BARREL OF MONKEYS: "GENESIS" in Reverse


I consider myself a Democrat. Been called a Socialist. Definitely a bleeding heart liberal.


As a child from a traditional southern family, playing Barrel of Monkeys on the floor, church every Sunday, doing well in public school, learning a trade; in every sense privileged .........


Comfortable in middle age, an avid news reader, on learning the tragic story of a full grown chimpanzee destroying the face of a woman who offered a toy, only trying to help it's owner coax her surrogate child back into his cage......


Today being confrontational, ribald, offensive, restless, rebellious.......


How did I get here from there?


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Monday, February 8, 2010

Thelma and Louise Made it Look Fun




Watch this!

The Story of Stuff


..What is The Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

 then
Compare To This!


Story of Stuff, The Critique


After watching both videos, will have to agree; every counterpoint he made is correct......technically!    That makes all the difference whom you choose to believe or not;  how science, a very discipline objective approach to knowledge, finds itself  the messy middle of two passions.  Like the rope  in a game of  TUG-A-WAR.  Like scriptures from the bible in a war of words between fatally flawed primates and cafeteria christians. 

Having had more exposure to the sciences,  more familiar with the techno jargon, I would agree with his critique that she overinflated (or deflated) the numbers to support her stance;  her use of  overly graphic words that produce strong imagery.  To be honest with you, as a man, even though a bleeding heart liberal,  don't think I would like being in the company of  this woman...PERIOD.  She strikes me as parent who would not vaccinte her kids, in spite of, the overwhelming data supporting the  public benefits of the herd health approach. In other words, taking advantage of the fact, that because most parents do vaccinate, the risk of her child becoming sick is less than a possible vaccine reaction, though rare, can be quite severe.   I can't picture her living an uncomfortable lifestyle either; making any serious sacrifices.  However, I do agree with her overall message:  our current lifestyle is not sustainable doing business as usual. 




Even though everything he said is correct, he only pointed out where her numbers were wrong (inflated or deflated), inappropriate word choices (more theatrical then objective), the benefits that came increased standard of living (not the cost of maintaing that standard of living).   But that only to the present.   He never address how our current model of doing business can continue having the same benefits for future generations.

He changed the numbers used to do the math.  Obviously we are going to come up with a different answer.  This is the point where his job gets easy.  He just stops.  He doesn't continue the math out.  He doesn't tell you what the outcome turns out to be. Like a court appointed lawyer for a criminal, he doesn't have to; it's not his job to do the math for you.  He has a professional responsibility to his client he must uphold as well as winning the case to attract paying clients.   With the wind of human nature blowing from behind; sowing doubt is all he needs to do.  Where difficult lifestyle changes will have to be made; all that's needed with the "average uninformed American voter".

Like a squirrel in a forrest surrounded by an abundants of acorn trees, he's just wants to be left alone to enjoy his nuts he's worked so hard to collect; no reason to not unload, "pop a nut", each chance he gets.


As a bleeding heart liberal, see that as cheating, self serving, immoral. As a man,  he would have to be awfully good looking for me to take him up on his offer of a ride of a lifetime.   What can I say...all men are pigs!

****
"Narrow-minded economists emphasize 'production' and virtually ignore what happens to the source of nature's resources, as well as to nature's sink, which has to absorb the unwanted, so-called 'by-produces' or 'production'."


- Garrett Hardin -
****

(hell, if we are going to end up at the bottom of the cliff either way....I'm going with air conditioning!)



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"One thing I like about the Digital age: having the dictionary at my fingertips, how easy it is to look up unfamiliar words as I go along reading." "At least....... until, I played my first game of SCRABBLE on the internet. Wow! I had no idea you could spell so many words with seven letters every time." "Now I feel pressured to catch up!"