Sunday, May 23, 2010

two books


This book changed my mind.
It got me to reconsider my gut feeling against nuclear energy and genetically engineered food by looking at the facts.

I'd almost become a luddite, rejecting all (or most) technology as essentially problematic and creating more problems than it solves. But our society is not about to give up its inventions and return to a simpler era. We need technology to solve the problems that technology has created.

While nuclear power generation has its dangers, Stewart Brand argues that they are far less than the dangers posed by the massive amounts of pollution created by coal burning power plants. And nuclear is safe until there is an accident, whereas coal power plants are unsafe even when they are running perfectly.

Brand also examines closely the objections to genetically modified foods and argues that genetic alteration is something that happens haphazardly all the time in nature, and that by intentionally creating varieties with specific traits we can optimize yields, and minimize the use of pesticides. Less land will need to be in in cultivation, and fewer crops will fail.

I still have reservations about whether the use of genetically modified seed will give too much power to the corporations (like Monsanto) that develop the seed. However Brand gives examples of situations where smaller organizations were able to develop genetically engineered solutions to local agricultural problems successfully.


I'm reading this book, Life, Inc., which Adam read first. We came across the author on the radio, giving talks on the influence that corporations have taken over our every-day life.

I'm only in Chapter two but I'd like to share a few excerpts:

"The American Revolution was less a revolt by colonists against Britain than by small businessmen against the chartered multinational corporation writing her laws."

"Leading industrialists funded public schools--at once gifts to the working class and powerful tools for growing a more docile labor force. They ...sought to produce 'mediocre intellects and ensure docile citizens' and...modeled public schools after factories, in which the raw product [the children] are to be shaped and fashioned...according to the specifications laid down."

"The rise of factory made products and a rail system to transport them meant that consumers no longer knew exactly where their goods came from, or more important, the people who made them. The "brand" emerged to serve that function, to put a fact on the oats, beverages, and automobiles we bought...."

"The more individualized consumers became--the more separated in their own suburban homes, isolated from their communities and totally self-reliant--the more stuff they would need to buy. Independence from one another meant increasing dependence on the companies that served us."

Friday, May 21, 2010

Corita Kent’s Rules & Hints for Students and Teachers.


* Rule 1

FIND A PLACE YOU TRUST AND THEN TRY TRUSTING IT FOR A WHILE.

* Rule 2

GENERAL DUTIES OF A STUDENT:
PULL EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR TEACHER.
PULL EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS.

* Rule 3

GENERAL DUTIES OF A TEACHER:
PULL EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR STUDENTS.

* Rule 4

CONSIDER EVERYTHING AN EXPERIMENT.

* Rule 5

BE SELF DISCIPLINED. THIS MEANS
FINDING SOMEONE WISE OR SMART AND
CHOOSING TO FOLLOW THEM.
TO BE DISCIPLINED IS TO FOLLOW IN A GOOD WAY.
TO BE DISCIPLINED IS TO FOLLOW IN A BETTER WAY.

* Rule 6

NOTHING IS A MISTAKE. THERE’S NO WIN AND
NO FAIL. THERE’S ONLY MAKE.

* Rule 7

The only rule is work.
IF YOU WORK IT WILL LEAD TO SOMETHING.
IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO DO ALL OF THE WORK ALL THE TIME
WHO EVENTUALLY CATCH ON TO THINGS.

* Rule 8

DON’T TRY TO CREATE AND ANALYZE AT THE
SAME TIME. THEY’RE DIFFERENT PROCESSES.

* Rule 9

BE HAPPY WHENEVER YOU CAN MANAGE IT.
ENJOY YOURSELF. IT’S LIGHTER THAN YOU
THINK.

* Rule 10

"WE’RE BREAKING ALL OF THE RULES. EVEN
OUR OWN RULES. AND HOW DO WE DO THAT
BY LEAVING PLENTY OF ROOM FOR X QUANTITIES." JOHN CAGE

HELPFUL HINTS: ALWAYS BE AROUND. COME OR GO TO EVERY- THING. ALWAYS GO TO CLASSES. READ ANYTHING YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON. LOOK AT MOVIES CAREFULLY, OFTEN. SAVE EVERYTHING IT MIGHT COME IN HANDY LATER. THERE SHOULD BE NEW RULES NEXT WEEK.

found here and here.

Friday, May 14, 2010

infinite mercy


Babette's Feast is a classic--a simple but profound experience that must be mulled over and watched again.

At one point in the movie the General makes a speech. Here's an excerpt:

Man, in his weakness and shortsightness, believes he must make choices in this life. He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear.

But no. Our choice is of no importance. There comes a time when your eyes are opened. And we come to realize that mercy is infinite. We need only await it with confidence, and receive it with gratitude. Mercy imposes no conditions. And, lo! Everything we have chosen has been granted to us, and everything we have rejected has also been granted. Yes, we even get back what we rejected. For mercy and truth are met together; and righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another.


I've struggled with fear when making decisions. These words are refreshing and comforting. They ring true to my heart, too. Our choices make a difference for our lives, but they'll never come between us and infinite mercy.

Monday, May 03, 2010

old opinions

has anyone ever experience their inner critic gaining strength as they get older? i'm not sure what has happened to me (negative experiences?) but it seems harder to write freely.

perhaps its just that i'm losing my youthful "know it all" confidence. and i believe more and more strongly that, well, you can't be too sure about things without later finding out you're actually dead wrong.

many traits i considered strengths have turned out to be unhealthy compulsions. it's been an eye-opener to find that my husband loves me not for being extremely efficient and hardworking, but because i'm me (even just sitting still, or sleeping in). i used to think i was really great at psychoanalyzing people, but now it seems that i'm just really critical. so i'm trying to learn to just appreciate people despite their strange or irritating behaviors.

i think if i wrote a book on what i believe right now, i'd be horribly embarrased in about a year.

things are changing so fast. i'm not really a reliable opinion to rely on. is there something reliable beyond me?

i know i'm supposed to say "God". yes, he is always there. but my beliefs about who he is, what he wants...those definitely can be dead wrong.

truth, love and beauty.

my quest for truth requires me to again and again open myself to new revelations. m. scott peck calls it revising your road map. every new experience is an opportunity to allow myself to learn, to correct course, or to erase and re-draw lines on the map.

love turns out to be something different than i thought it was. all those times i thought i was helping people were a disaster. turns out i was just supposed to enjoy them! martin buber says, look at your person as a thou, not as an it; as a living, feeling person in this moment, not the concept you have of them. of course they're not perfect, but that doesn't really matter.

beauty too isn't easy to pin down. what i find beautiful changes with time. styles change. i used to love the rustic furniture look but lately i see that some of it is fake rustic. and so i'd prefer to have a quality genuine piece of furniture. i used to want all my dishes to match in their antique battered-ness. but why not have some new things and some old ones and some in between? isn't that more like life?

---

all those cherished radical ideas...they're getting rubbed off like embarassing rough edges.

maybe i'm getting worn and a little rustic myself. i guess that's a part of aging i can appreciate.