But Is It Sustainable?

By kelsey | June 23, 2009

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I just posted my first of a series on Sustainability here on WHMP.com. It’s an interview with Catherine Miller and Karen Ribera of the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network.

The series will look at the concept of sustainability and what it means to us in the Pioneer Valley. From my vantage point over here in the media and over there as a consumer of limited means and resident of a city feeling strapped, a more sustainable model of living and working is needed.

Business West has an article on how sustainability factors into Northampton’s land and economic development. In it, the Mayor talks about the prospect of governmental sustainability:

Government is not sustainable as we knew it,” she said. “There has to be a larger dialogue now to provide services. The days of revenue sharing are all but gone, and state aid is gone forever. While we can look at sustaining Northampton in terms of land use, which we are doing, it will be a more difficult talk about fiscal sustainability.

Here’s what I’m wondering about this topic, does everyone’s idea of sustainability look the same? Can it become a workable reality if it doesn’t?

The next interview is with Dan Finn of Pioneer Valley Local First, formerly Pioneer Valley Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (PV BALLE).

Following that will be an interview with my friends Nicole and Patrick who planted wheat in their front yard on Ryan Road as a part of the Hungry Ghost Bakery’s Little Red Hen Project to restore local wheat to the Valley.

I’d appreciate any and all ideas for stories around the concept of sustainability in our Valley. Shoot me an E-mail to kelseyaflynn@gmail.com if you feel so moved.

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Posted in Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Weeks.

By kelsey | June 22, 2009

Two Weeks is a buzzy-fill-your-head-with-golden-sound great single by the band Grizzly Bear and I have it on decent authority that they’ll be coming back around in October to Northampton.
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It’s also how long it’s been since my last post. I suck. I mean, that’s the suckiest of the sucky. My God I can really hate myself with the best of them sometimes.

But I digress.

In other news, Oracle Bones is an awesome book by Peter Hessler, worth your time and even your dime maybe but I’m more a library card user frankly and rarely drop dosh on books.

Hessler is a freelance writer who’s written for the New Yorker, the New York Times, and National Geographic as well as completed another book called River Town. China was never a must-see destination on my list prior to reading this book. Hessler’s interviews with everyday Chinese from the poor to the middle class, intellectuals tortured during the Cultural Revolution, intellectuals who toed the party line, all of them are written with an empathetic yet contextual angle. I was sad to get to the end of it and am now jealous of those about to start it.

In other other news, I spent 44 hours on Nantucket with my wife Jaime while she was there for work – secret Dr. Hauschka work involving unguents and normalizing day oils.

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ACK sure does love its pineapple accents.

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Pretty Jaime.

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Ah, the Christmas card shot, if we were Christmas card people.

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Pretty Jaime and…my God.  Is that Peter Flynn?  I could have sworn he was still married to Laur-.  Oh, wait a minute.  That’s his daughter.  Never mind.

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I realize Jaime has the same expression in this photo as in the earlier one.  She’s an easy laugh, that one.  Pre-shutter.

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Pensive Jaime and the First Congregational Church.  No laughs because contemplative thought isn’t funny…unless you’re Thomas Merton.

G’night.

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Posted in Awesome, Family | 4 Comments

To Do 06/08/09

By kelsey | June 8, 2009

Wake up. CHECK

Mail Jaime her sneakers. CHECK

Pay storage bill. CHECK

Read First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria.

See Up.

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Bike Update

By kelsey | June 2, 2009

Very informative Northampton Cycling Club homepage.

Friendly and generous Competitive Edge people.

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Posted in Awesome, Flip Happy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Looking at You.

By kelsey | May 18, 2009

I put up a new Here’s Looking at You video (HLAY).

The inspiration for these was initially trying to look at the camera as though it was the person I love most in this world, looking with deep love and warmth.

I don’t know why exactly. I guess I wanted to see what that looked like from me. I remember one time thinking as I gazed on my lovely wife how I would never gaze like that at my own reflection. Who would? I don’t mean out of some narcissistic place but just out of pure affection for who you are in the world. I think it’s kind of sad that we can’t do that. It doesn’t take a Zen Master to know that most things we don’t like in other people stem from some sense of deep self-loathing of our own. So I figure if you could truly look at yourself with honest love, it would mean that much more love for the world around us.

