Michael Levin's Blog (509)

Hello all Zoobirds! I'm back from Ireland and Scotland. It was a good trip. All went well until Saturday. I somehow caught a bug on the plane back and have been feeling sick until now. Who knows what caused it. I've been eating rice and chickpeas under strict orders from my doctor. And, sleeping a lot. I think I am better today...but I am going to take it slow. Meanwhile, there's nothing stopping me from writing!



Today is a special day. It's the Jewish new year,…

PS - I hope we see her here in Zoobird! That's…

Some of you know that I once lived in Ireland. Well, the next entries you'll get here will be from Eire. I'm going back to the Emerald Isle tomorrow for the rest of the month.

Donal O'Hare's place is one stop I'll make. Donal is a tree specialist with the Republic of Ireland. You see me with his dog, Sparky, at the top of beautiful Wicklow Mountain in the photo above. I'll tell more about Donal and his work in the…

Hi Shmal! I sent you a shot of the garden I took yesterday and you replied:



"Looking at the garden makes me feel that I'm still there."



The earth was very soft and easy to work with. The weeds came up pretty well. I am…

Robbie, my vegan friend I met at the NW Hostel in Portland with his friend Gabby, who I hope joins Zoobird, has taught me so much about healthy food. Gabby has, too!…

My garden has kale, collard greens, lambs quarters, garlic chives and sweet potatoes. Since I started gardening, my overall well-being has dramatically increased. As a result of eating organic vegetables, my health has definitely improved. I've lost weight. My eyesight is better! I love to garden. Plus, I have met so many interesting and friendly people at the McRorie Community Garden. No negatives. It's a lifestyle change for me. Now, I look at every meal as an…

Thanks to Zoobird Dana for sending us this…

A piece of the earth in a community garden to call my own! I was so excited. I thanked Maura and my mind filled with thoughts of how nice it was to be given the opportunity to join a community garden. I thought about what I'd do with my 20 by 2 foot strip of earth. And, I took more pictures. Then, I hopped on my bike and rode off.

As you know, my passion is travel. It opens the mind. It forces you to think beyond the normal bounds of everyday life. Travel opens…

Dear Sh'mal,

First of all, I want to thank you explicitly for bringing me into this beautiful world of organic gardening and all that surrounds it. Yes, I found the McRorie Community Garden on my own while wandering around SE Gainesville on my bicycle looking for the Hawthorne Trail.

And, yes I had gotten a start before I met you by talking with Daniella and Maura, our garden administrator. But, as you recall, there appeared an obstacle in the…

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art practiced worldwide as a form of exercise and meditation. It is an effective strengthening technique that is gentle to the joints and muscles. No special equipment or setting is required. There are a series of movements that comprise the Tai Chi exercise. They are easy to learn. There are many free resources that will assist you in learning the movements. I recently borrowed a DVD from the library that demonstrated 37 Tai Chi movements.…

Here's a message from Sh'mal that he said I could share with Zoobirds. This came after I sent him the beautiful shot of McRorie Community Garden at sunset you see above.

"Michael, how much more nostalgic can you make my life than by showing me a picture of that corner of the garden, or maybe a corner of this planet, that has been an integral part of my life for the past few years? It is my life. All…

I dropped by Indigo yesterday and had to snap this shot. I love the caption "Help Yourself". You see, it's the underlying intent that people notice. My friends at Haile Village Bodywork, here in the Swamp, introduced me to the concept of qi (or chi), which is the energy attribute that tai chi refers to, the energy that we get from good conversation, it's energy!

And, people notice these things. I notice the tone of voice used in…

I recently visited Chris, a good friend in Houston who has moved into a neighborhood in the Heights graced by a Mexican grocery called La Michoacana. La Michoacana has a wonderful produce department.



I found some chicken there that would go well with Mojo.





What's Mojo? It's a marinade commonly used with chicken and meat, veggies and poultry before cooking on a bar-b-que. The ingredients include lemon juice, black pepper,…

There's some buzz about a new game called Spore. Remember The Sims and Sim City? Remember Life and Risk? Spore is a computer game that lets you create a creature and nurture it through stages of evolution. You can create your universe by making vehicles, buildings and spaceships.

What about our own world? Now, there's some real fun and challenge! Why pay to play the game when you can do the real thing.

So,…

The UC Davis School of Entrepreneurship is planning a 5-day workshop on green technology:

The Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy invites science and engineering doctoral students, post-docs, and research faculty to spend a week learning to recognize, develop, and bring to market green businesses built on their…