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The Long Emergency
Mar. 13th, 2010 08:48 pmThe circumstances of the Long Emergency will be the opposite of what we currently experience. There will be hunger instead of plenty, cold where there was once warmth, effort where there was once leisure, sickness where there was health, and violence where there was peace. We will have to adjust our attitudes, values, and ideas to accommodate these new circumstances and we may not recognize the people we will soon become or the people we once were. In a world where sheer survival dominates all other concerns, a tragic view of life is apt to reassert itself. This is another way of saying that we will become keenly aware of the limitations of human nature in general and its relation to ubiquitous mortality in particular. Life will get much more real. The dilettantish luxury of relativism will be forgotten in the boneyards of the future. Irony, hipness, cutting edge coolness will seem either quaint or utterly inexplicable to people struggling to produce enough food to get through the winter. In the Long Emergency, nobody will get anything for nothing.
from page 303 of the hardback, author: James Howard Kunstler
from page 303 of the hardback, author: James Howard Kunstler
Dear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll. You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
SOURCE
http://davidmonroe.posterous.com/satan-responds-to-pat-robertsons-claims-in-le
discovered by way of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inibo on my FL who recommends that we donate here
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll. You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
SOURCE
http://davidmonroe.posterous.com/satan-responds-to-pat-robertsons-claims-in-le
discovered by way of
inibo on my FL who recommends that we donate hereI'm a omnivore and opportunivore. Sometimes a cheapivore though occasionally my food makes me feel rich. Tonight I opened the fridge not wanting leftover curry again and made a soup that is so good I have to write it down. The soup itself was premade: Sweet Potato Bisque from Trader Joe's. It was the garnishes that made it delish. I added feta cheese from Israel (the brand is Pastures of Eden, also at TJ), some freshly slivered basil leaves (8 or so) and a bit of sweet red pepper chopped small. In this order: Heat soup, and leave the other ingredients cool. After the soup is hot toss on basil slivers first, then feta, then red pepper bits. Sprinkle a bit of Zatarain's creole seasoning (from New Orleans) over the top, serve. YUM. Won't be an accident the next time.
I wonder how long it will be before cheese from Israel isn't worth the shipping anymore.
I wonder how long it will be before cheese from Israel isn't worth the shipping anymore.
I heard this on the radio this morning, and then swift on its heels a statement from Obama telling the Chinese to shop more. He wants Chinese people to become as blatantly materialist as Americans are, so that we can sell them things. What? Interesting times indeed. The Cuban leader is ahead of the American leader in recognizing the reality of the crisis that confronts our planet, and the solution to it. Maybe I'll move to Cuba. Much as I adore Obama for his cultural sensitivity and ability to bring previously disenfranchised groups to the table, he is still flunking on the economy. In the long run it may be incredibly beneficial to Cuba to not be sucked into the American paradigm of wealth. The embargo is a blessing in disguise.
Another fascinating talk here:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
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Bill of No Rights
Aug. 3rd, 2008 05:49 pmBill of No Rights by Lewis W. Napper
Written in 1993 by Lewis Napper, an "amateur philosopher" who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 as a Libertarian.
( rights and which ones you don't have,even in America )
Written in 1993 by Lewis Napper, an "amateur philosopher" who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 as a Libertarian.
( rights and which ones you don't have,even in America )
In the last two years I have transitioned my music collection to my computer. Digital music has changed the way that I listen. The ability to play random songs from a host of artists means I have become familiar with quite a few artists that I might have never discovered, even though I had their music in my collection. I sent the core nugget of my favorite CD's to a friend in TN who will keep them for me. I distributed my entire Ani Difranco collection (I had most of her work) to girlfriends, to keep it in circulation. I got rid of the remainder by selling them for two bucks each at my yard sale, and giving away the rest.
( Ruminations on Last Days in Flagstaff )
( Ruminations on Last Days in Flagstaff )
Unamerican 4th of July
Jul. 5th, 2007 10:23 amYesterday I hosted a small party with European flavor at the Barn in Mountain Dell. Right around the block there was an all-American shindig complete with red, white and blue banners and propane grills filled with low quality meat products. I told my friends it was to be an "unamerican" celebration with no hot dogs, potato chips, flags, television, hamburgers, baked beans, apple pie, etc. We sat around under the apple tree beside the barn and talked.
The night before Jeff and I shopped for a few supplies and eschewed American wines, opting instead for Chilean and Australian. Food miles notwithstanding. My Italian neighbor C helped host the gathering, and we had guests from Germany and Canada, and a few United Statesians who aren't particularly proud of the way our nation is behaving in the world.
For food we had fresh melon and clementines, bruschetta, shish-kabobs of chicken and pork, a leg of lamb stuffed with garlic and rosemary, hummus and pita, and tabouleh made with the Andean grain quinoa, instead of bulgur wheat. I made a bottomless vat of punch that was only weakly alcoholic, so that we could drink copious amounts of it and not feel bad. It was hot out there.
The German guests were Gunther and Ingrid, a couple of elders I met while walking in the neighborhood. Gunther was injured in WWII while fighting for the Nazis, and was released from a French war camp because he wasn't 18 years old yet. He cornered one person after another with his nonstop stories, and was the life of the party.
( The Punch Recipe )
The night before Jeff and I shopped for a few supplies and eschewed American wines, opting instead for Chilean and Australian. Food miles notwithstanding. My Italian neighbor C helped host the gathering, and we had guests from Germany and Canada, and a few United Statesians who aren't particularly proud of the way our nation is behaving in the world.
For food we had fresh melon and clementines, bruschetta, shish-kabobs of chicken and pork, a leg of lamb stuffed with garlic and rosemary, hummus and pita, and tabouleh made with the Andean grain quinoa, instead of bulgur wheat. I made a bottomless vat of punch that was only weakly alcoholic, so that we could drink copious amounts of it and not feel bad. It was hot out there.
The German guests were Gunther and Ingrid, a couple of elders I met while walking in the neighborhood. Gunther was injured in WWII while fighting for the Nazis, and was released from a French war camp because he wasn't 18 years old yet. He cornered one person after another with his nonstop stories, and was the life of the party.
( The Punch Recipe )
