It’s been a while since the last garden update so I wanted to take a moment this weekend and record a little video of where we are with the garden. We’re overwhelmed with greens right now and that’s ok with us. The bunnies continue to be a problem but, as I’ve mentioned before, we aren’t willing to take drastic measures against them so for the time being what is is what is. You’ll see what I mean. Please excuse the weeds!
Another note I’d like to talk about is our CSA (Sippel Family Farms) and the farmers markets taking place around Columbus this summer. If you, like most people, are sick (hopefully not literally) over the latest scare of disease from vegetables then take a step to change the industry. If you haven’t been shopping at the farmers markets you should take a look. You may not find all of the variety you find at the grocer but you’ll find honest food that is actually competitive on price. I don’t mean after taking into consideration all the benefits of buying local - I mean dollar for dollar and dime for dime. We’re buying milk from Snowville Creamery - all natural and local - for $3/half gallon which is $.50 cheaper than the Giant Eagle brand which I would question as to how “natural” it is.
With a headline like that you’d think everyone would be on board but of course that isn’t the case. The famed ultra-conservative Buckeye Institute chimed in right away to say that we should continue supporting sweatshops because those are “good jobs” in t
Hilarious. The first video is the original by Cleveland band Harvey and Felix. The second video is by kid-core band ShiSho from Pickerington (near Columbus) who covered the song and cleaned it up slightly.
There is about an hour and a half worth of video below from last weekend’s Comfest 2008 New Media Center discussions with WCRS and the Columbus Social Media Cafe. Tim Eby of WOSU, Jeff Johnson of Urban Infill and I participated in both discussions and really enjoyed our interaction with the attendees. I apologize for the video quality; our videographer didn’t make it so we captured the session via tripod off to the side.
For Comfest last weekend Tina, Sophie and I took full advantage of the expanded bus service and enjoyed riding COTA over the weekend. This was Sophie’s first trip on a COTA bus and she LOVED IT! She’s been on public transit before (train’s in Seattle) but this was the first time on the bus and she was beaming ear to ear. Tina and I feel the same about the bus. Besides the fact that it is convenient and inexpensive, particularly for events; it also makes Columbus feel just a bit more worldly, a bit more like part of the solution. Here’s a quick little video I shot on our way home from Comfest on Saturday. Take a look at that and consider taking COTA to all of the festivals downtown, if not for your daily needs.
As more and more cyclists take to the road and particularly heading into this Comfest weekend, I want to post up an article in the current New York Magazine that highlights the tragedy of fallen cyclists. Columbus’ Ride of Silence this year had several different riders to mourn - hopefully next years ride won’t involve any new ghost bikes. Take time to click through to the slide-show on the NYMag.com website as it is sure to touch your heart.
Ghost Riders
As cycling in New York has become more popular, it has become increasingly deadly. The city is now spotted with viral, spectral memorials.
By Joshua David Stein
Published Jun 15, 2008
Photographs by Christopher Griffith
In June 2005, Kevin Caplicki was biking down Fifth Avenue in Park Slope when he came upon the body of cyclist Elizabeth Padilla, who, minutes before, had been killed by a delivery truck. Caplicki belonged to the street-art collective Visual Resistance, and at its next meeting, they decided to construct a memorial for Padilla. The group took a spare bike, painted it white, and chained it to a sign post near the accident. The installation no longer looked like a bicycle as much as the negative space where one should have been, as if it had been cut out of a photograph by an X-Acto knife. It became New York’s first Ghost Bike.
Wanted to give everyone a heads up about Comfest, you know, in case you hadn’t heard of it (well if you aren’t from C-bus then you probably haven’t). Comfest is a pretty big deal around here and this year we’ve gotten together with the Comfest Archive Committee to introduce Comfesters to the New Media Center. Your’s truly will be hosting a workshop about Flashmobs, Instant Organizing and Community Building at 1pm on Saturday June 28th. Hope you can make it out! See the schedule of all workshops below and click the picture to go to the Comfest site with more info about the music and other events.
{IF YOU POST PICS/VID/AUDIO/TXT PLEASE TAG IT COMFEST08 FOR THIS YEARS EVENT}
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED — PLEASE CONSIDER SIGNING UP FOR ARCHIVE COMMITTEE VOLUNTEER ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY — YOU’LL GET A GREAT SHIRT SOME DRINK TOKENS AND THE SATISFACTION OF KEEPING COMFEST ALIVE — CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER
