Tag: Life

COMING UNPLUGGED FOR A WEEKEND – OR IS THAT UNSTUCK?

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

One of those interludes when our Internet connection crashed – this one lasting more than a weekend – had me reflecting on how embedded the Digital Age has become in our daily activity. And I’m not even one of those who’s texting much or has his ears plugged into thin wires except rarely.

On one hand, apart from a bit of twitchy readjustment, it was rather liberating. I found myself catching up on a stack of magazines and a couple of books and just hanging out in the house.

On the other hand, though, I wasn’t getting my emails or making sure scheduled blog posts had run properly, much less interacting with the comments or our WordPress Reader. For that, I wound up running out to the nearby Panera for late Sunday afternoon pastry and WiFi.

Still, I’m uneasy about all these digital changes in our lives. There’s too much else right at hand we seem to be missing. Just a thought. As for you?

LOOKING DOWN THE MALL FROM THE WHITE HOUSE

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

America – and the world – needs a Congress that can solve problems.

Not make them. And not pretend they don’t exist.

The public needs to take back the House and Senate and stop marching to the tune of the One Percent.  Or the lunatic fringe. Or the National Rifle Association. What kind of Congress runs scared in the shadow realm as this one does? Denial is not an option when it comes to the real issues before us. (All of us.)

One man can’t do the job alone. No matter how valiantly he’s done in the face of such ill will and obfuscation.

A LAMENTATION FROM THE TOP

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the “war to end wars.” This was the “war to make the world safe for democracy.” No one told them that dollars and cents were the real reason. No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United State patents. They were just told it was to be a “glorious adventure.”

Maj. Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler, USMC
— from War Is a Racket

ARE THE VISIGOTHS AND HUNS OVERRUNNING KANSAS?

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

The news coming out of Kansas is truly disturbing. Things were bad enough when historian Thomas Frank asked, What’s the Matter With Kansas? (Subtitled, “How conservatives won the heart of America.”) But now it’s looking out and out suicidal.

It’s what happens when ultra-right-wingers take over the governorship and legislature and begin dismantling the government. Make that, all signs of civilization. How bad can it get? When the legislature cuts down the judiciary?

This is tyranny running toward dictatorship. And the bold economic “plan” is piling up record debts for the state – and others who just might come to the rescue will wind up with the “tax-increase” label. Well, it’s looking hopeless unless the corporations in the state force a change in direction, as business leaders are urging. (At least they know the value of investing for a future.)

My suggestion? Go ahead, if you want, be truly conservative. Give it back to the Indians. And move to your own reservation.

HEDGES AND SHRUBS ABOVE, WHO KNOWS WHAT DOWN UNDER

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

If you garden, unless you have a pickup truck or access to one, you’ll have to decide what to do with the limbs and branches you trim. Bagging them for the dump’s a pain. One thing you don’t see in the colorful gardening books, of course, just may be essential. I’m speaking of the brush pile. Especially if you can’t get a burn permit due to neighborhood density.

The wood breaks down over time, however slowly, but the pile does provide refuge for small critters as well as kindling for our wood-fired stove through winter.

It’s all part of working our plot, with an emphasis on composting and natural balance.

In an urban setting like ours, rejuvenating the soil itself can be a revelation. Items keep coming to the surface from somewhere underground – stones, glass, costume jewelry, bits of metal or plastic objects. Nothing prepared me for the spaceman, though – the one holding a pair of pliers. No, he topped the toy horse and the Neanderthal with a club, for certain.

 ~*~

Garden 1For more on the book and others, click here.