Google's Earth Day logo

When we begin to live in sustainable ways, every day will be Earth Day.

Until then, designating at least one day to focus attention on the state of our planet, to focus attention on the state of our home, that's a good deed. I commend the many people and organizations who make Earth Day notable, including Google.

As serious and as urgent as global warming is, it's the tip of the iceberg of sustainability. Let's spend some time over the next 364 days to explore the rest of the iceberg, shall we?

How will we live when we discover that it's not the ends, but the beginnings that justify our means?

Thanks for your time and attention

 

Thanks. It's nice to be noticed.

Karmen, who blogs at Chaotic Utopia, kindly designated me a Thinking Blogger. Thanks, Karmen, it's nice to be noticed.

Like the ten books meme, this blog meme offers an opportunity to share what we care about. Following the Thinking Blogger links forward and backward can be an interesting way to catch a glimpse of things other writers care about.

The Thinking Blogger Award is a “name five” meme. My task is to share what I care about by naming five more Thinking Bloggers. Very well, then — in no particular order, here are five more bloggers in this meme's path:

Chris Hardie - Along with his personal blog, Chris has created a podcast site to explore news local to his town. How many of us have been compared to a one-man version of National Public Radio?

Christine Kane - An Asheville-based musician when she's not blogging, Christine often writes about themes that overlap mine, but she writes from a somewhat different point of view, with a different vocabulary, for a different audience.

Sally Greene - Chapel Hill is the sort of place where a woman who writes a thoughtful blog about literature, architecture, urban planning, and the environment can be elected to local government.

World's Fair - co-written by two guys who teach at two universities on two coasts* of two countries, World's Fair has “all manner of human creativity on display”. I'm pleased to see their creativity sometimes demonstrates systems thinking about sustainability issues.

Stoplight Haiku - Sometimes thoughts have exactly 17 syllables. Sometimes they don't. Either way, they're haiku thoughts.



*Okay, so one of the universities is somewhat inland. It's coastal when compared to, say, Nebraska. And it makes the sentence's parallel structure work.

I notice the meme originated with the suggested name “5 Blogs That Make Me Think”. Two months later it seems better known as the Thinking Blogger Award. Memes often spread via inexact copying.


 

Vine Deloria, Jr., a career summary and a play in one act

Recently I began reading some books by native American Indian author Vine Deloria, Jr. So far I enjoy his unorthodox approach and his playful, witty, and provocative style. I find value in his apparent role as trickster. I think I see what he wanted his readers to see.

Not everyone appreciates the role of trickster as teacher, however, especially outside of native cultures. As I do some more research about the man I notice that some of the folks who criticize him seem mostly baffled by his unconventional perspective. It occurred to me that Vine Deloria, Jr.'s career might be summarized in a very brief one act play...

Vine Deloria, Jr.: I reject the rules of white culture.

Critics: Goshdarnit, Deloria! You're not playing by our rules!

Vine Deloria, Jr.: No kidding.


Since I have previously declared that I don't do book reviews, this certainly should not be construed as one. I'm just noting another instance of personal perspective on culture, another illustration of faces and vases, of icebergs and the illusion of communication.

Yup, that's all, really.