Head over to my Lonely Buildings Tumblr,

Check out my Tumblr site for Lonely Buildings updates and information.

Hello!  I don't update this blog much anymore, so here are some of my projects to check out:

www.BlueTree.org
www.LonelyBuildings.com
www.TheRound.org
www.FremontAbbey.org
www.FremontAbbey.org/cathedrals
www.AbbeyArts.me

The Round turns 7!

www.theround.org
Facebook Page

The Round turns 6. And free iTunes podcast for you!

TheRound.org

Hey it's the 6th Birthday of The Round in Seattle. wow! I remember thinking way back then, "if we put a # on it, maybe we'll be able to keep it going?". And here we are... 6 years later, at Round # 73. And still just across the street from where it all began at the Living:Room tea house with an informal songwriter workshop turned "in the round" session.

Next we added the potluck dinner before the show, then live painters around #3 and slam poets began at #9. Podcast launched from #13 onward and while we missed a few there are some amazing recordings online for FREE. So many great volunteers and supporters have kept this show going, so thank you everyone! A special shout out to the early early supporters such as Tara Ward, Scott Erickson, Denise Jolly, Vic Brown, Liz Leahy, Joshua Sherman, and I'm sure many more I'm forgetting. Also thanks to Jonas G who's been doing live sound for us for years and also mixes and posts the podcast. He did the difficult math to determine it's our 6th birthday this month!

Subscribe or download from the podcast here




So for Round 73 we are featuring an entirely new lineup of musicians mixed with some favorite poets and painters from the past.

Get the scoop via our FACEBOOK EVENT]

Nonprofit of the month: http://artisnotanoption.wordpress.com

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OTHER UPCOMING ROUND & FREMONT ABBEY EVENTS:
Round 2 Vashon Island = June 18
Fremont Abbey stage & fun @ Fremont Fair = June 18-19
Vandaveer, Cheyenne Marie, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West = June 24
Ghosts I've Met, Sons of Warren Oates = June 25
Round 74 Seattle = July 12 - BBQ Party!

Lonely Buildings project

Check out my new site! http://www.lonelybuildings.com It's a design/resources blog sharing ideas about how to renovate and revamp old places into vibrant community spaces.

nice words from City Arts Magazine...

aww! http://www.cityartsmagazine.com/issues/seattle/2011/01/culturemakers50

my baby's 5th Birthday party is Wednesday

Hello friends, I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some crisp Fall weather wherever you are!  Don't get blown away tonight!  wow.

Well, I've been meaning to send a more personal invitation to you about this momentous occasion, but have gotten a bit behind on emails lately so I just want to get this out to you now that it's only a few days away!  oops.   [This is a rare rare note to my personal email contacts only though.  Don't worry, you are not being added to any email lists or anything like that.]

So if you are anywhere near Seattle next week, I'd love to invite you to attend my baby's 5th birthday party on November 17th.  {If you are further away, sending a gift is really easy and super appreciated! Lots of options at http://www.fremontabbey.org/sustain }

And by baby, I mean a growing nonprofit community Arts Center I helped birth in 2005.  And we just got exciting news that the Abbey was awarded a "BEST OF 2010" FROM SEATTLE MAGAZINE! 

Yes, we call her Abbey, or Fremont Abbey.  :-) She's an old 1914 church building that was re-incarnated into a non-religious Arts Center in 2005...then underwent an amazing facelift and reawakened in 2008.  It's really been quite a journey and we are now in a place of great potential to impact more people in Seattle and also actually be a model for other community based arts education & community building projects around the world (my new design consulting site/survival guide at http://www.lonelybuildings.com is going live next month!)

Anyway, I'm not very good at asking... but my Board keeps encouraging me to just say it... so yes, we really need your support (ie. birthday gifts!) to get her to a more sustainable age of 6 and 7 years old.   Abbey has actually grown through the recession and has developed into an amazing community space where people of all ages & incomes are supported in artistic & community building interactions on a daily basis (approx 15,000 impacts in 2008 and expecting about 25,000 this year). 

