Unusual magic show about a British lunatic asylum had its roots in Cheyenne

"Battered Bride" by Forrest King

Today's Denver Westword carried a story about an unusual magic show that had its roots in Cheyenne. Denver magician Aiden Sinclair was asked by artist Forrest King to do a magic show in Cheyenne last summer to benefit for the Laramie County Safehouse. You may know Forrest King for his social engaged art. His most famous piece is "Battered Bride" (shown above) that he did in an effort to publicize the plight of the many abuse and battered women amongst us. He's travelled to churches and other venues, artwork in tow, to talk about the issue and to raise funds for Safehouse.

While in Cheyenne, Aiden Sinclair wrote an unusually magic show that revolved around abused women from another time and place. Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum was housed in a gorgeous British mansion. But what happened on the inside was far from gorgeous. Most of its "patients" were women committed bu their well-to-do husbands because it was easier (and cheaper) that getting a divorce. Most women were fairly young when committed, but they usually died there, because the only person who could release them were their husbands, who wielded all the power.

I'll let Westword tell the rest of the story:

At Aiden Sinclair's magic show, you won't see any bunnies pulled out of hats or ladies cut in half. Sinclair describes From a Padded Room: An Evening in Colney Hatch Asylum, which plays at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 8, at the Tattered Cover LoDo event hall in Denver, as an empathic journey back in time to the very real British asylum and the horrible practices that went on in its halls. Beyond the chilling entertainment, $5 from each ticket sold will go to support SafeHouse Denver, which provides emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence.

We caught up with Sinclair in advance of the show to learn about the history of Colney Hatch and his mission to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

Westword: How did the show come about?

Aiden Sinclair: The show came about by coincidence. A friend of mine in Cheyenne is a gentleman named Forrest King and he's an extremely talented artist. And the cool thing about him is all of his painting is really driven toward social issues that a lot of people don't talk about at all. So he did this painting that's called the "Battered Bride," and the first time I saw this painting it was extremely emotional. It's one of those things that's really hard to look at, but you can't look away at the same time.

So he had approached me about doing some magic at a benefit that he had, and as soon as he asked if I would do a benefit I said absolutely. It kind of struck me that normally when I perform magic for people the object of magic is the suspension of reality -- it's to take people away from the world and bring them into some imaginative creation that's somewhat impossible. Generally as a magician, for eighteen years I've been very happy to take people away from their problems. This, however, seemed like something that you needed to bring people to, not away from. And I thought it was important that if you have a bunch of people getting together to donate money to a cause, they should really be conscious of exactly what it is that they're donating to and that they're helping people.

So we stopped the show and took it off of production and went into pre-production of this show specifically for this cause. Just to raise money for safehouses. So that was the trick. How do you write a show about domestic violence and still have something that's entertaining, that people would want to sit down and watch?

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We basically designed the show around this place [Colney Hatch Asylum] and around the tragic tale of what happened to women in those days, and we take people on a very empathic trip back in time. It's not like any magic show that has ever really been done before. There are no card tricks, there are no bunnies out of hats, there is no traditional magic to it. We basically take those patient registries, hand them out to the audience, and we ask audience members to pick a patient. It's a free choice; these books have 500 different people in them, some of them are good, some of them are bad, and you basically will pick a person and become that person in your mind. You'll actually visualize what it would be like to be that person. And it's an extremely emotional experience for folks. It's really a neat show, mainly because it's not physical. It's very cerebral. It's exciting.

The first time we ever did it we presented at an art gallery in Cheyenne. We did four shows over a two day period and they were the most emotionally draining four days I think of my life. About 70 percent of the audience left in tears or visibly shaken. And not in a way that they were scared or anything, it just really struck them. And I wanted the show to have meaning but I was really unprepared for the response that I got, and that has been the consistent response.

To buy tickets for the Tattered Cover event, go to www.fromapaddedroom.com. For more information about SafeHouse Denver and 24-hour crisis help, call 303-318-9989 or visit www.safehouse-denver.org. For info about Forrest King, go to http://www.facebook.com/AlternativeArt.

Delegate Jeran Artery wraps up day two at the DNC

Rylee DeGood interviewed Cheyenne's Jeran Artery last night after the second day at the DNC in Charlotte. Go to DNC: Day 2 (10 o'clock)

Sister Simone Campbell fires up the DNC crowd

Eat locally by supporting a new community garden at Laramie County Community College

You can't have too many community gardens. There are two at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and many local churches have tilled the soil for their members and gardeners from the community. LCCC  is holding a [planning session for its own garden:

Laramie County Community College is laying the groundwork for a better community, one tomato at a time. A community garden is being constructed at LCCC. 

The garden will be open to all members of the Cheyenne community. Beyond creating a sense of community, the garden also will provide produce for those in need throughout the local area, but the college needs help from the community to get the idea growing. 

A planning and idea day for the community garden will be held 9:30-11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Center for Conferences and Institutes, Room 121 on the LCCC campus. Ideas, expertise, and hands-on help are needed to help build the vision. 

For more information please contact Jeri Griego at 307.778.1279 or Cathy Rogers at 307.778.4322.

Wyoming DNC delegate Jeran Artery live from Charlotte on Channel 5

Cheyenne's Jeran Artery from Wyoming Equality is a delegate to the Democratic Party National Convention in Charlotte. He's being interviewed by Channel 5's Rylee DeGood during both the 5:30 and 10 p.m. telecasts. He has a lot to say, especially tonight as he contrasted the cultural diversity of the DNC crowd with the Fifty Shades of White crowd at the RNC. Hear Jeran's report at DNC: Day 1. You have to put up with a short clip of Paul Ryan at the end -- but you can always cut that part. 

The Fix scores winners and losers at the DNC podium

Chris Cillizza on The Fix at the Washington Post parses the speechifying winners and losers at the DNC at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/04/democratic-national-convention-day-one-winners-and-losers/

I liked Julian Castro, mayor of San Antonio. I'd vote for his twin brother, too, if I lived in his Texas district. I'd vote for their Mom! Also, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and the First Lady were terrific.

Who were your faves?

Radio interview from the DNC: Ken McCauley, Air Force veteran, isn't disappointed in Pres. Obama

From Cheyenne resident and USAF veteran Ken McCauley, a Wyoming delegate at the DNC:

Pete Laybourn [former member of the Cheyenne city council] is providing updates on 1480-AM KRAE in Cheyenne every morning at 7:45-8:00 a.m. I was his guest this a.m. and talked about how the GOP is pressing a message that Americans should be dissatisfied with our President. I gave a list of reasons I am NOT dissatisfied with President Obama, and focused my comments on military issues. Specifically:

 

As a veteran, I wasn’t disappointed when President Obama:

· Ended the war in Iraq, bringing our soldiers home after a decade of fighting.

