If you’re not bold, you’re probably shy or passive, and your life may be boring, routine, and unfulfilled. This can be very painful because not being bold or confident may be standing in your way of having the relationships you desire, the career that would fulfill you, or the adventures you crave.
Most people who live vibrant rewarding lives demonstrate those traits of boldness. They don’t wait for life to happen to them—they go out and create it. They don’t stop when they meet limits or challenges, they push on through. They have fulfilling lives because they are bold enough to go out and get what they want.
Would you like your life to be more exciting and more fulfilling inside and out? Maybe you need to learn how to be bold. Here are some tips!
For the tips, go to How to be bold.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Let things be as they are
Serious family problems this week. We're going to the New Forest tomorrow for the weekend to try and regain some calm and balance. Suddenly, all the other things I was worrying about are out the window. Tonight the chorus in London has a Russian linguist coming to teach us how to pronounce the Russian correctly for Rachmaninov's Vespers -- but now, that doesn't concern me anymore because I've had to drop out of the concert altogether.
Writing on my blog does help me because I have to concentrate on it for the moment and it's peaceful.
Here's a snippet from a favorite book of mine by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's called Wherever You Go, There You Are. I think it might help me now.
The next time you feel a sense of dissatisfaction, of something being missing or not quite right, turn inward just for an experiment. See if you can capture the energy of that very moment. Instead of picking up a magazine or going to the movies, calling a friend or looking for something to eat or acting up in one way or another, make a place for yourself. Sit down and enter into your breathing, if only for a few minutes. Don't look for anything -- neither flowers nor light nor a beautiful view. Don't extol the virtues of anything or condemn the inadequacy of anything. Don't even think to yourself, "I am going inward now." Just sit. Reside at the center of the world. Let things be as they are.
Writing on my blog does help me because I have to concentrate on it for the moment and it's peaceful.
Here's a snippet from a favorite book of mine by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's called Wherever You Go, There You Are. I think it might help me now.
The next time you feel a sense of dissatisfaction, of something being missing or not quite right, turn inward just for an experiment. See if you can capture the energy of that very moment. Instead of picking up a magazine or going to the movies, calling a friend or looking for something to eat or acting up in one way or another, make a place for yourself. Sit down and enter into your breathing, if only for a few minutes. Don't look for anything -- neither flowers nor light nor a beautiful view. Don't extol the virtues of anything or condemn the inadequacy of anything. Don't even think to yourself, "I am going inward now." Just sit. Reside at the center of the world. Let things be as they are.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
The vicar screws up
I posted last month about the village vicar in Sherborne St John, Hampshire, where I used to live who wrote a column about how women "are emotionally less well equipped to cope with the demands of church leadership. This puts them in situations which are more difficult for them than for a man; the woman’s tenderness and tolerance are not always helpful when it comes to leading the church. This is illustrated by the fact that ordained women are generally more accepting of liberalism in matters of faith and practice than their corresponding male peer group.
The whole column is here:
Women Emotionally Less Well Equipped than Men
I've been reading the vicar's reactionary comments for years, and I thought nothing he wrote could actually rile those nice villagers but this month's writing has finally done it. The sweet parish magazine has had to print angry rebuttals to the vicar's words.
Here are a couple of views:
What kind of message is being sent to younger members of the community, with an article appearing in the first few pages of the magazine, implying that women are second-class citizens.
I don’t want my children to read this sort of thing. My children have a female
Headteacher who teaches them Christianity, what are they going to think of her, their mother or grandmother’s views?
And what do you think the vicar writes about this month? Learning a lesson from his parishioners? Growing as a person after receiving this feedback? No, he writes about handling criticism and how that is the lot of leader and evokes images of Jesus. Does this guy have a problem or what? Let's hear what he has to say:
"...In such cases we have to learn to endure criticism. We are not
the first to have trodden this road! Any one in a position of leadership meets this at some stage. Supremely was this true of Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. The Bible says:
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
The whole column is here:
Women Emotionally Less Well Equipped than Men
I've been reading the vicar's reactionary comments for years, and I thought nothing he wrote could actually rile those nice villagers but this month's writing has finally done it. The sweet parish magazine has had to print angry rebuttals to the vicar's words.
Here are a couple of views:
What kind of message is being sent to younger members of the community, with an article appearing in the first few pages of the magazine, implying that women are second-class citizens.
I don’t want my children to read this sort of thing. My children have a female
Headteacher who teaches them Christianity, what are they going to think of her, their mother or grandmother’s views?
And what do you think the vicar writes about this month? Learning a lesson from his parishioners? Growing as a person after receiving this feedback? No, he writes about handling criticism and how that is the lot of leader and evokes images of Jesus. Does this guy have a problem or what? Let's hear what he has to say:
"...In such cases we have to learn to endure criticism. We are not
the first to have trodden this road! Any one in a position of leadership meets this at some stage. Supremely was this true of Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. The Bible says:
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Mountain-Dew Mouth
It may take you by surprise, but drinking your Cola is almost like putting battery acid in your mouth. New research at the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine found that long time exposure to soft drinks can corrode significant enamel amounts, even if many people are more worried about their sugar level and its effect on the bodyweight.
In the mountains of Appalachia, the main problem is with Mountain Dew:
Central Appalachia is No. 1 in the nation in toothlessness. According to dentists, one of the main culprits is Mountain Dew soda. With 50 percent more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi, Mountain Dew seems to be used as a kind of anti-depressant for children in the hills.
Kids drink the soda in school, at football games and before going to bed at night. And drinking the sugary soda loaded with caffeine often starts early. Dentists speak about families who put soda in baby bottles.
"Other sodas, too," said Smith, "but Mountain Dew is unique because it has a lot of sugar and a lot of acid. If you're taking a drink every 20 minutes, that's like bathing the teeth in it all day."
"It's just rampant decay," adds Dr. Stacie Moore-Martin of the Mud Creek Clinic in Grethel, Ky. "People are addicted to Mountain Dew. It's terrible."
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Please don't do it
Suicide is on my mind today. Not me, but a friend. I know she reads my blog so will try to reach her this way.
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You feel horrible now, but this will pass. So many beautiful experiences await you if you just hang on. There's a lot of fun and laughter in your future if you can ride out this hard part. I will be there with you to help you through.
Here's a good website to help you get past this difficult moment:
Suicide: Read this First
Cheering you up
I know stoopid headlines make you laugh, so here are a few:
Man Run Over by Freight Train Dies
The Los Angeles Times, March 2
Teen-age girls often have babies fathered by men
The Sunday Oregonian, September 24
Man shoots neighbor with machete
The Miami Herald, July 3
Clinton pledges restraint in use of nuclear weapons
Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 6
How we feel about ourselves is the core of self-esteem, says author Louise Hart
Boulder, Colorado, Sunday Camera, February 5
Fish lurk in streams
Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle, January 29
Don't give up hope!
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering. - Ben Okri
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You feel horrible now, but this will pass. So many beautiful experiences await you if you just hang on. There's a lot of fun and laughter in your future if you can ride out this hard part. I will be there with you to help you through.
Here's a good website to help you get past this difficult moment:
Suicide: Read this First
Cheering you up
I know stoopid headlines make you laugh, so here are a few:
Man Run Over by Freight Train Dies
The Los Angeles Times, March 2
Teen-age girls often have babies fathered by men
The Sunday Oregonian, September 24
Man shoots neighbor with machete
The Miami Herald, July 3
Clinton pledges restraint in use of nuclear weapons
Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 6
How we feel about ourselves is the core of self-esteem, says author Louise Hart
Boulder, Colorado, Sunday Camera, February 5
Fish lurk in streams
Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle, January 29
Don't give up hope!
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering. - Ben Okri
Religion is a human invention
Interesting article by Elisabeth Cornwell. To read the full thing, go to http://suicidegirls.com/news/culture/23567/
"Religion is a human invention, the gods and goddesses that have come and gone during our short history have all displayed the best and (more often) worst human traits. They fell in love, jealousy was common, revenge, anger and trickery prevailed, the struggle for power was universal, and all could be brought to folly and woe due to excessive hubris, greed, and lust. Soap operas pale in comparison! What concerns me, though, is that religion reflected the culture of the times - and, for better or worse, the religions most prominent today are all rather ancient beasts that grew out of a time when women were subservient to men, and often considered as property to be bartered, battered, and controlled.
So we are back to our original question: Why do women today continue to fall victim to an archaic system of beliefs that foster misogynistic behavior? Why are women even more likely to be religious than men? The simple answer is that it is safe. Please don't take this as a slight against women -- it isn't. Male/female differences exist, but I'm certainly not suggesting that risk taking is a better option than playing it safe. After all, women are less likely than men to die doing incredibly stupid things (check out the Darwin Awards it is nearly exclusively male 'winners'). But the fact that women are less likely to push the status quo for fear of social exclusion and even retribution makes a lot of evolutionary sense.
...
In order for women to abandon religion and its securities, there needs to be something tangible to replace the support that it offers. This is especially true in small and/or insular communities where one could face being shunned by family and friends. And in some parts of the world, abandonment of belief would bring a death sentence to be carried out by family members. Women traditionally have had the strongest ties to family compared to men: thus breaking those ties will be more difficult and more psychologically painful. While nobody has done a specific study of atheism and women, it is easy to guess that those women who have been raised in more traditional religious homes, with family and religion closely tied together, are most likely to fear of rejection and isolation if they announce their lack of faith. Some manage to break through, but not without significant loss."
"Religion is a human invention, the gods and goddesses that have come and gone during our short history have all displayed the best and (more often) worst human traits. They fell in love, jealousy was common, revenge, anger and trickery prevailed, the struggle for power was universal, and all could be brought to folly and woe due to excessive hubris, greed, and lust. Soap operas pale in comparison! What concerns me, though, is that religion reflected the culture of the times - and, for better or worse, the religions most prominent today are all rather ancient beasts that grew out of a time when women were subservient to men, and often considered as property to be bartered, battered, and controlled.
So we are back to our original question: Why do women today continue to fall victim to an archaic system of beliefs that foster misogynistic behavior? Why are women even more likely to be religious than men? The simple answer is that it is safe. Please don't take this as a slight against women -- it isn't. Male/female differences exist, but I'm certainly not suggesting that risk taking is a better option than playing it safe. After all, women are less likely than men to die doing incredibly stupid things (check out the Darwin Awards it is nearly exclusively male 'winners'). But the fact that women are less likely to push the status quo for fear of social exclusion and even retribution makes a lot of evolutionary sense.
...
In order for women to abandon religion and its securities, there needs to be something tangible to replace the support that it offers. This is especially true in small and/or insular communities where one could face being shunned by family and friends. And in some parts of the world, abandonment of belief would bring a death sentence to be carried out by family members. Women traditionally have had the strongest ties to family compared to men: thus breaking those ties will be more difficult and more psychologically painful. While nobody has done a specific study of atheism and women, it is easy to guess that those women who have been raised in more traditional religious homes, with family and religion closely tied together, are most likely to fear of rejection and isolation if they announce their lack of faith. Some manage to break through, but not without significant loss."
Monday, 23 February 2009
Why believers should welcome the emergence of unbelief
By Maurice O'Sullivan, in the Wall Street Journal:
"So far, American atheists have no figurehead with the brilliance or literary and scientific prizes of Britain's Mr. Dawkins, the recently retired Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, where Balliol College named one of its most prestigious awards after him. Even so, these new American atheists are far better advocates for their cause than the dysfunctional O'Hare clan. Now that they have broken the ice, in fact, we should only hope that even more thoughtful atheists will follow them into the pool.
Why should believers welcome this emergence of unbelief? Why not? We should be glad that there are people, even the devil's disciples, who take religion seriously enough to attack it, especially in these days when God seems to appear only in quarrels over holiday displays, during political campaigns or on the self-help shelves of Barnes & Noble. Should the primary goal of religion really be to fund municipal crèches, allow politicians to end every speech with the tag "And God bless America," or inspire works like "Tea With God: A Divinely Inspired Self-Help Book" and "The Christian Entrepreneur: How to Profit From Your God-Given Idea"?
I admire people who take religion seriously enough to challenge it. And I suspect God would too, if he thought ads on the sides of buses or atheist thoughts for the day were as worthy of his time as helping people find meaning in their lives and peace in their souls. Perhaps if we are confronted with better questions about the meaning and value of religion, we will be forced to find better answers."
"So far, American atheists have no figurehead with the brilliance or literary and scientific prizes of Britain's Mr. Dawkins, the recently retired Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, where Balliol College named one of its most prestigious awards after him. Even so, these new American atheists are far better advocates for their cause than the dysfunctional O'Hare clan. Now that they have broken the ice, in fact, we should only hope that even more thoughtful atheists will follow them into the pool.
Why should believers welcome this emergence of unbelief? Why not? We should be glad that there are people, even the devil's disciples, who take religion seriously enough to attack it, especially in these days when God seems to appear only in quarrels over holiday displays, during political campaigns or on the self-help shelves of Barnes & Noble. Should the primary goal of religion really be to fund municipal crèches, allow politicians to end every speech with the tag "And God bless America," or inspire works like "Tea With God: A Divinely Inspired Self-Help Book" and "The Christian Entrepreneur: How to Profit From Your God-Given Idea"?
I admire people who take religion seriously enough to challenge it. And I suspect God would too, if he thought ads on the sides of buses or atheist thoughts for the day were as worthy of his time as helping people find meaning in their lives and peace in their souls. Perhaps if we are confronted with better questions about the meaning and value of religion, we will be forced to find better answers."
Headache-y Monday
Do any of you ever wake up with a stoopid headache that you can't get rid of all day? I have that prob today. I feel like I shouldn't complain because my friend Karen's husband has had a bad headache for over a week but, then again, nothing ever stops me from whining.
A guy at the office just stopped at my desk to ask me how my hair was today. I'd told him on Friday that I had to schedule an emergency haircut as my hair was so bad something had to be done. But then I added that my hair still looked better than his, so it must have stuck in his mind. (He has curly untameable hair like mine but it doesn't seem to bother him as much because he plays in a band and must need hair like that for his image.)
I'll watch our tape of the Oscars from last night and see if I can get any good ideas for a new hairstyle. It is broadcast in the middle of the night for us in England so we have to watch it the day after.
Everyone in England is happy that a British movie won the Best Picture award. And in Reading, people are especially thrilled because Kate Winslet is from there. I think that's the only thing Reading is famous for, besides the jail where Oscar Wilde resided for a while.
A guy at the office just stopped at my desk to ask me how my hair was today. I'd told him on Friday that I had to schedule an emergency haircut as my hair was so bad something had to be done. But then I added that my hair still looked better than his, so it must have stuck in his mind. (He has curly untameable hair like mine but it doesn't seem to bother him as much because he plays in a band and must need hair like that for his image.)
I'll watch our tape of the Oscars from last night and see if I can get any good ideas for a new hairstyle. It is broadcast in the middle of the night for us in England so we have to watch it the day after.
Everyone in England is happy that a British movie won the Best Picture award. And in Reading, people are especially thrilled because Kate Winslet is from there. I think that's the only thing Reading is famous for, besides the jail where Oscar Wilde resided for a while.
Scottish dancing the night away
Saturday night, my friend Tessa threw a big Scottish dancing party to celebrate her birthday. Here she is, in a photo that doesn't do her justice. She looked like Cinderella last night in a floaty dress and perfectly matching shoes, nail polish and lipstick.
I did OK with the early dances but as the evening wore on and they got more complicated, I just lost all brain power to retain the moves in my head. One woman told me I looked shell shocked as I relied on the other dancers to just move me around when I was supposed to be somewhere else in a reel.
Later a man in a kilt told me that the dance I had just attempted had been devised by Scottish soldiers who were imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp during World War II. "Just think," he said, trying to be nice, "of all the time they had to devise difficult moves and sequences." It helped me a little to hear that.
Here's Mel and me at the party:
Happy Birthday Tessa. We all had a great time.
I did OK with the early dances but as the evening wore on and they got more complicated, I just lost all brain power to retain the moves in my head. One woman told me I looked shell shocked as I relied on the other dancers to just move me around when I was supposed to be somewhere else in a reel.
Later a man in a kilt told me that the dance I had just attempted had been devised by Scottish soldiers who were imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp during World War II. "Just think," he said, trying to be nice, "of all the time they had to devise difficult moves and sequences." It helped me a little to hear that.
Here's Mel and me at the party:
Happy Birthday Tessa. We all had a great time.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Reducing cortisol levels
I just read this list of things to do to reduce cortisol (the thing that produces feelings of stress) levels in your body:
Cut cortisol 20 percent
Say "Om." Subjects who practiced Buddhist meditation significantly decreased both cortisol and blood pressure in a six-week Thai study.
Cut cortisol elevation 66 percent
Make a great iPod mix. Music can have a calming effect on the brain, especially while you're facing down a major stressor.
Cut cortisol 50 percent
Hit the sack early — or take a nap. What's the difference between getting six hours of sleep instead of the suggested eight? "Fifty percent more cortisol in the bloodstream," experts say.
Cut cortisol 47 percent
Sip some black tea. The "cup that cheers" has deep associations with comfort and calm — just think of how the English revere their late-afternoon teatime.
Cut cortisol 39 percent
Hang out with a funny friend. The pal who keeps you in stitches can do more than distract you from your problems — her very presence may help temper your hormonal stress response.
Cut cortisol 31 percent
Schedule a massage. A little pampering can rub your stress levels the right way.
Cut cortisol 12 percent to 16 percent
Chew a piece of gum. Next time you feel frazzled, try popping a stick of gum into your mouth to instantly defuse tension, suggest new findings from Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.
Cut cortisol 75 percent by reading Elizabeth's blog
OK, I made that last one up.
Cut cortisol 20 percent
Say "Om." Subjects who practiced Buddhist meditation significantly decreased both cortisol and blood pressure in a six-week Thai study.
Cut cortisol elevation 66 percent
Make a great iPod mix. Music can have a calming effect on the brain, especially while you're facing down a major stressor.
Cut cortisol 50 percent
Hit the sack early — or take a nap. What's the difference between getting six hours of sleep instead of the suggested eight? "Fifty percent more cortisol in the bloodstream," experts say.
Cut cortisol 47 percent
Sip some black tea. The "cup that cheers" has deep associations with comfort and calm — just think of how the English revere their late-afternoon teatime.
Cut cortisol 39 percent
Hang out with a funny friend. The pal who keeps you in stitches can do more than distract you from your problems — her very presence may help temper your hormonal stress response.
Cut cortisol 31 percent
Schedule a massage. A little pampering can rub your stress levels the right way.
Cut cortisol 12 percent to 16 percent
Chew a piece of gum. Next time you feel frazzled, try popping a stick of gum into your mouth to instantly defuse tension, suggest new findings from Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.
Cut cortisol 75 percent by reading Elizabeth's blog
OK, I made that last one up.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Elise's birthday
I came home from work last night, finished making a cheese ball, then ran out to my friend Elise's for her birthday potluck party. I didn't even change my clothes from my Friday dress-down outfit.
I knew I was in trouble when I passed by Elise's huge dining room window and saw stately candles burning on the table.
Oh no. I thought it was going to be a little casual potluck, but it looked like this was an actual birthday event. When I got inside, I saw a man making cocktails, and a menu for choosing which one you wanted. I started out with a Tequila Sunrise.
I was so impressed with this aspect of Elise's party. But there were so many other things to be impressed with -- the food, the guests, the atmosphere.
Here's Elise after she blew the candles out on her birthday cake:
We all had a lovely time and as I was leaving, Elise thanked me for the cheese ball. "But I never saw it again after I brought it," I said.
"That's because I hid it," she said. (She likes to have that cheese ball all to herself afterwards.) That made me laugh. Supplying her with cheese balls is the least I can do for someone who has done so much for me.
I knew I was in trouble when I passed by Elise's huge dining room window and saw stately candles burning on the table.
Oh no. I thought it was going to be a little casual potluck, but it looked like this was an actual birthday event. When I got inside, I saw a man making cocktails, and a menu for choosing which one you wanted. I started out with a Tequila Sunrise.
I was so impressed with this aspect of Elise's party. But there were so many other things to be impressed with -- the food, the guests, the atmosphere.
Here's Elise after she blew the candles out on her birthday cake:
We all had a lovely time and as I was leaving, Elise thanked me for the cheese ball. "But I never saw it again after I brought it," I said.
"That's because I hid it," she said. (She likes to have that cheese ball all to herself afterwards.) That made me laugh. Supplying her with cheese balls is the least I can do for someone who has done so much for me.
'God doesn't ever try to stop something'
My Christian friend Karen gave me a Philip Yancey book to read three years ago, and I never did. But the other day, my son had a crisis with his Religious Education homework (that is, he hadn't done it and it had been assigned before Christmas) so I grabbed any book I could find that had Christian stuff in it to see if he could use it for his work.
I am now reading a chapter on Robert Coles, a doctor and author, who wrote a series of books documenting how children and their parents deal with profound change. He is a Christian writer, and open about his viewpoint in his books and articles.
I thought this part was interesting, especially since we are debating if there's a Master Plan on another post in this blog.
"A nine-year-old Jewish boy wrestles with theodicy. A guest in his home, a lawyer, showed him the numbers from the concentration camp tatooed into his arm. The man said he stopped believing in God then, because Hitler almost won the war, and the boy has worried about it ever since.
'I guess He never interferes; that's what our Hebrew teacher says, that God doesn't ever try to stop something or start something. I don't see how He could have sat up there and not stopped Hitler! If the Jews are His people, then He could have lost us. I asked my father, 'Then would God have cried if all the Jews had died in those concentration camps?' Dad said he doesn't know; he doesn't know if God cries or He smiles, or what He does.'"
from Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor
I am now reading a chapter on Robert Coles, a doctor and author, who wrote a series of books documenting how children and their parents deal with profound change. He is a Christian writer, and open about his viewpoint in his books and articles.
I thought this part was interesting, especially since we are debating if there's a Master Plan on another post in this blog.
"A nine-year-old Jewish boy wrestles with theodicy. A guest in his home, a lawyer, showed him the numbers from the concentration camp tatooed into his arm. The man said he stopped believing in God then, because Hitler almost won the war, and the boy has worried about it ever since.
'I guess He never interferes; that's what our Hebrew teacher says, that God doesn't ever try to stop something or start something. I don't see how He could have sat up there and not stopped Hitler! If the Jews are His people, then He could have lost us. I asked my father, 'Then would God have cried if all the Jews had died in those concentration camps?' Dad said he doesn't know; he doesn't know if God cries or He smiles, or what He does.'"
from Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor
Friday, 20 February 2009
Friday afternoon update
I've been trying to be good -- eating veggies and exercising more -- to get my high cholesterol reading to go down.
It's a struggle though. Blog reader Lisa gave me a good tip to eat raw vegetables with a little hummus on them so I've been bringing that in to work for snacking.
And I've exercised at lunch everyday this week. Today my friend at work forced me to run 3 miles, which I've never done before but couldn't really do either so I had to walk/run through it. Now I'm back sitting at my desk, and my leg muscles are seizing up.
I've cheated too. I ordered some orlistat (Alli) from the United States -- that's the diet drug that interferes with your body absorbing fat from the food you eat. I take one before lunch and dinner. (It sends the fat out of your body in various ways that I won't describe here though so you are advised to bring a change of clothes to work, just in case you have an accident.)
But, in the back of my mind, I wonder...will all this clean living really help or will I end up like the guy in the cartoon below?
It's a struggle though. Blog reader Lisa gave me a good tip to eat raw vegetables with a little hummus on them so I've been bringing that in to work for snacking.
And I've exercised at lunch everyday this week. Today my friend at work forced me to run 3 miles, which I've never done before but couldn't really do either so I had to walk/run through it. Now I'm back sitting at my desk, and my leg muscles are seizing up.
I've cheated too. I ordered some orlistat (Alli) from the United States -- that's the diet drug that interferes with your body absorbing fat from the food you eat. I take one before lunch and dinner. (It sends the fat out of your body in various ways that I won't describe here though so you are advised to bring a change of clothes to work, just in case you have an accident.)
But, in the back of my mind, I wonder...will all this clean living really help or will I end up like the guy in the cartoon below?
This is why you're fat
An American expat just pointed out this cool website to me called This is Why You're Fat. People send in their grotesque creations for the site. The one above, a Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joe, looked incredible.
Check the site out when you can. Here's the URL:
This is Why You're Fat
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Special offer on coronary heart disease
The office gym has a newsletter that's very informative. This month, however, has a great offer:
I know it's just an unfortunate placement of bold subheads that makes it appear like they will sell coronary heart disease to the general public but it amused me.
And I haven't been amused by much lately. I'm in winter doldrums now -- my daily routine bores me. I think I'm not helped by the first anniversary of my mother's death approaching either. I guess I'll just hold on for spring and look forward to my Easter vacation in California. I've never been there before so am looking forward to it.
I know it's just an unfortunate placement of bold subheads that makes it appear like they will sell coronary heart disease to the general public but it amused me.
And I haven't been amused by much lately. I'm in winter doldrums now -- my daily routine bores me. I think I'm not helped by the first anniversary of my mother's death approaching either. I guess I'll just hold on for spring and look forward to my Easter vacation in California. I've never been there before so am looking forward to it.
Running headlong into forgetfulness
Here's an interesting article from the Salon website. Must get this book:
Cicero, the great Roman orator and martyr for the Republic, wrote, "To philosophize is to learn how to die." This idea infuses Simon Critchley's "The Book of Dead Philosophers," a collection of 190 short items describing the deaths (and some of the lives) of history's great thinkers. As Critchley, chairman of the philosophy department at the New School for Social Research in New York, sees it, the great deficiency of modern life lies in our too-common unwillingness to fully acknowledge our mortality.
Frantic to "deny the fact of death," we "run headlong into the watery pleasures of forgetfulness" -- namely, traditional religion and New Age claptrap promising us one or another form of immortality. Besides making people vulnerable to scheming quacks and demagogues, these spiritual nostrums don't even really work. According to Critchley, only the right kind of philosophy can teach "a readiness for death without which any conception of contentment, let alone happiness, is illusory."
Cicero, the great Roman orator and martyr for the Republic, wrote, "To philosophize is to learn how to die." This idea infuses Simon Critchley's "The Book of Dead Philosophers," a collection of 190 short items describing the deaths (and some of the lives) of history's great thinkers. As Critchley, chairman of the philosophy department at the New School for Social Research in New York, sees it, the great deficiency of modern life lies in our too-common unwillingness to fully acknowledge our mortality.
Frantic to "deny the fact of death," we "run headlong into the watery pleasures of forgetfulness" -- namely, traditional religion and New Age claptrap promising us one or another form of immortality. Besides making people vulnerable to scheming quacks and demagogues, these spiritual nostrums don't even really work. According to Critchley, only the right kind of philosophy can teach "a readiness for death without which any conception of contentment, let alone happiness, is illusory."
