Category Archives: Simplicity

Movie – Off the Map

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I noticed this post recommending the movie “Off The Map” recently.

We watched it last night and really enjoyed it. We have been talking about it on and off all day today which is the sign of a movie that has gotten under our skin. I particularly liked the understated direction that let the landscape and the story unfold without joining all the dots for the viewer. Fascinating also to see the homesteading life depicted. I was scanning each frame for those small details that give authenticity and was not dissapointed. We already had the Taos region on our destination list as we love native american jewellery, so now we have another motive to visit.

(Via Cage Free Family)

Reviews

Tina Ferguson

Film Critic.com

Some notes from the director Campbell Scott

Things that matter

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Seth Godin has published a free ebook, “Things that matter”. It contains over 70 short essays from todays leading thinkers. Definitely worth a read. I found resonances in many of the entries however the following extract from Howard Mann caught my attention as its a phenonmena I see growing daily.

We walk the streets with our heads down staring into 3-inch screens while the world whisks by doing the same. And yet we’re convinced we are more connected to each other than ever before. Multi-tasking has become a badge of honor. I want to know why.

Howard Mann in Things That Matter

Chickens, In season & Zen cooking

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Nice post here at Mother Earth News
Stop Putting Off Chickens

In season down in Sydney at the moment (from the Slow Food Sydney newsletter)

  • Strawberries
  • Spinach and watercress
  • Valencia oranges
  • Asparagus

Ethical Eating book reviewed in the Eco Pages of the Sydney Morning Herald

We rented a great DVD – How to Cook Your Life should be very interesting to anyone who still has a yellowing copy of the Tassajara cookbook or bread book as it features Ed Brown who also wrote those books back in the 70′s. Ed has been practising Zen and cooking for over 30 years and the video is full of insights.

Alan Watts

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Cloudhidden

Reading Alan Watts in my teens I experienced my first taste of eastern thinking which has led to a life long interest. In his essays on Zen and the Tao I could feel deep truths were lurking just beyond the words. A particular favourite is Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal.

This collection of essays and transcribed lectures was compiled in 1973 shortly before his death. Watts was an enigmatic character who during this latter period of his life lived on a houseboat moored near San Francisco. He was a hedonist who loved life and indulged in it, causing many to dismiss him as something of a charlatan. For myself and many others however his writings opened the door to eastern thinking. He attempts to convey something to the reader that points to reality and to evoke flashes of insight. I came across an animated cartoon with an excerpt from a talk of his today via a post at Post at Goodlife Zen, definitely worth checking out.

Resurgence Slow Sundays

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The latest issue of Resurgence has arrived and it looks a beauty. At quick skim reveals the usual combination of thoughtful articles and fabulous images.

In the spirit of Ghandi’s use of spinning as an act of defiance, Resurgence have chosen baking bread as the theme of their first Slow Sunday.

In each issue of the magazine we will nominate one Sunday when we invite our members to take part in simple actions that symbolise a rejection of commercialism, a passion for the planet and a desire for change.

We will take part here at Slowlane, I will have another go at the dutch oven technique that seems to have worked for many people whose previous bread making efforts produced worthy but not particularly appetising loaves. My two efforts have been ok, plenty of room for improvement though. Its not the fact that this is a no knead recipe that attracts me, rather that it promises to produce a loaf that is crusty yet chewy on the inside.

Dutchover bread

Guerrilla Bagging!

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Horrified to discover the damage that plastic bags were causing to our marine environment, Claire Morsman devised a plan for action – ‘sociable guerrilla bagging’.
The idea is that people make reusable bags from recycled material and then give them away to friends and family or sometimes during mass handouts.
Since it began in January 2007, hundreds of people working alone or in “pods” who work together on the bags have made over 20,000 bags. Its taken off in the UK, US, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, Morocco and France.
The bags are known as Morsbags.

Check out the website here www.morsbags.com.

Slow Food University

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When Slowlane joined Slow Food recently they sent a booklet outlining their various initiatives, The Slow Food Companion. Two ventures that sounded particularly interesting were the University of Gastronic Sciences (UNISG) and the Terre Madre.
The university is based in Piedmont and claims to be the first academic institution in the world dedicated to the study of gastronomy. Subjects include Botany, Food Technology, History of Agriculture, Sensory Analysis and Anthropology. The curriculum combines humanities and sciences with food technology and culture. An article appeared today in the Sydney Morning Herald about a local man who is studying at the UNISG, he is living a simple life in the local village, going to the market three times a week and practising what they are learning by cooking for fellow students in the evening.
Also mentioned in the article was the Terra Madre, an annual Slow Food gathering in Turin that bring together thousands of artisanal food producers, farmers, fisherman from 150 countries, cooks, academics from over 200 universities, representatives of NGOS, journalists and of course slow foodies of other descriptions. This years Terra Madre promises to be huge, I hope to attend one of these in the next few years. Sounds amazing.