A review of
Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World
To fully confess my sins, I did not but read through the introduction of this book, 30 minutes before the library closed in the small town where I was staying the night before I put it down. Partially by choice, partially by the fact that the library was about to close. But it piqued my curoiusity enough to keep reading while the library was open while hundreds of thousand of other books lay dormant so it was interesting to me. It seems to touch upon the same lines that "Let My People go Surfing" by Patagonia's founder. Preaching the eco-liberals the values and virtues of Natural Capitalism and how it will save the world and make money. This sounds like music to my ears, and I'm sure to many others. That's the American dream, live long and prosper, oh, wai, that was Spocks Vulcan Dreams. So is this a Utopian dream of a modern day Adam Smith, or a realistic view of globalisation and how we can all live better. The first few pages struck me, as Gary explained how he grew all this food for him and his friends at a New Alchemy Institute in a magical green house, but then was moved by the horrors of a Kraft Foods pavilion in Disneyworld and decided to try to compete, and infact, was able to outsell Kraft eventually. Now I am not one to judge at this point, my point is to raise a few questions about this type of approach, and it's consequences on the environment and society. A triple bottom line is great, but is it really a tripple bottom line if shareholders and economic growth trumps the latter two (social and environmental growth)? I do believe that one can make money, and heal the wounds of the people and the land, but my question is how much, and for long? What of the negative consequences of the some of the less desirable aspects of functioning and competing with the business as ussual crowd. Can you tip the scale, and from there are you just puting band aids on flesh woulds ?
Some of the main issues with global capitalism that concern me:
*using gasoline as the only means of trasporting the product
*lowering workers wages to save the company in times of crisis
*using plastics to store the food even if it can be recycled
*having the food pasteurized so it can be kept on shelves longer
*creating a product that can make more money than a biz as usual, but is not affordable to the masses
Wild and Feral Southern California
NATIVE SPECIES
Blackberries (Rubus ursinus) Perennial Cane - Rose Family
Cycles : Greenish red foilage hibernates over winter with it's leaves intact, although possibly redish or purple brown. New green growth in spring, small white flowers emerge, from which the greenish blackberries protrude. They turn red, then black and are tart to sweet as they age.
Habitats: Close to creeks, shaded areas, swampy areas, bottoms of canyons, edges of meadows from Canada south into Mexico
Uses: Berries can be made into baked goods or eaten fresh, or dried, leaves and vines made into varoius concoctions for ailments from stomach ache to diariaha. Roots also used medicinally by Native Americans of the west coast from Canada to Mexico
California Bay (Umbellularia californica) Perennial Tree - Laurel Family
Cycles : Loses a few leaves in fall, slow growth in winter and faster in spring as flowers growth in winter,
Habitats: Bottom of slopes, near streams, chaparral, open areas and shaded canyons from coastal Oregon south to San Diego.
Uses: The leaf is very similar to store bought bay leaves (Lauris noblis), but the California Bay is much more potent. It's leaves can cure headaches and toothaches an relieve mild stomach pain, but if used in excess can also cause them. The leaves are used as a tea, flavoring for foods, as a flea repellent for animals and to repel pests in storage areas. The nuts or fruits can also be harvested. They are green and turn purplish black like olives. They are dried, roasted, then cracked open and eaten, they possess a coffee like flavor.
Oak Tree (Quercus agrifolia) Perennial Tree - Oak Family
Cycles : Acorns are brown in fall and litter the ground, some branches die and turn yellow gold, in spring new leaf growth and flowering turn the colors to light green and yellow
Habitats : Areas below the pinyon juniper forests, below 4,000 feet, canyons, hillsides, creeks, ravines, streams
Uses : As a wood, one of the most important to humans, the nut, acorn can be made into meals, soups, breads and flour, but must be boiled or leached well
Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.) Succulent Perennial - Cactus Family
Cycles : Tunas or fruits of the cactusappear in summer and fall, with new pads growing in late winter, early spring that can be eaten raw, in salsas or fried with other veggies.
Habitats : Rocky hillsides, ravines, sunny slopes, desery canyons, gardens, farms, sandy soils, clay soils, requires good drainage,
Uses : many of the feral vareites have been improved to have less spines, the fruit, young pad are edible and prepared in many ways
Walnut (Juglans californica) Perennial Tree - Walnut Family
Cycles : Leaves and fruit are shed in early winter and new growth begins in late winter, with flower clusters, and green walnut fruits by early summer, turns brown in fall
Habitats: Creeks, lower canyon areas, hillsides, foothills, coastal areas, oak forest edges
Uses: the nuts are very nutritious, like miniature store bought walnuts, but smaller and harder
FERAL SPECIES :
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Herbaceous Perennial - Sunflower Family
Cycles : In the fall and winter dandelions (tooth of lion in french) slow their growth, during spring and summer, they flower and seed, but many dandelions in the same location may be at different stages of growth.
Habitats: in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils
Uses: The flowers have are used to make dandelion wine, the greens can be eaten raw or braised, and the root makes a tea with a earthy taste similar taste to coffee, reportedly good for the liver.
Fennel (Foniculum vulgare) Perennial Herbacous Shrub - Parsley Family
Cycles : Dies back to root in late fall and winter. New growth in late winter early spring, producing yellow flowers in spring and seeds in the summer and early fall.
Habitats : Disturbed hillsides, canyons, chaparral, creeks, roadsides, sidewalks,
Uses: The leaves are edible as early as possible, as well as the bulb, and the seeds are also edible, cleans teeth,
Loquat - (Eriobotrya japonica) - Perennial Tree - Rose Family
Cycles : Dormant in fall and flowering in winter, fruiting in early spring, new leaf growth in the summer
Habitats : medians, front lawns, empty lots, alleys, landscaping, parks
Uses : as a delicious fruit, dried or fresh, oten peeled, with a large seed that can be dried and roasted as a coffee substitute
Mallow (Malva pariflora) - Herbaceous Annual Mallow Family
Cycles : New growth in late winter early spring, producing producing purple flowers and pods
Habitats: disturbed soils, clay soils, empty lots, medians, farms, wildlands
Uses: in a salad, stir fried, in soups, colon cleansing and weight loss tea,
Stinging Nettle (Urticca spp.) Herbaceous Annual - Nettle Family
Cycles : Dies back in fall and winter, new growth after first winter rains in garden beds, creeks, canyons, forests,
Habitats: garden beds, creeks, canyons, forests, sidewalks, empty lots, alleys
Uses: Harvested carefully with gloves and tongs, cooked like spin
Loquat Lust
The only difference between love and lust is trust - ?
The moment the first flavor crystal of sweet nectar bursts in your mouth, a new fruit exists that you may have never noticed. One of the most ubiquitous trees of Los Angeles, yet also one of the most neglected Yes, they taste very uncannily similar to many others, yet unique. I can think of at least 5 fruits that bear resemblance to loquats; peaches, apricots, mangoes, apples and cherries. They have a wide range of flavors depending on variety, ripeness and various other factors such as water, sun and nutrients. They are one of the most forgiving of all edible fruit trees, needing little, being favored by few pests, the humble loquat produces copious amounts of fruit annually in medians, front yards, alleys, abandoned properties, public parks and even gas stations. They are a very useful trees, the leaves being used for medicinal purposes, fruit and seeds (used to make a coffee or tea sbstitute) have all been used by humans for hundreds and thousands of years, with significant improvements in the taste over the last 500 years. Here is a recipe and a slice of history via wikipedia and from the forthcoming book "Feral Culinarian": the mildly wild food book.
^ Raw Loquat Jam
< attributes : vegan, raw, local
< useful tools : vessel
< preparation time : 10 minutes
* loquats
Loquats are known to be of indigenous origin Asia, where they have been domesticated for over two thousand years. They thrive in a wide variety of conditions of climate, soil and light, and after being pollinated by insects, they produce a peachy colored fruit in late winter or early spring. The leaves are analgesic, antibacterial, antiemetic, antitussive, antiviral, astringent, diuretic and expectorant. Quite a resume for such a small fruit. The size ranges from 1 to 3 inches with at least one 1/2 inch pit.
Jam is a sweet pasty substance usually made from combining heat, sugar, fruit (with pectin) and preserved in jars. Most common sugar comes from politically unstable regions where farmers are watched by guards with guns and governments, murderous rebel groups take bribes from international agribusiness firms. Loquats are delicious with their naturally present sugar however, and not often commercially available. Many people regard them as ornamental trees and plant them on medians and front yards, unbeknownst to residents and locals. I suggest appreciating the fruit in it's own season and eating it as quickly as possible, because without sugar and pectin, this will not last more than a week or two. Try using what ever fruit is in season to make a raw jam, strawberries, raspberries and melons can often defy the seasons and grow year round in Southern California and other hot dry climates.
