tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109126992024-03-08T09:04:02.059-05:00The (other) book of mikeOut of the books and into the streets.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-85102776433627177892010-07-14T07:00:00.000-05:002010-07-07T08:00:49.848-05:00Mythologies<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was reading a handout from a National Military Park around here where they pointed out the myth that the injuries of a general could be deciphered by how the horse in his monument was depicted. This pamphlet claimed this was a myth, meaning that it was untrue. This is the common usage of the term myth - we use it to say that a thing is not true, even though people may think it is.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I find this to be a completely unsatisfactory usage of the term </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">myth</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and an unsatisfactory understanding of myths and mythologies. First of all, the term comes from religions, and I would argue that it is folly to walk into the Myth of Jesus Christ, or the Myth of Moses, or the Myth of Zeus as a digital True/False kind of question. Such stories arise from within cultures, and help those cultures understand their world in much more subtle, fundamental ways. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Even if the people living in these cultures believe these myths to be factual, the more interesting story is going on beneath the surface. Whatever Jesus is religiously and truthfully, mythologically he is a story of resurrection, salvation, redemption before God. Once you recognize this, one can see instances throughout our culture. One of my favorite examples is </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Independence Day</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, where the failure of a father redeems himself to his children and the world by self-sacrifice - he dies so the world is saved. And that Bruce Willis asteroid one too. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">These mythologies act at a much deeper level than simply True or False. They inform the way we understand the world and cultural products such as film and advertising play into them as well. Marketers know this all too well, even if they would have different terminologies for it. They would call it "emotional drivers of decision making," but they want to know how to tap emotionally into the stories people tell themselves, in the hopes of inserting a sale into that story. Think of the Jeep commercial with Johnny Cash in the background "We are Americans, We make things. We do well when we make good things." This should play strongly into the mythology behind much of Jeep's demographic. Or the Miller Beer commercial from a few years ago "Let the OPECs keep their gasoline" says a fat guy riding his bike home from the market in the snow, with a six pack of miller in the basket. I'm an average white guy, and these stories play directly into my vision of an ideal America. We don't whine, we're not entitled. We get shit done. And when it gets hard, we do it harder or find a different way. (I figure I'm these guys' perfect demographic).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">These mythologies sound like stereotypes, but I would argue they are larger. More like the stereotypes linked together. EG. Middle aged white guys like Jeeps and beer - that's a stereotype. That stereotype seems true enough, but won't sell nearly as many cars as something that taps into their culturally deepest perceptions about America (We Make Things), their views about their role in the world (Let the OPECs keep their gasoline), and their instrmentality in the world (meaning they're not helpless victims) (I'll buy american made, and I'll ride my bike to get the damn beer). All with a Johnny Cash laydown in the background. Now that sells beer!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There are a few mythologies we work with in our culture on a regular basis. Think of how cultural Reds depict the Blues in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Left Behind </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">book series. How the cultural Blues depict the suburbs in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">American Beauty</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Think of how easy it is to write a local TV news story of "Helpful government protects little guy from evil capitalists" or "Unusual activity endangers children," or "handicapped person does something totally average (with tinkly feel good music in the background)".</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now, look at contemporary problems such as oil and you will see how our mythologies make understanding the problems at a deep level very difficult. Partly because they make understanding the problems at a superficial level so dang easy.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Take the Protestant Ethic I mentioned earlier. One look at any environmental problem, and we can immediately start hanging the appropriate bits in the appropriate places on the framework provided by this particular myth. There's a lazy and indulgent general population, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">there is a solution to the problem, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">there is appropriate sacrifice and hard work utilizing that solution and voila, we've "saved" the earth.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Two others that are particularly important in thinking about oil are the Doomer mythology and the Cornucopian mythology. These two mythologies make it very difficult to discuss these problems with regular people. I spent a whole semester trying to get students to recognize these mythologies, so that they could better understand the problem and better envision potential futures. On the last day's discussion, it was clear I had not done a very good job. The problem is that when we start thinking of the problem, say oil scarcity, we use our preexisting cognitive schemas to understand it. If one tends toward the cynical, then DOOM follows shortly on the heels of any discussion. If one tends toward faith in the free market and human progress, then TECHNO-SALVATION will solve it all.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now either of these might be true. However, there are also a zillion other ways that this could work out, a zillion other possibilities for the (T)ruth of the situation to exist. And being locked by faith into these this dichotmous pair of mythologies means that we are missing the vast majority of possibilities. And hence we are vastly limiting our understanding and imagination regarding this particular (or in truth any other) problem.</span></span></div><meta equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-81641238208530270912010-07-11T05:56:00.002-05:002010-07-11T06:47:24.396-05:00Hogs<div>Walked in to downtown yesterday to see the parade for "Bike Week." Because of this there has been an unusually large number of bikers (not the lycra kind) rolling around town, and traffic has been a pain in the ass. We bought some ice cream, sat down on the curb, and waited for the show. </div><div><br /></div>I'm not sure what to think of these guys. Either they are kind of cool, or they're kind of morons. On the one hand, I like bikes, and I like bikes with motors. I like the wind in my hair, I like Gadsden flags. I sometimes like skull art. This lifestyle and community are important to the people who participate in it, and I can understand that. If I didn't like it, then I didn't necessarily have to come and watch it.<div><br /></div><div>But alas, that's also where the problem lies. As my house is a scant two blocks from the town square, I was going to hear their parade whether or not I went to go see it. Living in a town that seems to be a destination for Harley afficiandos, every day, all summer long, I get to hear them rev their engines and roll down my street. Front porch conversations just stop, until the noisemaker rumbles out of sight. For each individual rider, this is not a big deal. But for me living here, it ends up being all summer long.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is not a personal freedom issue as they sometimes claim it is. Their right to swing their fist ends before it hits my nose, as does their right to an annoying loud bike. There is no way for me <i>not</i> to hear them without actually moving away. They're swinging their pipes and hitting my ears all summer. There is no possibility of "don't like it? then don't listen."</div><div><br /></div><div>And with that in my head, then the real annoyance starts. These guys are petty conformists just like grown up high school goth kids. They think they're cool because they're different. But in fact, they go out and drop untold thousands of dollars (the naked small sportster only starts at 6000 and the cool ones hit 20 real quick) to look and sound cool just like everyone else. Even the stuff they do to customize puts them more squarely into the "followers" camp. Custom paint? Skulls and Flames! Wow, that <i>is</i> rebellion. Chrome, I never woulda thought of that. Rev it up! Who knew it would sound just like every other Harley out there?</div><div><br /></div><div>As a matter of fact, at least in the Harley crowd, it seems that every single thing they do to customize their bikes makes them more annoying and less actually useful. Big old monkey bars increasing drag and worsening rider position. Choppered out front ends that means you can't even turn the bike around in less space then is required by a Chevy Suburban.