Sometimes it is just good to sleep at the beach. If someone were to come to me and say "Tony, I want to see the best most accomplished, yet not sullied by main stream influenced local rappers from Jacksonville." I would hand them this jpg. That reminds me. Have you seen the fist bump app? BTWWTF! I digress.

So, Blakhart will fill your need for edge and true grit duval hip hop. P. Locke (AKA Carlton Scrapes) has crates of his own vinyl from Asamov, ABs, Smile Rays, Perceptionists, etc. All of his rap tracks are single worthy. GREAT SHOW TO HIT. Call your town car driver and make a scene jax beach or something. Black Kids Sunbears Richard Love is Saturday by the way against Diplo downtown at TSI. Jeez with the shows.

And Summer Time in the City 2009 is FULL of Surprises including great new sponsor.





For the Museum:

Labels: hip hop hell, p.locke, reax, summertime in the city

on Urban Jacksonville Weekly

from an email this morning:

Sounds like pretty good topics to me. Something that might gel right in with the Council's Trail Ridge vote would be the status of the Mayor's clout for the remainder of his term. He appears to have lost a lot of credibility with the Council and the City's voters, something that could actually hurt Jacksonville over the next two years. Of course, there's the defeat of the San Marco rezoning case that was so controversial as well...

Something else that I wrote about this morning briefly might be a brief discussion about the drilling debate that took place in the FL House last week. It is currently stuck in the Senate, but we had a pretty bizarre comment from one of our local officials in regards to fossil fuels.

I'm pretty open to anything you guys want to discuss...

Thanks!


Abel Harding

Labels: jax politics

I might have actually caught it. Very quietly indeed. Here is how I found out.

Labels: vrabel

Not really work safe. But who has a job these days anyways.



I'm sure this will spawn copy cats from you cry babies but it was too rich to pass up. ENJOY!

Labels: cleveland

So the hiatus is still hi. Finishing the list of artists for the overfull (again) artist market. WOOT! There are many many things happening in this city. You can watch a very interesting one right now.

You know the drill, Click play on the Jam
Then right click open in new window here.

Pics from a public flickr by Ric's Window

Labels: ram

image from globatron contributer Ken Vallario. Amazing. Always interesting commentary from Jacksonville and around the world over there.

Anyway writing this blog can be hard. Not as hard as reading it, you might crack back. The hiatus is sort of back on. Well, I've got a lot of people trying to get into an art market that stays full. And so blogging might be back seating for a minute. I've still got the twitters going (too much coffee I guess). Follow me don't swallow me twitter.com/theurbancore or twitter.com/RAMdirector both are eh, but hey, its what I do. I'm no Joe Bones.

Labels: blogsolidation

Tonight spinning out back of the burrito. Happy hour until close. From 7 to 8 there will be some free dos xx. Just saying.

If you can't stop and help Dan, stop and drop off a check! Every bit helps and this is a great project to support!

Hey neighbors, I could REALLY use 4-6 people to help out at the Bridge Garden between 9:30 and 1:00 at 8th and Pearl. Any help or any time period you could volunteer would be great. It's going to be fairly easy work, just building the frame and setting posts. 8th and Pearl. I don't know if you knew it or not, but I'm coordinating the
community garden at the Bridge. We are looking for donations. It's in
conjunction with the War on Poverty, and a nutritional curriculum there. We
have a budget of 4K, and have collected only 2K so far. Any attempt to
spread the word would be greatly appreciated.

What a great community project. Please support it in any way you can! I am sure your help will be most appreciated! Go Springfield!

Labels: 8th and pearl community garden

from livablestreets.com

There are some email groups that really inform. You should join the email list from the legendary market that makes it happen at the beach:

Greetings beach-loving locavores!

I hope everyone made it safely through that crazy storm! Wow! And what a reward we have for enduring that... with gorgeous spring weather! Well I have plenty of good info to share with you, so let's get to it!

My friend Kathy brought me another article this week which is definitely Local Food Newsletter worthy. I'll try to keep it concise...
Basically, most of the organic brands that we have come to love and trust for their ethics and commitment to sustainability, which is often boasted on their packaging, are actually now owned by large mega-corporations that likely don't share the same values. What this frequently means is that ethics and quality often take a backseat to maximization of profits. This affects us, the consumers, because we are misguided into believing we are spending our money on small companies who are working hard at representing our values... but those companies have "likely long since perished in the wake of corporate strategies". This doesn't mean the products aren't organic. It just means those pretty little stories they write may no longer be accurate. Yet another reason to shop at the Green Market!

