Whole Earth Summit: March 11-13, 2014 - catch it now!!!

I just serendipitously came across

the Whole Earth Summit

which is happening right now and you can listen to 42 incredibly visionary leaders in sustainable growing, food, water, community, regenerative design, etc for free online for the next several days.

I am currently enjoying a conversation called

Designing Living Buildings & Systems 

between Jason McLennan and David McConville. 

Here is an excerpt that encapsulates what these guys are about:

"Instead of the paradigm where every act of humanity is leading to the degradation of the system that sustain all of us... how about we flip that: how does every act of operation, design, construction, living, in fact, regenerate and heal the places where we are living."

I actually wrote about the project created by Jason McLennan called The Living Building Challenge for a class in Environmental Media last semester and will repost it below, for anyone curious about eco-building and green homes - something that's always inspired me (and I hope to live in one or many of these one day.)

Green Homes: The Living Building Challenge

by Anastasia Avvakumova

There are many eco-friendly home building innovations out there, some seemingly so incredible that it leaves you wondering if you had accidentally stumbled on a science-fiction forum. For example, the North American website Treehugger[i], dedicated to bringing sustainable-living news, solutions and product information to the mainstream, has recently published stories in their Design section ranging from shipping container building to insulation and even 3D printed furniture made by growing mushroom mycelium into the spaces and shapes desired.[ii]

Treehugger’s managing editor Lloyd Alter is also the editor and author of most of the website’s Design articles and himself comes from an architectural background. More than a few of his recent contributions have been following a growing movement of eco-building inspired by the Living Building Challenge.[iii]

This is in fact a certification standard for the world of green building. As defined by their website,

The Living Building Challenge^TM is the built environment's most rigorous performance standard. It calls for the creation of building projects at all scales that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature's architecture. To be certified under the Challenge, projects must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements, including net zero energy, waste and water, over a minimum of 12 months of continuous occupancy.

Ambitious it is, requiring a building to produce all of its own energy through clean, renewable resources, treat its own waste water and, using only non-toxic, responsibly sourced building materials, create a design that is not only functionally efficient, but also aesthetically beautiful. Despite the extremely exacting standards, the Living Building Challenge (LBC) has continuously gained popularity. Following its creation by the International Living Future Institute in 2006, over 100 registered teams have been pursuing the challenge and four projects have been fully certified as Living Buildings, while six more have been partially certified for achieving aspects of the Challenge’s standards.

Despite several eco-building certification schemes already in existence, LBC standards significantly surpass them, requiring project builders to think ultra-sustainably in seven areas: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty. It is really inspiring to see that so many people and firms have risen to the challenge, creating a movement which has been drawing visitors to the finished physical sites as well online research and discussion.

I see the LBC creating enormously positive impact in two major areas: localized environmental improvements and far-reaching global inspiration.

Localized improvement includes:

-       building a residence, learning center or other type of facility on previously developed land in a way that will benefit the immediate environment (eg. restoring native plants and general health of previously impacted land)

-       using non-toxic building materials, which will ensure the health of human occupants as well as the surrounding eco-system

-       allocating equal amount of land as taken up by the building project to permanent conservation

-       functioning as a closed loop water system, which means rainwater is collected for the building’s use, grey water and black water are treated onsite through processes which mimic the natural world, “such as using a combination of microorganisms, algae, plants and gravel and sand filtration to clean sewage water and return clean drinkable water back to the aquifer,[iv]” in this way symbiotically interacting with the natural surroundings and returning water to the local ecosystem

-       functioning as a net zero energy unit, with surplus energy pumped into the electrical grid.

These standards require builders to redefine industrial building practices and reach for unprecedented ingenuity.

Far-reaching inspiration includes:

-       advocating the green building industry development by refusing to utilize harmful materials, such as are often present in insulation, paint, etc

-       challenging legislation which currently does not allow for 100% private onsite water treatment

-       gradually bringing down the cost of green buildings through the laws of supply and demand, as eco-building gains popularity[v]

-       opening the sites to tours and workshops, creating dialogue and awareness through hands-on education.

It is very beneficial to have reporting sites like Treehugger informing the general public about developments and innovations such as LBC, as the technical industry terms and specs are translated into accessible language and the reporters are free to critique the initiatives, being a third-party observer.