</div><div><br /></div><div>So instead of being go-your-own way rebels, these guys and their bikes start to look like primping primadonnas. The whole point is to <i>look</i> cool, not actually go faster. A ballet of aural bullies. There's a certain costume. The bike gets trailered in and can't get dirty. This is ok because it's not really good for more than rolling around town blasting its exhaust at every other bike just like it.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then a walk through town reveals to me the funniest part of all. I'm walking past them as they're stuck in traffic! Take the best part of riding a real bike (being able to shimmy through traffic and go essentially where you want) and throw it out the window. Replace it with the worst part of riding in cars, except remove the air conditioning and filtration so you actually have to breathe everyone else's exhaust. I love it.</div><div><br /></div><div>From a critical perspective, these folks are spending many thousands of dollars to be different in exactly the same way. They real winners are the banks and the bike shop owners. All the freedom, all the rebellion, just another way to be a serf to the banks. A different flavor of commodotized consumer stuck in traffic. </div><div><br /></div><div>And why are these guys allowed to run straight pipes anyway? Think it'd be a problem if I set up my truck that way? Vroom baby.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-9132986820461384542010-07-07T08:00:00.003-05:002010-07-07T08:40:12.488-05:00The 4th<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A few years ago I bought a book called </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The American Songbook</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by Carl Sandburg. This is a book of songs, mostly regional, collected around the country. I would guess the period is 1900-1930ish. Many of them are work songs, poverty songs, love songs, you name it. Most are also gone from the public discourse now, thanks I guess to progress such as Clear Channel and the ipod. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Carl Sandburg himself had about a hundred different kinds of jobs and roamed the country himself, and recognizes that these songs tell stories and have meaning to the people singing them.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Incidentally, this is the country I really dig, and the country I celebrate on the 4th. It is a country of people, and a country of many smaller communities. Sometimes I will quip that it is not one big country at all.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So who are these people and where are these places?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A Glen Beck conservative living in the back of his civil war relic shop trying to make it through this depression.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Eddy the mover with whom I worked in 1990 in Omaha, who can pack a moving van waaaaay overweight.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The schoolteacher/racing deckhand, living in a tent on an island all summer, when she's not crewing.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Blues-loving harmonica-playing college professor.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cornucopia - crazy tiny granola town on Lake Superior, WI.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The surprisingly hot 50+ triathlete in Indiana.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The couple trying to get themselves completely off the grid by raising cows, sheep, chickens, rented corn, and vacation log cabins on their tiny hobby farm.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The raw dairy creamery with the Amish girl wo-manning the register.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The CSA lady sifting manure in her Keen sandals.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Folks living in Jackson, Wyoming with no career and little vision for the future, simply because they love the mountains.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Green Corn, an agoraphobic blue sky, and a stripe of asphalt off to the horizon.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MANHATTAN!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Old men and their hot rods.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Old women and their knitting.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Contrarians on single speed mountain bikes.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Philadelphia.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Minneapolis.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">San Francisco.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Delta Blues, Harlem Jazz, Bluegrass.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We live in a great spot on the world with lots of great folks. Get out and see them. Get out and see it. Let's not let the crisis cloud our vision about the good things.</span></span></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-85397076354318544452010-06-18T06:51:00.000-05:002010-06-18T06:51:00.190-05:00Experts making the situation worse or causing the situation in the first place<div><br /></div><div><div>From Mark Sisson's MarksDailyApple blog:</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Westerner's feet</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/fig06.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 397px; height: 280px;" src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/fig06.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Tribalist's feet</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/20090505-k3pfpa6c7exbg14dk2xa9813q9.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 522px; height: 248px;" src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/20090505-k3pfpa6c7exbg14dk2xa9813q9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div>And this research is something like a hundred years old.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flat-feet-treatment/">Flat Feet Treatment - How to Strengthen Flat Feet | Mark's Daily Apple</a></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-19093293066568195192010-06-11T06:44:00.000-05:002010-06-11T06:44:07.137-05:00The Archdruid Report<div>JMG rocks. This week he mentions that his whole purpose with this blog was to look at the competing mythologies of the cornucopians and the doomers with regard to industrial society. Turns out, this is what I really like about his writing. There are at least two layers to any problem, and oil/resources are one of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>1) The underlying Reality. Kant's pneumena, God's truth. Whatever that is. For oil, there is a number of barrels underground. For water in the Ogalalla, there is a number of gallons. How fat and sugar are metabolized.</div><div><br /></div><div>2) The way a culture understands the problem. How knowledge is socially constructed. The mythologies they use to understand it. For us it is the doomers' apocalypse, the cornucopian's progress, Americans' protestant ethic as a thought framework.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dealing with any problem effectively means pulling apart these two layers and dealing with each one separately. BUT, it is tremendously difficult to do this because every investigator has his/her own mythologies, politics, moralities, social constructions of knowledge. And each one of us needs to be relentlessly self-critical to strip our own mythology from any underlying reality. This is what people mean when they say reality is anything you want it to be. When you strip all that stuff away, reality turns out to be pretty slippery.</div><div><br /></div><div>Marketers learned a long time ago to ignore the reality and focus on the second part. The mythology, the emotion, the social construction matters FAR MORE than any underlying (T)ruth. That is why Sears is a credit card company, Buck knives, Schwinn bikes, and everything else is manufactured overseas. Because focusing on the branding is culture work, social psychological construction and alteration of the entire culture. The products are afterthoughts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nevertheless, we the buying public have a tremendously difficult time recognizing our own emotional and social psychological manipulation. Try getting a hippy or college professor to recognize that their Subaru is every bit as emotional purchase as Sara Palin's Hummer. Or a doctor who likes his Mercedes. Hell, it's hard to get people to realize that the colors in advertisements are market tested to get the perfect emotional response. So getting a deeply rational physician recognizing his Merc and his Rolex as status symbols is hard. Physicians think their rational. They think Mercs and Rolexes are built well. Hippies think Subarus are awesome. Sara Palin thinks her Hummer is 'safe.' </div><div><br /></div><div>And every market research sales meeting I ever sat in, the client wanted to know "How can we dig deep into the emotional drivers of behavior? The psychology of it?"</div><div><br /></div><div>So to bring the cow round back to the barn, trying to understand the (T)ruth of our resource situation, as per oil or water is tremendously difficult because it means cutting through the mythology in which people's perception of the truth of those situations are. And how do I know when my own mythology regarding the truth is clouding my reading the (T)ruth?</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/">The Archdruid Report</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-56074973875163732882010-06-08T11:38:00.001-05:002010-06-08T11:40:13.083-05:00The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Biggest Loser<div>Weber gave us <i>The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism</i> and in so doing pointed out that religious Calvinism provided a knowledge structure, a life structure which its adherents were to follow. It included a <b>belief</b> that we are all <b>fallen sinners</b>, ascetic <b>self denial</b>, <b>extremely</b> (almost penitential) <b>hard work</b>, especially at your vocation, and tremendous <b>devotion.