Monasanto getting rich on ethanol and food crisis
Monasanto and other Agri-giant megacoporations are getting richer on the ethanol scam and the world food crisis.

http://marketplace. publicradio. org/display/web/2008/05/08/food_companies

"Sarah Gardner reports from the Sustainability Desk that big agribusiness firms are breaking earnings records as everything from grains to soybeans skyrocket."
"Monsanto is among five agribiz giants that dominate the world seed market. Fertilizers? Four companies control the vast majority of sales. Soybean crushing? Ditto. Flour milling? Just three. Even those estimates are hard to get. Many of these companies don't comment extensively on their businesses. Cargill, for example, is privately held, and told Marketplace it doesn't "elaborate on its activities." "

their sales were starting to drop too. GE seed sales had been declining and organic was going up.

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i would like to have a dog
i almost took in a stray pitbull pup today. me and manija were yard sailing in the slope and we ran into the cutest brindle pitbull stray. she was very sweet and friendly and the people at tht yard sale said she needed a home and that i should take her. she reminded me of my old brindle pitbull Roady who died shortly after me and liz had broken up. ever since i read Coming Home To Eat where Gary Nabhan talks about having 3 wives in the same time that he had his one dog i've felt like a needed a dog in my life. i imagine if i do take that pitbull pup into my home i'll name her Saxon. but i got 2 growing kittens who take up too much time as it is, and a disabled mother who can't deal with a dog's need when i'm at work. damn i want a dog though.

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april planting
Here's a list of vegetables you can plant now and the months they can planted till.

amaranth to july
black eyed peas aka cow peas and chinese long bean june then after the monsoons
common beans(which includes green beans, pintos, kidney beans and black beans) till may and from the monsoons till September
carrot till may
corn till may then again from the monsoons till the end of august
cucumbers until may then again in august
devil's claw with the monsoons
okra mid-march till june. make sure to scarify the seeds.
melon till august
green onions till may
radishes till may
sorghum till may and with the monsoons
squash till may
sunchokes aka jerusalem artichokes till mid May
sunflowers till august
watermelon till may
malabar spinach till may
new zealand spinach till may

now's a good time to transpalant eggplant, chiles and tomatoes. you could also start them from seeds(preferable in flats or pots) to be transplanted with the monsoon or in fall.

herbs;

basil april to june and again with the monsoons

marigolds till may
epazote till april
rue april
thyme april

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march planting in the valley of the sun
So February has came and went and now it's March and it's warming up. The month of the Roman god of war and agriculture is upon us. Mid March is generally when we are last likely to get a frost so now is a very good time to start planting warm weather vegetables.

Until Mid March you can still plant artichoke from transplant, arugula and beets. Till april you can plant carrot, radish and green onions.
Here's a list of vegetables you can plant now and the months they can planted till.

amaranth march to july
black eyed peas aka cow peas and chinese long bean
common beans(which includes green beans, pintos, kidney beans and black beans) till may and from the monsoons till September
carrot till may
corn till april then again from the monsoons till the end of august
cucumbers until may then again in august
devil's claw
okra mid-march till june. make sure to scarify the seeds.
melon till august
green onions till may
radishes till may
sorghum till may and with the monsoons
squash till may
sunchokes aka jerusalem artichokes till mid May
sunflowers till august
watermelon till may
malabar spinach till may
new zealand spinach till may

now's a good time to transpalant eggplant, chiles and tomatoes. you could also start them from seeds(preferable in flats or pots) to be transplanted with the monsoon.

herbs;

basil april to june and again with the monsoons
parsley plant in march
marigolds till may
epazote till april
calendula plant now
chamomile march
lavender march
rue till april
sage march
tansy march
thyme till april
lemon balm march

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sunnyslopetopia
sunnyslopetopia
i found a couple youtube clips about sunnyslope. one is a video made of the businesses, houses and apartments that the maker seems to think are trashy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOHQnaThiNg
the other is a video by desert living magazine and it's a modern architecture home made of rusty metal called Blank Studio. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYNCsNcW6ac&feature=related

they both emphasize the extremes of sunnyslope. i've been mostly jokingly saying that sunnyslope could easily become another art scene gentrified area like downtown phoenix. this loft style rusty art home shows it is an actual possibility.

there was also a cover article last august in the new times called Sunnyslopetopia. http://phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-07-26/news/sunnyslopetopia/ all about how great the area is and how anywhere else it would be the beverly hills of the city. i love the article.

sunnyslope has long been the butt of peoples jokes. the truth is i love it there. i can walk 5 minutes to hike the mountain preserve behind my house, there's cool mom and pop shops, i have a good auto mechanic a block from my house and the area isn't on a grid system. there's real diversity there and it's still has a working class feel to it. it's 10 miles from downtown, a few miles from north phoenix where i grew up and has great bike routes and amazing cooky bars. as much as i don't want the slope to become another gentrified downtown i get annoyed when people talk shit about it and call it white trash or a ghetto. yeah there's bikers, tweekers, junkies, bums, nazis and gangs all mixed in with some gated communities. but that's been the case everywhere i grew up in north phoenix and i actually feel more comfortable and at home. bikers, tweekers, junkies, bums, nazis, day laborers on the corners and gangs but they are also working class and poor people which are the people i grew up with. i like that the area has gotten nicer because of community efforts. i just don't want it to become the "beverly hills" of phoenix.

