Cob: slideshow tour report & thanks

[Robert Bolman]

 Hi Everybody,

Since February 17, I've done 25 slideshows from British Columbia to the San Francisco bay area. I'll soon be continuing into Southern California, Arizona, New
Mexico & Colorado.

I'm not even going to try to guess how many hundreds
of people have seen my presentation, "Natural Building & Social Justice".  Everywhere I've gone, people have expressed their support for combining environmental AND social issues in my presentation.

While, the response I get is almost entirely positive, two wonderful activists in Berkeley, Trena Cleland and Barbara George, made some constructive suggestions about the length, forcefulness and tone of the presentation.  I suppose it's hard not to sound at least a little strident when criticizing the dominant world economic order. Natural Building & Social Justice will never be all things to all people, but I want to be as effective as possible, overcoming my own shortcomings, to be able to reach and stimulate as many people as possible.

For a full description of Natural Building & Social Justice, please go to www.efn.org/~robtb

Now to give some idea of the scope of the tour and to give proper thanks to the many activists that have worked so hard to have my presentation seen by people in their communities, I'll follow with a detailed & chonological list of events, credits and stories.

Thanks to everyone,

Robert Bolman

San Francisco, March 22, 2000



Thanks to Portland EcoBuilding Guild President, David Heslam for setting up
the Portland event at Environmental Buuilding Supplies. Thanks to Markus
Stoffel for hosting the event in his store.

Thanks to Craig Lawrence and other students at Evergreen State College for
setting up an real fun event at Evergreen near Olympia. Thanks to Tina Floyd
for opening up her home to me and organizing a fun open house the nest day.
I had some wonderful conversatio with Tina. People like her are one of my
favorite incentives for doing what I'm doing.

Thanks to Port Townsend EcoBuilding Guild members Rick Erickson and Doug
Mulholland for setting up a wonderful event in Port Townsend. Thanks to
Chris Stafford for making his home available to me - even in his absence.

Thanks to Peter & Pam Martin of Victoria, BC for setting up an excellently
attended event in Victoria with less than a week's notice and for having me
in their home.

Thanks to Denis Berger for setting up a very well attended event at
Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo, BC and for having me in his home.
At one point Denis and I were both sitting in side by side easy chairs with
both our laptops going. It was surreal!

Thanks to Elke Cole for setting up a wonderful event in Courteney, BC and
letting me sleep in her waddle & daub tree house. Thanks to Bob at the Bar
None Cafe for hosting the event.

Thanks to Elizabeth White for setting up a presentation benefitting the
effort to stop the clearcutting of Saltspring Island, BC. Thanks to Meror
(whose last name and business name I've forgotten) for putting me up at his
house and showing me two of his stunning rammed earth houses on Saltspring
Island.

Thanks to Marian and Jared of the Down to Earth Building Bee in Vancouver,
BC for organizing a very well attended slideshow event followed the next day
by a day long mini colloquium & teach-in. If we had more activists like
Marian and Ian Marcuse, the world would be a better place.

Thanks to Tara Gill for setting up the Event at Galiano Island, BC. Thanks
to Norbert for taking me on a tour. Thanks to (Oh, what was her name?!?!?!)
for putting me up at her charming B & B.

Many thanks to Partick Hennebery for starting the ball rolling on all the
events on all the little Canadian Gulf Islands that I went to. I don't know
how many ferry rides I took thanks to him (12?). Patrick fully set up the
event on Mayne Island, BC put me up at his house, and took me on a tour of
the beautiful cob houses he's been building (two of which are now featured
in my slideshow). Thanks, Pat!!!

Thanks to Tracy Calvert for being a wonderful companion in a number of
locations in BC. What a treasure she is!!!

Thanks to Rob & Ellen (?) Willingham for setting up a wonderful event on
Pender Island, BC . While Pender is said to be one of the more conservative
islands, the Willinghams managed to turn out a large and very appreciative
crowd. It was fun staying at their farm and hanging out with the WWOOFers
(Willing Workers On Organic Farms). The morning of their son's birthday, we
all barged into his room with all the WWOOFers and a couple of baby goats to
wake him up and give him coffee. What fun!

Thanks to Colleen Edwardson of Saturna Island, BC for feeding me, putting me
up in her B & B, and producing a nice little crowd (on an Island with a
population of 300).

Many thanks for all the support and friendship that's always been exhibited
by Mare Nemeth in Twisp, WA. Mare set up an absolutely kick ass-event in
Twisp. The place was packed. Late into that very day she was still out
putting fliers on windshields. I mean like this person really performs. Mare
also put me up in the partially earth sheltered solar house that she lives
in and took me to have dinner in an earthship built by some friends. What
fun!

