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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

November 22, 2022

No.707: My Mother Culture Commonplace Book // November 2022

“Landscape with Houses on a Rocky Hill with a View of a Plain Beyond” by Jacob van Ruisdael

As you know, I’m a cheerleader for being an active producer vs. a passive consumer and education definitely falls in that active category.  (It takes effort to think/process new information!)  I’m bringing back the Mother Culture Commonplace Book series to share some of the things I’ve been learning.  Here’s what I’ve been reading/watching/listening to lately…

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.


What is Truth?

Hannah Arendt, who studied totalitarian regimes, said as much in an interview in 1974: “If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer.”  But a population that no longer believes anything is robbed of its ability to think and to judge, and ultimately of its capacity to act.  As Arendt says, “with such a people, you can then do what you please.”  These are the ideal subjects – or the ideal opponents. – We Have Been Harmonized: Life in China’s Surveillance State, p.18


The Consequences of Fast Fashion

I’ve never shopped at this particular store, but this is an issue with lots of fast fashion brands.  I also agree that the resale value of these types of clothes is so, so small – no one will pay more than $10 because you can get something brand new for the same price!  I have so many thoughts about this topic (remember when I gave myself a summer reading assignment about this here on the blog?), but that’s another post for another day.


Australia’s Most Baffling Missing Persons Case

The Lady Vanishes podcastI’m in the middle of listening to the podcast, The Lady Vanishes.  A quick description from the website: “Marion Barter, an Australian mother and teacher, vanished in 1997.  She was 51 years old.  The ex-wife of Australian Soccer captain Johnny Warren, Marion suddenly quit her job, sold her house and went to England for a year-long holiday.  Then she simply vanished. For 25 years her daughter Sally has been searching for her.  This is Australia’s most-baffling missing persons case.”

So many questions!  How can a person run away from their life, leaving their family wondering if foul play was involved?  Does a person have a right to start fresh without telling anyone?  How far can an investigation go?  Where does it cross the boundaries of privacy?


Sneaky Little Blue Jays
Blue Jay Print by Trail Bug Prints

This common songbird sure is beautiful with his blue back and soft white belly.  But did you know he has a naughty side?  Blue Jays are known to take and eat eggs and tiny chicks of other birds, sometimes even from chickens!  I went down a rabbit hole about frustrated homesteaders flabbergasted with the continual issue of pecked eggs.  After stakeouts and cameras, they discovered the culprit was none other than a blue jay!  So interesting.  Another fun blue jay fact: crows are part of the same family (the Corvidae).

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Posted In: Mother Culture · Tagged: commonplace book, mother culture

Comments

  1. Laura M says

    December 4, 2022 at 8:18 am

    All of these are so interesting!

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