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>From this structure, some New England Protestants became very wealthy. Work hard, deny yourself, reinvest turns out to be a great way to make money. Around Ben Franklin's time, this cultural structure, this meme, jumped from a religious venue, to a capitalist one. And the Calvinist Work Ethic, became the American Capitalist Ethic. And it's still going strong.</div><div><br /></div><div>American culture is sometimes called "puritanical" and it is true we can be weirdly prude sometimes. But in my mind, the proper use of "Puritanical" focuses more on that cultural structure developed by the Protestants and documented by Weber. Along with capitalism, this structure has become the skeleton for other knowledges/lifestyles as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Look at Environmentalism. It begins with a belief in a flawed humanity (everybody must use some resources), is driven by a penitential self-denial and ascetism (I won't enjoy air conditioning even if it's 95 degrees and humid out), shares a disgust in hedonism (a hummer and a 4000 sq ft McMansion <i>are</i> the problem), but also shares a belief that if we all work really hard together we can achieve salvation (<i>Ecotopia</i>). This working really hard includes paying more for hybrids, recycling, green products, basically everything.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that environmentalism as a knowledge base and lifestyle has itself been hung on that structure provided by the Calvinists and the Capitalists.</div><div><br /></div><div>But, the food and diet knowledge/lifestyles fit this structure as well. According to conventional wisdom people are fat because they are <b>indulgent</b> and <b>lazy</b> (gluttonous and slothful in Calvinist language). They eat rich foods and won't exercise. In order to improve, we/they need to practice <b>self-denial</b> and <b>discipline </b>by eating low fat, high fiber wholegrain (ascetic) foods while NOT eating fatty salty (indulgent) foods. We need to <b>work extremely hard</b> at exercise. The congregation is so <b>fallen</b>, that some improvement will be had with just 15 minutes of exercise (prayer) a couple times a week. But true results will come only with an hour or more of exercise almost daily. Talk about <b>devotion</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://reason.com/archives/2003/07/01/the-anti-pleasure-principle">The Anti-Pleasure Principle - Reason Magazine</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-75192958932606197302010-06-05T19:40:00.003-05:002010-06-05T21:00:25.185-05:00The revolution will not be motorizedThere are some interesting things going on right about now. There are a lot of folks going in a lot of directions, but there are a number of things going on that seem to be happening from the bottom-up. They are united in a distrust of expert advice, and a willingness to tackle a problem with something of a fundamentalist, or old fashioned, ways of doing things. These movements are across a wide variety of disciplines, but that might mean that there is something deeper going on in the culture. <div><br /></div><div>Crossfit: In the workout world, there is a group of folks who are trying to adopt an approach to fitness with a broad, functional, balanced approach. And the basics are free. Instead of scientifically training to be super-triathletes, these guys are weightlifting, balancing, sprinting, exploding their way to a balanced fitness. The kind of fitness that is useful in daily life, and which prepares one for the vagaries of life. It can be done with old fashioned barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, pullups, and running shoes. It focuses on compound lifts and movements, to create useful strength, rather than isolation movements to create big muscles. This movement is "go" over "show" which is way different than most gyms I have been to. Further it echoes earlier full-body natural movement fitness ideas. Like LeCarr's (sp?) MovNat, which he built off and older french model. Like those that got the running paths/exercise stations put up all over the country which are now molding in decay. And the basic workouts are put up for free at <a href="Crossfit.com">Crossfit.com</a>. I take it most of the money is made in certifying people to open franchises or something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Primal/Paleo: Nutrition is full of fad diets and sucker books. But amid the fuzzy science and quasi-religious there is something of an interesting contrarian movement here as well. The Primal (<a href="Mark'sDailyApple.com">Mark'sDailyApple.com</a>) approach tries to emulate caveman eating -lots of meat, fat, wide variety of veggies - and importantly - no grain, as agriculture is only 10,000 years old. These characters posit that our bodies have not had time to evolve to the grain based agricultural diet we westerners live on, and especially not the industrial-agribusiness diet of the last 75 years or so. Thing is, they have a fair bit of science to back it up, and it goes back quite a ways. From Anthropological studies illustrating the decay in health when a population goes from hunter gatherer to agricultural, to Westin Price's dental studies of aboriginal cultures around the world, to Vilhelmjur Steffanson's (sp?) extended blubber eating stays with the Eskimo, and on and on and on. The contrarian point of view accepts none of the conventional wisdom and starts deconstructing the basic science facts we take for granted. We know cholesterol is bad for you? Where did we get that information, on which studies does this rely, how were they designed, what were the politics of the scientific community at the time, what were the politics outside of the scientific community? See the metabolic discussion in <i>Protein Power</i>, and basically the whole book <i>Good Calories, Bad Calories</i> for a suggestion. As it turns out the science might not be as good as we think, and a chunk of public health is based on doing something rather than nothing, even if we are only sort of sure what we're doing.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I've read plenty of these things. Most (the <i>Paleo Diet</i> book and a favorite for it's kitchy awfulness <i>Gutbusters</i> from the 80s or 90s, and even the macrobiotics book my friend lent me) diet and nutrition books simply state what they mean to state with little explanation as to the underlying mechanisms or science. 'Eating fat will make you fat, so stay under 20grams a day,' versus "Eating fat has no metabolic effect (citation), but eating carbohydrates triggers your insulin system (cite), which is itself implicated in diabetes (whole chapter cite)." This ends up being a deep rabbit hole where not only do you find out conventional wisdom doesn't have the whole story, but that there are whole battling ideologies. Hell, it might as well be religions duking it out. Anyway it's a lot of fun to read, but the takeaway for this is that the people here have given up hope on the experts giving them solid advice, or even the whole truth as to the available science. The grassroots part is trying to figure out how what non-westerners everywhere and cavemen ate and how that's different than what our diabetes riddled, obesity epidemic culture is eating. There's a fair amount of wierdness there, don't get me wrong, but there are a lot of success stories as well, and most importantly, this anti-expert bottom up solve-it-yourself approach that I'm talking about today.</div><div><br /></div><div>These are two lengthy examples, but there are other examples as well:</div><div><br /></div><div>Agriculture: Monsanto and Agri-industry vs. permaculture, CSAs, farmer's markets and backyard gardens. People figuring out to do it themselves and with their networks</div><div><br /></div><div>Finance: Too Big To Fail vs. Dave Ramsey cash financing, browncycling, curb shopping</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Barefoot/VFFs: Barefoot Ted and Vibram Five Fingers vs. Nike et al. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There's a theme to all of these: Maybe the experts aren't helping the situation at best, and maybe they're making it worse at worst. Chronic running might not be making me healthier. Healthy whole grain lowfat products might not be helping me lose weight and live longer. Family farms, the depopulation of the countryside, and turning us all into feedlot cattle for pioneer corn is not in my best interest. The real estate agent will sell me more home than I want and the bank will write me waaaaaaay more loan than is really financially smart for me. And finally, maybe it is the expensive injury-preventing shoes that are causing me injuries!</div><div><br /></div><div>At every level, confidence is falling out of the big system, and people are trying to figure out how to accomplish these things on their own. This is not a huge movement, it is a few people paying off all their debt on the dave ramsey show. It is a few people sourcing out CSAs, a few growing heirloom varieties for farmer's markets, a few people walking into the gym to bang out four olympic lifts and walking back out. Without the treadmill, the machines, the ipods, the tvs. It is a few people living closer to work and riding their bikes. But they are united by their distrust of experts (we're americans after all!) and their willingness to just do it the old fashioned way. Whatever it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>And this is where any environmental solution will have to be. We need to cut through whether Priuii are the environment's savior or another vehicle of tremendous embodied energy promoting sprawl and slavery to a financial system, to cut through whether manhattan (David Owen) or boulder (I hope that's obvious) is more environmentally appropriate, to cut through whether we can force people onto public transit, or whether tightening CAFE standards is better than cap and trade.