Austral would like to send out a big congratulations to all of the athletes, coaches and officials that participated at this year’s Australian Schools Volleyball Cup in Melbourne earlier this month.

Austral had many of its younger members participating in the event for both Unley High School and Mercedes College.  The athletes and coaches

all represented their schools, Austral and themselves in an exemplary fashion and played some great volleyball too.

A special mention must go to the Unley High School Open Boys side who won the gold medal in the Division 1 competition under the guidance of Austral’s own volleyball tragic Peter Bawhey.

Winter Break is finally here!!  And boy, it’s a looooong break =P  If you’re staying close by, or if you’re not too far away, you will NOT want to MISS OUT on this exciting Winter event!  We’re going up to Sierra Lodge once again for to join our bros and sisters at Berkeley Koinonia for the ULTIMATE SNOW TRIP!.  Check out the details below, and you’ll want to check out the video as well.  Last year’s Snow Trip included in EPIC snow battle, but let the pictures tell the story =)

What: Snow Trip at Sierra Lodge
Who: Berkeley Koinoina & SFSU Koinonia combined
When: January 16th, 2010 (Saturday) – all day!

On Wednesday, December 16, the Charlotte Chapter held a Young Alumni Happy Hour at Angry Ale’s in Charlotte. Around 15 alumni gathered for food and drinks on W&L with one condition, all attendees were asked to bring a gift of $10 or less for the Toys for Tots program.

In typical W&L fashion, a few people brought two gifts so the chapter actually collected a total of 20 gifts for the Toys for Tots program. The event turned out to be a very valuable endeavor, in light of an article that came out in the Charlotte paper saying that the Charlotte area is about 40,000 toys short of what it needs for all the charities and children in need.
 
Andy Henson ‘02 hooked the chapter up with access to a room at Angry Ale’s (a local favorite), so all were able to have a dedicated area with tables, etc. for folks to hang out and chat over beer, wine and appetizers. 
 
While the goal is to have a few more people attend, the feedback was that everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get together with fellow alums around the holidays.

Martin Gurbin, Director Business Development & Innovation, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

What is the key to successful communication with healthcare leaders?
Marty Gurbin led a group of 25 emerging leaders on the evening of Tuesday, October 27^th in the discussion of this question.

Communication

• Making a connection: Most great speeches are characterized by a moment when the speaker demonstrates a real ability to connect with the audience. This is best done through an honest observation or genuine call to action – but keep it real, people can tell when they are being sold.
• Physical stance: Before a speaker even opens his mouth, the audience is reacting to his/her stance. Is it open or closed? Relaxed or uptight? When speaking, most people tend to go to one extreme or another, coming off as too passive or aggressive.  Keeping your hands open and moving in the waist region conveys an “openness” that will make the audience more receptive to your message.
• Structural frameworks: A successful speech must contain a “so what?”  There are several structural frameworks that can introduce the main message. There is the direct approach – problem/solution/action – which is appropriate when an expert is making a recommendation. An alternate approach often used when speaking to a broad audience is fact/care/do, which can be useful in making implications personal to a group of people.

Healthcare environment

• Stakeholder assessment: The Healthcare system is highly complex with a long and ever-expanding list of stakeholders. Before presenting an argument, it’s important to know identify all stakeholders and their motivations.
• Stakeholders in the Ontario healthcare system: A partial list of stakeholders include: physicians, nurses, allied professionals, researchers, administrators, community, LHIN organizations, municipal health authorities, government, professional associations, corporations, foundations, supplies, media and the public. Ask yourself -who are your stakeholders and what do they care about?

Getting to “Yes”

• Developing relationships: Connecting with leaders is like connecting with anyone else – it begins with humanity. Know what drives you and what drives those you’re looking to build a relationship with, and build the relationship on common ground.
• Articulate ROI: Consider quantitative and qualitative measures to demonstrate impact. The best measures will vary by the issue as well as by the audience.

Related materials:

• Communicating Effectively in Healthcare presentation (PDF)
• Copy of the meeting summary (PDF)

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the Christmases of recent years just feel different…  WHERE IS THE SPIRIT???  I’m not sure if it’s just my “advancing” age, along with all the various responsibilities, persistent worries, and endless problems that make me feel this way.  All I’m sure is that Christmas was much more wondrous, joyous, and fun when I was a child in the early 1970s, considering that those were not even wonderful years — rather dark, in fact — in our country’s history.

