submitted by Barbara Weinstein

I’m not big on heroes, but Tim DeChristopher is one of mine. Like many other Transitioners, I was first introduced to Tim a couple of years ago when Fourth Friday showed Bidder 70, about Tim’s courageous act of of civil disobedience.

I was excited to meet Tim and honored to help introduce him, and I expected a rewarding January Fourth Friday. But I didn’t expect to be as moved and inspired as I was by the depth of his intelligence, commitment, and spirit. That reaction was echoed by everyone else I spoke to on Friday night, when 130 people packed the UUCPA sanctuary to hear Tim speak.

Tim served two years in federal prison for disrupting an illegal auction of energy rights on sensitive public lands in Utah. Now on leave from Harvard Divinity School, and completing his 3 year probation, Tim’s work continues. He recently cofounded the Climate Disobedience Center to support other activists.

Tim began by describing his experiences, evolution, and current work. On a note about the importance of bringing spirit and soul into the movement, he introduced his friend, musician Brian Cahall, who sang several wonderful songs.

For the rest of the evening, Tim answered questions from the audience. Here is a small paraphrase of a few of his answers (unfortunately, in my words rather than his…).

• We’re well beyond the point where simply working within the system is enough. Civil disobedience represents a fundamental threat to the established order, which accounts its power to influence others.
• There is a great power in being vulnerable, willing to expose oneself to danger, arrest, and incarceration. The climate movement needs to move beyond facts and figures, to do more to engage the intellect, heart, and soul.
• True hope doesn’t mean avoiding or denying the what’s at stake. For true hope, we need to understand that it’s too late to avoid crisis, go through the grieving process and then move on with purpose and energy.
• The Climate Disobedience Center is working to introduce the “necessity defense” at the trials of those indicted for direct action. A necessity defense argues that breaking the law is justified if the consequences of not breaking the law are much greater than the legal infraction itself. Tim was not allowed to use the defense at his own trial. Others have tried more recently, with mixed results. In this context, he mentioned the trial of the Delta 5, which you can read about here.
• About the value of various approaches to direction action, Tim used the metaphor of people trying to knock down a wall. People may push on the wall in many places, but then when someone finds a soft spot, all can come together to push in one place.
• Asked about whether he was a martyr (without having to pay the ultimate price), Tim answered an emphatic no. He doesn’t view his two years in prison as lost. They were different years, spent with different people. And that time helped hone his purpose, set a direction for his life, and define his current work. Without that experience, he wouldn’t have been here with us on Friday.

Click here to see the wonderful photos that Jack Owicki took.
–submitted by Barbara Weinstein

NOTE change in Fourth Friday program for January.  Mark your calendars for Tim DeChristopher in January, Merchants of Doubt in February, and The Yes Men are Revolting in March. 

In 2008, outraged by a plan to illegally sell mining leases near Utah’s pristine National Parks, Tim DeChristopher infiltrated an auction of oil and gas leases on public lands in Utah near Canyonlands National Park. He bid and won several leases, but when organizers realized he had no intention to pay, he was prosecuted and sent to federal prison for two years. 

Fourth Friday fans will remember Bidder 70, the engrossing film that followed Tim’s saga.

Tim was released in 2013 and is on a three-year probation. He’s now in Harvard Divinity School and studying justice movements. He’s also the founder of the Climate Disobedience Center and a leader in the movement to take meaningful direct action to combat climate change and other abuses.

It’s an honor to welcome Tim to Fourth Friday, where he will lead a discussion on Ecological Leadership. Don’t miss this special opportunity to meet, learn from, and get inspired by this courageous climate hero.  It will be a great kickoff to our Year of Engagement and a chance to think about how all of us can step it up and do more for our planet.

When:  Friday January 22, 7:30 pm (come at 7:15 for social time)
Where: Main hall, Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church
505 E. Charleston Avenue, Palo Alto
Directions
Sign up at EventBrite

Musician, artist, videographer, and community builder Herb Moore has brought joy to the TPA community for years.  He’s the guy who plays bluegrass at our sharing events, introduces children to the joys of scrapophony (fun with found sounds), and has recently brought his creativity to video recording of our events. And all this with keen intelligence and an irreverent sense of humor.

Read Herb’s thoughts about music and art as community building…

Music and Art as Community

The role of the arts is an essential component in maintaining sense of personal wellness, community spirit, and cultural continuity.

Traditionally, music, dance, poetry and art have been intertwined in ritual associated with the daily activities of people and their villages and/or communities. For example, there might be a song and a dance for birthing or seed planting and another rhythm and dance to accompany the work of harvest or the grinding of grain. The arts have also traditionally served to archive the history of people and place.

Today we have access to an amazing variety of music, art and culture via sources like the Internet, which can be a wonderful way for us to learn about other cultures, but this can also contribute to a mindset that sees the arts as something separate from our own lives.

I like what Pope Francis has said in his encyclical “On the Care of Our Common Home” concerning culture and the environment, “Culture is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is also, and above all, a living, dynamic and participatory present reality, which cannot be excluded as we rethink the relationship between human beings and the environment.” 

For my part, I’m interested in making some small contribution to that relationship via my music and art. 

In the past I have organized song circles, where folks can share songs or poetry about a particular topic like gardening or peace, or events like Be a Drop in the Bucket to encourage water awareness and to promote the idea of working as community to solve problems.

Of late I’ve been enjoying videography as a way to shine light on activities in my community that focus on rethinking our ways of being. https://vimeo.com/herbmoore

I think the need for greater attention to the health of our planet, “our common home” as Pope Francis says, is of primary importance at this time in our human existence. My philosophy of the role of the arts in that endeavor is pretty much summed in the Dragon Dreams story, and music, I wrote several decades ago.

