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Dr. Shankar Chatterjee[1]
Professor & Head (CPME)
NIRD & PR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 0030, Telangana, India
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
The paper was presented at the Expert Group Seminar on "Crop Insurance Policy for Madhya Pradesh" (16-17 May 2015) held at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. The article is the revised version of the paper. In this paper for the benefit of farmers some issues have been covered. An analysis has been made how agricultural marketing has been carried out by the self-help group members in Telangana so that farmers get their due price and marginal and small farmers' group as studied by the author in Karnataka has been presented here. A case of creation of water –bodies on individual agricultural land of marginal and small farmers' land from Bankura district of West Bengal under MGNREGS which changed economic life of many farmers is presented here. In addition, the author by observing crop like 'teff' in Eritrea, and vegetables like avocado, artichoke and asparagus grown in Peru has suggested that, attempt may be made to grow such vegetables and crop, in our country as these vegetables are having high price in international market and teff is good for health and also can sustain in semi-arid area.
Key words: Farmers, Hapa, SHG, Teff and Vegetables.
Mahatma Gandhiji once said, "India lives in her villages". Still today it holds good as Indian culture, food, society, etc., can be observed only in rural India. But among these, most important is that the occupation of the villagers as the villagers in India is earning their livelihood mainly through agriculture and allied activities. According to 2011 Census, of the total population of India 121 crore, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore people reside in urban areas which in relative term can be said 70 per cent of the country's population lives in rural areas. The state wise data reveal that Uttar Pradesh is much ahead while maximum number of people living in rural areas is considered – 15.5 crore. Against the backdrop, Mumbai tops the list as five crore people live in urban areas. Agriculture provides employment to 56 per cent of the Indian workforce where as its contribution to the gross Domestic Product is around 15 percent. Again, looking at the land holding data it is observed that as per 2010-11 of the total holdings of 137757 numbers, marginal holding constituted 92356 numbers (67%), smallholding-24705 (18%), Semi-medium-13840 (10%), medium -5856 (4%) and large holding-1000 (1%). The statistics further divulge that marginal holdings had increased substantially over a period of time i.e. from 64.8 percent (83694 nos.) in 2000-01 to 92356 numbers (67%) in 2010-11. Against the backdrop, in case of all other holdings, the same has declined (NIRD&PR, 2015). The farmers' problems in India mainly lie with marginal and small farmers. In this regard one important news item from the Times of India (18 April 2014) may be referred which is mainly findings of a research study carried out by the British researchers.
"British researchers have said they have found few of the main reasons behind India's farmer suicides. Investigations by researchers from the Cambridge University's Department of Sociology and University College London's Department of Political Science has found that rates of suicide are highest in areas with the most debt-ridden farmers who are clinging to tiny smallholdings – less than one hectare – and are trying to grow cash crops such as cotton and coffee that are highly susceptible to global price fluctuations. Farmers at highest risk have three characteristics: those that grow cash crops such as coffee and cotton; those with 'marginal' farms of less than one hectare; and those with debts of Rs 300 or more. States in which these characteristics are most prevalent had the highest suicide rates. These characteristics accounted for almost 75% of the variability in state-level suicides".
The news item has further quoted one Sri Kennedy, a researcher, "Small scale farmers who cultivate capital-intensive cash crops – which are subject to massive price fluctuations – are particularly vulnerable to accruing debts they can't repay. Many male farmers – who are traditionally responsible for a household's economic well-being – resort to suicide because they can't support their families". According to the researchers, "In Gujarat, where cash crops are mainly cultivated on large-scale farms have low suicide rates".
This review discussion has shown the path that small holders experimenting with capital intensive cash crops have been suffering and finally many of them committed suicide. So to prevent suicide, I feel 'prevention is better than cure' which in details are discussed here.
In the Twelve Plan Document issues related to agriculture has been explicitly analyzed. By quoting from the plan document it may be stated that "The average farm sector growth in the Eleventh Plan period may be a little over 3.0 per cent. This is a marked improvement from the average growth of about 2.0 per cent during the Tenth Plan period. ……Since agriculture is a State subject, the Centre will have to work hand in hand with the States to bring coherence in policies and strategies. Seeds and irrigation are the priority areas, which can be catalysts for raising productivity on the supply side. On the demand side, there is urgent need to remove most of the controls that have denied a unified and seamless all India market for most agri-products (12th Plan document).
Another important point to be noted is that for development of agriculture judicious use of water is sine qua non. "Agriculture accounts for 80.0 per cent of water needs at present, and there is considerable scope for increasing efficiency of water use in this area. This requires better management of water in areas of large and medium irrigation projects. It also requires putting in place more holistic aquifer management strategies" (ibid).
Price Support to Farmers: Innovative Initiative:
For the minimum price support of the farmers, an innovative model developed in the undivided Andhra Pradesh is presented here as well as crop diversification is also suggested from the two countries, in addition a case of development of water conservation measure from West Bengal. The based on feasibility as well as local situation, the Government of Madhya Pradesh may implement in the nook and corner of the villages of the State at least in distress districts like Annupur, Ashoknagar, Balaghat, Betul etc. It may be mentioned that according to the Report of the Expert Group on Agricultural Indebtedness (Banking division, Dept. of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Govt. Of India, July 2007), out of 100 agriculturally less developed and distressed districts in India, in Madhya Pradesh there are 18 districts .
As the State is having the Madhya Pradesh State Co-operative Marketing Federation, popularly known as MP Markfed which is an APEX body of Marketing Co-operative Societies established in 1956, a registered body under the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 so it can play a lead role for minimum price support to the farmers. MP Markfed was setup with the objective of purchase, sale and distribution of agriculture related commodities like fertilizer, seed, pesticide, agriculture machineries and procurement of food grains under minimum support price schemes from primary agriculture credit co-operative societies, marketing co-operative societies and farmers in the NeGP-Agriculture Mission Mode Project Software Requirement Specifications Madhya Pradesh State Agricultural Portal remote areas (NeGP, 12). Markfed has a vast marketing network comprising of 7 zonal offices, 41 district offices and 426 distribution centres at 244 different locations and supported by 280 Marketing Societies and 4526 Primary Agricultural Credit Co-operative Societies.
In view of this it is suggested that MP Markfed should come forward and through self-help groups (SHGs) minimum price support to farmers as observed in Telangana may be initiated.
Case from Telangana:
To provide farmers with minimum price support for their produce, Andhra Pradesh Government (undivided, now a part is Telangana) under its organization viz., Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) initiated innovative steps through self-help groups (SHGs) from 2000. Even after creation of Telangana, SERP has been crated separately both for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. However, SERP worked on a comprehensive multi-dimensional poverty alleviation strategy by focusing equally on the 'Livelihoods Value Chain and Human Development Indicators'. Keeping this in mind, SERP of undivided Andhra Pradesh worked on a unique structure of community based organization by organizing 11.4 million rural women into 1.27 million SHGs, 38646 Village Organizations, 1098 Mandal Samakhyas (Mandal Federation i.e. cluster of villages)and 22 Zilla Samakhyas (District Federation (serp.ap.gov.in).
Regarding price support to the farmers, the procurement and marketing of the agricultural goods were meticulously planned by establishing procurement centers through Village Organizations (VOs, federation of SHGs at village level) under the umbrella of SERP so that marginal and small farmers get remunerative prices. It is pertinent to mention that maize and paddy were the two major crops which farmers used to sell as observed in the field by the author. Initially in 2004-05, procurement at village level was started with maize and observing its success, Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation was entrusted the responsibility of procurement of paddy from 2005-06 through Village Organization. And every year specific dates (average 45 days duration each in Kharif and Rabi) were notified and willing famers can sell their goods through SHGs which is very transparent. The major objectives of marketing support through SHGs inter alia, were:
- To enable the small & marginal farmers to obtain the best price for their Agricultural Commodities and forest produce.
- To minimize the cost of inputs to the rural poor farmers.
- To create Marketing facility at their door steps.
Initially marketing efforts were initiated with the procurement of Neem fruit in one Mandal and red-gram dal in five Mandals in 2001 of Mahabubnagar district, (then Andhra Pradesh now Telangana) subsequently the process was spread over to 21 districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh involving 50 items purchased through Village Organizations (VOs). And later on maize and paddy were included. To get an idea about the benefits reached to the farmers following table may be seen at a glance.
Although table is self-explanatory but few important points as observed from the table are:
- Out of the 22 districts (undivided Andhra Pradesh), 21 districts were covered under the scheme and similarly out of 1098 mandals, 771 were covered. The variations in the number of mandals are observed because in sometimes there was no necessity of price support through SHGs. The farmers could sell their goods in the open market.
- Since inception of the scheme, crores of goods were transacted.
- The beneficiaries were in lakh indicating lakhs of families were benefitted.
- Not only farmers were benefitted even VO also earned as commission.
