Happy Friday! Ha as though you could go do anything about it. Between COVID rules, regulations, policies and procedures and Utah’s Hong Kong-like air, they’ve pretty much got that covered.

“Damn man, what’s the matter, robot take your job or something?”
“Well you can’t talk; you’re in the same boat dude.” Artificial intelligence coming to a gadget near you.

(Before you try to reflex here on me into perma-optimism mode, please know that I already do not disagree with the practice of looking on the bright side and I have written about it many times in “striving to make the bright side a bit brighter” -OS. With that, I am asking you to meet me half way and to realize and open your eyes, looking around at the world, the deforestation, the polluted air, contaminated water and genetically modified foods, growing poverty, and a myriad of examples of preventable diseases of western affluence; there awaits the realization that perma-optimism is at some point a form of complacency and denial, which exacerbates the problem(s)further.
There is a time to be optmistic and there is a time to be realistic and take a good look with the objective of separating what is working versus what is not working and a time to consider something different and things differently).

“Dude, that is probably the longest section between two parentheses ever.”

“Okay, sounds good; so now we continue”:

If robots can take our jobs and cell phones can spy well enough to put the most attentive gossip to shame, then apparently hard work is not really valued, so work has changed to the point where it can’t really be taken all that seriously. That being the case, I want eight weeks annual vacation, eighteen dollars per hour minimum wage; I want to choose my own hours, my own schedule and I want insurance available for part-time employees because the bear minimum is all I plan to do, since my hard earned skills can now be done with the latest invention.

What’s the point in working at all??? It’s funny how more and more that is actually becoming an increasingly valid question. After all, we’ve all just been encouraged to shop at the big box stores and on Amazon stay at home and watch movies for the past several months.

Well the answer is up for discussion. However, my point is that I want a freaking choice. It is BOVINE EXCREMENT that we have to remind ourselves and others that we deserve some say, that we want a choice. Life is about choice. America (the free) is (was) about having a choice. We all know we’re not as free as we once were.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…

Plant the garden anyone? No gadgets needed (or wanted) for the good toil in the soil.

Be sure to read my new memoir while you still can The Irony of the Well. It was straight from me to you since I wrote it. There were no robots involved.

-Owen

Are you feeling guilty, or are you being guilted/shamed? Notice the difference; and when you know it, help the world religions to understand it until the difference is put into correct practice.

Be sure to check out my new memoir: The Irony of the Well. It is not against your religion to seek understanding; at least not yet.

-Owen

Check out this creative use for Phragmites (“noooooooooo not another invasive species!!”)

Well, some invasive plants have powerful medicinal properties, but like them or not, invasives are here to stay and they cover every square mile of the entire planet (we humans had a small part to play in that over the past few centuries) so you better just accept it, and find a creative and hopefully eco savvy way of using them, which is exactly what this person has done.

This person uses the stems of Phragmites (reeds) as a place for native bees to deposit their eggs. Enjoy the lost art of working with your hands and giving something back to the earth as you do. Check it out:
Phragmites bundles for native bees

As the documentary The Need To Grow says: “If you pick a fight with nature, you are going to lose.”

So “preach the gospel to every creature;” (what can I say, I’m from Utah.) Instead of fighting with nature (always a losing battle, do the right thing for the earth in your own creative way and you’ll find that it feels fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffreaking good.

Utah swear words on me.

For more discussion on this and similar topics including more Utah profanity remember my new memoir: The Irony of the Well

-Owen

America is a free country (the American Dream) where you are free to do just about whatever you want to do, and it’s a place where everything is an option. Yet for most of us, really the only option is to continue the cycle of getting, earning, buying, and paying the bills. Have you traveled to your dream places? You may get two weeks of annual vacation (if you’re lucky). Some of the European nations get six weeks per year. Yet, America is the richest nation. Huh, the irony…

We Americans are funny like that-always swimming in the debts of our stuff. Yet the workahol was always there for us, and our American pit bull terriers became fat.

Be sure to check out my new memoir:
The Irony of the Well

Timeless Ecomarket for Sustainability was a lot of fun and we hope you can join us next year. Be sure to check out the video from this year. That is my sister! She is pretty much nearly famous and for good reason. Check out that playing! She is the owner/operator of Red Desert Violin affordable, violin instruction online. She has students from all over the world.

Watch the video here:

Ecomarket is a live, annual event designed to promote diversity, sustainable, small businesses and eco non-profits. The event has a timeless theme. Note the blacksmith in the gallery!
Join us each year where there is live music, food, folks and fun.

See you then,

Owen

Apparently I am on a documentary kick because I’ve watched a lot of them lately.
The narrator David Attenborough who we’ve all been watching for years narrates an excellent documentary at ninety-three.

The film presented some information that was not new; other information was shocking. Still, the film ends on a positive note, was very well done, presents possibilities that sound hopeful and portrays what a recovered earth might look like. As humanity learns to “become a part of nature once again instead of apart from it” (Attenborough) in creating a sustainable world which, as the film presents so well, is the only option; we get things right, and globally things begin to change for the better… It is a win-win situation. I have been saying it for oh, a really long time.

I highly recommend the film on netflix. It will be well worth your time:
A Life On Our Planet

Be sure to check out my new memoir: The Irony of the Well

Thank you for doing your part,

-Owen

Here is a film that you can sign up for and watch about regenerative agriculture, vertical farming, school gardens, ways to get involved and even urban gardening! This country (the whole world really) is divided right now over what really comes down to a clash of values. Yet, without food, without an earth that can grow our food we have nothing.

This matters. Check it out:
The Need To Grow

-Owen

hi Everyone,

Here are some poignant articles for our times and especially for this crazy year. These articles come from John Robbins whose book was an integral part of my beginning journey as mentioned in my first memoir-The Wellness Diaries and Ocean Robbins. It is jacked up that food deserts still takes place. They are yet another form of segregation.

Check out the well written article on food deserts, racial inequality and poverty here:
Food Deserts

Then there is one about this 2020 election:
2020 US Election article

The truth is shared backed by research and then they end on a positive note and how to make change. For your continued study, read the articles. Keep this information in mind toinight as you watch the vice presidential debate, and in November, vote! You can’t complain if you don’t plan to do your part. This is no small issue here. Pulling the country out of the health mess we are in requires so much more than election years. You can also vote with your wallet by where and for what you buy. However, getting elected officials to do the right things is at least a step forward.

For further discussion and study you can order my new memoir here:
The Irony of the Well

I am the dough that was left between the shapes of cookie cutter, factory stamp, and canned answers. I chose not to bake bread since there is already plenty and then some. Instead, I fed the ants since they outnumber us a million to one anyway. We need them, but they don’t need us.

Where is the rain, and where is the doctor? The answer is he left the building. My dog knew and I bet yours did too.

You can order my new memoir here:
The Irony of the Well

-Owen