farmer and philosopher, i love thee

monday evening, i spent with a highly intelligent man. one who uses his hands and his mind, as well as, his heart. his name is joel salatin. the man speaks directly from my inside me. during his talk (at ubc - with 200 other people, unfortunately) all i could do was nod my head in agreement and it took every ounce of my non-religious self to not get up and cry, "amen!! Let the pig express it's pigness!!"....ja, ok - so i had a holy moment.

a bit of background:"...the farm [polyface farm] arguably represents America’s premier non-industrial food production oasis. Believing that the Creator’s design is still the best pattern for the biological world, the Salatin family invites like-minded folks to join in the farm’s mission: to develop emotionally, economically, environmentally enhancing agricultural enterprises and facilitate their duplication throughout the world..." (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/story.aspx)

i love that this man - his family and community - have managed to bring together the ultimate wholeness of farming: happy (!!) animals, grassy fields, forest, humans, community, education, innovation, love, honesty and - arguably joel's favorite, the earthworm. the story of polyface farm is one of a marriage of philosophy, hard work, passion and humanity.

i know...i will turn down my gushing enthusiasm and admiration a bit now - but honestly - we need more men (and it takes a real man, to be a sissy farmer) like him, who share their passion and make a change. even if it is just a local one ;)

all about the feel good music -- clearly.

bones

"never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be"
-- clementine paddleford

the age of stupid

i used to get really worked up about politics. like really worked up - anyone who's sat at a round table with me and a few drinks (and even without booze) can attest to this. over the years, the more i learn about human beings, 'the system' and the world in general, well, let's just say i no longer quite see eye to eye with my old self.

america was my nemesis, along with any gov't, system or view that oppressed, discriminated and enslaved people, in the open or secretly. don't get me wrong - i still don't accept this as morally correct or in anyway justifiable, but my view of 'things' has become more clear. it wasn't that i was specifically racist (for lack of a better term) against americans; au contraire - america was built by rebels, fearless men and women, with great revolutionary ideas - opposition to the old. until, well, the old system of greed and money took over, and things turned to shit ...andrew jackson, was probaby the last truly courageous man to stand in the way of the poisonous corruption that came with the modern monetary system....and all those who did (and do) stand its way, don't last.

anyway, back to my point: it just so happened that while my friends and i were growing up, trying to figure out what our opinions were of the world, where we stood and who we were, america was fucking up pretty badly. 9/11 was probably one of the biggest events of our short lives, and impacted us quite heavily since we, as canadians, are so close knit with america. so a lot of our energy was spent discussing america, its politics, its ideals, its wars, etc. mostly i think this was also because none of us, so called 'educated university students' had much a of a fucking clue what was going on in our own gov't and, well, it's just a lot more interesting trashing and taking apart another party than your own. 'not in my own backyard'--- anyone remember that from high school??? canada is just more low key, over all (not a bad thing), but america was just so much easier to dislike.

i was never one to really believe what we are served on the silver media platter and was raised to challenge ideas or rules put in front of me, but ten, twelve years ago, i didn't yet have the mental capacity to distinguish between bs and absolute bullshit. it takes time, endless conversations with friends, family, complete strangers, people of all races, all religions, all political views and a good long time with yourself, to figure life out. not that i have, but i think i am getting better at life the older i get (just an idea).

so, i have come to the conclusion (and this could easily change over the years - again) that nothing is as it seems. canadians, americans, africans, chinese, israelis, germans, russians, danes, english, and yadi yadi yada - we're all the same. we're all in the same fucking boat, if you really look into things. wars, btw, are all created for monetary reasons by people who can do so and profit immensely (but we are either too blind, ignorant - or choose not to see this) are fought for some romantic ideal, such as patriotism, or religious beliefs, are just part of a bigger picture where we are all being played against each other....like pawns. of course, to everyone's defense, we are kept busy, with fear-installing broadcasts, advertising, reality tv, mortgage and car payments, investments, retirement plans, taxes (don't get me started) and so much countless bull that we don't see what is really going on around us. i don't think there is one country or gov't (if you can even still believe in such an institution) that is doing a good job -- if you know of one, please notify me immediately, my bags are ready.

the world has become enslaved by our greed and disregard for one another and our planet - happiness is based on money (or debt, really)... and we seem to have forgotten that we all share the fundamentals of life with one another. why do we hate those who are different to us? why do we cause so much pain and are in constant competition with one another? where have our values as human beings gone? or did we ever have any? i dunno the answers or the solutions to any of these questions, and i don't mean to lecture anyone, but i think it is good to think about things once in a while....reevaluate and challenge ideas, otherwise how do we progress?

more money is spent on warfare (one tiny example: frickin' jets that patrol our canadian skies - $9 billion just for these 65 aircrafts) than on our children's education. i'm sorry, but if our children don't get proper education, who will be flying those jets in the future -- or maybe a bit less tom-cruisey might be the question of maintenance or engineering and creating these jets in the first place. but i guess we don't have to worry about that since we can just contract these sorta jobs out to companies in other countries (you know, that's what friendly connections are for -- not real market competition or fueling our own economy).

i don't think slavery ever ended; our chains are just less visible now.

take a look at what's going on in your country, your city, your neighborhood, your institution, your family, yourself. stop pointing fingers, hating, blaming, criticizing other countries, cultures and people. i have. i have come to the realization that america is no different to germany, to canada, to england, or china - all countries play by the same rules, we have all been infected - and the only change comes from within.

i do believe in the power of the people. we just have to start thinking for ourselves, as humans....but maybe that's expecting too much.

please challenge me on this, if you like - it's helps set the wheels in motion - or keeps them going :]

"when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want"

-- from 'waiting on the world to change'

zenaida kwong

i love her work, always have. i remember years ago in university, when we first met - she was working on a glitter painting triptic of pop images, one was of audrey hepburn - i immediately like her [after all i loved marilyn - and who doesn't like glitter]. where zen really excelled though, was with her photography, and i am happy to see she has chosen to follow her calling and her talent seems to have served her well...

the modeling photographs have an innocent sexuality about them; soft girlie faces, sheer light, romantic sparkle. in contrast, there are some edgier ones too, but i prefer the more sensual ones, they seem more honest to me.

most of all, i love zen's 'personal work' - pictures of her travels through the world. great color, contrast, composition, all that jazz and they are different. it's how i imagine she actually sees the world.

anyway....since a picture is worth a thousand words, i'll let them do the talking...

http://www.zenaidakwong.com/index.html

john and i

heartbreak warfare - ouch



waiting on the world to change - pretty much



f r e e fallin' - cause tom and i go way back ;)



who says? - no comment



clarity - goosebumps, still

perhaps

Photograph of Moira Forjaz by Sam Haskins from 'Cowboy Kate'.


When a diplomat says yes, he means ‘perhaps’;
When he says perhaps, he means ‘no’;
When he says no, he is not a diplomat.

When a lady says no, she means ‘perhaps’;
When she says perhaps, she means ‘yes’;
When she says yes, she is not a lady.

Voltaire (Quoted, in Spanish, in Escandell 1993.)