Forrest King holds art show and sale of his "The Pink Triangle" series to benefit Wyoming Equality

Available for the first time -- the original oil paintings from Forrest King's line, “The Pink Triangle.” Art show and sale at the Rotten Apple Ink, 218 W. 17th St., Cheyenne, on Friday, May 11, 6:30-9 p.m. Complimentary wine and refreshments. Special signed prints will be for sale too, plus other artwork by Forrest King. There will be lots of fine art prints for sale and auction. 100% of the proceeds from prints – and 50% of original arts sales -- go to Wyoming Equality! Wine, food, magic by Aiden Sinclair. Artwork: 50x70-inch woven blanket.

Obama volunteer meet-up set for Saturday at the Laramie County Public Library

Pres. Barack Obama speaks to an SRO crowd right down the road at CU-Boulder earlier this week.

From Robert Vernon-Kubichek, director of the Obama campaign in Wyoming:

Volunteers here in Wyoming come from all backgrounds, but they all have a couple things in common: a personal stake in this election and a passion for making sure President Obama and other Democrats win this November.  

Our volunteers here in Cheyenne are buzzing with energy -- so you should come out and get to know everyone at our volunteer meeting this Saturday.

We'll talk about how we're organizing in our neighborhood and how you can get involved.  

Can you make it? Here are the details:  

What: Cheyenne volunteer meeting

Where: Laramie County Library, Sunflower Room 2200 Pioneer Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82001

When: Saturday, April 28th 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

FMI: Go here

BeatGrass plays at the Atlas April 28

http://facebook.com/beatgrassband

"Bully" screens at Cheyenne International Film Festival on May 19

Cheyenne International Film Festival presents:

“Bully” (2011 TRT: 99 min.)

Saturday, May 19, 1-3 p.m., Lincoln Theatre

Call2ACTion with the Matthew Shepard Foundation
Panel discussion and audience talk-back follows film

Directed by Lee Hirsch (USA)
This year, over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is the first feature documentary film to show how we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground.

BULLY opens on the first day of school. For the more than 13 million kids who'll be bullied this year in the United States, it's a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown.

For a lot of kids, the only thing that's certain is that this year, like every other, bullying will be a big part of whatever meets them at their school's front doors. Every school in the U.S. is grappling with bullying-each day more than 160,000 kids across the country are absent because they're afraid of being bullied-but for many districts it's just one more problem that gets swept under the rug. BULLY is a character-driven film. At its heart are those with the most at stake and whose stories each represent a different facet of this crisis.

Preceded by:

“Art of Misery” (2011 TRT: 4:00)
Directed by Liz Osban (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
Time is fleeting, life is changing and she's absolutely miserable. All in a day’s work of teenage misery.
Tickets - http://ciff2012program3.eventbrite.com/

Joe Minicozzi returns to Wyoming to talk about "The Smart Math of Mixed Use Development" in Casper

Urban planner Joe Minicozzi will talk about "The Smart Math of Mixed Use Development" on Thursday, April 26, at the Casper City Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 200 N. David St. Casper's Downtown Development Authority is co-sponsoring the program. It will compare the value of new development outside of downtown with redevelopment within the city core. Minicozzi did similar studies for Cheyenne and Laramie, as well as Fort Collins, Colo. Read more about it in today's Casper Star-Tribune. Arts and culture usually plays a major role in Minicozzi's studies. It did during an excellent presentation he made in Cheyenne in December. He does his homework -- and he's funny, too. Read my post about it here.

Want adsurdist humor in your novels? Think Tim, not Tom

Great quote from a 2011 Wyofile article on Wyoming novelist Tim Sandlin: “When you think American master of absurdist humor with acute observations about contemporary society, characters to fall in love with, and lines you’ll be quoting to your friend, the first name to spring to mind should be ‘Tim’ (Sandlin), not ‘Tom’ (Robbins),” said Sarah Bird, Austin, Texas, novelist and a friend of Sandlin’s.

Sioux City Journal: It takes a community to stop bullying

Sioux City (IA) Journal devotes Sunday front page to anti-bullying campaign. Neat graphic, gutsy move. A new resource is available locally for parents whose children have been the target of bullying in the Laramie County No. 1 School District. Contact UPLIFT for its bullying ombudsman program at 307-778-8686 or 1-888-875-4383.  

LCCC hosts National Poetry Month Open Mic on April 26

National Poetry Month OPEN MIC at LCCC Thursday, April 26. 1-2:45 p.m. in the student lounge. FREE and OPEN to students, community members and faculty & staff. This is a celebration of language, so all performances welcome (singer-songwriters, actors/scenes from plays, poets, fiction and nonfiction writers, readers of classic work by famous authors, etc.). Refreshments provided and drawings for cool door prizes! Even if you can't make it, please spread the word!

Slow start to gardening during a year when the weather warmed too fast

Got tomato seedlings?

