And the Pursuit of Happiness ...

I found this charming photo essay the other day on the New York Post
("And The Pursuit of Happiness", by Maira Kalman), and thought it was quite relevant in the light of our recent topic of trends, as well as sustainability:
http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/

The main theme of the article is that the ideal vision of a good America, as dreamed up by its founding fathers, was one rooted in democracy, and happiness sprung from living off the land (an agrarian society).However, the development of America has since deviated from that vision, growing instead into the polluted, shallow, fast-food nation we know today.

She then touches on various movements and thought patterns that are possibly bringing America back this simpler, more sustainable, more people-oriented way of thinking -- the slow food movement, organic farming, reconnecting communities through cooperative farming activities. "We could think small and shift to a new(old) way of growing food and eating and being".