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there was so much free food in the dumpster last night, i wish i had a photo.

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chinese food
i told my mom i was taking mandarin chinese a few weeks ago. the other day she says to me "how's your chinese class going?" i said "it's going pretty good." she then asked me "do you get to eat everything you cook?" which bafled me for a second. she thought i was taking a chinese cooking class.

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mandarin chinese
i just had my first mandarin chinese class today. i'm glad i got a head start over the last year since the teacher was kind of confusing. it should be fun. i'm not excited about getting a chinese name though. i don't want a cheesy name but there's no way to tell if the the name the teacher gives me is cheesy or not. i want to be big bug or something cool. i don't want the chinese equivalent of albert or lenard or something.

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portland
what do you think Portland Oregon would be like if so many cool people hadn't moved there? when i briefly lived there and every time i've visited there i've found portland to be way too saturated. what if all those cool radical people and all the whatever other people hadn't all moved there and had stayed where they were? wouldn't their original cities and towns be cooler? wouldn't portland not be some completely gentrified? wouldn't black folk still live in places like North portland, north east portland and other areas instead of being pushed out to the suburbs and other places? what if the initial wave of anarchist, punks etc. who came because of cheap housing in black areas and the subsequent waves of people who followed hadn't came? i'm not trying to offend all the wonderful people i know in portland but seriously don't you ever wonder?

when housing prices go up and the neighborhood becomes a yuppified art district don't you feel at all responsible? it seems ironic.

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herbs to plant in sept. and oct
vegetables to plant in august in phoenix

carrot
corn
fennel
green onions
commmon beans
black-eyed peas/ chinese long bean







stuff to plant in sept. and oct
Here's some common herbs to plant here in phoenix starting in september. The dash and following month indicates the typical month these plants can be planted till.

Herbs:
Basil
Borage -feb.
calendula -march
chamomile -march
coriander -dec
Dill -feb
fennel -dec
marigold(tagetes)-oct
Nasturtium -feb
Parsley plant from oct-dec
Catnip -nov
Feverfew plant in oct
lavender -march
lemon grass -oct
rosemary plant year round
Rue -oct

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"of dice and men" risk documentary
here's a link for a risk documentary i got interveiwed for. i can only hear the adio so far so i'm not sure if there's video. my voice is the first.

http://www.fallofautumn.com/microcosm/risk-low.mov

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funny witch meet up
http://witches.meetup.com/lists/us/az/gilbert/

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i think your aura is clashing with your karma
i tried to call Mike Jones but i got a busy signal. it's ok i saved his number.

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easy hard cider
this is meant just as an intro to fermenting juices into alcohol. this an easy, very basic method with a minimal amount of equipment involved. i make a couple of batches every week for the weekend.

first buy
a gallon bottle of organic unfiltered apple juice or any natural apple juice
a can of frozen apple juice concentrate(any flavor).
a pack of dried champagne yeast(you can use ale and wine yeast but i've had best results with chapagne)
1/4 maple syrup(optional but it makes for a sweeter cider)
a rubber stopper(number 8 works for the gallon apple juice bottles i use)
a bubbler/airlock from a homebrew shop (this a small plastic device that lets co2 out but no air in

pour out about 2 cups of juice, and add the thawed concentrate to the bottle. you need to leave some air space at the top of the bottle or the cider will ferment out of the bubbler. shake the bottle up good then add the dried yeast. put the stopper on the top the insert the bubbler filled a 1/3 of the way with some water. set it in a room cooler than 80 degrees and cover it with a dark t-shirt or towel and let it ferment for 5 -8 days. it will be a little rough around the edges but it's still good. i like to add a little unfermented juice when i drink it to sweeten it a bit. just poor into a glass or into another bottle and drink it.

the stronger you make the cider(buy adding more sugar or sugar sources) the longer it takes to ferment. you can do this with citrus juice too. this recipe is ultra simple. ideally you should sanitize everything with an iodine water solution but this will still work if you don't. to make a nicer cider you could rack(siphon with a hose and racking cane) the cider to a second bottle to mellow for a week or two. then you could bottle it with a small amount of sugar to carbonate it in the bottles. that takes a week or 2. that all takes more effort and equipment although it's worth it for the taste.

options: you can do this with other types of juice as well but i've had no luck with grape juice tasting like wine. i've used citrus juice and had good results. you can also use sugar, malt syrup, maple syrup etc. in addition to or instead of frozen apple juice concentrate. i recommend boiling the sugar with some water to make a syrup and kill any bacteria that might spoil the brew.
you can also use ale yeast from the bottom of bottles of hefewiezen instead of buying yeast.