· Began the process of drawing down troops in Afghanistan

· Ended the stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan beyond their enlistment date.

· Ended the media blackout of war casualties so the American people know the true cost of war.

· Provided troops with better body armor and approved funding for the Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicle.

· Improved conditions at Walter Reed and other military hospitals.

· Improved benefits for veterans, including mental health services and treatment for traumatic brain injury.

· Made the hard decision to deploy additional troops when needed in Afghanistan. He campaigned that he would refocus on Afghanistan to locate bin Laden, and he did!

· Killed Osama Bin Laden and eliminated several other top al Qaeda leaders, including tracking terrorists in Pakistan, Yeman, an Somalia.

• Ordered the Pentagon to cover expenses of families of fallen soldiers if they wish to be on site when the body arrives back in the US.

• Ordered a review of the existing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military (2010)

• Improved the GI Bill for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

• Eliminated co-payments for veterans who are catastrophically disabled.

• Signed The Families of Fallen Heroes Act, which covers the moving costs of immediate family members of those lost in service.

 

"Captured Justice" textbook cover features "Incarceration" poster designed by Laramie artist Felicia Follum

Laramie artist Felicia Follum shared this news today on her blog:

My poster "Incarceration" was recently used as a textbook cover for a Native American History and Public Law textbook.  I was ecstatic when I received the hard copy in the mail. It looks great!!

The idea for this poster was largely inspired by growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota, and seeing the mistreatment of, and racism toward, Native Americans.  The poster was created as part of a series addressing the conditions on American Indian Reservations (specifically Pine Ridge and Rosebud) after many hours of research.  The photo is an unknown chief from a portrait photography book.

"Captured Justice: Native Nations and Public Law 280″ is by Duane Champagne and Carole Goldberg. You can purchase the book online at Carolina Academic Press or on Amazon.com.

Watch President Obama's acceptance speech Thursday at the Dems' HQ in Cheyenne

Linda Stowers, chair of the Laramie County Democrats,

sends this invitation:

Come join us on Thursday night to see and listen 

to President Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC.

We will have Sloppy Joes at Democratic Party

Headquarters, 1909 Warren, Cheyenne, beginning 

at 6:30 p.m. Bring a snack or dessert.

Be there or be square. 

Democrats discuss the arts today in Charlotte at ARTSspeak@DNC

From Bob Lynch of Americans for the Arts: Madeleine Albright, Gov. Quinn, Bernie Williams, and Mayor Kevin Johnson will speak at the Arts Action Fund panel at the DNC (DemConvention) today at 3 p.m. EST. ARTSspeak will be a hit! FMI: http://bit.ly/OZ2beB or #DNC2012.

DNC delegates will hear social justice speech from Sister Simone Campbell on Sept. 5

The Democratic Party has the wisdom to realize that activist nuns have a lot to teach its convention delegates. This news comes from NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby.

NETWORK is pleased to confirm that Sister Simone Campbell has accepted an invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention on the evening of Wednesday, September 5. This will provide an important opportunity to talk about what she has learned after decades of work for social and economic justice.

We also regret that no similar invitation was extended by the Republican National Convention and that, despite our efforts, NETWORK was unable to find a venue there for sharing information about economic justice rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Sister Campbell would have been delighted to speak at the convention.

We are pleased that Cardinal Dolan will be present at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.

Note: In addition to her speech, Sister Simone Campbell (and NETWORK staff) will be facilitating two social justice workshops during the Democratic convention: “Mind the Gap” on Wednesday, Sept. 5 from 10 AM to noon (http://charlottein2012.com/events/mind_the_gap_) and “Nuns on the Bus” on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 10 AM to noon (http://charlottein2012.com/events/nuns_on_the_bus). She will also provide the keynote address at the Faith Caucus meeting of the College Democrats of America annual convention prior to the Democratic National Convention.

Will Dem butts fill all of those seats Thursday night at B of A Stadium in Charlotte? We did it in Denver

An AP story by Julie Pace in this morning's Denver Post said that Democratic Party officials are concerned that Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte will not be filled when Pres. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party nomination on Thursday night. The stadium seats 74,000. That's a lot of seats to fill with Dem butts, or at least Dem butts and da butts of other curious Tarheels.

Anything short of a full house on the final night of the Democratic Party's national convention will be instant fodder for Republicans eager to use empty seats as symbols of waning voter enthusiasm for Obama.

Democrats have been fretting for months over whether the president can draw a capacity crowd at Bank of America Stadium. Polls show voter enthusiasm is down, as are Obama's crowds for his battleground state campaign rallies.

Obama advisers insist the stadium will be filled when Obama delivers his speech. Vice President Joe Biden also will speak Thursday night, along with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who will vouch for Obama's national security credentials.

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Thursday's event is certain to draw comparisons to 2008, when Obama accepted the Democratic nomination before a capacity crowd at an 84,000-seat stadium in Denver. There was little concern back then over whether Obama would fill the stadium, in part because he was easily attracting tens of thousands of people to his campaign rallies across the country.

This time around, Obama's crowds are far smaller. He drew his biggest audience at his campaign kick-off rally in May, a 14,000-person crowd at Ohio State University. About 13,000 people attended Obama's rally on Sunday at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The campaign says the size of Obama's events this summer have purposely been kept low. Large rallies are more expensive and security requirements are more intense for a sitting president than a candidate.

I waited in line for hours to get into Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium on that warm August evening in 2008. The crowd was impressive, and I took some terrible cellphone photos to prove it. My technical skills haven't improved, nor has my equipment. I'm sure we'll get tons of smartphone and Instagram pix from Charlotte this Thursday. Meanwhile, ogle these pix from DNC Denver 2008.

Lining up at Denver's Mile High Stadium

Dem delegates on the 30-yard line (see anyone you know?)

Jesse Jackson almost buried by media types

Sen. John Kerry, who will speak Thursday night in Charlotte

"The Daily Show's" John Oliver, in a blur (I was moving fast)

Rev. Rodger McDaniel's Labor Day sermon: "Cesar, Samuel, Shanker & Moses"

The Rev. Rodger McDaniel is one of my fellow progressive bloggers. While none of us take any pledges as bloggers, Rodger has pledged a lifetime of service to God. As pastor at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne, he has taken to heart the old adage, "to comfort the afflicted to to afflict the comfortable." Newspaper reporters used to believe in that, although in today's media, it seems as if that gets turned on its head to become "to comfort the comfortable and to afflict the afflicted."

That carries over into politics. Republicans make no secret of their disdain for working people, especially the working poor. They spent all last week comforting and praising their rich-boy presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who aims to gut government programs for working people while giving more tax breaks to his rich pals.

