So tonight I finally sat down and watched it. I went in with low hopes for it, this is Al Gore afterall.

  Initially I started watching the movie while playing a video game. I like to be entertained when I watch a movie, I've never been into documentaries, so I figured I'd scan back and forth while playing KotOR on the pc....after 15 minutes into it I turned off my pc.

  Al presented himself well, was funny, was informative, he was entertaining. The information was clear, it was concise, it was scary. Do I think there's a possibility for exaggeration? Maybe, but even if it is exaggerated you have to wonder: Why? and even if you found the "Why?", what exactly are you harming by trying to change the energy consumption of your fellow man?

  Although the movie flowed quite well, there were a few parts that I think didn't seem to belong. Hearing about Al's family was interesting, but at times didn't seem to fit with the movie. Some of his "political" ramblings didn't seem like they were in good taste either. If you want to win over a conservative...or quasi-conservative...don't go into the politics. As a middle-grounder I wasn't offended, but I did notice and wondered if he thought about that one. This is an all encompassing issue, less politics, more moral. He mentioned that in the movie and he needs to win over some red folks. Convince a few red folk and you may see the political scale tip.

I figured I would start out by saying that I'm new to Olympia, I have been a frequent guest of Olyblog since I got here in Feb., I am now hoping to add my own 2 cents to some of the topics discussed here.

Furthermore I am an artist, I just finished a new piece and seeing how the subject matter might be able to relate to several of the users on Olyblog I figured I would post it, just to get peoples thoughts.

Thanks for listening, have a good night.

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT TICKETING INFORMATION FOR THIS EVENT ONLY: Tickets are $5 and will be available beginning Thursday, May 31 at 10 am only at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/16538 or 800/838-3006. Purchases will be limited to two tickets only. All members of each party must be physically present together to gain entry; no seat holding or late entry will be allowed. Have your confirmation form (on line purchase) or confirmation number (phone purchase) from Brown Paper Tickets in hand. There will be no tickets available for purchase at the door. Priority seating for Town Hall members will be available on a very limited basis. Town Hall members should have their membership cards in hand. Doors will open for seating at 6 pm.

Monday, June 4 at 7:30 pm
Al Gore: ‘Assault on Reason’
Al Gore’s fiercely-argued new book, The Assault on Reason, is an indictment of current policy making –especially the President’s use of power and his handling of the war. But in Gore’s view, the real problems lie deeper. Gore argues that the marketplace of reasoned debate on which our country was founded is being endangered by a variety of things: the use of fear and the misuse of faith, the distractions of our entertainment culture, and the concentration of power in the national media and the executive branch. He believes the American people must rise to the challenge of reinvigorating self-government and restoring the rule of reason. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with Elliott Boy Book Company. Book signing of Assault on Reason and/or the children’s book An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming only, follows Gore’s talk.

Original post here.

From the Olympian this morning I read that retail space is again part of the plan for our new city hall. Crap-o-la.

Here is the letter I just wrote to the city council and the port commissioners:

I was under the impression that the port was no longer insisting that retail be part of the city's city hall development on East Bay. Is the port requesting the 4,000 square feet of retail space, as I understood earlier, to make sure the new city hall is an 18 hour development?

If so, I don't think retail is the only option, shopping is not the only activity that provides foot traffic after 5 p.m. Just on the surface, stores in the same building as the city hall is unseemly, I would rather see the space be put to a civic, rather than commercial use.

I would be able to understand the logic of needing to rent commercial space as a way to defray the costs of the building, but my understanding is that isn't the case.

Thanks,
Emmett O'Connell

Tuesday, June 5
7:00 PM
Olympia Center, room 101/102
222 Columbia St NW, Downtown Olympia

With the US in its fourth year of occupation in Iraq, what lessons can be learned from Israel's 40-year occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights?

To mark the 40th anniversary of the illegal Israeli occupation, Olympians for Peace in the Middle East (OPME) is sponsoring a teach-in about the June 1967 War.

A common misperception about the Palestine-Israel conflict is that it has existed since the dawn of time. In reality, the conflict has transpired for less than a hundred years. One of the major events that defined the conflict is the June 1967 War, commonly known as the "Six-Day War."

The June 1967 War:

• secured US military, political, and financial support for Israel
• helped shape current US policy in the Middle East
• began the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements
• and started the longest military occupation in modern history

In order to understand US foreign policy in the Middle East, US support for Israel, and why the Palestine-Israel conflict is central to the Arab world, you must understand what happened in June 1967.

Featured speakers:

• Professor Steve Niva will be speaking on the facts behind the 1967 war and the ongoing consequences for the United States and the Middle East.
• Professor Therese Saliba will be reading oral histories she collected of Palestinians after 1967.
• Farihan Bushnaq, Palestinian-American and Olympia resident, will be giving her personal recollections of life after the 1967 War.

Thursday, May 31
Noon
SPSCC Building 26, Room 101

David Lynn recently returned from a six-week trip to Chad where he documented the plight of refugees from Darfur and internally displaced Chadians living in makeshift camps near the Sudanese border. David has photographs, video, and interviews which tell the story of violence, malnutrition and hunger that grips this region and those barely surviving in the camps, 85 per cent of which are women and children who have witnessed unbelievable atrocities. His first hand experience in Eastern Chad is accompanied by suggestions on how people can get involved in bringing hope and resources to these people who for the most part have been left unprotected by the international community and on the edge of mass-starvation.

For more information about BRICK or other BRICK events see: www.spsccbrick.org