Cheyenne blogger Karen Cotton tipped me off to today's "Gardening on the Cheap: 10 Steps to Becoming a Cheerful Cheapskate in the Garden" presentation by Denver's Jodi Torpey at the library. It was sponsored by Laramie County Master Gardeners and the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Jodi had many good tips for us frugal gardeners, and I plan to take her up on most of them. I am slow getting started on my veggies this year. I am slow and the weather is warming fast -- not a great combination. I've been posting for the past 4-5 years about my return to vegetable gardening after a long hiatus. First it was all about having a Victory Garden ("Eat a tomato for peace, ya'll!") and then it growing your own and being a locavore and sustainability and all that jazz. But gardening is a struggle around here. It's 6,200 feet and arid and possesses a very short growing season. We have been reclassified from Zone 4 to Zone 5, but a tad more warmth every summer won't make a big difference. It may 50 years from now, but I'll be long gone by then (to Florida).

So I'll persevere with herbs and lettuce and tomatoes and squash and beans, etc.

Meanwhile, I ran into Lindi Kirkbride at the gardening talk and her Cheyenne Alliance Church has started a Seed & Feed Community Garden. Church members and residents of a nearby housing complex are gobbling up the plots. Some of the church's teens will be raising veggies for local shelters and the food bank. Anyway, Lindi says that there are five plots left to interested parties. Fee for each raised bed is $20 per year and water is provided. This is good news because both of the community gardens in Lions Park are booked solid and have waiting lists. If you're interested, e-mail seed&feed@gmail.com.

Bad company: Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and Cynthia Lummis

What do Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and Cynthia Lummis all have in common? A lot, as it turns out. Read Rodger McDaniel's new blog post at http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-do-ayn-rand-paul-ryan-and-cynthia.html

Bid on work by local artists during May at the Cheyenne Family YMCA silent auction

Works by local artists Marlin Glasner, Tom Shaffer, Aaron Curry, Win Ratz, Joyce & Casey Stone will be up for bids at a silent auction held during May by the Cheyenne Family YMCA. The artwork may be viewed beginning May 1 in the swimming pool lobby. Proceeds go to the YMCA's Community Support Campaign. Hours 5 a.m.-9 p.m., M-F; Saturday 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday noon-4 p.m. FMI: Chris Shay at 307-634-9622.

Check out the new Cheyenne Botanic Gardens web site -- and the proposed new building

Architect's rendering of the proposed Cheyenne Botanic Gardens building

The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens has a new web site. I don't know how new it is because this is my first check-in of the growing season. But it looks fantastic. It's a product of Warehouse Twenty One, the very fine local "full-service marketing firm" that also is working with us at the Wyoming Arts Council. We, too, will soon have a new web site, logo, social media strategy, etc., from WH21. Its staff is creative and energetic and a pleasure to work with.

The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens has grown dramatically during my two decades in Cheyenne. It recently added the Paul Smith Children's Village and its new facility will be on the next sixth penny tax ballot. The renovation/expansion cost is $14 million, with an additional $2 million for operations maintenance. And, yes, I'm voting for it. The only time I've voted against a city building project was the bloated $55 million rec center project of a couple years ago. The 2012 ballot has another proposal for a rec center that makes more sense.

Why is it important to have a new CBG building? On the aesthetic side -- the current building is way too small and cramped. Not enough space to grow seedlings for the gardens and to educate the public about our High Plains oasis. More room is needed to showcase those plants and flowers that grow in more tropical climes.

People have never been more interested in sustainable living. Everyone is a gardener, it seems, and no better place to feed the frenzy than the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. There are two community garden plots adjacent to the CBG grounds. People need guidance on how to coax their own veggies from this rocky, high altitude soil. I've been fighting the good fight for years, folks -- it ain't easy.

My wife Chris and I love the summer evening concerts and plays on the CBG grounds. A larger facility will enable Director Shane Smith and staff to program more year-round events. Our community is growing and so is the demand for quality events.   

Finally, projects such as the new Botanic Gardens building show that Cheyenne is serious about being a great place to live. Our public library has been voted the best in the U.S. We boast one of the region's best greenway systems. The Historic Depot Plaza downtown is a gem, although the rest of downtown still needs a lot of work. But things are looking up with the Hynds Building project and the Dinneen complex which will hold the first 17th Street Art Fair in its parking lot this summer.

To sum it up -- if you believe in a vital Cheyenne, you need to vote yes on the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.

LCCC Celtic Ensemble debuts April 22 with concert at St. Mark's in Cheyenne

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons taking Cognitive Dissonance to Netroots Nation 12

Meg Lanker-Simons of Laramie (a.k.a. Cognitive Dissonance) was one of the top three vote-getters in round two of the Netroots Nation 12 scholarship contest. That means she gets her registration and lodging paid to attend the largest annual gathering of progressive bloggers June 7-10 in Providence, R.I. Interesting to note that Meg was the only Wyoming blogger in the sweepstakes. She undoubtedly will be telling us the story this Friday night on her KOCA-FM radio show and on her blog at http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/

Wyoming Democratic Party moves headquarters back to Cheyenne

This news was announced over the weekend at the county caucuses. Here's coverage from today's Casper Star-Tribune:

After spending more than a decade in Casper, the Wyoming Democratic Party is moving its headquarters back to Cheyenne, a party spokesman said Tuesday. 