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feb and march planting in the low desert
In March you can plant warm weather vegetable such as squashes, common beans, long bean, chiles, corn, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, amaranth, cotton, black-eyed-peas, gourds, herbs, sorghums, sunflower, okra, eggplant, tobacco, and tomatillo. March is the time for most herbs such as sage, thyme, mints, epazote, tansy, thyme, and lemonbalm.

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stuff to plant in feb and march
Now's the low desert planting time for a lot of stuff! you can still plant a spring crop of garbanzo beans, peas, lentils, faba beans, wheat till the end of february.

Good vegetables to plant now are common beans, long bean, beets, carrots, chiles, corn, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, chives, green onions, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, sugarsnap and snow peas, radishes and there's still time for fast maturing varieties of greens, chinese greens, broccoli, lettuce and mescaline and cabbage. now's the time to transplant tomatoes, asparagus, potatoes and artichokes.

You can also plant chamomile, parsley, cilantro, dill, lavender.

Flowers to plant now include begonias, rain lilies, geraniums, dianthus(edible), iceland poppies, johny-jump-ups(all of which like the shade) marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, globe amaranth, mexican sunflower, salvias, verbena, celosia, portulaca, geraniums, and nasturtiums(edible).

In March you can plant warm weather vegetable such as squashes, common beans, long bean, chiles, corn, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, amaranth, cotton, black-eyed-peas, gourds, herbs, sorghums, sunflower, okra, eggplant, tobacco, and tomatillo. March is the time for most herbs such as sage, thyme, mints, epazote, tansy, thyme, and lemonbalm.

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here's the easiest method I know of to make ground seitan. you can easily double or quadruple this recipe. this is easier and less time consuming than simmering.
from Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stapaniak. you can add broth instead of water and add extra flavor ingredients to the liquid or dry ingredients if you wish.

dry:
1 1/2 vital gluten flour
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion granules


liquid:
1 cup water or 1/2 cup tomato juice and 1/2 cup water or 1 cup tomato juice
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs oil

preheat oven to 350. mix dry. mix wet. mix them together. knead to blend. let gluten rest 3 minutes. stretch the gluten, into a slab about 1/2 inch thick. bake for 15 minutes. take out and prick all over with a fork. bake for 10 - 15 minutes more. remove from oven and invert a large mixing bowl over it. let rest till cool enough to handle, about 30 minute. grind cool and store.

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nori and tofu soup
nori and tofu soup
i like this chinese recipe. you can add extra sea vegetables like dulse, kombu, etc. if you like.

nori and tofu soup
1 pound of soft tofu, cut into half inch cubes
4 nori sheets,
1 oz szechaun preserved vegetables, minced(optional but tasty)
4 cups of stock
1/2 tsp salt
4 sliced scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbs cornstarch dissolved in a 1/4 cup stock
1/2 tbs sesame oil

bring the stock, salt and szechaun preserved vegetables to a boil. add most of the scallion, reserving some of the green slices for the end. reduce the soup to a simmer and gently add the tofu cubes. meanwhile cut the nori into 1 inch squares. stir in the starch and stir till thickened. then stir in the nori, extra scallion greens and sesame oil. serve hot.

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FNB feeding at revolution rez fest
tomorrow there's a meeting on the reservation for the revolution rez fest. it's at 10 am and i'm going to it to get together some of the specifics of the FNB feeding at the fest this weekend. friday and saturday is the revolution rez fest on the pima/maricopa reservation and they want phoenix FNB to feed both days. i have a lot of food stored and the some of the tuscon chapter is coming up on saturday to feed as well. anyone who want's to go and help feed or just needs a ride to attend can ride with me after i get off work or can go earlier themselves. i'll know more details after tomorrow. i kind of dropped the ball on organizing this one but things have been hectic for me lately. so if anyone wants to ride with me after work around 12 or so they can and if anyone wants to got to the organization meeting tomorrow just let me know. call me at 602 410 0629.

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anrcha-taoism
here's a good article on anarchism and taoism. do you see the conection?

Taoism & Anarchism

ANARCHISM IS USUALLY CONSIDERED a recent, Western phenomenon, but its roots reach deep in the ancient civilizations of the East. The first clear expression of an anarchist sensibility may be traced back to the Taoists in ancient China from about the sixth century BC. Indeed, the principal Taoist work, the Tao te ching, may be considered one of the greatest anarchist classics.

http://www.toxicpop.co.uk/library/taoism.htm

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