January 7 - Cas. Collab

Another good turnout for the Casual Collaboration on Monday. More new faces, and a football game to watch. This time we were at the Summit, it was a slow night...

Conflict: Third Thursday of January 2008 is booked for a Chamber event, so we may choose a different date, or scrap it? Unclear as to what we decided. Watch for an email or be proactive and find the other date.

It was a very casual affair, mainly brainstorming potential activities.
It's a GO:
- Volunteer Ushers for the Englert Theatre
-- -- February 16th, 2008?
-- -- Comedy Show, Wear black bottoms, white tops, COMFY shoes
-- -- More info to come

Firming Up:
- Barn Burner (see earlier post) will be targeted for a summertime event... still thinking Wallace Winerty

Other Ideas:
- Karaoke: Make it a Third Thursday event. January?
- Fun Movie [ Series | Night ]: movies that you can converse to...
-- -- BASEketball
-- -- Saving Silverman
-- -- Primary Colors
-- -- Reality Bites
-- -- -- Don't know what / when / where, but the Englert's showing of Office Space was a hit.
- Kickball Game (spring)
- "Rummage in the Ramp"
-- -- In an effort to reduce the landfill burden for the 3 days of homlessness for Iowa City student tenants (July 28-Aug 1), Rummage in the Ramp allows student furniture to be placed in the lower level of the 'Blue' ramp by the Van Buren St New-Pi co-op. I believe you can donate or purchase items here in an effort to recycle the GLAMOROUS furniture that we all know from our college years.
-- -- Can we volunteer to make pickups and dropoffs?
-- -- Could Quality Care / Budget / U-Haul / Big-10 Rentals donate a few trucks for the effort?
-- -- Can we help in any other way?
- Urban Recycling
-- -- I still think we can get Recycling Bins in the Ped Mall
-- -- Jennifer Jordan w/ the city is a good contact for a feasibility study. She organized "Rummage in the Ramp".
- Paper Take-out Boxes
-- -- I still think we could raise some awareness by collaborating with the Bar and Restaurant Association to get at least 1 month's worth of paper/recyclable takeout boxes. Especially in the Ped Mall area.
-- -- We have yet to do a feasibility study on costs, but we could get economies of scale if it is a city-wide event.
-- -- Early research shows a sugar cane fiber (biodegradable in 9 weeks) box adds $0.25 per unit, which may be pricey, but that was a 15-minute Google scout. More info could be gathered from a distributor such as Sysco.

That makes this blog current.
As always, keep the ideas coming.

If you would like to attend a BASE event, please do. We try to be energetic and inviting. We all win if our community is fabulous place to live for our generation(s).

Let's get caught up...

BASErs and BASE wanna-bes,

November: We had a HUGE bonfire that required the crossing of an Indiana Jones style rope and wood suspended bridge.

Lessons Learned:
1) When it's sleeting, outdoor activities are less successful.
2) If you don't bring water to put out a fire, at least one person will try to extinguish it with "natural" fluids.
3) When the fire goes out, you lose light and heat... brrrrrrr.....

December:
We had the largest turnout ever for the Casual Collaboration at the Atlas. We managed to throw TWO events within two weeks!

'Twas the season, so there was excellent brainstorming about service projects for the coming months. We decided to volunteer to do bell ringing for the Salvation Army all day on the 15th at Waterfront Hy-Vee. Thanks to Brett for organizing the crew. All-around great success and it was a rewarding experience for all.

'Twas also Bowl Season, and since the Hawks didn't get to go, we have to improvise. So, the Third Thursday gathering was at Bob's Your Uncle - HWY 1 - for the 1st Annual Bad Bowl Party. Pick a team and show your pride! It was a close match between the Utah Utes and the Navy Midshipmen, but my Utes pulled out the 'W'.

Other topics discussed:
- Sledding Party: Whenever it snows again... Perhaps the tailgate hill on Riverside Drive?
- Barn Burner: Not a destruction, just a gathering... Perhaps at Wallace Winery in West Branch?
- Crisis Center: Renovation project is underway. They are looking for volunteers.
- Habitat Build: Road Trip to N'awlans in Spring to assist the ongoing Katrina rebuild? Work with a local Habitat Build? We have some supporting information:
-- -- Need 3-5 days onsite to make an impact
-- -- ~$50,000 required to sponsor a local build
-- -- Probably end up doing light work (siding/paint/trim) since training is a waste of man-hours if we go to N.O.
-- -- The University of Iowa law students have infrastructure for the N.O. build if we are interested

That brings us up to January...