Watched the Grapes of Wrath the other night. Too lazy to read the book but it’s my understanding that Steinbeck is considered to have captured the essence of the Great Depression. If that is true and the movie captures the essence of the book I’m really not looking forward to the Great Depression II.
Of course I’m not really sure if we’ll have a Great Depression II. The people in charge appear to have learned from the first one and decided to borrow from the grandkids before the collapse to avoid a great depression rather than waiting to borrow from the grandkids after it has begun to “stimulate a recovery”. But let’s face it - ever since we’ve been spending tomorrow’s money knowing we can borrow again tomorrow.
But lets pretend for a minute that some disgruntled individual decides to stop extending vast amounts of unrealistic credit (luckily the Board of Directors system appears to prevent any individual from having that kind of power) and the house of cards comes down. In the movie the only thing the people have to hang on to is their family. Even their fellow Okies let them know it’s every man (family?) for themselves when push comes to shove.
Given the stats we see today about people who feel they are alone in the world and the general dismantling of the close knit family group I’m thinking that if the system starts to collapse the glue that held off the chaos demons in the thirties (according to the Grapes of Wrath) might not be there. And if there is a lesson from western christendom’s recent foreign adventures it’s that we do not have nearly enough men and women in uniform to enforce a kind of peace if the population was to get rowdy.
The farmer we recently visited who views his co-op members as invested partners to help work and protect his farm if things turn sour seems less crazy now.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
July miscellany
Went to the Urgent care clinic last night. It seems I have a likely torn Posterior Cruciate Ligament. The Doctor says wear the brace every day and watch cowboy movies while drinking beer and eating potato chips for three weeks to get back in zombie fightin’ shape.And I have no idea how I did this.
Or I'll continue my current reading binge. Another decent book about canadian farms and farming is Apples to Oysters by Margaret Webb, a lesbian from Toronto who visits one farm in each province. I only mention that the author is a lesbian because she seems to think this is important with constant references to her sexual orientation throughout the narrative. I guess she wants you to know that when she loves a farmer it's platonic?
Just started endgame by Derrick Jensen. So far it's a pretty crazy Manson-esque manifesto. The guy is outlining a similar (if slightly more extreme) world view than my own. I am intrigued to see how far he is going to take it.
Started the new job. So far it's going well. I think.
Appalachian Trail to Africa = madness.
Or I'll continue my current reading binge. Another decent book about canadian farms and farming is Apples to Oysters by Margaret Webb, a lesbian from Toronto who visits one farm in each province. I only mention that the author is a lesbian because she seems to think this is important with constant references to her sexual orientation throughout the narrative. I guess she wants you to know that when she loves a farmer it's platonic?
Just started endgame by Derrick Jensen. So far it's a pretty crazy Manson-esque manifesto. The guy is outlining a similar (if slightly more extreme) world view than my own. I am intrigued to see how far he is going to take it.
Started the new job. So far it's going well. I think.
Appalachian Trail to Africa = madness.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The quest comes to and end
I have two more entries but Cider quest 2010 has all but come to an end. I’ll start with the two new entries.
Mystique is a craft cider from Quebec. Although I appreciate the efforts to ensure I got to sample it I wasn’t that impressed. It is best when cold not very good when warm and I don’t get the point of the wee little bottle (250ml).
The last entry is the Growers Granny Smith Apple Cider. I had high hopes for this as it is not only Canada’s number one cider I happen to be a fan of granny smith apples. But apparently the granny smith is not really a cider apple. I preferred the Growers Peach. I may yet sample the Growers Blueberry but I’d like to find it in individual bottles rather than have to invest in a whole six pack.
You might be wondering why Cider Quest 2010 is all but dead in the water at such a tender age? Well it was hit with a broadside that has all but blown cider out of the water. Adnam’s Broadside Strong Ale to be precise. Now I don’t normally like strong beers but the Broadside is a great beer despite it's 6.3%. Yes, great.
You'll have to move quickly if you want to experience this masterwork of the brewing craft though because as appears to be a trend with quality products at the LCBO it is being discontinued.
Mystique is a craft cider from Quebec. Although I appreciate the efforts to ensure I got to sample it I wasn’t that impressed. It is best when cold not very good when warm and I don’t get the point of the wee little bottle (250ml).
The last entry is the Growers Granny Smith Apple Cider. I had high hopes for this as it is not only Canada’s number one cider I happen to be a fan of granny smith apples. But apparently the granny smith is not really a cider apple. I preferred the Growers Peach. I may yet sample the Growers Blueberry but I’d like to find it in individual bottles rather than have to invest in a whole six pack.
You might be wondering why Cider Quest 2010 is all but dead in the water at such a tender age? Well it was hit with a broadside that has all but blown cider out of the water. Adnam’s Broadside Strong Ale to be precise. Now I don’t normally like strong beers but the Broadside is a great beer despite it's 6.3%. Yes, great.
