I'm in the nation's heartland deep freeze with my wife and ancient dog. We drove from the mud hut to eastern Nebraska for a brief familial visit. I'm reminded of a previous trip to America's breadbasket. Thoreau's classic words came…
Five years ago I predicted this omnicidal set of living arrangements would be done by the end of this year. In the intervening period, the following individuals have made predictions consistent with complete collapse of the world's industrial economy: James…
I delivered a keynote address for the Bluegrass Bioneers on Friday, 2 November 2012. With thanks to Ben Evans for the video and also to Justin Mog and Amanda Fuller for hosting my stay in Louisville, the video is embedded…
When called a quitter in somebody's first-time comment in this space, my initial response was to serve the name-caller a big warm cup of ShutTheFuckUp. Then I gave it a bit more thought. One result is this essay. Contrary to…
American writer Tracy Kidder points out: "In order to go on with our lives, we are always capable of making the ominous into the merely strange." We ignore ominous warning signs at our own peril. But ignore them we will,…
The overdeveloped left hemisphere of my brain tells me one thing. My emerging artistic side tells me another. But before we get to the core of the issue, a little personal history is warranted. During my final decade in the…
I was in the garden last week, digging a new bed with the aid of the two WWOOFrs, Mike and Karen. We excavated to the usual depth -- that is, until exhaustion stopped us -- then installed a hardware-cloth "basket"…