Artsy fun for families at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

Call for artists: "Energy" show at Hotel Hadley Studios (N.C.)

Hotel Hadley Studios is seeking artwork of any media for a show entitled, “Energy.” The show will open July 15. There are many definitions to the word and we encourage artists to consider expanded interpretations. One could look at Energy as fuel for our electricity and cars. Energy as caloric and biochemical fuel for our bodies and minds. Or Energy that fuels our soul through the momentum of human and nature interactions. The show is envisioned as an exhibition of artwork reflecting on energy, in all its glorious forms, and an opportunity to educate about alternative energy resources in Chatham County, the pros/cons of current energy sources, including information on hydro-fracturing and the future of natural gas. We will be partnering with NCWARN and others for this event.

Please limit submissions to 3 samples of your artwork by June 10. Work submitted does not need to be the exact piece for the show but indicative of the work intended for the show. Don't forget to include your name, title of piece, media and size. This is a juried show. There is no submission fee, but there will be a participation fee for those exhibiting. This fee will be a sliding scale starting at $25. Artists will be responsible for the cost of transporting their work to the show and back.

Sarah Kuhn, Hotel Hadley Studios, 130 N. Chatham Ave., Siler City, NC 27344, www.hotelhadleystudios.com

Buffalo Bill Historical Center competes in the EPA’s “Battle of the Buildings”

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment. In the spirit of popular weight-loss competitions, the Historical Center will battle it out against hundreds of other teams from buildings across the country to work off the waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA’s Energy Star program.

“The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is honored to be a part of this competition,” says Phil Anthony, operating engineer at the Center and a leader of its sustainability program. “We are committed to continuing to improve our energy efficiency and we look forward to seeing how we measure up against other buildings across the nation.”

--snip--

According to EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and energy use at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. On average, 30 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s Energy Star program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere each year.

To watch the competition unfold, visit www.energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings. More information on the Buffalo Bill Historical Center can be found by exploring www.bbhc.org.

Cracker and Frontier Ruckus making music in Victor

This week, the Teton Valley Foundation's "Music on Main" series presents Cracker and Frontier Ruckus. Travel across the border to Victor City Park from Jackson and Alta via the START bus. FMI: http://www.tetonvalleyfoundation.org/music-on-main.php

King Coal Days in Hanna July 30-31

King Coal Days takes place during the last weekend of July in the historic Carbon County mining town of Hanna. For more information, please contact Jerry Leturgey at the Hanna Recreation Center at 307-325-9402.

While in town, visit the Hanna Basin Museum. Located in the old Community Hall building, it is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Originally constructed as a saloon in 1890, the hall has served many purposes in the Union Pacific Coal Company Town. Sharing the Front Street site is The Miner’s Cottage, a
restored exemplary Two Town House. The Hanna Basin Museum is an active participant in the Carbon Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Project. The Museum houses the Carbon archive, resources revealing life and death in the first coal camp (1868-1902) along the original line of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The museum is located at 502 Front Street and provides a wonderful historical background for the town of Hanna. You can also pick up information about lesser known area points of interest including the ghost town of Old Carbon at the Hanna museum.

Call for entries: Poets for Living Waters

From Poets & Writers Magazine:

Poets for Living Waters is a poetry action in response to the Gulf Oil Disaster of April 20, 2010, one of the most profound man-made ecological catastrophes in history. Former US poet laureate Robert Pinsky describes the popularity of poetry after 9/11 as a turn away from the disaster’s overwhelming enormity to a more manageable individual scale. As we confront the magnitude of this recent tragedy, such a return may well aid us.

The first law of ecology states that everything is connected to everything else. An appreciation of this systemic connectivity suggests a wide range of poetry will offer a meaningful response to the current crisis, including work that harkens back to Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing regional effects.

This online periodical is the first in a planned series of actions. Further actions will include a print anthology and a public reading in Washington DC.

If you would like to submit work for consideration, please send 1-3 poems, a short bio, and credits for any previously published submissions to:
poetsforlivingwaters@yahoo.com.

Editors: Amy King & Heidi Lynn Staples

Introducing new WAC visual arts fellowship recipient David Jones of Laramie

"Goldmines" by David Jones, Laramie; acrylic and spray paint and graphite on branded panel with steel, wood, and threaded installation components, 11'x6'x1'

At an April 24 ceremony in Casper, David Jones of Laramie was named one of three Wyoming Arts Council visual arts fellowship recipients for 2010. David teaches sculpture in the University of Wyoming art department.

Here's the artist's statement he submitted with his fellowship entry:

The boom and bust nature that was inherent in the early development of the Western United States still occurs and is very evident in Wyoming. Things such as the current national and glo bal economic crisis and the ripple effects on supply and demand that have come out of this have resulted in the evaporation of entires communities -- ghost towns. The essence of the boom and bust cycle, -- what it represents on a larger scale and how its nature has helped shape the Western landscape -- is what my current work seeks to explore.

