The 14th amendment to the Constitution serves many purposes. One of which was to overturn the Dred Scott decision, which stated the child of slave parents could not be considered a citizen of the United States. The 14th amendment was a major step in African-American history although it by no means solved the problems the members of that race would face in America it was a strong opening shot in the next century of African-American struggle.
Today I find the GOP has voiced and gained some support in the repeal of the amendment in an attempt of forcing tougher enforcement on illegal aliens. The Dred Scott question has been reworded to ask, “Should the children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. be considered a citizen of the U.S.? “ Obviously there was nothing legal about the presence of the African-Americans. They were kidnap victims detained against their will. Illegal aliens are here by their own choice, but I find myself asking what choices do they have in their home countries? That’s not a bleeding heart question to ask one’s self. I cannot place myself in their shoes; I have adequate shelter, medical care, food for my family and clothes for my back. Maybe if those facts were not facts at all, I would be willing to risk anything to get to a land where I could find work that would supply all those things for my family. I would be willing to take jobs no one else wanted and work 3 or 4 of them at a time to scratch out an existence.
I also received a chained email today from someone that wants me to chain it along. The email contains a supposed letter to the editor about illegal immigration today comparing it to virtues and good of the old Ellis Island brand of immigrant. The letter was not published according the chain starter due to the liberal leanings of the paper. It goes on to rant of the current immigrants’ lack of integration into American society. How they hold to the flags, music and native tongues of their former countries and refuse to learn English and assimilate to our way of life. Not like the Ellis Island groups whom did not look for a handout from the government and in times of war did go back and fight for their homelands, but proudly fought for America as Americans.
The letter leaves out the fact the Ellis Island groups were just as maligned and mistrusted as many of today’s groups. It does not say anything about the first major group the Irish living in dire poverty in the major cities or in some of the most untenable land throughout Appalachia making due on the jobs no one else wanted, or the more highly skilled Germans that lived in a step better conditions, but along with the Irish was attacked politically and physically including in famed riots in my home city of Louisville for being Catholic. It does not bring up the speeches of Teddy Roosevelt brow beating the hyphenated Americans who “have to be all American as there is no such thing as a half American.” Meaning you are an American live and speak the way we do or leave.
The letter also fails to state the three major groups of immigrants that “fought for America as Americans.” Italians, Poles, and Jews dominated by far the groups of immigrants into America prior to the Great War (WWI). Maybe if the author of the letter had looked at history they would realize the Italians shared a body of land, but not nationality as at that point Italy was still a loose confederation of states and not a unified country. Many of the immigrants came from the poorest regions. At the turn of the last century New York was home to more Italians then Rome. It is said that a common Italian dialect was learned amongst the immigrants for the first time, and in truth they became Italian first and Italian-American next. The Poles were in essence refugees. Poland had been carved into three different sections by three different empires. Russia, Prussia(Northern Germany), and Austria. At the outbreak of the war many Polish immigrants returned to Europe to join independent forces fighting to free Poland in the Blue Army and in Haller’s Army. The Jews had not had a true homeland for 2000 years and found themselves victims of many of the governments of Europe and readily joined the American cause to go home and right some wrongs. The letter does not say anything about the purveying attitudes of most Americans at the time that the conflict was a foreign one and one we should avoid. There was a swift return to American isolationism afterwards. It says nothing about the current numbers of Latin and Filipino volunteers fighting for America in Iraq and Afghanistan to gain citizenship. What I was most shocked by was the letter was sent to me by someone I love and respect. Someone born of marriage of a true immigrant and a first generation American born of Polish immigrants should not be so quick to aid in slamming the door on the rest of the world.
Both sides of my family fought in the Revolutionary War and as far as I know every conflict since, I am the descendent of nobility and indentured servants. My families therefore were parts of the first wave of illegal aliens. We showed up staked our claims and pushed the indigenous to our outer edges. That is my heritage. I cannot support the repeal of the 14th amendment, the idiocy in Arizona or the arguments of people who use economics and immigration to support racism.I am a citizen by the virtue of survival of the first illegal aliens.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Fiddle and the Fire
It is said one cannot choose their family. While this is true I do not feel particularly cheated. True a birth into a family like the Kennedy clan or the Vanderbilt fortune would have provided easier roads, I received the blessing of being born into two families of strong willed, open minded, dirt under the nails characters. I grew up on stories of the families. I found the blood history every bit as interesting as Treasure Island, cowboys and Indians and viewed my lineage as one filled with heroes. I shared just one story with some friends a few months ago about one of my grandfathers. One of the friends told me that if this was just one of a hundred or so stories I needed to start a book. So I decided at least to share that story here as well.
My grandfather Seth Conway Blevins was an agri-businessman, tobacco grower and the lead fiddle and banjo player for a bluegrass group called the Kentucky String Warmers. Apparently they played quite often and all over the region. On Sunday’s around lunch the band had an hour long radio program on a rural radio station wedged squarely between two hours of fire and brimstone gospel.
Although my grandfather died when I was 2 I have vague recollections of him, and have lived on stories of him for years. He apparently was a very quiet intense person. On stage they said he was kind of shy and just played and stared straight ahead. The band called him "Giggles" because of the stone face he wore.
