“Doomed attempt to get to California in 1846. More than just a riveting tale of death, endurance and survival. The Donner Party’s nightmarish journey penetrated to the very heart of the American Dream at a crucial phase of the nation’s “manifest destiny. Touching some of the most powerful social, economic and political currents of the time, this extraordinary narrative remains one of the most compelling and enduring episodes to come out of the West.”
“Watch the new video, Agoraphobic Nation: Sprawl and Culture:
Most of the problems that we face today in the United States, whether they are cultural, economic, social or environmental are rooted in poor urban design and planning. Due to America’s unique experience of economic growth during the 20th century, this has become the most underrated issue in the United States that most people don’t know about. People react to their immediate environment and don’t see the big picture unless they can step outside and view themselves. It’s important to recognize a problem in order to have the capacity to change it.
Some points at the end were inspired by a lecture by Andres Duany:
“Have you ever dreamed of another kind of life? Not the job that you don’t want to go off to in the morning, or the house you have to keep on paying for year after year, but a life closer to the earth, a little place in the country that you build yourself, a garden and some solar panels for electricity, time to be with those you love and to do the things you most want to do. An impossible dream? Maybe not. Right now people all over are working to create an alternative to a consumer society that gives us less and less satisfaction and is more and more destructive to the earth and to us, as well. Explore the world of natural building and meet some of its pioneers who are creating beautiful and inexpensive houses out of earth and straw, houses that you can make, too. This is a way of building that can transform how you see the earth and yourself. Visit: Linda Smiley and Ianto Evans who pioneered the use of building with earth, straw and sand called cob in the U.S. and who now run the North American School of Natural Building in Coquille, Oregon where they and their students have used natural building methods to create a little village. Coenraad and Courtney Rogmans who took a piece of undeveloped land, built straw bale and cob buildings complete with solar electricity and a water catchment system, and who teach natural building workshops. Taylor Starr at White Oak Farm, an organic farm and educational center, which is putting the final touches on a striking timber-framed straw bale and cob community center. Brendan Flanagan, with his family and friends, turned a remote wooded hillside into a snug community of homes and gardens. Rob Bolman, an advocate of incorporating natural building techniques into mainstream building practices, who created an ecovillage in the middle of Eugene, Oregon, and who speaks passionately about the link between natural building and social justice. Meka Bunch who after only a week-long workshop, built his own elegant cob cottage and who works sharing natural building with people abroad. And Kiko Denzer, a sculptor and cob builder, and his wife Hannah, an organic gardener and baker, who transformed a dilapidated outbuilding in the country into a cozy cob home surrounded by beautiful gardens. For more on this subject go to http://innerexplorations.com/“
“The cinematic smash that scared millions. Is it as good as people say…or…at least better than the original?
It: Chapter One, or simply It, is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King.”
I saw It 2017, about two weeks ago…and I totally enjoyed it.
01) How America Got Divorced from Reality: Christian Utopias, Anti-Elitism, Media Circus – Kurt Andersen
“Americans are inherently a little crazy. But now the crazy is being enabled by politicians in the White House and by the internet. How exactly did it get so bad?”
01) Waking Up with Sam Harris #100 – Facing the Crowd (with Nicholas Christakis)
“In this episode of the Waking Up podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about mob behavior, moral panics, and current threats to free speech.
Nicholas A. Christakis is a sociologist and physician who conducts research in the area of biosocial science, investigating the biological predicates and consequences of social phenomena. He directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, where he is appointed as the Sol Goldman Family Professor of Social and Natural Science, and he is the Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science. Dr. Christakis’ lab is focused on the relationship between social networks and well-being. Ongoing investigations in the lab explore the genetic bases for human social behaviors and the application of social network principles to change population-level behavior related to health, cooperation, and economic development. Along with long-time collaborator, James Fowler, Dr. Christakis has authored a general-audience book on social networks: Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives.
“There are certain things you cannot say, even though they are true. And there are other things you are free to say even though they are not true.” (Göran Adamson)
Göran Adamson was teaching Sociology, the Problem of Multiculturalism, and Social Policy at the Dept. of Health and Society at Malmö University College, Sweden.
in 2015 he published a book entitled “The Trojan Horse: A Leftist Critique of Multiculturalism in the West”. This is the story of what happened to him as a result of daring to publish that book.
I’ve created this videoclip as a summary of his story that was told in a documentary I found on youtube, entitled “Swedish Documentary On Failed Immigration”, create by Pelle Neroth (in 2017).”
Cultural infiltration is a real form of attack, with an established historical existence…
…Nobody likes to think, that it still goes on anymore…But what if it does?…Why wouldn’t it?…
…And what do you do about it?…
It’s an attractive long term tactic, with genuine incentives…Some cultures are known for employing it.
A complex point:
I love tiny pockets of foreign cultures, which you can find within the U.S…
…I really love Mediterranean food…
…It does not offend my sense of humanist decency, to see general Middle East [even Muslim] culture expressed in the U.S.
That’s not to say, I’ve never witnessed noxious behavior from such people…nor that I think there is no good reason to inform immigrants, that such behavior is frowned upon and not welcome here.
…It’s also not to say that I believe anyone should evade prosecution, wherever such behavior violates U.S. law.
If nobody is willing to do that…then how do you stop the worst elements from other cultures, from being imported here?
We’ve already got a surplus of noxious behavior, within the native U.S. population…The last thing we need is more.
