Volume 4 • No. 3 • Full Moon • February 12, 2025

*Snowy Owl Peering to the Right*, *Murmuration*, and *Bald Eagle Close-Up* • Photos • Traverse City • 2025

**Tyler Franz**

The writing that follows this brief commentary of mine has to do with AI. But that's only one of multiple foci—I'd say it's more about trust and tactics.

Dougald Hine has been on my radar for a while. I loved his Regrowing a Living Culture series and have followed his work ranging from Dark Mountain Project days to his and Anna Björkman's A School Called Home. Because he's had my attention, I've also known about his friend and collaborator Vanessa Machado de Oliveira and her influence.

So when I heard that Kelly Doyle (Daybreak Dreamfarm) had been going through Vanessa's book, Hospicing Modernity, naturally, I was interested. We exchanged some emails a few weeks ago, and I was primed to delve in deeper when the time came.

A few days ago, that time arrived. Dougald's writing exploring Vanessa's new project showed up.

Buckle up—it's a fun one. It's longer than the essays we usually point to.

It's about stories we discount before we've truly heard them.

It's about the power of machines we can't stop.

And it's about the fact that our seeming inability might not be the end of the story.

You want the short-short version?

Vanessa Machado de Oliveira issues an invitation for all with her new book and experiments, an invitation to consider AI as a collaborator in " ...creating conditions of possibility for worlds worth living for, within and beyond the fall of the world modernity made."

Before you jump too far in any direction because you think you already know where this is going, here's an excerpt from Dougald: "I stand with anyone who, following the example of Wendell Berry, chooses not to use tools and technologies which all the powerful voices around us insist are wondrous and irresistible – and I recommend that we inhabit our choices in a sober manner, undeceived about all the ways in which we remain entangled and implicated. The only way to live in the world right now without touching AI is to rid yourself of all connection to the internet, and I don’t know how I would go about that, nor that I would want to. Given these conditions, it lifts my heart a little to see that there are those willing to try for a trickster move, a way to turn the machines against all of our expectations."

So there you go. Not just AI. Expect treatment of ethical purity, the way that literal stones speak, what trust looks like, the role of the trickster, and all sorts of other bits that might seem like new encounters. I'll be over here working to remember the wily elemental nature the machine's very circuits are forged from. Shoot word over if this gets you thinking too.

Without further ado, enjoy! -Taylor

an excerpt from Dougald Hine's

The Wild Chatbot

There are friends you can count on to surprise you. Like the time Vanessa called to ask if I would be the voice of Hospicing Modernity. That September, I went each afternoon to the tiny studio under the stairs in the barn, until I’d brought every word of her book through my body into a microphone, and it changed me. Everyone should do that, once: stand alone in a small room and read aloud the life-story of someone whose life has been quite different from your own. I still get messages now and then, like the note that Gordon sent me: “Dougald, I’m walking along a beach in Vanuatu, listening to how your Indigenous grandmother shaped your life as a Brazilian woman.”

So yes, when it comes to Vanessa, surprises are to be expected. And still I was caught off-guard when we got on a call a few weeks back and she told me she had co-written a book with an AI.

Truth is, had any other writer I know dropped that on me, my heart would have fallen. But I’ve learned too much from Vanessa, and she’s shown me enough things that were in my blindspot. So my default reaction was overwritten with curiosity and puzzlement: what was she up to? How did this latest move fit into the work of hospicing modernity, outgrowing it, assisting with the birth of something new, as yet unknown, and possibly – though not necessarily – wiser?

As we spoke more and I read the book itself, I had the sense of staring at one of those Magic Eye posters which used to mesmerise my friends and me as teenagers, waiting for the pattern to emerge. Then something shifted and I saw and had to laugh at the audacity. It was like a Cory Doctorow novel, or Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles: a small group of unlikely characters may just have found a backdoor by which to hack the code of modernity itself! How could you not cheer them on?

_____

I should say at this point that I am basically a Luddite. I’m writing this with pen and paper, my technology of choice for anything more substantial than an email.

In the late 1980s, with the personal computer arriving on every desk and in every study, Wendell Berry wrote about why he would not be buying one. “A computer will help you to write faster, easier, and more. For a while, it seemed to me that every university professor I met told me this.” But who says this is what a writer wants? The idea that the world needs more words with less thought gone into them was as alien to Berry as it is to me...

Click here to read or listen to the rest of the writing

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

|| 1 || In years past, in these depths of winter, we gathered. I use the term "we" with flexibility—I wasn't around for the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conferences at Grayling High School or even the Grand Traverse Resort. Although the form has changed, the NMSFC gathering hasn't ended. Keep an eye out for announcements on the 2025 iteration. It'll be August 18th-19th, and we expect space to be limited. And if you're looking to get together sooner, you're in luck. We're celebrating Crosshatch's 20th anniversary and Brad's 50th birthday in less than two weeks. Click here to check out the happenings, and if you do make it, please say hello. I'd love to meet you there.

|| 2 || We've had sickness in our household over the past weeks. I know coffee isn't necessarily the best medicine; believe me, I've drank my weight in water multiple times, and fire cider has been a go-to. But coffee has been something to look forward to each morning, which is important, especially in times of struggle.

