Functicafe.com will hold its first Words event at the Baobab Tree Cafe in the Historic Glenwood Neighborhood of Greensboro, NC

Functicafe.com invites you to participate with your presence, your poetry, and your words, this Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at The Baobab Tree Cafe in Historic Glenwood, Greensboro, NC for Poetic Relief / Words – The address is 1404 Glenwood Avenue (near the intersection of Grove Street) and not to far from Florida St.. The event will begin at 7pm and likely continue until about 9pm. The Words event will be preceded by a free vegetarian meal at The Hive 1214 Grove Street presented by Food Not Bombs.

The event is hosted by the founder of functicafe.com, the artist and thinker known as Anton Bell.

Anton Bell is a contributing editor of sparechangenews.com. He is currently a resident at The Hive, with the WE! (Winter Emergency) program. Overcoming many difficulties, Anton approached Liz Conrad of The Baobab Tree Cafe and convinced her to let it be the initial location for Poetic Relief / Words an event of Anton’s new events company, functicafe.com.

A website was promptly formed with a domain name (functicafe.com), and imbeded google map, administrative and public emails, an imbedde google events calendar, a wordpress blog (functicafe.wordpress.com) and all out of free resources that cost nothing to maintain.

The Baobab Tree Cafe is a multi-use facility. For sales of local crafts, cottage industry, and micro-enterprises, a place for events, and sometimes to stop in and have some food and beverage. Liz reported that the store had been largely closed and on odd hours as of late. But Anton’s interest in the place seems to have sparked it alive again. Now one sees a posting that hours will be kept again starting the day following the event. Look further and their are ambitious plans for food and drink on menues that could activated at that time. More information forthcoming.

Liz Conrad is a Greensboro native, and world traveler who has returned to Greensboro about 2 years ago from Africa. Liz reports that The Baobab Tree Cafe is more than a crafts and art gallery, but the holder of a vision for encouraging the community during these hard encomic times, using the same tactics that have helped in developing world; facilitating cottage industries, crafts, and microenterprises, and acting as a point for communication and commerce. More information can be found by calling her at 336-286-1174.

Paul Gydos of gydos.com (myself) has facilitated with some of the media aspects discussed above. Paul reports, “This is Anton’s inspiration and obviously it is contagious. I hope that many come and express themselves and share with the community. I also want to point out that my belief is that the event itself is a medium in an of itself. I see that Poetic Relief / Words as hosted by Anton Bell’s functicafe.com will be one of those types of event where it transcends being just entertainment or a party and becomes something that is more becoming and therefore is a medium and art in an of itself seperate from the mediums and art that are being showcased, in that the community will come alive around such a thing.”

Paul facilitated by doing the webwork and designing the flyers. Paul himself is a resident at The Hive. “I have twins on the way arriving in May. There really is some pressure to make something out of nothing. So although I can’t yet afford a residence, I went ahead and set up an office to help with my facilitation services, webpresence packages, and ecommerce. Since I am totally new to this, I more affordable than anyone else. I’m sure that I can help get my customer up and running on the internet in a way that gives them basic representation. I look forward to this time as I will be able to learn and test my skills and eventually become a full fledged web designer. Right now I can help you get a unique and effective domain name, basic website, with many useful features such as maps, calendars, blogs, listserves, and paypal. I am immediately expanding into ecommerce next and whatever the needs of my customers and my existing business will be is the priority.

Food Not Bombs— Tuesday and Thursday nights to move soon from St. Mary’s into the new kitchen at the Hive

Watch here or at http://www.gsohive.com to find out new information. The target date for the move has passed and serving is still at St. Mary’s house. We will do our best to keep you informed about the date of the move to 1214 Grove St. (The Hive).

There was an excellent article in the News and Record about Food Not Bombs and other free eating titled “Community Cuisine”. Check it out if you have a chance.

http://beta.news-record.com/content/2008/06/20/article/community_cuisine

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The Magi Center – A Socially Oriented Small Business Launchpad

Proposal for: THE MAGI CENTER LLC

A Community Oriented Private Enterprise (COPE) which has in its mission to manage a small business launchpad in Downtown Greensboro.

We hope to share our intention with our potential landlord, Mr. A.B. and Ms. Lillian Rauch, then gather letters of intent from hopeful and existing small business owners who may want to locate there. In order that these letters of intent may be taken seriously by our potential host, we plan to take an administrative filing fee for each of them proportional to the amount of space the potential candidate business is hoping to occupy.

The organization will hope to lease the building as early as September 1st, 2008 with an option to buy the building as soon as it is available.

Location:

121 S. Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27401 is the proposed available location

Potential location for Magi Center

FREE VERSION OF THE STORY

http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html

MUSIC

Squirrel Nut Zippers has an album called Christmas Carivan

you can find the discography at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Caravan

Track 8 is called “The Gift of the Magi”

ORGANIZATIONS WITH A SIMILAR NAME WHICH MIGHT BE RELEVANT

Susan Zuidema, Director
Giving@TheMagiGifts.com
Phone: 616-878-9900
Fax: 616-878-9921

Office Address:
2470 Byron Station SW
Byron Center, MI 49315

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 43
Byron Center, MI 49315

http://www.themagigifts.org

Recipient Qualification Application
http://www.themagigifts.org/upload/MagiRecipientQualificationApplication.pdf

Opinion – the upper middle class doesn’t see it.

Asking customers and acquaintances if they were seeing the slowdown in the economy affecting them, I’ve gotten an almost universal response of no.

So when will they realize that the global billionaires aren’t going to include them either (the millionaires and the middle class)?

Probably when they can’t get any food either. Then they will have to leave their houses and fancy jobs to head wherever there might be food.

Of course, right now the middle class doesn’t see it. In that way, the impoverished are advantaged, because they are already used to being pushed around and marginalized and controlled by food supplies, etc.

Just my opinion.

International Network of Street Papers www.street-papers.org

While doing research I found INSP
The International Network of Street Papers
88 papers in 37 countries and 6 continents
reaching 32 million readers worldwide

They just finished having a conference in Glasgow, Scottland.

They receive support from Reuters and Inter Press Service.

Their website is really impressive and has huge resources available to sparechangenews.com.

They have a published guide to setting up a Street Paper and offer advice, support, and funding solutions.

They call for a Poverty Day Campaign on October 17th

They also have a Street News Service to help publications like us share content

Check it all out at www.street-papers.org

Hotdish & Hope (on Greene Street)

Prayer & worship – Free hot dinner
Unlimited hope for those in need

Tuesdays starting July 8 6pm

Mullin Life Center at First Presbyterian

700 block N. Greene St.
downtown Greensboro

A family- friendly ministry for people in need, where all who participate will give and receive

Sponsoring congregations:
First Presbyterian
New Creation Community
Anderson Grove
Baptist, Holy Trinity Episcopal

Special Event at Homeless Hospitality House

Upcoming Events:
Homeless Hospitality House Cookout

Aug. 2, 2008
3:00 pm — 6:00 pm

The BCC Homeless Hospitality House will be hosting its Annual Spring Cookout in partnership with Refuge Temple in Burlington. Come by the house, at 437 Arlington St., for great food and community as we celebrate the full dignity and humanity of our homeless neighbors.

Contact Terry Speed at 336-230-0001 for more information