April Fool's Day Shows!

Asheville's monthly dose of cabaret, juggling, magic, marionettes and more returns! Featuring ALL NEW MATERIAL from our acts -- that's right folks, this time we've got foot archery, bizarre feats of magic and skill and - if the rumors be true - that maestro himself, Charlie Chaplin (just to mention a few)! We've got new routines, new faces, new puppets and new songs all from the explosive local talent of:



Tom the Magician!
Rosa la Contortionista!
Forty Fingers and a Missing Tooth!
The Erogenous Melodies of Sirius.B!
Strings Attached Marionettes by Madison J. Cripps!
Charlie Chaplin: Risen From the Grave!
The Siren Songs of Vaudevie!
Bretian the Hungarian Accordionist!
Seven Ball Jim, Juggling Sensation!
Woman Who Shoots Bows and Arrows With Her Feet!
Gypsy Reels from the Carolina Music Band!
Comedic Sketches by Thomas Butler!
and your host... Baron Von Sneeden!

And that's not all: Vaudeville has gone LATE NIGHT! Can't make the early show? Aren't satisfied by just one performance? Come to our 10:00pm show! (Warning: late-night Vaudevillians may be more prone to lewdness, rumpotting, and down-right abscondery--- not to mention...eroticism

$12.00 advance tickets on sale at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe.
$15.00 at the door.

Remember: Asheville Vaudeville gives A THIRD of all ticket prices to benefit MANNA Food Bank, voted #1 do-gooder group by the Mountain Xpress' "Best Of" 2009. Every ten dollars we raise feeds 25 people, which means 600 meals for every sold-out performance!

Come: be entertained! Feed hungry people! Feed hungry artists!
No one does April Fool's like Vaudeville...

The Vaudeville Revival Manifesto by Brian Sneeden

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that vaudeville and the variety theatre is, by its own peculiar and inclusive nature, a theatre of the People; that variety performance by, for and of a community is a potent and deliberate vehicle for the expression of local needs and concerns; that fun is inherently medicinal; that community theatre lends itself to acts of charity, philanthropy and community awareness; that human beings, by their very biological and chemical makeup, crave the experience of performance; that the medium of vaudeville as found in the variety show extends as far back as that craving, spanning numerous millenia of actors, writers and spectacle performers devoted to developing the craft, and - lastly - that it is in their footsteps we humbly direct our endeavors, performing - as indeed they performed - to amuse, delight, wow, impress and inspire audiences from all walks of life.

April Fool's Subgenius Devial Blowout at the Vortex Cabaret!

From the Vortex Cabaret:

"Freedom Ball" Thurs 4/1 celebrates Death Row exoneree

(AC-T photo of Edward Chapman by Leslie Boyd)

From a press release:

The Freedom Ball at the Grey Eagle Music Hall:

Celebrating Edward Chapman's Life After Death Row

WHAT: The Second Annual Freedom Ball for Exoneree Edward Chapman with bands Ras B. & Friends and Current Invention
WHEN: Thursday, April 1, from 7 pm till midnight
WHERE: The Grey Eagle Music Hall, 185 Clingman Avenue, Asheville, North Carolina
CONTACT: Alex Cury (828) 253-5088; Edward Chapman (828) 989-4074; Pam Laughon (828)712-2114; Frank Goldsmith (828) 230-6977

Asheville -- Don't miss the second annual Freedom Ball at the Grey Eagle Music Hall on Thursday, April 1, from 7pm till midnight, featuring the bands Ras B & Friends and Current Invention, celebrating the second anniversary of Edward Chapman's release from North Carolina's death row after spending more than thirteen years there for two murders he did not commit. The fundraiser for Chapman costs $12 at the door and includes a silent auction.

Chapman was released from death row on April 2. 2008, after a judge ruled that police had withheld evidence of his innocence and lied at his trial, his lawyers were "ineffective" and one of the women Edward allegedly murdered probably wasn't murdered at all.

Chapman was the seventh man exonerated and released from North Carolina's death row, and the 128th death row exoneree across the nation.

The cases for which Chapman was convicted and sentenced to die took place in Hickory, North Carolina, where Edward was born and spent most of his life. Upon his release, Chapman was encouraged to move to Asheville by UNC-Asheville Professor Pam Laughon, who served as the mitigation specialist on the defense team that finally won Edward's freedom.

Asheville seemed like the right place to start a new life, Chapman concluded, and with the help of Laughon and her vast contingent of students and friends, he did just that.

Besides his job at the Renaissance Hotel and any odd job he can get, Edward has volunteered his time to speak to troubled youth, college students, churches, and other groups and organizations, and to lobby for criminal justice reforms. Chapman was featured in the powerful video that helped win passage last year of the NC Racial Justice Act. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiCZK7AxUCQ

"Don't look at me as a victim," says Chapman. "Look at me as a survivor."

Chapman's lead attorney, Frank Goldsmith of Asheville, says of him, "What a remarkable man! Never did Edward give up, in his many long years on death row, when it seemed no one cared about him or his case."

About his case, Chapman's other attorney, Jessica Leaven Friedman of Chapel Hill, says, "Everything you can imagine going wrong in a capital case went wrong."

Chapman's forthcoming book, "Life After Death Row", tells the full story of biased jurors, inept attorneys, crooked cops, and lying witnesses.

Call for Type-A Mom Conference Speaker Proposals

Type-A Mom Conference 2010 is accepting speaker proposals. We are looking for topics related to blogging and social media. The conference is geared to moms and dads who blog, as well as the companies looking to engage bloggers. The conference will be held Sept. 24-26 at the Asheville Renaissance.

New this year is Type-A Mom Business (with tracks for companies and bloggers), a dad track and tribes, small group power sessions for specific blog niches.

