tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46503561872412589262023-12-12T06:55:41.597-08:00the lowercase blogthe revolution will not be capitalized.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-89862264641807393702013-09-10T14:52:00.000-07:002013-09-10T14:52:04.716-07:00back to writing things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr14mVJut7WrDmZyo3d0Hgp6t5TCBIqulmDcAu0xAI638tJOqScec3yo5n3hGhsCetAbM9C_Q1xufdYUe3B4AvRODkJ-ivJWofNsUQkTiQTO3pty0-9WxtmQ81L0VRUE0t7cpuQVf9RLQ/s1600/0907031853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr14mVJut7WrDmZyo3d0Hgp6t5TCBIqulmDcAu0xAI638tJOqScec3yo5n3hGhsCetAbM9C_Q1xufdYUe3B4AvRODkJ-ivJWofNsUQkTiQTO3pty0-9WxtmQ81L0VRUE0t7cpuQVf9RLQ/s200/0907031853.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
for those of you who wonder sometimes, i am now living and working in eugene, or. i am back to writing things, if only for the moment, and would like to take this opportunity to permanently close the shutters on the lowercase blog.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p3-I64pma8ImsZOLrtrtDwZGqPA9Xa1FFX_d8pRGvQT70jQlLH9Uxsq9OKmkkd9of_K8oSlyNv9MlIHVdr5OBGbg9oQin2Ysgf_zIfguzrRPMuV1CaLJr1U-_TrzYvOZ7Boj2hsqL34/s1600/0907031853a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p3-I64pma8ImsZOLrtrtDwZGqPA9Xa1FFX_d8pRGvQT70jQlLH9Uxsq9OKmkkd9of_K8oSlyNv9MlIHVdr5OBGbg9oQin2Ysgf_zIfguzrRPMuV1CaLJr1U-_TrzYvOZ7Boj2hsqL34/s200/0907031853a.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a>for the last five years, the lowercase blog has been a suspiciously public dumping ground for my thoughts, feelings and realizations, my on-again off-again fling with poetry, philosophy and self-expression. when this all started, i was a very simple human being. it's fun to reflect.<br />
<br />
this next part is a little throwback to the reverent beginnings of this thoroughly anti-capitalist endeavor. when my english teacher gave an enthused speech on the joys of blogging, i jumped on the idea. "three beautiful things," which i pirated from instructor raymond pert's <a href="http://kelloggbloggin.blogspot.com/">kellogg bloggin'</a>,was the original format for this blog in 2008.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>three beautiful things (9/10/2013)</b><br />
<br />
<i>- love</i><br />
when i was 16, i worked flipping burgers at a gas station restaurant. one day i ran into a couple of filthy and smelly young adults huddled on the sidewalk out front. while i helped them find some cardboard for a sign, they explained to me how to jump onto moving trains with two heavy backpacks, a guitar and a violin. intrigued, i started hitching to work, school and eventually distant cities. i started hearing trains...<br />
<br />
<i>- haight</i><br />
years later on the streets of san francisco, emotions blindsided me as i tried to cope with debilitating nausea and the fear of another cold, wakeful night. i huddled an all-night diner escaping the cold until the snappy waitress, mistook me for <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spun">spun</a> and threw my money back on the table. she told me to leave, and i stepped out into the chilly streets. there were old victorian-style rowhouses disappearing in the fog. i took an awe-inspired breath...<br />
<br />
<i>-human beings</i><br />
my arrival at haight-ashbury loosened my mood considerably. still desperate for a blanket, i started befriending the street kids. some said 'go up in the park.' others hung around and tried to score pizza or warm place to sleep. suddenly, everyone was gone, out to crash in some van nearby. i shivered, slowly shuffling down the haight in half-despair.<br />
<br />
on the right there were kids on a porch, drinking and having fun. <i>no, they didn't have a blanket. but why didn't i hang out for a few minutes?</i> soon i was cozy and safe, chewing warm and delicious food on my very own couch. there was kindness on my hosts' dreadlock-framed faces. <i>why shouldn't they look out for me? we were all humans after all...</i><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWTJgrf5sPU-Me0HsIAQKRNJycZL0RKyEg0qNPrgu-slTQyl55GKC6gWyd5wKOndjToqtaOo73LgYqzPCNRffkiv6mQpVRXswVUZgIRRsEOehyhJRFvX-nu1SiU9G6enP1aW8Er41Ntw/s1600/0818031948b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWTJgrf5sPU-Me0HsIAQKRNJycZL0RKyEg0qNPrgu-slTQyl55GKC6gWyd5wKOndjToqtaOo73LgYqzPCNRffkiv6mQpVRXswVUZgIRRsEOehyhJRFvX-nu1SiU9G6enP1aW8Er41Ntw/s400/0818031948b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sun sets on san francisco and the bay.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-87566967633173067382013-07-04T12:20:00.000-07:002013-07-04T12:20:11.700-07:00narrative"killer" whales were so designated after brandon flowers and company officially named them nevada's state fish. '<i>those are some killer whales</i>' flowers is rumored to have mumbled after watching six of the creatures devour 180 pounds of carp strategically laced with the fading memory of david byrne. he then turned to his drummer, who had just returned from a suspiciously long trip to the restroom to snort cocaine: '<i>the 80's is dead, man. i got rid of the evidence</i>.'<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyns6LbtJ4PfxQdKpXsfrg24_F3TXk2_i2L-2qjH184zg-Jkhb4_J_Ud34zG7_j3NFWzSSaMid9KFcLQOS6AOwd6FMJbFPKc5EwmCCAT8NbjeYRflVf4za-LKa0a_uFkf3uzs4Q0iI5s/s284/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyns6LbtJ4PfxQdKpXsfrg24_F3TXk2_i2L-2qjH184zg-Jkhb4_J_Ud34zG7_j3NFWzSSaMid9KFcLQOS6AOwd6FMJbFPKc5EwmCCAT8NbjeYRflVf4za-LKa0a_uFkf3uzs4Q0iI5s/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>an well-dressed group of homicidal maniacs.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the killer "whale" is not a whale at all, but actually belongs to the mollusk family, and is more closely related to the common bumblebee than any other creature still living. both species evolved from the same common ancestor, pop sensation david bowie. but the buck was never intended to stop here, folks, because evolution would never have happened if it weren't first discovered and painstakingly recorded by the 19th-century biologist and circle of life enthusiast phil collins.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqLgu1PXtkQlsrtO5ulOyErOdptilFxzl2qIk5CDkMWbL9W8Y5Q3k1k76pD0W0N1WXkZ5bITHn0v4fc0i0VjvBHM0Waz5ZmR1ClMXmuEuK_YLcrhQQDe2_4oEzLqmqkCTwsCeUUQs0cI/s227/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqLgu1PXtkQlsrtO5ulOyErOdptilFxzl2qIk5CDkMWbL9W8Y5Q3k1k76pD0W0N1WXkZ5bITHn0v4fc0i0VjvBHM0Waz5ZmR1ClMXmuEuK_YLcrhQQDe2_4oEzLqmqkCTwsCeUUQs0cI/s400/imgres.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>a young bowie gives thanks to charles darwin for <br />discovering space travel. (circa 83780 bc)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
to wrap things up, ladies and gents, all is not entirely what it seems. so you best keep calm and carry on, just as our ancestors in the animal kingdom have done for decades. we can all rest assured that we'll be fed and fed well, provided our zoo-keeper is not brandon flowers. <i>buzz on bumblefish. buzz on through the night!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkYwHMYZRR0Bmv7pZHpyMaIvWA6w9iJm9EYR5ZQ6g5o-sLp0d8IgV9xLSj_dWVLNHxHdiMTwi39LucRIzOD-s2cTlDfaQED8cL7Ba8QiKbA2R5FXKSLjX4_TAZ-PlkWm-B1qUFllDJes/s500/funny-killer-whale-seal-fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkYwHMYZRR0Bmv7pZHpyMaIvWA6w9iJm9EYR5ZQ6g5o-sLp0d8IgV9xLSj_dWVLNHxHdiMTwi39LucRIzOD-s2cTlDfaQED8cL7Ba8QiKbA2R5FXKSLjX4_TAZ-PlkWm-B1qUFllDJes/s320/funny-killer-whale-seal-fish.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>don't do it, man. he's just using you for your fatty tissue.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-69080225729873459612013-04-24T21:06:00.000-07:002013-04-24T21:06:58.644-07:00when everything was new<b><u>when everything was new</u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"a<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -32px;">nd there was evening, and there was morning</span><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; text-indent: -32px; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-8X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -32px;">—the second day."</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">i clock out and free-fall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">through cracks in my consciousness</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">and tiny chasms in my will to live this way</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
i find myself awake,<br />
if not always alive<br />
while everything is shaking,<br />
wasting time, wasting time<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">in the spring in the morning </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">on the banks of the willamette,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">when the sun first caught sight of the rippling shallows,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">and people learned to fish</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">to the poetry of birds in migration</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">--their songs, their formations, their</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">flightiness-- i tell my friend on the cellphone:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">'i'm on my way to your part of the world'</span>Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-39981055214430960822013-04-23T22:23:00.002-07:002013-04-23T22:23:37.330-07:00'exploding like spiders across the stars'<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQgdG248b7h4tcxkvlb9R2AsX7ZF6fq07xiUef0HGliYNgu81TDt3ET_q8WTB0PGpXJ6lYu4WnNrnp3QY7Fv3GWb4wvDVcqC3d3vd0NIIgykbnktIZ_w7xhd4roK-U9_NwtX1tO-EsIYV/s1600/NewYorkStateline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQgdG248b7h4tcxkvlb9R2AsX7ZF6fq07xiUef0HGliYNgu81TDt3ET_q8WTB0PGpXJ6lYu4WnNrnp3QY7Fv3GWb4wvDVcqC3d3vd0NIIgykbnktIZ_w7xhd4roK-U9_NwtX1tO-EsIYV/s320/NewYorkStateline.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roadlife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>frust-ration!</i> the things i put in my life that i no longer desire. the leaning posts, the place-holders are here to stay. and as i reflect on a short and passionate life on the road - an existence spent seeking out just what everybody's doing and listening to the roar of the interstate and looking up with surprise to catch sight of my first firefly and smiling up at the evening glare of the rockies (<i>the rockies!</i>) - well, i realize <i>ex-actly</i> why it is that i don't write anymore. i know why i wander around this city smoking cigarettes and then commence to hiding in my room.<br />
<br />
thoreau said that "the mass of men... lead lives of quiet desperation. what is called resignation is confirmed desperation."<br />
<br />
and there i was, reading eloquent and vaguely anti-social prose about "the mass of men" in the center of a river, in the middle of the morning in a great and rushing part of the world, where<br />
<br />
we floated streams, and they left me on an island with the craft,<br />our intentions were sea-worthy if our raft wasn't<br />
<br />