This week, the Democratic Party will showcase a different philosophy. While the Dems sometimes are beholden to the same corporate interests that own the Republicans, there is a clear-cut difference in their policies. They will speak in Charlotte about health care, liveable wages, protecting Social Security and Medicare, education, environmental policies and that nebulous thing known as "the future." It's up to us to hold them accountable once the convention is over. This is good to keep in mind on this Labor Day as we remember the workplace sacrifices of our ancestors.

In his Labor Day sermon reprinted on his Blowing in the Wyoming Wind blog,  Rodger reminds us that our religious traditions have a long history -- going back to Moses -- of standing up for working people. He also notes that our modern churches must do more than conduct the occasional holiday food drive, that they must actively champion the rights of people to receive a living wage and fair benefits. Read his sermon: "Cesar, Samuel, Shanker & Moses"

Live from the hummingbirdminds bunker -- not-so-live coverage of the DNC from Charlotte

To my readers:

You may have noticed that I did quite a bit of posting last week about the Republican National Convention in Tampa without the bother of leaving home. Many thanks to Meg Lanker-Simons at Cognitive Dissonance out of Laramie, who scooped all of us with interviews with former Repub Chair Michael Steele and NBC's Chuck Todd, and that post-convention Q&A with Clint Eastwood's chair. Also thanks to Progress Florida, who maintained a web site about goings-on in the streets during the RNC.

I'm gearing up to provide the same service during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Last night in Denver, I bade adieu to several Wyoming Democratic Party delegates on the eve of their departure for the convention. Jeran Artery, Kate Wright and Ken McCauley promised to keep in touch via the usual e-means. I have no reason to suspect that they won't keep their word, although once they hit the ground in Charlotte, time will speed up and they will be caught up in a wave of speeches and floor votes, not to mention the sea of  hors d'oeuvres they will be forced to consume at the endless flurry of receptions sponsored by unions, conservation groups, feminist organizations, civil rights activists and other nogoodnik socialists.

But they will keep us posted because they are Democrats and they will make sure that the blog posts get through, come hell or high water or mounds of Carolina BBQ ribs.  

You can get the news feed from Netroots Nation (9 a.m.-4 p.m. EST, Tues.-Thurs.). The NN folks are live-streaming from Charlotte. NN promises this:

We’re teaming up with Democracy for America this week in Charlotte to provide a live studio where progressive leaders, pundits, and your favorite bloggers and reporters will join us for progressive conversations. You’ll hear from folks like Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Donna Edwards, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Van Jones, Lizz Winstead, The Nation’s Ari Berman, Gov. Howard Dean and more.

The live coverage will be hosted by Cliff Schecter, founder and president of progressive public relations firm Libertas LLC, best-selling author (2008′s The Real McCain), nationally syndicated columnist and regular pundit on such shows as The Young Turks on Current TV, The Majority Report with Sam Seder and Take Action News with David Shuster. Cliff is also a co-founder of Washington DC’s progressive radio station, We Act Radio (AM 1480).

If you want to test your knowledge of N.C. (the Old North State), you can take this quiz here. I didn't do too well, although I did get the trick question about Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. I grew up with NASCAR, y'all. BTW, if you Dems get bored, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is located in Charlotte.

More later...

Call for entries (kids only!): International Peace Poster Contest

"Children Know Peace," 2011-2012 grand prize winner

I know Lions Clubs best for its sight programs. Club members collect old eyeglasses and provide glasses for people who need them but can't afford them. The club also sponsors an eye bank and vision screening. But the Lions apparently have other visions for us all:

Each year, Lions clubs around the world proudly sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. For 25 years, more than four million children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest.

The theme of the 2012-13 Peace Poster Contest is "Imagine Peace." Students, ages 11, 12 or 13 on November 15, are eligible to participate.

Each year's art contest for kids consists of an original theme incorporating peace. Participants use a variety of mediums, including charcoal, crayon, pencil and paint, to express the theme. The works created are unique and express the young artists' life experiences and culture.

Twenty-four international finalists are selected each year, representing the work of more than 350,000 young participants worldwide. Posters are shared globally via the Internet, the media and exhibits around the world.

To learn more about the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, please view our brochure, contest rules and deadlines, call 630-203-3812 or contact the Lions Clubs International Public Relations Department.

Call for entries: Peace Song Contest

My K.C. pal and old college roomie (Go Gators!) Bob Page sent me this call for entries from his old friend, musician Karen Dunning:

Karen Dunning sponsors $500 Peace Song Contest.

Contestants from around the world are invited!  

Submit up to three original songs about peace in mp3 format to:  Karen@karendunning.com

The winner receives $500.  TRI Studios is donating audio and video recording for the winner at TRI studios in San Rafael, CA (the studio of Bob Weir of Grateful Dead fame).

Thank you for contributing to world peace!

Details:

Submissions close September 21, 2012 -- World Peace Day.

Artists may submit up to 3 songs in mp3 format up to 20mg/song

Songs must be original music and lyrics.

Songs must be original to the artist submitting the song.

Each song must include a short vision statement from the artist/s.

Please submit each song to karen@karendunning.com and put your song title and Peace Song Contest in the subject line

Artists retain rights to their songs, and grant Karen Dunning rights to play the submitted songs for promotional uses to raise awareness for peace.

Artists are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses.

Amidst the convention hoopla, Republicans take time to praise arts education

Sometimes you have to depend on a city's alternative press to get the story behind the story. From Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's RNC web site:

Officials from varying levels of government talked on the importance of arts and arts education in a panel discussion moderated by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at the Tampa Theatre Tuesday afternoon.

“Arts education is fundamental , not ornamental,” said Art Keeble, executive director of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. He said those who will prosper and succeed in a new economy will be those who “think like artists.” He predicts MFA's will soon be as sought after as MBA’s.

In conjunction with the Arts Council and Tampa Theatre, the discussion was hosted by the non-profit Action Fund of Americans for the Arts, an organization which supports arts education within communities and schools. Americans for the Arts has about 200,000 members throughout the country. According to the Action Fund's website, students with an arts-rich education have higher GPA’s, better scores on standardized tests, and lower drop-out rates.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert said that the benefits of arts education extend beyond the classroom. He said supporting the arts has economic benefits, too, since creative people are keen problem-solvers and able to develop better solutions to market needs.

He added that arts education requires a two-pronged approach, combining reinforcement in the home and a comprehensive curriculum for arts appreciation in schools.

 “Frankly, I’m one who believes that a good balanced approach to education includes an appreciation of art and opportunities to be taught,” said Herbert.