See the call for speaker proposals to submit.

Official Google Blog: Next steps for our experimental fiber network

Official Google Blog: Next steps for our experimental fiber network

Area Artists Add Handmade Elements to River Arts District Development

Mountain Housing Opportunities, Inc., an Asheville based community and housing development corporation, has commissioned five local artist entrepreneurs to create handmade elements for the multi-use and re-use development, Glen Rock Depot in the River Arts District. Two artists have studios in the River Arts District.

Read more about the artists and the development at Pollinate Asheville.

Test your broadband connection and compare it to the world

Test your connection right now and compare it to the chart below.

Average download speeds by country*

1. South Korea, 11 Mbps
2. Japan, 7.3 Mbps
3. Hong Kong, 6.9 Mbps
4. Romania, 6.2 Mbps
5. Sweden, 6.0 Mbps
6. Netherlands, 5.1 Mbps
7. Latvia, 5.1 Mbps
8. Switzerland, 5.0 Mbps
9. Czech Republic, 4.9 Mbps
10. Denmark, 4.7 Mbps
11. ...

18th: United States 3.9 Mbps

Asheville with Google Fiber: 1000 Mbps (Note that this is a top speed, and the others actual average speeds)

Not happy with the speed number you just saw? Nominate Asheville for Google Fiber.

*source: http://www.govtech.com/pcio/articles/738833

The official Google Moment is today and Asheville needs you!

Calling all Asheville citizens, friends of Asheville, bloggers of Asheville:

The city has set aside 1:30 PM today, Thurs, March 25th as a "Google Moment." It's a time to pause whatever you are working on and go nominate your town for the Google fiber project. You can both nominate and learn more on googleavl.com.

Here is the official announcement:

Asheville Encourages Citizens to Take Part in “Google Moment”
ASHEVILLE – Be part of the moment! At 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, Asheville citizens — including school children, employees, and business leaders — are encouraged to participate in a “Google Moment” and fill out online applications to make Asheville home of the Google Fiber Initiative.

On Thursday afternoon, area residents are encouraged to go to this website and nominate Asheville to receive the fiber network. Nominations can also be submitted at www.googleAVL.com, a locally coordinated site managed by advocates for the program.

On March 23, the Asheville City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting Asheville as a target city for the Google Fiber initiative. In addition to that resolution, Council made a formal proclamation designating the “Google Moment” as a way to draw even more support from area residents.

Cities across the U.S. are competing for the Google Fiber Initiative project to win the installation of a fiber optic networkby Google estimated to be 100 times faster than current internet availability. The installment would come with no additional cost to the city.

Since the announcement in February, Asheville citizens have rallied to build momentum for the initiative. A March 18 Town Hall meeting on the topic at the Asheville Civic Center brought out community members, business owners and elected officials championing the addition to the city. Pictures of the event are posted on the City of Asheville Facebook Page.

Bringing Google Fiber to Asheville is compatible with the city’s strategic operating plan in both job growth and economic community development, as the fiber optic network is anticipated to attract technological companies to the area and increase the competitiveness of companies located here.

Alongside the citizen nominations, the Economic Development Coalition has been working with the City of Asheville and other local organizations to prepare a municipal application for the initiative.

The deadline for community nominations is Friday, March 26.

Google Asheville!

Sweet potato falafel salad

I was recently encouraged to post another recipe on BlogAsheville. I'm a local food blogger and this is cross posted at Cucina Naturale.

I got the idea for this dish on the blog Eats Well With Others. I made some changes in how it was prepared but all credit for inspiration and virtually all of the ingredients goes to Joanne.

For the falafel:

• 3 large sweet potatoes


• 1 1/2 tsp cumin


• 1 tsp cayenne pepper


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander


• 1 bunch cilantro


• 3 tbsp lemon juice


• 1 cup chickpea flour


• salt to taste

I cut the potatoes up in thirds before roasting as I like the meat to get that caramelized yumminess that happens when you cut them up. After cooking for about an hour at 400 degrees I let them cool. I then peeled them but saved the peels. Joanne says to eat the peels at this point. What I did was toss them into a food processor with the lemon juice and the cilantro and garlic. I made a paste out of all that. I'm all for eating potato skins and this worked just fine. I put the paste into the potatoes and mashed it all up with the spices and the chick pea flour. The only thing different in ingredients in this part from the original is the addition of the cayenne pepper.

Once the potatoes/chickpea flour mixture was done I simply stuck it in the refrigerator. Joanne put hers in the freezer for 20 minutes, which I imagine is so that it's easier to roll in balls. I couldn't get back to mine in 20 minutes so a few hours later I took them out and since it was still soft I oiled my hands each time I shaped a ball and that worked okay. I oiled a pan and then sprayed the balls with my olive oil spray. I baked them for about 20 minutes and then I broiled them for about 5 minutes. They didn't seem to want to cook, but finally the broiling did the trick.

The tahini/yogurt dressing I actually used kefir and it came out more like a salad dressing and in fact it was so good I'm going to be making it for salad dressing in the future. I blended all the below ingredients in a small food processor.

• 1 cup kefir


• 3 cloves garlic


• 1/4 cup tahini


• juice of 1/2 lemon


• salt

This was a very nice and somewhat different sort of dish for me that me and my husband very much enjoyed. I hope you like it Asheville!

How to track news about your town's Google fiber bid for free.

There are two kinds of March madness this month. I know where to watch basketball. But where can I watch cities pitching themselves to Google? Pull up a chair (Especially if you are a reporter or a news gatherer) and I'll link you to some simple ways to follow the Google Fiber conversation!

List of Google fiber bids by city

• This list, on the Wired Pen blog, is the best I've found.

