Urban Jacksonville

MOCA Jacksonville is celebrating five years in downtown Jax on May 16, 2008. The party will feature Jacksonville’s most acclaimed pastry chefs in a pastry art competition to create the evening’s most outrageous contemporary sculptured cake.

The festivities begin at 8 p.m. and last until midnight. Guests will enjoy live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, specialty cocktails and desserts by participating competitors, including:

Cakes by Patrice Drinkard
Choux Designer Cakes and Pastries
Cinotti’s Bakery
Edgewood Bakery
Etiquette of Chocolate
Kakes by Katie
Sheila’s Cakes & Specialty Treats
Stover’s Custom Cakes
Tasteful Creations
The Cake Shop of San Jose
The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island

Reservations for the birthday bash are required on or before May 9, 2008. Information about ticket prices can be found on the MOCA Jax site. I’ll be assisting Katie Dumphy of Tasteful Creations, so please say hello and grab a piece of cake!

Beginning in mid-May, city commuters in Washington, D.C., will have an alternative to stuffy bus rides and long traffic lines.  Clear Channel Outdoor (an outdoor advertising company), partnered with the district’s Department of Transportation, will launch the country’s first bike-share service, SmartBike DC.

Bike sharing services offer urbanites low-cost access to bicycles within the inner-city to ease traffic congestion, curb pollution and boost physical activity.  Bike sharing operates on a self-serve model (no attendants) and is geared toward short-term uses.  New technologies including GPS and RFID tags (radio-frequency identification) and automated payment kiosks make the systems more secure and user friendly.

The SmartBike DC system will offer bicycles at key locations in the central business district.  Bicycles are parked at docking points which use a proprietary locking system to ensure that each bicycle is securely stored.  The service is accessible via online subscription and subscribers will receive a SmartBike DC user card that provides access to every station of the program.  An individual annual subscription is $39.99.

Bike stations consist of a horizontal rack with docking points.  The docking points, as pictured above, are parking slots with locks, and they secure the bicycle when it is parked at a station.  An operational team manages the rotation of bicycles for each station to assure a proper ratio of available bicycles to drop-off locations.

How could most cities afford this?  As mentioned before, in the case of Washington, D.C., the district’s Department of Transportation partnered with Clear Channel Outdoor, a private advertising company.  The contract allows the private company to provide advertising on as many as 800 bus shelters.  Public-private partnerships are common among existing bike-share programs, according to Paul DeMaio, the founder of MetroBike LLC, a bike-share consultancy based in Washington, D.C.

Bike-share programs have proved successful in many other countries so far, including France, Spain and Austria.  Leading street-furniture company JC Decaux launched its Paris operation, Velib’, in 2007.  Today, more than 20,000 bikes are available at 1,400 stations.  Paris has four times more bike-rental stations than subway stations and the system is completely financed by advertising and rental charges.

The market in the U.S. is wide-open right now.  Most recently, Clear Channel secured San Francisco as the next city for which to develop street furniture plans, most likely including a bike-share component.  Chicago has expressed interest in bringing a bike-share program to its streets as well.

If Jacksonville had a bike-share system around its core neighborhoods, traffic and pollution would decrease and our city would be populated with a healthier group.  Some commuters would not be forced to wait for a bus if they did not have far to travel.  Also, commuters who bike already would not waste time locking their bike up properly and worrying that it might be stolen.

So.  Who wants to step up with the sponsorship?

Tags: bike sharing, MetroBike LLC, SmartBike DC

Poster designed by Half Tone Def Studios

This is Joey, I am invading Adrienne’s post to tell you last night I interviewed Levi from Urban Art Warfare about the movie premier he is hosting for Bomb It. Check out the interview below. Then read Adrienne’s post for more details.

Podcast Episode #14: UAW Presents Bomb It the Movie! (30:53)
Subscribe to the Urban Jacksonville podcast

Our pals at Urban Art Warfare are making life better and better with two screenings of Bomb It An Explosive New Graffiti Documentary at the San Marco Theatre May 9th and 10th at 11:55 p.m.

The documentary explores graffiti on different continents and across languages while exposing the opposition to it and also the ideals and opinions of the artists.  This comes at a pretty appropriate time for Jacksonville considering the recent conversations on graffiti downtown and in its neighboring areas.

Come out and see how law enforcement deals with graffiti and how graffiti artists deal with everyone else.  It’s going to be an awesome documentary and a usual good time at the theatre.   And most definitely, don’t forget UAW’s DISCLAIMER NOTICE:

We wanted to remind you to be respectful of the San Marco theatre and to not go tagging shit up after the film is over. Granted you will be totally hyped to do so…but given the nature of the film, we had a very hard time finding a theatre that would show this film so be cool, ya heard. We don’t want to have to start bustin knee caps.

See you guys out!

Tags: bomb it the movie, graffiti, san marco theater

…it’s true, Kimya Dawson, we do.  We also love that you’re playing at Jack Rabbits tonight with your hubby Angelo Spencer.

Just to put this into perspective, Dawson was part of the Moldy Peaches and has a number of songs featured on the Juno soundtrack.  She’s also collaborated with artists like Stephan Jenkins, Jeff Lewis, Regina Spektor and Ben Kweller.  Dawson is currently working on “Alphabutt” - an album of songs for babies.  Yes, please!

Check out her music online, it’s lo-fi homemade goodness.  Then, check her out tonight.  You’ll probably get a glimpse of her baby in the audience, too.  What more could you ask for?

Doors at 8 and tickets are $14.  Hang tight!

Tags: jack rabbits, kimya dawson

Last night was an incredibly fulfilling Art Walk, which (for me) joined the ranks of previously great Art Walks such as the Munny Show and the Black Kids set at Burrito Gallery.  I’m not sure exactly how many people were out last night, but the crowd seemed larger than usual.

After work, a few friends met up at my place and we walked over to the Landing for the boat tour.  It was a little after 6 p.m. so we happened to catch the tour while the sun was setting.  It was awesome!   

My boat was lead by one of the Riverkeeper’s staff, Michael, if I remember correctly.  He did an excellent job of answering questions and providing information about the St. John’s River.  He explained the issues surrounding the river and discussed the river’s water quality.  The ride was perfect, and seeing Jacksonville from the water was enlightening.  The city is lit up and booming from the middle of the river.

After the boat tour, we walked over to Burrito Gallery for fish tacos that never fail.  The restaurant was packed, per usual, but I did get to check out Martin Moore’s art up close and I really dig it.  Following dinner, we walked across to the old library to catch the artwork of another friend and I was pleasantly surprised to see a Capoeira team performing.  We walked to London Bridge, listened to some music and then headed toward Hemming Plaza.

Lackawanna Carriage Works was playing at Hemming Plaza so we listened to the band for a while and watched a drum circle, both of which were really, really entertaining.  One of my friends suggested we ride the skyrail, so we gathered up 50 cents each and rode to the Central Station, changed cars and rode to San Marco and back.  I was surprised to see a handful of people at each station.  The ride was nice, and I’m definitely going to use the skyrail the next time I’m heading toward San Marco.

I give everyone who contributed to the March ‘08 Art Walk a big hand because it was perfect in every way.  Can’t wait til April!

Today, your neighborhood Starbucks is closing.  Beginning at 5:30 p.m., baristas in the coffee giant’s 7,100 stores will receive “emergency intensive remedial training,” ordered by CEO Howard Schultz, according to an AOL blog.

Recently, complaints have arisen that Starbucks baristas don’t know how to make a decent latte anymore.  Consumers complain the chain has morphed from a place that once offered a cup of coffee made exactly right to one now famous for its automatic machines.

Tonight, for three hours, baristas will learn how to make a perfect shot, steam milk and wipe the milk steamer before switching from dairy to soy, and not burn coffee.  Also on the agenda is a milk-steaming technique that allows baristas to free pour the milk without holding back foam with a spoon, as well as a new procedure for pulling shots of espresso.

So, I say grab a cup of coffee beforehand and then grab one after and see if the results are different and let me know.  I’m not sure about all the Starbucks around town, but I’ll definitely commend the downtown store.  They make a mean soy misto and always deliver a smile.

You certainly will not find a shortage of events taking place this weekend. First things first, “Clockwork Orange” is playing at San Marco Theatre Friday and Saturday at midnight; 11:55 to be precise. This is my favorite movie (next to the Godfather) and I can’t think of a better place to view it. Best part, for 5 dollars you can purchase the poster above. How rad would it be to have that in your possession in 20 years?

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is the solo project of Owen Ashworth. It’s fun music characterized by electronically-produced beats. Think cheap keyboards. Check ‘em out at TSI with Sunbears.

More music tonight hosted by Are ‘Friends’ Electric Live, but from what I gather it’s out at Jax Beach. Still, you can see a really great band, Airport Factory, with Our Name is Legion and Ysuge.

Saturday-day make your way to the Jacksonville Fairgrounds for Junior League’s 17th Annual Whale of a Sale. It’s a community garage sale in which proceeds benefit community projects. The sale is from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is 1 dollar per person and afterward you can grab some breakfast or brunch at a new place you haven’t tried yet. My recommendations: The Fox or the Brick in Avondale and Cool Moose in Riverside.

Saturday night it’s all about TSI and the Fluoro Party. Having been in a sorority (true story) I can’t say I’ve never been to one and I can’t say they’re not incredibly fun. Wear lots of neon! It’s your chance to rock that hot pink fanny pack you use at Disney World.

That wraps up my knowledge of what’s happening this weekend. I’m sure there’s a lot more going on, so feel free to lay it down in the comments. I hope to see you all around!