I wrote something last week in Another Spodek Method commitment: a walk in the park with family that prompted reflection: Talking while walking in a park is different than in the city or indoors when multiple family members are figuring out who sits where and what to do for dinner and all that nicknack stuff that goes into events. It’s peaceful, meandering, and unimportant in a way that makes it[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Citizen Kane, starring Orson Welles: Regular readers of my Sunday posts know that since a few movies led me to find art and expression in the medium that I had missed before. Mainly I enjoyed the subtlety, nuance, and complexity that got me thinking about life, society, myself, and art in general. Besides Yi Yi and A Brighter Summer Day, I found movies I considered masterpieces,[…] Keep reading →

I was in Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebrations scheduled today. Some traditions may go back hundreds or even thousands of years, but plastic pollution doesn’t. Vendors sold these factory-produced tubes that launched plastic confetti into the air. That is, that polluted. The confetti lingered in the air for a few seconds. The plastic will pollute the environment for millennia. Parents buy these polluting tubes for kids, who learn[…] Keep reading →

I met Tzeporah at an event called Climate Week NYC last fall. She was nearly the only person there who spoke about decreasing and stopping extracting fossil fuels. I had to bring her here. Our conversation grew more compelling and interesting as we spoke. The early parts about energy sources besides fossil fuels you may have heard before, but give context. After she shares the realizations that prompted her to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written lately about podcasts I follow. It seems like I should share what I follow. I may be biased, but I recommend mine most: This Sustainable Life: Podcasts and blogs I subscribe to: This Sustainable Life: Solve for Nature, by Eugene Bible: Eugene contacted me about my podcast and work. We got to know each other. He started a sibling podcast to mine, practicing the Spodek Method with his[…] Keep reading →

In Monday’s post, Today’s blizzard, February 2026, I wrote how the blizzard led to another day when I could find no litter in Washington Square Park. As usual, even with over a foot of snow, I found plenty of litter and garbage elsewhere, but at least not in the park, which is like my back yard. That post shows several beautiful pictures of my neighborhood covered in virginal snow. In[…] Keep reading →

I’ve done a lot of Spodek Method commitments. I’ve loved them all, at least I don’t remember disliking any, but haven’t recorded many of them here, but liked posting My Spodek Method commitment to make water ice from snow: A photo essay last month. I did another one over the weekend and took a few pictures to share. The memories of nature stemmed from Wissahickon Creek and the park around[…] Keep reading →

Everyone has a camera, so anyone can find wonderful pictures of anything online, but I couldn’t help take some pictures of today’s blizzard. It started yesterday and is forecast to run until this evening. Many places see more snow all the time, so I’m not saying we’re experiencing a lot of snow. It also isn’t that cold, slightly below freezing. I tried to take pictures that show the city before[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, volume 1, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: If I weren’t reading these books I wouldn’t believe they could exist. I understand why people consider them among the greatest and most important books of the twentieth century. First, about the book itself: Solzhenitsyn’s writing is simple, clear, and often funny from being sardonic and mocking. He survived the gulag’s so he[…] Keep reading →