But We Decide Which is Right and Which is an Illusion

In restaurants, when you're way behind and have little hope of ever catching up, you say you're "in the weeds" or "snorkeling". I'm snorkeling, blogwise. I'll never catch up with the not-so current events that have been playing out in the media, so I'll just start with what's up and ongoing issues that have hit my inbox.

Not sure what I think of this
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428735/microsofts-workplace-social-network-becomes/

10 Billion people? That's nearly 3 times as were around when I was born...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/03/ian-jack-overpopulation-ten-billion

Wait, climate change is still being denied?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/science/earth/extreme-heat-is-covering-more-of-the-earth-a-study-says.html?

It's a good time for memory loss, then?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/opinion/sunday/memory-and-the-cybermind.html?

Farewell, Gore Vidal, I'll miss you
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/02/gore_vidals_reading_list_for_america/

Transplants may be outdated soon
http://www.kurzweilai.net/darpa-and-nih-to-fund-human-body-on-a-chip-research

Einstein didn't know it all
http://www.universetoday.com/96526/a-crinkle-in-the-wrinkle-of-space-time/

But do they have pizza?
http://www.space.com/16750-alien-planets-solar-system-twin.html

What would Castaneda do?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120727095555.htm

Don't toy with me
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-newly-scaffold-pain.html

And finally, 2 websites that are worth watching. The second was brought to my attention by our own CarrieBoo:
http://singularityand.co/
They're putting old sci-fi into free ebooks so they're saved.
http://whatprivilege.com/
Where a lot of things are discussed that people aren't comfortable discussing.

Okay, that's a good start to the megabites of stuff that've been crowding my email and pressing on my mind. There's more, but there's always tomorrow. Enjoy.

Why, it's Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Continuing the good news this week is that my friend Wendy Levy is starting a cheese shop right here in little old Brattleboro. We met almost 17 years ago when we worked together for Henry (The Cheeseman) Tewksbury in the Bratt Food Coop. While it was another food area that I loved working in (and Henry was the Best Boss ever), cheese became a passion for Wendy. Henry has passed on but Wendy is carrying the torch on to cheesemongering in her own right. She's built quite a resume in the ensuing years, working in fine cheeses and consulting to such places as Zabar's in NYC.

Now in her mid-thirties, Wendy's ready to do it herself and is opening a fine cheese shop and cafe. She'll also offer classes covering the making of, history behind and uses for cheese. To help her get the funding together, she applied to and was accepted by the Kickstarter program. If you haven't heard of Kickstarter here's the skinny. It's a central place where people can apply for financial help from the public to make their project a reality:
http://www.kickstarter.com/

And here is Wendy's presentation
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/921310485/cheese-wonderland-a-shop-cafe-and-food-education-c?

This is Wendy's Brattleboro Cheese website, still in construction
http://www.brattleborocheese.com/

The shop is scheduled to open in September, which coincides with the time limit to raise money on Kickstarter. I have everything crossed that she'll make her goal. Good luck, Wendy!

The Attitude of Doin' Right

There's bad in the world, always has been, always will be. Things seem to be focused on the bad these days. People do terrible things and that's all you hear about for weeks on end, one horrible act after another. We escape however we can. If we don't happen upon good stuff we never even hear about it. But there's plenty of reasons to be hopeful, and right now I want to share the good I've found lately. Two short films I caught lately.

First is a documentary about Sister Helen Travis, a late-to-the-calling nun who founded a recovery center for men in the Bronx:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/200691

And then is the story of Tom's Shoes, a company that gives a shoeless child a pair of shoes for every pair someone buys:
http://www.toms.com/corporate-info/
http://www.hulu.com/for-tomorrow-the-toms-shoes-story

These two stories alone can pick your head up if it's down and be outright inspiring if you're already okay. A coworker used to call me "Rebecca of Darkstar Farm". I'm not known for being optimistic. But damned if these stories didn't throw me out of the "That comet can't come fast enough" mode.

The Strawberry is a Mammal

Well bythejesus, it's been busy. Having just stumbled upon some ugly revolting developments I've decided to take a break and try to start catching up to blogland. Even when I'm not taking a recess days go by and there's not been time to get back here til now.

I do have some funnies to share. Here is a QI -great entertainment on its own- but a friend put me on to turning the volume off and reading the captions. Gives a whole new perspective...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfp33oCSND0

The title of this is "Things are Tough All Over"
http://www.ibrattleboro.com/article.php/20120804164343777

Billy Connolly on Prophets (with the usual Connolly warning)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMUC-QrON0I

For all who've worked in retail (the Connolly warning applies here too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igjLyEa2pYU

Okay, that's it for break time. I'll get to serious stuff at some point; there's a long list of it.

Recess is Over

Well, that was nice. I ate strangely and read a lot of A Dance with Dragons. I watched Youtubia in a stream of consciousness way. Found this goodness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNlcr4frs4
Learned that before you have a stroke you smell burning toast.
Fasted on Lammas, thinking of that saying, "When you're full, remember what it is to be hungry."
And I discovered a tv show I actually like, "Perception." I'd avoided it like the plague but it's not bad at all.
I did nothing but bare essentials.
Didn't answer emails or return calls.
Of course, that didn't mean anyone else slowed down. I have a lot to do come Monday. Fridays in the Summer are useless to get anything serious done. I'll ease back into things over the weekend, do the family catchups, answer the emails.

One thing I know is that people have to take a break from writing books. I have too many friends and acquaintances with books coming out, month after month. Really, this has to slow down. I can't read that fast anymore because if I do I don't recall anything. And they add up expensewise. So quit publishing until 2013. I should be caught up by then.

Speaking of, I saw a review of Michael Lloyd's book here and found out that another guy from the Magickal Childe years has also written a wayback machine book
http://culture.pagannewswirecollective.com/tag/bull-of-heaven/
I don't think I've seen Wasserman since 1995. I emailed him once years ago; he didn't reply.

And Wayne Kernochan's been banging books out like no tonorrow. I just ordered this one
(this is the Kindle version)
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Darkness-Memoir-Series-ebook/dp/B007OL73HQ/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

There's a new ELP bio coming
http://www.amazon.com/You-Wanna-Play-Some-Magic/dp/095664208X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=R1S6QJTSJPGI&coliid=I2A9E8BAH2FZM9
And of course Greg's full book-form autobio will be out at the end of the year.
So yeah, everyone take a break. I recommend it.
I'll be back later with news.