Forgot to mention, sometime in the past few days the shit creek running past Smart and Final dried up. Gone without a trace. I have no idea how they pulled it off, unless that tubing they were recently installing on the west side of the road was actually a continuation of a much longer line that already existed east, going towards the mountains, and the sewage now sneaks underground into the ocean, or even (gasp!) receives some processing beforehand. Or, it could be that somewhere upstream, the flow was diverted to run into the stream that crosses Benito Juarez between the Rosarito Beach Hotel and Rene's restaurant. In whatever case, it's going to be nicer to walk that stretch of road without the smell of the sewage combined with that nasty perfumed detergent that the Mexicans seem to think is so goddamned wonderful. I just had to leave the cafeteria at the hotel because they started swabbing the floor with that disgusting chemical.
I'm going to start working on a book, tentatively titled Starving the Machine, subtitled Preparing For and Kickstarting the Postconsumer Economy, here in this blog. Here and there will appear paragraphs as they bubble up to my consciousness, and later I'll organize them into chapters. So here goes...
Showers and baths: in a large part of the so-called civilized world, people frown upon those who smell of sweat, not to mention urine or excrement. Women in general avoid such men, and men crack jokes about smelly women. Taking daily showers and wearing after-shave or some other perfume is practically a requirement for getting laid. I have lived long enough in the desert to see this as the bourgeois fantasy that it is, a huge waste of water and source of a constant flow of soap into the lakes, rivers and oceans of the world. When you see soap suds washing up on the shore, you are witnessing the result of all those clean bodies of people and cars that fill the streets of your city.In the first place, soap is unnecessary. You can get clean enough with borax, which contains no surfactants nor perfumes. Perfume is unnecessary, and makes many people sick (not to mention the poor fish). The strongest deodorant I've ever used is pure baking soda. It lasts up to two days, and then you can simply rinse under your arms and your genital area, and reapply (actually, I don't use the baking soda on my balls -- if anyone gets close enough to them, too bad). In fact, I think these are the only two consumables, besides dental floss and food, that I ever buy. I mix them 50/50 and keep them in a cloth or plastic bag. Though one does not contribute to the cleaning power, and the other doesn't contribute to the deodorant effect, it's easier just keeping one bag. I've mentioned before how a container of white powder freaks out law enforcement officials, and don't need to double their suspicion.
About the dental floss: this is the only thing you need to keep your teeth and gums healthy. No toothbrush nor toothpaste is necessary. Mouthwash? Forget it. Use your fingertips and scrape the top of your tongue, then spit. Between that and the removal of rotting food particles with the floss will eliminate about 90% of your halitosis; drinking a cup of coffee or, better, mint tea will mask whatever's left. Slosh the liquid around and force it between your teeth. Of course, it's better to floss at night also, so the acids generated during the breakdown of the food don't have as much chance to wear down the teeth, but sometimes I forget, and in any case a single flossing never seems to get everything.
Use the borax/baking soda solution to wash your clothes. Add clorox if absolutely necessary. In the city you can use a laundromat; in the desert a bucket will suffice: let them soak in the solution for a while, then wring them out and hang up to dry. It probably won't hurt to leave the solution in the clothes as they dry, but I usually use another bucketful of water to rinse them; at the same time I'm aware that this is an unnecessary waste. It's like when driving, everyone going faster than I is a reckless maniac, everyone driving slower is a brain-damaged fool causing collisions. We are all part of the problem, only at different levels, and we need to keep working at minimizing the damage we do to the earth. Worrying less about how people smell is a step in the right direction.
This is part of what I teach, for $1000 per day, in my Red Pill course. My blog audience will receive it for free. Most people will scoff and insist that I pay them to read my drivel; that's OK. It's here for those who are ready for it.
last updated 2013-01-10 20:37:35. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com