Hella Bus Blog

The Bus's annual throwdown hath returned! Free food, drink (kegs, cocktails, juice, water, you name it), awards, DJs, food bank donations, palm trees, bootie shaking, new Bus shirts, and general getting down for the good of the order.

All ages, free, and one night only. Be there.

The Bus and Seattlest joined forces last night at Moe Bar for an evening of voting, drinking, and vote-drinking. Pictures!

Our very official voting booth.

That's right, we brought them back. Don't freak out.

Our ornery, intoxicated, and demanding ballot box.

Invisi-ballot

Thanks to Seattlest and Moe Bar for the good times and good drinks! We'll see y'all again very soon.

Here in Seattle, we share a great deal with our Portlandian neighbors to the south. Eco-friendliness, indie music scenes, politically-minded mass transportation vehicles - both our cities have a lot to be proud of.

But there's one thing I always want to stick in my pocket and take home with me every time I visit Portland. It's this:

Also,  this:

It's safe to say my pockets are a little slimy.

Both of these delicious food-stuffs, from Potato Champion and Sweet Pea's Brulee respectively, are the work of Portland food trucks. While Seattle has some pretty fantastic food trucks of its own (notably the incredibly tasty Pai's), they can be hard to find en masse.  In Portland, you can't turn around without stepping in food pods.

However, Seattle, your pod wait may be over. Every Saturday night, at the corner of Harvard and Pike, there is now a fantastic pod of trucks waiting for you from 9:00pm to 3:00am. The balsamic fries and ice-cream-cookie sandwich I devoured there last weekend were fantastic, so I encourage everyone to get in on the action. Drool-proof your keyboard, then check out your options here.

Enjoy!

Thank you.

The crew

Day 1 - before we started regretting that 90% of our food was carrots

It's go time.

Sunshine, pledge to vote, happiness

Hey, we like you.

Hari and camping - never again.

Everything that can be said about Sasquatch in one photo.

fun

Backstage as Das Racist kills it.  Standing next to Bob Boilen! (for all you NPR nerds out there).


Robo-explosion

So much Bus

BUTTONS

Good times

*no caption necessary*

Button town

Voter registrations, neon hats - just a day in the Bus life.

This did not end in disaster. Thanks Vera!

Blurry, but yes - this is a man dressed as Sasquatch communing with a bunny (alternate caption: Dinner).

TJ takes us home after a most excellent weekend.

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers and the good people of Sasquatch, WA for a superb time! Doesn't get much better than beautiful vistas, good tunes, and hundreds upon hundreds of Registrations and Pledge to Vote cards!

Young people! Official Bus homies Our American Generation is throwing an event that seems very, very Bus. The premise: an evening of community-self-education on the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court case of 2010, aka one of the most defining supreme court cases in electoral history.

And just who is OAG? Maybe you saw them in our Who Do Ya Love series! They're good folks. Plus, experts will be on hand to answer any and all questions that arise after watching some short films and interviews on the case.

1) Should there be a limit on how much money corporations/organizations can contribute towards influencing election?

2) Should money be considered a form of free speech?

In a close ruling the court declared that there should be no limits on spending and that money is indeed a valid form of political free speech. We will be watching short videos and interviews to get a feel for the varied opinions on the case, and follow it up with a casual discussion. This event is a chance to learn about the different sides on the case, to have your questions answered by local experts on the case, and to discuss the case with other young Seattlites. Come join Our American Generation for some good ol’ self-education!

Facebook Event here!
~~~
This event is part of Common Spaces NW, ‘creating space for common solutions’

April 21st-23rd at the University of Washington.

Find a full schedule and more details at www.commonspacesnw.org.

Some of the Seattle-based members of the Bus' outreach team took an exhilarating, whirlwind tour of the elegant, east side of our beautiful state to meet some old friends and make some new ones in this episode of "Busventure 2011."

After a day in Walla Walla, hanging out with some rad young people interested in the Summer Fellows Program, we journeyed on to Pullman for some quality time at Wazzu with the Foley Institute:

Tug-o'-war

Alex embarrassed the team with his overexcitement about getting within 8 miles of his hometown.

Then we continued on to Spokane to meet with great students, inspiring elected officials, and the talented young folks of Next-Up Spokane.  Also, Auntie's bookstore rules the world.

A wee bit haggard, enjoying a Spokane evening backed by the leaning tower of Spokanza.

One avalanche on Snoqualmie Pass later, we returned to the endless doom rain clouds of Seattle with that extra twinkle in our eye and spring in our step that only the knowledge of a state full of great young people can provide.

If we met/stayed/conversed with you - you're awesome.  If we didn't - we'll be back around soon, let us know what you're up to and we'll connect! This whole most excellent state powers the Bus!

Bus Love,

Nicole, Natalie, and Alex