Case: This study was carried out in last week of December 2012 at Eklaspur village, Manthani mandal, Karimnagar district of then Andhra Pradesh now Telangana. In Eklaspur village, the marketing Centre was meant for procurement of paddy as in the village and nearby areas mainly paddy is cultivated. During the time of visit, Meghna Village Organization (as there were two VOs and each year one VO is given the task) was assigned the task. As a part of marketing system the farmers had to bring paddy at their own cost at the Centre, in addition they have to pay at the rate of Rs. 20 per quintal, if the labourers upload/download paddy who are normally available at the site. Before coming to the Centre, each farmer was given a token mentioning the date for selling the paddy in order to avoid chaos. The Eklaspur village Centre started its operation from 7 November 2012 and closed on 4 January 2013, except Sundays all the days were open for operation. For smooth functioning of the activities like other cases, 5-member committee from the members of VO was formed to oversee marketing process and each was assigned a specific task and in addition 2 more members – 1 as book-keeper and 1 Community Resource Person (CRP) – were also involved and thus 7 persons were involved in the process here. Except one male Community Resource Person (CRP), all were women indicating activities were carried out by the women. The job of CRP was to verify the paddy bags with their numbers while uploading to the trucks meant for rice mill vis-a-vis monitoring the movement of trucks till it reaches to the rice-mill. The functioning of the 5 members was- first member checked quality of paddy, confirmation of farmers' name etc. Second member was maintaining records of gunny bags etc. Third member was supervising weight of paddy and its proper bagging etc. Fourth member was in-charge of loading in the trucks, transportation, truck-sheet maintenance, etc. Fifth member's important assignment was issuing cheques to the farmers. Generally postdated cheques were given to the farmers for 4-5 days duration. It is pertinent to mention that two grades of paddy were procured – Grade-A variety, price of which was Rs. 1280 per quintal and another was Grade-B variety, price was Rs 1250 for one quintal. For carrying out the activities, each one was paid at the rate of Rs. 200 per day and rough calculation shows each was earning minimum of Rs. 10000 in one season which was their additional income. Moreover some local labourers also were involved in the process and they were earning good amount for loading/uploading. After closing of the Centre on 4 January 2013, data were collected from DRDA and observed that altogether 555 farmers sold their paddy in the Centre and total quantity of paddy sold was 28542 quintals (Grade-A was 3179 quintals & Grade-B was 25363 quintals). In monetary term, total value was Rs. 3,57,72870 – for Grade-A the amount was Rs. 40,69120 and for Grade-B, the value was Rs. 3,170,3750. Total commission generated by the VO was to the tune of Rs. 894322. Total expenditure incurred by the VO was to the tune of Rs. 2.20 lakh and thus the VO could earn a net profit of Rs. 7,74,322 (Chatterjee, 2014).
Case from Karnataka: Initiative by NGO:
Issues related to Marginal & Small farmers: Sufferings of Indian farmers can be attributed to many factors inter alia, of which are non-availability of timely loan, marketing of products etc. According to the All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS), the share of total debt of cultivator-households taken from formal sources fell from 64 per cent in 1992 to 57 per cent in 2003. In the same period, the share of total debt taken from money lenders almost doubled from 10.5 per cent to 19.6 per cent, (Agriculture Today 2012). By quoting from the Agriculture Today journal 2012 (March issue), it may be stated that "Money lenders continue to be the base of Indian agriculture".
In this paper, measures taken by an NGO viz. Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) to improve economic condition of marginal and small farmers is presented. This study was carried out by the author in 2010 directly contacting the NGO and the farmers. The NGO, SKDRDP in Karnataka by forming 5-8 small/ marginal farmers in a self-help group has proved that their economic condition can be improved to a great extent. The experiment was started in 1991 with the change of concept from charity to self-help. The marginal and small farmers (5 to 8 farmers) by forming self-help group under the banner of 'Pragathibandhu' (meaning farmers' friend) by SKDRDP work together for their agricultural development. Based on sustainability of the groups, the SKDRDP extends loan to them with easy rate of interest. In addition, farmers can borrow from bank also, if they desire. Important point under 'Pragathibandhu' is free sharing of labour which means each member in a group has to work in others land one day in a week at free of cost and thus in rotation agricultural land of all the members are cultivated.
Although the table is self-explanatory, but regarding value of labour sharing, it may be mentioned that an amount of Rs 733.70 crore of money could be saved by the marginal & small farmers by sharing the free labour under Pragathibandhu. Labour sharing not only helped small and marginal farmers to save some amount but it facilitated to develop fraternity among the group members. The filed study by the author divulged that marginal and small farmers were earlier surviving on hand to mouth by growing only paddy and vegetables and after forming SHG, their quality of life has been changed and almost all of them had TV, refrigerator, gobar gas plant, solar light etc. Regarding growing of crops it was observed that in addition to cultivating paddy and vegetables, other crops like are areca nut and coconut, black pepper, jasmine flower etc., were also grown. To get an idea about the Pragathibandhu,
Sometimes in a dry area a single input can transform life of marginal farmers and this case is from a poor and backward district of West Bengal namely Bankura. The district is spread over to an area of 6,882 square kilometers with a total population of around 36 lakh as per 2011 census. The district is drought prone and due to undulating, lateritic, & porous soil moisture content at subsoil level is low. Due to low irrigation facility cropping intensity on average was 147 percent. Average size of land holding was 1.02 acre and 67 percent of the holding was around 0.53 acre. In view of this, district officials decided and designed under the guidance of an NGO viz., 'Pradan' construction of hapa (water tank with average size of – 60x40x12 feet) on individual land belonging to below Poverty Line families (BPL) of marginal and small farmers. These were constructed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) through Gram Panchayat and hapas are mainly meant for water conservation approach as well as provide gainful employment MGNREGS workers. It is pertinent to mention that the length, width and depth of one hapa are 60 feet, 40 feet and 10-12 feet respectively and an amount of Rs 48,000 to Rs. 55,000 is required ( as per 2014-15 prices) where around 400 person-days of employment can be created.
The author visited the district as a part of NIRD&PR's 'Village Adoption Study' in three phases – 2012, 2013 and 2015 and observed, after constructing of hapas economic condition of the farmers has been improved. As an example case from one GP, is presented here. At Biradih village of Hirbandh block, Bankura district the data provided by MGNREGS Cell of West Bengal, Government reveal that for 35 households, mostly belonging to marginal farmers as well as marginalized community, were provided with one hapa each benefitting land area of 30 acres by doing irrigation. The marginal farmers' income on an average in each season went up to Rs. 25000 as plenty of vegetables like tomato, brinjal etc., are cultivated in addition to paddy. Further, water harvesting structure also has facilitated to cultivate fish. To get an idea one Akul Bawri (SC) having slight less than 2 hectares of land was contacted. He informed that before provided with the hapa in 2009-10, maintenance of his family was an issue as sequel he had to migrate to nearby districts for about 3 months. After getting hapa, his income not only scaled up but all the three children were extended good education as they were admitted in a hostel. He no longer was migrating in other districts for livelihood. With net yearly of around Rs. 80,000 he almost regularly consumed fish as fish and rice are favourate diet of the Bengalis.
This case is from a South American country namely Peru where uncommon crops like artichoke, asparagus, avocado etc., were grown and author while visited in May, 2013 observed marginal and small farmers earning substantial amount by cultivating these crops. Such crops on experiment basis may be taken up in the State for the benefit of small and marginal farmers.
Peru is a country with 29 million people spread over to an area of 1,285,216 square kilometers is situated on the Pacific coast of South America. While coffee remains Peru's most important agricultural export crop, however, more than 60 percent of all agricultural exports are fruits and vegetables in recent years of which asparagus is the largest fruit and vegetable exported from Peru. According to the statistics, Peru's fruit and vegetable exports were close to U.S. $1.2 billion in 2009, which scaled up from $60 million in 1990. Since 1990, exports have increased at an average annual rate of 16 percent. In the following table, some selected items which are exported in different countries are presented for the interest of readers.
It is suggested here that Government of Madhya Pradesh may initiate to grow such crops if feasible, in the state.
Eritrea and crop 'teff':
With the increase in population in India demand for food grains has been increasing. On the other hand, because of less rainfall, inelastic supply of agricultural land etc. need of the hour is to experiment to cultivate new crops which require less rain and nutritious also. In this article, based on author's experience cultivation of teff of which injera (looks like our Indian dosa but big in size) is prepared is discussed. This food is consumed by the people of Eritrea (even in Ethiopia) as staple food. The author stayed two years in Eritrea during late 2000 and studied importance of this crop inter alia, with his teaching job. Eritrea is located in northeastern Africa and it has a land area of 125,000 square kilometers and an estimated population was 42 lakh.
The crop teff is uncommon to Indians albeit, it is the staple food of the people of Eritrea. Recently farmers in Australia and the United States started to experiment with growing of teff as it is having high nutritional value. From teff, the dish which is cooked is known as injera and most of the time mixed with barley or wheat injera is prepared. Injera can be compared with a big size of our dosa prepared in India and it is commonly eaten with sauce, vegetables, meat etc. One injera is shared with 3-4 family members. Teff is a great source of protein and it is gluten free. I suggest Government of Madhya Pradesh should try to introduce the crop wherever feasible. It is pertinent to mention that in Madhya Pradesh only traditional crops are grown such as paddy, wheat, jowar, gram, soybean, sugarcane and cotton.
Conclusion and suggestions:
Agriculture sustains the lives of millions in the world in terms of nutrition and income, but changing rainfall patterns and poor storage can severely cut productivity. Simple innovation can help farmers grow healthier crops and store their produce for longer. But for an invention to work, it has to be affordable and integrate smoothly into farmers' existing workflow.
To address the issues pertaining to the farmers' in general and marginal and small farmers in particular State Government in collaboration with Central Government should work hand in hand. Even NGOs and CBOs should take initiative to help farmers whether technically, scientifically or extending knowledge or financially. We have to remember the farmers are our 'annadata' (providers of food) so they must be taken care of by the society. Any case of suicide of the farmers because of crop failure or lack of minimum price support is a shocking incident for all the Indians. I suggest prevention is better than cure. So to prevent farmers for experimenting with new crops for earning more money at the initial stage should not be encouraged. And the following suggestions are made is this paper.
- MP Markfed should come forward and through self-help groups (SHGs) minimum price support to the farmers, as observed in undivided Andhra Pradesh, may be initiated as the system is transparent.