Measure of each town's social media presence through March 15th

• A Grand Rapids marketing firm takes in all the data and boils it down. Pdf download.

Using Twitter search

• Monitor all Twitter mentions of #googleavl, the official Twitter hashtag for Asheville and Google fiber.


• Monitor all Twitter mentions of #googlefiber, the unofficial Twitter hashtag for all things Google fiber.


• Monitor them both in one search.

On Youtube

• All videos tagged with mentions of Google Fiber


• All videos tagged with mentions of Asheville and Google Fiber

On Twitter Using Tweetdeck

• You'll have to join Twitter and install Tweetdeck (both free)- but the payoff is tracking any twitter topic in real time, using Tweetdeck's columns. You can set it and forget it.

All Social Media, Using UberVU

• Use the free search feature they offer. It aggregates Twitter with other sources. It has some other features worth playing with, like graphs of two terms.


• Search all mentions of Google Fiber in Uber Vu

Use Google Trends

• Google Trends charts major search terms, including some geographical data about who is searching.


• Watch the term Google fiber ebb and flow over time. Google Trends only tracks shows terms with large traffic.

Fancy Google Searches and Google Alerts

• I've saved the best for last. By learning to use Google search operators, you can get better results from the search page and from Google Alerts, which are basically saved searches.


• The parts you should type in the search box are written in italics. The words you should replace with your own keywords [are in brackets].


• Shows links to a site:
  link:[insert keyword/URL]


• Shows link anchor text:
  inanchor:[insert keyword/URL]


• Shows all instances a phrase is used in the sites text:
  intext:[insert keyword]


• Show keywords if they are used in a page title
  intitle:[insert keyword]


• Show keywords used in a URL:
  inurl:[insert keyword]


• Show a URL used in the text of a site:
  intext:[insert URL]


• Show all mentions of a URL in the last 24 hours, except where those mentions are on the same site


• [domain name] -site:[same domain name]


• Then, after the search runs, hit the “show options” link and choose “past 24 hours” This way you’ll get two peeks at what Google thinks is important – overall, and then just in the last day.


• Bingo! Now you have all links to a site published in the last 24 hours, not counting links on the site itself.


• Examples of fancy searches. Use searches like these, but save them as Google Alerts. Then you can get emails updating you on exactly what you want to know.


• All sites linking to Mountain Xpress newspaper in the last 24 hours


• List of sites talking about Google Fiber and Asheville other than Mountain X, Citizen Times (local newspapers), or Ashvegas (local news blog).

Who is in the lead?

Of course, no one knows. Really. And the things we can measure are probably not important to Google’s decision making process. But, using these tools, you can follow along - and I bet next week gets a little crazy.

Google fiber has a theme song: "Hava NaGoogle" Sirius.B

If you haven't heard it yet, beloved local absurdist gypsy folk-funk-punk band Sirius.B joins the "bring Google fiber to Asheville" fray with an anthemic cover of "Hava Nagila."

Only this time it's "Hava NaGoogle." It's my favorite #googleavl publicity stunt yet.

Click the image to play. Enjoy! (You won't be able to get this out of your head.)

How 'bout some internet?
High-speeding internet?
How 'bout some internet, ve-ry fast?

Blogger Meetup: Let's Do This Again

The blogger meetup last night was great! Big turnout, great food, fabulous company.

Thanks to Posana Cafe for putting up with us, and bloggas Clark Mackey and Gordon Smith for talking Google stuff. Thanks also to Justin Belleme and Jonathan Daggerhart for a demo of a new social media tool.

We drank, we talked, we networked, we listened to "HavaNaGoogle," I learned about the Field Day of Awesomeness, and lots of people asked me if we could do it again soon.

I think we can. What do we want to do? Meet again to network and drink? Bowl? Play Rootball?

Leave a comment! Best suggestions wins a FREE lifetime subscription to BlogAsheville!

PS: if you took pics, please leave a link to your set in the comments, and tag them #blogavl.

Thanks for last night, Asheville! You were great.

Sow True

As the winter weather finally breaks and we all scramble out into the sunshine to start planning out our Spring gardens I want to take a second to remind you that we Ashevillians have an amazing local seed company in our midst! Sow True Seed is committed to supporting sustainable seeding and only sell open pollinated and untreated seeds. They have a great organic and heirloom selection and you can take a peek at their online catalog here. I had the pleasure of doing a little work trade at Sow True HQ downtown for the Vance Elementary Peace Garden last week and I can't say enough about how awesome these folks are! They really care about what they do and work hard to build community here in Asheville.


You can find Sow True seeds at various stores like Earth Fare and the West Village Market (I'm sure you can call them for a full list of retailers) or order directly from them online, by phone or by mail.

18 reasons Asheville is a perfect fit for Google's Fiber Network

Dear Google,

I think you should build the fiber network in Asheville. It's more than a hunch. Here's why:

1. We are working hard on our own to make the world a better place. TEDx Asheville is one example of that push, as is Hatchfest. Check out the highlights from our 2009 TEDx.
   
   
2. We've been working with fiber already. ERC Broadband is a nonprofit that runs a fiber network in our area. We need more help though; the ERC network does not serve enough people. But they do know the ropes and could make your planning easier.
   
   
3. Asheville's green building/green technology sector is growing fast and is full of ideas that need bandwidth.
   
   
4. It's cheaper to build a network in areas where the population lives close together. Since we mainly live in valleys here, our town is more dense, in a good way, than most people realize.
   
   
5. Good ideas are the product of fertile minds and fertile minds come from good schools. Asheville is the hub of a network of colleges and universities - The University of North Carolina Asheville, Warren Wilson College, Montreat College, Asheville-Buncombe Technology Community College and Blue Ridge Community College are all within a 20 mile radius. Western Carolina University, Mars Hill College and Brevard College are also close (within a 60 mile radius).
   
