012 Damnation, Good Books and Listener Questions

...’s massive Three Gorges dam. I didn’t mention it during the podcast, but I used to work at the Center for Land Use Interpretation. The CLUI did a show on towns submerged by dam building projects called Immersed Remains. What we are Reading Kelly is reading The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. Erik is reading Psychomagic by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Listener Questions We answer Gloria’s questio...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Root Simple’s Miscellanies

...cutting some grooves. My friends at @rootsimple might enjoy. #jig #router #making pic.twitter.com/bHqtYRjx2l — federico tobon (@wolfCatWorkshop) August 23, 2017 An Experimental Trickle Down Solar Water Heating System: https://t.co/MipsQ2Buj7 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) August 26, 2017 Saying goodbye to a garden: https://t.co/UhQ74Mgeqt — Root Simple (@rootsimple) August 26, 2017 America's Sorriest Bus Stop: Pittsburgh vs. Medford https://t.co/...

Read…

Whacked the President with a Single Stick

...nterruption and have a bout at single-stick. This ancient English exercise used to have as its point the drawing of blood. Neither the ex-Colonel nor the ex-Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Riders has aimed a making this point, but both havve confined themselves to developing their skill with the weapon and getting as much exercise and fun out of the game as possible. Notwithstanding this, it is impossible to play with single-sticks without occasio...

Read…

I Built a Harvey Ellis Dresser and it Almost Killed Me

...fitting drawers, finishing surfaces). Late 19th and 20th century furniture making involves not just one task all day but a mix of responsibilities as well as aesthetic decisions such as deciding which way to run the grain. The Ikea dresser is made on a post-Henry Ford assembly line where workers either monitor machines and/or do the same repetitive task all day. This makes for a much cheaper product but an unhappy worker. I made many mistakes buil...

Read…

May the Work I’ve Done Speak for Me

...with Joanne Poyourow of Environmental Changemakers to transform a large unused area of lawn into a community garden. Part of the parking lot became a community bread oven. When the city couldn’t find a location for a child’s playground he offered another large part of the church’s property for that project. He taught regular yoga classes, hosted Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, provided space for music and dance groups and home schoolers, and built...

Read…