Once a year, banjos, guitars, violins, and harmonicas are a common sight along with plates of Cajun food and voluminous cups of fresh lemonade. For the 10th consecutive year, the sweet sounds of live music and the scent of BBQ floated across the Antioch College campus.
Through the efforts of a dedicated team of volunteers, African American Cross-Cultural Works presented Blues/ Jazz Music Fest ’07 to southwestern Ohio. Residents of the village of Yellow Springs, that hosted the event, as well as festival goers from other parts of Ohio and beyond converged on the west edge of the college campus to enjoy a weekend of live blues and other music.
Guy Davis, a blues performer, has been a part of the festival since its inception 10 years ago. “It’s a small-town festival, sometimes with big members,” he explains. Even so, within the relatively small grounds allotted to the festival, everything from ‘Big Mama’s Bar-B-Que Ribs’ (“Ribs so good make you wanna slap your mama”) to jugglers, to Antioch McGregor recruiters, managed to find a place on the grass and along
the pathways.
The blues festival kicked off on Wednesday the fifth in the elegantly wood panelled sanctuary of the Central Chapel A.M.E. Church. A standing-room-only audience enthusiastically enjoy an evening of soulful gospel music. Everyone from small children to elderly villagers tapped toes, swayed to and fro, or clapped fervently to the lively melodies. An offering was taken and Pastor John Freeman led a prayer. “There are a lot of storms right now that aren’t related to the weather,” the pastor said.
But it is events such as the blues festival that respond to such storms by bringing people together. Sparky Elliott, a former student at Antioch College and guitarist in The Ark Band, cited the community as one of the aspects of Yellow Springs that he loved most. “I’ve had the best two years of my life in this place,” he said, “and it’s because of the people.” And the people are what makes the blues festival such a hit.
“It’s a place where “people rub shoulders with each other,” said Guy Davis. He opened up the Saturday festivities with a small group on the Innovation Stage. No more than a slightly raised platform, the stage, covered by an awning, hosted some of the most impassioned and diverse music of the weekend. From turntabling, to blues, to rap backed up by a harmonica, the Innovation Stage was the place for down-home, spontaneous music.
Both Friday and Saturday turned out to be something of a disappointing for many of the fans who had come to hear headliners like Al Caldwell and The Travelling Hillbillies and Magnolia Bolthead. Rain and overcast skies plagued both days and left the grounds only sparsely occupied. The weather went so far as to force Friday’s music to be cancelled completely. This year was the first time in the festival’s history that it had rained, said Elizabeth Tobey, a 10-year-veteran of the festival.
The sentiment on Saturday afternoon however, was one of pertinacity. As the sky erupted with rain, showgoers took refuge beneath trees and musicians continued to play as they moved under tarps Minutes before the rain, one musician announced “We don’t know if it’s going to rain or not, but if it does, we’re going into the theatre. It’s the blues either way.”
By evening, the theatre was indeed where most of the day’s headliners ended up. The show’s move inside created a logistical quandary when the maximum occupancy of the much smaller theatre was reached and a security guard posted outside the main door to keep further blues fans out. Those wishing to enter were told the crowd inside would be sent out around 9:30pm and a new batch would be brought in. It was a discouraging end to a gloomy day for many at the festival who had persevered in spite of the weather.
Turnout on Sunday, the last day of the festival, was a marked improvement. The presence of sunshine helped fans get into the mood for an afternoon of life music and dancing. Headliners returned to the amphitheatre and bands like The Ark Band with their reggae and calypso music created the perfect atmosphere to get the audience off their seats into the open air arena. Festivalgoers of all ages took to the dance floor to enjoy the music and weather.
While this year’s festival was neither as well attended nor publicized as the previous when comedian Dave Chappelle hosted the show, most people left pleased. Fans of the blues came for the event itself and they got what they had come to hear. “We mostly come to hear who’s here,” said one festivalgoer from Springfield.
Fans of the blues must now wait another year to enjoy the varied pleasures of the AACW blues festival once more.
Tag: Articles
Sex Toys on a Budget
Sex toys are great. They are fun for personal use or to use with friends and partners. They can help you act out fantasies, spark sexual creativity, explore sensations, and find sexual satisfaction. Some folks have impressive sex toy collections which are a great source of pride – similar to an art collection. And how does one acquire such a collection, you ask? Well, some pieces are probably negotiated into the collection when dividing the assets in a break-up, but generally it’s through money. Good dildos can cost upwards of $50, and I’ve heard of people spending hundreds of dollars on hand-crafted leather pieces (like floggers). Even if you aren’t interested in hand-crafted leather pieces, you can still spend a pretty penny on the most basic of sex toys. I spent $108 on my first dildo and vinyl harness. That’s a lot to spend when you’re a college student making FWSP wages (and haven’t even received your first meager paycheck yet). Never fear! With a little creativity and resourcefulness, your world can be rife with sex toys!
