brian glanz's photostream  

Shot from the second floor up: three uncles observe Chinese New Year festivities over Szechuan Noodle Bowl‎ in Seattle.

I stood for a while framing this before realizing it must be a tong and I should go point my camera at the lion dance. I had noticed 秉公堂 around the corner and recognized 公 and 協 but I'm rusty and their sign reads 會公勝協 not 協勝公會; to make them harder to look up on your mobile?

This is 2 of 4 in a series from Pike Place Market's 100th birthday, 17 August 2007.

Anne and Larry from Rainbow Ranch sell produce on the cobblestones during Pike Place Market's 100th anniversary, including blackberries of which Mango Power Girl took a macro snap.

Pike Place is hallowed ground in Seattle. In 1907, the city government began this market to bring farmers and the people together. For-profit grocery stores were pricing food unfairly, abusing both people and farmers. Seattle took a stand for social and economic justice and as on its 100th birthday shown here, the Market still stands.

Seattleites have voted time and again to grow and support the Market. Today it's a nine acre historical district teeming with artists, street musicians, and unique shops, cafes, pubs, and restaurants. Its original purpose is still served and you can meet the producer, year round, on Pike Place.

Also part of the Market's legacy are Seattle's vibrant neighborhood farmers' markets. My wife and I visit our weekly neighborhood farmers' market year-round, and there are more of them per capita in Seattle than any other American city.

Even then, Seattle is home to the Puget Consumers' Co-op or PCC, America's largest natural food co-op. We're member-owners ourselves, along with tens of thousands of other locals. Profits from nine regional PCC stores are returned to the community. Bringing things full-circle, the PCC Farmland Trust provides land for small farms growing organic food. At our neighborhood markets and at Pike Place Market, too we meet farmers supported by our community's collective effort at PCC.

This education of the Seattle food consumer and our superior food system is part of the legacy of our Market. Environmental and economic sustainability, and better health through fresh and organic foods, are not fads or new hopes here. For many in Seattle they have long been a way of life. A sense of community, pride in unique, artisanal goods, and fairness in trade and transactions are not long lost values -- they are the beating heart of Pike Place Market, itself often called the soul of Seattle.

See original Market-sourced recipes by Mango Power Girl and see more than 100 more (and better :) photos in my wife's flickr set for Pike Place Market. She's also a Moderator of flickr's Pike Place Market Group.

This is 1 of 4 in a series from Pike Place Market's 100th birthday.

That looks like Jaison Scott from Pike Place Fish Market -- legend has it Jaison was born on the floor of the Market!

Fish! Tales the famed handbook for esprit des corps is brought to life to Seattle's delight.

Can anyone ID that pro photog? Looks like he caught his fish, too :)

I had shot neither film nor much Schwarz und Weiß, but it was MPG's birthday and we were at The Dish Cafe.

The food had *just* arrived. See MPG's anticipation and waitress exiting by their hot sauce shelves in bokeh. MPG handed me her Pentax and even with food on the table, I could not turn down taking a snap.

Hat by Crochet Genie.

This hard-working student at Olcott Memorial School in Chennai, India was completing his assignment outside, where it was sunny and warm. My wife and I were touring the school with Headmistress Lakshmi Suryanarayanan. Lakshmi stopped to quiz him on his work -- and he passed, of course!

Olcott Memorial is a 115-year-old school dedicated exclusively to children from the poorest parts of Indian society, including the slums of Chennai. It is one of many projects in Chennai funded in part by Asha for Education.

The Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire has captured hearts around the world. Of the millions who have seen it, many wonder what they can do to help children from India's slums.

Asha for Education is a nonprofit organization run completely by volunteers. Asha has funded and organized education projects in slums across India, including the slums shown in Slumdog Millionaire. Asha has worked to help these children for more than 10 years, with 93 projects focusing on children from slums.

One of the best things you can do to help is to make a donation to Asha for Education. Do so by using the Google Checkout form on their website.

You can also help by spreading the word about Asha's good work. As demonstrated in the first comment below, you can place the graphic based on this photo on web sites, profiles, in email, and so on, linking to Asha's site. You could even put a copy in your flickr stream :)