30 Days, Updates & Social Corporatism

I have been walking a lot these past thirty days. I walk to the bank or to the post office or I’ll take the train into Pittsburgh and walk to my destinations. The purpose is to do creative thinking and see my surroundings in a different light. Driving at 65mph does not give you a clear view of your surroundings. Walking two to three miles at a time opens up the universe to you.

I am thinking about buying an electric bike that has a small motor that kicks in when you need it. It would be nice not to have to use a car for short jaunts. I am lucky enough to be about five miles from everything I need. Which is food, books, wine, bank, post office and other random errands that my wife could send me on.

This week I will go out to do some scouting for nature and ambient photography. I’m looking forward to that. Thursday night I will be attending a book reading by a local writer. She is also the writer and teacher of a workshop I attended this past January that got me into short story writing.

As I am typing this my home is filling up with the aroma of butternut squash soup that “E” is making for us today. I will be cooking chili later in the week. There is something magical about aromas filling up a home. Slow cooking, slow walking, slow living; not a bad formula to be productive.


Current thoughts:
The term Social Corporatism has been swirling around in my head. Do we have choices? Is there competition in the marketplace today?

In Pittsburgh if you want to hire a photographer there are at least ten people that I could think of that would be our competition. And you know what? They’re good and they’re also our friends. That seems like a competitive marketplace; collectively you have to be good to stay in the game and your competitors, who are also your friends, help you grow and sustain a business.

I wish I could say that about my cable company or phone company or all of my utility companies that I pay monthly to.

In the healthcare debate the public option is good for the public and it is bad for those bigger than government, which is the Social Corporatism elite. We are a socialized nation. It is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by the corporations and that is not free market capitalism when there is no choice.