My fascination with eco-friendly homes started over a decade ago with Earthships[vi], after which I also learned about straw-bale, in-situ adobe, cob, and rammed earth structures, with their use of natural and recycled materials, ingenious use of natural light and ventilation, self-contained water and energy systems, green roofs and stunning aesthetic. It may be a small current in the ocean of commercial building, yet green homes are definitely making waves and with the Living Building Challenge raising the bar on sustainable construction, the future of buildings certainly looks bright.

---

[i] http://www.treehugger.com/about/

[ii] http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/ecovatives-magical-mushroom-insulation-wins-2013-buckminster-fuller-challenge.html

http://www.treehugger.com/eco-friendly-furniture/mycelium-chair-3d-printed-living-fungus-eric-klarenbeek.html

[iii] http://living-future.org/lbc

[iv] http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/omega-center-sustainable-living-eco-machine-living-building-water-treatment.html

[v] http://inhabitat.com/the-costs-of-green-architecture/

[vi] http://earthship.com/

Save Wolf Lake - a precious red pine forest in Ontario

I haven't posted anything in awhile, but this is the kind of stuff I feel is really important to take the time for! I hope you do too.

According to the Earthroots campaign, only 1.2% of ancient growth red pine forests remain on the planet, with the largest surrounding Wolf Lake in the Sudbury District of the Canadian province of Ontario. Apparently some of these trees are estimated to be 140-300 years old (!!) 

In March 2012, the provincial government reaffirmed the protected status of Wolf Lake Old Growth Forest Reserve, but in late May renewed the mining leases in the area as well. Wikipedia

Watch this beautiful time-lapse video of the area and decide if you would like to take action, by signing the petition to Premier Wynne, donating for the campaign, or simply passing this info on.

Fitness achievement: half-hour jog

I've signed up for Conditioning as my PhysEd credit this semester, as I'm quite interested in the ins and outs of metabolism, proper training and ... gulp... jogging.

In the introduction week, the teacher warned us that our goal is to jog for half an hour, which seemed utterly outlandish to me, as I find running hard as to be nearly impossible. However, since thousands of people fall in love with running and it seems like one of the ultimate ways to train the body's aerobic capacity, I decided to persevere.

Sure enough, this past Thursday we had our first 30 minutes run around the track. The goal was to keep going for the entire time, no matter if you could only walk.  I assumed after 10-15 minutes I'd be well at my limit and walk the rest of the time. And yet... I ran the entire half hour!!!

This seemed utterly incredible to me, but here we are. I attribute this nearly improbable achievement to the following:

1) The teacher started with us and ran at a much slower pace than I expected. This gave me permission to putt along - in total, I ran 4000m in 30 minutes, which for anyone who runs will be obviously at a snail's pace, but hey! I am a happy proud snail!

2) The day before I went for a morning run in the nearby Daan park, to calm my nerves about this whole "ordeal," and although I only went for 10 minutes (at a quicker pace), it was a good mental warm up that jogging is, in fact, possible if not easy.

3) We just watched "The Hobbitt".

Haha. I know, I know, what's the connection? Well, seeing all those little people running for their lives while battling evil really made me think... I should be more prepared for life's twists and turns. Who knows what's around the corner, physically and chronologically speaking?  Better train up!  True motivation was born.

South Taiwan, Chinese New Year 2012

Sometimes you just have to pick up and go. Otherwise it may never happen.

After a week-long retreat at our Buddhist center, one day of subbing for Rich (who's visiting his fam in Czech), Mara and I just did it. We went south.

-----------------------------
Day 1: Tues Jan 31, 2012
-----------------------------
Mara works the morning while I catch up on errand-ville, then we meet up for the 1:30pm high-speed rail (HSR) to 高雄 Kaohsiung/Gāoxióng, the industrial city in the south. 1.5 hours later (! well worth the 1500NT if pressed for time), we're stepping off the train into breezy summery weather, quite the welcome change from wet and cold Taipei.
Tara & Madison, who'd I just met on the street last week in Taipei, meet us outside the main station, conveniently just a few stops down the line on the KRT (Kaohsiung Rapid Transit). [My previous HSR experiences in 台中 Taichung/Táizhōng and 新竹 Hsinchu/Xīnzhú involved a ridiculously long trek out to the HSR from downtown. In Taipei, it's all gloriously smack dab in the center, expanding the labyrinthian behemoth of Main Station.]


We catch a late lunch at a Loving Hut, bus to 東港 Dōnggǎng (Eastern Harbor) and lose the light before we board the 18:45 ferry to 小琉球 Xiǎoliúqiú, a tiny 5km area island roughly 30 min away from the mainland. That is, on the reliable new ferries which had already stopped running for the day by the time we arrived. The junker we are on tosses along and while everyone's remarking about large buckets placed at frequent intervals around the cabin, I ponder that it's probably smelling the exhaust that would make me nauseous, strange the smell is getting stronger... then an alarm sounds, the boat lurches, everyone rushes for the outside deck, where we see a little engineer man climb into the hull and I just hope it's not the last time we see him. There's a general sense of low-key panic, while we sway on the waves, motor-less, until the engine starts up again and we're moving along. Besides us four foreign gals, the deck is full of locals, 90% of whom are huffing on cigarettes, to calm the nerves we assume. As we're about to dock, Mara notices a no-smoking sign on the wall. hahaha...

Oh well, all the sweeter the pure, blissfully fresh air on steady land. Even the feeling of it on our skin is so incredibly light... We rent 2 scooters and head off into the starry night, with Tara & Madison showing us the way to Dreamland B&B on the open ocean side of the island. The owners are lovely, dropping the price down to nearly half, knocking on the door several times to drop off drinks and cherry tomatoes, which we eat in picnic-style on our beds, along with artisan bread Tara brought along for the adventure. A starry walk outside and we're in bed by midnight-ish. Swell.

-----------------------------
Day 2: Wed Feb 1, 2012
-----------------------------
In the light of morn, Mara and I venture down to the water, walking through the tunnel and past creepy long disused rooms that were part of the military coast defense.

On the walls are still maps and signs that my Mandarin-deciphering skills read as motivational lines about a soldier's selfless, brave mindset and such. The B&B's dog follows us down, but loses interest once we park ourselves in a little cove. From a viewing platform above the sea, we stare at a big shape in the surf, at first thinking it must be a scuba-diver, but later realizing it's a huge sea turtle! Yea!!

We munch on greasy-spoon traditional breakfast and scooter off to explore the island. Circumnavigating the whole place by the coastal highway probably only takes half an hour, but we stop to see the famous Vase Rock, a forest walkway, the myriad temples (one with a huge stone incense cauldron in the shape of a lion, smoke coming out of its open mouth), and our first meal of fried rice, which we practically subsist on for the next few days, as one of the few things available in way of veggie fare. But it's all delish.

The fast ferry back flies along in a smooth and windy ride, the first occasional wave nearly soaking an unsuspecting Mara as we opted for the view on the outside deck. ; )

Touching down again in 東港 Dōnggǎng we accept the offer of a 250NT ride to the train station we're headed to, only to find out when the driver strangely allows us to check the price at the bus stop that it's a mere 46NT trip on the bus. A good deal of yelling ensues on his behalf when we don't feel like paying highway-robbery prices, but in the end we send him off with a 100NT note for his troubles of driving us the 5 minutes to the bus stop. Sometimes peace is much more valuable than a few extra dollars.

15:00 We arrive at 林邊 Línbiān station on the line headed east with the perfect amount of time to collect ourselves for what's meant to be a beautiful journey crossing the island.

15:10 On the platform waiting for the train, Mara mentions how on a trip to Italy they boarded a train going the wrong way. I'm anxiously trying to catch the perfect shot of a train pulling in along that patriotic row of flags.

15:14 We're on and seated, happily snacking.

15:18 I look out the window as we pull in at the next stop, panic and rush us off. We've somehow gone north rather than southeast, meaning the wrong direction-blooper just got a rerun. As the train pulls away, the conductor shouts asking where we're headed and when I yell 台東 Táidōng he just stares at us wide-eyed, getting progressively smaller as the train continues on.

15:20 We make a dash for the ticket booth, only to realize there's nothing here except a single platform, a couple benches with a roof and a station sign. Mara takes it all in stride, listening to the birds chatter in the palm trees, while I scan our possibilities with the aid of a smartphone. In fact, it is a really peaceful little place, so we just park it and wait the 40 minutes to return to where we just started.

16:12 Back at 林邊 Línbiān all of 6 minutes down the line, we exchange our tickets for the next trip east, upgrading to an express but unfortunately without seats.

17:31 Take #2, we again lose the light and so have no idea of the scenery, instead nodding off while slumped against the wall on the floor of the train car. Hey, at least it's seats of some kind.

19:09 We've made it to 台東 Táidōng, where we get the next day's return tickets home, immediately sort out a room for the night with the help of the Tourist info (thankfully still open at this hour) and borrow bikes from the guesthouse, riding out into the night map in hand, in search of dinner and a bit of an exploration excursion. Our pedaling takes us past dark fields, then endless betel nut shops, a strip club with a shop selling exclusively Playboy bedding next door, occasional roadside food stands that don't particularly call us and so we continue towards the downtown. Without quite reaching it, I brake at the sight of huge animal masks hanging in a lit shop window.
We poke our heads in, meeting the artist who is actually a dentist, which explains the masks' perfectly aligned and anatomically correct teeth, but decline an invitation to stay for tea as it's nearly 10pm and restaurants are probably winding down. A few blocks later we see a Japanese place, the fried rice options in which, we decide, are good enough. Dinner, bike ride home, a happy drunk insisting on paying for our fruit at a roadside stand, again in bed by midnight. If 台東 Táidōng proper varies greatly in its night life/cuisine/architecture/type of retail shop from what we saw along that long highway, we'll have to find out on another visit.

-----------------------------
Day 3: Thurs Feb 2, 2012
-----------------------------
Our alarms get us up before dawn, as we're determined to squeeze the most of our morning before the 1:30pm train to Taipei. The earliest bus up the coast leaves at 6:52am. We're packed and ready to leave by 6:30, with one small problem - the guesthouse has a garage-style metal door barring our way to the outside world. Mara's halfway out the tall front window and I'm asking the Thai nun guest who's also up and toasting bread in the kitchen to lock up after us when the owner's wife arrives in her nightgown and with one push of a button the metal door is up and light's streaming in through the front. We sheepishly say our goodbyes and walk the 5 minutes to the train station, lock up most of our stuff in a locker and dash out just in time to catch the first East Coast Line shuttle of the morning.

Our first stop is the Forest Park, which sounded like it should be lovely and there was promise of bike rentals. The rumors turn out to be true on both accounts. We make our way to a pebble beach with a great view (unfortunately strewn with trash... oh, the human race...) and chat over breakfast of leftover fried rice. I quiz Mara on the modern political history of South Africa, as my preferred way of learning has always been through stories rather than dry textbooks. Sounds like a pretty tangled up situation.

We feed the last of our leftovers to some scrawny puppies and bike back on into the Forest Park. Out of a viewing hut at the pond's edge, we spy ducks paddling on crystal-clear water and a white stork or its cousin species picking its way across the reed marshes, hunting.Such a beautiful, elegant bird in quite a pristine setting, though we're minutes away from busy streets and traffic.
We cycle along the paths, finding a much cleaner beach that must be part of the park itself, as well as some modern sculptures and painted Aboriginal longhouses.
The day is simply gorgeous, the sun tickling us with its warmth. We hop back on the shuttle for a further ride up the coast to 都蘭 Dūlán, hoping to take in its famed artists' village at an old sugar factory. The ride itself is pretty enjoyable, azure sea to our right and a super-friendly Ami-tribe bus driver, whose Chinese seems to be only slightly better than mine and mostly chatters to us in his version of English. He's surprised we've heard of the big annual Ami-tribe festival which happens in July and invites us back for the experience.

The nice woman at the café adjoining the Sugar Factory walks outside with us and at the sight of the big driftwood doors still pulled shut against the bright morning comments that the opening time "看心情" which means "depends on their mood." Certainly sounds like artists! ; ) We poke around a craft shop and a wood working studio which are already open and getting our fix of caffeine for the way back, board the next shuttle returning to 台東 Táidōng's train station.

A bit of extra time for souvenir shopping (the offerings are almost exclusively food items, like freshly picked custard apples, sweet potato chips and walnut brown sugar toffee) and we're on the right train, seats reserved for the just-under-6-hours journey on the regular express back to Taipei. I finally finish a chapter I've been chipping away at in the first entirely Chinese-language novel I had chosen for school and mentally prepare myself for one more day of subbing for Rich, which involves cute tiny kids, totally blasé pre-teens and a mixed bag of class personalities in the ages between.

Overall, a really fun few days of pretty relaxed-pace travel, though we sure covered a lot of ground in our quest for getting to know the opposite end of the country. Thanks, Mara for being such an easy-going travel buddy that was up for the adventure!

Click to see the rest of the photos:

South Taiwan with Mara CNY 2012

Super Creative Electricity Transmission Line Towers

this is so cool! (reposted from Super Creative Electricity Transmission Line Towers and not my writing in any way shape or form. for example, I don't think "awe" is a verb)

Every once in a while we awe at something that is so cool that we wish it existed in the real world that we occupy. This is one of those things. One look at the image and you get it. Immediately.

Visualized by American design firm Choi + Shine Architects, these massive structures look almost reassuring, like some gods that stand united watching over the lands. [Kind of reminds us of the The Gates of Argonath from the Lord of the Rings. ]

The structure won the 2010 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture Award and we bet it wouldn’t be the last accolade that it wins.

From the architect’s site:

This design transforms mundane electrical pylons into statues on the Icelandic landscape by making only small alterations to existing pylon design. Making only minor alterations to well established steel-framed tower design, we have created a series of towers that are powerful, solemn and variable. These iconic pylon-figures will become monuments in the landscape. Seeing the pylon-figures will become an unforgettable experience, elevating the towers to something more than merely a functional design of necessity.

The pylon-figures can also be arranged to create a sense of place through deliberate expression. Subtle alterations in the hands and head combined with repositioning of the main body parts in the x, y and z-axis, allow for a rich variety of expressions. The pylon-figures can be placed in pairs, walking in the same direction or opposite directions, glancing at each other as they pass by or kneeling respectively, head bowed at a town.

They even managed to bring out gender differences in them!

*Huge respect to the minds behind these*

Back in the steamy Taipei of August

It's Day 2 since I landed and I'm up bright and early. It's been kind of exciting to be back in Taipei, as if exploring a new place again, after the details of it blurred a bit in my mind, layered over by all the places I visited on my trip.
Thanks again to my family and everyone I saw over my brief weeks in Canada. It was a truly lovely (and needed!) vacation and I feel full of great new memories and conversations. ;-)

I watched two great movies on the plane, and definitely recommend both.

1. Oceans
Filmed in over 50 countries by the makers of "Winged Migration," I thought it was really interesting to watch a nature documentary that's quite different in style from BBC's Planet Earth, but no shortage of "is that real?" incredible scenes. In fact, a lot of the time I wasn't even sure if I was watching real footage, or computer animation. I think this may partly come from them getting in really close to many animals, where you as a viewer, really spend time with their faces and I found them both very alien and humanoid at the same time.Warning: there is a pretty disturbing part about 2/3 of the way through - guess what about? Humans wreaking havoc on the oceans, of course... At the very end, there was a sentence en francais on the screen that I translated to mean: "No animals were harmed for the purpose of making this documentary; all the massacre scenes were re-enacted." I found that difficult to believe, but maybe what it really meant is they didn't stage any deaths, just found them happening and filmed them. Very sad.
If you're not shy about downloading, I have found one link online, but no English subtitles, although there is minimal talking and the visuals would be more than powerful enough on their own
.
Also, check out their cool (all in French) interactive website


2. Men in the City (or Männerherzen in its native deutsch)

Althought IMDB gives it a pretty low rating and it's true, it's all a bit simplistic with stories set up so we watch lives quickly fall apart, then wrap up neatly again with a feel-good ending, I thought this was a totally enjoyable watch. Very funny, clean enough for the whole family and great editing that really helps the stories weave in and out of each other, finally incorporating just about everyone whose face you've seen onscreen.
The plot is set around a bunch of men, strangers at first, who go to the same gym, their love lives and successes (or lack thereof) and how we can all step up and be the better people we can be.

in the WIDE OPEN spaces of Canada

Aaaah.... a sigh of relief as I arrive in Vancouver... Fresh air, stylishly dressed people and all... this... s-p-a-c-e-! My mind suddenly has a chance to unclutter itself, spread out, empty... rest.

What a treat staying in my old neighborhood hugging Commercial Drive! I wake up to seagulls calling to the morning breeze, wander the shady residential streets, house after house lounging beneath regally old trees, splashes of colorful blooms crowding front yards. So nice to reconnect with old friends and meet a few wide-eyed toddlers who've taken their parents lives by happy storm since I've been living the Asian expat life.

I spend three days digging through years of accumulated stuff , piece by piece finding its way to new owners or the recycling bin, with some hard-to-part-with bits weighing me down again. Oh, STUFF! It'll be nice to have a stereo again though.

On my last day the weather's still beautifully sunny, if chill with the sea-kissed gusts of wind, so I hop on a bike and go for a mondo ride to see the fair city of Vangroovy. Aiming for the oceanside at Stanley Park, I detour along False Creek and haul uphill and along the Granville Bridge to visit Granville Island. Yay! There are totem poles in various stages of carving, shaved wood blanketing the ground,
spirit faces emerging from the fallen trees. A whimsical potter is crafting a fantastic fish-and-human-face-encircled fountain as an afternoon project. An accordion player busks sauntering down the street.

Inside the Public Market, it's Foodie Paradise - it's BC blueberries season and they're piled alongside heaps of squashes and peaches, there are cheese and olive counters, fresh pasta, seafood and famous BC salmon, teas, smoothies, fudge, home-made chutneys, bulk bins aplenty, foods and spices from around the world at the trendy South China Seas Trading Co. This whole enormous cornucopia of delights is at first seductive, but I slowly notice that the dangerously laden shelves at one bakery after another are actually starting to become overwhelming... I finally leave feeling completely full after buying nothing... The ultimate diet plan?




Outside again, I stop to buy some Haida art postcards and admire huge masks, costumes and sculptures at one of my all-time-faves: Eagle Spirit Gallery.





Pressing on, I head to the beach. Dipping my feet into the ocean's salty waters has been put off for too long! People are lying around sunbathing, which I haven't seen in ages, and the newly-acquired Asian in me is appalled at their careless skin-sizzling in the high-noon sun. Water's freezing though, and anyone actually venturing in seems to be doing it with a lot of squealing.

I jump back on my trusty peddle-stallion and make one last stop in Chinatown. Then off to re-pack and de-own and donate things for the umpteenth time, with some small acquisitions (haha, I know, but it's to support the underground arts!) from my very talented and über-unique artist friends at Trypton Media.

My verdict on Vancouver: what a great city for enjoying life! (disclaimer: having money significantly helps)

Next stop: flying into Toronto on my birthday! Family, friends and nature time! My sister and I serendipitously wander into a Dusk Dances performance and two nights later take in some modern Japanese taiko drumming at the Musical Garden at the Harbourfront, after kicking back at Toronto's new Sugar Beach. There is so much going on in this city, doing just the things you are interested in would be a very very busy full-time job!

It's summer and minus Taipei humidity, the outdoors is a wonderful place to be. One more week before another long flight whisks me back to the capital of Formosa.

Vicarious Photography

At least someone's not being lazy about publishing their photos...

I'm in 新竹 (Hsinchu/Xinzhu depending on whether you use the arcane yet still official romanisation or the modern pinyin that makes sense). Tomorrow is the last day of summer camp at a junior high, where the students have needed various levels of cajoling to get them to participate, their personalities ranging from pure brattiness to painfully shy to just couldn't be bothered... Anyway, it's been a pretty good experience, the company running the camp as well as all my co-teachers are fab.

I get back to Taipei tomorrow night and just over 48 hours later hop on a (direct! yea!) flight to Vancouver, where I haven't been in nearly 3 years. Then onto Tarana (Toronto... but who actually says it that way?) to see my family who are all gathering and making time for the occasion and even helping me finance this dream summer vacation trip into reality. Best family ever! : ) It'll be strange being back, I'm sure! Strange and fun. Who are you, when you haven't been defined by that reality of geography, culture and social interactions for so long?

Anyway, I'm here in Xinzhu perusing Flickriver and running across gems like this one, that I was moved to share. I think in some way it must make up for my lack of uploading pictures, or at least divert everyone's attention away from the fact... hey, look, a WAAAAY better photographer!

Source: Philipp Klinger

Happy summer everyone, stay cool and I might be in your neighborhood before long!

Chasing Illusion

Now more than ever, in this era of rampant desires, we are constantly tormented day and night by material worries and desires, by attachment and hatred. It is now so important that we recognize the harmfulness of desires for, and attachment to, material possessions and passions. If we understand that all samsaric phenomena are fleeting as waves on the surface of the water, merely illusory appearancs, insubstantial as hallucinations or dreams, we will not be attached to them, and we will be able to content ourselves with what we have and remain happy, our minds open and at peace.

"Luminous Mind: The Way of the Buddha"
~ Kalu Rinpoche

Green me up, Scotty!

As I composed this blog post in my head biking home from school at 11:30am, the sun's rays beat down, ridiculing my long pants and shirt, threatening to leave me a mess of sweaty clothes and skin. Great, I thought, the sun is out - perfect timing to write a blurb about life really springing forth after a winter's rest. It's 2 hours later and threatening to rain. Well, that's certainly the spring we've grown to know and, ahem, love.

Anyway, it's the end of April! Egads! Where in all that studying, working, prepping and homework-writing does the time go? ; ) Well, capricious Miss Weather will probably throw another season at me before I'm done typing this, so let's just hope that minor earth-shaking this morning was enough to release the pressure built up under the earth's crust and aside from an umbrella I won't have to worry too much about nature's whims of the unsolicited kind.

Ah, nature. Glorious, dazzling nature, a few recent encounters with whom inspired me to write.

Last Sunday we took up one of my lovely students on her offer to a freebie hot springs spa experience. About an hour after stepping out of our door and onto the subway followed by bus, we were well out of the city and alit in front of Formosa Fun Coast better known for its huge outdoor waterpark (summertime only). We've had a few hot spring experiences here, but this was the royal treatment. You choose the pattern for your kimono for the day, then patter out to the hot spring poools of varying degrees, jacuzzi jets, steam rooms, flavored soaking pools (my fave were the rose and ginger, in that order) and the most exciting one (I thought) deserving a few muffled squeals since we were in public: the Dr. Fish Pond! I'd only read about them in Thailand. Stick your feet into this pool and small orange "hot spring fish" nibble away at the dead skin softened up by hot water. I know it sounds gross... but the experience is fascinating and slightly ticklish, whereas would you rather that dead skin stays on you 'till death do you part? Anyway this pic is just to give you an idea, ours were cuter. In true overwhelming Taiwanese countryside hospitality, we got very insistently taken our for dinner by my student's family afterwards. What a fabulous day!


In other news, my fledgling garden on the roof is expanding by the week! Luckily the plants continue to grow, not like last summer when I planted them too late and they would lose the will to go on after a few weeks. We've already had kale in our salad, basil in a quiche and some mint for garnish on dessert.

Last but not least, Happy 40th Earth Week, everyone!
This past Thursday April 22, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of a US Senator introducing Earth Day as a culmination of nearly a decade of promoting environmental issues in his political agenda. I had the fortune of helping a friend organize a screening of No Impact Man, which evolved into some friends presenting their passions and research on water issues in India, measuring potential sustainable energy your home location can harvest as well as your energy consumption, organic tea grown on Taiwanese plantations whose owners would rather see a smaller yield than spray chemicals onto their crops, followed by the movie. It's quite an amazing undertaking, this year-long-project by a NYC family to create no negative impact on the world around them. They went to zero garbage, bicycled everywhere, shopped only in bulk and farmer's markets and even turned off electricity for six months. It was mega-inspiring and we had a lively discussion about what each of us would be willing change in our lives and how many people in the film had the opposite reaction of being appalled at the sacrifices they made. But the benefits were huge. They all became much healthier, more resourceful, intimately aware of their food supply by interacting with the people whose hands harvested the food they ate. My favorite part was the wife saying: "Without TV or airconditioning to keep us indoors, we spent so much time outside... The days just seemed to go on forever." Who has that kind of an experience these days - a surplus of time? This coincides perfectly with an article I just wrote about two unrelated authors switching off their Internet connection for two weeks or more as an experiment. That meant no constant emails, updates, notifications, hours spent playing useless games... Both of them reported to have glorious stretches of leisure time to wander on a beach, cook, read a book, call a friend...

Some food for thought. I know I can't wait for a second helping.