tired of nyc and other things

 

It's true, we're tired of NYC. It's a hard place to raise a kid: expensive, gritty, etc. And of course with global warming it's hotter than the hinges of hell. As for community, that's always been hard to find, but it's even harder, at least in Sunnyside, to find like-minded moms.  Of the six hundred or so moms on our local list serv it seems like four of them are breastfeeding toddlers and two of them are interested in unschooling. 

 

For socializing we go to the playground to throw water balloons and chase pigeons. We've also been going to the local elementary school to get free breakfasts and lunches.  (Chicken nuggets are a big hit.)  But we wonder more how and why schools continue to exist.  Even in the lunch rooms of the summer free lunch program there is fascism.  Stand in this line. Sit at your table.  The Beast was told not to look at the polar bear mural on the wall. (Sit! sit! sit!, but the Beast is not a sitter.) And the lunch monitors watch us like prison guards (so that the moms don't eat any of the food— it's only for kids.)

 

Yesterday we went to a better neighborhood to try the lunch at the school there. Same story. A group of 6 year olds supervised by a woman screaming "put your heads down on the table." A book was taken away from a quiet bookish girl. No reading. No reading? This is why we can't imagine sending our kid to school. School is about petty authority and arbitrary rules.

 

What next? we're slowly building an unschooling network and are integrating sustainable gardening into our landscaping business (autumn planting is about to begin— peas, chard, bok choy) and sometimes it's true we talk about going back to England.  Also we're studying butterflies.  Cabbage Whites, Question Mark Commas, Eastern Swallowtails.

 

And meanwhile, we'll gladly take tips about cool places to live on the outskirts of NYC (within 40 minutes commute by train). Cheaper is better. Houses rather than co-ops.

 

Peace out peops. Whit, I owe you an e.
 

This and That

 

We're just back from a trip to Buffalo where it was not as hot as it is in Sunnyside. The Beast has taken a liking to raw broccoli, which she calls "trees" so the greens are back on the menu. Meanwhile today is ballet class as the Beast says "I MUST dance."

 

In Texas, Humberto Leal Garcia was executed despite a plea from the Obama people against it.  The Supreme Court blew it. They argued that it didn't matter if there was inadequate representation since the defendent was so obviously guilty. Welcome to America.

 

Mulberry season draws to an end, and we're heading upstate next week to pick raspberries. Meanwhile Ramadan begin in NYC on July 31. The Night of Destiny is August 25. We gave up coffee, sugar, and alcohol last week in preparation for the high holy days. Feeling "clear" as they say out at the Gold Base. Sugar is slavery. 

 

Speaking of sugar, if you're in NYC and you have a bear cub, remember that the public schools are offering free breakfasts and lunches through the summer. Just stay away from the high fructose corn syrup maple syrup.

 

And in the land of homeschooling/unschooling, the Beast's new favorite monarch is Bessie II (replacing Dicky I). Swimming is on the agenda this summer, as is yoga. French at the French Alliance has been scratched, but does anyone know of unschooling/homeschooling French speaking groups in the city? We need something free-range for the Beast. The teachers at the French Alliance discouraged the Beast from drawing blue cherries. What's up with that?

 

In the world of gardening, we're preparing for our August/September/October planting of bok choy, peas, mustard greens, and spinach. The Seeds of Change order is in.
 

 

Peace out people. We'll be back soon. We will be doing some special reporting in mid-August from Asbury Park, NJ, where we're taking a family holiday to see the one and only Bob Dylan. Uncle Evan is coming along too.  Hurray for Uncle Evan and hurray for the Bard.

mulberries continued

 

 

Here's a recipe for mulberry jam.  this is adapted from wildman steve brill's foraging site.  heads up, the mulberries are raining down from the sky.

 

2 cups black mulberries

1/4 tbsp agar

2 tbsp honey

dash of cinammon

dash of nutmeg

juice of 1/2 lemon

ground coriander seeds

 

boil it, mash it, and put it in a jar.  

 

meanwhile we're heading to rhode island to convene with our peops. we were up at the old manse on monday and all is well in the catskills.  toads, chipmunks, cabbage whites, and lambs ears greeted us happily.

 

the beast slept an eight hour shift last night and is currently watching buster keaton and drinking milk from a shot glass.  

 

meanwhile meanwhile in texas, down with governor perry.  please sign this petition: 

 http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-humberto-leal/

 

• Target: Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry
• Sponsored by: Death Penalty Focus

Texas intends to execute Humberto Leal Garcia on July 7 -- even though he wasn't given access to consular assistance and legal representation that could have spared his life.

As a Mexican national, Mr. Leal was legally entitled to seek assistance from the Mexican consulate. Texas authorities failed to inform him of this; instead, the state appointed two inexperienced and under-funded lawyers who failed to challenge the junk science used to convict him and failed to present powerful mitigating evidence that would have saved Mr. Leal's life.

The Mexican consulate would have hired lawyers and experts to assist Mr. Leal. With their assistance, Mr. Leal would never have been convicted, let alone sentenced to death.

Urge the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry to stop the execution of Humberto Leal.

 

A couple notes for the New Yorkers in the audience.  Firstly we're looking to put together a toddler French group. We've been taking the Beast to classes at the French Alliance and it's so yesterday with its rules and not letting the kids run around. We need a free range French environment.

 

Also we're looking for an intern to help out with some Duncan book stuff.  Please contact ljarnot@gmail.com for more info.