When he and my grandmother were visiting family in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, the family asked him to play after dinner. He sat against the wall where the wood burning stove was and started playing. My grandmother said the family all sang and danced all around the room while Seth sawed out one song after another stomping his foot on the floor to keep time.
The back story is nothing in my grandfather's mind was more important than getting the song right and he would not stop playing once he started a song. The beat he was keeping and the dancing of the family had shook the floor boards enough that the old iron stove hopped a little and the flue came loose from the wall. My family saw what was happening and started to yell at my grandfather who just stared ahead, stomped and played. The flue pipe hit the floor beside him and sparks and flame shot all around the room which was filling with smoke. The curtains nearby caught on fire and by the time the family got some water in from the well the paper on the wall all around my grandfather was beginning to smolder, but he sat there stomping and playing anyway. While they killed the fire all around him, he only played faster. When he was done he was mad water had got on the fiddle. Which eventually swelled from the moisture and came apart, but he had gotten through the song.
This could be the source of my hard minded charge forward while everything is going wrong, a trait which is both a blessing and a curse.
My mom still has that particular fiddle, which is in pieces in its original case. If you open the case you can still smell a hint of the coal smoke.
My grandfather Seth Conway Blevins was an agri-businessman, tobacco grower and the lead fiddle and banjo player for a bluegrass group called the Kentucky String Warmers. Apparently they played quite often and all over the region. On Sunday’s around lunch the band had an hour long radio program on a rural radio station wedged squarely between two hours of fire and brimstone gospel.
Although my grandfather died when I was 2 I have vague recollections of him, and have lived on stories of him for years. He apparently was a very quiet intense person. On stage they said he was kind of shy and just played and stared straight ahead. The band called him "Giggles" because of the stone face he wore.
When he and my grandmother were visiting family in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, the family asked him to play after dinner. He sat against the wall where the wood burning stove was and started playing. My grandmother said the family all sang and danced all around the room while Seth sawed out one song after another stomping his foot on the floor to keep time.
The back story is nothing in my grandfather's mind was more important than getting the song right and he would not stop playing once he started a song. The beat he was keeping and the dancing of the family had shook the floor boards enough that the old iron stove hopped a little and the flue came loose from the wall. My family saw what was happening and started to yell at my grandfather who just stared ahead, stomped and played. The flue pipe hit the floor beside him and sparks and flame shot all around the room which was filling with smoke. The curtains nearby caught on fire and by the time the family got some water in from the well the paper on the wall all around my grandfather was beginning to smolder, but he sat there stomping and playing anyway. While they killed the fire all around him, he only played faster. When he was done he was mad water had got on the fiddle. Which eventually swelled from the moisture and came apart, but he had gotten through the song.
This could be the source of my hard minded charge forward while everything is going wrong, a trait which is both a blessing and a curse.
My mom still has that particular fiddle, which is in pieces in its original case. If you open the case you can still smell a hint of the coal smoke.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Don't Look Back in Anger...I heard you say.
I am a happy person I promise! My personal existence is dotted with laughter and optimism. I am aware of many blessings. I have many ideas, interest, and pursuits. I collect friends and acquaintances from all walks of life and I am genuinely interested in who they are and getting quality time with them. My favorite bloggers let me peek into their lives and usually do so to the positive side. A visit to the Jerasphere can improve one’s day in a heart beat or going to Life Is How You describe It, can bring about laughs and introspection, the Sweden dot Kcomposite blog can tackle some big issues and with pure comedy. So why do I seem so angry?
I haven’t posted for two weeks trying to answer that very question. I still have no answer. The world and America I is in a pretty suck place right now and I feel compelled to speak of things from time to time. I also suffer from attention debilitating problem of seeing the common thread in all things and from all sides offered. I figured I would post a list of my beliefs whether that turns you on or off and let full disclosure spill out.
Gay Marriage – I do not think we heterosexuals have been such a glowing example of the sacrament that we could ever tell another orientation they should be disallowed. The oft quoted portion of the bible comes from a set of laws for the tribes of Israel geared towards increasing the spread of their people, religion and economic value in the Middle Eastern basin. The same set of laws allowed for disobedient children to be stoned to death, marriage to more than one woman, and denouncing the abomination of mixed fabric garments. I don’t know how you feel, but I would bet there is more than a fair share of polyester blends at anti gay protest.
Abortion - Is not something I personally support in many moral aspects, but I do believe it should remain legal in the aspect that I feel you cannot legislate a clear definition that addresses every set of circumstances and the greater good to society is served by allowing women to deal with their circumstances as they see fit.
Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – People call it an antiquated policy, but truth is we are quite young in world history. Antiquated would mean it served a purpose at one time or another. If you look into antiquity in a military mindset you will come across the Spartans and Alexander the Great. Alexander’s bi-sexuality is well documented and he is considered one of the most successful military figures in human history. The Spartan warriors engaged in same sex affairs as a part of their military doctrine. It is an ignorant policy and not worthy of debate. Repeal and move forward.
The Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act – Both took rights away from us. Any good propagandist would tell you naming something fuzzy when it is full of thorns leads to less opposition, since my opposition to a dullard equates to I am against patriotism and security at home. I have many new problems with the Democrats as they have made no move to repeal either one.
