Wednesday, August 19, 2009

17-19 August 1955 “Hurricane Diane, and A Break into 2009 for a GOOD Reason”


1955 flood Hurricane Diane was one of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina during the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season. Diane struck an area that had been hit by Hurricane Connie five days earlier. Diane was the costliest hurricane in United States history until it was surpassed by Hurricane Betsy in 1965, and was the sixth costliest U.S. hurricane of the 20th century
55 flood Here is a Connecticut street.
1955 flood PA Here in McAdoo PA Hurricane Diane put the normally dry "Celebration Creek" riverbed well over its bounds and flooded out the business section of the town.
Here is actual 1955 news concerning it:


new yorker aug 6 On a lighter note, this August 6th cover for the New Yorker feels very now as well. The picket fence, the biking, reading on a porch the old shingled house, this could be Cape Cod, though it as well could be parts of the Hamptons. I just thought it very free and easy and ‘in the moment’.
Love_Is_a_Many-Splendored_Thing Love is a Many Splendored Thing opens today. Set in 1949-50 Hong Kong, it tells the story of a married, but separated, American reporter (played by William Holden), who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor originally from Mainland China (played by Jennifer Jones), only to encounter prejudice from her family and from Hong Kong society.
Here is the preview:
The movie was adapted by John Patrick from the 1952 novel A Many-Splendored Thing by Han Suyin.

 
I have been thinking how we modern Americans are very much like our modern economy. We sub things out. We do not produce much on our own but rely on the hard work of others, for a price of course. The decline in farming, for example, in our country is amazing. There is so much production that does not even happen in our own country. What I find really interesting is that basically it appears the unions priced their members right out of jobs. As the increased amounts of money needed to provide all that was demanded from the unions (which over time became, themselves, corrupt governing bodies) were one of the factors in their plants moving and leaving the states.
For example, there are BMW plants in this country using American labor. They are NOT unionized, so the people are given a fair price for what they do and the jobs are there and it helps their community. Somewhere along the way the greed and want for money overshadowed the original intent of the union, which was a fair wage and good working conditions.  Then, suddenly, people expected more and wanted more not realizing how this adds to the price of the car etc. I am not, in any way, forgiving our American auto industry, by any means, but the whole system, our system of greed and unaccountability is to blame. We look around and of course we  say, “How did it happen, it wasn’t MY fault?!” Even the motor corps themselves seem to not be accountable, as they turn to our government for bailouts.
I am sure there was a time in 1955 when an auto worker made a wage decent for his family to live on. Cars were manufactured and he understood his part in the production. Maybe he even felt pride even if he did no more than assemble the latch that rolled down the window. He knew he was part of it, and his pride and accountability of place made it okay. Sure, the Jone’s may have had more, but their father was a doctor, so they could afford it. But, now we expect to have as much as the next guy without the work or reasons he may have more than we do. We somehow feel it is our RIGHT to just have more, so where does it come from?
I am not really sure where I am going with this, but I was just really mad and upset the other day when I really began to think about our country. My hubby is reading a book about Rome near it’s end and we have been discussing the parallels between their mistakes and our own current mistakes. They too came to a point where all things were made outside of their country and brought in. They reduced farming and at one point starved out cities due to that decision. The greed of self-fulfillment of what had once been the well managed early form of Democracy, the Republic, had slowly turned into crooked politicians who were the puppets of whomever had the money. It all sounded very familiar and it just made me angry.
When I look around and think how good we could all have it if we just realized what ‘good’ was. That it is not the latest cell phone and tv and more clothes and emulating reality tv. Your neighbor, your family, even your job, even if it is flipping burgers, at that moment in your life, it is part of an entire system in which you are part and should be proud. Sure, move ahead, go to college, plan to own your own business one day, but even all of that American dream is gone. It is becoming increasingly impossible to follow the ‘own your own business’ dream thanks to Wal-Mart and other such stores. Who can work for the local business, learn the trade and follow in the footsteps when they have to work with all the endless blue vested masses at Wal-Mart?
Even the college dream is becoming a sort of joke. Colleges and universities are becoming nothing but big business. The amount of money needed to attend and the gov. ‘loans’ that cripple the new generations are a joke. They are all set up to make money off the youth as if they are merely a demographic, but they are suppose to be the future generations. And after one spends all that money to get a degree what is their career? Certainly if you are a doctor that is fine, but what about the hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent for the Bach. of  Arts student who has to then work minimum wage to pay down more than the cost of a house! It is just a sick system, and I don’t think I can discuss it anymore right now. Does anyone else feel this way? I have to say, I don’t want to ignore the problem, but I do increasingly want to focus on the world of the past in a way to make my own future better. I definitely do NOT want to emulate ANYTHING modern other than some helpful technology.
Since writing this last bit I was introduced to a film. It is NOT from 1955, but modern. I only watched it because my friend said, ‘don’t wait, watch it now it is very important”. So, I did. Now, I am giving the link to you to watch. It is well done and worth it and if the 1950’s hasn’t changed my way of living, this will.
I realize in 1955 DDT and other chemicals were becoming the norm, but they did not know as of yet the danger. I feel those around then, the level of accountability of people in that time period would not allow what is happening today to happen. I am ashamed of my generations and this world. I do not want to close this post on a negative. I merely want to say, the one modern element of life I am thankful for is computer/internet. It is allowing the power of the press to be returned to the common man. We must know and want to know what is going on in our world and must NEVER rely on ‘regular news programs/tv’. I want, as part of our Apron Revolution, to not only bring back the community spirit, fashion, respect, and self accountability of the past, but I want us all to form and mold it into a new future. We MUST make a new tomorrow of well-rounded people who are responsible for themselves thoroughly and to the point of even their own food!
Perhaps we cannot change the world, but our little portions of it should certainly begin to reflect what we want in life and how we choose to live. There must be no division amongst us concerning differences in religion race creed, etc. We must, we modern vintage women, look to our homes and our heads to make and grow and create as much of our own world as we can. I don’t care if I have to work harder and longer into the night to make my own bread, or even, if it comes to it, buy local grown grain and grind my own flour! I want to know what I am eating, wearing, reading, thinking, watching, reading is an active part of my life. The ease and passivity of the modern world and its situational ethics has sickened me today. Let us go out, though, and make a better world. We will overcome, we homemakers!
Now watch this and give me your opinions.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food

