Meet Hubert

Since there was a request last time for me to post a picture of my husband's Landrover, here it is. This is Hubert, who is mostly a 1967 'Rover. He was assembled from pieces about six years ago when my husband decided he wanted a diesel Landrover and couldn't find an affordable one to hand. He's sprung like a buckboard, runs on diesel, biodiesel, or vegetable oil, and exerts some kind of powerful and (to me) mysterious fascination on a surprising number of guys of all ages. Yesterday a toddler walked by our house with his mother and never took his eyes off Hubert the whole time, to the point that he was looking 180 degrees over his shoulder from hundreds of yards away after passing by. Jeff, maybe you can enlighten me about why this is??

Seminar reminder

Now that we're close enough to have an idea what the weather is likely to do on Sunday, I just wanted to post a quick message (which I'll also send via email) about our seminar meeting on Sunday. The forecast looks promising, so we should be able to follow through on our plan of doing some painting on various vehicles (mine, any of yours that you feel comfortable decorating, and any from volunteers in the overall group). I'll bring poster paints, brushes, and some extra file folders and X-acto knives for making stencils. You'll bring pre-cut stencils of your own designs if you've had a chance to think about those. I'll make an announcement at the all-group meeting on Saturday morning that we're inviting people to choose a stencil design or allow us to paint them a "temporary car tattoo." And we'll go from there!

Remember to post something in response to one of the readings - ideally, before Saturday so that we all have a chance to read it before we meet. Thank you to those who have posted already. There's lots to do and talk about for Sunday - I'm really looking forward to it!

Marx's Repudiation of Economic Evolution? A Fool's Revolution.

It is first off only fair to point out that Karl Marx was the eloquent wordman; Friedrich Engels and Adam Weishaupt were the true progenitors of most everything we today refer to as "Marxist" or "Marxian." Nevertheless, Karl did ascribe to such doctrines -- and even added a few flairs of his own. So for purposes of expedience, "Marxist" is not entirely inaccurate.

"Commodity Fetishism" is a predictably vulgar, even sleazy manner in which to deride free market forces by invoking deviant sexual imagery. Marx goes to great pains to convince the reader that any value a product might be perceived of possessing, beyond strict utilitarianism ("social value"), is a product of fantasy, or even dementia. He seems typically incapable of accepting the notion that a product's market value is determined by numerous potential factors based upon individual need, aesthetic perception, psychology, etc. Marx is far more attracted to the chicken-before-the-egg contention that the product of the group collective, wrought solely on the basis of raw survival, as in a primitive hunter-gatherer society, remains somehow superior both morally and intellectually to any evolution towards production on the basis of individual talents and abilities. A man is to have no exclusive ideations towards producing particular goods or services since this does not guarantee that the collective will find them useful. And since this is the case, any divergence invariably results in the good or service in question being afforded a distorted value that reflects the desires and guesswork only of the individuals involved, and not the societal whole. Thus, such market values are predicated entirely on fripperies and fantasmagorias, rather than sound "practical" considerations wherein the usefulness of such goods and services can be empirically and materially proven.

One need only look to Cuba or North Korea to see where such thinking has lead, and continues to lead. Indeed, even less egalitarian examples, such as Sweden or New Zealand -- two of the first nation-states to accept socialism -- have been forced in recent years to introduce major economic and political reforms to prevent their respective economies from suffering utter collapse. The truth is one that governments everywhere are ultra-reticent to admit: Laissez-Faire works, and works exceptionally well. Collectivism shortly dies a brutal death, and can only survive as long as it does in an absence of political freedom. Socialism and communism thrive on tyranny. Markets prosper because of individualism and liberty.

That here at the historical vantage point which 2009 affords there could still be ardent adherents to the failed, destitute theories and contemplations of Karl Marx is a wonder that knows no bounds. When will human beings learn -- if ever -- to stop burning their hands on the hot stovetop; to stop repeating the same tragic failures of the past that only yield the same substandard results? One deprogramming remedy I can offer is here: http://www.tolfa.us

Are We Traveling, Or Running?