To make, remove the seed(s) and thin peel, then pulverize the flesh into small pieces. Keep the seeds for planting, or roast them on a fire, grind or mill and put the grounds in your coffee making device to make loquat coffee. Continue mashing the rest of the fruit and put it into a jar in a cold place. It is a fine compliment to smoothies, ice cream, yogurt, pies, cake, other pastries as well as salad dressings or salsa. Cut the flesh into quarters to dehydrate.
high noon in the garden of snails sparrows and squirrels
It has been eight years now since it first happened. The constant evolution of space and time in the garden of snails and squirrels allowed me to expand my web of relationships with life. The first day, I don't remember if i actually took stock of my backyard as it stood. I was 17 years old. I had just moved on up to a nearby enclave. "The Cheviot Hills California Country Club Estates" was a fairly tale island of Stepfordesque proportions, named after a developers contest picked the name "Cheviot Hills" and British theme of street names. The neighborhood was once a Spanish Land Grant Rancho, and for a short stint, a golf course, was built in the 50's on a platform that it constantly aimed to pitch itself as a step above every other neighborhood in the immediate area including Palms, Mar Vista and Beverly Wood. The one edible thing on the property was a lemon tree that was hanging over the fence of an adjacent property. Other than that a fine sample of poisonous and exotic mid-century horticultural nightmare. Thorny bougainvillea, rodent dominated ivy, the sappy mess of giant bird of paradise and heavenly bamboo, (not a real bamboo) and the worst canopy tree, the ficus. Above ground, ficus harbor crows, squierrels, below grounds the destructive roots break pipes and sidewalks. A diverse group of animals inhabit the hills of cheviot such as the coyote, raccoon, opossum, crow, sparrow, hummingbird, parrot, duck, squirrel, rat, mice, lizard and an abundance of insect critters were the primary players in this ecosystem. Many of them lived on site, or in the nearby sewer drains, golf courses, freeway underpasses and basements of the area. In the house and yard (and somewhat beyond for brief periods) lived a canine, (owen) contributing feces, urine and fur mostly on the back side of the guest house, and a feline (boo) contributing the same on a smaller, more discrete scale. This area is also where things like urbanite, planters, mulch bags, straw bales and garden tools and fertilizer concoctions were kept, in an area about 3 feet wide.
The design parameters have changed about five hundred times, a wide range of species have been encouraged, cultivated, tolerated and contained. This can also be seen as a Venn diagram with these overlapping themes. The original banana was planted near the guest house, so it could be picked from the flat roof, which could be reinforced for a rooftop garden, passive and active solar panels, ovens and dishes. It could be a great place for summer fossil free bbq. Other flora I have tried to include both things that are expensive at markets or just unavailable. Things that you wouldn't see in a neighbors yard. I have taken note of some of the fruit trees in the neighborhoods where i grew up, and everyday I find new trees. Typical fruit trees like avocado, oranges, lemons, loquats, kumquat, blackberries, apples, apricots, plums, grapes, peaches and bananas. A much wider exotic variety exists on a lesser obvious note, (papaya, mulberries, guavas, macadamia nuts, pomegranates)in public and private areas. For over story trees, I have let the volunteer peruvian pepper tree colonize along the fence among the vines. I planted a pear tree that will be ready for grafting soon, a passion fruit vine, a kiwi vine (male and female), chayote, raspberries, blackberries, three large artichoke plants, a suriname cherry, elderberry, pineapple guava and loquat. In the front yard, I have put in more bananas, two dwarf tangerines, a nectarine, low chill cherry, pakistani mullberry, strawberry guava, hawaiian kona coffee bushes, allspice and an apricot tree have encroached their way into the stagnant landscape of suburbia. Most of the trees were planted close enough to be picked from the sidewalk.
I manned the jackhammer for days on end into steel reinforced concrete, every last foot provides space for food, animals, medicine, fibers, and wood for small projects, snacks and barbecues. Once the concrete had been plowed and sculpted to the flow path of my zones and sectors of influence, I had set into motion a modest yet powerfully change.
Long before Craig's list had a farm and garden page, I was perusing from cheap and free plants, mulch and stones. I happened to find a gold finger banana tree for $5-15 dollars US. In small, lesser known suburb of sprawling West Los Angeles, it is rare for the person to be three blocks away when communicating over the internet. The banana sat in the shaded corner of the patio pre-construction for about a year. It grew about two inches and shrunk maybe three. Once I planted it in a better solar location, in deep, rich soil and organic compost with mulch, it has grown to a height of about twelve feet in less than 2 years.
Some of the other pest that are usually tolerated cross a threshold that demands immediate action to prevent further damage. It is best to gather all the interested parties into one area to determine the best outcome. In a recent snail infestation, I began to study the snails in my area. I had been fascinated with them since childhood. My grandmother even made me a snail birthday cake one year. Oddly convenient to find that the common garden snail of California was brought here as an immigrant (by immigrants chefs) of the gold rush era as a delicacy to be fed to wealthy miners who struck it rich.
Today the fauna were in an uproar over the heat wave. The resident squirrel came into my room for the first time, brave soul. When I emerged in the late morning, there were two hummingbirds perched on the line to our house, enganged in a uproar of clickety chatter. The usual large black carpenter bees that live in the wood fence were present at their favorite yellow flower vines I have yet to identify. The parasitic wasp was having a feast of aphids and grubs on the late season brussell sprouts, and I was enjoying the raspberries with the honey bees placidly browsing the white flowers that they turn in to berries. Soon the herbs, raspberries and lettuce will all be in arms reach of my favorite outdoor reading spot, and I will eat the raspberries while laying down and reading. it's even better than being fed grapes.
avocado atonement
The liberation of threatened and marginalized fruit remains a problem in the homeland, while people are encouraged to eat subsidized “edible food-like substances”, in the words of Michael Pollan. These urbane vigilantes are taking the harvest into their own hands, with a mature avocado tree in the middle of a construction site. While "gardeners" who "mow, blow and go" often rake and remove the avocados natural mulch,
the UC Agricultural research division found that "70 Percent Reduction in Yard Waste Going to Landfills in Ventura County. Not only has the green waste helped in controlling a terrible avocado disease, using the green waste in avocado orchards has reduced significantly the amount of materials going to landfills. The integrated control methods have allowed growers to rely less on fungicides while achieving greater control than with fungicides alone. These practices have done much to maintain the productivity of the $350 million a year avocado crop, saving growers as much as $50 million annually from avocado root rot".
http://ucanr.org/delivers/impactview.cfm?impactnum=577
literature review of deep economy
Every now and again, an uncomparable book passes through my fingers by chance, like finding Fast Food Nation among the magazine racks at a big-box super-market, Deep Economy (the wealth of communities and the durable future), by Bill McKibben was not vernacular to the Economics section of the Beverly Hills library. I thought I knew what to expect from this book, but it surprised me at every turn with striking, well researched figures and poignant analysis of both global economics and that of communities. Although it became evident that the author had been jet-setting to almost every continent to scribe this work, I could think of no better way to use that fossil fuel than educating Americans of the massive situation that our mindsets and industries consume and waste, and illustrate vibrant solutions to problems that plauge both worlds, the first and the third, with surprisingly similar solutions.
Bill touched on the sentimentality of use of the word community. I have been weary of the term and how it has been raped by the corporate media to legitimize their dominance and attempt to dispel the obvious and widely accepted truth that multinational corporations have destroyed community and ecological infrastructure since their outset as "beings" in the earlier twentieth century. From food to fuel and plastic to pensions, he covers so many aspects of the financial reality of American life and it's enormous effect on the rest of the world. As Eric Scholsser Francis Moore and Michael Pollan wrote of the bleak post of American agribusiness and still were compelled to end on a positive note, McKibben has done the same for globalization. Answering with flying colors the undisputed rhetoric of Adam Smith and his modern economic cheerleaders equatable to Ben Friedman in his take on global economics "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "The World is Flat".
Inspiring words and stories that valued the marginal and embraced, small, slow and sometimes up side down in a mono-directional speedway of monetary growth. Like Paul Hawkins' Blessed Unrest, this book paints a picture not often seen by Americans who watch TV and commute in an SUV, that another pond is possible, and if you dip your foot in it may not be as cold as you think. Among the dense, stellar research and scathing figures are heart warming stories that anyone can enjoy.
Although I was familiar with Bill McKibben before this book, I had not read any of his previous books and I was delighted to hear someone put into readable print the idea that the developing world and the over-developed world must come to a compromise. We first worlders change our highest values from net worth to net connection. Putting value back into our bioregional and keeping it there will benefit our short term economic woes, as well as our long term global environmental crisis.
Bill touched on the sentimentality of use of the word community. I have been weary of the term and how it has been raped by the corporate media to legitimize their dominance and attempt to dispel the obvious and widely accepted truth that multinational corporations have destroyed community and ecological infrastructure since their outset as "beings" in the earlier twentieth century. From food to fuel and plastic to pensions, he covers so many aspects of the financial reality of American life and it's enormous effect on the rest of the world. As Eric Scholsser Francis Moore and Michael Pollan wrote of the bleak post of American agribusiness and still were compelled to end on a positive note, McKibben has done the same for globalization. Answering with flying colors the undisputed rhetoric of Adam Smith and his modern economic cheerleaders equatable to Ben Friedman in his take on global economics "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "The World is Flat".
Inspiring words and stories that valued the marginal and embraced, small, slow and sometimes up side down in a mono-directional speedway of monetary growth. Like Paul Hawkins' Blessed Unrest, this book paints a picture not often seen by Americans who watch TV and commute in an SUV, that another pond is possible, and if you dip your foot in it may not be as cold as you think. Among the dense, stellar research and scathing figures are heart warming stories that anyone can enjoy.
Although I was familiar with Bill McKibben before this book, I had not read any of his previous books and I was delighted to hear someone put into readable print the idea that the developing world and the over-developed world must come to a compromise. We first worlders change our highest values from net worth to net connection. Putting value back into our bioregional and keeping it there will benefit our short term economic woes, as well as our long term global environmental crisis.
a gift to humanity
be soft, be humble like earth so that flowers of many colors can grow from you ~ Rumi
With every death come a new life and with the passing of a great architect, poet, humanitarian and writer will surely bring abundant life to many places on the planet that his life has not already brought. He is and will be dearly missed and his work will continue to inspire people of all races, ages and genders throught the world and maybe beyond. Racing Alone, to Sidewalks on the Moon, he has forged new ground and unearthed ancient routes on the path to wisdom and generosity to cultures.
reading the landscape of economy
The past few weeks I have attempted to focused my reading to macro economic issues, often as they relate to globalization, local ecology, micro-banking, fair trade and alternative and complementary currencies. There are so many wonderful books out there, that I wanted to share a few of the ones that have been helpful in my research.