Here's some examples:
* Burt's Bees is owned by Clorox
* Tom's of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive
* Horizon Organic Milk is owned by Dean Foods (largest dairy company in US)
* Stoneyfield's majority holding is Danone, who also owns Brown Cow (Danone had to recall large quanities of yogurt in 2007 because of unsafe levels of dioxins!
* Odwalla is owned by Coca-Cola, and of course, it's no longer fresh-squeezed because it has to travel cross country.
* Naked Juice is owned by Pepsi
* R.W. Knudsen and Santa Cruz Organic- owned by Smuckers
* Kashi Cereals- owned by Kellogg's
* Back to Nature- Kraft Foods (which is also a subsidiary of Altria, who owns Philip Morris, one of the world's largest producers of cigarettes.
* Cascadian Farm- owned by General Mills
* Green and Black's chocolate- owned by Schwepps
* Dagoba chocolate- owned by Hershey Foods

Anyway, you get the point. Organic, whole foods are always better for you than processed foods, even if they are labeled organic. Read the ingredients when buying packaged foods, and see what is actually organic. Your best bet is to start drifting away from packaged foods, and buy real food from real farmers. The end of this article states "depending on where you live, finding a local farmer may seem unrealistic". Finally, here in Jacksonville beaches, we are the lucky ones with an incredible abundance of fresh, local food!! Come support your farmers!

Green Market This Week!
New Vendors!
That's right! We've added some fabulous new vendors to our waiting list, who will be able to take advantage of the open spaces in the next couple of weeks.
This week Lucky Salsa will debut their fresh, all natural, preservative-free salsa! This new local salsa company was started by Atlantic Beach locals and they are thrilled to be joining us!
Eden's Leaf, a family business from right here in Jacksonville, will be bringing their USDA certified organic skincare products this weekend! They offer many different kinds of soaps for the whole family, using no artificial dyes, coloring, perfumes or additives (unlike commercial soaps that are made with toxic chemicals!). Eden's Leaf may also have handmade organic cotton baby slings!
Another new vendor this week is Caron Parker, who will be selling homemade, non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies! These include laundry detergent, glass cleaner, dishwasher detergent, toilet cleaner, wood polish, scouring cream, and all-purpose cleaner! Awesome!!

In addition to our new vendors, all of our favorite farmers will be there... keep your eyes peeled for early spring surprises!
Nature's Way all-natural pest control will be there this weekend, as well as Annie Clydes, Fifi's Granola, and all the regulars!

(Sorry for lack of photos-- my internet is moving too slow!)

Awesome Happenings!

Compost 101-- This weekend!
The class is filling up, so don't miss out on this awesome opportunity to learn how to easily turn your "trash" into fertile soil!
DATE: Sunday, April 19th, 3:30 PM
LOCATION: Community Garden, Jarboe Park
COST: $8
PAYMENT: in advance; at Green Market or by mail (see contact info on webpage). Cash or Check.
Checks made to: SEE/BLFN

Composting and soil quality are the most important aspects of long-term sustainability for the organic gardener. This how-to class will make it easy for you to recycle nutrients at home, replenishing the soil rather than sending "garbage" to the landfill.

Beaches Local Food Network's Edible Adventure in Costa Rica!!
Learn first-hand from the Bri-Bri indigenous people about how they have sustained themselves, in harmony with their surrounding environment, for hundreds of years!
Hike with a local Afro-Caribbean who can spot sloth and monkeys from across the jungle!
Raft the Rio Pacuare, one of the top rivers in the world!
Sleep at the base of an active volcano, and then soak in its natural hot springs!
Eat truly fresh tropical foods, straight from the farm!
Learn about hydroelectricity and cheesemaking at an off-the-grid family farm in the cloud forest, at 10,000 feet!
Be inspired by the rainforest! Come home with solutions on how we can make our world a better place, starting right here in our community!
**September 4-13, 2009**
**$1325 for 8-day trip or $1600 for 10-day**
**Includes everything but airfare! Full time bilingual naturalist guide, private transportation, lodging, meals, activities and more!**
Check out the customized itinerary here!
www.BeachesLocalFoodNetwork.org
If you're interested in this trip and would like to know more, come to our informational meeting and presentation this Monday, April 20th, 6:30 PM at Shelby's Coffee Shoppe.


So I have some good news or bad news. Which first? Bad, of course! (does anyone ever really say good first?)

BAD = The St. John's River Water Management District voted 5-4 to approve the Seminole County permit to withdraw 5.5 million gallons of water per day from the St. John's River!!! To make matters worse, this water is going to be used to supplement the "reclaimed water supply"... in other words... to water lawns, golf courses, etc! GRRRRRR!!! On the upside, there were about 400 people at the meeting-- so many they wouldn't even fit! About 100 people spoke out against the water withdrawals in this 7 hour meeting, and only two people for it. Amazing. Right now, we need to wait and see if the Riverkeeper and City of Jacksonville will appeal this decision. For the sake of Florida's water, we must keep the faith and keep fighting this!

GOOD = The City of Jacksonville has officially passed the Sustainable Building Ordinance! (sorry, I don't have a lot of details on this, but I know it's a good thing!)

So, my apologies-- I don't have time to be creative or witty this week, as I'm preparing for a local food presentation at Bolles Elementary for 80 students... yay! We've had so many outreach programs this month, and many more to come. More locavores every day!
Hope to see you all on this gorgeous Saturday!

Best,

Gretchen Ferrell
www.BeachesLocalFoodNetwork.org

Beaches Green Market
Every Saturday, 2-5 PM
Jarboe Park, Neptune Beach

Labels: beaches local food network

Found this looking for new video. Its from Funny Fixx!

I know!

Labels: funny fixx, ram

I was forwarded two documents from David below that ask for Streetcar dollars. Is anyone in Jacksonville tracking this? I got it on my streetsblog list. Seems like streetcars will make a come back. Somewhere. Hope we get some.

One is patterned closely off of Rick’s Fast Starts paper and creates a grant program for streetcar projects, the other replaces § 5309(e) with a streetcar-friendly program. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback on the legislation, as well as your help circulating them to the streetcar community-at-large.

In particular, there are a few definitional questions—brackets that need to be filled out and checked. Also, I’d like your perspective on whether the operational language—see the Federal Streetcar Revitalization Act at section 3—works to ensure the construction of streetcar projects.

Let’s touch base in the near future about opportunities to highlight these issues after the recess.

Best,

David

David Skillman
David.Skillman(at)mail.house.gov
Legislative Assistant & Counsel

Congressman Blumenauer

(202) 225-4811

Email me for the docs or better yet, join streetblogs.

Labels: jta fla

From the Riverhugger blog

This initial permit from Seminole County represents the beginning of an Alternative Water Supply (AWS) program that could eventually result in the withdrawal of over 260 million gallons of water a day (MGD) from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha.

This is not just about the future of the St. Johns and Ocklawaha. This is a fight to protect all of our water resources in Florida - our aquifer, rivers, and springs.

Here is how you can help:

1) Attend the SJRWMD Governing Board meeting in Palatka on Monday, April 13th at 1:00 p.m. where they will decide the fate of the Seminole County water withdrawal permit.

SJRWMD Headquarters
4049 Reid Street
Palatka, FL 32177

Labels: mighty mighty st johns, riverkeeper

Thank you and a hug to whomever wrote this found here.

Necklaces, bracelets, baubles and rings,

People carrying bags full of things,

Tomatoes, peppers, teas and honey,

Plenty of ways to spend your money,

Drummers and singers and improv groups,

A lady dancing with Hula-Hoops,

Kettle corn, candy and chicken pie,

A cute little onesie in tie-dye,

Labs, Dalmatians, spaniels, Scotties,

Real restrooms (no Porta Potties),

Paintings and sculptures, teas and cheese,

Lots of shade and a river breeze,

Orchids, eggs, pecans and candles,

Pickles, pots and flip-flop sandals,

Bird feeders, beads, a huge silk rose,

Bows for your hair, rings for your toes,

Scores of artists, each under a tent,

A fine Saturday, very well spent.

Labels: ram

Just a few of the outlets covering the Riverside Arts Market Phenomenon. If you would have told me Saturday night that momentum would be building for RAM I would have nosed my pbr. Way to go DUVAL!

Labels: ram

MANDATORY ROADTRIP

Monday April 13th at 1pm, the St Johns Water Management District votes in Palatka to siphon water out of the river based on the assumption that basically it will all be ok. And also powerful people and industry and politicians want it.

I sure am sick of the status quo. Especially when it disrespects mother nature and daughter Florida. Clear cutting when we have a glut of housing and strip malls. Siphoning natural resources. The SJWMD has already made up its mind. As a governmental entity the website is a little creepy to me.

It seems that after reading the website a "vote" is some sort of ceremony. So its going to pass, that seems clear. But it becomes unclear what will happen if 40,000 citizens converge on Palatka.

Get in your car and go. Or take the bus with Neil. But I see a sort of Field of Dreams moment when there are lines of cars pouring into Palatka. Gridlock in the town center. Businesses boom. People everywhere. Palatka will never be the same. You will have done something big that all of our area will thank you for. All you have to do is take a long lunch, in Palatka.

From RiverHugger

Here is how you can help:

1) Attend the SJRWMD Governing Board meeting in Palatka on Monday, April 13th at 1:00 p.m. where they will decide the fate of the Seminole County water withdrawal permit.

SJRWMD Headquarters
4049 Reid Street
Palatka, FL 32177

St. Johns Riverkeeper will be providing bus transportation from Jacksonville to Palatka. To reserve a seat on the bus, e-mail Neil Armingeon, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, at narming@ju.edu and type “Bus Trip” in the subject line.

View Larger Map

Labels: get off my river, riverkeeper

photos: jaxscene

click play


right click "open in new window" here

Labels: rip

Native Sun in the Food Court

Come by for an all-natural and organic breakfast or lunch!

Breakfast

Kipper Wrap $4

House Cured Salmon, Cream Cheese, Capers, Dill & Red Onions

Trop of the Morning Wrap $4

Granola, Blueberries, Cream Cheese & Agave

McEggly $4.5

Whole Wheat English Muffin, Free-Range Egg, American Cheese, Bacon

* Veggie Strips can be substituted for bacon

Bison and Boca Burgers

Burgers can be made with Bison or Vegan Boca Burger patties. No substitutions on specialty burgers.

Nudie $5

Build-Your-Own! Includes Ketchup, Mustard, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion or Pickles

Add 50¢: American, Swiss or Provolone Cheese, Sprouts, Habanero Marmalade

Add $1: Bacon, Veggie Strips, Avocado, Slaw

The Blues $6

Topped with Peppered Bacon and Chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing

95 Degrees in the Shade $6

Blackened and Topped with American Cheese, Slaw and Habanero Marmalade

5 Points $6

Topped with Swiss Cheese, Avocado and Sprouts

Native Sun Signature Wraps

Smoked Turkey $4

Smoked Turkey, Sundried Tomato Spread, Lettuce, Sprouts, Onion, Swiss Cheese

Farmer $3.5

Hummus, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Cucumber, Avocado, Sprouts, Sunflower Seeds, House Dressing

Drinks & Chips

Soda, Juice or Tea $1

Kettle Chips $1.5

NY Cheddar or Salt & Pepper


As Always, Made with All-Natural and Organic Ingredients

Native Sun in the Farmer’s Market

Expect lots of fresh, in-season organic fruits & vegetables from local farmers brought to you by Native Sun at the lowest prices! Products to expect this week:

Strawberries

Valencia Oranges

Grape Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Green Beans

Black & Green Kale ($2/bunch!)

Collards

Green Bell Peppers

Yellow Squash

Zucchini Squash

Carrots with Tops

and Organic Bananas

Labels: if you can't have fun in this town you are the problem, ram

American Beauty, Jozy Altidore

Labels: soccer

WHOA! It said Revolutionize on the front page? No pressure.

Thanks for making it happen. Don't forget about the after after after party.

Labels: ram, southbank sunrise

Click Here to listen to a podcast interview by Urban Jacksonville Weekly of Doug Coleman Chairman of RAMROD, orchestrators of your Riverside Arts Market.

At some point I will probably do a long post about how amazing this experience has been to be a part of putting it all together. The level of gung ho (look it up, even if you think you know what it means) is inspiring and exhilirating.

But right now I know you just want to know more about what to expect. Allow me.

10. It is an outdoor market with a twist. Under vaulting gothic columns of the Fuller Warren Bridge (Interstate 95) you will find a very well designed market that takes advantage of the canopy afforded it. High gusts of wind and driving rain can come off the river and really from any direction. This is a rain or shine market so don't let a little weather discourage you. Maybe the artists will be more prone to make deals, but no matter, the show will go on. You will still see all the live entertainment, children's creativity corner, and all our great vendors. Throw on a parka, because if its not dangerous, its ON! Heavy rain creates cool refreshing water falls on occasion and a in places a glassy flow of water underfoot. Wear crocs and get a free toe rinse! But since we are on terra firma (asphalt, pavers, etc) you don't have to worry about getting all muddy and what not! Plus foul weather makes good crowd control!

9. If you are worried about parking make a plan. We have tons of free parking places. The surface lots at Fidelity, Haskell, and the Times Union are all donating their space for the market. The Everbank garage will have spaces. There is public and street parking in areas around us and down the riverwalk. There is more around the market watch for signs too. You could plan your day by parking at the Landing or the courthouse and walking the riverwalk down. This would be especially cool since the new Tillie Fowler public art piece will be up on your way!

8. But the very best way will be to walk or ride your bike. That is why you moved to San Marco/Springfield/Downtown/Brooklyn/Riverside/Avondale isn't it? You can walk to things! Now on Saturdays you can walk to an amazing array of things in one spot! Or bike, I expect to see seas of bikes coasting in. In fact we have Jacksonville's first ever(goosebumps) bike valet!



7. Meet your market. There are some fantastic artists in our market. There is so much diversity that I can say without any hesitation that there is something for everyone. Seriously it is strong. Now meet them! Many folks put a lot of time and effort and money into their work. It feels good to talk about your creative process and meaning so ask if you are interested. And the farmers and growers, well they are all local and have different stories and goals. Spend some time learning about those block rocking BEETS! There is a coffee importer who gets beans from his home town in Kenya, a goat cheese farmer from south GA who wins cheesey awards, and hand made things you need, fresh brown eggs, wallets and pillows and lots of really interesting and creative jewelry. Bath soaps and candles, breads. Hot prepared foods with flavor and style. They are your neighbors. Meet them!

6. Bring the family. The Children's Creativity Corner has amazing arts non-profits running the show. The first up is the Cummer's award winning education department. You can sip coffee and watch the chillins and witness the joy of making new things tapping that young creativity. This part of the market will resonate for generations if we bring our kids and make cool things! That is one thing I love about our Main library children's section is their commitment to the arts, here is another commitment. You may not realize but we are rapidly taking art out of our children's life every day. Show your kids what the state of the arts is in your lovely city on the river.

5. Get to know your downtown. This space is literally the border of downtown. There is an excellent grid to our downtown that makes straight trips to the river easy peasy fresh lemon sqweezy. Take any of them (except Market, cut off by the cathedral at the top of goat hill). You might be surprised at how easy it is. For instance, I can take one street from my studio in Springfield to the Market driveway to driveway without making an official turn! Use these Saturdays as discovery trips. Hit the MOCA or the Cummer or MOSH or catch a flick at the historic 5pts theatre. In fact you could spend a day shopping the 5 points. My vote for Jacksonville's best retail district. Fake parking based ones included. The market closes at 4pm too so its just about beer thirty. Plenty of watering holes around. If you struggle for things to do on a Saturday you need to cancel cable.

4. The market will be dog friendly if your dog is friendly. There is a doggy water fountain by the bathrooms. Please pick up after your dogs. Do I even need to remind you? Watch for jugglers. Singing wanderers and entertainment all over. There will be interesting things going on all over the market. Explore it.

3. No smoking. The entire market is smoke free. Please be courteous and refrain from smoking on the market site.

2. Bring money. There will be staples that you know you are going to want to get. I'm thinking goat cheese and bread and orchids, etc. But there are also things that you may want that you don't even realize yet. All money stays local. You cannot get into this market if you aren't creating it from around here. The impact of your dollars go deeper and make more of an impact on our community. Plan on spending here, especially if you were going to get something similar at a store that is not from here. There is an ATM just across Riverside at the West end of the market. First Guaranty will probably love this market. We hope.

1. Bring bags or buy bags at the market. You got a back pack full of loot. Don't forget the back pack! We are committed to no plastic bags at this market. They suck for the environment (though I do see a use for dog poo). We will have bags for sale at the RAP tables if you forget. The market will have no styrofoam and is looking at greening even more. I have made a focused effort to use as little paper as possible. You will see info maps posted so you can find something if you need it but we are not handing out maps. Exploring is much more fun. Plus the bathroom is down by the stage and that was what you were looking for anyway.

There are probably 50 things I could write about but its late and I have a lot of emails to catch up on. Sign up for updates at RiversideArtsMarket.com

You are going to be so proud of your city, but you must be present to win!

Labels: ram

Live fast, die young. The story of Iggy Pop.