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's possible that the environmental change needed will not come from the holier than thou greenies, but from individuals who are sick of spending their gas money and their lifetime stuck in traffic will make the change. People who want to spend less money on their home utility bills and stop blowing up mountains in the Appalachians. People who want decent food that is not a factory product.</div><div><br /></div></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-3315435245411704532010-05-29T07:28:00.004-05:002010-05-29T08:06:08.786-05:00Real Honest Structural WeaknessesSo, despite the talk of the turnaround, a jobless recovery does still muchly suck for the remaining unemployed. Putting aside the wishful optimism from those who really really want us all to rush out to buy more flat screens to goose the consumer economy, it would seem there are still reasons to be concerned.<div><br /></div><div>Economically:</div><div><ul><li>There is still talk of tremendous weakness in the housing market. Some are talking about rising home sales, and that is good. But the counterpoint is the very large number of people who are underwater, or who have simply stopped paying their mortgages but whom the banks have not foreclosed on and evicted. The trendlines for housing prices still have not dropped to anything like long-term averages or anything like a respectable multiple of the average wage.</li><li>The government debt that was a worry a few years ago has not gotten better. With a focus on old Dr. Keynes getting us out of this particular economic mess, the powers that be have increased government liabilities a million-fold (well, that might be a bit hyperbolic). Those who were concerned before are apoplectic now. According to their more classical approach to economics the only ways out of this are through inflation, and/or default. Those with a more progressive economic view seem not to be as concerned. At any rate, inflation of the money supply or government default are at the very least back-burner concerns to me. Not things that I want to catch me unaware.</li><li>Two important industries into which I have some insight include pharma and media. Pharma's era of blockbuster drugs and double digit profits including in the face of recession is gone. They have exhausted the low-hanging fruit that got them through the 90s and into the 2000s, and some say they have exhausted the science at hand. Interesting developments are now happening at the larger, more complex molecule level of biotech. That means more complexity, more money, more risk, more niche-oriented drugs. It may be the pharmaceutical analog to drilling a mile underwater through several miles of rock with the most sophisticated tech we have. </li><li>Media is changing and that is obvious. Newspapers have been hammered, the music industry in no way resembles itself from BN (Before Napster). But less obvious unless you know what to look for are the elements of media that have so far fared better. TV has been dethroned by the internet and demographics. Textbooks have changed and are ever moving towards less-textly looking things - e.g. see the ones that look like fat fashion mags. Those publishers will jump on something like the ipad, which delivers that visual flash without ever having to actually make a book. One of the reasons the fashion-mag texts are gaining popularity is that the throwaway magazine paper is so cheap. And now that the Apple-crowd have moved into the ipad, the e-reader will no longer be only for disposable romances for moms on the beach (not that there was anything wrong with that in the first place). So we may get to see slow motion in publishing what we saw happen in music.</li><li>Economically in sum, there is still debt, consumers are still stretched, and huge chunks of our most profitable industries are still on the precipice of monumental structural changes. We've only just begun this transition to a post-industrial, post-digital economy, whatever that economy ends up looking like.</li></ul><div>Energy:</div><div><ul><li>Nope, still haven't found a replacement for oil. Ethanol was a bust, the tar sands are expensive and an ecologic disaster, and now the gulf. Walkable communities may be the ONLY way out of this, which will provide building opportunies, but that may still be 10 or 15 years down the road. That completely depends on how long we try and muddle through doing exactly what we're doing.</li></ul><div>Agriculture:</div><div><ul><li>Pollan gave us the <i>Omnivore's Dilemma </i>and there's an interesting truth there. The tens or hundreds of thousands of choices in the supermarket mostly come down to industrial corn and soy. Including the meat. And industrial corn and soy come down to diesel, which kicks us right back to the previous point. It would be more efficiently certainly if we could just drink the damn oil, but for now we can't. </li><li>Those who are concerned about industrial agriculture will point out that we've replaced a tremendous biodiversity of edible food and farming culture with million-acre swaths of mono-crops, proprietarily owned by biotech companies (sometimes the same ones at the cutting edge of pharma too) and dependent upon proprietary chemical usage - the weeds of which are now showing signs of developing resistance in the real world. So monocrop agriculture showing increasing reliance upon petroleum derivatives and now resistant weeds. </li></ul><div>These are a few structural challenges our society is facing right now and you will note they are fairly basic. Food, Energy, and an economy that links these elements up with end-users, citizens.</div><div><br /></div><div>"May you live in interesting times." </div><div>At the very least it's an interesting time to be a sociologist.</div></div></div></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-10587592727927290392010-05-29T07:25:00.000-05:002010-05-29T07:25:43.007-05:00The Archdruid Report<a href="http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/">The Archdruid Report</a><div><br /></div><div>There is some quite interesting writing going on at JMG's place here. This weeks discussion is about life after abundance, which is interesting in and of itself, both as your own post-layoff planning as well as in his sense of the era coming after our oil era ends (right now).</div><div><br /></div><div>But he also has a discussion of "Doomer Porn" vs "BAU" (business as usual) dichotomies that capture people's imaginations. This is I think a fascinating phenomenon and well worth exploring. After spending enough time trying to understand the structural weakness of our system, one ruminates through plenty of people's Doomer disaster stories. It could be the post oil scenarios of <a href="http://peakoil.com">PeakOil.com</a>, <a href="http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net">LATOC</a>, it could be the post attack vision of the Lights Out pdf floating around the internet. It could be the debt collapse vision of Daily Reckoning (whose writing is always entertaining and might not count as doomer porn on its face) and the now defunct Housing Panic blog. It could also be ecocide and environmental collapse that some foresee. </div><div><br /></div><div>It almost doesn't matter. What does matter is that when you read these stories and listen to people's fears and envisionings, there turns out to be a tremendous amount of imagination for hollywood-style social crashes. What there is NOT is realistic scenario planning. This is in direct contrast to those who simply cannot see life getting much worse ever - the cornucopians. Those who see technology helping us solve the oil problem, the market's invisible hand guiding us benevolently toward more benign yet powerful energy solutions. Perhaps we'll even have Jetson-style floating cars!</div><div><br /></div><div>There is little thought as to the sorts of middle-run scenarios that are much more likely. For instance, as troublesome as this particular recession has been, if this is the spectacular crash with the survivalists on shortwave, the exerbike-electricity generators, the zombie hordes radiating out from the cities, well then it is a little bit of a letdown. On the cornucopian side, while markets are awesome and scientific development is simply flat out cool, we can see with the gulf that tools of science and the engine of the market can also create gigantic problematic fuckups. 300 foot deep layers of heavy oil suspended in the gulf in areas measured by the square mile is not floating cars. Not even close.</div><div><br /></div><div>What <i>will</i> happen and the kind of planning that <i>will</i> help as opposed to entertain will be that which identifies the key structural weaknesses most likely to cause trouble. It will include trying to figure out how those structural weaknesses will wobble and weaken before they fail. AND it will require some imagination into how real honest-to-God historical nightmares unfolded. Seriously, we don't need to dream up zombie hordes when right here in the US we had an Indian genocide so that the US could take their land. We had a real civil war, that didn't play out anything like <i>Turner Diaries</i> envisioned. Within living memory Europe had the Holocaust, the Balkans' troubles, Africa had Darfur and Zimbabwe.</div><div><br /></div><div>This capture the irony that is so critical here. Real Bad Shit has actually happened, and recently enough to learn from it. And none of it much resembles the doomer porn worriers enjoy. And the market sometimes dope-slaps you up side the head when the resources run out. There have been famines because crops failed. We aren't immune to problems either.