Deep Economy - Bill McKibben
Interest and Inflation Free Money - Margrit Kennedy
Alternatives to Economic Globalization - International Forum on Globalization
Blessed Unrest - Paul Hawkins
Ecology of Commerce - Paul Hawkins
Natural Capitalism - Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawkins
Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough, Michael Braungart
Eco Pioneers - Steve Lerner
Critical Mass - Philip Ball
Hemp Horizons - John Roulac
Natural Wealth of Nations - David Roodman
It's All for Sale - James Ridegeway
Divided Planet - Tom Athanasiou
We Own It - Honigsberg, Kamoroff, Beatty
The Lure of the Local - Lucy Lippard
The Paradigm Conspiracy - Denise Brenton, Christopher Largent
Sustainable Cities - Bob Walter, Lois Arkin, Richard Crenshaw
Ecovillages - Jan Bang
Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus
White Man's Burden - William Easterly
timelapse
“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't
own it, but you can use it. You can't keep
it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it
you can never get it back.”
- Harvey MacKay
How time travels in html . . .
It has been almost 9 months since my last entry, good thing no one noticed but me, hehe! It has been on my mind but alas, we all have our short comings. I feel like a fruiting mycelium body emerging after a long hard rain ready to express my spores upon the earth. Let me fill you in on what I have been up to in fifty words or less. Begining in August I began publishing the Los Angeles Permaculture Guild Newsletter every month, in email digest form, but now also available on the web for your viewing pleasure. I traveled to distant lands, namely Mexico, (to work with City Repair on the Gila Sol Project) and Big Sur (for the Permaculture Teachers Training Course at Esaleen). Working with Architects and Landscape Architects consulting for perennial arid gardens and food foresting has been my primary work outside of school. I have authored a sample food book proposal,
The Arid Food Book which will include interactive mapping and video cooking shows in it's final inception.
art yard and craft hard
With warm regards, I hold to the house hold that produced such a well thought event on a nice summer afternoon. It couldn't have been better having no less than 2 picnics / bbq's, but a brand new skatepark in highland park, los angeles...schucks
featuring . . .
- - Succulent arrangements & repurposed art for sacred garden spaces
by Steve Mixdorf marking the official launch of Tao Spaces.
taospaces.com
- - See Andrew & Jennifer Draper's beautiful Vegetable and Herb gardens
and native plant garden, deck, tiled patio, pergola, and sheet-mulched
areas and/or talk to Andrew, Jen, Paul, and Steve about your gardening,
hardscaping, landscaping, remodeling, and catering ideas and
possibilities. beautygrows.com gatherparties.com
- - Rocket Stoves, solar cookers, tomato cage art, and more by Ray
Cirino - L.A. Times featured treehouse builder, cob expert, and
permaculture enthusiast. Ray is also well known for his large scale
Water Woman art project enjoyed by many at the Burning Man Art Festival
since 1996. raycirino.com
- - Chinese Lanterns and other Stained Glass art by Linda Parker.
lindaparker.org
- - Illuminated Wire and Fabric sculture by Sean Sobczak.
sandmancreations.com
- - Beautiful sculptural turned wooden bowls by Mark Fitzsimmons.
http://treecycler.org/
- - Unique hand-crafted meditation bowls by Greg Vineyard.
www.vineyardcreative.byregion.net
- - Abstract fine paintings on repurposed glass panels by Jason
Schaper. http://www.jasonschaper.com/
- - Handcrafted jewelry by Lisa Wahpepah with proceeds benefitting the
non-profit Descendants of The Earth and their work to preserve the
earth, indigineous tribal practices, and Native American ceremony.
- - And much much more: Fine Art by Nial McGaughey and others.
Biodiesel/WVO demonstration by Jennie Gaio. Electrical Conduit creations
by Paddy. Energy saving bulbs by Elizabeth Vejar. Too much to list.
One of my favorite foods since childhood is artichokes. I was recently informed (yesterday) of the difference between an artichoke and a cardoon. They are both in the thistle plant family. The cardoon is propagated for it's stem rather than it's flower (as opposed to artichoke). I have found the stem of the artichoke to be better or as good as the infamous heart. Boil or steam as much of the stalk as you can with the chokees until it is soft. Try it with a maple syrup butter sauce or olive oil, garlic and fennel. Ranch dressing works too.
The leaves as also edible but bitter depending on the variety, eaten by the romans for lower blood cholesterol and improving liver function. It has been labeled "noxious" in California and Australia, aka people consider it a weed.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Cynara+cardunculus
carrot puddin pie
basic ingedients:
a few carrots
a few dates
a few walnuts
stumbled upon this recipe after buying too many dates at the culver city farmers market. Take a few carrots and a few dates and pulverize them. Either mortar and pestle or cuisnart. Then take some walnuts and crush them evenly into what ever you use as the pie dish. Then pour in carrot puddin. Simple and easy, add variation.
a few carrots
a few dates
a few walnuts
stumbled upon this recipe after buying too many dates at the culver city farmers market. Take a few carrots and a few dates and pulverize them. Either mortar and pestle or cuisnart. Then take some walnuts and crush them evenly into what ever you use as the pie dish. Then pour in carrot puddin. Simple and easy, add variation.
interior decorating on homeless hillsides
What does interior decorating have to do with the homeless. Well, everything. For starters, dome village has been essentially evicted, auctioning their fiberglass walls and roofs on ebay to the highest bidder. I have attempted to live on a private feral hillside consisting of some almond and fruit trees, a dilapidated shack without any pathway for about 1/4 of an acre. While I was able to begining to make trails, irrigation canals, earthbag domes, bathrooms and kitchens, no sooner than a few days after i put up a tent, complaints from the property owners and neighbors claiming "it looks like a homeless village down there" or "there are clothes everywhere". Needless to say I was saddened to see how one temporary housing unit and a few garments can change perceptions so rapidly.
It was as much a blessing as it was a curse. A realization came to me that these concept eco utilities and food forests would better serve the community in a more accessible place to a diverse group of people who might find eco utilities useful, and be inspired to create or improve their own habitat. I realize that this is more easily said then done, and social trends can be difficult to predict or influence, but there is a need for examples. Several locations in urban areas of Los Angeles are being scouted and developed by a professional team of misfits to inject pro biotic energy into the air, water and soil.
Gaia Tourism
After 3 long weeks I am back in Los Angeles, California. After visiting cities, towns and hamlets up and down the west coast, using several different modes of transport, I have been reinvigorated with new ideas, old thoughts and good food. I quite a few projects lined up, both digital and reality based to keep me busy for the next 6 months. Some of the places I have visited;
Lost Valley
Portland
Sebastapol
Mt. Shasta
Permaculture Army
SF Critical Mass
Coyote Creek
san juan buatista
Cal Poly
Earthflow
Introduction
http://farmerbarter.googlepages.com
Welcome to a new community space where people can exchange ideas and goods with one another freely. It's not just for farmers or traders, anyone can participate. While this project is based in Los Angeles County, anyone can participate. Have a loquat tree that needs to bee picked, make a comment, have extra compost, tools or rocks? Make a comment. Meet up with other locals, with similar interests or interesting recipes, post other resources and networks. Fossil fuel free transportation, biodegradable or reusable containers, organic foods and garmets, and all other renewable resources are recommended and encouraged.
Please direct any questions comments or concerns to the box below
Mike Davis serves a cold dish of reality for Los Angelinos, who may have fears deeply rooted in superstition and hysteria, among other misconceptions. Examining the likes of good weather, bad disasters, and ugly suburbs mike manages to pen a sharp social history, and informed ecological study of one of his favorite topics and home, southern California. From letting Malibu burn to tenement apartments and the bubonic plague the stage is set for a revelation of fact and fiction as he examines hundreds of novels and dozens of movies of disaster in Los Angeles. Together with his other southern California literature, "Magical Urbanism" and "City of Quarts" he is on the way to map out a new history from the propagandistic textbooks barely suitable for toddlers picture books.
Although the first free workshop was this last weekend, the next two are quickly approaching. Mark's raw milk presentation was amazing, David was able to explain permaculture very quickly with an informed global environmental background.
The next two workshops will be more hands on. Farming techniques and natural building respectively. Please come along and bring a friend or two, an instrument and or food n drinks.
See you there
Permaculture Workshops
~www.sustainablehabitats.org~
~www.gaiajournal.blogspot.com~
Day one. Saturday march 3, 2007-
10am – 4pm - info@sustainablehabitats.org
This Free Introduction to Permaculture Class is an outline of the
science and art of Permaculture. It will define the term, its history,
its founders and the curriculum of the design course certificate, its
ethics and foundations. It will describe the benefits and show some of
the most important work undertaken by permaculture designers.Learn the
truth from one of America's leading experts on raw milk. Mark McAfee,
is regarded by many in the industry as the foremost expert in raw milk
safety and raw dairy product markets and technology.
Contact / rsvp . . . david . . . 323 . 667.1330
~
Day two. Saturday march 10, 2007
10 am – sunset - info@sustainablehabitats.org
Come to silverlake where a community food center is being created in a
residential neighborhood. Learn sheet mulching and planting techniques
and tips on garden design.
Contact / rsvp . . . david . . . 323 . 667 . 1330
~
Day three. Sunday march 11, 2007
Sunrise – sunset – taylorist@gmail.com
Join us in highland park for food and drinks, the basics of earth bag
construction techniques, native plants, swale building in an
educational setting. Bring potluck food, family, pets and any tools
and skills that you have.
Contact / rsvp . . . Taylor . . . 310 . 429 . 1283
~
Fruit Gathering, Food Not Bombs and Biofuels
http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif
Last week I took students from Los Angeles Leadership Charter School walking in residental area of Silverlake mapped by Fallen Fruit and talked to them about indigenous culture in Los Angeles for the last 10,000 years. Although we ate no native plants, many students tasted kumquats for the first time. The field trip was coordinated by the nutrition network(a program from my former Community College, (Los Angeles Trade Tech). The students also toured Food Not Bombs facility, AgLago, and Lovecraft Biofuels.
