"Ecotopia"

Ecotopia is one of the "Nine Nations. "  It lies close along the north Pacific shore of North America.

Form Ecotopia barges can make it all the way to Idaho. 

Ecotopia runs along the west coast of North America from just north of southern California north along the coast of Oregon, Washington, and Canada well up the Alaskan coast.

There are persons in Ecotopia willing to reduce the amount if money they earn in order to improve their quality of life. They question the directions we take. Even some southern Californians may call Ecotopians weird. They  are against things like putting an atomic plant for the generation of electricity near a liquid propane plant in an earth quake fault. How weird is that?

The people of Ecotopia note that our failure to stop wealthy business owners from employing large numbers of illegal aliens by enforcing our laws, takes our employment and weakens respect for our laws.

There is a high level of education and if civic organization in Ecotopia.

It's Our Fault

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Californians became more conscious San Andeas fault. The San Andreas is estimated to be at least 800 miles long and about ten miles deep. From the air, the straight line of it across our desert is clear.

There are places along the fault where water wells up. At some of those places an oasis may be found with beautiful native palms and perhaps a small pool. Earthquakes originating in the fault can so shake the desert hills along it, that landslides created there raise so much dust that i looks as though those hills are on fire.

Sometimes I think that the mass of Mount San Gorgonio as a great peg. A peg so blocking movement along the fault as to cause dangerous stress to build up. Mostly;y, Californians don't let the fault concern them much. Andrew Lawson, the Berkeley professor who did much to document the aftermath of the San Francisco quake, had his house built on top of a part pf the fault that runs along the Berkeley hills.

Hopewell Culture

  This is handiwork of Hopewell Culture people. It is eleven inches high and made of sheer mica. It was found in Mound 25 at Hopewell,Ohio.

Welcome to Mayanmar

A friend and me receiving a friendly welcome from the Myanmar 'secret service.'

Guatemala

There is a lot to discover, learn, and enjoy in Guatemala ... and it's not as expensive as Mexico. The natural landscape is a series of marvels. I like the high mountain cloud forest best. I found its delicate mist forests particularly attractive. I once found magic little nodes of geothermal activity there.

There are beautifully attractive beaches on both coasts; even the tiny east coast. The shipping is interesting too.  You might find it easy to visit Honduras by boat.

The capital seems old, yet it bustles with modern activity. I have know women who have found the men their amazing.

You may find some of the frequency ceremony and pageantry in cities and towns a soothing medicine for mind and body. Then again if you get invited to one party, you may get invitations there to keep you partying for a month. You may find yourself in real need of the peace of village life.

You may be treated to a vision of a Maya princess touched by Castile. Should she treat you to her frank and noble smile you will have the memory of a lifetime. 

If poverty and massive injustice is your bag, you can find it in abundance in Guatemala. You may find that much of the injustice had been kept in place there by countrymen of yours.

There may be good reasons for Guatemalans to hate your guts. However, you will probably find that Guatemalans are more welcoming to you in their land than your compatriots are to
Guatemalans in your land.

Nine Nations:The Breadbasket

You can't eat a Hallmark Card, but you can find one in the Breadbasket.

You can find wheat, corn, and other grains in the Breadbasket. It's not hard to find a pig there. A steer is pretty easy to find there. You may even see a cowboy or two.

You might call the Breadbasket a conservative area, but the politics are varied. I most U.S. states there, Republicans are common. While in the Province of Saskatchewan it is easy to find a socialist.

Minneapolis is in the Breadbasket and on can find lost of big business there. It can get chilly in that city. Still, it and the rest of Minnesota, is a comfortable place to live. General Mills and Betty Crocker live there.

University of California

It seems true that most Californians no longer think of the University of California as their university. If that is the fact, I am sure that they have good reasons for thinking that way.

Californians now think so little of their university that they give it less emotional, intellectual, and financial support than is need for the University to continue as theirs. For the first time in the history of the University, private philanthropists contribute more to it than do the people of the State. The influence of military and corporate money is as great, or greater, than it has ever been.

State universities across the land are suffering similar experience. The heart of the experience seems to be the buying by the 1%, that which once belonged to the people.

It might be worthwhile to revisit the purpose for which the people built these great institutions

Hot Water

There are those who seem to be able to get into hot water wherever they go.

In Uruguay, for example, one can head west from Montevideo on a comfortable bus and in a day get to the City of Salto in the State of Salto. Within easy striking distance from that city are a number of 'Termas,' pleasant and comfortable sites with facilities for hot water bathing. There are lots of pools. I understand that wells were sunk in holes of finding oil; hot water is what was found.

Do you know how close Montevideo is to Buenos Aires? The hot water one woman got into in B.A. caused here to have to explain to her husband why her relationship with her Tango instructor wasn't grounds for divorce.Do you know how much closer  yet the picturesque Uruguayan city of Colonia is to BA? Who could get into hot water on the ferryboat ride to Buenos Aires? If she doesn't care for hot water bathing you could promise her a tango in the home of the tango.

On the way to Salto I have found it rewarding to stop at the very Uruguayan city of Paysandu. Paysandu may not be the most Uruguayan town in Uruguay, but it will do. In my book Paysandu is a city, but compared to London or Buenos Aires it may seem a town. An overnight stay in Paysando is not expensive. You can get a great meal there with a passable wine for what you might pay for 'fast food' elsewhere. A simple, but adequate, room can also be had for a comparable price.

Just across the river from Salto is Argentina. Looking,one may find a casino there.

The three main 'termas' or bathing places are Salto Grande, Arapey, and Dayman. Take time to check them all out. If you have rented a car, that will be very easy. For me, accept on certain holiday weekends, Dayman is usually the plays of choice. Dayman is the one closest to Salto, the one with the most restaurants and hotels, and with plenty of pools. I get from my hotel to the public pools in my bathrobe, At Dayman the water temperature is high enough and the prices are low enough. If you have youngsters with you, there is a water-park in close driving distance

If you keep your eyes open you may see fine horse, a fine woman, a man who knows his mate, and kids can play 'futbol.'

In  the 'comment' section below, feel free to ask questions, offer corrections or added information, and to comment.

What Is This Blog About?

I've said, "Its about that which pops into my mind and catches my imagination." Not very informative.

By considering tags just to the left, my posting interests, in order of strength, seem to be:
~ happenings or history
~ popular political philosophy
~ places of the world
~ informing, learning, teaching
~ like enduring wisdom(reading between lines)
~ my personal growth
~ some other things like health and desert


Maybe when I grow-up my focus will be finer.

Maybe as I age less will pop into my mind and less will fire my imagination