 

Peace out, and eat the mulberries. They are free.

 

 

 

to nap or not to nap

 

the beast seems to be giving up her nap.  send back up!

 

meanwhile we made mulberry scones yesterday.  the mulberries are raining from the trees of sunnyside.

 

mulberry scones:

 1 cup oat flour

1 cup rolled oats

 tbsp oil

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

1/2 cup mulberries

1 egg

 

mix it up, bake for 30 minutes, serve with butter.

 

we'll be giving a reading for the academy of american pork chops on thursday night at 6:30 at the arsenal building central park nyc.  we were told to notify our alumni associations and social mediums. word.

 

meanwhile also the linden trees are blooming as are the morning glories and we've begun some vegetable container gardens at one of our jobs. there are soup beans, swiss chard, cucumbers, cantaloupes, and tomatoes.  and maybe some okra.  

 

peace out people. we'll be back if the beast ever naps again.

 

and remember to eat the rich, especially the potential republican presidential nominees and especially especially rick death machine perry.

to the woods

 

we're heading up to the old manse to see the bears, deer, and wild turkeys.  and mousies yes. 

 

meanwhile we enter a new phase of parenting, toddler-care. during the beast's first year we were horrified by sleep-training advice. these days we cringe when we see parents trying to tame their two-year-olds. these young beasts are wild, yes, and they are meant to be.  see further william blake's songs of innocence and experience, or anything written by melanie klein or margaret mahler.  we hear over and over again about this bizarre thing called the "time out", some kind of pseudo-liberal discipline idea, that one would make one's child basically sit in the corner.  really that's what it is.  strange days indeed.  let the beasts run wild we say! 

 

meanwhile also we took our beast to the dentist the other day and the dentist said "does she still drink from a bottle?"  i said "no, she's breastfeeding" and he said "you have to stop that."  i was like hello, are you a dentist or a mother or a pediatrician or a lactation consultant?  actually i just nodded because i've heard this so many times.  let the beast nurse we say! 

 

meanwhile meanwhile, the beast is busy learning the names of the british kings.  she likes king john and harry 6 the crazy baby, but dicky is by far her favorite.  that's richard the lionhearted to you. 

 

and unbelievable, but the duncan book will come into print in the spring. we're in the final heave of production.  looking over some grant applications for the books from 2000 and 2001 we saw the funny reviewer comments from our NEH application.  we were denied funding because "the author does not have a PhD and is an adjunct professor."  (well these days the author is a gardener.)  and another "the author fails to provide a 'theoretical optic' for the work."  put on your theory glasses. right on.

 

speaking of gardening, we just got the go-ahead to do a rooftop vegetable garden at one of our gigs. does anyone know of nyc initiatives funding or tax-rebating co-op buildings for urban gardening, rain water conservation or composting? 

 

peace out people.  and eat the mulberries. they are coming.

Well

 

How odd it is to think of Israel surrounded by angry Palestinians in exile all looming at the borders.  We think of Dr. Freud's line about not understanding why anyone would establish a country in the middle of unfriendly neighbors, but these are not just unfriendly neighbors; these are displaced persons. Let us say Power to the Palestinians.

 

Meanwhile, a recipe for ice cream. It has been perfected:

 

1 1/2 cups cream

1/2 cup maple syrup

juice of one lemon

1 tbsp corn starch

2 egg yolks

 

blend, blend, blend, and then put into a plastic container and duct-tape it shut.  put the plastic container into a bigger plastic container and pack it with rock salt (or course sea salt or kosher salt) and ice cubes.  shake it for fifteen minutes, and throw it in the freezer.  voila, ice cream, and you don't need to buy a fancy ice cream maker.

only gloom
here there's only gloom with this morning's news of americans partying, singing god bless america, whooping it up over osama bin laden's death. celebrating death? the blood lust of "civilization".  civilization? what civilization? as for us, we don't want to watch the news or leave the house or answer the phone. blow someone's brains out and have a blast. think that the world is a better place? american forces are at war on three fronts spilling blood every day. be a wrathful deity. devour your young. take an eye for an eye. go for it USA.

on the H. D. Book

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/241630

 

here's a piece we wrote on the H. D. Book. 

I need an intern

Hey All,

 

We're back from St. Louis where it was warm and bright and Bea had a great time romping through the parks with new kid friends Hazel and Clyde and new chicken friends Sally and Daisy.

 

And now, we're trying to organize our files, books, writing projects, so we're looking for an intern. Location is Sunnyside, Queens. One morning or afternoon a week would be great.  We have not a lot of funds but we can provide lunch, books, and/or poetry tutorials.  Please contact us at ljarnot@gmail.com if you're interested.

St. Louis

 

We're going to st. louis to give a reading. we'll be hanging out with our peops devin, andrea, hazel, and clyde. meanwhile, evan has printed a chapbook for us. this is a collector's edition (100 copies only). get it now or get it not at all. These are newish poems from the last couple years:

 

http://dirtyswanprojects.blogspot.com/p/joie-de-vivre.html

 

we'll be back very soon with news of this and that. the cherry blossoms have almost opened on the oshinko cherry tree of 39th place (matilda of flanders, the partner of william the conqueror who is the japanese pagoda tree on the east side of the street). 

 

by the way, a news flash about william the conqueror: his corpse exploded at his funeral as the bishops were trying to stuff his bloated highness into his coffin.

 

also on an unrelated note, evan reports that dylan's in china.  peace out.