Occupy Your Plate

Jan 10, 2012 by Dark Martha

I am so proud of the Occupy Movement! I hope people are getting wise to the contempt Corporate America has for the rest of us. I’m not just referring to the banking industry, either. Corporate goes for all kinds of industry: electronics, textiles, food, energy, etc.., lots of businesses where their primary focus is to make money. Not to serve a community need, to make money. Not to provide a quality product at a good value to the consumer, to make money.

I’ll try to keep this rant to food.

I’ve been preaching about the local foods movement and local business in general, not because it is cool but because it trumps the corporate counterparts by the presence of COMPASSION and that their bottom line isn’t the only line they care about. Have you caught any of the articles tattling on the sometimes disgusting antics of Big Ag and Big Food? Did you hear about the company that re-processed gallons of moldy applesauce to ship to schools? Or the countless recalls of E. Coli-tainted meats and vegetables that somehow still manage to get to the public? Maybe you’ve seen these corporate food lies: your “freshly” squeezed orange juice that has actually sat in a vat for up to a year, your meats that get doused with ammonia , the cellulose and other industrial by-products that find their way into more processed food than you would like to know about. Why isn’t this squawked about on mainstream news?

“So what can I do about this and why should I care?” you might say. “Eating healthy / organic / local is too expensive and I don’t have the time / desire / know-how to cook.”

My shopping reflects my values and I vote with my pocketbook. Start small and don’t try to re-invent the wheel in a week. I would rather spend an hour cooking something for my family than watching TV, but that’s me.

Don’t like factory farms? Seek out a local market and shop there. Spending money with local retailers strengthens the community and is a slap in the face of recession. Start a vegetable garden, and share your bounty with your neighbors – defy the “bedroom community” label and chat in person. Know that if we don’t start giving a damn about what we purchase, and where it comes from – that the quality of these things will continue to tank. The rich will get richer from our apathy. Our economy is based almost entirely on us buying stuff, so make every dollar count!

This video of a farmer addressing the NYC Occupy group nearly got me bawling. I can’t help but feel sickened and a little enraged every time I hear a sound bite about how unorganized the movement is, or the “But what do they stand for?” bullshit. The food lies are as insidious as the lies about “trickle-down economics” – don’t believe the hype. There has been a great interview with Chris Hedges making the rounds that I think hits the mark, and I will leave you with this quote from his book, Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America:
“We watch impassively as the wealthy and the elite, the huge corporations, rob us, ruin the environment, defraud consumers and taxpayers and create an exclusive American oligarchy that fuses wealth and political power. We watch passively because we believe we can enter the club. It is greed that inspires us. It is greed that keeps us silent. Our greed is devouring us.”

 

Cheers-

 

Dark Martha

Conscious Urban Living

Carriage House Farm

 

PS – If you are in the Cincy area, and are interested in getting that garden going, join me for my class series coming up in a few weeks.

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Happy New Year from CincyVoices and Loren the Black

Dec 31, 2011 by Loki

Three cheers for the Queen City’s own Loren the Black!

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NOLA Bound: Loki’s Farewell

Nov 13, 2011 by Loki

It’s been a little over three years since my wife and I bought our home in Northside. The Queen City has been good to us in that time – my wife finished her MFA, we met some wonderful people, had the best pizza I’ve eaten outside of NYC (Northslice!) , and found the real life Hall of Justice.  I’ve also gotten to see some horrible things – Kasich getting elected, a fellow New Orleanian shot and killed by Cincy PD around the corner from my house, and meeting one of the biggest misogynists I’ve ever encountered. Like any place there is both good and bad aplenty.

All in all I’ve enjoyed my adventures in Ohio, but now it is time to move on. I was born French Creole from a family that arrived in New Orleans on the first boatload of settlers. The subtropical heat and cultural flambouyance of the Crescent City call to my blood, as do – surprisingly – more concrete economic concerns. A surprising array of new opportunities have opened up for me there recently.

There are some things I pine for. Alligator tenderloin gumbo and frog’s legs with cayenne glaze at Louisiana Bistro. The constant smell of night blooming jasmine. The constant sound of brass, even in the local punk music. And I’ll be honest there is a lot I don’t look forward to, not in the least! Let’s start with 9.5% tax on food at the grocery store and then add in the insane murder rate and post BP toxicity. It’s not ideal, but as flawed as it is it’s home.

I guess it’s a peculiarity of New Orleanians, and one repeatedly borne out by independent observation. Rebecca Corey wrote the following on Kiva: Stories From The Field, and she truly hit the nail on the head (emphasis mine):

Even after Katrina killed 1,835 people, destroyed 275,000 homes and 400,000 jobs, caused $81 billion in property damage, and forced the evacuation of 80% of the New Orleans population, over 140,000 have returned to rebuild. All of the Kiva borrowers with whom I’ve spoken left New Orleans for a while, but each one affirms the same thing: “I always knew I’d come back to New Orleans. There’s no other place like it on earth.” I’ve never seen so many people identify with and love their city with such fervent passion, with such abounding joy, and with such commitment to making it better. I’ll end with a quote from the Talmud that reflects the spirit and determination of the folks I’ve met here. I thank them for their hard work and optimism.

‘Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.’

So it is that I find myself madly packing with very few days left in the Queen City. I’ll still be posting here on occasion, but will be stepping back and allowing the other bloggers to carry the torch. I will do everything I can to make sure that CincyVoices continues to provide thoughtful and entertaining slices of Queen City life. In the meantime I’ll be back for periodic visits, we’re keeping our house in Northside.

It’s been fun. Hopefully I’ll see some of you coming down to NOLA sometime.

I’m going to close with music, as is appropriate for a New Orleanian. This song about sums it up for me.

