I heard Lance say on Larry King the other night that "I'll never be in this good of shape again." That's sad.
What kind of shape has he ever been in for garden-hoeing, kitchen-work, XC skiing, seakayaking, thai-kickboxing, javelin-throwing, longbow shooting, ax-chopping, timber-frame house-building, yoga or esoteric studies?
In a month or so he could get into far better shape than he's ever been in any for those activities. And he could get into better KINDS of shape.
Lance has only been in world-class shape for road-bike racing.
He's actually been weak and ill-equipped to do those other activities and to do things in other ways.
There's a big new world out there waiting for him, all at least as good as bike racing, easily healthier and so offering better general "shape."
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
PS: Goal for OYB --- the other side of the new hope
PS:
Furthermore, the currently dominant modes of presenting culture to the public (academia and NYC-based publishing --- literary mags and NPR-vibe literature) have been co-opted and corrupted, or have given up or proven not up to the job.
They're losing, fast! Readers are leaving them in droves or using them as excuses to gossip at book clubs.
Only indy movies and indy music seem vibrant and viable, but even they are overly ghettoized. They're missing their natural leader: a strong indy LITERATURE.
Cultural revival needs to look not to academia and elites but to the cultural expressions of people more usually associated with...practical culture and outdoor sports. Again, a la Hemingway, in a sense. And by "practical culture" I mean the arts of everyday living: gardening, cooking, housekeeping, auto-repair, even livelihood work habits. All these are ripe for a resurgence of cultural value and expression. Again, academia and NYC/LA elites offer NOTHING, NO HOPE in this regard. Independents---probably from the hinterlands---are where it's at for this mission. OYB hopes to be a part of it.
Furthermore, the currently dominant modes of presenting culture to the public (academia and NYC-based publishing --- literary mags and NPR-vibe literature) have been co-opted and corrupted, or have given up or proven not up to the job.
They're losing, fast! Readers are leaving them in droves or using them as excuses to gossip at book clubs.
Only indy movies and indy music seem vibrant and viable, but even they are overly ghettoized. They're missing their natural leader: a strong indy LITERATURE.
Cultural revival needs to look not to academia and elites but to the cultural expressions of people more usually associated with...practical culture and outdoor sports. Again, a la Hemingway, in a sense. And by "practical culture" I mean the arts of everyday living: gardening, cooking, housekeeping, auto-repair, even livelihood work habits. All these are ripe for a resurgence of cultural value and expression. Again, academia and NYC/LA elites offer NOTHING, NO HOPE in this regard. Independents---probably from the hinterlands---are where it's at for this mission. OYB hopes to be a part of it.
It's Time for Indy Biz to RISE UP!
Indy biz is in big trouble these days. They're disappearing fast. Small towns and traditional downtowns are nose-diving as well. Only metro areas seem to be holding on. The freewayexitminimallbigboxes are rolling like steamrollers. Is it a Red State take-over? (Whups, or is that Blue? I'm dyslexic. Which one is Texas? --That should set me straight.)
Why is indy biz hurting so bad?
It's not using any of the hyper-powerful sales tools that big biz is using. It's not using culture.
When I talk to indy biz owners I sense one main thing: panic and desperation (oh, that's two). And rigidity. Frozen in the headlights. They know only one thing: Quality. And they have that in spades. And great customer and human and employee relations. They HAVE culture, indeed they do. They're the SOURCE of it. But they don't USE it to survive, thrive and beat back the big boxes. Everything the Little Guy does has to make him money money money does it pay does it pay does it pay no time no time no time... Makes sense, coz if it doesn't work good now fast direct---they're gone. But panic never helps and we're losing them ever-faster.
How to stop the loss?
UNITE!
***
Big Biz is singing ONE song, ALL together. The song of crap and power and image.
But indy biz could use image, too---and the truth---and win. Coz sometimes image is more than image---it's art. Big Biz will NEVER get that one.
Coz indy biz is the source of ART as well as culture.
Big Biz ties its message into everything every which way. Indy biz needs to also.
But indy biz is frozen out of mainstream media and all its tie-in opportunities.
It needs to create its own.
It needs to work together. It needs to unite in its diversity. It needs to wrench diversity away from exclusivity-politics and lobbyism once and for all.
Not just for convenience or survival but because that's where it gets its life. It needs to EXTEND its LIVING model beyond its usual range or it'll die. The world is bigger today, but indy biz still has what it takes to win, if only it will dare to use it.
Right now I usually see indy biz in specialty media---and often where little shops are competing against each other for scarce bucks. Rarely do they work together.
But their customers use them together.
