The Digital LandPhil

Michael Moore.com - A Labor Day message from Mike.'
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The Seattle Times: Opinion: A double shot of lukewarm logic
Another excellent article about the ridiculous espresso tax.

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Crazy scarf dance man strikes again. - this time, he came out for the Elvis impersonator's show at the Harbor Steps. Ya gotta love those free friday afternoon concerts.

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Photo Friday: "Neighborhood"

I feel lucky to live in a neighborhood which has a kikass park and beach, within walking distance of my house. Carkeek park is a favorite part of my neighborhood. And, I spend a lot of time there.

Another good part of my neighborhood is my neighbors. I have good ones. Well, most of the time. Today, the neighbors on one side woke me up at 5:15 a.m. They kept going in and out of their gated yard. When they let go of the gate, it slams with a loud 'bang-b-bang!'

I think I'm going to sneak over there and put a silencer on their latch while they're out of town this weekend.
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The Friday Five. I'm getting a head-start.

1. Are you going to school this year?
Nope

2. If no, when did you graduate?
I graduated from UGA in 1990.

3. What are/were your favorite school subjects?
art classes, and foreign languages. Those were the only things I got good grades in.

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects?
math- luckily I only had to endure 1 college algebra class; and a particularly un-fun geography class.

5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite?
Yes - My first photography teacher- Mary Ruth Moore. She's a kind ol' southern belle. A sweet woman, and a great photographer. She taught me a lot. And she was also a good friend. I became closer to her during a studies abroad program in Italy. One of my favorite pieces of art is a pinhole photograph she gave me after graduation.

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Theme Thursday: "Heat"

The international fountain at Seattle Center is where lots of people [tourists and locals, alike] go to cool off in the summer. It's 30% air-conditioning and 70% entertainment. You can even beat the heat just by sitting at the outer edge of the fountain and waiting for the breeze to blow a blast of water droplets in your direction.
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Chrissa's colorful legs

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From MoveOn.org:

Dear friend,

The President took the nation to war based on his assertion that Iraq
posed an imminent threat to our country. Now the evidence that
backed that assertion is falling apart.

If the Bush administration distorted intelligence or knowingly used
false data to support the call to war, it would be an unprecedented
deception. Even if weapons are now found, it'll be difficult to
justify pre-war language that indicated that the exact location of the
weapons was known and that they were ready to deploy at a moment's
notice. With a crisis of credibility brewing abroad and the integrity
of our President and our foreign policy on the line, we need answers
now.

Rep. Henry Waxman has introduced legislation to create an independent
commission to investigate the Bush administration's distortion of
evidence. Please ask your Representative to pledge his or her support
at:

http://www.moveon.org/wmdpledge/

A President may make no more important decision than whether or not to
take a country to war. If Bush and his officials deceived the American
public to create support for the Iraq war, they need to be held
accountable.

Thanks.

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Blog for America - Howard Dean has a blog.
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No Espresso Tax!
Here's the main site for info about Initiative 77.

"There are a variety of ways to become involved, both as an individual and as an organization. Whether through speaking engagements and outreach efforts, endorsing the campaign, or making a financial contribution, your help is needed and most welcome. Please contact us at (206) 409-5337 or send an email to info@noespressotax.org to let us know how you'd like to support us. Contributions can be mailed to JOLT / No on I-77, PO Box 21671, Seattle, WA 98111."
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CNN.com - Judges in standoff over Ten Commandments - Aug. 25, 2003 - Playing god
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my digits didn't come up last night. ok. i know how stupid it is to play the lottery. But, since I won some money at the last blog meetup, I thought I'd drop it on a chance at $35 million.

no dice.

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CNN.com -Remember the 'Dream' - Aug. 23, 2003
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Clowns shouldn't smoke.
So, i went down to pike place today to have lunch and to check out the band playing at harbor steps. And there was a clown there, working the tourist crowd with his balloon animals, and giant red shoes, etc. Only today, he appeared to be on a break when I passed by. Something is just really wrong about a man in a wig, makeup and funny clothes, smoking a butt.

Mommy, can I get a balloon?
not right now, sweetie. Boffo is getting his nicotine on.

