ARTiculate

In spirit of combating my creeping negativity towards DC, I spent yesterday evening at the WVSA gallery show holding a donation bucket and passing out thank you bags to patrons.

The opening, titled "Every Dog has its Day: Celebrating our Canine Friends" allowed members of the DC public to have their pooch painted by a WVSA artist. The gallery's walls were covered with paintings of poodles, black labs, chihuahas, etc...Often times, I find myself at gallery openings that serve the sole the purpose of feeding a narcissistic artist's ego, so it was nice to be a part of something that served a broader purpose.

The place and the programs really reminded me of the time I spent at Townhouse, which is a nice relief and refresher from all the DC suits and cold faces I've been surrounded by every day. Hence, I'm really looking forward to my twice a week visits and only wish they could've begun sooner.

Ode to the Didgeridoo

Yet another 9:30 Club Concert with co-headliners Xavier Rudd and State Radio

Xavier Rudd: Before Xavier came on, his Aboriginal friend appeared on stage in nothing but a loin cloth and white paint and proceeded to inform us about the indigenous Australian population and serenade us with his didgeridoo. The stage was set with bongos, drumes, chimes, three didgeridoos, multiple guitars, a harmonica...the sounds were amazing, sort of like a much more eclectic, soulful, and less-pop sounding Jack Johnson. His tour dates are quite limited, but, as many did at last night's show, traveling great distances to see him is worth it.

State Radio: The lead singer of Dispatch created the band a few years ago (I think...). It was odd, because I went to see Xavier and hadn't really heard much of State Radio, but I used to listen to Dispatch a lot when I was like, 15 or 16 years old, so their show was oddly nostalgic, in a good way. State Radio's live performance is definitely better than there recorded music, which I like.


Toranado warnings in DC this afternoon/evening...and currently i'm wearing a skirt....my California weather instincts have failed me again...I'm getting a little nervous...

Monday's Music Break Fast

Imogen Heap @ the 9:30 club -- glorious

Opeining Act #1 Levi Weaver -- The dude can do some beautiful things with a looping machine and a guitar. I felt especially inspired by his cover of Radiohead's idoteque. I think Mr. Yorke himself would've been impressed

Opening Acti #2 Kid Beyond -- If you're into beat boxing (and even if you're not) Kid Beyond is a must see. His music sounds like six different people mixing and singing all together but I promise, it's just one guy, a mic, and a looping maching. Once you here his stuff, you'll understand the awe.

Imogen Heap! -- I really hadn't heard much of her work before Ariane demanded that we go to her show, but let me say, she is an incredibly original and talented artist. You might have heard of her via Frou Frou, or may have even listened to a few of her singles, but honestly, her live show is what makes her music so great.

You say you've got a real solution

"... growing wave of young Arabs who have turned to blogging to bypass the restrictions on free expression in a predominantly authoritarian, conservative and Muslim region. Blogging is so novel here that the equivalent term in Arabic, tadween, to chronicle, was coined only this year. But it has spread rapidly among the increasingly urban youth and in the process has loosened the limits of what's open for discussion"
--From yesterday's Post article New Click's in the Arab World

Excuse me while I take a moment to step up onto my soapbox:

Now I don't have a phD in Sociology, Peace Studies, or Mass Communication, but if you ask me, I think international blogs provide much needed insight into the real lives of people living in other countries. Even though America is experiencing the "me generation" -- Face it, globalization affects you, me, and everyone else in the world -- so now that the information is so widely accessible I think it may be a good idea to become informed about someone other than yourself and those in close proximity to yourself.