Garden Greens
In response to recent raids on Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries, I have included this salad. Thankfully the number of dispensaries has increased 2,350% in one year, so stoping more than a few would be a massive operation. Although some people report stomach discomfort from eating raw cannabis leaves, due to microscopic thorns, I find them quite pleasant. Somewhat spicy with a rich buttery flavor. Ingesting cannabis can be more effective treatment with stronger results, although for maximum strength, the flower tops are the most highly recommended.
This salad was made with california walnuts along with other spicy greens like mesclun, mustard and some kind of purple lettuce, balanced with red oak lettuce, and roma tomatoes, all from the backyard except the walnuts. My favorite dressing I have tried thus far is ranch.
Farmlab and Truth
Farmlab Schedule
Begining last December, Not A Cornfield inc. has initiated a "salon" with different activists and artists each week. The first was Fritz Heag, an artist worknig on a project to redesign typical lawns into "edible estates". Fritz gave an informed history of the from lawn begining with English nobilty and finding it's way into surburbia. He carefully selects applicants who will continue upkeep and are friendly with their neighbors. He plans to complete 7 "estates" over the next year, one in each of the 7 climate zones of the US.
Other speakers include Friends of the LA River, Ballona Creek project and most recently "Helen Samuels will discuss her experiences working with young people on collaborative cultural restoration projects, environmental justice issues, and related topics". This has been the most inspiring speaker thus far that i have seen here. Her ability to connect social and environmental issues so seamlessly, it was truly a breath of fresh air. Her visit also facilitated an interesting discussion about american youth.
Also this past Saturday, I was able to visit the LA Eco Village for a slideshow by Kat Steele, founder of the Urban Permaculture Guild, who was one of the one thousand people chosen by Al Gore to give his slideshow presentation to people all over the country, in effect being able to reach more people who did not see Al Gore's movie, and create a dialouge that would not often be present in a movie theater.
zucchini dog
Culinarily, zucchini is considered to be a vegetable. However, biologically, the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Zucchini are traditionally picked when very immature, seldom over 8in/20cm in length.
Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in a temperate climate.
In Mexico, the flower (known as Flor de Calabaza) is preferred over the vegetable, and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas.
If you have hot dog buns, you can either put the raw, washed zucchini in the hot dog bun. Also it can be steamed, baked, grilled or boiled, with fixins like mustard, kechup, relish, onions etc.
Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in a temperate climate.
In Mexico, the flower (known as Flor de Calabaza) is preferred over the vegetable, and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas.
If you have hot dog buns, you can either put the raw, washed zucchini in the hot dog bun. Also it can be steamed, baked, grilled or boiled, with fixins like mustard, kechup, relish, onions etc.
tv too long to blog
"Do you know we are ruled by TV?"
-- from the poem An American Prayer by Jim Morrison
"They put an off button on the TV for a reason. Turn it off . . . I really don't watch much TV."
-- President George W. Bush, C-SPAN interview, January 2005
painting two . maorimask
creayted in the art studio of los angeles trade technical college in the fall of 2005
film three . ultra sonic sound
| A Short music video of "Ultra Sonic Sound" by DJ Hive. Video by Taylor Arneson. Created in 1999. | |
film two. duck 2001
| Short video made in the spring of 2001 in Southern California. Sean Maung. Brandon Levinstien | |
photograph one. miliunicom
black and white print taken in the fall of 1997 on the roof. 8 x 10 (military universal communication).
HUG Video
| <a href="http://hugllc.com/">Hunt Utilities Group, LLC </a> is a forming a ecological campus in Pine River, Minnesota. They have constructed a building system made from natural building materials; clay, sand, straw, and wood. They have also employed passive solar and geothermal heating to make it through the bitter cold winters. | |
Making Cob: The sculptable building material
| Make cob with clay, sand, straw and human energy. Cob is a wonderful non-toxic natural building material. It can be used to create ovens, dwellings, and sculptural forms. | |
Ecological Democracy
| The idea of Ecological Democracy is discussed at length by practioners from India, Brazil, UK, Tanzania, Finland. Ecological Democracy puts human and environmental rights at the center stage of development. | |
A Civilization is a Terrible Thing to Waste
| An interview with found object artist & dumpster diver Neil Benson on the importance of recycling to sustainable development. Neil Benson is a founding member of "The Dumpster Divers," a Philadelphia-based found object art collective. Please Visit us Online @ http://www.dumpsterdivers.com | |
Caifornia Community Energy
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1960775756799889197&q=california+community+energy&pr=goog-sl&hl=en
TreehuggerTV: Urban Homestead
| Path to Freedom shows us how their urban homestead saves energy. From solar panels & biodiesel to grey water showers to sustainable agriculture, see how these urban homesteaders use clever ways to reduce their ecological impact. | |
TreeHuggerTV: An Eco-Film Festival
| Sneak peaks of " Who Killed the Electric Car" and the Brad Pitt narrated documentary "Design: E2." Plus feedback on Al Gore's film " An Inconvenient Truth," lovesexy news on the world's hottest vegetarian, and a German study on the ever-warming sun. | |
Be the Change: A New Era of Green Activism
| Be the Change: A New Era of Green Activism Profiling the actions of student activists working towards environmental sustainability at UC Santa Cruz. | |
Energy Fair at Crestone
| The 17th annual energy fair at Crestone Colorado is Sept 2-4. There will be demonstrations on a variety of alternative housing, solar and wind, permaculture, etc. | |
Green Building with Josho Somi
| Green Building with Josho Somine permaculture designer/artist Join us as he teaches how to build a living willow chair, and discusses his philosophies behind his work. We live in a world today in need of such refreshing views of building in a more sustainable artistic way. Dharma Dog Tracks: are mini modular video casting projects. Tracking the people, places and things of a rapidly changing environment called earth. Its dedication is to those who seek to revolutionize the world by taking responsibility for that which looks at our inner life more than the material life, and how interconnecting with alternative models is in the best interest of all living things. www.dharmadogpictures.com | |
Angel's Nest
| A tour of a sustainable home in Taos New Mexico made of straw bale, tires, popcans and bottles. The electricity is generated through wind and solar technology. Rainwater is captured as culinary water and there is a bio-diesel/hydrogen fueling station. Visit empowermentchannel.info for more info. | |
the ecovideo blog...
is a collection of short films, videos and slideshows that inform the viewer of solutions to problems that effect communities in every corner of the world, that can be implemented by anyone on a daily basis.
Gaia University Flyer
Click on the picture of this flyer to go to the http://www.flickr.com site. Download the medium size to print (you can do 2 per page that way).
Tijuana, the moderns, and hydrogen hybrid huxters
This week has been a cornacopia of different flavors. After a 3 day workshop in Tijuana ending Saturday, I was tired. On wendsday I attend a Permaculture potluck. We met at David Kahn's residence to witness the transformation of his front lawn (now front swales). I almost didn't recognize his house with the white picket fence removed. David's projects are coming along nicely, his website is { www.sustainablehabitats.org/ } My guacamole was sucessfull after a slight hesitation when I told people it was "gleaned" from the avocado tree on the corner of gennesee and lexington.
On Thurday I was asked to attend an architectural meeting for a new hybrid house adaptation made of recycled steel shipping containers and glass in the Venice Canals. After much debate some of the materials were finalized and are being submitted to the California Costal Commission. Architect Whitney Sanders and his firm create a very modern atmosphere using creative materials and techniques. { http://www.sander-architects.com/ }
That evening at the Peterson Automotive Museum I attended a event hosted by Honda, Toyota and Rio Hondo College. There were several hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles on display. Several professors from their Alternative Fuel Program gave well informed, but predictable talks on Bio Fuels, Electric and Natural Gas vehicles.
By the way, if hydrogen has gallons, they would be $9.00 each?
{ http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=814&EventID=23 }
On Thurday I was asked to attend an architectural meeting for a new hybrid house adaptation made of recycled steel shipping containers and glass in the Venice Canals. After much debate some of the materials were finalized and are being submitted to the California Costal Commission. Architect Whitney Sanders and his firm create a very modern atmosphere using creative materials and techniques. { http://www.sander-architects.com/ }
That evening at the Peterson Automotive Museum I attended a event hosted by Honda, Toyota and Rio Hondo College. There were several hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles on display. Several professors from their Alternative Fuel Program gave well informed, but predictable talks on Bio Fuels, Electric and Natural Gas vehicles.
By the way, if hydrogen has gallons, they would be $9.00 each?
{ http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=814&EventID=23 }
graff psych
Graffiti is a type of deliberate application of a media made by humans on any surface, both private and public. It usually takes the form of publicly painted art, drawings or words. When done without a property owner's consent it constitutes vandalism, although in many countries the owner must press charges before it would be considered a crime.
Graffiti has existed at least since the days of ancient civilizations such as classical Greece and the Roman Empire.
Graffiti has existed at least since the days of ancient civilizations such as classical Greece and the Roman Empire.
Guacamole Map
Bring your own chiles (if you like), onions (unless you have a really good eye for wild ones) and maybe some spices. There are several pepper trees on ther train tracks, I recommend to either bring a pepper grinder, or use only the outer pink shell of the peppers in the guacamole. Simply follow the blue line. If you want a fruit snack, check the small Peach Tree on Veteran Ave at Exposition or Ayres north of the guacamole route.
The word Avocado comes from "Ahuacuatl", the Aztec word for testicle tree. The name may come from the way the fruits hang from the tree in pairs, or the fertility powers it possessed. Avocado was a main source of fat in many indigenous diets and also contained many curative powers. The leaves can be applied to wounds as a poultice, the skin is used as an antibiotic remedy for intestinal parasites and urinary infections, and the oils and seeds have an excellent effect on the skin and hair. The oil can be found in many high end beauty products.
