After many years of Southern California living, I am moving out of Los Angeles. I love the weather, the sunshine, and the ocean! I do not love the shallow plastic people, the traffic, or the sprawl. But mostly, the main reason I am leaving is that the energy does not feel good here anymore.
“Energy” can mean a lot of things…and I’m talking somewhat of the “chi” of traditional Chinese medicine but also the “energy” of emotion. Cities and locations can have energies. When I first moved to Los Angeles (now aging myself by admitting this was in 1992, fresh [...]
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The ACLU is helping a guy in Arizona fight for the right to fly a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag on his home. At issue is the Homeowners Association (HOA), which is making a stink about the flag. The “Gadsden flag” as it is also known, has been popular in the Ron Paul movement as an icon for constitutionalists. Now it’s also used by many Tea Party members, though the man in question claims he’s not involved with the Tea Party.
Of course, this is not the first instance of an HOA [...]
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Fascinating article from BBC News about a new “Cult of Less,” where adherents let go of their possessions, digitize as much as possible, and sometimes even forgo homes altogether:
….Chris Yurista, a DJ from Washington, DC, cites this trend in digital music as one reason he was able to hand over the keys to his basement apartment over a year ago.
“It’s always nice to have a personal sense of home, but that aside – the internet has replaced my need for an address,” the 27-year-old said.
Since boxing up his physical possessions and [...]
Read the rest of this entry »I was riding the Los Angeles airport shuttle that connects long-term parking and the bus terminal to the airport. A young woman was sitting next to me and conveying the story of her ride to the airport to a man standing nearby:
“I’m late. I was coming down the 405 and there was a 3-car pile-up. I sat in what became a parking lot for 25 minutes!!”
The 25 minutes seemed to be a big deal to her, and I figured she must not be an L.A. “native.” A 25-minute delay? That’s not much by Los Angeles terms.
The man responded to to [...]
Read the rest of this entry »My main interest in blogging right now is in looking at what’s coming up for America and the human race as a whole. We’re in very uncertain times. On the doom and gloom side, you’ll hear things like “New World Order,” “Peak Oil,” “Climate Change.” On the very pessimistic side of things you’ll even hear “World War III.” On the optimistic (more “new agey” side of the spectrum) you’ll hear “Transformation,” “2012,” “A New Beginning,” “Age of Aquarius,” and “Enlightenment.”
So on the one side, we have people fearing a Mad Max scenario, and on the other, visions of an earthly utopia where [...]
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I'm relaunching my blog and have a lot of little things that need to be done here. It should be getting back in order soon. :-)