This is really dumb but I was listening to Cardi

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This is really dumb but I was listening to Cardi B’s album while I was doing some work that was keeping me from finishing reading the new Murderbot book, and the song Money Bag came on and it has the right number of syllables so now I’ve inextricably earwormed myself with 

murderbot murderbot murderbot uh murderbot murderbot murderbot yeah 

to the tune/rhythm of the chorus, there. So. 

You’re welcome. No, I’m not going to attempt a filk/rap because there is not a single thing on this entire earth that is less my scene. 

For the record, I enjoyed both the album and the book, but for completely different reasons and with completely different parts of my brain. 

And my bitches with me pretty, too, they look like bridesmaidsAnd they all bloody gang so don’t be talkin’ sideways

These bitches salty, they sodium, they jelly, petroleumAlways talkin’ in the background, don’t never come to the podium

I guess there’s not no resemblance. Shit, who knew? 

I’m never going to get this fucking song out of my head.

OK I’m gonna go reread the book now and then maybe I’ll have some Thoughts but I figure I should give it like 24 hours before I start screaming about it right? 

If you have read it though, then you know why I picked out those particular lyrics. Yes I’m talking about ART. 
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This was a banner day for media consumption by my standards, honestly, because besides listening to.

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This was a banner day for media consumption by my standards, honestly, because besides listening to an album and reading a book I also watched an hour of children’s television programming because I was exhausted and Farmbaby’s TV time was delayed 2 hours by a power outage (we only noticed the power was off because we tried to turn the TV on!), so I just sat next to her on the couch while she watched Puffin Rock.

Which, if you didn’t know, is an Irish television series about a baby puffin who lives on, as you might guess, a rock. Anyway, the accents are the best part, of course. 

I think my very, very favorite thing about the show is how the characters pronounce the words “Shrew Crew” (which is, as you might guess, a group of shrews who live in a burrow together). I cannot, cannot express how amazing those syllables sound in an Irish accent to American ears. 

Oh I also met one of the candidates contesting the Democratic primary for NY-19, (currently held by Rep. John Faso, R, total asshole); the guy is a native of Kingston, actually grew up on a farm, and is touring the district in a Winnebago with the aim of making a stop in every town in the district, all 163 of them. He got to watch a bunch of piglet shenanigans, lucky him; he seemed about twenty, to me, and was attended by two lovely young women in pretty dresses, one of whom was engaged to him and also studying to pass the bar, in case you think I’m exaggerating about how young they were. One of the members of the farm’s CSA is very involved with the Democratic party in this county, and knew my sister and her husband would have a lot of good policy questions/concerns to pass along to the guy, so I’m sure that’s why that happened. Also, it was a gorgeous day and the farm is picturesque, and Farmbaby obliged by happening to be in a cute dress and spontaneously deciding she had to Lead The Tour, and obligingly handing everyone flowers and such, which the attending photographer dutifully recorded in ways that are guaranteed to be useful in campaign literature. Which is fine. It was interesting to be involved in; I spent a lot of time carefully being out of the camera’s angle, since I know how that works and also was wearing the single most disreputable pair of jeans known to mankind. 

As is my wont when on the farm. Anyhow. 

Shrew crew! Shroi croi! It’s unreal. Irish accents are my favorite because they’re so fucking weird. 
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solarpunk-gnome: nyshadidntbreakit: jenroses: wodnes

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solarpunk-gnome:

nyshadidntbreakit:

jenroses:

wodneswynn:

Hey, listen: We’re not gonna get anywhere with this “socialism” stuff unless we can establish solidarity networks that provide real, tangible aid. And I do mean “tangible” in the sense of “you can fill up a box with it.”

Back in the old-timey days, when we didn’t have things like a minimum wage or government assistance, folks didn’t think twice about paying union dues every month out of their meager paychecks. And in those days, when it was a regular, everyday occurrence for union people to get beat up or outright murdered for their union-ing, the unions still managed to win a lot of their fights. Reason for all that? The bigger part of them union dues I mentioned *went into a strike fund*.

Time on a picket line means time off the clock. And as for me, in this economy, if I go a week without a check, my family don’t eat. I go two weeks without a check, and we’re homeless. And them’s the brakes.