Government Regulation – Industry has to be regulated. Each and every time since our founding fathers government has loosened the grips on industry human rights and economies take a nose dive. Start at laissez faire, hit the industrial revolution, and check the depression, new deal, S & L collapses up to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is not anti-capitalist it is anti-fascist. (See Hitler, Mussollini)
The Media – Each side gives a slanted view and the truth is only peppered in to make the whole dish digestible. We have to go outside of our borders to find the truth.
Reagan – One of our most popular presidents, who went against every campaign promise in his bid for president and broke every mantra he put to the world in his political career. He was a hypocrite that changed the direction of his party to a historical apologist group who cannot admit there is very little conservative or fiscally responsible about their track record since 1980. He was not a hero.
Music Snobbery – Guilty as charged. I see musician’s as artist. I see people who play other’s work as people with the talent to be a musician, but choose not to be. Mariah Carey is not an artist. Unfortunately Lady Gaga is. I know many vocal talents worthy a listen, my wife included who would take offense at my viewing their talent at less than artistry, but I desire to hear them beautifully singing their own inspirations and beliefs not some unknown from a song writing stable trying to get back at the one that got away. Here are some wonderful artist P.J. Harvey, Patty Smith, Bjork, Crissy Hynde that would make a great Divas special. Don’t get me wrong there are some entertaining vocalists out there. Try Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, The Andrews Sisters, and David Lee Roth all beautiful ladies with golden pipes.
American Cars – Suck compared to most Asian and European cars. I will not be guilted into buying American if we are producing substandard quality with unimaginative design.
Buy Locally – Yes it is more expensive, but supply and demand dictates that. Starbucks sucks. WalMart sucks. Vegetables at Kroger suck. If more bought locally quality goes up. Local economy goes up. Prices go down without uncompromised quality and you are supporting someone you can talk to face to face.
High Fructose Corn Syrup – It is unhealthy. It does change the flavor. And cocaine comes from all natural products as well so stop expounding its healthful benefit. Outlaw the shit so I can get sugar cane colas without driving to a specialty market.
Troops- You can question the war and Gitmo without trivializing the military’s importance. You can support the troops while questioning the government’s use of them.
Military Funeral Protest – Groups who choose to protest homosexuality by showing up at a military funeral with signs proclaiming the damnation of everyone who has learned to breathe with their mouth closed are the greatest argument for justifiable homicide I have ever seen.
There are a few of the things that have been clogging my brain bucket of late. It feels good to pour out some of the crud at times. Maybe I’ll just have to bleed out the poison from time to time. Now I am going to let my thoughts relax and return to the fire-bad tree-pretty world that MonkeyMom goes to.
I haven’t posted for two weeks trying to answer that very question. I still have no answer. The world and America I is in a pretty suck place right now and I feel compelled to speak of things from time to time. I also suffer from attention debilitating problem of seeing the common thread in all things and from all sides offered. I figured I would post a list of my beliefs whether that turns you on or off and let full disclosure spill out.
Gay Marriage – I do not think we heterosexuals have been such a glowing example of the sacrament that we could ever tell another orientation they should be disallowed. The oft quoted portion of the bible comes from a set of laws for the tribes of Israel geared towards increasing the spread of their people, religion and economic value in the Middle Eastern basin. The same set of laws allowed for disobedient children to be stoned to death, marriage to more than one woman, and denouncing the abomination of mixed fabric garments. I don’t know how you feel, but I would bet there is more than a fair share of polyester blends at anti gay protest.
Abortion - Is not something I personally support in many moral aspects, but I do believe it should remain legal in the aspect that I feel you cannot legislate a clear definition that addresses every set of circumstances and the greater good to society is served by allowing women to deal with their circumstances as they see fit.
Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – People call it an antiquated policy, but truth is we are quite young in world history. Antiquated would mean it served a purpose at one time or another. If you look into antiquity in a military mindset you will come across the Spartans and Alexander the Great. Alexander’s bi-sexuality is well documented and he is considered one of the most successful military figures in human history. The Spartan warriors engaged in same sex affairs as a part of their military doctrine. It is an ignorant policy and not worthy of debate. Repeal and move forward.
The Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act – Both took rights away from us. Any good propagandist would tell you naming something fuzzy when it is full of thorns leads to less opposition, since my opposition to a dullard equates to I am against patriotism and security at home. I have many new problems with the Democrats as they have made no move to repeal either one.
Government Regulation – Industry has to be regulated. Each and every time since our founding fathers government has loosened the grips on industry human rights and economies take a nose dive. Start at laissez faire, hit the industrial revolution, and check the depression, new deal, S & L collapses up to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is not anti-capitalist it is anti-fascist. (See Hitler, Mussollini)
The Media – Each side gives a slanted view and the truth is only peppered in to make the whole dish digestible. We have to go outside of our borders to find the truth.
Reagan – One of our most popular presidents, who went against every campaign promise in his bid for president and broke every mantra he put to the world in his political career. He was a hypocrite that changed the direction of his party to a historical apologist group who cannot admit there is very little conservative or fiscally responsible about their track record since 1980. He was not a hero.
