Awesome socks, books and music!

Aaah, the excitement of finishing a sock. The toe is the best part - you know you're almost there, the rounds get shorter and shorter, and before you know it the sock is on your foot. Of course, there is still another one to knit :o)


There seem to be elections everywhere this week, so I thought I'd add a couple of my own votes to some great music and books. The above book, The Fall, has my vote for Book of the Week. The sub-title is "The evidence for a Golden Age, 6000 years of insanity, and the dawning of a new era."

This is a well-researched book that explains the type of culture that existed in "pre-civilisation" times (matriarchal, peaceful, artistic, close to nature) and then goes on to show how things changed (patriarchal, warlike, material). I haven't read much of it yet but the summary on the back promises to suggest action we can take to return our society to a state of harmony.

The sub-title should, I think, be "It doesn't have to be like this"! It is very apparent from my reading with the children (Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer) that the last 6000 years have been a period of one war after another, male domination and oppression of women, children and nature, constant fighting for power, land, wealth. All in all, a miserable state of affairs, but one which I hope we can change by not accepting that it is normal or natural for human beings to live like this. Why can't we return to a time of peace, co-operation, equality? I can always hope.


My exercise this week has been on my rebounder (mini-trampoline) and following the yoga poses in this book. Some of them I can do and others are more challenging, but I enjoy trying. I especially love the Salute to the Sun (video from YouTube below)...

You can do this one any time, anywhere, and I usually do a few in a row, as I find I get more flexible with each one. It really makes the energy zing!

While I was on the rebounder, I was listening to my current favourite music - Afro Celt Sound System. This stuff is effing brilliant - a fusion of African drumming and Celtic fiddling, great vocals, a beat to make you want to get up and dance. I borrowed all three CDs that I could find at the library and I wish I had more.

I just found a video of one of my favourite tracks - it's called Release and features Sinead O'Connor's voice.

Well, a long post, but lots of food for thought. Enjoy the music!