Pets were few inside the hidden cities, but many people kept caterpillars, and helped nuture them from worm, to
So many animals, and people, had been lost to the change, that a catepillar represented the chance for emergence from the situation. While the change was happening, some species of caterpillars threatened environments and people when the never ending rains, extended from the period of change to longer seasons, created habitats where the creatures thrived. Some over-thrived.
In Liberia, mass breeding of caterpillars, in an exceptionally wet climate, pushed people out of their own homes. The masses of caterpillars devoured plants and food for other wildlife became scarce. Normally, the caterpillars would not all fully develop, but in the extreme damp conditions the creature's multipled, nearly all growing to full adulthood. It became known as the caterpillar crisis of climate change in Liberia, and consideration was given to spraying the country with chemical pesticides to defeat the munching worms. The threat of poisoning the environment made the authorities decide against any pesticide use, and so the people moved away from the caterpillar infested areas, taking shelter in refugee camps.
While Liberia hated the caterpillars, other parts of the world were marveling at the growth of the species, and the
Many people who lived in the hidden cities remembered the seasons of the butterflies with joy, and desired to keep the Monarch caterpillar as pets in their living areas. These pets were hand-fed leaves and grass, and given safe, dark places to build their chrysalis, and time to allow the transformation. When the caterpillar began to break out of its chrysalis, people gathered to watch the butterfly emerge.
When the birght coloured creature spread its wings and flew into the air, the people clapped at the performance.
Welcome to Haiはい。my transmedia journey,
-Lisa
*Flickr photos by:
Caterpillar - Brenda Anderson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouskiwi/
Chrysalis - MsEli: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mseli/
Butterfly - dwain77: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwain77/
Erik Foss worked seven nights a week, splitting his time between shifts at a few bars in the city, as well as getting his
While bartending paid the bills, Erik was really in New York City to be an artist. Whenever he had time he painted, made collages and drew pictures of all the feelings that he had to absorb night after night while working at bars. Often, he heard a lot of pain and anger, especially with the pressure of the change happening. People were hiding out inside the many underground bars around the city, where the darkly lit spaces protected them from the burning sunshine that was destroying the environment everywhere on earth. They brought troubles with them to to the underground bars, and often Erik was the only person around that would hear some of the stories.
They told Erik about family and friends who got sick from the change, unable to tolerate the rising temperatures, a lot of people were developing heat illnesses. If they were young, it was easier to fight off the intensity of the fever and the constant feeling of thirst and being dizzy. If they were old, death was common.
Beyond the illnesses Erik would hear about, there was always the usual complications of living life. Lost jobs. Lost lovers. Lost dreams. For centuries bartenders had been listening to the stories of heart break and hard times, and Erik often felt like a sponge for all the pain that floated around the city and a magnet for it to land at on a bar stool in front of him.
Erik had a way of turning things onto a more upbeat funny side and with a rock 'n roll style, he'd make the most depressing person forget about the troubles and have a good time. A few special cocktails helped pick up the mood and Erik would just take the pain away with him and put some of it into his artwork when it got overwhelming. Furious strokes of paint to canvas emotionally healed him, and he'd then offer some of the results back to customers for sale.
They'd buy back their own pain sometimes, and hang it up on a wall in their home.
Haiはい。is my transmedia journey. Cut 'n paste "Haiはい。" into Google to find pieces of this story,
-Lisa
*Photo of Erik Foss by Supreme Mangement.
*Artwork by Erik Foss.
Today I’m joining 8,000+ bloggers from 144 countries, reaching 11 million viewers to chime in one a single important global issue of climate change for Blog Action Day, and want to share with the world why this topic is personal for me.
While green living is popular, fashionable and trendy right now (hurray!), I’ve actually spent a lot of my own life being
green and supporting a variety of environmental movements, writing about environmental issues and absolutely loving nature to the point of clapping when I see an ocean wave crashing against the shore, marveling when the sunlight hits against green leaves and makes an almost translucent effect, and crying when an eco-disaster destroys part of the world, from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to the icebergs melting and killing the habitat of polar bears.
Here are some of the very personal reasons why I’m in love with nature and deeply, emotionally concerned about the impact of climate change on the environment.
