it's starting to maybe become a bit more clear that a part of the problem in detroit - not the whole problem, but a part of it - is that it's lost in a state of social development that marx (or engels) called utopian socialism. they're essentially lost in ignorance and for that reason lack the ability to govern themselves, but i guess that's what happens when you stop funding the school systems.

throughout history, socialism has usually been "utopian" in this way, in the sense that it is small-minded, insular and focused solely on what is directly in front of it. and, because it comes out of desperation and poverty, it centers itself around religious institutions, or whatever functions as a religious institution in the relevant culture.

i am not a politician, i'm just an astute analyst. i observe, i take notes - but i watch from the sidelines, i don't participate. i'm neither a leader nor a follower but an observer; i'm outside the crowd, aloof, and unable to exist on a social level that can lead.

but, my very marxist analyst is that detroit is ripe for strong, focused and scientifically leftist leadership. you'll have to fight with the religious bureaucracy when you get here, but the people here seem to know that socialism is what they want - they just don't know how to do it.

i'll repeat that.

community gardening = latte liberal hipster bullshit.

broadly speaking, the united states does not have a problem with food production, but rather has a problem with food distribution. in fact, the united states has a problem with over-production - you produce too much food, and you waste tonnes if it every day. we waste a lot of food in canada, too, but at least we maintain some concept of supply management (although this is under constant threat).

in that sense, community gardening is kind of a solution without a problem, and i would consider it to belong to a list of upper class bourgeois liberal do-gooder policies that are more about feeling good about yourself than doing anything substantive.

it would be more worthwhile to fight for common ownership of the actual grain basket.

and, i would argue that you're doing a better service to the planet and the community by planting a tree in your yard then you are by planting food in it.

it's a judgement call, but, broadly speaking, i would probably refuse to eat urban produce, if i knew it was urban produce when presented to me.

the thing with farming in the city - and especially a city with such an industrial history as detroit - is that the soil and air you're growing in is very likely to be contaminated and polluted. if you grow in dirty air and/or dirty soil, all the pollution will get stored in the plant; if you then eat that plant, you'll get sick from the pollution that it sucked out of the air. so, if you want to set up a carrot garden in your front yard, you need to understand that your carrots are probably going to be pulling in automotive emissions from the atmosphere and sucking up centuries of industrial waste from the ground. if your city has ever had acid rain, you want to think twice before planting in your yard.

it's not that the farm out of town doesn't have the same problems, on a lower scale, it's that they understand that it's a problem and do regular testing for it. you probably just don't have the resources or know-how to make sure you're doing this safely, but if you do then power to you. but, please understand what you're doing, and the risks you pose to the people that you're feeding if you don't. if you just start growing randomly downtown, those vegetables could very well end up as concentrated carcinogenic poison, in addition to being carbon sinks.

my suggestion - and i've made this over and over again in public spaces - is that you should leave outdoor growing explicitly for carbon sinks, meaning trees and non-edible plants, and that if you want to do urban farming then you should keep it to a controlled, indoor environment with fresh soil and minimal access to outside air. greenhouses are a bit more of an investment and require a bit more upkeep, but if you're doing this for the quality of the food then you should try not to be stupid or hypocritical about it.

in fact,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachmaninoff_(vodka)

and, before you ask the question, yes - the best way to see rachmaninov is shit-faced drunk.

...because he was one himself.

that said, i am fully aware that americans tend to ruin rachmaninov by converting his angry, drunken russian romps into posh bourgeois slop, but we'll see how well they do soon enough.

ideally, you want to listen to rachmaninov in a bar full of rowdy people, and not in a concert hall full of snobs. but, i can behave for a few hours. promise.

i've pointed this out before - americans have a big problem with walking. they seem to think it's medieval, or something.

 

where are all my virile, fit gay boys at? c'mon. it's literally around the corner. what's the point? you bros don't even lift, do you?

we should be marching to ferndale and back, dammit.

so, i'm not marching across the street. it's symbolic, sure, but rather silly, in truth.

i actually took an unexpect nap this afternoon and ended up staying in tonight. that means i get to take the long option for tomorrow. and it is long...

the actual event at the plaza is just over-priced drinks and bad music. so, i'm going to be a good queer and get some actual culture in and do this instead, tentatively:

11:00-12:00 - windsor poutine festival. cost of food. riverside marina, windsor.
13:00-15:00 - akropolis pop-up. experimental classical music. free. dequindre cut.
15:30 - 16:30 - belle isle dance performance. ambient music. belle isle nature centre.
16:30 - 17:00 - exploring belle isle for the first time on a bicycle.
18:00 - 19:30 - having a beer or two somewhere in hamtramck.
19:30-22:00 - facs. no wave art rock. free. painted lady.
22:15-00:00 - oozing wound. thrash pronk. $10. sanctuary.
00:15-02:00 -  ufos on the floor. experimental techno. free. high dive.
03:00-07:00++ - "after thots" queer dance party. free. eagle of detroit.
++07:00-11:00--  ?
--11:00-14:00 - hangover brunch. free (+ the cost of food, presumably). detroit shipping co. 
15:00-18:00 - rachmaninov/bartok/paganini. legit high art. $15. dso.

catch me if you can.