- For the benefit of marginal and small farmers, experiment basis growing of cash crop is not suggested particularly coffee and cotton. If at all they are interested then in addition to cultivate food crops as observed in Pragathibandhu SHG, in a small part of their land experiment basis cash crop may be cultivated.
- New type of crops like 'teff' as observed in Eritrea (as it also a food-crop which can be grown with minimum water) may be grown in Madhya Pradesh, if feasible.
- Other crops which are having high international value like artichoke, asparagus, avocado etc., may be taken up in the State at least on experiment basis as these in addition to fetching foreign currency can be consumed.
- The Pragathibandhu (PBG) model has proved that marginal and small farmers can earn substantially and also it helped to build national integration as well as brotherhood feeling. The concept, PBGs have been working successfully for about two decades indicating its sustainability of the groups. Earlier it started in one district of Karnataka subsequently spread over to other districts.
- For benefit of marginal and small farmers scope of developing hapa may be worked out as it was highly beneficial to them.
- Planning Commission, (October 2011) "Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)" New Delhi.
- ibid
- Sinha Kounteya "UK researchers unravel reasons behind India's farmer suicides"
- Times of India, 18 April, 2014.
- RangacharyuluV. & G Rajani Kanth (2013-14) (ed.) "Rural development Statistics", NIRD&PR, Hyderabad.
- Mahendra Dev S. "Small Farmers in India: Challenges and Opportunities" Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, June 2012
- Department of Agriculture & Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture, (2012), "NeGP-Agriculture Empowering Farmers", Government of India, New Delhi.
- Chatterjee Shankar "Innovative Case of Minimum Support Price to Farmers
- Through Self-Help Groups: A Case From India" SAMZODHANA "Journal of Management Research" Vol. 2, Issue 1 March 2014.
[1] The paper was presented at the Expert Group Seminar on "Crop Insurance Policy for Madhya Pradesh" (16-17 May 2015) held at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. The article is the revised version of the paper.


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I am holding in my hands the October 2012 issue of Scientific American. The cover features a giant synaptic gap between two neurons next to the following blockbuster headline: "The Language of the Brain: how the world's most complicated machine processes and communicates information."
I am annoyed. I am bracing for what I consider to be a dose of scientific reductionism. But I flip through to page 54 to read the following opener to the article:
"The brain makes sense of our experiences by focusing closely on the timing of the impulses that flow through billions of nerve cells," say the two neuroscientists who authored the article, Terry Sejnowski and Tobi Delbruck.
Take a moment and re-read the sentence above. Something feels fishy here doesn't it? In case you haven't noticed, the sentence above is a complete tautology, a statement of circular reasoning. Let me explain. The brain is billions of nerve cells. So, let's see how this sentence reads when we substitute the word brain with its definition.
"Billions of nerve cells make sense of our experiences by focusing closely on the timing of the impulses that flow through billions of nerve cells."
But let's make yet another semantic edit here to crystallize this blind spot of modern neuroscience that I am trying to highlight here.
When Sejnowski and Delbruck say "The brain makes sense of our experiences" they are referring not to some collective "our" experience but, of course, to the very experience of the brain that they are talking about. So, the more precise phrasing that emerges from the original statement is this:
"Billions of nerve cells make sense of their own experience by focusing closely on the timing of their impulses that flow through them."
That's right! This is what neuroscience – as proposed by these two neuroscience spokespeople – actually seems to be saying…
Questions arise:
1. Is modern neuroscience saying that a nerve cell (a neuron) or a group of neurons "makes sense" of other neurons' firing timing and in so doing has an experience?
2. Is modern neuroscience saying that a nerve cell or a group of nerve cells "makes sense" of their own firing timing?
3. Is modern neuroscience saying that nerve cells are conscious?
4. Is modern neuroscience equating "information processing" with experience and consciousness? If so, how should I feel about my information-processing laptop?
5. How does neuroscience define "information"? Related: is neuroscience equating us with information? If so, who's witnessing this information? Or is this another twist on the circular reasoning – the information is witnessing itself?
6. Does neuroscience equate patterns of swapping of neurotransmitter molecules (which are just little chemical billiard balls) from a synapse to a synapse with experience and, therefore, with us (since according to this reductionistic view we – the nerve cells – are nothing but experience, which, in turn is nothing but chemistry)? Put differently, is the neuroscience saying that we are conscious chemistry? That we are walking, talking, loving, fearing chemical equations? If so, should the chemistry that I am feel for the chemistry of the neurotransmitter in a pill of Prozac?
7. Or does neuroscience equate electrical discharges and electrical impulses in between neurons with information and, thus, experience, and, thus, consciousness? If so, is modern neuroscience telling us that you and I are cellular chemico-electrical grids and that… we are what electricity feels like? Is neuroscience telling us that we are conscious electricity? If so, should the electricity that I am feel for the electricity inside the toaster on my kitchen countertop?
8. Are you the neuron (or the group of neurons) that is processing this information right now or are you some other neuron (or some other group of neurons) that is processing ("experiencing") this moment of information-processing? If so, nice to meet you, Self-Referencing Neuron(s)!
9. Are you
a) neuron(s)?
b) information that passes between neurons?
c) information processing itself?
d) information processing of information processing?
e) all of the above?
f) none of the above?
g) e) & f)?
I can go on and on asking these questions but it's in vain. Official neuroscience is not really interested in explaining any of this circular reasoning nonsense. Don't get me wrong: it's good at what it does in a technical sense. It can peer into the "brain" and show us the amazing chemico-electrical neon lights of the neural nightlife. It can map the highways of information flow like the local TV station with its traffic updates. Modern Neuroscience is like a gadget-savvy infant Godzilla of Dogma that stomps around an ancient philosophico-existential playground insisting on its reductionistically-naive definitions of what we are.
A more fitting illustration cover for the Scientific American might be not a synaptic gap but a gap in the reasoning of modern day neuroscience: it's busy producing fool's answers to fool's questions (and I mean this lovingly being myself a fool that asks the unanswerable questions way too often). (A graphic I recommend for such an issue would be picture # 8 of the Ox Herding series: a full moon, an empty circle.)
It's time the field of neuroscience uses its own "brains" to make sense of its own reductionistic nonsense.
There is, of course, another possibility: perhaps, unofficially, the modern neuroscience does think that we are nothing more than Conscious Matter (i.e. Spiritual/Feeling/Thinking/Sensing/Living Matter a la Vernadsky's "living matter"), a holistic conclusion that I myself hold. But if so, let us for once hear this inconvenient truth.
When I say "dark age of neuroscience" I don't mean that things are getting bad or worse in neuroscience. Not at all. Things are getting better and better, lighter and lighter, in neuroscience. But as a field, in my opinion, neuroscience is still like that ox-herding boy in the Ten Bulls series… it's still chasing its own reductionistic tail… it's still in the "dark age" of reductionistic mind-body duality.
Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures is, in the tradition of Zen Buddhism, a series of short poems and accompanying pictures that are intended to illustrate the stages of a Mahāyāna Buddhist practitioner's progression towards enlightenment, as well as his or her subsequent perfection of wisdom. (source: wiki)
Related: Brain to Brain Interface

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Celtic's 69-match unbeaten domestic run ended in emphatic style when they were crushed 4-0 by Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. Champions Celtic went unbeaten to win the title last season and had not lost in 21 domestic games in this campaign. The defeat was their first by Scottish opponents since a 2-1 loss at St Johnstone in May last year.
"First of all, I need to give credit to Hearts. It's a thoroughly deserved win; they were the better team," Brendan Rodgers told the BBC after suffering his first defeat as Celtic manager by a Scottish team. "We didn't cope with their physicality, we made too many mistakes," he added. "We could have played five games today and not scored a goal."
Celtic still top the table, two points ahead of Aberdeen.
"I also want to congratulate my players," Rodgers said. "To have gone through 69 games and this to be their first defeat; of course it's a sore one when you are beaten like that but they can hold their heads up. "They have been absolutely amazing over those 18 months."
Sixteen-year-old Harry Cochrane got his first senior goal to set fifth-placed Hearts on their way and they extended their lead before halftime when Kyle Lafferty profited from a quick break and put the ball past keeper Craig Gordon. Rodgers made two changes in an attempt to turn the tide, but Hearts scored again three minutes after the restart. Midfielder David Milinkovic profited from a mistake by Celtic centre back Jozo Simunovic and he completed the rout from the penalty spot in the 75th minute.
