Olive 8 Reset

The developers responsible for (that blue plastic-finned eyesore) Olive 8 are asking for your feedback. They want to know how much you think one of their units is worth. I personally believe that one should be able to get at least two bedrooms for less than $350,000 anywhere on the planet.


Click here to participate.

Here is the email you receive afterward, should you wish to go ahead and call instead of giving them your email address.


Update: I'm proud to announce that this blog post one of the first that comes up when one does a google search for the olive 8 reset. I hope the marketing team is checking up on what people are saying and comes across this post. Here's a personal note to them: "No matter how you try to sell units in that building, there is no way to skirt the fact that it's an eyesore, that it contributes to the further atomization and homogenization of downtown, and that all the work you do is turning Seattle into a place for tourists (however you choose to define the term) rather than actual residents."

Urbnlivn has more info.

The Knight Life

It probably goes without saying that I don't read the Seattle Times (or take them seriously, or approve of their political endorsements, etc.) but I've been known to flip through the paper when coming across one abandoned on a coffee shop table. However, I admit that I was amazed and impressed a few years ago when I came across Keith Knight's comic "The Knight Life" in it. I had been a fan of the cartoonist ever since discovering his K-Chronicles in 2003, back when it was published on Salon.com.

Today Keith's facebook page announced that the Times has dropped "The Knight Life."

Seattle Times drops "the Knight Life" whilst the artist is in town!! Email timescomics@seattletimes.com to (politely) voice displeasure!

Keith Knight is holding an impromptu protest in front of the Seattle Times offices (1120 John St.) at 12:30pm for dropping "the Knight Life". Come on by and join the fun!!

I felt it was appropriate to post here because his work focuses on the minutia of life, in a similar way that I've been focused on something as common as a vacant lot.

Here's a quick sample of his work. If you think it's important, please send an email on his behalf. If you're mad as hell, come down to the Seattle Times offices @ 12:30.




[images from http://www.knightlifecomic.com]

REMINDER: JT Hooker on Hollow Earth Radio tonight!

From the facebook announcement:

...the music will compliment some engaging discussions around our often rocky marriages between the local musical, political, economic, and social scenes... specifically touching on urban gentrification and what that means to the artist community who helped make those same neighborhoods so attractive/expensive...

Jt Hooker on Hollow Earth Radio!

If you made it to Park(ing) Day Central Park back in September -- or any other event we've hosted recently -- you probably heard JT Hooker and friends providing the music from his mobile DJ rig. This year, the judges awarded him the prize donated by Hollow Earth Radio, which consisted of an on air show. He'll be performing from 8-10 pm on Monday night, 11/29; here is the facebook announcement.


[performing @ Park(ing) Day 2009]

Community Kitchen?

You may have noticed that here at People's Parking Lot, we bring up urban agriculture from time to time. Also, you probably notice that small businesses get some screen time. One idea that I've been discussing with different neighborhood folks over the last year is creating a community kitchen: one that could serve as preparation space for groups working in urban agriculture (Food Not Bombs, Alleycat Acres, etc), and for small businesses like Mini Empire Bakery, while even possibly serving as education space for classes connected with stores like Madison Market.

We have recently heard that a catering company is leaving the neighborhood and are considering approaching the building owners to see if this is a possibility. Thoughts? Would you have use for such a space? Want to help explore the possibility of creating such a space?

John Boylan's Conversation on Honor

Tuesday, November 16th, from 7 to 9 pm @ Vermillion.

From John's website:

The quick summary: This time we’re talking about honor, the fine art of doing the right thing.

The Guests

There are no guests this time, except for you and me. See below for an explanation.

The Story

I’ve been thinking lately about honor. Honor seems on its face to be about doing the right thing. But is the right thing always the good thing, the best thing? We grow up thinking that honor is about adhering to a code, a samurai’s bushido, the knight’s chivalry, or the unbreakable principles of a noir detective. But is honor even possible when one has embraced without exception a fixed set of rules?

Most of us have lived with a lie or two or three, even small ones, at some point in our lives. Is there honor in those lies? Is telling the truth sometimes the least honorable course? Can we have honor without faith? Can there be honor without courage and sacrifice, or at the least, without a generosity of spirit?

We’ve just come through a long season of politics where honor seemed to take a holiday. I’ve been wondering whether or not the courageous politics that our future requires is possible without a deep dose of honor. Can that happen? And where does honor fit in the art and culture of our time? Do the insights of the best theater, the contradictions of a fine novel, or the rigorous prodding of a great painting have a role to play in fostering honor in our lives? Or not?

I haven’t asked any guests this time, except for you. I might have brought in a theologian, a philosopher, or an ethicist. But I think that all of us have the deepest knowledge of honor—or a lack of it—in the world of our everyday lives. The call to honor, and the temptation to refuse that call, happen around us all the time, at work, on the highway, with our families. I’m hoping to hear more about those calls this Tuesday evening, and what they mean to you.

Note: I had listed “The Street” as the topic for this month. I’d had a couple of people in mind for that, and when they were not available, I decided to hold off on that one.

Hope to see you there.

[stories]... on November 18th at Office Nomads

From [stories from] the table at the corner of belmont and pine's Facebook page.

Please join us next Thursday the 18th for more stories, thoughts and ideas around public space, community, livability, wellness, art, urban design, city planning, hyper-local/grass roots organizing, open public conversation, new media, learning, social creativity and innovation, 'making', having a voice, developing an ...idea, marketplaces, architecture, our future together, sustainability, civic engagement, empowerment and furry cats.

It's a potluck so bring something to eat or drink and even if you can't just come. Come meet some of your neighbors, share your latest thoughts and aspirations for change, for community and a voice in the future of this part of the city....5-7.30pm, Office Nomads, 1617 Boylston, 2nd Floor.

Some of the organizers will be heading up to the Capitol Hill Community Council meeting -- at the Cal Anderson Park shelter house -- after the potluck.