You can run your whole life and never get anywhere. Our driver in Almost In Iowa, found out the hard way, when karma caught up with him Joliet, Illinois. Waking to the reality of vandalism, to his 69 Volvo, opened his eyes to what he was really running from. Running from our problems, can sometimes bring negativity into our lives, but traveling with an unknown destination can bring clarity. Sometimes we need to break the mundane cycle of life. We need to explore our minds and wake the power that we forget we possess. We should not let our struggles in our daily lives distract us from the Love that we embrace deep in our hearts. Exploring the world in which we live in, is the best way to discover who you are, and to affirm your beliefs. Every day is a gift, that is why it is called the “present”. So when the next time life wants to bring you down, look deep in your soul, discover the fire that burns deep behind your eyes, and follow your bliss.

Pothole poetry

I'm planning to read this poem in my Tufts class this evening (we've been talking about urban nature and transportation) and thought I'd post it here as well. It's certainly seasonal, as well as topical!

Potholes
Linda Hogan

The streets we live by fall away.
Even the asphalt is tired
of this going and coming to work,
the chatter in cars,
and passengers crying on bad days.

Trucks with frail drivers
carry dangerous loads. Have care,
these holes are not just holes
but a million years of history
opening up, all our beautiful failures
and gains. The earth is breathing
through the streets.

Rain falls.
The lamps of earth switch on.
The potholes are full
of light and stars, the moon's many faces.

Mice drink there in the streets.
The skunks of night drift by.
They swallow the moon.
When morning comes,
workers pass this way again,
cars with lovely merchandise. Drivers,
take care, a hundred suns look out of earth
beneath circling tires.

Addictive Consumption

The Making of Modern Consumption could also be titled The Making of Modern Addictive Consumption. Back in the sixteenth century people mainly bought items that would benefit their families, times have changed. Today people buy everything and anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s for the family or just a personal gratification, it gets purchased even if it means going in debt. What McCracken says about he eighteenth century,” Goods have suddenly become tokens in the status game and they were being consumed with alacrity.” is still true today, people buy certain cars, clothing, jewelry as status even if it means financial ruin. There is an over abundance of consumption, maybe we owe this to Elizabeth I, or to the modern shopping mall. Either way, our society is so out of control with consumption that our planet is being treated like a GIANT cesspool. Material objects have a shelf life, and when their time is up, we usually send them to the landfill. It has become an epidemic; the credit companies are fueling this uncontrollable consumer consumption by giving credit to unqualified individuals and not educating the public about consumer credit. It is evident by the economy that the majority of the population is in debt because of the "hedonistic consumer". Our consumption in this society is so bad, we even named it to reflect a disease, shopaholic. Living in Wilmington, Vermont has subdued my shopping addictions. The closest mall is well over an hour away. Living in a rural area has also helped me realize the importance of a no consuming attitude towards unnecessary material items that are not essential. In California people are going bankrupt and losing their houses left and right. I would have been right along with them if I stayed out there. Shopping malls and boutiques are the scenery of southern California. It is as if there is nothing else to do but shop. Every where you look, there is a marketing tool which is so clever and thought out, that it sucks the money out of your pocket like water through a hose. People may laugh at what I’m saying, but it is an extremely easy trend to get caught in. Society has the responsibility to live within its financial means and stay away from over spending, a practice that the United States government is not representing. When will the day come when we will look past the material exterior, and look into the warm loving soul that we all have deep inside?
The twenty-first century looks to be a time of correcting. In the past market prices were subject to barter, but present day is reverting back to the past. A price tag in a boutique use to be at face value, but as we feel the pain of this recession, price tags are becoming negotiable. Figuring ways to reduce our waste and carbon foot prints will be in the hands of the consumer. The consumer has the power to control the consumption of the modern age. Working together we will be able to instill this knowledge on our children, forming a more environmental consciousness. Hopefully we can teach our children the lessons we have learned from our mistakes,or maybe we are all in denial, and think our environmental waste problems, will magically disappear.

Readings for our May 3 meeting

Hi all - Great to see you this weekend. I'm really enjoying these discussions!

In addition to the two readings in Google Docs that I emailed you about (by Grant McCracken and John Irving), here are two online readings for our next meeting:

Karl Marx on commodity fetishism

John Urry on "Automobility, Car Culture, and Weightless Travel"

The Urry piece ranges all over the place and is a bit theoretically dense in places - you may want to read it in chunks, instead of all at once!