and there i was, learning why i always followed the mad ones, the one's who showed me how to "burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles..." and there they were, extracting second-hand cigarettes from the parking lot and stealing abandoned clothes from a thrift store where i bought a long-missing notebook (and the world's maddest novel).<br />
<br />
and here we are, with the ecstasy of everything hanging in the stagelights of the evening. and here we are, in memory and bland re-tellings of a life once lived in color and with fury. and wherever it may be<br />
<br />
that i wear clothes made of expectations,<br />
and parade through the rivery streets of raleigh,<br />
knowing full well that prison is dry and warm,<br />
<br />
let me go there again. but life is not necessarily a free ride. debts accrue and obligations accumulate, and the weather gets cold... then warm, then cold <i>again</i>.<br />
<br />
and in the firming up of my resignation to the wealth-holders of this world, i have become only faintly aware that i once had dreams that weren't just place-holders, that weren't simply listings of passions & interests, career plans &<br />
potential vacation ideas. there was a world to see. i was going to see it, when<br />
<br />
i was going to the see the world,<br />
but i can barely pay my bills<br />
<br />
and here i am, with my backpack in the closet and all my books on a shelf.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-23998547602433754992013-01-13T20:24:00.001-08:002013-01-13T20:24:41.202-08:00(and imbalance)<i style="font-family: verdana, arial, 'lucida sans', helvetica, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">for the robot</i><br />
<pre style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, 'lucida sans', helvetica, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>
</i></pre>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>so who are these people, and how are we different from each other?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy</i></span><br />
<pre style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> Bronx on benzedrine'</i></span></pre>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>can we agree on honest, kindly differentiating principles</i></span><br />
<pre style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(so that you don't get your thoughts stuck in mine) please?!</i></span></span></pre>
<pre style="background-color: white;">
</pre>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'can i get a drink started for you?'</i></span><br />
<i>'ye must be born again.'</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>order and disorder, balance and counterbalance,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>'moderation in all things,' </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>except (of course): </i></span><i style="font-family: inherit;">moderation</i><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZV582Qz6T3r6dgplzXV2q8UvGPo8NH0e5LjujDRngFtfl5I1ho-sZDeURKP9KX6x5dIy-Q4DnwK6YLWX6abqGh86OXoFVt6VKwfbHyg_D8Yj7L5jxm1-5gQhQX2JAA7PILF8ktYMAxLQ/s1600/1022121136a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZV582Qz6T3r6dgplzXV2q8UvGPo8NH0e5LjujDRngFtfl5I1ho-sZDeURKP9KX6x5dIy-Q4DnwK6YLWX6abqGh86OXoFVt6VKwfbHyg_D8Yj7L5jxm1-5gQhQX2JAA7PILF8ktYMAxLQ/s320/1022121136a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-55528410367568289632012-12-15T18:39:00.000-08:002012-12-15T18:39:11.448-08:00in love and divorcewe make legal arrangements for a while<br />and make-believe that we're enraptured<br />my left ring finger says:<br />'you are the real me'<br /><br />but you aren't<br />no one isJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-17209634366444678982012-11-24T19:42:00.003-08:002012-11-27T13:10:07.684-08:00but the river (water woes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGbI69-HJumco22VMllcTTK2ZlPdakij5p04Zuh6farKFNrY5q7GHwU222pRWmTs53xvPxe7886QTN3wjcpFGbzO7ruQKkRKnAFvLiQ43JtyZzbrITo3iYj3o9tg8BEy03fKzFLwIEOM/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGbI69-HJumco22VMllcTTK2ZlPdakij5p04Zuh6farKFNrY5q7GHwU222pRWmTs53xvPxe7886QTN3wjcpFGbzO7ruQKkRKnAFvLiQ43JtyZzbrITo3iYj3o9tg8BEy03fKzFLwIEOM/s400/IMG_0115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
well<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
i want to see the river like i'm meant to,<br />
in reverence empassioning moonshine,<br />
but<br />
my arteries are rushing on without me<br />
their winter woes are never on their minds<br />
<br />
i was blind, but now i<br />
blindly make conjecture<br />
-through flood season<br />
onto memory banks<br />
and cameras can't ascertain at all<br />
on the bridge, from the shore, what we see<br />
the rushingrivers soundingsinto fall<br />
<br />
how dark and deep and dangerous<br />
my ideas about the water there<br />
but the river just doesn't care<br />
<br />
like it used toJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-66255296384468392652012-11-19T20:19:00.002-08:002012-11-19T20:19:36.527-08:00squirrel's (corvallis, or)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMGr-HpRchgbvFDm8ZOq1W5BsAYXCU1ac3mEqZYawE-Ik67_VVAQ9qKRz8XAgLxsHb0Pg_-9fk4i5Rhnr8DXgFoF2WnIrDXJyTPZq-BbuLttC2XfpX9QukV5o-rvC4oGUl8hBMXS9C5Y/s1600/sq+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMGr-HpRchgbvFDm8ZOq1W5BsAYXCU1ac3mEqZYawE-Ik67_VVAQ9qKRz8XAgLxsHb0Pg_-9fk4i5Rhnr8DXgFoF2WnIrDXJyTPZq-BbuLttC2XfpX9QukV5o-rvC4oGUl8hBMXS9C5Y/s320/sq+072.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">squirrel's tavern on a monday night. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>by joel. photos by amber (<a href="http://beerandthebears.blogspot.com/">amber's blog</a>). </i><br />
<br />
if it's a week night and you didn't plan dinner, you may want to head on down to <a href="http://squirrelstavern.com/">squirrel's tavern</a> on 2nd street. their atmosphere is tasty, their decibel level is palatable and their burgers are deliciously spot-on. squirrel's does everything you wish those <a href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/picture_3_8.png">fast food blokes</a> would do for just slightly more cost. here's a little taste of what that's like:<br />
<br />
<b>salad (surprising)</b><br />
we got a $3 side salad, which we fully expected<b> </b>to consist of iceberg and tomato cubes. surprisingly, this little dish contained fresh dark green lettuce, sprouts, croutons, tomatoes and red onions - everything we would have asked for. <i>dairy-free folks beware: the salad was also covered in multiple kinds of cheese.</i><br />
<br />
<b>burger</b><br />
squirrel's served us a tasty, juicy and flavorful burger (medium rare) for $6. this is the sort of thing that you dream about when you see a burger king ad, only to be disappointed each time you visit a franchise location. squirrel's can deliver, ladies and gentlemen.<br />
<br />
<b>beers</b><br />
we weren't in the drinking mood, but found that they had reasonable prices on pbr (a must for downtown) and no less than a dozen micros on tap. there's a draw-back here: there isn't a happy hour, which, at $4.25 a pint, makes this a one-drink location for beer snobs.<br />
<br />
do you need a cheap, laid-back <a href="http://www.mcmenamins.com/">mcmenamins</a>-style burger joint? are you interested in chatting while your drink your beer, instead of shouting over the music and the general roar? on any non-concert night, squirrel's is your joint. check it out soon.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>bonus points:</b> <br /><b>+1 </b>soy-free french fries.<br /><b>+1 </b>free wi-fi.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna9swJi4lKjQURRn9qEYl8KOnymDNhnP7OMgbhB-2yGJqAh1PJKsZPBiTipp6sM-bQY187ay_yK8hznywbQil19qKLCAgzcS3DpM5sib3J8Xf5miVKGQgimmByt_lMPEyItbXG31R-Zg/s1600/sq+074.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjna9swJi4lKjQURRn9qEYl8KOnymDNhnP7OMgbhB-2yGJqAh1PJKsZPBiTipp6sM-bQY187ay_yK8hznywbQil19qKLCAgzcS3DpM5sib3J8Xf5miVKGQgimmByt_lMPEyItbXG31R-Zg/s400/sq+074.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-80040055089256474332012-11-11T08:18:00.002-08:002012-11-11T08:18:41.168-08:00halfwaythe half-life, much like half-caf "coffee," leaves me with a scorching caffeine headache and an insatiable lust for living large. ladies and gentlemen, i am a full-time <i>food service worker</i>.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
it's one of those <u>things</u> that follows in a long line of other <u>things</u>: <u>laziness</u>, <u>college</u>, <u>debt</u>, <u>no job skills</u>, <u>desperation</u>, <u>deep-frying chicken</u> (always and forever in that order). i may have to remind you as i often remind myself that <u>this is life</u>, <u>it's all we have</u>, and <u>it's brilliant if you want it to be</u>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDEeFOpOIgQKvymJ8ps2JP6Axk93fcKvUAtL-8qZ5X3sIumLv3HJAWBtltAiIvJvzfTr8fn3TJ1ji1KdG7gUNxjmjIz28P4J1eCKbRSqlYkh7sZXnsOU5c0mgshniUo1CRuckofAGbGI/s1600/California+Trip+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDEeFOpOIgQKvymJ8ps2JP6Axk93fcKvUAtL-8qZ5X3sIumLv3HJAWBtltAiIvJvzfTr8fn3TJ1ji1KdG7gUNxjmjIz28P4J1eCKbRSqlYkh7sZXnsOU5c0mgshniUo1CRuckofAGbGI/s400/California+Trip+034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the world (at last sighting).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>p.s.</b> if you'd like to read some of my recent work, you can find my food column <a href="http://metroleta.com/zone/food-and-health/column/foodnotes">here</a>.</div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-8632624166539568532012-11-01T12:40:00.001-07:002012-11-01T12:40:35.916-07:00losingin the beginning of this story i was jumping to my <a href="http://www.thelowercaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/freight-hoppers-of-western-world.html">certain death</a> off a <a href="http://www.thelowercaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/moving-trains.html">moving train</a>.
i've been posting short segments that
narrate the events of our time as novice freight-hoppers. use caution: they're out of order.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv644u1qHq-fiUMO584JDYEBwdsRX1mA9UNoV-hnEm_wu6FFztrJts3aKhBzzrrkRnMHLuClgUswXzmf8nAWX1SUe25T_BnMLd-6Qi8ONNX6q7d5DOAaAUtVSmGElnFyOmbbM_-qUfUA/s1600/25_22_30_prev.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv644u1qHq-fiUMO584JDYEBwdsRX1mA9UNoV-hnEm_wu6FFztrJts3aKhBzzrrkRnMHLuClgUswXzmf8nAWX1SUe25T_BnMLd-6Qi8ONNX6q7d5DOAaAUtVSmGElnFyOmbbM_-qUfUA/s400/25_22_30_prev.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a train that you could hop but probably shouldn't.<i> photo: freefoto.com</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
i would not advise dying without first consulting your doctor. it's silly and irresponsible. if you do, however, want to read about a couple of boys from the western suburbs doing bad, bad things that get them killed, you can follow along with this completely extraneous story. here's a bucket list of items you probably want to accomplish before you leap to your death off a moving train. (trust me, i'm an expert):<br />
<br />
<b>play hide and seek</b><br />
we were discovered on the first afternoon by two railroad employees
doing a routine check of the train. "do you have any animals with you?"
