Monday Reads
Posted: December 26, 2011 Filed under: morning reads 34 Comments
Good Morning!
That’s Jujabee over there on the left. He’s my daughter’s Mississippi Truck stop rescue kitty all decked out because even college girlz still can’t resist the temptation to dress up their kitties. Don’t worry! He’s safe in my care at the moment since she took off for Nebraska and a boyfriend this year! He’s snuggled up with Miles Davis Jazzcat and Karma the Bywater bad dog. It’s a long story, but my bestie Michelle’s dog died last night. Samara and Sasha and Honey and Karma were the Bywater Bad Dogs when I first bought my house and my friend Michelle and her daughter came to live with me because they needed a home. Karma is the only one left now. RIP Samara! I remember when Michie put the lot of them up for sale on Ebay as the Bywater Bad Dogs after a particular messy dog situation. That’s when Ebay decided that selling live things was unkewl, but it was certainly a funny joke and I wish I had the screen shot now. Sheesh, where do the years go? Yup. She put all four of them up for sale as the Bywater Bad Dogs. We actually had two friends bid for them but Ebay didn’t get the twisted humor so off the site they went.
So, I can’t resist the temptation to start out with an economics post. Also, one that talks about how crass consumerism is going to do in humanity on the day when every one rids themselves of unwanted gifts. It’s from Truth Dig and it’s called ” Goodbye “Shop Til You Drop” Mentality: Renegade Band of Economists Call for “Degrowth” Economy”. All I want for the New Year is a garden full of food and a solar- powered house!
But what if all roads to prosperity don’t lead to the shopping mall, as most economists would have us believe? What if, in fact, all that shopping — and the imperative to grow corporate profits quarter after quarter and continuously expand the economy — was actually the root of many of the problems we face today?
That’s the view of a renegade but increasingly influential band of economists, who say the myth of perpetual economic growth and “the iron cage of consumerism” are the chief causes of world economic dysfunction and environmental crisis — and the biggest obstacle to our very happiness.
“Overwhelmingly, growth is seen as the solution to all problems, but growth is failing,” says Herman Daly, a former World Bank economist who is also known as the father of “ecological economics,” an offshoot of the same field that spawned Adam Smith three centuries ago but challenges many of the assumptions that classical economists hold dear.
While the term may seem like an oxymoron to some, ecological economics places the economy inside the larger “ecosphere” that supports all life on Earth, rather than seeing the economy and job creation in direct opposition to environmental protection. That’s an idea that has gained ground in recent years as businesses have become increasingly compromised by water and raw material scarcity, extreme weather, crop failures and other problems linked to global warming and environmental degradation.
The problem, says Daly, is that the economy, once an inconsequentially small part of the natural world, has become so supersized that — sort of like an ingrown toenail or an evasive Japanese knotweed bush — it’s now growing into the remaining ecosphere and jeopardizing our ecological life supports: things like drinkable water, fresh air and a stable climate.
Those ideas can be found influencing, among other things, the slow money movement, D.I.Y. culture, modern barter systems, car sharing, and corporate sustainability rhetoric. They are also reflected in the views of ecologists such as Lester Brown and Jeremy Rifkin, the author, pundit and adviser to the European Union, as well as entrepreneurs such as Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, which ran an advertisement this holiday season urging consumers not to buy the pictured jacket and to think twice about making any purchases they don’t really need.
My lifestyle mantra is simplify and downsize! I have a house that’s been recycled many times having been built just after the civil war. It’s very small and full of stuff from both of my grandparents’ house. I also wear a lot of hand me overs sent to me by my sister. Stuff is not the meaning of life. I have to explain that I learned that lesson after I had nothing when I left New Orleans because of Katrina but my car, my computer, my pets and an overnight bag. I was grateful for contributions of clothes and warm things when I hit my friend’s house in Omaha. Turning my back on everything I have and heading for the people I love for refuge taught me a life time of lessons.
So, you know how wonky I am about graphs, models, and data. This is a completely wonderful post about physics and the existence of Santa Claus by The Atlantic. Yes, Einstein, Santa COULD exist. So, in Buddhist lore there is a Happy Monk (Hotei) with a wish fulfilling bag. He’s the fat dude that frequently gets mistaken by westerners for Buddha. So, he doesn’t need elves because his bag will produce whatever is needed. For those of you with the Nordic version that needs elves and reindeer, here’s a physicist’s estimate on Santa Clause and his trek around the world. Here’s the proof!
It is stipulated that Santa Claus exists.
Further, that he spends the night of December 24th circling the globe in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. That he gains access to the homes of children that celebrate Christmas children, and that he gives them presents. And that he does this in the dark, unseen.