MFA's as sought after as MBA's? Possibly. But MFA education will have to change to incorporate aspects of the MBA curriculum, don't you think? Artists are becoming (or expected to become) artrepreneurs, but have very little training in the entrepreneurial arts. That needs to change. And it's possible the MBA candidate would benefit from some visual arts, performing arts or creative writing courses.

Read the entire article at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay : Former Governor Huckabee moderates art education forum at Tampa Theatre

On the mean streets of Tampa with Meg from Cognitive Dissonance

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons interviews former Repubican Party Chair Michael Steele yesterday at the RNC in Tampa. Michael is dressed Repub casual (blazer and tennies) for the humid-hot Tampa day. Meg also interviewed Chuck Todd and Lawrence O'Donnell. Re-posted from Cognitive Dissonance.

Transitions Artisans hold an art show and sale Sept. 9 at Carnival Antiques

The Transitions Artisans create art as part of the healing process, as they transition from inpatient mental health care to a home environment. Sales of their work will go toward buying arts supplies and equipment for the CRMC-sponsored program.

AFL-CIO imagines "Mitt Romney's America"

Something fun to do in Tampa tomorrow:

“Welcome to Mitt Romney’s America” Parade: Sponsored by AFL-CIO. Tampa official parade route The event is called “Welcome to Mitt Romney’s America” and will look a lot like a carnival but will showcase what will happen to America if he is elected President in November. Contact: Cheryl Schroder at 813-368-7124 or cschroeder@wcffl.org or Joshua Anijar at 850-228-9841 or janijar@flaflcio.org.

RNC dispatches from my secret bunker in Cheyenne

So why is Mike Shay at hummingbirdminds covering the RNC in Tampa, Florida, from his bunker in Cheyenne, Wyoming?

I'm not. But I think that my landlocked readers are interested in all of the anti-RNC goings-on around Tampa Bay. You won't get it on the TV networks. You may get some of it from MSNBC and NPR and CSPAN. But you need to dial into the blogs to get the view from the street.

One other thing: I spent my formative years in Florida. I surfed its beaches and canoed its creeks and rivers. Traveled the state with my high school basketball team. Voted here in many elections and met the candidates, including Ronald Reagan during his unsuccessful 1976 campaign (apparently he learned a few things along the way). I am a Florida Gator, which gives me carte blanche to act like a fool during football season and to like Tim Tebow, no matter whom he plays for.

I haven't lived in Florida for 34 years but my roots are there, and so are my seven brothers and sisters and most of their offspring. Thirty years ago, my one and only marriage took place at a Catholic Church adjacent to the beach, salt-water scent drifting through its open windows. 

It's a wonderfully crazy place, a battleground state, pitting Miami Liberals vs. Panhandle Right-Wingers. If you know the place by reading Carl Hiaasen's novels and Miami Herald columns, you know some of its quirky nature.

Besides, things are quiet here in Wyoming -- for now. Our Republicans are battling each other, CROW vs. the RINOs. The Dems are struggling to keep the few seats we have in the state legislature. It will get much more interesting come October, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, from Florida, there is this and that.  

RNC in Tampa due for a direct hit from Hurricane Meg

The Tampa Bay area may have received only a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac, but it's about to be hit with the full impact of Hurricane Meg. On Monday, Meg Lanker-Simons of Cognitive Dissonance interviewed Libertarian candidate for prez and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. He's disgruntled with the Republicans and crony capitalism, among other things. Listen to the interview here.

Forget the networks -- get live video and on-the-street blogging from the Republican National Convention

We're beginning to get a sense of who will be covering what at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Forget the major networks and their talking heads -- they'll miss all of the important stories. CSPAN will have unedited feeds of the proceedings, and may even catch some of the action on the streets. My attention will be tuned to Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons and her Cognitive Dissonance blog, whose irreverent take on the world is always refreshing. Go to http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/. Reporting live feeds from the Romneyville encampment a mile from the convention center will be Mobile Broadcast News. Go to http://mobilebroadcastnews.com. 

Progress Florida offers the Progressive's Guide to the RNC at  http://progressflorida.org/rnc/

To be continued...

Interested Party blog: Bakken pipeline could mean the end for Wyoming sage grouse

Our blogging pals at Interested Party out of South Dakota had a post this morning about the Bakken Pipeline.

If completed, it would transport raw natural gas liquids (NGLs) south through easternmost Montana and Wyoming into northern Colorado, where it will connect to the existing Overland Pass Pipeline.

It may also spell the end of the threatened Wyoming sage grouse, and endanger equally tenuous (and drought-plagued) water supplies. The pipeline's projected path through Laramie County takes it west of Burns and Carpenter and east of Cheyenne. Did you know that? I didn't.

Read the rest at interested party.

Thanks IP!

Magical thinking makes the GOP go 'round and 'round and 'round... like a hurricane

Neat column by Beau Friedlander on the Huffington Post:

While I was reading commentary about Rep. Todd Akin's overshare regarding abortion, the female body and the dark night of the GOP's soul, it occurred to me that the same attitude that allowed him to say what he said (call it ignorance, anti-intellectualism, magical thinking) has been at work in the GOP fight against Dodd-Frank, gay marriage, food and product safety, government spending and all the other GOP panic button social issues that have been causing a bottleneck in Congress since Obama took office.

Akin is today's GOP. The grease that moves things is magical thinking, whether we're talking about "self-regulating" businesses that can make or break the world economy or federal roads that build themselves or schools that somehow have everything they need to prepare kids for life without much in the way of tax revenue. What Akin thinks matters, because his thinking reveals a lot about the cultural conservative movement in the United States. It's the dunderheaded certainty of a religious person who believes God is not only concerned with individuals in a granular way, but that He will quite literally provide. This is a version of God that assures his followers there is no cause for alarm with regard to climate change (after all God knows what He's doing). This is a God that says, "Truly I say unto thee, shopping is beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing to see here. Get back to work."

Rest the rest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beau-friedlander/while-i-was-reading-comme_b_1821617.html

REMINDER: Dem Picnic Today!

The Laramie County Democrats will hold its annual 

Meet the Candidates Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 25, 1-4 p.m.,

at 2218 Champion Drive, Cheyenne. Meet and hear from

our candidates. Get fired up for November!

Hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, sodas and water will be provided.

Please bring the following:

Last name A-I: Dessert

J-Q: Salad

R-Z: Covered dish

Cool conversations will abound! 

Donations will be accepted.

Sod Farm Festival organizer takes page from Vaudeville to raise funds for Nicaraguan schools

Speaking of creativity:

Music lovers in Sheridan County will be able to get their fill with 16 acts set to take the stage at this year's Sod Farm Festival to benefit Project Schoolhouse, which builds schools and water systems in Central America. This year's goal is to raise $35,000 for an entire school in Nicaragua. 

