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Special Guest – Amy McGeorge
CEO Talagy

job recruiting firm
HQ in Jax
400 jobs available
Jax has double digit unemployment
“desperate”

job hunting should be a full-time job
podcasting sure is glamorous, but it doesn’t pay
be realistic about your skills and the market

company started in the 70’s
talagy.com
jank-free site
coolest and best

about 50 jobs available in Jacksonville
quality of jobs is going up

important to have an advocate
80% of jobs go unposted

use social networking

resume templates, interviewing skills
fancy isn’t better
looking to narrow selection down, not find needle in haystack

best way to find a job – call everyone you know and let them know you’re looking

what do you want to do? – define it

misconceptions
“shady”

Music
Dark Castle at Wambolt 8B

Recommendations

Jack – Chiaroscuro, Baby
Tony – Art Walk (new galleries (above Hemming))
Joey – Evolving local trend: Creative Philanthropy
Jonathan – Abel at the TU
Amy – New Symphony Director

A few locals designers are using their talents to help others and a beard blogger is growing a stache to bring attention to men’s health issues – specifically prostate and testicular cancer. These are just a few notable items in an emerging local trend: creative people finding ways to help others. They’re illustrating that there is more than one way to give back to the community.

Brand Sprout From Greenhouse Studio

You may have noticed the Brand Sprout ad on the blog last week. Brand Sprout was a contest to award one new company a complete branding package:

We will create your identity, messaging, vision, website and overall brand framework. We’ll even host your site and support your branding initiatives for one year.

While not completely without motives (new business and PR) the idea of giving away weeks and maybe months of work is very generous. Although the contest is over, you can see who the winner is when it’s announced later today.

AIGA Jacksonville’s Designers in Toyland

AIGA is hosting its first custom toy show, Designers in Toyland, at the December Art Walk, December 2 from 5-9 pm downtown. Both AIGA members and non-members are invited to build a toy from scratch, choose an existing toy and take it to another level, or paint a blank vinyl toy — anything that makes the toy a creation unique to you. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to The Big Fun Box.

The Big Fun Box donates thousands of goodie boxes, each year, to children who are experiencing frequent and extended stays—for any illness or injury—in pediatric hospitals across the country.

Movember With JaxBeard

Movember Jax encourages people to raise money to fight prostate cancer and improve survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40 via the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Here’s how it works. A “Mo Bro” starts Movember (the month formerly known as November) clean shaven and naked-face. He grows a moustache all month long, and as he’s doing this, he’s gathering support from friends and family in the form of donations. This helps us get the subject of men’s health out in the open and gives us the opportunity to talk about the cancers affecting men. The moustache becomes a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer.

Sean Collins who organizes JaxBeard is a solid dude and you can help out by joining up. Contact Sean if it’s something you’re interested in.

We Inspire Grant Program

Similar to Brand Sprout, the We Inspire Grant Program is donating creative services too, but this time it’s going exclusively to a non-profit somewhere in the US. It’s a collaborative effort between Studio Orange Design, Subtle Technology and Tiffany Manning Photography.

Providing a yearlong partnership will enable us to develop a strategic and integrated approach to your marketing. Once a recipient is announced, a kick-off meeting will be scheduled to establish the goals and objectives of your organization. At this point, we can collectively determine what creative services will have the greatest impact on your cause.

The We Inspire team and each of the other organizations in this post are friends of the Urban Jacksonville blog. It’s quite an honor to be affiliated with people who are doing such good things in the local community. This is a trend I expect to see continue throughout the end of the year and into 2010.

If you have any other examples please share them along with links to the organization on the Urban Jacksonville Facebook page.

Talagy is a local company providing employment services to clients and candidates nationwide. We’ll be talking about the local economy and unemployment situation.

Watch Urban Jacksonville Weekly live at 9:30am »

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My wife and I just had our second child and it’s a girl. She’s 6lbs 5oz of cute and her name is Harper. I’m taking the week off work and the blog too.

You know who doesn’t take the week off? Urban Jacksonville Weekly! Jonathan and Tony recorded today’s show without me and producer Jack Diablo. It was awesome for me to listen to the show go on without me. It was a good show too with the following topics:

1. My New Baby
2. Horror Film Fest at the 5 Points Theatre (link)
3. Richard Collier trail begins (link)
4. Trick or Treating at the Riverside Arts Market
5. Panera Bread in San Marco closing (link)
6. Federal Train Noise ordinance in the City expires (link)
7. Public Space in NYC: Tony goes to the big city (link) – larger report coming soon

Why Panera Bread in San Marco is closing

The issue with Panera is a lease dispute between the location and the owner of the building. It has nothing to do with performance.