Reason #1: I Lived In A Tent
When
I was a baby, back in 1967, my parents found themselves suddenly homeless. Dad
was a musician and had a great gig for a time working for an orchestra in
Maine. When the contract came to an end, he didn’t have another gig lined up,
and couldn’t afford the house they were renting.
We lived near the fisherman docks on the coast at this time, and Dad loved hanging out with the boat builders. One of his friends offered a patch of land in a boat yard that we could camp in for the summer, and Dad jumped on it – moving the three of us into a tent on the property. My Mom had never camped before in her life and was terrified of snakes. The mosquitoes were insane and apparently I
was covered in
bites. We ate amazingly well, as everyday the fishermen gave us lobster –
because at that time they couldn’t sell it on the market for some reason. I
don’t remember it really (I was about 1 years old) but family members still
talk to me about it, and my parents tell me these stories of how we lived off
the land and got help from the community that summer. To this day I am in love
with sleeping outside in a tent. I’m so happy being snuggled up, in the
outdoors, in the woods or on a beach somewhere, where beautiful nature is all
around.
If the climate changes, will the memories my family has of the coast of Maine just be memories? Will the coast of Maine be flooded and those fishermen's villages destroyed? Climate change, I take it personally!
Reason #2: My Grandfather Taught Me To Respect Nature
Often in the summers as a child, my family would join my grandparents in visiting the Adirondacks. Grandpa was
researching and writing a book about the great Adirondack explorer and surveyor Verplanck Colvin, and we’d join
my grandparents on adventures through the woods “bushwhacking” to find long forgotten survey marks left by
Colvin in the deepest woods. We also climbed the high peaks of the Adirondacks to find Colvin’s survey markers,
and at the tops of these incredible mountains were often endless rocks that you had to scramble up to get to the
peak. On these rocks grew lichen. As kids, we paid little attention to where we stepped and often trampled across
the lichen. We would also rip up some of it from its precious place clinging to the rocks, because we were curious
about it. Grandpa scolded us often and told us the story of the lichen plants that were thousands of years old, and
may have lived on the rocks since the time of the dinosaurs. His story made us think, and we then made a game
of trying not to step on the lichen. Grandpa also taught us repetitively the “carry it in carry out” philosophy for every
time we entered the woods. He spent most of his life as a Boy Scout Troop leader and brought many children into
the woods for camping trips and environmental educational excursions. To this day, now in his late nineties, he
looks over pictures of the Adirondack mountains that Colvin surveyed, and shows people his book. To this day, I
think about lichen, and still utter the phrase “carry it in, carry it out!”
Maybe if we all uttered the simple catchy phrase "carry it
in, carry it out" we could make a difference toward
climate change?
Reason #3: I Was A Reporter Covering Environmental Issues
For a number of years I had the best job of my life – working as a small town newspaper reporter in upstate New York. As a reporter, I covered everything for the community from cop reports to school board meetings to wacky stories, such as a woman who had a giant puffball growing in her garden that looked like a face. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. The rural area I was covering for news had many environmentally sensitive issues impacting it, with New York City pressing itself further north there were many land development concerns and the area was filled with fragile eco-systems that were under threat. I was an eye to all of these issues. I wrote a series of articles about the Wallkill River in upstate New York, and explored all the environmental threats from farming, to industrial waste to general pollution that threatened this river. For this I won an award, and got the attention of then Governor Mario Cuomo who cited it as an example in one of his speeches. I didn’t have to cover environmental issues to the extent that I chose to, but I made it my focus because of my love of the natural world.
There
are many, many, more deeply personal reasons why I love the environment, but
the above are three of my own reasons why I feel strongly about the issue we are
all facing of climate change. I’m sure that the 8,000+ bloggers writing posts
today also have intensely personal associations with the natural world, and I’m
interested in reading some of the other posts that people share for Blog Action
Day. Many people are going to write about the upcoming gathering of world leaders in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference and maybe if those world leaders give some contemplation of personal memories they have because of experiences in the natural world, they will care a lot more about climate change and do a lot more to make it stop happening.
