Carl's Footprint

cool books I have read or reading (fiction)

2007-12-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

It sure has been a while since my last post I am very sorry for the delay and the laziness but I tend to get lazy in the city. There will be more in the future, more about my plans and my goals for after high school.

I would like to go to Guelph U for organic farming and something to do with poultry but I would also like to spend a year (or a season) off before more school. During the summers when I am at Guelph I would like to work at Everdale with their chicken operation which I would like to expand.

Xombies

2007-12-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

By Walter Greatshell

A book report

When you read the title of the novel, Xombies, the subject matter is very clear. Xombies is a novel about Zombies, or the walking dead. As horror novels go, this one is a prime example of the now more popular Zombie genre, and is not quite as scary as it is thought-provoking. Zombie novels always have a reason for the walking dead including Necromancy, Aliens and viruses. Xombies are created for the latter reason, a virus called “Agent X” (quite the cliché name) which at first infects only mature woman. ‘ “Honey?” Her look was dreamy, detached. Unbalanced. “Something weird is going on” ’ (Greatshell Pg. 4) The Xombies have a great need to feast on the flesh of the living and soon most people on Earth are infected. The main character is a seventeen-year-old girl named Louise (Lulu) who is supposedly immune to Agent X because she has “Chromosomal Primary Amenorrhea” which is a real condition that suspends a woman’s menstrual cycle and makes her appear half her age. Lulu has to survive hordes of Xombies and team up with teenage boys onboard a nuclear submarine to ensure the survival of the human race. As if the Xombies are not enough, many fellow humans are prime antagonists and Lulu must face human despair, desperation and greed while living in a post-apocalyptic world filled with cannibalistic monsters. Lulu encounters strange things and people in her travels (Pakistani Beatles cover band anyone?) and thus the story is very interesting but sometimes slightly hokey.

Xombies are not unlike George A. Romero’s popular depiction of the walking dead, but yet they are different because they are fast and slightly intelligent to boot. This is a change from other walking dead literature that describes Zombies as slow dumb dead humans. Xombies are even more interesting than regular Zombies as they have a higher purpose that is exciting to find out about. Xombies are technically made of

Walter Greatshell might be (and probably is) a submarine aficionado because of the great detail of the inner workings of a submarine which he includes in his book about the living dead. In fact, it does seem odd that Lulu ends up in a submarine of all places! Authors must have their indulgences, and it makes for a more interesting read.

Amazing People part 2

2007-08-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

Noah Sokol

Noah is one of those people you just want to party with because they are so cool, and he is very open to that, which makes for a good time. He has been a supporter for a while, and I still see him once in a while this summer because of his very interesting switch (not twitch) grass trials at Everdale. He likes to listen to people and in return we listen to him. It all works very well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jen Kazda

I have had a lot of time to be able to talk to Jen because she was an intern last year at Everdale, and I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to do so. Jen has been a close friend and I hope to see her in the future more often, because we do not keep in regular contact. Always willing to share a couch in the roundroom it is nice be around such a friendly and warm person because it rubs off on other people.

Defense

2007-08-09T19:50:00.000-04:00

I was recently talking to Gavin about how all farmers in the past had to in some way defend their farm from robbers or even more organized groups of people intent on eating. I see this happening in the near future when people get hungry when the global food system crashes. Will a new farm skill be loading a gun?

This is interesting because I believe that we will need to build a strong community around a farm in the future so as to ensure:

Loyalty from nearby people
Willing farm workers
Good defense?

I need to think about this a bit because it is just dawning on me that food might be very valuable and diverse farmers will have to worry about protecting their food.

Everdale Intern Questionaire

2007-08-09T16:05:00.000-04:00

1. Please comment on the quality of your interactions with others and the overall group dynamics here at Everdale.

I have come to highly value my experiences at Everdale because of the rich social implications of living with an amazingly diverse group of people! Overall the dynamics are very positive, sometimes accidentally we get on each other’s nerves, but usually everything is fine. The one difficulty I have with living with people who are very much older and more (dare I say it?) mature than me is that they sometimes do not take me seriously, but that is the life and direction I chose by participating at Everdale.

