New Beginnings, New Futures

Monday 23rd February 20.30 - I walked out of the 'Arrivals' hall of Jerez airport and into a starry Andalusian evening. I was carrying 2 bags. One baggage of 15kg that contained my few clothes; and a 10kg hand-luggage that contained this laptop I now write upon, and a few books. Inside my jacket pocket was a Western Digital 250GB portable hard-drive.

By 21.30 I had arrived at my destination. A hilltop 'Blanco Pueblo' (white town) that dot the Andalusian landscape from Cadiz to Costa la Luz. It was a warmish barmy evening - good for February...

I put my bags down and walked through a cave passage onto the private terrace. Ahead of me was an expanse of landscape; above me the stars sprinkled a clear night sky; below me was a direct 400 metre drop to the dirt and river below. I am literally situated on the edge of a cliff, at the end of a hilltop town...it is tranquil... yet when the wind blows, it howls like a banshee!

Tonight the Levant wind blows... or rather it shrieks around the cliff walls outside... it is now 20.45 and I'm thinking of cooking a little tomato, onion, and garlic. The vegetables here are home grown and the tomatoes are as big as oranges... and the oranges are as big as melons... outside in the courtyard stands a sole lemon tree - soon it will spring into small white flowers; later it will sprout lemons the size of melon-sized oranges...

The new Glenn Campbell album is playing through my laptop speakers...

El futuro es abierto...

Yesterday I wi-fied the house; so I can keep my 'electronic eyes' roaming on the Net-world... as I drink a chilled glass of sherry... This year is the quickening ... changes erupting all around us ...

I plan to do some writing about this future... meanwhile, my current book hits the bookshelves in early May (UK) and late July (US), with a German translation already in the works...

What is this book that has occupied the last 18-24 months of my life/career? Well, here's what it looks like:

And here's the blurb:

It is difficult to imagine a world without the car, and yet that is exactly what Dennis and Urry set out to do in this provocative new book. They argue that the days of the car are numbered: powerful forces around the world are undermining the car system and will usher in a new transport system sometime in the next few decades. Specifically, the book examines how several major processes are shaping the future of how we travel, including:
• Global warming and its many global consequences
• Peaking of oil supplies
• Increased digitisation of many aspects of economic and social life
• Massive global population increases

The authors look at changes in technology, policy, economy and society, and make a convincing argument for a future where, by necessity, the present car system will be re–designed and re–engineered.

Yet the book also suggests that there are some hugely bleak dilemmas facing the twenty first century. The authors lay out what they consider to be possible ‘post–car’ future scenarios. These they describe as ‘local sustainability’, ‘regional warlordism’ and ‘digital networks of control’.

After The Car will be of great interest to planners, policy makers, social scientists, futurologists, those working in industry, as well as general readers.

Some have described the 20th Century as the century of the car. Now that century has come to a close – and things are about to change.

And it's popping-up on both amazon.co.uk and amazon.com - yes, a quick pitch. Well, I'm worth it!

I'm now listening to Andrew Bird's Noble Beast and the wind is howling like a true beast too...yet the Levant is a warm wind... phew!

Everything is possible - I don't know what the future will bring; where I will be, or what I will do once my money runs out... I hope I can perhaps write my 'follow-up' book (more on this later). In the meantime, I guess you sometimes need to create movement in order to attract a change in our Universal energies... so they notice you :-)

In all and everything, we should live within each moment and enjoy the adventure. And bless each one of us for being here. We are all a part of something great and wonderful - if only we have to keep reminding ourselves.... I'll remind you if you'll remind me...

Namaste

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