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Why Not Commons? | Good Times
Newly finished Walnut Commons is a Santa Cruz experiment in cohousing For Cecile Andrews, living at Santa Cruz’s new cohousing project Walnut Commons is a lot like being back in college. There are neighbors in close proximity, shared community meals, and generally always something happening. “There are people to talk to, and they’re not just superficial conversations,” says Andrews, a longtime community activist and author of several books, including Living Room Revolution.
Preview: Mike Schermer to Play Kuumbwa
In 1989, Mike Schermer was working a job he hated as a housekeeper at UCSC and playing blues guitar on the side. One day on his lunch break he got a call from Bay Area bluesman Andy Santana about a potential gig that night. Schermer would miss the gig if he went back to campus, so—in what would become a defining moment—he ditched work and played the gig. He and Santana then formed a blues group called the Soul Drivers, and Schermer never worked another day job again.
Gogol’s Nose and the Ghost in My Machine
The first time my iPhone went rogue, it FaceTimed a woman I had just met. Since my phone was on the nightstand at the time, I was shocked to hear it talking to me: “Lad? Is that you? Is there a problem?” When I saw the screen, my shock turned to mortification since staring right at me was a woman with bed-headed hair (it was midnight) and an alarmed expression. It took me a second to recognize her as Lynn, the host of the Airbnb we were renting that week. “Oh, I’m so sorry.
‘Home Town’ Reflects an Incomplete Picture of Laurel
I tell people where I grew up, and they say, “Oh, is that the Laurel, Miss., on HGTV?” Then they gush “It sounds just like Mayberry!” parroting one of the perky hosts on the blockbuster home-improvement show “Home Town.” I suspected the show was repackaging my memories for popular consumption, because my Laurel was no Mayberry.
Black History Can Save White Folks, Too.
At a press conference in January 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida argued against an advanced-placement course in African American studies, warning that such material acted as a trojan horse for indoctrinating students into “left-wing” ideology. The statement infuriated me, but once I settled, I had to agree with him. In fact, such a thing had happened to me.
Balloonery, Close Encounters, or Weather Phenomena?
On January 19, 2023, a weirdly shaped, large, orange-colored lenticular cloud appeared over Bursa, Turkey. The usual suspects erupted on cue, including the clamoring of the international news media that never met a Not-A-UFO story it didn’t like. Much ooo-ing and ah-ing occurred about the King of Cuckoo Clouds. King of The Cuckoo Clouds over Bursa, Turkey Vivid vids, and fab, almost flower-petaled-looking photos bloomed everywhere of the towering, unidentified sky thing.
What To Know About Moss Gardens
Skip to main content kampol Jongmeesuk/Getty Images Mosses are the oldest living land plants and you can grow them in your newest outdoor garden. Learn how to create a soft, green oasis in your yard. Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases. It’s not surprising that North Carolina-based moss expert Annie Martin titled her book The Magical World of Moss Gardening.
What was the Halloween Death Smog Disaster?
by Jenny Miller / October 18th, 2022 1. Why would anyone be opposed to water fluoridation? Doesn’t fluoride occur in the water naturally anyway? The fluoride products used in water fluoridation (sodium fluoride or fluorosilicic acid) are classified as hazardous waste products of the fertilizer, aluminum, and nuclear industries. They are even more toxic than naturally-occurring fluoride, since they contain other components, such as arsenic, lead, barium, and/or aluminum.
Taking Action Against 5G: Advice from a People’s Lobbyist
Perhaps you have been already convinced by reading articles on this site about the devastating effects of the ongoing rollout of massive numbers of 4G/5G so-called small cells (short for cell towers) throughout cities in the U.S. If you’re not up to speed about why you should be extremely, extremely alarmed, you can read my previous article on the subject (“The 5G Juggernaut, Coming Soon to a Utility Pole Outside Your Home“) Assuming you are now aware that this rollout will have devastating...