Event Organizer Tab Barker says that in order to get through 16 acts in the allotted time, he's taken a page from the retro-Vaudeville acts he's seen at Sheridan's WYO Theater. Listen to his unique method. 

Event headliner is the band Seu Jacinto from Austin, Texas, which Barker is a member of.

The Sod Farm Festival will take place from 3 to 10 p.m. at the Green Carpet Sod Farm West of Sheridan. To get there take Big Goose Road until you hit Owl Creek Road, then take a right and follow the road until it ends Tickets for the Sod Farm Festival are $20 and can be purchased in advance at the WYO Theater, or at the gate Saturday evening.

Soldier-writers bare "The Soul of America" -- and they're coming to Wyoming this fall

Lance Corporal Nicholas G. Ciccone by Michael D. Fay, a portrait drawn during their duty in Afghanistan. Ciccone committed suicide in 2003. Courtesy of the Art Collection, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Virginia.

I'm constantly amazed with the creative ways that humans confront their many challenges. Not surprising that many of those responses involve the arts. The arts allow us to express our deepest emotions, such as fear, anger and love. Where would we be without the poetry of love expressed in a Shakespearean sonnet? The anger expressed in a Bob Dylan or Green Day protest song? What about the pain expressed by the warrior in "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Habibi Hlaloua," a modern dance production about choreographer and dancer Roman Baca's U.S. Marine platoon in Iraq? If they didn't exist, we would have to invent them and, amazingly enough, we are always finding new ways to do just that.

Yesterday I was reading the quarterly magazine of the National Endowment for the Arts. It's dedicated to the military and the arts. Researchers have discovered that writing or creating an artwork about a painful experience, such as trauma experienced in battle, stimulates the same part of the brain -- the right hemisphere -- that is activated with "traumatic recall." This also helps unlock the speech center in the left hemisphere that shuts down when presented with a painful memory. 

This is why veterans such as Ron Capps have found healing in creative writing, and why he went on to found the Veterans Writing Project. Capps has enlisted a slew of talented writers workshop leaders. Some are veterans (Tobias Wolff, Joe Haldeman, Brian Turner) but many are not (Bobbie Ann Mason, Mark Bowden, Marilyn Nelson). Some understanding of the battlefield is a plus, but it's more important to be an effective teacher and a writer who possesses more than the usual quota of empathy. Bobbie Ann Mason wrote a terrific novel about soldier returning home from Vietnam, "In Country." Jeff Shaara never served a day in the military but he puts his readers in the middle of the fighting at Antietam and Vicksburg and, more recently, Normandy and The Battle of the Bulge. You can see and hear some of these writers in the terrific documentary, "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience." Brian Turner is featured in a segment "What Every Soldier Should Know."Vietnam veteran and novelist Tim O'Brien also is interviewed.

Coincidentally, Turner and O'Brien will be in Wyoming this fall. If you'd like to take a free writing workshop with O'Brien (and who wouldn't?), he will be conducting one on Friday, Oct. 5, as part of the Literary Connection at LCCC in Cheyenne. He is one of three workshop teachers that day from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. -- the others are outdoor writer John Calderazzo from Colorado State University (one of my mentors from my CSU days) and Cat M. Valente.

Turner will be featured at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper Sept. 14-15. On Friday at 1 p.m., he will be reading from his work along with the three winners of the Wyoming Arts Council's poetry fellowship competition. On Saturday at 10 a.m., he will discuss the role of the soldier-writer with fellow Iraq War veteran Luis Carlos Montalvan. The panel moderator will be veteran, poet and Casper College professor Patrick Amelotte. Turner also will be signing copies of his books, "Here, Bullet" and "Phantom Noise" throughout the weekend.

How did these writers translate their experiences into written form? Come on out to these events and find out. They're both in the vicinity, as Casper is only a few Wyoming interstate highway miles away from your Cheyenne neighborhood. 

Rodger McDaniel: Welcome to UW, the un-university

Rodger McDaniel writes today about the un-University of Wyoming in Laramie, a place where academic freedom is only an afterthought (if that). Read Rodger's take on the "Carbon Sink" artwork debacle at http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com/2012/08/uw-censorship-is-more-emblematic-of.html. And tune in tomorrow to his blog to read about UW's dark history of censorship.

Obama for America Wyoming off to Fort Collins

President Barack Obama will be speaking next Tuesday night at CSU in Fort Collins. A major get-out-the-vote effort is on the agenda for this weekend. precedes This comes from Obama for America Wyoming:   Obama for America Wyoming will be conducting a major export canvass to help our friends in Fort Collins. Colorado is a major swing state in this election, and a victory there will help us get one step closer to 270. We'll be meeting up at the Organizing for America office in Fort Collins at 10:00 a.m. Hope you can join us! If you need a ride down to Fort Collins, contact Nigel Latham at 307-772-1551. Start: Saturday, August 25, 2012 End: Saturday, August 25, 2012 Host: Janet Whitehead Location: OFA-CO office in Fort Collins (Fort Collins, WY) 401 South Mason Street Fort Collins, WY 80521

Voter turnout high in Laramie County -- and it shows

Pleased to see that Laramie County voters had the foresight to approve all of the infrastructure propositions on the Aug. 21 ballot. Voters will get a new Botanic Gardens building, along with road improvements to the park and vicinity. The municipal pool will get much-needed upgrades. The old airport building will be replaced by something that resembles a facility that serves the state capital and its largest county. Downtown's 17th Street will get a makeover, and we will construct a new building for the Cheyenne Police Department. And then there are all those county flood control and sewer and water projects that are not flashy but necessary. All good stuff. And it looks as if Laramie County had the highest voter turnout in the state with almost 65 percent. The statewide numbers were dismal, coming in at less than 50 percent, the worst in 30 years.

What to make of the defeat of the recreation center and the Archer Complex facility? I have no good advice except this: back to the drawing boards, people! Come back to us when you have better plans.

Literary Death Match: Ayn Rand vs. J.R.R. Tolkien

Saw this on Facebook (via writer pal Pamela Painter) and had to share. I read both novels at about the same time, in my early 20s (I matured late). I read "The Fountainhead" too. Ayn Rand provided some good reads and, for a short while, food for thought. But I read the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy twice, and the stories stayed with me, feeding my standing-in-line-on-opening-night obsession with the LOTR movies by Peter Jackson. I like orcs, and they scared me too.

President Obama will speak at CSU in Fort Collins Aug. 28

President Barack Obama will speak at my alma mater next week just down I-25 in Fort Collins. His timely visit, on the eve of Mitt Romney's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, speaks volumes about the importance of Colorado in the 2012 election. It also speaks volumes about the importance of younger voters and college-educated voters to the Democratic Party. This news comes from KUNC Public Radio in Greeley:

President Barack Obama will travel to Fort Collins next Tuesday for a campaign event.