When I was a child, there was the rustle of the elders and the household staff in the dark of night — although the roosters were already crowing — as they dressed to attend the 4:00 a.m. “Misa de Gallo” at the parish church.  We children were not really taken along since we would just be irritable and sleep throughout the mass.  After the mass ended at 5:00 a.m., there was no going back to sleep as the day had begun.  Breakfast was prepared and afterwards everybody set out with their tasks for the day.

During the times I was taken along to the “Misa de Gallo,” I was fascinated with the “belen” [ Christmas creche ] near the altar and the occasional crepe paper “parol” [ "farol" / lantern ] hanging nearby.  The figures of the “belen” were big although not lifesize, and there were animals and real hay [ absolutely thrilling for a child ]!  There was an ox, a donkey, a camel, goats, and several sheep.  After the mass, there was a long line to kiss the image of the cute Baby Jesus in the “belen,” and Little Me, blissfully unaware of bacteria and viruses and infections, gave Baby Jesus’ stomach a big smack of the lips.  In those days, there was no fear — indeed no knowledge — of H1N1 or bird flu;  there was only good ol’ TB tuberculosis, which was chicken feed by Philippine standards, and which everyone had been exposed to one way or the other!  

During the nine days of the “Misa de Gallo,” the patio of the parish church turned into a veritable market with vendors selling all sorts of things.  Of course, Little Me and my younger brother and sister always wanted the multicolored sweet popcorn .10 centavos per pack [ which my mother thought was not clean enough and refused to buy for us ] and the color-splashed balloons .25 centavos each.  The elders went for the “bibingka,” the “puto bumbong,” and the “suman” rice cakes, although they always complained that the ones made at home were better.  All the sights, sounds, and smells during those chilly December mornings became the Christmas memories I have carried with me all my life.

Back in Lola Charing’s house, the Tampingco-style round dining table, the magnificent bone-inlaid sideboard, the Ortoll nests of tables, the Puyat library table, the cabinets, and most of the antique tables around were teeming with white boxes upon boxes of large “ensaimadas,” “tocino del cielo,” fruit cake,” “food for the gods,” and other Old Sulipan goodies on top of cans and trays with water [ to prevent the ants climbing up ] which Ate Talia Padilla [ daughter of the legendary Juan Padilla, chef of the 1898 Malolos Congress ], Lola’s “mayordoma” and resident patissier, had been churning out by the hundreds the last few days to be sent to Lola Charing’s relatives and friends around the city — various Gonzalezes and Arnedos;  various Lopezes, Cojuangcos, Madrigals, et. al..  We grandkiddies only had to ask Ate Talia for any of those sugary goodies in the kitchen as she had lots of them there.  Thus the Gonzalez diabetics of the future were bred.

Back in those days when I did not have to think of the employees’ Christmas bonuses, 13th month salaries, personal cash gifts, Christmas gifts to VIPs all the way to friends’ pet dogs, yearend debt settlements, etc., etc..  All I had to think of was what new toy I wished for Christmas from “Santa Claus,” who never showed up in person.

I thnk my first “loss of innocence” was when I was told at the age of seven, I forget by whom, that Santa Claus didn’t exist, that he was just some fairy tale.  You see, we children, courtesy of our “yayas” from the provinces, lived in an insulated, magical world where everything existed:  angels, demons, vampires, “aswang,” “manananggal,” “kapre,” “tikbalang,” “duwende,” “asong pascual” [ in Pampanga ], and Godknowswhatelse, etc..

*unfinished*

On December 10, six students in a fourth year Regional Economic Development course at York University presented their research findings to representatives from their community partner, the South Simcoe Economic Alliance. The opportunity to apply their skills to a real world problem came through one of the KM Unit’s sister offices on campus, the Experiential Education (EE) unit. York’s KM Unit has been pleased to collaborate with students from the EE program on previous projects and it was a pleasure to attend the  students’ final presentation.