Thanks to Kittitas County Building inspector and EcoBuilding Guild activist,
Mike Burtness for setting up an event in Ellensburg, WA. Mike alwayys shows
me a good time when I'm in town and he cooks a wonderful breakfast. Thanks
Mike!

Thanks to Don and Barbie Stephens for putting me up in their fun &
interesting house in Spokane, WA. Don & Barbie have camilians living in
their houseplants as a form of biological pest control. Kewl!! Don set up a
very nice event and took time to take me on a tour of his "annualized
passive solar" project and several straw bale projects that he's designed in
Spokane.

Thanks to Kurt Rathmann for setting up an event at the University of Idaho
in Moscow. While a lot of students were preparing for finals, the student
that DID come were very enthusiastic. We hung out talking for an hour after
the event. Thanks to Kurt & Vicky for putting me up in their home.

Thanks to Lea Ann Redmond for setting up a wonderful 24 hours at Whitman
College in Walla Walla, WA. Lea Ann set up all kinds of things. In addition
to a very good slideshow event, I got to meet with a several environmental
studies professors and the treasurer of the College to discuss new
construction planned and in progress on the campus. The next day, a couple
of Environmental Studies profs put me in front of their class and let me
just do whatever I wanted. That was the fastest 50 minutes I've ever spent!
I didn't even get to start talking about human consciousness. On top of all
that, Whitman College put me up in their "presidential suite"..... well that
wasn't really what they called it, but it might just as well have been. You
should have seen the plumbing fixtures!!!

Thanks to Jim and Nancy Pernell for setting up a very nice event at the
Church of Religious Science in Redding, CA. Jim & Nancy also took me on a
tour of their property and a straw bale addition of the local museum. Thanks
to Suzanne Donache for putting me up in her home and doing my Jyotish
Astrological Chart.

Thanks to Deborah B. for setting up a small but sparklingly intimate event
in Corte Madera, CA. The people that attended were wonderful and Deborah's
generosity made the event no less lucrative for me.

Thanks to my old friend, Karen Sayer for coordinating with students at UC
Davis to set up a very well received event there. It was fun seeing Village
Homes (or whatever that place is called) where they manage the rainwater by
having it go into a swayles that meander through common backyards shared by
all the houses.

Thanks to Dave Baker for having me speak once again at New College in Santa
Rosa, CA. Dave has been consistently very supportive. Thanks to my dear
friend Lynne Mowrey-Patterson for putting me up in her house. Thanks to Jean
Sandifer for buying me lunch and lighting a fire under me to start a
non-profit organization. (Gotta get my hands on some of that grant money!!!)

Thanks to Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, CA for having me speak in
their back room which is absolutely festooned with spiritual art treasures
from around the world. What a mind-altering place that is!!

Extra Special thanks to Trena Cleland and Barbara George for setting up two
back to back events at Trena's house in Berkeley, CA. The living room in
Trena's house was absolutely packed with about 50 people. I had to hang the
slide projectors from the ceiling to make room. Barbara used her activist
skills to get a lot of delicious food donated by various businesses. Their
insistence on the value of my message resulted in my getting paid more
handsomely than usual for the two events. I even had a real comfy bed in
Barbara's house. Thanks so much to a couple of wonderful women. I just love
you!!!

Thanks to Barbara Holzman at San Francisco State University for packing a
large classroom with several different classes to see my presentation. There
must have been 100 very interested people in that room.

Now the tour continues. Please go to my web site for the itinerary and/or
email me for details (which are not yet fully known)

