Stop the Train" lyrics

2008-01-27T02:56:00.000-08:00

Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
said it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
all my good life I've been a lonely man
teaching people who don't overstan'
and even though I've tried my bes'
I still dont find no happiness
Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
said it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
some goin' east
some goin' west
some step aside
to try their best
some livin' big
but the most livin' small they just cant even find
no food at all
Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
Stop the train I'm leaving
it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
said it won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong
Stop the train I'm leaving...

-Bob Marley

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2008-01-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
hope you are doing well

it is not yet midnight in Katuah on 01-21-08, I wonder if Dr. King is liking his birthday. is he up in heaven, I wonder, thinking about how nice it was of the Feds to make a holiday from his birthday?

or is he, perhaps, looking down and wondering just how it was that in the short space of a few years, so many nations, tongues, and cultures have gotten flat-out criminalized?

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Fiendin' for Scripture? Here's help.

2008-01-20T04:34:00.000-08:00

A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go on their ways:

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither;

and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

But he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

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Proverbs 9:13-18

from the desk of Mike G.

2008-01-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

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hello, friends and neighbors:

On this Friday, Jan. 18, the Spiral Joy Band hosts an expedition to that realm of sound sometimes portrayed as psychedelic folk, or maybe psychographic misbranding, all at the She-Sha restaurant and hookah bar on Blacksburg's Draper Road during the 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. or so celebration of the latest issue of 16 Squares magazine. Poetry, gongs, reeds and strings; much, much, much more.

And on Saturday, Jan. 19, the Black Twig Pickers return to the Cellar to revel in the sonic properties of deep winter, how the sound of banjos, fiddle, guitar and board can seemingly carry for miles across the frozen drifts -- a patter of sleet, arranged for dancing or hibernetic meditation. Please remember to tip your bartender. Yowling, whooping, twanging and yawping begins at 9 p.m. and carries through to midnight or so. Come early and catch it all --

More info at www.klang.org, www.blacktwigpickers.org, et al

See you there,

--lskadjf

Lakota Nation map

2007-12-25T05:52:00.001-08:00

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2007-12-25T03:48:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
hope you are having a wonderful day

I just got info about a VERY important deadline which you should know about, if you are not a fan of having nuclear waste dumps getting installed in areas which are sacred to native peoples

= = = January 10, 2008 = = =

please see blackmesais.org for details

Mahalo, Suzy

aztlan.net article on Lakota secession

2007-12-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
here is an article from aztlan.net on the Lakota secession
bye, thanks for reading, have a wonderful day. -Suzy

Maori separatists & the Lakota Declaration of Independence

2007-12-23T13:32:00.001-08:00

hi everyone,
here is a link to a post from a blogger in New Zealand who is documenting Maori separatist support for the Lakota Declaration of Independence.
-Suzy

Lakota Freedom article from 12-23-07

2007-12-23T07:25:00.001-08:00

hi everyone
here is another article on the Lakota secession, from the Rapid City Journal
also here is some info on Russell Means
bye, thanks for reading. -Suzy

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2007-12-23T04:31:00.000-08:00

aloha friends
hope you are having a wonderful 12-23

and if you are an observer of Shouseki tabus, I hope you are observing them...they were made for times like this.

here is an article from the Pacific Free Press on the Lakota Declaration of Independence. hope it is useful to you.

bye, have a wonderful day, thanks for reading. -Suzy

2007-12-22T09:34:00.001-08:00

A press release from Lakota Freedom

2007-12-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status

Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S. West

Lakota Satisfies Treaty Council Mandate of 33 Years, Drafted by 97 Indigenous Nations

Dakota Territory Reverts back to Lakota Control According to U.S., International Law

Washington D.C. – Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today in Washington D.C. following Monday’s withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.

“This is an historic day for our Lakota people,” declared Russell Means, Itacan of Lakota. “United States colonial rule is at its end!”

“Today is a historic day and our forefathers speak through us. Our Forefathers made the treaties in good faith with the sacred Canupa and with the knowledge of the Great Spirit,” shared Garry Rowland from Wounded Knee. “They never honored the treaties, that’s the reason we are here today.”

The four member Lakota delegation traveled to Washington D.C. culminating years of internal discussion among treaty representatives of the various Lakota communities. Delegation members included well known activist and actor Russell Means, Women of All Red Nations (WARN) founder Phyllis Young, Oglala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr., and Garry Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders. Means, Rowland, Martin Sr. were all members of the 1973 Wounded Knee takeover.

“In order to stop the continuous taking of our resources – people, land, water and children- we have no choice but to claim our own destiny,” said Phyllis Young, a former Indigenous representative to the United Nations and representative from Standing Rock.

Property ownership in the five state area of Lakota now takes center stage. Parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as predecessor sovereign [historic owner]. Lakota representatives say if the United States does not enter into immediate diplomatic negotiations, liens will be filed on real estate transactions in the five state region, clouding title over literally thousands of square miles of land and property.

Young added, “The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people”.

Following Monday’s withdrawal at the State Department, the four Lakota Itacan representatives have been meeting with foreign embassy officials in order to hasten their official return to the Family of Nations.

Lakota’s efforts are gaining traction as Bolivia, home to Indigenous President Evo Morales, shared they are “very, very interested in the Lakota case” while Venezuela received the Lakota delegation with “respect and solidarity.”

“Our meetings have been fruitful and we hope to work with these countries for better relations,” explained Garry Rowland. “As a nation, we have equal status within the national community.”

Education, energy and justice now take top priority in emerging Lakota. “Cultural immersion education is crucial as a next step to protect our language, culture and sovereignty,” said Means. “Energy independence using solar, wind, geothermal, and sugar beets enables Lakota to protect our freedom and provide electricity and heating to our people.”

The Lakota reservations are among the most impoverished areas in North America, a shameful legacy of broken treaties and apartheid policies. Lakota has the highest death rate in the United States and Lakota men have the lowest life expectancy of any nation on earth, excluding AIDS, at approximately 44 years. Lakota infant mortality rate is five times the United States average and teen suicide rates 150% more than national average . 97% of Lakota people live below the poverty line and unemployment hovers near 85%.

“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative,” emphasized Duane Martin Sr. “The only alternative is to bring freedom into its existence by taking it back to the love of freedom, to our lifeway.”

