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Summer is coming to the Midwest and Truman! It's hard to keep yourself from going outside when the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. However, you can still be entertained and connected while studying. It's wonderful to see how the digital revolution has given us more freedom to get outside.
 Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/origamicranes/2693504517/sizes/o/in/pool-14283989@N00/ 1. Music on the Go
Ten years ago I thought Walkman CD players were the coolest thing in this world – they allowed me to enjoy my high-quality music outside without having to carry a boom box. The whole world could fit in my pocket, with only a couple of double-A batteries and a few spare CDs! But, now if I go out with a CD player, people will stare at me as if I'm coming from the jungle. The game changed when MP3 players, or iPods, provided a place for your entire music library in a tiny device. And the newest iPod Nano can easily play music and video clips continuously for half a day. The catch? Copy protection is tricky. Your CDs would play in your friend's boom box, but your files wouldn't? Shame on you, DRM.
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Tags: Environment, Entertainment, Nature
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By this point, the majority of us are aware that we have been on the wrong track, environmentally speaking, for many years and are still charging full speed ahead into the great incinerator of doom. Obviously, we need a new system.
For those of us who want to unplug from the machine, Permaculture offers an answer. It’s a comprehensive system designed to create agricultural and lifestyle systems that can ecologically sustain themselves. Indefinitely.
 Photo from: http://www.westchestermagazine.com/images/2008/August2008/Talk%20of%20the%20County/garden-tools-6-18-08--0015 An answer to our crisis, according to Permaculture, would involve creating systems of human life that replicate the self-sustaining systems of nature. Relying upon the city to bring you water, a supermarket to sell you food, and electricity to produce your power means there are a lot of external environmental costs you don’t see on the surface. Meanwhile, you could catch your own rainwater—treating and reusing it, grow your own food from a garden and/or livestock (or buy locally) and produce your own renewable power—or don’t product it at all. See full post
Tags: Nature, Environment, Education
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If you ever lived through the biting winds, icy shivers, and numb-fingered winters of the Midwest, then you know how to appreciate these newfound spring days. With the air newly abloom with sacred warmth, I thought I would conjure up a few adventurous ideas to inspire your spontaneous side to rise to the challenge of having fun outdoors! We’re done watching movies and drinking hot chocolate inside. ‘Tis time to rise up and meet the sunshine!
 Photo from: http://skyelikesit.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/summertime1 - Meditate or do yoga under a tree (I find these activities immensely easier when I’m outside). Or in a pasture. If you want to take a slightly different route, hold an outdoor séance with a few friends.
- Go camping. Try to find someplace slightly less crowded. Personally, I think crowded campsites ruin the atmosphere. Fall asleep under the stars.
- Play Tag, Hide-and-seek, or Sardines in the dark with some friends. Or my favorite, lava monster. (That’s when everyone runs around on a play-set and tries to avoid the one person on the ground who tags someone who then becomes the next lava monster)
- Work in a garden. (For Kirksville residents, I’d recommend looking into the Kirksville Permaculture Education Center or the Communiversity Garden, which meets Thursdays in MG 1096 and generally does garden work on Saturday mornings/early afternoons)
- Grab some paints (or make your own milk paint to avoid chemical vapors), brushes, a surface of some sort, and find a sunny hilltop.
- Visit an intentional community or eco-village in your area. With the sun out, they are now in visitor-accepting mode and will probably give you a tour over a weekend if you call ahead. Lean about alternative and often sustainable living. For Kirksville, look into the Possibility Alliance or Dancing Rabbit. Here’s a directory of all the communities in Missouri.
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Tags: Nature, Environment, Sports & Games, Vacation
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Before I spent the majority of my spring break in Andalucía, I held the stereotypical views of the southern region of Spain: cities of blanch white walls capped by terracotta roofs, with warm sun overhead and warm people within—where the British take their holidays. These stereotypes exist for a reason.
 Photo provided by: Megan Burik While I did visit Seville, Spain during my vacation, I left my heart in Granada. A city rich in history stands in the shadow of the impressive hilltop remains of the Moorish fortress, La Alhambra. Like an ever-present guardian, La Alhambra bears witness to all the mixings and goings-on in Granada.
The history of La Alhambra spreads across centuries, as did its construction. In the 9th century, the first inhabitants built a small citadel, followed by the more fortified palaces of the Nasrid Dynasty in the 14th century. In 1492, Spanish troops overwhelmed the Moors and re-conquered the area for Spain. Legend has it that Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, cried whilst trudging away from his surrendered land. His mother scolded him, saying “Don’t cry like a woman over what you couldn’t defend like a man.” See full post
Tags: Nature, International
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As the temperature changes and Kirksville, Mo. finally thaws out after the rough winter, all I have on my mind is getting out. I want to hop in the car, roll the windows down, crank up the radio and just go. It doesn’t matter where, I just want to feel the fresh air and see the trees blossom.
 Photo from:http://cewalter.tripod.com/id89.htm What better place to feel the warm spring air than a park? The Midwest is home to some beautiful state parks that provide the perfect afternoon getaway.
In Kirksville we have Thousand Hills State Park. It is home to the 573-acre Forest Lake, bike trails, campsites and a restaurant. Whether to relax and have a picnic or take a hike through the woods, Thousand Hills is the perfect place to spend a spring day. See full post
Tags: Nature, Environment
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If you’re distractedly shuffling through the Landlocked blog entries, absentmindedly trying to find the perfect one to read, then stop. Read this one. See that cloud of thoughts buzzing around your mind like gnats? See how the cloud keeps you from concentrating on your present task?
Stop. Breathe. Close your eyes and sit. Don’t try to do anything.
Welcome to meditation. See full post
Tags: Nature, Environment
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 Photo from: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2601/3923770163_6d054d3fdc.jpg I had never heard of the Villages of Van Buren County, in Iowa. However, a lot of culture is buried deep within these 12 small villages of Southeast Iowa. Visiting the villages, one would find that life moves at a slightly different pace. It is as if Van Buren has been untouched by time. There are no fast food restaurants and not a single stoplight is present. Locals and visitors enjoy taking walks through the beautiful woodland areas and picnicking in the many parks. The county prides itself on its tranquil ambience.
The Villages Folk School of Van Buren is one way this unique county keeps their time-honored traditions alive in such a technology-driven society. The school offers a variety of classes ranging from storytelling to woodcarving and pottery. These classes have an emphasis on either working with your hands, arts and crafts, or nature, which all relate back to the home. The folk school allows people to return to a much simpler relaxed way of living.
Classes range in price from $25 to $200 depending on the needed materials and the duration of the course. Some last for only a day while others are up to five sessions long. Anyone is eligible to register and there are no prerequisites needed. See full post
Tags: Environment, Shopping and Lodging, Nature
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