This site is obviously the product of an eclectic mind. Eclectics often resist the herd instinct. We don’t conform.

It has been said that conformity lends both social cohesion and a sense of comfort. I’m all for cohesion and comfort, but human beings as a herd don’t always make the best decisions.

Truth and honor rank higher on my priority list than comfort, and, on occasion, higher than social cohesion.

Overlooked statements don't fit into corporate marketing schemes. They did not mesh with prevailing racist sentiments. They could not easily be cataloged or labeled. They did not yield to Puritan fanaticism. They were not approved by cultural gatekeepers.

Every part of the Earth is a self-organized entity from the molecules to the cells, to the smallest bacteria and the virus to the herbs in the forest and the giant trees, or one continuum of harmony, self organization, self determination. And because the party's in mind made us think about self determination in atomistic and isolation terms, we did not see that we could be interconnected, but different and diverse. Diversity is at the root of interconnectedness, diversity is at the root of freedom. Diversity is nature's way.
—Vandana Shiva

There may be some pride in my eclecticism. I don’t understand narrow-mindedness and the inability to come to grips with the fullness of life. When someone tells me they only listen to one kind of music, it’s as if they had said they never eat anything but oatmeal. Is it fear that rules out exploration?

Here are a few eclectics I discovered on the Web.

R.M. Hershberger Virtual Art Gallery: Original paintings and drawings by Ray M. Hershberger. Norfolk, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, art instruction, papier mâché projects, artists' supplies, various styles, techniques and mediums exploring a career of more than thirty years.

I'm Matt Miller is a very literate cornucopia. I know of Matt J. Miller via our mutual admiration for author Wendell Berry. You could spend a gentle afternoon scrolling through Matt's website. Recommended. His About says: "I write essays that praise the mutilated world and teach writing at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. My newsletter contains seasonal reports from my permaculture garden."

Unblinking Eye — Ed Buffaloe’s remarkable entry into eclectic-website-dom features photography, articles, poetry ( on YouTube ), pattern languages, fountain pens, a restored Beamer and more.

Author/designer J.H. Crawford is an accomplished eclectic with impressive credentials, especially in the business world. See his website JHCrawford.com, and also his Car-Free Cities interview.

Although the Andrew Russ "Endwar" website is no longer available, here's a bit about him at Alchetron.com/Endwar-Concret-Poet. He may be involved with Spidertangle. Also Wikipedia. Here is an example of his former site in the Wayback Machine, and as a PDF file.

David Rakowski — David’s published interests are not as wide ranging as my other choices, but some of his work, especially his music composition and his typography, has been high profile.

Gerald M. Panter's photography website is apparently offline. Here it is at the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine. Also, here is his collection of street photographs.

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