Striking Instruments
If you are interested in play that involves striking or being struck by your partner(s), as in with a paddle, the kitchen (or the kitchenware section of the nearest thrift store) is a great place to look. Try wooden spoons or plastic or rubber spatulas. For variety, try whisks, slotted spoons, tongs, or even ice cube trays (straight from the freezer, sans the ice). Remember, however, that anything porous (like everything listed above) needs to be covered with a condom or designated for use with one person only, which is why checking out the thrift store and investing in cheap items designated for sexual use only is a good idea. Multiple partners? Buy a $0.25 wooden spoon for each of them. How thoughtful! Books as paddles pack an intellectual punch and every college student has books. Another favorite striking instrument of mine is a classic – the paddle or oval style hairbrush. It’s useful for fantasies involving punishment/spankings, as well as hair and hairbrushing (yes, there are people with hair fetishes). My favorite use of the hairbrush, however, is when using hot wax. Once your lover is covered in hot wax, you can remove the more troublesome bits that won’t peel off by running a wire-bristled hairbrush over them in a circular motion. It will be particularly painful over your lover’s sensitive, hot wax covered skin, so if that’s what you’re going for, it’s the perfect tool. Another classic is the belt, though be careful with this one as long, loose ends can hit parts of your lover’s body other than the ones you were aiming for. Practice on a pillow or chair first to perfect your aim. Also, a word of caution with all sex acts involving hitting and striking: as with all things, you MUST communicate with your partner(s) about it before-hand and make sure that everyone clearly understands and consents to the activities. Also, hitting can be dangerous, and you MUST know what you’re doing. The fleshy parts of butts and thighs are generally safe, but be sure to look it up on the internet, ask an expert, or take a class before attempting a potentially dangerous activity.
Dildos
Break out the lesbian jokes, because here it comes: vegetables. It’s funny, but it’s true that vegetables make excellent inexpensive dildos. Many, such as cucmbers, squashes, and carrots come in a shape convenient for insertion into vaginas (though not anuses, as they generally do not have flared bases and could actually get “lost” inside, which is damn near impossible in a vagina). A friend of mine swears by a peeled cucumber, microwaved just enough to make it warm and malleable. “Decorative gourds,” sold practically everywhere in fall (especially closer to Halloween) come in lots of interesting shapes and textures. Again, make sure you cover all your vegetables with a condom and, actually, wash them first just to be sure your important parts don’t meet with any nasty pesticides. Also, try looking around your room for things that look insert-able. Use some common sense, but remember that barriers are your best friends and small lotion bottles or Ken dolls with molded plastic hair can be covered with condoms and take on valuable new meaning. Do make sure, though, that your found-object dildo is without sharp edges and that anything you insert anally has a flared base and, if you can, a handle.
Vibrators
Get this: anything that vibrates can be a vibrator. Of course, the obvious choice is a vibrating back massager. Some of the products sold as “vibrators” in sex toy stores are actually packaged and marketed as back massagers. These can be comparable in price to sex-toy-vibrators, but the benefit here is that you may already have one that you’ve just never looked at that way before. Another good option is the electric toothbrush. Put a condom on that sucker and you’d be amazed at how oral hygiene can enhance your sex life!
There are many more possibilities for cheap, free, and DIY sex toys, but that’s where we’ll stop for this week. Be creative, use lots of condoms and common sense, and see what you can come up with!
Lusting For You,
Levi B.
College faculty pass vote of no confidence against Chancelor Toni Murdock
For the second time of her administrative career, Antioch University Chancellor Tullise “Toni” Murdock has received a vote of no confidence. The resolution was unanimously passed by the 26 faculty members present at Tuesday’s faculty meeting.
The decision was a result of the events of Friday August 31st, when the news broke unexpectedly that Steve Lawry was stepping down immediately from Antioch’s presidency. Issues surrounding the Offices of Development and Alumni Relations were also raised after staff was sent home for a ‘long weekend’ and their offices’ locks changed. The announcement raised numerous questions within the community as the reasons surrounding Lawry’s sudden departure were unclear; in July he had announced his resignation as of January 2008. Moreover, the news that Lawry was under a gag order which prevented him from commenting on the situation raised further suspicion about the real reasons behind his “resignation.” Continue reading College faculty pass vote of no confidence against Chancelor Toni Murdock
University putsch changes climate on campus
Sentiments at Antioch College are changing fast these days. Euphoria over the August 27 announcement that the Board of Trustees of Antioch University is willing to work with college alumni on a business plan to keep the College open past June 30, 2008, over the weekend has been replaced by distrust and fear.
On Friday, University Chancellor Toni Murdock in a series of press releases announced college CEO President Steven Lawry stepping down effective immediately, to be replaced by a an “administrative team,” headed by former dean of faculty Andrzej Bloch who assumes the new title of chief operating officer (COO) at the college.
Continue reading University putsch changes climate on campus
In Burma, A New Breath for Old Songs
Surnames omitted to protect people’s identities.
It is the Sunday of the birthday of the Buddha, the beginning of a new season in Burma. If this neighborhood, in the lively slum of Rangoon, is any slower paced than usual it is because so many people are at the ancient Shwedagon Shrine paying their respects. Inside this sweltering house, the faces of the nine musicians in the room glisten with a higher sheen than their various instruments, whose varnish has long since been worn away.
A structure of cement and corrugated metal, the house is owned by the brother of one of the musicians, a blind mandolin player with betel-stained teeth named Ko Pauk. Pauk, who began playing the mandolin at about the age of ten, was quickly recognized by his contemporaries as a musician of promise. Older musicians came to study or play with him. Now in his fifties, he still plays with the same core group who gathered around him when he was young.