Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Phil just stopped by with the BBQ photos and asked me to let everyone know that he's participating in a fundraiser show tomorrow evening to benefit Women's College Hospital. It's tomorrow night from 7PM to 3:30AM at the Mockingbird (580 King St. W. here in Toronto, just south of my house). There's music, DJs, and a silent auction with many amazing photographers, including two photos Phil took at the BBQ. Here are four of the shots from that set (I'll post more another day):
PS. I'll send copies of the photos to everyone in them, but if you want prints or anything like that, you should contact Phil directly. We'll shoot more at the next BBQ (and we have other plans, including porn and an eating contest).
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Should we run it? It's part of a series of shirts that we may be doing with Machinegun Magazine (the best tattoo trade journal around, by far, in my opinion). Let us know what you think in the BMEshop forum. You can see some of their other designs that we'll be carrying on their merch page.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Maybe I'm spending too much time listening to old songs on the radio and reading books on communal living and hippie theory, but I swear I'm going to loose it if I have to spend another month in this death trap — now, don't get me wrong, as cities go, Toronto is a wonderful place… But as I get older I know that I have to move on from here to a place that I can really live.
I can't begin to thank Rob enough for allowing Rachel and Jon and I to share his house with him as we prepare the building space for the future… I don't think he knows it, but I'm not sure if I do this without his help.
Now we just need a name for our farm (well, we have a lot more than that to do, but you know what I mean). Part of me wants to call it New Toronto, but in all emohonestly it's hard for me to think about without getting all choked up.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
I got my DVD burner machine back up and running! Which means that with any luck, I'll have my old friend Erebli's DVD completed by the end of the weekend. I'll edit quite a few more of the old BME/Videos, plus lots of new ones, as well as the ModCon DVD and the Piercing DVD, and, since there's a demand, a compilation of BBQ videos. I also put together many of the old BMEradio interviews earlier today and will assemble a CD of those. So much to do!
While I was waiting for drives to format and all that, I began scribbling down a list of what I want to achieve as far as a lifestyle for myself and my family (both biological and extended)… Here's what the scribbles include so far:
| Project objectives
1. Live free from corporate and financial tyranny
a. No debt
- Buy inside ones needs
- Cash up front
b. No need for corporate product
- Most products can be made inside the community
- Most products aren't needed anyway
c. Small business aspect
- Community produces materials to sell/trade
d. Self constructed homes
- Done using low-tech methods so all can take part
- Emphasis on sustainability and self sufficient design
- Creative and personal element not otherwise available
2. Live free from government tyranny
a. Low profile
- Limited contact with government services (welfare, etc.)
b. Low income
- Low taxes in return
c. High connectivity
- Allows others to personalize your mission
- Allows broadcasting in cases of emergencies
d. On-site medical facilities
e. Home schooling
- Avoid government/mainstream bias
- Learning progresses at a rate suited to the student
- Children learn to self-educate
3. Live in a fashion that is self-sustaining and self-sufficient
a. Farming and food production on site
b. Tool and product manufacture on site
4. Live in a fashion that is globally environmentally responsible
a. No excess waste
b. Personal recycling
- Do as much recycling on-site as possible
c. On-site power generation
- Cleaner, safer, and perhaps cheaper
- Operates independent of larger issues (collapse of power grid)
d. Low power usage
- The less power one consumes, the less one must generate
e. Organic production of food
- Far less costly in the long run
f. Primarily vegan diet
- Treat meat and meat products as a luxury item
5. Live in a fashion that is globally socially responsible
a. Communal living
- Sharing of resources means less consumption per person
- Social support net without government intervention
b. Scalable community
- People should be able to join (and leave) without disrupting the community
- Homes should integrate into the community rather than “taking over” a space
6. Live in a way that is personally healthy
a. Clean diet
b. Clean environment
c. Exercise
- Exercise as a lifestyle byproduct, rather than a task on its own
d. Low stress
e. Continual education
7. Live in a way that is pleasurable
a. Friends and family
b. High level of media and communications connectivity
c. Lifestyle acceptance
d. Leisure lifestyle
e. Beautiful setting
|
I was thinking, independent of how hippy your thinking is, making a list like this would probably help everybody… It's a variation on the five part question I quite regularly ask people:
“Where do you want to be in a year? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? When you die?”
It's harder than you'd think — give it a try.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
So I have an SB Audigy in the DVD rendering machine, and I was installing the CD. The CD comes in a typical paper and plastic CD sleeve. You can see it here, and behind it, also in the case, you can see a little square of paper with a bunch of fine print on it.
On the back of the CD case there's a sticker telling you to read the license agreement first, and that by breaking the seal, you agree to the license. If not, you can return it for a refund. Seems fair enough, right?
Problem is, there's no license agreement in the box. That's right, you guessed it, the license agreement is sealed inside the CD sleeve… So… Does that mean you can't even legally open the thing, or does it mean that by looking at the agreement, you immediately agree with it?
Not that I read it anyway…