Thanks,

Robert Bolman


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<BODY bgColor=#ffffff><FONT size=2> Hi Everybody,<BR><BR>Since February 17, 
I've done 25 slideshows from British Columbia to the San Francisco bay area. 
I'll soon be continuing into Southern California, Arizona, New<BR>Mexico & 
Colorado.<BR><BR>I'm not even going to try to guess how many hundreds<BR>of 
people have seen my presentation, "Natural Building & Social Justice".  
Everywhere I've gone, people have expressed their support for combining 
environmental AND social issues in my presentation.<BR><BR>While, the response I 
get is almost entirely positive, two wonderful activists in Berkeley, Trena 
Cleland and Barbara George, made some constructive suggestions about the length, 
forcefulness and tone of the presentation.  I suppose it's hard not to 
sound at least a little strident when criticizing the dominant world economic 
order. Natural Building & Social Justice will never be all things to all 
people, but I want to be as effective as possible, overcoming my own 
shortcomings, to be able to reach and stimulate as many people as 
possible.<BR><BR>For a full description of Natural Building & Social 
Justice, please go to <A 
href="http://www.efn.org/~robtb">www.efn.org/~robtb</A><BR><BR>Now to give some 
idea of the scope of the tour and to give proper thanks to the many activists 
that have worked so hard to have my presentation seen by people in their 
communities, I'll follow with a detailed & chonological list of events, 
credits and stories.<BR><BR>Thanks to everyone,<BR><BR>Robert Bolman<BR><BR>San 
Francisco, March 22, 2000<BR><BR><BR><BR>Thanks to Portland EcoBuilding Guild 
President, David Heslam for setting up<BR>the Portland event at Environmental 
Buuilding Supplies. Thanks to Markus<BR>Stoffel for hosting the event in his 
store.<BR><BR>Thanks to Craig Lawrence and other students at Evergreen State 
College for<BR>setting up an real fun event at Evergreen near Olympia. Thanks to 
Tina Floyd<BR>for opening up her home to me and organizing a fun open house the 
nest day.<BR>I had some wonderful conversatio with Tina. People like her are one 
of my<BR>favorite incentives for doing what I'm doing.<BR><BR>Thanks to Port 
Townsend EcoBuilding Guild members Rick Erickson and Doug<BR>Mulholland for 
setting up a wonderful event in Port Townsend. Thanks to<BR>Chris Stafford for 
making his home available to me - even in his absence.<BR><BR>Thanks to Peter 
& Pam Martin of Victoria, BC for setting up an excellently<BR>attended event 
in Victoria with less than a week's notice and for having me<BR>in their 
home.<BR><BR>Thanks to Denis Berger for setting up a very well attended event 
at<BR>Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo, BC and for having me in his 
home.<BR>At one point Denis and I were both sitting in side by side easy chairs 
with<BR>both our laptops going. It was surreal!<BR><BR>Thanks to Elke Cole for 
setting up a wonderful event in Courteney, BC and<BR>letting me sleep in her 
waddle & daub tree house. Thanks to Bob at the Bar<BR>None Cafe for hosting 
the event.<BR><BR>Thanks to Elizabeth White for setting up a presentation 
benefitting the<BR>effort to stop the clearcutting of Saltspring Island, BC. 
Thanks to Meror<BR>(whose last name and business name I've forgotten) for 
putting me up at his<BR>house and showing me two of his stunning rammed earth 
houses on Saltspring<BR>Island.<BR><BR>Thanks to Marian and Jared of the Down to 
Earth Building Bee in Vancouver,<BR>BC for organizing a very well attended 
slideshow event followed the next day<BR>by a day long mini colloquium & 
teach-in. If we had more activists like<BR>Marian and Ian Marcuse, the world 
would be a better place.<BR><BR>Thanks to Tara Gill for setting up the Event at 
Galiano Island, BC. Thanks<BR>to Norbert for taking me on a tour. Thanks to (Oh, 
what was her name?!?!?!)<BR>for putting me up at her charming B & 
B.<BR><BR>Many thanks to Partick Hennebery for starting the ball rolling on all 
the<BR>events on all the little Canadian Gulf Islands that I went to. I don't 
know<BR>how many ferry rides I took thanks to him (12?). Patrick fully set up 
the<BR>event on Mayne Island, BC put me up at his house, and took me on a tour 
of<BR>the beautiful cob houses he's been building (two of which are now 
featured<BR>in my slideshow). Thanks, Pat!!!<BR><BR>Thanks to Tracy Calvert for 
being a wonderful companion in a number of<BR>locations in BC. What a treasure 
she is!!!<BR><BR>Thanks to Rob & Ellen (?) Willingham for setting up a 
wonderful event on<BR>Pender Island, BC . While Pender is said to be one of the 
more conservative<BR>islands, the Willinghams managed to turn out a large and 
very appreciative<BR>crowd. It was fun staying at their farm and hanging out 
with the WWOOFers<BR>(Willing Workers On Organic Farms). The morning of their 
son's birthday, we<BR>all barged into his room with all the WWOOFers and a 
couple of baby goats to<BR>wake him up and give him coffee. What 