Gillette's AVA Center celebrates Earth Week

Chris Paine: "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

Filmmaker Chris Paine will speak on Thursday, April 8, 7:30 p.m., in the Fine Arts Concert Hall at University of Wyoming in Laramie. His presentation is part of the Shepard Symposium on Social Justice.

Chris Paine is a filmmaker and environmentalist living in Los Angeles. "Who Killed the Electric Car?" premiered at the Sundance in 2006 before its worldwide release by Sony Pictures Classics. Chris also produced "Faster" with Ewan McGregor about the world's fastest motorcycle race, and "No Maps For These Territories," a road trip with cyberpunk author, William Gibson and featuring U2 front-man, Bono.

Outside of film, Chris was an early player in California’s dotcom boom with his firm Internet Outfitters. His company Mondo-tronics, provided materials for the Mars Pathfinder mission. Paine’s activist work includes campaigns to protect forests and to curb US nuclear programs. He supports the Black Rock Arts Foundation, the Rainforest Action Network and Plug-In America. His website is available at http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/

Chris's talk is entitled, "How many lightbulbs does it take to plug in the electric car?" and is about the politics, activism, zeitgeist and cold hard business reasons for return of the electric car . This presentation begins with a quick recap of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and the reasons for its rise and fall in 1990s California. It then picks up where the first documentary left off and presents the reason for the incredible turn of events for the electric car as we are chronicling in "Revenge of the Electric Car."

FMI: http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/justice/

Shepard Symposium on Social Justice addresses environmental topics

From a UW press release:

World-renowned physicist and environmental leader Vandana Shiva is the keynote speaker for the 14th annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice, April 7-9, at the University of Wyoming.

All symposium events are free and open to the public and registration is recommended.

Shiva will discuss "Soil Not Oil: Food Security in Times of Climate Change" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, in the Fine Arts concert hall. A reception and book signing follow the presentation.

Recipient of the 1993 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (the Right Livelihood Award), Shiva is known as one of the world's most passionate and knowledgeable spokespersons for environmental and economic justice.

In her keynote address and in her most recent book, "Soil Not Oil," Shiva discusses socially-just and environmentally-sound principles for feeding the planet . She expands her analysis to broader issues of globalization and climate change, saying that a healthy environment and a just world go hand in hand. Shiva proposes a solution based on self-organization, sustainability and community rather than corporate power and profits.

"The Shepard Symposium has never highlighted environmental issues before," says Kate Muir Welsh, UW Department of Elementary Education professor and the event's chairperson. She says "eco-justice" includes issues of access to things that sustain the world's population -- clean drinking water, inhabitable land, breathable air and plentiful, healthy food.

"Sadly more and more of the world's population do not have such access," Muir says. "This year's symposium and the many workshops and presentations will provide an opportunity for participants to exchange information and engage in dialogue about these social justice concerns."

A physicist, ecologist, activist, feminist, editor and author of many best-selling books, Shiva established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and rights in India that supports local farmers, rescues and conserves crops and plants that are being pushed to extinction and makes them available directly to farmers. She is the founding director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, a network of participatory researchers specializing in ecology, health and sustainability.

Numerous concurrent sessions begin Thursday April 8, beginning at 9:35 a.m. and Friday, April 9, starting at 8 a.m. All sessions are in the Wyoming Union.

La Vida Loca, a one-man show that tells the story of a Mexican immigrant, will be performed by Carlos Manuel in the Fine Arts studio theater at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Chris Paine, director of the 2006 film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" and the forthcoming "Revenge of the Electric Car," is Thursday's keynote presenter. His presentation is at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Concert Hall.

A hip-hop event that features Molina Soleil and Aju is scheduled from 9-11 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom that evening.

UW faculty member Jessica Smith is the endnote speaker. She will discuss the relationship between Wyoming's energy development and environmental social justice at 11 a.m. Friday in the Wyoming Union Ballroom.

An event to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation in the Wyoming Union Ballroom that evening closes the symposium.

A complete symposium schedule is available at http://shepardsymposium.org/.

For more information, contact Sylvia Parker, UW Science and Mathematics Teaching Center, at (307)766-6671 or e-mail sparker@uwyo.edu.

Photo: Vandana Shiva is the keynote speaker for the 14th annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice, April 7-9, at the University of Wyoming.

Call for entries: 2010 Green Book Festival

From a press release:

The 2010 Green Book Festival has issued the call for entries to its annual competition honoring books that contribute to greater understanding, respect and positive action on the changing worldwide environment.