Music Snobbery – Guilty as charged. I see musician’s as artist. I see people who play other’s work as people with the talent to be a musician, but choose not to be. Mariah Carey is not an artist. Unfortunately Lady Gaga is. I know many vocal talents worthy a listen, my wife included who would take offense at my viewing their talent at less than artistry, but I desire to hear them beautifully singing their own inspirations and beliefs not some unknown from a song writing stable trying to get back at the one that got away. Here are some wonderful artist P.J. Harvey, Patty Smith, Bjork, Crissy Hynde that would make a great Divas special. Don’t get me wrong there are some entertaining vocalists out there. Try Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, The Andrews Sisters, and David Lee Roth all beautiful ladies with golden pipes.
American Cars – Suck compared to most Asian and European cars. I will not be guilted into buying American if we are producing substandard quality with unimaginative design.
Buy Locally – Yes it is more expensive, but supply and demand dictates that. Starbucks sucks. WalMart sucks. Vegetables at Kroger suck. If more bought locally quality goes up. Local economy goes up. Prices go down without uncompromised quality and you are supporting someone you can talk to face to face.
High Fructose Corn Syrup – It is unhealthy. It does change the flavor. And cocaine comes from all natural products as well so stop expounding its healthful benefit. Outlaw the shit so I can get sugar cane colas without driving to a specialty market.
Troops- You can question the war and Gitmo without trivializing the military’s importance. You can support the troops while questioning the government’s use of them.
Military Funeral Protest – Groups who choose to protest homosexuality by showing up at a military funeral with signs proclaiming the damnation of everyone who has learned to breathe with their mouth closed are the greatest argument for justifiable homicide I have ever seen.
There are a few of the things that have been clogging my brain bucket of late. It feels good to pour out some of the crud at times. Maybe I’ll just have to bleed out the poison from time to time. Now I am going to let my thoughts relax and return to the fire-bad tree-pretty world that MonkeyMom goes to.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Just a Small Town Girl
I came to Facebook late. It just did not appeal to me communicating through such an impersonal medium. I actually only joined to check out the pics of an ex-girlfriend’s kids whom I was quite crazy about and I wanted to see them all grown up. Easy enough....A few days later my email was flooded with friend invites. Since the invites actually outnumbered the junk enlargement offers I decided to accept them and catch up with some folks.
Then came a surprising and welcomed invite from a young lady we will call Bubbles. Surprising in the sense I was complimented that she remembered me and welcomed because Bubbles was by all my memories a super nice person.
We had a history without the details that make history interesting. We lived on the same street in a very small town in Kentucky. We rode the same bus. Occasionally we found ourselves at the same church functions. That is the makeup of our prior history.
It was the 80’s and I thought I was a punk rocker damned to live in the cultural void of a rural town. Try no stop lights! Bubbles, was a smart somewhat conservatively dressed good girl. I was writing bad slogans on my jeans and a little to sulky. Bubbles went to church every week and did her homework. I wrote bad poetry about the color black and walked to the next town to climb in girl’s windows. Bubbles got good grades and made friends easily. I shot for the also ran GPA and got asked if I was a Satan worshiper… a lot. I thought of Bubbles as a really nice person who would see me as a loser. Bubbles now assures me her perception was I was too cool to approach. Apparently our history could have been more colorful had we recognized the John Hughes film that lay right at our feet.
Accepting her request has led to nearly two years of great conversation that contained very little of the horse shit people wade through to get to really know someone. I found that we nearly went to the same college. That our small town butts have both travelled abroad. Our politics and spirituality seem to be parallel and usually stay unspoken. We both know the trials of dating as a parent after a failed marriage and having children requiring a diagnosis of some type. We share a love for silly and improper subjects and genre-less music. Bubbles can swill beer like a man and can tell a good dirty joke. I can somewhat handle my end when the talk switches to quantum physics.
I could say she came down to my level, or claim a half full glass and say I rose to hers. The truth is we left our small town and refused to avoid each other’s path this time. While facebook can be a mind numbing waste of time is does have its pay offs. Bubbles you doth rock. You are not so bookish I am not so mysterious and our history goes on.
Then came a surprising and welcomed invite from a young lady we will call Bubbles. Surprising in the sense I was complimented that she remembered me and welcomed because Bubbles was by all my memories a super nice person.
We had a history without the details that make history interesting. We lived on the same street in a very small town in Kentucky. We rode the same bus. Occasionally we found ourselves at the same church functions. That is the makeup of our prior history.
It was the 80’s and I thought I was a punk rocker damned to live in the cultural void of a rural town. Try no stop lights! Bubbles, was a smart somewhat conservatively dressed good girl. I was writing bad slogans on my jeans and a little to sulky. Bubbles went to church every week and did her homework. I wrote bad poetry about the color black and walked to the next town to climb in girl’s windows. Bubbles got good grades and made friends easily. I shot for the also ran GPA and got asked if I was a Satan worshiper… a lot. I thought of Bubbles as a really nice person who would see me as a loser. Bubbles now assures me her perception was I was too cool to approach. Apparently our history could have been more colorful had we recognized the John Hughes film that lay right at our feet.
