T.
Today, I experimented and made a brand new pizza. I was a little nervous about how it would turn out because it was quite a risk, but it actually is excellent.

Here's the recipe for the new as-of-yet-unnamed pizza:

• Get or make some pizza dough. Oil a cookie sheet or pizza tin with 1 ounce olive (or other) oil, and spread out the dough. Prebake the crust for 6 minutes at 425 degrees.
• Take out the crust and tin. Let it cool and then spread-2-3 ounces of brown mustard evenly, and about 2 ounces of honey as well.
• Then sprinkle about 1/8 tsp hot curry, and several shakes of red pepper flakes on the crust.
• Add a few ounces of Parmesan cheese.
• Then add the cut up veggies: three sticks of celery, half of a fresh red pepper, and about half of a pickle, according to taste. You can also add onion, but I forgot to add it this time.
• Then portion out about 6-8 ounces of braunschweiger into little half-tsp blobs all over the pizza.
• Cover everything with about 8 ounces of grated cheddar cheese.
• Cook in the oven at 400-425 for 18-20 minutes.
• Allow to cool, and enjoy.
  

pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: recipes

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Plastic is problematic for many reasons.

First, it's made from oil, which might well be usable in other ways in the future that we haven't even thought of yet, but we're running through at a breakneck pace.
Second, it doesn't biodegrade.
Third, it's polluting our oceans and killing them. Here is some important recent information about the garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean, along with their effects.

In short, we need to:

• Discontinue using nonbiodegradable plastic, and switch to other materials for our bags, our products, and our drinking/storage vessels.
• Gather up all of the plastic on land and store it safely, or put it to good use where it won't go missing in the ocean, killing untolled wildlife populations.
• Design some type of swimming robots that can identify and capture plastic in our oceans, and return it back to land.
• Educate everybody about plastics, and find new ways of living where plastic plays a dramatically different role in our lives.

lyrics:
"Tried to save the trees
Bought a plastic bag
The bottom fell out
It was a piece of crap"
From Piece of Crap, by Neil Young

colors: color of clear plastic 6-pack can ring containers. (I always cut them up so they don't get caught on the birds' necks if they get into the wild, but really that's nowhere near enough.)


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: economics, environment, indifferent corporations, interconnected web, paradigm shift

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Wow! Look at this, and note how stunningly small our sun is compared to the biggest stars!

lyrics: We are all made of stars, by Moby. Naturally...


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: astrophysics, personal bookmarks, sacred texts, sustenance, theological sources

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I made guacamole today, and for the first time it turned out. Maybe because while I was making it, I was really appreciating the true awesomeness of a just-perfectly-ripe avocado. There's just such a short window. Plus, the tomato I used was one of seven runty tomatoes that grew in our "garden" on the sidewalk outside our apartment. It was pretty tasty.

Adapted from one I found here:

• 1 ripe avocados
• 1/4 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 small tomato
• 1 Tbsp lime juice (or juice of 1 fresh lime)
• 1 diced pepperoncini (or jalapeno perhaps)
  
• 1/8 tsp salt
• dash pepper

lyrics:
"Do you make guacamole?
Yes, I do make guacamole.
Uh, I would like a side of guacamole on my Tostitos
I like to dip the Tostitos in the guacamole
Can I get a basket, I told you about a basket of chips"
From Pollo Asado, by Ween

colors: green and red, which by the way, Henry was very interested in the little green and red lights all along the movie theater walls (we went to see the new Harry Potter)

mood: okay

chant/prayer/mantra: may our days have enjoyment within and all around them


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: recipes

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This article from racewire.org says a lot, and I recommend it for every reader of this blog. Dr. Regina Benjamin is more than qualified for the job of surgeon general, yet there are people who will find any angle they can to discredit her (or any Obama nominee, naturally).

While I have several bones to pick with Obama about the lack of real change he seems to be bringing with respect to many important issues, it is heartening and refreshing to see Sonia Sotomayor being confirmed today, and the nomination of Ms. Benjamin. There certainly does need to be more representation for people of color in the US halls of power, and the jury is still out (no pun intended), on how quickly our representatives will actually represent constituents of color as well. As an aside, how many senators of color are there presently in the USA, and in its history?

IMO, if the push for universal health care in the US fails, the blame falls not on Obama, but on all those playing for powerful vested interests in keeping the status quo, even if it means the perpetuation of classism, racism, and size-ism. The current state of health care in the US is undeniably detrimental to our economy. Fixing our health care system is one critical element of getting the economy back up and running.

lyrics:
And until the color of a man's* skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, there's a war.
- War, by Bob Marley

*#inc gender, size, perceived class, sexual orientation, etc


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: BBWs, economics, oppression, politics, racism, universal health care

This lullaby is a really easy one to sing, and when I looked up the lyrics for it online, I was surprised to find that it had all sorts of archaic stuff, is clumsy with the rhyme scheme, and even tried to jam extra syllables in. Case in point: "dog named rover," "cart and bull"???

Anyway, I called up my sister to see what she recalled our parents singing, and she said these were the lyrics she used, so I'm going to go with that.

Here is the song as a printable image using one of my favorite fonts and a soft and soothing color scheme (click for full-size):




















Note that this key is awfully high, but it sounds just great and Henry loves it. The opening note is C#.

And here are the words as plain text:
Hush little baby don't say a word
Mama's* gonna buy** you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don't sing
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring |
And if that diamond ring is brass
Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass should crack
Mama's gonna buy you a jumping jack
And if that jumping jack won't hop
Mama's gonna buy you a lollipop
And when that lollipop is done
Mama's gonna buy you another one
So hush little baby don't say a word...
(rinse and repeat as needed)

*substitutions of "papa" "mommy" "daddy" or any two-syllable name may be admissable
**kind of a consumeristic song, huh? I envision GWB post-911 telling people "go out and buy more mockingbirds and lollipops people!"


chant/prayer/mantra: may all our babies and parents sleep soundly one day


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: music, personal religion, sustenance

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My best friend from college took his life a couple weeks ago, and lots of people are trying to make sense of it. There's been a lot of anguish and grief, and also much anger, guilt, confusion, numbness, and other negative emotions on my part and on the part of family and other friends. I wrote a personal eulogy for him that I delivered at the funeral, crying through most of it. I hope my expression of what I felt lent some bit of understanding and relief for everyone else. I'm still coming to terms with this event, and the magnitude of that lost connection, never to be regained.

I won't go into details of my words, but the minister of their church shared a lot of wisdom as part of the funeral service. I found it online, so I thought I would share it here, as an honor to Clif and all who loved him and still love his memory.

In short, if anyone reading this is depressed* (or more accurately, suffers from chronic or acute depression), please know that it's better to share it than to keep it deep inside. The culture lived in by many of us tries to push a context of stigma onto depression, but when it does that, the world is wrong. My vision of a good and right world is one where we can share what we're going through. You can share it with me, at least. A blessed community has open ears for both the joys and the sorrows we're going through.

*There's a lot going on in the world that can generally bring a person down, even without mental illness or acute personal disasters. We all suffer to some degree from the former, except for people who live by an "ignorance is bliss" mantra, who might opt to trade awareness for some type of consciousness-lowering opiate. To counteract all that might depress us, it's important to also look for the good in life and in the world. Life becomes miserable pretty quickly when you can't see the light shining around all the edges.


chant/prayer/mantra: Call me if ever you need me.


pax hominibus,
agape to all,
joel

Labels: pastoral care, personal religion