But it’s too vulnerable to see yourself in that way. I think. And too weird. I tried it once. I turned away from the medicine cabinet mirror, pictured Jaime and then turned back to the medicine cabinet mirror. I think I gagged when I made eye contact with myself. And then did a bit of a Gross Dance to shake it out of my system, turned and walked out of the bathroom.

That’s when I went for the camera. I looked into it as though I were looking into Jaime’s eyes. That’s the first video on the page. It was definitely easier than the medicine cabinet mirror experiment because there was some distance in time between me looking into the camera and then me looking at the resulting video. I managed to edit it at least.

After that, I went on to imagine the camera as other people in my life and the project grew from there. I can’t say that I go to look at the lovey video so much as I do to look at the one where I’m steamed (the second one on the page). That one makes me feel more comfortable because I usually feel like the world is looking at me like that in the first place, truly pissed.

There will be more to come as the HLAY spirit moves me.

______________________________________________________________________________

I also tried to get Willa’s perspective but don’t know that she really gets what I’m looking for.

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No One Is Safe.

By kelsey | May 15, 2009

Earlier this week, everybody’s friend and Gazette writer Mary Carey was laid off from said paper. [CUE: Needle scratching across record.]

I KNOW!!!

Mary also counts channeling Sarah Palin among her many talents.

Mary also counts channeling Sarah Palin among her many talents.

Mary did it all – interesting and insightful movie reviews, delightful and informative local features, thorough interviews. When I read the news she posted, my immediate thought was, “No one is safe.” (My immediate thought after the one about Mary, of course. Of course.) I mean, if Mary, MARY! of all people could be laid off from her job that she worked tirelessly at and probably already for way less than what she deserved, then what’s that mean for the rest of us schlubs in this economy?

It’s bad when our nation’s banks go into hock. And it’s bad when the one-time national manufacturing behemoth closes up factories and then over a thousand dealerships. But it’s really, really bad when our neighbors lose their jobs. Neighbors who are really, really good at their jobs.

I’m trying to take the road less panicked.

Bob Heiss, co-owner of Cooks Shop Here and host of the show I produce for WHMP, Off the Burner, said a theme to look for in these dire times was the communal supper. I love that idea. I know Greenfield does the Free Harvest Supper every year. And of course, there are the meals given out across this Valley all week long by the various and wonderful soup kitchens and pantries. But I’m imagining something a little smaller, less grand. Maybe amongst groups of friends, people coming together more frequently than just on the weekends to share what’s in their cupboards and fridges, to save and stretch a little more.

A pal of mine had a bread and water party instead of a wine and cheese party. I thought that was a clever response to the pinching and biting climate.

Other things that are free to do that keep me calm nowadays:

1. Walking my dog.
2. Adding to the Heavy Things page.
3. Calling National Grid to complain about the crap ass job they did on felling the tree that was leaning on a wire next to my yard.

Crap Ass Tree Felling Job

Crap Ass Tree Felling Job

4. Drinking water.
5. Reading blogs like Mary’s, Tom Devine’s, and Jim Neill’s.
6. Whistling.
7. Riding my bike.
8. Tapping my foot.
9. Believing.
10. Sitting around friends’ bonfires.

These are crazy, crazy times we’re living.  But if we keep focused on the moment, on what we have, as opposed to don’t have,  and on staying connected with each other, we’ll see it through.

My house.  Dinner.  Bring an app.  I’ll start on some sort of fritatta.

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Posted in Harshing My Mellow, Not Awesome | 1 Comment

Clarification on the PSA

By kelsey | May 14, 2009

There was some confusion over this video.  Allow me to clarify.  The hand is mine.  The screaming at the end is both mine and friend’s Rosie Perera.

Rosie made a wonderful cake to honor the final episode of LOST. It was complete with a marshmallow polar bear and hand-distressed airplane. The latter is the catalyst for our thirty-second PSA video.

Rosie's fancy cake

Rosie's fancy cake

Ill-Fated Mini-Flight 815

Ill-Fated Mini-Flight 815

We went out in front of our house to hand-distress* the little plane.  That’s where the trouble started.

