Thanks to Wal-Mart, a great deal of America’s manufacturing has been outsourced to China. “Manufactured Landscapes,”a new documentary film by Canadian doc filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal profiles Edward Burtnysky who has spent a great deal of time lately taking masterful photographs of the landscapes and people in the new Super Capitalist China.
Dr. Fred Barkey and other people in WV including union leaders started the West Virginia Labor History Association in 1977. Many members are still in the group. Presently Gordon Simmons is the president of a group of about 100 members including myself.
Signs, Cures, and Witchery- the book
from the official website for the book - German Appalachian Folklore
By Milnes, Gerald C. The persecution of Old World German Protestants and Anabaptists in the seventeenth century-following debilitating wars, the Reformation, and the Inquisition-brought about significant immigration to America. Many of the immigrants, and their progeny, settled in the Appalachian frontier. (more…)
Since my earliest days in WV, I have had good friends from Clay County, most importantly Happy Leiner, a member of the Stoerts clan. I screened the film in 2005 at The South Charleston Museum to a large audience that included Rebecca and Bill Kimmons. Kate Long and Elaine Purkey are also in the film. (more…)
Michael Moore is not from WV, and his new film “Sicko” wasn’t filmed in WV, but it is a great film - and I just got to watch a preview copy. It indeed does show a kinder, gentler Michael Moore - as all the reviews have said. And it was fantastic, touching, truly important - as much as any of his earlier films - and hopefully will help change our evil medical system.
Judy Bonds, one of WV’s leading environmentalists, will be profiled during a new Sundance series, “The Green,”.” The episode with her is called “Big Ideas For A Small Planet: Pray.” It will premiere on July 10th at 9 PM.
I finally got the results of this year’s competition. The winners were shown as part of Charleston’s Festivall. Congrats to all the people who entered….Here are the winners along with their monetary awards. Here is the website for info on previous student film winners, etc.
Carolyn Harmon is a well-known free-lance writer in the Kanawha Valley. She wrote the current cover story for Goldenseal about goats, and wrote many stories for Graffiti magazine - where I wrote until Dec. 2006. She now writes feature stories for the Lincoln Standard.
Picture of Ma Blizzard’s Beer Store in Eskdale, provided by Dale Payne
James Carey, as I have written earlier, made my life turn for the better when he took my wife Frani and I on a tour of his homeplace in Dawes, Cabin Creek. He said he had heard about a famous woman named “Ma Blizzard,” but never knew why she was famous. I asked several people I work with at The Cultural Center - and none of them knew the name, including the friend Dan Summers, the man at the front desk who knows lots of other things. I have now spent much of my free time since Memorial Day weekend researching the amazing things that have happened up there in Dawes, Eskdale, Paint Creek and Cabin Creek.
Paige Dalporto is one of southern WV’s most creative artists. He is a great musician, recently writing and playing several songs for the soundtrack of the audio movie of “When Miners March.” He has had many of his poems published. He also is a superb photographer with his own website - and for the last six months has worked for The Lincoln Standard.
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