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text: adult ❰PDF / Epub❯ ✅ Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια Author Aristotle – Cravenjobs.co.uk cravenjobs.co.uk 04 October 2019 2 Comments chapter 1 Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια , meaning Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια , genre Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια , book cover Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια , flies Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια , Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια 90e8422d42bdb Loeb Classical Library,First PrintedNew Revised Edition The Nicomachean Ethics Is The Name Normally Given To Aristotle S Best Known Work On Ethics The English Version Of The Title Derives From Greek , Transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, Which Is Sometimes Also Given In The Genitive Form As , Ethik N Nikomachei N The Latin, Which Is Also Commonly Used, Can Be Thica Nicomach A Or, De Moribus Ad Nicomachum The Work, Which Plays A Pre Eminent Role In Defining Aristotelian Ethics, Consists Of Ten Books, Originally Separate Scrolls, Is Understood To Be Based On Notes From His Lectures At The Lyceum, Which Were Either Edited By Or Dedicated To Aristotle S Son, Nicomachus Post navigation Greyhound Clothesline Letters to My Mother The St. Paul Conspiracy Chess With Carrizo Ella Bella Sh*t My Dad Says Unquenched The Palms Sweet Serendipity The Summer of France Poco Bueno Hawaiʻi Dangled Carat Pass the Hot Stuff After Wimbledon 10 thoughts on "Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια " The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle The Nicomachean Ethics Ancient Greek is the name normally given to Aristotle s best known work on ethics The work, which plays a pre eminent role in defining Aristotelian ethics, consists of ten books, originally separate scrolls, and is understood to be based on notes from his lectures at the Lyceum The title is often assumed to refer to his son Nicomachus, to whom the work was dedicated or who may have edited it although his young age makes this less likely Alternatively, the work may have been dedicated to his father, who was also called Nicomachus 2007 1274 1349 330 4 1378 414 1385 9645625696 4 Reply Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle postulates the highest human good is eudaimonia or what is loosely translated into English as happiness And a substantial component in the path to such human happiness is acting with the appropriate virtues over the course of an entire lifetime The details of these Aristotelean teachings form the Nicomachean Ethics, one of the most influential works in the entire history of Western Civilization As a way of sharing but a small example of Aristotle s extensive philosophy outlined in these pages, I will focus on Book IV Chapter 8 where the eminent Greek philosopher addresses the virtue of being witty, sensitive to others, discerning and perceptive, particularly when we are at our leisure Here are six Aristotle quotes and my brief accompanying comments Since life includes rest as well as activity, and in this is included leisure and amusement, there seems here also to be a kind of intercourse which is tasteful there is such a thing as saying and again listening to what one should and as one should Aristotle s focus on time spent outside of work, what we nowadays refer to as leisure time , makes this section of his ethical teachings particularly relevant for us today, most especially since we are bombarded by a nonstop barrage of advertisements, store signs, billboards, Muzak, etc etc., some subtle, many not so subtle The kind of people one is speaking to or listening to will also make a difference Very important who we associate with both at work and outside of work Aristotle is optimistic that we can actively participate in society and exercise discrimination as we develop wisdom to speak as we should and listen as we should In contrast, another Greek philosopher, Epicurus, was not so optimistic on this point Epicurus judged conventional society as blind and dumb, particularly as it pertains to men and women expounding values regarding such things as riches and fame and what constitutes our true human needs The answer for Epicurus withdraw into a separate community with like minded friends and philosophers Regarding people s views on humor there is both an excess and a deficiency as compared with the mean Those who carry humor to excess are thought to be vulgar buffoons, striving after humor at all costs, and aiming rather at raising a laugh than at saying what is becoming and at avoiding pain to the object of their fun while those who can neither make a joke themselves nor put up with those who do are thought to be boorish and unpolished Sounds like Aristotle attended the same junior high school and high school as I did Again, he is optimistic that someone who aspires to philosophic excellence, virtue and the mean maintaining a middle position between two extremes can live among buffoons and boors without being pulled down to their level The question I would pose to Aristotle What happens when we live in an entire society dominated by vulgar buffoon and uptight boors, where the buffoons and boors set the standards for what it means to be human Particularly, what happens to the development of children and young adults But those who joke in a tasteful way are called ready witted, which implies a sort of readiness to turn this way and that for such sallies are thought to be movements of the character, and as bodies are discriminated by their movements, so too are characters I had an opportunity to see the Dalai Lama speak You will be hard pressed to find someone with a lively sense of humor If you haven t seen him speak, you can check out Youtube The ridiculous side of things is not far to seek, however, and most people delight than they should in amusement and in jestingly and so even buffoons are called ready witted because they are found attractive but that they differ from the ready witted man, and to no small extent, is clear from what has been said Ha So Aristotle sees, in fact, how buffoonery can easily lapse into the social norm Thus our challenge is how to retain our integrity when surrounded by slobs and buffoons To the middle state belongs also tact it is the mark of a tactful man to say and listen to such things as befit a good and well bred man for there are some things that it befits such a man to say and to hear by way of jest, and the well bred man s jesting differs from that of a vulgar man, and the joking of an educated man from that of an uneducated Aristotle s overarching observation on how the wisdom of the middle way between two extremes applies here not good acting at either extreme, being a boor or being a buffoon Unfortunately, speaking and otherwise communicating in a buffoonish or boorish way is in no way restricted to the uneducated or dull I ve witnessed numerous instances of buffoonery and boorishness among the highly educated and intellectually astute The entire Nicomachean Ethics is available online Reply I m a bit annoyed I wrote up my review to this last night and thought I d posted it, but it seems to have gone to god not happy about that amusingly enough This is my reconstruction of last night s review.There is a story that is almost certainly apocryphal about a French woman in the version I know, this is Madame De Gaulle who is in England towards the end of her husband s career and is asked at some sort of official function what she wants most from life She answers, a penis which, unsurprisingly, brings a near complete silence over the room, something see seems completely confused by Charles De Gaulle then says to his wife, I think they pronounce it appiness , darling Aristotle is writing about how to live a good life pretty much what ethics means and his answer is that a good life is a happy life Well, sort of Actually, the Greek word that is translated as happiness here not unlike Madame De Gaulle s mis pronunciation doesn t necessarily mean what we would normally take happiness to mean Eudaimonia is made up of two words meaning good and soul , but can also be translated as meaning human flourishing Now, if you asked me how I was going and I said, I m flourishing , that doesn t necessarily mean I m happy It is not that the two ideas are a million miles apart, but even Roget would be unlikely to slam them together in his little book of synonyms.This is a remarkably practical book not so much in that it tells you exactly how to behave at all times and in all circumstances, it isn t practical in that sense, but rather that it sets about giving you tools to help make a rational judgement about how you ought to behave given various circumstances It does this by discussing Aristotle s doctrine of the mean Aristotle says that every virtue falls between to extremes which are excesses of qualities that also go to make up that virtue So, if you think of courage, for example, it falls between cowardice and foolhardiness In one case you have an exaggerated regard for your own life despite being seen as a coward and the likely humiliation that will bring and in the other you are too prepared to throw your life away and therefore not giving your life its proper value Now, the point is that Aristotle isn t saying all that much here about how you might behave in a given situation, but rather giving you guiding lines to watch out for his point is that if you are called upon to be brave there may be times when it is rational to behave in ways that might otherwise look foolhardy, and at other times in ways that might look cowardly but a wise and happy person would do so on the basis of a rational assessment of where the mean lies given the time, place and circumstance and knowing there are extremes you need to avoid is useful here.There are bits of this that I found much annoying this time around than I did when I read it years ago 30 years ago, now yuck how did that happen In fact, I can t quite tell if Aristotle has become reactionary over the years or if I ve become progressive but it s one or the other.For instance, I found a lot of his discussions about women particularly annoying this time around Take this as a case in point from Book VIII, Sometimes, however, women rule, because they are heiresses their rule is thus not in accordance with virtue, but due to wealth and power page 157 People will tell you that one of the problems with Aristotle and Plato is the fact that they could never conceive of a society in which there were no slaves but one of the advantages of Plato is that he did think women could, and probably should, be educated Aristotle clearly does not but the point I would really like to make is that he notices when women rule due to their wealth and power, but not when men do the same Given so many men rule at all and so many of them rule due to the access their position gives them it seems an odd thing for someone like Aristotle not to notice.Because this is quite a practical ethics, he spends a lot of time talking about the sorts of things people ought to have in their lives to make them happy and this is why so much of the book is devoted to friendship I won t go over his arguments for the various types of friends one might have, but do want to talk about love and lovers I think I could mount a case for saying that Aristotle is arguing against having a lover Not that he is advocating a life of celibacy or even of abstinence, but rather that lovers come in what I like to think of as pairs after McCullers or Somerset Maugham who both said that there are lovers and the beloved and of the two everyone wants to be the lover, rather than the beloved and that since being either the lover or a beloved is basically irrational, given we fall in love by lightning strike as much as anything else, it might stop just as quickly as it all started, and then a lover who doesn t love any leaves a beloved who is no longer beloved not the basis for a lasting relationship The point being that friendship is based rationally on mutual benefits and mutual care if it was me, I d pick the latter over the former friendship over love every time if these things allowed for choices like that, that is.Now, I want to end by quoting a longer bit from Book X page 200 Some think we become good by nature, some by habit, and others by teaching Nature s contribution is clearly not in our power, but it can be found in those who are truly fortunate as the result of some divine dispensation Argument and teaching, presumably, are not powerful in every case, but the soul of the student must be prepared beforehand in its habits, with a view to its enjoying and hating in a noble way, like soil that is to nourish seed For if someone were to live by his feelings he would not listen to an argument to dissuade him, nor could he even understand it How can we persuade a person in a state like this to change his ways And, in general, feelings seem to yield not to argument but to force There must, therefore, somehow be a pre existing character with some affinity for virtue through its fondness for what is noble and dislike of what is disgraceful But if one has not been reared under the right laws it is difficult to obtain from one s earliest years the correct upbringing for virtue, because the masses, especially the young, do not find it pleasant to live temperately and with endurance For this reason, their upbringing and