was their initial question. the clipboard, on which they needed to
initial the 'all-clear' for this unit, was mounted on the wall behind
us.<br />
<br />
the railroad employees seemed cautious and benign. i offered them a beer. in fact, even
after the railroad folks discovered us, michael and i kept on riding
that train. the fellows had switched on the air conditioning for us, a
step we hadn't taken before because it periodically made the unit's
diesel engine kick on.<br />
<br />
the days were long and hot. we huddled down below the windows, mostly
only emerging after dark. we weren't quite sure where we were. we <i>did</i> remember recently being in denver, colorado...<br />
<br />
<b>dine gourmet</b><br />
michael and i had the luxury, of spending some of our time leaping off a temporarily stalled freight train and searching for food nearby. i went to <a href="http://safeway.urbanup.com/4035472">safeway</a>. there i got peanut butter and cookies and sprinted back to the surprisingly-hesitant train. <br />
<br />
after we ran out of money, our little grocery trips got a touch more interesting. innocent by-standers in the line for <a href="http://subway.urbanup.com/1284108">subway</a> sandwich in a rural kansas town caught sight of a long-haired northerner in short shorts, running shoes and a pink bandana as he lept into the trash can and rummaged for exactly 15 seconds. back at the train, michael and i nibbled on scraps of sandwiches and a quarter bag of <a href="http://sun-chips.urbanup.com/2718810">sun chips</a>.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>don't die in kansas</b><br />
in hindsight, we really should have planned for this. we stashed our bags, complete with one guitar (r.i.p. blue) and two laptops, in the bathroom of the unit and went out searching for food-laden dumpsters across a thickly planted field in the rural kansas sun. turning to see our train was moving, michael and i sprinted after that sucker...<br />
<br />
and lying in the gravel below the tracks, i found myself struggling to come to terms with my injuries. skinned knees and shredded jeans for sure; but there was also some bruising around my legs and one hip felt displaced.<br />
<br />
next came the memories: i had run after the train, trying to grab on an external ladder. i had succeeded in gripping it, but had let go to avoid being swung beneath the wheels by the forward energy of the moving train. i looked back to see michael was having similar problems. my second jump had been a rush, and i actually felt grateful that my momentum had sent me head-first into the gravel below.<br />
<br />
while watching the next train pass, i turned around to see that michael was <i>gone</i>. he had lept aboard on a wild guitar and backpack chase.<br />
<br />
and i found myself alone, standing in the dust, bleeding in the sun in a rural kansas field.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-19745533426141634782012-10-30T23:15:00.001-07:002012-10-30T23:15:26.068-07:00the trouble with gmo's<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjner7DkqS-Yv9msyt4QYyCR80kRHI5ajH2omQjwEKpe1eruYVAtb_pJ-UQfKaW2QP7hUl-t-F2XSQ-MWXq5vNLVBcnkBmc-cDtpWW2KzJBC5ag2HsUOnsfeL6X0F0BqMNzpeQtkDZ7Moo/s1600/120925_SCI_GMOCornEX.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjner7DkqS-Yv9msyt4QYyCR80kRHI5ajH2omQjwEKpe1eruYVAtb_pJ-UQfKaW2QP7hUl-t-F2XSQ-MWXq5vNLVBcnkBmc-cDtpWW2KzJBC5ag2HsUOnsfeL6X0F0BqMNzpeQtkDZ7Moo/s400/120925_SCI_GMOCornEX.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gmo corn being harvested. <span class="sl-art-illo-cred">photo by scott olson/getty images.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">gmo's (genetically modified
organisms) and gmo foods have made quite a stir lately. in the news, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/2012/0820/Prop.-37-Will-California-be-first-state-to-label-genetically-modified-food"><span style="color: blue;">california's proposition 37</span></a>, if passed next week,
will require all vendors of food made with gmo ingredients to label them. even
though almost every other first-world country <a href="http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/greenamerican/articles/AprilMay2012/Who-requires-GMO-labels.cfm"><span style="color: blue;">requires labeling of gmo foods</span></a> of gmo foods, it
is not currently required in any state in the united states.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">genetically modified foods are
edible organisms that have had their dna spliced with the genetic code from
another organism. they arrived on the scene in the us around 1996, and they
really took off. after fifteen years with no gmo labels on our foods, though,
many grass-roots groups are advocating for all that to change. so why the big
fuss now?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the fuss</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">gmo foods in the us are limited to a
list of just a few species, but pervasive ones. according to the <a href="http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education"><span style="color: blue;">institute for responsible technology</span></a>,
"currently commercialized gm crops in the u.s. include soy (94%), cotton
(90%), canola (90%), sugar beets (95%), corn (88%), hawaiian papaya (more than
50%), zucchini and yellow squash (over 24,000 acres)."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the united states, corn, soybeans
and canola are some of the major building blocks from which food scientists
construct many processed foods. in fact, the <i>center for food safety</i> says
gmo's make up about 70% of processed foods sold in the us (<a href="http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/campaign/genetically-engineered-food/crops/"><span style="color: blue;">source</span></a>). it's sometimes hard to document exactly
which ones they are, though, because they're not labeled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the current legal gmo's haven't been
genetically modified to produce higher yields, better nutrition or even drought
resistance. <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/"><span style="color: blue;">according to the non-gmo project</span></a>, "virtually
all commercial gmo's are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide
and/or to produce an insecticide."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the existence of herbicide-resistant
crops means that farmers can spray weed killer directly on the food and still
have a harvest to yield; and that's exactly what our friends at the monsanto
corporation have been doing for over a decade (see <a href="http://www.monsanto.com/weedmanagement/pages/roundup-ready-system.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">monsanto's description of round up-ready crops</span></a>). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">rats</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ingesting round up on a regular
basis sounds to the untrained ear like a recipe for disaster<b>; </b>and
there's some evidence that it is. <a href="http://media.mercola.com/assets/pdf/articles/Peer-reviewed-studies-on-GM-food-health-risks.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">thirty peer-reviewed animal studies</span></a> found that
gmo foods caused problems in the liver, kidneys and blood, along with the
development of abnormal immune responses and reproductive abnormalities in the
animals that ate them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">more importantly, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637"><span style="color: blue;">a lifetime study on rats</span></a> released last month in
the peer-reviewed journal <i>food and toxicology</i> suggested a new side
effect of gmo foods - cancer. the rats that consumed gmo foods from the
monsanto corporation along with the herbicide normally sprayed on them (round
up) developed large tumors in various places in their bodies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">gmo studies like the ones mentioned
above are very controversial. the usda considers a lengthening list of
genetically modified foods to be safe for consumption. the companies that
develop the crops consider them great for profit margins. more than that, there
aren't any long-term studies that specifically focus on the physiological
reaction or human beings to gmo's. could 70% of our processed food really be
cancer-causing without us knowing about it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">guinea pigs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">rats develop must faster than
humans, and gmo's have not been around long enough for us to see the lifetime
effects on human beings... yet. true, as many scientists and chemical company
representatives have pointed out, much of the most conclusive evidence linking
gmo's to cancer comes from <i>just</i> one study. and yet, this one study is the
only peer-reviewed study that has run long enough to test if gmo's and their
complimentary herbicides (like round up) cause cancer when ingested. time, and
many, many more studies will have to tell if the results have will be
duplicated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for the moment, however, we are
right in the middle of a lab experiment of our own. the american food system is
so inundated with genetically modified foods that it has become taboo to label
them. we, the uninformed consumers, are the test group; the control will be
certain western european countries that won't touch the stuff. and in fifty
years...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">more conclusive studies need to be
done before we can say whether gmo foods are safe for human consumption. in the
meantime, however, you may be interested in escaping the grand-scale
experimentation at play, there are ways to diminish the genetically modified
foods in your diet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">here's what you can do</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">want to avoid getting cancer from
the food you eat? though gmo foods are un-labeled in the store, you can get get
a pretty good idea of what is and isn't gmo if you follow the following
guidelines:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">go to the farmers' market!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <br />
here's a great chance to talk with the farmer who grew your food. ask him
or her how they feel about gmo's, and find out if they use gmo seed or
animal feed. there's an online list of 120 oregon farmers markets <a href="http://oregonfarmersmarkets.org/directory/directory.html"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">buy organic at the supermarket.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <br />
if the food you're buying has a usda organic label, it is legally required
to have 95% organic ingredients. you can find more info on the <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateC&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPConsumers&description=Consumers&acct=nopgeninfo"><span style="color: blue;">national organic program website</span></a>. while gmo's
officially cannot be marketed as usda organic, there is no system in place
to test for gmo contamination in already certified foods.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">do a little reading</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">many
companies in need of a little marketing boost have voluntarily paid for a
certification process to ensure their foods are gmo-free. <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/about/"><span style="color: blue;">the
non-gmo project</span></a> has a list of gmo-free products <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/find-non-gmo/search-participating-products/"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>. you can also check out the <i>center
for food safety's</i> <a href="http://truefoodnow.org/shoppers-guide/"><span style="color: blue;">non-gmo shopper's guide</span></a>.</span></li>
</ul>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-79768649294870399592012-10-24T12:42:00.000-07:002012-10-24T12:42:20.201-07:00moving trainsthe last time i mentioned one of my freight-hopping trips, i left off about the part where michael and i were huddling down in the moonlit sprawl of a freight car full of scrap metal. this was kinda cool and all, but we were starting to get somewhat discouraged by the realization that this train wasn't <i>moving</i>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHZmgehpxZcNaNB5dYNo0YugavTQmlfUCZHMHEGHnyuNsj_jv2DIaqTNKy8SelOMeDC9tHxEm0W2RIQ-Txa1TngXNHa-srSdakIT41zvGEzFUCIpJUH_AtmooH1TICBgqqPC6TEp73Bc/s1600/1225970399601tJ3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHZmgehpxZcNaNB5dYNo0YugavTQmlfUCZHMHEGHnyuNsj_jv2DIaqTNKy8SelOMeDC9tHxEm0W2RIQ-Txa1TngXNHa-srSdakIT41zvGEzFUCIpJUH_AtmooH1TICBgqqPC6TEp73Bc/s400/1225970399601tJ3.jpg" vca="true" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i stole this picture from <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1440&bih=727&tbm=isch&tbnid=4Iyw6hBBzCuNDM:&imgrefurl=http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-stock-photos-scrap-metal,-transportation-train-image6983023&docid=0zc5ZLZrkqrPkM&imgurl=http://www.dreamstime.com/scrap-metal-transportation-in-the-train-thumb6983023.jpg&w=338&h=450&ei=Lg3yT9-SFc_kqAGPqNGQAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1199&vpy=132&dur=3869&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=143&ty=127&sig=117771088184218813769&page=1&tbnh=169&tbnw=136&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:85">the internets</a> in case<br />
