perhaps I am just getting lazy. I think of something to blog about. I't s perfectly structured in my mind. By the time I get home, I'm tired or distracted or whatever. Today, I didn't do that.
There was a little snippet in the news today from Switzerland. (I refer to it as Scweiz......spelling Switzerland to some effort believe it or not). Anyway, the Swiss voted to ban the construction of minarets. So what are we supposed to make of it. It is seemingly so trivial yes? I think it is probably one of the most significant happenings in the "West" in it's relationship with the "Islamic" world.
First some background. I have read the Quran. I believe that Muhammad was a prophet, though not the final and pentultimate one that Islam presents. Islam, like other religions, is not necessarily a 'religion of peace'. Most of it's adherents are people of peace, as are most Christians, Hindu, Jews, Taoists, and even agnostics and atheists. Most people prefer peace. There are those who will take and pervert a particular faith to include violent means. Yes folks, it really is that simple.
Ok, back to the Swiss thing. Opponents trumpet the decision by the Swiss electorate as anti-Islam.....and implied in that is racist. After all, there are steeples atop churches throughout Switzerland so it must be true. They hate Muslims and ...... errrrr........well Muslims come in a variety of colors and nationalities. But the Swiss hate 'em all.
I am an American. Not a Swiss-American. Besides, I am only 1/2 Swiss. When asked what my ancestry is I answer that I am a western European mutt. But let's assume I were still back in the old country. Naturally, I would have less money, education, and be busting my ass in the fields if I still lived there. My family shield shows that Loertscher's are noble farm stock. Say what you want about my old man, but he was the first in his line that got an education and made his living with hind brain and not his back. Man I'm on one here.....new paragraph.
So if I lived in Switzerland how would I have voted? Probably the same way that I would vote here. Sure build it, just tell the mezza what's his face to text everybody when it's time for prayers and don't blast it from the loudspeaker. Some of us pray at decent hours and are asleep right now or trying to read.
Wouldn't it be interesting, if they held a referendum in Saudi about whther Christian churches can erect a steeple. First of all, there can't be a referendum. The king and the honcho iman call all the shots. You can't have a Christian church in Saudi, hence no arguments about steeples. I can't even bring in my scriptures were I to visit there. That is what the majority of Swiss were thinking when they voted.
Here is where they were wrong. The minaret now becomes a symbol that not only are we tolerant, and protecting, and all those other good adjectives. When the young return to the country of their ancestry they will be better educated, more prosperous, and realize just how f***ed up the leadership is. They will then declare themselves Swiss. Or in the case of my father and his father, they were Americans and would shoot the first damn Swiss person that screwed around with their new country. My step-grandmother was German. When my father left for Europe he was just itching to "kill some krauts"......which his stepmom mentioned she was. His response? Who knows for sure. Knowing my old man it was probably something like "better tell 'em I'm coming while there's still time to surrender!". He didn't believe in the hyphenation of loyalties.
So for the Swiss citizens of Muslim descent, I apologize. For non-citizen Muslims? Well maybe the Swiss majority got this one right.
The French have President Sarkozy saying that Muslim women should not wear the burqa since it is a symbol of women being enslaved or something like that. It's France for hell's sake. If they want to wear it let them. If they choose not to and they are persecuted by Muslims living in France then you let them know what French law is and toss their misogynistic asses in the klink. Let them remember that they are living is "Whateveristan". Besides the young Muslims who have chosen to be French will dig it.
In the meantime, President Sarkozy should spend a little more time with his oh-so-hot wife. Has anybody besides checked her out? Wow.......Jackie O ain't got nothing on her.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
a good day
I started my three day weekend today by immediately going to the Red Iguana today. It opened in 1985, I started eating there on cinco de Mayo '86. Son #1 and three of his buddies wnet there tonight. My wife and I kinda crashed their festivities. Strangely enough they were seated at the same table that I first ate at 23 years ago.
I don't eat at Red Iguana as much as I should. It's mainly the distance involved....and the wait. We left there tonight a bit after 8:30 on a Thursday night. It was still standing room only. Why? For me it is the moles. The poblano is a perfect combination of sweet/spicy/smoky. I no longer eat mole the traditional way, served over pork/chicken or TURKEY (Lord have mercy!!) because I don't eat meat any more. But I got a cup of poblano and dredged tortillas through it.
The problem with eating it to start my weekend? It's all downhill from here. Barring something truly spectacular.
Naturally, my thoughts at some point turn to Ramon Cardenas. The honcho until he died a few years back from an aneurysm. I spoke with him only once. He no doubt forgot our conversation. In fact he was quite annoyed with me at the time. My wife and I had ordered a paella the day before. We had reservations and our table was set for paella. After we were seated, our drink orders was taken. I asked for an appetizer. The waiter gave me a strange look and disappeared into the kitchen. Ramon Cardenas came out, carrying a large non-knife kitchen implement, and coarsely informed me that there would be nothing else served with our paella. I honestly expected I was going to be beaten to death.
Two minutes later the paella appeared. Saffron rice, peas, clams, shrimp, mussels, chicken, chorizo, lobster, peppers. A classic, perfectly balanced and prepared dish. Everything prepared separately and perfectly and combined in the final minutes before my arrival. As we were finishing Ramon sat at our table and lamented the fact that he was not able to prepare it outside over a fire......and then he left. A few weeks later we were able to share an even larger paella with frineds of ours. Sometime after that I read the obituary for Ramon Cardenas. With it the artistry of paella was snuffed out. I've not had anything like it since. Every time I go to Red Iguana I get misty eyed. A few times afterwards, I have cried tears when I am alone.
Food carries the potential for emotional responses. I have had some food epiphanies in my life. I also carry memories of people that are attached to the food. I remember Beulah and Ray and the El Charro and the tacos and salsa that are like no other. There was Miriam at the della Fontana and the Salsiccia fresca dolce. I fondly remember the parties thrown by, my childhood neighbors, the Ybarras. There was the beef teriyaki by Mr. Ryujin at the Dai Enko Tei. And of course, the paella by Ramon.
I was feeling real good before I started this entry tonight. I review the prior paragraph and think about these good things that are lost forever. I am overcome with melancholy
I don't eat at Red Iguana as much as I should. It's mainly the distance involved....and the wait. We left there tonight a bit after 8:30 on a Thursday night. It was still standing room only. Why? For me it is the moles. The poblano is a perfect combination of sweet/spicy/smoky. I no longer eat mole the traditional way, served over pork/chicken or TURKEY (Lord have mercy!!) because I don't eat meat any more. But I got a cup of poblano and dredged tortillas through it.
The problem with eating it to start my weekend? It's all downhill from here. Barring something truly spectacular.
Naturally, my thoughts at some point turn to Ramon Cardenas. The honcho until he died a few years back from an aneurysm. I spoke with him only once. He no doubt forgot our conversation. In fact he was quite annoyed with me at the time. My wife and I had ordered a paella the day before. We had reservations and our table was set for paella. After we were seated, our drink orders was taken. I asked for an appetizer. The waiter gave me a strange look and disappeared into the kitchen. Ramon Cardenas came out, carrying a large non-knife kitchen implement, and coarsely informed me that there would be nothing else served with our paella. I honestly expected I was going to be beaten to death.
Two minutes later the paella appeared. Saffron rice, peas, clams, shrimp, mussels, chicken, chorizo, lobster, peppers. A classic, perfectly balanced and prepared dish. Everything prepared separately and perfectly and combined in the final minutes before my arrival. As we were finishing Ramon sat at our table and lamented the fact that he was not able to prepare it outside over a fire......and then he left. A few weeks later we were able to share an even larger paella with frineds of ours. Sometime after that I read the obituary for Ramon Cardenas. With it the artistry of paella was snuffed out. I've not had anything like it since. Every time I go to Red Iguana I get misty eyed. A few times afterwards, I have cried tears when I am alone.
Food carries the potential for emotional responses. I have had some food epiphanies in my life. I also carry memories of people that are attached to the food. I remember Beulah and Ray and the El Charro and the tacos and salsa that are like no other. There was Miriam at the della Fontana and the Salsiccia fresca dolce. I fondly remember the parties thrown by, my childhood neighbors, the Ybarras. There was the beef teriyaki by Mr. Ryujin at the Dai Enko Tei. And of course, the paella by Ramon.
I was feeling real good before I started this entry tonight. I review the prior paragraph and think about these good things that are lost forever. I am overcome with melancholy
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Absolute value and other rants
I'll try to keep this brief. Quick points........not a lot of explanation
The gentle reader no doubt recall 'absolute value' from junior high algebra. It was a concept that had no mathematical application to me at that point. It's philosophical ramifications are quite strong. I cannot remember the exact quote, nor the person credited with it, but when asked what his two favorite things in life were the response was, "pleasures of the flesh and my personal relationship with God". These two points are related.
Another quote I am fond of is, "there is a fine line between love and hate". I think that might serve as a better example of absolute value. For example, a woman that I dated back in my single days. She was a nice girl. Not smart, but not dumb. OK looking (which made her a lot like me). After two dates and going to second base, things ended. I got a nasty note and that was that. Someone else, I was involved with, shall we say, more intimately. That one ended a bit more harshly. If somebody love you a lot and you burn them they will hurt you a lot. That's about it. Therefore I make a point of always being nice to loved ones
So what about pleasures of the flesh. It means unbridled debauchery to some. And there was a time, I sampled it. TO me it means enjoying the finest foods. Being pampered. Being lazy. Soaking in warm water for an hour or two. It also means physical exertion in wilderness. Trips through the west deserts. Feeling cold, hungry, tired, sore, miserable, sick. Musing about the perfect meal on a cold evening above 10,000 feet with nothing to keep you alive but you carry on your back. These same things are also what increases a sense of spirituality in some.
Look, I'm a pacifist by nature. I despise war and killing. I love peace, harmony, and working things out through collaboration and diplomatic means. I am also convinced that the only way to achieve these ends is by having things like the United States Marine Corps. And periodically turning them loose when there is good reason, a clear objective, and defined exit strategy. Without these we fail.
The gentle reader no doubt recall 'absolute value' from junior high algebra. It was a concept that had no mathematical application to me at that point. It's philosophical ramifications are quite strong. I cannot remember the exact quote, nor the person credited with it, but when asked what his two favorite things in life were the response was, "pleasures of the flesh and my personal relationship with God". These two points are related.