I’m also interested in your personal stories about climate change here on Vox.com, so please join in today and register your blog at www.blogactionday.org
Concerned about climate change,
-Lisa
*The above images were found on Flickr and credit goes to:
Polar Bear:
Greenz4u’s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80079525@N00/
Coast of Maine:
Ken Lund http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/
Freeduh2’s Photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26862761@N03/
100,000 people would be selected to live in each hidden city.
The number was decided based on space in the cities, but also because those in charge liked the round number.
100,000 was a milestone number for many things at the time. Web site pages celebrated when traffic hit 100,000 views. The introduction of Google Wave was only given to 100,000 lucky first testers. Prize money was often set at 100,000.
For such an important decision, the selectors may have sat around and calculated all kinds of variables and equations. They did put consideration to staffing of the hidden cities, and how many people in key roles would be needed, and when the jobs were added up the number came very close to 100,000 for each hidden city's population. The selectors rounded up to 100,000, and the number had the feeling of being a lottery card. For the 100,000 people saved in each hidden city, millions would be left out to face the change, and likely die.
Among the 100,000 people selected, everyone would have a pre-determined role, based on the skill they brought to the hidden city. Some of the roles included:
- Builders
- Architects
- Engineers
- Botanists
- Breeders
- Teachers
- Hydroponic farmers
- Nutritionists
- Digital archivists
- Computer programmers
About 500 roles were planned for the inhabitants of the hidden cities, and the selection process set out to recruit people for the roles. The selectors observed people who they thought would have the needed skills, from afar, for several years. Often someone would appear to have the necessary skills to fill a role, but personality traits would interfer and pollute allowing them as a choice.
During the selection process, candidates were secretly put to the test -- with challenges being pushed on them to see how they would perform. In some cases pressure was put on them with unexpected tax audits that forced a candidate to face bureaucracy and the threat of financial issues. Those who tackled the tax audit challenge by remaining calm and addressing the issue passed this test, but many cracked under the pressure and displayed anger and excessive emotion. The selectors wanted those who could remain calm and level headed under any situation.
In the hidden cities there would be many stressful challenges. All of the 100,000 residents would have to have the peace of mind to face daily hurdles.
Thank you for following my transmedia journey -- to find more of the story, cut 'n paste the tag Haiはい。into Google,
-Lisa
*Flickr photo by Enrico Weber: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skintype/
Rosie
and Mya decided to sit at the beautiful underground bar inside Pravda and
order their usual Friday afternoon
cocktail treat of decadent chocolate martinis. The place had a feeling of being safe, with it’s strong vaulted, tiled ceilings. It had been a bar for decades now, and remained one of Rosie and Mya’s favourite, secure, destinations. They started meeting on Friday afternoons at the subterranean bar about six months ago, when the reports of severe, tsunami-size flooding in parts of the world started. It felt very doomsday with the latest news of tragedy resulting from the change happening, and as best friends, they decided that time together was valuable and they should make sure they appreciate each other.
“Thanks for the extra strawberry Erik,” Rosie told the bartender. “Glad to see the rations are letting us get fresh fruit into the city still.”
“Yeah, this week was pretty good, so I saved some extra strawberries for you and Mya,” he said.
“I heard that Chicago is totally fruitless, another reason not to live in the mid-west,” Mya said.
The girls had removed their hats and dark glasses, and were enjoying the feeling of putting away the cumbersome accessories that protected them in the outside world. Soft light illuminated the bar, and complimented how they looked. Both single, and in their mid-thirties, appearance remained a priority in their urban home, and fashion styles were adapted to suit the need for ultraviolet protection. The white leggings and dresses they were both wearing took on a glow in the dim light and enhanced the creamy colour of their fragile skin. They both, subconsciously, took a look around the bar to see what men were present on a Friday afternoon. Often, the city workers took off work early and went to the bar to get seats, before the rush started for the weekend. As regulars, Mya and Rosie were guaranteed a spot at the bar, as long as they got there by 3 PM. Erik always saved their spot on Fridays, because they were all friends and looked forward to seeing each other every week.Today was typical, and the routine was something they all looked forward to when the week got challenging. It was a chance to just be social, and tell each other any updates they felt like sharing. Erik worked non-stop on weekends, and Friday afternoon was usually a calm period of a few hours before the bar got crazy.
“So did the casting agent get back to you yet?” Mya asked Rosie.
