Comments for The Common Tone http://www.commontone.net Ever notice that some of the best discoveries, the clearest thinking and the best discussions take place in coffee houses or with a hot beverage in hand? While reading this blog take the chance to relax, drink something warming and be. While you’re here put your over-active brain to rest and let the moment wash over you. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:09:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 Comment on The Virtue of Food by Rushan http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3316 Rushan Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:27:10 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3316 It is true that food, or more accurately, the preparation and sharing of food, has lost its place at the center of our lives. Very few people cook these days and many consider taking a frozen, pre-packaged meal and zapping it in the microwave to be the same as cooking. Food has become something you grab on the run/on the drive from one place to another. It has become all about convenience. Food is so much more than the consuming of something to provide sustenance. A large part of the appreciation of food comes from the selection of ingredients, the slicing and dicing, the minute adjustments of flavours and the fragrance of cooking food as it pervades the house. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend "The Supper of the Lamb" by Robert Farrar Capon. He is an Episcopal clergyman who is passionate about food. In the first chapter of this book he leads us through a slow and deliberate meditation on peeling and chopping an onion. Talk about cooking as prayer! I wasn't going to go into all that, but I did. I guess one of the questions we need to ask is why food (and everything around food) has become such a "hassle" in our (post)modern society? Isn't this phenomenon a symptom rather than the disease? Should we not be challenging the systems that have allowed this to happen? It is true that food, or more accurately, the preparation and sharing of food, has lost its place at the center of our lives. Very few people cook these days and many consider taking a frozen, pre-packaged meal and zapping it in the microwave to be the same as cooking. Food has become something you grab on the run/on the drive from one place to another. It has become all about convenience. Food is so much more than the consuming of something to provide sustenance. A large part of the appreciation of food comes from the selection of ingredients, the slicing and dicing, the minute adjustments of flavours and the fragrance of cooking food as it pervades the house. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend “The Supper of the Lamb” by Robert Farrar Capon. He is an Episcopal clergyman who is passionate about food. In the first chapter of this book he leads us through a slow and deliberate meditation on peeling and chopping an onion. Talk about cooking as prayer!

I wasn’t going to go into all that, but I did. I guess one of the questions we need to ask is why food (and everything around food) has become such a “hassle” in our (post)modern society? Isn’t this phenomenon a symptom rather than the disease? Should we not be challenging the systems that have allowed this to happen?

]]> Comment on The Virtue of Food by Nick http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3310 Nick Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:14:14 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3310 It's only a "hassle" because food has lost its place at the centre of our lives. It used to be (and still is in many places; Austria and Italy for example, for the most part) that our lives were planned around the getting and preparing of food. People would go shopping every day, or at least every week, preparing their meals on paper ahead of time to know which ingredients to buy. It is this loss of food as a grounding point, in terms of health, economics and society which I think is detrimental. The idea of food as a "hassle" is exactly the ideology which proves my point - that food has taken a back-burner (excuse the pun). It’s only a “hassle” because food has lost its place at the centre of our lives. It used to be (and still is in many places; Austria and Italy for example, for the most part) that our lives were planned around the getting and preparing of food. People would go shopping every day, or at least every week, preparing their meals on paper ahead of time to know which ingredients to buy.

It is this loss of food as a grounding point, in terms of health, economics and society which I think is detrimental. The idea of food as a “hassle” is exactly the ideology which proves my point - that food has taken a back-burner (excuse the pun).

]]> Comment on The Virtue of Food by Richard http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3308 Richard Sat, 07 Jun 2008 10:28:45 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3308 The challenge is that today "slowing down" and choosing to buy products and services locally is often very difficult. Globalised consumption is made easy and cheap for us (that's one of the reasons it's so successful). So to opt out of the system takes a concious decision, time, effort and extra monetary cost. Are the benefits worth the additional "hassle"? I would say yes, but it's sure hard to buy locally when the supermarket is open 24/7 and is just up the road. The challenge is that today “slowing down” and choosing to buy products and services locally is often very difficult. Globalised consumption is made easy and cheap for us (that’s one of the reasons it’s so successful). So to opt out of the system takes a concious decision, time, effort and extra monetary cost. Are the benefits worth the additional “hassle”? I would say yes, but it’s sure hard to buy locally when the supermarket is open 24/7 and is just up the road.

]]> Comment on The Virtue of Food by Nick http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3304 Nick Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:57:43 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3304 That's fantastic! I really believe that there is a strong movement starting, but it still has a long way to go against the monolithic ideologies of the current system. Particularly in the farming industry itself where it is "easier" to spray on pesticides and herbicides... That’s fantastic! I really believe that there is a strong movement starting, but it still has a long way to go against the monolithic ideologies of the current system. Particularly in the farming industry itself where it is “easier” to spray on pesticides and herbicides…

]]> Comment on The Virtue of Food by Rushan http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3303 Rushan Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:53:49 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/06/06/the-virtue-of-food/#comment-3303 Good post. This is one of the main reasons why our church has started hosting farmers' markets in the winter. We hosted one last winter and 750+ people turned up to shop (and something like 20 local farmers brought produce to sell). Members of our church are also becoming vocal supporters of the slow food movement (www.slowfood.com)which is working to "...counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world." Good post. This is one of the main reasons why our church has started hosting farmers’ markets in the winter. We hosted one last winter and 750+ people turned up to shop (and something like 20 local farmers brought produce to sell). Members of our church are also becoming vocal supporters of the slow food movement (www.slowfood.com)which is working to “…counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.”

]]> Comment on Transcending the Transcendent by Will http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/22/transcending-the-transcendent/#comment-3301 Will Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:53:56 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/22/transcending-the-transcendent/#comment-3301 I agree completely. I believe that anyone who scorns so-called 'classical' music is seriously missing out. If you have given it a serious chance and then come to the conclusion that it is not for you, then fine. This type of music has lost none of its poignancy over the centuries. It does something for me that rock, or jazz or rap simply doesn't. It is a shame that CBC is crippling its programming by changing Radio 2 so drastically. Is there any recent news on that? I agree completely. I believe that anyone who scorns so-called ‘classical’ music is seriously missing out. If you have given it a serious chance and then come to the conclusion that it is not for you, then fine. This type of music has lost none of its poignancy over the centuries. It does something for me that rock, or jazz or rap simply doesn’t.

It is a shame that CBC is crippling its programming by changing Radio 2 so drastically. Is there any recent news on that?

]]> Comment on The Analogy by Richard http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/20/the-analogy/#comment-3241 Richard Wed, 21 May 2008 18:10:57 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/20/the-analogy/#comment-3241 Bob may have to decide whether he has any positions on his moral compass that are 100% non-negotiable. If the answer is "yes", and greenwashing falls into this category, then he probably can't accept the job offer. But to answer the question, I think most people would say that Bob has responsibility to all life. Even the most committed capitalists and businessmen know, deep down that there is more to life than shareholder value and growing profits. Bob's decision is "inconvenient" because it involves consideration of and perhaps compromise with the values and goals of other people... given that we are social animals, we generally need to work/live with others, so ultimately most things in life are "inconvient". We could examine the social/anthropological structures that humans develop to mitigate this inconvenience, but that's another post altogether... Bob may have to decide whether he has any positions on his moral compass that are 100% non-negotiable. If the answer is “yes”, and greenwashing falls into this category, then he probably can’t accept the job offer. But to answer the question, I think most people would say that Bob has responsibility to all life. Even the most committed capitalists and businessmen know, deep down that there is more to life than shareholder value and growing profits.

Bob’s decision is “inconvenient” because it involves consideration of and perhaps compromise with the values and goals of other people… given that we are social animals, we generally need to work/live with others, so ultimately most things in life are “inconvient”. We could examine the social/anthropological structures that humans develop to mitigate this inconvenience, but that’s another post altogether…

]]> Comment on Complications by Rushan http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/16/complications/#comment-3235 Rushan Sat, 17 May 2008 15:27:19 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/05/16/complications/#comment-3235 This is something that needs to be read when one has some time to think. I'll do that and post a comment soon....hopefully. This is something that needs to be read when one has some time to think. I’ll do that and post a comment soon….hopefully.

]]> Comment on What if I know? by Richard http://www.commontone.net/2008/03/23/what-if-you-know/#comment-3123 Richard Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:46:31 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2008/03/23/what-if-you-know/#comment-3123 Nick you're one deep mother. I'm still not sure exactly I know what his post is about. The easy thing to say would be to ignore the expectations of others - and do what leads you to happiness so long as it isn't illegal or harms others/the world. But we're social animals, and what others think of us matters to us - it's called empathy and if you're not aware of what others may be thinking/feeling, that makes you a sociopath/psychopath. The expectations of others will influence us throughout our lives, unless we decide to become hermits in the woods somewhere. The art of living, I guess, is finding that balance between what we know most deeply fulfils us and our need for the love/respect/contact of others. Sometimes we'll disappoint people because we run off and do something they dont want us to do. Sometimes people will love us for doing stuff we hate doing. It isn't a tradeoff or a conflict, it's just something we negotiate every day as part of being human. Peace Nick you’re one deep mother. I’m still not sure exactly I know what his post is about.

The easy thing to say would be to ignore the expectations of others - and do what leads you to happiness so long as it isn’t illegal or harms others/the world. But we’re social animals, and what others think of us matters to us - it’s called empathy and if you’re not aware of what others may be thinking/feeling, that makes you a sociopath/psychopath. The expectations of others will influence us throughout our lives, unless we decide to become hermits in the woods somewhere.

The art of living, I guess, is finding that balance between what we know most deeply fulfils us and our need for the love/respect/contact of others. Sometimes we’ll disappoint people because we run off and do something they dont want us to do. Sometimes people will love us for doing stuff we hate doing. It isn’t a tradeoff or a conflict, it’s just something we negotiate every day as part of being human.

Peace

]]> Comment on Not the best… by Richard http://www.commontone.net/2007/12/29/not-the-best/#comment-2850 Richard Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:43:09 +0000 http://www.commontone.net/2007/12/29/not-the-best/#comment-2850 Interesting post... I guess my position is almost the opposite, but my thoughts about 'home' are the same. I grew up in a large-ish city (Auckland, pop. 1 million), and currently live in a small provincial city (Oxford, pop. 100,000). But what I miss about Auckland is the intimacy of my circle of friends and family, and the tightness of the music scene there. Everyone knew everybody, and even bumping into NZers over here you tend to be able to find a mutual connection back home. Just because a city is big doesn't mean it loses its humanity. We always say that Auckland is a small town masquerading as a big city: it's actually a pretty relaxed place where everyone would rather be fishing, sailing or having a BBQ than at work. Interesting post… I guess my position is almost the opposite, but my thoughts about ‘home’ are the same. I grew up in a large-ish city (Auckland, pop. 1 million), and currently live in a small provincial city (Oxford, pop. 100,000).

But what I miss about Auckland is the intimacy of my circle of friends and family, and the tightness of the music scene there. Everyone knew everybody, and even bumping into NZers over here you tend to be able to find a mutual connection back home. Just because a city is big doesn’t mean it loses its humanity. We always say that Auckland is a small town masquerading as a big city: it’s actually a pretty relaxed place where everyone would rather be fishing, sailing or having a BBQ than at work.

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