Help A Place to Stand get to the audiences it was created for: to educate, inspire and change lives.

Our mission is simple: to impact as many lives with our film as possible. 

We always knew that the early life of Jimmy Santiago Baca -- how his unlikely discovery of poetry while incarcerated in one of the worst US prisons transformed him from an illiterate, violent convict to a beloved, world-renowned writer -- was inspirational. Our feature-length documentary "A Place to Stand" has been called "a compelling look at the power of language" (Pasatiempo). Academy Award-winning Director Taylor Hackford ("Ray", "The Devil's Advocate") said it "presents Jimmy's story in the best way: by letting this great poet tell his own tale - and no one can tell a tale like Jimmy Santiago Baca." 

Our film has been seen by thousands in film festival screenings around the U.S., but our goal has always been more: to bring the film to schools, prisons, juvenile detention facilities and communities where this story can make the biggest impact. Jimmy's memoir remains very popular in prisons and in Los Angeles, it's the most stolen book from the Street Poets library. This is only part of what proves the hunger and need for this story. 

With your support, we will make the film and companion curriculum available for low-income communities and educational facilities nationwide. We know this film, Jimmy's story, can change lives. That's why we're fundraising. 

From the beginning, we wanted to do more than just produce and distribute our film -- we wanted to bring it to viewers on whom it could have a deep impact. So we designed curriculum and a student workbook. The idea is that the film can better reach its crucial audience -- teenagers, at-risk youth, and incarcerated individuals -- with a focused conversation surrounding its themes.

"Finding A Place to Stand", the film's curriculum, includes group discussions, activities, poetry prompts, and free-writes, and is centered on the concepts of individual power and strength. It has been piloted in nearly a dozen schools and has received much positive feedback from the teachers -- and the students! -- who have used it thus far.

You can view excerpts of the curriculum here: Finding A Place to Stand Curriculum Sample

In this world of increasing negativity, we need stories like Jimmy's, more than ever, to serve as a counterbalance, to communicate that there is always hope and always possibility for positive change. Jimmy is a powerful role model for populations without many role models: incarcerated individuals, adolescents on the edge, and others impoverished and neglected by society. 

We know that we have something special on our hands, but without your support, the film won’t go very far. We don’t have a big distributor or a studio behind us. We don’t have big money. All we have is sweat and determination and passion. That’s why we’re crowdfunding - we need support to fund our grassroots distribution campaign. 

This project has been a people-powered effort from the very beginning and we want to continue that tradition until we achieve our goals. Without over a thousand people contributing from $1 to $20,000, we would have never completed the film. Because of that, we aren't beholden to investors or other interests - we can devote all of our resources into the communities we're aiming to serve. 

Our Story

Director Daniel Glick with Producer Gabriel Baca and Director of Photography Michael Gordon shooting "A Place to Stand".
In 2010, a 26-year-old Daniel Glick visited a friend's friend at Auburn Penitentiary. He was deeply struck by the intensity of the place and started cross-examining Tommy, who had been in prison for 15 years at that point, about life behind bars. The friend recommended Jimmy Santiago Baca’s memoir A Place to Stand. Daniel bought it, read it, and instantly knew he had to make a film about Jimmy’s experience.

Daniel moved to New Mexico in 2011, teamed up with Gabriel Baca (Jimmy's son) to form Catamount Films, and spent the next several years creating the film version of "A Place to Stand". Their intention was not only to shed light on the difficult experience of incarceration but -- most importantly -- to spread the message that it is possible to overcome even the most difficult circumstances.

Make your donation here:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-place-to-stand-s-educational-campaign#/

The annual Sweet Pea Poster Contest is now OPEN! Do you want a chance for your creation to be our 2016 poster and to win $1000? Sweet Pea Festival 2016 is sponsoring its annual poster contest and a $1,000 prize for this year's Festival poster winner. All ages and levels of expertise are encouraged to enter. Hand delivered entries will be accepted at the Sweet Pea Office, 424 E. Main St., Suite 203B, Bozeman, MT (the Jacobs Crossing Building, 2nd Floor) during operating hours (Please call 586-4003 for weekly schedule) AND: Between 12PM and 7PM Thursday, April 28th Between 12PM and 5PM on Friday April 29th (DEADLINE!) Mailed entries should be sent to 424 E. Main St., Suite 203B Bozeman, MT 59715 and must  arrive by Thursday, April 28th, 2016.

All entries must be submitted with an entry form, found by clicking here.

Artist Nic Fischer will display original paintings, both oil and watercolor, addressing the expanse and grandeur of both the landscape and the mind, in the Atrium Gallery at the Bozeman Public Library.  The paintings will be up March 1st through April 30, 2016, and the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, sponsors of the exhibit, will host an artist’s reception with refreshments on Friday, March 11, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m., free and open to the public.

Fischer loves to paint, for him it is a form of meditation and a way to better understand his place on earth.  He conveys the simultaneous feeling of insignificance and infinite potential through his art.  “I moved to Bozeman for the landscape. Reaching a nearly infinite vantage point leaves me humbled and euphoric.  For some, this place is the ocean, for me it is a mountaintop.  Landscapes define people, and I am defined by the mountainous terrain of the Greater Yellowstone region,” says Fischer.

The 30 year old artist, now living in Bozeman, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved west the week after he graduated high school.  He studied art at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, majoring in illustration and painting.  He met his wife, Alison, while working at Lake Yellowstone Hotel between 2003 and 2005.  He has also worked in Death Valley and the Grand Canyon, all places that contribute to his love of expansive landscape.

The exhibition will be on display during Library hours.  A percentage of sales will go to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation to ensure continuation of cultural programs at the Library for public benefit.  For more information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call Sarah DeOpsomer at 582-2425 or email programs@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org.

Last November the City of Bozeman utilized the National Research Center to conduct the National Citizen Survey of approximately 1,400 randomly selected Bozeman residents. Both the statistically valid and online portions of the data collection have been completed, and the results have been prepared for distribution.


This survey was an opportunity for the citizens of Bozeman to provide input on how they feel about city services and initiatives. As we’ve also done this survey in the mid‐2000s, we also have comparative data from earlier iterations of the survey. The National Research Center has also provided us with comparative data from similar cities around the nation.

The general conclusions of the survey are as follows:
1. Bozeman residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life.
2. The economy is a positive and important feature of the community.
3. Residents enjoy their natural environment and emphasize its importance.
4. Mobility ratings have increased, but there are still opportunities for improvement.

This survey was one of the many venues citizens can use to contribute to the City’s Strategic Plan. The survey outcomes and the Strategic Plan will be used to guide the City through decision‐making, budgeting, and resource allocation as the city continues to grow. Please watch for opportunities to participate in the coming
months.

Veronica Lane Books, Venice CA is pleased to announce a discussion with Timothy J. Tate, Archetypal Therapist and his client artist Jacqueline Rieder Hud, moderated by publisher Etan Boritzer. The discussion will relate the soul’s journey deep into the fearsome darkness of the human unconscious as experienced by Ms. Rieder Hud.

Veronica Lane Books recently released the book Laundry for Strangers as the artistic and literary record of that disturbing sojourn by Ms. Rieder Hud. Mr. Tate and Ms. Rieder Hud will retell parts of the art and therapeutic process that helped her survive the precipitous descent into what is commonly called madness.

How the ascent out of her personal hell was achieved will also be discussed. The relevance of psychological archetypes, dreams, art, sex and fury figure prominently into the recounting of this extraordinary passage across the precipitous fault lines of the human psyche.  

There will be a Q & A after the talk.

About the Event Participants

Jacqueline Rieder Hud is an expressionist painter who has journaled her dream life for over thirty years. She has been a professional artist exhibiting her art works in Montana and nationally for over 40 years. In Jacqueline’s words,  "The process of going inward to intuit the way to one's personal vision, to the creative radiance, has a tonality of wildness and surrender to it.  I see this dynamic within the psychic cauldron as a mirror of the instinctual forces expressing themselves in continuum in the Wholeness of Nature and in the larger Wilderness without."

Timothy J. Tate has been in psychotherapy practice for the past 34 years. He co-created The Montana Men’s Foundation, and has lectured extensively on Archetypal Therapy. Timothy loves the ineffable mystery of life, renews through hiking in the mountains, trailer camping, golfing, fly fishing, and hosting a weekly radio show of indie music on kglt.net.

Etan Boritzer is the founder and publisher of Veronica Lane Books, Venice CA. The company was started in 1992 using the slogan “Books That Make a Difference.” Etan is himself a bestselling author of 14 children’s books, now published in 16 languages. He teaches four yoga classes a week also.