A Tyranny of Wind
Photo Credit: MTA Photos “Weather is immune to history, law, diplomacy, and sometimes even reason…” Ed Falcón, chief meteorologist for El Paso’s biggest TV network, was appalled at how seldom people asked him about the nature of weather. His admirers and devotees were only interested in hearing about the immediate weather or the weather to come, never in discussing the weather that was.
Stay Warm and Toasty With the Best Clothes for Working Outside in Winter
VIA MERCHANT Cargo Work Pants You need cold weather gear that’s durable and made for warmth on long days spent outside in the cold. These fleece-lined Carhartt cargo work pants get the job done right. Double-layer front knees stand up to repeated use, and there are even openings for adding knee pads. The relaxed, stretch fit offers room for movement, and a straight leg accommodates work boots and snow boots.
The Brain on Jazz
Great composers wrote and rewrote their works, but a jazz musician playing a solo passage is engaging in an amazing mental feat of spontaneous creation—and researchers are studying these artistically charged moments for important clues about creativity and learning. For the March 2010 issue, Urbanite interviewed Charles Limb, an otolaryngologist at Johns Hopkins University with a research fellowship to study the brain through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology.
Signs Out of Time — Mixed Media — Utne Reader
The typical U.S. historical marker raises more questions than it answers, and many of the signs are rife with errors and bias. Artist Norm Magnusson’s I-75 Project uses the form for a different sort of provocation. Magnusson hopes to install his own versions of the markers at rest stops along U.S. Interstate 75, which stretches from Michigan to Florida. He has already shown them in several states and is seeking funding for the proposed installation. The blog Thick Culture (Sept.
Fighting Bacteria with Biomimicry
Fighting bacteria Proving once again that some of the best technologies are those derived from nature, researchers have developed a bacteria-fighting silicone surface inspired by the wings of the dragonfly. As Beth Mole reports in Science News (Dec. 28, 2013), the research, which was first published in Nature Communications, says that the bacteria-resistant surface can be incorporated into the coatings of medical instruments and food-processing equipment, greatly reducing the risks of infection.
What is Light Language?
Feature Image: Courtesy of NASA The first time I ever heard or saw light language, I was led to it by following a post about dolphins. It had an insightful quotation from Jamye Price, and I wanted to see who this wise person was. Before too long, I was watching a video of a blonde woman standing amid red rocks in Arizona, her hands flowing and flashing with signs, uttering phrases in some angelic language that sounded like gold, if gold were a sound.
Armed Lifeboat: Government’s Response to Natural Disaster - Politics – Utne Reader
Whether Washington’s response to natural disaster caused by climate change will rely on social solidarity, or on militarized borders and government surveillance, depends on what happens now, says Christian Parenti. By Sam Ross-Brown, Utne Reader | September/October 2013 As extreme weather becomes more frequent and damaging the government’s response could be violent and authoritarian, or it could build on our capacity for social solidarity in the wake of crisis.
A Salem Legend
Photography by Jo Chattman Do you remember the first witchcraft book you ever owned? There is a strong likelihood it was Power of the Witch, by Laurie Cabot. That was mine, and I still own my copy in its spine-cracked purple binding. Cabot also helps me get dressed in the morning: Her Twitter account, which uses astrological aspects to advise on the best color to wear each day, has helped me overcome years of closet paralysis.
Solar Gardens: Power to the People
Sure, solar power is clean and renewable—but in most cases it’s also expensive and impractical. In fact, when roof angle, direction, and shade are taken into account, only 20 percent of American households capture enough rays to make solar useful—and potential payoff won’t help with a down payment on panels. Enter solar gardens, a way for neighbors to pool resources and buy into solar energy together.
Cut a Tree, Prevent Intense Wildfires
For decades environmentalists have equated saving trees with saving the planet. Now Jamie Workman of the Environmental Defense Fund says it’s not that simple. Writing for Mother Nature Network (May 23, 2013), Workman argues that overcrowded forests are in fact a cause of pollution. If Mother Nature had her way, Workman explains, there would only be a few dozen trees per acre, even in forests. The rest would burn in occasional wildfires started by lightning (or Native Americans, before colonization).
Advanced Math as Our Weapon
Henry Ford famously said that if ordinary people understood how banking actually works “there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” That’s more or less the idea behind Rico Gutstein’s critical math curriculum at Chicago’s Social Justice High School (“Sojo”). Infusing advanced math with concepts like subprime lending and outsourcing, Gutstein hopes to not only prepare students for college, but also give them the necessary tools to become effective agents for change.
Rated M, for Mature — Emerging Ideas — Utne Reader
Ask a video game geek to name her favorite first-person shooters and you’re likely to get a grocery list of titles like Halo and Quake, trigger-happy bloodbaths just a few pixels more gory than their predecessors, Doom and Duke Nukem. There’s a game currently in development, however, that could change the dynamic without watering down the game.
When Farm Meets Forest — Emerging Ideas — Utne Reader
We typically think of forestland and farmland as being mutually exclusive. But many indigenous people around the world traditionally have cultivated crops right alongside trees and shrubs, and some sustainable-development advocates believe it’s time to bring back and update these “agroforestry” practices, reports Upstream Journal (Fall-Winter 2010). Deliberately mixing crops and trees, instead of completely clearing and tilling land to plant a single monoculture crop, offers numerous benefits.
Keeping Agricultural Land Prices Affordable for Farmers
From barn weddings to cabin porn, the notion of a simplified rural life has captured the cultural imagination of late. But making these whimsical visions reality is anything but simple. For would-be farmers pursuing a patch of land to cultivate, high real estate prices often put an end to ambitions early on—but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. In the U.K., where agricultural land prices have tripled in the last decade, a new collective is trying out a possible solution.
Stone Age Sex: Neanderthal DNA in Our Blood
In 2010 researchers concluded that as result of sexual liaisons between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens some 80,000 years ago, many of us carry a trace of Neanderthal DNA in our genomes (among Europeans and Asians, somewhere between 1 and 4 percent).
A Year After the Non-Apocalypse: Where Are They Now?
For a while, their message was everywhere. They paid for billboards, took out full-page ads in newspapers, distributed thousands of tracts. They drove across the county in RVs emblazoned with verses from the books of Revelation and Daniel. They marched around Manhattan holding signs. They broadcasted day and night on their network of radio stations. They warned the world. That warning turned out to be a false alarm.
Designing the Best Mental Health Hospitals – Mind & Body – Utne Reader
A common problem in psychiatric hospitals worldwide may have an unlikely solution thanks to the findings of a recent study conducted in Sweden. According to Environmental Building News (March 2013), a team of researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University determined that hospital design and patient aggression appear to be linked.
Puzzling Lack of Ethnic Diversity in the American Environmental Movement
The American environmental movement was founded on racism, Barry Yeoman points out in Audubon Magazine (September/October 2011). Wealthy conservationists credited themselves with discovering pristine wilderness areas, then promptly evacuated Native Americans and “preserved” the land for sportsmen.
Spanning The Reigns of the Queens with The Mediaeval Baebes
Photography by Karla de Silva The Mediaeval Baebes are part of my Yuletide rotation, their album Mistletoe & Wine a staple of my—and many a—Christmastime playlist. As surely as a warm mug of mulled wine, listening to them puts my heart right on this hinge of the year, celebrated throughout the Earth’s ages. But the Baebes are far more than carol singers.
Messy Desks Encourage Creative Thinking
We’ve been trained to believe that a de-cluttered desk and office are the quickest routes to becoming better thinkers and more efficient workers. And while that may provide the ideal environment for getting work done, it may not be the best environment for coming up with new ideas, so says Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. As Lea Winerman reports in Monitor on Psychology (Oct.
Mark Gorton: Founder, The Open Planning Project – Utne
Cars rule the streets and transportation planning is still geared toward accommodating them. The question is: Why? After all, the goal of urban planning, first and foremost, should be to serve people, not machines. Founder and executive director of The Open Planning Project, Mark Gorton wants citizens to question the role of automobiles in the world and to recognize how inefficient and inappropriate they are for an urban environment.
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