Archive
4-Nov-2010 minimalism vs. the corporation
I really like this:
Every aspect of our lives have been pervaded by corporations. We eat not just fresh, simple food grown from local farms, but processed food (sometimes “organic” processed food) packaged by corporations, or fried up at chain restaurants. Coffee brewed by Starbucks. Computers made by Apple. Programs from Microsoft and Adobe. Shoes by Nike, clothes by Gap, homes by Crate & Barrel. We spend time at the malls, watch TV shows and movies made by major entertainment conglomerates, read books and magazines and newspapers by those same conglomerates, listen to our iPods, watch on the iPad, talk on the iPhone or Blackberry, get our email through Google or Apple, say hello on Facebook, get our news from CNNand The New York Times Company, do our workout at Gold’s, eat our Weight Watchers, connect via Verizon.
And yes, I’m a part of this.
What part of our lives isn’t controlled by corporations? A tiny portion, one that’s shrinking rapidly.
Minimalism is a way to shake free of those shackles, slowly. It’s a way of saying, “I don’t need to buy more, to work more in order to get more of your products and services. In fact, I can be happy, content, joyful, creative without spending a single dime. All I need is the sun and the trees and the water and a good friend.”
Minimalism is finding ways to live that aren’t controlled by the corporations.
A human being is a living, feeling complex organism whose single goal is the perpetuation of its genes through survival and reproduction. A corporation is a non-living, non-feeling complex organization whose single goal is earning more profits for its shareholders. And while I’m not against making money, I do think that the pure profit motive isn’t always compatible with our survival interests as human beings.
Consider: a corporation wants to maximize profits, and to do so it will often cut corners, endangering our health and the environment. It will deceive us so that we will spend our money on its products. It will treat its employees horribly, to cut costs and drive up production. It will treat living, feeling animals like objects to be manufactured, cut up, processed, fried and packaged, ignoring the suffering of those animals because profits matter, not compassion. It will happily make us fat, because it knows that selling fried food devoid of nutrition is good for profits, while we die from heart disease and diabetes and cancer. Our earth is being devastated, which is good for profits but not for us as humans.
It’s time to stop this madness. The corporation is a hungry beast, and we keep feeding it. Let’s walk away, and let it die from hunger. Let’s free ourselves, and create a world where living things are more important than profits.
from here: http://mnmlist.com/corporations/
6-Jun-2009 That Was The Week That Was
Last Saturday I ran the Helensburgh loop starting from Garie Beach (28k all up). I knew I would the only one to front but I didn’t much care. started 7am very cold and looked like rain. I took my ipod along for its first run in about 3months – I had everything from the Osmonds, Bay City Rollers to Pearl Jam, Sham 69 etc. cool as.
I had planned to just run with water and buy some bananas but at the last moment I remembered I had a truckload of clip2. I think its about 3 years out of date but that stuff never goes off. I screwed up as I was taking 2 handhelds and put both packs in one bottle so emptied into a bowl, mixed and put in the right bottles.
During the run I had periods of drizzle and periods of no drizzle. Later in the morning the sun came thru, but 10mins after I got home it absolutely teemed it down. I took no food or gus at all, and refilled the bottle I’d emptied at a tap Helesnburgh, and bought 3 bananas for $2, ate 2 straightaway and carried the other which I had going past Helensburgh station and put the skin in a bin there. Route finding was easy about from a dodgy right hand turn near the freeway just after Helensburgh playing fields, Helensburgh dump (which I will revisit before RNP on 11-Jul to ensure I have it right). I have marked what I think is the best route now on the run map. There was also a sneaky left hand turn off the de burgh track which I have alway missed and so have always added on a few km.
I finished approx 12:20 so 5h 20m. I’d say I could do it in about 4h 30m next time and won’t need a map, so could go even lighter. I knew I’d be in strife with the missus, and was big time. I told her that I had a fantastic run and she couldn’t say anything to take away from it – she admitted that there was no real problem me being out so long and that she felt she missed out and wanted to go too. She could but she doesn’t want to run for much longer than 2-3hrs these days.
Looking back now, I feel it was a SUPERB route to run – although I love the bush, I always prefer runs with a bit of everything, roads, single track, 4wd, sand, etc. This run has it all. Even Helensburgh dump is ok and is passed in the blink of an eye.
I was of course cactus for the rest of the day (Saturday).
On Sunday I ran with the missus from the Trig point to Big Marley and return (12km all up).