Some amazing video interviews, charts & graphs showing the impact can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/fremontabbey

So you guessed it, we're celebrating in style with a big party complete with:
{ Two Beers Brewing, apps from Upper Crust Catering & Brett's Catering, desserts from Organic Table Catering & Theo Chocolate, pizzas from Via Tribunali, a mini-auction with some great art, wine accessories, and other items from Seattle Art Museum, Nectar Lounge, and area restaurants, 2 raffles, plus door prizes from Barsuk Records, pin your heart on the Abbey, City Arts Magazine sponsored trivia contest, and a lot more! }

You can easily RSVP here, http://www.fremontabbey.org/5greatyears or if you want to just reply here I'll get you on the list as well.  It's a donation thing at the door, $25 suggested but pay what you can.

thanks for reading and I hope to cross paths with you in real life or on the interwebs soon...
cheers,
-Nathan

p.s. Yes we're a nonprofit 501c3 so your gifts are all tax deductible!  Matching gifts from employers is amazing too.

p.s.s. Join us on Facebook! 
http://www.facebook.com/FremontAbbey
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BlueTree/156232284242
www.fremontabbey.org
www.bluetree.org
 

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Fremont Abbey Arts Center | www.fremontabbey.org
206-414-8325 Office | 206.260.2435 Fax | 4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle WA 98103

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Where to go now...

So obviously I don't do much with this blog anymore...

BlueTree on Facebook is your best bet for resources. Main site - www.BlueTree.org

And my other work is here:
www.theround.org
www.fremontabbey.org

cheers,
-Nathan

and now to sign off with a ridiculously happy me:


photo credit: Corey Hau Photography

Austin Round hits #3!

Video Slideshow

Here's what I've been up to lately...

it's Farm time

i highly suggest you take a day off and go out into the country for some fresh air.

ahh...

http://www.rlf1916.com/
http://www.reddogfarm.net/
http://www.bainbridgevineyards.com/

new zombie film trailer - i'm still in it!

haha...

Iron Jawed Angels: another brilliant & moving film

you absolutely must rent this. beautiful cinematography, soundtrack, and a very inspiring and timeless message. i think the new Abolitionist Movement could take a cue from this film!

how I got eaten by a Zombie

my movie debut

*removed because of censors

Is it ok to give?

So you've probably seen a lot of nonprofits lately asking for you to give gifts this year that support the poor. I'm all for this. But I think it's also still totally fine to give a normal gift to loved ones! The point of 'enlightened sustainable giving' and stopping rampant consumerism is to help ourselves and others live better lives.

But let's face it, that doesn't work if you cut out the joy in your own life (or friends/family) and the next year say "screw that, I'm going to buy tons of stuff now cause last year I deprived myself". ya know?

so do both... don't go crazy on either side, and I think you'll find this could become a more sustainable habit, not just a one time gimmick.

Here's one a friend is involved in,

Agros International

Google Maps got me!

View Larger Map

amazing cellist from Slovakia here OCT 26

Jozef Luptak is playing an intimate cello/voice concert in the Great Hall at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center on Sunday October 26th.

His performance last year literally brought tears to my eyes. I met Jozef at an arts conference and saw him perform in a concert hall with a small audience. It was really amazing. He not only plays wonderfully with just cell, but on some songs he also does this haunting singing style and clicking (reminds me of Sigur Ros a bit actually) WHILE PLAYING! Very interesting.

www.fremontabbey.org

Call and Response opens OCT 9

www.callandresponse.com

Humanitarian Films - Oct 23-25 in SEATTLE

here's an under the radar film festival that's doing a great job bringing important humanitarian films to Seattle. UP THE YANGTZE IS AMAZING. i saw it during SIFF. epic!

FILM FAITH JUSTICE FORUM
is host to the Traveling Human Rights Watch Film Festival, this forum utilizes film, keynote lectures, and discussion panels to engage modern issues of faith and social justice critical to countering modern exploitation and injustice.

I implore you to watch this.

The Color of Freedom/Goodbye Bafana. I found this film to be very moving.

It helped me see a bit more clearly how tragically similar some things are even in our current "civilized" world. Such as Guatanamo Bay prison (probably) and the current situation with Human Slavery around the world AND in the "freedom enthused" United States. I highly suggest you watch this quietly, alone, or with a friend. It's very gripping as well, not a documentary type.

On related note, Call and Response also releases in US theatres Oct 10 (Oct 9 in Seattle), please join us and support this groundbreaking new film about the human trafficking & slavery issue (featuring people like Dr. Cornell West, Matisyahu, Moby, Ashley Judd, Cold War Kids, and many more). www.callandresponse.com. BE AN ABOLITIONIST.