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Bush wants it NOW - this rules. Be sure to click 'more' at the end.

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there's an anti-Bush rally at Pike Place today at 12:30pm. Be there, or be republican.

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the Friday Five is mildly amusing today.

1. When was the last time you laughed?

last night. had a great time with 8 of my SW people at Wedgwood Broiler.

2. Who was the last person you had an argument with?

I can't remember. I'm not very argumentative. yes you are No, I'm not! are too! Ain't!

3. Who was the last person you emailed?

Neil. I told him that I can't go see the band I was hoping to check out on Saturday. Got a date.

4. When was the last time you bathed?

What month is this? August? Actually, I think I last 'bathed' (showered, actually) on 8/21/03 at 6:30 p.m.

5. What was the last thing you ate?

A slice of banana bread from Tully's. mmmmmmm, tully's.

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go for a spin around my house. (528k)

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last night was the blog meetup (my 2nd) and French meetup (my 6th?). both were great. But the blog people had more fun. questions, toys, gadgets, and silly string. the french speakers only had... french. matt and I were both bloggers and francophones. but his french is much better than mine. since our tables were side-by-side, there was a little bit of intermingling going on. I hope the next blog meetup will be back at Uptown Espresso again. They don't have wifi. But, Jacob still managed to record the action.

my pictures turned out crappy. so, I won't be posting any. Use the flash next time, ya dumbass.

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there's an anti-Bush rally at the (Victor Steinbruek) park by Pike Place tomorrow at 12:30. I'll be there, since there's also the Harbor Steps lunch concert. Dubya is swinging thru town to hobnob with the rich folks on the Eastside. He's on about day 10 of his 35 day summer holiday. Must be nice.

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Tell Bush to recall himself
Awesome : D

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In Other News..., , (08/21/03)
Poor Greg Kucera. The Stranger has a little blurb about the Pioneer Square "turf war" in this week's issue.

It's not that the artists are mad about getting shifted. Instead, artists got wind of gallery owners' true feelings about the freewheeling market. Through a public disclosure request, artists got copies of e-mails sent between galleries and the city. It's obvious why some of the notes rankled artists: "Our goal is to altogether eliminate this [vending] activity in Pioneer Square," Ohno wrote to the Pioneer Square Community Association before artists were moved, adding, "Giving them the title of "Independent Artists" is too generous a label for the flea market trinkets they are peddling."

Call me rankled.

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WesSalmon.com: Drink a Latte, pay a tax
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JOLT: Latte Tax - Vote No on the espresso tax!
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Photography Show
By tomorrow, I will be moving my photo show to Diva Espressso near Green Lake. 4615 Stone Way N. Come check out my work!

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new site.
I just finished designing a new site for the College of Charleston. It's just brochure-ware; but, I think it turned out pretty nice.

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Bday shoutout
Happy birthday, Kelly! (and president clinton and tipper too)
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Drunk hat dancing man busts a move with crazy scarf dancin' man.

There are free concerts at Harbor Steps every friday at noon. I went to my first one of the summer last week. The music is always good. But, the people watching is always better. The only people to get up and dance seemed to be those under the influence. Happy-one-armed-guy did a little jig during several songs. Then there was what-the-hell-is-she-on lady. I thought she was going to crash into an amp several times. And let's not forget drunk-hat-dancing-man. He was really into it, and kept going up and holding out a hand to show off each performer to the crowd. The security guard had to keep reminding him to keep his distance.

Crazy scarf dance man showed up after the first song. I've seen him at things like this all the time. But, I never realized what goes into each performance. I guess I assumed he just showed up looking the way he does. But, there's quite a ritual to it. He picks a good location by the side of the stage. (he doesn't want to dance out in front with the others; that might be a little too flashy) Then he gets out each scarf and places it through his belt. Then he adds these special bracelets, which hold even more scarves. Wow. Then, finally- it's go time!
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this week, the blog meetup and the french meetup are finally at the same place. So, I can attend both. I was all ready to go to Bauhaus for the blog thing (for a change) and try their wi-fi. But, I just realized that both are at Uptown espresso.

tyd will be having the Great North American Kit Kat Challenge. It's said that Canadian kit kats taste better. So, I bought some inferior US kit kats in advance of the competition. These taste pretty damn good. but then, I've never met a chocolate candy bar I didn't like.