For the most part. Some customers treat indy like it was big---they use it for identity and won't shop anywhere but in one certain little shop. That's not the future. Most people work a wider scope these days. Indy biz needs to reach beyond its neighborhood and usual suspects. It needs to go after GM, Time-Warner and all the Billion-Ton Weaklings out there. It can be done.
Why is indy biz hurting so bad?
It's not using any of the hyper-powerful sales tools that big biz is using. It's not using culture.
When I talk to indy biz owners I sense one main thing: panic and desperation (oh, that's two). And rigidity. Frozen in the headlights. They know only one thing: Quality. And they have that in spades. And great customer and human and employee relations. They HAVE culture, indeed they do. They're the SOURCE of it. But they don't USE it to survive, thrive and beat back the big boxes. Everything the Little Guy does has to make him money money money does it pay does it pay does it pay no time no time no time... Makes sense, coz if it doesn't work good now fast direct---they're gone. But panic never helps and we're losing them ever-faster.
How to stop the loss?
UNITE!
***
Big Biz is singing ONE song, ALL together. The song of crap and power and image.
But indy biz could use image, too---and the truth---and win. Coz sometimes image is more than image---it's art. Big Biz will NEVER get that one.
Coz indy biz is the source of ART as well as culture.
Big Biz ties its message into everything every which way. Indy biz needs to also.
But indy biz is frozen out of mainstream media and all its tie-in opportunities.
It needs to create its own.
It needs to work together. It needs to unite in its diversity. It needs to wrench diversity away from exclusivity-politics and lobbyism once and for all.
Not just for convenience or survival but because that's where it gets its life. It needs to EXTEND its LIVING model beyond its usual range or it'll die. The world is bigger today, but indy biz still has what it takes to win, if only it will dare to use it.
Right now I usually see indy biz in specialty media---and often where little shops are competing against each other for scarce bucks. Rarely do they work together.
But their customers use them together.
For the most part. Some customers treat indy like it was big---they use it for identity and won't shop anywhere but in one certain little shop. That's not the future. Most people work a wider scope these days. Indy biz needs to reach beyond its neighborhood and usual suspects. It needs to go after GM, Time-Warner and all the Billion-Ton Weaklings out there. It can be done.
Fuel Usage by Sector in the U.S....
I'm wondering which sectors of the US economy use which percentages of the overall oil/fuel use.
Does anyone know or have a good hunch?
I can picture several sectors as responding quite quickly and sanely to the need to conserve. But what would the overall impact be?
For instance:
*There's no need to use airlines for recreation travel. Let that go to near zero. It's a waste.
*There's no need to have cold commerical buildings in the summer and hot ones in the winter. Switch to, say, 75F summer temp and 65F winter temp, as a start. (As it is, Martha and I wear winter coats when we go to a movie or restaurant in the summer and we wear Hawaiian shirts when we go to public buildings in the winter. Who's INSANE, us or them?)
*Short jaunts can be done by bike, foot or canoe.
*Rec vehicles don't need motors---won't quiet lakes and uneroded woodlands be nice? Bike, canoe, sailboat, rowboat, horse, mule, llama, donkey---all work fine for fun.
Anyway, here are the major U.S. energy sector players that I picture (fill in any missing big ones). Maybe they could be grouped in bigger chunks...
individuals (commuting, driving, recreation/ATV, lawn/yard)
airlines individual biz/recreation
airlines material transport
trucking
trains
boats/shipping (for transport)
boats cruiselines/recreation
home heat/cool
biz heat/cool
industry
construction (bldgs, roads)
ag (incl. timber)
boats---commercial fishing
mass trans (incl. Amtrak)
infra trans (cops, fire, EMT, govt)
military
****
OK: I heard back in a couple emails about this:
The results are that approx one-third of fuel is used by each of the 3 main sectors: residential, commercial and industrial. I don't know how they break down as per above.
Here's more:
Brief 2004 numbers (in kbarrels/day):
transportation 13,621
industrial 5,082
residential 893
electrical power 527
commercial 395
Gory details here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513a.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513b.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513c.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513d.html
Does anyone know or have a good hunch?
I can picture several sectors as responding quite quickly and sanely to the need to conserve. But what would the overall impact be?
For instance:
*There's no need to use airlines for recreation travel. Let that go to near zero. It's a waste.
*There's no need to have cold commerical buildings in the summer and hot ones in the winter. Switch to, say, 75F summer temp and 65F winter temp, as a start. (As it is, Martha and I wear winter coats when we go to a movie or restaurant in the summer and we wear Hawaiian shirts when we go to public buildings in the winter. Who's INSANE, us or them?)
*Short jaunts can be done by bike, foot or canoe.
*Rec vehicles don't need motors---won't quiet lakes and uneroded woodlands be nice? Bike, canoe, sailboat, rowboat, horse, mule, llama, donkey---all work fine for fun.