We are the freedom loving Lakota from the Sioux Indian reservations of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana who have suffered from cultural and physical genocide in the colonial apartheid system we have been forced to live under. We are in Washington DC to withdraw from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. We are alerting the Family of Nations we have now reassumed our freedom and independence with the backing of Natural, International, and United States law. For more information, please visit our new website at www.lakotafreedom.com. ###

Lakota Nation unilaterally withdraws treaties with U.S.

2007-12-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Lakota separate from U.S.

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2007-12-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

hi everyone
hope you are having a nice day
here is a fun bit of English language trivia...

from which language did the word "Yankee" originate?

click here if you want to know the answer, or want to brush up on your skills in that language.

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2007-12-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

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revbilly.com

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2007-11-23T03:23:00.000-08:00

"The proper name by which the Cherokee call themselves is Yun’wiya’, or Ani-Yun’wia’ in the third person, signifying “real people”, or “principal people,” a word closely related on Onwe-honwe, the name by which the cognate Iroquois know themselves. The word properly denotes “Indians,” as distinguished from people of other races, but in usage it is restricted to mean members of the Cherokee tribe, those of other tribes being designated as Creek, Catawba, etc., as the case may be. On ceremonial occasions they frequently speak of themselves as Ani’-Kitu’hwagi, or “people of Kitua’hwa,” and ancient settlement on Tuckasegee river and apparently the original nucleus of the tribe. Among the western Cherokee this name has been adopted by a secret society recruited from the full-blood element and pledged to resist the advances of the white man’s civilization. Under the various forms of Cuttawa, Gattochwa, Kuttuwa, etc., as spelled by different authors, it was also used by several northern Algonquian tribes as a synonym for Cherokee.

Cherokee, the name by which they are commonly known, has no meaning in their own language, and seems to be of foreign origin. As used among themselves the form is Tsa’lagi’ or Tsa’ragi’. It first appears as Chalaque in the Portuguese narrative of De Soto’s expedition, published originally in 1557, while we find Cheraqui in a French document of 1699, and Cherokee as an English from as early, at least, as 1708. The name has thus an authentic history of 360 years. There is evidence that it is derived from the Choctaw word choluk or chiluk, signifying a pit or cave, and comes to us through the so-called Mobilian trade language, a corrupted Choctaw jargon formerly used as the medium of communication among all the tribes of the Gulf states, as far north as the mouth of the Ohio. Within this area many of the tribes were commonly known under Choctaw names, even though of widely differing linguistic stocks, and if such a name existed for the Cherokee it must undoubtedly have been communicated to the first Spanish explorers by De Soto’s interpreters. This theory is borne out by their Iroquois (Mohawk) name, Oyata’ge’ronon’, as given by Hewitt, signifying “inhabitants of the cave country,” the Allegheny region being peculiarly a cave country, in which “rock shelters,” containing numerous traces of Indian occupancy, are of frequent occurrence. Their Catawba name also, Manterna, as given by Gatschet, signifying “coming out of the ground,” seems to contain the same reference."

An excerpt from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney
Originally published in 1900

P. 15 & 16 in the Dover Publications, Inc. paperback edition
ISBN 0-486-28907-9

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2007-11-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

hi everyone, the folks at Big Mountain are really in need of firewood ASAP so please help out if you can. please visit blackmesais.org for more info, or hit the Trail of No Tears and scroll west.
thanks, Suzy

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2007-11-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

hi everyone, look what the Findability Fairy brought us...reliable news!

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ANNUAL CLANDYKEN FALL FOOD & SUPPLY RUN TO BLACK MESA IS STILL MOVING FORWARD EVEN AFTER
ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS HAD A MAJOR HEAD-ON CAR COLLISION. YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED -- ESPECIALLY
THIS YEAR! See the Upcoming Events page for more info.

October 2007

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2007-10-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

In 1768, on the appeal of the Indians themselves, the British superintendent for the southern tribes, Captain John Stuart, had negotiated a treaty at Hard Labor in South Carolina by which Kanawha and New rivers, along their whole course downward from the North Carolina line, were fixed as the boundary between the Cherokee and the whites in that direction. In two years, however, so many borderers had crossed into the Indian country, where they were evidently determined to remain, that it was found necessary to substitute another treaty, by which the line was made to run due south from the mouth of the Kanawha to the Holston, thus cutting off from the Cherokee almost the whole of their hunting grounds in Virginia and West Virginia. Two years later, in 1772, the Virginians demanded a further cession, by which everything east of Kentucky river was surrendered; and finally, on March 17, 1775, the great Henderson purchase was consummated, including the whole tract between the Kentucky and Cumberland rivers. By this last cession the Cherokee were at last cut off from Ohio river and all their rich Kentucky hunting grounds.

While these transactions were called treaties, they were really forced upon the native proprietors, who resisted each in turn and finally signed only under protest and on most solemn assurances that no further demands would be made.

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Dover Books
Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney
1900

p. 46

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2007-10-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

hi everyone

hope you are doing well, and I hope the wars are not exhausting you and your family too much

I am compiling some excerpts from a book written in 1900 called Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney right now for use in a searchable index of Cherokee culture...some sample text appears below.

if you would like to become the owner of your very own deluxe library of Cherokee culture please don't hesitate to speak up about it. you may be surprised to learn how many free resources already exist out there for people like you. no joke.

now here is a story about panthers. perhaps some will find it an inspiring source for Halloween garb ideas.

as I understand it the detsanun’li referenced in this story describes a piece of land that has been made ready for ceremonial purposes

bye, have a beautiful day, thanks for reading. -Suzy

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Dover Books
Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney
p. 324

The Underground Panthers

A hunter was in the woods one day in winter when suddenly he saw a panther coming toward him and at once prepared to defend himself. The panther continued to approach, and the hunter was just about the shoot when the animal spoke, and at once it seemed to the man as if there was no difference between them, and they were both of the same nature. The panther asked him where he was going, and the man said that he was looking for a deer. “Well,” said the panther, “we are getting ready for a Green-corn dance, and there are seven of us out after a buck, so we might as well hunt together.”

The hunter agreed and they went on together. They started up one deer and another, but the panther made no sign, and said only “Those are too small; we want something better.” So the hunter did not shoot, and they went on. They started up another deer, a larger one, and the panther sprang upon it and tore its throat, and finally killed it after a hard struggle. The hunter got out his knife to skin it, but the panther said the skin was too much torn to be used and they must try again. They started up another large deer, and this the panther killed without trouble, and then, wrapping his tail around it, threw it across his back. “Now, come to our townhouse,” he said to the hunter.