As of May 1, the state Democrats will set up shop in a converted house at 1909 Warren Ave., according to spokesman Brodie Farquhar. 

The Democrats have had their headquarters in downtown Casper since 2000. Farquhar said several Democratic legislators in southeast Wyoming – about the only area of the state that still has Democratic lawmakers – pushed for the move to Cheyenne so they could have access to the party office and so party staffers could help them during the legislative session.

Wyoming Democratic Party hires Brodie Farquhar as new communications director

This is good news:

The Wyoming Democratic Party has hired Brodie Farquhar as its new communications director.

Farquhar came to Wyoming in 2000 and has written extensively for state and regional media.

Farquhar has written for the Casper Star Tribune as a staff writer and as a freelancer, covering natural resources, politics, education, the state legislature and more. He served two years as managing editor for the Wyoming Business Report, building a cadre of freelance writers around the state. He has also written extensively for New West, High Country News, Yellowstone Journal, Billings Gazette and Wyofile.com, which he co-founded.  

Farquhar has also served public relation stints for the Colorado School of Mines, Crested Butte Mountain Resort and Michigan chapter of The Nature Conservancy. “I know how to work with reporters, from small-town weeklies to major dailies and networks,” he said. Guiding reporters around the West’s energy development sites was a particularly valuable experience when Farquhar worked with the Energy & Minerals Field Institute at Mines.

He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in natural resource policy from the University of Michigan, where he was a Scripps Fellow for Environmental Journalism.

Farquhar said he's always striven to maintain journalistic objectivity, but is looking forward to an opportunity to be an advocate for the Democratic Party and progressive values. "I believe most people have beliefs and values firmly rooted in fairness, common sense and the progressive tradition, contrary to the drumbeat of right-wing talk radio. I want to help Wyoming citizens look beyond the surface, to the real core and context of today's issues," said Farquhar.

Farquhar has covered every conceivable beat in his journalism career, but has developed expertise in covering such natural resource issues as energy development, western water rights, agriculture, wildlife, the Endangered Species Act, snowmobile use in Yellowstone, wolf and grizzly bear recovery plans. In his coverage of the 2006 Wyoming legislative session, Farquhar first wrote about the American Legislative Exchange Council, which writes corporation-friendly legislation, and more recently, voter ID and “shoot to kill” bills.

Farquhar and wife Sharon have three children and one grand-daughter, as well as a mellow golden retriever and calico cat.

"Good Night, Ryan:" Yet another Iraq veteran dies by his own hand

The film that accompanies Nicholas D. Kristof's New York Times story makes me incredibly sad -- and pisses me off. Why isn't more being done to take care of these young people that we send to war?

THERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.  

An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.

Investigative reporter Ari Berman to speak at Wyoming Democratic Party state convention May 26

Delegates, alternates and interested parties are invited to hear Ari Berman speak at the Wyoming Democratic Party’s state convention luncheon on Saturday, May 26, noon-1:30 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie. Tickets are $25.

Berman is a contributing writer for The Nation magazine and an Investigative Journalism Fellow at The Nation Institute. He has written extensively about American politics, foreign policy and the intersection of money and politics. His stories have also appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Guardian, and he is a frequent guest and political commentator on MSNBC, C-Span and NPR. His first book, Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics, was published in October 2010 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. He graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and political science.

The registration deadline for guaranteed event seating is midnight on Thursday, May 10, 2012. Register at http://www.wyomingdemocrats.com/ht/d/RegisterForConvention/i/1374582

Anti-bullying program on the agenda at tonight's LCSD1 school board meeting

Laramie County School District No. 1 put out a press release on April 3 about its new arrangement with Wyoming non-profit UPLIFT to serve as ombudsman for its anti-bullying program. Not everyone is town is happy with the news. I happen to know that UPLIFT already has a great track record working with families whose children have "emotional, behavioral, learning, developmental or physical disorders." The topic will be discussed tonight at the school board meeting in the Storey Gym. It's also awards night for district students, followed by a bit of official business. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. I am attending as a parent whose children (now in college) have benefitted from UPLIFT's expertise. Here's info from the press release:

Officials at Laramie County School District 1 have announced plans to continue offering bullying ombudsman assistance for families in the community as part of the district’s overall package of services offered to address bullying and provide for safe schools.  

The ombudsman advocacy service will be provided through UPLIFT, a family support network dedicated to the hope, health, and well-being of Wyoming children and families. This service will complement the existing prevention programs and problem-solving efforts of the district. 

“An ombudsman is available to advocate and support kids and families during instances when people believe their concerns have not been addressed through standard processes,” said Dr. Mark Stock, LCSD1 superintendent of schools.

UPLIFT"s phone number in Cheyenne is 778-8686.

Call for entries: 17th Street Art Festival in Cheyenne

17th Street Art Festival – Call For Entries

Entries Due By May 1, 2012!

