My steps followed smatterings of heating oil in the corridor: the knee-jerk pulse of hanging lamps lifted those smatterings’ scent to me.
Overhead the sunlight glitters through playful pines.
The crystalline is formed by the emergence of patterns. Whispers bloom from this emergence.
Answers seek refuge away from the light. Unison emerges from the default.
Thoughts cautiously tumbling into depths define my attempts to grapple with the idea of self destruction. Many of us face such a challenge while remaining misunderstood. Why? If only I knew - if only I had such a mature vision.
Originally meant to be an essay, this piece encompasses a turning point in my writing. Life exists in cycles, but what is to be expected within each new cycle? We have hopes for the future, but never quite know what to expect of it. That, I suppose, is the spider’s wisdom.
So, what do you think? Do we live in a world - I mean - a society where design is relegated to the soft drink label and album cover? Does design span across wider dimensions? Is design a force that helps us to build relationships not only with one another, but with nature?
The internet has a great deal of potential, as is always echoed by those who work with it on a day-to-day basis. Through this medium, we approach age old challenges of building community or helping protect those who ask for such protection.
When studying at the Institute for Social Ecology, I stumbled across a heated debate over whether Bookchin’s conception of the dialectic was inherently dogmatic. What is the importance of nature philosophy? How do we define our own preconditions of development - both as individuals and a society?
In this piece, I attempt to give the concept of nurturing a more concrete definition. How can nurturance expand into the public sphere? What elements compose a nurturing environment under this paradigm of thought? At some point, however, we cannot deny the importance of psychodynamics in Social development. The conflation between the “animalistic” and “rational” established by Locke must not creep into the framework of a nurturing environment.
In late 2001 depression became a harsh reality in my life. Treatments promoted by the mainstream medical establishment seemed to be driving me deeper and deeper. Those who wanted to “help” tended to make me feel quite incapable of accomplishing things for myself. In the following piece, I try to make sense of all this.
Population growth is largely defined by technological factors. Societies that practice forms of agriculture can support populations roughly one hundred times greater than their hunter/gatherer counterparts. The question, of course, is whether other factors might contribute to population growth. What roles do the many components of culture play in population carrying capacity? How can these factors be tied into environmental sustainability?
The Quakers speak of being able to see “that of god” in all people - a sort of potentiality that transcends our roles, responsibilities and associations. In first person, my character grapples with the absurdity of being bombarded with “sacred truths” while trying to understand common connection. Can connection be a breaking point from complacency?
This photograph has something to do with the fashion industry… What I do remember is that it was fun to produce!
An earlier poem of mine, I spoke about a personally significant metaphor - the machine. During this time, I made a clear distinction between qualities of creativity and its antithesis, the machine. Disgusted with my entrapment in the machine, I excuse myself as but “a vile of poison.”
I wrote this piece at a time when I read a little too deeply into Bradd Shore’s work. I touch upon schema theory, structuralism and phenomenology in order to explain how social connections, under the framework of communalism, can bring about the reformation of cognitive schemata among people in society. Some day I will have to write a follow up to show my developments upon these ideas. How does power relate to cognition?
Some day, I hope to write a novel about our epic battle with the infamous machine metaphor. The metaphor is certainly fun to play with when touching upon the many challenges of a social movement. Shall we escape from its iron appendages or return to its depths to reform its inner-workings?
In this early essay, I began to incorporate meme theory and schema theory into a basic understanding of social change. What is the catalyst of cultural change? Years later, my conclusions have changed very little. Social change relies heavily upon understanding of context, social capital and the conditions that make change attractive. The trick, I finally learned, is how to tie these basic principals into my own life and learn to see such potential in others.