The panther led the way, carrying the captured deer upon his back, up a little stream branch until they came to the head spring, when it seemed as if a door opened in the side of the hill and they went in. Now the hunter found himself in front of a large townhouse, with the finest detsanun’li he had ever seen, and the trees around were green, and the air was warm, as in summer. There was a great company there getting ready for the dance, and they were all panthers, but somehow it all seemed natural to the hunter. After a while the others who had been out came in with the deer they had taken, and the dance began.

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Walkin' Jim at Squires tonight

2007-10-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are well and enjoying the rain

Walkin' Jim is going to be speaking at Squires in Blacksburg at 8 pm...here is the Roanoke Times article about it.

bye, thanks for reading, have a beautiful day. -Suzy

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2007-10-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are having a lovely day

and if you live in Bim, or near Bim, I hope you are keeping a caring eye on Shouseki living cultural treasure M. Gunnoe

death threats against her family have inspired the Federal Bureau of Investigation to get involved. Maria has vowed to keep up the vigil against mountaintop removal at her family's home place, and has spoken candidly about her intention to exercise her 2nd amendment rights in pursuit of her goals as a land steward.

folks who help the Gunnoe family have a nice quality of life at their home while they tend to the land in this way should help themselves to an extra serving or two of Legacy the next time they encounter a Thanksgiving 2.0 table setting.

folks who compete with the Gunnoe family's quality of life are advised to not touch anything in sight at a Thanksgiving 2.0 table setting aside from whatever is labeled PROPERTY OF BABYLON.

bye, ja ne, thanks for reading. -Suzy

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2007-10-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are well

Sustainability Week starts tomorrow in Blacksburg
Lots of speakers are scheduled, and cool movies will play at the Lyric
I will post more info when I can

the Bear Magic street hockey team has expressed a wish to thank the Nantoka U. Capital Campaigners for inviting their teammates to participate in your fancy Kanemochi gala last night

lots of good resources etc were garnered and Thanksgiving 2.0 was celebrated with great relish

the presence of player 36 at this event was a particular blessing to the team since his witty commentary always contributes to the ambient wealth and pleasing surrealism of Bear Magic street hockey events

this evening was no exception, and #36 was positively resplendent with humorous insights about the pageant of ignorance and pitiable self-congratulation that unfolded last night before the very eyes of the Bear Magic team.

enormous amounts of wealth were accumulated last night at this event, and will be distributed to the information needy by Bear Magic volunteers. regrettably, most of this wealth was in humor form and none of it included shelf-stable food items or farming equipment, so the team's kitchen keepers are asking for donations of these items from other corporate entities and individuals.

folks who are hungry to eat or farm in the meantime are kindly asked to knock on the door of the Inn and hustle some Bear Magic Bibles, which work wonders as a tool for obtaining access to fair food and fair housing.

if you don't have any of these items, and don't know where to obtain them, go to the Inn anyway and when you get there very politely tell someone at the front desk when you get there that you are kin to the Nantoka family and that your poor elderly granny has left some of her luggage behind, could you please help?

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Prayer convergence on Kayford Mountain 10/21/07

2007-09-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

October 20: 1 p.m. Prayer Vigil on Kayford Mountain. Join others from the religious community for prayer and witnessing on October 20^th at 1:00 PM on Kayford Mountain. We will be giving thanks for the gifts of the earth, joining hearts and hands, and praying for Divine wisdom and aid in healing the devastation created by mountain top removal on this once beautiful site.

Directions:

Take I-77 to Exit 79 (Sharon/Cabin Creek Road)
Go 7.5 miles to the "Y" at Leewood, take right fork
Go 3.5 to 4 miles and come to blacktop and dirt
At the left hand corner, take the one-lane bridge across the creek
Stay on this road for about 2 miles, go to the right up the hill
Follow the guard rails to the end, where you will come to a large white rock and a fork in the road
Take the right hand fork up to the parking lot on the left

Wise Co. VA power plant news

2007-09-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/133567

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2007-09-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

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"Souls on Garbage" reception at the Armory

2007-09-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

hi folks

I think that tomorrow there is a reception at the Armory Gallery in Blacksburg for the new "Souls on Garbage" exhibit, I will provide more info once I get it.

this is an exhibit which includes materials from the Mountain Lake workshops with Jiro Okura.

namaste
Suzy

job posting from the EFF

2007-09-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005441.php#005441

air breathers take note...

2007-09-14T09:49:00.001-07:00

What: Public Hearing about Duke Energy Cliffside Power Plant Air Permit

When: Tuesday, September 18th, 6pm

Why: To ask DAQ to deny Duke Energy’s Air Permit

Where: Chase High School, 1603 Chase High School Rd, Forest City, NC (45 minutes east of Hendersonville)

Click here for more information.

Appalachian Voices will be organizing vans to take YOU to the public hearing from Boone, Asheville, and Charlotte. If you are interested in carpooling with us, please contact us at (828) 262-1500 or email caitlen@appvoices.org no later than Noon, Monday, September 17. If you breathe air, we highly encourage you to attend.

Culture Fest at Pipestem, Black Twig Pickers at Green Dolphin, etc.

2007-08-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

hi folks,

hope you are all doing well.

below is some info on an important book sale this weekend & some upcoming music events.

have a great day & thanks for reading. -Suzy

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BURG is holding another book sale, September 1, to raise funds and to let those returning to town know what we're up to. We'll be in front of Gillie's, on College Ave, from 9 AM. We can use more books, and more volunteers! To get involved, contact our fundraising chair, Margaret Breslau.

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The Black Twig Pickers will play at the Green Dolphin in Roanoke on Friday, August 31. (Please note: Twig Pickers enthusiasts who are on the fence about going to this show should be advised that this may be the last live music for a while at this venue, since it is unclear whether the new owners of the location will continue to have live music there. )

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Culturefest 2007

Appalachian South Folklife Center, Pipestem, WV
September 14-16, 2007

a multicultural celebration of music & the arts

This event spans a full weekend, boasting world class music & dance performances, art, international foods, a nonprofit mission village, kids’ activities, drum circles, fine WV camping and more.

Featured acts include The Afromotive, Raquy and the Cavemen, Telesma, the Barrel House Mamas, Telepath, Option 22, the Nate Clendenen Band, The Rust Kings, The Remedy, Vern’s Pot O’ Chili, Billy Jones, Ann Cline, Shakira (belly dance) Jon Bolt and many more.
Visit culturefestwv.com for details.