The visit is part of a two-day swing through Iowa, Colorado and Virginia, according to an Obama for America email. The timing of Obama speaking on Tuesday will happen just before Mitt Romney is expected to accept the Republican nomination on Wednesday.

In 2008, historically Republican-leaning Larimer County voted for Obama. Questions about the economy loomed large back then, and are front-and-center in Obama’s 2012 reelection bid.

As of July 2012, the county had almost 15,000 more active registered Republicans compared to Democrats with almost 61,000 unaffiliated voters.

The Obama for America Campaign expects to release more details about the visit in the coming days.

According to the Associated Press and the Coloradoan, the event is expected to take place at night on the Colorado State University campus.

BioBlitz and Biodiversity Fest coming to Rocky Mountain National Park

This looks like fun, science and the arts mixing it up, and it's happening at my favorite (and closest) national park (from the 5280 mag web site):

To celebrate the U.S. National Park Service's 100th birthday, National Geographic is hosting a BioBlitz at a different national park every year during the decade leading up to the centennial celebration in 2016. Rocky Mountain National Park was chosen to host this year's event. 

So, what exactly is a BioBlitz? For 24 hours, scientists, students, teachers, volunteers, and science junkies will work together to identify as many species in the park as possible. That means plants, insects, birds, fish, mammals—even fungi. By offering scientists and community members a chance to conduct fieldwork together, coordinators hope to highlight the importance of ecosystem biodiversity.  

Everyone is welcome, but the event is especially important and entertaining for young people. "We are the first mountain ecosystem highlighted," says Kyle Patterson, Public Information Officer for Rocky Mountain National Park. "This is an extremely unique event in our own backyard and an incredible way to connect kids to science and nature."  

The BioBlitz's companion event, the Biodiversity Festival, will be held at the Estes Park fairgrounds Friday and Saturday, August 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 40 exhibitors will have hands-on activities, science and ranger demonstrations, speakers, and live animals. You can even graduate from "Biodiversity University." When the sun starts to set on Friday, break out the blankets and enjoy live music, an outdoor movie, and a photo presentation (from National Geographic, so you know it's gonna be good). 

Register for the BioBlitz here.

Shoot Out Cheyenne 24-Hour Filmmaking Contest ready to roll

From filmmaker Alan O'Hashi:

The Shoot Out Cheyenne 24 Hour Filmmaking Contest and Festival has a $1000 cash prize for the "Best TSOC Classic Film". A GoPro 3D camera rig for the "Best TSOC 3D Film".

You don't have to make a film to take part - come to the Top 10 screening at the Atlas Theatre on Sunday October 7th, 1p.m!

TSOC is offering a 25% discount on the already discounted Early Bird prices through September 22nd. Just enter promo code: tsoc2012.

TSOC asks filmmakers to trust their courage, imagination and determination by making a film in just 24 hours. The challenge and skill involved becomes evident with the list of required technical, material, and timing 'rules' for creating the films. There are three categories this year: TSOC Classic Films - 7 minutes; TSOC 3D Films - 90 seconds; TSOC Smart Phone Philms - 7 minutes. FMI: http://www.theshootoutcheyenne.com/

New Cheyenne performing arts group holds informational meetings Aug. 26 & 27

Jeff Tish is a freelance theatre scenic designer from Cheyenne. He sends this news about a new non-profit organization dedicated to the performing arts:

Next Step Performance Company, a newly formed non-profit organization, will be hosting two informational meetings and Q & A at the Laramie County Library August 26th (Willow Room) @ 2:00 PM and August 27th (Cottonwood Room) 7:30 PM. The public is encouraged to attend. We will discuss the plans for our first season as well as answer questions about public involvement, funding, performance opportunities and our plans for a Performing Arts Scholarship that will be funded by Next Step events.
• No need to RSVP.
• Seating is limited.
• Open to the Public

The NEXT STEP PERFORMANCE COMPANY will be a producing company that will support local and regional programs in Dance, Music and Theatre related performances. At the heart of the NEXT STEP PERFORMANCE COMPANY is our performing arts scholarship program. We will be raising money to give to performance arts students attending college and performing arts schools. We hope you will be as excited in this project as we are.

Please feel free to pass this information to anyone you think may be interested in this. If you have any questions please email me @ jtish52@gmail.com or call me at 307-630-7778.

Vote on Tuesday, Aug. 21

Reminder: Tomorrow is election day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wyoming allows you to register at the polls and/or change your party affiliation, if you so desire. Let's face it -- there are more choices on the R side of the ballot than there are on the D side.

What's at stake? Contested races for city council and county commissioner. State Legislature primary races and one U.S. Senate and one U.S. House seat. Lots and lots of sixth penny tax proposals.

I plan on voting for all of the sixth penny proposals, with the possible exception of the recreation center (Proposition 1). The rec center seems the least important, and one that will take shape after all of the other infrastructure projects on the ballot are completed. Is a new facility for plants (Cheyenne Botanic Gardens) more important than one for people? The Botanic Gardens is a city treasure, one that promotes the health and well-being of flora and fauna, even big fauna such as humans. It's one that is brought up over and over again as one of those "amenities" that make Cheyenne a great place to live. Cheyenne outgrew its original Botanic Gardens building at least a decade ago. It's time to get with it. The new building will have more room for plants and research and more room for people in the form of meeting rooms.

Go vote tomorrow, if you haven't already. Be a citizen. Do your duty. And if I hear you complaining after the election, whining that the rec center or Botanic Gardens or airport terminal or flood control project is a waste of money, I will ask you if you voted. If you did, then we have something to discuss. If you didn't, I'm not talking to you. I don't mind whiners, as long as you're a voting whiner.

If you're confused about polling places, go to the Laramie County Clerk's web site at http://www.laramiecountyclerk.com/elections.aspx. There's a cool little search box where you only have to type in your street address to find the correct polling place.

Progressive attendance needed at Sept. 12 Cato Insitute event in Cheyenne

This comes from Wyoming Democratic Party Communications Director Brodie Farquhar:

Sept. 12, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Little America, Cheyenne: Progressive attendance needed at Wyoming Liberty Group's presentation by Cato Institute on the "dangers posed to your family" by Obamacare. Come tell the truth about the Affordable Care Act (ACA)! To register, $30/fee to the Wyoming Liberty Group, 307/632-7020. To rally, contact Democratic Party headquarters, 1909 Warren Avenue, Cheyenne.