pursuits should be regulated by laws, because they will not find them painful once they have become accustomed to them I find this really interesting for a whole range of reasons Okay, so, he starts off by saying that nature is the main thing to ensure that one is capable of learning but it is interesting that this alone is not enough Nature is essential, but left on its own will not get you very far The other is teaching, but teaching too may not help unless you have been prepared to hear the lesson something Gramsci talks about at some length saying working class children need to be given discipline that they are unfamiliar with if they are to have any hope of succeeding in education What is stressed here is the development of habits and dispositions and that these are what allows the other two nature and teaching to be given any chance of success.Aristotle is keen to stress that he is talking about virtues but again, the Greek word here ar te doesn t just mean morally good behaviours, but rather something closer to the excellences that we associate with different kinds of behaviours so that a fisherman has virtues too, not in the sense of being morally upright, but rather, at knowing what is good for a fisherman to do and be A lot of this reminded me of Pascal s Pens es There is a bit in that where Pascal says that happiness really isn t related to the outcome, but to the process That is, that you won t make a hunter happy by giving him a couple of rabbits at the start of the day and saying to him, now you don t have to go out hunting today, relax, enjoy yourself Rather, even a mangy rabbit caught through the effort of the hunt will be worth to the hunter than a dozen plump ones handed over without effort at the start of the day Not always true, of course, but I m exaggerating to make the point In a lot of ways that is Aristotle s ethics find out what you are meant to do and do that as best you can and that will make you happy or good souled or flourishing one of those. Reply This re read was perhaps a slight bit superfluous I remembered reading it way back in high school on my own just because I was that kind of geek.Get the foundations read, kid Know what the whole line of thought is all about Use it later to trounce your fellow debaters Yeah, whatever Logic and an examined life have since then been of an end rather than a means.Case in point This is about examining Happiness It does so in a fairly exhaustive but not exhausting way Aristotle just lays down the foundations, brings up the various opinions people usually hold about WHAT happiness entails, and then tries to pare away the flawed answers.Usually, a normal adventure tale is never about the end destination End destinations are usually a let down The effort to get there is usually a lot satisfying.Same for Aristotle It turns out I remembered the first journey perfectly And it brought me happiness. Reply . . Reply Happiness is the activity of a rational soul in accordance with virtue, writes Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics Activity means living Rational soul means a human being And virtue means human excellence So happiness means a human living excellently How does one live excellently One learns to be good at the things that are human and these are called virtues Aristotle discusses many virtues, but four are primary courage, temperance, justice and practical wisdom Courage is how we deal with pain and disappointment Courage is an example of the golden mean Courage is the mean between cowardice and rashness Temperance is how we deal with pleasure Temperance is the mean between over indulgence and self denial Justice is how we deal with human relationships Essentially, it means to give every person their due, which will be defined by their relationship to you Practical wisdom is the knowledge to understand how to discern the moderate path or the mean and how to moderate passions in order to think clearly and make good decisions But my favorite thing about the Ethics is that Aristotle devotes many pages to a discussion of friendship, which is fundamental to happiness Some scholars believe that Aristotle s writing on friendship is misplaced That is, when scrolls with the Ethics were first discovered, early scholars mistakenly mixed two books together Perhaps, this is true But it is heartening to read about happiness and find that much of the discussion has to do with being a good friend One thing about this great book It is difficult to read I am told that this is due to the fact that it was compiled from notes of Aristotle s students and was not written by Aristotle That is, these are notes of his lectures.They read like it My way of dealing with the impenetrability was to listen to lectures from the Teaching Company as I re read the Ethics a few years ago That made all the difference The Nichomachean Ethics is arguably the most important work on ethics in western culture But you might not be able read it on your own without constantly fogging out So figure out a way to get through it with patience and attention You will be rewarded for your effort. Reply The Nicomachean Ethics is one of the greatest works of Aristotle, the famous philosopher who was really much of a scientist than a philosopher This is the book where he indulges in the discussion of happiness, virtue, ethics, politics, and really anything else describing the way in which human beings functioned together in the society of a Greek city state of early Antiquity.Especially in the field of politics, this work excels, and Aristotle puts forth a particularly interesting theory on the forms of government According to him, there are really only three different forms of government, but each of them comes with a corresponding corrupt deviation The finest form of government, he says, is the monarchy, the rule of one But its corresponding deviation, which is tyranny, is the worst form of government, and the line between the two is thin and sinuous Likewise, the second finest form of government is the aristocracy, the rule of the best And aristocracy in its corrupted form is oligarchy, the second worst form of government Lastly, the third finest form of government is timocracy, the rule of property owners, which was strikingly similar to the political system already existing in Aristotle s Athens But the corrupt form of timocracy, he says, is democracy, a system in which society has deviated into a constant squabble where everyone seeks to advance their own interests rather than the interests of the state The conclusion seems to be that as long as long as the rulers of the state are just and competent, it is better the fewer they are But if the rulers are unjust and incompetent, the opposite is true To those as interested in political theory as I am, I would recommend just reading Book VIII, and skipping all the rest.The most interesting thing about the book, however, is that the writing is absolutely terrible Not the language, mind you, but the style in which the book is written What is truly incredible is that the writing here is exactly how an average academic writer today would write his or her books On one hand, that made this book ridiculously boring to read On the other, it was really interesting because it proves how much modern academics owe to the legacy of Aristotle And that they should find another source of inspiration, since for instance Plato was a far better writer than his most famous pupil.I would recommend this book only to those particularly interested in philosophical, political and ethical theory, and even then I would suggest just opening the book and reading the parts that sound interesting to you instead of attempting the dreary business of reading it as a whole. Reply Aristotle doesn t satisfy your whole soul, just the logical side, but here he is quite thorough The Nicomachean Ethics is his most important study of personal morality and the ends of human life He does little than search for and examine the good He examines the virtue and vices of man in all his faculties He believes that the unexamined life is a life not worth living happiness is the contemplation of the good and the carrying out of virtue with solid acts Among this book s most outstanding features are Aristotle s insistence that there are no known absolute moral standards and that any ethical theory must be based in part on an understanding of psychology and firmly grounded in the realities of human nature and daily life Though the over 100 chapters divided into ten books flow and build upon each other, you can benefit from reading just one of them One of my favorite philosophical reads, I cannot say enough for the depth of insight Aristotle has into living the good life. Reply This is a book worth rereading every few years It is actually lecture notes by one of Aristotle s students, as are most of the extant writings attributed to Aristotle Not a work to be rushed through, the Ethics requires concentration and pondering, work that rewards the effort.Aristotle begins by investigating what is good for man, proceeding to examine both moral and intellectual virtues In each of these areas, he first defines his terms Then he examines various virtues and vices such as courage, temperance, justice, and others Next he discusses the differences between philosophic and practical wisdom before he turns to continence, incontinence, and pleasure Finally, he includes a long section on friendship.Anyone thinking seriously about the meaning of life must take into consideration Aristotle s views He is concerned with the mundane rather than metaphysical reality and is always intensely practical The enjoyment that derives from reading his works results from both his practical insights and the exercise of one s own mind as one accompanies him on his explorations. Reply One lesson of our age is that barbarism persists under the surface, and that the virtues of civilized life are less deeply rooted than used to be supposed The world is not too richly endowed with examples of perseverance and subtlety in analysis, of moderation and sanity in the study of human affairs It will be a great loss if the thinker who, above all others, displays these qualities, is ever totally forgotten D.J Allan, author of The Philosophy of Aristotle, Oxford 1952 about Aristotle 384 BC 323 BC Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.


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'Kraut About It: Sauerkraut Fermentation for Newbies
January 21, 2018 by Mason Jars Company
- Ready Time: 28 days
As a fermentation newbie myself, I wanted to share an easy ferment for beginners - sauerkraut! A simple and popular Mason jar ferment, sauerkraut is tasty, easy to digest, and contains many beneficial probiotics.
Always handle fermentation tools and foods with clean hands. This is very important because you don't want any bad bacteria getting into the ferment.
Make sure to keep the cabbage submerged while fermenting.
Don't cook your kraut because the heat destroys the beneficial bacteria created during the ferment. Stirring sauerkraut into a warm bowl of soup or sprinkling on the top of your meal is fine. I warm my sauerkraut up by mixing some with mashed potatoes.
There are many possibilities for serving Kraut. Some creative ways to eat sauerkraut include: Tossing it in a salad, adding it to scrambled eggs, or using it in a sandwich!
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'Kraut About It: Sauerkraut Fermentation for Newbies
January 21, 2018 by Mason Jars Company
- Ready Time: 28 days
Sauerkraut Fermentation for Newbies
- 1 head of Napa cabbage
- 1/4 cup(s) sea salt
- 1 tablespoon(s) caraway seeds
- 1 reCAP Fermenter
- 1 reCAP wide mouth POUR Mason jar lid
- 1 Large wide mouth Mason jar (1.5 Liters works well)
- 1 jelly jar (to weigh down the cabbage)
- Shred the cabbage. Quarter the head of cabbage and use a cheese grater for easy shredding.
- With clean hands toss the shredded cabbage in a bowl with salt and caraway seeds. Massage the salt into the cabbage for a good 5-10 minutes until the cabbage gets watery and soft.
- Place the salted, shredded cabbage (and any water released) into the Mason jar.
- Add a little extra water and the rest of the salt. Make sure all of the cabbage is submerged. You can use a jelly jar or other small jar as a weight. I also placed a whole cabbage leaf on top of my shredded cabbage to keep it packed down.
- Cap off the Mason jar with a reCAP wide mouth POUR and Fermenter then set aside for 28 days.
- After fermentation is complete, refrigerate your sauerkraut. The reCAP POUR Mason jar lid makes it super easy to serve and store some for later!
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Watch the official trailer for 'Yoga Hosers'
Lily-Rose Depp debut film
Lily-Rose Depp is unstoppable. Since last year, she's started attending mundane events (see her latest participation at the MET Gala in New York) and the front rows of fashion shows (sometimes she even walks: isn't it, Karl Lagerfeld?).
All secondary: the 16-year-old has repeatedly stated that her true passion is cinema, and only this year will star in four films.
While three of them are still in post-production, Yoga Hosers (where Johnny Depp also stars) is ready, and yesterday its first official trailer was released.
The movie, directed by Kevin Smith, tells the story of two yoga passionate teenagers – Lily and the director's daughter, Harley – who have to deal with surreal characters, against whom they must fight to survive...