This event is presented by LLyniuM entertainment (llynium.com).

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VA. cave law regarding pollution and habitat disruption

2007-08-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

via virginiacaves.org.

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§ 10.1-1005 Pollution; penalties

A. It shall be unlawful for any person, without express, prior, written permission of the owner, to store, dump, litter, dispose of or otherwise place any refuse, garbage, dead animals, sewage, or toxic substances harmful to cave life or humans, in any cave or sinkhole. It shall also be unlawful to burn within a cave or sinkhole any material which produces any smoke or gas which is harmful to any naturally occurring organism in any cave.

B. Any violation of this section shall be punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§ 10.1-1006 Disturbance of naturally occurring organisms; scientific collecting permits; penalties

A. It shall be unlawful to remove, kill, harm, or otherwise disturb any naturally occurring organisms within any cave, except for safety or health reasons; however, scientific collecting permits may be obtained from the Department.

B. Any violation of this section shall be punished as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Traces end-of summer exhibit

2007-08-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Traces news for August 23, 2007 - New elements from the Traces library for Creative Literacy have recently been installed at various locations in the Virginias, including sites in Check, Hiwassee, Floyd, and Pilot. Seasonal events and performances in celebration of this installation are now in the planning stages.

The 2007 Traces end-of-summer installation highlights creative work by numerous artists, musicians, and land stewards in the Appalachian region. This collection includes sculpture, painting, rock art and photography by the Bason, Wenger, and Nees families.

To learn more about upcoming events related to the Traces 2007 end-of-summer exhibit, please contact a Shouseki (Traces) librarian near you.

Upcoming learning events at The Farm in Summertown, TN

2007-06-24T03:52:00.001-07:00

Summer/fall 2007 learning events at The Farm

July 6 - Five week Ecovillage Apprenticeship
July 6 - Natural Buildings Buildshop
July 13 - After Peak Oil: Ecovillage Design Practicum
July 25 - Biofuel Conversion and Production
September 4 - Alternative Energy
September 4 - Solar PV installation

Please visit thefarm.org to learn more

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2007-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

news from Roanoke & the New River Valley

2007-06-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

ideapark.org news for June 15, 2007

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“Appalachian shamisen” music at the Jefferson Center on Tuesday

On Tuesday, June 19, the Jefferson Center in Roanoke will host a Japanese Bluegrass performance by Takeharu Kunimoto and the Last Frontier. Banjo, guitar, bass, and mandolin music will accompany Kunimoto as he tells stories and plays the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument from Japan.

This event begins at 7:30. To find out more, please call 345-2550 or visit jeffcenter.org.

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Plans afoot to build a New River Heritage Park in Radford

Plans for a 268-acre heritage park on the New River are in the beginning stages, according to a June 14 article in the New River Valley Current. A draft plan for the New River Heritage Park, presented during the 2007 New River Symposium at Radford University, states that the park would "feature the unique historical, archaeological, geological, biological and botanical heritage of the New River".

The site of the proposed park is a parcel of land located North of the Claytor Lake dam off exit 105 on Interstate 81. Representatives of the New River Heritage Park project have emphasized the fact that the park would be designed to preserve the land's natural resources and to connect with walking and biking paths that already exist in the area.

Things to see at the proposed New River Heritage Park would include a river museum, a welcome center, and villages which replicate early American Indian and Colonial life. A blacksmith shop, community meeting hall, a tavern and the Ingles ferry crossing are all part of the proposed village complex, which would be similar to Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts.

The Radford Heritage Foundation appointed Bob Nicholson and Dick Harshberger to develop a conceptual plan for the park, which has already gotten approval from New River Community Partners. A tourism mission statement regarding this project has been in the works since last November with the help of civic and business leaders in the area and representatives from Radford University.

To read the June 14 article in the New River Current, please follow this link.

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“Treasure the New” project aims to improve water quality awareness

Treasure the New, a grassroots initiative to promote the health and cultural vitality of the New River watershed, is currently leading a community-inspired effort to deliver free water quality education materials to the public this summer.

Volunteers for this project currently working to collect resources for a series of fun and informative children’s activity pages meant to inspire compassionate curiosity and foster enthusiasm toward caring for New River ecosystems. Organizers hope to publish these activity pages in August with the help of area sponsors.

For more information on Treasure the New, or to learn how you can get involved, please visit treasurethenew.org.
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Juneteenth celebration on Monday at Smithfield Plantation

On Monday, June 18, there will be a Juneteenth celebration at the Historic Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg. This event will feature stories and spirituals which remember and honor the lives of enslaved African Americans at Smithfield. A dinner will follow the celebration. This is a free event, and all are welcome. For details, please call 540-231-3947 or visit smithfieldplantation.org.

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2007-06-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

burg newsletter

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2007-06-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Nightmare at Reagan airport

Erik Reece speaks on mountaintop removal

2007-06-08T04:33:00.000-07:00

"When it comes to mountaintop removal, a certain fatalism seems to take hold in Appalachia -- the coal companies are too powerful, some politicians are corrupt, the regulators won't regulate and the news media don't care. But we cannot give up on rehabilitating Appalachia."

Read more...

"Marcus" speaks on the subject of Google Street View

2007-06-06T03:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Below is a comment from "Marcus" about Google Street View, a creepy new gimmick from the Lords of Search Science which I only learned about recently.

"Google is socialising the cost of privacy protection by choosing an opt-out approach rather than opt-in or an expensive internal review of the collected data. On the other hand, it is privatizing the public data and any profit derived from that. It is thus no less evil than other corporations, and considerably more evil than the NSA or CIA, who at least in principle can be held accountable as public institutions."

Learn more...

from the desk of Daniel Bromley

2007-06-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

"Factories claiming a right to pollute are, in fact, being merely presumptive about their assertion of a right. Farmers using pesticides that contaminate food and various terrestrial and aquatic habitats are very often being presumptive about their alleged "right" to do this. That is, in most settings there is no right at all but rather a presumptive right.

When I earlier discussed the use of the term "right" to suggest a legal status what was, in fact, merely based on tradition or some desired outcome, I was referring to the idea of presumptive rights. Such presumptive rights are, in fact, simply assumed; they are alleged, though they may be firmly believed by those who imagine that they have them. It is this confusion between presumptive rights and rights in fact (in law) that leads to much incoherence in environmental policy."

