From the American

Wouldn’t it be something if these people that I live with knew how to tell stories? In Russian toasting, there are four toasts. For the meeting, for the friendly brotherhood, a salute to the women and then that bloody fourth toast. That is usually about to getting another bottle. Usually. Mostly. Always. But what if… Continue reading

Okay, just one more foolish thing. I am out here on a perfect afternoon for gardening. I’m lying on my custom-made gardening bench, a tool that actually makes gardening a lovely past time, and just a few minutes ago, I made the mistake and pulled up a baby quinoa. Why am I growing quinoa? Why… Continue reading

Another issue is in the can and another week is in the books. Are we getting better? I think we are. I love it really. Everything I planted is growing. Not everything is as strong as I would like to see but every day there is more and more life in my boxes. We are… Continue reading

I was just thinking in a utopian manner about how to fix the problem and I saw a line. It starts simply by my making a public offering of a day’s wage for anyone who wants to work for me. I can promise about double normal wage for an hour’s work. This work of course… Continue reading

Quite a day today. I woke up very early but ready to roll on the journal. A lot got done. Then later but still pretty early in the morning, I got outside and took care of Wednesday business. Everything’s growing. But when I took a walk into the forest, I found a birch tree lying… Continue reading

These are Hemingway’s words. These are the first two sentences of the book Fiesta or The Sun Also Rises. I have read this book probably more than I have read any other single piece of material with a few exceptions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read Kung Fu Panda or Casablanca or… Continue reading

There was a moment here while doing some early morning work on the Utopian when I realized that there was a definite difference between the creative work and the bureaucratic structural work. When thinking about writing projects, it’s almost always a flash of an idea and then the tedium of doing the job. The same… Continue reading

We do this to express affection. I understand that Thursday is Torah day, nonetheless I am just after midnight and watching Tompopo again. It’s not vegan but it’s compelling. And a truly beautiful film with a long tail that stays with you forever and appears again and again and in strangest moments. And as I… Continue reading

If anyone remembers or cares, I’m massacred my winter peppers by bringing them outside at a very unfortunate moment. The weather changed even a day ahead of schedule and each and every one of them got bitten by a frost. They were brought back inside and found homes that they liked and then just sat… Continue reading