   
6. Your friends are already here! We have a Google data center 70 miles away in Lenoir. And there's another big private data center, Netriplex, already in town.
   
   
7. We have a sympathetic, business friendly city council willing to work with you. The politics of the city and the region will work in your favor.
   
   
8. Our town is not sweaty in the summer (average temp is around 70). To put it in further perspective, the average summer temperature in the mountains above us is lower than it is in Buffalo, NY. The weather is so unique we have an independent regional forecaster - Ray's weather.
   
   
9. We have many technology-savvy workers and businesses. Check out this video, or look through some directories of local talent: the MAP and Meet the Geeks. Database programmers, software engineers, network engineers, LAMP gurus - we are already here.
   
   
10. The National Climatic Data Center is in downtown Asheville. Their archives are the largest accumulation of climate data in the world and I think your network would help bring their data to life. Wouldn't it be nice if your fiber network experiment also played a hand in limiting global warming?
    
    
11. Asheville residents earn enough to pay for reliable broadband while being diverse enough for you to learn about how different groups would use the network. We all live here together.
    
    
12. We are strategically located, close to other major pools of programming and technology talent. Build it here and you can dip into those pools without locating in those places - Knoxville/Oak Ridge, the NC research triangle, or Atlanta. Build it there and you'll lose the other not easily duplicated advantages you'd have in Asheville.
    
    
13. People like to be here - we are on nearly everyone's top place to live list. Winning awards is nice, but I like to focus on the "why" part. Cities don't win awards without hard work. That is Asheville's secret sauce: good ideas, talented leaders, and good businesses working hard together. I think the same recipe can help Google.
    
    
14. Asheville is not a likely terrorist target. We are not prone to natural disasters; we are virtually immune to widespread damage from earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes.
    
    
15. Cheap electricity. Yes, nobody talks about it, but we have it. Check out the yellow dots (that represent hydro power) in Western North Carolina on this map. Now checkout our electric rates vs those in other states!
    
    
16. Tourists can help spread the word - the city of Asheville has 2.9 million overnight stays per year. When these folks go home, they naturally take a fresh look at the world they are returning to. All these visitors will help spread the impact of your fiber project even further by putting pressure on the broadband providers in their hometowns to give them what they have just experienced in the mountains.
    
    
17. We have an interesting regional history that fosters creativity and an independent mindset. People have come to the mountains to build their fortunes, to hide, to train, to study, and to create. Two hundred years of those patterns have helped create a certain entrepreneurial spirit that is deeply rooted in everything we do.
    
    
18. We've paid our debts in the past even when virtually no one else did the same. "By 1929, both city and Buncombe County had incurred over $56 million in bonded debt to pay for a wide range of municipal and infrastructure improvements... Rather than default, the city paid those debts over a period of 50 years." Why pay your debts? Come to Asheville and we will show you the answer.

Sincerely,
Clark Mackey

Asheville Vaudeville is opening for The HellBlinki Sextet and The Cripps Puppet Spectacular TONIGHT at The Grey Eagle!

Asheville Vaudeville opens for The HellBlinki Sextet and The Cripps Puppet Spectacular TONIGHT! At The Grey Eagle. The show starts at 8:30 pm. Do your St. Patties day up right and join us for an amazing show!

Tonight's vaudevillians include: 40 Fingers & A Missing Tooth, Tom The Magician, Bretian the Hungarian Accordionist, Vaudevie, Strings Attached Marionettes by Madison J. Cripps, Canned Feud by Thomas Butler, and as always your host Baron Von Sneeden! See you there!

Blogger Meetup and Google Town Hall on Same Day?

Looks like the town hall meeting for Google fiber got scheduled at the EXACT same time as the blogger meetup: Thursday 3/18 at 6 p.m.

No worries.

If you want to support Google 1 Gbps fiber in Asheville, go to the town hall meeting in the Civic Center ballroom. So long as you cut out before 6:50-ish and walk over to the meetup, you can see city councilblogger Gordon Smith addressing the blogger meetup at 7.

The meetup is also 6 p.m., at Posana Cafe (1 Biltmore Ave, top of Biltmore in the same spot where Cafe on the Square was). Walk on over after the town hall meeting. We'll be there until 8 or 9.

Google Fiber in Asheville Town Hall Meeting
6p.m., Civic Center Ballroom
Check out the GoogleAvl blog here.

BlogAsheville Blogger Meetup (public meting open to ALL bloggers and friends of the Asheville blogging community -- don't be shy!)
6p.m. Posana Cafe (Gordon Smith addresses the gang at 7)
there will be beer-drinking and hanging out before and after, we're there until 8 officially and probably later

You CAN support both events. And I'm already hearing requests from the Google-Asheville brain trust to record bloggers in support of Google fiber (come on out!), so I won't be at all surprised if a video crew shows up to our blogger meetup.

So: support Google in Asheville if that's your thing, then drink local at Posana. Problem solved. See you there!

BlogAsheville ADMINISTRATORS Wanted!

Anyone want to help run BlogAsheville? You get a platform to improve community health and give local people a voice. You get serious cool points. And you get to be friends with some of the smartest and most civically engaged people in town.

It's fun.

Back in the day BlogAsheville had many admins, but now it's just me. Back in the day we had posts about all kinds of things, but now we mostly have events.

I'd love to have more admins, more opinion, more reviews, more roundups of local blog entries... More posts about transit and city concerns, local festivals and family-friendly stuff.

BlogAsheville has too much community capital to lie fallow when I'm too busy to help.