Watch the trailer here, while waiting for the release next July:


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105 Anderson Hall
Social Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Religion and Politics in Latin America
Anna Peterson is professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Florida. She received her PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity School and her AB from the University of California at Berkeley. Her research interests are in religion and social change, especially in Latin America; environmental and social ethics; and animal studies. She has published a number of articles, chapters, and book in these areas. Her current research explores the politics and ethics of companion animal rescue. She is also involved in collaborative study, with wildlife ecologists and veterinarians, of the social and ecological context of outdoor cats.
Recent books:
- Being Animal: Beasts and Boundaries in Nature Ethics. Forthcoming from Columbia University Press in spring 2013.
- With Charles Kibert, Martha Monroe, Richard Plate, and Leslie Paul Thiele. Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World. Hoboken: John Wiley, 2011.
- Everyday Ethics and Social Change: The Education of Desire. New York: Columbia, 2009.
- With Manuel Vásquez, Latin American Religions: Histories and Documents in Context (edited and with introductions). New York: New York University Press, 2008.
Recent awards:
- Elizabeth Wood Dunlevie Honors Term Professor, 2012-13.
- Humanities Scholarship Enhancement Fund for Being Animal, 2011.
- University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship, 2009-2011.
- National Science Foundation. Co-PI, with Charles Kibert (PI), Martha Monroe, and Les Thiele. "Teaching the Ethics of Sustainability." 2008-2010.


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A division of the Internet Industrial Complex
(why can't I stand my own mind?)
Documented over three short films
This is the first film Max and I ever made together. It hasn't been previously published.
Max took the photos
20 minutes before…
we had sex for the second time
I was 24 years old
I am 32 years old now
I am struck by the life in my face back then
A certain kind of sad happiness
Mixed with curiosity
And also worry about what the future holds
If I don't get a few things sorted in my head
And if I don't then these words used 8 years ago will be foreshadowing
'The soul should not die ungodly in a prison of false belief – Allen Ginsberg
2012. Art of Sex Trilogy. Part 2
This is the first film we ever released on the internet
It was called 'Whipped'
We left it up for three days before we took it down
It freaked me out that I was letting people see this side of me
This side of me that enjoyed being punished for being so wrong as a child
Now I'm fine with it. I'm sure you have picked up on that
Because it's 201 and it's part 3 of the trilogy
We're still making films about sex and why people are fucked up sexually
No sex however abstract
should fail to arouse in the spectator
some vestige of erotic feeling
It is such a fundamental part of our nature
that our judgement of what is known as pure art
is inevitably influenced by it
and one of the difficulties
of filming sex as a subject for art
is that these instincts cannot be hidden
An artist takes what she needs
For me, Sex and Art are therapy
and I believe in the power of Sex and Art to heal me
Because nothing else has.
Art is good when it springs from necessity
This kind of origin is the guarantee of its value.
There is no other
-Neale Cassady (1926-1968), U.S. Beat Poet
Songs like this take me to a very lonely & scary place
I am 4 years old
I am by myself on my parents lounge room floor
There are people, adults, in the kitchen. They are laughing
There wasn't laughing in the kitchen before the people came
There was crying. Always crying
I'm scared that everyone in the kitchen will blame me again
I don't want to be blamed anymore
I just want to know why my brother has down's syndrome. And why it's my fault.
When I was 8 years old
my parents caught me sneaking into their bedroom
to return their book 'The Joy of Sex'
I slept with it under my pillow every night
They took it from me. They said that sort of thing wasn't for me
I first rebelled against my parents
in a café in Byron Bay
I was 12, and I went up and ordered a coffee
because coffee was against their beliefs
Now I make films about sex
because my parents wouldn't let me be a sexual being
It's as simple, or as complex, as you want to make it
A happy childhood is hardly worth your while – Frank McCourt
Words by Missy Jubilee & Sir Kenneth Clark
Coming Soon
PRIMAL. No little girl must ever think those thoughts.
Transcript kindly provided by Bernie Glynn


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I am a feminist.
Because I am a feminist.
Recently there was a douchebag espousing some douchbaggery against feminism, homosexuality and fireflies, I think. In general, I'd ignore these living-in-my-mum's-basement idiots who call themselves kings. But I reckon we need to hear this one out.
Not because everyone has a right to their opinion (which include terms like legal rape, fat girls and anti-gay), but because this thing has followers. Men who feel vindicated and emasculated by "feminazis".
And women who agree with them. Women who think that we've "taken this too far" are mocking every woman who has been verbally and physically abused by men because she's just a girl. They're mocking every woman who was beaten and jailed for standing up for our right to vote.
I respect that women shouldn't pull other women down. But if we can call men out on sexism, then feminism says that we should call everyone out equally.
In these past few months of travelling and living in different parts of the world, I've been exposed to a comfortable bias that makes me very uncomfortable.
It started with the stares I got when I asked M to help with taking the baby to the loo, washing his bottles or with the laundry. The stares are mostly puzzled, but a few stares also reek of disdain.
At first, I was enraged with the attitude. As if it's below the "man" to do such menial tasks. But with time – it's pretty clear that it isn't male superiority that's being honoured. It's male ineptitude.
It's the inside joke that men can't do a good enough job.
If I was at the receiving end of the stares, M was nothing short of a spectacle either. He did, after all, get onto what he needed to do. What I asked him to do
Because what wasn't obvious to me through my equality-tinted glasses was that men weren't wired to do certain things. Like care for a baby, or step into the kitchen without making a giant mess for us poor – but efficient – women to clean up, or god-forbid boyishly forget to separate the colours from the whites. We, women, should just do those chores and save ourselves the trouble of explaining it to the men or waste time picking up after them.
Would you want to be the butt of that inside joke?
When organisations promote the hiring of women, I see how desperately we need this, but I wonder if it is working against equality? Yes, we need to see it in writing because the norm has become to look at a woman as a flight-risk, and a mother as a liability. But no, we're not getting promotions because we wear skirts. We sometimes wear pants, too.
Women before me have spent years trying to crack that glass ceiling for the rest of us, yet, unfortunately, we still get asked: "how do you think you can do this job, given you have a 2 year old and all?"
Better. The answer is: She can do the job better (than you).
Her patience is reserved for the said toddler, so don't push it. Her skill levels just went up 1000 points the minute she learnt how to negotiate meal times and bedtimes (even if it worked just that one time). She won't crack under pressure; she's seen her soft-headed baby roll off the bed, she's calmly cleaned dinner off the floor that only took her all afternoon to make, and she's brought down 40 degree fevers with her own bare hands.
So yes, I think she can do your silly little job.
Men don't get asked this question at interviews. Don't dads want to run home on time to feed their kids? Or stay home when the little person is ill? Aren't they just as distracted when they know their baby is in someone else's care? Between my dad, M and friends who are dads, I know they would cringe at the thought of being the inconsequential parent.
Sexism discriminates. And it doesn't give a flying fuck as to what gender you are.
If you're still struggling to see the need for feminism, then look at this way: The minute women and men are considered equal, it'll be a world where "will he be able to watch the kids?" is just as absurd as "will she be able to get the job done?"
A world where boys are free to feel and girls feel free to be. Where asking for help isn't "girly" and being immature isn't "boyish". Where both boys and girls feel safe to walk home alone at night. Where both men and women know they're getting paid for their hard work and not their gender.
Where you can choose if you want to be a girl or a boy or both or neither. Or if you want to be with a boy or a girl or both or neither. Because not one of them is less than the other. Because we're all unique, and we're all equal.
I am a feminist. Because I am a feminist.


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Posts Tagged 'Skin'
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Hives (urticaria), also known as welts, is a common skin condition with itchy, pink to red bumps that appear and disappear anywhere on the body. An individual lesion of hives typically lasts a few hours before fading away, and new hives can appear as older areas disappear.
Physicians arbitrarily divide hives into acute (new or periodic episodes lasting fewer than 6 weeks) and chronic (periodic episodes lasting more than 6 weeks). Though many people have a single episode of acute hives that goes away within a few days to weeks, some individuals may have chronic hives, periodic (recurrent) attacks of hives that come over periods of years.
Hives can be triggered by many things, including:
* Medications, especially aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, narcotic painkillers, or antibiotics
* Infections with viruses, bacteria, or fungi
* Environmental allergies such as insect bites, pollen, mold, or animal dander
* Physical exposures such as heat, cold, water, sunlight, or pressure
* A medical condition such as gland diseases, blood diseases, or cancer
* Food allergies, such as strawberries, eggs, nuts, or shellfish
* Stress
In up to 90% of outbreaks of hives, a trigger is never found despite extensive testing; these cases are referred to as idiopathic urticaria. In approximately 50% of idiopathic urticaria outbreaks, hives are most likely caused by a reaction from the person's own immune system (autoimmune reaction).
Lets avoid "Scabies"..
Posted November 12, 2008on:
Following are some facts on Scabies. This contagious skin disease can be a nightmare for you if you don't take precautions. This piece of post is to lighten up the world to be healthy.
- Scabies [SKAY-bees] is a skin disease caused by a parasitic mite.
- Scabies is spread by prolonged person-to-person contact and is very contagious.
- Anyone can get scabies.
- Scabies is treatable with mite-killing skin lotions and creams.
- To prevent scabies: 1) avoid contact with people with scabies, and 2) make sure that affected persons and their contacts are treated.
What is scabies?
Scabies is a contagious mite infection of the skin.
What is the infectious agent that causes scabies?
Scabies is caused by Sarcoptes scabiei, a parasite mite.
Where is scabies found?
Scabies occurs worldwide. Scabies mites live on human blood and need the warmth of the human body to survive. Away from the body, they die within 48 hours.
How do people get scabies?
Scabies is spread from person to person mainly by prolonged (several minutes) direct skin-to-skin contact, such as touching a person who has scabies. In rare cases, scabies can spread by contact with clothes, towels, bedding, and other personal items that were recently in contact with an infected person.
