That’s right: the internet and smart phone conquered everything in its sights — toppling towering institutions great and small and causing previous untouchable traditions to go extinct (e.g. “paper” newspaper reading, the yellow pages, books, handwritten letters, and too many hobbies to count), to the point it has us all scratching our heads on how we managed without the internet and smart phone at all — with the exception of one giant category that to this day the Tech Titans cannot touch: The sense of smell!
And thank God. Smell is doing as good as ever and maybe better than ever before thanks to its inability to be digitally recreated or imitated or faked. Until now: Find out from Nose (above) about his plan to capture his fair share of the internet pie.
“Nobody knows you’re a dog on the internet” – Peter Steiner from The New Yorker, 1993
Side note: Do you remember the old Peter Steiner’s cartoon in the New Yorker, which if you can believe it dates back to 1993. Well, the corollary is this: If dogs actually invented the internet, it would be smell (not sight) based. Just a theory.
What exactly is Nature Folk HQ? Well, for one, it’s the place I’m standing, by the campfire, roasting a marshmallow. But more than a place it’s a state of mind where we try not to talk about it (that much), we just do it.
In fact, we believe our action-based approach is the secret to our success. And it’s not just us. Here at Nature Folk HQ we know it takes a community to bring the Nature Folk Movement (NFM) to life.
Short list of some of our Nature Folksters (i.e. folk stars) and activities we support:
(1) Attend a Campfire Talk (at CampfirePark.Org)
Sick of the rat race? How about kicking back around the campfire to hear a campfire talk. The campfire is the place we gather to reconnect with nature and talk about what is essential in life. We think you’ll enjoy this modern-day reboot of the ancient tradition.
(2) Ride the Water Cycle (at GoHydrology.Org)
There’s no better way to get back in touch with nature than by tuning in with the water cycle. Whether it’s a recent shift in the skies or a new water flow pattern in the deep swamp, Go Hydrology is your passport into the innerworkings of the water cycle.
(3) Hear a Campfire Shanty (at BobbyAngel.Org)
Are you bored of “reading” about conservation topics? Well how about listening to a campfire shanty that explores the topic at a whole new level. Bobby Angel is a balladeer whose growing archive of songs and albums helped inspire the Nature Folk Movement (NFM).
(4) Rediscover your Bookshelf (at ReReadable.Org)
Over a decade after the invention of the smartphone, the bookshelf has been cast away on the dust heap like so much else. No longer. Rereadble resuscitates the old (and new) books on our bookshelf back to life, and ponders out loud what being rereadable is all about.
(5) Journey Back to Before Phones (BP) (at BeforePhones.Org)
Granted, it was a bizarre time, but believe it or not people once survived (even thrived) in the pre-phone era, also known as the Great Phonelessness. Join the researchers at Before Phones as they uncover the latest archeological finds about this cryptic historical period.
(6) Get into Good Penmanshape (at Penmanshape.Org)
Sick of “thumbing” everything you write? And let’s face it, using a keyboard may be writing, true – but it’s also keeping you in front of a screen. There’s no better workout for the hands and the mind than sitting down with a blank piece of paper and a killivine (that’s just a fancy word for a pen!)
Well, thanks once again folks, for tuning in. And until next time, go out there and do something to help spread the Nature Folk Movement (NFM) to a family member or friend.
The result? Good ideas from the middle and the bottom floor get ignored or side stepped. Another thing about Top Floor decision-making: It’s often out of step with what’s happening on the bottom floor, down on the street. And isn’t it always the same thing. Whether it’s Big Water, Big Government, Big Tech or a Mega Corp of any kind calling the shots, it’s the little guy on the outside always looking in, or looking up, trying to figure it out yet also always the one also paying the price. Case in point is the Smart Phone. It was sold to society with little concern what the payoffs may be. Convenience at a price, or fee, with no responsible assessment of what the long-term consequences might be, or what was lost with the giant shift. Okay, good, I’m glad I got that off my chest. That’s where the grassroots Nature Folk Movement (NFM) comes in. I’m not saying we’ll ever get the upper hand. But it’s good to be having a conversation around the campfire. That’s where a lot of good things get their start.
Home of the Nature Folk Movement (NFM), the Nature Folk Flyer and all the Nature Folksters (i.e. folk stars). See our 
