Kucinich at Hempfest

2011 Collector Poster by Cory & Catska Ench.

And so was the mayor, however Metro wasn't. The online bus planner told me that i could catch a #15 and walk 0.2 miles SW to Myrtle Edwards Park. However all the buses have been funneled down 3rd avenue and the stop wasn't just farther away but was in a creepy (to me) industrial part of town) It was ok for the coming but might be dicey on the exit.

I found out this stupid was the symptom of a bigger stupid, the tunnel. Tunnels on fault zones are a bad idea- humans cannot control the movements of Earth and we apparently disconnect old ideas of "progress" with new fangled "global warming." It is time that the wealth making of the few is exposed for the charlatan it is. Ever promoted as public good actions, they have instead led to fiscal imbalance, fraud and other economic ills that tie into all other health and welfare issues. Which leads back to the Hempfest. (medical marijuana, prison populations, fiber crops that use pesticides, synthetic fertilizers & herbicides harm all of us eventually)

Hemp is a fast growing, water friendly, pest lacking weed that makes for eco sane fibers These fibers can be woven and knit into clothing that makes sense. Like solar and wind power, some things have more plusses and fewer side effects than others, that is where technology can add to the benefits while spending less energy on mitigating the fall out. The focus and aim is better from the get. That is smart, however a lot of money still rides on the old agenda which is why some of us are feeling like Alice in Blunderland.

Line Drying is Simply better

Line Drying is an easy to accommodate, better choice than machine drying.

Fresh air dried clothing is a healthier, saves energy ie watchces personal and family carbs (carbons), is sun sanitized and scented by nature. It is widely acknowledged throughout the world that line drying clothing is far gentler and wiser than tumbling them around in metal drums .

This photo was taken at last Sunday at the Sustainable NE Seattle Festival. It was a small but cheerful event that was patterned much like others before it. These local sustainable festivals lack a sophisticated urban edge that i appreciate. I do not hold that a return to farming need be everyone's cup of tea. I endorse fresh, local, organic farm produce but would rather find an urban farmer to till my backyard then do it myself. That way we both win and if the garden is prolific, so will others.

As for livestock, the goats, ducks and chickens are cute from a distance but my grandparents had a farm and there is a lot more to it than meets the novice urban eye. I appreciate them for their natural services and pet-ability but have other plots to tend, thank you very much,...really.

connections and patterns

Seattle bus stop

Connections and patterns, once you see them, you will not be the same.

Consider the ocean food web and the way species support and enable each other's lives in a dance of life and death. This harmony is disrupted when a species prevails and dominates the territory. This causes eco system unbalance that can become disastrous for the species that out-thrived its system

At a certain point it hits a max population and then it starts to decline as illness from the environmental damage of overpopulation, disrupts the food webs and things start falling like dominoes. This is part of the evolution picture, the point where a species adapts to new circumstances, ie moves on in skills or place or both, or bids the planet adieu.

Humans are not immune.

New Showtimes

On With the Show

Pop in guests and partners for next years "Title TBA" big talent show off, are showing up for the "Species on the Verge and Other Works w/POV"and dress forms are coming in the door, i am in psyche mode. This is like the best high that creates energy in self as it creates energy in the actions that create this awesome cycle. Like biotic/abiotic cycles it is perhaps a real tapping into the beauty and wonder of this universe. Driven from the heart, constantly refueled with information and support from the energy it attracts it is Wow!

palmistry

This small wall hanging reminds me of my short stint as a palm reader, my day as a carnival mystic in a backyard of Beacon Hill. This is an embroidered piece with a hand worked motif and machine stitched script. (part of Amulets and Talismans collection for "Species on the Verge and other Works w/POV")

What is an education for, anyway?

This top documentary is a pretty good answer to the USA dilemma where grade competition and test scores have left our children full of need.

"Children Full of Life" should be a staple of teacher education, is it? Please take a few minutes out of your day to view this very moving and informative work that applies to anyone who has ever been a child or who plans on bringing one into the world.