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
an Australian atheist writes
'WHAT do you say?" the mother said as the toasted sandwiches were put down in front of her twin boys. The boys placed their hands together in a prayer position and said, "Thank-you, Lord." I laughed. We were in a cafe. I laughed because they thanked God but they didn't thank the woman who made the sandwiches and brought them to the table. They didn't tip either.
My second-best laugh recently was at the news that Australia's largest outdoor advertising agency, APN Outdoor, rejected an attempt by the Atheist Foundation of Australia to put slogans on buses.
British atheists have 800 buses around Ol' Blighty emblazoned with: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." So the Little Aussie Atheists decided to do their bit for the cause. The cause being freedom of speech, rational thought, intelligent discussion and consciousness-raising. In the same way religious groups try to spread the good news to help ease people's existential pain, so too are the atheists. One man's good news is another man's harmful propaganda defacing public spaces.
As a rule, we atheists don't tend to try to convert. Enlighten, suggest and argue? Sure. We're a bit, "Well if you're intelligent enough you'll work it out eventually." Blame the existence of child abuse, torture, war, hunger, poverty, pain, the inequitable distribution of wealth and the fact that God doesn't have a Facebook page. This Epicurean riddle comes in handy: "If God is willing to prevent evil but not able to, he's not omnipotent. If he's able but not willing, then he's malevolent. If he is both able and willing, whence cometh evil? If he is neither able nor willing, then why call him God?"
from TheAge.com.au
My second-best laugh recently was at the news that Australia's largest outdoor advertising agency, APN Outdoor, rejected an attempt by the Atheist Foundation of Australia to put slogans on buses.
British atheists have 800 buses around Ol' Blighty emblazoned with: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." So the Little Aussie Atheists decided to do their bit for the cause. The cause being freedom of speech, rational thought, intelligent discussion and consciousness-raising. In the same way religious groups try to spread the good news to help ease people's existential pain, so too are the atheists. One man's good news is another man's harmful propaganda defacing public spaces.
As a rule, we atheists don't tend to try to convert. Enlighten, suggest and argue? Sure. We're a bit, "Well if you're intelligent enough you'll work it out eventually." Blame the existence of child abuse, torture, war, hunger, poverty, pain, the inequitable distribution of wealth and the fact that God doesn't have a Facebook page. This Epicurean riddle comes in handy: "If God is willing to prevent evil but not able to, he's not omnipotent. If he's able but not willing, then he's malevolent. If he is both able and willing, whence cometh evil? If he is neither able nor willing, then why call him God?"
from TheAge.com.au
Christians regarded as 'mad' says archbishop
From the Daily Telegraph in London:
Christians are regarded as "mad" by the rest of society because they are motivated by charity and compassion rather than the reckless pursuit of money, according to the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.
Churchgoers are now "counter-cultural" because their values are so opposed to prevailing behaviour, claimed Dr Sentamu.
But he insisted that faith cannot be separated from the world of work, and that staff should not be expected to give up their religious convictions when they walk into the office.
I guess this means that all of the big corporations that have made tons of money but exploited people as they were doing it are run by non-Christians?
And also, how can Christians be 'counter-cultural' like they are revolutionaries or something when a variant of Christianity is the official state religion in the UK?
Christians are regarded as "mad" by the rest of society because they are motivated by charity and compassion rather than the reckless pursuit of money, according to the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.
Churchgoers are now "counter-cultural" because their values are so opposed to prevailing behaviour, claimed Dr Sentamu.
But he insisted that faith cannot be separated from the world of work, and that staff should not be expected to give up their religious convictions when they walk into the office.
I guess this means that all of the big corporations that have made tons of money but exploited people as they were doing it are run by non-Christians?
And also, how can Christians be 'counter-cultural' like they are revolutionaries or something when a variant of Christianity is the official state religion in the UK?
A drug-and-alcohol addicted self-help author?
Your Erroneous Zones, the first of Wayne Dyer's 17 self-help books, was a 1970s best seller on how to recognize and dismiss preconceived or ill-conceived notions that hold us back.
I read this book when I was in college. I thought Wayne Dyer knew what he was talking about and tried to follow his advice.
Now I discover (by reading the National Enquirer, of course) that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol for decades -- all the time he was writing those books advising us on how to live our lives.
I'm so disillusioned!
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
'Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities'
My GP friend Kumar sent me these:
These are sentences actually typed by Medical secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow:
1. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
2. Patient has left her white blood cells at another hospital.
3. Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
6. On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.
7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
9. Discharge status: Alive, but without my permission.
10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.
11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
12. She is numb from her toes down.
13. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.
14. The skin was moist and dry.
15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until she got a divorce.
19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our care for physical therapy.
20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
21 Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
23. Skin: somewhat pale, but present.
24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
25. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.
26. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities
27. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
28. The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of fuel and crashed.
29. Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
30. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
31. Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Smith, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.
32. The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.
33. By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.
Stay away from hospitals !
These are sentences actually typed by Medical secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow:
1. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
2. Patient has left her white blood cells at another hospital.
3. Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
6. On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.
7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
9. Discharge status: Alive, but without my permission.
10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.
11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
12. She is numb from her toes down.
13. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.
14. The skin was moist and dry.
15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until she got a divorce.
19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our care for physical therapy.
20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
21 Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
23. Skin: somewhat pale, but present.
24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
25. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.
26. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities
27. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
28. The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of fuel and crashed.
29. Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
30. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
31. Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Smith, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.
32. The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.
33. By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.
Stay away from hospitals !
Monday, 16 February 2009
I miss Krystals
Thank you so much to Nancy McKeon Olson, a college friend, for sending me a link to a fab article in the Tennessean newspaper.
It was about my favorite thing in the world, teeny Krystal hamburgers. I've blogged about them before, even put a recipe in here for them, but I can't stop thinking about them no matter how much I've posted. They are addictive little things, and associated with major life events for most Southerners. Everyone has a story about Krystal burgers. There's even a Krystal Hall of Fame that you can join if you have an interesting life story that involves Krystal.
Whenever I've had a life drama and been living in the South, I've had to have a Krystal. When my grandmother had a stroke and was dying, my friend Brenda picked me up from the hospital and drove me to get a 'grief Krystal.' She was playing Paul McCartney in her car, and I never forgot the afternoon.
Here's an excerpt from the article that brought back so many memories for me. Thanks Nancy for sending it to me.
Krystal has a late-night reputation, to be sure. But for locals, the fast-food chain is more than a pit stop after last call. Since its square mini-burgers first hit the griddle in 1932, they've been leaving up-sized servings of nostalgia with the bouts of indigestion.
"They were good little rascals," said 92-year-old Margaret Shutt, who remembers having 5-cent Krystals in the late 1930s as a Peabody College student. These days she doesn't indulge (meals are provided at her assisted living center in Fayetteville), but recollections remain.
"That fit very nicely into our budget, filled our tummies, and we enjoyed them," she said.
See this article in the Nashville paper for the whole story:
Almost every Southerner has a Krystal story
Controling myself financially
I realize that I buy more than I need, and that I want to spend money not because I need things but because it's fun to shop. I have curtailed my shopping because of the credit crunch but when I have coffee with the girls, and they've bought cute expensive dresses, it always makes me want one too, and then I feel jealous because I don't have the money they have to shop like they do.
Here are some sobering facts for me to reflect on:
"There's no doubt that the average American lives beyond his or her means. And we might not even be saving more despite the fact that the economy is in recession.
We spend $1.33 for every dollar earned, according to the Census Bureau. We carry an average of $8,700 in credit card debt per household, according to the Federal Reserve. And 4.79 percent of our credit cards were delinquent at the end of 2008.
One of our most pressing problems is an inability to look ahead, says an economist. We assume our financial future is set, thanks to corporate and federal benefits. But paying social security for 40 years doesn't mean a swift return.
Once the baby boomers retire, public funds will be quickly used up because of the size of this generation, which exceeds 70 million. Right now, just 50 million people receive retirement benefits from social security, according to the U.S. government. What's more, small contributions to a 401(k), while beneficial, won't be enough to support a long retirement."
Here are some sobering facts for me to reflect on:
"There's no doubt that the average American lives beyond his or her means. And we might not even be saving more despite the fact that the economy is in recession.
We spend $1.33 for every dollar earned, according to the Census Bureau. We carry an average of $8,700 in credit card debt per household, according to the Federal Reserve. And 4.79 percent of our credit cards were delinquent at the end of 2008.
One of our most pressing problems is an inability to look ahead, says an economist. We assume our financial future is set, thanks to corporate and federal benefits. But paying social security for 40 years doesn't mean a swift return.
Once the baby boomers retire, public funds will be quickly used up because of the size of this generation, which exceeds 70 million. Right now, just 50 million people receive retirement benefits from social security, according to the U.S. government. What's more, small contributions to a 401(k), while beneficial, won't be enough to support a long retirement."
James' brownies
There's a guy at work who sometimes makes homemade Brownies and brings them into the office for us -- just because. A man making brownies -- how enlightened is that? We all rush to get one when he brings them in. I'm not supposed to eat stuff like that now because of my cholesterol levels so I said to him, "James, you made these with that special low-fat recipe, didn't you?" and winked.
He confirmed immediately that these brownies were his low-fat ones so I took one (only hate half though).
Here's his recipe so you can try this at home:
300g unsalted butter
300g dark chocolate (I use 85% cocoa stuff as there’s loads of sugar in the recipe)
5 large eggs
200g plain flour
1 tbsp vanilla essence (not mandatory)
450g granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
Melt the broken chocolate and butter over a low heat in a bain-marie. While that’s going, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla essence together until the mixture is smooth and coats the back of a spoon. When the chocolate and butter has completely melted, stir in the eggs and sugar and continue to mix until smooth again.
Sift the flour and salt together and then slowly add to the mix, stirring as you go.
Now pour into a baking tray or similar lined with baking/greaseproof paper and pop in the oven at 180 degrees (gas mark 4?) for 20-25 minutes. At least, that’s what the recipe says, I always need to give it longer.
When done, the brownie should have a darker brown top that’s starting to crack, and shouldn’t wobble any more. It doesn’t matter if you take it out to check and then pop it back in, much easier than cakes :)
He confirmed immediately that these brownies were his low-fat ones so I took one (only hate half though).
Here's his recipe so you can try this at home:
300g unsalted butter
300g dark chocolate (I use 85% cocoa stuff as there’s loads of sugar in the recipe)
5 large eggs
200g plain flour
1 tbsp vanilla essence (not mandatory)
450g granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
Melt the broken chocolate and butter over a low heat in a bain-marie. While that’s going, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla essence together until the mixture is smooth and coats the back of a spoon. When the chocolate and butter has completely melted, stir in the eggs and sugar and continue to mix until smooth again.
Sift the flour and salt together and then slowly add to the mix, stirring as you go.
Now pour into a baking tray or similar lined with baking/greaseproof paper and pop in the oven at 180 degrees (gas mark 4?) for 20-25 minutes. At least, that’s what the recipe says, I always need to give it longer.
When done, the brownie should have a darker brown top that’s starting to crack, and shouldn’t wobble any more. It doesn’t matter if you take it out to check and then pop it back in, much easier than cakes :)
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Dancing with Tessa
Friday night we went to my friend Tessa's house to learn Scottish dances for her big birthday party on the 21st. We had a light supper, then started dancing. Here is a YouTube of one of the dances - the main dancers are Tessa and her husband Richard:
On Saturday a couple of us took Tessa out to a new fancy shopping center in London called Westfield. She wanted some nice lingerie for her birthday so getting that was our goal.
We went to a champagne bar on our way to the shop to toast Tessa's upcoming birthday then stopped in at a MAC shop to get her a little makeover. (Then the battery on my phone went flat so I didn't get any pics of us pigging out in a trendy Mexican restaurant and drinking multiple lime tequila drinks or me ordering churros with chocolate when that's the last thing I should have eaten with high cholesterol. Maybe if I write down my shame in a public blog, I will somehow do better next time?)
Here's Tessa about to get the MAC treatment:
The shopping center was so fancy that it had a quartet playing in front of a heart-shaped bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day:
It was very romantic but the three of us shoppers have been married about a million years so I knew Mel was just at home with the kids and the cats not planning anything special, Karen's husband was in bed sick with a headache and Tessa figured Richard was at home snoozing in front of the fire.
Sort of Sad
My cats were adopted today. That's Jasper, above; he was my favorite because he was dominated by his sister Molly and was a bit fearful (Mel says he feels the same way as Jasper through life with me. I'm sure he's just joking though.) So when Jasper came out of himself and started to feel at home, it made me happy. Now they are gone, and I await my next foster cats.
On Saturday a couple of us took Tessa out to a new fancy shopping center in London called Westfield. She wanted some nice lingerie for her birthday so getting that was our goal.
We went to a champagne bar on our way to the shop to toast Tessa's upcoming birthday then stopped in at a MAC shop to get her a little makeover. (Then the battery on my phone went flat so I didn't get any pics of us pigging out in a trendy Mexican restaurant and drinking multiple lime tequila drinks or me ordering churros with chocolate when that's the last thing I should have eaten with high cholesterol. Maybe if I write down my shame in a public blog, I will somehow do better next time?)