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Last night, i participated in the Bookcrossing SSM. I released a book in front of the Seattle Times: "Message in a Bottle." It was actually in a baggie. but, I thought the title was pretty fitting. There were 2 other bookcrossers there. Meryl, the bookcrossing meetup host, is very into BX.

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i'm posting from cloud city coffee. so, I thought i'd add this- it's a poster on their wall that has some good points:

How to build community
turn off your tv
leave your house
know your neighbors
look up when you are walking
greet people
sit on your stoop
plant flowers
use your library
play together
buy from local merchants
share what you have
help a lost dog
take children to the park
garden together
support neighborhood schools
fix it even if you didn't break it
have putlucks
pick up litter
read stories aloud
dance in the street
talk to the mail carrier
listen to the birds
put up a swing
help carry something heavy
barter for your goods
start a tradition
ask a question
hire young people for odd jobs
organize a block party
ask for help when you need it
open your shades
share your skills
turn up the music
turn down the music
listen before you react to anger
mediate a conflict
seek to understand
learn from new and uncomfortable angles
know that no one is silent though many are not heard
work to change this

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rate-a-date
on a pure "chemistry" level, everything was perfect. we both knew that. the deal-breaker came up about 2/3 of the way through the evening. for her, it was about religious beliefs. she's catholic. I'm not. she goes to church. I don't. So, I suppose everything hinged on that. It's too bad, because.. in every other area, we're completely compatible.

an excellent Ben Folds Five song comes to mind.

I couldn't sleep last night.

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CNN.com - Fans mark 26th anniversary of Elvis' death - Aug. 16, 2003
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BookCrossing - Forum - SSMs - FREE YOUR BOOKS!
there's a cool project going on this sunday. but, I'm not supposed to talk about it.

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I Love Art Cars
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Photo Friday is on vacation; no new word today.

So!.. I'll do the Friday Five:

1. How much time do you spend online each day?

oh boy. i have no idea. all day, basically. unless i'm out doing other things, like working in the yard or running errands.

2. What is your browser homepage set to?

n.a. I don't have a "homepage"; my browser opens a blank window. But first, I usually go to 'my yahoo', then photographica, dilbert, read some blogs, cnn, etc.

3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?

Yes - iChat! iChat rules. It can talk to A.I.M. And, it has audio/video capability.

4. Where was your first webpage located?

? I don't get this question. ? My first web page was located on my harddrive. But, I uploaded my first test page back in '95 or so.... to my mindspring account.

5. How long have you had your current website?

Phillustrations.com has been online since October 2001.
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CNN.com - Mom accused of killing with tainted milk - Aug. 14, 2003
this is a sickening case. but my heart sunk even more when I read the name of the attorney that's defending this skank. Stephen Yagman.

He's the same guy who sued the city of L.A. on behalf of a dead bank robber. (the famous body-armor thugs who unleashed hell on the city a few years ago.)

Attorney Stephen Yagman knows that no jury will ever decide this case in his favor, but he doesn't care. The case generates an enormous amount of free advertising for him, and he thrives on the publicity. Most importantly, Yagman knows, from previous experience, that the City may settle an outrageous case like this just to end the financial drain of having to defend the case. Outside of the legal system, these settlements would be known as extortion.

http://theoutrage.com/library/verdict.html
more idioacy



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Boycott Kucera Gallery
The plot thickens. I made some t-shirts to protest the bullying of independent artists by Greg Kucera. And the prick called Cafe Press and made them flag one of my designs.

I don't make any money at the art walk. So, this isn't about me. I just can't stand bullies. Kucera makes a$$loads of money by taking 50% of every artist's sale. And yet he's worried about guys like me who might make from $0-50, once a month. He won't rest until the independent artists have been kicked out of Pioneer Square. So, please don't visit his gallery when you go down to the art walk! Support one of the galleries which encourage participation by all artists! .... Linda Hodges gallery; Gallery 110; and D'Adamo Woltz. And thank them for working with us to make 1st Thursday a fun event for everyone.
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Theme Thursday: Spiral

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Official Left Handers Day Website
Happy Lefthanders day! woohoo! shoutouts to all my lefthanded peeps: Colleen, Luke, David, Molly, Clinton, Gene, Kipp, Bob, Hilary, Marc, Nat, Rusty, Sandra, Bart, McCartney and my boy eminem.
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CNN.com - 'Elvis' to marry couples mid-air - Aug. 11, 2003
Happy Elvis week!

