Deep Work

...s not to say that there aren’t other benefits to putting aside one day and making it different than all the others. But let’s not kid ourselves that an Internet sabbath is going to cure the crack-like addictiveness of social media and click-bait websites. Newport suggests, “embracing boredom” and not surfing the web even when you’re waiting in line at the post office. Rather than schedule time away from distraction Newport suggests scheduling time...

Read…

Satan’s Easter Basket is Filled with Plastic Easter Grass

...rebirth and celebrates new life and baby animals of all sorts, actually causes accidental pain and suffering to many animals. The culprit is plastic Easter grass. The day after Easter this year, I took an early morning walk down to Echo Park and found Eastermagedon waiting for me in the dawn’s soft light. The entire park was strewn with detritus of the happy day, plates and soda bottles and all the usual picnic garbage, plus the added seasonal bo...

Read…

German Rye Bread Recipe

...e to slash the loaf before it goes in the oven. And unlike the white bread that passes for rye in the US, this loaf is actually made out of mostly rye. It does have some white flour in it, but just enough to allow making a hearth loaf. If you’re in the LA area, I’ll be teaching some more rye classes this year. Sign up for the Los Angeles Bread Bakers on Meetup.com and you’ll get all the announcements and invites....

Read…

Our new front yard, part 3: design

...showiest plants, and also the ones that persist no matter what the season, making them the bones of the garden. This includes trees and bushes, as well as large perennials. In a grassland landscape where there are no trees or bushes, this category would include tall grasses as well as plants with dramatic seed heads which persist long after the bloom. Filler plants: These are the transitory, often self-seeding plants which pop up opportunistically...

Read…

Placemaking with Mark Lakeman

...who want to launch similar projects to transform their local places in L.A. Beautiful video that’s an intro to City Repair work: https://vimeo.com/101460111 More about Mark Lakeman and this event https://www.change-making.com/placemaking-with-mark-lakeman-mar-22-26-27/ Suggested donation $15, “no one will be turned away” RSVP https://environmentalchangemakers.wufoo.com/forms/events-from-the-environmental-changemakers/...

Read…