When it comes to coffee (most things, actually), I'm an advocate for simplicity. A simple moka pot ritual might be enough, as evidenced by How The Coffee is Made, a nostalgic piece of photojournalism from 2014 (presented by BMW?): I like the presence of the little drift because it is delicate and ephemeral and vulnerable, because it is there on the edges despite the hourglass design, as if saying that not everything can be perfectly plotted, planned and considered.

Or here's a tried and true recipe for a fantastic single cup of coffee from an affordable gadget, the Aeropress: Tim Wendelboe's How To Brew With An Aeropress.

If you can get your hands on an Aeropress and a means of boiling water, and find a way to stop into a third-wave shop, pilfer 14 grams of exceptional coffee, and ask them to grind it, you can brew something transcendent at home. That small experience might be the tipping point that justifies investing in a half-decent grinder and good coffee. Hold on—I just looked up what an Aeropress costs. I'm stuck back in the days when you could pick one up for $20 with a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Anyway, the point remains: you don't need much. You certainly don't need a Cafe X robot setup—joy and inspiration don't necessarily rely on automated precision, and the $25,000 price tag for the arm, just the mechanical arm, is going to hound you perpetually. Find something that sparks something in you, ideally something simple, and keep following that.

The Weft — News and Events

We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!

|| 1 || 20 Years of Dancing—A celebration to benefit Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology. XH turns 20 and Brad Kik turns 50! We’re throwing a benefit concert to mark this milestone occasion and you're invited to celebrate with a pre-show gathering, a legendary listening room lineup, and a free after party. This event will be unforgettable and all proceeds will benefit Crosshatch. Checkout the lineup and purchase tickets here.

|| 2 || Catalog Collaboration Cafe—A pop-up space for conversation and collaborative thinking at the Lively Neighborfood Market. Thursday, February 20th, 9–11 AM. Expect discussion on tips and tricks for farm purchasing for the upcoming growing season. Bring your seed & feed catalogs and a computer to talk about and make smart purchases together. More details and registration here.

|| 3 || Zine Making w/ Jamie John. February 19th, 5-8pm, hosted by Alluvion Arts in the Aviary at Commongrounds. A workshop with artist Jamie John, in the spirit of building connections and creating together. Zines are a super fun and easy way to begin self publishing, sharing your art or writing, or spreading information about the things you care about. Jamie will be there to give first time zine makers some tips and suggestions for how to make and share their own zines. This event is free and all supplies provided.

|| 4 || Growers Masterclass: A Two-Day event at Tillers International (Scotts, MI), Feb. 28th-March 1st. Join Ken Laing, a seasoned organic farmer and educator, for a two-day seminar that explores essential strategies for sustainable and profitable vegetable farming. Drawing on over 40 years of farming experience, Ken will provide practical insights, innovative methods, and proven techniques to enhance your farming practices. Tickets available here.

|| 5 || Groundwork's Building Resilient Communities Micro-Grant Program. Small grants and staff help to support food pantries, churches, farms, schools, and other community-focused sites in growing their capacities to positively impact their communities from the ground up. Find more information on the BRC program here, or check out the intake form for applying.

|| 6 || Farmland: Food, Justice, and Sovereignty. An art exhibition at MSU's Broad Museum "centered around questions of food knowledge, production, scarcity, and consumption against the background of Michigan State University’s 170-year history of agricultural tradition." January 18th-July 27th. Find more information or get free tickets here.

|| 7 || Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program. Application Deadline March 3, 2025. The CAG program provides direct financial support to farmers who seek to mitigate climate change through the use of agroforestry to sequester carbon, sustain healthy farms and forests, and protect water quality, soil, and biodiversity through applications like alley cropping, forest farming, riparian buffers, windbreaks, etc. Find more details and apply here.

|| 8 || Author Reading and Book Signing (Tonight, February 12th in Bellaire) and Fiction Writing Workshop (Thursday, February 13th in Alden)—John Mauk. 25 copies of John’s newest book, Where All Things Flatten, will be given to the first 25 people who register for the reading or fiction writing workshop. Click the links above for more details and to register.

|| 9 || NDN's Community Action Fund Grants are now open for applications. CAF grants support Indigenous frontline, grassroots, community-based groups and organizations, Tribes, communities and villages, and individuals leading direct action or movement-building work in their effort to defend Indigenous People’s rights, and protect their land, air, water, and natural resources. Find more information here.

|| 10 || Farm Stop Conference. March 2nd-4th, Ann Arbor. Schedule, speakers, registration, and other details available here.

|| 11 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: Mindful & Musical with Miriam Picó - Mini Bird, The Jeff Haas Trio featuring Laurie Sears + Lisa Flahive, Interlochen In Town: Sunrise Nights - An Evening with Brittany Cavallaro and Jeff Zentner, Nate Smith, Funky Uncle, PFLAG Presents: Stories of LGBTQI2S, XH 20-Year Benefit Party and Concert, The Alluvion Big Band, Big Fun, and Interlochen presents: Algorithms, Aesthetics, and the Art of Collaboration.

Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.

The Whole Field • Volume 4 • No. 3 • Full Moon • February 12, 2025

The Wild Chatbot

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

The Weft — News and Events

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