The 2010 Green Book Festival will consider published, self-published and independent publisher works in the following categories: non-fiction, fiction, children's books, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, comics/graphic novels, poetry, science fiction/horror, biography/autobiography, gardening, cookbooks, animals, photography/art, e-books, wild card (anything goes!), scientific, white paper, legal, business, mystery and spiritual.

Entries can be in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Italian. Our grand prize for the 2010 Green Book Festival Author of the Year is $1500 and transportation to our April 30-May 2, 2010 outdoor festival in Los Angeles as part of the LA Garden Show OR an equivalent amount donated in your name to the environmental charity of your choice.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria:
1) The overall writing style and presentation of the work;
2) The potential of the work to enhance understanding of the environment and its issues;

TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at http://www.greenbookfestival.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you by emailing GreenBookFestival@sbcglobal.net or calling our office at 323-665-8080.

Q: "How da body?" A: "Body fine."

"How da body?"

"Body fine."

If your body's fine, you're fine. That's the view of Liberians, anyway, who greet each other in this way.

William Rogers remembered this when he returned to Liberia earlier this year after a ten-year absence. He wasn't so good about duplicating the country's traditional "snap-shake." As he described it in a July 19 Washington Post column:

After a regular handclasp, each person uses the other's middle finger to snap his own. The result is a satisfying double pop. But I'd been out of Liberia too long. My snap-shake wouldn't snap. "Keep tryin'," he [an immigration official] said.

"Keep tryin'. " Good advice for people practicing snap-shakes -- and for writers.

Bill Powers now lives in New York City and is one of the presenters at the Casper College Literary Conference that continues through Saturday. He's published two books and has a third on the way. His first book, "Blue Clay People: Seasons on Africa's Fragile Edge," chronicled his two years working for Catholic Relief Services during Liberia's civil war. Charles Taylor became infamous instigating and then perpetuating the war that went on for 14 years.

Bill presented images from Liberia at his literary conference talk Thursday evening. One showed the view from his CRS office. Young Liberians fired automatic weapons at an unseen enemy holed up in a bombed out cityscape. Death and torture were endemic. Bill told this grisly true story from the war. Taylor's soldiers cut open a man's belly and pulled out his intestines. The soldiers stretched the intestines across a road and gave the end to his daughter to hold. She was warned not to drop it. If she did, she would be killed. Her father yelled at her not to drop it. She held on as her father died.

Amongst the mayhem, Bill discovered "an unbelievable joy and lightheartedness -- joy in being alive." He reminded the audience that there's more to any story than what's happening on the surface. To illustrate, he showed photos of young boys surfing Liberian waves and [people clapping in church. Some kids were being killed -- and some child soldiers were doing the killing. But some kids were playing ball and having fun.

Bill said that he filled up lots of journals while in Liberia. He didn't try to fashion those into a book until he was reassigned to La Paz, Bolivia. He submitted the manuscript to a hotshot book doctor in NYC and she didn't like it. Bill let the manuscript sit for awhile and then tried some small literary presses. Three of them responded favorably and one -- Chicago Review Press -- even made an offer.

But someone told him to get an agent. He did. The agent offered the book at auction. To his surprise, Bill received a huge advance and quit the world of international relief to write full-time.

But those two things have a lot in common.

"Writing and action can help make real change," he said. He outlined "three lessons he learned by living abroad: trust your own truth; we live in one world now; and ideas can change the world."

All of these could apply to any artistic discipline, writing especially.

"Words are worms that can burrow into people's minds and change them," he said.

While we were mulling over that imagery, he told the story of his second book, "Whispering in the Giant's Ear: A Frontline Chronicle from Bolivia's War on Globalization." Bolivia's glaciers were disappearing as quickly as its bountiful rain forests. "There is no skiing in Bolivia any more," he said, noting that the country's glaciers have retreated away from the skiing areas.

But the rain forests are being saved. Preservationists bought out five companies which were logging the forests, creating a huge preserve that butts up against another one across the border in Brazil. Indigenous tribes were able to reclaim land for a reservation on the western side of the new Bolivian preserve. Not every battle ended in success, but progress was being made through this idea of "carbon ranching."

When Bill's book came out, Bill thought he'd been fair to the international conglomerates who'd gone from despoiling Bolivian land to assisting in its preservation.

Not so. They complained about the book and the publisher pulled the book for six months. This is a terrible thing to happen to a new book. Bookstores give it only a few months to sell and then its off the shelves for something new.

The book is available again. But Bill received some schooling on the dynamism of raw power.

Bill will be at the conference through Saturday. You can buy his books at this evening's presentation by Tim Sandlin and Linda Hasselstrom at 7:30 p.m. at Durham Hall.

And don't forget the chili social and WAC creative writing fellowship poetry reading beginning at noon on Saturday. Fellowship recipients Sam Renken, Lori Van Pelt and David Zoby will be reading with fellowship judge Greg Pape.

Mike Shay, at the Casper College Literary Conference