Maybe it is because I have one of those birthdays coming up, maybe because I am probably facing a no health insurance life soon, maybe because I am who I am... I am keenly concerned, no I am downright worried, about what is or is not happening in Washington, D.C. these days. It started with concern and then anger about health care reform. I've traveled a bit in Europe and have friends there, the kind of close friends with whom you can discuss such a delicate subject as health care. I think their single-payer system works fairly well. I got concerned when the term "single-payer" became a four-letter word, something not to be spoken in "polite" company. I became upset when I got tons of emails from friends and acquaintances about "Obamacare" with tons of misinformation stated as fact. I was downright angry when I realized that health care reform, the kind of meaningful reform that would help people like me and many of my friends, had been completely sidetracked, eviscerated and left by the side of the road, replaced by something that was too watered-down to be of much help to anyone.
Now I watch Washington, D.C. pull a similar number on the budget. The same people who had no trouble increasing the debt limit to fund an unpopular war are the people who have "found Jesus" and are dramatically, tear-jerkingly worried about the nations economic health. They are so worried about the debt that they will destroy the lives of Social Security recipients, force seniors back into a health care marketplace where they cannot get insurance and harm charities by changing the tax system to remove the small advantage taxpayers get by giving to charity. But, will they raise taxes on the wealthiest citizens or on corporations that pay no taxes to support our country? No.
This is income re-distribution, the reverse of the sort of thing Robin Hood practiced. This is the sort of thing that I expect the Democrats to fight against in Congress, the sort of thing my President should be using his bully pulpit to reject. But no one in Washington, D.C. seems concerned. Where are the people who represent me? Where are the people who care about the older citizens, charity and those who do not have 6 figure incomes?
Maybe it is because I am facing a big birthday this week, maybe it is because I worry about having health insurance or maybe, it is because Congress doesn't seem to care about me and my friends.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Best of Intentions
I've been neglecting this blog while I ran a program called "Bible in 90 Days." I was drug, kicking and screaming, to the program. The material was a bit more literal in interpretation of the Bible than I am comfortable with and there were bits of lectures and even promotional materials that were inconsistent with my understanding of the Bible, but... I had just followed my husband through two different cancer diagnoses in a single year and I was on the verge of creative burnout when it came to developing and offering creative programs for our adult education program, so I signed on. I hid my weak expectations from myself and from my committee and we started promoting the program. I thought we might have 50 people sign up to read the Bible and maybe 30 would finish.
Much to my amazement, 128 people signed up to read the Bible, cover to cover, 12 pages a day. We recruited small group facilitators to offer eleven small groups during the week. This past Friday, 93 of the 128 were recognized for completing the program. I am still exhausted.
What was interesting about reading the Bible in such a short time frame was how it distorted the realities of the Bible, particularly the long time between the first destruction of Jerusalem and the birth of Jesus. It seemed almost reasonable that Isaiah was predicting Jesus when, in reality there was some 800 years between Isaiah and Jesus and it was far more likely that Isaiah was predicting the restoration of God's people to Jerusalem than a savior nearly 1000 years in the future. Even Malachi's predictions were some 500 years before Jesus' birth which happens just pages later in the Bible.
Reading the Bible straight through also emphasizes inconsistencies. The two versions of creating woman are just pages apart and the two versions are very different. Similarly, Paul's inconsistencies regarding women are glaring when one reads the Bible so quickly. On one page, Paul is praising Phoebe or Prisca or some other female "fellow teacher" and a page later, he is almost screaming that women should be seen and not heard. It almost forces one to chose between understanding that Paul did not write all of Paul's letters or acknowledging that Paul seems almost bi-polar when it comes to the role of women in the church.
Reading the whole Bible brings new meaning to the snippets of the Bible we hear on Sunday morning. When we hear "to every thing there is a season" we can hear in our memories the verses before and after and remember how bleak and depressing the book could feel. When we hear the Easter story, we remember the little inconsistencies between the Gospels.
And yet, while reading the Bible in a short time frame points out inconsistencies and contradictions, it also allowed me to see a God who consistently wants to be in relationship with his people and a people who consistently break the bonds of that relationship. I have often talked about the Old Testament being a story of God's faithfulness to God's unfaithful people, but this trip through the Bible let me see that God's faithfulness to an unfaithful people did not end with Malachi. It didn't even end with God's ultimate effort to restore the bonds -- Jesus death and resurrection. God's people failed to recognize the sacrifice God made, the new and renewed Covenant God offered. Others took the easier route back to the old teachings when they were confronted with persecution.
