The Jolly Pilgrim – references and supporting text
17 November 2011
Good Morning Everybody
The reference sections (Appendix II) for The Jolly Pilgrim are now live, so we finally have a complete, internet-supported product. Every number, and most of the facts, are sourced on these pages. If I’ve missed anything, do point it out.
I apologise for the delay in posting these. Getting 18,000 words of supporting material online turned out to be a big job.
I’ve used the opportunity to expand on areas alluded to in the text, including: animal consciousness, astrological ages, killer bees, Carl Sagan, extrasolar planets, happiness, Sappho, Sumer and Gaia’s earthling-dispersal strategy.
Here is the link to the reference page menu.
Also now online:
- An explanation of the Black Saturday bushfires, which in 2009 engulfed the village of Kinglake where I stayed on New Year 2006, as per page 118.
- The essay on space exploration I wrote in 2000, which provided the original funding for the adventure, as per page 156.
- The poetry I wrote cycling across Europe, as per pages 71 and 77 (happy).
- The poetry I wrote in Istanbul, as per page 93 (seedy).
Finally, three months in, it’s apparent that the parts of the book’s thesis many core readers regard as most controversial are the bits about economic history and systems – my view that free and open economies are the most effective way to serve the interests of human (and, ultimately, planetary) welfare. Given current events, this one will clearly run and run, but I’ve seen fit to add a few more thoughts (Part 9, scroll down to ‘Civilisational logistics’).
Stoically
Pete Baker
‘Why be happy when you could be normal?’ – Jeanette Winterson