fun!<BR><BR>Thanks to Colleen Edwardson of Saturna Island, BC for feeding me, 
putting me<BR>up in her B & B, and producing a nice little crowd (on an 
Island with a<BR>population of 300).<BR><BR>Many thanks for all the support and 
friendship that's always been exhibited<BR>by Mare Nemeth in Twisp, WA. Mare set 
up an absolutely kick ass-event in<BR>Twisp. The place was packed. Late into 
that very day she was still out<BR>putting fliers on windshields. I mean like 
this person really performs. Mare<BR>also put me up in the partially earth 
sheltered solar house that she lives<BR>in and took me to have dinner in an 
earthship built by some friends. What<BR>fun!<BR><BR>Thanks to Kittitas County 
Building inspector and EcoBuilding Guild activist,<BR>Mike Burtness for setting 
up an event in Ellensburg, WA. Mike alwayys shows<BR>me a good time when I'm in 
town and he cooks a wonderful breakfast. Thanks<BR>Mike!<BR><BR>Thanks to Don 
and Barbie Stephens for putting me up in their fun &<BR>interesting house in 
Spokane, WA. Don & Barbie have camilians living in<BR>their houseplants as a 
form of biological pest control. Kewl!! Don set up a<BR>very nice event and took 
time to take me on a tour of his "annualized<BR>passive solar" project and 
several straw bale projects that he's designed in<BR>Spokane.<BR><BR>Thanks to 
Kurt Rathmann for setting up an event at the University of Idaho<BR>in Moscow. 
While a lot of students were preparing for finals, the student<BR>that DID come 
were very enthusiastic. We hung out talking for an hour after<BR>the event. 
Thanks to Kurt & Vicky for putting me up in their home.<BR><BR>Thanks to Lea 
Ann Redmond for setting up a wonderful 24 hours at Whitman<BR>College in Walla 
Walla, WA. Lea Ann set up all kinds of things. In addition<BR>to a very good 
slideshow event, I got to meet with a several environmental<BR>studies 
professors and the treasurer of the College to discuss new<BR>construction 
planned and in progress on the campus. The next day, a couple<BR>of 
Environmental Studies profs put me in front of their class and let me<BR>just do 
whatever I wanted. That was the fastest 50 minutes I've ever spent!<BR>I didn't 
even get to start talking about human consciousness. On top of all<BR>that, 
Whitman College put me up in their "presidential suite"..... well that<BR>wasn't 
really what they called it, but it might just as well have been. You<BR>should 
have seen the plumbing fixtures!!!<BR><BR>Thanks to Jim and Nancy Pernell for 
setting up a very nice event at the<BR>Church of Religious Science in Redding, 
CA. Jim & Nancy also took me on a<BR>tour of their property and a straw bale 
addition of the local museum. Thanks<BR>to Suzanne Donache for putting me up in 
her home and doing my Jyotish<BR>Astrological Chart.<BR><BR>Thanks to Deborah B. 
for setting up a small but sparklingly intimate event<BR>in Corte Madera, CA. 
The people that attended were wonderful and Deborah's<BR>generosity made the 
event no less lucrative for me.<BR><BR>Thanks to my old friend, Karen Sayer for 
coordinating with students at UC<BR>Davis to set up a very well received event 
there. It was fun seeing Village<BR>Homes (or whatever that place is called) 
where they manage the rainwater by<BR>having it go into a swayles that meander 
through common backyards shared by<BR>all the houses.<BR><BR>Thanks to Dave 
Baker for having me speak once again at New College in Santa<BR>Rosa, CA. Dave 
has been consistently very supportive. Thanks to my dear<BR>friend Lynne 
Mowrey-Patterson for putting me up in her house. Thanks to Jean<BR>Sandifer for 
buying me lunch and lighting a fire under me to start a<BR>non-profit 
organization. (Gotta get my hands on some of that grant money!!!)<BR><BR>Thanks 
to Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, CA for having me speak in<BR>their back 
room which is absolutely festooned with spiritual art treasures<BR>from around 
the world. What a mind-altering place that is!!<BR><BR>Extra Special thanks to 
Trena Cleland and Barbara George for setting up two<BR>back to back events at 
Trena's house in Berkeley, CA. The living room in<BR>Trena's house was 
absolutely packed with about 50 people. I had to hang the<BR>slide projectors 
from the ceiling to make room. Barbara used her activist<BR>skills to get a lot 
of delicious food donated by various businesses. Their<BR>insistence on the 
value of my message resulted in my getting paid more<BR>handsomely than usual 
for the two events. I even had a real comfy bed in<BR>Barbara's house. Thanks so 
much to a couple of wonderful women. I just love<BR>you!!!<BR><BR>Thanks to 
Barbara Holzman at San Francisco State University for packing a<BR>large 
classroom with several different classes to see my presentation. There<BR>must 
have been 100 very interested people in that room.<BR><BR>Now the tour 
continues. Please go to my web site for the itinerary and/or<BR>email me for 
details (which are not yet fully known)<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>Robert 
Bolman<BR><BR></FONT></BODY></HTML>