Burrowing of the mites causes the infection. Scabies mites tunnel under the skin, lay eggs, and produce substances that cause an allergic reaction. The path of a mite's burrow looks like a line of tiny blisters on the skin. Larvae hatch from the eggs and live under the skin's surface, where they develop into adult mites.
What are the signs and symptoms of scabies?
The earliest and most common symptom is intense itching, especially at night. An early scabies rash will show up on the skin as a line of tiny blisters or little red bumps. In more serious cases, the skin might be crusty or scaly.
In adults, signs of scabies will usually appear first in body folds — particularly between the fingers, on the elbows or wrists, on the buttocks or waistline, around the nipples for women, and on the penis for men. Scabies rarely affects the skin above the neck.
In infants and children, scabies can affect the entire body, including the palms, soles of the feet, and head and scalp. The child may be tired and cranky because of loss of sleep from itching.
How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?
It can take up to 2 to 6 weeks before a newly infected person will notice any itching or rash. Persons who have already had scabies and are re-exposed might show symptoms in 1 to 4 days.
How is scabies diagnosed?
Scabies is diagnosed by the characteristic rash. The diagnosis can be confirmed by finding mites or eggs in skin scrapings.
Who is at risk for scabies?
Anyone can get scabies. It can strike people of any age, race, or sex, regardless of personal cleanliness. Scabies is not a disease of poverty, neglect, or poor hygiene. However, it is more common among people living in crowded conditions and among those with close physical contact with others, such as children, mothers of infants, and persons in nursing homes.
What complications can result from scabies?
Scratching can cause infected sores. Some people become very sensitive to the mites and develop large areas of inflamed skin.
What is the treatment for scabies?
Treating scabies means killing the mites and their eggs. Prescription skin creams or lotions containing 5% permethrin, lindane, or crotamiton will kill the mites and eggs. Lotions must be applied according to the package directions. It can take 1 to 2 weeks after treatment for the itching to stop. A second treatment in 7 days is often recommended.
If you suspect scabies:
- See a dermatologist (skin doctor) right away for diagnosis. Remember, scabies does not indicate anything about your personal cleanliness.
- Wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and towels on the hot cycle, or have personal items professionally dry cleaned. Clothing that cannot be laundered or dry cleaned should be stored in plastic bags for several days to kill the mites.
- Vacuum rugs and furniture, and discard the vacuum bag.
- Treat all household members, personal contacts, and sexual contacts at the same time, whether or not they have symptoms.
- Do not treat scabies with home remedies. These can make the condition worse. Do not use steroids or other creams unless prescribed by a doctor.
How common is scabies?
Scabies is a fairly common infectious disease that occurs sporadically and also sometimes in outbreaks. Most outbreaks occur in nursing homes, institutions, and child-care centers.
Is scabies an emerging infectious disease?
Yes. There has been a recent wave of infestation in the United States. Scabies in residents of nursing homes and extended care facilities has become a common problem.
How can scabies be prevented?
- Avoid physical contact with infected persons and their belongings, especially clothing and bedding.
- Treat all family and household members who had skin contact with an infected person, whether or not they are itching or have a rash.
- Exclude persons with scabies from school or day care until 24 hours after treatment.
This fact sheet is for information only and is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health-care provider. If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you might have a parasitic infection, consult a health-care provider.
Source : http://www.dhpe.org/infect


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Enter postcode for directions:


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I know I've mentioned it before, but when Mr. Simple and I first got married I was 19 years old and without a clue about being a homemaker. It wasn't long before the babies started coming and I floundered with trying to keep up with the housework. My own mother kept a very neat/uncluttered home, and while I loved organized spaces I did not know how to make those organized spaces happen. I also found trying to keep house during pregnancy or with newborns made me a lot more relaxed with my homemaking. I let a lot go.
Eventually, I got to a point where I had enough. I had to figure out systems and ways to make my house not only clean, but at least tidy, too. Since we downsized, I've been on a mission to make our little base house feel like home. Even though I got pregnant shortly after moving in, I've taken my time with decluttering projects and decorating. Even at 38 weeks pregnant, I have found that my home is now more organized and generally cleaner than ever before.
So, what's the one step that has totally transformed my life as a homemaker?
It's actually a really simple concept.
I finish what I start.
I know you're probably saying, "What the heck? How does that transform your homemaking, Joanie? That's not revolutionary!"
No, it's not, but I have struggled with completing tasks, especially since having kids. I mean toddlers can be pretty demanding.
For example, say I cook breakfast for everyone. Sometimes I dread actually cooking breakfast. If I make bacon I have to deal with the grease, I have to fix everyone plates, and then there's the aftermath of actually cooking breakfast that needs to be cleaned up.
If I am going to cook breakfast, I am going to take the time after we eat to just suck it up and get that mess cleaned up and put away.
If my toddler is unhappy, he is just going to have to wait in his high chair until I am finished. I can't let a one-year-old run around unsupervised.
My biggest struggle by far is the laundry. Okay, I've written about how I gave up a laundry routine. I still have. My goal is to do 1-2 loads per day from start to finish. I will admit, I usually don't get to fold the clothes straight out of the dryer. Maybe I will be able to one day, but I do try to get at least 1 load folded, and then I have the kids help me put the clothes away.
Since we are a homeschooling family, we are at home a lot during the day, and my kids do have to pitch in and help. We teach them to get the job done. It's not always perfect. My daughter's clothes are still sitting on her dresser right now waiting to be put away, but she will put them away.
So, what are some other ways you can finish what you start and keep your home cleaner?
Find a place for everything – This one may take some time. I have slowly added bins and baskets to our home because I definitely couldn't afford to buy them all at once, but they really do help with organizing. And when you get out an item to use it, you know exactly where to put it back when you are finished.
Here are some examples:
I used old food storage containers to separate medicines by category. I then labeled each container. This helps keep the medicine cabinet fairly neat and I know where to find certain items when I need them.
The kids toys will probably always be a work in progress, but I try to keep them separated by category and teach the kids to put their toys back in those specific bins.
I use caddies in my bathroom cabinets to keep bathroom cleaning supplies rounded up and in one spot.
Mr. Simple and I totally re-organized our laundry closet a few weeks ago. It is so refreshing to have that space labeled now.
My whole house is not organized, at least not yet. I've taken on projects a little at a time. I have found that once I get a good organization system in place, it usually stays that way. Except the kids' toys, yeah, those end up mixed up all the time!
Use Routines – Routines are vital for keeping your home running. I have a simplified cleaning routine printable available here on the blog. It's nice to know what to do each day, but even I know sometimes that can be difficult! Establish a few routines for cleaning your home, and you can have a tidy house.
Here's a sample routine:
In the morning – Prepare breakfast and then clean up your breakfast dishes after you eat. Have everyone complete morning chores. For us this looks like, getting dressed, making beds, and taking care of pets. I also start a load of laundry.
Mid-afternoon – Clean up after lunch. This is the time I do a quick declutter after school, and I also tend to wipe down our bathrooms and switch out laundry. I will also fold clothes and attempt to get them put away.
Evening – Declutter. Sweep floors, clean up the kitchen after dinner, vacuum if necessary, get ready for bed.
And some days that's all there is time to do. Just doing these basic things will keep your home clean and tidy. Of course, you're going to have to work in deep clean days, but keeping up with the basics will go a long way in making you feel better about your home!
So, on those days when you feel like you are totally drowning in housework and you don't know where to start, pick a task and finish it! Put things back where they belong and follow a general routine. Doing those things will go a long way in making you feel good about your home!


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He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.
I have struggled from time to time with pride. My personality lends itself, if not bridled, to be sort of prideful. My occupation is one of detective and problem solver in the nuclear power industry. And I have been trained over the years to always look for the facts. As a problem detective, I have to gather as much fact as possible in the early stages of my investigation, so that I can reconstruct the issue, or event, or problem. So I look for the facts. "Just the facts ma'am." Like Sergeant Joe Friday would say. (You need to be old enough to remember the police show, "Dragnet" on a black and white TV. LOL) Sorry, I just had a moment of nostalgia. Anyways, it's important to get the facts. A lot of people have their opinions, but I need to analyze factual information. This is where my pride sometimes gets me in trouble.
I generally do my problem investigations alone, but there are times that I have an investigative team. The team would consist of subject matter experts in plant operations, or engineering, or maintenance of plant equipment, or even leaders in the field of human performance.
Since it's a team effort, I also learned in my training that others may have differing opinions on what is fact and what's not fact. I can at times really push my opinion over someone else's opinion on fact without sometimes seeking additional expert counsel.
What this scripture verse is really saying is that those who are content with themselves, that bear either contradiction or competition, or creates a disturbance to himself or others has a proud heart. Whoa. Really? Yup. I remember times of loud discussion on certain information that I was pretty sure was fact, only to find out my line of sight or point of view was flawed. That is where I have had to humble myself for the greater good of the team and to solve the problem and admit I was wrong. As a lead investigator, that can be hard to do. I know I have learned a lot.
This scripture also goes on to say that he who has satisfaction in God and who dwells at ease will have outwardly good things; that they would be prospered or as some translations say "will prosper". Note the word "will". Not maybe, but "will". How many of you want God to prosper you. I know I do. It's a promise. Listen to how "The Message" paraphrase puts it. "A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in God brings a sense of well-being." I define "a sense of well-being" as that certain sense I get when I know everything is more than just OK. It's really, really good.
So now I've learned that when I get to that place of pride where I think that I'm right no matter what you or anybody else thinks, I need to pause and pray. I stop and seek the Lord. I seek out that expert counsel and that sense of well-being.