“No, I called a few times, but he never answered. The commercial isn’t scheduled to be filmed for a few months yet, so I’m not hopeless on that, and besides I got another audition invite yesterday that I’m working on,” Rosie told her friend.
Rosie was a semi-working actress. She picked up film roles for television commercials, and played character roles in shows like Law and Order, the now longest running American television show in history. Work would come and go, and she was always on the hustle to find paid gigs. At this stage in her career she harboured no delusions about becoming famous, and the excitement and sparkle of being a working actress had expired for her a few years ago. It was all she knew how to do, so she kept doing it because she had to. She earned enough to pay rent every month on her tiny apartment, and she often got interesting invitations to parties, art openings and film premieres because of her connections. Mya was often invited as her +1 guest, and she’d taken Erik to a few things if he was free.
With the change happening, it had impact on the entertainment business, in terms of the types of roles that Rosie was auditioning for. Story lines were getting darker and reflected a lot of the fear the general public was feeling. Rosie found herself specializing in hardship roles these last few years, often being made up to play the role of someone who was scarred from sunlight burning, or devastated economically – such as a farmer’s wife who saw crops burn up and livelihood destroyed in the change, and was forced to move to the city and find work. The roles were grim now, but Rosie was flexible and could easily slip into any part a director wanted to fill.
“I was watching an old episode of Law and Order the other day, and saw you playing that homeless person. Remember that one? It was the one where the wife murders her baby to get back at the husband for having an affair and then tries to pin it on the homeless lady,” said Mya.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that episode, I remember it took hours to get the makeup right on that one. I never realized that caking dirt on a person could be such a precise business in making it look authentic,” Rosie recalled.
“You were really good in that, scary. You looked hideous – they did a really impressive job of transforming you.”
Rosie told Mya that the roles on Law and Order were getting harder to get, because she had appeared so many times as various characters that the casting agents for the show were concerned that she was becoming too recognizable to the audience. The show had a pool of performers that they often picked from over the years, because it was easier to cast people with experience in working with the directors. The formulaic nature of the show meant that thousands of episodes, and spin-offs, had been made over the years, often with repeat appearances from the character actors.
Mya loved Law and Order because it also served as a current event archive, with the shows following story lines that were based on real world events. When the change started happening, the show mirrored some of the stories that were emerging. Characters in the show started dressing in the heat reflective clothing that became necessary with the change happening, and the story lines weaved around some of the stresses that everyone was feeling with the increased pressure in the city from severe sunlight.
Often Mya would document the real stories depicted in Law and Order, researching any of the digital archives that she could find about the real life events and preserving the video, news reports, pictures and birth records of the real people involved. It was one of the reasons she found her job so interesting, beyond the importance that her role meant to society overall. Things were disappearing in the change, and everything Mya saved and documented became more and more valuable as the story of humanity unfolded.
Welcome to Haiはい。, a transmedia journey,
-Lisa
*Flickr Photo by Peter Sealy, aka Dr. Curry:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkdarkroom/
The selection process required a search for specially skilled individuals, throughout the world, who could contribute to
They looked for people who had a combination of skill sets who could create things, maintain things and invent new things. They also needed people who could get along with others in a pressure filled environment. The search began by checking the Internet for people who:
- Shared information freely online, giving advice to others on subjects they had specialty knowledge of. Coders, bloggers, teachers, mentors and style tipsters, usually fell into this category. They demonstrated a willingness and ability to connect with other people.
- Had their own online audience. The selectors wanted people who other people viewed as leaders, and followed their lives through Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, Linkedin and other social networks.
- Were community-invovled, often with gardening, volunteering, foster caring and local politics.
The selectors looked for people who were selfless and giving, and who already demonstrated an ability to contribute to the world around them, often over extending themselves to help others. Inside the hidden cities, all the residents would be building new social structures, new ways of growing food and new technologies to help the cities survive through and beyond the change.
For skill sets, the selectors were looking for people who, in addition to social leadership ability, had a variety of knowledge and know how for building inside the hidden cities. Many skills that were valued on earth prior to the change coming, were no longer valid for new life on earth. Bankers had no role for the hidden cities, because the old system of exchanging money for objects was going to be obsolete. Instead, the selectors looked for individuals who could barter to secure what they needed.