anyone was having a hard time<br />
imagining a scrap metal train car.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
as discouraged as we were with <i>not-</i>moving trains, somewhere in the future michael and i would have trouble with <i>trains that moved too much</i>. on this night, however, we decided to make the critical decision of hopping on the next <i>moving</i> train we saw (more or less). this looks a lot easier and a lot less terrifying than it is.<br />
<br />
<b>we stayed outta sight.</b> the engineer came through at the beginning of the train. these guys have radios and can communicate to a variety of anti-freight-hopping sources. engineers, however tend to be nice. maybe we should have...<br />
<br />
<b>avoided the bulls.</b> being an amateur, i mostly focused my bull-avoiding energy on being paranoid that this would happen to me. there are plenty of sites online wherein "expert" hoppers give you all kinds of advice. i had not read any of those sites. we definitely put some effort into...<br />
<br />
<b>staying loose.</b> it took a couple of different tries to get a train that was going out of the yard. once we did, however, we discovered that one of the engines (called "units" in the <a href="http://72.52.208.92/%7Egbpprorg/mkl/dict.html">train hoppers dictionary</a>) was unlocked. i guess this is standard procedure for <i>one</i> of the two major freight train corporations in the u.s.<br />
<br />
in the unit, we found a chair with dashboard controls, a small bathroom, a mini fridge, and a case of water. we were on our way in style... but where?<br />
<br />
we slept on the floor, sleeping bags rolled out beneath us. peering out at times at the darkened lanscape hastening by us. <i>where is all this going? </i>my caffeine-deprived brain barely managed the question as i drifted into a restless sleep.<br />
<br />
a midnight train going anywhere? this was just like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NQIPVqLMUg">that journey song about the streetlight people</a>.<br />
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-1177987913490228692012-10-22T15:23:00.001-07:002012-10-22T16:48:18.658-07:00dear corvallis<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://last-lost-empire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/LLE_corporations_are_not_people_by_frankoko-d3cbcza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://last-lost-empire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/LLE_corporations_are_not_people_by_frankoko-d3cbcza.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: http://last-lost-empire.com/blog/?p=1318</td></tr>
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dear corvallis,<br />
<br />
do you feel like your vote doesn’t count? me too! the
more i have studied history and examined current events, the more i have
been convicted that something is wrong with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">structure</i> of politics in the states.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the way i look at it, the option to vote for the “lesser of
two evils” doesn’t constitute much of a choice. the current state of affairs
locks political contenders in to receiving financial support from large,
non-local banks and corporations, which then have leverage over them once they
are elected. we need candidates, both locally and nationally, who aren’t forced
to raise extremely large sums of money just to make it into office. </div>
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<br /></div>
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this is why i want you to consider voting for <a href="https://movetoamend.org/corvallis-ballot-measure-02-81-mta-advisory-question-november-2012-ballot">corvallis citymeasure 02-81</a>. the measure is an advisory to the city council – one that
communicates an important truth both clearly and concisely. we, the citizens of
corvallis, don’t agree with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission">the u.s. supreme court’s finding</a> that corporations
should have the same rights as individual people; and we want to amend the us
constitution to reflect this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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i realize that, just because the citizens of corvallis may
vote in favor of this measure in a few weeks, a constitutional amendment won’t
form overnight. many cities around the country have already taken similar steps
toward ending “corporate personhood” and making individual votes count once
again. now it’s corvallis’ turn. let’s move toward freeing up our
representatives to focus on serving us, their constituents, and making them
less accountable to the highest bidder.</div>
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<br /></div>
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long live democracy!</div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-68853504520637970002012-10-08T14:24:00.002-07:002012-10-08T14:26:26.919-07:00they are a-changin'i found out today that i'll be moving to downtown a little later in the month. this is a dream come true for me. i have wanted for a long time to live right at the center of a city and take long walks day and night.<br />
<br />
it would be a little cliche to say that i haven't updated this blog because i've been so busy. many, many blogs and websites have scattered and apologetic entries form months ago topping their pages - just hundreds of thousands, if not millions of abandoned slices of an infinite(!?) cyberspace.<br />
<br />
the truth is that i haven't updated this blog because, lately, i have been a voracious velociraptor with literally hundreds of things on each day's to-do list. here's a little taste of what that's like:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt4PWAuhUsTZyV_kQD2ilZqeyAJvf5eBogwc2aXL6SBw-87O7lneWd9MPxo8KS7JZ-nNMTSybEfp0PTZCCivKlN9IR-XOWVdo9GJY2hhAVJWAH_iRguz2m6PIrvHQ2zC55PFzan4LtvsB/s400/velociraptor-on-bike.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt4PWAuhUsTZyV_kQD2ilZqeyAJvf5eBogwc2aXL6SBw-87O7lneWd9MPxo8KS7JZ-nNMTSybEfp0PTZCCivKlN9IR-XOWVdo9GJY2hhAVJWAH_iRguz2m6PIrvHQ2zC55PFzan4LtvsB/s400/velociraptor-on-bike.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>commuting...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/285016_S/velociraptor-riding-a-shark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/285016_S/velociraptor-riding-a-shark.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>...swim practice...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7498698918_1848fcc818_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7498698918_1848fcc818_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>...suppress democracy...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.magicwallpapers.net/host/magicwallpapers.net/upload/wall/d/dinosaur-hd-1920x1200-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://www.magicwallpapers.net/host/magicwallpapers.net/upload/wall/d/dinosaur-hd-1920x1200-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>...turning off alarm clock...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jamaicastores.com/image/cache/data/nationalpennybun-500x500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.jamaicastores.com/image/cache/data/nationalpennybun-500x500.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>...spice bun...</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120801013328/dinosaurs/images/e/eb/JPRaptor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120801013328/dinosaurs/images/e/eb/JPRaptor.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>...much too busy to blog.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
well, at least now you know what i've been up to. man, i should have live-tweeted at least half of it. what about you? ant comparable adventures?<br />
<br />
as ever,<br />
<br />
joel (the dinosaur)Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-31605839894183735422012-09-20T15:01:00.001-07:002012-09-20T15:01:18.169-07:00terrorism<div class="luna-Ent">
<span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #0055bb; cursor: pointer;">terrorism (n)<br />
1.</span></span></span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"> the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">use</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">violence</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">and</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">threats</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">intimidate</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">coerce,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">especially</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">for</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">political</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">purposes.</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">this definition has been helpful for me in getting back to the roots of the word and the concept. i used to think that the word 'terrorist' meant someone who would kill or harm un-armed civilians to make a statement - you know, like flying planes into buildings and stuff.</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">yet many of my friends are "terrorists" for blocking the doors to banks or disrupting the logging plans of one company or another (and even the state of oregon). none of them did anything to intimidate anyone, yet they bear a government-assigned title which renders them as enemies of society.</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">the fbi defines terror like this: </span>“the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” (<a href="http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/terrorism/welcome.htm">source</a>)</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">force against <i>property</i> for <i>social</i> objectives? this means you never have to become violent or even threaten violence to be a terrorist in the u.s. </span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">the department of homeland security, which lists the protection of u.s. economic interests as a major component of its mission, sicked thirty riot cops on us for standing in front of the bank with signs (<a href="http://www.thelowercaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/strike.html">may 1, 2012 in eugene</a>). </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">this dhs group is operated out a <a href="http://www.dhs.gov/state-and-major-urban-area-fusion-centers">fusion center</a> known as the </span>oregon terrorism information threat assessment network, which focuses on the "sharing of threat-related information between the federal government and state, local, tribal, territorial (sltt) and private sector partners."</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<i>private sector</i> partners. the department of homeland security answered directly to the bank we were protesting!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZug2QyJojjWPFtCcFlCMASoNQe0JMnqKMeCTYpqO8VIMdvh_SOlvHfVyQltUjvJzc_Wgg1liwUoIyrOZVkGkVlxBc1_5Nv7zOOd9bCfN7-ZJ-EYTn0di2zfOXdCTldTJ5aBUqWShQlA/s1600/0501121402a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZug2QyJojjWPFtCcFlCMASoNQe0JMnqKMeCTYpqO8VIMdvh_SOlvHfVyQltUjvJzc_Wgg1liwUoIyrOZVkGkVlxBc1_5Nv7zOOd9bCfN7-ZJ-EYTn0di2zfOXdCTldTJ5aBUqWShQlA/s320/0501121402a.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PJfi0IGbvKYwA4G1dnAI3P5teY03UfRWv5k1wwIjdEv892cg0AnodGXbnt9fpUtGpfdmu83dPCFyC9JdyqoV-1Bj4pmj8DkNDbb_rqYfkiDmn7d6o-u_X20ecmMdhUQ9LbthwY9aKdQ/s1600/0501121404b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PJfi0IGbvKYwA4G1dnAI3P5teY03UfRWv5k1wwIjdEv892cg0AnodGXbnt9fpUtGpfdmu83dPCFyC9JdyqoV-1Bj4pmj8DkNDbb_rqYfkiDmn7d6o-u_X20ecmMdhUQ9LbthwY9aKdQ/s320/0501121404b.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblyrJ6Wt81F1yQGM71oWXNkf_HaYcu08jmiMOC2shltMnHG-CFKoG3EPwRXpDGyPDjnqJVOlUzCJO4vGyDbPY7Pn_JV2-Aq910gDZTaJIdq582cuZuEKCYVkkLqLTw8nv9d07icoZYZY/s1600/0501121404a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblyrJ6Wt81F1yQGM71oWXNkf_HaYcu08jmiMOC2shltMnHG-CFKoG3EPwRXpDGyPDjnqJVOlUzCJO4vGyDbPY7Pn_JV2-Aq910gDZTaJIdq582cuZuEKCYVkkLqLTw8nv9d07icoZYZY/s320/0501121404a.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGq9X1TvjAaZbbr3XxVIuCD7rLqy3GcJ2jjQ4nJkJC5KH_h4djaARehYg-sONw2sA5KnFT46IdGBuFQDhaO9iY-u9D6X80-iPXyzcbSwGZhsKNqgWH36kzgTyqeVfLkbz18-9acjE0nI/s1600/0501121404c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGq9X1TvjAaZbbr3XxVIuCD7rLqy3GcJ2jjQ4nJkJC5KH_h4djaARehYg-sONw2sA5KnFT46IdGBuFQDhaO9iY-u9D6X80-iPXyzcbSwGZhsKNqgWH36kzgTyqeVfLkbz18-9acjE0nI/s320/0501121404c.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblyrJ6Wt81F1yQGM71oWXNkf_HaYcu08jmiMOC2shltMnHG-CFKoG3EPwRXpDGyPDjnqJVOlUzCJO4vGyDbPY7Pn_JV2-Aq910gDZTaJIdq582cuZuEKCYVkkLqLTw8nv9d07icoZYZY/s1600/0501121404a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d-owZG89OMQYIhwcJBYujIjG5E8fEsUNl4dMkg3DGTzP3B5r7NKfV4nrA2WIs5rDYqZv6WvcCPoL1QdqaDClkTaaOFBTdOBXg0UxexaqOF3irs7k8kfdQeoy0yecILfY4vSOiWd9mvU/s1600/0501121412c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d-owZG89OMQYIhwcJBYujIjG5E8fEsUNl4dMkg3DGTzP3B5r7NKfV4nrA2WIs5rDYqZv6WvcCPoL1QdqaDClkTaaOFBTdOBXg0UxexaqOF3irs7k8kfdQeoy0yecILfY4vSOiWd9mvU/s320/0501121412c.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fj4u_tdRJIjlxaRGGhs4ewaxlAHy1dZxq3cKmcQRnjKXZjog3LBcZxa4sVltMps4KFE8QsW-rWKq0mRHJsUOCPkcDzonV3-MyS4v9I1z42x9sOBMczOdrNYK8YqphOigGq0_-XU8lKw/s1600/0501121413a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fj4u_tdRJIjlxaRGGhs4ewaxlAHy1dZxq3cKmcQRnjKXZjog3LBcZxa4sVltMps4KFE8QsW-rWKq0mRHJsUOCPkcDzonV3-MyS4v9I1z42x9sOBMczOdrNYK8YqphOigGq0_-XU8lKw/s320/0501121413a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZug2QyJojjWPFtCcFlCMASoNQe0JMnqKMeCTYpqO8VIMdvh_SOlvHfVyQltUjvJzc_Wgg1liwUoIyrOZVkGkVlxBc1_5Nv7zOOd9bCfN7-ZJ-EYTn0di2zfOXdCTldTJ5aBUqWShQlA/s1600/0501121402a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">when i protest, i put myself directly in the way of fully-armed and potentially violent men and women with the power to charge me with any crime they so desire. my experience protest, on the whole, has been self-sacrificial where it could have been intimidating, positive and kind where it could have been negative and vicious. </span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<br />
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">for me, one model protestor is martin luther king jr., who spoke out against an unjust war and domestic systems of racism and classism at great personal cost. </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">another is jesus, who stood up against a still-iconic empire and made the mold for non-violent resistance. jesus emphasized the greatest way to love was to "lay down your life for your friends." hardly a terrorist.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">the first time i saw a police officer point a gun at me, i had feelings of sheer horror that reached down to my toes. i saw officers strike un-armed women with their clubs and the feelings of fear reached their height. for effective terrorism, you can't beat the u.s. government. as my friends always say, 'the state has a corner on violence.'</span></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="dndata">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<b><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">+<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">will potter writes <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/7-ways-canada-environmental-groups-labeled-terrorists/6374/">a catchy little ditty</a> about the canadian government's efforts to re-brand long-standing domestic environmental groups as "terrorists".</span></span></span><br />
<div class="dndata">
<span id="hotword"> </span></div>
</div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-26953836473985004632012-08-28T18:33:00.002-07:002012-08-28T18:34:26.539-07:0023 flavorsthe first thing i'll do when i get home is<br />
stick my feet in boulder creek<br />
'cause he's led me beside stagnate waters<br />
and grass that's greener lingered on the other side<br />
<br />
the first thing i'll say when i arrive is<br />
'where is the salsa?'<br />
and 'pass the chips'<br />
<br />
but the Lord is my shepherd <br />
so what i want i shouldn't<br />
where i've been i wasn't<br />
and what i've done i haven't<br />
<br />
he's restored my preoccupation with the metaphysical<br />
and dogmatically directs my political affiliations for his name's sake<br />
<br />
yea, though i may<br />
sleep all day<br />
- my mind might slip -<br />
and my clothes could fray,<br />
<br />
i will fear no evil<br />
for night is coming<br />
and, at night,<br />
we shine<br />
<br />
your rod and your staff, they<br />
batter my ignorance of pastoral metaphor <br />
the deepest dark is all around, about,<br />
inside...<br />
<br />
but i don't need a Shepherd<br />
i won't be wanting living all alone<br />
'cause i really only wanted to be homeJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-62244722591934293442012-08-27T17:31:00.000-07:002012-08-27T17:31:26.951-07:00that one time when we planted a garden<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFBySGzlB_pyAkoTLzgxmsH2BaRw2NBFHI5EH1w0pw9DgQIvIHvdKbJMYSt5M2ldPLQb68ndC68i_6Qgfyvd6QYbx0AcZY0uMzKFWRAZbZqOGzxLyADOj50G5ZE1Kp1AbL8UsG-McPhw/s1600/IMAG0179.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFBySGzlB_pyAkoTLzgxmsH2BaRw2NBFHI5EH1w0pw9DgQIvIHvdKbJMYSt5M2ldPLQb68ndC68i_6Qgfyvd6QYbx0AcZY0uMzKFWRAZbZqOGzxLyADOj50G5ZE1Kp1AbL8UsG-McPhw/s320/IMAG0179.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>this sign talks about possible future watermelons<br />(see plant in cage). also featuring grapes (left) and<br /> raspberries (center).</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
i had a <i>wild</i> idea. i approached the friends and family members with a proposition: what if we planted <b>our very own garden</b>? it would be <i>great</i>, they said. here's how it went down:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">december</span></div>
in december we selected the plot <b> </b>- a rectangular section of my parents' backyard in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangent,_Oregon">tangent, oregon</a>. this area had been used for gardening before, but was currently growing an enormous crop of weeds.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">january</span></div>
our task for january was to fill up the garden plot with a thick layer of leaves. luckily, my parents' yard has about a dozen deciduous trees in it. this task had already been done (to some extent) for several previous years. this year, i jumped in and got some of my siblings to help out.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">february</span></div>
i set up a compost bucket right outside the kitchen window of my parents' house. we were going to need a lot of compost, so we started early. we tried to compost grass clippings and table scraps, but no meat.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">march</span></div>
we started tilling up the ground in late march. this proved to be a difficult task, as the ground was still significantly mucky. it was also difficult when the gas tiller we were using <b>lit itself on fire</b>. from then on we had the pleasure of tilling using a hoe. it was a great workout.<br />
<br />
we started planting in march, but most of the seeds and sprouts that we put in the ground failed to survive the frosts. through this we learned to get specific advice from experienced folks about what to plant when, and not to just trust the vague color-coded maps on the back of the seed packets.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4mGBJPqBzjSb4DTeDdCge-SNNPRuB35gJqjURvg5ANfDDmLLdU8ZS8K125LM6M0dUeqZWa9zHl8EWfsE-lLH06SuF20wj4tAh2GYihrfHEKw424zl-_56UcgKzFvHi791hnqcGxutpM/s1600/0303121653a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4mGBJPqBzjSb4DTeDdCge-SNNPRuB35gJqjURvg5ANfDDmLLdU8ZS8K125LM6M0dUeqZWa9zHl8EWfsE-lLH06SuF20wj4tAh2GYihrfHEKw424zl-_56UcgKzFvHi791hnqcGxutpM/s400/0303121653a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>we also got chickens. aren't they cute?<br />my parents asked us to take them back.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">april</span></div>
we really got to planting in april. new plants replaced their old, frost-killed comrades. we planted six rows of corn and several cucumbers (spoilers: the cukes didn't make it). the compost pile, newly developed and labelled 'compost, yo', had started to toast its bad self. it smelled gross.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">may</span></div>
we set down black plastic cover a big area of the yard to create an annex garden, hoping to kill the grass and simultaneously prevent the weeds from spreading their seeds over this area. the idea didn't fully work, but we planted watermelons there anyway. we dug out the ground in the planting spots and replaced it with weed seed-free soil, placing watermelon seeds (and a few more cucumber seeds) a couple of inches deep in it and covering around the plants with our very own compost after they sprouted.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">june</span></div>
<b> </b>the peas came out in june. though bunnies had been munching on the sprouts intermittently in the previous months, these deliciously sweet vegetables survived.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">july</span></div>
<div style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">at this point, we were mainly focused on watering and weeding th<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">e garden. my sister rachel watered most every day. she's quite something, folks.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> we also started harvesting the peas. they tasted tasty.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHWpJ_GyfUGyMaE2g2gkHA2OcKvB_9TT2ddStk2EGX9yjT2tvfD7I019PbFVItpVzXgYm-SQ_nGIhY17bFZ8Bh2WNcHFNz6fTGHmUidpMi_vlN8n4K2LEtdSKWn5YkiXjJFvC-zTAFxE/s1600/IMAG0178.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHWpJ_GyfUGyMaE2g2gkHA2OcKvB_9TT2ddStk2EGX9yjT2tvfD7I019PbFVItpVzXgYm-SQ_nGIhY17bFZ8Bh2WNcHFNz6fTGHmUidpMi_vlN8n4K2LEtdSKWn5YkiXjJFvC-zTAFxE/s400/IMAG0178.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>a plant tries to grow in our very own garden.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">august </span></div>
come august, we had begun to set about the business of harvesting tomatoes, beans and basil. eating our very own vegetables gave the feeling of great accomplishment.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>note: our garden is currently full of weeds. this is due to a few reasons which we have already identified. we really should have covered the ground more and spent more time weeding early on. the real success of this garden is that we have learned how to succeed more triumphantly next year.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjxkjSDt7mHdwoSIIgxQAmao3Xewvp12S5Gqs4TOB3LgQW-q0iWso3EdpdOroqI1Wji-T3zaF-wnb0CbYWwakUkKAFOdwlTW5q1-B47LoslA0MzygSawRMW5oAVOHGEA4-S4Oy9mZpww/s1600/IMAG0189.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjxkjSDt7mHdwoSIIgxQAmao3Xewvp12S5Gqs4TOB3LgQW-q0iWso3EdpdOroqI1Wji-T3zaF-wnb0CbYWwakUkKAFOdwlTW5q1-B47LoslA0MzygSawRMW5oAVOHGEA4-S4Oy9mZpww/s400/IMAG0189.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">amber weeds tomatoes in our very own garden.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">p.s.</span><br />
<i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-warren/exposing-war-crimes-is-a-_b_1795401.html?utm_hp_ref=wikileaks">vincent warren comments</a> this week on assange, manning and the importance of the freedom of the press to democracy.</i>Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-67509467836592495552012-08-26T18:10:00.001-07:002012-08-26T18:35:16.857-07:00consequences<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfgmDmKMRW_XOhuOdKBmK2y9fcb5Uuxsz0bpZ9rfZMPS70lLKNtjjWKfz4h78A5ighId65mV90tL18lvHwKYbGlZV489wpC1H7RcTya70MX4E2EkVpM4m27tmxgpf_fqbw0ZGeX7Yr73X/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfgmDmKMRW_XOhuOdKBmK2y9fcb5Uuxsz0bpZ9rfZMPS70lLKNtjjWKfz4h78A5ighId65mV90tL18lvHwKYbGlZV489wpC1H7RcTya70MX4E2EkVpM4m27tmxgpf_fqbw0ZGeX7Yr73X/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we don't exist</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we don't exist in a vacuum, as
convenient as that might be. because we're alive and co-habitating on earth,
any disconnection we can conjure tends to be of the artificially motivated and
anti-humanitarian bent.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">you might hear writers, thinkers and
speakers articulating a particular human condition as an 'inter-mingling of
destinies.'</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">it's true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">schisms turn to rifts, and erupt
into chasms. gravity has a way of working with gale-force winds, and
tree-clingers fall, limbs ripped from the icy branches in an awesome display of
'just because.'</span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="margin-left: 12.0pt; mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">houselessness and poverty are states
of being which are becoming<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/us-cities-criminalize-homless_n_938095.html"><span style="color: blue;"> increasingly ciminalized in the u.s.</span></a> in cities
like boulder, co, sleeping outside is a crime punishable by ticketing. in
trendier cities like san francisco and berkeley, california, it is a punishable
crime to sit on the sidewalk.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1AwlYE8-QikZJ0Sir978AGqTkhalanqJr1ZcS_n-O49vtQQDOWHW95WPArxq947KkfmgguWkiLWM28lOPObdEzeGhTMcF4R11Oy5N_z1e3o6U3kcXAzgr4OdnVZWOKvPInc3bKIxndAOj/s1600/economic+indicators.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1AwlYE8-QikZJ0Sir978AGqTkhalanqJr1ZcS_n-O49vtQQDOWHW95WPArxq947KkfmgguWkiLWM28lOPObdEzeGhTMcF4R11Oy5N_z1e3o6U3kcXAzgr4OdnVZWOKvPInc3bKIxndAOj/s320/economic+indicators.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: <a href="http://endhomelessness.org/">endhomelessness.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">cnbc <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/41355854/Nearly_11_Percent_of_US_Houses_Empty"><span style="color: blue;">reported</span></a> "18.4 million vacant homes in the
u.s." last year, while the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_Homeless_Assessment_Report_to_Congress"><span style="color: blue;">annual homeless assessment report to congress</span></a>
recently reported the documented the emergency shelter stays of 1.6 million
houselesss human beings in the states.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">there are least eleven
open and available houses for every person freezing on these streets.</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> houseless people are often
considered a problem for which the government is constructing creative
solutions - yet survival fires, urban gardening and unlicensed makeshift
shelters are almost universally illegal in the states. houseless folks are not
hitting bad luck in nature; it's society that's kicking them out and holding
them back. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">it's true that in the states there <b>are
not</b> enough jobs. money is tight; and yet resources are far from scarce.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">even though there is enough food to
feed them, enough clean water for them to drink and enough sewers to carry away
their waste, the poor and houseless are subject to a cycle of supply and demand
engineered to maximize profits for landowners.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrVxswD8yJkXqqT66gXR_l1MDeYt63aLOG_1Vwmc0vWsHew9MQecVwbXlsTQMa9fL6GeFZEMhArN8_h3UFSdP3hv1IAStUkEGmVHhWXpOLz8nlzMmPkSLFzPtz6LZIJWuPwkXXChGzZ20/s1600/6603953273_5a0288c92d_o.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrVxswD8yJkXqqT66gXR_l1MDeYt63aLOG_1Vwmc0vWsHew9MQecVwbXlsTQMa9fL6GeFZEMhArN8_h3UFSdP3hv1IAStUkEGmVHhWXpOLz8nlzMmPkSLFzPtz6LZIJWuPwkXXChGzZ20/s400/6603953273_5a0288c92d_o.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="photo-desc" id="description_div6603953273">
dec 30: with violent crime still on the rise, the oakland police <br />
department owns up to its true priorities and mobilizes to evict <br />
houseless people from a foreclosed house. flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekeasy/">@geekeasy</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">worse than any economic condition,
the enforcement of property ownership has separated those who could not
(literally or figuratively) inherit land and scattered many into hiding. a
commonly voiced isolationist maxim advocates for living "off the
grid," but...</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we cannot continue to trust and
invest in a system that causes this kind of division. we cannot continue to
endorse and proliferate capitalism:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because in our system money is no longer
"facilitating exchange" in a manner that is beneficial to human
beings. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because our trees and our soil are not, in fact,
capable of withstanding infinite expansion.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because the token american export is swiftly detonated
explosives.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">war and poverty are not so different; both are inflicted by the rich and
powerful on the poor and disenfranchised through forcefully insistent
intermediaries.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">what
these two oppressions have in common may be the us empire's ultimate undoing:
because the rich insisted on agitating the poor, the class war has already
begun.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"a nation that
continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on
programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." - martin luther
king jr. (1967)</span></b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "inherit","serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-56152502903342069342012-08-24T14:27:00.000-07:002012-08-26T18:36:14.060-07:00summer song<div style="text-align: center;">
under <u>blackberry bridge</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">—</span>where the <u>river does</u> <i>some</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i>summer</i> dance</u> and gently tells </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
its <u>autumn plans</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">—there i want to listen <b>good</b> and <b>long</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">and if it talks of living small</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">and smoothing stones in <u>rainy fall</u>,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">and when its whispers swell in summer song...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">in the canoe canal</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">where shiftless empty <i>rowboats sway</i>,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">insisting they were <u>born this way</u>,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st">—there my soul is slipping off to sleep;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st"> drifting into <u>blackberry deep</u></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkphCgoeBdqGcIELTybBas15Y3n9K8j2L9NwYGB5Shbj12JElkMnH2vB_3JEgKvQ_MeChkGb94qHa6nlw-rhOb5OPKGlL5VnOaBhiDIWJgUuZ7yaGBeceBv-ODnSJV8Qe5JAHqjvUIEJs/s1600/0823121952a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkphCgoeBdqGcIELTybBas15Y3n9K8j2L9NwYGB5Shbj12JElkMnH2vB_3JEgKvQ_MeChkGb94qHa6nlw-rhOb5OPKGlL5VnOaBhiDIWJgUuZ7yaGBeceBv-ODnSJV8Qe5JAHqjvUIEJs/s320/0823121952a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="st"> <u><br /></u></span>Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-34061982661718944792012-08-22T11:12:00.000-07:002012-08-22T11:38:40.482-07:00the jobi was lying on the couch in the trailer at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauvie_Island">sauvies island</a> listening to a sad, sad song when i realized that i had to quit my job. 13 hrs./day and 6 days/week, i decided, wasn't going to cut it.<br />
<br />
it was a tough decision to make, so i slept on it. sometimes you gotta do that. i had this strange feeling that i was making a life-altering bad call, <i>and</i> at the same time i felt <u>sure</u> that quitting the job i had only just started would be best.<br />
<br />
after the <i>second</i> night of sleeping on it, i was sure, if uneasy, that i needed to do something else with my time. i called the ceo and let him know i wasn't going out this season... and then i started free-falling into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_deposit_legislation#United_States">the uncertain world of recent college graduates with liberal arts degrees</a>.<br />
<br />
my first week as a jobless bloke found me applying for open positions like mad - at least six hours a day. i sent out <u>a lot</u> of applications, resumes, cover letters and references. as a seasonal landscaper/gardener/etc, i knew that the fact that i had so many temp jobs meant <u>nothing</u>. the work season is short here in oregon; once the rains hit, it's over.<br />
<br />
i created a system for applying for jobs. my google docs account sprouted new documents - cover letters, first-contact emails and references were stored in a neat little row next to my newly-vamped-up resume and professional resume. i even kept an application log, which detailed each job, where i found it and the point in the application process which i had reached.<br />
<br />
what kind of job do you get right out of college? i wanted something creative - not an easy task on today's job market. i also wanted to stay in the wilamette valley (talk about limited options!). the most limiting thing, however, was probably my attachment to certain ethical standards...<br />
<br />
i have this theory that many people are trapped in jobs that they either hate or strongly dislike, doing things that the young idealist version of themselves would have punched them for. i know i am a young idealist, and i have quite different ideas about what is good for society/societies than many much more experienced people; however, i just couldn't imagine myself using my time and creativity in a way that helps to enlarge the financial means of a group of stock-holders <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGTD5Bn1m0">at the direct expense of everyone and everything else</a>.<br />
<br />
why not work for a large corporation? i would likely end up drinking myself to death. i have seen too many folks going down that road - down into social alienation or depression. because i don't own any land, my only means of production is my physical body and what my hands can do. to place that in the hands of an institution would be a strange kind of suicide.<br />
<br />
so i set out to find a job that wouldn't make me wish i wasn't living on this earth - and found one! i recently joined <a href="http://metroleta.com/">talino design's metroleta program</a> as a writing and editing intern.<br />
<br />
metroleta is a program which connects teachers to parents and other teachers and provides them with learning tools for free in a private online environment. ad revenues generated in other parts of the site (videos, articles and columns like mine) go to help elementary school teachers purchase school supplies and snack for their classrooms.<br />
<br />
talino gave me one of the best interviews of my life, and i am very excited to be part of the team now. look for my new column on metroleta.com starting soon! : )<br />
<br />
as ever,<br />
<br />
joel<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">p.s.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">i also moved to corvallis and started working at the stables in trade for rent. you can check out happy trails riding center on facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HappyTrailsRidingCenter">here</a>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJmFTwmK-aUkOVNIYelU_50tow5bdHq1KtLVt0wM-LXjAI4bVs2GQgabxZAn0ga5K1CihlrBpbFQCKsMmlczBdxVM9OnfEQVOJwGpOqo11rZ0ARotCBUNSU7iCKWj_SXrKm0aJaNXWw4/s1600/526141_512574675424656_1382265157_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJmFTwmK-aUkOVNIYelU_50tow5bdHq1KtLVt0wM-LXjAI4bVs2GQgabxZAn0ga5K1CihlrBpbFQCKsMmlczBdxVM9OnfEQVOJwGpOqo11rZ0ARotCBUNSU7iCKWj_SXrKm0aJaNXWw4/s320/526141_512574675424656_1382265157_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">check out my new place!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-71635729051843802242012-08-18T19:37:00.002-07:002012-08-18T19:37:43.866-07:00sketchy timesamber and i graduated with our super nifty certificates of achievement (b.a., english) and launched ourselves into a brand new environment full of wonderful opportunities for learning, growth and personal development - homelessness.<br />
<br />
we were actually a little more <a href="http://houseless.urbanup.com/4682005">houseless</a> than <a href="http://www.homeless.org.au/">homeless</a>. for almost two months we had friends, family, connections, a car and one and a half laptop computers... just not enough money for an apartment. we were also cows.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTJyKokhZYcnJZ7vy3kgZzjzs_DSYKWNDr36R1K58mvLgW7PbyW7U6QLCvwEw7bn8rIyjYx0MgIY6ICpxoADsGwMW8YNUhE_bEZzRTD8MV-Iz_LHWI9hTGKG7mokNgbBGo19ZYy8j-T4/s1600/continued+178.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTJyKokhZYcnJZ7vy3kgZzjzs_DSYKWNDr36R1K58mvLgW7PbyW7U6QLCvwEw7bn8rIyjYx0MgIY6ICpxoADsGwMW8YNUhE_bEZzRTD8MV-Iz_LHWI9hTGKG7mokNgbBGo19ZYy8j-T4/s400/continued+178.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">undeterred by our houselessness, we cows smile for the<br />
camera with a famous plastic horsey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXVYRg2TyqiTkTpaJXo0Q5mptYLQzxzzjrSo8za_Q6V6obSR018XXZvOp28LWk1Muctg7UFXgk5DQq5rFVlwH2_XyR-VVbLEaDYO2Q2u5bnw9povBCOBLpH3E2FZxozsGBStNiILrycw/s1600/continued+176.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
if you'll recall <a href="http://thelowercaseblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/post-graduatin-part-1.html">part 1</a> of this story, amber and i had full-time jobs with a company that had just shifted our start date forward one month.<br />
<br />
with no current job and no place to live, things changed very rapidly for us. we stopped thinking about papers that were due next week, and started thinking about where we were going to sleep that night. suddenly, there was no need to go clean the bathroom... instead we spent our time looking for a place to shower. <br />
<br />
but with the lack of resources came a certain abundance of liberty. we were free to do whatever we wanted. the world was our sidewalk; here's what we did with it:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: small;">what to do with your houseless self (5 easy steps)</span></i></b></div>
<b><br /></b>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: small;">1. pick up some odd jobs</span></i></b></div>
even for folks not paying rent someplace, food is still a need. it weighs heavily on the wallet. coffee, beer and gas can also be expensive. but, not not worry, you can offset these costs by working odd jobs. working on a job-to-job basis can be difficult to get the hang of. a couple of hints:<br />
<br />
- <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites">craigslist.org </a>has a site for most cities in the states. you can often pick up temporary gigs that require little to no experience in the <u>general labor</u> section under <u>jobs</u>. a more helpful, but perhaps less obvious place to look is the <u>gigs</u> section just below that. craigslist is extremely easy to navigate. the one drawback is that a large percentage of posts on there are scams; be careful.<br />
<br />
- if you have attended any university or community college, they are likely to have a career center and a corresponding jobs site. i have sometimes picked up jobs from the <a href="http://www.linnbenton.edu/career-services/student-employment">lbcc job service</a> in albany and <a href="http://career.uoregon.edu/about/programs/online">uo joblink</a> in eugene. many of these do not require special training or a college degree.<br />
<br />
farm, yard work and weeding gardens kept us busy and sustained our finances while we waited for our brand new full-time jobs to start. sometimes we would...<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2. crash with friends</span></i></b></div>
in areas that you know people, staying on a friend's couch or floor at night can be a great way to get out of the weather and into some great conversations. amber and i did this on numerous occasions, though you may find that it's significantly easier to pull off in areas where you have lots of friends and/or family.<br />
<br />
crashing with friends is also a great way to get to use a kitchen when you're houseless. you can get some grocery store food and cook a big meal for you <i>and </i>your hosts. suddenly, everyone's happy and your visit has been a help rather than a potential annoyance. make sure you do the dishes.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: small;">3. rice and beans</span></i></b></div>
for
home cooks like amber and i, the transition to lacking access to a
kitchen was kind of difficult. living in a car, we'd often have to
resort to eating prepared food from a fast food restaurant. that can be
pretty nasty, and surprisingly expensive. to get around this, we started
getting rice and beans from baja fresh.<br />
<br />
baja fresh offers rice and beans for $2 in many u.s. locations. when you add in complimentary chips and free salsa, you have enough food for 2-3 people at .75-$1 apiece. and we were <i>full</i>. this was a huge help.<br />
<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: small;">4. become a carnie!</span></i></b></div>
back to the getting-jobs-on-craigslist thing: amber and i were digging through <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/19-more-crazy-craigslist-ads_n_758718.html#s154307&title=Big_Surprise">sketchy little cl postings</a>, and found a brilliant opportunity to join the carnival! she sold ride tickets and i handed out snow cones to little children.<br />
<br />
working at the fair is a great way to make some cash and stay on your feet during houselessness adventures, but beware: there is a strong possibility that they will try to cheat you.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcX_CemdrS4lkgKzdrAFe5-OeBRGbIN_wCpIzYfoVzbmLSy2k0GI2pLrC3QDCwvljE1nsOxbbwZKbpbbilN4Fbr-P9j5j8tMalD5a_YXM5i6DUmABUgF2EMjxaU2vpjiD6bSlpt02fVKs/s1600/0802121431a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcX_CemdrS4lkgKzdrAFe5-OeBRGbIN_wCpIzYfoVzbmLSy2k0GI2pLrC3QDCwvljE1nsOxbbwZKbpbbilN4Fbr-P9j5j8tMalD5a_YXM5i6DUmABUgF2EMjxaU2vpjiD6bSlpt02fVKs/s400/0802121431a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inconclusive proof that carnival fixtures are, indeed,<br /> strung together with paper clips.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>5. sleep at community college</i></span></b></div>
folks who are staying in rural or suburban areas have the opportunity of sleeping at their local community college. amber and i found this extremely entertaining. we had a safe and inexpensive (free) place to sleep, free and uncrowded showers (rec building), and plenty of peace and quiet - a nice contrast from the bustle of the streets. we even had 24-hour free internet access (courtesy of a friend with a student login).<br />
<br />
sleeping at community college is a great way to have a safe base camp from which to venture into the world. thanks to recent budget cuts, the security team at your local community college may be too short-staffed to worry about courteous folk with bachelor's degrees sleeping in their woods and lawns. i would highly recommend this option for anyone who pays taxes.<br />
<br />
so, there you have it. you now have some idea of what it takes to stay on your feet when you have no steady place to live. it's important to me to stay houseless, and not cross the line into homelessness... but that's another story. on to bigger and better things!<br />
<br />
as ever,<br />
<br />
joel<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: large;">p.s.</span></i> this may not be true, but definitely it's definitely classic:<br />
<br />
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<br />Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-86099924554929656722012-08-12T22:58:00.001-07:002012-08-12T23:02:04.938-07:00post-graduatin' (part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBw7VQw8b6M1Y6f4UYtQfG4Hh4xoXWX0Ug9xNGoxIURuqr-iPfWnp2PqN_haAPrcfixlpt7CmUglDSw1ILE1ub1OtvU44wB7FpKRzweJ0LffiT5sAzlNvAr513dsyrNgThElpBLUt524/s1600/473877_3242590994904_1901054063_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBw7VQw8b6M1Y6f4UYtQfG4Hh4xoXWX0Ug9xNGoxIURuqr-iPfWnp2PqN_haAPrcfixlpt7CmUglDSw1ILE1ub1OtvU44wB7FpKRzweJ0LffiT5sAzlNvAr513dsyrNgThElpBLUt524/s400/473877_3242590994904_1901054063_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
what do you do after college? i started thinking about this exactly three days after graduation. kind of a weird time, really. all i wnated to do was be done, but then i graduated. and now this...<br />
<br />
so i got a real job. i called a couple of times on the best lead i had (a friend's friend) and landed an extraordinarily well-paying position working a desk at various nuclear power facilities. this was the plan: move around from site to site staying in fancy condos for free and making bank doing paperwork 85 hours a week.<br />
<br />
week one found amber and i commuting through portland suburb traffic. we were leaving her dad's house at 5:30 a.m only to weave and lurch our way through what <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_Bowser">the great mark bowser</a> would call "traffic drama."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGJaBqfgkhIEYI1aIIxnxamhTrgkm_2ybAHMniBlwGHEmnpIBXoMcFnseep0ZzAcrSOgur90BoqdP_dVzso1Q7Rb0d85gL0d883wB_c45ERPn4suz0FDYuuv7Ib6ZFulYfuJ_IlaDnZQ/s1600/Untitled2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGJaBqfgkhIEYI1aIIxnxamhTrgkm_2ybAHMniBlwGHEmnpIBXoMcFnseep0ZzAcrSOgur90BoqdP_dVzso1Q7Rb0d85gL0d883wB_c45ERPn4suz0FDYuuv7Ib6ZFulYfuJ_IlaDnZQ/s320/Untitled2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
the training was supposed to take us four days, afterwhich we were to be immediately shipped out to the southeast for on-site experience training. we worked hard and took notes. as soon as we finished, we were offered the opportunity of a lifetime: a golden job in the middle of the seemingly inevitable recession that has ravaged a good number of the world's economies. it had one catch - it didn't start for a month.<br />
<br />
so what do you do when your graduate from college? we were just finding out...<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUkgKH9ttfqaVHYTVvVT9UVOz4hO8WHgCqvl3nkXem_R40DGnkRpNABLxBtgcGvztLyVEcYIy4OtctU5yp6AMWOqoExi7xO0Ha9FzPA3-L4e2oT9532FXbG47m3GYwZ9HIxqG7wnKHe8/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-71808652737590337762012-08-10T17:46:00.001-07:002012-08-10T17:46:30.072-07:00really differenthere's one thing i've been thinking about: separation.<br />
<br />
separateness, like separation of church and state or separation of curds and whey is a conceptual divider that serves to define both entities that it stands between and establish their boundaries.<br />
<br />
sometimes the difference between two things is visual, like the separation of sea and shore seen here:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirikYGOzerA6QuOOKUcpojwMu9mu2PDVvUs1HQi3Qdmm9crzmGclWPFuiVmrjtDlEeVU_PZVb04n7dskbEgxrl5F7g5hUPKGCNJ6dLma1izNO6GBIMYfNyV1LzoE9ji4DeEhKYVi6LC-E/s1600/@shazwan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirikYGOzerA6QuOOKUcpojwMu9mu2PDVvUs1HQi3Qdmm9crzmGclWPFuiVmrjtDlEeVU_PZVb04n7dskbEgxrl5F7g5hUPKGCNJ6dLma1izNO6GBIMYfNyV1LzoE9ji4DeEhKYVi6LC-E/s400/@shazwan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shazwan/">@shazwan</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
other times, however, things may not be so clean-cut. sometimes
differences boil down to words; the separation between to a simple
linguistic splitoftentimes the only difference between things is their purpose, as indicated by the linguistic designators by which we refer to them: <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeQmdtqzU9vlIqYsksFGpWtK2QFVYEFaUGZbfhHbW1XsAAC8wh9MwOPGSUjKNjM00HBSovhvZ95Laj0lByA7SKzja4907r-srg0T2UH7DqbBYAxgZKLpCTiPvyDBxv1Cn0J16-uJzl24/s1600/trash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeQmdtqzU9vlIqYsksFGpWtK2QFVYEFaUGZbfhHbW1XsAAC8wh9MwOPGSUjKNjM00HBSovhvZ95Laj0lByA7SKzja4907r-srg0T2UH7DqbBYAxgZKLpCTiPvyDBxv1Cn0J16-uJzl24/s200/trash.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trash (photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/">stevendepolo</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeQmdtqzU9vlIqYsksFGpWtK2QFVYEFaUGZbfhHbW1XsAAC8wh9MwOPGSUjKNjM00HBSovhvZ95Laj0lByA7SKzja4907r-srg0T2UH7DqbBYAxgZKLpCTiPvyDBxv1Cn0J16-uJzl24/s1600/trash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeQmdtqzU9vlIqYsksFGpWtK2QFVYEFaUGZbfhHbW1XsAAC8wh9MwOPGSUjKNjM00HBSovhvZ95Laj0lByA7SKzja4907r-srg0T2UH7DqbBYAxgZKLpCTiPvyDBxv1Cn0J16-uJzl24/s200/trash.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recycling (photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/">stevendepolo</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
i guess this second kind of separation leaves room for a lot of shifting when it comes to talking about objects in the world. one man's trash is another man's treasure is another man's recycling. how do we decide who's right?<br />
<br />
maybe the way that we talk about things really depends on what we want to see in the world. some people want to recycle bottles, and others don't really see the point. but the way we describe things definitely has a serious effect on what we do in the world.<br />
<br />
what about the united states? what kind of separations can we talk about here?<br />
<br />
i guess the popular ones are separation of church and state, separation of business and pleasure and separation of texas from everything else (<a href="http://208.116.9.205/10/content/26622/1.jpg">funny story about that</a>)...<br />
<br />
but i don't hear much about the separation between government and people. and this might be because, in america, we are supposed to have "government of the people, by the people, for the people." (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address#Text_of_Gettysburg_Address">lincoln</a>)<br />
<br />
the lack of separation between government and people is what a lot of people (me included) idealize. but is that what's really happening? it depends on how you look at it.<br />
<br />
the u.s. government is comprised of a group of offices that uses $3,830,000,000,000 per year to build things, buy things, sell things and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_%282001%E2%80%93present%29">in some cases take over entire countries</a>. sometimes governmental departments take their orders from a group of wealthy elected officials and sometimes they simply act on their own.<br />
<br />
sure, we make decisions <i>through</i> our senators and representatives, but doesn't the u.s. government answer to us? doesn't it represent us, the people born within the borders of the u.s.? aren't <i>we </i>the real u.s.?<br />
<br />
maybe not. a lot of things are really out o the hands of the people living here. for instance, take a look at this proposed discretionary budget for 2011:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fxAzhEiNgr1FSB5QUsSZqTtncdVAz6zSWpfGOmsj1SxsnvzIIRrMLab1vFp5ojUoz3ftXkaPs2oqIrnAw3W1js8LUJSE5Fn_jb1xqXQRKntD8AWEnAAcKrGzGXgON0XOpAKKrKsHWAQ/s1600/cow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fxAzhEiNgr1FSB5QUsSZqTtncdVAz6zSWpfGOmsj1SxsnvzIIRrMLab1vFp5ojUoz3ftXkaPs2oqIrnAw3W1js8LUJSE5Fn_jb1xqXQRKntD8AWEnAAcKrGzGXgON0XOpAKKrKsHWAQ/s400/cow.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">proposed u.s. discretionary budget 2011 (source: <a href="http://costofwar.com/media/uploads/security_spending_primer/discretionary_budget_m_vs_nm.pdf">costofwar.com</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
though almost everyone i've talked to (liberal and conservative and otherwise) wants to rein in government spending and end the wars abroad, congress and the president saw increases in military spending as the top priority for last year's budget. they want more spent on it than everything else combined.<br />
<br />
what this says to me is that the <i>government</i> of the u.s. is not the same thing as the <i>people</i> of the u.s. if it were, maybe people everywhere would start seeing the money that we pay in taxes go to things they support instead of things they oppose. that would be nice, wouldn't it?<br />
<br />
as ever,<br />
<br />
joel<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">p.s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">you may want to read about trapwire, an "anti-terrorism" system the u.s. government set up that uses use facial recognition software to track people in public places. </span>here's a recent article<i></i> about it that appeared in <i>russia today</i>: <a href="http://bit.ly/NPkL8k">http://bit.ly/NPkL8k</a>Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-73880214902858881432012-06-30T12:27:00.002-07:002012-06-30T12:29:31.935-07:00ashevillewhat do you do in asheville, north carolina? we were hard-pressed for answers when we rolled off the interstate early one morning after a less-than-restful night sleeping in a field. we had little money, and what everyone regarded as <a href="http://www.sweetpeashostel.com/">the only hostel</a> wanted $30 per head <em>minimum</em>. where would we sleep? we decided to drink some coffee...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57B-uNdyNQjsOrVCrcPSeWYplCRexMf0vMpNrI2Qim-goHNxojk-kCzr5sdwllV4YX-50xb8X0F0Jg8A-t6i7R9AAOzyJl9IaFkylBrKPXzhjfdW1YEdNPylPDe7N7uGpJx2ARPBgGVg/s1600/amber+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57B-uNdyNQjsOrVCrcPSeWYplCRexMf0vMpNrI2Qim-goHNxojk-kCzr5sdwllV4YX-50xb8X0F0Jg8A-t6i7R9AAOzyJl9IaFkylBrKPXzhjfdW1YEdNPylPDe7N7uGpJx2ARPBgGVg/s400/amber+014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is sort of how i look before i drink coffee.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
... and then we met some nice people on the street. we decided to stick with this town, not staying anywhere formally instead, we slept in the car and at least one storage shed (shhh). that left us free to spend what little money we had where our heart was: pizza.<br />
<br />
in case you're wondering, <a href="http://www.barleystaproom.com/">barley's</a> is about as good as it gets (and not too spendy either). we got pizza for $4 apiece that blew our minds into oblivion and back! but before that we saw this kid:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliIaovInmqBEEfsP2lGD3QCgsz2Ixvb5yDMTRIzeAOJtn09w4sYjqB4UhZb77Um1_MCZtNUb9AXrWCdySKnQz9ZhydizXaN9d-6_bzgkJqJdQkwvhepLBY1Bc4FRyoXVME1RzT1c4ksI/s1600/amber+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliIaovInmqBEEfsP2lGD3QCgsz2Ixvb5yDMTRIzeAOJtn09w4sYjqB4UhZb77Um1_MCZtNUb9AXrWCdySKnQz9ZhydizXaN9d-6_bzgkJqJdQkwvhepLBY1Bc4FRyoXVME1RzT1c4ksI/s400/amber+013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jonathan, a fellow traveller, showed us <br />
his strange instrument of wonder!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
everyone told us about asheville's beer, and how nice a town it was. when we told them we were from oregon, they insisted that all their friends said they would fit right in in portland. and indeed asheville is much like portland, with a few key differences. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><u><span style="color: #38761d;">key disparities between asheville and portland:</span></u></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>1. the houseless population is low and/or in hiding.</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong> </strong><strong>2. even the hip folk say 'y'all.'</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong> </strong><strong>3. our beer is better. we had a chance to test this:</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwROjjYeHdYe6v9gdyQ82ALk5XHMKk5KJ4xsiuaMzTVEehI0oCzMY3l5zHpADZ63hy09mINM7FDokcqQaqGHWjlf67zCeOCcSWIzzmQPebvQ9SDVSyVrEzWl6ke1Pr6JF4oVuSDx9Es0/s1600/IMAG0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwROjjYeHdYe6v9gdyQ82ALk5XHMKk5KJ4xsiuaMzTVEehI0oCzMY3l5zHpADZ63hy09mINM7FDokcqQaqGHWjlf67zCeOCcSWIzzmQPebvQ9SDVSyVrEzWl6ke1Pr6JF4oVuSDx9Es0/s400/IMAG0019.jpg" vca="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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if you do, for any reason, need to check for yourself whether "<a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/asheville-nc-continues-its-reign-as-top-beercity-usa-2010">beer city, usa</a>" lives up to its name, you need to check out a couple of brews that will render you sockless. (beer is about $3/ pint if you do it right folks)<br />
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<em><strong><u>3rd place</u></strong></em> fire escape pale ale (<a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1847">asheville pizza and brewing co.</a>) --> has actual jalepenos in it!!! brilliant flavor, if a little light for my taste.<br />
<em><strong><u>2nd place</u></strong></em> shiva ipa (<a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1847">asheville pizza and brewing co.</a>) --> description insists "shiva will destroy all your preconceptions of ipa" well done! bitter has never tasted so entrancingly great!<br />
<em><strong><u>1st place</u></strong></em> kashmir ipa (<a href="http://www.highlandbrewing.com/craft-brews">highland brewing company</a>) --> rich and incredibly chill. this beer is the richest brew on <em>asheville's</em> side of the rockies (ninkasilove forever!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5YyegUfj9Co7FissDbARLiyZTXNtWqYc5AX_4ZMF8e4bp8z4akRofUQoOmWuEJawBceJEgZpca-My8yh2jZhDyVhsdfvYThXqM-8kvxVnYLQjrptYd4sgMEwX6ftJxjKGJVKWxbE_Tw/s1600/IMAG0041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5YyegUfj9Co7FissDbARLiyZTXNtWqYc5AX_4ZMF8e4bp8z4akRofUQoOmWuEJawBceJEgZpca-My8yh2jZhDyVhsdfvYThXqM-8kvxVnYLQjrptYd4sgMEwX6ftJxjKGJVKWxbE_Tw/s400/IMAG0041.jpg" vca="true" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we took <a href="http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/">blue ridge parkway</a> out to <a href="http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/skinny_dip1.htm">skinnydip falls</a>.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgxvPF8a34hZN8Ud5sbEqLr7LUpScsF3nZ73wRUYgHfWG29i6v8qpYnhEnfT-mqYDj2vgK0cwWi-7tfOb2yCF6D1PlnJHwb14Ee1IsKil2dlyJAiZvPdkO2ZP3Hm6g7pK4YZub5HXluI/s1600/IMAG0043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgxvPF8a34hZN8Ud5sbEqLr7LUpScsF3nZ73wRUYgHfWG29i6v8qpYnhEnfT-mqYDj2vgK0cwWi-7tfOb2yCF6D1PlnJHwb14Ee1IsKil2dlyJAiZvPdkO2ZP3Hm6g7pK4YZub5HXluI/s400/IMAG0043.jpg" vca="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.biltmore.com/">the biltmore estate</a> is america's largest<br />
house. don't ask how we got in...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkAlOteh1oIej26Lhx3RDODIbyebDKdyzDqAho0M3IIOCDGIdOSei7Bmu96gMdBl_l8YYRxPVgm8JLCuxFViRL9mGPD7hOc_LS17MLvqpfEAyrl7funk6aZSTQkynnobl_uhguXa2KXM/s1600/IMAG0048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkAlOteh1oIej26Lhx3RDODIbyebDKdyzDqAho0M3IIOCDGIdOSei7Bmu96gMdBl_l8YYRxPVgm8JLCuxFViRL9mGPD7hOc_LS17MLvqpfEAyrl7funk6aZSTQkynnobl_uhguXa2KXM/s400/IMAG0048.jpg" vca="true" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the geese at biltmore estate. <br />
also, we saw a bear (not pictured).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-ZXZT7hYwI9cXICdwd2W-3fcDlzgYL1ggVNylmbbSl3ptMPqPgTKsKzflACDMOIPaErfcKn8nJTUP2igMgsrTk77HM28Mm7CzcKlmagLaS64ABvhYBiDv8xVhIbyRn-iQuwJ7-ghJoo/s1600/IMAG0050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-ZXZT7hYwI9cXICdwd2W-3fcDlzgYL1ggVNylmbbSl3ptMPqPgTKsKzflACDMOIPaErfcKn8nJTUP2igMgsrTk77HM28Mm7CzcKlmagLaS64ABvhYBiDv8xVhIbyRn-iQuwJ7-ghJoo/s400/IMAG0050.jpg" vca="true" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">amber charms the geese with dolphin calls.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0Asheville, NC, USA35.6009452 -82.55401535.4976602 -82.7119435 35.7042302 -82.39608650000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4650356187241258926.post-89821181466100210452012-06-26T09:10:00.001-07:002012-06-26T09:12:58.276-07:00no goose in sight<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">we've seen the landfill rainbow</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">we've seen the junkyard of love</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">baby, it's no place for you and me<br />
- </span><span style="font-size: small;">bergquist/detweiler</span></div>
<br />
i could hear the silvery poetry dripping slowly off the lips of karin bergquist from just the other side of the trees. she slipped through line after line of anecdotal evidences of the "the holy ghost haunting" that is poetry, is travel, is life. it's her smooth and effortless tone that makes me feel as if she is mystical... or happy... or else always stoned.<br />
<br />
<i>there isn't much more beautiful than <a href="http://www.overtherhine.com/">over the rhine</a>, </i>i thought from my perch atop the dumpster. i pulled another garbage bag off the truck and swung it into the mass of rotting rubbish below. surely this is the junkyard of love...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyoA23xpDIwmqhPRdyBxAsGuHWDlIZ4zIgfmNdpRSiAzsDG-PplE4qCp4QDYEVqqhn9R_nSNp_7Y8nJWp6D6bb5xzMHCC_sPSgTqGdNIlQDszACBduW32iR3ttlbNBlj25K7D-Q6eVcM/s1600/426373_10151841376380109_1781762048_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyoA23xpDIwmqhPRdyBxAsGuHWDlIZ4zIgfmNdpRSiAzsDG-PplE4qCp4QDYEVqqhn9R_nSNp_7Y8nJWp6D6bb5xzMHCC_sPSgTqGdNIlQDszACBduW32iR3ttlbNBlj25K7D-Q6eVcM/s320/426373_10151841376380109_1781762048_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">musician <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crowder">david crowder</a> and his beard<br />
on the mainstage at wild goose. <i><br />photo: susi sahlman</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and in fact i heard snatches of two great acts while emptying trash cans and filling up the portable landfill just behind the trees form the main stage at <a href="http://www.wildgoosefestival.org/intro">wild goose festival</a>. aaron weiss, who sings for the folk band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mewithoutyou">mewithoutyou</a> played a set at the open mic with joyful jam-band <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/thecollection">the collection</a>. brilliant stuff, from what i gathered.<br />
<br />
i actually caught the end of the over the rhine show with some friends. there i ran into aaron weiss, and got to tell him that i loved his music earlier. no big deal. wild goose is one of those places where the universe converges in very beneficial ways for eating and drinking and conversation, where the next person you meet might be a famous speaker or an up-and-coming author.<br />
<br />
the wild goose festival, which organizers say was influenced by hits such as <a href="http://www.greenbelt.org.uk/">greenbelt</a>, <a href="http://sxsw.com/">sxsw</a> and <a href="http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/">burning man</a>, seeks to unite the christian left (and a bit of the not-so-christian left) together in a healing and empowering yearly event. a dual focus on art and theology functions for festival-goers as little more than a pretext for hugs and dance parties... for sharing food and staying up late together... for beer and hymns, and then more beer (and then more hymns).<br />
<br />
what is unique about wild goose is its safe and loving atmosphere; its a place committed to caring for those deeply hurt by the harsh environments that are shaping so many in their everyday lives. for once, they find a place of safety and freedom. for some, the goose is the only safe family they know.<br />
<br />
for me, the goose is a reminder of who i am; it's an environment in which i don't have to pretend to be secure or confident just to be accepted and loved. and for that, i am grateful.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">oh, and...</span><br />
corvallis folk: check out the <a href="http://www.wildgoosefestival.org/west">wild goose</a> happening at benton county fairgrounds august 31-september 2.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08855099445985126263noreply@blogger.com0