Keith Knight is a writer, rapper (with Marginal Prophets) media activist, and award-winning cartoonist whose nationally-syndicated weekly comic strips, the K Chronicles and (th)ink, can be found in newspapers, magazines and websites across the country. He is also a collaborator on a new book/project out of the New Orleans-based Crossroads Project called the Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts and has been recently traveling across the country promoting the organization and their grassroots work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Knight is part of a new generation of talented young African American artists raised on hip hop; artists who infuse their work with urgency, edge, humor, satire, politics and race. Knight incorporates these same ingredients into his multi-media presentations, displaying some of his favorite cartoons. Knight's talent, humor, and energy infuse discussions on race and racial stereotyping, diversity, media, youth and student empowerment, the corporate erosion of creativity and other contemporary issues.

Join us in welcoming Keith to Evergreen and come for an evening of what, to quote from XLR8R magazine, promises to be a "groundbreaking mix of D.I.Y. urban youth culture and biting social commentary."

When: Wednesday, April 5th
When: 7pm
Where: Evergreen, Lecture Hall #1

Cosponsored by Evergreen programs: Making Your Place, Masters in Public Administration, Internships in the Public Service and Poets Alive along with The Sitting Duck, a Olympia weekly newspaper.

You have probably noticed the addition of three buttons on the right hand side of Olyblog this morning. They are the first step in the creation of the Olympia Civic Network, an effort to create a local, non-commercial and citizen driven space on the internet. With Rick's launch of Olyblog late last summer, my interest in generating local online conversation has been rekindled, and hopefully, this effort will help create a higher profile for wired involvement.

Right now, at Better South Sound we're discussing what we have planned and what we're missing. Jump in and help us build this thing. 

As a culmination of their last two quarters studying painting, drawing and photography, students in the Foundations of Visual Arts program are holding a public exhibition of selected pieces of their work in SEM 2, E4115.

The show is entitled "A Chance Meeting" and will be up for viewing by the general public today (Thursday) until 8:00 PM. Students are also hosting a reception today starting at 4:00 PM.

Tomorrow, the work will be on view from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

Please come and help the students celebrate both the hard work they put into making their pieces and in jurying them for exhibition.

Over at Thurston Pundits, Andy Maris reports that the rural rezone workgroups report is out. This is part of an important discussion regarding growth in our county and how rural areas will become less so over time. While I tend to disagree with Andy over just about everything, it is an important discussion, and I agree that it is good to see people step up to the plate.

As part of the rezone plan, the county assembled workgroups to discuss potential options to comply with the GMA ruling. Landowners are generally disgruntled by past moves made by county and environmentalists; environmentalists don't seem terribly concerned with other people's nest egg.

The workgroup report out is a worthwhile read for the well informed on this issue. It is good to see landowners are stepping up. Having watched this progress for a while now, many in the Olympia area don’t have a problem devaluing someone’s property by 100k-900k to make themselves feel like they are protecting something.

Why the hell not? They didn't pay anything for it and aren't stuck with the tax bill twice a year.

Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services & SafePlace now offer a monthly legal clinic for people affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.

Next Legal Clinic: Tuesday, April 11

The clinic is held one Tuesday night per month, and is open for walk-in appointments from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm (clients are seen until 9:00 pm but must arrive by 8:00).

For more information about this clinic, please call the SafePlace crisis line at 754-6300.

Sponsored by Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services and SafePlace.

Iraqi journalist, translator, human rights activist

"The occupation should end immediately. It's something wrong. It's wrong for the Iraqis, for the Americans, for the world, for peace, for international law -- everything. It's wrong. It has to end now."

Eman Khamas on Democracy Now!

Eman Khamas is a journalist, translator and human rights activist who lives in Baghdad with her husband and two daughters. She is a member of the Women's Will organization, which focuses on defining and defending women's rights outside of political party interests and opposing incarceration of women as hostages. Khamas regularly publishes articles on women's conditions in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, and has documented human rights violations committed by US and Iraqi forces. She is also involved in mobilizing emergency relief (medicines, food and clothing) for victims of the war, especially women and children living in refugee camps.

Khamas arrived in the US on March 5, as part of a delegation of Iraqi women who have taken great risks to come and tell you their stories.

Find out what you aren't being told by the warmakers and their press stenographers.

For more information, contact the Evergreen Women's Resource Center, 867-6162

[via omjp]

Dear Friends,

On the third anniversary of Rachel's killing in Gaza, here are three things that we urge you to consider doing today, or as soon as possible:

1) From New York:

"The “Rachel’s Words