(* hand-distressed = hammer the shit out of it)

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Posted in Artsy, Awesome, Flip Happy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Life with Mother-in-Laws

By kelsey | May 4, 2009

I really enjoyed this story in yesterday’s New York Times about Obama’s mother-in-law, Marion Robinson.  It continues to paint the picture of an actual family living in the White House.  From the article, it would seem Mrs. Robinson was reluctant to move with the Obamas to their grand new address.  According to her other child, Craig, Michelle’s brother:

“My sister said, ‘You’ve got to talk to Mom; she’s not moving,’ ” Mr. Robinson recalled. He said his mother was utterly unswayed by Mrs. Obama’s description of the exciting new life they would all lead in Washington.

Mrs. Robinson, a retired bank secretary who ran the 50- and 100-yard dashes in the Illinois senior games well into her 60s, has always prized her independence.

“She doesn’t want grand; she doesn’t want great,” Mr. Robinson said. “She would much rather stay home.”

I live with my mother- and grandmother-in-law half the year and I have to admit, I enjoy it.  It’s like having company, the nice kind of company, in the house all the time.  We all have our rooms we can retire to if the company is staying too long or it’s just time for a break.  But otherwise, it’s lovely to come home to people curious about my day or who have just whipped up a tasty batch of kale salad.  (It’s actually better than it sounds.  Recipe to come.)

Of course, Jaime’s mom and grandmother are rather singular in their beings.  I’m very lucky in my in-laws.  Did you ever read the wonderful book series by Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City?  Jaime’s mom Marybeth is a lot like Mrs. Madrigal, except minus the “used to be a man” part.  And Jaime’s Gram is a more elderly version.

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Don’t Look @ kromked.com

By kelsey | April 30, 2009

Seriously.  I’m not kidding here.  I’m not telling you to not look at something in the hopes that you will look at something.  That’s really not how I roll anyway.  I’m more a TYPE IT IN CAPS kind of person if I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT SOMETHING like SCRIMSHAW or SUGARFOOT.

My point here is that I unwittingly clicked on a link sent from a Facebook friend who shall remain nameless, Ali Wood, and got caught up in some kind of Facebook spam virus fiasco.  I don’t blame Ali.  She was just as innocent in the implementing of this whole rigamarole as I was.

As my good friend Jeff Hobbs, assuming he’s still a good friend since he’s one of my friends on Facebook and received this bad, fake message from bad, fake me, said on his blog earlier, it’s another piece of Facebook spam villainy.  It looks like me, or someone else you love and trust, sent you a link with the simple phrase, “Look at this!” attached to it.  If you click on it, it may send you to a dirty place on the Internet or it may not and appear broken.  It’s not.  It’s wheedling itself into your friends like that new girl who moved in to your town in ninth grade and told everyone you like teabagging.  But I digress.

I’d link to Jeff’s blog but MassLive.com isn’t loading on my computer.  NOW what’s going on?

In related and more better news, you can get your Facebook page pirated in a good way:

1. First go to the bottom of your Facebook page and click “English (US)”.

2. Then click on “English Pirate”.

3.  Now click “Okay”.

4.  Enjoy yourself, me hearty.

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The Susan Boyle Effect – Take 2

By kelsey | April 28, 2009

I don’t think I got to the heart of the matter around the Susan Boyle Effect yesterday.  For me, it’s not about the talent at all, despite it being more than impressive.  It’s about just accepting the person for the person. And being judged on nothing more than our root of kindness.

But the show is about talent.  I get that.  If Susan Boyle had shown up offering anything less than what she gave, she would have been laughed off the stage.  You can bet on that.  And that’s where I would have liked the kindness to kick in.  Had she not pulled out that soaring voice, instead of people booing her off, in my Bizarro Kelsey Place, I would have liked to see people still applauding her courage to get up and try.

Because AH-HA!  MY POINT!  I knew I’d find it around here somewhere.  Because we’re all not going to hit it out of the park and poke our former bullies in the eyes all the time, every single time.  Awesomeness, excellence are things we strive for but in the meantime, we’re dealing with a lot of learning.  And when the bar is set so high like what Susan had to achieve, I get scared and frankly, just don’t want to try.  There’s no room for the learning or the practice or the trying anymore in this American-Britain’s-Got-Talent-Idol World of ours.

We just see the outcome, and maybe if we’re lucky and a budget allows for it, we get a montage of the learning/practice/trying that only lasts for 90 seconds.

Let’s see some shows that deal with process beyond “America’s Biggest Loser.”  Some in-depth, real-time studies of the ups and downs, failures and falls of a process.

Or maybe they’re already out there?  L’il help?  Anyone?

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Posted in Artsy | Tagged , | 2 Comments

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