Another quote I am fond of is, "there is a fine line between love and hate". I think that might serve as a better example of absolute value. For example, a woman that I dated back in my single days. She was a nice girl. Not smart, but not dumb. OK looking (which made her a lot like me). After two dates and going to second base, things ended. I got a nasty note and that was that. Someone else, I was involved with, shall we say, more intimately. That one ended a bit more harshly. If somebody love you a lot and you burn them they will hurt you a lot. That's about it. Therefore I make a point of always being nice to loved ones
So what about pleasures of the flesh. It means unbridled debauchery to some. And there was a time, I sampled it. TO me it means enjoying the finest foods. Being pampered. Being lazy. Soaking in warm water for an hour or two. It also means physical exertion in wilderness. Trips through the west deserts. Feeling cold, hungry, tired, sore, miserable, sick. Musing about the perfect meal on a cold evening above 10,000 feet with nothing to keep you alive but you carry on your back. These same things are also what increases a sense of spirituality in some.
Look, I'm a pacifist by nature. I despise war and killing. I love peace, harmony, and working things out through collaboration and diplomatic means. I am also convinced that the only way to achieve these ends is by having things like the United States Marine Corps. And periodically turning them loose when there is good reason, a clear objective, and defined exit strategy. Without these we fail.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
back to traditional values
Not only am I not posting frequently enough, I feel as if I have drifted away from what this blog should be about. Namely, we bitching about things.
So without further ado:
Rant 1- I saw a billbaord today that was attempting to resurrect an old 70's jingle. It read, "Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet" and underneath in smaller print "Toyota is sumo and sushi". I suppose that was their way of making it up to date. Here's the problem as I see it.
Baseball vs. Sumo. I'm gonna burn in hell for this, but I'd rather Sumo. Both sports are steeped in tradition and ritual. Sumo takes on even a religious element with it's ties to Shinto. The difference being Sumo is still governed with authority. The overarching emphasis is still on the purity and integrity of the sport. The last professional sport game that I watched completely was the Jazz vs. Bulls final part 2 in the 90's. Sports had already become about egos and personalities long before then, but since Stockton was still playing............
If a sumo wrestler gets out of line, they are cracked hard and fast. No appeals, no lawyers, no bullshit, and everybody KNOWS what is going to happen and why. Professional sports today? They should take Manny Ramirez and his ilk and ban their nasty, steroid-plumped, asses for life. No questions, no appeals, and permanent. Honestly, who watches it anyway. Where does the money come from. Screw 'em all.
(Get back on topic now). Advantage Toyota. As for apple pie, I love it. No doubt about it. The Japanese are either incapable or unwilling to make decent pastry. God Bless America and advantage Chevy.
Hot dogs vs. sushi. C'mon now. If I were at a ballpark and had the choice of a Chicago dog or a spicy tuna roll, my choice would be......neither. I don't eat meat. If my choice were oshinko roll vs. a 'veggie dog'. Advantage Toyota.
Overall analysis? Give me some rice and kimchee. I drive Korean baby!
Rant 2- Second up, is to let all my gentle reader(s) know a "Greek" restaurant to avoid. I don't even know the name of the place. I have the credit card receipt though. These guys are just north of the Harmon's in Roy. I love Greek food. Still do. But being a vegetarian, it has severely restricted my Greek options. I can have the lettuce/cucumber/pepperoncini/olive/feta/dressing concoctions. I can devour an entire tray of spanikopita. Which gets me thinking about how much I enjoyed working with Rob Holbeck back in the day. Dear Lord, the spread his wife Tonya put on for Christmas................yeah................ummmmmm...............Ahem. Let me think here........I can also eat vegetarian dolmathes, and Moussaka without the meat. I also love hummus. So I ordered some hummus today. The chick peas weren't even cooked thoroughly. What I got was a thick, lumpy mass that didn't even resemble hummus. Perhaps, I thought to myself, it still tastes good. I heaped some onto a piece of pita and dug in. I swallowed it successfully. Ate the lemon rice that I also ordered (say, isn't this supposed to have some trace of lemon taste?) and the remaining three quarters of pita. After promptly throwing the entire mound of hummus out in front of the guy at the counter, he asked how it was. I told him it was dreadful. He paused for a moment and said, "so you liked it?" No you f**king idot! Dreadful means something else. Total tab was over 9 bucks too. Which means I got reamed as bad as my wife did in her colonoscopy last week.
The bright side being, her colonoscopy was negative. We also enjoyed a wonderful meal with our neighbors Rob and Lorraine last Saturday at Mazza. I'm still thinking about it. Lotsa of yummy stuff there, and much of it vegetarian. I'll be back again and again!
Rant 3- I saw the headline and accompanying photo in todays paper. That idiot 30 something teacher that was boning a 13 year old boy was sentenced today. She got 10 years to life! I am still flabbergasted. Before I finish this rant allow me to divert to the fother side of this coin. Namely, the seminary teacher in Utah county that was dicking a sixteen year old girl. (By the way, if anyone reading this knows Dustin Moutsos let him know that they have an opening at Lone Peak H.S.) Anyway, this yutz had been getting it on with this girl for a while now. He was pulling her out of school for field trips. My reaction to hearing this story was one of revulsion. The girl will need support and counseling and will likely have added issues with future relationships. As for the guy? Well let's just say he's got a real pretty mouth. He'll be very popular in prison.
So back to the 13 year old boy and the late 30's teacher. He'll be fine. Just have his old man sit him down and teach him about what, with whom, and when these types of relations are to occur. It's a double standard to be sure. Still don't believe me? Women ask your men the following question (and guys be honest with your answer), "Would you have screwed this teacher when you were that age?" I got a good look at the one in the paper and my answer is no. The one from Florida a few years back that was doing the baseball team? Hell yes!
So without further ado:
Rant 1- I saw a billbaord today that was attempting to resurrect an old 70's jingle. It read, "Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet" and underneath in smaller print "Toyota is sumo and sushi". I suppose that was their way of making it up to date. Here's the problem as I see it.
Baseball vs. Sumo. I'm gonna burn in hell for this, but I'd rather Sumo. Both sports are steeped in tradition and ritual. Sumo takes on even a religious element with it's ties to Shinto. The difference being Sumo is still governed with authority. The overarching emphasis is still on the purity and integrity of the sport. The last professional sport game that I watched completely was the Jazz vs. Bulls final part 2 in the 90's. Sports had already become about egos and personalities long before then, but since Stockton was still playing............
If a sumo wrestler gets out of line, they are cracked hard and fast. No appeals, no lawyers, no bullshit, and everybody KNOWS what is going to happen and why. Professional sports today? They should take Manny Ramirez and his ilk and ban their nasty, steroid-plumped, asses for life. No questions, no appeals, and permanent. Honestly, who watches it anyway. Where does the money come from. Screw 'em all.
(Get back on topic now). Advantage Toyota. As for apple pie, I love it. No doubt about it. The Japanese are either incapable or unwilling to make decent pastry. God Bless America and advantage Chevy.
Hot dogs vs. sushi. C'mon now. If I were at a ballpark and had the choice of a Chicago dog or a spicy tuna roll, my choice would be......neither. I don't eat meat. If my choice were oshinko roll vs. a 'veggie dog'. Advantage Toyota.
Overall analysis? Give me some rice and kimchee. I drive Korean baby!
Rant 2- Second up, is to let all my gentle reader(s) know a "Greek" restaurant to avoid. I don't even know the name of the place. I have the credit card receipt though. These guys are just north of the Harmon's in Roy. I love Greek food. Still do. But being a vegetarian, it has severely restricted my Greek options. I can have the lettuce/cucumber/pepperoncini/olive/feta/dressing concoctions. I can devour an entire tray of spanikopita. Which gets me thinking about how much I enjoyed working with Rob Holbeck back in the day. Dear Lord, the spread his wife Tonya put on for Christmas................yeah................ummmmmm...............Ahem. Let me think here........I can also eat vegetarian dolmathes, and Moussaka without the meat. I also love hummus. So I ordered some hummus today. The chick peas weren't even cooked thoroughly. What I got was a thick, lumpy mass that didn't even resemble hummus. Perhaps, I thought to myself, it still tastes good. I heaped some onto a piece of pita and dug in. I swallowed it successfully. Ate the lemon rice that I also ordered (say, isn't this supposed to have some trace of lemon taste?) and the remaining three quarters of pita. After promptly throwing the entire mound of hummus out in front of the guy at the counter, he asked how it was. I told him it was dreadful. He paused for a moment and said, "so you liked it?" No you f**king idot! Dreadful means something else. Total tab was over 9 bucks too. Which means I got reamed as bad as my wife did in her colonoscopy last week.
The bright side being, her colonoscopy was negative. We also enjoyed a wonderful meal with our neighbors Rob and Lorraine last Saturday at Mazza. I'm still thinking about it. Lotsa of yummy stuff there, and much of it vegetarian. I'll be back again and again!
Rant 3- I saw the headline and accompanying photo in todays paper. That idiot 30 something teacher that was boning a 13 year old boy was sentenced today. She got 10 years to life! I am still flabbergasted. Before I finish this rant allow me to divert to the fother side of this coin. Namely, the seminary teacher in Utah county that was dicking a sixteen year old girl. (By the way, if anyone reading this knows Dustin Moutsos let him know that they have an opening at Lone Peak H.S.) Anyway, this yutz had been getting it on with this girl for a while now. He was pulling her out of school for field trips. My reaction to hearing this story was one of revulsion. The girl will need support and counseling and will likely have added issues with future relationships. As for the guy? Well let's just say he's got a real pretty mouth. He'll be very popular in prison.
So back to the 13 year old boy and the late 30's teacher. He'll be fine. Just have his old man sit him down and teach him about what, with whom, and when these types of relations are to occur. It's a double standard to be sure. Still don't believe me? Women ask your men the following question (and guys be honest with your answer), "Would you have screwed this teacher when you were that age?" I got a good look at the one in the paper and my answer is no. The one from Florida a few years back that was doing the baseball team? Hell yes!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Graduation day
over the last few weeks, just about everyone I know has been subjected to this annual event. I had not attended a high-school graduation since my brother-in-law's back in the mid-90's
Today was son number one's high school graduation. About the only positivie thing I have at this point is that the Bingham High orchestra is really quite good........for a high school orchestra anyway. It was the only thing that I wouldn't classify as painful anyway.
My mother said and did some things today that I was quite proud of. She made a stand for dignity and decorum. The party next to us was prepped and ready to whistle, hoot, and holler. The old guy had some kind of high-pitched dog whistle that he tooted. But the real champ of this bunch was the sister of one of the graduates shouting out. "We F**king love you!" .......twice.....at the top of her lungs. Nice! You can imagine dear old mom let them know.
Anyway, it took 1 hour and 35 minutes to start calling off names. Even that took 45 minutes. The valedictory speak was not overly nauseogenic. Still, it left me drained for the day. After the sun dips a bit, I'm going back into my garden.
All my lovely plants makes me feel good.
Today was son number one's high school graduation. About the only positivie thing I have at this point is that the Bingham High orchestra is really quite good........for a high school orchestra anyway. It was the only thing that I wouldn't classify as painful anyway.
My mother said and did some things today that I was quite proud of. She made a stand for dignity and decorum. The party next to us was prepped and ready to whistle, hoot, and holler. The old guy had some kind of high-pitched dog whistle that he tooted. But the real champ of this bunch was the sister of one of the graduates shouting out. "We F**king love you!" .......twice.....at the top of her lungs. Nice! You can imagine dear old mom let them know.
Anyway, it took 1 hour and 35 minutes to start calling off names. Even that took 45 minutes. The valedictory speak was not overly nauseogenic. Still, it left me drained for the day. After the sun dips a bit, I'm going back into my garden.
All my lovely plants makes me feel good.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
indecison
many times I've had things I've thought I should get on her and discuss Today, I've nothing structured. No long diatribe. So, I'll just provide brief snippets.
I really should be gardening right now. I've got the new greenhouse, the seeds have been started too late because of the late snow and cold weather. It's been five days and nothing has even sprouted yet. I did manage to plant about 60 canes of raspberries and an almond tree last week and that's it. Today, I cannot even roto-till because it's too wet. Maybe tomorrow. Some people think that is working on the sabbath. I think that hoeing for an hour is as much work as playing the organ at church. At any rate, I've more than doubled the size of our garden for this year. In addition to feeding the bunnies, we will be eating lots of veggies and fresh herbs.
I understand that a lot of people are planting gardens now. It is reminiscent of the victory gardens in WWII. Of course, the precise reasons are a bit different. There isn't any rationing going on now. And let's be honest.........growing a garden doesn't save you that much money. Yes the vegetables are free, but the water, seeds, materials, equipment etc aren't. I grow what I use out of self-defense it seems. I tease people about 'organic' food because I despise the word organic. It literally means that it contains carbon. So does a pack of menthols!
I grow food because it is fresh, fast, and my bunnies love it. They love dandelions too. That is why I leave them in my lawn. In fact, I take great care not to uproot them in the spring when I pick them for my bunnies.
A few years back I went vegetarian for a few months but stopped. I started again about a week back. I didn't really have a reason then, I do now. I have been reading accounts and writings of various Presidents of the Church. And while none condemn the eating of meat, they would have it only rarely. The same thing with hunting, which they abhorred. Our scriptures say that meat is to be used sparingly and only in times of need. Somehow that has all been forgotten.
Here's my view. I feel that a cetain moral authority is required to eat meat. What does that mean? If you are appalled by, our think that the slaughter of animals is a task that is 'beneath' you then you have no right to eat meat. I know that we can't all go out there and slaughter a pig. It is also best that this process is done in central locations with efficiency, hygiene, and by people that know what they are doing. In a hypothetical world, if you would be unwilling to kill a pig and do everything that goes with it then you shouldn't eat pork. I've killed a pig, a deer, a dog, squirrels, snakes, rabbits, and fish and eaten them. (Eating the dog was an afterthought). After killing the deer, I immediately felt remorse. The rabbits took longer. During the winter months, I take timothy hay and lay it out along the roads where I've hunted rabbits in the past. Hopefully showing some kindness to their offspring will compensate for my past misdeeds. Killing just for sport is wrong. If you are going to eat the animal, not merely waste it, then one can justify it. Personally I cannot kill, or harm, scentient creatures any more. So I don't eat them.
Yet, I ate some scallops a few days ago. Why? I don't think that scallops, clams, mussels etc. are scentient. They do not sense their environment. They do not have eyes, ears, taste buds. They do not move, interact. They basically strain water for food, grow, and reproduce. They are basically armored mushrooms. So why don't I eat oysters?. They are oily and gritty. Even when I ate meat, I hated them.
I really should be gardening right now. I've got the new greenhouse, the seeds have been started too late because of the late snow and cold weather. It's been five days and nothing has even sprouted yet. I did manage to plant about 60 canes of raspberries and an almond tree last week and that's it. Today, I cannot even roto-till because it's too wet. Maybe tomorrow. Some people think that is working on the sabbath. I think that hoeing for an hour is as much work as playing the organ at church. At any rate, I've more than doubled the size of our garden for this year. In addition to feeding the bunnies, we will be eating lots of veggies and fresh herbs.
I understand that a lot of people are planting gardens now. It is reminiscent of the victory gardens in WWII. Of course, the precise reasons are a bit different. There isn't any rationing going on now. And let's be honest.........growing a garden doesn't save you that much money. Yes the vegetables are free, but the water, seeds, materials, equipment etc aren't. I grow what I use out of self-defense it seems. I tease people about 'organic' food because I despise the word organic. It literally means that it contains carbon. So does a pack of menthols!
I grow food because it is fresh, fast, and my bunnies love it. They love dandelions too. That is why I leave them in my lawn. In fact, I take great care not to uproot them in the spring when I pick them for my bunnies.
A few years back I went vegetarian for a few months but stopped. I started again about a week back. I didn't really have a reason then, I do now. I have been reading accounts and writings of various Presidents of the Church. And while none condemn the eating of meat, they would have it only rarely. The same thing with hunting, which they abhorred. Our scriptures say that meat is to be used sparingly and only in times of need. Somehow that has all been forgotten.
Here's my view. I feel that a cetain moral authority is required to eat meat. What does that mean? If you are appalled by, our think that the slaughter of animals is a task that is 'beneath' you then you have no right to eat meat. I know that we can't all go out there and slaughter a pig. It is also best that this process is done in central locations with efficiency, hygiene, and by people that know what they are doing. In a hypothetical world, if you would be unwilling to kill a pig and do everything that goes with it then you shouldn't eat pork. I've killed a pig, a deer, a dog, squirrels, snakes, rabbits, and fish and eaten them. (Eating the dog was an afterthought). After killing the deer, I immediately felt remorse. The rabbits took longer. During the winter months, I take timothy hay and lay it out along the roads where I've hunted rabbits in the past. Hopefully showing some kindness to their offspring will compensate for my past misdeeds. Killing just for sport is wrong. If you are going to eat the animal, not merely waste it, then one can justify it. Personally I cannot kill, or harm, scentient creatures any more. So I don't eat them.
Yet, I ate some scallops a few days ago. Why? I don't think that scallops, clams, mussels etc. are scentient. They do not sense their environment. They do not have eyes, ears, taste buds. They do not move, interact. They basically strain water for food, grow, and reproduce. They are basically armored mushrooms. So why don't I eat oysters?. They are oily and gritty. Even when I ate meat, I hated them.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
presidential greatness, the war on drugs, and Carl's Jr. chili dogs
I was reading an editorial by Thomas Friedman today. The gist of it being that every great president has overcome a large challenge. With the economic woes we are having, he asserts that Obama will have his shot at greatness. Of course, he can also be vilified I suppose.
Being a Taoist, I have to read such things and dismiss this as foolish. Allow me paraphrase and 'modernize' a parable that I've read. A prominent, physician, a cardiothoracic surgeon at a major teaching hospital, performed a pioneering procedure that saved the life of a critically ill patient. It was a marathon effort involing a large team of medical professionals and took the better part of a day. Soon thereafter, the governor of the state he lived in heard of his exploits. A special day was declared in the legislature. The lawmakers wished to send large amounts of money to continue his work. Finally an elaborate dinner ceremony with the good doctor as the guest of honor was arranged. The doctor not only declined the dinner ceremony, but asked that it be cancelled. He did ask to appear before the lawmakers to discuss what should happen with the money.
The day arrived for him to speak to the lawmakers. He explained that he was the youngest of three brothers. All of them were doctors. He explained how his middle brother was very good at diagnosing problems in patients while the problems were still small. He had prevented many people from becoming very sick. As such, he was only known as one the better physicians in his county. His oldest brother was able to diagnose problems before they even happened (i.e. preventative medicine) and had prevented an equal number of people from ever getting sick. As such, he wasn't recognized as being any good. The younger brother explained that he was not the greatest physician, rather it was his oldest brother. That is where the money should go towards. Preventing things before they happen. Where the most benefit can be realized for the least amount of money.
So what is my point? When we ask for the greatest presidents we hear Lincoln, Washington, Roosevelt etc. Undeniably they presided over some of the darkest times in our country's history. My assertion is greatness is not necessarily found in overcoming mountains, but in stopping things and changing course while it is a molehill. The greatest President would therefore be one who presided over a calm, prosperous period devoid of strife, corruption, or international intrigue.
If Lincoln were "great" he would have been able to defuse Southern secession and put an end to slavery (as had the rest of the Western world at that time). If Lincoln were a "good" President he would have ended the war quickly to prevent the wholesale destruction of the South as well as a per capita casualty count that made all other wars this country has fought in look tame by comparison. Nope, Lincoln was a so-so President that gutted it out. I could make similar arguments against Washington and Roosevelt. The one major difference with Roosevelt being he inherited a huge damn economic mess from a Republican administration. Sound familiar? However, he should have started playing rough with the Fascists starting in '36 and '37. It's what a "great" president would have done.
I'm going to keep my comments about the war on drugs brief. Far all I know I might have discussed it earlier. Certain 'illegal' drugs need to be made legal or at least decriminalized. We as a nation need to have a rational examination about what drugs do and don't do. What is safe, what is not. What is safe to produce, distribute, etc. and what is not. What are the effects of long-term use? Casual use? Heavy use? And have it done by scientists that are armed with data. What we have is elected officials that still believe that only black jazz musicians smoke marijuana and that hippies are jumping off of cliffs, believing they can fly, after taking LSD. After they work themselves into a puritanical frenzy they go home and take some Xanax.