The fruit was brought to California around the turn of the century and has made a happy home here ever since as one of the most valuable trees in Agriculture. Avocados in California are a billion dollar business. Some varieties can fetch $3.00 per avocado, and each tree can produce thousands. So save money, resources and fuel, plant Avocado in your yard or neighborhood.
The word Avocado comes from "Ahuacuatl", the Aztec word for testicle tree. The name may come from the way the fruits hang from the tree in pairs, or the fertility powers it possessed. Avocado was a main source of fat in many indigenous diets and also contained many curative powers. The leaves can be applied to wounds as a poultice, the skin is used as an antibiotic remedy for intestinal parasites and urinary infections, and the oils and seeds have an excellent effect on the skin and hair. The oil can be found in many high end beauty products.
The fruit was brought to California around the turn of the century and has made a happy home here ever since as one of the most valuable trees in Agriculture. Avocados in California are a billion dollar business. Some varieties can fetch $3.00 per avocado, and each tree can produce thousands. So save money, resources and fuel, plant Avocado in your yard or neighborhood.
Farmers Fruit
This raw vegan salad, contains from left to right, chanterelle mushrooms, wild arugula, edible flowers, sprouts, salmonberries, and nori ricecake. All were produced in California, the ricecake and salmonberries were produced in the central valley, while all the other ingredients were grown in the Santa Monica Mountians organically. On your own for dressing.
If you are considering going to Vons, Ralphs, Jons, Bristol Farms, Trader Joes, Whole Foods or Safeway for produce, by all means, a farmers market close to your area will be a much healthier, cheaper, and simpler alternative that gets your money closer to family farms, cutting out the middlemen. However, the myth that it is too hard, or not practical to grow your own food is absurd. And myths purporting all the food at farmers markets are from the neighborhood or even the state may be unfounded. I frequently see food from Mexico, Fresno, and other regions at least 300 miles away. Often the food is gorwn with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides unless labeled otherwise. Major market chains like the ones mentioned earlier have much of their food shipped from even further away (up to 2000 miles), and use more chemicals and genetically modified crops than do farmers markets.
If you are considering going to Vons, Ralphs, Jons, Bristol Farms, Trader Joes, Whole Foods or Safeway for produce, by all means, a farmers market close to your area will be a much healthier, cheaper, and simpler alternative that gets your money closer to family farms, cutting out the middlemen. However, the myth that it is too hard, or not practical to grow your own food is absurd. And myths purporting all the food at farmers markets are from the neighborhood or even the state may be unfounded. I frequently see food from Mexico, Fresno, and other regions at least 300 miles away. Often the food is gorwn with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides unless labeled otherwise. Major market chains like the ones mentioned earlier have much of their food shipped from even further away (up to 2000 miles), and use more chemicals and genetically modified crops than do farmers markets.
quantum mechanics
It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human nature, in different times or different cultural environments or different religious traditions: hence if they actually meet, that is, if they are at least so much related to each other that a real interaction can take place, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may follow.
- Werner Heisenberg
- Werner Heisenberg
room with a view....
I sit in the streets with the homeless
My clothes stained with the wine
From the vineyards the saints tend.
Light has painted all acts
The same color
So I sit around and laugh all day
With my friends.
At night if I feel a divine loneliness
I tear the doors off Love's mansion
And wrestle God onto the floor.
He becomes so pleased with Hafiz
and says,
"Our hearts should do this more."
My clothes stained with the wine
From the vineyards the saints tend.
Light has painted all acts
The same color
So I sit around and laugh all day
With my friends.
At night if I feel a divine loneliness
I tear the doors off Love's mansion
And wrestle God onto the floor.
He becomes so pleased with Hafiz
and says,
"Our hearts should do this more."
Yucca, b(yikes) and Tofu
Saturday morning began with a Christopher Nygeres class on fibers and basketry. While such things are indeed labor intensive, they were not as difficult as I had previously imagined. Within a few hours of leisurely strolling through the San Gabriel Mountains a group of 10 had made baskets (or in some cases, drink coasters), in addition to making a brush and rope from yucca fibers. I also started my first fire without the use of fossil (or veggie oil) fuels. We used a flat piece of Willow, and a stripped branch, spinning the branch with a piece of leather to create a burning coal. Then added dry grass and blowing air on the coal. Couldn't have been more simple, (unless you use a lighter).
While I was waiting at the Art Center College of Design for my dad to get off work I had a peek into the exhibit b(yikes!)
June 25 — August 31, 2006
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
This exhibit is more of a road map to the most eccentric cycles ever created. Including 2 bikes that ride on water, one controlled by a goldfish and motion sensor, and one made almost completely of bamboo.
Summertime in Los Angeles is not known for it's mild temperatures and this season is no exception. Anyone at this weekend's tightly packaged tofu festival { http://www.tofufest.org/ } will attest that it was hot, and the festival was the coolest place to be in Little Tokyo, however, a little more shade trees would have been quite nice. There was quite a large turnout for this event on Sunday, since it's hip to be square there was a tofu eating contest, live performances and a cook off featuring celebrity iron chefs. If only local raw foods could get this much attention...
While I was waiting at the Art Center College of Design for my dad to get off work I had a peek into the exhibit b(yikes!)
June 25 — August 31, 2006
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
This exhibit is more of a road map to the most eccentric cycles ever created. Including 2 bikes that ride on water, one controlled by a goldfish and motion sensor, and one made almost completely of bamboo.
Summertime in Los Angeles is not known for it's mild temperatures and this season is no exception. Anyone at this weekend's tightly packaged tofu festival { http://www.tofufest.org/ } will attest that it was hot, and the festival was the coolest place to be in Little Tokyo, however, a little more shade trees would have been quite nice. There was quite a large turnout for this event on Sunday, since it's hip to be square there was a tofu eating contest, live performances and a cook off featuring celebrity iron chefs. If only local raw foods could get this much attention...
Books
Ecovillages:A Practical Guide to Sustainable communities
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
The introductory chapters include the author's expereince as a police officer witnessing CIA, LAPD and gang involvement in drug trafficing. And how those activities relate and connect to "terrorist" organizations. Well put together timelines of nine eleven and the activities of our white house employees confirm foul play, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing.
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
The introductory chapters include the author's expereince as a police officer witnessing CIA, LAPD and gang involvement in drug trafficing. And how those activities relate and connect to "terrorist" organizations. Well put together timelines of nine eleven and the activities of our white house employees confirm foul play, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing.
This is jimson weed
Do not attempt to consume this plant. Is has been used by natives as a halucinagenic medicinal in what is now southern california, and other parts of the united states.
In 1676, British soldiers were sent to stop the Rebellion of Bacon. Jamestown weed (Jimsonweed) was boiled for inclusion in a salad, which the soldiers readily ate. The hallucinogenic properties of jimsonweed took affect.
As told by Robert Beverly in The History and Present State of Virginia (1705): The soldiers presented "a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.
"In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves - though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after 11 days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed."
In 1676, British soldiers were sent to stop the Rebellion of Bacon. Jamestown weed (Jimsonweed) was boiled for inclusion in a salad, which the soldiers readily ate. The hallucinogenic properties of jimsonweed took affect.
As told by Robert Beverly in The History and Present State of Virginia (1705): The soldiers presented "a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.
"In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves - though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after 11 days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed."
South Central Farm and Zach De La Rocha
| A short music video of Zack De La Rocha, Son De Madera and Quetzal at the south central farm. Music recorded by Sherman Austin. Video of concert and eviction by Taylor Arneson http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/ http://www.southcentralfarmers.org/ | |
Wild Foods, Electric Cars and Land Use Interpertation
A week ago this very Sunday evening, I was watching {"The New World" (really bad)} on this very laptop, in my tent, on the sidewalk adjacent to The South Central Farm. Imagining all that has happened on this continent from Columbus to Villarigosa sends through my body. Many changes both for the good and bad, where do we go from here? Into the acceptance of a fascist "New World Order" ? Into the creation and maintenance of a new economy of nature? Or are we stuck somewhere in between. Do you know what i mean?
In the morning I woke up early to the sounds of an industrial machine, know as the Alameda Corridor. http://www.acta.org/
As I left downtown for the inland mountain areas of Pasadena, I wonder what i will discover today. I found Christopher Nyerges
{ http://www.christophernyerges.com/ } in the parking lot a few minutes early. We were going on a wild foods hike with a group of summer camp kids near the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories { http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ }. Here we were able to identify several edibles varieties of plants including dandelions, miners lettuce and apazote. We found cultivated varieties of Fig, Zucchini, Tomatoes and wheat growing wild near the water. We also found powerful medicines used by the native tribes of southern California and elsewhere. Jimson weed is a powerful narcotic that has killed and hospitalized youth experimenting with it's powerful compounds. Also South American Tree Tobacco, a common invasive in southern California brought accidentally through trading. It contains roughly 100 times more nicotine than the common manufactured cigarette.
Friday afternoon Russell Sydney { http://www.rsydney.com/stc.html } and I went up to Santa Barbara for the premiere of the Movie "Who killed the Electric Car?" { http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ } a fascinating look at the political climate behind the electric car production in California. We got a chance to tell folks in Santa Barbara about the Sustainable Transport Club and also to meet the owner of the Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company { http://www.sbebc.com/ }.
Saturday I visited the Center for Land Use and Interpretation { http://www.clui.org/ } . I have always wanted to visit, and my intuition was right. I think they are on the right track for illuminating industrial environmental concerns from a very professional and well informed point of view.
