stuckinstuff

The Whole Horse - Wendell Berry again

"One of the primary results - and one of the primary needs - of industrialism is the separation of people and places and products from their histories... This is an economy, and in fact a culture, of the one-night stand... In this condition, we have many commodities, but little satisfaction, little sense of the sufficiency of anything."

This from the first handful of sentences in Wendell Berry's essay "The Whole Horse" published in The Art of the Commonplace (Shoemaker & Hoard: 2002).

Over time as I have taken in Berry's essays I've been left with a nagging aftertaste.  Berry makes so much sense, so clearly articulates what is wrong in the world and what could be right if only... "if only."  But how?  I've yet to meet Wendell Berry.  And I'd like to.  I'll be surprised if he is not a joyful pessimist.  I'm not sure I've ever met a joyful pessimist.  But I suspect he is one, and that such a person would be, on the whole, enjoyable to spend time with.  Yet I'm not sure how I'd feel leaving a joyful pessimist - finishing up the conversation, shaking hands, and going back home.  That's the trouble I've had with Wendell Berry over the years.  Going back home after reading him.

"The Whole Horse" is a fine example of Berry's attention-grabbing critique of modern industrialism.  It's always an essay you can walk away from.  I recommend it.

Soon and very soon

It has been way way too long.  And I have no good excuses.  Well, I sort of have a good excuse for not blogging in a while.  I've been appreciating non-computer-related life, and frankly enjoying it a lot!  Much of my time away from the computer has been recorded by nothing more than my memory and the memory of those I've spent time with.  Honestly, I like it best that way.  Let's just say I've never been a big fan of home video, despite its many merits.  Here is a picture, though of my President's Day morning jaunt to the desert:

Anyway, I plan to get back into the swing of things very soon.  There is just so much stuff-news.  Blue Ray vs. HD-DVD thanks to Walmart.  Microsoft vs. Yahoo! thanks to insanity.  Oh, and perhaps I'll tell the story of how I resisted the latest REI and Patagonia sales - and just in time to hear a wonderfully convicting sermon on financial stewardship, which would have been fidgety if I had actually spent money.

Oh and finally, the next Challenge Stuff Reading Group is in the works.  It is going to be great!  A real stuff-oriented challenge.  More soon...