Recommendations

Jonathan – Zaat (1971) sci-fi horror flick shot in Jacksonville
Tony – November Art Walk is the 6th Anniversary

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Riverside Crime
alleged rape in Riverside
Metro Jacksonville broke sketches
Jacksonville.com has to wait for police reports
crimesceneriverside.blogspot.com

Ads on Bus Shelters
City Council Amends Sign Ordinance to Allow for Ads on Bus Shelters
Scenic Jacksonville trying to block » Group Launches Website To Fight Visual Pollution

Note on the design of the shelters, Ennis Davis from Metro Jacksonville left this comment in response to a comment on the blog:

There is no shelter design to show because a company that will provide them has not been selected. From what I understand, JTA plans to send out an RFP for shelters. So I guess the thought should be to apply pressure to JTA to make sure the RFP includes station design criteria, which could be written to eliminate the crap that lines our streets today from being considered outright.

Folio Best Of Jacksonville 2009
no online voting
some LAME winners (except for UJ)
Urban Jacksonville selects the other best blogs in Jacksonville

Recommendations

Tony – Tony had to bolt early so no recommendation
Jack – fireside at Shantytown
Jonathan – Riverside Crime Blog
Joey – Uptown Market Facebook

Music

Monday, October 19
Edge 17
Thursday
Fall Of Troy
The Dear Hunter

Tuesday, October 20
Jack Rabbits
Revolving Cocks
Jim Rose Circus Sideshow
Blownload
Left Spine Down

Wednesday, October 21
Square One
Kevin Lee Newberry

Friday, October 23
Shantytown
Emotron
Chicken & Whiskey

Saturday, October 24
Shantytown
Lady Daisey & Batsauce

It could not have happened to better people. Abel Harding is leaving his job as a banker to write for the Florida Times-Union as a business columnist. Here’s a link to the story: Abel Harding, of JaxPoliticsOnline.com, joining Times-Union as business columnist.

Abel Harding, a popular blogger and successful banking executive, will join the newspaper in early November. He will write frequent columns on a wide range of subjects and blog on Jacksonville.com, as well as reach readers through social media outlets such as Twitter.

Harding, 36, created the jaxpoliticsonline.com blog and in less than two years has driven it to be one of the top blogs in the area. He frequently breaks stories and has appeared on local radio and television programs. As a columnist, he will represent the newspaper in the community and be available to speak to groups.

I can’t say that I new this was going to happen, but I knew something like this was going to happen. Just like the absorption of JaxScene into REAX, more and more media companies are cherry-picking the best content producers and integrating them into their organizations. This does not weaken the voice of people like Abel and Tom, but rather amplifies it for a larger audience.

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more of Abel’s work in the newspaper and online at Jacksonville.com. Congratulations on the new position Abel!

photo credit: Walter Coker

This morning on First Coast Connect at 9:00 we’ll be discussing the City Council’s decision to allow the JTA to hire an independent company to build dozens of bus shelters around town these would be paid for with print advertisements that would appear on the shelters.

Opponents of this move have argued it would lead to lawsuits and too much visual blight. However, advocates say this is a win for lower-income residents of the city who regularly ride JTA buses and have had to wait at bus stops with no shelter in rain and heat.

This is a good idea and adds to our cities competitive advantage when it comes to public transportation. Metro Jacksonville has two great articles on this topic.

While some may view the bus shelter discussion as simply an aesthetic one, it’s actually an issue that will determine the direction of our city’s economic future. A look around the country reveals that quality mass transit is one of the top urban amenities that appeals to the creative class. It is a critical element in the recruiting of highly skilled and educated workers that are essential for the new economy. Locally, mass transit happens to be one of Jacksonville’s major weaknesses.

From Bus Shelter Advertising Debate headed to City Council on Metro Jacksonville. They also take a look how how Boston successfully implemented bus shelters with advertising in the article Bus Shelters Done Right.

Here are links to articles on Jacksonville.com which detail the dissenting views on allowing a private company to build new bus shelters.

Building bus shelters with ads stirs debate through Jacksonville
Bus shelter battle heads to Jacksonville City Council

For the third year in a row Urban Jacksonville was nominated by Folio readers as Best Blog in Jacksonville. It’s an awesome honor and I’d like to thank everyone who voted. I’m also happy to be in the News and Media category. So long “Really Important Stuff” category.

While this is always a good time to reflect on what I’ve accomplished over the past year, what I’d like to do instead is highlight some of my favorite blogs. If I were on a desert island and could only bring 7 blogs with me, these are the ones.

Best Overall Blog: Metro Jacksonville

http://www.metrojacksonville.com
These guys are seriously killing it in all blogging categories. I always call Metro Jacksonville my blog brothers because we’ve helped each other grow so much over the years. They’ve even been called a model of what’s to come for citizen journalism by Alan Colmes, a nationally syndicated talk show host. I hope to see more audio and video from Metro Jacksonville in the months to come.