</div><div><br /></div><div>In sum, real planning for real bad times is going to include lots of thinking and planning somewhere between the equally unlikely zombie hordes and flying cars. It's going to include honest assessments of which supports are likely to fail and how to deal with that, especially in a dynamic system with 299 million other citizens adapting as well. And for the truly worst case scenarios, don't imagine Hollywood, investigate real history. Insight into a social situation and a broad understanding of the real ways societies fail will guide your "preps" much more effectively. </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-78227886190766527342010-05-28T09:52:00.001-05:002010-06-11T07:24:26.325-05:00Ed Abbey<div><br /></div><div>Why I like Ed Abbey. He's not a naturalist, an outdoorsman, whatever. He's a philosopher, and much of what makes his writings both entertaining and difficult is a particular understanding of human knowledge. Abbey understands that the dead ends of human knowledge and action end in paradoxes and contradictions. Rather than fight them out to a painful and suicidal ending, he accepts these contradictions and plays with them. This is the direct opposite of what Alexander Supertramp did. </div><div><br /></div><div>He recognized that we humans are the despoilers of wilderness. But he also recognized that he loved the wilderness and loved to spend time 'out there.' So you can either try to go completely feral, as McAndless did or you can retire to the sofa to the playtation. Abbey recognized it, and promptly said that everyone else after him should stay home. </div><div><br /></div><div>This kind of activity pisses everyone off who doesn't recognize what old Ed's doing. Ed is simply recognizing the problem and being honest. All the REI shoppers in the world know that pushing into the wilderness, driving hours to climb a crag or hike a trail, living atop a mountain in a state forest, all of them know that this behavior is destructive to the wilderness and to the oil base. At least if they're honest with themselves. But they're doing it anyway. Ed is just telling the truth.</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem with the Southwest is all the people moving out there. Ed is from PA. 'Shut the door behind me' he says. And pisses more people off. Ed complains about immigration, knowing that his scotch-irish hillbilly ancestors did not come from the Sioux or Chippewa. But it's all the same play of paradox and contradiction. In my opinion, that is the key to his writing.</div><div><br /></div><div>He loves wilderness, and distrusts civilization. Very deeply American. But he is also aware of the problems of dualistic thinking that sets humans apart from and against nature. Because we humans are of nature, civilization for all its good and bad, is part of nature too. Which is why he can write about the towers of Manhattan, the crunch of oyster shells under the boots at the oyster bar. Again, if you think he is a nature writer, this is frustrating. How can you dig the mess and slime and insanity of wintery manhattan while cursing it at the same moment? He is a hypocrite!</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course he is. He knows that. We all are. He's a philosopher who recognizes that there really are no answers to these paradoxes and contradictions. Instead, he is stepping beyond that rational analysis dead end, and moving beyond into something more existential, if less rational.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Music is a higher revelation than philosophy (Beethoven - according to my sister at least)</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-41502473062579385842010-05-27T11:24:00.000-05:002010-05-28T09:20:24.829-05:00Freedom GuerrillaI love Tommy's new blog:<div><a href="http://freedomguerrilla.com/">Freedom Guerrilla</a></div><div><br /></div><div>It makes me think.</div><div><br /></div><div>It strikes me that Walmart could prove elements of Marx true that I would've thought dead. Marx thought the factories would overproduce ever more efficiently, and more people would become unemployed with every business cycle, until you had the final downturn. At which point you would have piles of product that no one could afford because no one had a job. Those without money would go without resources (ie homeless and hungry) while product wasted. Recall the scene in the <i>Grapes of Wrath</i> where the piles of peaches are burned while the starving family watches on the other side of the fence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, after Mao, Stalin, Che, and Castro, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the embrace of wild-assed capitalism by Mao's progeny, I would've thought Marx's ghost to be a little tired.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet. I've heard Walmart called the "Main Street Killer," and we know that to be some extent true. Without getting into whether Walmart is good or bad, friend of the working poor or exploiter of labor, let's explore this a bit. If I know how to build something<i>, </i>why would my neighbor pay me to do it, when it is cheaper to buy said thing at Walmart? When my wife wants to sew something, she cannot do it anywhere near the cost of buying it at Walmart. In fact, she sources most of her material from sheets that are on sale at Walmart. Buying cloth isn't nearly as cost-effective as re-purposing different products for your own uses. So, all these local skills get back-burnered in the local economy when a Walmart comes to town, for all the reasons that hippies hate Walmart.</div><div><br /></div><div>But where does that leave a rural community of people after Walmart? After those skills are economically unnecessary, and people are hooked on Walmart's economic umbilicus feeding whatever meager consumer crap the mother ship decides? It sounds strange, but it finishes that loop that Marx was talking about. Truly useless economic crap saturating a community of people without enough money to hope for better. And all the resources that could grow a dynamic, robust, and economically diverse withering on the vine. </div><div><br /></div><div>Weird. I would not expect myself to be posting on Marx in 2010.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-42411120097031721732010-05-27T10:52:00.004-05:002010-05-27T11:32:41.050-05:00A small leak<div>What really does one have to add to the story on the oil leak in the gulf? The whole thing is a sad mess certainly. One could rail on about BP for instance, but as long as we're setting up our cities a certain way, BP will do what the market (ie us) tells it to do. </div><div><br /></div><div>One could rail on about the malfeasance and stupidity of the science of drilling at 5000 feet of water. But science is by definition at the edge of what is doable. There is always room for catastrophic failure at the edge of our technological abilities. So, unless we want to see human knowledge stagnate, there will be possibilities for failure. Unless we want to abandon oil, there will be possibilities for catastrophic failure. </div><div><br /></div><div>One could rail on about the political elements of the mess. The government oversight was insufficient. The regulations were killed. The politicians are buddy buddy with business. Whatever. The whole story there is that the Dems blame the Pubs, the Pubs blame the Dems, The true believers on either side can't be bothered to think outside their cages. It's much like reciprocal masturbation. Without each other, they'd have no erotic tension and no ultimate satisfaction.</div><div><br /></div><div>One could rail on about the eco-disaster. And while it is alas, whether it is something that is ultimately survivable and fixable or whether it is "Americans Chernobyl" has everything to do with one's political perspective, and reverts to the previous' paragraph's circle jerk. </div><div><br /></div><div>Further, without inside knowledge of how the oil drilling process works, and of how BP is run, and how the government interacts with BP, we can't really know anything. Certainly, all the intelligence needed to know what is going in is beyond our reach at this point. Follow the discussions at PeakOil.com or TheOilDrum, and a handful of insiders are giving out useful information. But mostly it is average folks like you and me sitting at the computer talking to each other, and guessing at information that is beyond our reach.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-26485048577954989482009-04-27T09:00:00.000-05:002009-04-27T09:00:07.910-05:00The psychology of it allJohn McCain did himself no favors by calling this a "psychological recession" during his failed presidential bid. And as a PR statement, it does not feel like a psychological recession at all.<br /><br />Of course, that's not what he meant, and we all know that. What he meant was that the recession was in part because of a failure in confidence. And that part is true. Two years ago, things were much the same, but the economy was roaring along happily - even if unsustainably.<br /><br />Things will not get better until BOTH the psychology of it, AND the underlying fundamentals of it are righted. I expect the fundamentals to be the first to get fixed - that's my vibe. I expect that ppl will hope for a bottom, call for a bottom, get excited on every two days of stock market gains only to be let down, or at best meet with a weak plateau, until they finally give up the hope that this will be taken care of easily. At that point, folks will buckle down, we will be a couple years into folks living with some sense of austerity. Without actually realizing it happening, the foundations for a healthy economy will be laid. So I only expect the psychology of it to turn out well after ppl give up hope, and simply get on with living in this new reality. I don't know how long such a thing might take, but I would be surprised to see things turn around as quickly as the TV people are hoping.