For all you outside of the AIESEC blogosphere, Nomaders do an awesome job of this but here are some other Washington Post blog links (plus a few of my own):

Egypt: www.manalaa.net, www.sandmonkey.org, freedomforegyptians.blogspot.com
Bahrain: mahmood.tv
China: www.zonaeuropa.com
Zimbabwe: www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe
Cuba: www.walterlippmann.com
Saudi Arabia: mystiquesa.blogspot.com
Iran: www.hoder.com/weblog
Malaysia: www.jeffooi.com
Belarus: www.tolblogs.org/belarus/en

Happy Reading

Pensive at Best

Friday November 10:
The fact that so many people came out on Veteran's day to listen to the Green Building seminar proves a real interest in the field. My two city planning loves have merged -- "green" planning/architecture and low-income/affordable/public/workforce housing

No longer is Green Building exclusively for the tree-hugging San Francisco types, its expanded to the realms of low-income housing, co-housing, and elementary schools. Cohousing is awesome, and so green building. Check it out.

Saturday November 11:
DC has more of an art scene than I anticipated. To my delight, mid city artists offered the opportunity to meet and chat with artists in their studio space and view their work. Of the six that I visited, the first two( JB + BK) were the loveliest and the last two ( JB2 + BO) were the most provocative.

Sunday November 12:
Yet another Busboys and Poets adventure, this time was a free showing of an idependent movie called Shadia. The true story depicted the life of Shadia: a Muslim-Arab-Israeli the karate champion. In addition to exploring the important question of Arab identity in Israel, the movie brings up provocative gender issues and culture vs religion. See it, it's worth it.

In the maze of all my recent disgruntled thoughts, I think it's gotten significantly easier for me to pinpoint the things I like

It's a progressive thing

For-profit developers acting like nonprofit developers? -- the possiblity is realized!

Oh the excitment I felt upon hearing the representative from the Jair Lynch Companies profess her love for workforce housing, mixed use developments, live/work lofts, and mixed income communities. It's the best of both worlds -- helping out those who need it while still being able to attract private equity investors.

And now, as I embark on the 28th page of my research paper, attempting to understand what mixed-income environment most significantly transitions low-income residents to self-sufficiency, appears to have more purpose.

oh, and a Democratic House means great things in the world of affordable and public housing -- check it out

Washington is Buzzing

I am in the middle of the midterm election moshpit.

All the folks working on Capitol Hill have strapped on their boots, grabbed their umbrellas and are now running into the mayhem that is DC on election day. Bars, hotels, clubs are jam-packed with politicos cheering or booing the election results.

And me, I joined the festivities in the living room, sighed at Brian Billbray's jovial appearance and then retreated to my a-political public housing research. I declined a invite to run out to the DCCC (or, the D-trip, as the natives say) seeing as I am not affiliated with any political organization. I don't suppose Nancy Pelosi would be up for a conversation regarding public/private partnerships in public housing finance.

For those voting absentee and working for nonpartisan organizations, it's an awkward time to be in the District, so enjoy the spectacle.

Mochi and Chaldeans

Oct 28th-Oct30: Sweet home Encinitas. In addition to Sunday's central event the weekend was a flurry of Best O'Wan, Stone Steps, Rico's, mochi, and all the other encinitas good stuff

Nov 3rd-Nov 5th: Detroit, Michigan for the Pryor Family Reunion. For the second time in my life I stood outdoors while there was snow falling from the sky (unfortunately, DC promises this same experiences x20). For two days I discussed Canadian geese, lamented about the Tigers, cruised down 8 mile, ate a few pasties, and sang the Greenfield Park anthem

and now, I've returned to the District where my ears go numb on my morning runs and congressional scandals dominate all conversation. I was pleased to see however, that my recently purchased desk plant (in which I thoughtfully named Yoko) has blossomed in spite of the dreary flourescent lighting and frigid air conditoning. Little yellow flowers now complement the stacks of public housing documents that comprise my Urban Institute desk. Well, I suppose I should be more like Yoko, it's rather pitiful when your office plant is more optimistic than you.

oh, and I also uncovered the mystery behind Michigan's Chaldean population.

and, if you happen to lean toward the right and are looking for a job in DC, the American Enterprise Institute treats its employees to muffin tops in the morning, filet mignon and sushi for lunch, and freshly baked cookies in the afternoon -- it almost cancels out Newt Gingrich's "Wining the Future" room