There is ‘an equivalent to a spinal cord running down the center of every single arm.’
Source: Why every arm of an octopus moves with a mind of its own | Popular Science
Category Archives: inspiration
On Dieter Roth – by Ross Simonini – A Lie Before Its Time
Monday Musings — 18NOV24
It time to Gird your loins folks. It’s time to do battle and get to work.
I don’t think the next 4 years (hope that’s all it will be) is going to be great for lot of people. In fact if Trump does half of what he’s telegraphed, then it’s going to be really shitty. So get ready to put some hard work into the things you feel are important, and that the elites are going to try to fuck up.
I put some resources in last week’s Musings, and a few more since then. Check them out.
So, I’m handicapped. Can drive myself, don’t leave the house as much as I used to (especially in the cold weather), I’m weak (can barely lift myself out of a chair), all that crap. I can write and make art still. Thank goodness for that. Have all (or most) of my faculties. So I can still read, also. I can’t join protests, making it to meetings is, while not impossible, not practical, unless it’s via Zoom or something. It’s not something I worried about, even a couple of years ago, but there you have it. I do what I can. Around the house I do chores, with lots of rest breaks, I cook, etc. I work in my studio, when I can. Some days motivation is damn nigh nonexistent, others it comes back.
So I do my art, I write this blog. Which I hope can be motivating for you all. I donate money to causes (not much). I Zoom with some people who help me motivate to write the comic I’m working on. I do what I can. You should to.
On that note, I’m an old fart, and there’s an organization for older people who want to make a difference. Read about it:
Ten Free Ebooks for Getting Free | HaymarketBooks.org
“What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. You have to defend each other. You have to fight.” —Mike Davis At Haymarket, we believe that books are crucial tools in struggles against racism, imperialism, and capitalism—and for a better world. That’s why we’ve decided to make TEN key ebooks free to download: join us in reading these indispensable works of analysis, history, and strategy. Wherever each of us live, work, and are in community: the time is now to build power and fight back, together. A note for UK readers: Hope in the Dark, Freedom is a Constant Struggle, and Elite Capture are not available for readers in the UK. And, don’t miss out! Until Friday, November 15th, ALL Haymarket Ebooks are 80% Off (that means they’re available for just $2 each)!
Source: Ten Free Ebooks for Getting Free | HaymarketBooks.org
Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid as a concept was first broached by Peter Kropotkin in 1902 (although the concept is older than that.) in a book of Essays called Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution.
He argued against Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory, and this has become somewhat of a tenet among anarchists.
You can buy a beautiful copy of it here: https://blog.pmpress.org/authors-artists-comrades/peter-kropotkin/#mutualaid
Get a free copy here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution
Or buy it on B&N:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mutual-aid-peter-kropotkin/1101158703?ean=9780241355336
Also there’s a new book titled Mutual Aid by Dean Spade.
You can get it wherever fine books are sold. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mutual-aid-peter-kropotkin/1101158703?ean=9780241355336
Here’s him talking about it, and organizing.
Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world.
Organizing is what mutual aid is about, and it’s easy to do. You can just help your neighbor with a project, that is mutual aid. (The Amish know how to do this.) Start, or contribute to, a community garden, or a community tool share. Small things as well as big things.
Here’s a link to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, which is helping in the wake of the devastating hurricanes, down south.
I’m going to close this here, I think I’ve given plenty of links to get you started with this. Good luck.
Solidarity not charity.
Arcimboldo-esque Portraits Emerge from Tools of the Trade in Early 19th-Century Aquatints — Colossal
Around 1800, London-based published Samuel William Fores continued the playful tradition of composite portraiture in a series of aquatints.
Source: Arcimboldo-esque Portraits Emerge from Tools of the Trade in Early 19th-Century Aquatints — Colossal
This Newfoundland Community Pays No Property Tax, Governs Itself – NTD CANADA
How many hobbies is too many? • Buttondown
bookofjoe: Henry Miller’s work schedule c. 1932-33
Metapolis | Work After Coronavirus
Bob Black is an American social philosopher known for his work on anarchism. The author of various books and numerous political essays, he specializes in the sociology and ethnography of law. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Georgetown Law School. He is most widely known for his 1985 essay «The Abolition of Work,» which has been widely disseminated in at least 13 languages. His most recent publication, «Instead of Work,» includes a compendium of his writings and an update on his 1985 essay.
This article is a continuation of that work, and i found it to be an interesting read of some of the potential things that could , and have happened since Corona. (Link to full article at bottom.)
The general tendency will be toward local autonomy amidst regional diversity. Local neighborhoods and settlements will not be fortified, gated communities with delusions of sovereignty. Regions, cultural regions, will often focus on bioregions, with permeable boundaries. [51] Diversity will flourish locally, regionally, and internationally. We will be better off by exploring the possibilities of what is closer. Big cities have brought us together physically, but separated us socially. Big workplaces have done the same thing. Mass society has given rise to «the lonely crowd»: [52] people being alone together. Paradoxically, social distancing might complement bringing people together emotionally, in a shared way of life that is more sociable than mass society.Is it contrived for me to promote this agenda as a response to the COVID-19 crisis? Of course, I do not think so. The virus is a challenge to other ideologies too, and maybe to all ideologies. Health issues, especially public health issues, are often not just health issues. Contagious disease is clearly not just a private concern for individuals and their physicians. It is a social issue. Even the physicians know that. And they know that diet, rest, safety, anxiety, insecurity, and even sociability strongly influence physical and mental health. How we live has a lot to do with how long we live, and with how well we live. Fatigue, stress, boredom, and even a touch of fear, which are often inflicted by work – they really are hazardous to your health! They adversely affect the immune system. And they just do not feel good. Maybe happiness is healthy. And maybe freedom is healthy.