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owwch
you gotta love Zefrank.
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speak out
If you have an opinion on the 1st Thursday art walk conflict, please send your thoughts to benjamin@pioneersquare.org

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CNN.com - Miracle dog survives gas chamber - Aug. 7, 2003
dogs rule.

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there's a new coffee shop in my 'hood that has a cool name. their sign is a yin-yang with a doughnut in the background. The place is called "The DoughJoe".

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i'm so glad i don't have to go work in the darkroom today. the SC class was a fun experience. but, i was really over it by the end.

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Regarding the ongoing 1st Thursday Pioneer square art walk battle, here's more crap from the keyboard of Greg Kucera, Bryan Ono, et al:

PIONEER SQUARE GALLERY OWNERS' PROPRIETARY STAKE IN
FIRST THURSDAY
July 3, 2003
The statement of objectives listed below is supported
in full by the following galleries to encourage the
vendors to create their own event on another night not
conflicting with First Thursday:
Greg Kucera Gallery
Davidson Galleries
Foster/White Gallery
James Harris Gallery
Animation USA
Grover/Thurston Gallery
Bryan Ohno Gallery
Stonington Gallery
Carolyn Staley Gallery

The following 3 galleries support moving the vendors
from Occidental Mall to Occidental Park during First
Thursday:
D'Adamo/ Woltz Gallery
Gallery 110
Linda Hodges Gallery

PROPRIETARY ISSUES
1. After more than 20 years, First Thursday is
possibly the longest running, regularly scheduled,
trouble free event in Seattle history Occidental Mall,
home to many of Seattle's galleries, has recently
become crowded with a circus-like frenzy of commercial
street vendors selling and showing all kinds of
products This atmosphere of anarchy endangers that
reputation, We have, in recent months, seen an
aggressive tendency on the part of many street vendors
toward each other, toward the galleries and toward our
clients.
2. It has taken our unwavering, long term
commitment-come rain or shine, through good times and
bad-to create and build the First Thursday event to
the level of success and notoriety it now enjoys,
Should we not enjoy some proprietary control over the
event for our ongoing commitment to it through thick
and thin?
3. A select group of the galleries alone have footed
the bill for publicizing the work we are showing, and
First Thursday in general, by self-publishing the
Seattle Gallery Exhibition Magazine on a monthly
basis, Participation in the gallery publication costs
between $15,000 - 25,000 per year. These are
tremendous publicity costs associated with creating
and maintaining this event.
4. In addition, the galleries involved are all street
level, storefront businesses with a good deal of
visibility and therefore a great expense paid each
month for our locations and related expenses, We are
all long-term stakeholders in Pioneer Square and feel
that our presence is important to the public
perception of Pioneer Square, We expect to be
supported by the Pioneer Square Commerce Association
as well as by the City of Seattle,
NAVIGATION AND LOGISTICAL ISSUES
5. Occidental Mall had become so crowded as to become
impassable during First Thursday, Entrances were
blocked, sidewalk passageways were congested and
navigation between galleries had become impossible,
Vendors had propped their work up against the outside
walls and windows of galleries, This became
intolerable we accepted the City's proposed compromise
as a temporary solution.
6. It has become difficult to encourage our clients to
visit Pioneer Square during First Thursday because of
the logistical difficulties of navigating the Square
The public perception of the event has deteriorated to
the extent that the efforts of the galleries to mount
changing exhibitions have become confused with the
overall commercial atmosphere of the vendor event
7. Many of the gallery owners used to entertain our
clients In restaurants or bars In the Pioneer Square
area after our openings Now it is proving too
difficult to convince our clients to event come to
First Thursday the restaurants are missing out on our
patronage.
8. We suspect that restaurants and coffee houses are
suffering too We suspect they would suffer more if
vendors set up shop in front of their doors offering
cups of Folger's coffee for 25 cents or cheap hot dogs
for a dollar,
INCONSISTENT QUALITY
9. The quality of work from many of the vendors is
inconsistent with the quality of work the galleries
are showing, This works against our efforts toward
establishing credibility with our clients and
collectors, Particularly we are against the sale of
products that are not "artist made" goods
10. We don't dispute the need for additional venues
for emerging artists But there are many reasonable
places for emerging talent to exhibit in Seattle from
the KCAC gallery in the Smith Tower, to various artist
co-operatives, to juried exhibitions, to bars, lounges
and coffee shops. Also, the use of vacant store
fronts like Doug Vann's curatorship of the Samis
windows on Second Ave.
11. Many Pioneer Square artist studios are open for
First Thursday. This has never caused problems. The
problems seem to have come from artists who don't have
a residency stake in the Square.
12. Much of the work being offered for sale by vendors
are not artist-made products but are trinkets or
factory made objects, We are not in favor of seeing
First Thursday turn into a flea market, We believe in
artist made artworks We support artists with our own
businesses. We also support Pioneer Square artists.
PARKING ISSUES
13. Valuable truck load and vehicle parking places are
taken up by the vendors and their constituents making
it hard for our own vendors and clients to find street
parking, Pioneer Square has too few metered parking
places to allow for a second event to take place each
First Thursday.
14. Vendors are setting up shop as early as noon on
some First Thursdays These are "set up days" for all
of us with our own artists coming into the galleries
for installation needs and our clients coming into the
galleries for sneak previews These are important hours
to our businesses as many of our clients work downtown
but don't want to waste valuable lime looking for
parking or being distracted by the vendors
SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF ILLEGAL BUSINESSES
15. As art galleries, we are all registered, licensed
business We all pay taxes and licensing fees to the
City of Seattle, collect sales taxes for the State of
Washington, and pay income taxes to the IRS of the
United States Government We expect to see this city's
and state's taxes and licensing fees collected for
anyone doing business in our neighborhood, We support
enforcement of this city's laws across the board,
rather than on a selective and discriminatory basis.
CREATION OF ALTERNATIVE EVENT SUPPORTING STREET
ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN
16. We believe that the best of the vendor artists
deserve to create, maintain and publicize their own
event on another day so it does not conflict with
First Thursday, Why not an "Arts and Crafts Sunday
Mall in Pioneer Square?" We would not object to
another regular event on another day of the month.

Please support these galleries, which support keeping the independent artists around. And thank them for their support in this matter:

D'Adamo/ Woltz Gallery
Gallery 110
Linda Hodges Gallery

If you do go to the gallery walk, please boycott the other galleries!
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Mark & Jennifer's Wedding
Happy first anniversary to mark and Jen!
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Elitist Pionseer Square gallery pricks Greg Kucera and Brian Ohno may put on a happy face in public and tell people that they just want to find an agreeable compromise to the 1st Thursday Art Walk situation. But, the truth is that they have nothing but contempt for unrepresented artists.

One of my sources sent me an email exchange between them and some of the other gallery owners.

...Our goal is to altogether eliminate this activity in Pioneer
Square. If the illegal vendors wish to obtain their permit and conduct business on Occidental Perk, they should independently find out how. they don't need our encouragement Giving them the title of "Independent Artists" is too generous a label for the flea market trinkets they ere peddling. I strongly believe in keeping the designation of their action as "illegal vending" as the most appropriate description.
Many thanks,
Bryan Ohno

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Be Kind to Chickens
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Evicted

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Wired News: Camera Van Brakes for Close-Ups
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Last Day.



