Barry > Recent Status Updates

Loving this book. So interesting exploring the intersections and challenges of DIY in the context of anarchism and punk. At points I have reminisced about places and my role in anarchist punk DIY culture and those 'what came first' discussions. Inspiring and thought provoking in equal measure

Really enjoying this. Especially the critique of punk as part of neo-liberal ideology and its contradictions. Also really appreciate how anarchist punk engages outside the 'West' for instance in aparthied South Africa, during and post right wing dictatorships in South America, or with authoritarian communist states. Really thought provoking.

Just reading the Foreward and Introduction I feel such a strong resonance to this book. It may not reflect my current identity, but it absolutely taps into my values and thought processes for how it engages with the world, exposing punks limitations and contradictions with anarchism, whilst absolutely reaffirming the culture's value and vehicle for spreading anarchism.

I love the little nod to Old Mother Shipton here ('Mother Ursula saw in visions...') I am sure there are tons of little things I have missed in this but glad I spotted this one

Also thinking about how whilst this has some heavy themes of racism, class and gender there are also moments of beauty in here.

There are parts of the book that made me harken back to my youth and it's dangers and freedoms. I see some don't like Rowena and Halim, but they are both so young. Rowena's choices are meant to challenge us.

There is so much to notice in this book. It's like an intersection of Britain's past and present with a warning for a near future. A post-Brexit 'pastoral' reimagining that is dark, insular, unpleasant. A mix of folklore and border obsession. Of a landlord class and hyper casualisation in a climate change world

Really enjoying this and it's very readable. Ambitious for a first novel too, but finding the dialogue and characterisation a bit frustrating. Not sure how I feel about how the ethics and politics are expressed too

There's a lot of good learning in here but holy fuck it centres the US as the world's good guys fighting evil. Apparently the US defeated the Nazi's in WWII. What is wrong with Americans and their superiority complex?

One thing I REALLY appreciate is how Hobb makes it so easy to pick up where the last book left off. So many sequels in series assume the reader finished the first book yesterday. It feels quite a skill to acclimatise a reader quickly that I don't see so often

There is something incredibly ugly about the tone and language of American business literature, even if the ideas are interesting.

The authors continually show their attitudes to be gross.

At some point I am certain a load of my ratings and reviews disappeared off here. I am sure I have read most of the Rebus series but the app is only showing three read. Started reading this and about a third of the way in of this collection I go 'oh yeah, have read this'!

I love the metaphors in this book. Thinking about the Three Sisters of corn, bean and squash, and replacing intellectual monocultures of science with polycultures of complementary knowledge. It's a beautiful book

Very important comment about having decision makers in co-design teams and how more generally the people who make decisions are removed from design processes, requiring the thinking shared on a document for approval!

Taking time for listening, learning and curiosity is important. It's not a nice to have. I wonder how little this actually happens. Thinking wider about relationships and how they need to be nurtured.

Understanding systems is relational, not theoretical or academic. Yes!!!!

'Failed ideas make great compost '

'Sitting in the dark waiting for something to happen' - great quote about being in the grey and being with emergence

Part 1 is brilliant. Love the observation about selective listening - the org I work at does this all the time (and also doesn't know what people say). Love the myth busting section too, and those of power. The section on indigenous codesign is superb, and I would extend much of this thinking wider. Recognise i need to know more about trauma informed practice, but good to see strengths highlighted here

Love the exploration of power and privilege, beyond some of the more obvious areas. Also enjoying reflecting on my experience of the term 'lived experience' (already people use this to other people rather than include). The power of love is important. People look at me weird when i say love guides me at work but it's important. What do we care about and why?

There is so much i can write about this, about the anxieties of 'home'. But ultimately Nevill fucks you up with shocks time and time again.

Nevill gets to me every time. An incredibly harrowing first chapter, then bang - meet the nice family and their little girl. He captures that sense being unwelcome in a place. Felt if you're the wrong class, wrong colour, wrong age...

Getting annoyed with this now. This last third is evangelising for blockchain financial markets. It's interesting, and I can see the alternative here. But it is promoting free market capitalism without property, and essentially saying 'people's good nature will invest in random stuff and we'll ignore the impact of less tax and environmental damage'. Deep flaws in here

The book isn't anarchist but does try to redress sharing benefits of labour outside of property rights, hierarchy and wages. Where this fails is the collaboration points idea does not take into account exisiting resources entering a collaboration. By having more resources when one starts it would lead to more inequality

Love the observation that rules undermine human interaction, and also that no-one is 'safe' in a hierarchy. Looking forward to reading about collaborative ownership

The committment sessions to support non-hierarchical collaboration are probably a good idea, but I have this impression of 'Maoist self-censure' which isn't what the authors are saying. I am imagining these sessions to be really difficult in the environments I work in, which I guess is the point. The reason this feels hard is because this work is hard

There are some interesting ideas in this book but it's so hard going at times. I really don't like the fictional example that weaves through this and the young people in it. I'm finding I really don't like them, and there is something about the tone in here I'm not sitting with well

Not a book about anarchism or systems thinking but there is tons in here to reflect upon. Particularly the link of property and assets as a source of war and conflict and the need to think in terms of utility. A lot in here about non-hierarchical and decentralised existence

I like the concept of 'the relationships between people are our greatest asset', rather than 'people are our greatest asset'. Convinced much work is a series of conversations and interactions and therefore the quality of those relationships matter an awful lot

Sometimes this book is so affirming and I can see the positive impact the learning is having on not just me but those around me. How i interact with the world. It's also quite challenging and I see aspects of myself and patterns I fall into, and am drawing links to some core unfulfilled aspects of my life that influence today

I really appreciate the measured, gentle, yet informative tone of this book. I also value that it isn't a 'do this and change your life' book offering a regimen of change. It appreciates change sometimes is slow.

Interesting to reflect upon concepts of the threat brain, drive brain and safe brain being applied to communities and nations. I can definitely see it, and how it impacts the systems we live in and are part of.