Two sides, same coin — The challenges presented by climate chaos and the Covid-19 pandemic have both elicited cultural responses that superficially appear to be opposed to one another, but that end up working hand-in-hand to bolster a status quo that’s intrinsically harmful to everyone. Both succeed by appealing to wishful thinking. In the case…

Some of what I liked while exploring the question, “Does music nowadays suck?” — A year ago, in January 2022, I ran across an article listing the top 25 songs of 2021 according to Billboard magazine. Now, I’d stopped actively following the national music scene and the Billboard Hot 100 back in the ’90s when I was living in Boston because the local music…

We must set aside political & personal zealotry and learn from the terrible events unfolding — China recently relaxed its COVID policy and the virus is now running rampant. Though exact numbers are not available, we are hearing about overburdened hospitals, emptied pharmacy shelves, and corpses backing up at crematoria. There are also reports about the government expanding hospitals and ICUs and closing down schools, so…

Our subjectivity serves a purpose, but is not the final word — There’s no such thing as a “bad” plant. There are only particular plants in particular places at particular times that particular people have called “bad” for particular reasons. That’s a lot of “particulars.” Too many to plausibly claim that one is describing anything intrinsic about the nature of the plant…

The influx of out-of-staters is making the streets more dangerous — I gotta say, crossing the street as a pedestrian in Portland is much more of a challenge than it used to be! Fortunately for me, I learned how to be assertively safe as a pedestrian when I lived in Boston where the drivers are actively aggressive, so there’s nothing that…

Welcome to the Failing States of America — When I was growing up in the ’70s, a common vision of the dystopian future was a bleak, industrialized landscape where everyone has to wear gas-masks because of pollution. The image goes back further still; speaking on the campaign trail in 1968, RFK warned a classroom of children that unless…

Choosing paper over plastic — You can make pots for veggie starts out of newspaper instead of using plastic pots, or peat pots. One of the biggest advantages of paper over plastic is that newspaper pots can be put directly into the ground, so there is much less disturbance to the plant. This makes newspaper…

It’s more economical and is fun besides — I can’t remember where I first heard this recipe, but it was over a decade ago, and it’s still the best one I know of. If you’re doing lots of starts (as in hundreds), this is much more economical than buying bags of potting mix. This is what we’re using…

It’s not about drawing a line — I posted an article on social media about a scientists who believe that mushrooms “talk” to each other. Fascinating stuff. In response, someone made this comment to my post: “my son and I were talking about this today… so now that plants, trees, fungi, animals, and so forth all talk…