Take the Highway to the End of the Night

Hi Folks:

Good to see everyone today. I just came across this very short YouTube video in which a Jada Toys version of Jim Morrison's 1967 Shelby GT 500 is shown (damn, I want one of those!), as well as the real deal. Morrison used to call his Shelby "Blue Lady." Of course, she was victim to numerous incidents of excessive speed, crashes, impounds, etc., during the Lizard King's reign in L.A. But that was rock stardom in the '60s (at least, for Jim). Anyhow, enjoy...and keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85GGW6LJW5Q

Oh, yeah: For any of you who are curious as to the source of inspiration for the Doors' "End of the Night," it came from the excellent novel by Louis Ferdinand Celine, Journey to the End of Night. Not a bad book for a totally unapologetic French Nazi who willingly collaborated with the Germans during the occupation, and refused to recant even years after the war. The specifics of such a stance set aside, I think Jim appreciated that kind of stubborn defiance.

Homogenization and Cultural Disintegration

The most profound thing I found in all of our readings for this residency was Jackle's assessment of the automobile as a manifestation of the prevailing American mindset. In the course of my independent study this semester, I have been grappling with what these underpinnings might be but could not come up with an appropriate way to make such gross generalizations. Conveniently (for me) Jackel and others have long been contemplating these larger cultural trends, as well as their manifestations and implications for the future. The automobile exemplifies the lifestyle long glorified by the American dream. Conversely, the auto also epitomizes the great cultural disintegration and homogenization that has swept our country since its invention. It has, quite literally, been the single largest vehicle of change in modern society, driving further inequality, division and segregation within our society. Ironically, many of those values that it supposedly reinforces have been undermined by its pervasive presence in our society today.
The underlying reasons for our intense love of the auto, as given by Jackle, are: "...individual fulfillment through freedom of mobility, the love of newness coupled with a naive belief in change as progress, the embracing of privatism fueled by competitive rather than communal impulses, the pursuit of the utilitarian that embodies profound disrespect for the environment, and the belief in equality whereby a tyranny of the majority often rules." Several of these values have clearly been reinforced by the automobile. However, other components have been undermined by the very invention through which they were rendered accessible to Americans as a whole.
The auto has certainly given us greater freedom of mobility, accelerated change, and increasing privatization of resources. It is also the ultimate manifestation of our "pursuit of the utilitarian that embodies profound disrespect for the environment." These facts are indisputable.
However, I do not fully agree with Jackle in that the other values previously mentioned have not been reinforced but undermined by the proliferation of the automobile. For instance, the American love of the new has been dulled by the homogenization of our culture. We now look to "new" products or novel electronic stimulation or numb ourselves with substances to rescue us from the mundane life and landscape we have created. "So pervasive has strip development become that a sort of sameness, born of roadside clutter, has emerged across the nation. As the suburbs are characterized for their homogeneity, so the roadside also suffers blandness." Clearly, the automobile has allowed for massive social, political, and cultural change in America and around the world. This new culture is built on rapid change, competition and freedom of mobility. The dramatic alteration of our lifestyles have left our culture brimming with apathy, loneliness and a surging desire for material gains.

no butterflies in this cocoon!

I can see that several of us were most moved by this article. Lupton's piece was especially intriguing to me due to the Australian perspective. There are so few cultures in the world that resemble the American one as closely and so reading about a phenomena we as Americans share with Australians from the perspective of an Australian provided an interesting anthropological view. I had never considered cars as an extension of myself before either. Being a student of animal husbandry in a different life, I am often reminded of the sentiments of one particular professor who was constantly reminding us as students not to anthropomorphize animals. She felt strongly that animals do not experience emotions the way that humans do. This has been a struggle for me over the years and to date I am still not sure I believe it. I could not help thinking about this reference while reading "cocoons". As she points out the constant anthropomorphizing of cars through advertising, media and pop culture. I wonder if people feel about their cars the way that I feel about animals? Something about that feels so creepy. At the same time it helps me have some perspective about the ways that our culture acts out so fiercely around car culture, car care, car protectiveness and car sensitivity. While reading this I remembered how Cathy taught us to read the auto finder as though we were visiting Earth for the first time. If I were to examine the concept of road rage in the same way I would assume our society was vicious and delusional with a lack of boundaries and moral obligation.