The Blogfather: The Urban Core

http://www.theurbancore.com
Yes still the original and still as relevant as the day I found it. Tony Allegretti (Urban Jacksonville Weekly co-host) and part-time golfer continues to provide essential news for the Urban Core through thick and thin. Even though the content is heavily RAM-ified it’s still a must read.

Best Social Life Blog: JaxREAX/Jaxscene

http://jaxscene.blogspot.com
Did you miss the art show last weekend? JaxScene. Can’t make it to ArtWalk? JaxScene. Have to mow your grass instead of hitting the Riverside Arts Market? JaxScene. Who can be everywhere you want to be? JaxScene. The tireless contributors of Jacksonville’s best nightlife and culture blog write, photograph and shoot video of pretty much any relevant cultural event. It’s always catching me up, thank you JaxScene. What you do is not easy.

Best Folio Blog: FLOG

http://www.flogfolioweekly.com
Folio’s brave new push into digital media does not include a website where they publish each edition of Folio Weekly. While I wish they would, this blog is the next best thing. Sometimes they will publish feature editorials on the blog, but not often enough. Why they are waiting for someone to come in and kick their butt online, I have no idea. It’s still a must read if you enjoy Folio and need something to fill the gaps between Tuesdays.

Best Skateboarding Blog: BusStop Mag

http://www.busstopmag.com
While I don’t skate anymore, I’m a skateboarder at heart. Norm over at BusStop Mag always provides me with a fresh look at local skateboarders and organizes rad events too. I love watching local demo reels and seeing 10 year old doing sick tricks at the same spots I skated when manuals and heel flips where the shit.

Best Jacksonville Blog That Has Nothing To Do About Jacksonville: Paper n Stitch

http://papernstitchblog.com
Full disclosure, Brittni is my sister, but she runs an amazing blog/business. The Paper n Stitch site is wonderfully curated and chock full of art, design, home, craft, and more. The blog supports the main Paper n Stitch site which is a community of buyers and sellers showcasing the best in art, handmade, and vintage.

Best Blog to Laugh At, Hate And Be Confused By (And Will Hate You Back): Whacksonville

http://whacksonville.com
What can you say about Spezz Meckman, Randy Bottoms, Carnie Carnitas, Dirty White Boy, Braze-on Dropout, Howie Dewdat, Mario Whingri and Ric Steel? (Did I miss anyone?) All contributors to Jacksonville’s most creatively written blog. It’s interesting and I enjoy reading it to see who gets the daily blog post beatdown. Don’t take it too seriously, just enjoy it for what it is. This nomination it partly to stroke their egos and avoid the crosshairs of their verbal sawed off.

Honorable mentions would be: Jacksonville Confidential (culture), Globatron (art/commentary), Riverside Avondale Preservation (neighborhood) and The Outerbox (art). Each one of these blogs deserve recognition for their sheer dedication to providing unique content to this city.

I’d like to know who your nominations are. Leave a comment or hit me on the Twitter @urbanjax.

Viva Cinema celebrates the best in Latino Filmmaking. This is a Jacksonville Film Events program in association with the NY Int’l Latino Film Festival. There will be movie screenings, workshops, and parties and I have two VIP Passes to give away.

Check out the schedule and the venues.

The Giveaway Details

I have two tickets to give away and here’s how it will work: You must be able to come to Five Points to pick up the tickets.

All you have to do is tweet this post.

At the end of the day (Wednesday) I’ll randomly choose a winner. If you’ve won before I’ll pick someone new. I’ll announce the winner on this post and I’ll let the winner know personally when they can come pick up their tickets.

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You can now listen right now, click the play button above.

Special Guests: Jack & Pete from 5 Points Theatre

We move the show to the AM just for Tony and he skips out for a golf tournament.

Breakfast Sponsor: Uptown Market (we love it!)

5 Points Theatre
started on Hollywood model
switching to concentrated programming

challenges
“big, weird space”

Joey’s big idea - jaxindiefilm.com
blog for the theater
build buzz for independent film

“hub” for film buffs
resource for film makers
able to see your film on the big screen

upcoming events
Jacksonville Latino Film Festival

5 Points Horror Fest
October 23-30
Costume Party October 30

Friday Midnight Movies
all October movies = horror

Weekend Football Games
regional games
unique way to watch sports
FREE

First Fridays
open house

Facebook page
Twitter

Recommendations
Joey – TU article about Jags
Jonathan – bus shelters/ads article
Jack Diablo – Neon Indian @ TSI (Saturday)
Jack Shad – October 19 @ 9pm 1970 concert film
Pete – 5 Points Horror Fest