20 comments:

  1. Sick!!! What happened to this country?! Im ashamed to live here and ashamed to be an american and Im ashamed of what the corporations are allowed to do. I AM GOING TO OUR FARMERS MARKET FROM NOW ON! That made me so angry. Can we change it? Will it get worse before it gets better? Im going to try and do my part. Nothing but organics for me and my beau! Thanks for posting the link!

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  2. I know! I am really going to try and get as many seeds in this next year and grow as much as I can and buy as much local as possible and try to make my own bread and english muffins etc, I just need to make sure the flour I buy is not genetically altered. It is scary. I had to immediately retreat screaming back to the safety of 1955.

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  3. Sorry I can't comment on the future of food video because it won't allow screening outside the U.S. yet.

    Us gals will do the very best we can at the all encompassing role of homemaking. I love learning from you. Thanks for spurring us on... We can do this and do it well. Thanks from Linda

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  4. first of all the coverage of Diane was precioüs... soooo dramatic! I wish news coverage were full of that much vim and vigor today! secondly great commentary on rome vs. usa... checking out hulu now... XoOX x<3 üdo

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  5. I agree with everything you said;our food has been a serious issue with me for a long time. There is hardly a day when I am not ranting,raving,and usually raging about food and the direction and emphasis of our current society. Regarding flour: for the last few years I have used King Arthur Flour. It is unbleached,organic, and stone ground in Vermont. Their website is www.KingArthurFlour.com. I hope you check them out and think you will be very surprised; it is an employee owned company. I am able to get it in my grocery store, but am always concerned they will stop carrying it. I watched the entire film and was very pleased to see that corporate sponsorship of university research was included. Independent, unbiased research that is genuinely trying to explore all aspects of the possibilities ends up being buried under an avalanche of Corporate propaganda to promote their "money-maker". It is a serious issue because there is always an agenda to develop that which can be used for profit, LARGE profit. Results are then manipulated and used in a selective manner to present a slick promotion to the public. The History Channel had a program a while back about farmers growing corn who were being sued by a large corporation (probably Monsanto) in situations very like that faced by farmers in the film who grew canola. A patent for genes?....how bizarre can greed be? Hope everyone will check the King Arthur site. Best Wishes Dianne

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  6. Diane that is great and I am going to go check out that site. You can bet when I am settled there will be even more homemade baked/bread products then I can see what goes into all the ingredients. No more shortening for me, I think. I really need to look into every aspect of ingredient I use. Though, rather than it being overwhelming, I think it will actually simplify for me as I will get down to a base or core group of 'ingredients' that I use to make up our menu and food. Now we just buy and eat and it is 'easy' but when I see what is in chips especially corn chips after watching the monsato bit, I mean they use corn in EVERYTHING all sodas and sweetened items use corn syrup NOT sugar. The end result may be me and my family eating better and simpler which can only be good, right?

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  7. PS Be sure to go to the "About" page to find out about the company. Unfortunately, many people aren't aware of small companies like this one. Dianne

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  8. i will never say that i am "ashamed" to be an american, but i do know what you are saying about our current trends/practices/habits. i love this country, but i am sad to see what has happened in many areas due to greed, arrogance, and laziness. i, too, have been trying for years to feed my family in a healthful way. it is very expensive to do so, and i have, over time found ways to save money so we can. on the other hand, i refuse to panic. i know that the human body is extremely resilient and has many safeguards against poisoning. i think our best response is planning, preparing and preserving, but also praying that our efforts are enough. :)

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  9. Kelly- I am certainly not ashamed of being an american, I am ashamed of what is happening TO america. When I find out that people in office are ex-employees of large chemical companies and then retrun to the company and then magiacally return to the government just when they need a lax proposal passed to bypass the FDA it is scary indeed. The level at which the government is run by big business IS scary as it DOES affect health. Also, the bodies 'natural' immune system develops overtime and cannot suddenly, when introduced to say a corn product bio-engineered the week before, overcome a possible allergic or overall reaction in the end to our bodies. ALso, that large companies are taking small farm businesses to court because they suddenly 'hold the patend' on their corn seeds after their family has developed it for years is not only a shame but down right evil. I am just sad because I see it is just not a matter of we ourselves eatting better, but being informed as to what our government is doing and what we are being fed by tv and 'news'. It is all very scary in that sense. Of course, I will move forward and make it a positive, but I think that we homemakers, those with contact with children (thouh I don't myself) have a respnosibility to help to inform the upcoming generations of the actuality of the world as well as what they are fed on tv/news etc. That is what was so upsetting to me. I think the hard part about 'planning preparing and reserving' is if we do so and then inadvertantly eat some corn chips or taco shells that are not lageled with genentically altered products we don't know what we are actually eating, so I guess it comes down to trying to do and make more of your own thing, which can't be bad, right?

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  10. You want to watch something scary, watch to documentary on aspertame/nutra sweet that is on hulu (I think that's where I watched it). It is about how the chem companies bought out the FDA and that is was PROVEN to cause tumors in lab animals BRAINS and cause HOLES in the brains of unborn babies. I will not, under anycircumstances use that stuff.

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  11. i agree with you on all of that. and aspartame is death.

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  12. If you want non-GMO food buy organic or read lables carefully. There are many small farms that are organic in their methods but haven't been certified by because the.government makes it verycostly to do so. Foods that Are Oregeon Tilth certified are better than FDA organic because OT is third pad
    party certified, while the FDA is not. Trader Joes' brands are all non-GMO.

    I hate to sound dramatic but eating processed food is like being a lab rat in this crazy FDA experiment without being told the risks. Has anyone else observed that healthcare costs have risen with the rise in convenience foods? Yes people are living longer and we have more advances but there's a correlation, doesn't it seem?

    S

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  13. You don't sound dramatic but smart. It is up to us to discern these obvious truths. Often, the truth is right before us, but we choose to not see it so we can continue in ignorance. I feel we can be happy and make a nice home and personal environment for our family AND be open to the truth of the way our world is turning. IF we are not aware, how can we go about chaning it. It is also weird to think how the past generations really have been fostered to be 'afraid' of everything and to retreat into our virtual shells, because who will stand up for their rights and ask "why" to the big guys if we are all afraid or blindly thinking how wonderful it all is. I have used the Matrix reference before and sometimes it does seem we are heading that way, but instead of scary aliens using us, it is our fellow man needed us like so much cattle as industry fodder to continually feed their greed. Enough said.

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  14. Thank you for the video. Twenty plus years ago, before GM seed, there were discussions about our food supply. The major problem back then was hybrids. This caused a loss of genetic pooling. Diversified plant genetics may cause "problems" with harvesting, but there should be a harvest! Then, during the 1990's, as the video stated, there was GM seed, only they were called "terminator" seeds then. It horrified me, but it didn't stop.

    1. The potato famine in Ireland was exacerbated by the "Irish death ships/Coffin ships.
    2. There is a another side to DDT. There are many advocates that state that it was the safest pesticide known to man and that it saved many lives. Today, malaria kills many because of its disuse. We never hear about the California Condor anymore. Not very PC, is it?
    3. Medical Biotechnology does _not_ necessarily lead to many life saving products.
    4. Soy products are a problem without GM!

    It is rather scary. I have read more than once, quotes from people in "powerful positions," stating that the way to control people is through food, water, and money.

    I think it was FDR who said that if something happens in the world, it was not by accident. It was planned.

    No Idle Hands

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  15. That's true I remember reading that they stopped DDT in third world countries where it could kill mosquitos that carry malaria and save lives and they didn't. It is all a matter of the truth and finding it out and putting people first before greed. I know it seems counterintuitive to large business to put the 'right' decision before profit but maybe we can someday make a generation that would rather have a good for all approach than a give it all to ME approach. I hope so. We can try one apron at a time, right?!

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  16. P.S. Then there's H.R. 2749: Food "Safety" Enhancement Act of 2009. It passed the House. It is in the Senate.

    No Idle Hands

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  17. I wonder, do you know what it actually covers?

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  18. I watched that film over the weekend - scary stuff indeed! Since it was made in 2004, I wonder if the new administration is handling things any differently.

    I don't think it was conincidence that at a simple living form I visit, there was this following post:

    "Published March 1, 2005. From Cooks Illustrated

    Designed to speed things up at checkout, these tiny labels can also give valuable insight into the origin of your produce.

    The four- and five-digit numbers you see on the stickers of bulk produce items are known as PLU (price look-up) codes. These codes, assigned by the Produce Marketing Association through the Produce Electronic Identification Board, are indeed used by checkout clerks to identify and price fresh fruits and vegetables. But in addition to being used for inventory purposes, these sticky tags also indicate how the produce was grown: conventionally, organically, or through genetic modification.

    Here's how to read the stickers: Items that are conventionally grown have four-digit PLU codes that begin with the number 3 or 4, while their organically grown counterparts have codes that are five digits long and begin with the number 9. For instance, a conventionally grown banana is labeled 4011, while an organic banana is labeled 94011. Genetically modified fruits and vegetables are rare finds but can be identified by five-digit PLU codes that begin with the number 8. For instance, genetically modified bananas would be labeled 84011"

    I'm going to check it out at the grocery tonight! Just thought I'd pass this on, as it ties into the film.

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  20. The four- and five-digit numbers you see on the stickers of bulk produce items are known as PLU (price look-up) codes. These codes, assigned by the Produce Marketing Association through the Produce Electronic Identification Board, are indeed used by checkout clerks to identify and price fresh fruits and vegetables. But in addition to being used for inventory purposes, these sticky tags also indicate how the produce was grown: conventionally, organically, or through genetic modification.Water Damage

    ReplyDelete

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