Transition Culture

It’s all that cycling and walking, Rob!

I used to find it hard to attract women but since I became a Transitioner I’ve developed buns of steel. Now I can’t keep the women off. What can I do, Rob?

Just checked in the handbook, I think this must come under Step 3: Laying the foundations

Buns of Steel,

First, join a group active in social nude recreation. Learn that the important feature of a person, acquaintance, or possible companion is a smile. The rest just changes less often than yesterday’s socks.

Second, consider intimate companions on the basis of sustainability. Character, honor, aptitude and interest in being a mate for a shared life and as a co-parent; do you want this person to help raise children? (Even if children aren’t in your future, this quality tends to enhance the durability of a relationship.)

Third, excitement over a new or provocative companion is a form of fear compensation. The energy of the excitement is intended to establish a bond of memories to help weather the turmoil as the satisfaction of security and joy replace the frenetic passions of the initial days. Repeating this process often engages the “meet and bond” hormone progressions into a habit rather than establishing a sustainable relationship.

Fourth, if you are proud of your buns of steel, I have to wonder whether your priorities are to spend time and effort *looking* good, or *being* a useful person to family and community. I feel the same about those I see that dress or act provocatively (attracting lots of desirous partners is *not* a quality you want in a shared life partner). “Sexy” should be part of a mating ritual, once the mate is selected. Only.

And, yes, I do get that your response is not meant seriously. Seriously.

@ Rob,

I suspect there is a misunderstanding, that perceives “Transition” as a new age, hippy bunch on Dr. Wahl’s (nine cups of veggies a day) diet.

Blessed be!

Hey Rob, I recently typed ‘Cabaret Voltaire’ into Youtube and the top ‘featured video’ was an ad for SAGA holidays for the over 50s, which I found profoundly depressing for some reason….

Indeed Graham. A profoundly depressing experience I should imagine.

Excuse me, you lot! Some of us are over 60 and still cycle across countries, and do a lot more as well!!
Maturity is built day by day, through, among other activities, regular physical exercise. It’s not just about vanity; it’s about constructing a healthy 3rd age, especially as the NHS bites the dust, and pensions ditto. Take responsibility for building one’s life-long health, not just through diet, but also through willing to do what it takes to keep fit. This also adds resilience. How many people in their 60s in the general population of the UK are comfortable stepping out to walk 10 miles, for example? And when the petrol runs out, it’s a good skill to have….

Jennifer,

I think there is another side to physical activity. (http://bradsworldview.blogspot.com/2012/04/recreation-in-transition.html)

Cycling for recreation, engaging in activity to “keep fit”, presupposes affluence to allot the time, and cheap energy to support the activity, for “healthy” recreation. I think. Historical activities to assure fitness were related to faith (Yoga) and martial arts for community or national security (Judo, Kung Fu), etc.

Gardens will be tended, food and shelter secured, families will thrive. Those are reasons health is needed. Active skills are useful in helping neighbors, or in rebuilding after ravages of weather, flood, fire, and other mayhem.

The golden years in a healthy community would replace experienced workers with younger, so that the wise heads can assure the training of the young and continuity of community wisdom. Maintaining the vigor of maturity as long as possible is part of the very real but informal wealth of family and community.

Don’t underestimate the impact of the ‘end of suburbia moment’, especially when viewed repeated times!

Working as a gardener gives you buns of steel, because you spend so much time kneeling on the ground bent over, supporting the weight of your torso with your bum muscles. Like the chap above, I find it difficult to choose between the oodles of loving, responsible, charismatic human beings (in whose community I would love to raise children!)who are irresistably attracted by my ‘transition bum’!

thanks f’r y’r presence&consciousness on th’web,rob,
like you are a theraputic voice in global discontent
& maybe will participate in healing-center visioned
in hawaii for the next millenium, uh, tho i have no
sense of_time_, like, & hope one day you’ll join us
…etc…

Somewhere in the bowels of YouTube/Google are programmers whose responsibility is to construct the mathematical algorithms that computers use to decide which ads to display with what content.

As denizens of a capitalist society, we can assume that these programmers are rewarded when they tweak their algorithms in ways that produce more profit from ad sales for Google. So in the strange world of advertising and algorithms, it would appear that the programmers have discovered that ads for firmer buttocks are more profitable when displayed with Transition Culture content than ads for other products–or so we must conclude if the same or similar ads continue to appear with TC content.

Google will never expose these profitable if seemingly inscrutable algorithms to public view. Perhaps we should read the TC content more closely to see if we can identify some candidate words or phrases that trigger Google’s computers to cough up the buns ad?

@ Kayos,

I would worry about those “who are irresistably attracted by my ‘transition bum’!”

Anyone fixated on physical features will likely remain fixated — and be distracted by others. Instead, look for someone fascinated with you. Your most important feature should be your smile; your most critical objective should be “do I enjoy making him happy?” If you have trouble making him happy (this especially includes maintaining ‘transition bums’), and if making him/her happy isn’t a joy for you — that is a real problem, and I think a reason to change plans.

And don’t confuse humor with joy; there is no humor without pain, or humiliation, or denigrating (making fun) of someone.