The Front Yard Coop is available in various versions; Inhabitat reports that the Full Monty model measures 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and propels itself 16 feet every hour using energy from its (included) solar panels. It’ll set you back $3,225 – but save you, of course, whatever you’re currently shelling out for eggs.
Lastly, though not a documentary, I recommend the solo dance-performance film Tracings by Marissa Rae Niederhauser (part of a shorts package, 9 p.m. Tues.), in which she thrashes around a crumbling old house, sometimes in reverse or accelerated motion, slamming at the walls and afflicted with what seems to be a spreading, virus-like tattoo. It’s like a cross between Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon and Miss Havisham from Great Expectations—only without the wedding cake.
A whole package of short documentaries (7 p.m. Tues.) makes for an entertaining buffet of characters you might not otherwise meet on Capitol Hill. Among them is a falconer from up north of Bellingham whose wife, he chuckles, has somehow remained married to him for 35 years despite his dedication to raptors. Two genial Ballard dudes convert an old Mazda pickup truck into a rolling urban planter (complete with chicken coop). There’s a This Old House–meets–Monster Garage vibe as they dodge welding sparks while discussing organic farming. The final product earns Mayor Mike McGinn’s approval, which may be a mixed blessing. We also meet the drug-addicted mothers, and the nurses who serve them, in King County’s MOMS Plus program, recently hit by state budget cuts. And, love it or hate it, the Fremont Troll’s history is recalled by the artists responsible.
Today, there is no easy CSI-style resolution. Though old evidence is being tested for DNA, says one police official, “We’re kinda stalled out.” A grieving mother asks rhetorically, “What’s ‘closure’? I haven’t experienced it. I don’t know.”
This post originally appeared on EarthTechling. EarthTechling highlights green technology news, features, and product reviews for all Earthlings.
The festival begins with the neo-horror flick The Oregonian (7 p.m. Fri.), not screened for the press, which earned mixed notices at Sundance this January. (Calvin Reeder, formerly based in Seattle, directs.) However, it’s followed by an opening gala party where NWFF’s liquor license should be put into good effect.