Anyway, here are the major U.S. energy sector players that I picture (fill in any missing big ones). Maybe they could be grouped in bigger chunks...
individuals (commuting, driving, recreation/ATV, lawn/yard)
airlines individual biz/recreation
airlines material transport
trucking
trains
boats/shipping (for transport)
boats cruiselines/recreation
home heat/cool
biz heat/cool
industry
construction (bldgs, roads)
ag (incl. timber)
boats---commercial fishing
mass trans (incl. Amtrak)
infra trans (cops, fire, EMT, govt)
military
****
OK: I heard back in a couple emails about this:
The results are that approx one-third of fuel is used by each of the 3 main sectors: residential, commercial and industrial. I don't know how they break down as per above.
Here's more:
Brief 2004 numbers (in kbarrels/day):
transportation 13,621
industrial 5,082
residential 893
electrical power 527
commercial 395
Gory details here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513a.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513b.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513c.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/txt/ptb0513d.html
The Goal for OYB...
......To use practical culture and outdoor sports as an entre' to the foreign world, for Americans, of culture, value, diversity and civility---and literature.
For starters, practical culture and outdoor sports HAVE (or had) lots of culture. It's been severely neglected the past 20 years in favor of shopping and consumerism and corporatism. Thus many of these activities have been in effect hollowed out. Time for a change.
In the media anyway.
Out where the people are there's always culture. But we're losing people fast, they're being replaced by shoppers. Stepfordism rules!
Hemingway did this same OYB mission via Esquire and the outdoor sports back in the 50's. It's time once again...
For starters, practical culture and outdoor sports HAVE (or had) lots of culture. It's been severely neglected the past 20 years in favor of shopping and consumerism and corporatism. Thus many of these activities have been in effect hollowed out. Time for a change.
In the media anyway.
Out where the people are there's always culture. But we're losing people fast, they're being replaced by shoppers. Stepfordism rules!
Hemingway did this same OYB mission via Esquire and the outdoor sports back in the 50's. It's time once again...
The Other Economy?
How big is it? Does anyone know?
For instance, we've never bought a big ticket item new. So we don't contribute to that part of the economy. Or the way we contribute creates a dynamic that I haven't seen discussed.
We bought a dirtcheap house, we buy $500 cars, thriftstore clothes. How many Americans do this?
I heard on NPR that the new Energy Bill offers tax incentives for those who buy Hybrids---they can get like $500-$2000 back when they spend, what, $20K on a thrifty car. That's not thrift in my economy.
For how many Americans does a $20K car have no relation to thrift?
I mean, even if we had the money, we wouldn't do it. Why buy a new $20K car and get $2K back when you can buy the same car one year used and pay $10K?
We look around us and see 1000 minimall stores in our area. We shop at 3 of them. We TRY to support as many of them as we can (we try to get to know the owners but they're never around: only sullen teenage temp-staff) but we couldn't see the point of going into more than 3 of them. If people lived like us, 997 of those stores would be gone. Wouldn't they? What would happen?
Someone told us last week that we needed to open a restaurant so there'd be a place worth going in the area. Martha is indeed a great, fast cook who's kicked butt in some fine restaurants---but she knows the crazy score. Also, being the ONLY good restaurant in a region may not be a bright idea. It might mean that the public doesn't want quality, has been trained (stupified) away from it. Anyway, if we had a restaurant we'd only want to hire real people, no temp-drones. Our waiters would make a decent living at it. They'd be adults. You know how weird that would be for exurbia? 1%?
For instance, we've never bought a big ticket item new. So we don't contribute to that part of the economy. Or the way we contribute creates a dynamic that I haven't seen discussed.
We bought a dirtcheap house, we buy $500 cars, thriftstore clothes. How many Americans do this?
I heard on NPR that the new Energy Bill offers tax incentives for those who buy Hybrids---they can get like $500-$2000 back when they spend, what, $20K on a thrifty car. That's not thrift in my economy.
For how many Americans does a $20K car have no relation to thrift?
I mean, even if we had the money, we wouldn't do it. Why buy a new $20K car and get $2K back when you can buy the same car one year used and pay $10K?
We look around us and see 1000 minimall stores in our area. We shop at 3 of them. We TRY to support as many of them as we can (we try to get to know the owners but they're never around: only sullen teenage temp-staff) but we couldn't see the point of going into more than 3 of them. If people lived like us, 997 of those stores would be gone. Wouldn't they? What would happen?