Read more...

Historic building art exhibit in Blacksburg

2007-05-29T03:16:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 1, 2007
On & About the Edges: Opening Reception & Walking Tour

Cosponsored by the Blacksburg Museum and the Armory Gallery

Opening 5-7 p.m. The Armory Gallery, 201 Draper Road, Blacksburg

6 p.m. Historic Sixteen Squares Walking Tour, Reservations Required

On & About the Edges: Exploring the Historic and Visual Perimeters of Blacksburg is a juried exhibit featuring artworks based on the eight historic buildings owned by the Town of Blacksburg. Works by local artists in a variety of media explore the architectural details and historical significance of these important structures.

In conjunction with the opening, the Blacksburg Museum will offer a walking tour at 6 p.m. of the Sixteen Squares, the original town limits established in 1798. Reservations are required. Please call 558-0730 or email museum@blacksburg.gov to make a reservation. The tour will begin in the parking lot of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street and take approximately 45 minutes. The tour will be rescheduled in the event of rain.

Roanoke Times article on the development meeting tonight

2007-05-29T03:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/wb/xp-118635

Feds sue Massey for 4,633 Clean Water Act violations

2007-05-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

via ohvec.org

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Massey sued by Feds

Coal firm violated Clean Air Act more than 4,630 times, prosecutors allege

By The Associated Press

Federal prosecutors allege that Massey Energy Co. and its subsidiaries have illegally poured pollutants into West Virginia and Kentucky waterways about 4,633 times within the past six years — roughly 69,071 days’ worth of violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act.

Virginia Explore Park summer calendar

2007-05-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.explorepark.org/our_calendar

Radford Farmers' Market link

2007-05-09T13:41:00.001-07:00

http://www.mainstreetradford.org/market.php

hi there

2007-04-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

hi there everyone, hope you are having a beautiful Tuesday.

I am fine and catching up on emails etc. for the first time since 4-16 so I hope nobody has been worried and/or miffed about delays in response.

I need to plow through un-updated areas of the ideapark for a while right now and will be posting stories etc. as time permits.

bye, ja ne, have a beautiful day. - Suzy

ps. A note to Big Media - those who are fishing for a Someone who wants to use the 4-16 tragedy as an excuse to effectively trim the U.S. Constitution are cordially invited to fish elsewhere. or nowhere. the fish and/or fishes in this particular pond see the 4-16-07 event as glaring proof of the need for saner and stricter psychiatric drug laws in this country - not a valid reason for the continued expansion of mindless conformity.

personally, until I see material evidence of this sort of sanity I will remain attached to the notion that living in an unjust, predatory, mentally unstable world without access to an "Equalizer" is about as wise as the thinking that gave Ghost Shirts their claim in the history books.

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2007-04-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

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2007-04-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

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Step It Up Day 2007
Saturday, April 14

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Black Twig Pickers tonight & tomorrow

2007-04-13T02:56:00.000-07:00

ideapark.org news for Friday, April 13 - The Black Twig Pickers will play tonight at the Country Store in Floyd and tomorrow evening at the Cellar in Blacksburg. To phone the Country Store, please dial 745-4563. To phone the Cellar, please dial 953-0651.

Spring fiber arts festival at the Sedalia Center in Big Island

2007-04-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

ideapark.org news for Thursday, April 12, 2007 - This weekend, a fiber arts festival will take place at the Sedalia Center in Big Island, Virginia. This celebration of natural fiber will feature living animals, fiber arts demonstrations, functional art displays and much more. Numerous local artisans will be presenting their wares at this event, and live music will be provided by No Strings Attached.

Children under age 6 will be admitted to the 2007 Spring Fiber Festival at no charge. For ticket prices and other information, please visit springfiberfestival.com or dial (434) 299-5080.

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Art Train USA coming back to Pulaski, VA

2007-04-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Artrain USA is coming to the Town of Pulaski May 26-30, 2007. The Town of Pulaski and the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley is hosting, the nation’s only traveling art museum on a train and its nationally-touring art exhibition, “Native Views: Influences of Modern Culture.”

Artrain USA offers an entertaining, education and informative experience for visitors of all ages. While onboard vintage rail cars, visitors can tour the three art galleries, and watch artists at work.

Mark your calendars and make plans to come and enjoy this unique event.

For more information about Artrain you can visit their web site at www.ArtrainUSA.org

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2007-04-10T03:34:00.000-07:00

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from the desk of Shea Francisco

2007-04-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

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Hey everyone!!! Spring has sprung and that can only mean one thing.............Gemini Fest '07 is just around the corner!!! We are really looking forward to this year's event because this will be the first year that the Gemini event will be open to the public. We have a killer line up of bands with music spanning all day Saturday. We will also have the luxury of food, clothing, & fine arts vending for your pleasure. The potential of this place is really starting to take off and we want you to join us for the ride of a lifetime.

We will be shooting a pod cast interview with the Roanoke Times and we will also be featured in May on Bandbo.com. In addition our website is finally up, you can visit us at www.bluemtnmusic.com for ticket ordering information and band line ups.

We are also very pleased to announce that Wayne Weikel from Catawba Records will be providing his professional skill and knowledge in the form of sound for Gemini Fest '07! Wayne provided sound for the 3rd Annual Blue Mountain Jam and we have nothing but good things to say about him and his services. He will indeed add something of great value to Blue Mountain and we look forward to working with him for all of our events! You can check him out @ http://members.surfbest.net/catawba@surfbest.net !!!

We are also looking for sponsorship so if you know anyone that owns a business or anyone who would enjoy the benefits of sponsoring one of our events please feel free to contact me @ (540)556-8587 and I will be happy to let you know what all is included in sponsorship.

Lastly if anyone has any suggestions, questions, or ideas of how we can make Blue Mountain better in any way please let us know. Flyers will be going out sometime in the next week!!! Keep your eyes open....

See everyone June 2, 2007 for Gemini Fest '07!!!

Shea Francisco

Blue Mountain Productions

Marketing/Promotions Manager

Rising Tide Climate Action Tour

2007-04-04T02:22:00.000-07:00

www.risingtidenorthamerica.org

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2007-03-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

muka-a-a-ashi mukashi,
way back in the day of one
forever ago, il y avai un petit team of anges, for lack of a better word,
who called themselves
the Nantokas.

these Nantokas
left traces of themselves on Earth occasionally, but not in the somewhat kita-nai way that the Ningen-tachi People so often do. their traces were cleaner, much cleaner, than that of a standard ningen Person. in fact, these anges left traces which were even cleaner than those of most of their fellow kind.