2. Take some time to summarize your “special projects” work so far. If it helps, use the following questions to guide your summary: What are the most important things you’ve learned so far? Are you satisfied with the amount of time and effort you’ve been able to devote to your special project(s) vs. general farm and learning centre time? What are you hoping to accomplish in the remaining months?

Unfortunately I do not really have a special project here at Everdale, but I try to contribute to other people’s projects as much as possible, for example composting with Harris, animals with Garrett etc… I may not get an in-depth view of each project or gain a deep understanding of one area, but I do get to learn about each project simply by helping out.

3. How are you feeling about your experience at Everdale so far? How does the “reality” compare with your expectations and hopes when you started in the spring?

I know Everdale was the place to be because of past experiences, and I was not disappointed! In fact my experiences exceeded my expectations. As I started after school ended, I do not know how the spring was and hope someday (maybe after high school) to do a full internship and really experience absolutely everything in its entirety.

4. What could be done to facilitate better learning/working/social dynamics for everyone (interns, volunteers, staff, visitors)?

I believe that we should have a dedicated and/or paid person running the store and the CSA so as to free up some time to do other or bigger things. As much as it is good to have two interns working the store, I think that one intern could work with this person. This would probably go hand in hand with expanding the actual farm, and by that I mean producing more food.

5. What have you enjoyed most about your time at Everdale so far?

What can I say? I have learned so much about organic farming, I can hold a very serious conversation about many different aspects! This is amazing, but I think I have benefited more from the people around me teaching me things, for example: learning to use a sewing machine, learning how to effectively cook a meal, living communally and respectfully and much, much more.

6. Are you closer to your farming dreams now than you were in the spring? What are the most important things you’ve learned so far? What are you most hoping to learn in the remaining months?

I am so very close to my farming dream but at the same time so very far away. I still have to get out of school and acquire egg layer quota and buy or rent land. At the same time I feel that I am ready to do it because of the amazing things I have learned over the past two summers. I have learned to grow organic veggies and raise organic animals! Those are the most important things I have learned to do. I know I am not a master at the art, and I have a long way to go, but I feel that I can really farm and live quite independently, and that is what I came here to do. I hope to learn to effectively apply my skills and become a master-harvester, especially in the coming weeks. I would like to have the position of farm manager sometime, but I am quite content with leading teams of volunteers or teaching interns how to do things I learned last year.

Amazing People part 1

2007-08-06T19:21:00.000-04:00

This will be an ongoing series of posts for the hundreds of people that I have had the pleasure of knowing and I feel I have to mention them so:

I don't forget them
They don't forget me
Other people might have the pleasure of meeting them!

They will be mentioned in no particular order and I will write a small blurb on how I met them and how they changed me...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gavin Dandy

Gavin has a very interesting way with people that would be hard to describe in words but that suits him as a farmer, a family man and of course a friend. He and I have known each other for at least five years and he has treated me like an equal for that entire period. Some of his humor has rubbed off on me and also his entire omnivore thinking. Gavin has also taught me most of what I know about farming directly or indirectly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Hoepfner-Homme

Paul is an amazing person with a vast array of talents, all of which he is willing to share. As an intern at Everdale last year, he and I really hit it off and have become good friends ever since. Since he lives in Toronto we can get together without to much difficulty which is really fun when it happens. Not just a farmer, Paul is also an experienced computer guy and a musician all at the same time. As with Gavin, Paul treated me as an equal and that is what I really seem to respect in people nowadays. He has changed me for the better, and even maybe I have him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Start

2007-08-06T11:46:00.000-04:00

I have just started this blog with the intention of writing about trying to live with a small impact on the environment and ultimately completely independently. This is very important to me as I believe that we will all need to live without the need of the machine all around us soon enough.