Accepting her request has led to nearly two years of great conversation that contained very little of the horse shit people wade through to get to really know someone. I found that we nearly went to the same college. That our small town butts have both travelled abroad. Our politics and spirituality seem to be parallel and usually stay unspoken. We both know the trials of dating as a parent after a failed marriage and having children requiring a diagnosis of some type. We share a love for silly and improper subjects and genre-less music. Bubbles can swill beer like a man and can tell a good dirty joke. I can somewhat handle my end when the talk switches to quantum physics.
I could say she came down to my level, or claim a half full glass and say I rose to hers. The truth is we left our small town and refused to avoid each other’s path this time. While facebook can be a mind numbing waste of time is does have its pay offs. Bubbles you doth rock. You are not so bookish I am not so mysterious and our history goes on.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Meaning in a Throwaway World or The Swollen Thumb of Progess
I want to be less dependent on the world. I want to leave the HAP (Hire a Pro) world and fix and maintain the things around me. I want my possessions to be an extension of me. What better way to create a legacy or at least voice to everyone who you truly are than to define, create or modify the things in life to reflect your personality and meet your needs and desires?
The DIY bug has floated in my brain for years. I have constantly thought about my upbringing and what we used to do when I was kid. My grandparents were agricultural people and their world consisted on self reliance, recycling before it was a movement, and self taught skill. We used to feed ourselves off the bounty of our gardens, from the output of our chickens and trades of goods and produce or services with other farmers. Our fences stayed mended with limited trips to a hardware store or lawn tools contained a wide array of manual implements and the power tools had a hacked or rigged aftermarket addition to get the performance levels we needed.
Somewhere in the decade that I received Pong which morphed into the Atari 2600 and then Intellivision things took a slow change. My duties as my father’s remote control for the television ended. We survived the Beta vs. VCR debate and like so many of you opted for the woefully lesser VCR. Dinners were no longer an hour ordeal of preparation because the microwave appeared and HBO was starting to creep into all of our lives. The change slowly made the nights of shucking corn with three generations of my family involved… disappear. The kitchen that was filled with the whistles and humidity of canning vegetables vanished. I never again crossed the railroad tracks and climbed two fences with a load of my grandmothers strawberry jam and peach preserves to rouse Old Mrs. Davis to barter for a couple of jars of her honey. It is this decade that I failed to teach myself the things my grandparents knew and my parents were on the road of forgetting.
Can I go back in time? Yes. Can I learn these skills that just a couple of decades ago thrived but have slowly disappeared? Yes. Can I use diversion tools like the internet to do this? Yes. Will it happen quickly? No, and I am increasingly happy for that truth.
Mark Frauenfelder is a self taught writer and illustrator who created the popular Boing Boing blog. He has written for numerous magazines and is the current editor in chief of Make magazine. Just a few weeks ago I heard him on NPR discussing the DIY ethic and its current growth in America. He was on to pitch his book, Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World. I was hooked to his interview because unlike a lot of the gurus of the DIY world he wasn’t there with a green agenda or to damn anyone for over consuming and being headed down the path of hoarding. He was talking about his own transformation from dreamer to doer and the path he took is readily available to any of us. There was no stepped program and his agenda seemed only to get us dreamers over the hurdle of the fear of failing. He quite easily points out the importance of failure as a way to learning.
In the book he tells us how to bring on the courage to try things, how he moved his family to a remote paradise in the South Pacific, how he returned to the grind and started creating his paradise, grow his own food, hack his creature comforts, raise chickens, beekeeping, made his own string instruments and even visit some easy fermenting processes. He is not a fanatic though. At no point does he preach against anyone’s way of life. He does however demonstrate the reward of all the above while keeping his feet firmly planted in a world of the majority. The book is self help without pretending to be. It is social commentary without hoping to be, it is as close to a must read as anything I have encountered. Mark delivers an almost diary like view into whims and necessity addressed and met in a rewarding manner by just trying. Most appealing not every project in the book is a total success, yet they become successful through the learning process. Some of the projects are ongoing and final outcome has yet to present a measure, but overall it tells us the rugged individualism of the past can make a comeback. Buy the book even if you are not interested in DIY it cracks open some of the mysteries of why life can remain empty with so many diversions available to us all.
Me? I was on the track before the book. I know nothing about kitchen remodels other than they are expensive and I needed one. I am 85% through it and pleased and instead of cussing a swollen thumb obtained in the process I see it as a badge of honor. My bathroom gets tackled next. My food garden is being planned and my list of wants has changed to my list of modifications. Mark’s book served as the manifesto I needed and fear and doubt I now reserve for the government.
The DIY bug has floated in my brain for years. I have constantly thought about my upbringing and what we used to do when I was kid. My grandparents were agricultural people and their world consisted on self reliance, recycling before it was a movement, and self taught skill. We used to feed ourselves off the bounty of our gardens, from the output of our chickens and trades of goods and produce or services with other farmers. Our fences stayed mended with limited trips to a hardware store or lawn tools contained a wide array of manual implements and the power tools had a hacked or rigged aftermarket addition to get the performance levels we needed.
Somewhere in the decade that I received Pong which morphed into the Atari 2600 and then Intellivision things took a slow change. My duties as my father’s remote control for the television ended. We survived the Beta vs. VCR debate and like so many of you opted for the woefully lesser VCR. Dinners were no longer an hour ordeal of preparation because the microwave appeared and HBO was starting to creep into all of our lives. The change slowly made the nights of shucking corn with three generations of my family involved… disappear. The kitchen that was filled with the whistles and humidity of canning vegetables vanished. I never again crossed the railroad tracks and climbed two fences with a load of my grandmothers strawberry jam and peach preserves to rouse Old Mrs. Davis to barter for a couple of jars of her honey. It is this decade that I failed to teach myself the things my grandparents knew and my parents were on the road of forgetting.
Can I go back in time? Yes. Can I learn these skills that just a couple of decades ago thrived but have slowly disappeared? Yes. Can I use diversion tools like the internet to do this? Yes. Will it happen quickly? No, and I am increasingly happy for that truth.
Mark Frauenfelder is a self taught writer and illustrator who created the popular Boing Boing blog. He has written for numerous magazines and is the current editor in chief of Make magazine. Just a few weeks ago I heard him on NPR discussing the DIY ethic and its current growth in America. He was on to pitch his book, Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World. I was hooked to his interview because unlike a lot of the gurus of the DIY world he wasn’t there with a green agenda or to damn anyone for over consuming and being headed down the path of hoarding. He was talking about his own transformation from dreamer to doer and the path he took is readily available to any of us. There was no stepped program and his agenda seemed only to get us dreamers over the hurdle of the fear of failing. He quite easily points out the importance of failure as a way to learning.
In the book he tells us how to bring on the courage to try things, how he moved his family to a remote paradise in the South Pacific, how he returned to the grind and started creating his paradise, grow his own food, hack his creature comforts, raise chickens, beekeeping, made his own string instruments and even visit some easy fermenting processes. He is not a fanatic though. At no point does he preach against anyone’s way of life. He does however demonstrate the reward of all the above while keeping his feet firmly planted in a world of the majority. The book is self help without pretending to be. It is social commentary without hoping to be, it is as close to a must read as anything I have encountered. Mark delivers an almost diary like view into whims and necessity addressed and met in a rewarding manner by just trying. Most appealing not every project in the book is a total success, yet they become successful through the learning process. Some of the projects are ongoing and final outcome has yet to present a measure, but overall it tells us the rugged individualism of the past can make a comeback. Buy the book even if you are not interested in DIY it cracks open some of the mysteries of why life can remain empty with so many diversions available to us all.
Me? I was on the track before the book. I know nothing about kitchen remodels other than they are expensive and I needed one. I am 85% through it and pleased and instead of cussing a swollen thumb obtained in the process I see it as a badge of honor. My bathroom gets tackled next. My food garden is being planned and my list of wants has changed to my list of modifications. Mark’s book served as the manifesto I needed and fear and doubt I now reserve for the government.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Ah, the World Cup! The eyes of the world are trained on South Africa, well most of the eyes anyway. We tend to look away in the good ole USA. Soccer or futbol is easily the most popular sport in the world, inciting fans, countries and continents to impassioned action.
Here in our country I have been hearing how it is the fastest growing sport since my elementary school days. This for the most part is true if one only measures the growth in youth leagues, high schools and in colleges. I know my love grew for it when I was quite young and that love has spread from play to avid fan, but I gave up long ago on the hope it would take America by storm. Other than our Woman’s national team a decade ago it would seem soccer in this country has found its fan base and will not spread beyond that group.
Last week as everyone knows the American team received a bad call in World Cup play against Slovenia that kept them at a draw instead of a straight win. For 24 hours it was the talk on sports radio, television news and even made it to a few water cooler conferences. One foreign commentator on ESPN’s coverage suggested with the buzz the bad call had been a gift in the fact that American’s finally cared and was paying attention to their team. Today all the talk was about a marathon match at Wimbledon and America’s extra time winning goal against Algeria took a solid back seat to tennis.
Although I have accepted the downgrading of soccer’s importance in my country, the acceptance only came after questioning why it was so. The answer was simple. We are not that good at it. Americans focus on domination in sport. In soccer we are always an underdog.
We have fielded some great teams, but even in their greatness the European powers of the sport see us only as a slow curve in their road to victory. The Brazilians and Argentines of South America see us as place to play out their pro careers when they are no longer physically capable of playing in Europe and on their home continent.
Many sport fans in America do not understand the game and cite the low scores and players writhing on the field in supposed mortal pain after barely being touched as reasons not to watch. The parity of the world’s players and a game plan followed are some of the reasons for the low scores. The recent dismantling of the North Korean team by Portugal 7-0 should have fed some of those desires. The death throes of uninjured players on the field gives the players time to catch their breath reset and start again. There are no time outs and substitutions are limited to 3 players. Essentially the players are running a mini marathon while keeping in mind a game plan, individual assignment and knowing one mistake made will be aired over and over on billions (yes billions) of television sets around the world. Want to get some perspective of the expectations and pressure put on these players? Just read up on the 1994 Columbian World Cup team.
Here is the final word. America is poised for a deep run in this world cup. They are the first American team to win their first round grouping in 80 years. Keep in mind the 1930 World Cup was the first time for the event and that American team finished 3rd overall. The highest finish by any non South American or European team in world cup history. America plays Ghana at 2:30 Saturday, the teams are close in ability, but Ghana will have the support of the African continent. Winning that one will cause the remaining teams to take us more seriously. Italy and France have already gone home, Germany has struggled, and England already learned we came to play. Spain and Brazil still see us as upstarts, but remember quite well the matches with the Americans from last year, and well know we are dangerous.
Let’s support the team and put the fear in the rest of the world that we are on the doorstep of taking over their beloved game. After all when it is over you still have Nascar and some of the marathon low scoring snooze fest pro baseball has to offer.
Here in our country I have been hearing how it is the fastest growing sport since my elementary school days. This for the most part is true if one only measures the growth in youth leagues, high schools and in colleges. I know my love grew for it when I was quite young and that love has spread from play to avid fan, but I gave up long ago on the hope it would take America by storm. Other than our Woman’s national team a decade ago it would seem soccer in this country has found its fan base and will not spread beyond that group.
Last week as everyone knows the American team received a bad call in World Cup play against Slovenia that kept them at a draw instead of a straight win. For 24 hours it was the talk on sports radio, television news and even made it to a few water cooler conferences. One foreign commentator on ESPN’s coverage suggested with the buzz the bad call had been a gift in the fact that American’s finally cared and was paying attention to their team. Today all the talk was about a marathon match at Wimbledon and America’s extra time winning goal against Algeria took a solid back seat to tennis.
Although I have accepted the downgrading of soccer’s importance in my country, the acceptance only came after questioning why it was so. The answer was simple. We are not that good at it. Americans focus on domination in sport. In soccer we are always an underdog.
We have fielded some great teams, but even in their greatness the European powers of the sport see us only as a slow curve in their road to victory. The Brazilians and Argentines of South America see us as place to play out their pro careers when they are no longer physically capable of playing in Europe and on their home continent.
Many sport fans in America do not understand the game and cite the low scores and players writhing on the field in supposed mortal pain after barely being touched as reasons not to watch. The parity of the world’s players and a game plan followed are some of the reasons for the low scores. The recent dismantling of the North Korean team by Portugal 7-0 should have fed some of those desires. The death throes of uninjured players on the field gives the players time to catch their breath reset and start again. There are no time outs and substitutions are limited to 3 players. Essentially the players are running a mini marathon while keeping in mind a game plan, individual assignment and knowing one mistake made will be aired over and over on billions (yes billions) of television sets around the world. Want to get some perspective of the expectations and pressure put on these players? Just read up on the 1994 Columbian World Cup team.
Here is the final word. America is poised for a deep run in this world cup. They are the first American team to win their first round grouping in 80 years. Keep in mind the 1930 World Cup was the first time for the event and that American team finished 3rd overall. The highest finish by any non South American or European team in world cup history. America plays Ghana at 2:30 Saturday, the teams are close in ability, but Ghana will have the support of the African continent. Winning that one will cause the remaining teams to take us more seriously. Italy and France have already gone home, Germany has struggled, and England already learned we came to play. Spain and Brazil still see us as upstarts, but remember quite well the matches with the Americans from last year, and well know we are dangerous.
Let’s support the team and put the fear in the rest of the world that we are on the doorstep of taking over their beloved game. After all when it is over you still have Nascar and some of the marathon low scoring snooze fest pro baseball has to offer.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Talent, Reality and a Lack of Judgement
I don’t watch a lot of television, my family does and I am nearby so I get the secondhand dumbing down. The observations that one gets not involving themselves directly with the broadcast are very telling of just how much of a joke we are living in.
There is a show called America’s Got Talent. I have never seen the actual show, but one thing I have caught in the promos is a panel of 3 judges watch and rate would be Gong Show rejects. It is not the repackaging of an old concept that cracks me up it is the title of the show and the current judges. AMERICA’S Got TALENT yes, but in judging? Piers Morgan, Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandel are the judges this season. Piers and Sharon were both born in England and Howie is Canadian.
Is the panel a commentary on the fact that we have talent, but couldn’t find 3 people in America that could spot it? All 3 judges may be American citizens I am not sure of their status, I just find it funny. Then I remembered in past years David Hasselhoff was a judge, so I hit Google to see if he was too busy suddenly to be our homegrown representative of judging talent. Turns out he was “released” from his judging obligations by the network for showing a pattern of making poor decisions (judgments) in his personal life.
Are we good judges? Taylor Swift is one of the hottest recording acts going. No one points out she is tone deaf. Her songs are not unique in a world of unicorn rainbow covered 15 year old girls notebooks, where the prose often bends to the modern take on Cinderella. Avatar is the biggest movie ever, yet Ferngully gave a more complete and deeper take on the same message. The Twilight series is the biggest thing in print and with each release the most anticipated serial in the theatres, yet the books really kind of suck and the movies seem to be an excuse to make soft porn for 12 year old girls and 45 year old would be cougars aching to see some barely legal flesh. The two biggest movie releases of the past weekend were The Karate Kid and the A-Team. One a bad 80’s movie that was able to grab people’s hearts and added “wax on, wax off” to our philosophical lexicon, the other a bad 80’s television show. Maybe we do need judges from other places to steer us.
