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Portlandia – Dream of the 90s (video)
Jason from L.A., Songs from the Northwest, Major Label, IFC
Quotes:
“The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland.”
“Portland is where young people go to retire.”
“… it’s like Portland is almost n alternative universe. It’s like Gore won and the Bush administration never happened. In Portland it’s almost like cars don’t exist. People ride bikes or double-decker bikes. They ride unicycles. They ride the tram. They ride skateboards.”
About Portlandia
The 6-part IFC Original short-based comedy series PORTLANDIA, created, written by and starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (vocalist/guitarist, WILD FLAG, Sleater-Kinney), premieres on IFC Friday, January 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM ET/PT. Each episode’s character-based shorts draw viewers into “Portlandia,” the creators’ dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon.
“I love Portlandia. It really represents so much of what I love culturally, musically and in so many other ways,” said Fred Armisen. “This started as just a fun summer activity for Carrie and me. We’d be hanging out in Portland and shooting whatever made us laugh, and that evolved into Portlandia.”
PORTLANDIA’s inhabitants include but are not limited to: the owners of a feminist book store; a militant bike messenger; an artsy couple who attach cut-outs of birds to everything (“put a bird on it!”); an organic farmer who turns out to be a cult leader; an adult hide and seek league; and a punk rock couple negotiating a “safe word” to help govern their love life. The first episode depicts Armisen and Brownstein meeting with the Mayor of Portland (Kyle MacLachlan) who solicits the duo to write a new theme song for the city. This segment features a cameo from the real mayor of Portland (Sam Adams) playing the assistant to MacLachlan’s “mayor.” Much of the series’ original music is written and performed by Armisen and Brownstein. …
(17 December 2010)
Looks as if Portland is pioneering the post-consumer lifestyle. Great quote:
Recommended by Asher Miller of Post Carbon Institute. -BA
A Road Less Traveled
Melinda Burns, Miller-McCune
Passenger travel in the industrialized world has been stagnant for nearly a decade, researchers say.
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… Passenger travel, which grew rapidly in the 20th century, appears to have peaked in much of the developed world.
A study of eight industrialized countries, including the United States, shows that seemingly inexorable trends — ever more people, more cars and more driving — came to a halt in the early years of the 21st century, well before the recent escalation in fuel prices. It could be a sign, researchers said, that the demand for travel and the demand for car ownership in those countries has reached a saturation point.
“With talk of ‘peak oil,’ why not the possibility of ‘peak travel’ when a clear plateau has been reached?” asked co-author Lee Schipper, who shares his time between Global Metro Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University.
… Passenger travel, which grew rapidly in the 20th century, appears to have peaked in much of the developed world.
A study of eight industrialized countries, including the United States, shows that seemingly inexorable trends — ever more people, more cars and more driving — came to a halt in the early years of the 21st century, well before the recent escalation in fuel prices. It could be a sign, researchers said, that the demand for travel and the demand for car ownership in those countries has reached a saturation point.
“With talk of ‘peak oil,’ why not the possibility of ‘peak travel’ when a clear plateau has been reached?” asked co-author Lee Schipper, who shares his time between Global Metro Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University.
… The peak travel study runs counter to government models predicting steady growth in travel demand well beyond 2030. Schipper and Millard-Ball say that their own findings are “suggestive rather than conclusive.” They speculate that highway gridlock, parking problems, high prices at the gas pump and an aging population that doesn’t commute may be contributing to peak travel. People already spend an average 1.1 hours per day traveling from one place to another, and driving speeds can’t get much faster.
“You can’t pronounce one single factor for the slowdown in travel,” Schipper said. “The most important thing will be to see what happens as the economy recovers. …”
(1 January 2011)
La Revolucion Blanca
YouTube
Un documental que transcurre entre Andalucía e Italia, que recoge los testimonios de personas que desde hace muchos años han elegido llevar una vida más sostenible. Un documento donde la bio-construcción, los huertos bio-dinámicos y la vida en comunidad nos cuentan el nacimiento de una nueva clase.
(8 December 2010)
Recommended by EB contributor Holger Hieronimi.
Be Happy It’s An Order
Sinan Cetin, YouTube
Short Turkish video about the liberating power of music, and the insanity of divisions like East and West. Also, learn where the “Ode to Joy” in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony came from. Based on history (Ataturk’s regime in the 30s)
Background on the video from Louis Proyect. ; “The bottom line is that cultural change must not be enforced.”
(2008)
Not directly related to peak oil and sustainability EXCEPT … it reminds us that joy and art win a lot more converts than sour-faced preaching. -BA
My Dinner With Andre – Findhorn
YouTube
(1981)
Suggested by Paul Andrews.
Postcard from the Future
KrisCan, kriscan.com
KrisCan congratulating the world for healing the planet.
This short video is a bit of a departure for Kris from her interview pieces, which is why I am featuring it in this eclectic collection!. -KS
