These are two pieces of art that I gifted to some people from the chaplaincy internship I experienced at a mental health / incarceration facility this summer.

Angel Slacks was a gift to one of the employees who had never heard of slack before, and was incredibly bogged down because of it.



Ecstatic Peace was a gift to the people on the unit I was working at, because knowing that I would be leaving, I wouldn't be able be present in the same way, but still wanted them to remember I'd be there.



lyrics:
My God is good in the kitchen
Make a good meal from bread and fishes
Feed the hungry pour the wine
Everybodys welcome to have a good time
Sit at his table enjoy the food
from "Save Us All" by Tracy Chapman

or

Gee angel, gee angel, I need some slack
There's nothing in this world that I'd rather do
Than buy a set of wings and fly away with you
from "Gee Angel" by Sugar

chant/prayer/mantra: May we be always with love, and love always with us.


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: art, changing the prison paradigm, presence, sustenance

My sweetie noticed this sign at our local Safeway.
I think this picture says quite a bit about the iron grip people are keeping on their resources in this tough economy.



pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: art, economics

To put our lives in perspective of history, here is a quote from Butthead: "Don't be stupid Beavis. There's *always* been television."


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: technology, theological sources

Now this is the kind of thing I"m talking about. It's passive solar technology done intelligently.

Consider that large bodies of water (and earth) can hold heat for quite a while, and consider the daily rhythm in which the earth heats up and cools down. In cool times, if you heat the water up during the day by having the water uncovered, then at night cover them, the heat from the water can warm the house. In warm times, you have the water uncovered at night and then it will help keep your house cool during the day.

The most interesting quote I came across was this: “One of the reasons he hasn’t had more success is that the entire solar industry, with few exceptions, has been undercapitalized.” If you check out the stats from this post, you'll note that the Bush admin requested less than a pittance for renewable energy research and development. The Obama administration MUST make energy production and conservation a priority. This is one way to do it.

lyrics: "low, low, low." R.E.M.

colors: color of the sun in the night time.


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: economics, environment, renewable energy, sustenance

Used to be League of American Wheelmen.

On their wikipedia page, there is a list of the 96 most bicycle-friendly cities.

I think I want to move to one of those cities.


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

 So I was thinking of a government that automatically ran itself somehow.  And wondering if maybe "Autocracy" was the correct word, because linguistically, that seems sensible.  However, autocracy describes a type of tyrannical rule similar to a dictatorship.

Labels: globalism, heaven on earth, pax hominibus/bright shiny future, religious community

 It's not often I link to political action groups, but Avaaz is one I think is worth supporting.