Granted, it seems… impractical. Over the course of one night, St. Nick has to stop by the home of every Christian child in the world. Of which there are a lot – an indeterminately large number of kids waiting for their gifts.
I decided to figure out how many, how big a task Mr. Claus faces as he races west across the face of the globe, staying ahead of the sun. And I did. Or, anyway, I came up with a pretty solid estimate.
The Methodology
What I wanted to figure out is this: how many Christian children live in each general area of the world. The region is important: where the kids live impacts the feasibility of the
thing. If kids are distributed evenly, Santa has all night to reach everyone; if they live in the same place, he has about half as long.
It’s impossible to find this information without considering countries; no one tracks demographics based on longitude. So, for every country in the world – of which there are a lot – I really needed to figure out the population broken down by age, religion and time zone.
Well, the assumption is that he only delivers to “christian” children. I stipulate that Hotei takes care of every one else! So there! I always get a good laugh when people mistake the far eastern Santa Claus for the historical Buddha. I suppose it’s a typical mistake for people that don’t study comparative religions.
So, if you’re a wonky statistics nut like me you’ll just love the “9 numbers Obama will watch in 2012” from Politico. The obvious number is the unemployment rate. But, what are the others?
Italian bond yields. The European debt crisis, a slow-motion catastrophe with no predictable or palatable outcome, has the potential to sideswipe the U.S. economy in 2012, hijack the anemic recovery and sink Obama’s reelection chances.
Obama clearly recognizes this, and privately concedes the Eurozone is the biggest wildcard for him in 2012, even if he can’t do much about it. It must be an agonizing realization: After three years of fighting waves of recession — and the GOP — the administration must now cope with events they can’t really master and players they can’t control in Greece, Spain, France, Germany and Italy — the teetering economy with the biggest “boom” potential.
I’m always interested in housing starts and sales, but the article points to some interesting political numbers like Time Kaine’s polling numbers in Virginia, the number of $1 million plus donors to superpacs, and the trends in hispanic voters in Colorado.
Latino voters still make up a relatively small slice of the electorate, but they play an outsized role, thanks to their numbers in a handful of key Western states — Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
Most Democrats think Arizona will stay red next year, while New Mexico and Nevada lean blue. But Colorado, which Obama won by a narrow margin in 2008 is a real toss-up — with Obama leading Romney by a statistically insignificant two points in the most recent survey by Democratic pollster PPP. That means the state’s Hispanic vote, 13 percent of all ballots cast in 2008, could be the difference between victory and defeat.
So, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! It seems we have an interesting 2012 ahead of us! I’ll be posting my annual poll of projections, forecasts, and ruminations this week so stay tuned! What’s on your reading and blogging list as we count down to 2012?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
wonderful post Dak. 🙂
I’ve gotten to be a regular crusader rabbit on doing more with less these days. I really think we over do it with stuff and don’t focus enough on people. Thanks!!!
Excellent post with an important message, Dak.
I try to live simply. Having no money helps me do that. Lol. But seriously, I would live this way even if I had money.
I do very little shopping for Christmas presents. I really hate shopping. The one exception I make is for my elderly mother who is in her second ( or maybe third or fourth ) childhood. I enjoy giving her gifts. Otherwise I “re-gift” favorite books or “family heirlooms” I think people might like. And I give something to charity every year at this time.
I hope everyone at Sky Dancing has a very happy and healthy New Year. I appreciate and read the posts here daily even if I don’t comment.
Any holiday should be about family and friends and sharing heart, hearth, and food. I like the re-gift idea too. My grandfather started a life long love for me with books. I still have the copies of the junior classics he gave to me like Lassie and Little Women. He always wrote a special note too! I’m looking forward to giving them to my girls one day to read to their children should they have them.
Dak,
It is sad that more people don’t vote, it really is, the rich control the message, more so now that corporations are people. 😯 Did everyone take notice of Mitt Romney’s coyness about the big Power Pacs that are helping him, you know the one that he defends as being ‘people too’. Hemmm…
Don’t forget today is the NDAA countdown. I believe Obama has until today to sign the bill that will codify al the BUSH Patriot Act crazy and ad Obushma’s twist with his ‘list’ and indefinite detension of US citizens.
Did you notice Matt Damon finally admitted he has lost that loving feeling… I hope more people have the guts to speak up and ask why he is so quick to do the GOP bidding and not the people who put him in office.
Oh, my wish is that there is no NDAA, SOPA or PIPA in 2012, I still believe in freedom even if our congress has surrendered our rights in hopes of some sort of military win by passing draconian laws.
I have been working and working and still asleep…coffee and off to work.