In my community we started a co-op in order to, in part, purchase things with mass buying power (i.e. we can get things at wholesale if we order enough of them, so we can, for example, eat organic food for about what conventional costs a lot of the time.)

But we also set aside a little money each time we order, and that money helps pay for donation boxes… and the social network we created when we created the co-op means that if someone has a crisis, someone else probably has the answer. “This family just lost their job and can’t afford to buy presents for their kids” may get a response of “Here are presents for every single family member” or it might end up with finding a job for the people looking for work, or both, because the co-op membership is diverse and represents a lot of people who are otherwise very connected in the community.

When a part of town is out of power, it’s usually possible to find a co-op member who can run for ice or bring a meal, or offer use of a washer/dryer for the evening.

We had one year where we were making donation meal boxes for a holiday, found out on the last delivery about a family in severe need, talked about it in the co-op group and ended up showing up at their house with not only a meal, but enough dry goods, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. for a month, plus a credit with the co-op for fresh fruits and veggies.

I cannot overstate the power of networking in your community. This one started out in a natural parenting group, but quickly spread beyond that, from college students to retirees. It’s like a small town, only more open-minded. We started with about 20-30 families. There are now hundreds of people involved.

I had a trans kid land with me at one point and asked if anyone had size whatever clothes and within a few hours we had a box on my porch, within a couple days we had a bunch of things he needed.

The co-op keeps a lending library of tools and weirdly specific kitchen devices like an Æbleskiver pan, a food dehydrator, a capsule maker and a carpet cleaner. The kinds of things people need once or twice a year, but might not have the room to store.

We periodically do a buy of sensory toys and sensory bin supplies, for example, because we have a lot of autistic members and parents of autistic kids.

I have bought socks from the co-op that were purple with unicorns farting rainbows on them. We recently got in Black History flashcards and we’ve done a lot of Black Lives Matter and Hate Has No Home lawn signs. Pretty much if people want it and we can find it at wholesale, the co-op will order it.

It even spawned a side-business (more than one, actually, but this is the relevant one) of an online app for co-op managing, called http://managemy.coop
so that other communities could take advantage of our experience and start out with an easier tool than the google spreadsheets we started out with.

Anyway… if you want to network within your community, this is a really, really good way of connecting with a broad cross-section of people.

All that stuff about unions still applies, too. Unions have hardship funds. If you’re a union member and you’re broke, or you’ve been fired, or whatever, you can apply to the union for a grant to help you out. The binmen in Birmingham pulled off a months-long strike recently thanks to the union paying their living costs. Unions force employers to pay decent pension contributions and have safe sick leave policies.

If you’re employed, join your damn union!

You might check out http://www.transitionus.org/transition-towns too. They’re trying to build resilient communities by getting neighbors to talk with each other about stuff.
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solarpunknetwork: solarpunk and green roofs grass roofs have...

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solarpunknetwork:

solarpunk and green roofs

grass roofs have been employed for centuries in northern europe, not only for their beauty but also their practicality. there are a lot of reasons why a solarpunk society would embrace this idea, and here’s just a few:

1. natural insulation

grass and plants can act as natural insulation at a fraction of the cost of artifical alternatives. not only do they maintain heat in cold climates and regulate cool in warmer ones, they also efficiently absorb and filter rainwater.

2. sound barrier

a great example of this is the chicago city hall which uses a grass roof to keep city noise from permeating the building. likewise, this is a desirable feature in both commercial and domestic settings.

3. pollution

grass roofs can act as air purifiers, enhancing air quality. i think this explains itself.

4. biodiversity

garden roofs can not only foster biodiversity in plants, but also create havens for animals and insects. with bee populations dwindling, roofs could act as the perfect stomping ground for these important organisms, among others.

5. aesthetics

grass roofs look incredible, and other planted roofs (e.g. with succulents and flowers) even more so. they also help buildings to blend into the natural environment, enhancing the surrounds and preventing the visible signs of urbanisation.

6. agricultural potential

garden roofs could easily be used to plant crops, encouraging local living and minimising food miles as well as posing an educational opportunity for children to see their food go from field roof to plate. this would also mean that less land would have to be sacrificed to agriculture and thus could be preserved in its natural, wild state.

feel free to add your thoughts!
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