On July 3rd, a plethora of artists gathered at the Satori Group‘s loft in downtown Seattle for a new collaborative event called whizARTbang! What is it? whizARTbang is a new collective of artists and supporters. It hopes to connect, collaborate, and support art in any way it can.

Each month, members host an intimate gathering featuring culinary art, visual art, live performances, and libations. The Melon was on hand for July’s gathering which featured a sampling of work from: Culinary arts, Painting, Stand-up, Dance, Video Art, Experimental Theater, and Sketch Comedy. Here’s our footage from the event which featured The Melon’s own Electric Elliot:

Artists included:

-Zoe Scofield
-Derek Shankland and Mike Klotz
-Stephen Ross
-Emmett Montgomery
-Jason Miller
-Juniper Shuey
-Boom! Theater
-Kevin Kantner (not to be confused with Kevin kantor)
-Counsel Langley
-Harlequin Hipsters
-Elliot Trotter

Nobody enjoys being stopped and guilt-tripped on the street by a canvasser, nor is it fun to look at your own dwindling cash-flow and wonder when you’re going to be the one receiving gratuity.  Whether you’ve dropped some loose change in a cup or donated hundreds to charities every year, the reality is that money does make a difference. But I’m not looking to tell you to just donate money.

The truth of the matter is, we’d all like to be actively contributing to solving some of the world’s crises on a day to day basis, but we have mouths to feed, burgers to flip and other things on our agendas. I know there are things in my life, like ultimate frisbee, which doesn’t necessarily contribute to the common good beyond my own interests, but damned if I’m going to quit that while I still have working knees. That’s the glory of charities, you’re donating your money so someone else solves the world’s problems for you. It’s like you’re hiring those dancing brooms from Fantasia to clean up the world.

But by “Do Something for Charity” I don’t just mean donate money. I mean participate in the culture of donating. For example: In March, I am participating in an event called The Big Climb in which I will race up 1,311 steps to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’m currently raising money for me team and need $135 more to reach my goal. Click here if you want to help out and donate.  The Big Climb is a fine example of meshing some of what you enjoy (be it running up flights of stairs or running in a marathon, etc.) with contributing to a good cause.

Two other examples of this (which I’ll note are shameless plugs for donations) are The CLAW and The Melon’s charity drive.

The CLAW (or Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians) is a group of Washington based cartoonists who gather to await our robot overlords and prepare for the zombie apocalypse, all the while drawing tons of cartoons and having two awesome meetings a month. While our primary goal is to draw cartoons, we’ve integrated charity into what we do by offering a Young Cartoonists’ Scholarship composed of member dues and donations from local businesses and supporters.

The Melon in its annual drive for support has vowed to send half of all funds raised to Friends of the Orphans Haiti Earthquake Relief fund in honor of Molly Hightower, a native Tacoman who passed in the recent earthquake while working to aid children in need. We’re still looking for support btw .

Both CLAW and Melon are prime examples of integrating charity into what you do already. Not only is this a more active approach which helps promote your different issues and charities, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun.

So, donate to charity. But don’t just donate, do a relay, join a race, start a haircomb enthusiasts group which supports young barbers, I don’t know. Just make charity part of what you do already instead of just dropping a few coins in a cup.

YOUR TURN:

What are some of the events or organizations do you take part in to support charity? What can you recommend to others?

As Chris Van Vechten’s article so candidly presented, it’s time for a change in Washington State and we need to start with our name. Washington State is the most uncreative State name in the country and by changing it to something far more interesting and representative we’d be the first State in history to do so.

Vote for the name which you believe suits Washington best and we will then draft a proposal to the state legislature asking our elected leadership to adopt legislation to formally change the name of our state.  In 2010, The Melon will endorse only those candidates who agree to change the name from Washington to our newly endorsed alternative.

Now is your opportunity to voice your choice in the second annual Golden Melon Awards. The nominees are in, and it’s time to vote! Polls close the 2nd of January, 2010.