Here's Tessa about to get the MAC treatment:
The shopping center was so fancy that it had a quartet playing in front of a heart-shaped bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day:
It was very romantic but the three of us shoppers have been married about a million years so I knew Mel was just at home with the kids and the cats not planning anything special, Karen's husband was in bed sick with a headache and Tessa figured Richard was at home snoozing in front of the fire.
Sort of Sad
My cats were adopted today. That's Jasper, above; he was my favorite because he was dominated by his sister Molly and was a bit fearful (Mel says he feels the same way as Jasper through life with me. I'm sure he's just joking though.) So when Jasper came out of himself and started to feel at home, it made me happy. Now they are gone, and I await my next foster cats.
Why didn't I think of that?
The Intranet at Nokia is full of interesting stuff. Here's an entry from a workplace blog:
"New ideas are not necessarily complex stuff- sometimes they are so self evident that you just start to think that why did not I invented this before. I think this YAKKAY new bicycle helmets are really cool and customizable. They are helmets that look like hats."
"New ideas are not necessarily complex stuff- sometimes they are so self evident that you just start to think that why did not I invented this before. I think this YAKKAY new bicycle helmets are really cool and customizable. They are helmets that look like hats."
Saturday, 14 February 2009
This explains a lot
You're in a room with 10 other people who seem to agree on something, but you hold the opposite view. Do you say something? Or do you just go along with the others?
Decades of research show people tend to go along with the majority view, even if that view is objectively incorrect. Now, scientists are supporting those theories with brain images.
A new study in the journal Neuron shows when people hold an opinion differing from others in a group, their brains produce an error signal. A zone of the brain popularly called the "oops area" becomes extra active, while the "reward area" slows down, making us think we are too different.
"We show that a deviation from the group opinion is regarded by the brain as a punishment," said Vasily Klucharev, postdoctoral fellow at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and lead author of the study.
Participants, all female, had to rate 222 faces based on physical beauty on a scale from 1 to 8. Afterwards, researchers told each participant either that the average score was higher or that it was lower than her rating. Some participants were told the average rating was equal to her rating. The researchers then chatted with the participant before suddenly asking the participant to do the rating again. Most subjects changed their opinion toward the average.
The two leading theories of conformity are that people look to the group because they're unsure of what to do, and that people go along with the norm because they are afraid of being different, said Dr. Gregory Berns, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
Berns' research, which he describes in the book "Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently," found that brain mechanisms associated with fear and anxiety do play a part in situations where a person feels his or her opinion goes against the grain.
Decades of research show people tend to go along with the majority view, even if that view is objectively incorrect. Now, scientists are supporting those theories with brain images.
A new study in the journal Neuron shows when people hold an opinion differing from others in a group, their brains produce an error signal. A zone of the brain popularly called the "oops area" becomes extra active, while the "reward area" slows down, making us think we are too different.
"We show that a deviation from the group opinion is regarded by the brain as a punishment," said Vasily Klucharev, postdoctoral fellow at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and lead author of the study.
Participants, all female, had to rate 222 faces based on physical beauty on a scale from 1 to 8. Afterwards, researchers told each participant either that the average score was higher or that it was lower than her rating. Some participants were told the average rating was equal to her rating. The researchers then chatted with the participant before suddenly asking the participant to do the rating again. Most subjects changed their opinion toward the average.
The two leading theories of conformity are that people look to the group because they're unsure of what to do, and that people go along with the norm because they are afraid of being different, said Dr. Gregory Berns, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
Berns' research, which he describes in the book "Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently," found that brain mechanisms associated with fear and anxiety do play a part in situations where a person feels his or her opinion goes against the grain.
Friday, 13 February 2009
American socialism
Interesting article from the Salon website. Go to www.salon.com to read the whole thing.
"Brave souls named Beck and Hannity and Limbaugh have raised the alarm: Socialism will soon be loosed upon the land. What is this "socialism" of which they -- and alkin, McCain and Morris -- warn? Socialism is apparently what is created when a president you do not like spends money on things of which you do not approve.
Since the collapse of the economy and the election of Barack Obama, the American right has been engaged in a two-front ideological battle. Conservatives are fighting to prevent Democrats from spending America out of the current economic predicament, because it has long been a conservative article of faith that massive government investment in jobs and infrastructure does not work. But pressing that argument about the present also means looking backward, and trying to rewrite the history of the 1930s, when nearly everyone except conservative ideologues agrees that a huge Keynesian jolt to the economy did work.
As Marshall Auerback noted, in the process of modernizing the rural South and upgrading the infrastructure of America's largest cities, President Roosevelt's New Deal left behind a durable, physical and very visible legacy of schools and hospitals -- even aircraft carriers."
"Brave souls named Beck and Hannity and Limbaugh have raised the alarm: Socialism will soon be loosed upon the land. What is this "socialism" of which they -- and alkin, McCain and Morris -- warn? Socialism is apparently what is created when a president you do not like spends money on things of which you do not approve.
Since the collapse of the economy and the election of Barack Obama, the American right has been engaged in a two-front ideological battle. Conservatives are fighting to prevent Democrats from spending America out of the current economic predicament, because it has long been a conservative article of faith that massive government investment in jobs and infrastructure does not work. But pressing that argument about the present also means looking backward, and trying to rewrite the history of the 1930s, when nearly everyone except conservative ideologues agrees that a huge Keynesian jolt to the economy did work.
As Marshall Auerback noted, in the process of modernizing the rural South and upgrading the infrastructure of America's largest cities, President Roosevelt's New Deal left behind a durable, physical and very visible legacy of schools and hospitals -- even aircraft carriers."
There was intervention here
I always feel sorry for people whose life has taken a turn for the worse but still think it's all a part of the Master Plan that God has for them, no matter how dismal their lives become. It's a different point of view I have from them -- I think we are just cogs in a wheel and things happen randomly and we must make the best of it, but they think everything happens for a divine reason.
Today I was reading about a GM plant closure in the New York Times and how these people will never make $28 an hour again in their lives unless they move away. It was very sad reading, then I read this statement:
“Things happen for a reason,” Mr. Phelps said. “I strongly feel there was some intervention here. The plant shutdown opened up a lot of doors for me.”
(Actually it hasn't opened any doors -- he just enrolled in a culinary program at a local college that had always been there, no matter what was happening at the plant.)
Anyway, I thought as I read it: here's this ant being crushed by forces beyond his control but he thinks God closed the plant so he could pursue his dream to open his own restaurant (who is going to eat there when the plant is gone anyway?)
Today I was reading about a GM plant closure in the New York Times and how these people will never make $28 an hour again in their lives unless they move away. It was very sad reading, then I read this statement:
“Things happen for a reason,” Mr. Phelps said. “I strongly feel there was some intervention here. The plant shutdown opened up a lot of doors for me.”
(Actually it hasn't opened any doors -- he just enrolled in a culinary program at a local college that had always been there, no matter what was happening at the plant.)
Anyway, I thought as I read it: here's this ant being crushed by forces beyond his control but he thinks God closed the plant so he could pursue his dream to open his own restaurant (who is going to eat there when the plant is gone anyway?)
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Meditating on a full stomach
I went to meditate at the Buddhist temple down the road last night. I'm am going to give this meditating thing a good shot, even though sitting still and emptying my mind of all thoughts doesn't come easily to me.
I came home from work, fed the cats, made black beans and rice and some shrimp. Mel came home just as I was putting the bowls on the table, so the whole family ate together (my teen actually managed to get out from under his Ipod and to the table before the food got cold -- a miracle).
Afterwards, I went out to the temple to meditate. Everyone in the room it seemed could just settle down immediately into a trance-like state but not me. I fidgeted, my thoughts flying everywhere and back again. I changed position, scratched all the itches that came suddenly, smoothed my hair and on and on. I managed to settle down for about 10 minutes but by the last of the sitting, I was about to jump out of my skin. I thought about running out of the room screaming but held on.
Then a real monk came into the room and sat down next to me to meditate. Well, my stomach then decided to loudly digest all those beans I'd just eaten. Was I mortified when all the internal food-digesting noises started pinging around.
Afterwards, we sat in a room drinking tea and discussing things. The monks explained to me how hard it is to meditate for 30 minutes when you are new and to try and get comfortable with about 10 minutes for now. They were so nice and said they would shorten the sittings and interperse them with walking meditation for me next week.
I'll keep trying but probably won't get any good at meditating until I'm about dead.
I came home from work, fed the cats, made black beans and rice and some shrimp. Mel came home just as I was putting the bowls on the table, so the whole family ate together (my teen actually managed to get out from under his Ipod and to the table before the food got cold -- a miracle).
Afterwards, I went out to the temple to meditate. Everyone in the room it seemed could just settle down immediately into a trance-like state but not me. I fidgeted, my thoughts flying everywhere and back again. I changed position, scratched all the itches that came suddenly, smoothed my hair and on and on. I managed to settle down for about 10 minutes but by the last of the sitting, I was about to jump out of my skin. I thought about running out of the room screaming but held on.
Then a real monk came into the room and sat down next to me to meditate. Well, my stomach then decided to loudly digest all those beans I'd just eaten. Was I mortified when all the internal food-digesting noises started pinging around.
Afterwards, we sat in a room drinking tea and discussing things. The monks explained to me how hard it is to meditate for 30 minutes when you are new and to try and get comfortable with about 10 minutes for now. They were so nice and said they would shorten the sittings and interperse them with walking meditation for me next week.
I'll keep trying but probably won't get any good at meditating until I'm about dead.
Happy Birthday Charles Darwin
"Has the Vatican done something right? Yesterday, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture declared that Darwin's theory and Christian faith were not only compatible, but that Darwin's views could be traced to St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinus, The Times of London reports. Ravasi said," what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God."
Organizers of next month's papal backed conference marking the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species also dismissed Intelligent Design, which credits a higher power for the complexities of life, as "poor theology and poor science" and will only discuss it on the fringes of the convention as a "cultural phenomenon." The recent admissions settle speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might endorse Intelligent Design, and come just in time for Darwin's 200th birthday."
from The Daily Beast
Another point of view
Here's an interesting article from the Tulsa Beacon that is running today:
"The line between conveying information with an open mind and a mindset that parallels religion is being crossed this year at The University of Oklahoma with a 1 -month celebration of the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.
While devoting huge resources to a campaign to “prove” that evolution is not a theory, the scientific brain trust at OU will virtually ignore parallel theories of the origin of man - including Creation Science and Intelligent Design.
OU will trot out Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, to try to convince students and the public that there is no God and science has all the answers.
Darwin became infamous 150 years ago when he wrote The Origin of Species. He speculated that all life evolved from lower forms and that men were derived from the apes.
His unproven theories were all that the humanist movement needed to attack the Bible and any belief system that hints at the existence of a supreme being.
OU has a website devoted to this worship of Darwin and evolution. It’s clear from the content of that website that organizers believe that evolution is a fact and that if other theories are mentioned, they will be discounted or ridiculed.
Do things change? Certainly. But species don’t evolve into other species. Dogs don’t turn into cats. Monkeys don’t turn into men.
In fact, even secular scientists are doubting the viability of evolution concerning the origin of life. The laws of thermodynamics and common sense tell us that things don’t get better - they deteriorate.
The biggest case against Darwin’s evolution is the fossil record. There are no viable transition fossils when there should be millions if you buy into his theory.
Where is the missing link? There isn’t one in the fossil record.
Evolution science is not really science but a religion. That is why it cannot stand honest scrutiny or tolerate other views. It takes more faith to believe that men came from monkeys or a primal soup struck by lightning than it does to believe that God created the Earth and mankind in seven days.
Both are religious beliefs. Oklahoma students should be exposed to both theories(including Intelligent Design). Instead, the public school system in Oklahoma has bowed to the pressure of secular humanists and insisted that there is only one theory to explain the origin of man - evolution.
Incidentally, the origin of life cannot be proven by the scientific method, which requires observation and testing. No one was around when life began and no scientist - no matter how many degrees he or she has - has been able to recreate life in the laboratory.
Here’s the worst aspect of this story. State tax dollars are going to support the celebration of a mad scientist who infected the world with a new religion that teaches that God cannot exist.
OU has stacked the deck for humanism and against other religions. Creationism and Intelligent Design should get equal time in this huge “celebration” of Charles Darwin.
There is a God and that belief is held by the vast majority of Oklahoma taxpayers. Withholding that truth from our students does them a disservice and damages our society."
Organizers of next month's papal backed conference marking the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species also dismissed Intelligent Design, which credits a higher power for the complexities of life, as "poor theology and poor science" and will only discuss it on the fringes of the convention as a "cultural phenomenon." The recent admissions settle speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might endorse Intelligent Design, and come just in time for Darwin's 200th birthday."
from The Daily Beast
Another point of view
Here's an interesting article from the Tulsa Beacon that is running today:
"The line between conveying information with an open mind and a mindset that parallels religion is being crossed this year at The University of Oklahoma with a 1 -month celebration of the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.
While devoting huge resources to a campaign to “prove” that evolution is not a theory, the scientific brain trust at OU will virtually ignore parallel theories of the origin of man - including Creation Science and Intelligent Design.
OU will trot out Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, to try to convince students and the public that there is no God and science has all the answers.
Darwin became infamous 150 years ago when he wrote The Origin of Species. He speculated that all life evolved from lower forms and that men were derived from the apes.
His unproven theories were all that the humanist movement needed to attack the Bible and any belief system that hints at the existence of a supreme being.
OU has a website devoted to this worship of Darwin and evolution. It’s clear from the content of that website that organizers believe that evolution is a fact and that if other theories are mentioned, they will be discounted or ridiculed.