Trusting in the Lord can be difficult. Mainly because we are flawed human beings. But we can trust God for all things; not only because of the promise of this Scripture passage, but because as we trust in the Lord, we can know that He will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) That's what I want; God's direction.
Precious Lord, I thank You that as we trust in You, we can expect You to prosper us; to bring us into a presence of well-being in You. Help us Lord to recognize when our pride gets in the way of You and forgive us for when we push You aside to do things our own way. You are my Lord and my Light. I will follow You. In Jesus Name. AMEN.
Don't believe me, believe God!


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Hi Ivan, On Jun 20, 2012, at 7:01 AM, Ivan Herman wrote: > Dan, > > Using owl:equivalentProperty is a very strong statement. It does not only mean that, if I use schema:additionalType, this also means rdf:type, but it also means that anybody in the World may decide to use schema:additionalType anywhere where rdf:type is used even if, in fact, the data has nothing to do with schema.org. No. Semantic equivalence does not imply that the property is equally stable, authoritative, or equally understood by clients with limited reasoning support. Using owl:equivalentProperty does not tell people that using either property is perfectly equivalent for annotating data. It just implies that a sufficiently complete OWL environment will accept both ways. There are many clients, notably Google, that do not support OWL or RDFS reasoning, so it is always wise to use the vocabularies that are known to be directly understood by your target audience. By the way, if you argued from a formal perspective, then rdfs:subPropertyOf would also say that you can always use the more specific property for the more generic one. An in terms of inferences, the result will typically be the very same. Martin > rdf:type being such a core property of the RDF world, even part of many syntaxes, I am not sure yet what consequences that would lead to. > > I think I would prefer simply stating an rdf:subPropertyOf. It covers the schema.org use case, it is enough for RDF savy processors to generate the rdf:type statements and it does not do anything more. Besides, while there might be many tools out there in the Linked Data space that do such basic RDFS reasoning already, the number of processors that understand the OWL terminology might be much less frequent. > > Another issue came up during the discussion, but is much more general. Ideally, it would be nice to get, via content negotiation, an RDF file at http://schema.org (in Turtle and/or RDF/XML) that would include this and other possible statements on the Schema Vocabulary. It would be helpful 'following your nose' for the vocabulary, RDFa processors may use it to expand on the schema terms, etc. The additionalType subProperty may then be part of that file, but, for example, similar statements could be added to bind the schema.org rNews terms to the non-schema versions (b.t.w., that may be a good use case for equivalentProperty), or if, at some point, there is a similar mapping of DC terms to schema.org. > > Cheers > > Ivan > > > On Jun 19, 2012, at 19:24 , Dan Brickley wrote: > >> Thanks everyone. Lots of mail! >> >> I have tried to make a brief summary of some of the points in the Web >> Schemas wiki, just a sketch of individual positions really rather than >> a summary of the whole debate. I also started there to write up >> details of a concrete proposal for 'additionalType'. >> >> http://www.w3.org/wiki/WebSchemas/additionalTypeProposal ... >> >> Since nobody has volunteered to lead an effort to get Microdata syntax >> changed to support multiple types from different vocabularies, and on >> balance after reading thru all the debate, I think we should go for >> the new property approach. >> >> I'd like to make sure that we capture all the concerns people have in >> the Wiki and in the resulting property definition, and to give some >> thought to how validators and checkers ought to behave. >> >> Peter, Egor, others, ... can you live with a new property here? (one >> of 'additionalType' or 'type') Any preferences on name? >> >> cheers, >> >> Dan >> > > > ---- > Ivan Herman, W3C Semantic Web Activity Lead > Home: http://www.w3.org/People/Ivan/ > mobile: +31-641044153 > FOAF: http://www.ivan-herman.net/foaf.rdf > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- martin hepp e-business & web science research group universitaet der bundeswehr muenchen e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com phone: +49-(0)89-6004-4217 fax: +49-(0)89-6004-4620 www: http://www.unibw.de/ebusiness/ (group) http://www.heppnetz.de/ (personal) skype: mfhepp twitter: mfhepp Check out GoodRelations for E-Commerce on the Web of Linked Data! ================================================================= * Project Main Page: http://purl.org/goodrelations/Received on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 18:09:26 UTC
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Hello! Big Sale Time at Plain Digital Wrapper with many bargains to be bought! My entire store is 50% off – including my 2 new mini kits!
Raspberry Fizzy Pop and What's the Buzz!
Hello there! Are you having a wonderful weekend enjoying all the goodies that National Scrapbooking day bring?
I'm having a HUGE sale at Plain Digital Wrapper, 50% off my entire store! Yep! Huge!
Well I'm thinking that you might of landed here from the lovely Lisa of Southern Creek Designs and you next stop after me is The wonderful Kimberly Stewart. And of course if you get lost along the way you can always pop back to Plain Digital Wrapper to get your bearings.
Click the preview for your download.
Kimberley Stewart is your next stop – you can find her here. 🙂
Happy National Scrapbooking Day!
Hello there! It's the 1st Sunday of May & that means it's time for Sunday Specials! Head over to the Plain Digital Wrapper store and stock up on some fabulous Sunday Specials!


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It's Monday, and it's hot out.
What do you do?
If you're like me, you ooze out of bed, you amble into the shower – maybe you remember to use conditioner, maybe you don't – you fashion your hair into something and convince yourself it looks stylish (much easier if you don't use conditioner), you slurp down a cup of coffee, maybe snarf a couple of eggs if you had time, you try to wear matching colors and you head out the door. You sit on 694 for what feels like a day, and you sit at your desk for what feels like your morning commute.
Survive that, then what? You go home and waste your eyesight on "Washed-Up Celebrity Dance-Off?" You go to the gym and spin the tarp on a hamster treadmill?
No. If you're like me, you head to Burger Moe's and drown your Monday in a wash of sunlight and burger drippings.
The Basics: Burger Moe's rests in the shadow of the XCel Energy Center in the West 7th St. pocket of St. Paul, and has been there since 2010. They have their own parking lot, and you can even find a spot in it sometimes! Of the restaurants I see on my Facebook feed, and there are plenty, only Smalley's works harder than Moe's on the update front.
So why are you getting caught in Moe's orbit the next time you're in St. Paul on a Monday? Because every burger except their super-huge is $5 on Mondays.
"But what am I going to drink?" I don't know, they have 60 beers on tap. "But where am I going to sit?" In PARADISE!
Speaking from my travels thus far, the outdoor seating at Moe's has no rivals. Mismatched umbrellas stagger over your line of sight while light strings connect rooftops and weave through tree branches. This corridor is lined by lush greenery, and a fountain churns water clumsily into a pool in the rear. In a dining scene obsessed with elegance and/or irony, Moe's wears its beach hat to stunning effect.
Last Monday marked my first trip of the season, a double date with Smooth, Masseur and his girlfriend (Code name: Doc, in honor of her just earning her doctorate). Get there early if you can – you can get parking in the lot on Mondays but you might have to kick your car into reverse, cut off two cars, and Austin Powers yourself into the last spot.
You learn some things driving in Minneapolis.
I grabbed a table six-person table set right before the fountain. The fountain sounds like an aquafart, but it's peaceful (though a lot of people want to look at it, and that's not necessarily peaceful). Among the tap roster at Moe's is Curious Traveler, my summer go-to. An observation worth mentioning is Moe's lets your dog hang out here in Umbrella Row.
Service is always excellent at Moe's and tonight was no exception. I wasn't bugged when I was alone and we were well tended to when the crew was here. Masseur and I dove into the Denny Burger, a slab of cheddar-caked Angus on a sesame seed bun with bacon and a fried egg. Smooth got her usual, an Axtell Burger – a Denny minus the egg, basically. I don't remember what Doc ordered. You can get traditional fries on the side for free but I always throw down the $2 for waffle … because I'm a BALLER, and ballers get the waffle fries.
Conversation is easy here because of the open air (parts of the restaurant wall facing Umbrella Row lifts up, making Moe's that much more open), so I was able to feel precisely as inadequate as I needed to hearing Doc discuss her thesis defense while I tried to pretend I could imagine that feeling. Truth is, if I had to defend a thesis at that high a level, I'd do a worse job than the black knight did defending the bridge.
The rush-day traffic didn't slow the food's arrival and didn't compromise the taste. The thick-cut bacon isn't to be trifled with, and the taste of the beef makes its way through the egg yolk and cheddar. My only complaint is that the bottom bun comes off on your fingerprint, but I suppose having four different sauces on a single food item (ketchup, yolk, grease, and chipotle aioli) might do that to you. Smooth and I hadn't had Moe's in probably six months, and our collective sentiment at the table was akin to that of reconnecting with an old friend.
I wouldn't put Moe's in a category with Vincent, or even The Nook for that matter, but the Denny and Axtell Burgers sit comfortably in the better half of this market's competitive burger scene. Everything else about this experience is top-of-the-line: Good service, great specials, and an unexpectedly diverse beer list. You don't walk past a place like this and expect a respectable craft stable, but they've got one.
Moe's knows what it takes to bring its people to Umbrella Row, and they're doing almost everything right. Oh, did I mention that Facebook friendship with Moe's can sometimes land you a two-for-one Tuesday or a special discount for healthcare workers? When you're that efficient in your efforts, what you get is a paradise packed and a burgeoning flock of followers. When the ice melts, this is where Lowertown shoots to on Mondays. There's just no other logical choice.
So if you're like me, you pull your car out of Burger Moe's, you weave through walkers like a weird reverse-Frogger game, you drive home, and you take your food belly to bed. You forget how bad Monday was supposed to be.


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Polygonum punctatum Elliott -
dotted smartweed
Steve Hurst. Provided by ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. United States, DC, Washington.
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