Words, music, images and more from Jim Barnes
An open house at the Loudoun County Courthouse on Feb. 11 highlighted the century of segregation in Virginia that followed the Civil War and the abolishing of slavery.
The Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office displayed records that document the separate and unequal treatment of African Americans in the county during that time. Documents reveal how segregation pervaded all areas of life, including the education, public services and land transactions.
The Washington Post, Feb. 26, 2017
Loudoun County Administrator Tim Hemstreet kicked off the county’s annual budget review process Wednesday by presenting a proposed spending plan for fiscal 2018 that funds almost all of the school system’s request and provides staffing for several new facilities while holding property tax bills steady.
The $2.5 billion budget complies with the Board of Supervisors’ demand for a plan that avoids increasing the average homeowners’ tax bills. It would boost local funding by $61 million for the school system and $27.7 million for the general county government.
The Washington Post, Feb. 19, 2017
When Ruth Everhart was a senior at a small Christian college, she and four of her roommates were held captive and brutally raped at gunpoint by two masked intruders.
Although she survived the ordeal, she was filled with shame and worried that she had been “ruined” — in the eyes of God, her family and the man she might one day marry. Her devastating experience shook her faith in God, and eventually led her to break with the conservative Protestant denomination in which she had been raised.
Last year, Everhart, 59, of Sterling, published her memoir, “Ruined,” in which she recounts the crime in detail and traces the twists and turns her life took in the months and years that followed. She tells how that journey took her through dark places — a breakup with her boyfriend, an affair with a married man, and conflicts with friends and family.
The Washington Post, Feb. 12, 2017
In which I make an appearance (at 3:00) as a paper bag puppet…
Car Seat Headrest – Drugs With Friends (Unofficial Music Video) from Astrid Cardenas on Vimeo.
A special guest was watching Jan. 27 as students from Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn gave a spirited performance of “Ghost the Musical.”
Jim Hoare, an executive with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, traveled from New York to view the students’ interpretation of a version of the Broadway musical that was adapted for use by high school theater groups. He wanted to observe several innovations the students made in set design and stagecraft, to see whether other schools could also use them.
The Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2017
“In less than a year, the album Teens of Denial made it to the top of countless best-of-2016 playlists, the band have been booked by high-profile mainstream TV shows such as The Tonight Show and the 24-year-old Toledo regularly faces huge crowds who roar his lyrics back at him in packed venues.”
–James Belfield in The Listener (New Zealand), Feb. 16, 2017
“Even without checking production credits, the imprint that Car Seat Headrest and lead singer Will Toledo has on Gold Connections is unmistakable.”
–Jared McNett in Paste Magazine, Feb. 13, 2017
“Gold Connections is something like the Silver Jews to Car Seat’s Pavement: rich and wandering, hazy and pensive with the sort of thoughtful lyrics and explosive choruses we’ve come to expect from a Toledo production.”
–Rob Arcand in Spin, Feb. 13, 2017
Review of “Drunk Drivers / Killer Whales”
–Erika Kooda in Atwood Magazine, Feb. 2, 2017
“It was certainly an experience we all needed.”
–Danielle Hansen on Howl & Echoes, Feb. 2, 2017