Cool book, My Brother! Where's the rest? I'll betcha Michael's holding you back again, isn't he? Hey, wait a minute! Am I insulting Michael Herman, or Michael Maranda, aka Moriarity? Love RicH

It's 32 pages. It's all there. The first link, not the wiki. It's all on the wiki as well, but not put together in any kind of way yet. So the first link. And it's Maranda. :-)

Interesting story.

Note that much of the story is probably not accessible to blind (or visually impaired) people.

Maybe as it gets built out more, something could be done to improve that (e.g. create an "audio book").

:) nmw

What a great book, Ted. Thanks for sharing it. I am not sure how to make the story Thai ;-)

Norbert, this book only has one physical copy. It could be read aloud to blind folks, if they were in the same room with the book. Now that it's online, people that aren't phsically in the same room as the book can benefit from it. If you'd like to make an audio book, I'm sure we could put it online. That woud be fantastic!

Thanks for reading it, Linda!

I agree!!

!!! ;D nmw

very cool, ted. it's so funny, the "simple" things what we "forget" in a civilization premised upon "need creation."

one of the things i love are curb give aways: come Spring, you can drive around almost any village or town here in Vermont and folks will have stuff they want to get rid of out on the curb. Its a great way to keep goods in rotation, and sometimes meet people too!

something that is kinds cool in our little town, is that many of us have "perfected" various dishes, so its nice to rely on each other for them. books, movies, and children's clothing circulate quite a bit too.

anyway, thanks for the pointer :)

I absolutely love this book. Thanks so much for recommending it.

Glad you like it, Lars and Susan. Let's be like Vermonters! :-)

if we did better on wind power i'd say, "sure!" hope you can make out this way; you'd be most welcome chez nous.

That was a terrific book; First time I ever saw a one-of-a-kind "artist's book" photographed and made available online to a wide audience. Intriguing idea and very interesting book...kind of an urban "Giving Tree" story.

Teddy,

WE gotta talk (760 words).

I went to the link you put and read the rest of this almost totally kick ass book.

I love you, My Brother, and YOU know that I do. I KNOW that YOU love me too, so I feel like I can talk to YOU as I would any family member. "Unless he wants to be a recently deceased family member."

The book's idea and the sentiments are wonderful, but it endorses poverty and violence in many ways that we can no longer afford -- anywhere -- at ANY price. The humyn race cannot continue to pay for ANY amount of divisiveness. It has already cost US too much.

I know it was just a book, but on the other hand, Mein Kamf was just a book, as well. Books inspire US to do great things, they can cause US to do great evil, as well; think of all the harm done in the name of OUR Good and Holy Books!

This is in many ways an US versus THEM book. Every time, US and THEM go at it the people living in-between get robbed, raped, bombed and otherwise discombobulated. Lady Justice shooting arrows into the drunks by the river is a murderer, not someone defending her turf.

There is NO fucking turf anymore. Every one of US, who is not extremely isolated knows that WE live on a tiny fragile ball with only the one gang. I mean, one family.

This tiny green ball, OUR little one family, one planet, is ALL WE got, as you well know, and it is divisiveness not pollution that is killing US and OUR planet.

I volunteer with convicts inside. Every convict is a father, brother, sister, mother, son, daughter. Every convict and every slain person anywhere is a human being with friends and kin. Every victim AND every victimizer is friend and kin to me. WE must grieve for every part of the main, that we lose and celebrate every inch we save.

The avenging angel in that book is NO different than the men and women who put IEDs in vehicles, or attach bombs to planes. THEY ALL need a wake up call. The killing HAS to stop.

I don't have many absolute rules, but that is one of them.

It is not okay to kill, even in self-defense, though I am not condemning self-defense. So don't none of YOU righteous butt-heads get your frillies in a knot.

A whopping 82% of ALL convicts say that they were either drunk, or high when THEY committed their crime. Research supports this number and suggests that it might be underreported.

Lastly, the rowdy hooligans killed by the side of the river could be any person on the planet who has ever drank a little too much. Could be ME or YOU at any given time, cept I ain't had a drink in 26+ years and not expecting to have one soon. WE cannot kill people for being drunk, crazy, or dangerous. What about the one who has the cure for cancer, or will save my child's life even when he is half-drunk?

With respect to Steve Fugate, who is probably walking right now and won't see this, I can see lots of situations where I could do something to end myself up in jail, or murdered by being rude to the wrong woman. More likely the husband, or boyfriend would kill me, but I would still be dead.

Even using men not known to the disappearing town, or from WalMart nation, as an example is misleading. Most victims and victimizers live in the same neighborhood. Many times THEY live in the same household. As you probably know, most women are slain by husbands, boyfriends, dads, or brothers here and in Muslim countries.

WE have to worry about those closest to US first. How WE do that is by loving THEM. By becoming closer, not more distant.

I do not wanna disappear. I want ALL of you, and those in the WalMart nation, to hold me in your hearts like the rare treasure that I am. I am the Walmart nation. I want to hold ALL of YOU in my own heart.

Children must be taught to hate. They start out knowing how to love. Love is OUR natural state.

WE, as a humyn culture, are in an extremely sick, unnatural state, but killing off the most of US will not make the new culture better. The new culture will only teach itself to kill better and then it will discover that it recreated exactly what it tried to change.

I'm very happy that people have read the book. I do not defend any parts of the book, or even the whole book in any way. Criticisms of the book are wonderful! That's what free expression is all about. I love it! I really like that people care enough to engage. That's awesome! And I love that people are both living their lives, and attempting to inspire others to live lives with meaning.

Live Somewhere.

What an amazing opening. Very inspiring to me. How many of us can say that we've had the experience of really living somewhere? This book has inspired me to make my next move my last. More important than the place I move to is my attitude of permanence when I get there. This whole "community" thing is a long-term project.

I recently read Robert Heinlein's book The Cat That Walked Through Walls or something like that. The main character advocates quick executions for rudeness. While I 100% endorse RicHie's call to end the violence, and I don't at all agree with capital punishment for drunkeness or rudeness, I do find both instances of this literary device to be appropriate and thought-provoking. I very much respect those of you that disagree. I'd love it if you would show up in Pete's neighborhood and engage him in dialogue while working side by side in the community garden (I ran into him there yesterday) or by the river bank.

peace all,

ted

Thanks Ted for drawing attention to this. Wonderful.

ted said:

I'm very happy that people have read the book. I do not defend any parts of the book, or even the whole book in any way. Criticisms of the book are wonderful! That's what free expression is all about. I love it! I really like that people care enough to engage. That's awesome! And I love that people are both living their lives, and attempting to inspire others to live lives with meaning.

YOU weasel. I'm gonna "engage" ya in a dialog sure enough, while holding onto your hair. And I ain't gonna come all the way to Chicago to garden with a coupla nitwits.

Live Somewhere.

What an amazing opening. Very inspiring to me. How many of us can say that we've had the experience of really living somewhere? This book has inspired me to make my next move my last. More important than the place I move to is my attitude of permanence when I get there. This whole "community" thing is a long-term project.

I can honestly say that I "Live Somewhere." Not only do I put down roots, but I contribute to the best of my ability.

I believe that most people do the best they can wherever they are. THEY just don't know what to do. WE need to focus OUR energies on making living well rich and easy for them. Make lives available to THEM that are worth living.

I recently read Robert Heinlein's book The Cat That Walked Through Walls or something like that. The main character advocates quick executions for rudeness. While I 100% endorse RicHie's call to end the violence, and I don't at all agree with capital punishment for drunkenness or rudeness, I do find both instances of this literary device to be appropriate and thought-provoking. I very much respect those of you that disagree. I'd love it if you would show up in Pete's neighborhood and engage him in dialog while working side by side in the community garden (I ran into him there yesterday) or by the river bank.

When I used to drive in New York, I developed the Coup de Grace squads to deal with non-driving human beings.

Any time some rare idiot cut US off in traffic, which occasionally happens in New York, members of the Coup de Grace squad were allowed by special permits to produce a Coup de Grace card and hand it to the other driver.

Upon receipt of this card the offending driver would exit the vehicle and kneel down. At which point, the member of the Coup de Grace squad went mercifully deliver a bullet to the brain. WE used to joke about this at parties and about how it worked to strengthen community, what with ALL them bodies to be carted off.

I ain't no saint.

I love Heinlein and I understand Pete's "literary device" in its context. I don't support the death penalty under any circumstances. I no longer get to make those kind of decisions for others.

MY only JOB here and in meatspace is to make sure that violence is addressed in ALL of its currently acceptable forms, so that WE all might work on different alternatives.

Does your response signal that it is okay to have that dialog here?

I'm happy to have a dialog here. And, I didn't write the book. And, I believe that any minute Pete spends in front of the computer is a crimer against humanity, so I won't be inviting him here to dialogue with us. Maybe you'd like to make your own version of the book? If you do, and it's online, I'll print it out and give it to Pete. If it's on paper, send me a copy, will you? Obviously if you're not in favor of disappearing, your title and theme will be different, but would love to see more of your art.

ted said:

I'm happy to have a dialog here. And, I didn't write the book. And, I believe that any minute Pete spends in front of the computer is a crimer against humanity, so I won't be inviting him here to dialogue with us. Maybe you'd like to make your own version of the book? If you do, and it's online, I'll print it out and give it to Pete. If it's on paper, send me a copy, will you? Obviously if you're not in favor of disappearing, your title and theme will be different, but would love to see more of your art.

YOU silver-tongued flatterer. YOU tempt me like the devil, worse than a woman! I don't need Pete to come online, or to argue with your tiny little butt. WE in different weight-classes, My Man. Just pass on my comment. Pass back what Pete says. Take your time. Harvest some cabbages and new potatoes. It's okay to talk back.

Where do WE go here at p'omidyar to talk about violence anyway?

And what's up with these new Quote and Reply buttons? That like search and destroy?

I guess OUR military gave up search and destroy tactics after Vietnam? Or did they just rename them: Rebuilding Schools and Recruiting Police in Iraq?

I'm sure that is off-topic. Where is Norbert? Our Lord Norbert, must have some kind of slick search thing that points out to Him whenever I use His name in vain? The devil on one side, Norbert on the other.

Where's the deep blue sea when ya really need it?

Thank goodness for RiCHie, my man! You always give us something provocative to chew on. I have nothing witty to add, just thank you...oh yeah...and one more thing:

RicHie, I like your style. I don't actually know Pete very well at this point, but I hope to spend some time with him and the cabbages and I'm sure we'll talk more on this topic and then I'll report back here. :-)

By the way, for those thinking doing all the drawings is too much work when you make your own version, Pete's original version was handwritten in a book without drawings. Bobby made the drawings later.

RiCH - are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'...??!

Michele Lifshen Reing said:

Thank goodness for RiCHie, my man! You always give us something provocative to chew on. I have nothing witty to add, just thank you...oh yeah...and one more thing:

That's really scary, Mitch!

Michele Lifshen Reing said:

RiCH - are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'...??!

Yeah, I'm down! The last one I made was madness, but the result is a lifelong keepsake. Talk about collaboration!

Those who are non-artists, got NO real idea how difficult collaboration can really be.

Actually, it might be easier for "non-artists" to collaborate.

After all, when you get into visuals, it can get rather muddied up by the subjectivity and individuality which are pretty much synonymous with creativity.

Let's face it, everyone's got an ego, but the egos of artists are, shall we say, a wee bit more delicate...

I was agreeing with what you said. I might have twisted it around, but I agree: Artists are hell with their wee egos.

The only folks who I know are worse are writers, carpenters and Quakers. YOU can just about give THEM up for cooperation, consensus and collaboration.

THEY not sensible like YOU and ME!!!

At least carpenters are lucky enough to get blueprints.