Festival is August 17-18 in Historic Downtown Cheyenne at the new 17th Street Dinneen Plaza

Application materials postmarked May 1, 2012
 
Contact: Lynn Newman lynnnewman@bresnan.net
Mail entries to Lynn Newman, 921 Ranger Dr., Cheyenne, WY 82009

WyoPoets holds writing workshop April 28 in Casper

George Vlastos

Casper poet and teacher George Vlastos will present "Place Makes Person" for the WyoPoets’ Spring Poetry Workshop on April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Casper, Wyoming. FMI: See the workshop brochure at http://www.wyopoets.org.

Here's George's bio from the Wyoming Arts Council web site:

Between time spent on his family’s olive farm on Crete, teaching language arts at Star Lane Center, an interdisciplinary problem-based high school in Casper, and his duties as Young Authors District Coordinator for the Natrona County School District, George Vlastos writes poetry. He recently was named the winner of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award from the Wyoming Arts Council. He has published several collections, including Strophe (1997), Dreams, Grotesques & Hours (2003) and 9 Cross Sections (2005). Previously in WordBand, a former WAC roster artist literary group that performed choral poetry, George approaches the “mythic procession of community and culture” in his workshop presentations, and “the processes necessary to move from thought to written expression.”

Aran Gupta: "The Wonderful, Unpredictable Life of the Occupy Movement"

Progressive journalist Aran Gupta has been reporting on the Occupy Movement since it began Sept. 17 with Occupy Wall Street. Here's his latest report: The Wonderful, Unpredictable Life of the Occupy Movement. Last fall, he toured the U.S. and stopped in Cheyenne to interview local Occupiers. Read my post on that here.

"There's nothing left to do but sing" -- Climbing Poetree performs April 19 at Center for the Arts in Jackson

Performance poetry group Climbing Poetree will take the stage at the Center for the Arts in Jackson on Thursday, April 19, 7 p.m. FREE! Brought to you by pARTners. This is an amazing chance to see art for social justice in action.

News from the Equality State Book Festival

Most states have at least one statewide book festival. Some, such as Arizona, have several. Wyoming's Equality State Book Festival has been held every other year since 2006 in Casper. It's organized by a committee made up of Casper College faculty and staff and members of the community. And me, Mike Shay of Cheyenne, fiction writer and the individual arts specialist at the Wyoming Arts Council. This year's co-drectors are Holly Wendt and Laurie Lye of Casper College. They just sent me this exciting news:

Equality State Book Festival organizers are pleased to announce this year's festival date has been set for Sept. 14-15 in Casper. This celebration marks the 26th anniversary of the annual Casper College/ARTCORE Literary Conference, which has been called "The Equality State Book Festival" every other year since 2006, this being our fourth venture in that spirit.

For the two-day event, more than 15 authors and illustrators will share their talents, giving readings, leading craft talks, emceeing a poetry slam, visiting local schools, and participating on panels. This year's group includes poets, novelists, memoirists, essayists, illustrators, and publishers. 

Among the participants slated are state-wide and regional favorites: Pat Frolander, current Poet Laureate for Wyoming; Zak Pullen, Cat Urbigkit, Kendra Spanjer and Karla Oceanak who will be making school visits; Alyson Hagy and David Romtvedt, faculty from University of Wyoming's MFA program, who will give readings and lead craft talks; and essayist and poet Linda Hasselstrom. From further regions, we are also joined by Rebecca O'Connor and Renee d'Aoust.

The Wyoming Arts Council will be announcing their annual Creative Writing Fellowship awards which celebrate poetry this year and will be judged by Brian Turner. Our friends at Natrona County Public Library are sponsoring a visit from Luis Carlos Montalvan. 

We hope you can join us to appreciate the good company of fellow readers and writers and help celebrate books and the written word Sept. 14-15, 2012, at Casper College and a few other Casper locations, all to be detailed on this web site soon.

For more book festival information, please contact Laurie Lye at llye@caspercollege.edu or 307-268-2639.

Attention Dems: Get your asses to the caucus on Saturday!

We NEED every registered Democrat in Laramie County to caucus and cast a ballot on April 14th. Please come to the Laramie County Community College Training Center. Registration begins at 9:30 AM, and the caucus will begin promptly at 11:00 AM. 

Caucus Chair Ken McCauley has penned an invitation requesting your participation:

Your vote to show support for the Democratic Party is very necessary this year, and that begins by supporting the county convention. One neoconservative challenger predicts that the turnout of Wyoming Democrats will be so low that he will be able to make a mockery of our convention by encouraging lifelong Republicans to change their party affiliation and subvert our process. This candidate has already sent out illegal robocalls to forward his purpose.

Wyoming Democrats care about the people of Wyoming. We believe America should be a land of opportunity for everyone, not just for a privileged few. We believe in the freedom our founding fathers worked so hard to protect. We believe in Americans -- the workers and thinkers who built this nation. If you believe in these values, please come to the Training Center building #16 at Laramie County Community College on 14 April and cast a ballot to help us continue working toward a better Wyoming. Wyoming needs your voice!

