Home

Session 2 Bulletin, 2008

Week 16 Bulletin

My Moroccan veggies with couscous,

What a week!  We dined, we danced, we listened with awe & rapture to a plethora of co-opers (and a very cool choir) perform song, dance, and poetry. 

I'm also about 17 days away from turning in a 15,000 word paper.  Guess how well that's going?  So while I'd love to wax poetic about nature and song and the pursuit of balance, deadlines demand I skip straight to the good word:


News
AGM & Performance Night
from Lah
Mon, 17/11/2008 - 06:34 — Andrew

Week 15 Bulletin

My strawberry-topped chocolate cake,

This week is in the running for longest of my life--in a good way.  The Obama win (here comes the American politics!) feels ages away, though it was only on Wednesday Sydney time.  The Slide Bar election party was truly amazing--it sparkled and spun and brought hundreds of strangers together to celebrate the birth of a moment in history.  We cheered, jeered a bit and, yes, even cried.  It was beautiful.  I even made a couple of new friends.

For many of us, hope is reborn; but it's only symbolic.  The real trick, the lasting light of hope, is dependent on the actions of regular people--in the US, Australia, everywhere. 
Thu, 13/11/2008 - 15:22 — Andrew

Week 14 Bulletin

My braised pumpkin on spinach,

I'm an optimistic sort of pessimist.  I can hold a conversation about ecological catastrophe while dancing: I see the necessity of fierce joy in our living moments even when the future looks frightening.  That might make me a bit odd; but I tend to think that we can--without contradiction--embrace reality, live fully, and still look forward with hope. 
Hey, maybe I'm a realist.

I mean, look at this community--it's diverse and evolutionary, maybe even revolutionary.  I say it a lot, but we're all connected in a common pursuit: we want to live better not bigger, we want to feel good about what we eat and where it comes from, we want--at least this is what I gather from the beautiful people I meet in shop--to live whole lives.  And it's happening.  We live it.  We redefine the paradigm; we defy the dominant social order every single day.
Now that's revolutionary.
Thu, 13/11/2008 - 15:21 — Andrew

Week 13 Bulletin

My sun worshipers,

I hope you're wearing SPF 30 while frolicking in the gorgeous Sydney sun.  And probably some sunglasses, too.  (Love your retinas!)

It was a beautiful weekend, which I spent nose-to-book (and lips to cappuccino) in outdoor cafes.  My literary odyssey took me through anger and outrage to concern to determination to the hatching of plans.  Our patient Ange got an earful of ideas Saturday; even in all of this devastation, potential catastrophe, a future clouded and desperate, there is hope.  And it may very well start in a garden.

Here's the good word:

News
Special thanks
Thu, 13/11/2008 - 15:20 — Andrew

Week 12 Bulletin

My rhubarb & strawberry pie,

Sunday was urban walkabout.  Soul and feet willing, we wandered 'round drips and drops of Sydney, from Taylor Square to the Hyde Park fountain, down Market to Pitt then George through Chinatown, past Central, around Glebe, across Redfern and Surry Hills via Cleveland, and home again along Anzac.  It was a stubbornly flawless day, complete with happy couples stretched across park grasses, run-ins with lovely co-opers across the city, and the threat of rain in mid-afternoon.  The day was also rife with inspiration, determination, and some pure peace and joy.

Oh yes, today was a good day.

Thu, 13/11/2008 - 15:19 — Andrew

Week 11 Bulletin

My clever consumers (who are actually citizens),

The days lengthen, the semester winds down, the global economy is in free-fall and the worst ain't over--how grateful am I for veggie boxes & backyard gardens?  For our funny little community, bound & determined to see out the storms (even if they last a decade).

There's grim fascination in watching the world fly apart and seeing how this whole financial crisis directly impacts the people in my life, and myself.  I can't help thinking there's a better way to do things, something that perhaps demands integrity on the part of all participants, a system in which exploitation isn't 'profitable'.  I also can't help thinking that this financial hoopla is connected to much, much deeper problems within the structure of our society, our values.  I mean really, what is money worth anyway?
Wed, 15/10/2008 - 08:20 — Andrew

Week 10 Bulletin

My fresh spring greens,

(Who's terrified that it's week 10?  This girl!)

Since I'm waist-deep in research, I read a lot.  These days (aside from the scary US election news) it's philosophy and economics, the discourse of domination and the marketing of nature.  To my mind, there's simply something nefarious about breaking nature down into commodities and selling it off--for protection or destruction, depending on who bids highest. 
Mon, 06/10/2008 - 18:44 — Andrew

Mid-Semester Break Bulletin

My mushroom dumplings,

It's midday Sunday here in Baltimore and we're sitting on the south edge of a hurricane the snuck up the coast while no one was looking.  The sky is slate with threat, the air sauna-sticky, and our backyards are still struggling to digest yesterday's deluge: it's a real pretty day.  No sarcasm.

I confess, pretty co-opers, that I miss you, Sydney sunshine, and being in control of my own kitchen.  Fortunately I'll be back on Thursday to bask sleepily in your happy-veggie light.  My sources say the vibe at the co-op is rockin;, downright communal & empowering.  It'll be nice to dive back in to all that good energy.

Short & sweet, here's the good word:


News
HOURS
It's mid-session recess, which means the co-op is closed Tuesday & Wednesday.  We are opened regular hours on Thursday.  Eggs & veggies are ON.  Details below.
Mon, 29/09/2008 - 12:21 — Andrew

Week 9 Bulletin

My portobello spinach salad,

It's autumn in Baltimore.  At least it will be tomorrow, and for once the weather seems to've come along for the ride.  Me?  I'm reflective, a head full of contemplation, liberation, obligation & affection.  And grid iron, 'cause it's Sunday in the USA and football, my loves, is what we do.  Weird, huh?
Sun, 28/09/2008 - 13:56 — Andrew

Week 8 Bulletin

My hint of honey & springtime,

Sometimes everything changes in the quiver of an eyelash, the breath of a dragonfly.  It can leave us suspended in midair, wings vibrating furiously invisible while we decide which direction to dart.  What's nice is that wherever the breeze urges us is probably the right place to go; but waiting for that stirring, that's hard.

I'm having a sunshiny week here in Baltimore with only occasional interruptions from remnant hurricanes and spontaneous dancing by beehived women in the streets. (Good morning Baltimore!)  I hope Sydney's been its usual stunning self, that Uni isn't eating you alive, and that the co-op is alight with laughter, good cheer, and great food.

So, without further la-di-da, here's the good word:


News
Sun, 28/09/2008 - 13:55 — Andrew
12next ›last »
Syndicate content