Family

Ubiquitous Assimilation

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Laura

What is ubiquitous assimilation?  This three minute clip from the 2011 film, Detachment sums up what it means really nicely.

I am pretty sure that no sensible person can argue about the fact that we live in a period of time where society suffers from ubiquitous assimilation in a way that is scarily similar to the Borg.

As a Tiny Houser, I would like to think that the Star Trek: Next Generation writers were wrong.  The Borg are science fiction characters, right?  Sadly, I don’t think the concept of them is really so far fetched.  I think that most people claim individualism but really, in this society, your distinctiveness is not assimilated into the group; Borgists of the world have their distinctiveness written over, disposed of, like an old floppy disk.

This Borgism applies heavily to the way that we live.  The marketing holocaust reaches into every area of our life right down to how we live.  Really, I would like to believe that we do not live in a world where everyone is not madly consuming stuff.  Taking way more than they need, building huge homes which they cannot afford, filling them with stuff that they also cannot afford… just because advertising, television, and social pressure are telling them that this will make them happy.  Assimilate, assimilate, assimilate… shop, shop, shop… CONSUME!

The crazy that is packed into this doublethink is lost on most people.  I can’t tell you how many people I have heard bragging about the fact that they LOVE to shop… Love to buy… Even LOVE to be capitalists!  Funny but these people never seem that happy.  The seem too busy, too rushed, with never enough time to sit for a coffee.  They don’t have time to enjoy any moments.  They explain that they “gotta get to work, gotta get to the mall… My life is too busy to stop” they say.

Ubiquitous assimilation/doublethink.

I encourage you to consider if any of this post applies to your own housing and/or your stuff collection situation.  Does this apply your life in any way at all?

I am not saying that you should all buy land, build a Tiny House and set up a farm.  This would be as absurdly Borgist (though not as wasteful or consumeristic) as the current big pile of crap in a big house.  When everyone does the same thing it is conformity.  a Tiny House may not fit your NEEDS.  I am not asking you all to mould yourself into something that does not fit you.

The current way of life for most of us in the (so called) developed world is not something that every person should want to do… still, they do it.  What I do ask is that you to consider is all that stuff really making you happy?  Or, is the way you live your life being constructed and ruled by marketing.  Are you living beyond your needs and if so, whom are you are making happy while complying with the ubiquitous assimilation to advertising and consumer culture?

It is obvious, that this constant assault of advertising has created huge social pressure because it has triggered in us the need to do better so that we can be measured by some artificially constructed corporate concept of success.  It is human nature (for most of us) to want to be accepted and looked up to, but are we doing this in a way that is truly giving us a better quality of life?  Are we happy?  Are you happy?

I ask you, have you been Borged or are you still an individual?

Too, if you have just now come to understand that you have been Borged, are you already so much a part of the corporate collective that you can no longer escape it and find your individual route?

Categories: Environmentalism, Family, Open your eyes, Simple living, Stuff, Sustainable living, Writing | 1 Comment

Don’t tell me to stuff it!

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Laura

I am catching up on the Tiny House community while I am in Hamilton and I have the luxury of a full time internet connection.

I found this interview with Dee Williams.  Dee has been living full time in her 84 square foot Tiny House (on wheels) in Olympia Washington, since 2003.

I think that she and I have more in common than having dogs named Rudi… but I have come to understand that we Tiny Housers all have things in common.  I can’t speak for us all, but I have noticed, largely, that we do not wish to participate in consumer culture, we think about what we consume and we try to lead our lives simply and sustainably.  More than once I have heard Tiny Housers speak to the issue of simplification because they want time with those who they care about, more than they want stuff in their lives.

“I think stuff is a huge distraction from your character”  Dee Williams

Categories: Environmentalism, Family, Friendship, Materialism, Off Grid, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny house, View | 3 Comments

Where My Heart Is

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Laura

I am just back in Hamilton and will go this morning to Brewers just as soon as the kids leave for Toronto to see the CN Tower.  It is comfortable here, but I miss THO when I am not there.  I miss the cozy space and the trees around it.  I miss the sounds of the wind and the chatter of the chipmunks.  I miss the howling of the coyotes but most of all I miss my community.