If you have questions, please call:

Linda Stowers, Laramie County Chair, 307.220.1219
Ken McCauley, Vice-Chair, 307.630.4973
Lori Brand, Communications Director, 307.631.3410

In search of spring's Pink Moon

After reading about “the pink moon” on Facebook for several days, my daughter Annie and I decided to take a look for ourselves.

Each full moon has its own name and stories. The Pink Moon is April’s moon. Here’s how it’s described by the Farmer’s Almanac:

The name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and, among coastal tribes, the Full Fish Moon, because this is when the shad swam upstream to spawn.

Susan Tweit, a nature writer out of Salida, Colo., had mused about the pink moon for several days. Susan has a fine moon-viewing venue in the Colorado mountains. On Thursday night, she posted a gorgeous photo of the full moon. It wasn’t pink (at least to the camera’s eye) but it was big and bright, lighting up wispy high-altitude clouds and what looked like a jet’s contrail.

That night, I saw the same moon from my Cheyenne backyard. A fast-moving storm was rolling in. I called my wife Chris and daughter Annie to come out and take a look. But within minutes, the moon was hidden by clouds.

“What moon?” they said.

“It was here a minute ago.”

Friday night brought more commentary and another smashing photo from Susan. I watched the moon emerge from behind my neighbor’s house. Not pink but still glorious. Even though I was wearing a jacket, the cold wind drove me inside when all I really wanted to do was stand and stare.

Last night, I decided to view the moon’s rising. I found the time and Annie and I jumped in the car and drove down Dell Range to the Culver’s parking lot. It was after nine but people were still diving into those butter burgers. We found a strategic spot and watched the moon rise.

“It’s pink, I think,” I said.

“Looks more yellow,” said Annie.

I forgot to bring the camera but that probably was a good thing. Snapshots would not have done it justice. The moon’s big face looked down on us. That’s how Annie described it.

We sat in the lot and watched the moon slowly shed its pink and take on more of a yellowish cast. It began to brighten to white. We talked of space travel and some of the sci-fi movies we both like. 2001, A Space Odyssey;  Apollo 13;  Star Wars;  Star Trek, etc. I spoke about our country’s space program. My father – her grandfather – had been a part of the race to get a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. I talked about Alan Shepard and Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn and how Gus Grissom and his crew died in that terrible launch pad fire. We talked about walking on the moon – what a thrill that must have been. It was thrilling enough to watch on black-and-white TV. And what a view that must have been, to see earth from a rock 238,000-some miles away!

Sitting there in the front of the Ford, we spoke of the vastness of space. So wonderful but yet so frightening. Annie said that, given the chance, she probably wouldn’t go into space. I had to agree. It frightened me too. I have been having trouble lately dealing with my own “inner space.” I have depression and lately have been struggling with it. If I can’t handle this tiny space I inhabit, how could I possibly face the vastness of space? I could easily be crushed by the universe!

But that won’t happen. The wonder and curiosity in Annie’s voice helps me realize that embracing the universe and its marvels only expands my inner self. Pink moons. Spiral nebulae. Black holes. Vast, empty stretches of space.

On this night in the Culver’s parking lot, we sit together, my college student daughter and I, gazing on the Pink Moon of April. She was born under another full moon, the Full Worm Moon of March (Farmer’s Almanac), the time when earthworms begin working the soil and the robins and the crows reappear and the snow begins to crust over as it thaws by day and freezes by night. Annie was born with a full head of dark hair with silver tips. I told her she had been kissed by the full moon. It was a pretty good story at the time and it seems as good an explanation as any.

On this Saturday during Easter weekend, moonlight shines down on us and the Cheyenne streetscape. We eventually head for home. I am feeling comfortable in my body for the first time in months. Perhaps the light of the Pink Moon carries some healing powers. But I suspect the brightening of my mood has more to do with what’s happening right here on earth, within the orbit of  my own loving family.

No Wyoming panel at Netroots Nation 12 -- but we are sending at least one progressive blogger to Providence

I'm a bit disappointed that Democracy for America has turned down our panel proposal for Netroots Nation 12. More than 400 panels were proposed for the June 7-10 gathering of progressive bloggers in Providence, R.I. Ours was one of 150 proposals that made it to the final round, but it wasn't selected for one of the 70 panels to be presented at the conference. We still think it's a pretty cool idea, one that comes with an embedded literary reference. So, the Southeast Wyoming Progressive Blogosphere may only be sending one of our group to NN12, and that's Meg Lanker-Simons from Laramie. In case you haven't noticed, Meg is number two in the NN12 scholarship sweepstakes. Top three vote getters get scholarhips. Go vote for her now! Have your entire family vote for her. I did.

Here's the NN12 proposal. See what you think.

Panel proposal: “Where I’m Blogging From: On-line Progressives in Red State Wyoming”

It’s mighty red out here, people!

In 2008, Wyoming voters went for John McCain over Barack Obama by a 65-33 percent margin. This was the lowest percentage of “blue” voters in any state, outdoing even neighboring Utah and Idaho (34 percent). In 2010, Republican Matt Mead was elected governor by a 3-to-1 margin. All five elected offices were swept by Republicans and the GOP-dominated Legislature upped its “R” margin to 76 out of 90 seats.