Safety, revenue, or control? You decide...

Here's a Wall Street Journal piece about traffic cameras, which are proliferating (along with other visual surveillance technology) in the U.S. and elsewhere. (And here's the You Tube video of the rogue Santa Clauses covering up the traffic cameras in Tempe, Arizona!)

Exploring America with the Automobile

Of our three readings, James Peacock's The Anthropological Lens, was my least favorite but most informative. I enjoyed reading John Jakle's article on how the American landscape was reshaped by and for cars. I have traveled the United States many times from coast to coast, and until taking this class, I never actually thought about the relationship we have with our cars, or how the automobile and the highways have developed each other. While out in public, it seems everything has been built around the automobile. Even our houses have a place for our car, a garage. Our National Parks are built to invite the automobile and its’ passenger to explore. Yellowstone has roads leading you to Old Faithful Geyser. Mount Rushmore has parking at the base of the faces. Glacier National Park has roads taking you to the middle of nowhere. Some wild animal parks have roads instead of walkways, driving through the habitats of dangerous animals. In Northern California we drove our Toyota sequoia through a sequoia. Many of our state parks and national parks are designed for our cars. If they didn’t design these attractions so that our cars could enter and explore, they wouldn’t attract as many people as they do. Imagine if you had to hike into Yellowstone National Park, I doubt that they would get the two million visitors that visit the park every year.
Interstate highways, which are like arteries, keep the flow of automobiles and trucks constantly moving across the nation. The arteries feed the veins, which in this case, would be highways and streets. These highways and streets are what keep our country alive and vibrant. Take away our interstates highways and streets, and you have a crippled nation. Our interstate highways and freeways have also hurt many towns. The traffic that had to travel through small towns gave way to the interstates, restaurants and stores lost the tourism that kept a lot of these small towns alive. The interstate and highways became so important that if a house or private land was preventing a highway pass, the Department of Transportation evicted people from their land and houses. I’ve seen a lot of the effects of interstates. On one of my trips, I tried to stay off the interstate as much as possible. The interstates have McDonald, Burger king, Wal-Mart, and miles of strip malls. The back roads have culture, originality. Sights are different on back roads, not a cookie cutter look. I don’t have to explain that to you all. We live in an area that is back roads.
When we go some where it is usually by car. Even if we are taking the train or plane, we take a taxi or a friend drives us to the airport or train station. The automobile is second nature. If a person doesn’t have a car, they are asking for a ride. Our society economically is even formed around the car. I think the car in the future will know more about us than we will. Receptors in our brain communicating with our car about the events and travels that need to be fulfilled everyday. Who knows? Maybe someday we will be altered to fit our car. From stop signs to underground parking garages, our everyday lives are about the car.

Invading A Guy's Cocoon

I also could relate to the Deborah Lupton article, Monsters in Metal Cocoons: “Road Rage” and Metal Bodies. Like Sarah, I’ve been directly involved with a few incidences of road rage. Fortunately, I’ve never been the catalyst in any of them, though I must admit that I have fantasized about doing great bodily harm to certain individuals that have honked their horn at me, cut me off, or any number of other road infractions, big or small.
A couple of years ago, I had finished my shopping and was in my truck getting ready to head back home. I watched as a man and his teenage daughter got into their Saab. The man backed out of his parking space and hit the car that was parked behind him. I was surprised when the guy quickly drove away. Without much thought, I honked my horn and motioned for him to stop. He circled around the parking lot and came back to where I was parked. He then jumped out of his car, screamed something at his daughter, and came toward me. I asked him why he hadn’t stopped and checked to see if the car he had struck was damaged. He responded that I was being “irrational” and that I was “coming at him in a threatening manner using profanity and frightening his daughter.” I had not used any profanity; in fact, I hadn’t even raised my voice at this point. He told me that he wasn’t going to stand there and be threatened and that he was going to phone the police because I was harassing him. He walked back toward his car and started to get in. I leaned into my truck, grabbed a pen and proceeded to write down his license plate number. When he realized what I was doing, he flipped completely out! He ran back at me screaming “Now I see how things are done here in Vermont!” (He was from New York). He was so angry he was spitting. I’m about 6’3” and he was at least a foot shorter than me. He then told me that if I was going to take down his number, he was going to take my down, too. He also said that he was going to have me arrested for assault! Keep in mind that I had only asked him why he hadn’t stopped to see if the car he hit was damaged. When I repeated the question, he said that he didn’t have to check the other car because his bumper was rated for a 30 mph impact. I pointed out to him that the car he hit wasn’t rated for a 30 mph impact. He again said that he was going to call the police. At this time an elderly man and woman walked up and said that they had seen the whole incident and supported me completely. This psychopath must have realized that he was outnumbered, so he got into his car and drove to the other side of the parking lot. I went over to the car he struck and examined it to see if there was any damage. I couldn’t see any, but I left the guy’s plate number and then waited until the guy drove off. The elderly couple said that they were going to alert the mall’s security service as to what happened and that was the end of it.
I’m reasonably sure that this man doesn’t act this way normally. He was obviously in a hurry and, in his own mind, thought that he had done nothing wrong. I invaded his cocoon by honking my horn and he couldn’t deal with it. I think it was yet another example of road rage.

