This week I finished: Repo Man: I remember watching this movie in the 1980s, loving it, and feeling like it was an underground movie. I rewatched it again for the first time in decades and enjoyed it as much as ever. It was different than most movies. It took chances. It has many quotable lines. The life of a repo man is always intense. I don’t remember why I chose[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Elliot, by Russel Kirk: I learned of this book from the Conservatism 101 course I wrote about in last week’s selective media post. I read the book partly to learn, partly to see what of conservative values, history, and philosophy might resonate with sustainability. It turns out plenty. I read some online but mostly listened to twenty hours of its[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero: You’ll hear in an upcoming podcast conversation with a Nobel Peace Prize holder, Erika Frank, that she and I riffed on our complementary ways of living more joyfully sustainable. I commented that she reminded me of a book I see in bookstores a lot but haven’t read,[…] Keep reading →

Quadrillions of pieces of plastic apparently aren’t enough. We keep making more. I’ve written about how every single item in every cart I saw in a trip to a supermarket was packaged, mostly in plastic. I wrote: For an informal survey, I went to a supermarket to observe the items in at least 100 shoppers’ carts. I didn’t make it all in one trip and lost count, but have passed[…] Keep reading →

Americans waste about 40 percent of our food. I’ve written how I eat healthy parts of plants like citrus peels, mango peel, and banana peel. When I tell people I do, the same people who decry food waste ask why I eat them. They’re healthy food! The challenge is to combine them to taste good, or to acquire the taste. I recommend eating all the edible, healthy parts of a[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Wise Men Know What Wicked Things Are Written on the Sky, by Russell Kirk: Before diving into the twenty hours of Kirk’s The Conservative Mind, the library had this shorter book. I’ve since started The Conservative Mind, learning his views about Edmund Burke, John Adams, and the development of conservatism in America. This book is a collection of essays with a conservative view of education,[…] Keep reading →

Looking at their behavior, I think most Americans know how to help Vladimir Putin because they look like they’re doing everything they can to help him. How help Putin: How many of these things have you done since Putin invaded Ukraine? I’m sure he’s grateful for the financial support so many of us have given him.