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-54607859547543607832009-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:002009-04-20T09:00:08.155-05:00Culture – Top down or bottom up<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">One of the great problems of the diversity movement in academe is their model of culture. The fundamental assumed benefit of diversity is that we are all enriched by the exposure to and acceptance of a variety of different cultures and perspectives.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A second fundamental piece that gets pulled into the diversity movement is the need to overcome past and present discriminations. Since for example, African Americans are approximately 13% of the population, it would stand to reason that a fair non-discriminating school would have 13% African American students. If the school's demographics are too far off, then it looks as if they are discriminating.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In working towards diversity, many schools will look at these demographics and recognize that they do not match the country as a whole. This may not be a result of conscious or institutional discrimination, but it might at least be perceived as such. The next steps are to try and get diversity numbers up through applications and ultimately enrollment. Whether or not this is the correct way to proceed is not my concern here.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What does concern me here is the top-down model of cultural diversity. It is a model of diversity where the demographics are those of the nation's. 65-20-15 White-Other-Black. And this is the split that most colleges are aiming for. If it were successful, then every college in the country would be split 65-20-15, just like every other college in the country.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This would not be diversity at all. Individuals get their culture from their groups. The 2% American Indians would not maintain any unique culture if their 4.5 million (in all the groups together) were spread thinly and evenly across the land. As it is now, you can go to north Minnesota and meet some Chippewa, and their ethnic flavor makes the place a little more interesting – because there is a critical mass of them there.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cultural diversity is a bottom up phenomena. The various cultures of the United States are a result of historically uneven settlement, distribution, and economic patterns. This should seem to be obvious to the point of not needing to be stated. The Delta Blues did not come from Norwegian Lutheran Farmers – but Garrison Keillor's dry wit did find purchase there.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The vast majority of institutions of higher learning in this country are not national – they are local, no matter what their recruiting brochures say. And this is a good thing for those who appreciate cultural diversity. It means that the kids at University of Southern Indiana have an almost southern accent and a religious perspective informed by the nearby bible belt. It means that the kids of University of Minnesota Duluth are the progeny of past and present miners and Great Lakes sailors. It means that Howard University is the proud result of the reconstruction, and that the French Notre Dame du Lac somehow filled up with working class Irish-American boys.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Does this mean that everything is hunky-dory for all the groups that diversity proponents would like to help? Not necessarily. There are still pockets of unmentionable ignorance and poverty around our country. What I am saying here is that colleges and universities need to take a good hard look at who they are, who their target constituency is, and who they are serving. It may be that in order to promote the better good, they need to focus on the farm kids in their areas, or perhaps the American Indians in their state, rather than <span style="font-style: normal;">diversity in general. It may mean that we </span>need more and reinvigorated ethnic institutions to serve the under-served.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I do know however that true diversity happens at the macro level because cultures are built from the ground up, and that diversity within a school is not the same as real cultural variation. St. John's University in Minnesota is special because it is a Catholic college, attached to a Benedictine Abbey, in the heavily German farm-oriented Stearns county. This gives it a very specific cultural flavor, which is different than Norwegian Lutherans at St. Olaf down the road. And neither of them has the right 'numbers.'<br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-44624205866811813882009-04-13T14:19:00.003-05:002009-04-13T14:34:12.385-05:00The mainstream media simply cannot stop looking for some good news in all of this. It may be my own observational bias, but every day seems to be another talking head or news article saying "could this be it?" or hoping that the upswing will begin soon.<br /><br />Can't say I blame them, but my gut suggests that this is not over. First, now that this deleveraging has started, it's going to be difficult for them to stop it, although they are trying mighty hard. Secondly, perhaps deleveraging isn't a bad thing. If it means that regular citizens can live within their means, and that an average wage will buy an average house, then that may be the trendline we will regress to.<br /><br />But also, demographic trends are conspiring to foil attempts to reinflate the economy. For boomers who were hoping to retire soon, but also just saw half their wealth evaporate, fancy new cars, techy toys, and housing renovation are likely to be last on their list of goals for the next 5 years. Especially considering that even without the great depression 2 setting in, we would be expecting that demographic to be downsizing from family houses to retirement houses right about now. That would set forward a devaluation all on its own.<br /><br />Also, today's news that government receipts are down 25% at exactly the same time government spending is ramping up to combat the current troubles bodes poorly for government solvency. This guy's <a href="http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/us-budget-disaster-strikes-march.html">analysis</a> captures my worries quite well.<br /><br />There will be an upturn at some point. The question is what will transpire between now and then?Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-65852401713669939432009-04-10T07:22:00.003-05:002009-04-10T07:51:00.617-05:00Freedom!There is a well-worn joke. When your neighbor loses his job, it's a recession. When you lose your job, it's a depression. Well now, this recession has officially become a depression. On the up side, that means I am able to once again speak about things.<br /><br />On the downside, that leaves me fighting with Comcast. We've been customers with them for 3 years while we've lived here. Last year, in acquiring a land-line for the children, we ended up with their largest package including a teaser rate and a contract. Now, a contract is a contract, but there are also times for renegotiating. When I called my other services to minimize services until something new came along (att wireless for instance), they were happy to change the terms of service around.<br /><br />With Comcast it has been a different story. When I called them, they would not let me drop or minimize service in any wayy without sticking me with the termination fee.<br /><br />Here's the kicker. I've spent somewhere around 6000$ on comcast since I moved here, and plan on using ISP, cable and phone in the future. Despite that business, and in serious jeopardy of any future business, they are insisting on the termination fee. 150$ despite thousands spent and in lieu of thousands of future dollars.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-53373895441336137172008-12-19T10:26:00.002-05:002008-12-19T11:08:32.671-05:00What the hell just happened?This has been an extraordinary fall. For all the prognosticating, for all the deliberation about what appeared to be relevant issues and directions, I would not have guessed we'd be where we are.<div><br /></div><div>First, oil is under 40$ a bbl. While I would have expected volatility at the oil production plateau, this is way more than I would have expected. This financial crisis has apparently created so much demand destruction to push price down into the 30s. Wow.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the financial crisis. For a long time I've wondered about the structural instability of our system. To the point wher my students I'm sure got sick of it. The debt financing of everything scared me. And with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Fourth Turning</span> saecular financial problems in the back of my head, I thought it could be exciting (but not in a good way).</div><div><br /></div><div>However, it's the response that has been truly shocking. Everybody over a certain age remembers when communism and the ruskies were the bad guys - nay evil even. But, the response to this financial crisis has been one huge governmental intervention after another, each more unaffordable than the last.</div><div><br /></div><div>I almost don't care what perspective one takes on this, let the socialists and the free marketers argue out their ideologies. I think there is no way to prove this mess one way or another. Our system is mixed enough that both sides will 'prove' they are right and the other wrong no matter what.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I simply cannot believe how quickly we've handed over everything to Big Government. It was completely economic, not political. For all the talk of Obama's lefty-ness, the change was in the economy. </div><div><br /></div><div>I simply cannot believe that the country that self-defines as capitalists, and further seeks to export democratic capitalism across the globe, turned so quickly and so thoroughly to the government for everything.