096 Photographer Babs Perkins: The Land, People and Cheese of the Balkans

...who documents disappearing foods in the Balkans with a emphasis on cheese making. In the conversation Babs and Eric discuss the politics of cheese in the EU, the challenges of doing a documentary project in the Balkans and the cross cultural values of sharing food. As you listen to the podcast I’d suggest you take a look at Perkins’ stunning photos on her website: Cheese Stories: Bosnia Cheese Stories: Serbia The incredible natural beauty of Bosn...

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The Primitive Technology Guy

...of Queensland, Australia uses a “show me don’t tell me” philosophy of film making that I greatly admire. No long, babbling intros! Kelly was especially impressed with his pump drill fire starting technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI He has a blog that describes the content of his videos in more detail. People like John Townsend and the Primitive Technology guy are the good side of the internet, producing quality work that’s a lot...

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Read Bungalow Magazine and The Craftsman Online

...and less Apollonian than The Craftsman. What both publications have in common is an expectation that the reader is not just a consumer but potentially someone capable of taking up a chisel or sewing needle and making something. This DIY ethos was, of course, part of the anti-industrial agenda of the Arts and Crafts movement. One can hope that this spirit will catch on again in our disposable age. Save...

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Saturday Tweets: It’s 2017!

...itter.com/KE9NWqLqWN — Thomas Rainer (@ThomasRainerDC) January 5, 2017 Tea making tips movie from (1941) https://t.co/MqZaPLK9Lv — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January 5, 2017 What's your hoarding/clutter level? https://t.co/VhNWzNQBLa — Root Simple (@rootsimple) January 4, 2017 A Month Without Sugar, via @nytimes https://t.co/fmtuObKbyu — Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) January 2, 2017 Someone changed famed Hollywood Sign to read 'Hollyweed&...

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Epic Rants and Raves

...early 20th century literature. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been slowly making my way through all of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Magazine (I’m reading the 1905 issues this week) as well as Moby Dick (never read it in school), May Morris’ Decorative Needlework and the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris. From these tomes I’ve bookmarked a few epic rants that I suspect Root Simple readers will appreciate. First, as quoted in The Craftsman,...

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