Orion Strikes Back, Again

I'm in love. Head over heels, gaga, goofy-faced-floppy-legs-gaited in love with Orion Magazine. If you have a few minutes, do check out this article about the famous* Crying Indian ad campaign.

*Made famous once Kate expressed her incredulity a few years ago when I said I had never seen it...

The Story of Stuff

--from kate--
I have Larkin's gramps to thank for bringing this excellent video to my attention. I encourage all readers to invest just 20 minutes watching this entertaining and enlightening piece. It explains more clearly than anything else I've found why movements such as The Compact are absolutely critical to the survival of our species and our planet. Recycling simply isn't enough; we each need to be doing more...or less, depending on how you look at it.

Watch on, citizens!
Here: http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Or here:

I had a dream

I must say, these last couple weeks have been quite a boom. This humble little project has come so far. Yet I wonder, is it far enough? I have high hopes for us, but I sometimes wonder if it all really matters. I wonder if the day will come, be it in a year or ten years, when I too will be just another of the mindless mass strolling along downtown, indulging my senses with rich Italian leather and delicate French lace.

But that is the point, or the anti-point, isn't it? We are here to change all that. It isn't a dream anymore, We have ripples swirling out from our little pebble: a "free-cycle" program beginning in California, international readership, and even those who cannot bring themselves to join us are still inspired by our existence.

This is not a dream. We are not just making changes: we are the change.

Going it alone, together

Hello Larkin and beyond!

I don't know how y'all feel, but here's my bit of brutal honesty:  I'm scared witless (insert your own age and/or audience appropriate adjective there) about the coming decades.  As I walk to work, forgoing the apparent convenience of my car; as I pack my own lunch, forgoing the apparent convenience of the Taco del Mar located a mere forty yards from my library; as I turn off unused lights throughout the house, forgoing the very real convenience of being able to see toys strewn like caltrops across the floor, I have the very real and foreboding sense that this effort is all for naught.

But then, ahhhh... then I happen to come across a bit of beauty and clarity such as the following article of Bill McKibben's in the most recent issue of Orion magazine.  In it, McKibben directly addresses this malaise that is bound to fall on individuals who are concerned enough (or insane enough?) to try to change the course of an entire economy and culture.

So if you, like me, need an occasional pick-me-up, keep this McKibben article tucked in a handy, easy to reach spot.  The medicine cabinet, perhaps? 

Is Capitalism on its way out?

I'm sure we are all concerned about the economy. Nothing much has changed for me, except I've lost about 1/3 of the value of 457K account. But I figure that I won't need that money. When I retire with my generous pension, that money will be for my grandchildren's college tuition anyway. Or not-- the pension fund will be bankrupt, and the 457K account worth nothing at all. All my kids will be jobless and homeless, and move in with me, and we will grow our own vegetables in the back yard. We'll Watch that wonderful movie "You can't Take it with You" over and over. Now I'm worried-- should I join the consumer economy big time? Help turn a Red Friday to a Black Friday?

Here's the deal. I pay off my credit card every month. I drive a car for over 10 years; only go to the mall about once every ten years (for entertainment purposes only); I get all my books at the public library; I buy as well as donate to the Goodwill. When people say "where did you get the cute coat", I am proud to say where I got it. When my daughter was little, I once bought her a Gunnie Sax dress at Value Village, and wrapped it up in a Nordstrom's gift box for Christmas. (She figured it out, and thought I was a real scrooge.)

Now I am worried about the economy. Maybe I should go out a buy a new American car. New furniture. Appliances. A big screen TV. Christmas presents for all my distant relatives.

Or is this the end of Capitalism-- as Lenin, or was it Marx said, "one step forward, two steps back"-- Should "the people" own the banks and the means of production.

Help! I don't understand this at all.

Down the Path (to Recovery?)

I casually joined The Compact, to support my niece Larkin's senior project. Sure, I meant it, but I didn't really pause to consider the implications. What would I need to do differently, really?

I've been enjoying how the answers have been presenting themselves: each new purchase or SAO (stuff acquisition opportunity) now must pass through The Compact Filter. This means I have even more little voices in my head, saying, "Do you really need that?" and "Can't you make that?" and "Hey, that's probably on Craigslist!" and so on.

And then, there are the new pick up/put down moments. I'm standing in the store picking up one, two, three things I think I'm about to buy, and then it hits me-- knock it off! Put it back! You can make that instead! You don't need that!

