The fundamental problem with industrial agriculture is that their mono-functional focus on the economic bottom-line invariably has unintended detrimental ecological, social, and economic consequences.
— From johnikerd.com/small-farms-are-real-farms-a-questions-of-function-full-article/
Mockery, of course, is the cheapest and most available tool that the powerless have against the powerful; it has historically been the one thing that they can’t silence.
Shuffleboard At McMurdo: A visit to Antarctica
Maciej Cegłowski raised funds for a trip to Antarctica on Kickstarter, promising an essay about the adventure. As usual for Cegłowski, the results are excellent. Love his writing and sensibilities.
To come to Antarctica, a place where human beings do not belong, you have to tell yourself lies. Basic courtesy says you should respect the lies other people tell themselves, too. We pretend to be a ship full of explorers instead of a floating rest home, and McMurdo pretends to be a scientific research station instead of a placeholder for Exxon-Mobil (or secret missile base).
There is some dawning awareness these days of the insanity of raising children almost entirely indoors, but as usual our society’s response to its own insanity is to create artificial programs designed to solve our artificial problems in the most artificial way possible.
A run of unseasonably warm April weather makes for nice evening light.
Hiked up to Oyster Dome lookout off Chuckanut Drive, with stops at BreadFarm in Bow and Skagit Building Salvage.
Despite an unforgettable six weeks in southern africa, I ended up having a difficult time sharing my experiences via writing. It turned out to be much more difficult to compose essays on my phone, which was my only way of connecting for all but about a week of the trip. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that a mobile phone is great for short bursts of communication but not optimal for composing extended journal entries. The problem isn’t so much the form of text entry since I can compose very quickly on a mobile keypad. The problem is more in the difficulty in reviewing and editing when only a tiny portion of any entry can be seen at once. I’m hoping to put together some thoughts about the trip once I’ve settled in back home, and will be posting some additional photos from my digicam (all the photos posted on Flickr during my time at Selati and during the drive were taken on my phone and posted directly from the phone to Flickr.)
Four hundred fifty kilometers of driving yesterday took us from Swaziland to the northwestern coast of South Africa, to the relatively remote area of Sodwana Bay. According to our guide book, the reefs here are second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Neither Chris nor I are dive certified, so we’re doing a guided resort dive. Just finished the pool practice and will be heading out to the reefs soon.
Spent two nights in northwest Swaziland, in in area of highveld, with rolling mountains and valleys covered with grasslands and forest plantations. Great day-hike in Malolotja Nature Reserve to the top of the highest waterfall in Swaziland and a swim in the series of pools above the 100 meter dropoff. Saw herds of zebra, bontebok, eland, a troop of about 30 baboons traversing the opposite slope, and only two other people who were leaving just as we arrived to start the hike. The high elevations provided a break from the heat; though it was still warm during the day, the evenings were nice and temperate. Left Phophonyane Lodge this morning and drove to the city of Manzini, where we walked around first in the street market and then in the mall. Spent the early afternoon driving through the hot, spacious savannas of the southeast towards the Lavumisa/Golela border back into South Africa. Today’s destination is Sodwana Bay on the Elephant Coast, south of Mozambique.