The South Simcoe Economic Alliance (SSEA) is a dynamic partnership of three municipalities and Nottawasaga Futures: Township of Adjala-Tosorontio, Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, and Town of Innisfil (the South Simcoe region also includes New Tecumseh and Essa). This region is home to two multinational industries, Honda (automotive) and Baxter (pharmaceuticals) yet the lives of it citizens are also shaped through agriculture and many small and medium sized businesses. To realize the South Simcoe brand as “The Best of All Worlds”, SSEA was seeking:

• guidance on attracting and retaining investment monies that will drive business growth and enhance the quality of life for the community

• analysis on the recommendations and results of strategic/core activities arising from two background reports – ECAP and Competitive Analysis 2004

• analysis of the SSEA website and benchmark it against other Canadian regional economic alliances

The students made a presentation and provided a written report and executive summary to SSEA. Valerie Ryan of Nottawasaga Futures said she “appreciated depth and clarity of recommendations from students. They were all very earnest and displayed a high level of integrity.” Valerie was joined by her Nottawasaga colleague Margo Cooney and Adjala-Tosorontio counselor Mary Brett.

They heard from the students that SSEA communities need to view economic development as an investment and expand budget allocation to support economic growth activities. It was recommended that South Simcoe take a leadership role in promoting the region to the Greater Toronto Area (with specific recommendations on transforming the SSEA website into a successful marketing tool) and that local economic developers could establish a partnership fund to leverage joint marketing initiatives. According to the students, SSEA could integrate programs and services to retain and attract business investment and accelerate job creation by developing employment parks that are serviced, readily available, and prominent to possible developers.

On of the students, Christina Kroner said that the EE experience “was a fantastic educational experience that brought our learning to life! The discussion that followed the presentation was very stimulating”.

Thanks to Geoff Webb and his team in the EE Office for remaining an excellent partner for York’s knowledge mobilization activities. York’s KM Unit has added to our growing relationship with SSEA by placing two KM Interns funded by the MITACS Accelerate program to assist in the development of the Nottawasaga Futures Green Transformation Program – stay tuned to Mobilize This! for more on that collaboration.

(l to r) Prof Frank Miele, Daniel Hernandez, Byung Mark Yoo, Tri Ngo, Xiaomin Liang, Ali Waris, Mary Brett, Christina Kroner, Margo Cooney Valerie Ryan

About Experiential Education: Experiential Education is a form of engaged learning that blends theory and coursework with practical, hands on experience. As part of their academic studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies students apply key course concepts to a wide variety of case studies and projects involving both profit and not-for-profit organizations. Faculty members serve as guides in the background, facilitating student engagement with EE opportunities that lend concrete credence to LA&PS’s innovative blend of liberal and professionally-relevant programs.  For more information please contact Geoff Webb, Manager of Experiential Education at gwebb@yorku.ca.

On December 8, the Mid-South Chapter welcomed Washington and Lee President Ken Ruscio to the Memphis Hunt & Polo Club for the Chapter’s Holiday Reception. More than 90 alumni, friends, and family gathered for a truly remarkable event.

President Ruscio spoke to the masses about people, programs, and places in the W&L Community. Topics included the University’s committment to building around its students and faculty, Spring Term and the innovative Third Year Program in the Law School, and additions to campus such as the Hillel House, the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority House and the extensive renovation of the Colonnade.

Below are some images from the evening. Congratulations to the Mid-South Chapter on hosting such a fantastic event. Click an image to view a larger version.

These are the final versions of
The Highland Park Neighborhood Association Presentations
 shown at the First Annual Meeting & Celebration Event which
was held on December 8, 2009.   Thanks to all who Attended!!

Year in Review Slide Show

Volunteer Appreciation Slide Show

See Our YouTube Videos

 Note: If you see someone missing in our list of volunteers, especially if that someone is YOU, please let us know at scrapbook@highlandparkrochester.org  and we will update the slide show with an additional credit.

Alumni at Egan & Sons in Montclair

Attendees

Jim Pearson ‘72

Alex Flaster ‘09

Stephanie Wolfe ‘99

Laura Purcell ‘95

John Jordan ‘95L

Chris Kavanagh ‘91

Jim Clark ‘84

John Gunkel ‘89

Bob Wittpenn ‘82

Jay Hoyt ‘84

The Northern New Jersey Chapter wishes everyone Happy Holidays and looks forward to seeing everyone at the January 7 Chapter Board Meeting.

Here’s a great photo from the Saturday, Dec. 12 Vigil – Look how great our sign looks in the night light.

Come out Sunday after church to stand on the corner in support of climate action.

Cybelle will be joining three other local Savannah bellydancers for a night of hip swiveling, sword balancing, as well as Cybelle’s fusion belly dance style.