Ask yourself, what is more dangerous alcohol or marijuana? Before you answer, look up the LD50's on each.
People throughout history have always wanted to get high. Criminalizing it is new to the last 100 years or so. We have spent untold billions on the war on drugs. We've lost.
Finally, CJ's chili dogs. In a word........"DON"T".
Being a Taoist, I have to read such things and dismiss this as foolish. Allow me paraphrase and 'modernize' a parable that I've read. A prominent, physician, a cardiothoracic surgeon at a major teaching hospital, performed a pioneering procedure that saved the life of a critically ill patient. It was a marathon effort involing a large team of medical professionals and took the better part of a day. Soon thereafter, the governor of the state he lived in heard of his exploits. A special day was declared in the legislature. The lawmakers wished to send large amounts of money to continue his work. Finally an elaborate dinner ceremony with the good doctor as the guest of honor was arranged. The doctor not only declined the dinner ceremony, but asked that it be cancelled. He did ask to appear before the lawmakers to discuss what should happen with the money.
The day arrived for him to speak to the lawmakers. He explained that he was the youngest of three brothers. All of them were doctors. He explained how his middle brother was very good at diagnosing problems in patients while the problems were still small. He had prevented many people from becoming very sick. As such, he was only known as one the better physicians in his county. His oldest brother was able to diagnose problems before they even happened (i.e. preventative medicine) and had prevented an equal number of people from ever getting sick. As such, he wasn't recognized as being any good. The younger brother explained that he was not the greatest physician, rather it was his oldest brother. That is where the money should go towards. Preventing things before they happen. Where the most benefit can be realized for the least amount of money.
So what is my point? When we ask for the greatest presidents we hear Lincoln, Washington, Roosevelt etc. Undeniably they presided over some of the darkest times in our country's history. My assertion is greatness is not necessarily found in overcoming mountains, but in stopping things and changing course while it is a molehill. The greatest President would therefore be one who presided over a calm, prosperous period devoid of strife, corruption, or international intrigue.
If Lincoln were "great" he would have been able to defuse Southern secession and put an end to slavery (as had the rest of the Western world at that time). If Lincoln were a "good" President he would have ended the war quickly to prevent the wholesale destruction of the South as well as a per capita casualty count that made all other wars this country has fought in look tame by comparison. Nope, Lincoln was a so-so President that gutted it out. I could make similar arguments against Washington and Roosevelt. The one major difference with Roosevelt being he inherited a huge damn economic mess from a Republican administration. Sound familiar? However, he should have started playing rough with the Fascists starting in '36 and '37. It's what a "great" president would have done.
I'm going to keep my comments about the war on drugs brief. Far all I know I might have discussed it earlier. Certain 'illegal' drugs need to be made legal or at least decriminalized. We as a nation need to have a rational examination about what drugs do and don't do. What is safe, what is not. What is safe to produce, distribute, etc. and what is not. What are the effects of long-term use? Casual use? Heavy use? And have it done by scientists that are armed with data. What we have is elected officials that still believe that only black jazz musicians smoke marijuana and that hippies are jumping off of cliffs, believing they can fly, after taking LSD. After they work themselves into a puritanical frenzy they go home and take some Xanax.
Ask yourself, what is more dangerous alcohol or marijuana? Before you answer, look up the LD50's on each.
People throughout history have always wanted to get high. Criminalizing it is new to the last 100 years or so. We have spent untold billions on the war on drugs. We've lost.
Finally, CJ's chili dogs. In a word........"DON"T".
Monday, March 2, 2009
Motivational Phrases
So I'm eating a can of Beefaroni this morning and reading yesterday's paper. On the cover of Parade is Liza Minelli. The combination of Beefaroni and Liza Minelli should have been enough to have me going for some more of the same promethazine I took last Friday (see previous blog). But since I am a glutton for punishment, I found the article and started reading. I got one sentence in and had had enough.
It started something to the effect, "If you got one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you aren't living for today". Nice sentiment Liza. I suppose that gives validation to those of your ilk that are impulsive and do whatever they feel like doing today with no regard for tomorrow.......or the past. But I'm going to stick with you analogy Liza. If one of my legs is in yesterday and one is in tomorrow that leaves my 'third leg' in today. That's exactly how I should think. Of course with your picture staring back at me it's pretty much impossible.
There's a whole slew of motivational phrases out there, many of them contradictory or just plain stupid. There is a company called 'Despair' that has a line of products that spoofs just such phrases. I have had calendars from them for the past three years. Check out their website at despair.com and I think you'll agree.
Ms. Minelli's little acorn of wisdom notwithstanding, the phrase I most loathe is "It's better to aim for the stars and miss, than aim for the mud and hit it". There's one thing I find wrong and even offensive about this one. Those of us who have more realistic goals bristle at the notion that they are aiming for the mud. Perhaps we could have NASA retool this phrase. You have to have sub-orbital missions, then orbital, before you attempt the moon. Why, because it is highly unlikely you will make the moon in one shot and billions will be wasted and the lives of the crew will be sacrificed. Of course, people that adhere to the always shoot for the stars philosophy probably wouldn't understand what I just wrote. So keep aiming for the starts children!
As a reference back to the previous blog. Apparently the last part of "The Wrestler" features Mickey Rourke going up against his former arch-nemesis called "The Ayotollah". In the movie he was a guy named Bob who owned a car dealership in Arizona. The reason I dredged this up again, is because there are some Hollywood types visiting Iran this week. And the Iranian government used it as an opportunity to rail against the portrayal of Iranians in movies. They didn't like the stereotypes in "the Wrestler". I suppose someone hadn't explained professional wrestling to these morons. It is a passion play FOR morons. It is about nothing but sterotypes. And this Bob guy probably wasn't named Rafsanjani.
The Iranian government also objected to Persian portrayal in the movie '300'. The Greeks were pious family men, while the Persians were oversexed degenerates. (The few Greeks and Persians I know are all relatively pious family men and women. Including one of the single pharmacists I work with that should try a little sexual debauchery before he marries). Fair enough I suppose, except this happened over 2000 years ago. It would be like me objecting to the portrayal of the Swiss in 'Gladiator'. My Aunt Babetta, if she were still alive, would correctly point out that those filthy barbarians were either Germans or Austrians. Not Swiss.
It started something to the effect, "If you got one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you aren't living for today". Nice sentiment Liza. I suppose that gives validation to those of your ilk that are impulsive and do whatever they feel like doing today with no regard for tomorrow.......or the past. But I'm going to stick with you analogy Liza. If one of my legs is in yesterday and one is in tomorrow that leaves my 'third leg' in today. That's exactly how I should think. Of course with your picture staring back at me it's pretty much impossible.
There's a whole slew of motivational phrases out there, many of them contradictory or just plain stupid. There is a company called 'Despair' that has a line of products that spoofs just such phrases. I have had calendars from them for the past three years. Check out their website at despair.com and I think you'll agree.
Ms. Minelli's little acorn of wisdom notwithstanding, the phrase I most loathe is "It's better to aim for the stars and miss, than aim for the mud and hit it". There's one thing I find wrong and even offensive about this one. Those of us who have more realistic goals bristle at the notion that they are aiming for the mud. Perhaps we could have NASA retool this phrase. You have to have sub-orbital missions, then orbital, before you attempt the moon. Why, because it is highly unlikely you will make the moon in one shot and billions will be wasted and the lives of the crew will be sacrificed. Of course, people that adhere to the always shoot for the stars philosophy probably wouldn't understand what I just wrote. So keep aiming for the starts children!
As a reference back to the previous blog. Apparently the last part of "The Wrestler" features Mickey Rourke going up against his former arch-nemesis called "The Ayotollah". In the movie he was a guy named Bob who owned a car dealership in Arizona. The reason I dredged this up again, is because there are some Hollywood types visiting Iran this week. And the Iranian government used it as an opportunity to rail against the portrayal of Iranians in movies. They didn't like the stereotypes in "the Wrestler". I suppose someone hadn't explained professional wrestling to these morons. It is a passion play FOR morons. It is about nothing but sterotypes. And this Bob guy probably wasn't named Rafsanjani.
The Iranian government also objected to Persian portrayal in the movie '300'. The Greeks were pious family men, while the Persians were oversexed degenerates. (The few Greeks and Persians I know are all relatively pious family men and women. Including one of the single pharmacists I work with that should try a little sexual debauchery before he marries). Fair enough I suppose, except this happened over 2000 years ago. It would be like me objecting to the portrayal of the Swiss in 'Gladiator'. My Aunt Babetta, if she were still alive, would correctly point out that those filthy barbarians were either Germans or Austrians. Not Swiss.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Hand held movie cameras and public health
In my entire life I 've only walked out of three movies. The first was Oh God Book II. I don't really remember much about it, except it had an interminably cute ten-year old girl and George Burns wasting my time. The second was Showgirls. I don't really remember much about it either, except that one chick with the overbite and Gina Gershon were topless for much of the movie. In hindsight, I'm not so sure what made that such a bad thing. I just remember getting up and leaving. Today was my third movie.
Now before I say what this movie was, I want people to know that I actually watched most of "The Blair Witch Project" (the rest I listened too in the aisle). You see, I get nauseated fairly easy by the shaky camera techniques. It doesn't add realism......or grit.......or integrity........or anything else good. It just makes me sick to watch. Blair Witch was the first movie I recall watching with this camera use. It was also a truly dreadful movie. But my new champ is "The Wrestler".
I like movies about redemption. Characters that realize the futility, or destructiveness of the path they have followed, who realize that they must change. Of course, the protagonist had screwed things up so badly I doubt he was going to make it. Even if the cameras had been mounted on a tripod this movie would have still sucked. With still cameras, I would have been physically able to view it without having to reach for my bucket of popcorn so I could fill it with puke. I don't know whether the movie ended well, poorly, or ambiguously. By the time I got up and left, I was convinced it just wasn't going to end!
The nausea that I felt was so severe, that I came right home and took a 25 mg Promethazine. I've feeling much better now. There were two good things about that movie though and Marisa Tomei had both of them. She's like my age I think. NICE!!
