Gather at The Winter Solstice.

      2019 Winter Solstice is hovering on the near horizon, a time to get together, renew friendships, make new friends, as the light is being renewed to us. Try to see the world as you would like it to be, then work towards that as the light is returning, and beyond. Some friendly advice from my friend at Not Buying Anything:

      This weekend those of us in the northern hemisphere will experience the darkest day of the year. December 21, 2019 is Winter Solstice, the celestial holiday celebrated through the ages as the beginning of light.
      It is the oldest known winter celebration, and its influence can be seen in many of the ways we respond to this time of year today.
       Here are 10 natural and mostly free ways to enjoy this important day in our annual voyage around my favourite star in the whole Universe, the Sun.

10 Ways To Celebrate Winter Solstice

      1. Stay up all night to welcome the return of the light at daybreak (see Stargazing below). Whoever falls asleep first makes breakfast after the sun comes up.
     2. Decorate an outdoor edible Solstice Tree for wildlife. Strings of popcorn, suet balls, bird feeders, peanuts and other foods are appreciated by local animals during cold days and nights.
      3. On the night of Solstice light a candle. Make it your only light. Have a candle light dinner. Eat seasonal foods, drink seasonal beverages, and sing seasonal songs. Use care. With the candles and everything else.
     4. Eat a Solstice Orange. See if you can get the whole skin off without breaking it. Oranges at this time of year represent little, tasty orbs of sunlight. You can taste the photons in there.
      5. Stargaze. The Ursid meteor shower, considered a minor shower of 10 to 20 shooting stars per hour, peaks right at Solstice. It will be a nearly moonless sky, so viewing will be good if you have clear skies. Best viewing time is in the early hours Sunday morning.
       6. Light a bonfire. Or have a fire inside in your wood stove or fireplace. Can't do either? Settle in and watch a Yule log burning on video.
      7. Go out at noon on Solstice and throw a shadow, if it is sunny. Because the Sun is the lowest in the sky that it will get, your shadow at noontime will be the longest of the year on this day.
      8. Take a hike. Watch for signs of wildlife, and collect natural objects of beauty. Back at home, decorate a space with your items such as spruce twigs, winter berries, and animal scat (ok, kidding about the scat. But it is fun to see and identify what dropped it). Acorns and pine cones can add a nice touch (to the decorations, not the scat).
      9. Rest, recharge, go within. The dark days outside invite us to contemplate the dark space inside, between our ears. Be like bear and seek refuge in your hibernaculum. As you lay low, breathe and flow.
      10. Reflect. This is a great time to review the past year, and make your intentions known for the year ahead. What did you learn during the last trip around the Sun? Think about all the things you are grateful for in 2019, and about the richness of life that you will attract over the coming year.
      However you choose to celebrate at this time of year, chances are you will be enjoying something derived from the original Pagan winter Solstice rituals. That is because they are a meaningful and enduring part of an Earthling's experience.
      On the weekend we mark the changing of seasons, the return of the light, and our connection to both the past, each other, and the greater natural world.

Happy Solstice. 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Ethical Capitalism??

      There is at the moment a lot of talk about turning our economic system into ethical capitalism. Appealing to our governments and corporate bodies  to join the green and ethical revolution. What a naive fantasy, an illusion, a blind alley that will only end in total disillusionment for it followers, and disaster for the rest of us. Capitalism's foundations are exploitation, it is based on making money from somebody else's efforts, how do you make that ethical? Let's hope those pursuing that path wake up in time to see the folly of their ways, go for real change, a real ethical and green society and the total demolition of capitalism. Then perhaps we can start to build that ethical and green society freed from the cancer of profit and exploitation.

      As usual, calm words of common sense from one of my favourite sites, Not Buying Anything. 

         The term Ethical Consumerism is an oxymoron. It is a dream, a fantasy that business as usual types hope will extend current harmful ways of doing things. Don't be fooled by this industrial strength green washing. In order to have ethical consumerism we would have to have an ethical supply chain. First there would have to be ethical resource extraction. Mining companies would no longer be able to hire thugs to murder indigenous activists blocking the mining sites that are destroying their livelihoods. Fomenting violent coups in order to mine resources such as lithium would definitely be out.
      Then there would need to be ethical manufacturing. If made ethical, companies would have to put people and the planet before shareholder interests, and the selfish motives of CEOs. Retail interests would also have to act ethically. No more cooking the books, or fleecing workers to pad the bottom line.
       At every stage corporations would have to do the ethical thing and take responsibility for any damage done while conducting their business. A study done showed that most, if not all, corporations would go bankrupt if they had to pay for the damage they do.
       And what about marketing? Can you imagine ethical advertising? Neither can I. Advertisers wouldn't be able to lie anymore. Or manipulate us with things like "nudging" and neuromarketing manipulation. The entire industry would crumble when they could no longer manufacture desire through the use of nefarious methods of mind control.
      The very greenwashing that brings us something as outlandish as ethical consumerism would become illegal. Greenwashing, and ethical consumerism would disappear into a void of lying blackness, never to be seen again.
       Let us not forget the ethical banking system that would be needed to support all the other ethical endeavours. What would that even look like? No interest to be paid, or charged, because getting something without working for it is unethical. Also, no more money laundering, or other dirty tricks.
      Wouldn't we also need an ethical tax regime? Large corporations and the uber wealthy would actually have to pay their fair share in such a system. And to guide it all, we would need ethical governance at the local, state, and federal levels. How is that going these days? Is propaganda ethical? Is jailing whistleblowers ethical? Is interfering in the business of other countries ethical?
      At best, ethical consumerism would lead to the end of consumerism. And along the way it might take down capitalism and the state, too. There is nothing ethical or logical about the greed, waste, corruption, and selfishness of our current system.
         Let them fail in a creative destruction the likes of which the world has never seen. That would be a welcome outcome. Anything less is a fantastical dream, because current ways can not go on for much longer.

So, what colour would you like your dragon?

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

All Must Kneel Before The Altar Of The Economy.

       So often humans create something for their benefit, and then the "thing" becomes more important than the people. Trade unions were created to help people but now in most cases the union becomes more important than the people it was meant to serve. Religion is the same, the church must be protected even at the expense of the people. Today it is the economy, how do we cure ourselves from the epidemic of consumerism. These usual words of wisdom, which I endorse, from Not Buying Anything sums it up perfectly.

 Don't worry. Keep buying, and be happy... sort of.

          I keep hearing that "the consumer is doing the heavy lifting" for the economy, that they are "holding up", and "aren't fatigued yet". Isn't this backwards?
      I remember a time when the economy worked for the people, existed for the people, functioned for the people. Now, the people work for the economy. Now, nothing is more important than the economy.
       So we get the following situations:
       The environment is generally collapsing... but the consumer is still buying.
       Manufacturing is down... but the consumer is still buying.
       There is a "Retail Apocalypse"... but the consumer is still buying.
       There is a global political crisis... but the consumer is still buying.
      Depression and suicide have reached depressing proportions... but the consumer is still buying.
       We are getting fatter and less fit... but the consumer is still buying.
      Everything is breaking down, but not to worry - the consumer is still buying.
       If I understand this correctly, as long as we keep buying, everything will appear to be fine. The only disaster that could befall the world that would actually matter is if The Consumer stopped buying.
         If The Consumer even dared to slow their acquisitional frenzy, there would be an immediate emergency declared that would require special and intense activity to repair.
        We would need to really DO something in that case. We wouldn't want to put the billionaire lifestyle at risk now, would we?
       "I buy, therefore I am", will be the new motto to live by if the economic manipulators get their way. Today's Consumers will be tomorrow's Buybots.
       So don't worry about all those pesky and unimportant emergencies scientists and environmental activists keep making up, just keep buying.
         Everything will be fine. Well, the economy will be fine, at least, and what is more important than that?
       That is the system as it exists, and I'm not buying it. Our planetary community needs something better, and soon.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Travelling And Improving Your Health.

       It is heartening to see that more and more people are beginning to see the detrimental effects of that once much desired metal box with an internal combustion engine. They are becoming more aware of its gross inefficiency and the massive pollution it pours out, poisoning our lungs and destroying the planet's eco-system. We know there are answers, we just have to grasp them. As usual some simple words of wisdom from Not Buying Anything.

Biking For Food - - -And Energy Efficient.

          Gas engine cars were never a very good idea. I can see them pulling a dinosaur act soon, dieing in our driveways and being fossilized over the coming eons. Why? Because they are notoriously energy inefficient and nature does not reward inefficiency.
       An internal combustion gas engine offers a pathetic 20 - 30% efficiency. The remaining 70 to 80% of the gas in the tank is wasted as exhaust heat, mechanical sound energy, and friction loss, rather than moving the car from point A to point B. An electric car does better, operating at between 50 and 85% efficiency, but that still does not make it anywhere as efficient as a bicycle. A bike is the most efficient method of travel in the known Universe. It can be up to 5 times more efficient than walking, and is impressively more efficient than a car. 100 calories of energy will power a bicycle 5 km, while those same calories will only take a car 85 meters. A car is a more efficient mechanism for wasting energy than it is as a method of transportation.
      A 2015 survey of 44 countries found that only 1/3 of total respondents reported owning a car. That's about the same fraction of Americans over the age of 3 that rode a bike at least once over the last year. As part of my experiment in joining that 65% segment of car-free respondents, I have been doing bike-supported grocery shopping trips since our van broke down.
      The distance to the store is 7.5 km. Along the way the route descends from 500 ft to sea level.
       On my first trip, I used my travel backpack that has about a 55 L capacity. I carried home 7 kg of food, which got us nicely stocked up. The entire trip took me 1.5 hours, and it was much more enjoyable than driving. I was freed from the metal cage of the car.
      On a bike you are out there, in there, immersed in the scene and part of it all. I saw things I have never seen before while driving, even though I have blasted up and down this road a few times over the past 5 years. As I pumped uphill I revelled in the essence of trees and flowers and grass and soil and a million other things organic. I listened to several species of birds singing their songs.
     People greeted me as I pedalled by.