Those who could trade skills, or other objects, to get something they needed, were selected to help build the new
The selectors also searched for the best botanists, hydro-ponic farmers, permaculture experts and herbal medicine experts. When the change happened, the earth's surface would be nothing like the rich fertile farmlands that traditionally allowed people to grow mass amounts of food, over large tracks of land. The change would drown crops, or burn across the forests and farmlands. In the beginning, those selected would need to grow food inside the hidden cities, with sheltered hydro-ponic farms, and all natural permaculture approaches to farming. Inside the hidden cities the quarters would be close, and chemical pesticides could not be used in the enclosed environment.
Builders were greatly needed inside the hidden cities, as they would help build the new dwellings and the biosphere roofs of the hidden cities itself. These builders needed to understand how to install complicated systems of plumbing and water systems, as well as how to install wind turbines to generate energy for the hidden cities. Thousands of builders were selected to build the hidden cities and they were among the first to be selected.
Among the most valued skills were computer experts of all types and experience. Those who understood how to build and protect the Internet were brought into the hidden cities early. Many, like the digital archivists, arrived in the unfinished hidden cities to begin setting up new communications networks that would like all of the hidden cities around the world, and would salvage the digital records of humanity, prior to the change.
Among the digital archivists who helped find and select the technology experts was Ron Briefel, a lifestreamer who spent much of his own life recording the world around him, capturing video and pictures of humanity and storing the footage on a secure, permanent, server that would live on past him, and everyone who lived on earth before the change. Ron helped the selectors identify other digital archivists, and technologists, who could help both with the digital preservation of the human record, and those who could help set up the mass servers and communication networks that would keep the surviving members of humanity connected.
As the selectors researched and identified the skilled people they needed, they grew sad at the limited space that would be available in the hidden cities. Everyday, as they built this selection list, they thought about all those they would have to leave out, to face the change outside of the hidden cities. It was not certain who would survive the change, and most scientists believed that none would be able to do so, but life does have a way of adapting.
Haiはい。is my transmedia journey, Google " Haiはい。" to find more about this story,
-Lisa
*Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandc/
Walking along that day, on Broadway, heading south, all she could think about was how pretty the sun looked when it struck against the windows of the buildings. Rays would strike and make radiant bursts of blaze, blinding passersby if you looked directly at it. The sun was so bright that you had to wear sunglasses, and even then, shield your eyes with
....it burns when it strikes you and removes your skin, peeling it away like the skin of a marshmallow melting over a campfire. Scream!
Sun was now viewed as a threat, but Rosie always looked to it as a brilliant, sparkling, joyful, ball of fire in the sky. Her hat mood day on that day was playful -- a yellow and white polka dot number with a massive brim that kept the rays off the delicate skin of her face. She complimented the hat with a combination of bright yellow stretch leggings and a white dress, the bright white and yellow helped to deflect the sun's harmful, burning, rays. As was the necessity, all of her skin was covered to avoid exposure.
The UV rays had grown so powerful that they could melt metal off of buildings, and car tires. People still insisted on driving the old cars, because they were plentiful and cheap, but many could be found abandoned on the roadside, tires sitting in a puddle of the black tar-like substance You'd hear a loud pop, and see the car swerve and run off the road, leaving a trail of black syrupy ooze. Crossing streets meant dodging these pools of sticky liquid metal.
...committing suicide by sun exposure was the cause of death for nearly 40,000 people on earth every year now. Walk outside naked, die. Scream!
Rosie's destination that Friday was the Puck building on Lafayette Street, one of the oldest buildings in New York City that was still considered safe to enter. She had a friend who worked for one of the protective agencies, and they planned to have a late lunch, followed by some martinis in Pravda, the underground bar. It was expected to be a slow afternoon, and Rosie's friend wasn't planning to go back to the office, especially after a few decadent chocolate martinis.
The elevator man greeted Rosie at the entrance and let her, and two other people into the building. The elevator was original to the year the building was constructed, and preservationists kept careful observation of the state of the contraption, making sure it was safe, and functioning. Relics, like the Puck building's elevator, and other objects that still survived, were registered in the international relic database, and teams of preservationists assigned to each of the relics to protect them. Others that Rosie loved included Coney Island amusement rides. Domes were built to protect the ancient Cyclone wooden roller coaster, the Astroland Park entrance, bumper cars and even stalls that sold pink cotton candy. Coney Island was one place that everyone loved and wanted to save.
