To be or not to be?

So, first off, what an awesome thing it is to have fun with family*. One of God's true gifts (when everybody's feeling it) is to spend time with those we love.

 

Today was awesome. A truly beautiful day in the Ville. Sunny, cool, nice breeze and an awesome day at the park. I love this town and I love those with whom I get to share it.

Plus, there was the interesting fun of getting to see all sorts of people (and by that I mean ALL) at Hogan's Fountain. Wow, wanna see a slice of the Ville? That's the spot to be.

(yeah, I've been playing with the camera and taking zoom shots)

All in all? What a wonderful spring day! So wonderful that I supplanted what was going to be my post with this green tangent.

Peace

 

*Oh, by the way, my definition of family is pretty broad and covers a lot of people I'm not biologically or legally related to.

How to be pure and faultless, a primer

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - James 1:27

What if I were to tell you that right now, in a specific geographic area, there are over 1,600,000 women and children roaming the streets, displaced from their homes and without hope? And, in addition, these women and children are seen every day by American citizens, not just on television, but face-to-face. Yet, in all our church services, where we pray for the safety of the troops, for the wisdom of our leaders, where are our prayers for those who need it more than all?

According to the Red Cross, there are over 2 million internally displaced Iraqis, 82 percent of whom are women and children under the age of 12.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - James 1:27

What saddens me so much is the hypocrisy in the church. We sing "I want to be like Jesus" yet conveniently ignore his commands that make us uncomfortable, that challenge our view of the world.

If the discussion is too hard, if we can't stomach any more arguments over the legitimacy of the war in Iraq, can't we at least ignore that part and focus on the concrete things that we all agree on? The word of God -

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - James 1:27

Taken mostly from - http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2008/03/i-never-saw-them-as-human-bein.html

Amazing Times, Part II

Snippets harvested from this article

Gee, it's too bad that the US can't be as up to date on these new medical techniques. Too bad that congress and El Presidente can't get their act together and get a bill passed funding research. (The first is too scattered, the second just vetoes everything)

 

Finnish patient gets new jaw from own stem cells

Scientists in Finland said they had replaced a 65-year-old patient's upper jaw with a bone transplant cultivated from stem cells isolated from his own fatty tissue and grown inside his abdomen.

Researchers said the breakthrough opened up new ways to treat severe tissue damage and made the prospect of custom-made living spares parts for humans a step closer to reality.

...

She told a news conference the patient was recovering more quickly than he would have if he had received a bone graft from his leg.

...

She said the team used no materials from animals - preventing the risk of transmitting viruses than can be hidden in an animal's DNA, and followed European Union guidelines.

Stem cells are the body's master cells and they can be found throughout the blood and tissues. Researchers have recently found that fat contains stem cells which can be directed to form a variety of different tissues.

The times, they are a-mazin'

Summarized from Science Daily - New Technique Makes Tissues Transparent.

Light scatters as it moves through an object. Even objects like our bodies allow a certain amount of light to pass through. The light is scattered by bumping into things. We're not translucent like jellyfish. Scientists have discovered, however, that if the light that emerges is recorded as it scatters and then sent back through the same pathways in reverse, it bounces back along the same pathways and return to the original source. This is similar to the scattering of pool balls on a table. If you can precisely reverse the path and velocities of the pool balls, you can make them reassemble themselves into a rack.

Hmm, may have to try that at the next Friday night pool

What does this mean? Light activated cancer killing drugs could be injected into diseased tissue. Play back the light path with a strong light source and the drugs would be activated.

Another possible application is using photovoltaic receivers to power implants like pace-makers, shrinking their size significantly.

Early Spring in the Mountains

It’s not raining so much as weeping.

Mist pours itself from every surface and I am at peace.

There’s something I find heartwarming in the

drab dampness of the morning.

 

The knowledge that spring is throwing the

Full weight of inevitability against the iron will of winter.

 

The passing of the season of darkness is written in the heavens and

Even the illiterate are learning to read.

 

I am securely bundled in my sweater and scarf.

A shiver of contentment makes its way up my spine.

 

It’s for days like this that I live.

 

Days when the anticipation of joys to come

press so intensely upon me.

Press on me not from above, weighing me down,

but from below, Propelling me upward on a

foam of laughter and delight.

 

All is right with the world and I am at peace.

Brother Man

A flash fiction piece I submitted to the Literary Leo contest.

 

Brother Man

Desperation wraps her steel arms around me, squeezing just so I know I’m still loved. It’s so cold and my feet are numb. I can’t remember my last meal and I just want to be warm. Maybe that place over on Jefferson can put me up. Anything’s better than sleeping in the bushes behind Kremer’s on a night like this.

Another squeeze reminds me that my belly is empty. It feels like a bag of rocks grinding together down there. If I hurry, I can get a buck from somebody outside of PT’s to get a cheeseburger. Score two bucks and I can get the hot apple pie with that.

As I stumble around the corner, I trip and bounce my head off a light pole. The sharp taste of blood brings me back just in time to see your eyes slide over me like the muzzle of a gun. Not a glance or a stare, but raw hate cuts through the neon glow from overhead.

The bouncers glare at me, daring me to come closer. I stand there clutching the post. In the knot on my forehead, I feel my heartbeat start dancing the tarantella. All this, and I think I’ve busted another tooth. I got to get warm. “Hey mister”, and that’s all I get out. You spin, and throw your words at me like rocks. “Fuck off and get a job”. With that, you’re in the safety of your car.

I die a little more inside even though there’s not much left. My life has come to this and I don’t even care. I’m all cared out. I start off down the sidewalk. You’ve lost the capacity to see anything between the bouncer and the limo and I’m here in the cold… brother.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Taken from Famous Dave's BBQ
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons frozen tangerine juice concentrate
1 tablespoon Amaretto
1 tablespoon Kahlua
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup toasted pecans
Large marshmallows
Cube sweet potatoes and combine with enough cold water to cover in saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes or until tender; drain. Mash with a potato masher. Spoon the mashed sweet potatoes into a mixing bowl. Beat until blended. Add brown sugar, butter, tangerine juice concentrate, Amaretto, Kahlua, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Add the eggs, beating until blended. Stir in the pecans. Spoon the sweet potato mixture into a buttered 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with marshmallows. Bake until marshmallows are golden brown and slightly melted.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.