Joey Mornin, @joemornin on Twitter and a research assistant at the Berkman Center, had tweeted “I have seen the future, and it is a Carl Sagan/Stephen Hawking remix …” (11:24 AM Oct 2nd from TweetDeck). That I had to see, and when I saw it I had to tweet: “This Carl Sagan Stephen Hawking remix … should play on a wall @PacSci :) via @joeymornin” (11:35 AM Oct 2nd from Google Wave (Tweety)).


Pacific Science Center, @PacSci on Twitter, understands social media. As every person, business, or organization using social media ought to be, in a word they are: social. When I mention @PacSci, they watch for it and in this case their response was: “RT @brianglanz: This Carl Sagan Stephen Hawking remix … should play on a wall @PacSci :) via @joeymornin <GLORIOUS!>” (11:43 AM Oct 2nd from Seesmic). They responded quickly, giving credit to Joey Mornin and me, and added their own comment, <GLORIOUS!> — all in 140 characters. <yoda>Impressive!</yoda>


Will the “A Glorious Dawn” remix actually appear at the Pacific Science Center? Whether on a wall, at a kiosk, or on screen before IMAX films I do think this sort of “citizen media” should be displayed alongside “citizen science” in our educational and cultural institutions. This video accentuates and amplifies important parts of the messages Sagan, Hawking, and science at large have to share. In an incomplete circle, science has made possible the technology, has made possible the culture, has made possible great grassroots work like this media; science needs to close the circle and better connect with the community.


Quintin Doroquez, @quintind on Twitter chimed in, too by tweeting “@brianglanz That was brilliant!” (11:57 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie) and I could not agree more. Thanks and congratulations to the creator of “A Glorious Dawn,” John Boswell, melodysheep on YouTube, whose video has a perfect 5 out of 5 stars after thousands of ratings and more than 600,000 views in its first two weeks.

六四是事實。还原真相：1989年6月4日的新聞，無辦法修改了吧：想要结束历史悲剧惟有真实、彻底地记住历史–真实的民主运动。

Twenty years ago on June 4, 1989, thousands of pro-democracy protesters — most of them students — were killed by the Chinese government where they gathered peacefully, in Tiananmen Square.

I made this montage from my photos of the works of Seattle’s Ken Judd. The video was also a gift for his 50th birthday. We had lost KJ to San Diego in 08, but he’s back in Seattle in 09.

I may remaster the video — publish a higher resolution, remove the birthday reference, add a new opening and closing, etc. Generally, this is a test of displaying video on BrianGlanz.net while it is hosted here by MySpace.

I found the film’s soundtrack clever, affecting me enough that I had to wonder why. It opens with accordion music, crowd noise, and market speak. The accordion sets a romantic, communal, timeless mood with old folk melodies. It is the music of the people, fitting Seattle’s great market.

Accordions are used in folk music throughout Europe and North and South America. They are often used by buskers — street performers. Buskers are common at Pike Place Market itself, if not always with accordions.

At first we see an empty market, with some focus on leaking pipes and damaged infrastructure. In 1969, they needed to not only save The Market from development, but rebuild it from decades of structural neglect.

A vendor steps into view. We hear, then see The Market’s business being done, its teeming, happy crowds, some shopping for dinner and others with no apparent agenda. There is a lot of focus on prices, reminding us that without a profiteering middle man, The Market makes basic economic sense for both producers and consumers.

The accordion easily ebbs out of one melody and flows into another, many times over. It is as if you saw someone interesting in the crowd and tried to follow. You would get glimpses, then lose them at times, and get an occasional glance in return that would keep you following.

In the middle of the film we are shown the doors to the Athenian Inn Restaurant, next door to Lowell’s Restaurant & Bar. A 1960s, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass interlude overtakes the audio track. Their album “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” was all about food, and although it was four years old when this film was produced it was still all the rage. This is a nod to youths who not only made this film but generally contributed much to saving The Market. The instrumental music of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass did also appeal to many older adults, so it was a diplomatic choice.

We see a ferry and hear its horn while enjoying a view from inside Lowell’s. The interlude ends with a bit of “A Taste of Honey,” instrumentation including a Fender bass, an electric and an acoustic guitar.

It was over coffee at Lowell’s that Steinbrueck and friends hatched plans to save The Market in the 1960s. For nearly 100 years at both Lowell’s and the Athenian, there have been restaurants in this place where you could meet friends or make friends. They have been fertile ground for greatness for nearly all of Pike Place Market and Seattle history.

The accordion reemerges with a few ending scenes and the film credits. Daily business is done, a couple meanders, smiling arm in arm, and a grandfather leads his granddaughter by the hand.

The credits read “A University of Washington Film,” by B. Biggs, G. Coldevin, R. Dong, J. Dunn, D. Macdonald, D. Pratt, and C. Vollan, with Advisors J. Driscoll and T. Kirkman. To these Seattleites of 1969: for my many market adventures since 1992 when my family moved here and met The Market, and from 2008 when now I write: thank you.

Below: Peter and Victor Steinbrueck promoting the rehabilitation of Pike Place Market, also in 1969:

Photo courtesy Peter Steinbrueck and HistoryLink.org.

Article cover art by Brian Glanz, in part using images from the Seattle Municipal Archives.

“The World is Always Changing” sings a Pike Place Market busker in Seattle, on the market’s 100th birthday in 2007.

This is a test of displaying video on BrianGlanz.net while it is marked as “private” in my flickr stream.

Stop the Clash of Civilizations! Avaaz.org pleads in this video about peace between Islam and the West, with questions such as “who speaks for you?” and “are we so different?” There have been over 2.2 million YouTube views since it debuted in March, 2007, and the video is shown in classrooms around the globe.

Avaaz asserts “Another world is possible, and we pledge to make it real,” and that “Global public opinion is the new superpower.”

Avaaz reminds that “If the people lead the leaders will follow.” Of the clash of civilizations, they observe “We’re afraid,” and of our leaders in this clash, Avaaz continues “and they’re playing off our fears.”

In their words, “Avaaz means “voice” or “song” in Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, and other langauges) is a community of global citizens who take action on major issues around the world. We have members in every country on earth, and operate in twelve languages. Our aim is to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people–and not just political elites and unaccountable corporations–shape global decisions. This video, made with agit-pop.com with music by DJ Spooky, helped launch our campaign against the so-called Clash of Civilizations–starting with a call for real Middle East peace talks now.”

The video ends with urging to sign a petition to Israeli, Palestinian, and international leaders, to heal the rift between Islam and the West. Sign the petition now at Avaaz.org.

In 1990, Carl Sagan presented to the world the most distant image yet taken of ourselves, from 4 billion miles. The image was of a pale blue dot, suspended in a sun beam.

The book Pale Blue Dot was published by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan in 1994. That was also when I first met Sagan, while I was a student in the College of Engineering at Cornell University.

This film was a finalist at the Portobello Film Festival in London 2007, and at the Concorto Film Festival in Italy 2007. Compare it to the original, the classic, Sagan himself reading from Pale Blue Dot:

Here is their site from the National Geographic Society.