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Finding Joy in Resistance

I’m writing this in 2025, but this statement should hold for awhile: We’re living through some fucked up times. If you live in the United States (or follow any news at all), you might’ve noticed this whole “fascist coup” thing going on. And that ain’t helping the climate crisis, either…our fossil fuel addicted civilization is speeding towards the brink of ecosystem collapse, and the moneyed elites refuse to let their hand off the gas pedal. Now is the time to stand up and resist.

But these fucked up times take a heavy emotional toll. So many folks are struggling to survive and stay sane…how can they find the spoons for activism? How can we find the strength to stand up defiantly, when the weight of the world is so heavy, it’s hard just to stay on our feet? How can we be a candle in the dark, without burning out?

One path I’m trying: finding joy in resistance. This is the story of one day I walked down that path, playing in BABAM (the Boston Area Brigade of Activist Musicians).

What I Love About the Furry Fandom

I’ve been involved with the furry fandom for 23 years. It’s not a huge part of my identify…heck, lotsa my friends know nothing about it! They might know me as that dumpster diving, freegan, radical activist, hippy dancing guy. But nestled among all those other gems of joyful weirdness, it’s part of my identity too.

I wrote this article to explain, to all the “normal” people of the world…what’s the deal with furry fandom? Why does it exist? And what draws me to it, personally?

This Five Day Dance Workshop Unlocked Something Deep Inside Me

Earlier this year, I took part in Wavelength: Ways of Waves, a five day dance workshop, in the tradition of 5Rhythms. For five days straight, I danced my soul out of its prison. As crazy as it sounds, I feel like it unlocked some secret power hidden deep inside me.

Nothing Breaks, It Just Turns Into Art

One truth’s been running through my head lately, pacing through the attic of my mind.

“Nothing breaks, it just turns into art.” It’s a good reason to make all things beautiful. When they break, they won’t just be works of art, but beautiful works of art.

Once I realized this truth, I kept seeing proof of it everywhere.

Have You Ever Walked in the Woods While High?

Have you ever walked in the woods while high?

This Tuesday was my first time. I was a day into my longest ever digital fast…48 hours with no phone, no computer, no screens. Nothing but reality.

I’m still not sure what to call them, even though I’ve been doing them for a while. Retreats to Reality? Screencations? Whatever they’re called, they’ve been great for my mental health. Being chronically online has so many bad effects…stress, anxiety, poor sleep. We didn’t evolve to live this way.

The Dance That Taught Me About Being Myself: An Autistic Person’s Guide to Ecstatic Dance

I’ve been doing ecstatic dance for a year now, and it’s changed my life. I think it has the potential to change so many more lives…especially those of people on the autism spectrum.

Introduction

What is this blog about? Why is it called “Thousand Year Picnic?”

Freeganism: What, Why, And How?

Freeganism is a lifestyle and diet based on consuming resources that have been (or would be) thrown away. In shorter words, eating food from the trash.

For the past 8 years, I’ve lived the freegan life. I get about 85% of my food from dumpster diving, and I’m eating good. I get so many questions about it, and I wrote this up to answer some.

I Got Arrested For Blocking Private Jets

April 20th, 2024. The second time I was arrested for civil disobedience. The first time I made international news. It was a good day.

On that cold Saturday morning, I joined Extinction Rebellion in shutting down the Hanscom private jet airfield in Concord, MA. 20 of us were arrested, but it’s the ultra-rich who are committing a crime…against our planet, against our children, against our future.

I Kept a Gratitude Journal for 4 Years, and This Is What I've Learned So Far

So many people have so many favorite books: Jane Eyre. The Bible. Cognitive Behavioral Theory for Dummies.

But my favorite book in the world? It’s a self-published title. In fact, I own the only copy of it in the world. It’s My Gratitude Journal.

I’ve been keeping it for 4 years now, through multiple volumes. And it’s taught me a few lessons…here are some of them!