I ran quite strongly given the day before’s exercise, but Dawn whacked me coming back uphill. It’s 6km downhill then 6km uphill. However I felt really pleased with my effort.
Monday I started to get the flu as per the rest of the family had over the weekend and Tuesday I was cactus. I received about 50 pairs of old running shoes int he post from Canberra and also a request to send 100+ pairs to the running group in Port Moresby PNG so that should work ok (I have about 60 pairs in the garage already).
Weds I went to the striders committee mtg in the evening and so didn’t get home till late. Its my last committee mtg as we have virtually wrapped up six foot for this year and ongoing the race director is Colin. However I opened my big mouth at the wrong time as usual and am now on a small subcommittee thing to look at the striders website, database and other IT bits.
TV-wise this week – I don’t watch much TV – shameless and office tigers. I saw shameless on Mon but missed office tigers due to being at the striders committee mtg – so saw it online from the sbs tv website.
On Friday I went out after work and had a couple of beers. maybe that’s why I feel a bit cactus today (mmm I like that word and it has a variety of meanings).
I saw this on a weblink this week and I like it:
I have always liked little quotes and have been collecting them on my website for years, in particular my jottings & other un-ordered notes, but I have just started collecting little ones on images (here)
I also get a lot of email (I get rss feeds converted to email and sent to me via this tool) one of them seems a bit off the planet for a feral trail runner, but I like Gala Darling a fashion-blog – the latest update is here
I also bought the latest uncut music mag as they had an article on madness. the cover cd was all about songs about London – it had one of squeeze, chris difford, playing a version of up the junction. I love that song and have done since the day it was released. I then spent about an hour listening to various versions on the internet – for example :
- Chris Difford – Up The Junction
- Squeeze – Up the Junction (original version from Top Of The Pops)
- Glenn Tilbrook – Up The Junction
- Travis – Up The Junctio
- Lily Allen – Up The Junction
- Ben Gibbard – Up The Junction
- Barker ‘n’ ‘Artley – Up The Junction
- The View – Up The Junction (Scots accent to die for!)
- Sul1961 – Up The Junction
13-Apr-2009 A new start
Well, it’s been some time since I last posted.
Stop apologising for the things you’ve never done,
Cos time is short and life is cruel
But its up to us to change
I am not good at posting to blogs when I feel stressed and my running generally does a nose-dive also.
I am guessing the stress was six foot -induced and that’s over with for another year (no doubt I will post about that at some stage).
Actually my running went well over Xmas and Jan as per most years but then dropped off in Feb and March and picked up again in April (fairly obviously as Six foot is in March).
I would like to start posting more as it helps ME sort out the ideas buzzing around in my head to something that means something to ME.
Coolrunning is going great – I do less and less. Got some great people helping the site along. Although I should work out a formal way to handover to the one person that will run it. I am getting a buzz back into my running again and I like it.
Been reading heaps as always. The most memorable was Jude the obscure by Thomas Hardy. Probably one of the saddest things I have ever read, but familiar (criss-crossed Wessex many times) and also me and my missus often choose the most tortuous options also. I also read a lot of blogs and internet stuff.
Some of my current faves are:
Digital Nomads: http://www.digitalnomads.com
Free economy community: http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/blog.php
This is my heart it’s a good heart: http://finallyseeing.tumblr.com
Been listening to a lot of music also – some old, some new etc sometimes on my ipod, sometimes podcasts, some downloaded stuff. As usual it’s just an eclectic mix. Sometimes I will listen to youtubes, or random bands I have read about or other people’s mixtapes downloaded etc.
Maybe I’ll stop there, so I can keep some other things to say later.
As this was posted on my old blog I did get one comment from my friend moondust:
I spotted you yesterday walking very determinedly through Wynyard station on your way (I’m guessing) from the Martin Place building to the Kent St. Some of the stress probably coming from there also. Just control the things you can control and deal with the rest one thing at a time.
Thomas Hardy is way too depressing for me these days, although he writes female characters very well. There’s a really good BBC mini-series of Jude the Obscure, with Robert Powell playing Jude. May be out on DVD. Very intense – teenage girl stuff.
01-Dec-2006 Mantra
My mantra for the last month has been : Do The Simplest Thing That Could Possibly Work I am not into mantras or affirmations but that one phrase has been stuck in my head and going round and round. Makes a lot of sense.
Mission accomplished 
Kevin Tiller 
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