Me, Lauren, Chrissa, Melinda, and Sarah [the teacher]


It's all over. the end of the 2-week Seattle Center Academy. The kids' work turned out pretty good. I'm glad the class is over. But, I'm looking forward to next year. I'll definitely work in another area next time. (sculpture, cartooning, video production, perhaps) Or perhaps even have my own new class.


looking over your shoulder.


floating water

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Photo Friday: 'Sleep'
this was part of my Mayday project contribution
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got nothin else to say. so, i'll say this.
one of my favorite things in seattle is the international fountain at seattle center. it's such a simple machine. but, it's endlessly entertaining. i've posted pictures of it before. this week, i've been arriving in time for its first show each day. (11 am) even though it basically does the same thing; plays the same music, etc., - it's different every time because new kids come to play around it. you have the regulars / people who have been there before who get ready and know when it's about to erupt. some even bring things to place over the water nozzles so they'll get shot into the air. then you have the new tourists who have never seen it before. they're always quite impressed. i hear them walk up behind me and say 'WOW'. It's really quite impressive. The thing is 40 years old, I think. (if i'm not mistaken, it was there at the debut of the world's fair) but the sculpture (and what it does) are timeless. i've sat and watched it so much now that I've got the music playing in my head at random times. you can't beat it for free entertainment on a warm summer afternoon.

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Theme Thursday: Neon
I don't have a closeup. Just a picture of the whole finished polaroid transfer. click here to see
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O my F'n god
so, AH-nold is going to run for governor or California. Holy shit. is this what people said when Reagan did the same thing? Did people vote for him as a joke? for the novelty of it? Maybe they won't even get the chance.

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anybody watching 'The Restaurant'? this thing is a train wreck! I'm amazed the place is still open. Rocco the celebrity chef spends all his time alternately pissing off customers, then pissing off his employees.

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ok. ok. something positive.
Umm..
My photography class is over soon. that's good.
i wish i had better things to report about it. but i don't. If i volunteer at seattle center academy again, it won't be for the the photo class. the teacher is no good. her assistant is even worse. i'm surprised they got the job. they're not teaching the kids about photography. they're just teaching them how to use 20-year-old enlargers. (reminds me of my college years!) We've been there a week and a half.. and yet haven't even had a critique of the students' work! But tomorrow is our last day to print anything.

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date with C. went well. is it weird that i still don't know her last name?

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the 1st thursday art walk is tomorrow. i'm going down there with my new 'Legitimate Artist' t-shirt. i think it will be a hit. the writer from the P-I who quoted me last month wanted to print a picture of the baby bib that I'm selling on my cafepress site. But, i think she'll chicken out. She's friends with Greg Kucera- the baby that inspired my design.

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the Ballard artwalk is this saturday; i'm meeting Sarah down there for a pre-walk drink at Grapes; then we'll cruise around and find all the free wine at the art receptions.

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i still haven't bought my ticket to atlanta dammit. there's just not a good time to go. i don't want to fly on 9/11. call me superstitious. but, i just can't ever bring myself to fly on that day again. but my niece's birthday is on the 10th. and i'd rather be here in seattle for something happening on the weekend after. so, i'm not sure when i'll end up going. gotta call tonight; gotta call tonight.

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i've been trying to find some sites that i lost a while back. they're along the lines of the theme thursday, photo friday sites. but they're for other days of the week. And, i can't remember what they're called. 'snapshot saturday'?? anybody know what i'm talking about?
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my black-eyed susans. my solar light. my feet. 8.5.03


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Buy a t-shirt!
Greg Kucera, whiny gallery owner and anti-street-artist, thinks that people who sell art at the 1st Thursday open art walk are not "legitimate artists." Well, I beg to differ.

I was ready to quit doing the art walk this month. But, today I learned that Greg is still running his mouth about getting rid of the artists who show up each month. He won't rest until we're scraped from the face of the earth. So, now I think I'll be there after all. And, I'll be wearing my new t-shirt too!

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seattle center carousel - a mirror project photo

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George Bush Jr's Guide to Dismantling America - an interesting blog.

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the friday five

1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?
lately,... around 6 or 7. but a week or 2 ago, I was averaging 8:30/9am

2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
No, not lately. I got up around 8 today.

3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning?
turn on my powerbook.

4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
how long does it take to put on jeans and a hat? about a minute.

5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
for a quick breakfast I like Noah's bagels. For a sit down sort of thing, the Jitterbug cafe is pretty great.

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can you see the crescent moon? it's just a wee sliver.
last night, i met shara at Ray's for some birthday beverages. she's just turned 29.

tonight, we'll help mark do the same thing. we're meeting at a game room that reportedly has a bunch of the old 80's games.

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