James Wesley Rawles (of suvivalblog infamy) and FerFal (of Surviving In Argentina infamy) reign as the most influential survivalist bloggers on the internet today. In many ways they are opposites. Here is my brief rundown on each of them:
Rawles is a militant, retreat-based survivalist, as well as an extremely religious Right-winger. He seems to purvey a form of survivalism that is based primarily on heavily-armed preparation for catastrophic, Mad Max-style societal collapse. While voluminous in content, his blog is, IMHO, virtually impenetrable - his blog entries read like dry military manual cut-outs. Yet, I check his blog every day, and regularly read his economic/world news/links, which I find invaluable. Kudos to Rawles for usually keeping a lid on his opinion. While I disagree with him morally, ethically, culturally, and spiritually (in virtually all arenas, I suppose!), and find his kill-or-be-killed brand of Christianity both mystifying and unsettling, I admire him for his discipline, his ethical strength, and the high standards he maintains for his blog. Credit where credit is due - he is a man of character who believes in what he says and does, and has the backbone to stand up and say it - to the entire world, nonetheless! And, in a subculture where extremist thought runs deep, his brand of extremism is fairly benign.
FerFal is much more down-to-earth than Rawles, and speaks more from actual experience. His survival model is not retreat-based, but rather based on the harsh realities of surviving on Argentina's mean streets in the wake of the all-too-real 2001 economic meltdown. There is little Wild West pioneer spirit in his blog entries. He focuses on more mundane, everyday things like how to drive defensively, avoid getting mugged, store wealth, keep your family safe, maintain an income, etc. Might I suggest that the concepts of both urban homesteads and urban retreats mesh with his survival model. So does the notion of cultivating a home-based business. I enjoy FerFal's blog quite a bit, because he is personable and funny, and his advice is simple and straightforward.
*The Bike Spork has arrived. It's solid, useful, and shapeless, all at once. Hmm.
*Here is a link to a web page that lists all the LDS food facilities in the United States:
http://www.providentliving.org/location/display/1,12568,2026-1-4-39315,00.html
This is the way to put survival food away on the cheap!
Rawles is a militant, retreat-based survivalist, as well as an extremely religious Right-winger. He seems to purvey a form of survivalism that is based primarily on heavily-armed preparation for catastrophic, Mad Max-style societal collapse. While voluminous in content, his blog is, IMHO, virtually impenetrable - his blog entries read like dry military manual cut-outs. Yet, I check his blog every day, and regularly read his economic/world news/links, which I find invaluable. Kudos to Rawles for usually keeping a lid on his opinion. While I disagree with him morally, ethically, culturally, and spiritually (in virtually all arenas, I suppose!), and find his kill-or-be-killed brand of Christianity both mystifying and unsettling, I admire him for his discipline, his ethical strength, and the high standards he maintains for his blog. Credit where credit is due - he is a man of character who believes in what he says and does, and has the backbone to stand up and say it - to the entire world, nonetheless! And, in a subculture where extremist thought runs deep, his brand of extremism is fairly benign.
FerFal is much more down-to-earth than Rawles, and speaks more from actual experience. His survival model is not retreat-based, but rather based on the harsh realities of surviving on Argentina's mean streets in the wake of the all-too-real 2001 economic meltdown. There is little Wild West pioneer spirit in his blog entries. He focuses on more mundane, everyday things like how to drive defensively, avoid getting mugged, store wealth, keep your family safe, maintain an income, etc. Might I suggest that the concepts of both urban homesteads and urban retreats mesh with his survival model. So does the notion of cultivating a home-based business. I enjoy FerFal's blog quite a bit, because he is personable and funny, and his advice is simple and straightforward.
*The Bike Spork has arrived. It's solid, useful, and shapeless, all at once. Hmm.
*Here is a link to a web page that lists all the LDS food facilities in the United States:
http://www.providentliving.org/location/display/1,12568,2026-1-4-39315,00.html
This is the way to put survival food away on the cheap!
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