Say it's not so Joss!

As if things were not bad enough, we have a recession/depression, we have absolute morons running the country, we've got a brand new $50 billion deficit and North Korea is theatening to light up the pacific rim, but no it gets worse.

Fran Rubel Kuzui the director of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie (Donald Sutherland/Kristy Swanson) and the holder of the movie rights wants to do a new Buffy movie. Is there no sanity in the universe?

Buffy the Vamipre Slayer was one of the worst movies I've ever seen and I was quite amazed when someone had the guts to give the writer, Joss Whedon a second chance. Despite it's horrific origins Whedon brought Buffy to TV, salvaged his name, his dignity and the entire Buffyverse managing a seven year run and the successful spin off series Angel.

Now Kuzui, who runied the original film wants another shot. This cannot be allowed, I need my Buffy, Willow, Anya and Spike fix not more crap from Kuzui. ARGGGGGG

In most cases I'm either oblivious about TV and pop culture or just don't give a damn but don't mess with my Star Trek, Babylon 5 or Buffy.Recommend this Post

Razing a city to save it

Flint Michigan is a perfect example of a dilapidated rust belt city whose population has dropped from about 200,000 to 110,000 according to recent estimates. This decrease has brought Flint to the point that some neighbourhoods are too sparsely populated to be supported by the tax base. Empty, burnt out or vandalized homes are everywhere leaving garbage trucks, postmen snow ploughs and road crews to service streets that only have a few inhabitants. Neighbourhoods in Flint are dysfunctional and retail businesses struggle because of the low density levels created by 110,000 people spread over 34 square miles in 75 distinct neighbourhoods

A partial solution being considered for Flint’s problem is to tear down part of the city. The city would demolish the worst neighborhoods offering displaced people an equivalent or better homes in more stable parts of the city in an attempt to revitalize communities, make businesses in those areas sustainable and allow the city to curtail costly services in the almost dead zones. The ability to consolidate social services and policing would also go a long way to making Flint a liveable and safe city again. I think this is quite a rational idea and a model that should be used in other dying rust belt cities but I don’t think it goes far enough.

Razing these communities should be part of a greater plan for the eventual rebirth and growth of these cities in a decade or two as Midwestern droughts, increasing population, peak oil and rising sea levels push people back into the great lake regions. A city like Flint should try to divide itself into a series of population hubs surrounded by new mixed use urban agriculture zones. These urban farms would create local food, jobs, pride and independence. Some of the dead zones could be made into parks and recreation areas or even just left to naturalize while others could be used as huge community sized geothermal heat sources for the waves of high density high efficiency homes needed to prepare for peak oil and climate based migration. As new open spaces are created, zoning changes and city acquisitions can assure that the land for an efficient transit system is set aside for future need.

If governments want to pour money into stimulus projects let them do so by rebuilding a city as test bed for the myriad of design and attitude changes needed to make post carbon cities work. It makes more sense than what they are doing now.Recommend this Post

National Day of Prayer

Yesterday was the National day of Prayer in the U.S. but fortunately Obama unlike his predecessor did not make a big fuss about the event.

This of course outrages wingnuts who refuse to accept that religion is a personal choice not a national duty, but at least one SANE preacher, the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance is quoted saying “President Obama is not the pastor in chief of the nation” Amen Brother!

Can you imagine God picking up his voice mail last night? All that righteous indignation, whining and incoherent thought must have been quite a challenge to tolerate all in one sitting. So because I'm not an American and to show a little consideration I saved mine for today. I guess being all powerful means having a strong stomach too. Geez tough job!

Dear higher entity/entities of indeterminate or neutral genders please heed my prayer. If you really exist and are not too busy listening to the grovelling of your faithful, please smite someone on my list. You know, The LIST!

I'm not quite sure where I’ve left the list but surely with your reported omniscience you can find it. Maybe you would be so kind as to leave it someplace more obvious when you’re finished with it? Excuse the penmanship and just highlight anyone you can’t make out so I can fix it for next time.

While not imperative maybe you could make the smiting a little bit flashy like a lightening strike, being torn apart by wild dogs or an exploding head like in Scanners! Car crashes are so blasé


P.S. plz ignore any requests to smite me, they are obviously just clerical errors.

Amen.

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The "NAFTA FLU" I like it!

It's not as if we were not warned about this in recent years with millions of birds killed to stop the spread of Avian Flu, or the mistakes that allowed Hoof and Mouth disease to ravage the U.K. or the Mad Cow problem. Don't forget the local Listeria and e.coli outbreaks or the poisoned food and milk in China. We don't treat our animals or our other food sources with the care and respect they deserve.

As should have been expected, NAFTA has allowed greedy and irresponsible factor farm practices to move into Mexico where weaker controls and lower priced bribes are the norm. If you've ever smelled a factory farms cesspool in Canada you can only imagine what it would be in like in a country that has poor regulation and is bending over backwards for economic investment and jobs, the potential for disease is astronomical.

Well, today's Star article gives you a small glimpse of the factory farm conditions and quotes experts saying Nafta is to blame for the current flu whose name is no longer swine. I like the NAFTA Flu,it's a good name and much easier to say than the Greedy Corporatist Bastards Flu.


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Famine and collapse coming to a planet near you

An important article from scientific American, or somewhere where they spliced it all into one page making it a little more readable.

the content in just a few works amounts to
too damn many of us, consuming to damn much stuff, destroying to much damn land, using too damn much water, with too little damn time to fix it. happy day everyone!Recommend this Post

Top Doomer Accessories

I often see lists of things people like, best electronics or the best cars but what about us doomers? What are the best things we should own to be well prepared?