On to topic number two. I got some mail today reminding me that my daughter (who will be entering 7th grade) will need her immunizations to be current. It just two nausea-fueled (thanks to the movie) tangential leaps to think about the people that get incensed about young girls being immunized with Gardisil starting at twelve or so. For those not in the know, Gardisil is a vaccine against HPV which causes a large amount of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a huge killer of young women worldwide. The vaccine makes a huge reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer. The people that developed it should have won the Nobel Prize for medicine. At the very least, I hope they are making gobs of money. They deserve it.
Anyway, I digress. The point I wished to make was that Gardisil has to be given BEFORE a woman becomse sexually active. There are those who bristle at the idea of the implication that girls as young as my daughter are sexually active. Infact, the thought of my daughter being sexually active is repugnant to me also. However, this isn't about morality, or propriety, or anything else but public health.
Are kids aren't supposed to start drinking until they are 21. Does that mean we should withhold any discussion about the dangers of excess alcohol consumption or drunk driving until they are 20? Of course not! Even the puritanical blowhards would have to agree with me on this one. So my advice to all those with young daughters is this. Get her immunized on time. If your feeling nauseated, come by the house. I've got a few extra promethazine.
One more thing. I don't want anybody in my presence to misuse the word nauseous. People always say I feel nauseous. Some people are I suppose, but most are nauseated not nauseous. For example: If I eat an unidentified mushroom and get very sick it is because I was POISONED by a POISONOUS mushroom. If I eat a rancid 7-11 burrito it is because I became NAUSEATED by a NAUSEOUS item of food. I might also say I was nauseated after seeing that nauseaous movie. That's about it for now.
Now before I say what this movie was, I want people to know that I actually watched most of "The Blair Witch Project" (the rest I listened too in the aisle). You see, I get nauseated fairly easy by the shaky camera techniques. It doesn't add realism......or grit.......or integrity........or anything else good. It just makes me sick to watch. Blair Witch was the first movie I recall watching with this camera use. It was also a truly dreadful movie. But my new champ is "The Wrestler".
I like movies about redemption. Characters that realize the futility, or destructiveness of the path they have followed, who realize that they must change. Of course, the protagonist had screwed things up so badly I doubt he was going to make it. Even if the cameras had been mounted on a tripod this movie would have still sucked. With still cameras, I would have been physically able to view it without having to reach for my bucket of popcorn so I could fill it with puke. I don't know whether the movie ended well, poorly, or ambiguously. By the time I got up and left, I was convinced it just wasn't going to end!
The nausea that I felt was so severe, that I came right home and took a 25 mg Promethazine. I've feeling much better now. There were two good things about that movie though and Marisa Tomei had both of them. She's like my age I think. NICE!!
On to topic number two. I got some mail today reminding me that my daughter (who will be entering 7th grade) will need her immunizations to be current. It just two nausea-fueled (thanks to the movie) tangential leaps to think about the people that get incensed about young girls being immunized with Gardisil starting at twelve or so. For those not in the know, Gardisil is a vaccine against HPV which causes a large amount of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a huge killer of young women worldwide. The vaccine makes a huge reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer. The people that developed it should have won the Nobel Prize for medicine. At the very least, I hope they are making gobs of money. They deserve it.
Anyway, I digress. The point I wished to make was that Gardisil has to be given BEFORE a woman becomse sexually active. There are those who bristle at the idea of the implication that girls as young as my daughter are sexually active. Infact, the thought of my daughter being sexually active is repugnant to me also. However, this isn't about morality, or propriety, or anything else but public health.
Are kids aren't supposed to start drinking until they are 21. Does that mean we should withhold any discussion about the dangers of excess alcohol consumption or drunk driving until they are 20? Of course not! Even the puritanical blowhards would have to agree with me on this one. So my advice to all those with young daughters is this. Get her immunized on time. If your feeling nauseated, come by the house. I've got a few extra promethazine.
One more thing. I don't want anybody in my presence to misuse the word nauseous. People always say I feel nauseous. Some people are I suppose, but most are nauseated not nauseous. For example: If I eat an unidentified mushroom and get very sick it is because I was POISONED by a POISONOUS mushroom. If I eat a rancid 7-11 burrito it is because I became NAUSEATED by a NAUSEOUS item of food. I might also say I was nauseated after seeing that nauseaous movie. That's about it for now.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Fat Tony and the Nobel Peace Prize
There is a movement afoot in our state to put limits on the interest rates charged by payday lenders. I think the entire industry is unsavory. I also think that regulations are not needed.
People fall into the trap of being stuck with these loans every payday and cannot get out. These people are fools and need protection. But will it help? I've often heard the quote, "you can't fool an honest man". You can draw your own conclusions about what type of people I think are getting trapped in these schemes.
Back in the day, Fat Tony would make you a loan for a week and you'd him back an extra 10% in two weeks. Of course, Check City won't send their goons out to break you legs when you don't pay. They have to go to court. Nobody dared rob Fat Tony, because they'd end up dead. Check City needs the glass, the safes, the security etc. and all that stuff costs money. The cost of providing this microcredit is large, hence the large interest rates.
I'd like to see these payday lenders, as they exist now, all go out of business. HOWEVER, the need for rapid microcredit is very real, very large, and ignored. Let's assume that my furnace went out today. Say that I'd need $500 bucks to fix it. I could cover it with checking. If not, I could use my credit card. Not everyone can do that though. I think credit cards are foolish. I keep one with a 500 dollar line for making online hotel reservations, car rentals, etc. that I won't use my debit card on for security purposes. I could go the bank tomorrow and fill out the paperwork. And in a few days I'd have my answer. It's only because I have a job, a home, and a decent credit score. What about everyone else.
We need to find ways for the Regular Joes to get access to small loans. One suggestion is to pretty much make these types of loans to women. Women don't squander money like men do. When they say I want to borrow 500 dollars for a used sewing machine and start-up supplies they will use it for that purpose. Another example could be $1200 for a greenhouse and some drip irrigation equipment to grow organic vegetables. This is the type of stuff that is being done routinely in some countries in an effort to ease poverty. I think it can be done here. Microindsutries are viable, expecially in agricultural products.
People fall into the trap of being stuck with these loans every payday and cannot get out. These people are fools and need protection. But will it help? I've often heard the quote, "you can't fool an honest man". You can draw your own conclusions about what type of people I think are getting trapped in these schemes.
Back in the day, Fat Tony would make you a loan for a week and you'd him back an extra 10% in two weeks. Of course, Check City won't send their goons out to break you legs when you don't pay. They have to go to court. Nobody dared rob Fat Tony, because they'd end up dead. Check City needs the glass, the safes, the security etc. and all that stuff costs money. The cost of providing this microcredit is large, hence the large interest rates.
I'd like to see these payday lenders, as they exist now, all go out of business. HOWEVER, the need for rapid microcredit is very real, very large, and ignored. Let's assume that my furnace went out today. Say that I'd need $500 bucks to fix it. I could cover it with checking. If not, I could use my credit card. Not everyone can do that though. I think credit cards are foolish. I keep one with a 500 dollar line for making online hotel reservations, car rentals, etc. that I won't use my debit card on for security purposes. I could go the bank tomorrow and fill out the paperwork. And in a few days I'd have my answer. It's only because I have a job, a home, and a decent credit score. What about everyone else.
We need to find ways for the Regular Joes to get access to small loans. One suggestion is to pretty much make these types of loans to women. Women don't squander money like men do. When they say I want to borrow 500 dollars for a used sewing machine and start-up supplies they will use it for that purpose. Another example could be $1200 for a greenhouse and some drip irrigation equipment to grow organic vegetables. This is the type of stuff that is being done routinely in some countries in an effort to ease poverty. I think it can be done here. Microindsutries are viable, expecially in agricultural products.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Down's syndrome, parents that need their children's forgiveness, and memory loss
I'm going to start with the memory loss portion first.....before I forget. This morning I had wanted to rant about three different things. I went to church and came up with a fourth. But now I'm back down to two, because I forgot the other two. Either that or they weren't of any significance and should be relegated to the ravings of an overweigkt lunatic. Me.
Wait! I just remembered! In an earlier blog I mentioned that extreme political positions are to ignored. I'm still waiting for Obama to stick it to the far left. I wanted to sing the praises of our own Governor Huntsman who has come out in favor of civil unions. The far right took out a full page advertisement in the paper today. I started reading it. I got about a third the way through and went looking for some promethazine. Which helped me remember the other thing that I wanted to mention before I get to the actual topics mentioned in the title.
I am opposed to abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother is in jeopardy. This is the mantra of the far right. They pretty much got it right on this issue. I am also in favor of abortion when the child will not enjoy a quality of life befitting a human. I'll get back to this later.
Naturally I support measures that reduce the numbers of abortions performed in this country. Whether it be better and more readily available prenatal care, age appropriate sex eduation in the schools, Planned Parenthood, and all the other things that the right wishes to do away with. Anybody care to venture a guess about whether there were more or less abortion during the Clinton years? Anybody want to guess what happened under W? The one thing that is most often ignored in the abortion debate is POVERTY. When people don't have jobs they are more likely to have abortions. Especially all the 'healthy white ones' that some adoptive parents clamor over. Poverty and jobs are a moral issue just like abortion. Anybody care to guess about the correlation between level of education and abortion rates? Education is a moral issue. So instead of passing more laws, placing more restrictions, let's deal with the reasons women have abortions to begin with.
I mentioned earlier that certain defects should be considered in deciding when to have an abortion. There was an op-ed piece in the Deseret News railing against the evils of a more reliable (and safer than amniocentesis) test for determining whether a fetus has Down's. Again the far right has things partially right when they say that Down's patients should not be aborted. Most should not be. Most in this country are. The test is not evil. What we as a nation are doing can be argued. Hopefully this test will lead to more reliable tests that can determine the severity of the what the child will have. Then better choices can be made, more Down's children will live and not be aborted.
Earlier I alluded to a quality of life befitting a human. Perhaps I should quickly clarify. One should be aware of one's environment. One should be able to continue to learn. One should be able to experience joy and sadness, pain and pleasure, loss and gain, and have some measure of perspective about what is right and wrong. One should have eventually have some measure of independence.