</div><div><br /></div><div>Real capitalists let unprofitable businesses fail. Real capitalists let the owners of bad debts eat those losses. Real capitalists let those who are truly underwater go bankrupt. Those are the risks, and the gains and losses associated with those risks. But no, here we are putting 700 billion into the banking system (hint - maybe those house prices <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">should </span> fall), 50 billion into autos, all so these guys don't fail.</div><div><br /></div><div>If we want to run a more socialized country, I guess that's ok. But I am dubious that we'll see the benefits of that at the citizen level. In a decent system such as that, I would hope for decent schools, daycares, health, pensions, and even college for the citizenry. Funny thing is that here, every time we decide to publicly fund something, we do it so that it only helps those on top.</div><div><br /></div><div>Take college. The government spends untold amounts on college, but the students who go to college end up deeply in debt. A huge chunk of that govt funding goes to the research profs in the form of grants that never penetrate down to the student level. Take farm policy. Many more billions of dollars, none of it going to the 40-head family farm dairy operation. Where's it going? To multi-million dollar agri-business operations. So neither the college tuitions, nor the survival or extinction of family farms are a result of free markets. But instead of the govt intervention helping the little guy (If we're going to suport anybody I'ld prefer the small entrepeneur and the citizenry), it goes to the top.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if we're going to run a more interventionist economy, and a more social-welfare society, fine - but our track record suggests that it will be those who are at the top already who benefit the most. </div><div><br /></div><div>Private rewards and public losses isn't fair to anyone.</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-40344753217225672292008-11-28T12:29:00.001-05:002008-11-28T12:29:00.637-05:00Pretty Buildings<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always">Starting from my own enjoyment of seeing first generation and working class students succeed in the college environment, I have to wonder not only about diversity as an end in itself, but pretty buildings too. There was a time when college students lived on dining hall food and in dorms that resembled army barracks. A drive through most college campuses today will reveal living suites, apartments, and often a brand new or freshly revitalized student center with wonderful eateries. A lot of this started happening when I was in college, with the new student union opening as soon as I graduated (sour grapes!).<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">This is no “kids these days” screed however. One has to wonder how kids who, as soon as they graduate are going to be living with their parents or in ratty apartments, can afford to live in such nice digs while in school. The answer is debt and the resulting money flowing through the collegiate system.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">At the student level, student credit availability drives up prices. Instead of being a bridge for those students who almost can afford college, most students end up taking on some kind of debt. This means that everyone is approaching the system with more money. This in turn drives up the prices all across the market. The unintended consequence of this is that everyone ends up going to the same schools they could have afforded anyway, everybody just pays more.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">At the college level, they are competing for students who have more money to spend. And to remain competitive with each other, they enable their own financial creativity to attract students often including new buildings. Colleges find they must do this to remain competitive, and even thoroughly mediocre colleges often have beautiful facilities. They may only have one weekend to wow a high school senior touring colleges, and the place must 'feel' right to the prospective students.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Then again, walking on campus as faculty, one starts to think about it a little differently. We are not providing the students an <i>education</i> but rather a <i>college experience</i>. But what is a <i>college experience</i> for? I think of the goals of <i>education</i> being twofold 1) teaching the liberal arts and sciences, and the ability to think critically, and 2) make the students more employable. I am not sure that either of these goals is necessarily served by a <i>college experience</i><span style="font-style: normal">.</span><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><span style="font-style: normal">The real sadness is that the goals of </span><i>education</i><span style="font-style: normal"> need not be expensive. But a </span><i>college experience</i><span style="font-style: normal"> is. And looking at students taking on non-bankruptable college loans to live in luxury for a few years while they are so young is very disheartening.</span><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-76755592973793985152008-11-21T12:27:00.001-05:002008-11-21T12:30:39.536-05:00Goals or Means?<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Some years ago, I attended the swearing in ceremony of the new president at a college where I was teaching. He spoke of his intentions for the school, including broadening its diversity and beefing up its study abroad program.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Some relatives attended with us, sitting in the audience. After the ceremony, I met them, and one of them said something to the effect of 'I didn't hear anything about education or about the students?' Being in software he continued, 'Can you imagine if Bill Gates stood up as president of Microsoft and failed to speak of software or users?'<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">As much as I hated to admit it, the kid had a point. So either it was assumed to be understood by the audience that this president's spoken activities would further the ultimate goals of the school – or these means had become goals in themselves.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Another school where I taught had a diversity committee that recommended – surprise – a full-time diversity position. The school implemented this recommendation, and posted the head of that diversity committee into that position (in essence she wrote her own position). Then they hired an admin for her, and someone to fill her old slot. In the pursuit of diversity, this college added two full time positions to their overhead. This was a tuition-driven school, so essentially, they committed themselves to four more students every year to cover these two new positions.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">This forces the question – Are these new positions furthering the goals of the school?<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">As a professor, I appreciated helping first generation or working class students get through school. College opens such a broad arena of possibilities to them – how could I not enjoy it? But I also knew that many of these students were taking on unconscionable amounts of debt. In this environment, are those two extra diversity hires helping these students? Is more study abroad helping these students?<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">It's hard to say. The <i>goals</i> of education are assumed to be furthered with diversity as a <i>means</i>. But break down that big word <span style="font-style: normal">diversity into its constituent elements on campus, and it is hard to see how it actually is helping those students taking on debt to fund those positions and programs.</span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-35588950372394948012008-11-19T11:38:00.001-05:002008-11-19T11:38:00.301-05:00Research CompaniesI added a link list of research companies on the right hand side. For those of you who are thinking about an internship, now is the time to start looking. Click through and start cold calling!<div><br /></div><div>Since I just did it, the links may not be perfect. If there is a problem with one of the links, please email me. If there are companies I should put on this list, email that also.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-18417126485971660152008-11-18T10:38:00.003-05:002008-11-18T12:19:28.639-05:00And what a year it has been!Who could have guessed?<div><br /></div><div>Holy Moly!</div><div><br /></div><div>The world is coming apart at the seams. And it seems we hope Mr O can stitch it back together. </div><div><br /></div><div>We'll see!</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-20522506900285927532008-06-09T08:06:00.002-05:002008-06-09T08:18:07.570-05:00Converging structural problemsA very interesting news cycle this morning.<br /><br />10 minutes on fuel prices, including Jim Kramer. The gist of the discussion was 'up supply' via opening up more drilling at home, and 'reduce demand' by driving less. While it is debatable exactly how much opening up more drilling at home would help - and it would almost certainly at least help a little, it was was more refreshing to hear it broken down into supply and demand finally. We so deeply wish there was a bad guy here - the mercenary oil companies, the big bad Saudis, the greenie weenies who won't let us disturb the caribou - but none of this seems to be the case. If we are indeed nearing a peak, this is what I would expect it to look like.