Someone told us last week that we needed to open a restaurant so there'd be a place worth going in the area. Martha is indeed a great, fast cook who's kicked butt in some fine restaurants---but she knows the crazy score. Also, being the ONLY good restaurant in a region may not be a bright idea. It might mean that the public doesn't want quality, has been trained (stupified) away from it. Anyway, if we had a restaurant we'd only want to hire real people, no temp-drones. Our waiters would make a decent living at it. They'd be adults. You know how weird that would be for exurbia? 1%?
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
OYB Gardening: the most for the least!
OK, we were so swamped this summer, me with the Catazeen and Martha with her LazyGal booths, that we didn't put in a garden.
But we still had a bit of the true OYB garden anyway.
Well, first, we did do some gardening: we at least got the garden mulched. Ha. Funny. At least we're ready for next year, eh?
But we had a bumper crop of berries both tame and wild. And that's where the OYB comes in.
An OYB Garden is one that gives you most for least, given your location.
Like, here in mid-Mich I could go for apples and spend half my waking hours spraying and pruning. A pretty apple tree is a nice thing. But so is a nice berry bush.
Berries need their canes cut back in the fall.
Otherwise, that's it.
No bugs or critters seem to bug them. They LOVE this area. So I say go for berries!
I have two kinds of cultivated berries that I tried: one is tender and mild, the other is Everbearing, giving two tasty, robust crops and spreading hard. So Everbearing is where it's at for me! I'm going to let em spread and grow into multiple rows. The whole yard could end up berries. We got gallons of them this year so far and the second crop will be bigger, in a few weeks.
The wild berries grow around the edges of our yard and wild-spaces. I let em. Sometimes they make an archway over a small sapling. Neat. They look nice and just love to grow here. And again: nothing bugs em.
Daddy Longlegs seem to suck at a few of them, but we can share.
Anyway, I read about pre-Civil War Southern culture and it turns out that Crackers also greatly prefered crops that required no work. I hear ya!
I say to grow what grows and forget the rest.
OK, on to Stage Two of the OYB Way: grow stuff where you go. Put plants and little gardens everywhere in your yard where you go the most. Like by your front porch or outside the window you work or eat near.
Our main garden is at the back of our yard, beyond our huge, vast brushpile. We don't see it. That's WAY bad in terms of OYB vibe and results in both neglect and overt labor.
The OYB Way is to garden as you go. When you have plants by your front door, as you leave the house, you can bend down and easily do weeding without thinking of it. Or when people stop by for a quick visit---as you chat, you can weed.
Next year our kids will both be in school: Phase Three bigtime for our household! Martha will get a lot of her life back. And she declares a rebirth for the garden.
So OYB gardening is mostly: #1--grow what grows!, #2--grow where you go!
We'll see!
But we still had a bit of the true OYB garden anyway.
Well, first, we did do some gardening: we at least got the garden mulched. Ha. Funny. At least we're ready for next year, eh?
But we had a bumper crop of berries both tame and wild. And that's where the OYB comes in.
An OYB Garden is one that gives you most for least, given your location.
Like, here in mid-Mich I could go for apples and spend half my waking hours spraying and pruning. A pretty apple tree is a nice thing. But so is a nice berry bush.
Berries need their canes cut back in the fall.
Otherwise, that's it.
No bugs or critters seem to bug them. They LOVE this area. So I say go for berries!
I have two kinds of cultivated berries that I tried: one is tender and mild, the other is Everbearing, giving two tasty, robust crops and spreading hard. So Everbearing is where it's at for me! I'm going to let em spread and grow into multiple rows. The whole yard could end up berries. We got gallons of them this year so far and the second crop will be bigger, in a few weeks.
The wild berries grow around the edges of our yard and wild-spaces. I let em. Sometimes they make an archway over a small sapling. Neat. They look nice and just love to grow here. And again: nothing bugs em.
Daddy Longlegs seem to suck at a few of them, but we can share.
Anyway, I read about pre-Civil War Southern culture and it turns out that Crackers also greatly prefered crops that required no work. I hear ya!
I say to grow what grows and forget the rest.
OK, on to Stage Two of the OYB Way: grow stuff where you go. Put plants and little gardens everywhere in your yard where you go the most. Like by your front porch or outside the window you work or eat near.
Our main garden is at the back of our yard, beyond our huge, vast brushpile. We don't see it. That's WAY bad in terms of OYB vibe and results in both neglect and overt labor.
The OYB Way is to garden as you go. When you have plants by your front door, as you leave the house, you can bend down and easily do weeding without thinking of it. Or when people stop by for a quick visit---as you chat, you can weed.
Next year our kids will both be in school: Phase Three bigtime for our household! Martha will get a lot of her life back. And she declares a rebirth for the garden.
So OYB gardening is mostly: #1--grow what grows!, #2--grow where you go!
We'll see!
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