Urban Garden Magazine

A direct link to the above video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_nTIbEaqA
You may recall that a UK magazine about hydroponics and indoor gardening, called Urban Garden Magazine (www.urbangardenmagazine.com) published an article of mine last year called "Why The Fifth Dimension is a Dangerous Idea". A couple of months ago, Urban Garden began publishing in the US and Canada, and here you see the cover of their first issue.

Inside, you will find that editor Everest Fernandez kindly decided to reprint my article in this issue to introduce it to his new North American audience, and I'm grateful to him for his support of my project. Last April I published a blog entry when the UK version of the article was published, it was called The Fifth Dimension is a Dangerous Idea. Here's the video I made to go with that blog entry:


A direct link to the above video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0J504RTYkU

Here's the cover of issue #2 of the American / Canadian version of Urban Garden: I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of this issue, but Everest Fernandez passed on to me some of the "letters to the editor" he received about issue #1 (and which are printed in this second issue). I'm pleased to say that a lot of people liked my article about the fifth dimension. Here's a bit of what reader "K.W." had to say:

I loved the articles on Are All Cuttings Really Equal? and especially the one on Plant Tissue Culture. In your lifestyle section, Head Testers: Why The Fifth Dimension Is A Dangerous Idea, at first I had no idea why it was included in your publication, but after reading it, you have definitely opened my eyes and changed the way I understand and know time/physics and even look at the world.
To walk away after reading your first issue with so much knowledge and information learnt is absolutely priceless. Sounds funny to say, but it has definitely been a life changing experience after reading your magazine.
Absolutely can't wait and highly anticipating Issue 2

Thanks!
K. W. , Toronto, Ontario Canada

That's high praise indeed! Urban Garden really is quite an eye-catching magazine, and the fact that they are able to give this expensive-looking magazine away free is kind of amazing to me.

Now here's the cover of issue #3 which should be appearing at your local hydroponics supply store soon:
The theme of this issue is "We Can Feed the World". A noble idea, to be sure. But Everest is also pointing us to a way to help the world that I'm sure I'd heard about before, but it hadn't really twigged on me before what a great idea it is. Ever hear of kiva.org? Kiva provides "micro-loans" to third world entrepreneurs: farmers, craftspeople, bakers and cooks, people who could have a better life if only they could get a little "kick start". A farmer in Nigeria needs $600 to buy supplies to grow yams for the local markets? A family in the Honduras needs $1200 to make and sell tortillas? A mother in Guatemala needs $1000 to buy supplies to make earthenware pots? Kiva provides a way for us each to pitch in, even 25 bucks at a time... these funds are pooled and people around the world are helped. And remember, these are not gifts, they're loans: once your money is repaid you can use it again to help someone else. That's pretty darn cool!

So Everest has just started a "grower's group" at kiva for people who support the idea on this third issues's cover. If you would like to join that group click here. Here's what Everest says:

I want to invite you to our lending team, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

If you join my lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you're a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva "count" towards our team's impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you - but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team's collective portfolio, so our team's overall impact will grow!

I'm particularly interested in supporting food-production based businesses but it doesn't have to be exclusive.

Best wishes and thanks for your time,

Everest

Again, if you would like to join the group, click here. To close, here's my song about the fifth dimensional branches that have already occurred that keep us from being able to make a difference, and how important it is for us all to see that we can change that: it's called "What Was Done Today".


A direct link to the above video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUrIeyUUICI

Enjoy the journey!

Rob Bryanton

P.S. - In honor of this entry we started a new poll here that asks a related question: "Plants use quantum physics effects in photosynthesis, and this is why it is such an efficient energy conversion process." Do you agree or disagree? Cast your vote.

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