It is not unusual for me to long to be home among my loved ones there.  Even though I don’t pop in to see all of my friends and family every day when I am home, I still know that the potential to see them is at hand.  The truth is that I have never felt that much at home anywhere, except there, at home.  I don’t want to suggest that I have not had moments of comfort in other places.  I had wonderful friends and neighbours when I lived in Germany.  I have friends in Guelph, Finch, Hamilton and other places that I have lived.  Some of my most dearest live very far from me, those in Japan, Jamaica, the UK and my Lithuanian sister friend who is in Germany come to mind frequently. My kids are here in Hamilton area but even my love for them does not make this home for me.

My Hamilton house is small but comfortable.  It boasts conveniences and features that we often take for granted – but I do not have these at THO; It lacks for example: running water, electricity, heat, air-conditioning, a bathtub, a full kitchen, refrigeration, indoor cooking, a washer, a dryer, a bus that takes me to the indoor-farmers market and back without fighting for parking, my writing group is here, and it also has a good bright 9×12 studio space.  It is a nice solid house with a tidy German looking yard and a nice garden, but it is not my home.

Be it ever so humble and not quite done, here is my home.  Here is where my heart is.

Categories: Family, Friendship, Kingston, Nature, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View | 4 Comments

THO and International Relations

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Laura

THO hosted a Tiny international gathering last night.  Three members of our family from Germany and three from Canada along with Hj, me and the four dogs.  It has been a long time coming… my sister was totally surprised, as was I (last week) to see how tall Michael is now.  We both, had not seen him since he was just 9 years old in 2003.  These big distances make for big gaps in our understanding of one another.  It is good to be in touch.

Our dogs were in heaven with all the hands there to pet them.  As well as the possibility of catching a salty potato chip was very exciting to them because this is something which we do not often have.

Unusually, the coyotes were very quiet last night. Perhaps it was the number of people that kept them away?  Or perhaps they had to listen more quietly to understand the language in the cloth porch?

Categories: Cloth Porch, Dogs, Family, Friendship, Ontario, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

Great Lakes

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Laura

My nephew and niece as well as her boyfriend are visiting Canada from Germany, and are leaving shortly for a bit of a tour around the area to see a little bit of the Great Lakes.  Their plan reminded me of Great Lakes song by the band Harlan Pepper.  The video above is not professional, but from 2009 and at the time of this the kids are still in high school in Hamilton, Ontario.

I like the feel of this homespun video, a more professional version of this song Great Lakes is on their 2010 album Young and Old.  I love the setting that they use because it reminds me of my own family gatherings.  You know, there is nothing like sitting on the porch in the summer singing and having a few beer with friends.  I guess, unless it is sitting on a porch on a Tiny House on the Allegany Mountain (part of the Appalachians) and having so much talent.  The whole thing is pretty sweet I think.

I have seen Harlan Pepper play live a few times now, and I am a big fan of what they sing as well as their laid back homey style.  I guess it is odd that I love them so much, given the wide age difference, but the singer reminds me physically of young Bob Dylan; too the lyrics are snappy and while the music sounds new it is grounded in all the music that I love best.  Of course it is not much of a leap that I am a fan of these young musicians.   I think a lot of their charm is that they seem like the kids next door and I guess in my case they really are since my Hamilton place is around the corner from from them.  I don’t know the young musicians but our kids went to the same school for a time many years ago.

While I was thinking about them, I checked in at their website today.  I am mighty pleased, because I notice some movement and think that there may be a new album in the works?  If you like the sound, they have a lot of shows coming up: all in Canada.  If you want to catch them live you will have to get up here to Canada for a visit.

As for my visiting family, I hope that they enjoy the trip North. I also hope that they see the lakes in the way that Harlan Pepper and I see them.  I love Great Lakes!

Gute Reise!

Categories: Family, Magical, Music, Ontario | Leave a comment