Do things change? Certainly. But species don’t evolve into other species. Dogs don’t turn into cats. Monkeys don’t turn into men.
In fact, even secular scientists are doubting the viability of evolution concerning the origin of life. The laws of thermodynamics and common sense tell us that things don’t get better - they deteriorate.
The biggest case against Darwin’s evolution is the fossil record. There are no viable transition fossils when there should be millions if you buy into his theory.
Where is the missing link? There isn’t one in the fossil record.
Evolution science is not really science but a religion. That is why it cannot stand honest scrutiny or tolerate other views. It takes more faith to believe that men came from monkeys or a primal soup struck by lightning than it does to believe that God created the Earth and mankind in seven days.
Both are religious beliefs. Oklahoma students should be exposed to both theories(including Intelligent Design). Instead, the public school system in Oklahoma has bowed to the pressure of secular humanists and insisted that there is only one theory to explain the origin of man - evolution.
Incidentally, the origin of life cannot be proven by the scientific method, which requires observation and testing. No one was around when life began and no scientist - no matter how many degrees he or she has - has been able to recreate life in the laboratory.
Here’s the worst aspect of this story. State tax dollars are going to support the celebration of a mad scientist who infected the world with a new religion that teaches that God cannot exist.
OU has stacked the deck for humanism and against other religions. Creationism and Intelligent Design should get equal time in this huge “celebration” of Charles Darwin.
There is a God and that belief is held by the vast majority of Oklahoma taxpayers. Withholding that truth from our students does them a disservice and damages our society."
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Putting another fence around our minds
A plane crash delivers a group of people to the secluded land of Shangri-La -- but is it the miraculous utopia it appears to be?
I was watching Ronald Colman in the 1937 version of Lost Horizon last night when one of the characters said something that I loved. I searched the DVD a couple of times so I could find the lines to share with you.
"How old are you?" Ronald Colman asks one of the inhabitants of Shangri-La near Tibet (they live a long time because they aren't all stressed out like we are in the West).
The man answers:
"Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. Each time you Westerners celebrate a birthday, you build another fence around your minds."
I was watching Ronald Colman in the 1937 version of Lost Horizon last night when one of the characters said something that I loved. I searched the DVD a couple of times so I could find the lines to share with you.
"How old are you?" Ronald Colman asks one of the inhabitants of Shangri-La near Tibet (they live a long time because they aren't all stressed out like we are in the West).
The man answers:
"Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. Each time you Westerners celebrate a birthday, you build another fence around your minds."
I've learned a few things this morning....
I've learned...
That the cholesterol in eggs has only a small and insignificant effect on your health. (This info was in a text message from my daughter in which she adds, "Eat up, Madre!")
That the Loddon River that runs through Reading, Berkshire, has burst its banks and that's why the town is flooded and I can't get in and out to the office in a timely fashion. (Driving home last night took 3.5 hours. When I complained on Facebook, Sonny Dawn-Hiscox who has recently moved to Berlin from the UK advised me to 'get out of that traffic jam of a society,' which I thought was poetical. (I did fantasize about being back in America last night as I was stuck in stationary traffic, wondering if I would end up dying in the car rather than getting home.)
That my daughter was punched last night in London by a psycho who just came up to her, punched her, then ran away.
That my son was seen walking to school in this freezing weather without a coat on this morning. (Info courtesy of an email from a neighbor)
That there's a beauty center right down the road from work that offers Thai massage for a 20% discount to Nokia employees. I went to their display at the office this morning and they gave me a free Indian head massage and used oils so I had to go the gym and wash my hair at lunch or face everyone thinking I had a Greasy Head.
That the cholesterol in eggs has only a small and insignificant effect on your health. (This info was in a text message from my daughter in which she adds, "Eat up, Madre!")
That the Loddon River that runs through Reading, Berkshire, has burst its banks and that's why the town is flooded and I can't get in and out to the office in a timely fashion. (Driving home last night took 3.5 hours. When I complained on Facebook, Sonny Dawn-Hiscox who has recently moved to Berlin from the UK advised me to 'get out of that traffic jam of a society,' which I thought was poetical. (I did fantasize about being back in America last night as I was stuck in stationary traffic, wondering if I would end up dying in the car rather than getting home.)
That my daughter was punched last night in London by a psycho who just came up to her, punched her, then ran away.
That my son was seen walking to school in this freezing weather without a coat on this morning. (Info courtesy of an email from a neighbor)
That there's a beauty center right down the road from work that offers Thai massage for a 20% discount to Nokia employees. I went to their display at the office this morning and they gave me a free Indian head massage and used oils so I had to go the gym and wash my hair at lunch or face everyone thinking I had a Greasy Head.
Bet he's kicking himself now
This picture my sis-in-law Paula sent made me laugh. Remember how hard Michael Jackson worked to become white, and now being black is totally great. See below (click on it to enlarge:
Drew explains who Wendy Wasserstein is
My friend Derry mentioned Wendy Wasserstein in her Q&A in my blog yesterday but I confessed I didn't know who she was. Derry sent an email of explanation:
"Wendy Wasserstein explains her point of view on proper theatergoing behavior in “The Boor of the Greasepaint,” in Town and Country magazine. I find references but can’t find the article itself on-line. It’s brilliant.
As it happens, the first play I ever saw at the Herberger was The Heidi Chronicles(from the top row of the balcony!) never dreamed that I’d be working at that theater one day. Wasserstein passed away recently…I’ve been holding on to her last novel, Elements of Style, since it will be the final work I can read. I think we would have been friends with her if she had showed up at our college instead of Yale."
"Wendy Wasserstein explains her point of view on proper theatergoing behavior in “The Boor of the Greasepaint,” in Town and Country magazine. I find references but can’t find the article itself on-line. It’s brilliant.
As it happens, the first play I ever saw at the Herberger was The Heidi Chronicles(from the top row of the balcony!) never dreamed that I’d be working at that theater one day. Wasserstein passed away recently…I’ve been holding on to her last novel, Elements of Style, since it will be the final work I can read. I think we would have been friends with her if she had showed up at our college instead of Yale."
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Q&A from Drew Templeton
My college roommate Derry sent me her favorite-foods list for my recent Q&A. Anybody else out there who wants to share with us their favorite foods is welcome to send it in. (I was delayed in putting this up because it took me three hours to get home due to melting snow and flooding in Reading. I'm going to put on my thermal underwear and read in bed so I can stretch my legs out after all that cramping up in the car.)
Favorite dish from childhood:
My dad’s grilled chicken, my pieces were the crispy wings; he’d let me make the vinegar-pepper sauce to baste it with. He cooked this for me recently (while he was still recovering from tongue cancer and couldn’t eat it himself) and I just about cried!
I grew up in Michigan, and a favorite childhood food memory is going to the cider mill in the fall and drinking apple cider right off the press. The smell of that place was amazing! Nothing like the filtered apple juice they sell at the stores today.
Winn Schuler’s crock cheese.
Favorite foods to prepare:
I love to make one-pot dinners with rice: Moroccan Tangine (chicken, olives, pickled lemons), Portuguese Soup (linguica sausage, kale, white beans), Persian Soup (onions, lentils, bulgur, cinnamon, sumac). Orzo with goat cheese and chopped veggies in the summer. Also make collards and black-eyed peas when I’m missing my Southern roots.
3 Dinner guests:
I would enjoy a literary evening…I would like to dine with Edith Wharton, Willa Cather and Wendy Wasserstein.
Where and what most memorable meal:
I was an exchange student in the province of Bretagne, France. My host family took me to a family reunion at a relative’s home, which featured a meal that lasted from noon into the evening. I lost count of the courses, but especially remember eating langoustines (in the shrimp family) and artichokes.
Between courses, various people were called upon to sing a song (my contribution was Home on the Range because it was the only thing I could remember all the words to!) and after the song, all members of the opposite sex would march around the table and kiss the singer! Although my French was quite good, many of the family only spoke Breton, so much of the time I had little clue what was happening. After dinner they brought out a fiddle and accordion and we danced for hours.
Favorite Restaurants:
Travel required: Cooper’s (pulled pork Barbeque) in Raleigh, NC; Geja Café (Spanish fondue) in Chicago; Shoalwater’s (seafood and more) at the Shelburne Inn in Seaview, WA.
Phoenix area: Tapino (eclectic small plates); Effes (Turkish); Trick’s (eclectic); El Portal (Mexican) Sunday for breakfast, LoLo’s (soul food); Jewel of the Crown (Indian); Da Vang (Vietnamese). Our beloved sushi bar Ayako closed after 25 years.
Favorite Junk Food:
Homemade Chex mix with extra cayenne and cashews. Fannie May Candy’s peppermint bark and dark chocolate lemon crème in the Midwest. See’s “Bordeaux” brown sugar crème in the West. Rarely get to indulge, though.
Three items always in fridge:
Usual: 1% milk, seltzer water, cheese (at least 4-5 kinds). Unusual: Miso, pickled turnips, olives (several kinds).
I only recently recycled the Charles Pretzels can you gave me when you moved out! I think you lived on those Freshman year.
Me again:
Thanks Derry for that fab list. You got me though -- I'm going to have to go look up Wendy Wasserstein as am not familiar with her. And you're right about Charles Pretzels. My diet was terrible back then -- I really love snack foods and have a hard time eating properly.
Favorite dish from childhood:
My dad’s grilled chicken, my pieces were the crispy wings; he’d let me make the vinegar-pepper sauce to baste it with. He cooked this for me recently (while he was still recovering from tongue cancer and couldn’t eat it himself) and I just about cried!
I grew up in Michigan, and a favorite childhood food memory is going to the cider mill in the fall and drinking apple cider right off the press. The smell of that place was amazing! Nothing like the filtered apple juice they sell at the stores today.
Winn Schuler’s crock cheese.
Favorite foods to prepare:
I love to make one-pot dinners with rice: Moroccan Tangine (chicken, olives, pickled lemons), Portuguese Soup (linguica sausage, kale, white beans), Persian Soup (onions, lentils, bulgur, cinnamon, sumac). Orzo with goat cheese and chopped veggies in the summer. Also make collards and black-eyed peas when I’m missing my Southern roots.
3 Dinner guests:
I would enjoy a literary evening…I would like to dine with Edith Wharton, Willa Cather and Wendy Wasserstein.
Where and what most memorable meal:
I was an exchange student in the province of Bretagne, France. My host family took me to a family reunion at a relative’s home, which featured a meal that lasted from noon into the evening. I lost count of the courses, but especially remember eating langoustines (in the shrimp family) and artichokes.
Between courses, various people were called upon to sing a song (my contribution was Home on the Range because it was the only thing I could remember all the words to!) and after the song, all members of the opposite sex would march around the table and kiss the singer! Although my French was quite good, many of the family only spoke Breton, so much of the time I had little clue what was happening. After dinner they brought out a fiddle and accordion and we danced for hours.
Favorite Restaurants:
Travel required: Cooper’s (pulled pork Barbeque) in Raleigh, NC; Geja Café (Spanish fondue) in Chicago; Shoalwater’s (seafood and more) at the Shelburne Inn in Seaview, WA.
Phoenix area: Tapino (eclectic small plates); Effes (Turkish); Trick’s (eclectic); El Portal (Mexican) Sunday for breakfast, LoLo’s (soul food); Jewel of the Crown (Indian); Da Vang (Vietnamese). Our beloved sushi bar Ayako closed after 25 years.
Favorite Junk Food:
Homemade Chex mix with extra cayenne and cashews. Fannie May Candy’s peppermint bark and dark chocolate lemon crème in the Midwest. See’s “Bordeaux” brown sugar crème in the West. Rarely get to indulge, though.
Three items always in fridge:
Usual: 1% milk, seltzer water, cheese (at least 4-5 kinds). Unusual: Miso, pickled turnips, olives (several kinds).
I only recently recycled the Charles Pretzels can you gave me when you moved out! I think you lived on those Freshman year.
Me again:
Thanks Derry for that fab list. You got me though -- I'm going to have to go look up Wendy Wasserstein as am not familiar with her. And you're right about Charles Pretzels. My diet was terrible back then -- I really love snack foods and have a hard time eating properly.
I didn't know Memphis was the capital of Tennessee
I've been enjoying a book about the Roaring Twenties called Anything Goes by Lucy Moore, a British historian. There is a lively chapter about the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey' trial. A farmer in Tennessee had been worried by news that 'boys and girls were coming home from school and telling their fathers and mothers that the Bible was all nonsense,' and proposed to make it illegal 'to teach any theory that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.'
Well, the Butler bill passed, and Scopes, a biology teacher, spoke about evolution to his students and was arrested. (I was surprised to read that the Butler Act wasn't repealed until 1967.)
The British author does a fine job of writing about American history until I read this sentence:
"At the start of 1925 Bryan and the evangelist preacher Billy Sunday arrived in Tennessee's capital, Memphis..."
Whoa! I had to rush to the Internet after I read this sentence to make sure that the capital of Tennessee was, and always has been, Nashville.
What a clanger. Then I started to think, if she's wrong about that, what else is she wrong about?
Monday, 9 February 2009
Welcome baby Chase
My niece Lauralee who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, had her first baby on the 2nd of February. We'd been following her pregnancy closely through her blog. She was out and about going to parties, visiting friends, right up to the last. She even did a blog update the day after she had the baby. And she was on Facebook in the middle of the night last night.
I remember my grandmother telling me that women who had kids in the 1920s were told to stay in bed for at least two weeks before they could do anything. Now people seem able to have a baby and still keep up their blog posts! Amazing.