Examples of the Nantoka's traces, therefore, were very difficult to detect and the anges, thus deprived of an important point of quantification, risked losing employment.

usokoke! you may say. God does not fire his angels!

but I assure you, the risk was utterly real. seppuku, and similar acts which seek to feed the fruits of violence to our Friends the Mycelium People, effectively banish once happily employed angels to the breadline, which vexes them to no end. and gives them a stomachache.

And so our story begins.

keep reading...

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2007-03-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

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image - a scene from a mountaintop removal protest event in Charleston, West Virginia during the spring of 2007.

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2007-03-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

Tōryanse, tōryanse

Koko wa doko no hosomichi ja?

Tenjin-sama no hosomichi ja

Chotto tōshite kudashanse

Goyō no nai mono tōshasenu

Kono ko no nanatsu no oiwai ni

O-fuda wo osame ni mairimasu

Iki wa yoi yoi, kaeri wa kowai

Kowai nagara mo

Tōryanse, tōryanse

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Let me pass, let me pass

What is this narrow pathway here?

It's the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine

Please allow me to pass through

Those without good reason shall not pass

To celebrate this child's 7th birthday

I've come to dedicate my offering

Going in may be fine, may be fine but returning would be scary

It's scary but

Let me pass, let me pass

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2007-03-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

hi everyone
hope you are well

there will be a recording session at the Jacksonville Center's silo conservatory this Saturday, please contact the center at 745-2784 for more details.

also tomorrow there is a get-together at the center from 5 to 7. more info can be found below.

ja ne, thanks for reading, have a beautiful day. - Suzy

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You are invited

2007-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Please join us tomorrow, March 23, from 5 to 7 pm as we celebrate art, music, democracy and community ties at the Jacksonville Center in Floyd, VA!

Things to see & do

- Studio artists at Jacksonville Center will hold a New Works reception on Friday, March 23 from 5-7 pm. Glass artist Linda Osborne will highlight her personal bead collection and her wide variety of jewelry and handmade bead items. Sarah McCarthy, home from displaying at the New Jersey arts and crafts show, will show her gas fired pottery vases, bowls, glasses and tableware. Wood fired pottery will be just a part of McCabe Coolidge's functional works display. And Karen Day will show handmade books.

- Several guest artists will share the studio spaces during the open studio event on Friday. Look for Gretchen St. Lawrence's pastels, Anne Vaughn's jewelry, Glenda and Don George with shibori fabric and wood working.

- A Traces Library Open House will be highlighted by Suzy Nees and live music will be provided by Billy Miller during the Open Studio event on March 23. Traces Library installation sites on March 23 include studio 119, the silo conservatory, and the Maple, Oak, and Kentucky Coffee rooms in the Center's residence building.

- Leon Davis will be answering questions and hosting tours during this event to introduce visitors to the Jacksonville Center's straw bale building, which is in the final stages of completion.

- Friends of Community Agriculture at the Jacksonville Center invite you to take the "Is Spring a Miracle?" quiz, which features free take-home art and land stewardship activities.

Refreshments will be offered in abundance, all at Jacksonville Center just south of town on Route 8. This is a free event, and all are welcome. Hope to see you there!

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Upcoming events at the Booker T. Washington National Monument

2007-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Blockades & Stockades: Shortages on the Southern Homefront during the Civil War

April 7 – 2:00 p.m. Ranger Program
Discover how life changed dramatically for people on the Southern Homefront during the American Civil War.

A Mother’s Prayer: Jane Burroughs Ferguson
April 15 – 2:00 p.m. Ranger Program
Discuss the significance of Jane’s prayer for freedom during the Civil War.

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
April 22 – 2:00 p.m. Book Club Meeting
The Booker T. Washington Book Club recognizes Earth Day, 2007 through discussion of the former U.S. Vice President’s stand on global warming, climate change, consequences and solutions.

The Strange Career of Jim Crow by c. Vann Woodward
May 5 – 2:00 p.m. Book Club Meeting

For Future Generations: Preserving the Burroughs Plantation
May 16 – 7:00 p.m. Historic Preservation Month Celebration
Discuss the protecting and preserving Washington’s birthplace.

Food, Fiber and Flowers
May 27 – 2:00 p.m. Garden Tour
Learn about gardening techniques and cultivated plant varieties of the 1850's.

Juneteenth Gospel Music Celebration
June 16 - 11:00 a.m. Special Event
Enjoy the food, fun and fellowship as the community celebrates freedom.

Freedom Train: The Story of Harriett Tubman
June 23 - 10:00 a.m. Young Reader's Book Club

To Be a Ranger
June 30 - 10:00 a.m. Junior Ranger Summer Program
Explore the duties of a NPS Park Ranger.

Tears of Freedom
July 7 - 11:00 a.m.
Experience the emotions felt on the Burroughs Plantation during emancipation.

Blockades & Stockades: Shortages
July 8 - 2:00 p.m.
Discover how life changed dramatically for people on the southern home front during the American Civil War.

Trouble Don't Last
July 14 - 10:00 a.m. Young Reader's Club

To Be a Leader
July 21 - 10:00 a.m. Junior Ranger Summer Program
Develop leadership skills like Dr. Washington.

What is the Price of Freedom?
August 4 - 2:00 p.m.
Explore Washington's vision of the National Negro Business League.

Sojourner Truth: Voice of Freedom
August 11 - 10:00 a.m. Young Reader's Book Club

To Be a Naturalist
August 18 - 10:00 a.m. Junior Ranger Summer Program
Study plants and animals like a naturalist.

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Karst & water quality info

2007-03-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

via Wikipedia

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Water drainage and problems

Farming in karst areas must take into account the lack of surface water. The soils may be fertile enough, and rainfall may be adequate, but rainwater quickly moves through the crevices into the ground, sometimes leaving the surface soil parched between rains.

Source of the river Loue, a karst spring.

A karst fenster is where an underground stream emerges onto the surface between layers of rock, cascades some feet, and then disappears back down, often into a sinkhole. There is an example of this in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

Water supplies from wells in karst topography may be unsafe, as the water may have run unimpeded from a sinkhole in a cattle pasture, through a cave and to the well, bypassing the normal filtering that occurs in a porous aquifer. Karst formations are cavernous and therefore have high rates of permeability, resulting in reduced opportunity for contaminants to be filtered out.

