Nowtopian

Nowtopia vs. Despair in Seattle

I had a great visit to Seattle for lots of reasons, but bicycling wasn’t really one of them. I cycled around quite a bit, but it’s an unfriendly place for cycling, even though I did see a fair number of folks bicycling. The hills and wide streets full of cars with no shoulder were pretty daunting.

I was luckily invited to appear on Mind Over Matters on KEXP-FM at 7:30 on Sunday June 22, and thanks to that, my readings at Elliott Bay Books that afternoon at 2 and the next evening at Left Bank Books were both well attended, at least a half dozen at each having heard me on the radio. So thanks to Mike McCormick for inviting me, and hopefully I’ll soon have a place to link to for the podcast. Elliott Bay Books has an amazing big room adjacent to their cafe in the basement, dedicated to author readings. Here I am signing books at the end of the Talk! Can’t say I’ve too many experiences like this on the tour, sitting down at a table at the end and signing books for over a dozen buyers! so THAT’s how it’s supposed to work!

It was a good feeling to arrive and see Nowtopia prominently featured in their main window too:

The next night I went to Left Bank Books, who had been very apologetic ahead of time about how small their space is in Pike Market, and how unusual it is for them to even host events in the store. In fact, it was an odd layout, but about 15 folks crammed in and were very enthusiastic and attentive. Here’s the store from the outside:

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DIY is Bigger Than We Think

On the road for nearly two months, I’ve been talking a lot about Do-It-Yourself (DIY). I was up horribly early today, Sunday June 22, to be on KEXP radio at 7:30 a.m. in Seattle, and managed to squeeze in a bit about the DIY sensibility that I think embodies a deep rejection of self-referential “expertise” as foisted upon us by corporations, government, and mass media. The simple and relatively mundane examples, like fixing your own bike, or growing your own tomatoes, are important basic steps that anyone can take. But the deeper logic shows up in historic movements that precede our time, like the women’s health movement that started back in the late 1960s/early ’70s, and led to the legalization of abortion, the proliferation of women’s health clinics, the Our Bodies OurSelves book, and a culture of self-care among many women, and one that is available to anyone.

Another vital example, which we now have to reinvent, is the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s and early 80s. Instead of accepting the arguments of governmental and corporate “experts” that nuclear power was the Answer to all our energy problems, a grassroots movement rejected that in favor of a self-education in alternatives like solar and wind and conservation. Help came from professionals who refused to remain silent and complicit with the corporate agenda, but instead “dropped out” and spoke up against the irrational and self-destructive agenda embodied in nuclear power.

The reversal just announced by Bay Area officials, that they now are NOT going to spray for Light Brown Apple Moth, but will use other methods to try to control the infestation, is a direct product of DIY science at the grassroots of society. Thousands of Bay Area residents informed themselves of what was happening, refused to accept the bland assurances of government officials that the 90% inert ingredients were safe, and figured out a lot of basic info on the risks associated with the gov’t. plans. Now they’ve had to come up with a whole new approach because of the popular revolt.

John Robb over at Global Guerrillas had a post recently which opened my eyes to some developments I only fantasized about:

The “Open Source Ecology” wiki (of which this design is a part of) is yet another example of the many efforts underway to accelerate DIY technology development for Resilient Communities (The RC). As personal fabrication improves, these tinkering efforts will become MUCH more sophisticated at an ever decreasing cost. We (collectively, those of us engaged in decentralized thinking/action) are in the process of reinventing how the global economy is structured at a root level — good thing we didn’t ask permission.

Yesterday I joined Russell Howze, my book tour travelling partner, for an afternoon of DIY stenciling here in Seattle. Below are some photos of our escapade, on a “legal” wall in a parking lot just north of downtown, with a small group of talented artists. (Yesterday Seattle also hosted a Naked Bike Ride and we were entertained by a dozen or more fully painted nude cyclists coming through while we were painting)…

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Carfree in Portland

The “Towards Carfree Cities” Conference in Portland this past week was quite a fun time for me. I didn’t attend very many workshops but I made lot of new friends, saw many old pals too, and generally was in networking nirvana (and I even sold a bunch of books too!) One I went to at the very end was about direct action, street memorials and the ghost bike movement, which was super moving and beautiful. The project brings people together across a lot of populations and cultures, especially in New York where the presenters were from. Another panel I did go to featured Thiago and Eduardo from Sao Paolo and Florianopolis Brazil. They gave a great presentation of how they’re at the early stages of growing the awareness and communities that can push the local authorities into redesigning the urban spaces to accommodate cyclists too, and to reduce the total focus on autos. It’s made more difficult by the enormous car industry in Brazil, where all the multinational manufacturers have set up shop since 30 years ago. Here’s Thiago as he confers with Eduardo on a point, and then the first slide he put up, commenting on the post-dictatorship history of Brazil:

Simultaneous to the Conference was the ongoing zaniness of Pedalpalooza , a month-long Bike Festival. (Just checking their website, I see that yesterday they had a “Kidical Mass” in downtown, where 40 parents and small children took to the streets on bike–a concept they imported from Eugene, where I found a poster for it.)

I bicycled in every day from the far northeast of Portland and took the Broadway Bridge to get to the Conference. The bridge is very bike adapted, with side paths, lovely views of the city, and a well-designed split in the bike paths at the west end to send you into one part of downtown or another: