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Ryan Worsley (humble Plexiperson by day; amazing fine artist during the remaining 16 hours) will be showing her gorgeous work in June, at Tigertail: 

Ryan Worsley - Buildings on Glass
At Tigertail
704 NW 65th Street
June 1-30, 2008

Opening reception Thursday, June 5 from 6-9pm

A bunch of us from the studio (including our bookkeeper Amber and her brother Phil) decided to take advantage of the opportunity to see Obama at the Key Arena.  I mean, how often can you go see a presidential candidate speak with  18,000 other people… and just down the street, to boot! 

We started queuing up about an hour before doors opened.  The line was so long by this point that we ended up just 2 blocks south of Plexipixel.  Fortunately, we got a lucky break and got to enter the doors on the 200 level.  There were at least another 3,000 people (including two of our own) who were not able to get in to the Key Arena. 

The line snaked through the Seattle Center all the way down past the EMP

Jesse, Drake, and Ian R. watching the Jumbotron.

So last entry was about the “what” of a caucus and this one is more about the “why”. 

Matt and I went to an organized event last night for a couple of hours to watch the results with a bunch of other people.  The census around our table was that no one was completely clear on how the process of electing each party’s candidate works.  We had such a mixture of ages, sexes and races that were obviously interested enough in the process to perhaps know a bit of something. Both Matt and I were also admittedly in the dark about how it all works which resulted in the following questions for me: “Is the US political process so difficult as to keep people from participating?” and “Am I gonna let the ‘Man’ keep me down?”  I’m sure you’re formulating your own questions at this point… 

Some facts I learned last night which may answer some of your questions (they certainly did for me) and you’ll see why it’s all so confusing: 

• The Republican party has opted for the “winner take all” scenario.  This means that whoever wins the popular vote in the state wins all of the delegates.  Makes sense, right? 
• BUT the Democrat party has decided to divide the number of delegates per state. 
• Add this to the fact that each state can decide by caucus or primary or both (like in WA) and they can decide when to have these things happen 

So why is this particular caucus important?  If any of you followed the races last night, you’ll know that it’s a tight race all around.  In the Republican camp, there are 3 top candidates vying for delegates.  The Democrats have 2 who are very much neck-and-neck.  Even though almost half of our states (24) elected their candidates in the Super Tuesday event yesterday, the races are still very much in the air.  This means Washington’s caucus this Saturday is still extremely relevant.  

Our caucus is uniquely suited for being extra exciting.  This is a historic race: the first time we have a woman, a mixed-race African American, and a Mormon all as very viable candidates for the presidency.  People are coming out in big numbers to take part in this election process.  It’s also a very close and, at times, heated race.  All of these things combined make for an opportunity for a very interesting caucus.  Unlike voting, which tends to be private, caucuses are more of a community event.  With a caucus, “you have to be present to win” or at least take part.  People make speeches and woo folks in real time which sometimes results in a sort of musical chairs where people move from one part of the room to another (each candidate will have an area of the room for people to gather to be counted).  Plus, you may also get a chance to be voted to represent Washington as a national delegate and go to Denver (this caucus is the first tier of a three tiered process).  Pretty exciting, no?  

Additional information specific to Washington State: 

• You will be able to register to vote or update your personal information at the caucus location 
• You will need to register as a Democrat or Republican in order to vote in the caucus.  However, if you do not want to register for a particular party, you can make speeches, but not be counted for the vote 

So I hope some of you will take the opportunity to participate in this year’s caucus on Saturday.  It’s gonna be an exciting day! 

Here’s a copy of the email that I sent out to everyone in our studio which is relevant to all but one person (Kristi who is now a resident of San Francisco–CA is part of today’s Super Tuesday).  Take part in your political process everybody!:

To clear up some of the very understandable confusion, here’s some information: 

Both the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington State are relying on caucuses to determine how many delegates will represent each candidate.  If you’re a Democrat (or planning on voting Democrat), your vote in the primary will NOT count towards the # of delegates.  If you’re voting Republican you can go to the caucus AND vote in the primary.   

If politics matter to you, please make sure to take part in the caucus this week Saturday (2/9) at 1pm. 

• Read about caucuses here:
  http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/politicalsystem/a/delegateprocess.htm
  or get information here (from the MSN Interactive Voting Map that Amie and Allen worked on):
  http://election.msn.com/DefaultSchedule.aspx
  http://www3.capwiz.com/electionmsn/e4/rlist/?state=wa 

• If you’re voting for a Democrat get information on your caucus location here:
  http://www.wa-democrats.org/caucusfinder 

• Republicans can go here to find your caucus location:
  http://www.wsrp.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=6885 

• If you’re not already registered to vote, register here:
  http://www3.capwiz.com/electionmsn/e4/nvra/?action=form&state=WA
  Note: The deadline for registering to vote in Washington is August 4, 2008 for the Primary Election. The deadline for registering to vote in the General Election is September 30, 2008. 

• I you don’t know if you’re registered or not or you’ve moved or changed your name recently, go here:
  https://www.metrokc.gov/elections/pollingplace/voterlookup.aspx 

I’m writing this on behalf of Matt.  I wanted to get it on our blog to get the news to those who knew Grant Sligh, but like Matt hadn’t been in touch with him for a while.

Matt worked with Grant back in the late 90’s and was very saddened to hear about his passing earlier this month.  Matt refered me to this article and after searching I also found Aron Ahlstrom’s blog.  That’s about all we know… 

Grant will be missed.

Holiday wishes from our Scottish friends Radio Magnetic and Tommy Perman.  Because “if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap.”

For the past six months, the people of Plexipixel have been busy challenging our brains with projects such as the MyComix Comix Creator, attending the Platform Animation Convention, and creating websites such as School of the Future. But that doesn’t mean we can’t let down our collective hair and indulge in necessary summer pleasures.

[Strains of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" play ...]

The Simpsons fans among us marched across Seattle Center to witness the Kwik-E-Mart/7-11 transformation at the corner of 4th and Denny. If he wasn’t intent on leaving them mint-in-box, Ian H might be chomping down a bowl of Krusty-Os at this very moment. Fueled by the driving need to see giant robots explode, other Plexi people banked on Transformers the Movie to provide their summer rush. Devi P entered the studio the next morning gasping, “I felt like a teenage boy!” (Yes, that was a rave.)

Speaking of machinery moving at high speeds, Allen C plans to try his hand and his wheels in the exciting world of Autocross. Vicky T and Matt T will get their fill of sunshine and open road while cruising with the Vespa posse at Amerivespa, happneing in Seattle this year. Lindsey S looks forward to finding her way onto the water by surf, sail, or float.

Why does good food and drink taste so much better in the summer? Aime S says it’s because that’s when the corn on the cob is freshest. Drake B prefers gyros, Manny’s Pale Ale, and mojitos to cool off. Go easy on Jesse H and Candi’s “Sip and Go Naked,” though, as word on the street is that it leaves a potent hangover. (No surprise, considering that it consists of equal parts limeade concentrate, gin or vodka, light beer, and ice.) Says Vicky T, “Moral of the story: Don’t stop drinking the ‘Sip and Go Naked’ until the end of October.” Done and done.

On the stereo: Thin Lizzy, Erasure, Latin jazz, Viva Voce, Brazilian Girls, The Shins’ Chutes Too Narrow, U2’s Joshua Tree and Zooropa, Midnight Oil’s Blue Sky Mining, The Arcade Fire, The Avett Brothers, Bert Kaempfert, and anything dance-y and fun. Over in Suite C, Jesse R commandeers the stereo and dumps a big, soggy bucket of Yacht Rock down upon us. We have to accept it, because once he puts on his captain’s hat, we’re all too intimidated to change the dial.

And the action isn’t all local. Ian R will indulge in birthday tea and crumpets in jolly old Victoria. Paola R plans to hoof it to Boston for a family reunion. Lisa S and Keli F amplified summer by leaving for Florida and Thailand, respectively. We were jealous until we looked at weather forecasts for those places. Joshua S agrees, preferring to stay indoors, away from the sun.

Sheesh, all that activity makes us want to indulge in another favorite summer pastimes: long naps and premium lounging. We’re off to the Hammock District. Happy July!

Time Warner has given a proposal to regulators that will increase postage on periodicals. Independent publishers are fearing the worst. Publishers who deal with direct mailings, especially catalogs and magazines several times a year, will feel the heat of this hike immensely. In order to keep small local companies like Fantagraphics Books alive, we need to send our complaints to Congress.

Timeline:

May 2006: The USPS submitted an omnibus postal rate increase to the PRC. This rate increase proposal included a provision that would increase the periodical rate by 11.7 percent — a cost increase that was supposed to impact all publishers more or less equally.

February 2007: After a 10-month comment and testimony review period, the Postal Regulatory Commission released its 758-page recommended decision to the Postal Board of Governors. To the surprise of many, the PRC rejected the USPS planned periodical rate scheme, and replaced it with a scheme based on a complex proposal submitted by Time-Warner.

March 2007: The USPS allowed just 8 business days for formal responses to the 758 page February 26th recommendations. The recommended Time-Warner periodical proposal was so complex that smaller publishers couldn’t adequately assess how the rate change would impact their businesses. On March 19, the Postal Board of Governors issued the final decision, adopting the PRC’s February recommendations.

April 25, 2007: USPS deadline for the filing of comments on the implementing rules.

July 15, 2007: Without public action the change in the periodical rates goes into effect.

Freepress has a link to send your inquiries and complaints.