...pets were never allowed out of owner's homes anymore, and when they escaped, the heat and blast of UV rays killed them within hours. People would find dead dogs that the owners could not locate in time, often exploded as the heat swelled and boiled the animals insides as the carcass lay on the street, cooking like a fried egg. Scream!
Rosie's friend Mya was perched on her stool, looking at the 10 screens she monitored. Mya was a digital archivist, and worked, sometimes along the preservationists, to find and save informational footage that was scattered across the Internet, and in some cases stashed in floppy disks and hard drives that were often found abandoned in people's homes, or left at recycling centres. Everyday, she sorted through these digital bits and pieces of human history and uploaded it to a the central memory data base, cataloging and naming the found content into a pre-ordanied organizational system they all joking referred to as 'Dewey.' The name was a nickname for a more technical, numerical term of Centre Control 2012.1.0. All the digital archivists just called the system 'Dewey', based on the old library Dewey Decimal System, that helped organize paper books, before most of them were burned by the sun.
Books could not survive the intense heat, and if they were not sealed in protective chambers, they would often spontaneously combust while sitting on shelves in libraries, book shops or in people's homes. The paper was old and brittle, and lacking enough moisture to survive, books could be known to burn up while being held in someones hands. Reading books became a hazard, and this was a joy lost during the change, that many felt sad about. Only digitally archived books could be accessed. Many books were preserved, and stored away in underground chambers, and some of the preservationists had access to them, and alllowed the digital archivists to scan the pages and put the information into Dewy.
...flipping through the pages of a book could trigger the spontaneous combustion. Many people had lost hands and had faces filled with burned scars, telltale signs that they read a book. Scream!
It was 1:30 PM on a Friday and that meant lunchtime!
"Come on Mya, pack it up and let's go get some lunch and start this weekend early!" Rosie demanded.
"OK, ok, ok let me just save this last book into Dewey and I'm ready," said Mya.
Haiはい。
-Lisa
*Flickr Photo Credit to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donchris/
Nobody knew about the selection. People would disappear from your life, first just one and then a few more, over
Those who headed the selection, a group of 100 forward thinkers who had devoted their lives to planning for the inevitable, established a criteria for each person they picked. Skill was essential. They picked people who could build, programme technology, offer medical care, be botanists and hydroponic farmers, and those who were in strong health. In every hidden city, every person had a role and responsibility in providing the others with skills.
People were investigated for skill sets, checked by doctors and, in some cases, tested for ability. No one was told about the selection, until they were picked and taken away to live in one of the hidden cities. In total, 1 million people were selected.
Those who set up the selection rules fretted about the task, and despaired that it seemed to be nothing more than history repeating itself from the Hitler days of World War II. There was no choice though. Selection would save a few, or no one would be saved.
When selected, the chosen person would be approached by a man and a woman, both smiling. The woman would softly touch the selected person's hand and let them know that it was time to go, and the others would be waiting. Drugs were used. The man would use an invisible spray, that rendered immediate peace and tranquility, to immobilize the person. Once he covered the selected person's face with the spray, any fear washed away, and the will of the person became trusting and pleased to be following the man and woman.
Sometimes the man and woman selected up to 20 people at a time, packing them all into the back of a white van. The spray lasted for eight hours, and allowed plenty of time to take those selected to the first step house. The first step houses were processing points for every person who was selected. It was a holding station where the selected would get briefed about what was happening to the planet, and what would happen to them next.
It was no secret to anyone on the planet that severe problems were threatening life on earth. Everyone knew. Temperatures had risen so high that many places were uninhabitable because of schorching heat. Deserts replaced once vibrant, lush and green forests, and killed everything off. The oceans were pushing inland more and more, drowning millions of people in the process, and destroying whole communities as they forced onto the land.
The destructive climate could no longer be controlled and left little chance for survival for those who were not selected to live inside the hidden cities. At the first step house, the situation was explained to all who were selected, and roles were assigned for what they would bring to the hidden cities.
