You Can Take the boy out of Suburbia……

Alex waved to me frantically while I started mowing the lawn.
I’d already had some qualms about mowing the lawn to begin with. It was one of those rare times when I’m really into mowing, so I wasn’t trying to get my lazy ass out of any work. Earlier a lot of [...]

A Week of Strange Hope

I’m in a weird state of mind about the way things are going.
My conventional rose-coloured glasses wants to believe that the economic bailout will actually make a difference. I’m not basing this hope on anything rational, but there IS something to the power of positive collective thought.
All the people whose [...]

Besides THAT Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

If you want a clear, concise, up-to-date explanation of why the American Empire is going to hell in a handbasket, follow this link to Nouriel Roubini’s article The Decline of the American Empire. Once you follow the link, you’ll have to register to read the article, but it’s free and it’s well worth it. [...]

Little Pink Subprime Houses

I was just reading a Rollingstone.Com article about John Mellencamp’s new album, which I can’t wait to get, about the bleak times in America. I’ve gone back and forth about Mellencamp, but I think I’m going to like this CD.
Anyway, one of the comments was a rewrite of the classic Mellencamp song [...]

Who Cares Who’s to Blame?

My ex-brother-in-law Dave did sarcasm great. When the family was in an argument he’d interject at something slightly lower than a yell, “the important thing is that we assign blame….. not SOLVE the problem. “
And that’s what both sides of the aisle are doing with the collapse of the banking system and peak oil. [...]

Pixar Goes Ewaki

Let me just say, only slightly apologetically, that I’m a Pixar whore. I love everything Pixar puts out. Admittedly there are some movies I like more than others, but on the whole Pixar’s never done wrong by me. That being said, Wall-E is the best film Pixar has ever made. [...]

Another Liver Flush Weekend

I’m just going to whine today. That’s what I do on Liver Flush weekends… at least for the first part of the weekend. We got an early start on this one by starting Friday. The only restriction the first day is that you can’t have anything with fat in it. This [...]

Long Overdue Love to Canada

It’s been a while sinced I waxed poetic about our beloved Canada. For those of you new to the ‘Box, the Queen of my Universe and I have an ongoing infatuation/obsession with Canada. After a trip to Niagara Falls last summer we were all but ready to expatriate.
Well, since we’ve [...]

Ever the Metrosexual

DOUG: (removing his underwear from the clothesline attached to his deck) You just can’t beat the feeling of clothes that dried on a clothesline. And the smell.
Kathy: I like that too, except for towels. I like the fluffy feeling of towels that’ve been in the dryer. Line dried-towels are too rough.
DOUG: Yeah, [...]

10 Pre-Permaculture Bad Gardening Habits

Before we destroy our existing lawn, I wanted to get pictures of our old, mostly non-functioning yard.
black mulch

I’m learning that mulch, in almost all cases is bad news. It prevents important insects from doing their jobs. They then roam the neighborhood in unruly gangs.
Unraked Grass
Yes… this grass is unraked and [...]