You'll have to move quickly if you want to experience this masterwork of the brewing craft though because as appears to be a trend with quality products at the LCBO it is being discontinued.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Travel times - 100th post!
Yesterday we bought two travel trunks at the Sally Ann on Dundas. We got an excellent deal and it’s another couple of restoration projects to keep me out of trouble. The trunks got me thinking about globalization.
Not even a hundred years ago trunks like these would have been the shiznit for going on a long voyage but today, I probably couldn't travel with them. If I insisted on trying it would likely cost me more to send the trunks than to send myself.
This is a good example of what I consider questionable progress. International travel is now fast, efficient and everyday. Add in the cattle car mentality the airlines have applied to those of us who travel as economy passengers and I guess this is why I don’t see international travel as adventurous.
In the day of these trunks going on an international voyage was an adventure. You had to be rich, save up your money or get a job overseas but it was still a possibility for people willing to take the risk and make the sacrifices. A lot of people might say that’s not so and that travel was exclusively for the wealthy, but I can look into my own ancestry at the son of a bankrupted carpenter who decided to travel from Quebec to Scotland to look for a wife is an example that travel couldn’t have been restricted to the wealthy - just the adventurous.
International travel today has become a really environmentally costly form of recreation. Don’t forget that an economy seat on a transatlantic flight has the same GHG effect as seven years of that guy driving his hummer around town - In large part because of releasing the emissions at such a high altitude has a magnifying effect.
So in my eyes when I look at this beat up old steamer trunk I see adventure. When you packed this baby up you knew that something serious was going down. When I see those drag behind rolling suitcases used by international travelers and commuters alike I don’t see anything special going on. More like something dreary going on.
When we have turned the adventurous into the everyday at great cost to the planetary environmental health, sure it’s progress, but is it really a good thing?
These are the trunks :
Not even a hundred years ago trunks like these would have been the shiznit for going on a long voyage but today, I probably couldn't travel with them. If I insisted on trying it would likely cost me more to send the trunks than to send myself.
This is a good example of what I consider questionable progress. International travel is now fast, efficient and everyday. Add in the cattle car mentality the airlines have applied to those of us who travel as economy passengers and I guess this is why I don’t see international travel as adventurous.
In the day of these trunks going on an international voyage was an adventure. You had to be rich, save up your money or get a job overseas but it was still a possibility for people willing to take the risk and make the sacrifices. A lot of people might say that’s not so and that travel was exclusively for the wealthy, but I can look into my own ancestry at the son of a bankrupted carpenter who decided to travel from Quebec to Scotland to look for a wife is an example that travel couldn’t have been restricted to the wealthy - just the adventurous.
International travel today has become a really environmentally costly form of recreation. Don’t forget that an economy seat on a transatlantic flight has the same GHG effect as seven years of that guy driving his hummer around town - In large part because of releasing the emissions at such a high altitude has a magnifying effect.
So in my eyes when I look at this beat up old steamer trunk I see adventure. When you packed this baby up you knew that something serious was going down. When I see those drag behind rolling suitcases used by international travelers and commuters alike I don’t see anything special going on. More like something dreary going on.
When we have turned the adventurous into the everyday at great cost to the planetary environmental health, sure it’s progress, but is it really a good thing?
These are the trunks :
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Heat Waves
Complaints about the heat abound. But I suspect that’s the price of air-conditioning – we don’t practice our own adaptability enough to get good at it. Then when the power goes out people panic. I can’t figure out how to get the AC on in our rental house but I don’t care. I like the heat as long as I can get clean water right from the tap.
I walked into this store called Planet Organic yesterday. It’s got all this stuff on the walls and in the brochures about good for the planet sustainability etc.. As I walk in off the hot, humid street I‘m hit with this wall of freeze. Uncomfortably cold I’m thinking “can this abuse of the AC really be good for the planet? How many of these overpriced foods are in reality green washed planet killers?” By the time I’ve formulated that question, boom, the power goes out.
Fitting I says.
So I went to Home Depot and bought a hedge trimmer. Gonna do some plant killing of my own on the weekend. Unless mother-nature fights back and strikes me down with the lightning in the forecast…
I walked into this store called Planet Organic yesterday. It’s got all this stuff on the walls and in the brochures about good for the planet sustainability etc.. As I walk in off the hot, humid street I‘m hit with this wall of freeze. Uncomfortably cold I’m thinking “can this abuse of the AC really be good for the planet? How many of these overpriced foods are in reality green washed planet killers?” By the time I’ve formulated that question, boom, the power goes out.
Fitting I says.
So I went to Home Depot and bought a hedge trimmer. Gonna do some plant killing of my own on the weekend. Unless mother-nature fights back and strikes me down with the lightning in the forecast…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)