Ear Candy: WTJU

Just heard this as a part of their rock fundraising marathon:::



uh huh. good call.

Stream it from here.

Ear Candy: The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart opened for Dr. Dog yesterday at the Jefferson, and totally won me over.

It looked like they were having a great time and putting a lot of love into what was happening on stage. The violinist's sparkly outfit didn't hurt their cause. Signing up for their e-mail list above is going to get you a couple free tracks.

Ear Candy: The Outfields

because it's Friday. That's why.

Eliot Coleman Speaking at UVA

So I remember the first time that a friend mentioned Eliot Coleman in passing - assuming I knew who he was - and the following surprise and animated explanation that followed when I told her I had no idea who she was talking about. Eliot Coleman is one of those people who does that to others; he's so inspiring that it becomes hard to imagine un-reading his books, and un-knowing about the exciting contributions he's made to agriculture.

And he's speaking at UVA Feb 13th. The event is free:::


details.

So my shorthand on Eliot Coleman is that he's a year-round organic farmer in Maine who uses unheated greenhouses, and wrote a wise, helpful book for beginning farmers The New Organic Grower that covers subjects like soil fertility, crop rotation, and factors to help you determine what an appropriate scale might be for starting your own operation. His books are incredibly readable - and so his gift to organic farming is not only that he's so knowledgeable, but that he also knows how to share this with others. More on him here.

He's also going to be speaking at the Virginia Association for Biological Farming conference. Details on that here.

Everybody be nice to him while he's visiting. Let's try to make sure he comes back often. [Hands in. aaand-break!]

Lucky For Us

"…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are."
— Pema Chödrön

Photo by Deodato Pangandoyon

TEDxManhattan: Changing the Way We Eat

So I just got a heads-up from Charlottesville's Eat Local listserv about the food-focused TEDTalk style event that is happening this weekend in New York. Representatives and leaders from FoodCorps, the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program, Slow Food USA; the producers of King Corn and An Inconvenient truth; and other folks you can read about here will all be giving talks.



Can't make it to New York? Me neither. You can stream the talks online from this link or go to a viewing party. There's one happening in Richmond - it's free but they're looking for you to RSVP here.