So-called “banned books” can come in several types. However, they are not actually banned.

The first is simply that schools don’t carry them in their libraries for whatever reason.

The next type is similar, and is the type people occasionally will protest, and that is books a library might choose not to carry.

Both types can still be published and purchased.

Another type, much closer to actually being banned, would be those a publisher is forbidden to publish. One case was in 1999 when the publisher Paladin Press came to a settlement in a lawsuit that banned them from publishing certain books they sold, such as those on explosives. Other publishers could still publish similar books, and people who owned copies could keep, sell, trade, etc. the copies they owned, but the publisher was not allowed to publish and distribute these books.

Sometimes a store won’t allow a book to be sold or ordered.

Before a book can be “banned”, it first is challenged. A book challenge occurs when someone attempts to remove or restrict a piece of literature based on various objections. The book doesn’t become “banned” until it is removed from a curriculum or library. This means that free access to the book is no longer available in the designated institution, or in more extreme cases, prohibited by law.

Below is a list of the most “banned” books:

1. Ulysses, by James Joyce (1922)
2. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (1932)
3. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (1937)
4. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (1951)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (1960)
6. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
7. The Chocolate War, by Justin Richardson (1974)
8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (1977)
9. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman (1995)
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
11. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
12. Looking for Alaska, by John Green (2005)
13. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher (2007)
14. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (2008)

In America, according to the American Library Association, Harry Potter is the most banned book in the United States and has also been banned from private schools in the UAE, and largely criticized by the Iranian government’s press.

Photographer Jim Baugh is at it again, this time with beautiful images of “Mimosa Barn” and “Corn Shed” both at the same location on the Eastern Shore. Mimosa Barn, which is a beautiful event center. Both images were commissioned works and will be seen on our blog, however not for sale.

From Jim: The night was a wonderful July evening for filming and the weather was perfect. I filmed at three locations last night until around two am, had a great time under the stars. New moon is I think Friday, so all this week is good for Milky Way stargazing as long as skies are clear.

Photo info below:“Mimosa Even Center” 60 foreground RAW exposures, f 2.8 filmed at 11mm iso ranging from 100 to 400 with shutter ranging from 4 sec to 8 sec. Light, GVM RGB 7s and a spot. Monfrotto tripod, Vello intervalometer, lens muff with 3 heat packs, all exposures controlled through wifi.Milky Way: Ioptron sky tracker, 7-minute exposure, f 2.8, 11mm, iso 200, lens muff with 3 heat packs. trigger was the intervalometer, 5 sec delay with a 2 second drive off the camera.“Corn Shed” 24 foreground exposures ISO ranging from 100 to 400 and shutter ranging 4 to 8 seconds. F2.8, 11mm. Light, GVM RGB 7s. Moon was filmed with around 40 exposures. The Astro was a composite with the foreground stacked in Photoshop. The moon exposures were filmed on a separate night and were not tracked but fired off individually.Camera / Cannon 200d/SL2. Images script/stacked in photoshop and some processing on the Milky Way was done in Lightroom Classic.

The Orchestra of the Eastern Shore will perform  A Concert of Healing  on Sat. June 26^th at 4:00 p.m. under the direction of Dr. Paul Kim.   

This outdoor concert will be held at the Eastern Shore’s Own Art’s Center, 15293 King St., Belle Haven. 

Rain date is July 3d. 

The performance will include:  Edward Elgar- Serenade for Strings ; Ralph Williams- Rhosymedre;  Niels Gade- Aquarelles; Yukiko Nishimura- Luna; Franz Schubert- Rondo in A Major with Chrisotpher Ferrara solo violin. 

All Orchestra concerts are free with donations welcomed.   Bring a chair, and your friends to this community event-  A Concert of Healing. 

The film workshop is designed for young artists to develop their camera presence and acting skills and be featured in a short dance film. Workshop will be limited to 8 students.

June 28- July 2  Monday – Friday, 10am –  3pm

The workshop will focus on movement, design, performance and include filming, costuming and an edited final product. Each student will be able to keep this film in their portfolio and will be given a digital copy of the film. Each student is guaranteed dedicated screen time. Screening on Friday, July 9 at the Historic Palace Theatre.

Tuition is $300.

 For more information call 757-331-4327 or visit Lemon Tree Gallery

“If music be the food of love, play on.” – William Shakespeare

“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” – George Eliot

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” – Plato

Rain or Shine, music, fun, and lots friends will be gathering at the Lemon Tree Gallery every Friday starting at 6:00. Each week, music will be outside the Palace Theatre where many local and regional artists will be performing everything from jazz to country to blues and rock and roll.

The Party moves into the Gallery in the case of inclement weather!

The Gallery will remain open until 8 p.m. on Fridays and features over 100 local, regional and national artists.

Boston, MA … Brown Box Theatre Project, Boston’s premiere outdoor Shakespeare touring company, announces its 10^th year of free Shakespeare with the troupe’s largest tour to date!  After a 2020 postponement, Brown Box returns in 2021 with an extended U.S. tour featuring the comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Under the direction of Executive Artistic Director and Co-Founder Kyler Taustin, Brown Box willtour Shakespeare’s beloved comedy of trickery, jealousy, deceit, and masquerade in Delmarva (September 2-26 – 18 OUTDOOR LOCATIONS!). All Much Ado About Nothing performances are free, outdoors, and open to all audiences; no tickets are needed. Social distancing through lawn seating, blankets and lawn chairs are welcome. Please visit http://www.brownboxtheatre.org for full performance schedule and rain locations.

Since 2010 Brown Box Theatre Project has been committed to reinventing the way theatre is created and consumed, by transforming public spaces into vibrant cultural and tourist destinations. Brown Box has perfected the art of the tour, delivering outdoor programming that offers audiences a free theater experience in an outdoor setting while maintaining safe social distancing. Brown Box Theatre Project’s touring Shakespeare events include professionally designed sets, lighting, costumes and props, performed by skilled regional actors. Each program is built, performed, and packed away at each individual location!

“For the past 11 years, Brown Box has been on the cutting edge transforming public spaces into creative destinations, inviting audiences to enjoy the performing arts in an outdoor, safe, and accessible way,” said Kyler Taustin, Executive Artistic Director. “We are more than ready to pack up and hit the road again to new destinations across the country, bringing communities together for a night under the stars, to experience the works of William Shakespeare. We hope that Shakespeare’s hilarious Much Ado About Nothing will allow audiences from Indiana to Massachusetts to Delmarva some much-needed escapism while offering the Bard’s brilliant take on a changing post-war society where preconceived notions of love, trust, and compassion are changed through understanding and empathy.”

About Much Ado About Nothing:

“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.”

Upon their return from war, a group of soldiers are reminded that life and love are not so black and white. Trickery, jealousy, deceit, and masquerade each play a role in challenging Benedict and Beatrice’s scorn for love (and each other) as well as the seemingly unassailable love of Claudio and Hero. Through witty banter and dastardly deception, Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing debates the preconceived notion of how to love and the value of trust.

Much Ado About Nothing will be fully staged in each location, and will feature professional artists, designers, and actors including: Debbie Aboaba as “HERO”, Margaret Clark as “BEATRICE”, Drew Cleveland as “DON JOHN”, Abuzar Farrukh as “BORACHIO”, Christopher Ho as “CLAUDIO”, Lorraine Kanyike as “LEONATA”, Emma Meyerson as “MARGARET”, Francis Xavier Norton as “DOGBERRY”, Spencer Parli Tew as “DON PEDRO”, and Cam Torres as ‘BENEDICK”.

Touring Dates & Locations: All performances begin at 8:00 pm

DELMARVA (Delaware/Maryland/Virginia): all performances begin at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted*

September 2 | Freeman Stage, 31750 Lake View Dr, Selbyville, DE | *7pm curtain

September 3 | Sturgis Park, Snow Hill, 100 River St, Snow Hill, MD
September 4 | Pitts St, Berlin, MD Berlin, MD
September 5 | Robert Reed Waterfront Park, Main Street, Chincoteague, VA

September 9 | Sunset Park, 1 S. Division Street Ocean City, MD

September 10 | Seaford Jay’s Nest – 490 North Market Street Ext., Seaford, DE

September 11 | Wilmington State Parks, Rockford Park – 2000 Lookout Drive, Wilmington, DE

September 12 | Lewes Public Library, 111 Adams Ave, Lewes, DE

September 15 | Holts Landing State Park – 27046 Holts Landing Rd, Dagsboro, DE

September 16 | First Heritage State Park, 102 S State St, Dover, DE

September 17 | Teakle Mansion, 11736 Mansion St, Princess Anne, MD

September 18 | Muskrat Park, 207 Willow Green St, St. Michaels, MD

September 19 | NEW 2021 LOCATION! Pohanka Riverwalk Ampitheater – 210 S. Salisbury Blvd, Salisbury MD

September 22 | NEW 2021 LOCATION! Long Wharf Park – 2 Yacht Club Drive, Cambridge, MD

September 23 | J. Millard Tawes Museum, Somers Cove Marina, 3 Ninth St, Crisfield, MD

September 24 | Exmore Town Park – 3386 Main St, Exmore, VA

September 25 | Avalon Park – 7 Louisa Lane, Charlestown, MD

September 26 | Northside Park, 200 125th St Ocean City, MD                                                              

Jim Baugh has captured a new time lapsed Nightscape: “Neptune Supermoon” at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

From Jim, “This was a bit of a bear to Shadowpaint, but got her done. Really great to see all the folks out there and lots of photographers. Great night. Had been planning this shoot for a while, and scouted it twice to plot out how to film it. The crowd on the boardwalk while scouting was huge, no way to film it on a weekend. Fortunately the Supermoon landed on a Monday, less people (but plenty still) with clear skies, so it worked out.