Now I'm not talking about having a weeks worth of food or 10 candles for an emergency because I expect you to already have the basics, rather I'm talking about more substantial items that would be of great advantages for either powering down or in an emergency. I know this is not necessarily the definitive list but more of way of arguing with myself and with you on how to best utilize my meagre resources and prioritize my doomer centric purchases.

Solar oven

I’ve actually have one of these and think it’s a great tool for cooking small breads, casseroles, roasts, even boiling and sterilizing water but as my current yard is not consistently sunny enough I don't get to use it except at the cottage. The Peak Oil Hausfrau says this is her favourite appliance and has a number of useful posts on oven use I'd recommend you read. There are several types of solar cookers made; some are simple reflectors, some have back up gas heating or are very portable, mine is the Global Sun Oven pictured here which ran about $320 with shipping, tax and dollar exchange. While slower than a real oven this useful toy is absolutely free to use and is also carbon guilt free. Depending on your location this might be only a three season product but fuel saved in one season will mean more available later.

Berkley water filter

Whether it’s for constant use, seasonal concerns about your ground water or even to drink roof runoff in an emergency the Berkley Water Filter family is the Cadillac of free standing home water systems. These systems range in size and flow allowing you to get a good match for your personal usage and your budget. For long term use I would suggest getting several sets of spare filter up front and then repurchases them each time you change them out. This will give you the most use in case supply disruptions should occur as some point

A Quality Grain mill






Wheat's long term storability and nutrition makes it a common find in most doomer's pantries but since most of us don’t want to pound it with a stick or grind it between two stones a good quality grain mill such as the heavy duty Diamant Grain Mill or the more modest but highly rated Country Living Grain Mill is a must. A Grain mill is a tool that could be used several times a week if not daily so it does not pay to cut corners and buy the cheapest thing you can find. Most mills have spare part kits available which you may or may not need but certainly buy a spare set of burrs(the part that actually grinds).

A Pressure Canner

Unless you have guaranteed access to fresh meat and/or a working freezer with a stable power source you control you will eventually need to preserve low acid items such as meat, fish, and veggies.
I swear my Grandmother use to do carrots and beans without pressure canner and no one died but what do I know? Government health agencies say high pressure canning is the only safe way to can low acid stuff, high acid things like jellies, tomatoes, chutneys etc do not need a pressure canner.

A Smoker

A smoker is an ideal way to preserve meat by making hams, sausage or even smoking fish but since many of the commercial smokers look to be propane or electric powered I think I’d be looking to make my own wood/charcoal fired smoker. Or perhaps you'd rather buy the Big Green Egg


A Still

Alcohol is now and always has been one of mans great escapes. With your own still not only can one make potable alcohol but you can also produce fuel for a modified engine, medicinal alcohol for sterilizing wounds and equipment, or for making tinctures, tonics, pain killers like Laudanum. A small still with a hopper or basket allows you to strip essential oils from herbs and plants for medicine, flavourings, or scents. Finally alcohol is a great preservative for such things as seasonal fruit or Admiral Nelson if you’ve got one laying about. There are many sites dedicated to building your own or you can purchase them here, or here.
check local laws I did not suggest that you do anything illegal


A treadle sewing machine

An old singer or its contemporary’s with all the parts and bobbins in tact are ideal for basic sewing and should be a no brainer addition to the doomers home. More recently the Janome made a model called the 712T(and probably others) which fit into the old singer treadle tables and had many of the more modern sewing machine features. Old treadles are a dime a dozen on the used market but because some people think they are collectible they may ask far too much for them, many also are incomplete. Some like my Grandmother's looked original but had suffered an electric conversion and some of the original pieces missing. Look carefully to assure you get both a structurally sound table and a working sewing machine. If you end up with a spare treadle and no sewing machine I've seen some great plans for a treadle powered hobby lathe.

A modest solar recharging system


While it would be great to be totally off the grid with enough power to live life exactly like we live now that is not financial viable for the majority of people. However a modest solar recharging system
consisting of enough solar cells to charge a laptop, cell phones or batteries for flashlights, lanterns small small appliances or toys can add a little safety and normalcy to a tough situation without breaking the bank

Water capture system

Every doomer needs a water system that not only fills rail barrels or a cistern for the garden but one that allows you divert water to tanks for indoor use during droughts. Roof run of is certainly fine for laundry and flushing and if you prefilter for sediment would be quite drinkable after passing through your Berkely water filter, or boiling it in the sun oven. Do both if your paranoid.

A rugged bike and trailer



Eventually getting around or shopping will no longer take place in a car and a durable bike for all members of your household is very important as is at least one trailer for hauling what ever it is you need to move from place to place. If age, health, mobility is an issue they make adult trikes with a good size cargo basket on them or get an electric assist bike

A real first aid kit

I'm not talking one of those crappy 3 band aids and a safety pin things the car emergency clubs give you as a premium but a real high end kit supplemented with a good assortment of painkillers, antihistamines, antidiarrheals, antibiotic creams, calamine etc as well as a complete backup set of any prescribed medicine you use that is regularly rotated to keep fresh. I’m not a first aid expert but a couple hundred dollars is minimum to get a relatively complete kit.

Now I can probably think of many other things I think doomer should own or could find useful but what do you think? And before someone starts on me about this, lets leave a discussion on guns and firepower to another day, ok?

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Dilbert writer is channeling me

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