-Loki

Keep making waves in the Queen City, and be warned – I’ll be back!

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Northside: Factory Square Fine Arts Festival Happens This Weekend, Needs Volunteers!

Oct 21, 2011 by GeekJames

Northside: Cincinnatians either love it or they don’t. If they don’t love it they just don’t know. That’s my opinion anyway.

Diverse. Eclectic. Artsy. Green. Activist. Locally-owned businesses. Food. Music venues. Farmers Market. Organic. Fun. Community.

All good words to describe Northside. The Cincinnati neighborhood’s undergone several near-renaissances over the years, but one eyesore remained, the American Can Factory, right in the center of the business district and across the street from Hoffner Park, Northside’s town square. The building is a hulk of an industrial space, built in 1920, empty since 1973, and, as the tallest building in the neighborhood, it’s visible from many angles throughout the area.

The old Can Factory needed someone to show it some love. It took several years, but Bloomfield/Schon + Partners have managed to create an outstanding example of good design using sustainable building practices and community engagement. These are all things we like in Northside. The American Can Lofts‘ 110 apartments range in size from a studio to a big 3BR, beautifully finished. Tenants have been moving in since September, with more moving in each month. The building is about 80% leased. There’s life where there was no life before.

Life needs art. That’s where ParProjects comes in. The American Can Factory sits on several acres in Northside, and the parcel in front on the Hamilton Avenue side of it is owned by the city. So ParProjects proposed an art center for that front parcel. An art center made from shipping containers. Again, the words “good design using sustainable building practices and community engagement” immediately spring to mind. ParProjects’ immediate goal is to build a community-centered art center, made from shipping containers all stacked and arranged as one. These are good goals in Northside.

Life needs parties. So, this weekend, there’s going to be a party in Northside. The Factory Square Fine Arts Festival happens Saturday, October 22nd from noon until midnight, & Sunday, October 23rd, from noon until 8pm. There will be shipping containers with art installations, and most amazing sculpture garden pieces installed in the lot. There will be art installations inside of the American Can Factory factory bays. There will be a Prairie Gallery installation in the American Can Factory Lofts’ lobby.  There will be music. There will be beer.

And there will be City Flea! The Flea is holding a one-time satellite market at the American Can Lofts in the big high bay, on Saturday, as part of the Factory Square Fine Arts Festival. This is one of the most fun flea markets ever. And did I mention there’s beer?

Would you like to help? Volunteers are truly needed, can you help? As much or as little time you can give is appreciated. Click here to volunteer, or contact the volunteer coordinator Jeni Jenkins at 513-885-0504. Or just show up and you’ll be put you to work. The Festival can use volunteers at any time, but they especially need volunteers for the start up or knockdown periods of the day.

That’s what we do in Northside. 

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kids at play, Covington

Feb 15, 2011 by 5chw4r7z

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Northside’s Mayday Hosts The Tri State Blogger Happy Hour

Dec 16, 2010 by Loki

Last night  Mayday in Northside was swarmed by geeks.  Local bloggers, twitter users, and other active members of the Queen City’s online community  gathered over cocktails to meet each other face to face. It was the Tri State Bloggers Holiday Cocktail Hour, and it was good.

Before I tell you more here are some of the faces in attendance. Sorry I did not get more pics, but I am sure 5chwar7z got some beauties. He always does.

I had a blast. Mayday’s hot dogs blew me away, and I’m not one easily impressed by a hot dog. I had a turducken one they were doing for the holidays and it was pretty damn tasty. All locally raised ingredients as well which just makes it even better.

Now there are are already groups that meet up like this, both professional ones like Cincinnati Social Media and informal ones like New Media Cincinnati. In both types of group people are there to socialize but more so to network while learning and developing social media skills. What I found so refreshing about this tri-state gathering was that it ignored aspect of things. It was an evening of conversations and libations amongst a varied crowd of people who just happen to blog.

Joe Wessels was there, for instance, a man whose work impresses me more and more lately. Keep your eye on his twitter for some interesting things that should be coming out of the OTR soon.

Liz from GetInMahBelly was there so of course we talked about food. And then we talked about food. And then we talked about restaurants just as a change of pace. She’s headed to my home town soon so I need to make her an itenerary of New Orleans restaurants and watering holes.

So-  food blogger? Check. Citizen Journalist? Check. Add on a few PR people, a few non bloggers that are highly active on twitter, several museum staff, a rollergirl/journalist  (MissPrint95, love ya!), and a local author. Add alcohol, shake well and serve.

Here is a quick sampling of the attendees that I met. Call it a Follow Friday ( #FF) if you wish since I am linking to their twitter accounts:

@civicgarden @taestell @MHARSHAW @adorkandhispork @cincywritten @AlexShebar @CincyMuseum @tankofalltrades @cbesl @Czarshaw @CincinnatiPR @missprint95 @scurvygirl @artsnob @getinmahbelly @LivingInGin @seelix @johnyungphat @700BillRinehart @geekjames @classicgrrl @5chw4r7z @shawnmummert @ms5chw4r7z

Unlike the two groups mentioned before, both of which are excellent in their own ways, this was a more democratized gathering. It was not just pros. It was not just amateurs. It was a spectrum, a representative sampling of the local online ecosystem. An excellent new addition to the Queen City scene, let us hope to see these happen more frequently as we move into 2011!

Stay tuned fellow bloggers, CincyVoices will be following these events and helping where we can. Community building like this is important, I saw it in action back home in New Orleans after Katrina and the levee failure. The geek dinners we put on there created a thriving community of several hundred bloggers. While in Cincy we do not have the common trials faced by the NOLA Bloggers there is still potential to create a similar level of community here.

-Loki, Founder and Curator

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