While talking to a friend about how what people call travel isn’t travel any more, he told me his friend counted how many steps he took on a trip from New York to Los Angeles: 800. That’s not traveling. That’s being transported. If I take 801 steps, I’ve put more effort into traveling. And going from New York to L.A., he isn’t visiting a different culture or learning about humanity[…] Keep reading →

The twentieth-century introduced marketing based on wants instead of needs. The other was the shift in marketing from needs to wants. Podcast guest Amy Westervelt’s podcasts, particularly Drilled, documented this shift, especially through the work of Edward Bernays. Needs can be met. Once you have enough food, water, shelter, and a few other necessities, you can move to other things in life, like hobbies, family, arts, sports, and civic participation.[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been copying the travel comments from the newsletters from a friend into a file. I edited out people’s names and put in bold the names of places, but otherwise it’s as he wrote it. What do you think about this lifestyle? I think I once would have aspired to live this way. Even if I didn’t want to fly this much when I flew, I think I would have[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been copying the travel comments from the newsletters from a friend into a file. I edited out people’s names and put in bold the names of places, but otherwise it’s as she wrote it What do you think about this lifestyle? I think I once would have aspired to live this way. Even if I didn’t want to fly this much when I flew, I think I would have[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been copying the travel comments from the newsletters from a friend into a file. I edited out people’s names and put in bold the names of places, but otherwise it’s as he wrote it. What do you think about this lifestyle? I think I once would have aspired to live this way. Even if I didn’t want to fly this much when I flew, I think I would have[…] Keep reading →

News pieces about Kool and Newport cigarette brands targeting blacks tend to portray the brands and their advertising as nefarious and racist. A quick search found stories like How the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans with menthol smokes, Why Big Tobacco Targeted Blacks With Ads for Menthol Cigarettes, Study: Newport Marketed Cigarettes Directly to Black Kids, and Newport, the top cigarette brand for black Americans, is aggressively targeting youths. Maybe[…] Keep reading →

Things that are compostable aren’t labeled. They’re plants and fungi. Corn cobs and peach pits don’t say compostable. Things that are labeled “compostable” are manufactured and generally need special composting facilities. Even if where you live has them, they required manufacturing. It’s likely doof. People lived for 300,000 years with only things that biodegraded. Whatever convenience you think some salad bowl labeled “compostable” brings, it isn’t clean, green, or renewable[…] Keep reading →