One of the tenets of my religious beliefs is not only a hereafter but familes persisting. My father died a few years back. I hope to be reunited with him someday. Yet I fear that my father will likely be angry at me for letting his life extend past the point where the previous paragraph would not define his existence. I should have liked to have done what he often told to do when I was younger, "John, if I ever get so bad that I'm not living any more you have to promise that you'll just shoot me". Sorry Dad. I am genuinely sorry I had to prolong things, but I would have gone to jail had I done what you wanted. Were it not Alzheimers, but some type of genetic conversion whereby people became progressively Down's, or spina bifida, or anencephalic there would be an outpouring of understanding for those who might want to prevent it from progressing past a certain point.
Finally, I wish to rail against a common attitude of supposedly adult children when a parent dies and the other remarries. It happened today in church. One of the speakers went on and on about her divine nature in 'forgiving' her father for remarrying after her mother passed. I take special exception to this being someone who has lost a spouse and remarried.
We don't need anyone's fortgiveness because we have done nothing wrong. I don't know the specifics of this particular couple, but I can't imagine a scenario whereby he shouldn't remarry. People have notions I suppose that one should 'grieve' for a certain period of time. And should stay single, alone, and unhappy after that. I encountered some of this when I started to piece together the lives of me and my boys. After Teresa's funeral, the boys and I drove her best friend to the burial. Her friend was living in the Bay area, for about a year previous, and had barely flown in. Imagine the sight of me getting out of the van with a blond with a spiky-haired blond, who had a loooooooong hug for me and a kiss for both boys. Some must have thought I brought a date!
Why did I remarry so soon? Not that it's anybody's business, but because my first wife had told me to. She must have had some premonition I suppose. Starting a few months before she died, she would tell me that if she died that she wanted me to remarry right away. Less than five months after it happened, I had remarried. Many were aghast. The one group that it could have been the most expected from was Teresa's family. In fact, they were the most supportive and understanding. They were all happy that the boys had a new mom (and two new brothers!). They went out of their way to make my new family their family. This act of true divine nature is one that I shall not forgive nor be able to repay.
Wait! I just remembered! In an earlier blog I mentioned that extreme political positions are to ignored. I'm still waiting for Obama to stick it to the far left. I wanted to sing the praises of our own Governor Huntsman who has come out in favor of civil unions. The far right took out a full page advertisement in the paper today. I started reading it. I got about a third the way through and went looking for some promethazine. Which helped me remember the other thing that I wanted to mention before I get to the actual topics mentioned in the title.
I am opposed to abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother is in jeopardy. This is the mantra of the far right. They pretty much got it right on this issue. I am also in favor of abortion when the child will not enjoy a quality of life befitting a human. I'll get back to this later.
Naturally I support measures that reduce the numbers of abortions performed in this country. Whether it be better and more readily available prenatal care, age appropriate sex eduation in the schools, Planned Parenthood, and all the other things that the right wishes to do away with. Anybody care to venture a guess about whether there were more or less abortion during the Clinton years? Anybody want to guess what happened under W? The one thing that is most often ignored in the abortion debate is POVERTY. When people don't have jobs they are more likely to have abortions. Especially all the 'healthy white ones' that some adoptive parents clamor over. Poverty and jobs are a moral issue just like abortion. Anybody care to guess about the correlation between level of education and abortion rates? Education is a moral issue. So instead of passing more laws, placing more restrictions, let's deal with the reasons women have abortions to begin with.
I mentioned earlier that certain defects should be considered in deciding when to have an abortion. There was an op-ed piece in the Deseret News railing against the evils of a more reliable (and safer than amniocentesis) test for determining whether a fetus has Down's. Again the far right has things partially right when they say that Down's patients should not be aborted. Most should not be. Most in this country are. The test is not evil. What we as a nation are doing can be argued. Hopefully this test will lead to more reliable tests that can determine the severity of the what the child will have. Then better choices can be made, more Down's children will live and not be aborted.
Earlier I alluded to a quality of life befitting a human. Perhaps I should quickly clarify. One should be aware of one's environment. One should be able to continue to learn. One should be able to experience joy and sadness, pain and pleasure, loss and gain, and have some measure of perspective about what is right and wrong. One should have eventually have some measure of independence.
One of the tenets of my religious beliefs is not only a hereafter but familes persisting. My father died a few years back. I hope to be reunited with him someday. Yet I fear that my father will likely be angry at me for letting his life extend past the point where the previous paragraph would not define his existence. I should have liked to have done what he often told to do when I was younger, "John, if I ever get so bad that I'm not living any more you have to promise that you'll just shoot me". Sorry Dad. I am genuinely sorry I had to prolong things, but I would have gone to jail had I done what you wanted. Were it not Alzheimers, but some type of genetic conversion whereby people became progressively Down's, or spina bifida, or anencephalic there would be an outpouring of understanding for those who might want to prevent it from progressing past a certain point.
Finally, I wish to rail against a common attitude of supposedly adult children when a parent dies and the other remarries. It happened today in church. One of the speakers went on and on about her divine nature in 'forgiving' her father for remarrying after her mother passed. I take special exception to this being someone who has lost a spouse and remarried.
We don't need anyone's fortgiveness because we have done nothing wrong. I don't know the specifics of this particular couple, but I can't imagine a scenario whereby he shouldn't remarry. People have notions I suppose that one should 'grieve' for a certain period of time. And should stay single, alone, and unhappy after that. I encountered some of this when I started to piece together the lives of me and my boys. After Teresa's funeral, the boys and I drove her best friend to the burial. Her friend was living in the Bay area, for about a year previous, and had barely flown in. Imagine the sight of me getting out of the van with a blond with a spiky-haired blond, who had a loooooooong hug for me and a kiss for both boys. Some must have thought I brought a date!
Why did I remarry so soon? Not that it's anybody's business, but because my first wife had told me to. She must have had some premonition I suppose. Starting a few months before she died, she would tell me that if she died that she wanted me to remarry right away. Less than five months after it happened, I had remarried. Many were aghast. The one group that it could have been the most expected from was Teresa's family. In fact, they were the most supportive and understanding. They were all happy that the boys had a new mom (and two new brothers!). They went out of their way to make my new family their family. This act of true divine nature is one that I shall not forgive nor be able to repay.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
symptoms
I can no longer hold my peace. I am going to complain about certain of the patients I try to help.
Patients ask what is the "best" thing for a cold. I ask the symptoms and invariably the first thing they say is I have 'sinus'.
Let me make this very simple. 'Sinus' is a body part NOT a symptom. Are your sinuses congested, running, dry, painful, dripping blood etc.?
What would happen if I went to the Instacare for a urinary tract infection and when I am asked the problem I answer, I have "penis". Instead of leaving with seven days of Cipro and/or Pyridium I'd be laughed at (or leave with an Rx for Levitra).
Patients ask what is the "best" thing for a cold. I ask the symptoms and invariably the first thing they say is I have 'sinus'.
Let me make this very simple. 'Sinus' is a body part NOT a symptom. Are your sinuses congested, running, dry, painful, dripping blood etc.?
What would happen if I went to the Instacare for a urinary tract infection and when I am asked the problem I answer, I have "penis". Instead of leaving with seven days of Cipro and/or Pyridium I'd be laughed at (or leave with an Rx for Levitra).
Monday, January 26, 2009
Politics, scholarship, suburban angst
I was asked recently if I had any political views. My answer was 'yes'.
Today my oldest son received a letter from the department of Education inviting him to apply for some Presidential this, that, or the other thing. He would get to go to Washington D.C. with about 140 other kids nationwide. They will get a medal, attend some 'functions', and get to meet the President. NO MONEY for school mind you, just the trip and the fun.
Well it turns out that he has to fill out an application. He's been filling out lots of applications lately. And assembling portfolios. He has promised that his latest portfolio will be like nothing anyone else has written. So here's my concerns: The kid has strong and mature political views. I have myself to blame I suppose. I am an economist. I analyze the world with this in mind. And warfare of course. I have studied both since I was sixteen. As I answered earlier, I have definite political views.
I told my son that he need not shrink from, nor modify his beliefs. He needs to be careful about what he says. Not for fear that it may offend, or alienate, but to make sure that what he states is clear, concise, and most importantly what he believes. I have always taught him to challenge others beliefs. I have taught him to recognize authority where it exists and to respect that which earns respect. I have failed in one key regard though. He has yet to challenge me. Not once has he said, "how can you believe that" or better yet "you're full of it old man!".
Our relationship has obviously been that of father/son. But it has at times taken on that of teacher/student. The student is always reluctant to challenge the master. He has already surpassed me on a few academic fronts. That is to be expected. His analyses and the styles he employs leave me anxious about the path he will be eventually drawn to. He wishes to study physics and mathematics. One day he wants to work at CERN. I don't see that happening for him unless he challenges me in a timely fashion. I see him clutching the Nobel Prize for economics. And maybe providing sage advice for some knucklehead President of the United States that he met back in the summer of 2009 at a conference for presidential scholars.
I fail to grasp why economics and human decency and compassion have to be politicized. Perhaps my son can make it possible. I certainly haven't. One of my views is summed up nicely from the closing lines of Brecht's 'Caucasian Chalk Circle'.
Take note of what men of old concluded:
That which there is shall to go those who are good for it.
Children to the motherly, that they prosper.
Carts to good drivers, that they might be driven well.
The valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit
Today my oldest son received a letter from the department of Education inviting him to apply for some Presidential this, that, or the other thing. He would get to go to Washington D.C. with about 140 other kids nationwide. They will get a medal, attend some 'functions', and get to meet the President. NO MONEY for school mind you, just the trip and the fun.
Well it turns out that he has to fill out an application. He's been filling out lots of applications lately. And assembling portfolios. He has promised that his latest portfolio will be like nothing anyone else has written. So here's my concerns: The kid has strong and mature political views. I have myself to blame I suppose. I am an economist. I analyze the world with this in mind. And warfare of course. I have studied both since I was sixteen. As I answered earlier, I have definite political views.
I told my son that he need not shrink from, nor modify his beliefs. He needs to be careful about what he says. Not for fear that it may offend, or alienate, but to make sure that what he states is clear, concise, and most importantly what he believes. I have always taught him to challenge others beliefs. I have taught him to recognize authority where it exists and to respect that which earns respect. I have failed in one key regard though. He has yet to challenge me. Not once has he said, "how can you believe that" or better yet "you're full of it old man!".
