picking flowers

in a book about Western Concerns.

cannot stress enough that this book is obsessed with the enlightenment concept of universality, does not understand the difference between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation, and misuses appropriated north american indigenous teachings about the cannibals (w**d*g*) to make some kind of bizarre point that all culture/community is inherently cannibalistic and consumptive. and that the Western world's problem is NOT that we believe that all cultures and human systems are inherently consumptive and cannibalistic but that we have not appropriately reckoned with it.

indigenous north american teachings about the cannibals are not a spooky story or a crypid. it's a rather straightforward description of the impact of abuse on an individual and a community. the cannibal is not inherently cannibalistic, they are a human person who suffered and then made others suffer. the most widespread misinterpretation is a monster who eats people, when it is in fact referring to a human person who eats another human person during a time of famine in order to avoid starvation and then undergoes a supernatural transformation to reflect their crime. while we understand famine to be an act of god, north american indigenous belief systems rooted in an ethic of ecological kinship relations usually place the blame upon human mismanagement and overharvesting. it's not just a bad reaction to hard times, it's a human-manufactured crisis used to justify human atrocities. the onus is upon the community to respect and steward the land and their own wellbeing through it.

another better example is about a little girl whose father died. when her mother remarried, her stepfather began to direct inappropriate attention to the little girl, and instead of protecting the little girl as she deserved, the mother became competitive and resentful towards her. driven away from her home by the abuse, the little girl lept off of a cliff and her body disappeared, transforming her into a cannibal and freeing her spirit to haunt the community. the mother, haunted by her daughter's restless spirit, became bitter and cruel. the community, haunted by what had happened to the little girl, separated from each other and grew suspicious of each other.

these are not stories of the inherently cannibalistic & consumptive nature of community, they are WARNINGS of what happens when community BECOMES cannibalistic and consumptive and selfish. because the social structures in place were NOT cannibalistic and consumptive. they were explicitly mutualistic.

and instead of learning about positive cascades & mutualism and what it means to engage in a kinship ethic with all life in an ecosystem and confer dignity unto other living beings, deborah root takes it as proof that all cultures are as inherently cruel and hostile to life as ours, others just manage it better.

in a book about Western Concerns.

cannot stress enough that this book is obsessed with the enlightenment concept of universality, does not understand the difference between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation, and misuses appropriated north american indigenous teachings about the cannibals (w**d*g*) to make some kind of bizarre point that all culture/community is inherently cannibalistic and consumptive. and that the Western world's problem is NOT that we believe that all cultures and human systems are inherently consumptive and cannibalistic but that we have not appropriately reckoned with it.

indigenous north american teachings about the cannibals are not a spooky story or a crypid. it's a rather straightforward description of the impact of abuse on an individual and a community. the cannibal is not inherently cannibalistic, they are a human person who suffered and then made others suffer. the most widespread misinterpretation is a monster who eats people, when it is in fact referring to a human person who eats another human person during a time of famine in order to avoid starvation and then undergoes a supernatural transformation to reflect their crime. while we understand famine to be an act of god, north american indigenous belief systems rooted in an ethic of ecological kinship relations usually place the blame upon human mismanagement and overharvesting. it's not just a bad reaction to hard times, it's a human-manufactured crisis used to justify human atrocities. the onus is upon the community to respect and steward the land and their own wellbeing through it.

another better example is about a little girl whose father died. when her mother remarried, her stepfather began to direct inappropriate attention to the little girl, and instead of protecting the little girl as she deserved, the mother became competitive and resentful towards her. driven away from her home by the abuse, the little girl lept off of a cliff and her body disappeared, transforming her into a cannibal and freeing her spirit to haunt the community. the mother, haunted by her daughter's restless spirit, became bitter and cruel. the community, haunted by what had happened to the little girl, separated from each other and grew suspicious of each other.

these are not stories of the inherently cannibalistic & consumptive nature of community, they are WARNINGS of what happens when community BECOMES cannibalistic and consumptive and selfish. because the social structures in place were NOT cannibalistic and consumptive. they were explicitly mutualistic.

and instead of learning about positive cascades & mutualism and what it means to engage in a kinship ethic with all life in an ecosystem and confer dignity unto other living beings, deborah root takes it as proof that all cultures are as inherently cruel and hostile to life as ours, others just manage it better.

in a book about Western Concerns.

cannot stress enough that this book is obsessed with the enlightenment concept of universality, does not understand the difference between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation, and misuses appropriated north american indigenous teachings about the cannibals (w**d*g*) to make some kind of bizarre point that all culture/community is inherently cannibalistic and consumptive. and that the Western world's problem is NOT that we believe that all cultures and human systems are inherently consumptive and cannibalistic but that we have not appropriately reckoned with it.

victoria chose not to marry the man she truly loved in order to marry the man who was more devoted to her and who would be obedient, a survival choice in the far more sexist time period she was married in, when a man's power to curtail his wife was far more complete. she never mentions the man she loved again and performs an empty devotion to the husband she chose in order to remain the master of her own domain. and her husband cannot see that. he can never see his wife completely and know that she chose him in order to remain in control. he must believe the whole time that she loved him more than the other, that they moved past it.

rachel's immediate reaction to the witness' explanation is that she is going to die, and we see why. throughout the movie, nicky does not listen to her once. he performs a caring spouse routine to his family's standards by constantly ignoring her wishes. he pressures her about children relentlessly despite her clearly stated preference to have NO children. he decides to drive 8 hours to search for a wedding dress rather than wait for their friends to call back against her repeated pleas to stay with her. the fact that he did not actually believe her about the airplane's doom in their meetcute story is stupid but it is also very significant. nicky pays lipservice to rachel's instincts and anxieties--just enough to calm her into compliance with his desperate attempts to mimic his parents' 'perfect' marriage. he hunts the fox doggedly all day because his father told him to, ignoring his fiancee and pretending to himself that her anxieties are nonsense (always nonsense) until she turns to nell for support. of course rachel does not turn to nicky, why would she? his immediate reaction to every situation is an attempt to disprove and change her conclusions.

nell knows that her soulmate is her own choice, and she is actively in divorce proceedings. she has decided to stop choosing a man that she loves but who is mean to her and who she knows will never ever change for the sake of her wellbeing. she can only look at the man who is convinced that they are meant for each other with shock and grief, knowing also that he must have loved his first wife with the same broken and impotent sort of love that he gave to nell. loving, in his mind, does not require any attempt to avoid causing pain to the one he loves.

Next slide. “Brandon Sanderson is a member of the LDS”. The muttering has changed tone

“It’s not a very big amount of money though.” Someone in the audience pipes up. “His cut is only a small fraction of the cost of the book, and then-“ my next slide shows an income breakdown, it is titled ‘a small fraction of $10,000,000 is still a big number’

Some of the things I was told about bokashi composting when I started doing it weren’t accurate, and it was a struggle for a while. But I learned a lot after doing it for a year, and it’s actually an awesome composting option for apartments and other small and/or rented spaces.

So here’s Mod J’s Post on Why Apartment-Dwellers Should Do Bokashi Composting, with a few things I wish I’d known starting out.

What is bokashi composting?

Here’s what I understood when I started bokashi composting:

Bokashi composting is a method of composting that uses microorganisms in a powder called “bokashi bran” to speed up the composting process and eliminate the smell. Put your food scraps in the bin and layer with the bran. Once the bin is full, let it sit for two more weeks, and you’ll have good dirt ready for planting.

That’s not entirely accurate. Here’s a more accurate description:

Bokashi composting uses fermentation to turn organic waste into two components: a solid pre-compost and a liquid “bokashi tea.” The tea can be dilluted with water (a 1:100 ratio is recommended because of its high acidity) and used as a fertilizer. The pre-compost can be buried in dirt and within two weeks will become nutrient-rich compost dirt itself.

How does it work?

The bokashi method works by fermentation. Keeping it in an airtight bin allows it to ferment instead of rot, and the “bran” is supposed to help it along. (Sometimes white mold grows on the stuff inside -that’s perfectly fine and normal.) Fermenting breaks down the organic material a lot faster than ordinary composting. You end up with two components: The solid pre-compost and the liquid bokashi tea. The tea needs to be drained from the bin regularly so the excess liquid doesn’t impede the fermentation process, which is why bokashi bins have a spigot at the bottom.

Does it really have no smell?

Yes and no. If the bin or bucket you’re using has a good seal on it, you won’t smell it while the bin is closed. However, the fermenting stuff inside and the liquid that comes off it smell absolutely vile, and you will smell it when you open the bin or drain the liquid.

Do I need to use the bokashi bran?

All the companies selling bokashi stuff say you do and it helps the process along and whatever. But never trust marketing. I’ve done full bins with a lot of the bran, some with a little bran, and some with none at all, and I’ve noticed no difference. You can try the bran and see if it works better for you, but if you don’t have any or don’t want to buy more you don’t have to.

Do I need a specific bokashi bin?

It’s definitely helpful. Bokashi bins are set up with a seal in the top to keep it airtight and seal off any smells, a bottom that tapers down to a spigot for draining off the tea, and a screen to keep the solid stuff from going all the way to the bottom and clogging up the spigot. You could absolutely build your own, but I recommend a similar setup just for ease of use.

What can I put in my bokashi bin?

Anything you would put in regular compost - vegetable scraps, leftovers, eggshells, etc. Moldy food you forgot about in the refrigerator is also great, and since bokashi uses fermentation instead of rotting, even cooked meat can go into the bin. I’ve thrown in everything from paper napkins to whole zucchinis to a compostable toothbrush (although admittedly, that last one took closer to four weeks to fully break down). There’s no need to worry about ratios of anything - the fermentation will do the work for you.

Why use bokashi?

Turn foods scraps into dirt that you can use to grow more food even while living somewhere you can’t have a compost pile. It’s faster than regular compost (a full bucket takes two weeks of fermenting and two weeks of being buried until it’s done), there’s no smell when the lid is closed, and a lot of bins will fit under a kitchen sink. It’s great for apartments, rentals, and small spaces.

The one downside is that it costs a little more to buy a bokashi bin than it does to just throw some old vegetables in a pile. (I got my bin on eBay for about $50, and many of the name-brand ones are more expensive.) But I live in an apartment, and bokashi composting lets me still have the benefits of turning my food waste into good dirt that I can use to grow more food without needing a yard to put in a full compost bin. That makes it worth the investment for me.