If you're interested in becoming an admin (and doing more than just post things, but helping run BlogAsheville, and grow and improve it), email me at BlogAsheville (at) hotmail daht cahm.

I'd want to hear your ideas about what YOU think needs to be done.

- Jennifer

PS: See you at the blogger meetup Thurs at Posana! And at the Google town hall meeting!

Celebrate the YWCA at UNCA Thursday

Cross-Posted from the YWCA of Asheville's Blog

Celebrating Advocacy: Asheville YWCA
Working to Empower Women and Eliminate Racism

A chance to hear a brief history of the deep roots and current stories of the Asheville YWCA, its mission, its accomplishments and it vision, all highlighting its true “staying power” in our area.

A chance to say THANK YOU and
HOW CAN WE BE INVOLVED.

UNC-Asheville, Laurel Forum, Wednesday, March 17, 6:45 pm

Sarah Judson, UNC Asheville Associate Professor in History, will contextualize the theme of celebration of work well done, through a brief history of the YWCA in Asheville. Holly Jones, YWCA Executive Director, and Catherine Peck, YWCA Program Director, will introduce the panel of four or five dynamic and effective YWCA program directors telling their stories of why they are committed to the YWCA’s goals and how people in their programs over the years exemplify real progress.

The focus is on the YWCA programs advocating for children and youth, health and economic empowerment, including the following:

• New Choices: Strategies for Success
(Displaced Homemaker Program)
• Preventive Health
(Diabetes Wellness and Health Outreach Programs)
• Future Vision for students ages 12-18
(Dropout Prevention and Mentoring)
• School Age for students K-12
(After School and Summer Camp Programs)
• MotherLove/Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention

Some examples of ways in which the YWCA and UNC Asheville are already partnering will be given. Students (and others) will learn of upcoming opportunities to make significant contributions in selected events or initiatives. The evening will end with a question and answer period.

The public is cordially invited to join UNC Asheville in this celebratory and informative gathering, exploring the following questions and more:

• What is and has been the significance of the Asheville YWCA in our wider community?
• How successful has it been in fulfilling its twin goals of combating racism and empowering women?
• How long has it been active in the Asheville area?
• What are some of its current or near-future initiatives?

Sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, Africana Studies Program, Center for Diversity Education, Ramsey Library Special Collections, NEH Professor in the Humanities, History Department, Career Center, and the Key Center for Service Learning.

Photo from the YWCA Archives, 1964

Sewerage break at French Broad Park?

sewerage break
Originally uploaded by zen

I know this venue is mostly for announcing events and usually the more positive vibes about Asheville, but there appears to be some kind of greywater sewage break near the dog run area of the French Broad Park (the one at the corner of Amboy Road and Riverview Drive). I've emailed Asheville city people from their website and gotten no response.

I know the water treatment pipeline goes thru this area - hence the pumping station just above the park - and frequently the smells are a bit rough, but this is open, sludgy water. There are rubbers, tampons and toilet wads burbling up slowly. I'd avoid the spot until something gets done as it doesn't just smell, it seems like a disease vector.

EDITOR'S NOTE FROM JEN SAYLOR:

This blog is not just for events and positive vibes. It's for us. It's for Asheville. I'm SO glad Zen posted this & I welcome more posts like it... Thanks, Zen.

Ride Local! LaZoom Thanks Asheville Residents with $10 Tickets

The LaZoom krewe loves Asheville and is grateful for the support from our community. To say thanks and kick off their fourth season, LaZoom is offering a Ride Local special from April 15-30^th. Asheville residents can ride the purple comedy and performance bus for just $10.

More info at Pollinate Asheville.

Tonights Show (3/13/10) on AshevilleFM

I am pleased to announce that the award winning local author Jake Bible will be appearing on the show(Machine Made of Birds) (at 8:30pm ish) and honoring us with a reading and other good things. Tune into AshevilleFM for all your local radio needs, but especially this evening 8-10pm. I will also be playing all your favorite hits!

Vance Elementary Rocket Run 5K

The first Annual Vance Rocket Run 5K is coming up April 24th at 9am! Join us on a 5K run through the neighborhoods of West Asheville to benefit Vance Elementary. The race will begin and end at Vance Elementary on Sulphur Springs. Following the 5K will be a Fun Run for the kids. Runners are encouraged to stay and hang out for the 2nd Annual International Children's Festival starting at 11am, featuring juggling troupe 40 Fingers and a Missing Tooth and music by local favorites Sirius B. All proceeds from the race and the festival benefit programs and projects at Vance.

Visit the event web site to see the course map or register online.

If you are more comfortable registering via a paper form, please email us at contact@vancerocketrun.com and we'll get one in the mail to you.

Register soon- the first 100 registered runners get an event tee shirt!

Vortex Cabaret this Thursday

From the Vortex Cabaret:

Google Fiber and Asheville: recent coverage heats up!

There has been a lot of recent coverage and encouraging talk regarding Asheville's bid to become a test market for Google's build-it-to-your-door fast broadband project. We want Google Fiber.

Even if you don't use Twitter, you might like monitoring the chatter on Twitter about Asheville and Google Fiber.

Here is the rundown:

1. Tune in to the temporarily renamed "Google Edge Radio" on 880 AM at 5:20 PM on March 11 for talk and interviews about the project.
2. Town hall style meeting at 5 PM March 11th at Francis Delaney Middle School, 119 Brevard Road. Jason Hill, founder of the Google Asheville Facebook group, is hosting and will answer questions from local educators and anyone else who comes by.
3. Check out the recent Mountain Xpress coverage about Asheville's Google fiber bid
   
4. Watch the WLOS segment from Tuesday, March 12th, which does a good job explaining things for such a short video segment.
   
