Garden City
My brother Aidan and collaborators Chris Smith, Vianka Villa, and Edward James made this documentary on garden cities and sustainability.
It came out four days ago. Two days ago, he got married. (I officiated! More on that later!). He has his last final of the semester two days from now. Then, on Monday, he's leaving the country for three months.
Because, you know, he really likes his down time.
(That's Aidan and his new wife!)
Aidan says of his short film:
"We approached this sustainability documentary through the lens of the urban environment. Most of the world's population now lives in cities and relies on massive amounts of imported energy and materials in order to function. The following story is but one of the many bottom up approaches to a sustainable urban food system that is self-sustaining in regards to water and energy use, providing a reliable local source of nutritious food and community involvement to overcome major challenges related to climate change and urban metabolism."
Watching his documentary made me want to plunge my hands in some dirt and rainwater and get down with the ladybugs. And believe me, I'm no gardener. If my thumb is green today, it's because I was coloring pictures with my seven-year-old niece. But there's something about people talking about food and community and saving the planet and making a huge impact in a dozen small ways that really makes me want to, I dunno, gorge myself on sun-ripened tomatoes right off the vine and juice my own lemons and grow blueberries in a pot. And stuff.
We have our own plot in the Westerly community garden, and it's about time we go and get our hands filthy. Now that it's not 30 degrees. For the most part.
When my father shared the documentary on Facebook, he wrote:
"On behalf of my newly married son Aidan and his bride MaLinda, I invite you to view his brief documentary film (5 minutes!) about an urban sustainable farming project in Phoenix. These intrepid newlyweds are off to the Peruvian Amazon this weekend for 10 weeks to take part in a project with scientists from Texas A&M, evaluating an endangered macaw population. On Karl Marx's birthday, I reverence their love, courage, and vision for a better world for all of us. Human beings of all nations, unite! Vayan con dios, amores mios. (Siri wanted "amores" to be "s'mores." Mmmm.... s'mores....)"
Which cracked me up, so I'm sharing it.
Aidan's a fireball, and I love him. His grown-up self deeply impresses me. When he was a kid, I used to sit on him. And he used to set fire to things. Now I just want to hug him. And he just wants to save the world.
Click to view***