Here's a pic of baby Chase:
Other dynamo pregnant women
I was just editing this post when I saw a picture of a singer who performed at the Grammy awards last night on her due date. My goodness, how far we have come from the days when you had to hide yourself when you were too pregnant for fear of offending others.
Here's her pic:
I remember my grandmother telling me that women who had kids in the 1920s were told to stay in bed for at least two weeks before they could do anything. Now people seem able to have a baby and still keep up their blog posts! Amazing.
Here's a pic of baby Chase:
Other dynamo pregnant women
I was just editing this post when I saw a picture of a singer who performed at the Grammy awards last night on her due date. My goodness, how far we have come from the days when you had to hide yourself when you were too pregnant for fear of offending others.
Here's her pic:
Removing Marc Chagall
I have a reproduction of a Marc Chagall painting in my bedroom that I used to love. His wife is usually flying in his paintings, and I thought it was because he loved her and he was happy. That was my interpretation. I guess because his work had a childlike quality of wonder in it that I thought he was like that in real life.
But then I read a review of a book about him in which they say that he was a complete bastard (I'm waiting for the paperback version to come out before I buy it): "The richer and more famous he became, the shorter his temper and the more petty his domestic tyrannies. He kept his wife so short of money that she eventually left him....He hated his neighbour, Picasso, because he found Chagall's style so easy to imitate....Chagall was a horrible, grasping old man, 'diminished in human terms.'"
It's just ruined him for me, and the picture I have on my wall. I know it shouldn't matter what he was like in real life, but it has affected my perception of the painting now. I am going to remove Marc Chagall from my wall and replace him with something else at the first opportunity.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Sunday Miscellany
So cold tonight -- elbowed the cats out of the way so I could take the prime spot next to the fire.
Yesterday I saw The Counterfeiters, about a counterfeiting ring that the Nazis set up so they could flood America and England with fake currency. It was excellent. I have also been reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My friend Elizabeth in Detroit loved it and recommended it. I got my book club to read it for next month's meeting.
But I didn't love the book like my friend did. One of the central characters is an uneducated house painter. He sees through Hitler and refuses to join the Nazi party. I just don't believe it. How could an ordinary person like that, receiving only one source of news like everyone else in the country, be so astute, so wise? The family didn't even own a single book.
Most of America fell for the weapons-of-mass-destruction pretext for going to war with Iraq, so it must easy for a country to go off the deep end when presented with only one viewpoint through the media.
I wonder how many actual ordinary Germans refused to join the Nazi party? I'm not talking about the educated elite or political activists, but the 'normal' folk.
Yesterday I saw The Counterfeiters, about a counterfeiting ring that the Nazis set up so they could flood America and England with fake currency. It was excellent. I have also been reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My friend Elizabeth in Detroit loved it and recommended it. I got my book club to read it for next month's meeting.
But I didn't love the book like my friend did. One of the central characters is an uneducated house painter. He sees through Hitler and refuses to join the Nazi party. I just don't believe it. How could an ordinary person like that, receiving only one source of news like everyone else in the country, be so astute, so wise? The family didn't even own a single book.
Most of America fell for the weapons-of-mass-destruction pretext for going to war with Iraq, so it must easy for a country to go off the deep end when presented with only one viewpoint through the media.
I wonder how many actual ordinary Germans refused to join the Nazi party? I'm not talking about the educated elite or political activists, but the 'normal' folk.
Wozza in bozza
British newspapers have such strange headlines. Brits, in fact, have a fondness using nicknames instead of the actual words: pressie for present or sarnie for sandwiches, for example.
I shouldn't have been surprised when I couldn't decipher the headline below in today's paper:
Wozza in Bozza
Careful reading of the article revealed that the famous chef Anthony Worrall Thompson is in financial trouble and has had to close five of his fancy restaurants. So Worrall equals wozza, and he's in financial 'bother,' so I guess that equals bozza.
George Bernard Shaw certainly had it right when he said America and England are separated by a common language....
Ex votos
A British Museum exhibit I saw last week had displays for beliefs of different religions. They had shamans, witch doctors and gods. I thought it was interesting that they put Christianity on the same level as the other religions. They didn't, for example, act like believing that saints could intercede on a supplicant's behalf was different or better than, say, Shamanism whose practioners "enter altered state of consciousness in which they experience themselves or their spirits traveling to other realms at will and interacting with other entitles in order to serve their community."
The exhibit on saints at the British Museum focused on ex votos -- I had no idea what they were -- explanation below. Apparently in Naples, people would leave silver pieces depicting the part of the body they wanted healed in churches or priest's homes. Examples below:
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or divinity. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ex voto suscepto, "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshipper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with ex-votos.
The exhibit on saints at the British Museum focused on ex votos -- I had no idea what they were -- explanation below. Apparently in Naples, people would leave silver pieces depicting the part of the body they wanted healed in churches or priest's homes. Examples below:
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or divinity. It is given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ex voto suscepto, "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. Ex-votos are placed in a church or chapel where the worshipper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with ex-votos.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
The Bible as a glossy celeb magazine
A Swedish publisher has turned the Bible into a 264-page glossy magazine complete with provocative images and celebrities.
Their website has this: They 'asked the question “Why people don’t read historical texts” and they began pondering if the traditional format or design turned people off. They realized there was a huge opportunity to re-design or illuminate these types of old texts. This was the beginning of Illuminated World.
Here's a sample of the text:
Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. Some people's faith allows them to eat anything, but a person who is weak in faith eats only vegetables.
Here's the cover pic (below). I wonder who this glamorous woman is supposed to be. I thought all the big players in the Bible were men?
Website is www.illuminatedworld.com
Their website has this: They 'asked the question “Why people don’t read historical texts” and they began pondering if the traditional format or design turned people off. They realized there was a huge opportunity to re-design or illuminate these types of old texts. This was the beginning of Illuminated World.
Here's a sample of the text:
Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. Some people's faith allows them to eat anything, but a person who is weak in faith eats only vegetables.
Here's the cover pic (below). I wonder who this glamorous woman is supposed to be. I thought all the big players in the Bible were men?
Website is www.illuminatedworld.com
Credit crunched? Lift up your voice and sing
I've been singing in a London chorus for a few months, and now I discover I am just part of a trend:
All over the UK, choirs are packed....Cheaper than therapy, more inclusive than sport and a whole lot more fun than an hour on the cross-trainer, choirs are relieving the credit-crunch blues of stressed-out professionals.
...
There is science behind this euphoria. Singing releases endorphins - just as exercise or eating a bar of chocolate does. It's also physical; warm-up exercises relax the body and it improves posture and breathing, even relieving asthma in some sufferers. A study by Harvard and Yale universities concluded that singing increased life expectancy by developing a healthy heart and mental alertness.
Our chorus master at the Philharmonia gives us interesting instructions on how to sing. "Let your voice come to you," he says, rather than grasping at the notes. It sounds sort of Zenlike.
All over the UK, choirs are packed....Cheaper than therapy, more inclusive than sport and a whole lot more fun than an hour on the cross-trainer, choirs are relieving the credit-crunch blues of stressed-out professionals.
...
There is science behind this euphoria. Singing releases endorphins - just as exercise or eating a bar of chocolate does. It's also physical; warm-up exercises relax the body and it improves posture and breathing, even relieving asthma in some sufferers. A study by Harvard and Yale universities concluded that singing increased life expectancy by developing a healthy heart and mental alertness.
Our chorus master at the Philharmonia gives us interesting instructions on how to sing. "Let your voice come to you," he says, rather than grasping at the notes. It sounds sort of Zenlike.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Q&A with Brenda Ware Jones
My high-school friend Brenda Ware Jones sent in answers to my questionnaire from last week. See the URL at the bottom of this post to read her blog (except don't pay any attention to criticisms of me in there!).
What was your favorite dish from childhood:
My Aunt Margaret's cheese straws!
Favorite foods to prepare: Fresh yeast bread, all kinds. The kneading is so relaxing, and the smell when it's baking---Heavenly! I also love those long-simmering things like vegetable and bean soups, cassoulets, gumboes, etc.
If you could invite three people as dinner guests, who would you invite?
Paul McCartney and Kevco Scanlon! Who'd need a third? I'd just want to feed those two and listen to them talk about writing songs. Kev, sorry, it'll be a vegetarian meal for me and Sir P!
Where and what was your most memorable meal? In a little restaurant perched high on a cliff above the Mediterranean, in Cap d'Agde, south of France, with Lizzy and LE. We sat outdoors, and ordered bouillabaisse for three, and we got to choose the fish off an iced platter, freshly caught that very afternoon.
The waiter whisked them away, and a couple of glasses of wine later, a huge dish of fabulous-smelling briny spicy fish soup appeared, with a basket of fresh-baked baguettes for sopping up the herbed broth. We ate everything but the fishbones! Delicious, with the sea breeze softly blowing. Life was good, until the "memorable" part occurred. This little place was not a tourist spot, and did not take credit cards! We were a few francs short of having enough cash, and the owner did not find anything funny about my cheerful offer to "laver les vaisselles" (wash dishes.)
At last, he agreed to let us return to town and go to an ATM...but he kept my American driver's license and passport just to make sure we returned!
Favorite restaurants: The late lamented Old Tyme Deli here in Jackson, Suibi Sushi in New York, Antoine's in New Orleans
Favorite junk food: Homemade Chex mix with extra spices and lots of cashews!
Name three items that are always in your fridge:
Unsweetened soy milk, a tuna salad, and cheese of all kinds
Brenda Ware Jones
http://brendawarejones.blogspot.com/
What was your favorite dish from childhood:
My Aunt Margaret's cheese straws!
Favorite foods to prepare: Fresh yeast bread, all kinds. The kneading is so relaxing, and the smell when it's baking---Heavenly! I also love those long-simmering things like vegetable and bean soups, cassoulets, gumboes, etc.
If you could invite three people as dinner guests, who would you invite?
Paul McCartney and Kevco Scanlon! Who'd need a third? I'd just want to feed those two and listen to them talk about writing songs. Kev, sorry, it'll be a vegetarian meal for me and Sir P!
Where and what was your most memorable meal? In a little restaurant perched high on a cliff above the Mediterranean, in Cap d'Agde, south of France, with Lizzy and LE. We sat outdoors, and ordered bouillabaisse for three, and we got to choose the fish off an iced platter, freshly caught that very afternoon.
The waiter whisked them away, and a couple of glasses of wine later, a huge dish of fabulous-smelling briny spicy fish soup appeared, with a basket of fresh-baked baguettes for sopping up the herbed broth. We ate everything but the fishbones! Delicious, with the sea breeze softly blowing. Life was good, until the "memorable" part occurred. This little place was not a tourist spot, and did not take credit cards! We were a few francs short of having enough cash, and the owner did not find anything funny about my cheerful offer to "laver les vaisselles" (wash dishes.)
At last, he agreed to let us return to town and go to an ATM...but he kept my American driver's license and passport just to make sure we returned!
Favorite restaurants: The late lamented Old Tyme Deli here in Jackson, Suibi Sushi in New York, Antoine's in New Orleans
Favorite junk food: Homemade Chex mix with extra spices and lots of cashews!
Name three items that are always in your fridge:
Unsweetened soy milk, a tuna salad, and cheese of all kinds
Brenda Ware Jones
http://brendawarejones.blogspot.com/
Cholesterol panic
I had a couple of blood tests last week and I called the medical office for the results, and a receptionist idly said that my cholesterol is high. "What?" I said, shocked. "What should I do? Make an appointment to see the doctor?" And she said in a blase manner, 'If you want to....'
I think it's not high enough to warrant any medical intervention (5.9) but I think I'd better cut out butter from my diet right now. If any of you out there can give me advice, that would be great.
I think I'm going to leave the office in 30 minutes because its been snowing non-stop this afternoon, and the roads will be icy.
My daughter has come home for the weekend and already knocked the head off my son's snowman -- siblings are so mean to each other.
I think it's not high enough to warrant any medical intervention (5.9) but I think I'd better cut out butter from my diet right now. If any of you out there can give me advice, that would be great.
I think I'm going to leave the office in 30 minutes because its been snowing non-stop this afternoon, and the roads will be icy.
My daughter has come home for the weekend and already knocked the head off my son's snowman -- siblings are so mean to each other.
Getting a tan from your computer
How does the saying go? There's one born every minute?
"More than 30,000 people fell for a controversial ad which claimed their computer monitor would make them tan while they work. It wasn't a scam, but rather a brilliant marketing move which was meant draw publicity to a skin cancer charity. Obviously, it worked quite well, as websites all over the interweb are reporting about it.
The site, called ComputerTan, promised visitors to magically transform their monitors into UV lamps which would give them that sexy Mediterranean look in the comfort of their own office. It offered a free trial, which consisted of showing bright lights on the screen, followed by a message from the charity."
Snippet from www.fudzilla.com
"More than 30,000 people fell for a controversial ad which claimed their computer monitor would make them tan while they work. It wasn't a scam, but rather a brilliant marketing move which was meant draw publicity to a skin cancer charity. Obviously, it worked quite well, as websites all over the interweb are reporting about it.
The site, called ComputerTan, promised visitors to magically transform their monitors into UV lamps which would give them that sexy Mediterranean look in the comfort of their own office. It offered a free trial, which consisted of showing bright lights on the screen, followed by a message from the charity."
Snippet from www.fudzilla.com
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Now Christians are making bus signs
Christian groups are launching their own advertisements to run across the side of London buses following an atheist campaign.