Dragon Dreams

Long before the time of humans, even before the time of dinosaurs, a great and wonderful dragon flew near the sun. The dragon felt the warmth of the sun and decided, “this is the place to warm my heart”

And so the great dragon took its tail in its teeth, curled itself into a huge ball and slept as it circled around the sun.

As time passed, the skin of the dragon became covered with dust and moisture, and mountains and oceans began to appear on the surface of the sphere that wrapped itself around the dragon’s heart.

The dragon dreamt of many types of plants and animals that came to live in this great land of the dragon’s heart.

After some very long time, the dragon dreamt of a special “human” creature. This creature had many wonderful traits, but the dragon’s dreams became troubled as it dreamt that these humans might destroy themselves, the other creatures and the very land of the dragon’s heart in which they lived.

The dragon dreamt that some of these humans became confused and moved the “H” from the front of the dragon’s heart to the end, thus creating what they called Earth. They seemed to think the Earth had been given to them to do with as they wished.

With our music, dance, poetry, art… our garden … our appropriate use of science and technology… or simply by the way we live our lives, we can sweeten the dragon’s dreams, return the “H” to its proper place and nurture the warm heart of the dragon.

———————————————

See how many words and phrases you can find in the circle of letters in this image.

For 20 years, the Yes Men have staged outrageous and hilarious hoaxes to draw international attention to corporate crimes against humanity and the environment. Armed with thrift-store suits and a lack of shame, these iconoclasts lie their way into business and government events to expose the dangers of greed.

Now in their 40s, their mid-life crises are threatening to drive them out of activism – even as they prepare to take on the biggest challenge: climate change. The Yes Men Are Revolting is as much a character study as it is an entertaining depiction of their latest interventions. Revealing the real people behind the ruses, at its heart lies a hopeful message about fighting for change. Watch the trailer…

Friday March 25 7:15 gather – film starts promptly at 7:30 – discussion follows
Fireside Room, Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church
505 E. Charleston Avenue, Palo Alto – Directions

Thanks to all for making the December 18, 2015 Holiday Party a great success!

A special thanks to those who participated in the discussion about caring for loved ones.

• Peter Ruddock for organizing the discussion.
• Emily Farber from Avendias, for excellent information about services for caregivers and those being cared for. And to Paula Wolfson, who thoughtfully prepared the information packets but was unable to attend at the last minute. You’ll find much more information on the Avendias website, and Emily and Paula are ready to help. Families don’t need to live in Palo Alto to enjoy Avendias services, and membership is optional.
• John Wick, Diane Ruddle, Bart Anderson, and Romola Georgia for sharing their stories with the group.
• To everyone, for telling your own stories.

Enjoy this slide show from the party. Have a great holiday season, and we’ll see you next year!

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The Share Faire team tried something new at the December 13 holiday Share Faire, held at Cubberley Community Center. Instead of lots of things happening at once, folks got to dig deeper, with in-depth classes.

Everyone had a great time, and learn cool and tasty new skills, and got into the action. Many thanks to the teachers!

Diane Ruddle – Homemade Sauerkraut
Tom Kabat – Patching Your Bicycle Tire
Priya Sundararajan – Juggling
William Mutch – Darn Those Socks
Hillie Salo – Seed Saving
Peter Ruddock – How to Make a ‘Cello (limoncello, that is)

Click to learn more about our quarterly Share Faire and how you can get involved.

How to Make a ‘Cello

What is a ‘cello?

Limoncello is a sweet liqueur, alcohol infused with lemon zest, native to southern Italy. It’s cousin arancello is infused with orange zest. In reality, you can infuse alcohol with the zest of just about any citrus fruit: lime, grapefruit, mandarin, tangerine, pomelo, …

Ingredients

• ½ liter grain alcohol, Everclear or vodka

• 3 lemons, 3 limes, 4 mandarins, 2 tangerines, 1 ½ oranges, 1 grapefruit or ½ pomelo

• ½ liter hot, but not boiling, water

• 2 cups white sugar

Recipe

• Zest the citrus into long strips, making sure to get as little of the white pith as possible (the pith will make your ‘cello bitter)

• Put the zest into the alcohol and infuse for at least 48 hours

• Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, to make a simple syrup

• After the syrup cools, mix it with the alcohol

• Filter the ‘cello to remove the zest

• Store in a glass container in a cool, dark place for at least a month

Notes

• You can use brown sugar, but the color of your ‘cello will not be as vibrant

• Use more or less simple syrup to taste; generally use less syrup in alcohol with a smaller alcohol content

• Store finished ‘cello in the freezer and serve it directly from there

• Pour over vanilla ice cream, add to fruit salads, …

Time to celebrate the holiday season at the annual holiday party! Enjoy good potluck food and great conversation.

AND…
At some point, most of us are called on to provide care for loved ones – or be cared for. We’ll talk about what’s involved in caring for others, the challenges and rewards, and how our community can help.

Some pix below from the 4th annual Squash Party Dec 5, which celebrated the season, and all the delicious food you can make with the rich varieties of winter squash available from local farms.

At the November 17th Craft Night, all gathered round to work on a new Transition Palo Alto sign for the Share Faire and other events. Old catalogs came out, and everyone got into the spirit of ripping out pieces to reuse in a BIG new sign. The work is still in progress, so you’ll probably have a chance to join in at the next craft night.

Check out this cool video that Herb Moore created of the September Share Faire.