Entries from July 2008 ↓

I think this is such an important study/post over at Boing Boing:

Rand Corporation: To destroy Al Qaeda, we must end the war on terror

By analyzing a comprehensive roster of terrorist groups that existed worldwide between 1968 and 2006, the authors found that most groups ended because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they negotiated a settlement with their governments. Military force was rarely the primary reason a terrorist group ended, and few groups within this time frame achieved victory.

(emphasis mine)

It’s in the government’s interest to heed this advice and end the use of massive military force asap. I mean, that’s obvious…right? I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be.

There’s a very fun interview of Benjamin Rosenbaum in the Washington Post today. I loved the bits about how he developed a system for managing rejections - it reminds me of his elaborate charting of his novel writing progress (spoiler: He’s 54% done - and hey, what, no writing since June?). It’s certainly a most excellent procrastinatory device. Apparently he submitted his first story to the New Yorker at age 13 about Rabbis going on a rocketship. 

Benjamin’s book The Ant King and other stories is coming out August 1st and will make great summer reading, I’m sure. I’ve read the title story and alternately exclaimed “I can’t believe you can do this in a story” and “oh wow, nice writing” as each bit of prose went weird or apt. (thank goodness no one is asking me to blurb a book, is all I’m saying).

When my book got picked up I tracked down other Small Beer Press authors and cold-emailed them - I’m indebted to Benjamin for the super-engaging replies and guidance. 

Here’s his book at Powell’s Books.

Fantastic page of lost cities with photos

The stonework is from the Teotihuacans. Just incredible stuff. I impatiently await the invention of time machine tourism!

“Teotihuacan’s control of the obsidian mines at Otumba and Pachuca allowed it to centralize the production of obsidian goods, some for domestic sale, the rest for export. With this, and its monopoly on the distribution of Thin Orange pottery, Teotihuacan developed a trading system that embraced almost every region of Mesoamerica, including places as far away as the Maya area, the modern state of Guerrero, and the area around the Gulf of Mexico.

Teotihuacan’s metropolitan feel, its trading system, and the religious prestige it accrued from its giant pyramids and related ceremonies, attracted a floating population that enriched the quality of life in the great city. At its peak between 150—450 CE, it stretched over 30 square km and had a population of between 150,000 and 250,000.

After flourishing for centuries, Teotihuacan collapsed c. 750 CE, partly due to adverse pressures from the new population centers that sprang up on the Mexican plateau. However, evidence of fire, and the systematic, devastating ways in which the buildings lining the Avenue of the Dead were destroyed point to the main cause of its collapse being internal rebellions.”

 

PACSAC - the Portland Area CSA Coalition - formerly at pacsac.org - had their domain expire, alas, and were unable to recover it.

Josh Volk of slowhandfarm.com took the initiative and and purchased the url portlandcsa.org

So if you’re looking for local, organic food and Community Supported Agriculture  (CSA) in Portland, it’s a great place to start.

I built the site some time ago, and still help out with their farm database occasionally. If you have an interest - pass around the new URL to help them get back into search rankings.