The next observation gave me a good take on the American automotive industry. An Acura commercial addressing the personal investment and statement one makes when entering the world of luxury cars. It reminded me of the birth of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti a couple of decades ago. It is like Honda, Toyota and Nissan collectively got together and said we make great cars and we offer affordability and dependability, but the upper class in America only buy European cars so they will never see us as a luxury product. What we must do is change our grills and taillights change the names of the cars, charge thousands of dollars more and we will be in the luxury market as well. All three companies are chugging right along. Mitsubishi did not go that route and the Mitsubishi dealerships are on decline. Isuzu did not do this and they have disappeared. Ford on the other hand knew through Mercury and Lincoln that they could not reproduce the dependability the luxury car market demands, so they bought Volvo, Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin and set about dismantling what was right about those companies. In an apparent bid to not make a better product, just make everyone else’s worse. GM on the other hand had written the playbook that the triplets from the land of the rising sun were using and had been producing the same 4 of 5 vehicles under multiple brand names at different price points for years. Except without quality and dependability as an issue. To answer Ford’s acquisition frenzy GM bought Saab and reintroduced its European subsidiary Opel to our market. While Saab only had a niche market in America, GM managed to widen that market with a poorer quality product than Saab previously produced. GM used Opel to build the bigger and more reliable than before Saturns. Opel also designed the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice two of the better looking things GM produced just before it shit canned both Pontiac and Saturn. A lack of critical thinking seems to be the cornerstone of our capitalism.
Reality television has owned television for the past decade, yet it seems one of the only shows that even gets close to reality is Parenthood. Actors in this show play characters faced with real life ups and downs you know…realistic stuff written by writers. I wonder if the writers are American?
Maybe there is no true social commentary here at all; maybe we are all just practicing God’s advice of judge not lest ye be judged.
There is a show called America’s Got Talent. I have never seen the actual show, but one thing I have caught in the promos is a panel of 3 judges watch and rate would be Gong Show rejects. It is not the repackaging of an old concept that cracks me up it is the title of the show and the current judges. AMERICA’S Got TALENT yes, but in judging? Piers Morgan, Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandel are the judges this season. Piers and Sharon were both born in England and Howie is Canadian.
Is the panel a commentary on the fact that we have talent, but couldn’t find 3 people in America that could spot it? All 3 judges may be American citizens I am not sure of their status, I just find it funny. Then I remembered in past years David Hasselhoff was a judge, so I hit Google to see if he was too busy suddenly to be our homegrown representative of judging talent. Turns out he was “released” from his judging obligations by the network for showing a pattern of making poor decisions (judgments) in his personal life.
Are we good judges? Taylor Swift is one of the hottest recording acts going. No one points out she is tone deaf. Her songs are not unique in a world of unicorn rainbow covered 15 year old girls notebooks, where the prose often bends to the modern take on Cinderella. Avatar is the biggest movie ever, yet Ferngully gave a more complete and deeper take on the same message. The Twilight series is the biggest thing in print and with each release the most anticipated serial in the theatres, yet the books really kind of suck and the movies seem to be an excuse to make soft porn for 12 year old girls and 45 year old would be cougars aching to see some barely legal flesh. The two biggest movie releases of the past weekend were The Karate Kid and the A-Team. One a bad 80’s movie that was able to grab people’s hearts and added “wax on, wax off” to our philosophical lexicon, the other a bad 80’s television show. Maybe we do need judges from other places to steer us.
The next observation gave me a good take on the American automotive industry. An Acura commercial addressing the personal investment and statement one makes when entering the world of luxury cars. It reminded me of the birth of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti a couple of decades ago. It is like Honda, Toyota and Nissan collectively got together and said we make great cars and we offer affordability and dependability, but the upper class in America only buy European cars so they will never see us as a luxury product. What we must do is change our grills and taillights change the names of the cars, charge thousands of dollars more and we will be in the luxury market as well. All three companies are chugging right along. Mitsubishi did not go that route and the Mitsubishi dealerships are on decline. Isuzu did not do this and they have disappeared. Ford on the other hand knew through Mercury and Lincoln that they could not reproduce the dependability the luxury car market demands, so they bought Volvo, Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin and set about dismantling what was right about those companies. In an apparent bid to not make a better product, just make everyone else’s worse. GM on the other hand had written the playbook that the triplets from the land of the rising sun were using and had been producing the same 4 of 5 vehicles under multiple brand names at different price points for years. Except without quality and dependability as an issue. To answer Ford’s acquisition frenzy GM bought Saab and reintroduced its European subsidiary Opel to our market. While Saab only had a niche market in America, GM managed to widen that market with a poorer quality product than Saab previously produced. GM used Opel to build the bigger and more reliable than before Saturns. Opel also designed the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice two of the better looking things GM produced just before it shit canned both Pontiac and Saturn. A lack of critical thinking seems to be the cornerstone of our capitalism.
Reality television has owned television for the past decade, yet it seems one of the only shows that even gets close to reality is Parenthood. Actors in this show play characters faced with real life ups and downs you know…realistic stuff written by writers. I wonder if the writers are American?
Maybe there is no true social commentary here at all; maybe we are all just practicing God’s advice of judge not lest ye be judged.
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