Groundwater in karst areas is just as easily polluted as surface streams. Sinkholes have often been used as farmstead or community trash dumps. Overloaded or malfunctioning septic tanks in karst landscapes may dump raw sewage directly into underground channels.

The karst topography itself also poses some difficuties for human inhabitants. Sinkholes can develop gradually as surface openings enlarge, but quite often progressive erosion is unseen and the roof of an underground cavern suddenly collapses. Such events have swallowed homes, cattle, cars, and farm machinery.

The Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa protects Discus macclintocki, a species of ice age snail surviving in air chilled by flowing over buried karst ice formations.

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Press release from Studio Row at the Jacksonville Center

2007-03-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

For immediate release - March 17, 2007

The Jacksonville Center welcomes you to a reception on Studio Row on Friday, March 23

Studio artists at Jacksonville Center will hold a New Works reception on Friday, March 23 from 5-7 pm. Glass artist Linda Osborne will highlight her personal bead collection and her wide variety of jewelry and handmade bead items. Sarah McCarthy, home from displaying at the New Jersey arts and crafts show, will show her gas fired pottery vases, bowls, glasses and tableware. Wood fired pottery will be just a part of McCabe Coolidge's functional works display. And Karen Day will show handmade books.

In addition guest artists will share the studio spaces. Look for Gretchen St. Lawrence's pastels, Anne Vaughn's jewelry, Glenda and Don George with shibori fabric and wood working. Traces Library Open House will be highlighted by Suzy Nees and live music will be provided by Billy Miller. Refreshments offered in abundance, all at Jacksonville Center just south of town on Route 8. This is a free event, and all are welcome!

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Discover your local ambient library!

2007-03-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

A memo to ideapark.org readers - the Traces library for creative literacy is currently housed in studio 119 and in the student residence building at the Jacksonville Center in Floyd. Traces is a public art project and ambient library designed to foster awareness about land care, cultural conservation, and sustainable, compassionate living.

From now until April 1, visitors at the Traces reading room in studio 119 will find artwork, writings, antique maps and locally made musical instruments on display along with furnishings from the collection of the Traces library. This exhibit is open to the public from 9 to 5 on weekdays and noon to 5 on Saturdays.

Other items from the Traces library collection are also installed in the Oak and Maple rooms of the Jacksonville Center's residence building, known to some as the Little House at the Jacksonville Center. The Oak and Maple rooms of the Little House will be open to visitors on March 23 and April 14, 2007. Music samples, ceramic work, Japanese handicrafts, and stone sculpture are just a few of the exhibit items to be found in the Oak and Maple rooms during this installation.

On the evening of Friday, March 23, 2007, a free public reception will be held at the Jacksonville Center to celebrate a collection of new works now on display on Studio Row on the first level of the main building at the Jacksonville Center. These works include handmade books, photography, drawings, ceramic work and much more. Live music and refreshments are being offered during this event, and all are welcome.

The Jacksonville Center is located about 1/2 mile south of the stoplight in Floyd. For more information on the Jacksonville Center, please call 540-745-2784 or visit their website at www.jacksonvillecenter.org.

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March 17 concert to celebrate culture & resistance

2007-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

via ohvec.org

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March 14, 2007

Concert for Mountain Justice, A Celebration of Culture and Resistance

By HNN Staff

Charleston, WV (HNN) -- The Concert for Mountain Justice will feature musicians with a history of singing for the mountains and people on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 7 p.m.

This concert will feature Andrew McKnight, Elaine Purkey, Here's to the Long Haul, Keith & Joan Pitzer, and Sound Storm in WVSU's Capitol Theatre at 123 Summers St, Charleston, WV.

The program is being organized as a fundraiser for Mountain Justice Spring Break and is being co-sponsored by the Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Program. Tickets will be sold at the door for either $5 or a larger donation which is encouraged for those who can afford it. In efforts to protect our mountains, musicians are giving inspiration to and telling stories of people who are fighting to preserve their homes in Southern West Virginia.

While many of the artists who will be performing are featured on the compilation CD Moving Mountains: Voices of Appalachia Rise Up Against Mountaintop Removal, there will also be new voices featured. Elaine Purkey is a legend not only for her activism during the steelworker strike in Ravenswood, but also her distinctive and amazingly strong singing voice. Pete Seeger wrote that her, "songs carry on the great tradition of Ella May Wiggin of Gastonia, South Carolina, and Aunt Molly Jackson of Harlan County, Kentucky." In the same evening, one can also hear Here's to the Long Haul, a duo of singing student energy justice organizers with an eye on stopping mountaintop removal.

Also performing that evening will be two acts on the Falling Mountain Label, Andrew McKnight and Keith & Joan Pitzer, who have performed at past Moving Mountains events including Shepherd University, Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Blacksburg, VA, the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN and in Washington D.C at the Institute of Musical Traditions. Each of these artists have tracks included on the Moving Mountains CD. Singer/songwriter, poet and activist Andrew McKnight contributes the lead track "Company Town" from his latest CD Turning Pages, while West Virginians Keith & Joan Pitzer from the Cheat River Valley penned "Underneath a Blackened Moon", a song inspired by a visit with Larry Gibson up on Kayford Mountain, especially for this project. Moving Mountains was compiled by lifelong musician and activist Jen Osha, who will also be performing as part of the Morgantown based group, Sound Storm.

This concert is being organized as a part of and fundraiser for Mountain Justice Spring Break, a youth-led and solidarity based effort to stop mountaintop removal. This week includes educational workshops, celebration of Appalachian culture, and protest with Southern WV community groups. The week is being organized by the Southern Energy Network and the Student Environmental Action Coalition.

For more information on this concert, contact Daniel Chiotos at (304) 886-3389 or Daniel.Chiotos@Gmail.com . For more information about the CD, proceeds from which continue to support coalfield residents, please see www.fallingmountain.com/mtr .

Sprouted sunflower nutrition info

2007-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

via vegparadise.com

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Across the nutrient scale, raw sunflower seeds contain impressive figures. Usually found in trace quantities, thiamin registers 0.41 mg, riboflavin 0.04 mg, and niacin 0.81 mg. The champion of folate, raw sunflower seeds contain 40.88 mcg for 1 ounce (28 grams). Minerals make a good showing with 6.68 mg calcium, 0.39 mg iron, 20.38 mg magnesium, 39.63 mg potassium, and 0.29 mg zinc. Because raw sunflower seeds are high in phosphorous, eat them in small quantities to prevent loss of calcium.