Our relationship has obviously been that of father/son. But it has at times taken on that of teacher/student. The student is always reluctant to challenge the master. He has already surpassed me on a few academic fronts. That is to be expected. His analyses and the styles he employs leave me anxious about the path he will be eventually drawn to. He wishes to study physics and mathematics. One day he wants to work at CERN. I don't see that happening for him unless he challenges me in a timely fashion. I see him clutching the Nobel Prize for economics. And maybe providing sage advice for some knucklehead President of the United States that he met back in the summer of 2009 at a conference for presidential scholars.
I fail to grasp why economics and human decency and compassion have to be politicized. Perhaps my son can make it possible. I certainly haven't. One of my views is summed up nicely from the closing lines of Brecht's 'Caucasian Chalk Circle'.
Take note of what men of old concluded:
That which there is shall to go those who are good for it.
Children to the motherly, that they prosper.
Carts to good drivers, that they might be driven well.
The valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Gaelic pride and our new president
Before I start anything, I would ask the gentle reader to finish the whole thing before drawing conclusions or getting your ire up.
Oooooh. Ire up. Irish. That reminds me about a chick I saw at a St. Paddy's day event. She was wearing a 'wife-beater' that said "Werin no bragh" .......and she wasn't. Very nice!!
We have a new president now. One who has promised to bring people together. Like many of the other problems facing our president this one is difficult and has no quick fixes. We are very much a polarized nation (but not as much). Some people would point to this and say we haven't made progress. We have though.
Those who occupy the poles are going to be quickly disappointed with our new president. We have those who are obsessing on the 'historical' significance of a black man becoming president. It's a celebration of everything African-American. Black culture has been validated at last, validated at last, Great God almighty validated at last. My evidence? Look no further than the train-wreck of a performance that was Aretha Franklin. Back in the day that woman could SING. Today, she sounded like a tired, old, woman. So why her? I suppose for what she represented.....whatever that was. Well, I shouldn't complain. It could have been Fantasia Berino.
These folks that are so keen on his blackness are going to be very disappointed when he shows up for work tomorrow and starts working on America's problems and not 'black America's' problems. The problems of black America cannot be solved from above. They are a function of dysfunction. The same dysfunction that affects poor white, brown, and every other color of fpoor folks. Poverty, and it's trans-generational perpetuation have a cause. Obama realizes this. There remains enormous disparity in between blacks and whites. That is only part of the picture however. We have an entire spectrum of people that live in this country. Most do not complain about being victims.
The other pole is the crackers that are predicting doom. Just say it folks (preferrably in a soft Southern drawl), "I'm pissed off that a Nigger is the president". That way you could at least be honest. As for your predictive 'analysis', I'd recommend you go shovel it somewhere else. I despise the word 'nigger'. Always have. It's what they are thinking though. I would enjoy watching these people suffer. When Obama and Congress get their acts together, problems will be fixed. Then even the lot of the cracker will improve.
Those on the one pole would have voted for a lobotomized felon......as long as he were black. With the other pole, you could have the most imminently qualified man on earth be selected against solely because he was black. I don't know why anybody should listen to either side. Extremism is bullshit, EVERY SINGLE TIME!!
And now for the progress part that I promised. Obama wasn't elected because of a culmination of efforts by the black community. There political power is waning in fact, as is white America's. (How far off is a Latino president? Or an Asian? They're the ones picking up influence due to demographic changes). Obama was elected because he stood for change in how this country does business both at home and abroad. This appealed to enough of 'white' middle America that he won. Gore did it barely, but lost anyway(I voted for Nader). Kerry couldn't do it (I forgot who I voted for......but Marilyn Chambers was the vice-presidential candidate). Obama did it convincingly. The fact that Obama is black is merely incidental to some of us. That, ladies and gentlemen is the progress that we have made as a nation. Fifty years ago, everyone would have cared. We were a lot more polarized back then if you think about it. The playwright Henrik Ibsen said that the minority is always right. I am a white, middle-class American who voted for Obama. Most people like me voted McCain. I am in the minority. Therefore, I ELECTED OBAMA. People like me were the critical mass that made his ascendency possible. People like me teach our children not to hate merely because of where a person is from or what color his skin is. People like me teach our children to confront evil. People like me realize that there decent people come in all hues. So does the "trash".
I am relieved that we have a President that will speak with all parties involved. Even the 'evil' ones. I'm glad that we have someone that will restore our alliances and international credibility. I'm pleased that we have a man that will not defer resolutions or distribute blame. I pray he will tackle our problems head on. Fix the obvious ones first. Mostly, I am thrilled that we have a president that is my intellectual equal. The last Republican that could claim that was Reagan. Of course, I was only 16 at the time. Come to think of it, my 17 year old has it all over 'W'.
Oooooh. Ire up. Irish. That reminds me about a chick I saw at a St. Paddy's day event. She was wearing a 'wife-beater' that said "Werin no bragh" .......and she wasn't. Very nice!!
We have a new president now. One who has promised to bring people together. Like many of the other problems facing our president this one is difficult and has no quick fixes. We are very much a polarized nation (but not as much). Some people would point to this and say we haven't made progress. We have though.
Those who occupy the poles are going to be quickly disappointed with our new president. We have those who are obsessing on the 'historical' significance of a black man becoming president. It's a celebration of everything African-American. Black culture has been validated at last, validated at last, Great God almighty validated at last. My evidence? Look no further than the train-wreck of a performance that was Aretha Franklin. Back in the day that woman could SING. Today, she sounded like a tired, old, woman. So why her? I suppose for what she represented.....whatever that was. Well, I shouldn't complain. It could have been Fantasia Berino.
These folks that are so keen on his blackness are going to be very disappointed when he shows up for work tomorrow and starts working on America's problems and not 'black America's' problems. The problems of black America cannot be solved from above. They are a function of dysfunction. The same dysfunction that affects poor white, brown, and every other color of fpoor folks. Poverty, and it's trans-generational perpetuation have a cause. Obama realizes this. There remains enormous disparity in between blacks and whites. That is only part of the picture however. We have an entire spectrum of people that live in this country. Most do not complain about being victims.
The other pole is the crackers that are predicting doom. Just say it folks (preferrably in a soft Southern drawl), "I'm pissed off that a Nigger is the president". That way you could at least be honest. As for your predictive 'analysis', I'd recommend you go shovel it somewhere else. I despise the word 'nigger'. Always have. It's what they are thinking though. I would enjoy watching these people suffer. When Obama and Congress get their acts together, problems will be fixed. Then even the lot of the cracker will improve.
Those on the one pole would have voted for a lobotomized felon......as long as he were black. With the other pole, you could have the most imminently qualified man on earth be selected against solely because he was black. I don't know why anybody should listen to either side. Extremism is bullshit, EVERY SINGLE TIME!!
And now for the progress part that I promised. Obama wasn't elected because of a culmination of efforts by the black community. There political power is waning in fact, as is white America's. (How far off is a Latino president? Or an Asian? They're the ones picking up influence due to demographic changes). Obama was elected because he stood for change in how this country does business both at home and abroad. This appealed to enough of 'white' middle America that he won. Gore did it barely, but lost anyway(I voted for Nader). Kerry couldn't do it (I forgot who I voted for......but Marilyn Chambers was the vice-presidential candidate). Obama did it convincingly. The fact that Obama is black is merely incidental to some of us. That, ladies and gentlemen is the progress that we have made as a nation. Fifty years ago, everyone would have cared. We were a lot more polarized back then if you think about it. The playwright Henrik Ibsen said that the minority is always right. I am a white, middle-class American who voted for Obama. Most people like me voted McCain. I am in the minority. Therefore, I ELECTED OBAMA. People like me were the critical mass that made his ascendency possible. People like me teach our children not to hate merely because of where a person is from or what color his skin is. People like me teach our children to confront evil. People like me realize that there decent people come in all hues. So does the "trash".
I am relieved that we have a President that will speak with all parties involved. Even the 'evil' ones. I'm glad that we have someone that will restore our alliances and international credibility. I'm pleased that we have a man that will not defer resolutions or distribute blame. I pray he will tackle our problems head on. Fix the obvious ones first. Mostly, I am thrilled that we have a president that is my intellectual equal. The last Republican that could claim that was Reagan. Of course, I was only 16 at the time. Come to think of it, my 17 year old has it all over 'W'.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Fusion cuisine and exclusive subdivision nomenclature
Tonight, my wife and I went out with friends of ours. We went to Takashi. It was great. But it got me thinking about the nature of 'fusion' food. Sometimes, you can combine various elements of different styles of cuisine and come up with something truly unique. Most often, you get something that is unique but nonetheless forgettable.
In one of my previous entries I spoke of the Spice Market Buffet in the Holy City. I guess why I like it and other casino buffets so much is that they do fusion how it should be. The Spice market doesn't combine Japanese and Eastern Med cuisine to make something new. The sushi is over there, the lamb and hummus is over here. They have traditional recipes from a wide variety of styles. That is what I want from a restaurant. The only place I can get it is buffets. I close my eyes and dream about a place where the menu is varied every day (something like the French Laundry but with man-sized portions.....none of that 'tasting' menu BS)
Todays menu is:
- Lobster bisque (traditional French) for the soup
- Sunomono (traditional Japanese) for the salad
- Spaghetti Bolognese (traditional Italian)
- Flan (traditional Mexican) for dessert
See what I mean? Traditional old school recipes from different styles making a meal. Not a bastardized mish-mash of the four styles combined into something uninspired.
Did I mention that I despise hip youngsters wearing black as part of the ambience? Life is a bitch when you are young, white, and affluent!
Next-
What is so wrong with long straight streets, laid out geometrically? Even better is when the streets are named according to their relative coordinate (N/S/E/W) and a street light is nearby to illuminate it. And while we're at it, let's connect all the roads.
Tonight was the latest adventure I had with the 'exclusive' subdivisions of the town I live in. On uneven terrain and canyons and the like the roads and homes would have to conform to the topography. This is to be expected. But when the terrain is flat, the roads need not twist and bend and terminate in an endless array of cul-de-sacs, From the air, it probably looks like someone's lungs. The problem is this. When I wish to move from alveoli to an adjacent alveoli I should not have to pick my way clear up to the bronchus. At one point I could SEE the back of the house and had to drive and weave another 6 blocks to get there.