I found Revelation to be less of the Omega of Alpha and Omega and more of a new Alpha, the beginning of yet another Covenant God offers to God's people. More than ever, I see if the Old Testament is Act One and the New Testament is Act Two, that we are living Act Three right now and, just like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, we wander in our modern wilderness, sometimes faithful, sometimes faithless.
So now you know where I have been for the last six months or so.
Much to my amazement, 128 people signed up to read the Bible, cover to cover, 12 pages a day. We recruited small group facilitators to offer eleven small groups during the week. This past Friday, 93 of the 128 were recognized for completing the program. I am still exhausted.
What was interesting about reading the Bible in such a short time frame was how it distorted the realities of the Bible, particularly the long time between the first destruction of Jerusalem and the birth of Jesus. It seemed almost reasonable that Isaiah was predicting Jesus when, in reality there was some 800 years between Isaiah and Jesus and it was far more likely that Isaiah was predicting the restoration of God's people to Jerusalem than a savior nearly 1000 years in the future. Even Malachi's predictions were some 500 years before Jesus' birth which happens just pages later in the Bible.
Reading the Bible straight through also emphasizes inconsistencies. The two versions of creating woman are just pages apart and the two versions are very different. Similarly, Paul's inconsistencies regarding women are glaring when one reads the Bible so quickly. On one page, Paul is praising Phoebe or Prisca or some other female "fellow teacher" and a page later, he is almost screaming that women should be seen and not heard. It almost forces one to chose between understanding that Paul did not write all of Paul's letters or acknowledging that Paul seems almost bi-polar when it comes to the role of women in the church.
Reading the whole Bible brings new meaning to the snippets of the Bible we hear on Sunday morning. When we hear "to every thing there is a season" we can hear in our memories the verses before and after and remember how bleak and depressing the book could feel. When we hear the Easter story, we remember the little inconsistencies between the Gospels.
And yet, while reading the Bible in a short time frame points out inconsistencies and contradictions, it also allowed me to see a God who consistently wants to be in relationship with his people and a people who consistently break the bonds of that relationship. I have often talked about the Old Testament being a story of God's faithfulness to God's unfaithful people, but this trip through the Bible let me see that God's faithfulness to an unfaithful people did not end with Malachi. It didn't even end with God's ultimate effort to restore the bonds -- Jesus death and resurrection. God's people failed to recognize the sacrifice God made, the new and renewed Covenant God offered. Others took the easier route back to the old teachings when they were confronted with persecution.
I found Revelation to be less of the Omega of Alpha and Omega and more of a new Alpha, the beginning of yet another Covenant God offers to God's people. More than ever, I see if the Old Testament is Act One and the New Testament is Act Two, that we are living Act Three right now and, just like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, we wander in our modern wilderness, sometimes faithful, sometimes faithless.
So now you know where I have been for the last six months or so.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tulum and the Winter Solstice
One of the best field trips we took on our Cancun vacation was to Tulum, a Mayan archeological site. We had an amazing tour guide, Alberto, who gave us a lot of great information. Tulum is unique among Mayan ruins in that, while other sites show evidence of human sacrifice, Tulum does not. Tulum was noted for its astronomical significance. The ruin pictured above has a rather small hole in it that is not, sadly, apparent from my photo. At sunrise on both summer and winter solstice, the sun lines up with the hole to produce a starburst effect.In leap years, the moon similarly lines up. FYI, the next leap year, 2012, is the last year of the Mayan calendar.
This is the largest ruin at Tulum.
This Caribbean beach is below the cliffs behind the ruins at Tulum. It is quite a popular public beach and rather scenic to boot!
Alberto presented quite a lot if interesting information about Tulum, explaining how advanced the Mayan civilization was. He even showed pictures of Mayan dentistry involving drilling small perfectly round holes in the teeth and filling them with Jade. It was only at Tulum that the people stretched the heads of the babies, exploiting the soft spot, to elongate the skull. Perhaps that contributed to the reputation Tulum has as an intellectual center of Mayan civilization. While other Mayan ruins show evidence of human sacrifice, Tulum shows nothing like that.I whole-heartedly recommend a trip to Tulum if you are in Cancun.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Holiday Spirit
I am always the one who wants to know sources and, as my aunt described it, scold people for willy-nilly forwarding information when they don't know where it came from. I am, however, posting this for pure fun. I do not know where it started, but I think it is fun and it embodies a philosophy I am following this holiday season. I will, however, be selectively eating fruitcake as there is nothing I like better than a good fruitcake (hint: good fruitcake is never found in a drug store.)