The coolest thing has been the blooming creativity. For example, I need to replace/enlarge my pitiful porch. I had been looking for used lumber on Craigslist, and felt discouraged when finding limited or odd/short pieces. Then - aha! - I thought of how lovely a mosaic of various widths could be, sort of parquet style, especially when resurfaced with a (used) planer. I don't think I would have considered that design if I'd just gone out and plunked down the bucks for a pile of virgin Doug Fir. Plus, after I've been telling people about this thing my niece got me into, a coworker learned that another coworker was offing the 500-600 sq. feet of redwood decking, which she had just replaced with a composite deck. Another coworker in the Ag Dept offered access to the industrial planer if I need it. Then we brainstormed about getting a staff-based "freecycle" type listserve going, so staff could all share their no-longer-loved treasures! Love that networking.

Another example is the beautiful gallon of "cafe latte" colored paint we recently found at our Habitat for Humanity Restore. $8!! We bought it and painted our office that night-- yes, the one I'm sitting in right now. Doesn't it look great? Well, take my word for it. Anyway, I'm just saying I would not have ordered this custom color at full cost, and the "treasure hunt" of finding it new/used made it that much more satisfying.

Finally, my favorite: Larkin and I are lobbying our whole family to celebrate Christmas this year with used, made, and repurposed gifts, experiences, or charitable contributions in others' names. I create intricate drawings, and despite encouragement, have not taken the leap to mass produce them or share it in a useful way. Now, with this challenge, I finally made a plan to get my own home art production going, using mostly used and some new materials, starting with some silk-screening. I will use the products as gifts, and in support of local causes in which I'm involved. It's scary and exciting, and I'm glad I'm finally jumping off.

When I signed on, I didn't know just what I would do to change my ways to embrace this idea. I am really enjoying these unfolding discoveries. So, thanks, Larkin, for pushing me over the edge!

Branded

--from Larkin--

Last night I went to a concert at my school: the showcase of all the bands made up of students. All the bands were super good. While I have always been amazed at how high schoolers manage to all look similar even when they don't actually look the same, I was struck by the sameness more than ever before. The show was attended by the very cool people, and I don't mean the blond, preppy, party-girls that everyone is supposed to idolize. I'm talking about the indie-rocker types: the boys who wear skinny jeans and spike their hair, the girls who dye their hair and ride skateboards. These kids who seem to be rebelling against the system, but they all end up looking practically the same.

Today at work I came across a book while shelving in the 600s. It is called Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers, by Alissa Quart. Focusing on not only the consumerism of pop-culture, but the ways teens find to resist it, this book promises to provide many excellent examples of why our movement is so important. While I know many follow the Compact for the environmental factors, that is only part of it. This movement is also about breaking down the overwhelming corporatism of our society.

a moral economy

--from kate--

I'm reading a good book that, though published in 2003, is very timely. I've checked "The Soul of Capitalism" out from the library 3 times now trying to get it finished!

The author's contention is basically that America reached the goal of capitalism sometime in the '50s, but didn't recognize it as such and continued on an upward assent when we should have, as a nation & as a culture, started tapering off and switching from "achieve & accumulate" mode into "sustain & maintain" mode.

I think that's the back-pedalling a lot of people are doing (not just us Compacters)...trying to take the emphasis off producing, or accumulating, or earning more. Instead, we're reusing, simplifying, requiring less. When I combine the ideas I've been reading about with the ideals of the Compact Project, they're a great fit. If enough of us work to reverse the upward trend of consumerism & material need, perhaps we can bring American society & economics back to a place where we can "live simply so others may simply live." It would seem that with our president-elect poised to promote some fundamental changes in this country, the time could not be more ripe!

Compact for Cleopatra

I have a new granddaughter in Brooklyn whose name is Cleopatra. Cleo's mother bought or borrowed a used baby stroller, changing table, baby swing, baby chair, basinette, even a breast pump, early in her pregnancy. In Brooklyn people don't hang on to stuff long, because they don't have any space in their tiny apartments. She did buy new diapers-- expensive but breathable and very absorbant. I never understood why disposable diapers were more carbon friendly than washable, and I can't imagine why anyone would ever have to buy any new outfits for a baby, since babies outgrow their things so fast and can be passed on in perfect condition to the next baby.

an addendum

For some reason, Christine's other moniker did not appear when I posted, but you should know that she really truly is the original "One Man Band".

use it all!

My friend Christine, a.k.a. is amazing! She can learn how make or do anything in no time flat then teach you how to do it better not long after. As of late, she has embarked upon a great project of turning crappy old junkmail into beautiful real mail you can't wait to receive. Old fashion magazines? Last years calendars? BAM! They are now stunning envelopes beckoning you to write to old friends, maybe even new ones if you've had your coffee and are feeling frisky! Pesky advertisements cluttering your mailbox, hiding your precious REAL mail? NO MORE! KAPOW! Fantastic collaged postcards with more depth and beauty than any corporate exec could ever have imbued upon the images! I feel so inspired! I have one frog calender transformed into envelopes for my holiday card sales- I was so happy to NOT BUY new envelopes and just make the special size I needed from "junk" around the house!

Man, I want me to write to me!