Thank you for following Haiはい。, a transmedia journey by Lisa Devaney,
-Lisa
With the oceans covering so much of the earth following the burning, all of the hidden cities bordered seashores,
The approach to harvesting seaweed required a system of forward planning to protect the resource. Only rations needed were gathered, and the anchored plant was never yanked from its roots, to allow it to continue growing. Leaves were snipped off the seaweed plants, leaving the plants intact to grow and be harvested in the future.
The abundant seaweeds provided sources of carrageenans and alginates, producing a jelly-like consistency that absorbs water quickly, and could be used to dehydrate food supplies, for winter storage.
Seaweed was mixed in with many dishes prepared by the chefs of the hidden cities, including salads, soups and breads. Dried, it stored well and provided sustenance over the tough winter months.
The harvesters gathered:
Alaria esculenta - Badderlocks - growing nearly 15 feet length-wise, the tangled weed could be wound into a ball, like wrapping rubber bands around a ball. The midrib of this seaweed, and its new leafy sprouts, could be eaten, after removing the enveloping membrane.
Chondrus crispus - Irish Moss or Carrageen - A perennial, the fronds grow up to about 10 inches in length, and provide a jelly-like substance once boiled.
Dilsea carnosa - [formerly Iridaea edulis] - A deep red perennial seaweed generally eaten raw, or fried, but not the most popular choice.
Laminaria digitata and saccharina [now Saccharina latissima] - Tangle - Sweet Tangle - The young leaves and stalks of L. digitata were used as food, but the stalks of this common perennial seaweed become woody with age and so were avoided. The fronds grow up to six feet in length. It has a sweetness to it.
Palmaria palmata [formerly Rhodymenia palmata] - Dulse - Dull and purplish or brownish-red in colour, fronds of dulse grow to about 20 inches in length, though smaller ones are the most tender and not leathery like bigger specimens. This seaweed may be eaten raw or cooked, or dried and eaten as a snack. Often it is served with potatoes, as a side dish.
Porphyra umbilicalis and dioica - Both are purplish in colour and slow cooking brings out the best in them.
Ulva lactuca and rigida - Laver - Ulva is the main constituent of 'Laver bread' - which is not really a bread at all. These are sheet-like bright or vivid green, delicate, seaweeds.
The variety of seaweed found depended on where a hidden citiy was located. The hidden cities in the region formerly known as Japan had an abundance of wakame [Undaria pinnafitida] and kombu [Saccharina japonica], and also consume Porphyra yezoensis. In the former Indonesia Euchema cottonii was plentiful. In the former Hawaii the residents of the hidden city continued to make a traditional local dish called limu, which can variously be made with the edible seaweeds Gracillaris coronopifolia, Enteromorpha prolifera, Asparagopsis taxiformis, Grateloupia filicana, Ulva fasciata, Sargassum echinocarpum and Dictyopteris plagiogramma.
Yum,
-Lisa
*Credit to seaweed species information to Wild Foods School.
Bankers wearing black shirts, sipping expensive cocktails at a beautiful beachside hotels, while millions lose their jobs,
It starts here. September 3rd, 2009.
Burned down, the blackness folds over the mountains, the seashores and all the man made objects until only the hidden cities survive.
The few who were lucky to be sheltered, are kept protected.
Those who are left gather in together tightly, watching from behind shields, as the earth crumbles into a runimous landscape of scorched surroundings and things that used to be. Sadness haunts the transformation. Faces shed tears, and as those left experience frequent, spontaneous, overwhelming rushes of furious emotions. There is little left to do but comfort each other when pain gets too much, and try to rebuild.
Inside these pockets, filled with small groups of humanity, the people gather around campfires, taking comfort inside these safe feeling places, slowly venturing out on scouring missions to find what is left and usable.
Stories are told, not by books, all lost in the burning, but by talking, and from the electronic archives, preserved long ago by a few futurists, that were sealed up in hidden places scattered about the earth.
As the change happens, life forces onto the surface with stronger and smarter adaptation for the new environment. Surprises are seen, and names and species categories are given to the discoveries as they appear. Some are cultivatable and have properties that help feed, heal or supply shelter.
Welcome to Haiはい, a transmedia journey,
-by Lisa Devaney
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