This election, The Melon is your headquarters for interviews, information and updates. The Melonites will be working hard up through November to meet and better understand the candidates in every race possible. Look within the Inner Melon (on the upper right hand side of The Melon’s homepage) for a direct link to our 2009 Election Center where we’ll compile all of our interviews and information.

Let The Melon be your guide to Election 2009.

Already interviewed - Tacoma Mayoral Candidates

√Marilyn Strickland

√Jim Merritt

Have an interview request?

Are you a candidate interested in being interviewed by The Melon?

Contact election2009@themelononline.com

City Council Member Marilyn Strickland has joined the race for Mayor of Tacoma. The former Starbucks marketing manager and Tacoma Public Library development officer turned City Council Member since 2008 is looking for your vote come November.  Strickland has proclaimed a deep appreciation for the city of Tacoma and a desire to see it progress by bringing in new businesses and developing spaces downtown.

The Melon sat down with Ms. Strickland last week to discuss her announcement and plans for the city.

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Back when The Melon was on KUPS in 2007, we interviewed Marilyn about her run for City Council:

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Welp, Melonites, I have some exciting news for you. Lead Contributor and Melonite extraordinaire Chris Van Vechten is officially running for Tacoma School Board, Position #2.

While The Melon does not endorse candidates, I’m pretty excited about Chris’ candidacy and wish him a sweeping victory!

Below is Chris’ press release. Find out more about his campaign at VoteVanVechten.com.

CHRIS VAN VECHTEN, FOR TACOMA SCHOOLS AND TACOMA STUDENTS

This email is to formally announce the candidacy of Chris Van Vechten for Tacoma School Director, position #2.  Chris is running to be the voice of tomorrow for the students of today.

A graduate of the University of Puget Sound, Chris Van Vechten is co-founder of the community online magazine The Melon, served two sessions as an aide in the State Legislature, and briefly held the position of membership director of the Washington State Chiropractic Association.  At home and in his community, Chris Van Vechten has mentored students at Foss High School through Peace Community Center, fought as a county arts commissioner to maintain funding for the scholastic arts programs, campaigned with the TEA for important bond/levy measures, and more.

The son, grandson and nephew of college professors – Chris grew up in a family with a strong appreciation for the importance of public education.  A distant relative of the famous author/civil rights leader, Carl Van Vechten, Chris was also raised to be astutely aware that our system of education is imperfect and continues to fall short of providing “equal opportunity” to all.

As your next school board director, Chris will be one of five votes that will ultimately play a significant role in shaping the vision of what public education will be for our district’s 30,000 students. To us, that vision should be about moving beyond the blackboard and the failed strategies of the past and developing a more personalized system of education that allows teachers to teach and students to learn.

In particular, we plan to campaign on a platform that includes personalized learning, competitive high-quality trade school programs, recession-proof arts/athletic programs, the development of greener/more sustainable schools, a serious commitment to closing the achievement gap and transparent government you can trust to manage your tax dollars.

For more information, please consult Chris’ campaign website at VoteVanVechten.com or contact Todd Johnson at toddbarkerjohnson@gmail.com.

Rare contributor and comic super-genius RR Anderson just let out a new Tacomic over at FeedTacoma. This one criticizes local media and suggests underlying forces behind their motives. The Melon is featured in this piece as a devil child (hell-raiser, if you will) holding a balloon.  This is the first time The Melon has been drawn in one of RR’s Tacomics and I’m honored to have been referenced, and so accurately too. Kudos, RR. May your critical eye jab until bloodshot.

Here’s the first hour of the 02.26.09 Tacoma School Board Meeting. The Melon will no longer be offering this service due to conflicts. We did, however, speak at this meeting to encourage the school board to film themselves. Below you’ll find footage of the meeting and our segment.

The Melon lobbies the school board for filming meetings:

Thanks for your support in this endeavour, hopefully the school board will implement video recorded sooner, rather than later as suggested by the board President.