2 Apr 2011 @ 01:00
"Probably the best place to be in this situation [economic collapse precipitated by peak oil and a changing climate] would be on a subsistence farm in a village in Sub-Saharan Africa or someplace that's not much effected by what happens in the rest of the world. I think most people don't realize how vulnerable we are. For example, the food supply in the average city in the United States, if it's not daily renewed, would run out in about 3 days. There's not much of a buffer there. The system can come apart pretty fast."
This is a Native American flute solo I did in July 2009 for Jonathan McCuen.
I don't believe it was ever released. So let's call it a collectors item. :)
What an incredible summer it has been thus far at Calliote Canyon. All of our
guests have been awed by the beauty here and several are already booking their
returns.
We are offering a special summer rate, though most of July is already booked.
Check this out:
End of Summer Special
July-August
10% off 2-3 nights
$990 night (reg. $1100) 2-12 people/ 13+ $108 pp/pn
15% off 4+ nights
$935 night (reg. $1100) 2-12 people/ 13+ $102 pp/pn
plus 8% tax
$150 cleaning fee
children under 7 years stay free
$300-600 refundable damage deposit
Send me an email at: info@calliotecanyon if you have any questions or want to
inquire about specific dates
10 Oct 2008 @ 06:21
Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Barcelona
The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.
It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.
The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.
The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change.
It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress.
Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue. More >
7 Jun 2008 @ 07:48
First I want to thank Tyler, founder of ojaipost.com, for posting the opportunity and Gina Gutierrez, the Marketing Director of the Ojai Music Festival, for allowing me to attend last night’s concert at Libbey Bowl.
For me, particularly, it was a peak moment to listen to the music and meet the composer, Steve Reich, (Reich bio: [link]) who has been an enduring force in my life for thirty years. It was his brilliance, his approach to rhythm and harmony that inspired and influenced me to go to conservatory and get degrees in voice and composition.
Last night Steve Reich returned to Ojai with his signature minimalist works of past and present; His new Daniel Variations, a tribute to the late American reporter Daniel Pearl, was paired with his earlier known pieces Eight Lines, Nagoya Marimbas and his unconventional Four Organs.
We were treated to the remarkable talent of the Signal Contemporary Ensemble conducted by Brad Lubman. (Quite fun that Libbey Bowl borders Signal Street) Lubman founded Signal along with cellist and co-artistic director Lauren Radnofsky. These young musicians, mostly between the ages of 27-33, brought to life Reich’s music and infused it with their own vigor and enthusiasm. They are a force to be reckoned with. I highly recommend you get yourself to Libbey Bowl sometime this weekend and immerse yourself in this transcendent program of magnificent music and musicianship.
When I say Reich's music transcends something for me, I'm implying that his design and structure of sound affects our brain chemistry and can take us into non-ordinary states of consciousness. I experience deep meditative states listening to the repetitive, percolating rhythms as they shift and change. This has always been the case for me with Reich's music. More >
28 Nov 2007 @ 03:21
This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Simple Brilliance.
From a dialogue on relationships
How do you explain the unexplainable, the mysteries of the heart taking us by surprise?
I have a very scientific mind and sometimes all I can do is throw my hands up in the air and acquiesce that most of my existence is a great mystery. I trust in Life, in the Universe and am very clear that we co-create, sometimes procreate with it.
There is always an opportunity for us to awaken, to heal. In essence I know you know we are all One; that separation is an illusion; that human-kind is a singular organism similar to a beehive and individuation psychologically is necessary to function in physical reality. When it comes to Oneness, we have simply forgotten. Yet, here in physical reality, if we choose to ignore the nature of the multi-verse, our his/herstories get pushed to the forefront as our personalities try to stay in control in an uncontrollable reality. We are a reflection of chaos self-organizing itself. My fears, your fears (based on our stories, our past experience, and the conclusions we have drawn and worldviews we have adopted from our fear based lives) are what keep us from knowing Love. What are we afraid of? Being alone, vanishing in the immensity that Love is, losing our sense of self, taking responsibility for the truth that we can never possess or control another, the realization that when we try we to control others we also wound ourselves as well. For many people, once this is realized there is no turning back, from Truth that is, from the knowing that freedom is found when we understand, accept and embrace our fears. We were born as ecstatic, joyful entities. Joy has never left us. We have simply distracted ourselves by believing in our story and believing we are powerless to change it. More >
12 Sep 2007 @ 19:01
This terrific online five-part video series by Peter Jennings explores how the food industry spends billions of dollars to sabotage your health.
Jennings also takes a critical look at our government's agricultural subsidy programs, and their unintended consequences on your nutritional choices and health. For example, sugar and fat receive 20 times more government farming subsidies than fruits and vegetables. Does this oversupply of fats and sugars, compared to fruits and vegetables, affect your food choices?
Some statistics, implicating both the food industry and the government as co-creating factors in the obesity epidemic, include:
* In 2002, consumers spent $174 billion on processed foods.
* 90 percent of foods marketed each year are processed foods.
* Last year, 2,800 new candies, desserts, ice-cream, and snacks were introduced to the marketplace, compared to 230 new fruits or vegetable products.
* The food industry spends $34 billion per year marketing their products.
* $12 billion is spent marketing to children.
The food industry is quick to point out that the choice is always yours -- they're not making you buy something you don't want. They also want to blame the obesity problem on people's unwillingness to exercise. More >
10 Oct 2008 @ 06:21
7 Jun 2008 @ 07:48