Someone (a male, or group of males, I am willing to bet big bucks) has chainsawed the tree at the Sycamore gap. See tweet here. There will be an outpouring of revulsion and bewilderment at such a wanton act of vandalism. Here's my two cents. Ever since the pagans started losing to the monotheists, all... Continue Reading →
No longer *quite* kitten… (klaxon warning – nauseating self-absorption ahead)
So, I've been lifting weights and going on yomps and while I've put on a bit of muscle and shed a bit of lard, neither did anything for my cardio-vascular fitness. Eight days ago I got on a rowing machine and managed to do 2 minutes before having to stop. #embarrassing Every time I've gone... Continue Reading →
Niche to meet you, to meet you niche… (watch out for the (w)anchors.)
So, reading more about the latest terminology in sustainability transitions (I know, I know, I should get a real job/life/whatever). And today's phrase to be thrown around confidently in some seminar, somewhere ages and ages hence, is (drum roll please).... "niche anchoring" See this good paper - "Does time matter? A multi-level assessment of delayed... Continue Reading →
A crazy(making) time to be alive
I grew up in the shadow of the bomb - when I was eight or nine I was worried about the neutron bomb. The shooting down of KAL007 had a profound effect on me (and we now know that that period - late 1983 through to mid 1984 - was when we came pretty close... Continue Reading →
Banal point #94 – without language and imagery of thriving democracy, we’re idiotified
Embarrassingly banal blog post (not that it has ever stopped me before). We don't have a language or imagery of democracy. If you do a word association, people will come up with "parliament, or government". If you ask them for an image, it will be the Whitehouse, Palace (!) of Westminster, or Parliament House. Maybe... Continue Reading →
In the café at the end of the world
“They’ve gone overboard with jabbing everyone..... Covid, it’s just a cold, it always was.” So the woman in her late 50s or so tells her older companions, at about 1pm, on Thursday September 21, 2023. They seem to agree, or at least not argue the toss. There can be as many dead as you like.... Continue Reading →
Weak as a kitten, and on the radio…
Two quick notes. First: I've been building up muscle bulk (lats, pecs, upper traps, rhomboids etc) at the gym and also getting back into long walks along the canal towpath wearing a weighted jacket (only 10kg, but it's a start). And wanting to shift lard again. So, "back to rowing, how hard can it be?"... Continue Reading →
The Voice, Marriage Equality and Brexit – a rant
On October 14th there's a referendum taking place in Australia. It's about whether to amend the Constitution and create an advisory group that will be a voice/Voice for indigenous Australians to the parliament. Other countries have them and the sky hasn't fallen. In a sensible world, it would be utterly uncontroversial. But... well.... So, here's... Continue Reading →
Compassion for deniers? I suppose so, especially the breeders
For a long long time - for various reasons - I would get an autonomic response when called upon (by others or myself) to say the simple words "I was wrong" and offer a sincere apology (i.e. not one couched with evasions, so-called 'explanations' and whatabout-eries.) Heart rate up, skin crawling, shortness of breath, etc.... Continue Reading →
One sign we were taking climate change and human/animal futures seriously would be…
... if all the house organs of the smugosphere (I won't mention names) were devoting at least one whole issue a year to the questions of Pathological Activist Cultures (1) - what are they, where they come from, what sustains them, what damage they do (short-term, long-term), what has been tried to overcome them (did... Continue Reading →