 Getting ready for the trip home with my groceries.

      Home is up in the hills in the background. I was the only bike in the lot on this day. After shopping it felt good to go outside to a waiting bike instead of our van. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy driving cars and vans, trucks and tractors. I have also driven limousines, the most insane, idiotic and inefficient vehicles on the planet. Yes, for a short while I did personal research on the rich of Edmonton, Alberta while working as a chauffeur. Brushing shoulders with the upper crust was interesting and strange. I have always enjoyed motor vehicles. Thing is, I love bicycles, too. And when I ride, it is amazing. Just not as fast. Which is good.
       On my first grocery ride I was so excited about my hill climb back home with all my food that I rode off like a kid returning home after a visit to the candy store. So excited that I forgot my bike helmet outside where my bike was locked up. It's gone. Other than that, biking for food has been a success. So far it is a viable method that is efficient, effective, and a whole lot of fun.
       I am going to have to buy a new helmet. Safety first.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Happiness Doesn't Come In Fancy Boxes.

    As usual, quiet common sense from Not Buying Anything, enjoy.

       Regular readers of this blog will agree that basing a life on materialistic values is a losing proposition. The video I am highlighting in this post will be a reminder of sorts for them.
        If you are new to the NBA blog and the concept of simple living, or find the whole rat race thing to be tiring and futile, then this video may help nudge you toward adopting a way of living that is healthier for you, your family, your neighbours, and the environment.
       The end (of materialistic lifestyles) is near. The time to get started on the alternative, a more resilient and enjoyable simple life, is now. It is a movement that has been thousands of years in the making.

Background:

     "Psychologist Tim Kasser discusses how America's culture of consumerism undermines our well-being.
When people buy into the ever-present marketing messages that "the good life" is "the goods life," they not only use up Earth's limited resources, but they are less happy and less inclined toward helping others.
This animation both lays out the problems of excess materialism and points toward solutions that promise a healthier, more just, and more sustainable life."
Research cited: click here.

       Enjoy, and if it moves you, please share your reaction to the video in the comments section below.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Let's Walk With The Poets.

       I often shout my mouth off about the insanity of this economic system that is grinding the planet and humanity to destruction, and struggle to come to terms of why it seems to garner support from so many of those being exploited and driven to extinction. There can be no rational justification for a system that, with no thought of human well-being, creates an unimaginable abundance of wealth as its main product, then siphons it into the pockets of a chosen few. While at the same time the multitude that produce that wealth, struggle to survive and millions fail in that struggle. There can be no way that we can look at this mad rush to extinction and state that there is a grain of sanity in its functioning.
        In my case it is not just a belief, in my heart of hearts, I know, and I'm sure you also know, that there is a better way to manage our lives. With some thought, a little imagination and the breaking of a few rules, we can bring about the demise of this suicide pact with the greedy and insane, and create that better, fairer and more humane world for all.

WALK WITH THE POETS.

My head has had enough of you,
you doomsday sooth-sayers, and
rationalists, that trap us in the world that is.
Go weave your tales of “can't be done”
to the dead, and those of no imagination.
I want to walk with the utopian,
the dreamer and the poet,
laugh with the child and sing with the wind.
Run with the deer, not with “the market trend”
Enough of, “this is the way it has to be”,
a world of poverty, wars and inequality.
Now, I'll create the world I want to see,
A world of sharing, peace and liberty.
I want the children to plan tomorrow,
the adult help them get there,
trees and flowers our treasured possessions,

with birds and animals their keepers.
Who wants a world that chains us to mortgages,
binds us to a labouring day, just to eat bread?
Who wants to spend their life, feeding fat-cats
while their own children go hungry?
No, this is not the world that has to be,
in our foolishness and misplaced trust,
this is a world that has slithered over us,
poisoning our mind, putrefying our spirit.
Let's call on the poet, let's welcome the dreamer,
let's take council with the utopian,
They'll help us create a better world for all.

