Your fifteen minutes of fame: a living art project

You may remember the recent appearance of some artwork in Central Park created by Noah Scalin of the Webby Award-winning blog, skulladay.com.

Skull #328, Rock 'N' Skull is still a temporary feature in the park, in fact Public Works weed-whacked around it the last time they mowed, which is pretty cool for it to be recognized that way.

Well, now you too can be a part of web-project-art history. On June 1 at 9:00 am on Belle Isle in Richmond, VA, you too can be a part of a giant, living skull.

How cool is that?

Current Events

When the Intelligent, fearing interaction with the Ignorant, choose silence over contribution. Thus begins the censorship of intelligence.

Resist contributing to this, the worst kind of censorship!
Derek Jones

Time for a Prostitution Free Zone

For over 1 year now, many of us have been advocating Poplar Lawn Park be designated a "Prostitution Free Zone" only to be brushed off by the city, saying that we do not have an issue with prostitution in the area.

The recommendation for a Prostitution Free Zone was made by the police, to make their job easier, the idea being that they know regular prostitutes on sight and can arrest those who have previous prostitution records for being in that designated area because anyone with a prostitution record is not allowed in the zone. (We had also asked for a "Drug Free Zone" in the same area for the same reasons.)

I (or should I say our Dogs) routinely find used condoms around the park. While I commend those that are doing this for practicing safe sex-(*Petersburg in #1 in the state for STD cases) there is probably a number that do not.

On Friday(May 2, 2008), in preparation for an event in the Park on Saturday the Public Works crews mowed all the grass in the Park, so I know that sometime Friday Night/Saturday Morning there was quite a bit of action happening in the park.

What I find disturbing is the number of items left behind, indicating the amount of activity, the close proximity to the residences in our neighborhood, and that these items once used are considered "bio-hazards" because they can spread blood-borne pathogens (ie: Hepatitis, HIV). This is no different than if a local Doctor's office was dumping medical trash in the park.

This is the tree where it happened. Notice how close it is to the fountain and the street.

How many more pictures do we need before we can make the park a Prostitution Free Zone?



Wrapper 1 Wrapper 2 & 3
Wrapper 4 Fake Nail & Wrapper 5



The 5 used condoms to match the wrappers. Any amateur Detectives want to gather DNA Evidence? Two are still in good shape, other three were not as careful.


Finally possible evidence for payment. There was a distinct rough impression in the wrapper, that would suggest it contained a crack rock.

"Restoring Historic Windows" an excellent resource

This past Saturday's "Restoring Historic Windows" with presenter David Gibney of Historic Restoration Specialists, Inc. was excellent! Thanks to the city for providing such a good quality and comprehensive workshop.

For those of you who could not make it but would like the information about Historic Restoration Specialists, Inc. as a resource, here it is:
Historic Restoration Specialists, Inc.
David Gibney
PO Box 266
Smithsburg, MD 21783
301-824-2800
301-739-0996
d.gibney(at)myactv(dot)net

David Gibney has been a practicing restoration craftsman and technician for the past twenty-five years. His areas of expertise include carpentry masonry, decorative plaster, timber and log structure restoration. As founder and president of Historic Restoration Specialists, Inc., David's work focuses on the design, history, and preservation of high-end early American homes. He also teaches restoration at Hartford Community College, Belair, MD

Happy May Day, Poplar Lawn!

May Day celebrates springtime with community gatherings, oftentimes featuring a Maypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons. Poplar Lawn is having a Spring Fling celebration (sans Maypole) on May 17th from 5:00-9:00 in yards adjoining the park to celebrate spring and our community.


On May Day, May Baskets are left as a surprise at neighbors' doorsteps. Traditionally, the person receiving the basket would try to catch the person who left the May Basket. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged. Hear that, Tammy?! ;)


May 1 is also International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day. (See GuerrillaGardening.org for more information on using gardening to reclaim blighted areas.)


Please take some time today to spread some goodwill surprises to your neighbors and perhaps some wildflower seeds throughout some of our vacant spaces!

~Mady