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01/09: Heading out to Virginia

On the Move

I've accepted a position with the United States Office of Surface Mining VISTA program, and starting in mid-January I will be serving as the Watershed Conservation Coordinator in Dante, VA. I'll be moving to a beautiful area of the Appalachians that has shown me both beauty and the serious challenge facing communities that are being confronted with economic and environmental consequences stemming from long-term extraction of coal.

The chance to work community development jumped out when I first heard about this project, and I'm excited at the chance to explore some new surroundings. Dante, Virgina lies in Russell County, which encompasses some of the rolling hills like I've seen farther north along the Blue Ridge Mountains. These photos were taken near the county seat of Lebannon, where the valley stretches wide along both sides of the highway and cattle graze along the outcroppings.

In Dante, the hollows are nestled tightly between mountains, and the a primary focus of my work will be to ensure that the streams that flow through each of these valleys has water with fewer contaminates.

My house is situated in Sawmill Hollow, one of the hollows that has had fewer and fewer residences since the decline in local industry during the last few decades.

I'm living in a cozy little house in Sawmill Hollow, just about a half-mile from the Dante museum where I'll be working.


Mom and Jillian were a huge help in getting the place clean and set up for me to live in. Without their expert assistance, I would have had a lot less bleach on hand.

05/09: Presentation on the Great Stalacpipe Organ and other musical caves

I would like to invite anyone and everyone who is interested to hear a
short presentation I will be making on the long and fascinating
relationship between caves and musical performances. The meeting of the
Blue Grass Grotto of the National Speleological Society begins at 7.30pm
on Tuesday, May 16 in the UK Minerals and Resources Building on Rose
Street, and though I'm not sure exactly when I'll be talking, my portion
of the evening will be about 15-20 minutes.

My topics that night will focus a little on the general history of
musical performances in caves (in particular the Kentucky karst cave
systems and those in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia), lithophones --
instruments made of rock, and the most spectacular example of a
lithophone that I am aware of, The Great Stalacpipe Organ of Luray Caverns.

The meeting will be pretty informal and 'intimate' (small); It will also
serve as a great way to ask any burning questions you may have of real
speleologists who will be attending.


Thank you,
Mark

07/17: quote of the moment

Hatred is the most poisonous human emotion. It blocks the capacity to empathise that lies at the heart of human association. It turns the object of the hatred into just that - an object. It robs the hater of his or her fundamental human quality - humanity. In so doing, it opens the door to the most callous and depraved acts that one human being can commit against another. -- Will Hutton

04/29: The Rummage Show: Live firey rummage extravaganza

We didn't get to blogging about it in advance, but I'm proud to say that our live version of the show was a smash. Before a great turnout that had nothing to do with the free food, Lexington had the pleasure of performances by Chuck Moreland, Foxfire Hypnotica, and Miss Kitty Twister and Her Hot Dogs.

04/16: This week on The Rummage Sale: Special Guest Don Pratt

This week on The Rummage Sale, we are pleased to announce special guest Don Pratt. We've pulled a number of selections from Don's own record collection for the show, and he'll be in the studio to provide insight and anecdotes about his vinyl records and his history as a local volunteer and activist. In addition to his lifelong work as an advocate for local and regional causes, Don has decades of experience as a foster parent and a prison record for his protest of the Vietnam War.

How many cuts from the newly-discovered Isley Brothers twist album will we weather? Will Don find Lenny Dee's pop organ rendition of Fulsom Prison Blues amusing? Has DJ Time Helmet escaped from the forced detour into childhood in time to reach the station? Check out the show this Tuesday at 8pm to hear the show Lexington is calling edgy, contraversial, frightening, and somewhat amateurish: The Rummage Sale.


P.S. Stay tuned for an announcement about The Rummage Show, the live radio extravaganza before NPR contributing edtior and cultural expert Sarah Vowell reads at Memorial Hall. People magazine, our guidepost for the truth about American culture says her work is “Wise, witty and refreshingly warm-hearted, Vowell’s essays on American history, pop culture and her own family reveal the bonds holding together a great, if occasionally weird, nation.” Anne, Mark, and Mike will be controlling the soundboard. Scary, huh?

04/03: Welcome to stardart.net

You have arrived at stardart.net. Though I'm not sure how you found our domain, I'd like to tell you that this may very well be the future home of some very exciting content. At this early stage, I'm exploring various software packages to make it easy for my friends and colleagues to share their wealth of information and ideas on this domain.

It's too early yet to say what may come of this experiment, but please feel free to stop by any time to see what's here.

04/12: Welcome to the web home of The Rummage Sale

By popular demand, we've established this blog to provide you all the juicy details about our ongoing search for artifacts of Central Kentucky's pop culture history. From record-digging expeditions in the dusty corners of the bluegrass to DJ Time Helmet's overblown voyages in time and space, we're going to reveal the nuts and bolts of our crazy machine.

We're taking our show live this Spring, so in addition to information about our musical explorations we'll be posting where you can see us do our bit in real life.

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned!