Let’s Talk About the Holidays

...tension between tradition and its conflict with modern life (note Habermas’ 2010 dialog with Jesuit scholars if you want to fall down a ponderous and inconclusive philosophical rabbit hole). Then there’s what I call the fake snow on Hollywood Boulevard problem. Living in a Mediterranean climate, as we do, is confusing. The days are short, but the hills are green. The fake snow gets coated in smog. Here’s the problem. The Christmas story is overlai...

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A Report from the 2014 Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa

...eal draw for me are the seminars and panel discussions. Above, some of the leading figures in the Northern California permaculture scene: Toby Hemenway, Penny Livingston, Erik Ohlsen, Grover Stock and John Valenzuela. There’s also a huge vendor hall. I have to keep a tight grip on my wallet. Santa Rosa was the home of horticulturalist Luther Burbank and the local chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers is particularly fervent and knowledgeabl...

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Rain Garden Update

...out the ocean. And I like the little bridge I built over the pit. The path leads to Kelly’s shed and something about crossing the little bridge adds some interest to a stroll in the backyard. Here’s our original post on the rain garden. I haven’t mentioned this in awhile but it’s worth repeating. The reason I include the scientific names of plants is not to show off but because this blog has international readers and the common names for plants ca...

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Saturday Linkages: News From the Far West

...bie) March 28, 2021 The Edwards Go Electric ‘I felt I killed my children’: lead poisons California community – and fills kids’ teeth Last Night in Echo Park More on Echo Park Cult classics: the faded glory of California’s fringe sects – in pictures The ultimate catio? The Retro Encabulator device uses six hydrocoptic marzel vanes and an ambifacient lunar wane shaft What I was like as a teen one of the worst small town planning schemes I’ve ever se...

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Cook With Internet Shaquille

...Blue Apron for Free. https://youtu.be/osv72OeCpR0 He’s also got some solid advice on how to make a restaurant quality burrito at home. So let that YouTube algorithm lead you down the Internet Shaquille hole where you’ll learn to make a BLT rather than storm the capital....

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