DAVID GUILBAULT

HOME, SWEET HOME

I live in the Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts in Seattle.  It occupies all of a triangular block, the combination of two buildings and an upward addition.  I've just learned that part of it used to be a public market in the early 20th century.  According to the Museum of History & Industry "The South End Public Market operated at Washington Street and Third Avenue South.  The market's offerings included restaurants, fresh produce, fresh and cured meats, and free delivery."

PHOTO: Webster & Stevens, ca 1919

SHINE

Why did you start your business? What is the biggest challenge you've had to overcome? How do you define success?

On May 6, Biznik will undertake the largest collaborative social media film project Seattle has ever seen by bringing together a dozen professional videographers, scores of expert interviewers and hundreds of Seattle's small entrepreneurs in Seattle's largest film production facility, Fremont Studios.

Why? Because we want to tell your story. We believe that small business - not large business - will lead us out of the recession. The world needs to hear your story. And for one huge night, the cameras will be rolling for YOU. It's your chance to shine.

Make history with us in Seattle on May 6, 2009. Over the course of one evening, we're making a movie called SHINE. It will be shot and edited by a team of volunteer Biznik members, directed by Biznik filmmaker Ben Medina (the creative force behind the "I'm a Biznik" videos that now appear on the Biznik home page.

We'd like to see at least 500 attendees, and the venue can easily hold more than 1,000. We calculate that we will have time to interview about 240 people during this event, on a first-come, first-served basis (event volunteers will have preference).

If you're interviewed, you'll receive your 3-5 minute video clip for your use, which can be shared on YouTube, Facebook, Biznik or the social media of your choice. (You'll receive your clip as quickly as we can edit and cut the footage - a huge task. Our goal will be to post it online for you to download within three weeks of the event).

Like all Biznik events, this is also a networking event. A really really big one with lights, cameras and action. We believe that video is a huge opportunity to level the playing field between you and larger businesses, so part of the purpose of this event is to introduce you to videographers who can help you take your business use of video to the next level, should you choose.

Bring a bottle (this is a recession-friendly BYOB event). But most importantly, bring your story. There will be a $5 fee collected at the door to cover venue and production costs. All remaining proceeds will benefit Northwest Harvest. Looking ahead: The film will premier later in the spring/summer. Date TBA - watch the Biznik calendar for the SHINE premier. Who makes it into the film will be a closely guarded secret until the night of the premier.

- Dan McComb, Biznik Co-founder

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

Thomas Friedman, writing in The New York Times, warns about getting "stuck in the middle' with Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.

The only thing that could change this is a greater exercise of U.S. and allied power. In the case of Afghanistan and Pakistan, that power would have to be used to actually rebuild these states from the inside into modern nations. We would literally have to build the institutions — the pulleys and wheels — so that when the leaders of these states pulled a lever something actually happened, and the lever wouldn’t just break off in their hands.

And in the case of the strong states — Iran and North Korea — we would have to generate much more effective leverage from the outside to get them to change their behavior along the lines we seek. In both cases, though, success surely would require a bigger and longer U.S. investment of money and power, not to mention allies.

Instead, I fear that we are adopting a middle-ground strategy — doing just enough to avoid collapse but not enough to solve the problems. If our goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan is nation-building, so they will have self-sustaining moderate governments, we surely don’t have enough troops or resources inside devoted to either. If our goal is changing regime behavior in Iran and North Korea, we surely have not generated enough leverage from outside. North Korea’s defiant missile launch and Iran’s continued development of its nuclear capability testify to that.

WALK RIGHT IN

I invite you all to a fundraiser for a wonderful work-in-progress, "Walk Right In", on April 24th, at 7:00p at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle.  Details on the film and a trailer are below:

"Walk Right In" captures the stories of a unique educational experiment at Yale University through interviews with its participants 40 years later.

Created as part of the war on poverty with a mandate to address issues of social and economic injustice, The Yale Summer High School brought underprivileged kids from across the nation to the Yale Divinity School during the 1960s. In 1968, as American cities were rife with protest, racial rioting and civil disorder, a small group of educators redefined the enterprise, creating a living laboratory in the problems and promise of the American democracy. Drawing on the 'Great Books' of Western literature, the school made these classics relevant to the times and lives of its students, bringing sensitive issues of race, tolerance and personal identity to the fore. From Sophocles' "Antigone" to Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn," they searched together for that which eluded the nation--a working definition of "community"--the shared values that ground people and bind them together.

Four decades after leaving Yale, Larry Paros--former Director of the Yale Summer High School--traveled the country to interview more than two dozen of his fellow teachers, tutors and students about how they each experienced the Summer High School in 1968.

A compelling and deeply personal narrative of education and individual transformation, "Walk Right In" recreates the summer of '68 through first hand accounts, following students from their moment of selection and their arrival on campus to the culmination of the program and where they are today, reminding us of the importance of inclusive and effective education and the impact it has across generations.

STILL THE TRUTH

BIG OIL WILL NEVER GO GREEN

From The New York Times article "Oil Companies Loath to Follow Obama's Green Lead" by Jad Mouawad:

The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in the most ambitious transformation of energy policy in a generation.

But the world’s oil giants are not convinced that it will work. Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made. ...

The administration wants to spend $150 billion over the next decade to create what it calls “a clean energy future.” Its plan would aim to diversify the nation’s energy sources by encouraging more renewables, and it would reduce oil consumption and cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

The oil companies have frequently run advertisements expressing their interest in new forms of energy, but their actual investments have belied the marketing claims. The great bulk of their investments goes to traditional petroleum resources, including carbon-intensive energy sources like tar sands and natural gas from shale, while alternative investments account for a tiny fraction of their spending. So far, that has changed little under the Obama administration.

A TRIO OF TRUTHS

Hi folks, friends and fans. I invite you to come see me perform at Egan's Ballard Jam House this Tuesday, April 7th at 7p, along with fellow singer-songwriters Kate Graves and Sean Bendickson.  Cheers for now. David.