In the morning I woke up early to the sounds of an industrial machine, know as the Alameda Corridor. http://www.acta.org/
As I left downtown for the inland mountain areas of Pasadena, I wonder what i will discover today. I found Christopher Nyerges
{ http://www.christophernyerges.com/ } in the parking lot a few minutes early. We were going on a wild foods hike with a group of summer camp kids near the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories { http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ }. Here we were able to identify several edibles varieties of plants including dandelions, miners lettuce and apazote. We found cultivated varieties of Fig, Zucchini, Tomatoes and wheat growing wild near the water. We also found powerful medicines used by the native tribes of southern California and elsewhere. Jimson weed is a powerful narcotic that has killed and hospitalized youth experimenting with it's powerful compounds. Also South American Tree Tobacco, a common invasive in southern California brought accidentally through trading. It contains roughly 100 times more nicotine than the common manufactured cigarette.
Friday afternoon Russell Sydney { http://www.rsydney.com/stc.html } and I went up to Santa Barbara for the premiere of the Movie "Who killed the Electric Car?" { http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ } a fascinating look at the political climate behind the electric car production in California. We got a chance to tell folks in Santa Barbara about the Sustainable Transport Club and also to meet the owner of the Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company { http://www.sbebc.com/ }.
Saturday I visited the Center for Land Use and Interpretation { http://www.clui.org/ } . I have always wanted to visit, and my intuition was right. I think they are on the right track for illuminating industrial environmental concerns from a very professional and well informed point of view.
Film Screening
::FILM SCREENING & "100 Mile" POTLUCK::
Join Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias for a screening of...
THE GREAT WARMING (80 min) -- Narrated by Alanis Morisette and Keanu Reeves
It's more than just the heat....
We are living at the dawn of a new epoch. Year by year, degree by degree, Earth is growing warmer... a legacy of the Industrial Revolution, population growth, and our addiction to technology, speed and power.
Just as other generations spoke of a Great Plague and a Great Depression, our children will be compelled to endure The Great Warming - and find a way to conquer its consequences.
When: Sunday, August 13th
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church is located just down the road from Path to Freedom at 570 E. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104, on the southwest corner of Orange Grove Blvd and Madison Avenue.
Cost: $5 - $15 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
RSVP at http://www.pathtofreedom.com/calendar
{ if you decide not to attend, please be considerate, and send us an email informing us of your cancellation}
Join Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias for a screening of...
THE GREAT WARMING (80 min) -- Narrated by Alanis Morisette and Keanu Reeves
It's more than just the heat....
We are living at the dawn of a new epoch. Year by year, degree by degree, Earth is growing warmer... a legacy of the Industrial Revolution, population growth, and our addiction to technology, speed and power.
Just as other generations spoke of a Great Plague and a Great Depression, our children will be compelled to endure The Great Warming - and find a way to conquer its consequences.
When: Sunday, August 13th
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Messiah Lutheran Church is located just down the road from Path to Freedom at 570 E. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91104, on the southwest corner of Orange Grove Blvd and Madison Avenue.
Cost: $5 - $15 suggested donation / Space is limited so please rsvp
RSVP at http://www.pathtofreedom.com/calendar
{ if you decide not to attend, please be considerate, and send us an email informing us of your cancellation}
Loose Change - 2nd Edition
| Documentary concerning national security, september 11th, conspiracies and lies. | |
ray fish dish
Did I metion to you I am working on a cookbook. Or something like that. There may not me a whole lot of "cooking" involved so i don't want to mislead people. Something like a permaculture guide for a low energy footprint, including a meal or two. Also insight on shelter, transportation, health and fashion will be a dish best served cold.
sleep surfing
this is a camping buddy enjoying the million dollar view of his dreams. We slept well on the bluff overlooking the pacific ocean in the 27 miles of scenic beauty that is known as malibu
http://platial.com/taylor/places?detail=98720
http://platial.com/taylor/places?detail=98720
Willie Dancing
In 1990, the IRS gave Nelson a bill for $16.7 million in back taxes and took away most of his assets to help pay the charges. He released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? as a double album, with all profits going straight to the IRS. Many of his assets were auctioned and purchased by friends, who gave his possessions back to him or rented them at a nominal fee. His debts were paid by 1993.
Willie Dancing6
Originally uploaded by taylorone.
workin floor
The Cob Recipe:
50% to 85% sand
50% to 15% clay
minced straw
water
Cob is made from sand, clay, and straw. Every cob mixture is a little bit different, however, and you may vary the ratio of ingredients to suit what your soil naturally has in abundance. You'll want to get to know your soil and try out a few sample mixtures before you can come up with the right recipe for your land.
workin floor
Originally uploaded by taylorone.
cob chicken
Chickens were first domesticated in Asia about 8000 years ago. The average American eats about 80 pounds of chicken per year, which makes it by far the main source of animal protein in the American diet.
The polutry industry has created bottom-line driven factory farms where chickens live and die in terrible conditions. They're full of antibiotics and chemicals, and genetically engineered to grow artificially quick. The people who work in such factories also suffer terrible injuries in the attempt to keep up with speeded-up assembly lines.
cob chickn
Originally uploaded by taylorone.
purty burdy
This owl was found flying repeatedly into a glass wall outside of Ketchum, Idaho. I picked him up and gave him some water and stuff. He couldn't stand up at first, but he recovered quickly and was up and flying in no time at all. What a catch.
Assignment 6
Partitions
My consistent tardiness prevented me from finding out about this assignment on time. I grasped the idea of the assignment, but lacked a great idea that would allow me to make something that could serve as a model, and as a useful item. The notion that all other students seemed only interested in designing an indoor room led me to try something different. I experimented with solar ovens, which can slowly cook foods at temperatures between 100-250 degrees Fahrenheit. I always thought that this design could be improved through a separation similar to racks in a conventional oven or compartments in a refrigerator. I made a cardboard box covered with tin foil (which is the most homemade, rudimentary form of a solar oven) covered with Plexiglas. I inserted a tinfoil wall that partitioned the space into two triangles, which would allow 2 different items to be cooked simultaneously.
I also experimented with a wall separating my driveway from the patio. Instead of taking the whole thing down and discarding the wood, I took down every other piece on both sides creating a screen effect at certain angles while also allowing light from the patio and kitchen into the darker parking area at night and a better view of the hills during the day from the patio. All the4 excess screws and wood were used either as shelving units or in a tree house that has yet to be constructed.
My consistent tardiness prevented me from finding out about this assignment on time. I grasped the idea of the assignment, but lacked a great idea that would allow me to make something that could serve as a model, and as a useful item. The notion that all other students seemed only interested in designing an indoor room led me to try something different. I experimented with solar ovens, which can slowly cook foods at temperatures between 100-250 degrees Fahrenheit. I always thought that this design could be improved through a separation similar to racks in a conventional oven or compartments in a refrigerator. I made a cardboard box covered with tin foil (which is the most homemade, rudimentary form of a solar oven) covered with Plexiglas. I inserted a tinfoil wall that partitioned the space into two triangles, which would allow 2 different items to be cooked simultaneously.
I also experimented with a wall separating my driveway from the patio. Instead of taking the whole thing down and discarding the wood, I took down every other piece on both sides creating a screen effect at certain angles while also allowing light from the patio and kitchen into the darker parking area at night and a better view of the hills during the day from the patio. All the4 excess screws and wood were used either as shelving units or in a tree house that has yet to be constructed.
assignment 5
Observation Tower composed of Platonic Solids
The recommended materials for these assignments also presented challenges. All of the examples from previous years were made from impractical shapes that were easy to construct as a model, but posed no concrete use otherwise. The issues of accessibility were a constant concern of mine, as was sustainability. This prevented me from making a cardboard or construction paper assembly of colorful shapes. All cardboard used in the project were found on campus. Using it in the most effective way to create strenghts, and preserve construction material, was difficult to plan, but simpler in the end.
The recommended materials for these assignments also presented challenges. All of the examples from previous years were made from impractical shapes that were easy to construct as a model, but posed no concrete use otherwise. The issues of accessibility were a constant concern of mine, as was sustainability. This prevented me from making a cardboard or construction paper assembly of colorful shapes. All cardboard used in the project were found on campus. Using it in the most effective way to create strenghts, and preserve construction material, was difficult to plan, but simpler in the end.
Assignment 4
Compacted Spheres
For this assignment we were either given marbles or encouraged to go to an art store and buy Styrofoam balls. I didn’t want to use either as a material, and as I arrived late to the class I was unable to join a group. This left me some time to ponder the assignment on my own. Outside of my room I found an inedible nut tree that had been decimated by squirrels, leaving round little balls with small holes in them. I thought these holes might make them easier to join together, but that was not the case. After struggling to make a simple connection with only 5 spheres, I decided that these were not the best materials for the job. Then I thought about how triangles and spheres were some of the most common shapes found in nature. We had an abundance of oranges and those seem to stack easily and support themselves, so I used oranges to make more elaborate polygons without anything but a basket foundation to support them.
For this assignment we were either given marbles or encouraged to go to an art store and buy Styrofoam balls. I didn’t want to use either as a material, and as I arrived late to the class I was unable to join a group. This left me some time to ponder the assignment on my own. Outside of my room I found an inedible nut tree that had been decimated by squirrels, leaving round little balls with small holes in them. I thought these holes might make them easier to join together, but that was not the case. After struggling to make a simple connection with only 5 spheres, I decided that these were not the best materials for the job. Then I thought about how triangles and spheres were some of the most common shapes found in nature. We had an abundance of oranges and those seem to stack easily and support themselves, so I used oranges to make more elaborate polygons without anything but a basket foundation to support them.
Asignment 3
Regular Tensegrity
Tensegrity can exist in a vast array circumstances and shapes, but unless all lengths are equal it is considered irregular. To make a project that was equal I found 3 bike tires and a stainless steel double u frame. I wrapped the tires around the frame 4 times with 1 tire on each of the 3 sides. The result is a small ottoman that can also be used as a lightweight, portable seat. This design is one of my favorites and might inspire a new line of furniture.
