The words of z

A week and a day ago, Chris Skinner was killed. And he was a friend of my friends. And it doesn’t make sense. it’s of no use to think that he was a guy who I’d only met a few times, because he affected my life more than that. He was a friend of my friends. So he was my friend. Though he didn’t know that. And neither did I. And it was irrelevant. But it’s no less affecting. I want to cry out and rage, but it’s somewhat subdued by embarrassment. After all, I hardly knew him and I was number 999 in a funeral of 1100+ so what could I do but hold hands and share tears and pray to the benevolent God up above that this would never happen to me or anyone I knew but then I stopped. Because it did happen to me. It happened to all of us. To us and all of our friends that we ever thought twice about and we left to get home when we thought we shouldn’t or didn’t walk home because the cab was too close well no more. God will no longer provide our salvation. We must make our own. I will take the time to make sure that the people I love are safe home in their beds before I do the same. The evil is the same, but their safety matters more to me than mine. I can no longer allow my friends’ sexuality to be criminalized - to the judgment of death. Their lives are my life. Their breath is my breath. Their love is my love. The last seven days have been trying. And i cannot let the next days to be more so. Bless you all.

I have no side in the current conflict, but when one group has another pinned in a 2km wide area and there are civilians present then you have to take the right path. These aren’t combatants, even if they hate you. They’re civilians. Make concessions. Let them run for their godforsaken lives. God knows they’ll soon all be dead anyway.

Versus WAR. Versus CONFLICT. Versus RELIGIOUS SEPARATION. Versus SEMANTIC DISTINCTIONS

Sri Lanka has pledged to end the war in the next 48 hours. Think about what that means. 2-1 = Unity.

…it’s done.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/15/news/economy/500dollaroil_okeefe.fortune/index.htm

If you’ve read Orwell’s 1984 you know the importance of words - if you don’t have a word for something you can’t think or communicate about it.

Well, thanks to the work of an OCAD think tank, we’ve got a word for those who willfully damage the environment - depletist.

I can’t wait until spell check recognizes it.

In the meantime, here’s the link: http://tankofthinkers.wordpress.com/about/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line

Great entry on wikipedia about the concept of the Triple Bottom Line (or people, planet, profit)

Sunday, July 20

Gladstone Hotel

to register: http://www.spreadtheword.org or http://superpower.ning.com/

Registration is almost full, so if you’re coming, please register soon

http://www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=37924

Designers can make recycling mean something again.

http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

This US site provides an interesting method of measuring your footprint. I mean, I’m a big guy and yes, if everyone on Earth was my size we probably would need another planet. But if everyone on earth behaved like me we’d need 2.5 Earths. I’m depressed now.

http://www.greengraffiti.nl/pages/Home.html

I always thought most of Europe could use a good pressure washing.

Hopefully this doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, but imagine the possibilities for public art.