5. Show up and talk with the veterans in Asheville's green technology industry during this week's Asheville Green Drinks, March 12th, Bobo Gallery, 22 N. Lexington Ave. 6:00 – Social Mix; 6:30 – Program. This week the meeting is all about Google fiber and the implications for our local green technology companies.
6. Check out the blog, googleavl.com, for ongoing coverage of Asheville's push to attract Google.
7. Great blog post about the reasons for Google fiber from the blog, "The Model is Not Reality." Here's the link.
8. March 18 town hall meeting in the Civic Center ballroom (with some city council members to be present, I believe).
   

And, if you haven't already, go and nominate Asheville to be Google's chosen winner!

BlogAsheville's Uberblogger leaves Xpress for hardcore blog life

Cross-posted from Asheville's alt-weekly, Mountain Xpress. BlogAsheville wishes the Chuck Norris of bloggers well on his latest endeavor.

Everybody, you know what to do now. Support Ashvegas sponsors, buy Ashvegas ads and spread the word.

Multimedia editor Jason Sandford leaving Xpress for Ashvegas

by Jon Elliston in Vol. 16 / Iss. 33 on 03/10/2010

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After serving as Mountain Xpress' multimedia editor for the past two years, veteran local journalist Jason Sandford is moving on to pump even more lifeblood into Ashvegas, his popular blog about all things Asheville.

Eye on Asheville: Xpress' outgoing multimedia editor, Jason Sandford, who's preparing to pump up the volume of his blog, Ashvegas. Photo by Anthony Bellemare

Sandford, who was born and raised here, studied journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has worked as a reporter at publications including the Elizabethtown, N.C., Bladen Journal; the Elizabeth City, N.C., Daily Advance; the Florence, S.C., Florence Morning News; and European Stars & Stripes (while based in Germany). He also worked for nearly a decade at the Asheville Citizen-Times, as both a reporter and editor.

Now he's leaving Xpress to focus on Ashvegas, which Xpress readers voted Best Local Blog in our last two Best of WNC polls. He started the blog in 2005 to feed his hunger for spreading news and what he calls "rumors of news," and in the years since, it has grown into a lively forum for local scoops of all stripes. (See the blog at http://www.ashvegas.squarespace.com.)

Sandford leaves behind a rich and varied body of work at Xpress, from in-depth articles on local matters to scores of photo galleries and videos on our Web site. Given the Xpress' focus on collaboration and civic dialogue, he says working alongside community activists on stories such as the challenges facing the Burton Street neighborhood have been among the most rewarding.

"I'm proud to have worked with Mountain Xpress and its employees, who share my love of this community," Sandford says.

Vortex Cabaret 3-11-10

From the Vortex Cabaret:

The Eagle Flies on Sunday: Grey Eagle benefit party with desserts, music, burlesque

I love this event, one put on annually by my friend Steven Liebenhaut (Amazing Savings shoppers will know him as the friendly silver-haired checkout guy). He turned his 50th birthday into a benefit, a tradition he's continued in the years since.

What a guy. See you there!

The Eagle Flies on Sunday: A benefit for Loving Food Resources
Sunday, March 7th
6:00 PM, The Grey Eagle Lounge
$15 dollars at the door. Raffle tickets are $5 or 5 for $20.

Gas House Mouse, Bombs Away Cabaret, a silent auction, a raffle for a weekend getaway and more…

• Kitty Love will be creating a live painting for a “live auction”
• An expanded Silent auction raises the stakes.
• We will have free deserts from some of Asheville’s finest bakeries.
• Food is available from Twin Cousins Restaurant in The Grey Eagle.
• Bombs Away Cabaret opens the show with magic, dance, satire and burlesque.
• Gas House Mouse starts the dance with their high energy blues/rock Asheville sound.
SteveNyou Presents
is a grassroots approach to organizing benefit concerts for Non-Profit Organizations to raise awareness and funds for specific causes.

The Grey Eagle will open its doors on 185 Clingman Ave. at 6:00 with the first act performing at 6:30 in this benefit concert for Loving Food Resources. Now in it's 19th year, Loving Food Resources is a Non-Profit Organization which provides basic needs to people living with HIV/AIDS and those with terminal illnesses in home hospice care through food, health and personal care items.

Steve in his own words:
“I have been involved in many levels of giving over the years and steveNyou Presents has been the culmination of such humanitarian work. We had a concert on my 50th birthday, and we raised over $5000 and last year $6,000! I realized how we as a people can make a difference communally. How each person has something very special to contribute to a cause…and how it’s not always money. Please come and join me for my third annual 50th birthday party.”

Mother Earth Brewing launch in WNC! Next Thursday!

Another Carolina brewery will launch next Thursday in Asheville: Mother Earth Brewing from Kinston, NC. Owner Trent Mooring and Brewmaster Josh Brewer (great name, eh?) will be coming along to chat beer and put beverages in your hands. The evening starts with a tasting at the humble storefront from 5:00-7:00 p.m. followed by four Mother Earth taps at The Thirsty Monk. Please join us, beer people, as we welcome a new North Carolina brewery into the mountains! We had the great opportunity to share a beer with Brewmaster Josh way back in late 2009 and we’re excited to have him back.

About the brewery: “Take the goodness of garden-grown products, the warmth of small town life, the earthy ethic of rock ‘n roll, a deep respect for a time-honored craft…and you have the ingredients of Mother Earth Brewing. Born in the summer of 2008, Mother Earth is the dream-child of Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring, two guys from Kinston, North Carolina, a sweet southern town in the heart of the old tobacco belt.”

Endless River Kölsch
“A clean, crisp beer, Kolsch offers a very slight fruity flavor and aroma. It is light gold in color, with a delicate head. This light-bodied beer appeals to nearly everyone who samples it. Expect to enjoy a slight tang in the finish.”

Weeping Willow Wit
“This beer style is over 400 years old, and continues to enjoy overwhelming popularity. Offering low hop bitterness, it is easy to enjoy. It pours very hazy, with a light gold color… we say it’s like summertime in a glass. Bitter orange peel and fresh coriander add zest and depth to this refreshing beer.”

Dark Cloud Munich Dunkel
“Steeped in a long history dating back hundreds of years, this “old-fashioned” beer is again in vogue. Lager is the German word meaning “to store,” so this beer ages three times longer than our ales do. “Dunkel” means dark in German, but don’t let the color fool you, it is by no means heavy, overbearing or bitter. In fact, it proves to be a very drinkable session beer.”

Sisters of the Moon IPA
“Made with hops grown in the good ‘ol USA… you’ll proudly support American farmers when you drink this beer! Light copper in color, it has an intense hop aroma and strong hop bitterness. Our hopback process uses fresh hop cones to take this IPA to unexpected places. Prepare for a mouthful of flavor.”

And Still MORE Sponsor Shout-Outs

If you like BlogAsheville, support the local people and businesses who helped us party at Spookypalooza!

Jolene Mechanic and Flood Gallery @ Phil Mechanic Studios

Thanks to Jolene Mechanic for generously letting us online folks use her building for our Spookypalooza benefit event!

The big brick building on the corner of Haywood and Roberts in the River Arts District is a hub of affordable studio space and incredible local art. It’s also an event space that’s fun, reasonably priced and full of funky Asheville character.

Check out the Flood Gallery Fine Art Center @ Phil Mechanic Studios on the River District art stroll this spring. When you do, remember it’s a great space for parties and events – like Spookypalooza 2009 and Gordon's campaign events.

Social media peeps love Asheville nonprofit hero Jolene Mechanic and her party-friendly studio space! Thanks Jolene!

Bruisin’ Ales

Asheville's renowned beer-only store, boasts over 800 hand-selected brews from around the world (and around the corner). This small, colorful boutique shop in the heart of downtown is a treasure trove for beer lovers-specializing in Belgians, Belgian-style, select American craft brews, and the very best from around the world.

Here you'll find rare brews, exceptional seasonals, and other hard-to-find limited releases. The unique bottle shop set-up allows customers to "Mix-a-Six." Voted "Best Beer Store" in the MountainXPress Best of WNC 2009 | Voted #3 Best Beer Store in the World by RateBeerBest 2008 | "One of the Best Bottle Shops" in the US by Imbibe Magazine.

Colorful Palate

Not everyone loves to cook, entertain or plan events. But we do! And we do it all for the love of food.

Our food is made by hand with fresh seasonal ingredients and a creative flair sure to impress everyone from your friends to your most discerning clients. Our aim is to be Deliciously Unpretentious, because down-to-earth is Downright Delectable!

Contact The Colorful Palate for your next event.

Ragan Evans & Tara Letts
828.242.3352
colorfulpalate.com
information@colorfulpalate.com

BlogAsheville Meetup 3/18

Just a reminder about our meetup: 6pm-8pm at Posana Cafe, Thursday March 18.

We'll meet, drink beer, have dinner, hang out, catch up and at 7pm city councilblogger Gordon Smith offers a brief address that was initially going to be about how we can out how to use social media to effect change in Asheville, but now that the Google initiative is tempting all us geeks with 1 Gbps internet (my speed at home is about .02 Gbps)... I'm thinking we'll talk about that, too.

If you're on Facebook, RSVP here.

Bloggers are welcome, as are Facebookers, tweeters and anyone who reads BlogAsheville.

PS: Are you following us on Twitter (@BlogAsheville) and Facebook?

BlogAsheville blogger meetup

6-8 p.m.

Posana Cafe

Thursday March 18

Google fast internet in Asheville: here are the possibilities

Google 1 Gbps fast internet could be about so much more than downloading movies. Cross-posted from the Google Fiber Asheville blog:

If you’re here at googleavl.com, then you likely know what the Google Fiber Initiative is all about. If you don’t, then check this out

Google is planning to launch an experiment that we hope will make Internet access better and faster for everyone. We plan to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We’ll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

From now until March 26th, we’re asking interested municipalities to provide us with information about their communities through a Request for information (RFI), which we’ll use to determine where to build our network.

You all heard about the Information Superhighway of the internet back in the day. Compared to a superhighway, this network is like a teleportation device. It’s so far beyond what anyone else is using that it gives Asheville the opportunity to dream big.

We are Health Care Providers

We’ve got health care, education, biotech, climate science, data visualization, music, arts, data centers, internet firms, energy companies and an inordinate amount of extraordinarily talented people in this city. Imagine the possibilities if we had the hottest pipes running to every home and business.

Health care providers could network with hospitals all over the region. Mission’s Cancer Center and Cardiac Units could become global centers of research and healing. You could receive top notch medical care right in your home.

UNCA, A/B Tech, and Warren Wilson could become international centers of learning with the ability to perform the highest degree of technical modeling anywhere. Our public school system could become entirely connective and offer students learn-at-home options that parents can only dream of.

We are Green Technology

Our biotech leaders at the Bent Creek Institute could partner with the colleges involved in the All Taxonomic Biodiversity Index of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to research and catalogue the new species they’re discovering every day. Sharing the data with individuals and institutions could bring mean leaps forward in our understanding of the natural world.

Our climate sciences could collect more data, visualize more climate scenarios, and map possible solutions to our climate crisis in partnership with the schools and data visualization leaders like RENCI and The Elumenati. Academic Institutions could get in on the process in ways heretofore impossible.

Our musicians could pipe out live concerts around the world and engage in collaborations that would not be limited by the space between us. Our artists would have the best iteration of the online medium in the world to expand their audiences and their imaginations.

Our internet firms would explode overnight, quite suddenly having enormous advantage over everyone else. Our online community, already bursting with collective effort, could do more, raise more money for charities, and pioneer new ways of interacting via the internet.

Google Fiber in Asheville will give us the opportunity to change the world.

We are Information Technology

We need your help to let Google know that Asheville is the right home for their Fiber Network. While our governmental bodies are working on the nuts’n'bolts application, Google is asking individuals and community groups from the contending cities to submit applications of their own. Application page is here. Asheville needs to have the highest number of applications and the highest quality. That won’t happen without you.

In addition to applying, we also need to let Google know that Asheville is thrilled at the prospect. Social media, YouTube, blogs, audio, internet radio – can help by raising a ruckus. Make videos about how Asheville will change the world with this network. Write songs. Optimize local sites so a search for Google Fiber brings people to Asheville based content. Trumpet our community’s strengths and your own ideas.

In considering messages we want to send to Google, we can unify our theme based on information we have about what Google wants to see in its host city. Here are some ideas regarding ways to talk about our community’s great fit for Google.

We are:

• Diverse and involved
• A community of innovation
• Ready and accelerating

Uniqueness
Fertile, diverse, culture, unified, Best place to… quality of life, intellectual capital, creative, non-profits, eclectic, charming, vibrant, involved, engaged.

Readiness
Go, expand, sustain, connect, head start, accelerating, momentum

Business Friendliness
Scalable, entrepreneurs, infrastructure, center, vibrance, transformational, moving, exponential, expand, grow

We want to make the world a better place, and the Google Fiber Network will help us do that.

Thank you in advance for all of your hard work. If we land Google Fiber, we will have outshone hundreds of cities across America, and it will have been due to your energy, creativity, and passion.

via flickr : Bill Rhodes

Asheville Vaudeville-2 New Shows!

On Thursday, March 4th, Asheville Vaudeville will be presenting 2 new variety shows @ 7:30pm & 10pm @ The BeBe Theatre! We invite you all to come to celebrate some of the finest talent Asheville has to offer. The acts for this month include: Cookie LaRue, Sirius B, Strings Attached Marionettes by Madison J. Cripps, Carolina Music Band, Tom the Magician, Bretian the Hungarian Accordionist, Rosa la Contortionista, Comedic Sketches by Thomas Butler, A Brand New Act - The Juggling Sensation - Seven Ball Jim, and your host...Baron Von Sneeden!

Tickets are available at Malaprops Bookstore, or reserve them by emailing us at: ashevillevaudeville@gmail.com

Visit: ashevillevaudeville.com for more information.

Vaudeville, a mission - by Brian Sneeden

Firstly, let me begin by saying that we are not a nostalgia organization. Though we utilize and embody the genre of vaudeville as explored in the variety show, we are best labeled as “Asheville vaudeville”: a multi-talented collective of playwrights, jugglers, magicians, puppeteers, musicians, dancers, and more – who follow in the traditions of these historic arts while demonstrating, as indeed their originators did, a dedication to uncovering and devising new expressions of acts traditionally associated with vaudeville.

While it is our sincerest pleasure to dedicate ourselves to this vital antiquity of American theatre, our purpose in doing so is less a decision to preserve through imitation than one to revive through innovation: the very nature and infrastructure of old vaudeville being one of ‘perpetual renaissance’ for the performers and the refinement of acts, we too seek to craft such an environment through a policy of no-repeat material. Everything heard or seen on the Asheville Vaudeville stage will be its first and only appearance on our stage.

In short: we aim not only to astound, to please, and to entertain, but to do so with alarming consistency; to craft a troupe of continually-developing performers and provide exposure to noteworthy new performers and acts; to build and nurture an audience who feel constantly reminded of why they live in Asheville; to offer work, exposure, and artistic collaboration to all our performers; to provide 500 meals to hungry members of our community for every sold-out show and – ultimately – to instigate a new artistic movement in Asheville in celebration and continuation of such fine American institutions as variety theatre, burlesque, sideshow and, particularly, vaudeville.

The Asheville Currency Project needs Paper

From the Asheville Currency Project blog:

The Asheville Currency Project is producing a local paper currency for the Asheville area, with a projected launch date of September 2010 (If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know this. If you're new here, welcome!) In our quest to use local resources for this local currency to help the local economy, we are looking for a source of local paper. If any one is a producer of artisan paper, knows a producer of artisan paper, wants to become a producer of artisan paper, or has any ideas on the production of the paper for the currency, please let us know.

Bountiful Cities Call to Artists!

The Bountiful Cities project is now accepting donations of handcrafted birdhouses, bat houses, birdbaths, and yard art for its 8th annual birdhouse auction! Deadline for submission is May 1st. This year’s auction will be held on May 15th at 307 Flash Studios (behind the Rocket Club in East-West Asheville) and will be emceed by Jen Lauzon of LaZoom Tours! Submissions can be dropped off at Short Street Cakes, 225 Haywood Rd. in West Asheville; or at Honeypot at 85 N. Lexington Ave Downtown. Artists most fill out submission form at drop off location. Submissions will be displayed and juried: prizes will be awarded for the top 3 birdhouses. For specs on creating birdhouses for specific species of birds, go here.
The mission of the Bountiful Cities Project is to create, on urban land, beautiful community spaces which provide food in abundance and foster a learning environment for social justice and sustainability. Ashevillebcp@gmail.com 828.257.4000 www.bountfulcitiesproject.org

Vortex Cabaret on March 4th

From the Vortex Cabaret.