Southern

I am southenrn but not a redneck. Country but not a Farmer.
I say yes mamn and Yall
I know how to skin a catfish and catch a bream
I'm Swampwise and a Simple Man
I'm boastfull and proud but not prideful
JM

What can be more Southern than to obsess about being Southern?"
--Elizabeth Fortson Arroyo

Being Rushed

Murphy seems to sit down in the way of my path when I am rushed. This morning I am not rushed. I am sliding into today nice and peacefully.

my motto should be slow and low

as the bahamian driver said we have 2 speeds slow and stop

have a good day
its worth it

JM

a redux

Redoing the Blog again:

Thought for the moment

If you blog it it will happen. Blappin

Ethopia

Ethiopian-backed troops are in "complete control" of Somalia's capital after fierce fighting, the PM says. (BBC News)

The 1st thing I remember about ethopia is the (84-85) Famine. I think most of us remember the images on tv. Of course for me I was a youngin so I saw it recapped. I'd say it is one of the events that led america to wake up to africa and the things that were going over there.

Ethopia

Ehopia BBC Profile

connection

In 1652, the first enslaved Africans in North America were brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands off the coast of the Southern United States. During the 1700s there was a thriving trade bringing slaves from Sierra Leone to the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia, where their rice-farming skills made them particularly valuable

There is an ex rice plantation now that is a natural reserve appx 10 mins north of the house I was raised in in brunswick.

The Conflict is over (see you later)

The history: (via the cia)
Civil war between 91-2002. It resulted in tens of housands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people. The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces,




The facts:
Life Expectancy: male: 38 Female 42
Population Below the Poverty Line: 68%

The country has begun the task of reconstruction, reconciliation and consolidation of peace:

Main exports: Diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish

The Peje West Coffee Farmers Co-operative (PWCFC) is a member owned and operated non-profit organization of local farmers who grow cash crops such as cocoa, rice, kola nuts, and coffee. After a decade long war in Sierra Leone, these farmers committed themselves to working together to rebuild their broken communities in an effort to collectively shape their own destiny.

As a result, these traditional farmers have organized themselves into a farmer's Cooperative. They should see their first real harvest in 2006, with the hope of exporting their produce to roasters abroad.

http://www.lionmountaincoffee.com/

my thoughts:

That said. After seing the movie trailer for Blood Diamonds I began to learn abotu LS. So what happens when the conflict is over. What do we do when places such as SL are moved to the back of the (hot) list. Will SL be forgotten? Or will they be given a chance to flourish. As far as their coffee to my best of knowledge there are no places that offer a SL Coffee. SL coffee has been hard to find information about. Its an arabica bean and is probably in some blends. I can't wait for one day to taste this rarity.

Whats in a name

Whats in a name?

Nike, Coca-Cola, Harrar, Sidamo, Yigarcheffe the last three are names of Ethopian Coffees. I consider the Ethopian coffee the best coffee in the world.

Ethiopian government launched a project to get legal ownership of its fine coffee names—Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harar. By owning the names, Ethiopia will be able to occupy a stronger negotiating position with foreign buyers, capture a larger share of the market value associated with those names, and protect the reputations of its brand names.

Oxfam GBs a development, relief, and campaigning organisation that works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. says Starbucks is hurting Ethiopia's coffee farmers. The country hopes to make more money for its coffee farmers by trademarking the area's legendary coffee beans. Many in the U.S. coffee industry, including Starbucks, say the Ethiopian plan is naive and will hurt the farmers.

Starbucks denied being behind the blocking bid by the U.S. National Coffee Association (NCA) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). (MSNBC)

“We have heard from a number of sources that actually Starbucks was involved in alerting the U.S. coffee association to block these applications,” the charity’s Jo Leadbetter said.
It “stinks of corporate bullying” she told the BBC.


So there you go. Trademark your beans. I think its a good idea. And in case your curious about this wonderful coffee
Cafe campesino offers an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Medium Fair Trade Organic coffee for sale.

I see this as a great way for the suppliers to get the buyers to meet them in the middle and provide more to the growers

A few Facts about Ethiopia

Life expectancy at birth:
male: 47.86 years
female: 50.24 years (2006 est.

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.5 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 120,000 (2003 est.)

I want a story to tell

Go west young feller and tell me a story.
But Pa I don't have a story to tell
don't worry son, at the end of the age you will have stories to tell
times will come when you will be captivating
when the hills will listen to you

I seek a story to twinkle your ears
to lead you into a captivating discussion
when will my bones grow old and my thoughts become reflective
when will death beat at my door and my store be finished
not to soon now, my story is just beginning

Me and Grandaddy

Me and my Grandad at his house in Pavo, GA. I would say that He is one of my heros. His name is Ed Cone. Grandad had a stroke a few months ago but is recovering. This was before that. I just found this picture and wanted to share it.

Thoughts from Earl

Thougths from My Name is Earl:

Think local. Spend 5 mins a day doing something benifitial.

We can't fix everything but we can help fix something. There are a lot of problems in the world. But there are also a lot of people to help.

Simple Idea I know. But if we step outside the (me, myself, and I) ideas that rule our days and lend a hand, or a smile, or pick up a piece of trash, or put a cart in the rack, or hold a door, or pay for a neighbors groceries, or share a cup of coffee, or tell somebody Hello how are you doing and give them time to respond and give yourself time to listen a connection will be made and a change will come

Connections. We can become dis-connected easily. With our nets, and pods, and muzacks, and isntant world. When Jesus said love your neighbor, this some of what he ment. Allow yourself to be useful to help others. And I garantee you just as Earl your karma will return to you

Those who give receive

JM

Top Coffee Producers in (2003) / Issues

Brazil (Rainforest exploitation,unequal income distribution)

Columbia Hotzone Conflict: 4 Decades of Civil Conflict, Between various Right and Left wing Para groups, Poverty, Ally of Washington

Vietnam: communist state, produces cheap coffee to drive down market prices, (world trade issues), fare trade/wage issues.

Indonesia: Sunami Relief. Reconstruction in these areas may take up to a decade

India: nuclear weapons state, ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife

Haiti

In 1715, the Jesuits started coffee cultivation in Haiti.

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST HAITI (1991-1994)

Since 2004, the U.S. has disbursed $352 million in assistance. These funds have been provided
But still as in other places. Haiti remains the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world.

archive of the Hatian Hotzone


http://www.haitian-bleu.com/

JL Hufford Haitian Bleu Fair Trade Coffee

Haitian Bleu® coffee is produced exclusively by over 25,000 small farmers, members of the FACN federation of local cooperatives and owners of the Haitian Bleu® brand name.

Using coffee to help people

I had this idea a while ago.

I'm deeply troubled by the things in uganda. Its probably top on my list. As far as conflict areas. The 1st time I heard about it, something just hit home. I wasn't sure what I could do. There are the organizations such as one.org or the others like that. But sometimes I wonder if the money gets to the people. So my idea came from coffee. I thought about ugandan coffee after looking to the map and seeing that uganda borders kenya. I've had keynyan coffee. its pretty good. So I wondered about ugandan coffee. Which I've never seen for sale or had. But I am a fan of single origin african coffees. here are some facts about it (most of what I did not know).

Robusta coffee is indigenous to the country, and has been a part of Ugandan life for centuries. The variety of Wild Robusta Coffee still growing today in Uganda's rain forests are thought to be some of the rarest examples of naturally occurring coffee trees anywhere in the world. Uganda has the unfortunate circumstance of being landlocked, and needing good relations with its neighbors to move its coffee crop to a port city. Coffees from politically unstable regions, especially East Africa and the 10-year civil war in Uganda, bring up ethical issues. But the plain fact is this: coffee is a cash crop. It is grown by 300,000 small-holder farmers in Uganda. It is 95% of the Ugandan exports and 2,800,000 people rely on it for a livingSo here is what I thought.

Many of us are coffee drinkers, and also care about uganda. So you could support the ugandan economy by buying coffee. Which would put money into the peoples hands and help their situation and also have some good tasting and feeling coffee. Its like the whole teach a man to fish. Free money is great but it want change things.

Anyway I found this company http://www.thanksgivingcoffee.com/ they have fair trade certified (important for coffee growers) organic (important for the earth) and they offer ugandan coffee called Mirembe Kawomera "Delicious Peace" Coffee.

Thanksgiving Coffee Co. donates $1 from the sale of every package to the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative http://www.mirembekawomera.com/coop

So thats my idea. There are probably other fair trade ugandan coffee sellers (sweet marias sells bulk green beans) So hypothetically this could Connect caring people to areas that need our help and support their economy by buying their coffee at fair prices and educating ourselves about their problems and solutions.

I'm not sure where i'm going to go with this idea, (maybe an information type website) maybe give free ugandan coffee to coffee shops and explain to them what I'm doing. But thats that. I felt the need to pass this on.

Also Desmal had an art show about Oxaca Mexico and the termoil that is going on there, so I found a seller of oxacan coffee and passed it onto him there are other conflict areas that are coffee producers.

So this is my idea to use coffee to help people in need. I guess this also goes with a new movie that I just hearsd about http://www.blackgoldmovie.com It seems to speak of the global concerns associated with coffee.

The thoughts of old

There was a nice corner lot that I passed on my way to work. It had some pines on it but it looked like a great place to have a picnic. I never got to have that picnic. It now has been sold and the tractors are there clearing the pines. I can now see the store through that lot which I used to not be able to.

The ironic thing to me is that pines are not native to georgia. so somebody planted them there. Say 100 years ago. Now they are gone again.

At what cost will progess lead our town into a surburban bypass? Why must people build new stores instead of filling the empty ones? At what point will progress change the character of this place into another booring strip mall. Theese are hard questions. I'm part of the progress. My workplace used to be a forest. We have the spiders to proove it. The trees left the spiders stayed. One day this will be gone and the spiders will probably still be here.

seeing the lot cleared I guess put me in a thinking frame of mind. Or maybe i'm a tree-hugger. lol

also Geldof in Arica, a documentary was on tv last night. I cought some of the ned of it. If your interested in africa and the human condition its a great film. This guy has been trying to help that place for 20 years. So thanks bob.

Lets Start with the Name

lanier801. When I first moved to statesboro (years ago) I lived on Lanier Drive Apt 801 in College walk. It was a studio apartment, which was about the size of a bedroom. It also had a murphy bed. I had a tv with rabbit ears and internet, but that didn't work all the time.

monologues: I like movies a ton. So I enjoy a good monologue especially in the Kevin Smith fashion.

Coffee: Its one of my passions. There is something amazing about coffee. From the local shop and how it was the muse for things such as newspapers and elections. To the global economic trends of the mnc's and local fair trade farmers.

Art: I am an artist. I keep telling myself that and one day I will believe it. I enjoy photography and I'm learning as I go. I also have vocal training and used to play Baritone Horn.


Politics: What can you say. This is a crazy world you live in. You've got to stand up for what you believe. I like reading the paper and watching the Sunday news shows.

Love: I'm engaged to Heather. I love her deeply But also I love life. There was a time where things were not so good and I had a lot of depression. These days I try and enjoy life to the fullest. I have given myself the title of a gourmet. Its part of my love what you do attitude. My grandfathers nickname was happy. I think some of that has passed onto me.

Faith: This is probably the most confusing and interesting part of my life. I fall under the Christian dogma but Its more deeper and personal than any church could teach. I am part of a small church and I enjoy going. But basically I believe in something greater than myself and I think that it (God) has a purpose for my life. I also try and follow the bible as close as possible

So that's what I try and make this thing (blog) about

I looked over the mountain

and what did I see?

Just returned today from a few days in the hills of Cherokee NC. I took many images. 3 film worth. I wen't low tech this time with 2 disposable cameras and a double exposed lomolito that i'm going to get crossed processed.

It was fun to shoot from the hip. We will have to wait for the results. Hopefully sooner than far. There were lots of conversation time with my dad and uncle jim. Also a lot of good eats and good drinks. It made me realize how much I love conversations. But more than that how much I love listening. Thats something thats hard to do on the net (listen). So my challenge is to listen more each day. Type less and talk more. And also new film is on the way. So my challenge is to produce. And stop slacking. I want to create a Long Exposure nightime black and white series. . I have a tripod now so that will be easier to do. We will see what happens. Those thoughts are in the beginning stages.

Its nice to have a bit more muse thanks to the camp trip. I hope it lingers

Hope all of you are well

JM

A new book

"Cameras take Pictures Photographers Make Pictures"

Tom grimm

Thank you Camilla

Georgia ethanol plant may be running by 2008

Camilla-based First United Ethanol LLC (FUEL), a group of agri-businessmen from South Georgia is heading this operation

I remember in Middle school we learned that Corn can grow in every county in Georgia.

I heard a blurb on the radio about this. And then I found the article. This definately something we should support. So thank you Camill and (fuel)

JM

Pacifist

pac·i·fism

1. The belief that disputes between nations should and can be settled peacefully.
2. Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes.


Peace is not a 4 letter word.