Holiday Eating Tips
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can, and quickly. It's rare . . . You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it and have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Have a great holiday season!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Second Annual Colorado Cheese Festival
I know it is late notice, but there are still tickets available for the Colorado Cheese Festival this coming Saturday and Sunday, November 6 and 7 at the Embassy Suites on Costilla in Centennial.
There will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of cheeses to taste, demonstrations and the real highlight, the Grilled Cheese Competition in which top local chefs compete for best grilled cheese. Look out, chefs, one of the judges this year is very young and we all know kids are the toughest judges of grilled cheese sandwiches!
For complete details and to get tickets, see Colorado Cheese Festival.
There will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of cheeses to taste, demonstrations and the real highlight, the Grilled Cheese Competition in which top local chefs compete for best grilled cheese. Look out, chefs, one of the judges this year is very young and we all know kids are the toughest judges of grilled cheese sandwiches!
For complete details and to get tickets, see Colorado Cheese Festival.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
How Could a Political Junkie Ignore 2010?
I'm a political junkie. Generally, I live, eat and breathe politics, particularly in an election year. So why have I been conspicuously silent on the 2010 election? Maybe I'm losing my taste for it all. I used to accept the conventional wisdom that you go negative because negative works. Somehow, in this first year after the Supremes granted corporations superlative "equality" (companies are people, too?) in political involvement, the advertising just turned my stomach.
Here in Colorado, there were actually some media outlets to turn down the big bucks offered because the ads were, simply, lies. That indication that the media is beginning to look at the veracity of the ads offered encouraged me. That said, I still suspect my blood pressure rose at the tortuous twisting of truth and outright misstatement of fact that characterized far too many ads. I remember, back in the day when the rules changed, thinking that it was a bit silly that the candidate had to appear in his/her ad stating that they approved the ad. With the advent of 527 ads a few years ago, candidates lost control of what was said on their behalf. This year, the ads not produced by the campaigns seemed to outnumber the ads that included the "I'm so-and-so and I approved this ad" message. I'm also concerned that there is no way to know who paid for those ads and I am very upset by the rumors of foreign companies paying for the ads. I do not like the idea that foreign entities are influencing our elections.
If some TV stations choosing not to run some ads was encouraging to me, that the candidate who was most vocal about not running negative ads won was downright exciting. Had Governor-elect Hickenlooper not won, he would have been just one more reason for pundits to say that negative ads work. Hick's unique, witty and positive ads created a national stir with articles in some major newspapers across the country. I sincerely hope his positive campaign encourages other candidates to go positive.
There were only three candidates I was excited to support with my vote. You might guess that Hickenlooper was one of my favorites. I supported Senator Michael Bennet, not because I liked the negative ads when he had some great positive ads with his daughters, but because the ads against him angered me. The third candidate for whom I was proud to vote was a local Senate candidate, Katie Facchinello, the only candidate who has come to my door in 13 years. She was trying and General Assembly candidates where I live don't usually try very hard. The Republicans don't have to try because of the voter makeup of the area and the Democrats, when there are some, are candidates in name only.
It just was not a stellar election year. I would have been embarrassed if my foreign friends had been visiting to see this mess. If I am going to live, breathe and eat politics, there have to be more than three candidates for which I am proud to vote!
Here in Colorado, there were actually some media outlets to turn down the big bucks offered because the ads were, simply, lies. That indication that the media is beginning to look at the veracity of the ads offered encouraged me. That said, I still suspect my blood pressure rose at the tortuous twisting of truth and outright misstatement of fact that characterized far too many ads. I remember, back in the day when the rules changed, thinking that it was a bit silly that the candidate had to appear in his/her ad stating that they approved the ad. With the advent of 527 ads a few years ago, candidates lost control of what was said on their behalf. This year, the ads not produced by the campaigns seemed to outnumber the ads that included the "I'm so-and-so and I approved this ad" message. I'm also concerned that there is no way to know who paid for those ads and I am very upset by the rumors of foreign companies paying for the ads. I do not like the idea that foreign entities are influencing our elections.