The street names are long and hence difficult to read at night especially when NOT lit. One in particular I remember was Logan Canyon Road/Avenue/Way/Drive/Street/Parkway/Place or maybe it was Boulevard. Hell that's got a lot of letters. It had to be boulevard! You cannot read the damn thing until you are ten feet away. You cannot see more than a half a block down the road so you have no clue if it is a through street or not. And most are not. By the way, Logan Canyon is a 100 miles away
I've got a better idea. Rename the streets to something more accurate. Wandering Cows Street. Or Sorry, your pizza is going to be late Avenue. NO wait! I've got it. The police/fire department/ambulance all got lost on the way to your place BOULEVARD. Put it all on a street sign and turn off the F***ing lights!
In one of my previous entries I spoke of the Spice Market Buffet in the Holy City. I guess why I like it and other casino buffets so much is that they do fusion how it should be. The Spice market doesn't combine Japanese and Eastern Med cuisine to make something new. The sushi is over there, the lamb and hummus is over here. They have traditional recipes from a wide variety of styles. That is what I want from a restaurant. The only place I can get it is buffets. I close my eyes and dream about a place where the menu is varied every day (something like the French Laundry but with man-sized portions.....none of that 'tasting' menu BS)
Todays menu is:
- Lobster bisque (traditional French) for the soup
- Sunomono (traditional Japanese) for the salad
- Spaghetti Bolognese (traditional Italian)
- Flan (traditional Mexican) for dessert
See what I mean? Traditional old school recipes from different styles making a meal. Not a bastardized mish-mash of the four styles combined into something uninspired.
Did I mention that I despise hip youngsters wearing black as part of the ambience? Life is a bitch when you are young, white, and affluent!
Next-
What is so wrong with long straight streets, laid out geometrically? Even better is when the streets are named according to their relative coordinate (N/S/E/W) and a street light is nearby to illuminate it. And while we're at it, let's connect all the roads.
Tonight was the latest adventure I had with the 'exclusive' subdivisions of the town I live in. On uneven terrain and canyons and the like the roads and homes would have to conform to the topography. This is to be expected. But when the terrain is flat, the roads need not twist and bend and terminate in an endless array of cul-de-sacs, From the air, it probably looks like someone's lungs. The problem is this. When I wish to move from alveoli to an adjacent alveoli I should not have to pick my way clear up to the bronchus. At one point I could SEE the back of the house and had to drive and weave another 6 blocks to get there.
The street names are long and hence difficult to read at night especially when NOT lit. One in particular I remember was Logan Canyon Road/Avenue/Way/Drive/Street/Parkway/Place or maybe it was Boulevard. Hell that's got a lot of letters. It had to be boulevard! You cannot read the damn thing until you are ten feet away. You cannot see more than a half a block down the road so you have no clue if it is a through street or not. And most are not. By the way, Logan Canyon is a 100 miles away
I've got a better idea. Rename the streets to something more accurate. Wandering Cows Street. Or Sorry, your pizza is going to be late Avenue. NO wait! I've got it. The police/fire department/ambulance all got lost on the way to your place BOULEVARD. Put it all on a street sign and turn off the F***ing lights!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
An oasis of great Mexican food and musings on Mormon culture
There is a place called 'El Parral' in Tremonton Utah. It is one of the very few Mexican restaurants where I truly clean my plate. The gentle reader is no doubt familiar with the obligatory shredded lettuce and chunks of tomato that litters the side of every plate of Mexican food. Nobody eats it. So why bother putting it there?
El Parral uses shredded cabbage and a bit of carrot and marinates it in salt (YUM). The chile verde is top notch. The chicken mole ain't too bad either. They're fast, friendly and affordable. I caught my oldest checking out the ass of the waitress. I suppose if I were 17 ..........well next topic.
The reason my entire family was in Tremonton today was for mother-in-law's funeral. Let me say up front that she was a kind, devoted, and decent woman. She loved all of my kids as grandchildren, not just the ones that were hers biologically. So on the outside chance that somebody from that part of the family stumbles across this blog, I must say that none of what I am about to say is specific to her on the family. It did get me thinking about some things is all.
Funeral food: As it turns out funeral potatoes and ham loaf aren't a Utah phenomena. Ask anyone that has lived in the midwest, especially Minnesota and the Dakotas. But, the startling uniformity of funeral food coupled with the metal folding chairs, and eating with a fair amount of people I don't know, prompted my visit to El Parral instead of the Tremonton 6th ward basketball court.
They call it compassionate service. I suppose it is. The people that show up and prepare the food, set up the tables/chairs etc. are doing it out of respect and perhaps love for the families involved. I'm not sure how my eating this slop fits into the grieving process though.
If they really wanted to have a meal that honored my mother-in-law they could have served the same food she served for family parties. There would be the roast beef that is something akin to the ham. Salty au-jus, thin-sliced, just pile it on a bun and eat it. But we also could have had her candied yams (YUM), her shrimp and macaroni salad (just take it easy on the green onion), and some greens besides iceberg lettuce with the Ranch dressing they sell at the local market. I despise Ranch......truly........but the stuff they sell ain't bad.
The second topic of Mormon culture I wish to mention is the blessing of children. For those who aren't familiar with this practice I'll briefly explain. According to the faith (LDS) that I belong to, there are several ordinances that are necessary. Things such as baptism would make sense to any Christian denomination. There is also 'confirmation', marriage, and a series of ordinances that occur in our temples. These are sometimes referred to as saving ordinances.
The point I wish to make is that blessing of children is NOT a saving ordinance, but it nonetheless a strong enough part of the culture that people outside the church would make the assumption that it is. There is some pragmatic parts of the whole process. The child, almost always a newborn, is given a name that they will be known by in Church records. The name is practically always the child's legal name. The child is thereby introduced to the congregation.
Stay with me know, I'm getting to my point. The second part of the blessing is the actual blessing which is supposed to be given as the 'spirit dictates'. In my life I have done three. All were over within 60 seconds. I gave all three children what I believed were meaningful, but succinct blessings. Which brings me finally to my point. The uniformity of what everyone else does.
They don't give the child a blessing. Instead they have a 'wish-list' as follows:
- strong mind and body
- example to your family
- baptized at eight
- receive the Priesthood starting at 12 (for males)
- serve a mission
- get married in the temple (hey weren't they supposed to go to college somewhere in there?)
- have your own kids
It is especially confused when you have grandfathers, uncles, brother, etc. doing the blessing. That means the father is either AWOL, a non-member, or a member that might as well not be.
I say they should mix things up a bit as follows:
- bless you not to end up a screw-up like one or both of your parents
- bless you with not getting knocked up (or doing the knocking up) early which the parents invariably did
- bless you with the infinite wisdom to listen to people that know what they are doing, unlike your parents or apparently your grandparents.
- bless you and your family with the wherewithal to get the f**k out of our basement apartment.
- bless you with a classic education with a hard science grounding and aheavy emphasis on writing.
That should about do it for me!
Remember go to the El Parral in Tremonton.
El Parral uses shredded cabbage and a bit of carrot and marinates it in salt (YUM). The chile verde is top notch. The chicken mole ain't too bad either. They're fast, friendly and affordable. I caught my oldest checking out the ass of the waitress. I suppose if I were 17 ..........well next topic.
The reason my entire family was in Tremonton today was for mother-in-law's funeral. Let me say up front that she was a kind, devoted, and decent woman. She loved all of my kids as grandchildren, not just the ones that were hers biologically. So on the outside chance that somebody from that part of the family stumbles across this blog, I must say that none of what I am about to say is specific to her on the family. It did get me thinking about some things is all.
Funeral food: As it turns out funeral potatoes and ham loaf aren't a Utah phenomena. Ask anyone that has lived in the midwest, especially Minnesota and the Dakotas. But, the startling uniformity of funeral food coupled with the metal folding chairs, and eating with a fair amount of people I don't know, prompted my visit to El Parral instead of the Tremonton 6th ward basketball court.
They call it compassionate service. I suppose it is. The people that show up and prepare the food, set up the tables/chairs etc. are doing it out of respect and perhaps love for the families involved. I'm not sure how my eating this slop fits into the grieving process though.
If they really wanted to have a meal that honored my mother-in-law they could have served the same food she served for family parties. There would be the roast beef that is something akin to the ham. Salty au-jus, thin-sliced, just pile it on a bun and eat it. But we also could have had her candied yams (YUM), her shrimp and macaroni salad (just take it easy on the green onion), and some greens besides iceberg lettuce with the Ranch dressing they sell at the local market. I despise Ranch......truly........but the stuff they sell ain't bad.
The second topic of Mormon culture I wish to mention is the blessing of children. For those who aren't familiar with this practice I'll briefly explain. According to the faith (LDS) that I belong to, there are several ordinances that are necessary. Things such as baptism would make sense to any Christian denomination. There is also 'confirmation', marriage, and a series of ordinances that occur in our temples. These are sometimes referred to as saving ordinances.
The point I wish to make is that blessing of children is NOT a saving ordinance, but it nonetheless a strong enough part of the culture that people outside the church would make the assumption that it is. There is some pragmatic parts of the whole process. The child, almost always a newborn, is given a name that they will be known by in Church records. The name is practically always the child's legal name. The child is thereby introduced to the congregation.
Stay with me know, I'm getting to my point. The second part of the blessing is the actual blessing which is supposed to be given as the 'spirit dictates'. In my life I have done three. All were over within 60 seconds. I gave all three children what I believed were meaningful, but succinct blessings. Which brings me finally to my point. The uniformity of what everyone else does.
They don't give the child a blessing. Instead they have a 'wish-list' as follows:
- strong mind and body
- example to your family
- baptized at eight
- receive the Priesthood starting at 12 (for males)
- serve a mission
- get married in the temple (hey weren't they supposed to go to college somewhere in there?)
- have your own kids
It is especially confused when you have grandfathers, uncles, brother, etc. doing the blessing. That means the father is either AWOL, a non-member, or a member that might as well not be.
I say they should mix things up a bit as follows:
- bless you not to end up a screw-up like one or both of your parents
- bless you with not getting knocked up (or doing the knocking up) early which the parents invariably did
- bless you with the infinite wisdom to listen to people that know what they are doing, unlike your parents or apparently your grandparents.
- bless you and your family with the wherewithal to get the f**k out of our basement apartment.
- bless you with a classic education with a hard science grounding and aheavy emphasis on writing.
That should about do it for me!
Remember go to the El Parral in Tremonton.
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