Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.

In an uncharacteristic fit of romantic desire, free from the guilt-inducing sins of hangover or forehead glitter, I randomly and voluntarily decided to get my wife flowers. It's been a while, some might say far too long, but I wanted to do something special.

Daunted by the price tags, I sat there in a haze as I tried to break down the cost per ounce --as if I was buying cheese or bulk laundry detergent-- all for an item who's prophesy had been subsequently foretold: store to home, home to vase, vase to shelf, shelf to compost. Basically, it would be $60 to buy something just to watch it's slow, quiet death. How did this tradition begin?

Fortunately, there was a local nursery across the street and I decided to see what they had to offer. The combination of their aisle-after-aisle Ohio grown roses and the warm humid weather sprung my wallet into action, and I was out the door two ripe hybrid tea Peace roses (perfect, given the warm political, romantic and environmental climates).

Fast forward to one week later...

While the romantic sentiment took well, I wholeheartedly admit that I have never been an avid gardener, and our house has, for some time, been the Guantanamo Bay of gardens. My black thumb has consumed more plants than a Cheech and Chong movie, and it's all because of my laziness. On the first day I'll water and coddle, on the second day I'll just water, and on the third day I drink beer. Fourth day usually involves buying more beer and drunkenly pulling up dead plants. So what's a lazy beer connoisseur to do?

Well, for us lethargic gardeners that rent our homes, but consistently search for permanent solution sans permanent solution prices, Book of Joe had an interesting April 13th solution.

From the Picket Fence website:

Watering Made Easy Original Sprinkler System
The easy way to green grass. Here’s a permanent, hidden sprinkler that costs a fraction of the cost of an underground system. Click on your garden hose — no screwing. Sprinkler pops up as it waters up to 70 ft. diameter. Installs quickly and stays in place, adjusted as you set it. Simply mow over it. Includes sprinkler assembly, hose quick-connect, protection shell and cover, twine for determining location and layout guide. $39.95


Definitely more appealing than the temporary set-up of a Yard Camel and I'd honestly consider a purchase, but while I like the idea, I was trying to figure out if there was a way that I could set it up with a greywater reclamation system (remember the Aqus post?).

For instance, take the gray water package units from Brac Systems. It's all well and good from an ambitious standpoint, but tell me if this looks like a renter's set-up...


I'd be happy to invest 10% with our current landlord for its installation, but even if I was a homeowner, this project would daunting in scale alone. So I was wondering...

Given the ease of installation with of a rain catchment barrel, combined with the ease of use of a temporary sprinkler system, compounded with the impermanence of its implementation, given the power of water pressure as a result of gravity, could you hack it to be both eco-friendly AND affordable to the masses? Basically, could you do this...If we're going to utilize gravity to push the water through the pipes, the barrel would most likely need to be a tad bit higher than shown in my shoddy Photoshop rendition. But all in all, I think the concept could work. This way, you wouldn't need to permanently install the application, but could choose where you wanted to use the typically wasted rainwater in your yard or garden.

Version 2.0 attaches to the commode so I'll spare you the stinky details, but you get the point. Anybody want to hack this and tell me how it goes?

A World at Peace...

Guess who's only 12 years away from retirement?

No, not Lavar Burton, although the rainbow reader is 50.

It's the Peace Symbol!


Seems like only yesterday it was just a lonely circle...

In honor of this special day, Happy Birthday Peace has been set up so that you may create your own version of this wonderful symbol. As for myself, instead of creating some unschooled Photoshop monstrosity, I decided to study the philosophy I've come to advocate, but never really explore.

For starters, why do we fight? Religious posturing? Not if any of these books/scholars/scriptures are taken to heart. Let's explore...

