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Premiere of The Good Parts, Nov. 13, 2010The premiere showing of my short film took place at Exile in Staunton, VA. Special thanks to everyone who attended and particularly to Megan Hillary, Inigo, Brad & Mary Arrowood, John Johnson, Mariah Smith, and Deena Warner for making it possible. Keep an eye on The Good Parts information page for more news.   Yes, indeed, those were some steep stairs.    
Some of our special out-of-town guests (background, L-R): Val Thorpe, Matt Schwartz, Vicki Wedell, and Meghan Knierim.   On the left is Mariah Smith of Bio Duck FX, who did the film's makeup FX and also starred as the Doctor. Director John Johnson (wearing the hat) served as the evening's projectionist. Seated behind John is Richard Adams, who composed the film's theme song. 
After helping with set up, Inigo (L) relaxed in the back room with Sam Banta. My wife graciously kept all the kids and babies entertained during the show.  Archive of Former Insane Asylums in Staunton, Virginia
There's been such great response to my August 2005 column about my home of Staunton, Virginia that in March 2006 some special correspondents out to explore the former Western Lunatic Asylum a/k/a Western State Hospital (abandoned) and the DeJarnette Center, a former children's asylum (also abandoned). Also see Will Ludwigsen's gallery of Staunton insane asylums. Although these pictures don't show the inside of Western State, the local Staunton News Leader posted a gallery at this link. You can also read about Western State's 19th-century history in a book by Alice Wood. DeJarnette and Western State are only spoken of in hushed tones here in Staunton, mainly because Western State's superintendant, Joseph S. DeJarnette, was a public advocate of eugenics and forced sterilizations of the insane. Thanks to the efforts of idiots like him, Virginia's eugenics law was upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court and strongly influenced the development of Nazi Germany's law about sterlization. You can read DeJarnette's ode to eugenics, "Mendel's Law," at this link. ("Oh, you wise men take up the burden, / And make this you [sic] loudest creed, / Sterilize the misfits promptly- / All not fit to breed!") A good writeup about Dr. DeJarnette and Virginia's eugenics movement is at this link. Understandably, the City of Staunton is anxious to proceed with plans to pave over the DeJarnette Center with a shopping mall and parking lot, while continuing with plans to renovate the former Western State campus into condominiums and businesses that preserve the old architecture. What I find ironic in all this is that, to my knowledge, Dr. DeJarnette worked at the former Western State campus and not in the mouldering ruins bearing his infamous name. Family & Friends Owen Warner, Deena Warner, and Thomas Warner
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