Friday, September 24, 2010

Must Be The Anthopper

I have not written in much too long, other than to drop the odd video or something. I apologize for this, but the fact is that I have felt like little would come out but negativity. This is not to say, once again, that I see nothing positive or uplifting. Its just that those occurrences are so rare next to those when I feel almost overwhelming negativity both from close up and far away.

Thankfully, at this time none of this negativity is coming from the direction of family. I'm not sure why but even my father seems...well for lack of a better word, positive. Even after having our combine break down just as it seems as though the weather would let us get off what little crop we have this year thanks to what might be the only drought in Canada this year, followed up by enough regular rain to keep grain harvest at bay. I think that's because he has decided, to himself anyway, that no matter whether I take over or not, next year will be his last year farming. I think he is at peace with that and I can't say as I blame him...although I still think there is enough life left in my parents that they will be around to get a taste of the hardship that is coming. And I so would like to prevent them from suffering from it, if possible.

There is the ongoing negative pressure of trying to exist in an area that is oriented primarily around natural resource extraction, sited next to what is becoming a major regional landfill on one side and a big ass asphalt storage facility on another side. (This is a new development this year and I'm quite sure I will be writing in more detail on this subject soon).

Despite the local worries, my concerns are lately returned to being much more macro in scale. I am finding it difficult to continue to commit to some plan of action in regards to the future, when more and more often the signs show a very dark future looming. Sparks are once again flying pretty heavily between the East and the West and religious bigotry seems to be on a dramatic increase. Our failing global economy, seemingly guided purposefully by a few ultra rich in order to become ubermegaultra rich, is sure to lead to increasing tension and quite potentially both right and left wing despots.

The ever increasing class disparity coupled with and perhaps caused by the ascension of multi-national corporate entities to a place of power rivaling that of perhaps all individual nations, never mind individual humans, means it is arguable that we have created a neo-feudalism. These corporations employ emotional manipulators to advertise us into going to war in order to maintain the freedom to buy more and more "stuff" that is usually of significantly decreasing quality. Much of our very food and "medicine", created by these corporations, are actually proving to be deadly both to humans and our environment. How much chance does there seem to be, that our oceans will contain even a fraction of the life there even now, never mind 5000 years ago? It is our submission to this idea of constant economic growth and the glimmer of "hope" that we might drag ourselves out of the shit in order to reach the heights of the truly "successful" in the world. Those accumulators who now feel their accumulation makes them more finely evolved and thereby worthy of running the world, as if we could ever manage such a thing.

Its often hard to believe they will stop before they kill us all.

It is so tempting to return to seeking as much leisure and relaxation as possible, to just letting the bullshit play out and hoping the end comes fast and without too much misery and suffering for too many people. I try not to forget that this is the path to more misery and suffering eventually. I guess the answer is to try to make myself an anthopper, the best parts of both the ant and the grasshopper.

That cheesy enough for ya?

Ah well, onward and upward eh?

Friday, September 03, 2010

The Invasion of Sweet

I apologize for foisting yet another video onto folks, but this presentation is pretty important. Most of us have heard that High Fructose Corn Syrup is "bad", but how many of us really understand why...beyond the high potential that it contains transgenic modifications? This presentation, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, offers up biochemical understanding of how vitally dangerous is the flood of Fructose and Sucrose into the North American (and more and more the global) diet. There is some good explanation as to why fiber is so important in our diet as well, especially when it is so near impossible to avoid fructose/sucrose nowadays.

The presentation is an hour and a half long but the time goes quite quickly thanks to the skills of a vibrant presenter and the information is vital. It is revitalizing my intention to bring my diet more fully back into proper balance.



Spread the wealth!