…hand letterpress-printed by Danielle to celebrate the end of the 2009 SMITHS line up.

Indigo.  It smelled potent; I think we’ll all remember that.  A little bit like fresh barn.  But the weekend was sunny, and light poured through the windows, and with the door open what was sensually primary (the smell) became secondary and eventually tertiary, although I’ve heard that it has yet to fully wash out of what some people dyed.  Clotheslines hung between pillars with  variety of fabrics slowly dripping different shades of blue, all strangely complementary to the small part of the red floor left uncovered by the protective tarp.

Each immersion was a collaboration between two partners, doing what he or she could to support the (re)birth of whatever object had been placed in the blue-black water.  Besides achieving the darkest blue possible, the goal was to avoid introducing additional oxygen to the vat, for fear of exhausting the dye.  To begin with, one person had to part the sludge that sat on top of the rest of the dye so that their partner’s hands could plunge straight down into the depths without fear of ruining the protection that the sludge provided.  At the end of the process, you had to be on hand with a plastic bucket to catch whatever your partner had hidden in the depths, not too mention any excess slop before it could hit the rest of the vat’s contents.  Up to our elbows in blue goo, we made jokes about midwifery.

Reflecting back, did any of us know the reality?  Many cultures with indigo-dyeing traditions really do link the process to magic, to fertility, even to witchcraft, which manifests in all types of social strictures.  The one that I learned of, by happenstance and after the fact, is that of the Kodi, amongst whom only the women are allowed to dye, and even then only when they are not pregnant or menstruating.  The act of menstruation is thought to be powerful enough to ruin the vat; conversely, the vat is thought to be powerful enough to ruin the pregnancy.

The Kodi are not the only group for whom the vat mixture is a living being.  If cared for properly, it can last for generations, and we knew that much.  The contents of our vat that first weekend were about a month old, left over from a dyeing event with Travis Boyer over the summer.  Our vat was a newbie, almost a preemie, and by the end of the day I think we’d managed to exhaust it, probably due to excitement and poor handling.  We were enthusiastic midwives to our objects, but perhaps not as successful with the dye itself.  I’m curious, though…at some point, was one of us told about all the ways in which we weren’t the first to conflate tending the vat with the processes of birth and death?

Or did we just manage to come to those conclusions all on our own?

Movies with “Bees” in the Title Based on the Experience of Watching The Invasion of the Bee Girls at the SMITHS Beekeeping Event.  More Analysis to Follow.

Mean Girls, aka Queen Bees and Wannabes (2004).  The Secret Life of Bees (2008).  Bees (1998).   The Wild Bees (2001).  The Birds, the Bees, and the Italians (1966).  Bees Saal Baad (1962).  The Girl Who Swallowed Bees (2007).  Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1974).  Killer Bees (1974).  The Savage Bees (1976).  The Silence of Bees (2008).  The Deadly Bees (1967).  Valley of the Bees (1968).  Bees:  A Life for the Queen (1998).  Birds, Bees and Storks (1965).  Killer Bees! (2002).  The Bees (1978).  Three Daring Daughters, aka The Birds and the Bees (1948).  Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees (1991).  Terror Out of the Sky, aka The Revenge of the Savage Bees (1978).  The Bears and Bees (1932).  Bees in Paradise (1944).  The Birds and the Bees (1956).  Killer Bees (2008).  Keeper of the Bees (1947).  Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee’s Challenge (1972).  Girl Boss Blues:  Queen Bee’s Counterattack (1971).  The Bees’ Buzz (1929).  Vanishing of the Bees (2009).  August:  Bees in the Key of A (2008).  Bear and the Bees (1961).  Bedroom Full of Bees (2008).  Bees A’Buzzin’ (1943).  Bees and Honey (1913).  Bees in His Bonnet (1918).  Bee’s Knees (1924).  Bees on the Boat-Deck (1939).  Birds and Bees (2007).  Birds and the Bees (2009).  Busy Bees (2009).  Butterflies and Bees (1917).  Buzby and the Grumble Bees (2007).  Attack of the Savage Bees (1985).  Honey Bees and Pollution (1957).  Keeper of the Bees (1935).  Keeping the Bees (2008).  Queen of Bees (1977).  The Life of Bees (1911).  The Bees (1911).  Nicotine Bees (2009).  Queen Bee’s Revenge (1981).  Killer Bees (2005).  The Bear and the Bees (1921).  The Birds and the Bees (2001).  The Byrds & the Bees (2008).  The Keeper of the Bees (1925).  The Murmur of Bees (2009).  Unees-Bees (1980).  The Law of Life in a Colony of Bees (2006).

1) Percentage of the above which could be considered documentaries: 20%

2) Percentage which could be considered romance: 20%

3) Percentage which could be considered children’s films: 8%

4) Percentage which could be considered thrillers: 20%

5) Percentage which could be considerd porn/softcore: 8%

6) Percentage which could be considered “musical mystery thrillers:” 1%

7) Percentage which could be considered ordinary musicals: 5%

*) Percentage of overlap between Nos. 4 & 5:  100%

9) Percentage of this overlap released between 1970 – 1979: 100%

10) Percentage of films that include “Queen” in the title: 10%

11) Percentage that include “Birds” in the title: 15%

12) Percentage that include “Bear” in the title: 5%

13) Percentage that include “Killer,” “Savage” or “Deadly” in the title:  14%

14) Percentage that include the word “Nicotine” in the title: 1%

15) Percentage of No. 10 that are about teenage girls: 50%

December 2009 has been a busy month for the Philadelphia Chapter. In the past week, the chapter has put on two great events. On December 5, alumni, family and friends enjoyed a performance by the Holiday Pops and on December 9, alumni, family and friends gathered for a holiday happy hour at The Black Sheep downtown.

Holiday Pops Concert Recap:

Once again, the Philadelphia W&L Alumni Chapter came together to celebrate the holidays in style with a reception and Philly Pops holiday concert.  It was a great opportunity to share some holiday cheer and kick off the season in style.  Academy of Music Production Manager and W&L Alum, Greg Buch (‘73) coordinated the event and the reception.

Holiday Happy Hour:

More than twenty alums from across forty years of graduating classes met on Wednesday December 9th for a Holiday Happy Hour at The Black Sheep in Center City Philadelphia.  The venue provided easy after-work access for the Center City work crowd, and a few alums even took the train in from outside the city.  Stay tuned for more happy hours in the new year.  Special thanks to T.J. Griffin (‘97) for coordinating the event.

We hope to see everyone at future chapter events. Make sure you mark your calendars for the following:

Save The Date–President’s Day Event

The Philadelphia Alumni Chapter will be hosting its signature President’s Day event on Friday, February 19th.  The event will be held at the Acorn Club, and Former University President and Shepherd Poverty Program Director Harlan Beckley has signed on to be the evening’s keynote speaker.  Stay tuned for more details.

Dear Friends,

As that Pilita Corrales ditty from the 1970s went:  “A million thanks to you…”  A million thanks to you indeed, for today “Remembrance of Things Awry” — www.remembranceofthingsawry.wordpress.com — reached the 1,000,000 hits mark since starting in August 2006 [ 1,000,402 hits --- not counting me --- as of 8:00 p.m. ].  I know it’s “peanuts” compared to the great Filipino blogs which already have millions of hits.  But then, we all know this blog isn’t for everyone, right?

A Million Thanks to All of You!!!  And of course, a million thanks to wordpress.com, the blog host.

Now, are you ready for the “Toto Gonzalez Show” on the Net???  Hahahah.

Cheers!!!

Toto Gonzalez        

PILF would like to congratulate our Assassins winners!!!

First Place (8 kills each)
Joseph Newberg
Carolyn Gillespie

Second Place (Randomly selected from remaining competitors)
George Brell

Third Place (Randomly selected from remaining competitors)
Proud Usahacharoenporn

Thank you all so much for participating and supporting PILF.  I hope you all choose to play again next year.  Until then good luck on finals!

“Thus goes by the life
Of I who live to kill
Death has never stopped before
With me it never will “

December 3, York hosted it’s flagship KM in the AM event. Two things of note actually; we hosted (which we rarely do, we like to have these events in the surrounding community) and, it was a PM event. The chance to highlight our new space within the York Research Tower as well as being able to sufficiently host the group of 51 confirmed attendees supported our decision.

Given the size of this event, we adopted a panel format, allowing for multiple speakers (and multiple perspectives) to speak on the topic of Youth Engagement. Dr. Gordon Flett (Faculty of Health), Cathy Dandy (Kinark Child and Family Services), Jennifer McPhee and Elizabeth Brockest (Mobilizing Minds) and Sean Twyford (Ontario Ministry of Child and Youth Services) shared their experiences and perspectives on Youth Engagement and fielded questions from the audience, both informally and within the structured Q&A setting. After closing statements and reflections from our panelists, David Phipps launched the opening of the new community collaboration stations (work space within the KM Unit for community partners to access York libraries and work on collaborative KM projects), as well as the latest additions to the ResearchSnapshot library, which houses clear language research summaries on a wide array of topics designed as a calling card to help inform people about York research and researchers (read more about these new developments here).

The positive responses and the energy of the afternoon have already helped sown the seeds for a follow up event!

While the time, location and format may have slightly changed from events past, we’re delighted that the spirit of collaboration and interest in research, and knowledge mobilization is as strong as ever!

Be sure to check our web site for future KM in the AM events. In addition, if you have thoughts, ideas or reflections on this event, or past events, be sure to contact us at kmunit@yorku.ca!

(l to r) Dr. Gordon Flett, Jennifer McPhee, Elizabeth Brockest, Sean Twyford, Cathy Dandy

This event produced some lively and vibrant small- and large-group conversations on how resilient local and global food systems would look, and how to bring them into being.  The most common suggestions heard from the various small discussion groups included:

• Education: incorporation of food education at every level from primary to post-secondary to general public
• Increased support for community gardens
• Changes to land use, including land trusts, use of municipal land for gardening, and cooperative land management
• Shifts in cultural values around food, increased community connection and participation in food growing
• Distribution: year-round markets and local control of food distribution
• Government: changes to the regulatory environment to support food growing
• Energy: Low energy consumption and a shift to renewable sources.  Closed-loop resource cycling

A point form summary of the notes from our conversations is provided below.

Next steps:

• Be part of our Transition working group on Food! We will be holding an Open Space event on January 30^th, 2010, to establish sector-based working groups.  See our blog (www.transitionvictoria.wordpress.com) for details or contact Tamara (sunsonghealing@yahoo.ca).
• There is already a group working on establishing a year-round market through CR-FAIR (Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable).  Please see the CR-FAIR website: http://www.communitycouncil.ca/initiatives/crfair/index.html
• Talk to your local municipal government about the need for increased community garden space, and for a regional community garden coordinator position to support networking and resource sharing between gardens.
• Join or start a food resilience group in your neighbourhood!  Two such groups already exist: the Vic West Food Security Collective and the Gorge Tillicum Urban Farmers (GTUF).  Contact Gabe Epstein from GTUF for support in starting such a group (belle.leon1@gmail.com).
• Grow and share your own food; save and share seeds.

1. What would a resilient food system look like… globally?  Locally?

Most common suggestions:

• Shift in cultural values: Increased community connection, relationship building, new food culture, changed attitudes toward labour, greater cooperation and integration of efforts, storytelling, festivals, rituals…
• More efficient energy use and shift to renewable sources
• More labour intensive, less energy intensive
• More small and medium scale growers
• Increased participation in food production: almost everyone involved
• Increased urban food growing and land sharing
• Reduced meat consumption
• Appropriate technologies
• Changes in land use patterns: better access, removal of financial barriers to land access, land sharing, more people farming
• Better food growing practices: food forests
• Consuming food closer to source: eating seasonal and climate appropriate foods
• Community based infrastructure: changes to processing, storage, distribution systems, so that these things are managed cooperatively for the public good
• Organic production: no pesticides and artificial fertilizers, diversified crops, crop rotation
• Education: food growing an intrinsic part of education system, recovery of lost skills and historical knowledge, research support for sustainable food growing from universities, mentorship through programs like wwoofing
• Growing fibres locally

2. What needs to happen in our region to make food resilience a reality?

Most common suggestions:

(Suggestions in bold were on “5 best” list for various groups)

• Strengthening community gardens networks; municipalities provide land, support, educate and unify individual growers
• Education:  ecological education, practical skills, food growing, cooperation as a cultural value.  Integrating food education at every level (primary, secondary, post-secondary, general public); farm conscription?
• Improvements to market distribution system:
  • year round farmers’ market
  • cluster markets in population centres
• Closed loop resource cycling to support soil health and fertility
• Regulatory changes:
  • Incentives to change land use over to food production, create jobs, reduce jurisdictional encumbrance and encourage investment in local communities
  • Restructuring food regulations based on evidence
• Government: paradigm shift, policy changes to support local food production and shift population’s value system
• Community connections: co-operative organization around food, within our communities and with other communities
• Changes to food management chain:
  • Building value chain relationships to create trust between farmers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs
  • Establishing locally controlled distribution and storage system to optimize efforts;  multiple, overlapping networks
• Land management:
  • Establish land trust system to improve access to agricultural land
  • Create urban spaces for food production
• Local seed: local sources, adapted varieties, seed sharing
• Legalize composting toilets
• Adoption and implementation of regional food charter
• Awareness raising by connecting with/infiltrating media
• Prioritizing renewable energy
• Change in value systems – population needs to value food.
• DIY community suppers
• Tear up asphalt, put down gardens
• Encouraging people to grow, preserve, and store their own food
• Change to more appropriate grain production:  local wheat varieties or not wheat at all… which staples work for us?
• Connect remote rural to urban using sustainable transportation; no urban/rural sprawl

The title of this post is a familiar phrase, if not often used anymore, meaning somebody is crabby.  During our November trip to Arion Press/ M & H Type, we found out this phrase comes directly from the letterpress factory.

Packaged Type

The most incredible part about this place is that all parts of the letterpress process, from casting the type, all the way through to binding the books, takes place under this one roof.  And on a behind the scenes tour, we got to see it all.  One of the fun facts that came out during our couple of hours with the Arion crew was a story about the divisions of labor among older factory letterpress workers — one of these jobs was called the “sorter.”  After the paragraph or page of type had been cast in lead in the foundry, it was brought out to the sorter, who would basically run a manual spell check, substituting out any letters that were off.  The lead cast letters this person would substitute IN as replacements were called sorts, and the foundry would always cast extra sorts with each job, just in case.  So, when the sorter ran short on sorts, they had to stop working until more were cast…and their crabby impatient state was labeled being “out of sorts.”

M & H Type, housed in with Arion press, is the largest and oldest letterpress type foundry in the US.  The foundry uses the two part process of the Monotype system:  a sentence or paragraph of text is first punched into a papertape (using an equally ancient keyboard which resembles some kind of crazy musical instrument from Edward Scissorhands), and then this papertape is fed into a one of the Monotype casting machines and “read”, resulting in printing types cast from lead.  Listening to the machine whir and clunk, and watching all its parts and gears make this magic happen was my favorite part of the trip.  You can download and listen to the sound clip below from one of the ancient Monotype casting machines.

monotypemachine (imbedded in a powerpoint – just push play)

Keyboard - Part one of creating lead type using the Monotype system

Casting the type - Part 2 of the system. The lead ingots are fed in and melted down toward the bottom right of the image. The punched tape from the keyboard roll is mounted and read toward the top left. The molten lead is then pushed through into a "matrix" of letter-molds, creating the arrangement of type needed.

Lead Ingots

Matrices

Bees were the theme of this weekend, and SMITHS was abuzz with conversation about all aspects of these magical and important creatures.  I just couldn’t stop thinking about wax…

What is this stuff that can go from liquid to solid, to liquid again and again?  What makes wax so enticing?  Is it this amazing, almost holy, color and smell?  The fact that this substance is so directly related to our bodies it is almost eerily belongs to us?   It’s no wonder wax  has been used a basic material for sculpture (“man’s first plastic”) for centuries, and that every basic sculpture student is mesmerized by just the bare fact of the material.  It seems like all humans gravitate to it…we want to be close to it, to touch it, to smell it…

What’s more amazing to think about, is that these small insects make this stuff into hexagonal honeycombs, which have the dual function of nests for their little ones, and storage for honey and pollen.  I think part of our fascination with wax is how distanced we are from our materials at this point.  I mean, very few really understand how glass forms, or what it takes to make a plastic tupperware.  Beeswax has this allure of “purity;” it is what it is.  The magic is right in front of our eyes – this stuff is secreted from the glands of bees into hexagonal honeycomb structures.  WHAT??  This substance is so bodily, so visceral, so raw, it’s almost difficult to talk about (unscientifically) without blushing.

During our human chattering and excitement about all things bee over the weekend, several folks were dipping twine into small crock pots of hot wax, adding one layer at a time to build up small, funny-shaped candles.  I wanted to spend all my time there near the sinks:  dip, let cool, dip again, sniff, watch, liquid, solid, clear deep yellow, dry matted gold, sniff, dip, watch, wonder.