Manufacturing Consent
August 17, 2010 | by Maxwell | Comment
As one of our brightest suns, Noam Chomsky, begins to set, we should again take note, before his light has gone out, of his contribution to the unending discourse between deception and truth.
“Verily, the universe swims in light. Everything is alive and alight. Man too is the recipient of inexhaustible radiant energy. Strange, only in the mind of man is there darkness and paralysis.
A little too much light, a little too much energy (here on earth), and one is rendered unfit for human society. The reward of the visionary is the madhouse or the cross. A grey, neutral world is our natural habitat, it would seem. It has been for a long time now. But that world, that condition of things, is passing.”
-Henry Miller 1963
Tags: Henry Miller > media > mind fuck > Noam Chomsky
The American Tourist
August 8, 2010 | by Leah | Comment
Last month, Obama and his family landed in Bar Harbor, Maine for a “two-day private vacation” around the island and Acadia National Park. Yesterday, I hopped from Brooklyn to Boston to Bar Harbor myself to help revive a tradition that began back when my grandfather spent 1960s summers working at Jackson Laboratory. Towns along the coast like Bar Harbor rely on the warm months to generate income for most of the year. Businesses are small, locally owned, and fueled by crowds of tourists. There isn’t a Starbucks in sight. This is good ol’ American capitalism.
Or is it?? The allure of the small town may be lost in nostalgia. My childhood memories of Bar Harbor include ordering a vanilla frappe at the soda counter of the Rexall, filling up on penny candy at Bee’s, and picking blueberries on a hillside. Though these things still exist today, they’re overshadowed by business, however big or small, catering to the American tourist. Store after store stack moose and lobster themed tzotchkes in the windows. Others advertise their wind chimes and paperweights in Papyrus font. The search for authenticity is difficult, if not futile. I’d love to comb a thrift store for an old moose pin or roughed-up sweatshirt, but I have yet to find one. Obama’s visit meant one thing for Bar Harbor: more money. And that’s what’s important, right?
High Definition: Affluenza
July 15, 2010 | by Maxwell | Comment
n. 1. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.
2. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.
3. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by pursuit of the American Dream.
4. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.
Read more about the pandemic here.
Pollution of the Mental Environment
May 24, 2010 | by Maxwell | Comment
Micah White‘s new anti-advertising message is refreshing, albeit reminiscent of a quick-hit advertisement. Watch with caution.
Drink Sustainably?
April 1, 2010 | by Dylan | Comment
With just about the worst tag line ever, you have to applaud the Betacup contest for choosing a tangible, real-life problem to address. Betacup is awarding 20,000 USD to the best concept that redesigns the way we consume disposable paper coffee cups. While many would argue that drinking coffee sustainably means not importing it from far away places, Betacup is challenging people to submit ideas that offer a convenient coffee-on-the go solution to the 200+million North American coffee consumers who chew through 58 billion cups per year. Whether or not we’ll be able to drink coffee sustainably, these guys have the right idea and I’m curious to see what solutions come of it. Check it out at www.thebetacup.com
Not Just Old Clothes
January 13, 2010 | by Leah | 2 Comments
By the end of the Second World War, the mass-production of clothing had been honed into almost the same machine it is today. Â Over the next 20 years, fashions in stores became more and more alike and people began turning to thrift stores and yard sales to find what they really wanted. Â The first vintage clothing stores opened in the 1970s. Â From then on, used clothing has become completely commodified, blurring the line between a garment that is “authentic vintage” and one that is just plain used.
Today’s vintage market perfectly juxtaposes old clothing with modern commercialism. Â That vintage sweater from Screaming Mimi‘s or Nasty Gal wasn’t always cleaned and styled and packaged up so nicely for you. Â It didn’t carry a $100 price tag either. Â No; after its first life in the 80s or 90s, it was pulled, crumpled and damp, from a bail of clothing in a rag house, worth only pennies.
A rag house is a used clothing retailer: unsold thrift stock is compacted into bails and shipped into their warehouse. Â They can receive bails of apparel, shoes, belts, bags, fabric remnants, etc.
The warehouse of EMR, or Environmental Material Recovery, in Los Angeles Read more
Christmas List Catch 22
December 15, 2009 | by Dylan | 2 Comments
Today is December 15th and my mom continues to remind me that she needs me to write down a list of things I want for Christmas. I am like you. I like things. Many things are valuable to me and some things, I’m sure, are necessary for living. Somewhere along the line, long before I was born, thing-makers decided to make shitty-things – either that or we decided on (or were tricked into) liking shitty-things - I’m not really sure. I’ve heard of many scholars researching these ideas and finding valid whos, whens and whys on our acceptance of shitty-things but for me, it’s simply a matter of common sense. I don’t want any more shitty-things[period] I told my mom that this is the reason I have trouble making a list of things I want – I simply don’t know if the things I want exist. Maybe only cheap replicas of the things I want exist. Let it be known – there are manufacturers that still believe in the quality of their product; that still “make ‘em like they used to.” BillyKirk is really great example… that’s why I wanted to share this video.
[foot note]
There exists a dilemma, however.
Most people can’t afford nice things (or even healthy food for that matter) The things that are accessible to people like me tend only to be industrial replicas of nice things that once-upon-a-time actually held value and were passed down generations. The realization that the only things I ‘legitimately want’ are either used and impossible to find or hand made and too expensive makes the annual Christmas List quite a challenge for me to create, if not a ‘catch 22′ in itself. Sorry Ma’ just get me a box of Ferrero Rocher – I’ll love you either way.
Apoca-potpourri
December 4, 2009 | by Maxwell | Comment
Yet another indicator of the looming apocalypse.
Just in time for Christmas!
December 2, 2009 | by Maxwell | 1 Comment
The well-informed Annie Leonard simplifies the big ideas of today in her on-going video series. In this short, Annie gives a light and friendly presentation of the dark and terrifying blender that is, consumer culture. Find more of Annie’s short films here.
RECAP: Buy Nothing Day 2009
November 29, 2009 | by Dylan | 2 Comments
We held the first ever Kensington Park Neighborhood Exchange on Friday in celebration of Buy Nothing Day 2009 – Basically it was a small scale swap meet where everyone & anyone was invited to bring things with value to trade for other things of value – We traded with food, tools, clothes and music and most importantly not with money. Now with all due respect, I must apologize because it was thrown together a bit last minute but I was really excited by the turn out. It was a blast and we got to hang out with some new friends. It was such a nice day to relax outside in the park – Keegan cooked some killer potatoes and we got a little frisbee in too. My vote for the best trade of the day is tied between, Kevin trading the Ken Cinema a Jeff Buckley CD for a tray of popcorn and the three-way trade that involved an IggyPop record, Hard Ticket to Hawaii VHS, and a Budweiser track jacket.
