We are collectively waiting. Corporations wait with huge coffers of cash (Apple, for instance, is sitting on $98 BILLION). The unemployment rate, officially, around 8.3% in February 2012, doesn’t include the long-term unemployed – we can guess that 10-15% of working-age people are sitting on the sidelines. Entire industries (construction, finance, and to some degree manufacturing) [...]
Posts Tagged ‘culture’
Lessons from “The Artist”
Posted in Culture, tagged culture on February 27, 2012 | 6 Comments »
I’m not totally sure why I almost never go to movies – once someone drags me to one, I typically enjoy it – but it’s just not something I do. I can’t remember when I last watched a movie at home – and the last movie I had been to ‘at the show’ was “This [...]
Courage – Keeping On
Posted in Emotions and relationships, Spirituality, tagged culture, emotions, spirituality on October 16, 2011 | 9 Comments »
To keep going after sustaining a major loss is the epitome of courage and grace. Last night Mary Chapin Carpenter gave a standout concert – and in the last song revealed that her father had died yesterday. Courage. Dignity. Grace under pressure. Wow.
Urban homesteading
Posted in Community, Food, tagged community, culture, food, living simply, localvorism, post-consumerism on April 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’m encouraged by the “urban homesteading” phenomena, a nice complement to localvorism and the sustainability and Transition Town movements. Creating our own food and doing our own “processing” (canning, pickling, smoking) brings us closer to the soul of life. Like my grandparents – or my hippie comrades – but this time around with iPads and Starbucks.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Posted in Books and Ideas, Community, tagged books, culture, ideas, living simply, philosophy, sustainability on April 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »
A 264 page Socratic dialogue about saving the earth and the teacher is a gorilla? And Diane says “Read it!” – say, what? Yes! Read it – that is, only if you care about the world we live in and ALL its sentient beings.
Transition Towns
Posted in Community, Culture, tagged culture, living simply, sustainability on April 16, 2011 | 7 Comments »
We stand at a turning point with Peak Oil, Global Warming and Economic Meltdown simultaneously. Transition Towns, a movement started in Kinsale, Ireland and Totnes, England and now becoming global suggests working locally to create a sustainable town NOW – before it’s too late. I’ve joined a local Transition Town community and hope you do too!
Plenitude – Part Two
Posted in Books and Ideas, tagged books, cohousing, community, culture, ideas, living simply, money, post-consumerism, simple living, sustainability on April 13, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Judith Schor presents a “Middle Way” solution to the twin debacles of economic breakdown and ecological disaster in which we now find ourselve with her Plenitude plan: “It is time to reclaim hours, build skills, invest in people, save more and perfect the art of self-provisioning.” I’m excited about this – a return to my hippie youth but with better coffee and the Internet. This is a really throught-provoking book with some real-world solutions.
We’re tribal creatures
Posted in Books and Ideas, Community, Culture, tagged books, community, culture on January 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We’re all tribal creatures. Having just read “The Celts: A Very Short History” I am a bit focused on ethnicity as a tribal connection – but there are many tribes to which we each belong. Which one stands out for you?