"Mr. Kanamori, a teacher of a 4th grade class, teaches his students not only how to be students, but how to live. He gives them lessons on teamwork, community, the importance of openness, how to cope, and the harm caused by bullying." (from the Top Documentary website, retrieved 6/19/11)

Thank you Robin, for bringing this to my attention.

Urban Wildlife

We share the planet with other living things. Living things provide valuable services that maintain life throughout ecosystems, big and small. As our species has gone on a resource grabbing binge enabled by policies and practices developed from myopic elitism, materialism and ego imbalance, we are in a sense "eating ourselves to death." We are told this creates jobs and economic growth. And yes, this provides jobs and pushes consumerism, but is it really the best we can do. Is this the highest goal of humankind?

I think not!

Adjusting "Family Values" or Phoenix Rising

In the book, The People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (2003) there are many passages that highlight women in civic and social movements throughout the nation’s history. The laundry workers marches for better pay, the infamous sweat shop fire that brought attention to the inhumane treatment of thousands, the women involved in the civil rights movement, more. Many of these women had children and families that they were either helping to support or they were the sole support. In this history of bonding and uniting to make changes in systems bent on usury, they stood together. And as the military, industrial (corporate), government complex pushes for more power; women are coming together to question and counter these forces once again. Is this a new kind of feminism, a new movement or a radical change in paradigm?

After several decades of shifting family values, women are adjusting to the changes and speaking up in new ways. Acknowledging that what was won through the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1960’s was less satisfying than expected; there is a questioning of goals and values. In the gap, attempts to reestablish conservative more traditional expectations and roles, cloaked as a return to “family values” are being launched in the media by various groups seeking to stabilize their institutions. (Churches, far right conservatives etc.) This may appeal to some but others are seeking to go forward, into new territory.

In this shuffle, a new feminine archetype is emerging. With a sense of purpose and urgency, women are seeking to take the lessons learned from the past and combining them as a means to inform a new balance between the individual and the cultural psyche.

More at "Sustainable Fashion-the Papers"

Fiberorganics YES!

Blossom-organic cotton

wren-hemp

Beautiful prints are available at the Fiberorganics online store. I am so glad to see this!!!
Also they carry a nice range of solids in hemp, cotton and bamboo (a product that can be produced without the possibility of caustic chemical calamity ..I learned this at Green Fast last Sunday as there are currently 4 production methods out there- 2 good & 2 that need improvement, lots of improvement. (Will get into this later!)

Anyway, check out the great hand screen prints on hemp and the SwankySwell prints on organic cotton.

Note: Organic cotton has been a factor in food scarcity as land devoted to production for export is a root cause of global hunger. When small farmers are booted off or "forced: to sell their land (12 Myths of Hunger, Moore, M.) they lose their ability to feed their families. The world loses crop diversity- aka priced out of survival.-

This is a down side of the industrial model going green, we need to consider the whole cycle of production and the sideline ramifications. I was assured at Green Fest that this is being considered by current importers, however I have not looked into it enough to do other than hope it is true.

Labor Behind the Label

Killer Jeans

Labor Behind the Label is now following me on Twitter. I usually check to see who new followers are and thank the ones that appear genuinely active in paradigm shift work. I found out that LB the L is behind the "Clean Clothes Campaign" and that sand blasted jeans are exposing workers to a practice that jeopardizes lung health.

I want to go into a tirade about corporate bully tactics "pushed" by "shareholders" and/or other "stakeholders" in the capitalist blame game that minimizes guilt..."if we don't do it someone else will" NICE, as spreading of the guilt allows bad practices to multiply, but I will stop here.

The truth is, we can take the phrase and make it our own. If we don't awaken and say no to the bad karma and the energy of distress that our consumer economic lifestyles generate, we will barely see the light of our unique and our collective true potentials. Saying no to goods that are made cheap by exploiting humans, animals and natural resources weakens the fabric of life and that rots the thread of existence.

FrPrjct

its Time to Balance the business of life. Check out the raison d'etre for the FrPrjkt experimental business.