Californication meets Tranpacificism

So the time has come..
I never wanted a cell phone. My parents got me one without asking me in 2001. I thought that was stupid for several reasons, one of which being that i could probably just get one from work. I ended up doing that, went into work, and said “Peter, so when do I get that cell phone,” or some similarly presuming fashion. I don’t know whether he knew i was playing around, with me acting like we had had a conversation about this before. I never did ask him, but he did get me a cell phone. Everyone in our group was using the Nextel* phones, with their patented “push-to-talk” technology. For those unfamiliar, this was their walkie-talkie-like functionality. Instead of having to call someone, you pulled up their short code, held down a button on the side, and spoke, and they would hear you. It’s was pretty brilliant. While it was possible that i tricked my boss into giving me a phone, in the end, the joke was on me. (more…)

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Likely most had missed the pre-election Debate wherein ALL the major parties vice presidential candidates were invited, the “Real V.P. Debate“, as it were. These are the debates that actually have substance, as opposed to the water-sipping moments, platitudes, and the rest of the nonsense that goes on normally. I speak not only of normal debates run by the corporations and their organizations, but of the entire soap opera that is the “presidential (s)election.” It’s a joke, pitiful, a disgrace.. well, since it’s really just there to entertain, i guess it’s doing its job.

As this is being posted after the 2008 Nader campaign has come to it’s completion, here was an interesting note I received via email:

What’s Next?   Ralph would like to take the campaign energy/momentum and channel it immediately into organizing congressional watchdog groups district by district over the coming weeks/months so that when the Dems take power on Jan. 20th we can put sustained pressure on Congress to enact real progressive “change.”  Please SIGN-UP NOW by going to november5.org to stay in touch w/that effort.  We will be sending an email on Monday…

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In searching for the exact wording of the Cicero quote “Freedom is participation in power” I came across this extremely interesting page.  It’s about power, but not in any way that I have seen it talked about before.  He quotes different views on power, somehow seems to dismiss them all, but also talks about the power of our perspectives, the way we talk about “helping” others, and more.  It impacted me in giving me a slice of perspective from the world of the blind, but I want to say it wasn’t, and isn’t, about that — it’s more.

After all, anything worthwhile has to be more thoughtful, deep and meaningful than the obvious meaning.  Here’s a quote from the piece and a link to it, I thought it was amazing, and it really captivated me.  What do you think?

Power denotes the ability to do what the person, organization, or country wants done at the time and in the way that the entity possessing power wants it done with minimal inconvenience. It is neither morally corrupt nor spiritually invigorating. It is neutral.

via Leadership and the Matrix of Power.

PS: Happy Holidays everyone! 

(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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(Okay, so I don’t actually believe those commercials that people should feel obligated or responsibility for other people and their actions, but it makes a catchy title.

But honestly. The polls show the majority of people in this country are against the Iraq war. I’ll assume (without any empirical evidence) that largely applies to my FB friends. So, why vote for a War candidate? I’m afraid that we often let the media write history for us, rather than remembering what had actually happened.
By that, I mean we have had (except possibly Carter?) nothing but war presidents since WW2. Lest we forget one of the most famous leaders (who was of course shut up, because people largely shutdown when they are left leader-less) in our country, he said:

The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own country. – Martin Luther King Jr.

But I’m not the best spoken or most thoughtful, so check out this video which touches on social movements and the future of our country.
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I visited this NGO called SCOPE in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As their website seems currently inaccessible, you can take a look at their a photo album which showcases some of their projects.

I was a little frustrated during my time spent with them. They didn’t have the vision for projects like greywater re-use, or affecting the sewage outfall from normal houses. They also seemed un or under-interested in spreading gardening, notably on a household scale which could not only directly affect hunger, but also give a place for their compost to go, easily closing the loop.
Here’s a cool Wired story: “Build a Square foot Garden,” which helps illustrate that a lot can be down with a little. (Bit of space, in this case.)

I also ran across a WSJ video, posted on Conscious Consuming‘s blog, about Urban Farming. I’m a really big advocate of urban farming. Partially because people are leaving the “Rural”/”countryside,” but also because that’s where the people are, and there’s a _lot_ of wasted space in cities. People should be close to their food, in location, understanding, and more.

I think I had a lot more to say on this, but going to close this post at this..

Wow, as of nov’11, most links in this post are dead! Eek.

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