"The British Humanist Association launched adverts earlier in the year proclaiming: 'There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.'
It sparked almost 150 complaints to the Advertising Standard Authority from people claiming the campaign was offensive.
Now the Christian party, the Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church have paid for their own pro-God adverts that will run on 175 buses across central and east London and the West End for two weeks from Monday.
The advert for the Christian Party includes the slogan: 'There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.'"
OK, who is going to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority about truth in advertising now?
"The British Humanist Association launched adverts earlier in the year proclaiming: 'There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.'
It sparked almost 150 complaints to the Advertising Standard Authority from people claiming the campaign was offensive.
Now the Christian party, the Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church have paid for their own pro-God adverts that will run on 175 buses across central and east London and the West End for two weeks from Monday.
The advert for the Christian Party includes the slogan: 'There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.'"
OK, who is going to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority about truth in advertising now?
Snow day, testing recipes & evening snowmen
I finally gave in to the snow today and stayed at home. I had my laptop and one of those security keys that lets you log in to the office network so I could still do my job. I worked so hard today too with no one to talk to.
The rest of my group was in the office today so I know they think I'm a Snow Wimp, as I've called them that earlier this week when they stayed at home. I thought I'd be in tomorrow but now heavy snows are forecast so I don't know.
(I have the TV on to one of those Open Access channels where they download any crap to the TV. I saw they were going to run the As You Like It movie with my hero Laurence Olivier that I've never seen. Anyway, there is a preacher on now speaking to enraptured people. I can imagine they think he is enlightened but he just looks like a fat rich conman to me. This is different though -- now they are broadcasting personal testimonials from satisfied customers, like they used a great brand of toothpaste.)
Girlie Pary Recipes
I'm testing recipes for a girlie party I'm having next month. Going to write down a recipe so I can print it off later. It's delish, and got the Teen Seal of Approval just now, and Mikey never likes anything I cook.
Shrimp in Toast Cups
It's supposed to be Lobster in a Chafing Dish but I modified it to be Shrimp in Toast Cups.
Take some slices of thin bread, cut the crusts off, flatten with a rolling pin then mold into cupcake holders or pan and toast.
Cook some shrimp in butter, sherry, paprika and Tobasco sauce. Remove the shrimp and add cheese and milk to the mix to make a sauce.
Add the shrimp to the sauce then spoon into toast cups.
Creme de Menthe Grapes
Marinade green grapes in mint liqueur for 2 to 3 hours. Drain, then roll in confectioner's sugar. Let that dry and roll them again in the sugar.
I haven't eaten these grapes yet but they sure smell good in that alcohol.
Finally, the preacher has gone off the Open Access channel and been replaced by Larry Olivier in his virile prime. Now THAT's television.
PS
I tried to get Mikey to make a snowman all day and now he's finally decided that he has to do it 10 hours later, but it's totally dark outside. Only a teen could decide that making a snowman in the pitch black is a good idea.
It's Satanic!
I was just taking a bath, and my son called to me to look at his newly completed snowman outside. I opened the little bathroom window and peered outside. Mikey's snowman is huge -- 7 feet tall, with big dark stones for eyes -- I looked at it and shrieked. The snowman is angled a bit so it looks like he is looking straight at me with angry and baleful eyes. It's dark outside so all you can see is the gleaming snow of his body and those black-rock eyes. It is scary and reminded me of watching an episode of the Twilight Zone in my youth and getting scared to death.
Even my son noticed how eerie his snowman is. "He is looking straight at you," he said then laughed. "It looks like he's coming over to kill you." I closed the bathroom window then opened it again a few minutes later. I am sure the snowman has advanced a few inches since the last time I looked.
And in the time it's taken me to update this post...well, I hate to think how much closer he has come to the bathroom window.
If there's no post from me tomorrow, you'll know what happened.
The rest of my group was in the office today so I know they think I'm a Snow Wimp, as I've called them that earlier this week when they stayed at home. I thought I'd be in tomorrow but now heavy snows are forecast so I don't know.
(I have the TV on to one of those Open Access channels where they download any crap to the TV. I saw they were going to run the As You Like It movie with my hero Laurence Olivier that I've never seen. Anyway, there is a preacher on now speaking to enraptured people. I can imagine they think he is enlightened but he just looks like a fat rich conman to me. This is different though -- now they are broadcasting personal testimonials from satisfied customers, like they used a great brand of toothpaste.)
Girlie Pary Recipes
I'm testing recipes for a girlie party I'm having next month. Going to write down a recipe so I can print it off later. It's delish, and got the Teen Seal of Approval just now, and Mikey never likes anything I cook.
Shrimp in Toast Cups
It's supposed to be Lobster in a Chafing Dish but I modified it to be Shrimp in Toast Cups.
Take some slices of thin bread, cut the crusts off, flatten with a rolling pin then mold into cupcake holders or pan and toast.
Cook some shrimp in butter, sherry, paprika and Tobasco sauce. Remove the shrimp and add cheese and milk to the mix to make a sauce.
Add the shrimp to the sauce then spoon into toast cups.
Creme de Menthe Grapes
Marinade green grapes in mint liqueur for 2 to 3 hours. Drain, then roll in confectioner's sugar. Let that dry and roll them again in the sugar.
I haven't eaten these grapes yet but they sure smell good in that alcohol.
Finally, the preacher has gone off the Open Access channel and been replaced by Larry Olivier in his virile prime. Now THAT's television.
PS
I tried to get Mikey to make a snowman all day and now he's finally decided that he has to do it 10 hours later, but it's totally dark outside. Only a teen could decide that making a snowman in the pitch black is a good idea.
It's Satanic!
I was just taking a bath, and my son called to me to look at his newly completed snowman outside. I opened the little bathroom window and peered outside. Mikey's snowman is huge -- 7 feet tall, with big dark stones for eyes -- I looked at it and shrieked. The snowman is angled a bit so it looks like he is looking straight at me with angry and baleful eyes. It's dark outside so all you can see is the gleaming snow of his body and those black-rock eyes. It is scary and reminded me of watching an episode of the Twilight Zone in my youth and getting scared to death.
Even my son noticed how eerie his snowman is. "He is looking straight at you," he said then laughed. "It looks like he's coming over to kill you." I closed the bathroom window then opened it again a few minutes later. I am sure the snowman has advanced a few inches since the last time I looked.
And in the time it's taken me to update this post...well, I hate to think how much closer he has come to the bathroom window.
If there's no post from me tomorrow, you'll know what happened.
Sort of like going to church
I went to my first service at the Buddhist Temple near my house a week ago. It was strange to me since it was a totally new experience. You meditate in the middle, but on either end is chanting and singing, and, of course, at the 'altar' is Buddha, not Jesus.
Although the words were odd to me, the group silence, then intoning of verses and later singing was just like being in an Episcopalian church service in my youth (only the content was different). When I got home later, I was still humming the tune but had inadvertently replaced the words with the more familiar ones that I remembered from my childhood worship (because the sound of the chants was so similar, with a monotone-y flatness of tune).
Maybe we humans enjoy coming together as a group no matter what the substance of the event is? I recalled the words of my father when he heard I was attending a Unitarian church in Boston. "You know what Unitarians are, don't you? They are atheists who just haven't gotten out of the habit of going to church."
I thought he had a point there, although I would never have admitted it.
Although the words were odd to me, the group silence, then intoning of verses and later singing was just like being in an Episcopalian church service in my youth (only the content was different). When I got home later, I was still humming the tune but had inadvertently replaced the words with the more familiar ones that I remembered from my childhood worship (because the sound of the chants was so similar, with a monotone-y flatness of tune).
Maybe we humans enjoy coming together as a group no matter what the substance of the event is? I recalled the words of my father when he heard I was attending a Unitarian church in Boston. "You know what Unitarians are, don't you? They are atheists who just haven't gotten out of the habit of going to church."
I thought he had a point there, although I would never have admitted it.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
the Pope and the Holocaust
Today an email is making the rounds asking that we pause to remember the Holocaust. The photo below is included:
I thought it was interesting that this email would be going around the world the day after the Pope reinstated a Holocaust-denying bishop.
From the Daily Beast website:
In attempting to heal a divide in the Church, has Pope Benedict created new ones? A day after German Chancellor Andrea Merkel criticized the pope for reinstating Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson, key members of the Catholic church are piling on, offering a rare glimpse behind the usual Vatican show of unity.
German Bishop Werner Thissen also said the un-excommuncation was "sloppy work" that damaged relations with the Jews, while his colleague, Bishop Gebhard Fuerst said that "Vatican members didn't look closely enough" at the reinstated bishop's views. Marco Politi, a biographer of Pope John Paul II, said "In three years he has succeeded in creating strains with two of the world's leading religions. It raises question about the governance of the universal church."
I thought it was interesting that this email would be going around the world the day after the Pope reinstated a Holocaust-denying bishop.
From the Daily Beast website:
In attempting to heal a divide in the Church, has Pope Benedict created new ones? A day after German Chancellor Andrea Merkel criticized the pope for reinstating Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson, key members of the Catholic church are piling on, offering a rare glimpse behind the usual Vatican show of unity.
German Bishop Werner Thissen also said the un-excommuncation was "sloppy work" that damaged relations with the Jews, while his colleague, Bishop Gebhard Fuerst said that "Vatican members didn't look closely enough" at the reinstated bishop's views. Marco Politi, a biographer of Pope John Paul II, said "In three years he has succeeded in creating strains with two of the world's leading religions. It raises question about the governance of the universal church."
Gotta get a shapka
Winter is much on the minds of everyone in England this week -- we had a huge snowstorm on Monday and are set for more snows tonight.
Over the weekend, I was flipping channels and landed on The Hunt for Red October, the Tom Clancy movie with Sean Connery in it who says that famous line, "Where I am going, you cannot follow."
But what impressed me most was the warm Russian hats they were wearing. Now I see that they are totally in this season. I guess I'd better check for a deal on Ebay soon.
It is called a "shapka", but it is probably best known by the clumsy but richly descriptive term, "big furry Russian hat".
Once the province of superannuated Politburo members on Red Square parades, the big furry Russian hat has now become not just fashionable but truly ubiquitous, as likely to adorn the bonce of the Queen or Madonna.
The big furry Russian hat crosses social, political, generational and sartorial boundaries: Lily Allen wore one to go tobogganing with her mates this week, while George Bush Snr donned another for Barack Obama's inauguration. It is practical, in the cold weather, whether it is made out of real fur or the more popular and ethical fake version.
According to the men's fashion website Morphosis, the shapka owes its existence to Russia's winter war with Finland in 1939. Noticing that their troops were dying of exposure, and also that their pointy felt budyonovka caps made then a handy target for snipers, Russian commanders promptly commissioned a new fur cap which was both warm and capacious enough to accommodate a helmet. These hats were then unofficially adopted by German troops, then by the post-war Russian and Eastern Bloc public to cope with harsh winters.
Addendum
Alert Russian reader Vladimir has just taken umbrage to my post, sending me a note that says that the hat cannot possibly be as young as the newspaper says. His proof?
This painting by Joachim von Sandrart from 1643:
Over the weekend, I was flipping channels and landed on The Hunt for Red October, the Tom Clancy movie with Sean Connery in it who says that famous line, "Where I am going, you cannot follow."
But what impressed me most was the warm Russian hats they were wearing. Now I see that they are totally in this season. I guess I'd better check for a deal on Ebay soon.
It is called a "shapka", but it is probably best known by the clumsy but richly descriptive term, "big furry Russian hat".
Once the province of superannuated Politburo members on Red Square parades, the big furry Russian hat has now become not just fashionable but truly ubiquitous, as likely to adorn the bonce of the Queen or Madonna.
The big furry Russian hat crosses social, political, generational and sartorial boundaries: Lily Allen wore one to go tobogganing with her mates this week, while George Bush Snr donned another for Barack Obama's inauguration. It is practical, in the cold weather, whether it is made out of real fur or the more popular and ethical fake version.
According to the men's fashion website Morphosis, the shapka owes its existence to Russia's winter war with Finland in 1939. Noticing that their troops were dying of exposure, and also that their pointy felt budyonovka caps made then a handy target for snipers, Russian commanders promptly commissioned a new fur cap which was both warm and capacious enough to accommodate a helmet. These hats were then unofficially adopted by German troops, then by the post-war Russian and Eastern Bloc public to cope with harsh winters.
Addendum
Alert Russian reader Vladimir has just taken umbrage to my post, sending me a note that says that the hat cannot possibly be as young as the newspaper says. His proof?
This painting by Joachim von Sandrart from 1643:
Iowa cold
My brother Mike lives in Iowa so he knows a thing or two about cold weather. He sent me this handy guide:
COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .
65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.
60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.
50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows down.
40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.
35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout before it gets cold.
20 above Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Iowans close the windows.
Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.
10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling cookies door to door.
20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.
30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.
40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'
50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late.
Thanks Mike! I've learned something today.
COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .
65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.
60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.
50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows down.
40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.
35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout before it gets cold.
20 above Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Iowans close the windows.
Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.
10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling cookies door to door.
20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.
30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.
40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'
50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late.
Thanks Mike! I've learned something today.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Atheist bus campaign goes to Canada
The atheist bus campaign from England is headed to Canada. As usual, someone is incensed about it:
A prominent evangelical leader says atheist ads suggesting there is no God - now headed for Toronto's transit system - are "attack ads" and should not be approved.
The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada won approval yesterday from the Toronto Transit Commission to place ads on buses and inside subway cars that read: "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, which fought against the legalization of same-sex marriages, said his group has not decided whether it will formally complain about the ads once they appear.