The inaugural Blunderbuss Science & Maker Faire will take place April 28-30th in Bozeman, Montana. It will be a symposium which fuses inventions, science projects, dialogue and problem solving events in a show-and-tell environment. The event will take place in multiple venues around Bozeman and will be open to the public. Our goal is to find garage projects, makers, tinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and problem solvers and provide a community of education, opportunity and creativity.

The original pirate shotgun, the blunderbuss is known for its utilitarian resourcefulness; it could fire whatever material fit down its barrel, including forks, knives, rocks, etc. As such, the blunderbuss was a fitting namesake and metaphor for the environment Blunderbuss seeks to foster, one in which risk-takers can discharge their creative shrapnel on the community – to fail comfortably or succeed incredibly – and learn. As stewards of resourcefulness, collaboration, ingenuity and innovation, Blunderbuss’ originators and dedicated staff are committed to making multi-generational education, open community dialogue and unhindered creativity of foremost priority. A community resource for mind bending.

Thursday, April 28th -Bozeman Public Library
6:30-9:30pm Talk show and dialogues on Crowd Funding and Patents & Intellectual Property. Followed by live music and libations.

Friday, April 29th -Baxter Hotel
4:00pm- 7:00pm Science & Maker Faire- Project presentations

Saturday, April 30th -Baxter Hotel
10:00am- 4:00pm Science & Maker Faire- Show-and-Tell

Makey Makey Battle of the Bands - MAP Brewing6:00-9:00pm

EVENTS ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SHOW-AND-TELL REGISTRATION DEADLINE: APRIL 7th, 2016MORE INFORMATION AT WWW.SCIENCEANDMAKERFAIRE.ORG

Partners: Start up Bozeman, City of Bozeman, Blackstone Launchpad, Bozeman Public Library & Foundation, HATCH, Blunderbuss, MakerCats, The Justin Wayne Show, The Handmade Movement, MAP Brewing, Bozeman Area Community Foundation.

According the Merriam-Webster dictionary slang is defined as “words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people.” Slang words form within different cultures, countries or in this case states. A map designed and created by writers at slang.com show the most popular slang word used in each state. The final word chosen was by no chance random. Linguists were first called in to create a list of possible slang phrases or words that were already associated with each individual state. Online message boards were analyzed and colleges were surveyed to narrow down the options to about ten words. Ultimately the decision was left up to the writers at Slate. The final word chosen was based on the writer’s favorite of the group, some aren’t even words at all but are a popular and original phrase, and tie-breakers were broken by how “fun” a word was.

Curious as to what the map reads for Montana? Graupel: The official slang word of Montana. Graupel is defined as snow-like precipitation that resembles tiny ice balls. For those who find this word missing from their daily language the authors of Slate have provided readers with each word used in an example sentence. The example they have provided reads, “That rain was pretty annoying, but this graupel that stings when it hits you is just absurd.” Though it may be a word you have never or rarely find yourself using in context it makes much more sense than those of other states. Think about it. Montana is notorious for crazy winters; with below freezing temperatures being something you don’t think twice about. In any place, at least here in the United States, weather is a topic of discussion that inevitably comes up in all of our daily conversations. It only makes sense for a word describing an abnormal winter weather event to be the most popular slang word in a place where weather is already an extreme.

For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.

Neil Cornish, Montana State University professor and member of the LIGO gravitational wave detector team.

Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained. Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.

The gravitational waves were detected on Sept. 14, 2015, at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (9:51 UTC) by both of the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, LIGO, detectors, located in Livingston, La., and Hanford, Wash. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation and were conceived, built and are operated by Caltech and MIT. The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which includes the GEO Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy, and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.

Montana State University has been a member institution of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration since 2007. Physics professor and MSU eXtreme Gravity Institute, XGI, co-director Neil Cornish leads the MSU LIGO group. Cornish, together with his current and past graduate students Margaret Millhouse, Tyson Littenberg, Paul Baker and Joey Shapiro Key, developed a novel method for extracting gravitational wave signals directly from the LIGO data. This analysis helped confirm the nature of the signal, and the consistency of the signal with the predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity. Results from the MSU team's analysis are displayed in the first figure of the discovery paper.

"The detection of gravitational waves by LIGO is a tremendous achievement capping decades of work by a large number of people," said Cornish, "but this is just the beginning. I'm even more excited about the discoveries we are going to make going forward, both with LIGO and other gravitational wave detectors." The eXtreme Gravity Institute at MSU is involved in two other gravitational wave projects: the North American NanoHertz Gravitational Observatory; and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna - a future space mission led by the European Space Agency with possible NASA involvement.

"The XGI at Montana State University was launched just a year ago, at a historic time. The institute captures the enthusiasm of MSU and Montana for exploring great unknowns of extreme gravity,” said Renee Reijo Pera, vice president for research and economic development at MSU.

The discovery also has an unexpected Montana connection - the event horizon of the black hole that formed from the merger shares the same surface area as the state of Montana. But that is where the similarities end: the black hole rotates 100 times per second, and has a mass 62 times larger than the Sun. The power output of the merger briefly exceeded that of all the stars in the Universe. The total energy release was a billion billion billion times greater than the last eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano, or a million billion times the energy required to completely blow the Earth apart.

LIGO research is carried out by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, LSC, a group of more than 1,000 scientists from universities around the United States and in 14 other countries. More than 90 universities and research institutes in the LSC develop detector technology and analyze data; approximately 250 students are strong contributing members of the collaboration. The LSC detector network includes the LIGO interferometers and the GEO600 detector. The GEO team includes scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI), Leibniz Universität Hannover, along with partners at the University of Glasgow, Cardiff University, the University of Birmingham, other universities in the United Kingdom and the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain.

LIGO was originally proposed as a means of detecting these gravitational waves in the 1980s by Rainer Weiss, professor of physics, emeritus, from MIT; Kip Thorne, Caltech's Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, emeritus; and Ronald Drever, professor of physics, emeritus, also from Caltech.

Virgo research is carried out by the Virgo Collaboration, consisting of more than 250 physicists and engineers belonging to 19 different European research groups: six from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS, in France; eight from the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, INFN, in Italy; two in the Netherlands with Nikhef; the Wigner RCP in Hungary; the POLGRAW group in Poland and the European Gravitational Observatory, EGO, the laboratory hosting the Virgo detector near Pisa in Italy.

The discovery was made possible by the enhanced capabilities of Advanced LIGO, a major upgrade that increases the sensitivity of the instruments compared to the first generation LIGO detectors, enabling a large increase in the volume of the universe probed and the discovery of gravitational waves during its first observation run. The U.S. National Science Foundation leads in financial support for Advanced LIGO. Funding organizations in Germany (Max Planck Society), the U.K. Science and Technology Facilities Council, STFC, and Australian Research Council also have made significant commitments to the project.

Several of the key technologies that made Advanced LIGO so much more sensitive have been developed and tested by the German UK GEO collaboration. Significant computer resources have been contributed by the AEI Hannover Atlas Cluster, the LIGO Laboratory, Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Several universities designed, built and tested key components for Advanced LIGO: The Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Florida, Stanford University, Columbia  University in the City of New York and Louisiana State University.

Volunteers for Bernie have collected and submitted enough signatures to guarantee Bernie Sanders ballot access for Montana’s Primary Election.

Montana, Feb, 10th 2016: Montana volunteers for US Senator Bernie Sanders have submitted enough signatures to put Sanders on the Montana Democratic presidential primary ballot.  The Montana primary is scheduled to take place on June 7th.

Volunteers carried petitions filed with the MT Sec of State by the National Bernie Sander's Campaign Signatures were collected in Butte-Silver Bow, Gallatin, Lewis & Clark, Missoula, Yellowstone, Park and Sanders Counties, among others.

“The energy for Bernie is high," said Park County for Bernie volunteer and retired actress Margot Kidder of Livingston. Though the Sanders campaign has no official campaign office in Montana, there are regular meetings of volunteers doing actual work to help him get elected. "We an enormous amount of active and committed volunteers across the state that are deeply engaged in reaching out on behalf of Bernie," said Kidder.

“Getting Bernie on the ballot in Montana feels great,” said Andy Boyd of Bozeman.  Now, we are focusing  on forming phone banks and calling voters in the early states like South Carolina and Nevada.

 For more information  on Bernie Sanders Campaign events in Montana visit www.berniesanders.com/map.