Tensegrity can exist in a vast array circumstances and shapes, but unless all lengths are equal it is considered irregular. To make a project that was equal I found 3 bike tires and a stainless steel double u frame. I wrapped the tires around the frame 4 times with 1 tire on each of the 3 sides. The result is a small ottoman that can also be used as a lightweight, portable seat. This design is one of my favorites and might inspire a new line of furniture.
Assignment 2
Irregular Tensegrity
After much thought about he use of a wire frame type of sculpture, I decided against it in favor of something more out of the ordinary. I thought of the different ways that tensegrity is used in my everyday life, elevators, bridges, and overpasses and then I thought about the deadline for the project. I chose to make a model of my bed, which is uses forces of tension and compression to suspend loose knit cord over a metal frame. The result is quite a good nights sleep… if you can find the right spot. To assemble the model I found an old piece of aluminum, formerly a piece of a window screen that was approximately 1/4 scale of my hammock. I then stole some bamboo chopsticks from the kitchen (4), 2 for the base and 2 for the rope, which was made from hemp. First I tied the cut pieces of hemp twine to the bamboo chopsticks. Then once each end had been connected to the bent aluminum by a protruding screw, the two suspended chopsticks were connected.
After much thought about he use of a wire frame type of sculpture, I decided against it in favor of something more out of the ordinary. I thought of the different ways that tensegrity is used in my everyday life, elevators, bridges, and overpasses and then I thought about the deadline for the project. I chose to make a model of my bed, which is uses forces of tension and compression to suspend loose knit cord over a metal frame. The result is quite a good nights sleep… if you can find the right spot. To assemble the model I found an old piece of aluminum, formerly a piece of a window screen that was approximately 1/4 scale of my hammock. I then stole some bamboo chopsticks from the kitchen (4), 2 for the base and 2 for the rope, which was made from hemp. First I tied the cut pieces of hemp twine to the bamboo chopsticks. Then once each end had been connected to the bent aluminum by a protruding screw, the two suspended chopsticks were connected.
assignment 1
Self Portrait
A few years ago I might have approached this assignment much differently. I would have gone to the art or model store to buy manufactured materials and supplies. Many would contain or produce as a byproduct, toxic chemicals. I do not want to contribute to environmental devastation so I try to minimize the amount of new things I buy.
Over the summer, I was able to visit Japan and go to the worlds fair. A popular item was a branch from a tree, with notes hanging all over it. I later found out that these were all wishes that people had written down as a superstition hoping they would come true. I wanted to make something that was sturdy, so I turned to nature for design advice. Trees and plants are balanced very well through symmetry and balance, and furthermore, they use tensegrity at the molecular level. I wanted to use the tree in the same way a genealogist uses a family tree, to make a visual image of many independent parts.
This assignment came as a surprise to me, not only that it was assigned on the first day of class, but also that it involved almost anything other than a pen, and paper, or computer. For me the decision was easy after I thought about the materials and design for a little while. I didn't want to have to go to the art store and spend money, and I wanted to make something out of all the junk that was beginning to accumulate in the backyard. I remembered a tree I saw over the summer that people were writing wishes down on a piece of paper and attaching them to a tree branch. So I cut down and shrub that was dying and trimmed off most of the leaves. I also found a juice bottle that was in the trash and filled it with concrete rubble that was left over after I removed some slabs of cement. I took pictures of myself and printed them on recycled paper, and put them on the branch. I also attached some magazine photos and old sketches I had drawn. A candle made of beeswax was put on a back branch to symbolize illumination. I thought of leaving a blank surface to project video images onto it, but I don't have a projector.
A few years ago I might have approached this assignment much differently. I would have gone to the art or model store to buy manufactured materials and supplies. Many would contain or produce as a byproduct, toxic chemicals. I do not want to contribute to environmental devastation so I try to minimize the amount of new things I buy.
Over the summer, I was able to visit Japan and go to the worlds fair. A popular item was a branch from a tree, with notes hanging all over it. I later found out that these were all wishes that people had written down as a superstition hoping they would come true. I wanted to make something that was sturdy, so I turned to nature for design advice. Trees and plants are balanced very well through symmetry and balance, and furthermore, they use tensegrity at the molecular level. I wanted to use the tree in the same way a genealogist uses a family tree, to make a visual image of many independent parts.
This assignment came as a surprise to me, not only that it was assigned on the first day of class, but also that it involved almost anything other than a pen, and paper, or computer. For me the decision was easy after I thought about the materials and design for a little while. I didn't want to have to go to the art store and spend money, and I wanted to make something out of all the junk that was beginning to accumulate in the backyard. I remembered a tree I saw over the summer that people were writing wishes down on a piece of paper and attaching them to a tree branch. So I cut down and shrub that was dying and trimmed off most of the leaves. I also found a juice bottle that was in the trash and filled it with concrete rubble that was left over after I removed some slabs of cement. I took pictures of myself and printed them on recycled paper, and put them on the branch. I also attached some magazine photos and old sketches I had drawn. A candle made of beeswax was put on a back branch to symbolize illumination. I thought of leaving a blank surface to project video images onto it, but I don't have a projector.
look at how cool i am with my ipod portrait
sorry I didn't mean to sound, look or act like a myspace page, but sometimes the walking billboard in me just pops out.
thursday brunch
recipe for disaster;
1 free range vegitarian fed egg
1 slice of bread
1/2 tbl spoon oil (olive or hemp)
1/2 table spoon of bbq sauce
1/2 cup of alfalfa sprouts
dash of tobasco sauce
Standard egg in bread, with a little extra umph.
1 free range vegitarian fed egg
1 slice of bread
1/2 tbl spoon oil (olive or hemp)
1/2 table spoon of bbq sauce
1/2 cup of alfalfa sprouts
dash of tobasco sauce
Standard egg in bread, with a little extra umph.
the little guy
the sense of anonymity fostered by, and the animosity generated toward the concrete sprawl of the city landscape, motivates the writer to make a name for himself. In very much the same way a skateboarder engages his urban environment, the graffiti artist attacks concrete walls, and the city, in turn, is transformed into a landscape of self-assertionthe little guy
Originally uploaded by taylorone.
butterflies in the window
The love birds / flys where gettin it on outside my window in Kyoto. Get a room. One that doesnt smell like mines does (shit). Very nice garden though.
last meal
This was the first couse of tonights meal in Kyoto. Clockwise from top was a red fig marinating in sake, a mochi wrapped in a leaf, tofu or egg, (i still am not sure) with differnt food colorings and assortment of raw fish and snails (seriously, they dont play around)
Our server might have started crying when she asked about `yim moorison` It could have been sweat from her brow after carrying like 10 trays up the stairs.
Our server might have started crying when she asked about `yim moorison` It could have been sweat from her brow after carrying like 10 trays up the stairs.
Communication vs. Community
Can you have communication without community. Can you have community without communication? We have both I suppose, but they don't seem to complement eachother very well (as of yet).
Permaculture
people ask what it is, it can be hard to explain with so many different and contradicting deffinitions For me, an illustration outlines basic principals best.
best land grabs before 2004
Bellmont High School
Playa Vista
Laccd wilshire office
Lincoln place
Scottish Rites Temple
Ambassador Hotel / Coconut Grove
Playa Vista
Laccd wilshire office
Lincoln place
Scottish Rites Temple
Ambassador Hotel / Coconut Grove
other sites and blogs
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http://www.banksy.co.uk/
Artist web site. Updated. Get a free qutoe. The style becomes more polished and rudimentary simultaneously. Excellent stencilmanship. Sorry i ruined your Banksy book Shaun. It's still in my car if you want it.
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http://www.gaiauniversity.org
Current School I am attending as a graduate diploma student in regional development.
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http://platial.com/taylor
A developing user driven interactivce maping system of green businesses, co-ops, free wireless networks, public fruit trees and more.
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http://www.fromthewilderness.com
This is the website of an individual (mike rupert) who worked for the Los Angeles Police Dept, and resigned to become an investigative author. Recently his office was broken into.
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http://www.collegeissues.blogspot.com/
This is the blog of an individual (Gerald Perttula)
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http://adbusters.org/home
This is the website of a magazine. It also has antiprenuer, an organization of artists, marketplaces and ideas. They sell shoes made of organic hemp with recycled rubber tires.
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http://www.hipublican.com
Wow.
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http://www.craigslist.org/
Check your city's free page, barter, rants and raves, craigs blog, best of and whatever else floats your boat.
_
http://www.tasteofthegoddess.com
The Yam chips i am eating right now are from here
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http://www.geocities.com/drjohnmichel
This is a web site of Dr. John, a venice local.
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http://www.pcuonline.com
Permaculture {(pûrm-klchr) n. A system of perennial agriculture emphasizing the use of renewable natural resources and the enrichment of local ecosystems.} Credit union.
For $5.00 USD you can open an account with a $50.00 minimun balance. Loans for sustainable projects.
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http://www.rael.org/
I met a man once at a asian vegan resturant on Beverly Blvd, by La Cienega, who talked to me for an hour about the realians and the reptilian family, and how it all fit into the JFK assasination. Supposedly these people who invented cloning before we knew what diapers were, will come visit us to "check up" on us. Say what up if you see 'em.
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http://www.marionlane.com/
Also excelllent artist. Flavorful, colorful candy like aliens, birds and plants. Moveable art coming soon. Rings, tenticles and trinkets. Raelians will need interior decorators.
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http://www.randomgirl.com/veganla.html
Comprehensive Listing of west los angeles vegan offerings.
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http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
This site is an example of what can be done when people make an attempt to sustain themselves in the city with great results. Check out the biodiesel suburban.
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http://www.geocities.com/newsgrist/Splash_Eco.html
Eco Art.
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http://lagreenmap.org/index.htm
Complete "green map" of Santa Monica, and the Ballona watershed, with other incomplete items.
