I have a deep reverence for nature and our connectedness with it. I do not believe, nor have I ever believed that the city of Madison and all humankind is threatened by some invasive kudzu-like species, either alien or terrestrial in origin.
fear of a green planet
I figured that at the rate things were growing, I could see Madison within a few days being buried up to the height of the Capitol dome by some alien kudzu-like creature that was taking over and which would soon replace humans as the dominant life form on earth—really showing us big time that it’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature.
intentional community meets intentional community
Madison Community Co-op, a network of eleven co-op houses here in Madison played host this past weekend to the Fellowship for Intentional Community, a resource and networking organization for the intentional communities movement. It marks the first time that a co-op house or network of co-op houses served as host for FIC’s semi-annual meeting, and in many ways represents a coming together of the housing co-op and intentional community movements.
multiple generations in a co-op house
I related a story of how we celebrated a housemate’s 20th birthday at the end of last August. I calculated that right at about the point she was taking her first breaths as a newborn to the chorus of “It’s a girl!” I was in an Urbana, Illinois bar in my first week as a freshman away at college testing the enforcement of the underage drinking laws.
brittingham park, part 2
The experience got me thinking that maybe the presence of snow on the ground is a superficial measure of what season we are in.
ice fishermen vs. water skiers
It hit 64 degrees today in Madison. It was almost warm enough for me to go without any jacket whatsoever. I was walking through Brittingham Park along Monona Bay, and noticed that half the bay was open water, with the other half, particularly near the John Nolen Drive bridge, still covered with ice.
times like these, time and time again…
So when I first heard Nirvana, I thought “Yuck! It’s warmed-over Black Sabbath!” I felt frustrated as the record industry and the music press seemed locked in a goose-step towards grunge, a two-dimensional world in which music “sucked” if it didn’t “rawk.” I felt that Seattle grunge represented the death of Alternative rock, with the band members of Nirvana as its pallbearers. However, I did develop a grudging (grunging?) respect for the late Kurt Cobain, born just three months before me. I have a copy of their “Unplugged in New York” CD, which I consider to be a classic. It features acoustic (and therefore non-abrasive) versions of their songs as well as some folk and blues standards by other artists, including an old Leadbelly song.
the gift of living in the present
For me, reading this chapter that one morning produced a rather profound shift in my thinking. I had been carrying a lot of anger and self-judgment about my current situation, and in almost an instant, most of it disappeared. I got off the bus suddenly feeling a lot lighter about my situation than when I’d gotten on the bus.
talkin’ about religion, talkin’ about a revolution
So, if I open my mouth and start talking about God, what is it that the reader or the listener actually hears?
can jimmy the groundhog see his shadow under ten inches of snow?
Two weeks after Jimmy The Groundhog predicted an early spring, winter has finally come to Wisconsin.