I had a wonderful morning with [personal profile] prk and [personal profile] transcendancing. [personal profile] prk drove us out to John St Cafe in Cottesloe, which had been recommended by [personal profile] samvara and does an excellent breakfast in a pretty set-up. We then went and lay on the grass overlooking Cottesloe beach and dozed and chatted in the pine trees.

We covered a whole range of topics from ideal cultures and economies to the ways work is valued or devalued to [personal profile] transcendancing's theme for the year. I have Thoughts bubbling all over the place, but little coherency for the first two. I am developing a theme of my own, though, which is forming based on a bunch of things I've read recently, and how I want to live, and the sort of world I want to live in.

To that end, my theme for 2011 is Sustainability.

How I envision this looking (and what I'm already doing, in several cases):

Lots of these overlap, but I'll have a stab at categories, anyway.

Categories include environmental, relationships, money, health and creativity )

Also, while I remember it: I brought up in the morning's discussion my ideal culture whereby food and shelter were basic rights, rather than something a member of the culture ever had to seriously worry about, and what our culture would look like if that were true. [personal profile] prk suggested at one point that it'd be best suited to a culture like The Culture by Iain M. Banks, where there's no resource issues, at all (possibly this was more related to [personal profile] transcendancing's idea of creating money equality? It's all blurring together in my head).

I was thinking further on that, and remembered much later that the fourth largest city in Brazil, Belo Horizonte, declared access to food a right of citizenship in 1993, and has been providing food for its citizens accordingly for the last fifteen years (the above article makes my heart sing every time I read it). The city earned the Future Policy Award in 2009 (link is a 20 page pdf, and well worth the read).
Look what [personal profile] samvara got me! Best winter/early-birthday present ever!

P1030831
maharetr: (So proud)
( May. 13th, 2010 01:41 pm)
Happy birthday proper, darling! <3!
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So I'm reading all the posts that are popping up on my flist about the hailstorms and the deluge that has descended on Melbourne (presumably as a knock on from all the freaking flooding that's been happening in Queensland?), and in response to Caitlin's Facebook post, I write:

"I miss rain so much. Like, I remember the sound of storms on the roof, and being able to watch it fall outside, and I ache. Alas."

I read this aloud to [personal profile] samvara, and she goes, 'come on, then' and promptly goes out and hoses the roof for a little bit. I have the best housemate in the world.
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if there’s a silver lining to these tragedies at all, it’s that they significantly increase the total amount of money donated to important charities by individuals around the world. But if a charity is worth supporting, then it’s worth supporting with unrestricted funds.

Excellent, important article here

ETA: Also, the Do and Don'ts of Disaster Donations
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"Porn....something about horses... I can't remember..."

<3!
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"I wouldn't have the first idea how to wield a frog sexually!"
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maharetr: Comic and movie images of Aisha's eyebrow ring (The Losers) (Default)
( Aug. 2nd, 2009 08:45 pm)
I've been having a stressful time of it at work, almost all of it due to 'I avoided it until it stopped going away, which it then blew up in my face' sort of issues. I'm still in the thick of it, and I'm not sure what happens next.

Either way, whatever is going to happen, and whatever I can make happen, regardless; the world goes on, I'll still be here, my friends and beloveds and home will still be here. This is just a blip of a couple of weeks on the radar.

Things that have helped me keep perspective over the last week, and reminded me that the world is an okay place:

My housemate [profile] black_samvara for being unbelievably supportive, and amazing, and *flaps wordlessly* along with [personal profile] prk, [personal profile] transcendancing especially. I don't know what I did in a previous life to deserve you guys, but I'm glad I did it.

Fand by Laney Cairo. Magic and calm and peace.

On a similar note: This Australian Story, about a man who has fathered six kids for five mothers.

The songs of Lisa Mitchell.

The songs of Josh Pyke
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Petition to get Google Earth to update satellite images of Tehran here
maharetr: (Bliss)
( Jun. 14th, 2009 09:58 pm)
Had a most excellent day -- decided to get my act together and go to Yum Cha organised by [livejournal.com profile] mynxii and Mr_boo_boo. Thanks to a train drivers' stop work meeting, I plucked up my courage, the keys to [profile] black_samvara's car and drove [livejournal.com profile] mynxii and myself into the city. I parked! In a single bay! (love to said for getting out and waving me in) Shut up -- it's a big, satisfying deal.

We strolled down to Yum Cha, and sat in the sun while we were waiting for everyone else (N, D, [livejournal.com profile] caitlen and [personal profile] ascetic_hedony). I am tickled by being able to call [livejournal.com profile] caitlen/L interchangeably. [livejournal.com profile] caitlen/L, it was awesome to catch up :) Yum Cha was good, and I ate too much. Then [livejournal.com profile] mynxiiimpulse-suggested high tea in Mt Lawley. Again with the managing-to-park! And double win to [livejournal.com profile] mynxiifor navigating us everywhere.

The Tea Leaf was excellent. Not as quiet as I would have hoped, but I was deeply charmed by the actual high teas that people who had booked were having: tiers of savories and sweets. I want to go back and do that.

It was also my first actual visit to Planet Books, and I think I'm in love. There was a gleeful phone call to [profile] black_samvara ("Modesty Blaise comics! Lots of them! Want?") resulting in her birthday present, and [livejournal.com profile] mynxii also ended up buying mine. We win.

Then [livejournal.com profile] mynxii and I went dinner shopping, and got back to the car to find the car seriously parked in by the car behind us. Cue careful maneuvering on my part, and concentrated waving on [livejournal.com profile] mynxii's part to get us out. *squishes [livejournal.com profile] mynxii* We win.

[livejournal.com profile] mynxii made a spectacular dinner of lamb, cheese soufflé and roast and steamed veges. [personal profile] prk came over for rose tea, although I was starting to fade before the dumplings were made, alas.

In sum, an awesome, awesome day. [livejournal.com profile] mynxii? [personal profile] prk? Right now, dinner is sounding like a similarly awesome way to end a Monday. I could contribute chocolate mousse for dessert? *smiles winningly* <3
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[livejournal.com profile] mynxii (indignantly): "My thoughts never wandered above the belt!"

[livejournal.com profile] prk: "If you beat me to the car, I'll give you a lift."
[livejournal.com profile] mynxii: "Like I could ever beat you to the car."
[livejournal.com profile] prk: "Fine, so we get to the car, then you beat me."

I love you all.
.

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