Cheyenne NAACP banquet includes awards and presention about "Big Medicine" of the Lewis & Clark expedition

Attended the Cheyenne NAACP (Unit 4108) Freedom Fund Banquet last night for the first time. My wife Chris has been a number of times, as she's actively involved with the local NAACP in planning the annual Juneteenth Celebration in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. It's the longest-running Juneteenth event in Wyoming and, until recently, the only one. Chris and I were given a gift membership to NAACP last year. This year, we renewed the membership.

Also attending were about a dozen members of the Laramie County Democrats and the the Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition. Love & Charity hosted a big table of youth, giving them an opportunity to see the NAACP in action. A number of Colorado NAACP members were present, including the Wyoming/Nebraska/Colorado region chair.

Cheyenne NAACP President Elder Rodney McDowell presented a number of awards to sponsors and volunteers. Chris was surprised when she received a "President's Choice" plaque, so surprised that she burst into tears. She does most of her work behind the scenes and isn't used to blatant public presentations of awards. She got as standing ovation, to boot, and a big hug from Elder McDowell. The wording on the plaque: "In appreciation of your commitment and dedication to Civil Rights and Social Justice in Cheyenne and throughout Wyoming." Those words mean so much in Wyoming, a place that doesn't always lived up to its motto of "The Equality State." So proud of you, Chris!

Guest speaker was Dr. Robert Bartlett, actor and professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University in Cheyenne, Wash. He performed a one-man presentation, "Manservant York." York was the manservant/slave that William Clark brought with him on the famous "Voyage of Discovery." The two has grown up together on the Clark Kentucky plantation. Clark taught York outdoor survival skills as the two hunted and fished the wilderness. When Jefferson appointed Lewis and Clark to make their trek, Clark felt that York's skills would come in handy. They did. York became known as "Big Medicine" to the Indians encountered along the way. On more than one occasion, his presence dissuaded the Indians from killing the voyagers. One Nez Perce chief thought so much of Big Medicine that he had him bed all four of his wives.

During the expedition, York became a free man in the wilderness. On his return to St. Louis, he once again became Master William's slave. He was even beaten after he'd asked for his freedom once too often. York's end is a mystery, although Bartlett opines that he lit out for Indian country, spending the latter part of his life with the Crow Nation in northern Wyoming. York urged the audience to look for him in the history books, "although you'll have to look awfully hard."

Look for York; see if you can find him. 

Citizens for a Better Wyoming: "Time to vote no on Bob Brechtel"

Citizens for a Better Wyoming has been running radio spots during morning air time on KTWO and KWYY in Natrona County. They oppose Rep. Bob Brechtel, a Republican legislator who tends to end up on the right-wing fringes of his party's votes. "Too extreme for Wyoming" -- as the radio ad says. Listen for the spots between 6-10 a.m. on "My Country 95.5" FM (KWYY) and KTWO, 1030 AM, which broadcasts country music and talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh throughout the state.

Here's the text for one of the short but pithy spots:

Bob Brechtel likes to vote no.
He voted no on kindergarten readiness.
He voted no on dyslexia and literacy screening.
He voted no on stronger punishments for domestic violence.
He voted no on open public records.
Bob Brechtel is too extreme for Wyoming.
It's time to vote no on Bob Brechtel.

Tom Morello wonders what Rage Against the Machine song goes best with regressive Paul Ryan policies

Republicans try to be hip, but they just can't seem to find the right soundtrack to go with their regressive policies.

In Rolling Stone, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine writes about Republican Veep candidate Paul Ryan's supposed Rage fandom, something that Ryan has bragged about in the past.

Rage Against the Machine writes songs that ferociously advocate unions, fair wages, immigrants and social justice. In other words, what Rage is for, Ryan is clearly against. And lest you think that Rage is only angry at Republicans, remember that the band put on a huge concert at the Denver Coliseum during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and then -- with Iraq Veterans Against the War -- staged an antiwar march to the convention center. I hope that Morello and the band plans similar events in Charlotte and Tampa this year.

A few thoughts by Morello from Rolling Stone:

"He [Ryan] can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.

"I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of 'F--- the Police?' Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings."

Meet the Democratic Party candidates Aug. 25 in Cheyenne

The Laramie County Democrats will hold its annual Meet

the Candidates Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 25, 1-4 p.m.,

at 2218 Champion Drive, Cheyenne. Meet and hear from 

our candidates. Get fired up for November.

Hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, sodas and water will be provided. 

Please bring the following

Last name A-I: Dessert

J-Q: Salad

R-Z: Covered dish

Donations will be accepted.

AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS ON TUESDAY,

AUG. 21! 

It's a date -- see you for lunch at Cheyenne's Ruby Juice on Aug. 22

Wyoming Equality sends out this Facebook invitation:

We don't feel like the recent events at Chick-fil-A are representative of how a majority of Americans feel today.

Let's show the world how many people stand for love and equality, and against hate, bigotry, and homophobia! I'll bet we can pack Cheyenne's Ruby Juice with people who feel like you and I do. I want to see lines out the door and around the block!

So here's what we're going to do; on Wednesday, August 22, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., we are holding a "Take a Stand for Love and Equality Day" at Ruby Juice [in downtown Cheyenne]. Let your voice and dollar speak out for equality! Make a statement that you'll also stand in line for an hour to support what you believe in.

Cheyenne business man Jay Harnish runs Ruby Juice. He is staunch ally in the war on equality! In fact, he used to invite Chick-fil-A into his restaurant once a week to supplement his menu, but when he found out about their anti-gay stance and support of hate groups, he parted ways with the franchise.

Help us put Wyoming back on the map as the "Equality State!" This is going to be a huge event with media coverage. Bring your friends, share this event, and help us show the world that standing up for equality is ALWAYS the right thing to do!!

Jay has agreed to donate a portion of the day's profits to Wyoming Equality.

RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/events/431211773584521/435829719789393/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

What is your favorite Wyoming arts town?

NPR has put out an open call for nominations, asking North Americans to describe their favorite arts town:

This summer, NPR’s Destination Art series is going off the beaten path to visit small to mid-sized North American cities that have cultivated lively arts scenes. And we want to hear from you! Where’s your favorite art hot spot? What makes it unique?

NPR’s form is simple and easy to fill out, and this is a great opportunity to get one of Wyoming’s great art towns on the national map!

For some background on the series, the first town to be featured was Marfa, Texas (population: 1,966), which rocketed onto the art world’s radar with the arrival of sculptor Donald Judd in the 1970s. Also featured: Columbus, Indiana and Stratford, Ontario. Go to http://www.npr.org/2012/08/01/156306412/whats-your-favorite-arts-town

What is my favorite Wyoming arts town? 