***

Christianity
Blessed are the gentle,for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted on account of justice, for theirs is the sovereignty of heaven.
Jesus in Matthew 5:5-10

Confucianism
Tzu-Kung asked: "Is there one principle upon which one's whole life may proceed?" The Master replied, "Is not Reciprocity such a principle? ...what you do not yourself desire, do not put before others."
Analects of Confucius, 14.22

Taoist
Those brave in killing will be killed. Those brave in not killing will live.Of these two, one is beneficial, and one is harmful.
Lao-zi, Tao Te Ching 73

Buddhist
Hate is never conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love. This is an eternal law.
Dhammapada 1

Sikhism
God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated.
Prayer for Peace

Judaism
What is hurtful to yourself do not to your fellow man. That is the whole of the Torah and the remainder is but commentary.
Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Sufism
The wars of mankind are like children's fights -all meaningless, pitiless and contemptible.
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Masnavi-I Ma'navi

Below: A Sufi dancer in Cairo, Egypt

Quakers
All Friends everywhere, this I charge you, which is the word of the Lord God unto you all, Live in peace, in Christ, the way of peace, and therein seek the peace of all men, and no man's hurt.
George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends

Shinto
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the
ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
Prayer for Peace

Bahá'í
There is not one soul whose conscience does not testify that in this day there is no more important matter in the world than that of Universal Peace.
'Abdu'l-Bahá

Islam
If anyone slew a person—unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land—it would be as if he slew the whole people. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
Koran, 5.32

Caodaism
We pray that the wisdom of the great tao be widely spread on earth. Shining the way to all creatures of nature's birth. May all humanity be redeemed, and our whole world know peace. And may the places we meet to worship you be granted safety's lease.
The Five Vows

Below: A Caodaist Temple in Viet Nam

Jainism
A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.
Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

***

Hmmmm...

But then again, isn't it taking books/scholars/scriptures to heart that, more often than naught, causes/justifies/catalyzes injustice and war? **sigh**

And sorry Wiccans...you're not as published on teh interwebs. Not to mention I was too nervous to search the Scientology website.

But I digress...so how did the peace symbol come to be?

Design Boom has a great article on the origins of the symbol as whole on the world stage:

The anti-nuclear emblem or the peace sign is one of the most widely known symbols in the world. It was invented on the request of Lord Bertrand Russel, head of the British 'campaign for nuclear disarmament' or CND and sponsor of mass marches and sit-downs in London. The graphic symbol was designed bygerald holtom, a member of the CND movement, as the badge of the 'direct action committee againstnuclear war', for the first demonstration against Aldermaston (a British research center for the development of nuclear weapons) in 1958. Holtom, a professional designer and a graduate of the London Royal College of Arts, had originally considered using the Christian cross symbol within a circle as the motif for the march, but various priest she had approached with the suggestion were not happy at the idea of using the cross on a protest march.

Interesting...a non-denominational approach to representational design. Which begs the question, where would this symbol be if had stuck to its Christian guns? Read more of the article HERE.

Of course, Design Boom also points out that "there have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations and that it was a 'symbol of death'." I don't care, I like the first explanation better.

What about the other peace sign, victory, that you can make with your hands? Well, the peace sign or victory salute is said to have begun in Europe during World War II when the V for victory (victoire in French, vrijheid in Dutch) sign was painted on walls in the dark as a symbol of freedom from occupying forces.

Oddly enough, it was also used as a sound, with the dot-dot-dot-dash (di-di-di-dah) of Morse code. Coincidentally this sounds a lot like the opening bars of Beethoven's Symphony No.5 (and the Roman numeral for 5 is V!). As a result these bars were (along with the Morse code signal) broadcast by the BBC constantly during the war and became known as 'Fate knocking at the door'. Very cool.

The victory sign was described as 'the most amazing piece of propaganda devised in this war'.
It became immortalized when Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill was repeatedly filmed using the sign as a victory salute. The sign was very widely used by peace movements in the 1960's and 70's as a symbol of victory for peace and truth, until Dick Nixon made it even more famous.
Want more peace-related goodness? Why not find out what happened this week in peace history? You'd be surprised how much peace you don't hear about. For instance, today is the anniversary of the WWI Paris Peace Conference.

On another front --this is something that relates on a whole different level-- this is a COMPREHENSIVE collection of historical progression in the United States Peace Corps. It's a pretty amazing account all things Corps. But what I found interesting was the story of its inception. Ideas+Words=Change.

Little known fact, while it was one of Kennedy's most enduring legacies, it started with fortuitous and unexpected moment. Kennedy, arriving late to speak to students at the University of Michigan (Go Bucks!) on October 14, 1960, found himself thronged by a crowd of 10,000 students at 2 o'clock in the morning. Speaking extemporaneously, the then-candidate challenged American youth to devote a part of their lives to living and working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He casually asked if students would back his effort to form a Peace Corps? Their response was immediate: within weeks, students organized a petition drive and gathered 1,000 signatures in support of the idea.

