An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent
Transition Culture has moved
I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.
Sometimes I pass things so ridiculous I have to go back again for a second look. The other day I was near Paignton, and I passed a zebra crossing and its attendant Belisha beacons (see right). Interesting fact for the day (or quite possibly not), Belisha beacons are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha (1895-1957), the Minister of Transport who introduced them in the 1930s. The idea of Belisha beacons is straightforward, a black and white stripey pole with a yellow flashing globe on top which shows people where to cross the road. The yellow flashing light has long been considered adequate in attracting attention and which in turn insinuates where the stripey pole is to be found (if anyone should be interested). This Belisha beacon near Paignton had come up with an ingenious, energy-wasting way of solving a problem that I never knew existed, lighting the pole up from within!
So, ‘Sex and the City’ wasn’t the only film I saw this week, as it turns out (amazing how many comments that piece generated!). I also had the pleasure to see the excellent new film ‘Garbage Warrior’ which focuses on the life and work of Michael Reynolds, who developed the concept of the Earthship, homes built using waste materials, most famously old car tyres. Here is the film’s trailer;
I had a rare visit to the cinema the other night, not with anything in particular to watch but just to see what we might fancy. The only thing that wasn’t a horror film or a children’s film was ‘Sex and the City’, so we went to watch that. I haven’t watched any of the TV programmes so I was a bit lost, but really, what a load of rubbish. I have never seen more product placement, more vacuous people and more costume changes in a single film in my life. Anyway, that, in essence is my film review, but the one thing that stuck with me about the film was something that came as a deep shock and which I thought was quite extraordinary.
Here is an article from one of our local newspapers published last Friday, which takes a Transition-tinged look at the current oil crisis.
Why Oil Crisis Could be Trigger for a Better Future. Western Morning News. 20th June 2008
Crude oil prices trading at a record 140 a barrel. Truck driver strikes leading to panic buying at petrol stations across the country. Saudi Arabia promising to pump more oil after desperate calls from world leaders. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the global economy’s third oil price shock.
There is something delightful about the whole experience of making a clay pizza oven. The creativity of the work, the smell of woodsmoke, the feeling of your skin after a day immersed in clay and sand, the great sense of being part of a team, and the elemental connection with mixing earth, water, straw and fire and producing that great human staple, bread. I just spent the last couple of Sundays making one at my kids school, and it was delightful. Rather than writing a long piece about it, here are some photos to tell the story of the process.
How might our response to peak oil and climate change look more like a party than a protest march? This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations
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Sometimes I pass things so ridiculous I have to go back again for a second look. The other day I was near Paignton, and I passed a zebra crossing and its attendant Belisha beacons (see right). Interesting fact for the day (or quite possibly not), Belisha beacons are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha (1895-1957), the Minister of Transport who introduced them in the 1930s. The idea of Belisha beacons is straightforward, a black and white stripey pole with a yellow flashing globe on top which shows people where to cross the road. The yellow flashing light has long been considered adequate in attracting attention and which in turn insinuates where the stripey pole is to be found (if anyone should be interested). This Belisha beacon near Paignton had come up with an ingenious, energy-wasting way of solving a problem that I never knew existed, lighting the pole up from within!
