What I've been upto.

I've been under the weather this week so I'm missing all training apart from essential walking to shops and picking the children up from school. Even without the arthritis flare up (which doesn't stop me training , just makes it harder) has been the worst year of training since Cameron was born almost 6years ago. And I blame him. No really I've had a lot more colds than ever and I think it co-incides with him starting school.

I've been doing a lot more reading and not just graphic novels(super hero comics) and watching hardly any tv. I've recently read a book about world record and olympic meadallist Peter Snell and the world record setter Ron Clarke. The most intersting book was The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is about Eustace Conway. At seventeen he ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from skinned deer before using their sinew as sewing thread. In the years that followed he stoped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, boder challenges: he travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two thousand mile Appalachian trail; he hiked across the German alps in trainers.
However my take is he failed at his biggest challenge and to teach encourage p[eople to simplify their lives and live off the land, learn skills. He was thwarted by modern society and his own vision and high standards and his inability to be flexible. His cause was not helped by being emotionally starved by a father who was constantly diasppointed by him.

In other news I've joined Greenpeace..more info to come.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Food, Inc - edited by Karl Weber

Food, Inc - How industrial food is making us sicker, fatter and poorer - And what we can do about it.

From the back of the book: The movie Food, Inc is shaking up our perceptions of what we eat. This powerful documentary deconstructing the corporate food industry in America has been hailed by Entertainment Weekly as 'more than a terrific movie - it's an important movie.'

If daily headlines about food poisoning, pollution, labour abuse and rampant hunger have left you worried or confused about the foods you eat, Food, Inc provides the facts behind the problems - and shows what you can do to make a differnce.

What I get from the book - The book is a companion book to the film which I haven't seen and it explores the challenges raised by the movie in depth through 13 essays, most of them written especially for the book by lots of different experts. One of whom is Michael Pollan who also wrote 'In defence of food'. The book made me redouble my efforts to buy organic, fairtrade, free range and locally produced. The pinnacle is buying locally produced organics and it isn't always easy. Fruit and veg is okay and meat from Ti Kouka Farm (just bought some lamb). The hardest bit it is seasonal, I know Teresa is missing fresh tomatoes and cucumber but it is New Zealand winter and it is the wrong time of year.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

The Moneyless Man by Mark Boyle

The Moneyless Man - A year of Freeconomic Living( all proceeds of the book go to charity). From the back of the book - Imagine living an entire year without money. Former businessman Mark Boyle did just that and here is extraordinary tale. Article from Guardian newspaper

How do friends and Family react. What do you eat? Where do you liove? How does it affect your social life and relationships? How do you stay in touch with frientds? How do you wash? In this landmark book, Mark Boyle finds out the hardway and , in the process, explores the troubling consequences of our obsession with money. Encountering cuttlefish toothpaste, seasonal foods, skill-swapping schemes, and compost toilets, Mark even travels to Ireland without a penny and faces the unthinkable: a cash-free Christmas.

Following his own strict rules, Mark goes back to basics and learns ingenious ways to eliminate his bills and flourish for free. From making paper and ink out of mushrooms to constructing a rocket stove from discarded catering cans, Boyle puts fun into frugality and reveals some indispensable tips for economical and enviromentally friendly living. Heart warming and witty, The Moneyless Man is a testament to Marks's astounding determination and will inspire you to really question what really matters in life.

My take from the book: A very enjoyable read, re-enforces my belief in living simply, although what he does is to extreme to appeal to mainstream. People think I'm extreme by having one old fourteen inch tv in the house. It does remind me there are better ways of living and we could get by without money but to be honest for most people they can't see past buying stuff and I think it would taken a global catastrophe for people to stop pampering themselves and simplify their lifes. I enjoy living in a house with some heating. It made me think or re-enforce there is still a lot I could be doing and still live quite comfortably in our hoose e.g. replace the water flushing toilet for a composting toilet (Yes they do exsist for houses.)

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Born to Run - The hidden tribe, the ultr-runners and the greatest race the world has never seen.

From the back of the book - Full of incrdible characters, breathtaking, athletic achievements and cutting edge science, Born to Run is an epic adventure that begins with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets out to find the Tarahumara Indians, a tribe of the world's gratest runners, who can run hundreds of miles without rest while enjoying every minute of it.

I couldn't put it down It made me want to run forever, wear minimal shoes, reinforced all my feelings about Nike and other large running shoe businesses. It has reinforced my going barefoot (or very thin soled shoes) despite the pain I am currently in but more about that another time.

Tomorrow another excellent book I read while away - The Moneyless Man.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.