I love Jackson for all of the obvious reasons. The Center for the Arts for its downtown location and for housing an eclectic mix of Teton County arts orgs. The National Museum of Wildlife Art for its eco-friendly design and for its new sculpture walk. The Jackson Hole Writers Conference, one of the best of its kind in the U.S., all organized by a coterie of Jackson writers, led by Tim Sandlin. The conference would have disappeared long ago without the thousands of hours put in by Teton County and Wyoming-based writers.

I like Sheridan for its public art on almost every downtown corner, for its commitment to homegrown art forms such as the saddle makers showcased at Kings Ropes and Saddlery. There is a ton of great artists and writers in Sheridan County, as well as two of the country's foremost artists' residencies: Ucross and Jentel. And one of my favorite mystery writers, Craig Johnson, actually lives in the tiny town of Ucross.

I like Casper because the Casper College English Department and the CC Foundation had the moxie to step up and sponsor the state's first statewide book festival in 2006. We hold our fourth bookfest Sept. 14-15 with a great line-up of writers, both domestic and out-of-state. I love the Nicolaysen Art Museum, housed in a former power plant, for its dazzling array of contemporary art exhibits and for having the vision to make downtown a regional arts destination with its new public art exhibit and its NIC Fest and its outreach to all sorts of entities in Natrona County. BTW, Casper College now has its own on-campus arts district. How many community colleges anywhere can say that?

I like Laramie for Works of Wyoming and the Laramie Plains Civic Center Theatre and its cool downtown and the dedicated arts faculty at the University of Wyoming, the state's only four-year public university. So many fantastic writers teach at UW (Brad Watson, Alyson Hagy, Jeff Lockwood) and have been visiting writers -- a great new crew will be there during the fall semester. Two indie bookstores liven up downtown, which has plenty of good restaurants with great beer. And did I mention -- the trains run through it! 

I like Lander for the Lander Art Center. I like Rock Springs for its renovated downtown theatre. I like Gillette for its public art program and its engaged citizenry. I like my city of Cheyenne for our great library with its many programs, and for its community theatre, one of the few in the region to actually own two performance venues.  

What is your favorite Wyoming arts town? Don't be shy -- speak up!

Bob Lynch of Americans for the Arts: Mitt Romney has a "misunderstanding" of how arts funding works

Mitt Romney wants to defund the National Endowment for the Arts. Once again, he's pandering to his supporters on the Far Right. And he doesn't understand how arts funding works. 

Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, said Romney has a 'misunderstanding' of how NEA funding works, in that the funding helps stimulate state and local arts councils as well as seed the growth of small businesses. Read Lynch's entire response at Americans for the Arts News

17th Street Arts Festival features 30 local and regional artists

Cheyenne artist Georgia Rowswell is one of the 30 artists exhibiting at the first-ever 17th Street  Arts Festival . The title of this piece by Georgia is "Rock Fragment Landscape #1." It is 10" x 20" and is made of compressed strips of cast-off clothing and is contained in an old oak desk drawer. 

The inaugural 17th Street Art Festival is this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 17-18, in the Downtown Dineen Building's 17th Street parking area.

Friday kicks off with an artists' reception from 5-9 p.m. It is open to the public and will be catered by the Plains Hotel. There will be live music throughout the evening and a chance to talk with and purchase original art from over 30 regional artists. 

Saturday's show opens at 10 a.m. and goes till 8 p.m. All day music, arts activities and more are planned for Cheyenne's first 17th Street Art Festival.  

Aug. 18 Cheyenne NAACP banquet features chautauqua performance, "Manservant York"

From http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com: Explorer William Clark inherited York from his father and York accompanied Clark on the Lewis and Clark Trail journey.

Time to retire the old refrain: "There's nothing to do in Cheyenne"

When I left the Wyoming Arts Council building after work on Friday, I did what I often do -- attend an arts event. Because I work in the arts, you might say that I left work to go to work. And on a Friday!

The event was an artist's reception at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. YMCA stands for Young Men's Christian Association. In the old days, young men of the Christian faith used to live and exercise at the local YMCA. It was a safe -- and inexpensive -- place to do both.

Now YMCAs are exercise meccas for men and women and children. The Cheyenne Y has some 7,000 members. My wife and daughter both work at the YMCA, and I work out at the Y. Some may be surprised to learn that the Y has an active arts program that includes exhibits, workshops and performances. It has a gallery adjacent to the front desk that features a new local artist each month.

The gallery was my destination on Friday. Tony James is August's featured artist. He's a fantastic photographer who specializes in landscapes. He has a knack for capturing the inner life of High Plains clouds, exposing them as they get ready to spew rain or snow or hail. He has an entire series of photos of aspen leaves, portraying them in different settings and different colorations. Tony had two pieces in this summer's Governor's Capitol Art Exhibition. One of them received a purchase award and now is part of the state's permanent collection.

Tony's wife Dee is also an artist. She's the power behind the recent renovation of the Cheyenne Artists Guild building in Holliday Park. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and had fallen on hard times. Using her considerable skills of persuasion, Dee talked Lowe's into donating $50,000 work of material and labor to completely redo the building. Artist Guild members wielded paint brushes and hammers, too. Go see the results and be impressed. Membership is up from about 50 to 200. New art is on the walls and the place now has a new furnace and space for year-round workshops. The city, which owns the building, will soon install a new roof. The Guild is one of the stops on the monthly Art Design & Dine Artwalk.

Tony and Dee James are forces of nature. They are both retired but are not retiring folks. Tony is a Cheyenne native and Dee is almost a Wyoming native, her family arriving in Wyoming from Kentucky when she was two. They are practicing artists and community organizers. Every day, they leave behind their work and go to work promoting the arts in the town that they love. People love to talk about Cheyenne as a place where volunteerism means something. Our largest annual event, Cheyenne Frontier Days, is volunteer-driven. My friend John Coe, a retired arts administrator an music composer, tells the story of moving from Cheyenne to Winchester, Kentucky, to take care of his aging mother. At his first Kiwanis meeting, John said he has just moved from Cheyenne. The Winchester Kiwanians besieged him with questions about the CFD pancake breakfast which, apparently, is known throughout the land.

Which just goes to show how important is it to give back to your community. And to make sure that your community has a solid arts infrastructure.

Since we moved to Cheyenne in 1991, my wife and children and I have played a role in the arts. So many others have done the same. So it's no accident that every night there are multiple offerings. No longer can my children say, "There's nothing to do in Cheyenne," although I still hear it occasionally. When I leave work every day, I can go home or I can attend an exhibit, a concert, a play. The summer schedule has been filled with events, and that continues as I look at the fall events listed on the Arts Cheyenne calendar. Go see for yourself at artscheyenne.com.