Epic Rants and Raves

August 4, 2017

...n to manufacturing furniture, freely gave away plans to his readers in the pages of The Craftsman. These plans were preceded by long, meandering meditations on the DIY ethos that, sadly, have been omitted from the Dover Edition of Stickley’s furniture plans due to the overrated 21st century obsession with “getting to the point.” Here’s an excerpt from one of those introductions, It must also be distinctly understood that the proper preparation for...

Read…

For the Locals . . .

Mr. Homegrown

July 12, 2019

Animals, Events, Thoughtstylings

5 Comments

On that foot sign Alissa Walker, one of my favorite journalists, covers urban design here in Los Angeles. She wrote a great piece on our nieghborhood’s iconic podiatrist sign. Walker agrees with me that we need much more than kitschy signs to mark our neighborhoods. She concludes, We need more reminders of what history predates our presence. We need more streets that are designed to connect us instead of being fast-forwarded through in cars. We n...

Read…

RIP Michael Brooks

Mr. Homegrown

July 24, 2020

Thoughtstylings

5 Comments

...now in. My writing beat, what has, for lack of a better term, been called “urban homesteading” is poisoned by that individualism which manifests in a concept of self sufficiency whose ultimate destination is a lonely existence in a doomstead bunker. I’ve always tried to point out that we’re all in this together, that we need to build up our households and our communities. It’s not one or the other. Michael was just beginning to formulate a strateg...

Read…

A Year After the Age of Limits: Mr. Homegrown’s Take

Mr. Homegrown

May 7, 2014

Age of Limits

12 Comments

...out the conference he held court outside the tent and discussed many of my favorite topics: organic gardening, Ham radio, appropriate technology, fraternal societies and even letterpress printing. When a talk or activity annoyed me, I’d walk out and find Greer. What I would have liked to have seen at the Age of Limits was a wider range of voices. A few mainstream climate scientists would have been a good start. Instead, we were only hearing the mo...

Read…

The Genetic Diversity of Watermelons

Mr. Homegrown

September 16, 2013

Food, Gardening

8 Comments

...loom Exposition eloquently demonstrated the benefits of genetic diversity with its watermelon display and tasting. And that diversity is something we can all address in our gardens, if we have one, by planting unusual seeds. You can bet I’m going to try growing watermelons in next summer’s straw bale garden. What kinds of watermelons have you grown and what’s your favorite?...

Read…