<br /><br />How high it can go is anybody's guess, but there must be some point at which demand destruction starts to set in seriously. 150$/brl and 5$ fuel? We'll see.<br /><br />But that led into a whole discussion of the economic ramifications of such pricey fuel. And this is where it gets truly nerve-wracking. Higher fuel = higher inputs into EVERYTHING, higher shipping, higher production costs. And then there are the food costs which right now are being attributed to ethanol.<br /><br />So the discussion that followed THAT one was how to save money during tight times. Which is the right thing for individuals to do, but which also will drag this whole thing out even longer.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the housing crunch is still on, with the credit crises rippling through finance.<br /><br />Going on Strauss and Howe, we should expect a 4T to feature structural problem reaching a tipping point. And here we seem to have that happening. In tandem with that, we would also expect the public mood to change - and rather suddenly. It seems weeks ago, that this same Kramer was saying there would be no housing crunch and that the economy was fine with all his usual gusto. Further, Obama rocketing through the Democratic party completely catching the old guard completely off guard fits the model too.<br /><br />Interesting times.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-13085440653378509422008-04-24T07:58:00.003-05:002008-04-24T08:04:06.805-05:00Review of Kunstler's World Made by Hand<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Kunstler's new book is an interesting read in several ways. As a piece of dystopian fiction, it certainly stands on its own two feet. The book opens in an upstate New York town after the collapse of modern society. In its rurality, the slow pace of life almost reads like a Wendell Berry of the future. Through the book we find however that it is neither necessarily peaceful, nor idyllic. Through the story our protagonist is drawn out of the shell of his former life and into a leadership position pulling his reluctant community together. This eventually sets him up for the dominant conflict of the book. The main antagonist is the group of remnant bikers living out by the dump/junkyard, who make their living scavenging useful bits and pieces from the garbage of the 20</span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;">th</span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"> century. The book certainly has a plot line and drive, and takes the reader through some disturbing visions as it wends it way toward the end.</span></p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><span style="font-style: normal;">As a piece of peak oil literature (for lack of a better term) it is quite interesting. The peak oil crowd wastes a lot of energy, and sacrifices some credibility, debating when the peak is/was/will be, trumpeting that every drop in production proves their case. Also among the peakers is a concurrent discussion of what the current economic climate portends. These include Kunstler who holds forth on his blog that as oil peaks economic activity also will peak, and the result will be a permanent contraction. Whether this is true or not, only future history will say for sure. Further, Kunstler also made this and all the other associated arguments for what peak will imply as we roll over the top in </span><i>The Long Emergency.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Instead, Kunstler (wisely) sets this piece of fiction far enough into the future, that such speculation surrounding the peak itself isn't really meaningful. It is clearly meant to be a fictional exploration, and I will focus here on some of the deeper implications I read into Kunstler's work.</span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">Of interest is the political organization Kunstler provides. It is positively medieval, made up mostly of small chiefdoms with no official organization left in place, except for the one mad official in Albany who is attempting to hold the government together with his typewriter. Instead we are faced with the biker chiefdom, the capitalized farmer's peasantry, the religious organization of brother Job, and the monopolized mobster trading post down the river in Albany. What is implied that the religious leader is named Job and the last remnant governmental official is both mad and impotent? </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">Economics and labor in an energy scarce environment are dealt with as well. The protagonist is a carpenter and a musician, who used to be a computer professional. He barters his work to meet his needs, as do others in town. As life gets more difficult, more of the characters join up with the different factions around town. What trade is done with money is done with precious metal coins. These became valuable when the dollar was hyperinflated to oblivion – not surprising if one is familiar with the peak oil and associated literature. Production and trade are intensely local. Long distance trade is by barge shipping only 30 miles down the river. Many/most residents have gardens and very many of them are employed in the labor of agriculture.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The capitalized farmer is one of the more pleasant prospects to join with, and represents an interesting character himself. He runs a profitable little enterprise, providing food and shelter for his laborers. The laborers bring their families and move onto his place. It is feudal, but his is a generous reign. Importantly, he was 'peak aware' before the calamities hit and prepared for life after oil. Thus he was well capitalized, had important hand tools, and had been stocking up on heirloom seeds and old fashioned farming methods. When the calamities hit, his was one of the few places with excess capacity and the ability to help people.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">The religious zealot is more sensible than I would have expected Kunstler to portray him. His followers are clean cut and helpful, but as we find out later, they are not afraid of violence when necessary. The religious group has traveled far, escaping persecution and trouble in the south, then in the DC area, and finally finding peace in upstate New York. Sort of a Mormon migration eastwards if you will. They take over the abandoned high school and start converting it to their quarters. Their numbers add a critical mass to the town which had been drifting aimlessly prior to the start of the novel. While the religious group is sensible and helpful, they are not above pure weirdness. This is illustrated by their building essentially a beehive for their queen bee oracle who appears to have some sort of supernatural powers. I have not figured out yet what the she means in the novel. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">The criminal element is represented by the biker crowd out at the junkyard. In the novel they are scavenging off the remnants of the 20</span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;">th</span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"> century economically. They would appear to stand in for the less savory elements of modern society. First, they have taken over the junkyard/dump by simply by force. There is some discussion that the junkyard/dump should be a resource for all, but they stepped up and monopolized it first. Second, they are entertained by the most crass forms of public entertainment. In the absence of the vulgarity of TV, this crowd improvises, creating its own low-brow entertainment.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">In the sociopolitical vacuum slowly being filled by these feudal peasants, religious compounds, and tribal warlords, our protagonist is (accidentally) instrumental in rebuilding the community that is the optimal solution to the problem of oil peaking. Our protagonist finally leaves his sadness for the past behind him, and takes over the leadership role forced upon him. He is instrumental in setting up peaceful relationships between the town and the farm, as well as the religious group. He is also key in eradicating the power base of the criminal element at the junkyard, removing their threat to the town. Personally, he also accepts the family responsibilities thrust upon him in the novel. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;">The novel thus resolves the central conflict and shows a path forward. Kunstler does not sugar coat the difficulties that his vision suggests. People die for lack of medical care, protective city, state, and federal security are non-existent. The lack of easy travel and communication that such a scenario forces on the town is extreme in its isolation. At the same time, by rebuilding communities, focusing on local production and trade, and building relationships with our neighboring communities, it seems Kunstler is suggesting that there May be a way to deal effectively with the problem of energy scarcity.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal;"><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-16021044465665263722008-04-24T07:52:00.003-05:002008-04-24T07:58:09.915-05:00FarceI just heard of another research firm which is passing off a content analysis of provider-client dialog as " quantitative ethnography"<br /><br />Bahahahahaha!Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10912699.post-48757127206164708352008-02-05T22:35:00.000-05:002008-02-05T22:37:32.307-05:00Check out these guys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/raft2-b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/raft2-b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />These guys built a raft out of garbage and floated the Missouri and Mississippi, til the Coast Guard stopped em. What a hoot.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353327612484068341noreply@blogger.com1