Sunday, December 02, 2007

Well, I don't really know what to say. Lots of things have been happening. I'm working for George Brown. I'm making candles. I'm going to screenings of What a Way to Go. I'm knitting socks. Painting kitchens. Thinking about the future. Reconsidering whether I want to travel. Whether I feel safe travelling. Whether I feel safe with the idea of not having decided by next year where my long-term home base is going to be. Whether I'm ready to stake my picket-pin and prepare to weather the coming storms.

I feel a sense of urgency to settle down and start growing my own food. Should I go travelling first? Is that wise? My gut right now is saying no, find your land! Maybe right now my gut's just in a weird spot emotionally.

But if I don't go travelling first, will I ever? There is so much of the world I have yet to experience. Dare I be selfish and splurge on some peak oil to check out the farther reaches of the globe while I still have the chance? The Seven Wonders of the World? Hawaii and Japan and India and New Zealand? What will the Americas be like in 5 years if I wanted to bike down to Peru? Something tells me it's not going to be any easier in 5 years. I may not be able to leave what might have turned into Canamerica in 5 years. New Zealand is starting to sound appealing...

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Fantastic new documentary: What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire, directed by Tim Bennett and produced by Sally Erickson. I know I seem to say this every time there's a new movie about the collapse of civilization, but this time I mean it more than ever: This film is imperative viewing for everyone. If there's only one movie recommendation you will take away from my blog, please let it be this one. I'd even go as far as saying, don't bother reading Ishmael or the Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight – just see this film.

If you can't afford to pay for the DVD but you still want to see it, let me know and I'll lend you one of the DVDs I've ordered.

Sally and Tim's blogs are also very much worth following. Here is an excerpt from Sally's latest posting:
For now I will just share one woman’s experience, and my response:

[...]

I have a small story of my own to tell. Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly frustrated with what seems are my own paltry and insignificant efforts to contribute to the saving of the planet. I have tried many ways (prayer, consulting the trees, consulting ancestors, therapy, begging, pleading to anyone and/or anything) to discern what my role should be.

But all I have heard is silence…

[...]

….that is until I saw your movie. The night after watching it, I tossed and turned until finally at about 4:00a.m. Then an idea emerged. I am going to send 50 copies to people I know and ask that they, if inspired and so inclined, will “pay it forward” and send it to 3 other people and request the same of their receivers. I hope they will purchase an additional 2 copies to keep it circulating at a fast pace. I know this is still a very small step, but I have a lot of energy around it so I am going to assume that it is my inner voice telling me to act.

[...]

Your film is so powerful. I don’t see how anyone could view it and not break out of denial and be moved to act.

Well, believe it or not, people do view it and manage to stay in denial. The wounds of Empire are deep and people are understandably numb, cynical and afraid to feel. But there are also lots of people who view it, and view it again, and again, because they don’t want to be in denial. They want to be awake and in action. They want to step into a larger, more meaningful story than that of Empire. Sometimes these are people who one might not expect. Sometimes people we would expect to feel supported and empowered by our film are instead threatened and angry, because we are not selling easy, hopeful, or only slightly inconvenient answers. It is heartening, though, how many people we hear from who are deeply appreciative. Like you, having seen the movie, they feel supported, empowered and affirmed in the midst of the mainstream culture that says they must be crazy to be so concerned.

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