Democrats are an endangered species in Wyoming. This is a state where sporting an Obama bumper sticker is a radical act. Many Democrats are afraid to speak up in public because they are so tragically outnumbered. In some cases, jobs are on the line.

The four bloggers in this proposal are not the state’s only outspoken progressives, but they represent voices unheard in Wyoming’s mainstream media. While they have been active in Democratic Party politics (one has served in the legislature), they often find themselves at odds with a party structure that is timid in the face of Republican onslaughts.

In this session, the presenters will speak about our prog-blogging journeys, and offer tips about making on-line connections in the wide-open conservative spaces. They also will discuss those ground-breaking bloggers in neighboring states who nurtured them.

Presenters

Jeran Artery, Cheyenne, blogs at Out in Wyoming, LGBT activist and Director of Social Change for Wyoming Equality, actor and visual artist, a native of Wheatland in very conservative Platte County, Wyo. Blog: http://outinwy.blogspot.com

Meg Lanker, Laramie, blogs at Cognitive Dissonance, hosts a radio show by the same on KOCA FM every Friday night. Meg brought a successful lawsuit against the University of Wyoming when it refused to let 1960s radical turned education reformer Bill Ayers speak on campus. She also organized a fund-raiser for LGBT groups when ultra-conservative commentator Ann Coulter spoke in Laramie earlier this year. She’s a member of the National Writers Union and a U.S. Navy veteran. Her web site is included in Tumblr's featured politics and government directory at http://www.tumblr.com/spotlight/politics and her site has over 3,000 followers. Blog: http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/

Rodger McDaniel, Cheyenne, former Wyoming state legislator, one-time director of Habitat for Humanity in Nicaragua, retired director of Wyoming Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division, ordained minister, Blowing in the Wyoming Wind blogger. Sponsors a Monday night “Beer and Bibles” get-together each week at a Cheyenne bar where Bible stories are explored from a social justice angle. Rodger is a frequent guest columnist for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Blog: http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com

Michael Shay, Cheyenne, fiction writer, essayist and blogger on hummingbirdminds since 2005. One of Michael’s short stories is featured in the 2010 anthology “Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams” from Coffee House Press. Other poets, writers and musicians in the anthology include U.S. Poet Laureate Phil Levine, Wanda Coleman, Diane DiPrima, Bob Dylan, Eminem, Li-Young Lee, Dorothy Day and Daniel Berrigan. Michael’s blog was recently named by the Washington Post as one of the top state-based political blogs in the U.S. He was a scholarship attendee at NN11 in Minneapolis. Blog: http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com

Wyoming DemoCatz: See you at next Saturday's Laramie County Democratic Convention

You never know, but the Wyoming DemoCatz may show up for next Saturday's Laramie County Democrats' convention and caucus. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; convention begins at 11 a.m. For more info, go to the convention invitation page on Facebook.

Rodger McDaniel: "When they say 'it isn't about race,' you can bet it is"

We don't have to go to Central Florida to find racism in action. It can strike close to home -- and has! Great column by Rodger McDaniel. Posted on his blog and on the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's op-ed pages. For the original, go to http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com/2012/04/when-they-say-it-isnt-about-race-you.html?spref=fb

March WPEA newsletter features blow-by-blow account of 2012 Legislative battles

The March issue of The Reporter newsletter from the Wyoming Public Employees Association (WPEA/SEIU) explains how Republican extremists in the Wyoming State Legislature attacked our retirement system. After the dust cleared, the defined benefit (Pension) plan remained in place. The attempt to replace it with a defined contribution plan (401K) failed. COLAs were not eliminated but the rules were changed. A Wisconsin-style law probiting public sector collective bargaining failed on introduction. But a bill did pass creating a teired system for retirement. For those employees joining state government after Sept. 1, 2012, the retirement age goes up from 60 to 65, retirement benefits will be calculated at the top 5 years of salary (instead of top 3) and the state multiplier is reduced. This may seem a bit arcane to non-state employees but it will have an effect on those newbies hired this year. This will not affect older employees like me, but it will affect opportunities for our children and grandchildren. When you're 25, this change may not look like such a big deal. It does when you're 61, as I am now. As a union member and progressive, I was against these changes. But members of my age cohort -- Baby Boomers -- crafted the legislation and worked to enact it. What kind of legacy are they leaving their own offspring?

I have to hand it to the WPEA. It picked its battles, realizing you can't win everything in a Republican-dominated Legislature, one that's tilted further to the Right since the 2010 Tea Party-influenced elections. 

The Wyoming Retirement System is not broken, in fact, it is one of the top ten best funded systems the nation. Our intent was to focus on the more critical issues facing public employees. By doing so, we would stand a better chance of defeating the very worst bills as we indicate an openness to necessary changes but opposed to the truly bad, unnecessary changes.

Get the full story, plus specifics on voting, at http://www.wyomingpublicemployees.org/id7.html

Gardeners gather in Gillette to rethink the future

Gardening is in again. Rethinking Gardening in the 21st Century is the title for the Gillette Master Gardeners Conference. My fave garden blogger, David Schmetterling of Montana Wildlife Gardener, is Friday's keynote speaker. The conference will bring together authors, Master Gardeners, vendors, horticulture experts, and backyard gardeners to share enthusiasm and knowledge. To view the complete conference agenda, click here.

Suicide risk factors explored by National Institute of Mental Health

Suicide, especially teen suicide, is a scourge in Wyoming. Instead of casting blame, better to get more and better information from the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health

What causes someone to commit suicide? In a sense, it is an unanswerable question. Professionals who study the risk factors associated with suicide say that its causes are complex and slippery, difficult to pinpoint. Still, there are a set of risk factors agreed upon by the National Institute of Mental Health and others that tell us some of the things that can cause suicide rates to increase. Click here to view full article.

Wyoming Farmers' Market Conference set for April 27-29 in Riverton

Here's a sign that farmers' markets are really taking off in Wyoming (thanks to Nancy Sindelar's newsletter for the listing):

Friday-Sunday, April 27-29, Riverton: Wyoming Farmers Market Conference. Three tracks of programming for farmers, market managers and vendors. 10 AM Friday, Market Manager Certification, 8 AM Saturday, Seminars, Holiday Inn, 900 E. Sunset Blvd. 9 AM Sunday, High Tunnel Workshop, Riverton Fairgrounds, 1010 Fairgrounds Rd. Info & RSVP: wyomingfarmersmarkets.org, Brook, 777-5612, brook.gerke@wyo.gov, Renee, rking10@uwyo.edu, Linda, 777-6592, linda.stratton@wyo.gov. Cost: $25-100, 75% scholarsips available.

Wyoming Democratic Party gets new look for 2012 campaigns



Posted today by WDP Executive Director Robin Van Ausdall on Facebook

Get well soon, Meg!

Meg is sick, people, as this photograph attests. To cheer her up, cast a vote for her on the Netroots Nation 12 scholarship page. She's in second place now but getting her to number one might just cure what ails her. BTW, a real "get well soon" message can be sent to Cognitive Dissonance.

Happy National Poultry Poetry Month

Birds of a feather slam together...

Essayist Poe Ballantine explores "the imperatives of virgins in volcanoes and the ghosts who watch over us"

Laramie County Community College writing professor Leif Swanson invites us to a presentation by Nebraska writer Poe Ballantine on Monday, April 9, 7-9 p.m., at Recover Wyoming, 512 E. Lincolnway, Cheyenne. It's free and open to the public with refreshments provided. Poe will be at LCCC"s Conferences and Institutes Building on Tuesday, April 10, for a writing workshop at 2 p.m. and a reading at 7 p.m. These events also are free and open to the public.

Here's some background info:

Share in the insights of Poe Ballantine, his writing life and the experiences he draws from decades of tramping about the country, taking odd jobs, living on $400 a month and failing spectacularly. Poe has been called “The Voice of the People” and “The King of the Personal Essay.” You are invited to view into his writing life, how he got here, how he sustains, the imperative of virgins in volcanoes and the ghosts who watch over us, matters of process, magic, mechanics, flambéing with banana liqueur and whatever else you want to know.

One of the "ghosts of the deceased" invites you to a play

Blogger, minister and ghostly stage presence Rodger McDaniel sends this news:

As one of the "ghosts of the deceased" I invite you to get your tickets for Spoon River Anthology. April 13 & 14, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m. at Atlas Theatre. A Cheyenne Little Theatre Players productions. Originally published by Edgar Lee Masters in 1915, this series of free‑verse poems parts the curtains of civility and reveal the raw passions that fuel the lives of a small town. Delivered by the ghosts of the deceased, these stories voice the secrets they guarded during their days on earth. In turn both humorous and heart-wrenching, these stories continue to speak to people across the ages.

Call for submissions: Veteran Voices, Open Window Review, Issue III

Open Window Review invites you to submit your poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and creative nonfiction for Issue III: "Veteran Voices." This special topics issue of Open Window Review is devoted entirely to writing from, for, and about the experiences of veterans, service members, their friends, families, and their communities. We at Open Window are glad for the opportunity to provide a venue for all kinds of discourse on the military, military life, and conversations on what it means to live in a country at war. Also see the Open Window Review Facebook page for more details and a link to Issue I and Issue 2 (due out later this month)

Categories:

Poetry: Please submit up to three standard-length poems (no more than 12 pages, total)

Fiction: Please submit work in flash-fiction (250-1,000 words); short fiction (1,000-5,000 words); novel excerpts (up to 20 pages, standard.)

Creative nonfiction: Please submit up to 15 pages of creative nonfiction

Non-fiction: Please submit up to 15 pages of straight non-fiction/personal essay/journalism.

Deadline and contact info: Please submit your work, along with a brief, third-person bio (no more than 150 words) and a photo (optional), to Senior Contributing Editor Oscar Lilley at veteranvoices.owr@gmail.com by 10 p.m. on May 31, 2012.

Prizes/Awards: One $100 prize will be awarded to winners in each of the four categories: Poetry, Non-fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Fiction.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Wyoming poets may also want to submit their work to the Wyoming Arts Council's 2013 creative writing fellowships. Fellowship judge is soldier-poet Brian Turner, U.S. Army Iraq War veteran and award-winning author of "Here, Bullet" and "Phantom Noise." More info at http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/2012/03/soldier-poet-brian-turner-is-judge-for.html

Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: "You are not alone"

One of my essays, "The Great Third Grade AIDS Scare," is in this anthology. The overall message of the book and the blog and all of its writers is "You are not alone," even though it sometimes feels like it. All kinds of compelling posts on the blog about medications, education, outreach, relationships, resources, etc. To connect, go to the blog at http://www.easytolovebut.com/

How one small event can put things in perspective

Yesterday I was reminded of life’s important moments.

Chris and I attended a christening at the First United Methodist Church. Katherine Margaret Cotton, infant daughter of our friends Don and Karen Cotton, was baptized by Rev. Trudy. It was a few family members and some friends. Lots of photos.

Much of the liturgy was about water and its healing powers. There was no full immersion, or even a partial one. Much different from the Catholic ceremonies I’d witnessed, the ones we held for our two children. Just a touch of water and a few words on Saturday and the baptism was complete. All of us in the pews pledged that we would be there to look after Katie. And we will.

She was born in Cheyenne two months prematurely. Rushed to Denver Children’s Hospital via ambulance, her father at her side. Joined by mom two days later -- Chris and I ferried her to Children’s. It was less than a week before Christmas. I was frightened when I saw the tiny baby in the huge incubator. This three-pound girl was hooked up to an assortment of tubes and wires. But she was in good hands in a hospital ranked among the top five in the nation.

She and her parents were in Denver almost two months. Karen and Don stayed at the Ronald McDonald House (remember to donate next time you're at McD's). And now they’re all home.

Welcome home.

I’m sure that Karen will be sharing many photos in the coming weeks. She’s a writer and photographer, after all. And a proud mother.

In "Companions in Wonder," Rick Bass writes about how fireflies can illuminate "a newness in the world"

What I'm noticing this morning: tiny clover growing at the root of my awakening strawberry plants.

I have been reading my way through the new anthology, “Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together.” I have a short piece in it about rock climbing with my young son.

Last night read a beautiful piece by Rick Bass, “The Farm.” It is spring and he and his family are visiting Rick’s father’s Texas “brush country” farmhouse near Austin. His mom lived here for a time, but died too young. Now it’s a place for the Bass family on a spring hiatus from Montana’s snowbound Yaak Valley.

As always, Rick is lyrical in his descriptions of people in nature. He delights in his daughters’ first encounter with fireflies. “I am not sure they had even known such creatures existed.” Not many fireflies up there on the Yaak. The girls, ages 3 and 6, are bedazzled by them. The family manages to snare one and put it in a jar. Rick remembers catching whole squadrons of them as a kid.

I remember the same thing while growing up in southeastern Kansas lightning bug territory. Not all that distant from Austin. The fireflies lit up those muggy summer evenings. I remember my brother and sister and I chasing them amongst the backyard swing set which backed up against dense undergrowth. We didn’t stop until the jars were filled with bugs and grass. We came inside, punched air holes in the lids, and marveled at our catch.  

The Bass family repeats this “time-honored ritual.”

Writes Rick: “That simple, phenomenal, marvelous miracle – so easy to behold – as old familiar things left us, replaced by a newness in the world. The heck with electricity, or flashlights. Yes. This is the world my daughters deserve. This is the right world for them.”

We see the world anew through children’s eyes. That’s an old saying, isn’t it? It’s one thing to say it and other to illustrate it with stories from personal lives, told well. That’s what this book is about. It will help you as an adult take another wonder-filled look at nature. And that’s what I’m planning to do today – take another look at my rejuvenating strawberry plants and a crocus rising from winter and the buds on my maple and the deep blue sky.    

To order “Companions in Wonder,” go here. It’s a $21.95 trade paperback. ISBN-10: 0-262-51690-X; ISBN-13: 978-0-262-51690-7  

Cheyenne Liberal Examiner weighs in on Randall Terry and Dem caucuses

Cheyenne Liberal Examiner David Neil Dibble writes more about Randall Terry's efforts to hijack the Wyoming Democratic cauucuses. Read it at http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-cheyenne/randall-terry-operation-rescue-and-the-wyoming-caucuses

Author Tim Wise guest on tonight's Cognitive Dissonance radio show

Shepard Symposium keynote speaker Tim Wise will be on Meg's show tonight

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons, currently numero uno in the Netroots Nation scholarship sweepstakes, sends this out about tonight's radio show:

Tune into 93.5 KOCA tonight, 10PM-1 AM and keep your dial locked for fab music + Legit Conservative + d-bag o' the week. Our special guest tonight is Tim Wise, author of "White Like Me" and "Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority." He'll be live in-studio! Have a question? Post it here! Still taking your requests for songs, dedications & d-bag nods til 8 p.m. Laramie Civic Center, rm #255