 The following wise words from Not Buying anything:

       If you think that the world we live in today doesn't make any sense at all, you would be right. That is because our system doesn't have to make sense - it only has to make money.         If this system were a person it would be imprisoned, or committed to an asylum. Void of any moral compass, you would cross the street to avoid having to rub shoulders with such an destructive and unstable character, if it were actually a character. If it were a person, ecocidal capitalism might be manifested as something like The Mad Hatter, from Alice in Wonderland. "I am under no obligation to make sense to you."
- Mad Hatter

       Or perhaps as the hookah smoking Cheshire Cat, since the system is obviously under the influence of some very bad drugs. In fact, it is on one of the most destructive drugs known to humanity – money. “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad. You must be, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Cheshire Cat

      They want us to believe there is no other way to conduct human affairs other than through fouling our own nest, and allowing the many to die from highly preventable causes, while the few gain obscene amounts of wealth. None of that makes any logical sense what-so-ever. But still, Margaret Thatcher famously told us, "There is no alternative", and many agreed with her. Not sociologist John Bellamy Foster, who is thinking rationally when he says,

“We have to go against the logic of the system even while living within it.”

       I agree, but what exactly is the logic of a system that is already looking for a new planet to exploit when this one is completely destroyed? If there is no possible alternative, then let's ponder impossible alternatives. Now is when we could use a healthy dose of creativity and imagination. Our capacity to dream of a better world can surely yield something better than the total insanity that has brought us to edge of destruction.
     Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll modeled the kind of thinking we need now. He said,

"Sometimes, I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

       I consider the impossible all the time, before, during, and after breakfast. I have to, because I need to inject a bit of sense in a world where there doesn't seem to be any at all.
      So I ask myself, "How about an impossible world where social relationships are not governed primarily by economics, however participatory, but by solidarity? How about an impossible world where ecocide is not an integral part of what we do?"
     I envision a system where billionaire outlaws are outlawed (not such a crazy idea after all). "Sure we destroyed the Earth", the billionaires will say, "but we destroyed it for profit."
       We have to start thinking of impossible ideas, systems, and methods. Why not dream impossible dreams?
      At one time any human would have told you that flying through the air in thin metal tubes for great distances was impossible. Or visiting the moon. Or polluting limitless oceans and the atmosphere, or cutting down expansive, seemingly endless old growth forests. And yet, all of those fall under the purview of the possible today. Who knows what "impossible" things we will achieve tomorrow?

“When the whole world is running towards a cliff, a person who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost their mind.” - C.S. Lewis

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk 

Where Has The Real World Gone?

      As always, thoughtful, insightful words from Not Buying Anything.

Where has the real world gone, are we now afraid to be alone with our thoughts, after all thoughts are a good way of finding direction in our life. Face to face communication can be a wonderful enriching experience. Yes, there way be a place for "social media" but as part of our life, it shouldn't become our life, and that, unfortunately seems to be the trend. 

This from Not Buying Anything:

 

      Oliver Sacks, British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and author, feared for the future before he died. He wasn't so much alarmed at what had come into being. Rather, he was shocked by how much was missing.

     “Everything is public now, potentially: one’s thoughts, one’s photos, one’s movements, one’s purchases.
     There is no privacy and apparently little desire for it in a world devoted to non-stop use of social media.
      Every minute, every second, has to be spent with one’s device clutched in one’s hand. Those trapped in this virtual world are never alone, never able to concentrate and appreciate in their own way, silently.
      They have given up, to a great extent, the amenities and achievements of civilization: solitude and leisure, the sanction to be oneself, truly absorbed, whether in contemplating a work of art, a scientific theory, a sunset, or the face of one’s beloved.”

Oliver Sacks died in 2015. Before he passed he wrote, 

      "I find my thoughts, increasingly, not on the supernatural or spiritual, but on what is meant by living a good and worthwhile life — achieving a sense of peace within oneself.

       Sacks wouldn't have advised looking for such answers, such peace, in a mobile screen.

      We are trapped in a virtual world. I have doubts about it providing us with a "good and worthwhile life".

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

Stuff = Happiness???

       Consumerism is the pillar of the capitalist system, without mass consumerism the whole capitalist system collapses. The system lives and survives by masses of people buying "stuff" and through well constructed advertising, gets you to come to the false conclusion that your "stuff" is out of date and needs to be replaced. The propaganda machine of the corporate world also weaves this illusion that more "stuff" will bring you more happiness, get the right "stuff" and your life and loves will be transformed, and that this method of living is the only game in town. Of course to get more "stuff" you have to work long hours and do shit jobs. This whole fabricated illusion creates the belief that money is the only thing that governs the quality of your life, so you spend your life on the treadmill of trying to get more money to get more "stuff" and in the end find you have an empty life chasing an illusion.

      As usual a few words of quite wisdom from "Not Buying Anything"

 "Me Grog. Me big caveman - need storage cave for all my extra stuff."

        Is a focus on materialism an instinctive behaviour? Is it human nature? Are we predisposed to want to accumulate things?
       Materialism researchers James Burroughs and Aric Rindfleisch think they have it figured out. I have my doubts.
       "Telling people to be less materialistic", they say, "is like telling people that they shouldn’t enjoy sex or eat fatty foods. People can learn to control their impulses, but this does not remove the underlying desires."
       Sex and eating fatty foods are survival strategies for humans since early times. But until recently, accumulating things as a human would be a very bad idea running counter to effective survival strategies.
        We are the most adaptable and mobile species on Earth. In order to do this, we have, for hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, had to travel light. As nomadic people, extra accumulation of stuff would not be an evolutionary advantage.
      If the researchers are right, where is the evidence of acquisitiveness in the archaeological record? Did cave dwelling humans have off-site storage caves to store all their extra pointy sticks, and rocks and stuff?
      If so, where are they? Where are Grog's Super Self-Storage Caves?
     People don't really want 10 tons of crap. Or the storage caves or lockers to put it all in. They want to be loved, to be content, to be part of a vibrant community of supportive compassionate citizens.
     Those are the real underlying desires, and we have been told that the accumulation of stuff will bring us all of that through the completely artificial construct of consumerism.
       Survival is instinctive. Materialism is a learned behaviour, and one that now runs contrary to our survival. Even a cave dweller could see that.

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

Pointless Consumerism Or Pleasurable Solstice?

        At this time of year it is difficult to escape the continuous onslaught of the pressure to indulge in pointless consumerism and the pressure to sink into excessive gluttony. It is the time of year when the corporate juggernaut gets desperate fearing that it hasn't stripped you of all your cash and loaded you with enough debt, to stuff their coffers. The wave of jingoism and totally misleading adverts form a goo that fogs the minds of many, especially the young and parents of the young, it is all about pressure and is difficult to escape. As usual, a few calming words of wisdom from Not Buying Anything. Happy solstice everybody.

      Winter solstice is one of my favourite events of the year, perhaps because I was born on this day almost 6 decades ago (that was fast). If I had delusions of grandeur, I might have thought that the light returned because I came into the world.
       "Did I do that?" Even if I am not responsible for this wondrous photonic turn of events, it is still a time of year that I cherish.
        First of all, solstice is a celebration that is based on observable facts, and I find that comforting in its solidity. One does not "believe" or "not believe" in this well established annual celestial occurrence.
        It is a celebration based on science, which can also be just as magical and amazing as any fabrication of the imagination. The rational part of my brain likes that this event is as real as it gets.
        Best of all is the fact that this is a celebration for everyone, and in a world that is increasingly fractured along religious, political, and tribal lines, such an event is of infinite value.
        Today we celebrate something that is 100% inclusive, even if our Southern Hemisphere brothers and sisters are celebrating the longest day of the year while we celebrate the shortest.
       It is solstice everywhere on the planet, and the wonder of nature joins us all together in one great human family on the best home in the known universe.
      Now, the light returns, and I find that pretty amazing, even if I didn't do it. Happy solstice, my human family, wherever you happen to be. This is a celebration for everyone.
      Note: In lieu of sending a birthday present, please donate to a charity of your choice. I don't need, or want, anything (although a cure for multiple sclerosis would be nice, and the permanent end of war would be brilliant).

 

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

This System Of Human Suicide.

       There are many reasons to strive for the destruction of capitalism, its exploitation of people, its ever widening gap between rich and poor, the fact that poverty and deprivation are its by-products, the fact that the wealth created always flows up to the few at the expense of the many, its endless wars and the resultant death and misery. Then there is its drive for ever increasing growth and its plundering of the earth's resources to feed the insatiable corporate greed, and many more reason can easily be found. However, at the top of the list of indictments against the capitalist system must be it is destruction of the natural environment. This avoidable destruction is responsible for the extinction of countless species on the planet, this in turn will lead to the inevitable extinction of our own species, the human. Why persist with a system that we know, if it continues, we lose the essential diversity of the planet which will obviously see the demise of our own species.

       There are alternatives, it is possible to create a system built on sustainability, mutual aid and co-operation, we have enough resources at present to see to the needs of all our people. All we need is the will to start to put in place the building blocks for such a system at grass roots level, while destroying the foundations of this present system of human suicide. However, time is running out, we are reaching the point of now or never.

This from Not Buying Anything:

      “Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals — the sixth wave of extinctions in the past half-billion years. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.  

      Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day.”

Source: The Extinction Crisis, Center for Biological Diversity, biologicaldiversity.org

       Without insects and other land-based arthropods, EO Wilson, the renowned Harvard entomologist, estimates that humanity would last all of a few months.
        Even if this were the only problem facing us (it isn't), it would be enough to prompt some serious questions about where civilization is headed, and then consider some serious solutions, like radically changing the way we do everything.
      You can't separate the way we live from the challenges we face, like Insectageddon. There are better ways of doing things that respect all life on Earth, and if we are to save ourselves, we will need to adopt them, and soon.
       First insecticide, then ecocide, then humanicide. As they go, so go we.

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

Spaceship Earth Has No Escape Capsule!!

      While reputable scientists tell us we have a very short limited time to get free from fossil fuels, or face human disaster on an unprecedented scale, the UK government makes noises of approval while voicing vacuous promises. Then goes on to grant fracking licenses to greedy corporate bodies who don't give a shit about the planet, and only have eyes for profit.
       The planet is not dying, it is being murdered, by corporate greed, and by our inaction, we are complicit. A fine gift for our grandchildren.

      As usual, quiet voice of reason from that excellent site, Not Buying Anything. 

          Humans are killing the planet, and we seem unable to stop. But hey, nobody's perfect. A recent report shows that since the 1970s our actions have caused the deaths of 60% of invertebrates. And the news is not good for insects, either.
         Humanity is facing the most extreme challenges in 200,000 years, and no one seems worried enough to take any kind of meaningful and collective evasive action.
        “We have known for many, many years that we are driving the planet to the very brink. This is not a doom and gloom story; it is reality. Our day-to-day life, health and livelihoods depend on a healthy planet. There cannot be a healthy, happy and prosperous future for people on a planet with a destabilized climate, depleted oceans and rivers, degraded land and empty forests, all stripped of biodiversity, the web of life.” - Marco Lambertini, director general of the WWF

       The majority reaction is that "nobody's perfect", and that we will just have to ride this thing out and see what happens. Too bad about all the extinctions.
That is the all-too convenient truth, and it overrides all the inconvenient truths confronting us.
       We are far from perfect, but approaching perfection is a goal we should continually strive toward. If we did, we could tackle all our challenges with creative, life-enhancing solutions. For a dumb species, we can be pretty smart when we want to, or when faced with imminent death.
     We CAN do better, and we will have to. If we fail to act, and soon, before long it will be human populations crashing.
There is nothing convenient about that.

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

Just Living Or Having A Life??

        There are many options offered to bring this system of economic slavery, down. One way of bring it to its knees is simply, stop buying their carp, or stop playing by their rules. Just opting out of the system might not be everybody's idea, but it does have an impact.
         Once again some nice level headed words of wisdom from Not Buying Anything.

          Making a living is not the same as having a life. To build a life worth living, one needs time for leisure.
I don't know about you, but I always thought that working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week 50 weeks a year was too much. Much too much.
Now, with "labour saving" technology, one can be in permanent work mode. But why?
        Soon labour saving will mean more than the appearance of cutting down on work, all the while increasing that work. It will mean cutting labour out entirely with AI and robots. Now there is a threat even worse than low paid workers in foreign countries.
"You don't like being in permanent work mode? You should feel lucky that you still have a job at all."
        No thank you. I have lived simply for most of my life so I could avoid such an outcome. My reasoning was that the less I needed to buy, the less I needed to work. And the less I needed to work, the less dependent I was on the masters and their perpetual work demands.
Unlike AI, to be human is to need leisure time. Messy, inconvenient, but true. Not working for a taskmaster means that I can indulge the amount of leisure time necessary to build a life.
       “The original meaning of the concept of “leisure” has practically been forgotten in today’s leisure-less culture of “total work”: in order to win our way to a real understanding of leisure, we must confront the contradiction that rises from our overemphasis on that world of work. 

        The very fact of this difference, of our inability to recover the original meaning of “leisure,” will strike us all the more when we realize how extensively the opposing idea of “work” has invaded and taken over the whole realm of human action and of human existence as a whole.” - Joseph Pieper

         I got out of debt. I saved as much as I could. Then, at the earliest possible date, I quit the endless work world.
       Now I do what I want to do, which is most certainly not virtually attending a meeting while I am on "holiday" or in the bathroom, or while out with friends, or in bed.
         If you have to work while on vacation, it isn't a vacation. If you have to work all the time, you are not getting the leisure time you need.
         No leisure, no life. Living more simply is one way to get the time you need, and deserve.

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

Screw The Sytem, Get Messy.

       Modern capitalist society functions better when we are all controlled, predictable, and set in our routine of work and consume. It starts to fall apart when we are self thinking, unpredictable free agents, who don't follow their rules. It makes the system difficult  to manage when they can't fit us into nice little boxes of predictable productive units. So screw the system, be unpredictable, think for yourself, for get their rules, choose your path, be alive to the possibilities that a free life has to offer. It might not be the easiest path but it will be the most exciting, and it will be the real mixed up existence, the way our lives are supposed to be, we are humans, social creatures who enjoy challenges.

The usual words of wisdom from Not Buying Anything:

        I have always thought that the luxurious, easy, prosaic predictable life was the kiss of death. Humans were designed to be challenged. We are actually good at it, and grow stronger through overcoming adversity.
       To be easy is to be on auto-pilot. Challenges build character, creativity, and resilience.
         That is why I am looking forward to a messy new year in 2018. This year I will enjoy slogging through the mud pit of life, interacting with real things and real people. I will get messy, and I will know that I am alive.
        Nassim Nicholas Taleby said, “Provided we have the right type of rigor, we need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, near-traumatic episodes, all these things that make life worth living..."
       The quote continues, "...compared to the structured, fake, and ineffective life of an empty-suit CEO with a preset schedule and an alarm clock." But not many of us are CEOs, while all of us are expected to be worker drone/ultra-consumers.
         I would amend that to read, "...compared to the structured, fake, and ineffective life of empty consumers with a preset list of aspirations that keep them diligently working at unloved jobs and careers."
         Life is increasingly random, messy, and uncertain with weekly or daily near-traumatic episodes. And I don't think it's just me. We might as well make all that work for us, and embrace it as part of the human experience.
      Will I have an easy, uneventful and predictable new year? I hope not.
        An adventurous and rigorous simple life provides everything that makes life worth living.
      Happy simple messy new year to everyone. Linda and I look forward to sharing it all with you in the coming year.

        When you realise that you are in a cage of conventions and illusions, when you are bound by habit and ritual, the only dignified response is rebellion.

THE REBEL

Rebel rebel break the rule,
What does it matter that a “wise” man sees a fool.
Not for you the herd’s dull beat
Making tomorrow, yesterday’s repeat,
Living out the life of a clone
Marching with the crowd but always alone.
Shaping your life from some dusty tome
Playing it safe, staying at home.

Rebel rebel break the rule
Swim in the sea, never the pool.
Live your emotions, feel the surge
Follow your dreams, chase the urge.

Make life though short, an exciting game
Not a mad march for fortune or fame.
Capture the moment, live it now
Being alive your only vow.
Rebel rebel break the rule
In the end, you’re humanity’s jewel.

The Disease Of Consumemas!

       The retail trade is sitting biting its nails, the last weekend before Christmas is now visible on the horizon, it is the last chance for Santa Clause to empty the public's wallets and purses, the last chance for Santa Clause to get the punters loaded up with debt, the last big binge before it starts all over again with the January sales. Whatever Christmas is supposed to mean is irrelevant, what really matters is to get the consumer binge through the roof. Get the public moving through the shopping malls like stampeding cattle, grasping at colour boxes that are somehow meant to produce happiness, endless bottles of odours all supposed to have their own special magic. The stress levels go through the roof, the debt mountain goes strata-strophic, but the colour boxes and odour filled bottles fail to bring that special magic and fail dismally  to create that higher level of happiness. Come January the bubble bursts, the illusion evaporates. Why are so many still captured by the same illusion each year? By now we should all know that coloured boxes don't bring happiness, and odour filled bottles don't contain magic, but vast consumerism does destroy the planet. It also increases the power of the corporate world, who live and grow fat by our gullibility. Celebrate the winter solstice in a community manner, no need to come bearing gifts of the latest "thing", bring companionship and plan for a future without consumerism.

       This breath of common sense comes from the site Not Buying Anything:

Creating art from found natural objects can be a meaningful new Winter Solstice ritual that costs nothing.

       Is there any Christmas left in Christmas? It is more like Consumemas now. It is all about the presents, the loot, the haul, the stuff. Shopping, wrapping, unwrapping, throwing away - same futile cycle with the same futile results. Within a few days all that remains is the debt and damage.
        It is no wonder many people find this madness to be depressing and demoralizing. But we can rise above Consumemas, and reclaim this special time of year for our own. It truly is an event worth celebrating, as humans have for millennia, before Christmas, or Consumemas, ever existed.
        And while gift giving may be involved, it does not have to be all about the gifts. Indeed, gifts are not a required part of enjoying this time of year. While the social pressures are great, many are breaking free from the burden of mandatory (and often mindless) gift giving.
        Those with experience have found that involving a group of people in the discussion surrounding radically changing winter celebration traditions can be fruitful and liberating. Often they find that they aren't the only ones wondering how they can stop others from buying them things they don't want, or need.
        I got the following email reminder from Adbusters concerning #BuyNothingXmas:

       "The malls are full of anxious sweat. The throngs are out and about for the final shopping "rush", hunting the aisles with a tense urgency that's inimical to the spirit of giving. But another Christmas is possible. Another way of being is possible.
       Reclaiming the ritual of this magical season – consciously and deliberately – is a radical, emancipatory choice. Since manufacturing and consumption are responsible for more than half of the global carbon dioxide emissions, choosing to buy nothing this Xmas may give Gaia some much needed relief.
       And if you still need to be convinced to consume less – consider that if we heat up just 4 degrees more, we will witness a total and irreversible collapse of human civilization. We're killing ourselves – but even as the denial about global warming is slowly breaking over us, we still choose – sheeplike – to join the madness in the malls.
      Consumerism is the opiate of the masses. Without significant rituals, we clamour to participate in the only ones we have, like the Christmas shopping binge, driven by our desire for meaning – of which our culture is devoid.

          #BuyNothingXmas gets to the heart of this matter.

        As the much awaited solstice arrives and Christmas nears, can you find the strength to break the addiction, to wake up from the nightmare ... will you be brave enough to plant the seed of a new way of being? Make your life a demonstration, a defiance, a piece of art, a heroic journey.
        Start this Christmas – dare to gather your friends and family together and vow to do it differently this year."
         There are many meaningful ways to celebrate at this time of year. Conspicuous consumption does not have to be one of them.
“Creating a new tradition that brings more peace and heart to your holidays could also bring you closer to family and friends.
          Sharing a ritual founded on love of nature, on respect for the always renewing cycles of life, and on faith in the future has a way of bringing out the best in people.”
 Deena Wade

Ring The Bells That Still Can Ring.

        No need to get depressed because you can't move mountains, but you can still shift a pile of rocks by yourself, think how many rocks you could move with the help of some friends, it could be a whole mountain. A few words of wisdom from that excellent site Not buying Anything.

       Things appear grim these days, globally speaking. But that should not overshadow all the good that can be enjoyed in the time we have remaining, however long that may be. Lots is broken, but lots is still working.
       Yesterday Linda and I were viewing Leonard Cohen performing his song "Anthem". As we listened, I thought of how gracefully Cohen aged, and how his experience allowed him to view the world in a more Zen-like manner. He wasn't fighting life (or death), but going with the flow.
      When he said,

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”,

he reminded us not to fall into despair. Just because we can't do everything, doesn't mean we shouldn't do something. We can't wait for perfect solutions before we act.
       Cursing the darkness is not the answer. When we choose Earth-friendly lifestyles we are lighting candles, and every photon helps.We can do what we can do, and use what works.
      Simple living is a set of bells that still can ring, loud and clear. Their peal cuts through the void. No change, no peal.

Visit ann arky'a home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Not Buying Anything - Still Legal!

         Consumerism is the drug that keeps this insane system going, consumerism is the idiotic process whereby we suck the planet dry, just to fatten the parasites that control the self destruct system under which we live.
        One of the many sites I enjoy visiting is "Not Buying Anything", when I visit it, it is like opening a window in a smoke filled room, you suddenly get a breath of fresh air.
       This latest piece is just another such, breath of fresh air.

"This isn't about your stealing anything. It's about your not buying anything."

        The system makes it very difficult to not buy anything, but it is still legal. They can't actually force us to be consumers.        Capitalist interests have pretty much wrapped it all up - you have to pay for everything. Some cities have even made it illegal to sleep outdoors, meaning you are going to have to pay someone to get off the street. What if you can't afford what they are asking?       Pay to sleep. Pay to eat. Pay to drink water. Pay to move. Pay to stand here. Pay to park there. They are always making it easier to buy and pay for things. Pay up, be imprisoned, or die. Pay more while you make less. Sick and tired, you try to break free.       Harvesting rainwater is illegal. Governments use satellite imagery to find, and tax, your backyard garden. Building codes make it impossible to build your own tiny home. When you are down to living in your car, you find it is illegal to sleep in your parked vehicle in many locations.       However, resistance is not futile. People in hyper-consumer systems have lived successfully without money all together. It is a full time job to resist so actively. The payoff is not being complicit in the sickness that is making our planet terminally ill.        Consumerism, and the ecocide that it is causing, is what should be illegal. It is clearly immoral to try to kill Mother Nature, and this heinous violent crime has billions of victims. Perhaps this crowded planet should have new laws concerning taking more than ones fair share of Earth's gifts.      Imagine if security staff thanked you for not buying anything on your way out of the store.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk