PicoBlog

This February 3rd marks the 53nd anniversary (1971) of the Thiokol Chemical Plant explosion, a disaster that took the lives of 29 people, shattered a community, and led to a frightening Department of Defense discovery. Founded in 1963, the Woodbine-Thiokol Chemical Plant produced and tested rocket engines for Cape Canaveral on their 7,400-acre property near Woodbine, Georgia. As the US space program began curbing its solid-fuel propellant budget in 1965, the plant was forced to explore other avenues in order to make ends meet.

Rich or poor, young or old, black or white, red or blue, financially literate or not, the vast majority of us are financially sick. We save too little, borrow too much, retire too soon, take Social Security too early, and bank on dying on time. Indeed, many of us seem to have a financial death wish. Consider these facts about today’s workers. Three-in-four undersave for retirement. One-in-four has zero retirement savings.

Yesterday I met this juvenile red-shafted Northern Flicker in the high desert of Oregon. Flickers are common, but like all life on Earth, they are in danger. Bird populations around the world are collapsing. Even "common" species like the American Robin have seen massive population declines because of habitat destruction, insect population collapse, housecats, and other human impacts. Flickers are not safe. They face all these impacts. This tree is a Western Juniper, one of several Juniper species who are being clearcut en masse across Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Wyoming, and Montana.

Hello everyone, and happy Friday. How has your week been? We are coming off fall break for the kids, which was TEN days long (but maybe even felt longer). During the break, we went to the beach house for a bit, but spent the majority of it at the farm as a family, and it was so good. Peaceful, relaxing, and just what we needed. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge all the horror that is happening in the world.

Hello everyone! Helen here with a fun field trip. Let’s go to a Toronto “Old Money” neighborhood and spy on their vehicle brands. Ready? Now before you judge the exterior of these houses, keep in mind the housing market in Toronto has been wilding out for over a decade. So the few modest houses you can see in these photos are worth $3 million+. The ones you can’t see are mansion-estates and are hidden behind wooded areas.

What would “The Dude” say? Probably this: “Say it ain’t so, man!” My thoughts turned to “The Big Lebowski” and the bravura performance of the immortal Jeff Bridges, who famously portrayed “The Dude” (Jeffrey Lebowski), when I read last week about the closing of another local bowling alley. If you haven’t ever seen “Lebowski,” a cult masterpiece released by the Coen brothers in 1998, your life has been severely diminished. Go out and find it, watch it.

Photo by Husna Miskandar on Unsplash Hey there everyone— This week I want to talk about the Liberation Health Model. The model has been around for twenty years, but I’m starting to see references to it cropping up all over the place. Because the model was specifically designed to bring a wider social context into psychodynamic approaches to healing, it can be a great way of bringing conversations about structural violence and oppression into your practice, even if you’re new to this way of thinking.

Earlier this week on Bravo’s hit reality show Below Deck Mediterranean, a yacht guest — former NFL player Dominique Easley — requested pancakes from the charter chef, Dave.  “I like it crispy around the edges though, not too fluffy,” Dominique instructed, adding some extra notes about coconut oil and batter technique.  Dave nodded his head, said “yeah” a few times, and then proceeded to serve up a stack of crepes.

Yesterday’s episode of The Handmaid’s Tale was one of the better this season. June is finally free from Gilead—physically at least. The trauma of her bondage there has left her scarred and traumatized, suffering from PTSD and unsure of her place in this unsettlingly safe new world. Read my review of the episode here. One of the biggest hurdles to a return to “normal” is June’s relationship with her long-estranged husband, Luke.