"On the surface, I'm all for free speech. ... However, though, these are attack ads," Dr. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, said in an interview yesterday.
"These ads are not saying what the atheists believe, they are attacking what other people believe," he said. "And if you look at the dictionary definition for ... bigot, that's exactly what it is, to be intolerant of someone else's belief system."
A prominent evangelical leader says atheist ads suggesting there is no God - now headed for Toronto's transit system - are "attack ads" and should not be approved.
The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada won approval yesterday from the Toronto Transit Commission to place ads on buses and inside subway cars that read: "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, which fought against the legalization of same-sex marriages, said his group has not decided whether it will formally complain about the ads once they appear.
"On the surface, I'm all for free speech. ... However, though, these are attack ads," Dr. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, said in an interview yesterday.
"These ads are not saying what the atheists believe, they are attacking what other people believe," he said. "And if you look at the dictionary definition for ... bigot, that's exactly what it is, to be intolerant of someone else's belief system."
Footprints in the snow
A day after our big snow fall, and the snow is getting packed down by people and cars and getting icy underneath. I was thinking about a documentary I'd seen on Sunday night about fossils and when I looked down, I thought this scene was sort of like that.
Here are one person's footprints, overlapped by another who came later -- and all the various footprints of different sizes and shapes -- all belonging to different personalities who walked here, and are captured (for a time) in the snow and ice -- a record of who was there before I was.
Here are one person's footprints, overlapped by another who came later -- and all the various footprints of different sizes and shapes -- all belonging to different personalities who walked here, and are captured (for a time) in the snow and ice -- a record of who was there before I was.
Annoying telemarketers
I love these anecdotes that readers send in. We can all sympathize with this one:
"Anyway I was so annoyed that when I got home just a few minutes ago the phone rang and it was some guy from an energy comparison company (you know, if they get you to switch companies they make a commission). Usually I just hang up on these people, but today when he explained what they do, I said "Yes, I know, I do the same thing online - I check the tariffs." and then he said "Well, we have access to more companies than what you can find online." to which I replied "How do you know? You have no idea about the totality of websites that exist, which ones I have used, and all the companies that they represent." And he said "Well, we have access to all the companies." and I said "Well, I will have a look online to see if that is true." and hung up on him.
I hate these telemarketers and sometimes I go off on them. Once a guy from Blockbuster called and told me my movie was overdue and that it was in my interests to return the movies on time. I told him he knew nothing about my interests, and that for all he knew I was signing a million pound deal when my movie was due back, and that my net gain by not returning the movie on time was actually £999,995.00 and that on the contrary this DID seem to be in my interests. They never called to bitch at me again - I can only imagine what they wrote on my membership card.:-)"
"Anyway I was so annoyed that when I got home just a few minutes ago the phone rang and it was some guy from an energy comparison company (you know, if they get you to switch companies they make a commission). Usually I just hang up on these people, but today when he explained what they do, I said "Yes, I know, I do the same thing online - I check the tariffs." and then he said "Well, we have access to more companies than what you can find online." to which I replied "How do you know? You have no idea about the totality of websites that exist, which ones I have used, and all the companies that they represent." And he said "Well, we have access to all the companies." and I said "Well, I will have a look online to see if that is true." and hung up on him.
I hate these telemarketers and sometimes I go off on them. Once a guy from Blockbuster called and told me my movie was overdue and that it was in my interests to return the movies on time. I told him he knew nothing about my interests, and that for all he knew I was signing a million pound deal when my movie was due back, and that my net gain by not returning the movie on time was actually £999,995.00 and that on the contrary this DID seem to be in my interests. They never called to bitch at me again - I can only imagine what they wrote on my membership card.:-)"
Monday, 2 February 2009
Snowstorm in England
We have just had the worst snowstorm for 20 years in England and more snow is headed this way this afternoon. I braved it and drove to work, even though I have to go through little country roads that were icy. It was so beautiful, going through the snow with so few cars on the road. Who knew that a daily commute could turn magical for just one day?
Here's our office sign, uncharacteristically snow-covered:
I just rallied the troops to go out for a little snowball fight during our tea break. A Russian colleague was the first to join me, so we billed it as a fight between Capitalism and Communism to get more people outside. My aim is terrible, so I fear capitalism lost this particular fight.
During the lunch hour, some of the guys built a snowman.
While they were doing that, I made a snow angel:
But then I realized all picture taking must cease because a snowball was headed straight for me, and I needed to duck:
Now I'm back inside where it's warm and hoping to dry out soon. Playing in snow gets your clothes so wet.
Women 'emotionally less well equipped' than men
I've put up snippets from the column of the vicar of the Anglican Church in Sherborne St John, Hampshire, before, but this month's article really left me speechless.
I used to live in that village and was always amused when I went to social events and women gathered to fawn over the vicar. I used to think of them as 'vicar groupies.' I guess they don't mind that he thinks their 'tenderness and tolerance' are unsuitable qualities for leadership in the church? Will they still fawn over him after they read this (below) in this month's village newsletter?
John Hamilton (the aforementioned vicar) wrote:
"It may be controversial to say so but the truth is that while women have tremendous gifts to offer in Christian ministry they are emotionally less well equipped to cope with the demands of church leadership. This puts them in situations which are more difficult for them than for a man; the woman’s tenderness and tolerance are not always helpful when it comes to leading the church. This is illustrated by the fact that ordained women are generally more accepting of liberalism in matters of faith and practice than their corresponding male peer group."
I would like to know who was in charge of the church when it became more 'liberal' and decided to accept women and gays in positions of leadership. MEN! So how is the vicar's argument that women will let the church lapse into terrible liberal ways valid? We don't run things (yet).
I used to live in that village and was always amused when I went to social events and women gathered to fawn over the vicar. I used to think of them as 'vicar groupies.' I guess they don't mind that he thinks their 'tenderness and tolerance' are unsuitable qualities for leadership in the church? Will they still fawn over him after they read this (below) in this month's village newsletter?
John Hamilton (the aforementioned vicar) wrote:
"It may be controversial to say so but the truth is that while women have tremendous gifts to offer in Christian ministry they are emotionally less well equipped to cope with the demands of church leadership. This puts them in situations which are more difficult for them than for a man; the woman’s tenderness and tolerance are not always helpful when it comes to leading the church. This is illustrated by the fact that ordained women are generally more accepting of liberalism in matters of faith and practice than their corresponding male peer group."
I would like to know who was in charge of the church when it became more 'liberal' and decided to accept women and gays in positions of leadership. MEN! So how is the vicar's argument that women will let the church lapse into terrible liberal ways valid? We don't run things (yet).
Sunday, 1 February 2009
A warning from my son
I was just trying to put up a post when my son came in to do his homework on the computer. I'd just borrowed the PC for a minute but he was giving me stern looks when I didn't vacate the chair immediately.
"I just need to make sure this Q&A from Theresa has formatted properly," I said. "Just gimme another second." I got that post up then said, "Just one more second while I check my visitor stats." His frown deepened. "Oh no, they are down today," I fretted. "Mustn't worry about that, though," I said, talking to myself. "Don't get obsessive about those numbers...."
Finally Mikey interrupted. "You know," he said, "one day you will look up from the computer and thirty years will have passed. Thirty years! And all you will have been doing during that time is your blog. Is that what you want out of life?"
I look at him, shocked into silence. Then I smiled and said:
"You know that has to go up, don't you? What a great post that'll make."
He rolled his eyes.
"I just need to make sure this Q&A from Theresa has formatted properly," I said. "Just gimme another second." I got that post up then said, "Just one more second while I check my visitor stats." His frown deepened. "Oh no, they are down today," I fretted. "Mustn't worry about that, though," I said, talking to myself. "Don't get obsessive about those numbers...."
Finally Mikey interrupted. "You know," he said, "one day you will look up from the computer and thirty years will have passed. Thirty years! And all you will have been doing during that time is your blog. Is that what you want out of life?"
I look at him, shocked into silence. Then I smiled and said:
"You know that has to go up, don't you? What a great post that'll make."
He rolled his eyes.
Q & A from Theresa Apps
Another food Q&A sent in by a reader below. This one is from Theresa, a Texan expat now living on the southern coast of England.
What was your favorite dish from childhood:
For me, nothing beat a bowl of oatmeal. I know, I know. I'm a freak.
Favorite foods to prepare: I like to prepare Shrimp Etouffee. After chopping all the vegetables, I get to stand at the stove and slowly stir the roux while it deepens from a creamy beige to a deep golden caramel and allows me to have an uninterrupted half hour of thinking. Just me and my thoughts. Very relaxing.
If you could invite three people as dinner guests, who would you invite?
My paternal grandmother, Laura Belle, because I'm older and wiser and know I should have paid closer attention all those years ago. My father, James H. and my daughter, Caitlin. Four generations gathered together and Caitlin would be able to pass on wisdom and family lore to her soon-to-be-born son.
Where and what was your most memorable meal?
Hudsons on the Bend in Austin, Texas on February 14th, 2004. I had an amuse bouche of Lobster Bisque served in a martini glass; starter of Applewood Smoked Duck Quesadilla; salad with a pink raspberry vinaigrette; Elk Wellington followed by a Banana Toffee Ice Cream concoction that was heavenly.
I can't remember exactly what Vince had, but I do know that his starter involved escargot and his main was fish a with white chocolate/tomatillo sauce. It was all very nice, but the bill was just shy of $300 and as this was eight years into our relationship, we couldn't help thinking of what each bite cost. A meal like this should be eaten during the first year of a relationship when you're wooing each other!
It's funny, but we'll be back in Austin this Valentine's Day and the menu does look very nice (http://www.hudsonsonthebend.com/main.php), but I bet they're fully booked by now. (Editor's note: Call them up and find out, Theresa! Maybe the credit crunch means there is a table available.)
Favorite restaurants: Midori Sushi in Austin, Texas; Hudson's on the Docks in Hilton Head, South Carolina and The Boiling Pot in Fulton, Texas. I guess you can tell I'm partial to seafood.
Favorite junk food: Butterfingers
Name three items that are always in your fridge:
A bottle of water, eggs and a jar of pesto.
What was your favorite dish from childhood:
For me, nothing beat a bowl of oatmeal. I know, I know. I'm a freak.
Favorite foods to prepare: I like to prepare Shrimp Etouffee. After chopping all the vegetables, I get to stand at the stove and slowly stir the roux while it deepens from a creamy beige to a deep golden caramel and allows me to have an uninterrupted half hour of thinking. Just me and my thoughts. Very relaxing.
If you could invite three people as dinner guests, who would you invite?
My paternal grandmother, Laura Belle, because I'm older and wiser and know I should have paid closer attention all those years ago. My father, James H. and my daughter, Caitlin. Four generations gathered together and Caitlin would be able to pass on wisdom and family lore to her soon-to-be-born son.
Where and what was your most memorable meal?
Hudsons on the Bend in Austin, Texas on February 14th, 2004. I had an amuse bouche of Lobster Bisque served in a martini glass; starter of Applewood Smoked Duck Quesadilla; salad with a pink raspberry vinaigrette; Elk Wellington followed by a Banana Toffee Ice Cream concoction that was heavenly.
I can't remember exactly what Vince had, but I do know that his starter involved escargot and his main was fish a with white chocolate/tomatillo sauce. It was all very nice, but the bill was just shy of $300 and as this was eight years into our relationship, we couldn't help thinking of what each bite cost. A meal like this should be eaten during the first year of a relationship when you're wooing each other!
It's funny, but we'll be back in Austin this Valentine's Day and the menu does look very nice (http://www.hudsonsonthebend.com/main.php), but I bet they're fully booked by now. (Editor's note: Call them up and find out, Theresa! Maybe the credit crunch means there is a table available.)
Favorite restaurants: Midori Sushi in Austin, Texas; Hudson's on the Docks in Hilton Head, South Carolina and The Boiling Pot in Fulton, Texas. I guess you can tell I'm partial to seafood.
Favorite junk food: Butterfingers
Name three items that are always in your fridge:
A bottle of water, eggs and a jar of pesto.
Helen Garton and Russell Brand share a kiss
Russell Brand is a famous comedian in England; he hosted the MTV awards in America recently -- that was going to be his big break in the US but I think he screwed it up by offending everyone with his English humor.
Anyway, he's still huge in the UK. My friend Helen went to see him last week and sent this report:
"I went to see Russell Brand in Oxford on Wednesday. He was so funny and a great performer. I was among the hordes of screaming, very young, women who gathered to meet him in the foyer afterwards (I really wanted to go home as I was cold, hungry and tired, but my sister really wanted to stay) and bizarrely it was me who managed to end up right in his path as he walked through and he bent right down (he is very tall) to say hello and give me a smacker on the lips. My sister and I bet all the young 'uns about me were incensed! Just wanted to share that with you. Have been telling anyone who'll listen ever since!"
Anyway, he's still huge in the UK. My friend Helen went to see him last week and sent this report:
"I went to see Russell Brand in Oxford on Wednesday. He was so funny and a great performer. I was among the hordes of screaming, very young, women who gathered to meet him in the foyer afterwards (I really wanted to go home as I was cold, hungry and tired, but my sister really wanted to stay) and bizarrely it was me who managed to end up right in his path as he walked through and he bent right down (he is very tall) to say hello and give me a smacker on the lips. My sister and I bet all the young 'uns about me were incensed! Just wanted to share that with you. Have been telling anyone who'll listen ever since!"
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