If some TV stations choosing not to run some ads was encouraging to me, that the candidate who was most vocal about not running negative ads won was downright exciting. Had Governor-elect Hickenlooper not won, he would have been just one more reason for pundits to say that negative ads work. Hick's unique, witty and positive ads created a national stir with articles in some major newspapers across the country. I sincerely hope his positive campaign encourages other candidates to go positive.
There were only three candidates I was excited to support with my vote. You might guess that Hickenlooper was one of my favorites. I supported Senator Michael Bennet, not because I liked the negative ads when he had some great positive ads with his daughters, but because the ads against him angered me. The third candidate for whom I was proud to vote was a local Senate candidate, Katie Facchinello, the only candidate who has come to my door in 13 years. She was trying and General Assembly candidates where I live don't usually try very hard. The Republicans don't have to try because of the voter makeup of the area and the Democrats, when there are some, are candidates in name only.
It just was not a stellar election year. I would have been embarrassed if my foreign friends had been visiting to see this mess. If I am going to live, breathe and eat politics, there have to be more than three candidates for which I am proud to vote!
Vegetarians Get a Good Selection at T.G.I.Fridays
We went to a new menu tasting at T.G.I.Fridays tonight and I was excited to see a number of new vegetarian options on the menu. I'd gotten pretty tired of Fried Green Beans and the ubiquitous spinach artichoke dip. Now there are actually menu items that are designed to be vegetarian.
The menu is almost completely new, but only in Denver where we are the beta testers for the new selections.
We did not taste all the new items (we were promised Parmeson-Crusted Onion Ring Tower that was a no-show) and I'll be writing more about all the menu choices when I have had a chance to get the pictures and descriptions together, but, in the meantime, vegetarians should consider hummus, and Tuscan Summer Spinach Dip with Pizzetta Chips. There is a new Mediterranean veggie pizza and a tomato basil soup and mini grilled Cheese Sandwich (though I cannot vouch that the cheese is microbial). Pescetarians will want to try the Ahi Tuna with Avocado Crisps which are definitely something one would expect only from a restaurant where the chef is a big name. Even the main dish selections offer goodies for us -- a wiater assured me that, though he is a carnivore, he ate the Sedona Black Bean Burger the first three nights it was on the menu because he loved it so much. I'm looking forward to trying the Grilled Vegetable Dagwood with mango chutney mayo and tandoori-marinated veggies. The picture looks great, but don't they always? The Victory Garden Pasta with fresh broccoli, spinace and sugar snap peas in lemon vegetable sauce with basil butter and Parmesan looks intriguing as well.
I've got an email in to get some clarifications on the menu and some pictures (yes, some restaurants are too dark to take decent pictures with my 'Droid) and I'll have a more complete post. I wanted to get the word out for those of us who are tired of making do in restaurants in the casual restaurant category.
For those who
The menu is almost completely new, but only in Denver where we are the beta testers for the new selections.
We did not taste all the new items (we were promised Parmeson-Crusted Onion Ring Tower that was a no-show) and I'll be writing more about all the menu choices when I have had a chance to get the pictures and descriptions together, but, in the meantime, vegetarians should consider hummus, and Tuscan Summer Spinach Dip with Pizzetta Chips. There is a new Mediterranean veggie pizza and a tomato basil soup and mini grilled Cheese Sandwich (though I cannot vouch that the cheese is microbial). Pescetarians will want to try the Ahi Tuna with Avocado Crisps which are definitely something one would expect only from a restaurant where the chef is a big name. Even the main dish selections offer goodies for us -- a wiater assured me that, though he is a carnivore, he ate the Sedona Black Bean Burger the first three nights it was on the menu because he loved it so much. I'm looking forward to trying the Grilled Vegetable Dagwood with mango chutney mayo and tandoori-marinated veggies. The picture looks great, but don't they always? The Victory Garden Pasta with fresh broccoli, spinace and sugar snap peas in lemon vegetable sauce with basil butter and Parmesan looks intriguing as well.
I've got an email in to get some clarifications on the menu and some pictures (yes, some restaurants are too dark to take decent pictures with my 'Droid) and I'll have a more complete post. I wanted to get the word out for those of us who are tired of making do in restaurants in the casual restaurant category.
For those who
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