One of the richest sources of vitamin E with 50.27 IU for 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams), raw sunflower seeds are a powerful antioxidant that rids the body of harmful free radicals that pose risk for heart disease.

The figures for toasted sunflower seeds are slightly lower for most nutrients while calories are slightly higher at 175 for one ounce (28 grams). The fat content goes up to 16.1 grams, 1.7 grams saturated. Protein rates 5 grams with fiber at 3 grams.

Unsalted sunflower seed butter provides 164 calories for one ounce (28 grams) with 6 grams of protein. Total fat registers 13.5 grams with 1.4 grams saturated. Vitamin A content is 15 IU, while folic acid jumps to 67.3 mcg. The seed butter has a good range of B vitamins with the exception of the absence of B12. Calcium levels measure 34.6 mg, iron 1.3 mg, and magnesium 105 mg. There's even a good supply of zinc with 1.5 mg.

Sprouted sunflower seeds produce impressive nutritional data. Imagine, a little sprouted sunflower seed contains enough nutrients to start a whole new plant growing, one that can reach 6- to 12-foot (1.8 to 3.7 m) heights. In the germination process, all nutrients, including enzymes and trace minerals, multiply 300 to 1200%.

One of the richest sources of protein, 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) of sprouted sunflower seeds contains 22.78 grams. The mineral content soars in the sprouted state. That 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) offers a notable 116 mg of calcium, 5.06 mg of zinc, 689 mg of potassium, 1.75 mg copper, and 354 mg of magnesium.

Vitamins increase during sprouting when the seeds are producing a new life. Vitamin A increases to 50,000 IU, and Vitamin E offers 52.18 mg, while Vitamin D provides 92.0 IU for 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams). The Vitamin B family offers niacin at 4.50 mg, riboflavin at 0.25 mg, and thiamin at 2.29 mg. Sprouted sunflower seeds are also a rich source of iron, providing 6.77 mg for 31/2 ounces (100 grams) that can be a benefit to people with anemia.

Mature sprouted sunflower seeds are a rich source of chlorophyll noted for cleansing or detoxifying the liver and the blood. Chlorophyll benefits many functions within the body including building blood supply, revitalizing tissue, calming inflammation, activating enzymes, and deodorizing the body. Most commercial breath fresheners contain chlorophyll.

Lyrics to Bob Marley's "Stop That Train"

2007-03-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

Stop that train: I'm leavin - today!
Stop that train: I'm leavin - anyway!
Stop that train: I'm leavin. and I said:
It wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong;
I said, it wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong.

All my good life I've been a lonely man,
Teachin' my people who don't understand;
And even though I tried my best,
I still can't find no happiness.

So I got to say:
Stop that train: I'm leavin' - oh, baby now!
Stop that train: I'm leavin' - don't care what you say!
Stop that train: I'm leavin'. and I said:
It won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong;
Said, it wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong.

Some goin' east; and-a some goin' west,
Some stand aside to try their best.
Some livin' big, but the most is livin' small::
They just can't even find no food at all.

I mean, stop it:
Stop that train: I'm leavin' - leavin', mm-hmm.
Stop that train: I'm leavin' - I don't mind!
Stop that train: I'm leavin'. and I said:
It won't be too long whether I'm right or wrong;
I said it wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong.

Stop that train: I'm leavin' - leavin'!
Stop that train: Im leavin - cant take it!
Stop that train: I'm leavin' - got to be better!
It wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong;
I said it wont be too long whether I'm right or wrong.

/fadeout/

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Memorial service at the High School tonight for Joshua Cantrell

2007-03-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Dear reader,
On February 26, Joshua Cantrell of Floyd, Virginia went Home after a courageous fight against brain cancer. A memorial service will be held at 7 pm for him tonight at the high school in Floyd. Details on Joshuas memorial service can be found by scrolling north on the ideapark.org loop.

Let Me Help You Shop for Info

Where in the world is Butt Mountain...

Black mold's impact in the Lakota Nation

Reaching Out: America - A monument to end child abuse

Edward Von Kloberg III: Advocate for the damned

The Foreclosed House Next Door Wants to Kill You

From the desk of the Burning Book

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"The shame goes to the exploiters."

A look at Senate bill 714

A look at House 2929 & Senate 1801 in MA

happy 2-19

AV online store

Tunnel life in Gaza

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"Embracing Complexity in Art" by M. Koike

2008: Wovoka was right

attention Snaque Shaque O-kyaku-sama

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a scene from Camp Coldwater

Fake soldiers used for RNC video

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S. Branscome now being hunted in Floyd County's Indian Valley

Cucapa Camp info

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Olympic torch lighting info

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Black Hills art contest info

Kusun Ensemble now giving classes

Sunday karaoke supplies > "Stop the Train" lyrics

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Fiendin' for Scripture? Here's help.

from the desk of Mike G.

Lakota Nation map

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aztlan.net article on Lakota secession

Maori separatists & the Lakota Declaration of Independence

Lakota Freedom article from 12-23-07

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A press release from Lakota Freedom

Lakota Nation unilaterally withdraws treaties with U.S.

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Walkin' Jim at Squires tonight

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Prayer convergence on Kayford Mountain 10/21/07

Wise Co. VA power plant news

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"Souls on Garbage" reception at the Armory

job posting from the EFF

air breathers take note...

Culture Fest at Pipestem, Black Twig Pickers at Green Dolphin, etc.

VA. cave law regarding pollution and habitat disruption

Traces end-of summer exhibit

Upcoming learning events at The Farm in Summertown, TN

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news from Roanoke & the New River Valley

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Erik Reece speaks on mountaintop removal

"Marcus" speaks on the subject of Google Street View

from the desk of Daniel Bromley

Historic building art exhibit in Blacksburg

Friday, June 1, 2007 On & About the Edges: Opening Reception & Walking Tour

Roanoke Times article on the development meeting tonight

Feds sue Massey for 4,633 Clean Water Act violations

Virginia Explore Park summer calendar

Radford Farmers' Market link

hi there

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Friday, June 1, 2007
On & About the Edges: Opening Reception & Walking Tour