This was a very interesting article and I especially liked how Lupton describes the “interior of the car as consonant with that of the human uterus…” (60). I like to think of the interior of my truck as an extension of my home. I have my CD player, my coffee, and the temperature is always perfect. As I wrote, I’m not above loudly voicing my displeasure at my fellow drivers if I feel that they are impeding my progress. I agree with Deborah Lupton when she says, “When the cause of our need to slow down or stop is another person…he or she becomes the target of our frustration and anger” (63). This was an eye-opening article that has made me re-think the way I react to certain situations while driving.

Another new link - The Oil Drum

I just found this good site with many discussions about our petroleum-dependent economy and what we can/should/might do about it:

The Oil Drum

GM-Segway PUMA

Hello again. My wife set my dvr and recorded a news clip about GM and Segway. They were in New York showing off their new PUMA project.

GM has only 52 more days left to get a plan together for CEO Obama. Is this a desperate ploy so the White House and the public will think GM has reinvented their cars and their company? I don't know what to think. On one hand I'm glad they are trying, and on the other hand, it looks like something a bunch people in a garage developed, not one of America's biggest companies. Pretty sad to think that this is what the American people get for all the billions GM wants to take.
Follow the link to see the future or the future GM sees.
Make sure you watch the video at the bottom of the article.

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/gmsegway-puma-part-2-live-demo-photos?partner=rss

Honku-Its a money thing

Million, billion, trillion
how much more can they ask for
quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion

"The Zen Antidote to Road Rage"

If you haven't heard about Honku, it's worth checking out. A nice companion piece to Deborah Lupton's road rage article.

An Excellent Article: Government Motors

I just came across this write-up on the recent government bailouts of auto manufacturers by the Foundation for Economic Education:

http://fee.org/articles/government-motors/

Of course, we all know that it's because "capitalism" and "free markets" don't work, right...?

Nice mustache there, Karl. Not.

Car and Driver Radio

Either Jeff has read my mind or vice-versa, but I'd just like to post some info I just received about a cool program I think I mentioned at our first meeting.

Car and Driver Radio (affiliated, of course, with the periodical magazine) can be heard by livestream audio on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EST), and on Sundays from 6:00 to 7:00 AM (EST) at www.radioamerica.org If you're in broadcast range, you can also listen during those same time slots on WTSJ 1320 AM in Randolph Center, VT. There are likely other affiliate stations in New England; just check out the Radio America website. I believe you can also listen by satellite, if you have one of the older transponders (not XM).

This is really a great and entertaining program, and I used to listen when 93.7 FM in Springfield, VT. was part of this network. Now, it's a country and western station. Shucks.

April Fool's Day

If any of you were on the Yahoo site around 10pm on April 1st you probably read the same article that I did. The Yahoo Buzz Log printed a story about Car and Diver Magazine Causing a big stir in the NASCAR world. Car and Driver magazine ran a publication stating that Obama would not give Chevrolet or Dodge any stimulus money unless they dropped out of NASCAR. According to the yahoo Buzz the NASCAR fans didn't find humor in the fact that they would be stuck watching foreign cars racing around America's racetracks. The Internet buzz was so bad that Car and Driver pulled the article. I just thought it was funny and since we are learning about cars I thought this would be a perfect.
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92422