Really enjoyed filming this. Gave me a chance to do some “People Watching” which is not something that usually happens on an Astro Shoot.

Photo Info Below: Cannon 200D/SL2 Lens Tokina 11-16 and Tameron 18-200Foreground: Neptune 75 RAW exposures, 11mm, f5 to f11, Iso 100, Shutter .5 to 2 seconds. Light painted with GVM RGB S Light plus a small spot light. Monfrotto Fluid Head Tripod.

All exposures and camera controlled with WIFI. Due to the constant changing light conditions, F Stop and Shutter were constantly changed with wifi while filming.

The Moonrise happened 20 minutes before actual sunset. Plus Neptune was “Lit” once it was dark enough, about 4 spots that I counted. To compensate, higher F stop and a shutter of .5 to 2 seconds allowed enough for light painting to “Stick” to the subject.ASTRO: Supermoon. Shot at 320mm. F7, Iso 200. 45 exposuresStacking and Script, Photoshop 2021.

Arts Enter is still accepting enrollment for its intensive Dance Film Workshop. Class size is limited to eight students.  Please take advantage of early enrollment. 

To register, call (757) 331-4327 or email team@lemontree.gallery

The workshop is from 10 am until 3 pm. Monday through Friday, and is designed for young artists to develop their camera presence and acting skills and be featured in a short dance film. The workshop will focus on movement, design, performance and include filming, costuming and an edited final product.

Each student will be able to keep this film in their portfolio and will be given a digital copy of the film. Each student is guaranteed dedicated screen time.

Screening on Friday, July 9 at the Historic Palace Theatre.

Cost is $300

In February 1974 something happened to author Philip K Dick that changed his life forever. Was it an illness, a psychotic reaction, or something truly mystical? Early on, he came to the conclusion that the world is not entirely real and there is no way to confirm whether it is truly there. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

But, by 1969, he had published over 40 novels and stories, as well as winning the 1963 Hugo Award for The Man In The High Castle…and he was a heavy amphetamine user. In 1972, after his fourth marriage failed and his home was burgled, he made his first suicide attempt. He later entered the X-Kalay rehab centre to recover.

On 20 February 1974 Dick was at home recovering from dental surgery, which had involved sodium pentothal for the pain…The painkillers were delivered by a woman wearing a gold necklace with a Christian fish symbol. On seeing this he was suddenly blinded by a flash of pink light and a series of powerful visions ensued. He later described this vision as anamnesis – “loss of forgetfulness.”

He immediately knew he and the delivery woman were both persecuted Christians in ancient Rome. Time was unreal, or rather it was a Platonic ideal. More visions happened in the following months: abstract patterns, philosophical ideas, sophisticated engineering blueprints. He felt he was actually living two simultaneous lives. One of his visions told him his child had an undiagnosed life-threatening hernia, which turned out to be true.

His night-time murmurings turned out to be Koine Greek:

In that instant, as I stared at the gleaming fish sign and heard her words, I suddenly experienced what I later learned is called anamnesis—a Greek word meaning, literally, “loss of forgetfulness.” I remembered who I was and where I was. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, it all came back to me. And not only could I remember it but I could see it. The girl was a secret Christian and so was I. We lived in fear of detection by the Romans. We had to communicate with cryptic signs. She had just told me all this, and it was true.

For a short time, as hard as this is to believe or explain, I saw fading into view the black, prisonlike contours of hateful Rome. But, of much more importance, I remembered Jesus, who had just recently been with us, and had gone temporarily away, and would very soon return. My emotion was one of joy. We were secretly preparing to welcome Him back. It would not be long. And the Romans did not know. They thought He was dead, forever dead. That was our great secret, our joyous knowledge. Despite all appearances, Christ was going to return, and our delight and anticipation were boundless.

He called this “an invasion of my mind by a transcendentally rational mind.” The invader called Zebra, made more effective and rational decisions than he could, including sorting out his finances and royalties. Dick wrote a private journal – called Exegesis – from 1974 up to his death in 1982.

In it he tried to make sense of the intense visions he had experienced. He made a further suicide attempt in 1976 when his visions ceased. He worked on many theories for his visionary experiences: God, the KGB, satellites, aliens, a telepathic first-century Christian called Thomas, the CIA, a version of himself from a different dimension, his twin sister in the spirit world.

Most of Philip K Dick’s later works explore the gnostic ideas and implications of his visions. VALIS – “Vast Active Living Intelligence System” – is part of his unfinished trilogy of books about what he believed he had discovered.

In his Exegesis he wrote: “We appear to be memory coils… in a computer-like thinking system which, although we have correctly recorded and stored thousands of years of experiential information… there is a malfunction of memory retrieval.”

Think of it what you will, it seemed to make him happy and secure. Philip K Dick passed away on 2 March 1982. His ashes were buried next to his twin sister Jane, who had died in infancy. Her tombstone had been inscribed with both of their names at the time of her death, 53 years earlier.