Below: President Kennedy greets the very first Peace Corps volunteers in August, 1962.

It's amazing what a dialog can start...

Toss me some ipecac...

I'm full. My dance card is packed to the gills. What's worse, my metaphors have lost their steam...

I'm stuffed this week, deadlines be damned. So the (now) traditional Wednesday post has been pushed back to Thursday.

My apologies.

But if you were wondering what might be on the docket for tomorrow, here's a hint:

Photo source.

It's there, if you want it.

I stand in silent protest...

Blog Action Day?

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

My uncertainty for the future is far too overpowering, so I don't think I can partipate.

"Can someone make hybrid cars as comfortable as a Bentley, please?" -Yoko Ono

Where are you, John? We could use a voice.

Oh right...shilling for Nike.*

*I know it's not his fault, but it still hurts.

9Volts won't save the world, but....

While stationed as a volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati, the lack of twilight lighting was a major issue for volunteers and students alike. Given the fact that many of the houses in the surrounding government stations would have solar or generator-powered fluorescent lighting, they were still of no help to the volunteers and I-Kiribati (native Kiribati) in the outer villages who only had oil lamps in which to study, cook and work. In some areas of the world children are able to improvise. However, isolated countries like Kiribati have little to offer in terms of industrial faculty and resourcefulness (when Air Kiribati was actually running, we only had one scheduled flight to and from our island per week).

We might take efficient lighting for granted in developed countries but as you can see from the Peace Corps project donation site, power and energy are on-going projects in a large portion of under-developed countries. With the understanding that lighting facilitates a higher standard of living, I've been looking anxiously for a simple solution.

I happened across Mathmos.com and and lit up when I saw their 9Volt project:


Clean, simple, undemanding design at its best.

BUT-there's always a but...


Are they over-priced? Yes. (I love the wine glasses)
At a sale price of 5 for $100, I don't see them falling into the hands of Guinea seventh graders any time soon.

Are they renewable? Not necessarily.
As the US industrialized, our position in the global pecking order proffered us the ability to progress at any speed we felt necessary - with or without the concerns of the environment at our conscience (See: Northwest Atlantic Cod - even in the early 90's!). So while many of these countries might not have a capable means to dispose of the batteries, it is unfortunately viable that they are so readily available. Why not afford them the same opportunities we had so that we may only need to teach one generation?* So...

...are the batteries really a problem? Not necessarily.
Take this design and do what inventors have been doing for years: run with it. Replace the battery with solar cells...what about higher lumen LED's... or non-electrochemical envirofriendly cells...maybe a secondary battery with a crank chargeable attachment for a bike chain...include a hand crank to store the charge...*subsidize the distribution with the help of a battery directive...and so on and so on and so on. If a concept like OLPC is plausible, then a battery/LED project is a piece of cake!

Just some thoughts for your Thursday morning...

Building takes peaces....

Architects for Peace asks that all professionals of the built environment provide 1% of their time to pro bono work.

Their pro bono services provide options to those who could not otherwise afford them. At the same time, such work encourages public discourse in relation to building and environment, forcing Architects and Planners to immediately ask: What impact will this building have on these people, their health and their city (as should be the process EVERY TIME). Truly a great way to promote education, participation and environmental reclamation.

How It Works:

Architects for Peace pro bono service acts as a bridge between community groups, non-profit agencies and charitable organisations that need architectural services but cannot afford to pay for them (the ‘Clients’) and professionals of the built environment who are prepared to work with these groups free of charge (the ‘Service Providers’). The roles of the Service Providers (arch-peace’s members), the Clients and the Arch-Peace pro bono team are explained in detail below. The main contractual relationship is between Clients and Service Providers, with Arch-Peace providing a linking and facilitating role. The process is illustrated in the following flow chart:


Now, I only wish we could get a forum similar to their "Transported" for the City of Columbus and their City Planners. I've all but given up on biking to/from work for safety reasons (not to mention two of our staff were struck by cars during Bike-to-work month). I still take the bus whenever I can, but the hour and 15 minute commute for a 10.6 mile trip leaves something to be desired.