Daily Loaf

Principled grassroots conservatives have a chance to send the moneyed muckety-mucks a message this weekend at the RPOF meeting in Orlando when they vote for the replacement of disgraced former chairman Jim Greer.

The message is clear: Sharon Day is the only principled conservative in this race. Add to that that her primary opponent John Thrasher is supported by the very same people who gave us the Jim Greer fiasco, and you have to wonder, how could you not vote for Ms. Day if you’ve been even remotely embarrassed by the Jim Greer nightmare? Read the rest of this entry »

Porn star Tommy Gunn seems to have created the ultimate porno, entitled Cummin’ at You 3-D. This “interactive stereoscopic 3-D production” will be the first of its kind, harnessing some of my favorite childhood kitsch: 3-D movies and choose-your-own-adventure stories.

Though a couple small porn sites are already using 3-D technology, this is certainly the first to let its audience decide what happens. Viewers can choose, among other things, if they would like to watch the action from the male, female, or third person point of view. Read the rest of this entry »

Below, is an interview I just conducted with Arlen Slobodow, a local filmmaker who just completed a documentary about air pollution caused by fossil fuels in the Tampa Bay area and how it affects our health and the health of our planet. Also, see my last post which goes more in depth about the film.

The following interview was conducted by phone on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

Matt De Vlieger (M): How did you get involved in documentary filmmaking?
Arlen Slobodow (A): I have always been interested in social change work and have found mass media a good way to accomplish that. Read the rest of this entry »

It would be interesting to see the readership poll results concerning where we think this country will be 15 to 20 years from now. Perhaps it should include some reference to where we stand with regard to the rest of the world. As you know, just a few of the factors that would influence our view of the future would involve the results of peak-oil, climate change, national debt, inflation, loss of manufacturing, increasing population, state fascism, a broken educational system, an unjust medical system, etc. I can only speculate upon your perspective but, my research does not present a very pretty picture. Chris Martenson says it so clearly with his catch phrase, “The next twenty years will be completely unlike the last twenty years.” (I advise taking the Crash Course.)

Five years ago I read Michael Ruppert’s Crossing the Rubicon and it was instrumental in beginning my search for even more information regarding 9/11 and the list of influences listed above. Michael was an L.A. cop working in narcotics who slowly began to know too much about how drugs come into this country and where the money goes. Seeing corruption at high levels in the country he loved set him on a very interesting journey. The byline for the book was, “The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil.”

This little commentary will concern the thoughts I have about three books I read last month; “Future Scenarios” by David Holmgren, World Made by Hand by James Howard Knustler and Reinventing Collapse by Dmitry Orlov. They were read in that order but in hindsight, Kunstler’s book should have been last. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you green? Words can mean different things to different people. The word “green” seems to be based upon a genuine concern for health; your health, the health of those around you (both near and far) and the health of the planet. This simple concept is a great foundation for your own embellishments if you desire to be green. You might express that concern by recycling, or buying and consuming healthy food. Of course, merely focusing on health can be somewhat nebulous and open to a good deal of interpretation. If your taxes contribute to the deaths of innocent people half way around the world can you call yourself green? How much trash would you have to recycle to make up for the death of small child in Afghanistan? Maybe those questions aren’t in good taste. If you need a happy face on everything find another blogger.

From this architect’s point of view it seems more and more fashionable, marketable, and finally cost effective in terms of building life cycle to build green. I joined the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)a few years back and quit after I found out that they had recently approved some products made of plastic. Somehow that didn’t quite fit into my definition of green. Maybe I was wrong in thinking that we should be more concerned with our carbon footprint. Maybe my studies in homestead sustainability from 35 years ago got in the way. Maybe I was just wrong and uninformed. Anyway, my middle ground was joining the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC). It was more local; I like that about an organization in which I am a member. Read the rest of this entry »

When Chad and I were asked to create art for Manifest Hope:DC we were honored beyond words.The opportunity to be part of history and even art history was something we couldn’t pass up. For this monumental exhibit we created two pieces, “Hope is Dope” and “The Great Communicator.”

Now, here we are, at the center of the universe… Washington DC. The vibe is indescribable… Read the rest of this entry »

While they don’t run the streets, the Gang of Five Four do run our county. Known for their environmental attacks, sprawl creation and developer-friendly wide stance, the Gang of Five has recently controlled the Hillsborough County Commission. That is, until its weakest link was picked off Tuesday by a citizen army fighting for a respectable candidate.

Kevin Beckner has beaten the incumbent Brian Blair!

The gang of 5 consisted of Blair, Norman, White, Higginbotham and Hagan. The board itself has seven members so while it still seems as if the gang will have a majority, the message sent on election day is certain to get through to even the dullest members remaining. The power of an unhappy constituency can still be greater than the dollars of special interest. Beckner and his troops have proven that.

Two other gang members were up for re-election but Hagan had only a questionable write-in and the other, Al Higginbotham, had unknown Pete Gifford to contend with. Gifford had almost no campaign contributions only $4,340 to Higginbotham’s $160,000+ yet he still garnered 30% of the vote without doing much of anything. That should send the message that if someone campaigned in earnest that Higginbotham is vulnerable.

While the war on this gang will probably continue, I have a feeling Beckner’s win might just sway a few of the gang votes in the direction of the community instead of over-developers in the near future. It might also convince them to take citizens a little more seriously instead of just disregarding those citizens willing to get involved. Just a hunch.