Peak Oil, Communes, and finding Kindred Souls
When I think about places that have survived times of immense social change, I think of small groups of people who care for the weak, who are at play, living a life that they find interesting.
I grew up on this -- people who left the former Soviet Union and came to Rosecliff. There were people who had a jolly old time with fictional mentors like The Professor on Gilligan's island, and real-life mentors in their faces all around them.
The closest thing out there to an autobiography is Meanwhile, Next to the Good Life. Many good points made, many close to home.
Expect that what you produce will be a learning experience and that you *will not* be making replacements for what you bought off the farm. Most everything that you make will be denser and stronger flavored.
Eggs will have tastes you completely don't expect. Beans, honey, fibers -- you name it, you'll be experiencing flavors and textures you didn't intend. Go in expecting that your potatoes will taste like *your* dirt. As your soil improves you'll know better what you like and the quality of what you do will go up -- but be prepared to experience a hen's egg that is made out of grasshoppers to taste very alive and almost like a different food than an egg that got its color from the dyes added to the hens' diet. If you're vegan, that doesn't matter. Your food will also be tasty. Not all of those tastes will register as good.
Some you will grow to prefer, some you will like quickly, and some you may always find less appealing than store food. Just never attempt to make your food taste like store food, because, first -- it won't -- and second -- making the attempt usually produces something inferior to both home authentic and store authentic.
Same principle goes for your relationships with people, your housing, and just about everything else. Strive to experience your surroundings as they are. They will register as different, and you'll either grow to like them, or not. They won't become like what you left no matter how you attempt to control them.
"If at first you don't succeed, try try again -- then give up -- no sense making a fool of yourself." W.C. Fields.
Finding people around you who don't like to be meddled with isn't hard. Just -- these people didn't trade the comforts of a larger society to be meddled with by you. Many people who have a hard time gathering community around them attract and are hoping for Utopians -- who will meddle right back until you all get fed up and part company. What you want are Libertarians -- people who are willing to "taste funny" to other people and stay in connection to people who "taste funny" to them, too.
I think that the world is spinning out of control, off in a completely new direction. The invention of the printing press new direction -- big change.
It's a different world where knowledge and connection is available to more people and at a much higher quality than ever before. Yes, I know that the Internet has porn on it. About 1% porn, which is well lower than normal for human communication and I expect that this fact is due to the higher prevalance of people with autistic traits on it. As more typical people do more and more on the net this ratio will probably rise. And it will still be very possible to conduct your business online without seeing images that burn on to your retinas and keep popping back into your mind over the rest of the day.
Back ten years ago when I wanted a long polish sausage tomato I wasn't in the market for what the search engines gave me. I found the tomato, all right, but it wasn't making sauce, the tomato wasn't for sale, and whoever that was, I imagine that person should get snaps for their repurposing of heirloom tomatoes. Repurposing is a prime value of these times.
Both sides of the equation are happier now that we don't have anything to do with each other. and guess what I bought online this year, from another old woman like myself! My tomato sauce is thick and full of pectin this year.
As I plan for the next year I'm not full of dire feeling. I'm hopeful, and participating in the good things with my millions of new friends.
JulieB
When I think about places that have survived times of immense social change, I think of small groups of people who care for the weak, who are at play, living a life that they find interesting.
I grew up on this -- people who left the former Soviet Union and came to Rosecliff. There were people who had a jolly old time with fictional mentors like The Professor on Gilligan's island, and real-life mentors in their faces all around them.
The closest thing out there to an autobiography is Meanwhile, Next to the Good Life. Many good points made, many close to home.
Expect that what you produce will be a learning experience and that you *will not* be making replacements for what you bought off the farm. Most everything that you make will be denser and stronger flavored.
Eggs will have tastes you completely don't expect. Beans, honey, fibers -- you name it, you'll be experiencing flavors and textures you didn't intend. Go in expecting that your potatoes will taste like *your* dirt. As your soil improves you'll know better what you like and the quality of what you do will go up -- but be prepared to experience a hen's egg that is made out of grasshoppers to taste very alive and almost like a different food than an egg that got its color from the dyes added to the hens' diet. If you're vegan, that doesn't matter. Your food will also be tasty. Not all of those tastes will register as good.
Some you will grow to prefer, some you will like quickly, and some you may always find less appealing than store food. Just never attempt to make your food taste like store food, because, first -- it won't -- and second -- making the attempt usually produces something inferior to both home authentic and store authentic.
Same principle goes for your relationships with people, your housing, and just about everything else. Strive to experience your surroundings as they are. They will register as different, and you'll either grow to like them, or not. They won't become like what you left no matter how you attempt to control them.
"If at first you don't succeed, try try again -- then give up -- no sense making a fool of yourself." W.C. Fields.
Finding people around you who don't like to be meddled with isn't hard. Just -- these people didn't trade the comforts of a larger society to be meddled with by you. Many people who have a hard time gathering community around them attract and are hoping for Utopians -- who will meddle right back until you all get fed up and part company. What you want are Libertarians -- people who are willing to "taste funny" to other people and stay in connection to people who "taste funny" to them, too.
I think that the world is spinning out of control, off in a completely new direction. The invention of the printing press new direction -- big change.
It's a different world where knowledge and connection is available to more people and at a much higher quality than ever before. Yes, I know that the Internet has porn on it. About 1% porn, which is well lower than normal for human communication and I expect that this fact is due to the higher prevalance of people with autistic traits on it. As more typical people do more and more on the net this ratio will probably rise. And it will still be very possible to conduct your business online without seeing images that burn on to your retinas and keep popping back into your mind over the rest of the day.
Back ten years ago when I wanted a long polish sausage tomato I wasn't in the market for what the search engines gave me. I found the tomato, all right, but it wasn't making sauce, the tomato wasn't for sale, and whoever that was, I imagine that person should get snaps for their repurposing of heirloom tomatoes. Repurposing is a prime value of these times.
Both sides of the equation are happier now that we don't have anything to do with each other. and guess what I bought online this year, from another old woman like myself! My tomato sauce is thick and full of pectin this year.
As I plan for the next year I'm not full of dire feeling. I'm hopeful, and participating in the good things with my millions of new friends.
JulieB
posted by JulieB at
6:21 PM
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