Earl Goodall, my neighbor, friend, and an amiable human being, passed on at age 93 on July 5, 2024. Earl was the subject of my 2021 16-minute documentary, "When Earl Went to War", about his Korean War service, while also portraying the man's sweet, down-home character. Here's a look back at the kind of guy who never gets lifted up into the spotlight. But he has stories and adventures worth telling.
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Missing Horses and Killer Skillets
As Bill and I scan the hills for Major the Horse, he tells a cast-iron tale on why you should never cross a pissed-off, kitchen-armed hillbilly woman. | A reprint from TheHartoftheMatter
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‘HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS’ launches with a pretty classy shindig
I date dating myself using the word ‘shindig.' Yet the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as: ‘A large, lively party, especially one celebrating something.” That well describes the buzzy premiere of “HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS: The Artistic Life of Robert Singleton” on Sept. 17, 2023, in West Virginia’s capital city of Charleston, W.Va.
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A Report from the Crowdfunding Frontlines
Help support independent artistry, guerilla filmmaking, and soulful storytelling, as we wind down the crowdfunding campaign for "HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS: The Artistic Life of Robert Singleton"
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POETRY/PERFORMED: Two Versions of “BOOM BOOM” by Crystal Good
Here are two versions of Crystal Good reading/performing her iconic poem "BOOM BOOM," which reflects on strip-mining mountains and women who strip off their clothes for money.
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VIDEO: “WATER/CLOUD/WIND/LEAF: A Hoeft Marsh Melody”
Hoeft Marsh in Greenbottom WV is where I go when I want to get off the timeline of the world's news. Here's a short, lyrical visit there. It's a little fishy, at the end.
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WATCH LIST: Here are some things to look at, West Virginia-wise
Check out this version of variations on "Country Roads" by the Kanawha Valley Community Band which channels Aaron Copeland; plus a video of a crazy fitness guy sledding around Charleston WV; and more.
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A first-hand story about an elephant’s birth in West Virginia
They had dreamed of an elephant for the parade that capped off All Together Arts Week in Mercer County. But where do you get an elephant? A group of artists and elephant enablers decided they must do what they had to do: manifest one.
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A West Virginia hero’s life to be showcased June 23 at 2022 FestivALL Charleston
"The Wake Up Call," a documentary about the remarkable and heroic international life of West Virginia native Dave Evans, will be screened Thursday, June 23, 2022, in West Virginia's capital city as part of the citywide FestivALL Charleston 2022.
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Buddhist daily life in backwoods West Virginia
A picture show and video of an unexpected place in the West Virginia woods. In the face of often overwhelming challenges of daily life, and horrors like the current attempted mugging of Ukraine, places that strengthen the spirit such as the Bhavana Society Buddhist forest monastery deep in West Virginia's hills are vital.
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Losing yourself in Lost River
Wandering the byways and backroads of the Lost River environs in eastern West Virginia, while trying to write a sorta memoir. An imagistic journey.
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Q&A: “Where Sky Meets Eternity” documents an extraordinary artistic hand-off in the WV hills
The documentary "Where Sky Meets Eternity” profiles an ambitious, offbeat art project from deep in the West Virginia hills, as 12 artists bounced off each other's work in often surprising, unexpected ways.
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VIDEO: Getting Kids Talking About Climate Change
The best time to address the growing crisis of global climate change was yesterday. The next best time is today. But how to get kids themselves talking about climate change? Here is a video than can help.
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COVERSTORY: CHARACTERS: “When Earl Went to War”
American men of Earl Goodall's generation are famously not forthcoming about their psychological states or what it's like to go to war, people dying in front of and beside you. But this Korean War vet communicates all you need to know about that 'Forgotten War.'
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VIDEO: Other ways of looking at a Mail Pouch barn
Mail Pouch barn signs became such an iconic, familiar image, showcased in tens of thousands of similarly framed snapshots, postcards, and saturated photographs that they are almost impossible to see afresh. We give it a go in "Chew This Way."
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VIDEO: “Chasing Birds in Snow”
Take a 2-minute excursion into the heart of the heart of Nature, as a bunch of birds play leapfrog in the midst of a West Virginia snow squall.
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VIDEO: “The Edge of Day”
Thoughts on high while at the edge of day. An original short video production featuring imagery and music by Bobby Lee Messer and words by Kim Wilkinson.
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BLACK HISTORY 2: ‘Rosa Parks’ feet did not hurt’
The actual story of the stalwart moment Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of an Alabama bus in 1955 was far more powerful than a supposed frail, tired old Black lady sitting where she shouldn't.
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THE FEMALE GAZE: How a West Virginia Artist Captured 100 Badass Women
Overwhelmed by the headlines, by Donald Trump, a pandemic and winter coming, West Virginia artist Sassa Wilkes couldn't get herself to her easel. Then, RBG died and Sassa found she wished to get to know the legal legend by painting her portrait. She kept on going with 99 more portraits of badass women.
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VIDEO: A Sky-high View of the New River Gorge Bridge
The New River Gorge Bridge is one of West Virginia's most iconic landmarks. But have you ever seen it from an eagle's eye view—or maybe an Olympian god's?