There’s still time to call the White House to ask Obama not to sign some of those bills.
Here is a great clip: Riley on Marketing
That link doesn’t appear to be working.
This little girl says it all………….
I agree with Riley. I used to by all my girl’s presents at the educational/european made toy stores. I gave doctor daughter a working microscope at that age and a lot of nature things like baskets of pine cones, magnifying glass, butterfly identification books. I avoided commercial made toys like the plague. I got them baby dolls and that was about it. Every time I looked at a toy I asked myself is this what any one would by a boy and if the answer was no, I NEVER bought it.
Dak said: “All I want for the New Year is a garden full of food and a solar- powered house! Wow, greatest idea.
I frankly think that refitting older homes with solar power for people in the country would be a better use of tax money than just about anything else. Forget drill baby drill! At the very least, we could pay for it for the elderly and for people below certain incomes. Also, the government could make seeds and plants available to people to grow their own.
To save energy in India, they give every family a pressure cooker because it cuts down the amount of energy spent making bean-related dishes. We subsidize wars and gambling instead. Such silly priorities!
I have a great deal of my herbs via my garden and do a couple vegestables, but need to do more. I did look into solar panels for the whole house and a surplus release to the power company for excess production but it is still too pricey. 😦
We were at our holiday feast with family yesterday – one of the guest is in the CIA – he admitted that we should never have gone to Iraq, Afganistan or anywhere else trying to turn a tribal society into a democratic one – in his words “it’s an impossibility, and we have no right doing it.”
Glad to hear they have one member with a bit of common sense. And that’s not snark.
We obviously have had a 21st century presidential line up of imperialist hangovers from the mercantile age. Neither of these guys had a real education despite their ivy league credentials. No one with a background in history, world political thought, or world religions would’ve thought those adventures were a good idea.
Yeah, Worf could have told them that.
I still can’t believe Bush went into Iraq without knowing the difference between a Sunni Muslim and a Shite and all the history of conflict between them.
If Bush had known anything he wouldn’t have went into Iraq. Damn that Cheney!
smart man. 🙂
So, Dak, did you ever find the grape variety you wanted? Or are you going to hold off until you find your next “Best Place”?
I see I am going to have to read Heinberg’s book.
Yes!!! Muscadet. It grows well even here in the tropical climate that we have.
Yay! That will be fun!
I got an avocado seed to grow and planted the tree this fall in front of one of my bedroom windows. It’s about 4 feet tall now. I’m waiting for it to really take off and give me fresh Haas avocados!
Those are gorgeous huge trees. My family had some in our back yard in SoCal, and I had an uncle with a small orchard. The canopy can be enormous and the lateral branches were wonderful for climbing. I sort remember though, that they are not self pollinating. We had to have another variety with it.
The avocados were AMAZING. The sad little waxed green things we see in the store bare no resemblance. I had a boxer mix named Scuffy, that used to grab all the lower hanging ones to eat and bury the seeds. Fresh new trees were always popping up.
I believe there may be some miniature varieties now. Perhaps one of them could provide the pollination without turning your yard into an avocado jungle.
Lol, bear
I’m sorry to hear about your bestie’s dog. The loss of a loved critter’s presence is hard.
Apparently the Iraqis are voting today:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/12/26/Iraqi-ministry-hit-by-suicide-car-bomber/UPI-14921324903183/
A delightful post.
I understand how you felt about losing everything to Katrina. I lost almost everything, including my house, to hurricane Rita, one month after Katrina. Living in a FEMA travel trailer for 15 months taught me to simplify.
I like the idea of buying only what is needed. I do buy quilting material and embroidery supplies that I use to make gifts.
I still enjoy Santa Clause. My son and his wife dress as Santa and Mrs. Santa in costumes designed and sewn by Mrs. Santa.and visit family, friends and at least one nursing home or hospital each Christmas Eve and Christmas day. They refuse all offers money or anything else for appearances. They even make unannounced appearances at some stores where there are a lot of children where the just walk around and chat with children and their parents.
I was one of the ones to make the mistake about Buddha. Thanks for the interesting lesson. I like learning about religions other than my own.
I always loved both the Saint Nick and the Happy Monk/Hotei stories because they were always about giving food and clothing to poor children in their original forms.
CNN found some court records and interviewed a few people who were involved. Newt looks even worse after reading this.
Exclusive: Newly recovered docs cast doubt on Gingrich version of first divorce
Newt should simplify and just go away.
magical 😆
Ralphb – talk about a loaded article. Newt’s friend Carter, said that he told him “you know, and I know that she’s (his wife) not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of a president.”
You and I know, he’s so fugging old he can’t remember if he was born yesterday.