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http://www.gaian-mind.org/cs
501 - c3 youth collective recently transplanted from long beach to culver city. Seeking diesel bus donation for biofuels conversion.
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www.Sustainabletransportclub.com
Santa Monica group expanding outwards involvewd with many fors of transportation options from walking to electric cars, biofuels, scooters etc.
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http://www.fallenfruit.org/
Swell website that now utilizes platial for mapping of fruit primariry in central los angeles
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http://www.self-reliance.net/
Christopher Nyerges is a knowledgeable wild salad hunter, and offers a wealth of southern california ecology on walks and online.
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http://www.4hemp.org/
Shop in venice near windward and pacific selling help clothing and accessories. Try the roasted hemp seeds, they are better than butter. More crunchy too.
phtograph of the week
This individual is Jose Salvideo; San Manuel Reservation; June 21, 1933.
(C. Hart Merriam Collection of Native American Photographs, ca. 1890-1938)
(C. Hart Merriam Collection of Native American Photographs, ca. 1890-1938)
book list
Ecovillages:A Practical Guide to Sustainable communities
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written. Look for my condensed educational film version, coming soon.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
If found the introductory chapters including CIA and LAPD involvement in drug trafficing, and detailed timelines of nine eleven. The activities of our vice prez were a red flag, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing. I had really never thought the end of drive thru would come so soon.
by Jan Martin Bang
Ecovillages have arisen around the world in response to the social fragmentation of modern life and its alienation from nature. They provide a variety of ways of living in community with others and with nature and are linked worldwide through the Global Ecovillage Network. While interest in this approach to sustainable living is rapidly increasing, there is relatively little literature on the topic and none that brings the design principles of permaculture to bear on the successful design of these communities. Ecovillages explores the new departures in personal, social and ecological living represented by this phenomenon. This book explores the background and history to the ecovillages movement, and then provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing and maintaining a sustainable community, using a permaculture approach
The Natural Step for Communities
by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti
"resonates that any true sustainable grassroots revolution depends not just on inovation but democratic process"
Maps of the Mind
by Charles Hampden-Turner
An eclectic collection of charts and concepts that illuminate the mind and it's labyrinths.
Street Gallery: A Guide to 1000 Los Angeles Murals
Robin J. Dunitz
Old, but good reference to a wide range of painted, tile and mosaic murals, both interior and exterior, in Los Angeles County. See history through a populist lens and diverse communities in almost every decade for the last 100 years.
Civilizations: Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature
by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto theorizes a resolution to the nature of civilization, that societies become civilized by taming and warping nature. Exploring 17 habitats the book zeroes in on features that reflect the quality of life and source of survival in civilizations across ten millennia.
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
Easy to use and understand tour through the permaculture garden.
Farms of Tommorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms-Farm supported Communities
by Trauger Groh and Steve McFadden
Ten examples of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms with first-hand information and advice from the farmers themselves. Valuable to anybody interested in the CSA movement in the United States (or the world), or to farmers wishing to start their own CSA program. Helpful appendices on getting started, acquiring land, sample budgets, and typical CSA shares are included
Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to community-based social marketing
by Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
Published in 1999, this 176-page book details how to uncover the barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in sustainable behaviours. It provides a set of "tools" that social science research has demonstrated to be effective in fostering and maintaining behaviour change. The guide also details how to design and evaluate programmes. The strategies detailed here, and the methods suggested in order to implement and evaluate them, form the basis of an emerging field that the authors refer to as "community-based social marketing" (CBSM)
Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-city Development
Edited by B Walter, L Arkin, R Crenshaw
"Sustainable Cities shows how urban developement and the environmentcan co-exist in a sucessful partnership that will result in better air quality, cleaner water, more nutritious food, less commuting time, quieter and more nature oriented surroundings, a richer community life, less urban stress and improved health for the people who live and work in cities"
Second Nature: Adapting LA's Landscape for Sustainable Living
Edited by Patrick Condon and Stacy Moriarty
TreePeople's grand vision, with practical details for turning L.A. into a sustainable space to live. Site designs for single-family, multiplex, public, and commercial sites.
The First Angelinos by William McCawley
In a well-organized, clearly-written manner, William McCawley has taken the scraps out of the basket and fashioned a beautiful quilt that brings light and life to an oft-maligned people. He has done an amazing amount of research in putting together this volume. If "God is in the details", then it is the details of religion and custom that elevate a people from the mere "diggers" I learned about in school to an intelligent society well-adapted to its environment. This is an essential resource for anyone studying or teaching about California (including fourth-grade teachers), and invaluable to those who simply enjoy learning more about Southern California history.
Discovering Green Lanes
by Valerie Belsey
Valerie Belsey shows how to identify them on the ground, how to recognise them on antique maps, and how to locate documents and other records which will reveal who used them in past times. She also discusses their ecological value, the current controversy about who should be able to use them, and how to get involved in restoring and protecting lanes in your area. Discovering Green Lanes includes useful contact information, key dates in highway history and sample survey forms for recording wildlife in your local green lane.
Extreme Simplicity
by Christopher and Dellores Nyerges
The book describes their efforts to do "integral gardening" on every bit of usable land, to produce food (for people and wildlife), medicines, fragrance, shade, and useful tools. They describe how they went about raising earthworms, chickens, rabbits, bees, a goose, a pig, and their dogs in their typical back yard. The Nyerges' also take the reader along their journey to installing a wood fireplace, solar water heating, and a solar electric system. Though there is much "how to" in this book, it is full of personal stories and rich reading of the learning they experienced along the way. There is a section on recycling, and a unique section about the economics of self-reliance.
California's Utopian Colonies
by Robert V. Hine
Study originally published in 1953, in the years before the hippies and their experiments in communal living-focuses on Fountain Grove, the Theosophical colonies Point Loma and Temple Home, the Icaria Speranza Commune, Altruria, the Kaweah Co-operative commonweath and Llano del Rio. Includes a new introduction by the author, maps, illustrations, bibliographical note, index. xviii, 209 pp.
A Field Guide to Roadside Technology
by Ed Sobey
The author says he was inspired to write the book by the questions his kids asked him on drives and his not being able to provide answers. Sobey's book explains types of bridges, power plants and industrial sites, what all those covers and plates in the sidewalks and streets are, and what all those wires and devices hanging from utility poles do.
City of Quartz
by Mike Davis
Excellent source for political history of Los Angeles this century. Very sensitive to social trends and problems. Well written, with lots of informationthat is relevant today. Also bought Magical Urbanism by the same author but have not read it yet. If you have let me know if you like it or not.
Sustainability on Campus
by Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase
Good source for students who are interested in making changes on campus. Have not finished yet, but looking forward to it. Published by MIT press, which is a pretty good source. Stories about many colleges and how they went about helping some of the ecosystems on and off campus.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
I really enjoyed they way this book is formatted with only three main chapters. They all seem disconnected at first but he really pulls them together well. It centers around the black market economy and how it is connected to many different, obvious and not so obvious areas. Fast Food Nation, the authors first book, is also very well written. Look for my condensed educational film version, coming soon.
Crossing the Rubicon: The decline of American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
by Michael Ruppert
If found the introductory chapters including CIA and LAPD involvement in drug trafficing, and detailed timelines of nine eleven. The activities of our vice prez were a red flag, and constant and consistant perculiarities and incongruencies of different branches of governement were astonishing. I had really never thought the end of drive thru would come so soon.
curoius deaths since 2000 elections
There is much information on the web about these deaths. Most occured under suspicious circumstances. Look up the stories on these people yourself and see what you come up with.
1. Yasser Arafat (PLO leader)
2. Gary Webb (journalist)
3. Paul Wellstone (democrat)
4. Dr. David Kelly (scientist)
5. J. Clifford Baxter (enron employee)
6. Steve Kangas (journalist)
7. Margie Schoedinger (Texan Entrepenuer)
8. James E. Sabow (US Colonel)
9. Danny Casolaro (software engineer)
10. Steve Neal (political columnist)
Hint:
Cui Bono - (who benifits)
1. Yasser Arafat (PLO leader)
2. Gary Webb (journalist)
3. Paul Wellstone (democrat)
4. Dr. David Kelly (scientist)
5. J. Clifford Baxter (enron employee)
6. Steve Kangas (journalist)
7. Margie Schoedinger (Texan Entrepenuer)
8. James E. Sabow (US Colonel)
9. Danny Casolaro (software engineer)
10. Steve Neal (political columnist)
Hint:
Cui Bono - (who benifits)
Quality Cinema
1. Walkabout
2. Winged Miration
3. Bubba Ho Tep
4. Dark Days
5. Usual Suspects
6. Microcosmos
7. Shawshank Redemption
8. Chronos
9. Ghost Dog
10. Grass
11. Dead Man
12. Stevie
13. Edward Scissor Hands
14. The Politics of Fear
15. Ran
16. What I learned about US Foreign Policy
17.The Ballad of Jack and Rose
18. Hashish
19. Slacker
20. The War Room
21. Ballad of Jack and Rose
22. Quest for Fire
23. The Village
24. Being There
25. Sonatine
26. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
27. 800 Bullets
28. Implied Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Mass Media
29. The Girl from Paris
30. Genesis
2. Winged Miration
3. Bubba Ho Tep
4. Dark Days
5. Usual Suspects
6. Microcosmos
7. Shawshank Redemption
8. Chronos
9. Ghost Dog
10. Grass
11. Dead Man
12. Stevie
13. Edward Scissor Hands
14. The Politics of Fear
15. Ran
16. What I learned about US Foreign Policy
17.The Ballad of Jack and Rose
18. Hashish
19. Slacker
20. The War Room
21. Ballad of Jack and Rose
22. Quest for Fire
23. The Village
24. Being There
25. Sonatine
26. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
27. 800 Bullets
28. Implied Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Mass Media
29. The Girl from Paris
30. Genesis
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