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By Ben, 12 October, 2014

Zen and the Art of Jim Henson

Years ago, I taught an informal class where I gave a quick summary of the plot of Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (which has never been made into a movie) and then made the case that Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal is in fact a movie adaptation of it. Since I know a number of people who have found Z&AMM too difficult to read, here is the breakdown:

By Ben, 21 September, 2014

Super Plant!

It was the early summer of 1999. I had been living in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis for a year, following graduation from Grinnell College. I was working part-time for Twin Cities Free-Net and spending the rest of my time absorbing the many opportunities the Twin Cities had to offer. I was volunteering with the neighborhood organization (SSCO), among other places.

By Ben, 4 May, 2014

Niagara Falls

In 2014, we celebrated our 5th anniversary with a trip to Niagara Falls, both the New York and the Canadian sides of the river.

See an album of photos from the trip!

Tags

  • travel
  • photos
By Ben, 15 March, 2014

Build me Up, Buttercup

It was the first week of March, 2008.  I had taken the train from Fairfield to Boston for my first DrupalCon.  The weather was cold and rainy all week.  I was staying in a big, institutional hostel that felt very much like a YMCA.  They even provided flip-flops for the showers ... I'm guessing there had been a problem with athlete's foot!  It wasn't homey, but it was affordable.

Tags

  • travel
By Ben, 27 February, 2014

Flavor not Found in Ordinary Ground Turkey

When I lived in Fairfield, Iowa from 2006-2008, I had two options of veterinarians to bring my cat Simon to, and I chose the holistic one, only partly because he was closer to where I lived.  Simon had had a lot of trouble with bladder crystals living in the Twin Cities, and I knew it was from the processed food, and I wanted some help choosing something less processed.

Tags

  • pets
By Ben, 19 February, 2014

Picking up the Gantlet

(I originally wrote this article as a submission to PermacultureNews.org, but decided it would be better as a blog.)

I don't know about you, but I was really shaken by Peter Harper's insightful critique of permaculture last summer, “Permaculture: The Big Rock Candy Mountain.” It has caused me to rethink the way I approach my urban farm, at least for the coming year. Let me explain.

Tags

  • permaculture
By Ben, 20 January, 2014

How not to welcome guests to your home

Yesterday, due to a miscommunication, my parents came to visit a week before we expected them.  They were only passing through for a few hours, so it wasn't a big deal, but it reminded us of a time a few years ago that makes a much better story...

Tags

  • pets
By Ben, 1 January, 2014

Newyearsletter 2014

Here's our annual newsletter and accompanying photo collage from January, 2014!

Tags

  • newyearsletter
By Ben, 16 December, 2013

Why I'm a top Pocket user

I got an email a few days ago informing me that I'm in the top 5% of users of a service called Pocket -- I've used their free service to read more words on more Web pages than 95% of their users.  This is a totally unpaid and unasked-for endorsement, but chances are you haven't even heard of this service, so let me introduce you to why I use it so much:

Tags

  • reviews
By Ben, 1 January, 2013

Newyearsletter 2013

Here's our annual newsletter and accompanying photo collage from January, 2013.

Tags

  • newyearsletter

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All content of this site is copyright © Ben and Jessie Stallings. Please do not use without permission.

"Blue Boat Home" is the name of a UU hymn by Peter Mayer, about how we are all travelers on the Earth. We have his permission and blessing to use the name for this site.