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As some of you know, I like coffee. It's not that I'm addicted or anything. It's just that I'd rather jump headfirst into the Grand Canyon than give up coffee for Lent. But since this is a season of self-examination, I decided to look inward at my coffee consumption and share some possible signs of overindulgence. Think of this as a public service announcement for the soul.
Your sermons all begin with pulpit pounding -- except it's actually your heart.
You've seriously considered using holy water to brew your coffee.
Even when you're at the altar with arms spread wide in the orans position, your right hand looks like it's still clutching a coffee mug.
Instead of a cup of water on the pulpit, the altar guild places a cup of coffee.
You keep the same type of camel-back hydration system used by ultra-marathoners under your chasuble.
Rather than a prayer, every church meeting starts with a refill.
"Coffee Hour?" Which hour isn't?
You refuse sacraments to people who drink decaf.
When you read Hebrews, you keep wondering when he is going to brew the coffee.
You've asked the sexton to move one of the giant silver coffee hour urns into your office.
You drink your coffee in the same style as your cassock: black.
The owner of the local coffee shop is seriously considering giving you a raise.
Hearing that Moses is walking on holy ground, your first thought is "I bet those grounds would make a terrific cup of coffee."
Speaking of Moses, you still get really bummed out when you hear about his striking the rock and having water flow out rather than coffee.
You wouldn't dream of subjecting your congregation to un-caffeinated sermon preparation.
On more than one occasion you've referred to the annual diocesan clergy conference as being Chock Full O'Nuts.
"Living water?" You'd prefer a freshly brewed cup of Guatemalan coffee.
You love facing the altar for the Nicene Creed since no one will see you sneak a sip out of your concealed travel mug.
You get excited when a parishioner beckons you to meet a newcomer named Joe only to realize it's not a new coffee but actually someone named Joe.
When someone suggests serving you bad coffee at church you cry indignantly, "Maxwell's House? This is God's House!"


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subset: commoncrawl


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Clendaniel to retire, search begins for new T.C. principal
William Clendaniel, T.C. Williams High School's principal since June of 2008, announced Monday that he will finish his two years of service and retire at the end of this school year.
Clendaniel, who previously retired as principal at Langley High School in Fairfax, was hired to lead the school through a period of transition after his predecessor, Mel Riddle, resigned. That temporary agreement turned into a two-year stint as the T.C. Williams community grew into its new building.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent here and am still in awe of the tremendous effort put forth by the teachers and staff at T.C. Williams High School on behalf of the students in the City of Alexandria," Clendaniel said. "The students are an incredible mix of energy and talent."
Superintendent Morton Sherman had talked with Clendaniel about the need for a commitment of three to five more years to see the school through its next stage of development, but that was more than the principal wished to make, according to a school spokesperson.
"Bill has done a remarkable job for the past two years," Sherman said. "He has led the school in a time of great change. We are deeply appreciative of his leadership and dedication to the students of Alexandria."
The school has established a "visioning committee" made up of staff, students and community members to shape its direction for the future. ACPS expects a significant number of applicants for the opening and will hire a search firm to identify the best candidates, a spokesperson said. The new T.C. principal is expected to start on July 1, 2010.
St. Stephen's students fill plates with nutrition knowledge
Myrtle McCulloch, a clinical assistant professor of nutrition in the schools of medicine and nursing at Georgetown University, paid a visit to St. Stephen's / St. Agnes middle school students last week, providing them with some top-notch insight into reading food labels for valuable information.
McCulloch gave an interactive media presentation in which students were encouraged to bring a favorite food or beverage item to the assembly to put their label-reading skills to use. McCulloch reviewed the basics food groups, healthful and non-healthful food items and surprised the students with the fact that not all processed foods are unhealthy, such as milk and frozen vegetables.
One of her more pointed bits of advice? Don' drink your calories. "Be sure to read the labels on fruit drinks," McCulloch said. "What you think is a healthy fruit drink is usually loaded with sugar and calories."
T.C. entrepreneurs nab cash prizes
Two students from Mary Ellen McCormick's entrepreneurship class at T.C. Williams earned prizes late last month at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's Greater Washington Regional Business Plan Competition held in Washington.
Senior Dylan Clifton won $200 as a finalist after presenting his business idea, Cookie Crumbs Bakery, a small cookie business that earns big cash. Ernest Grant, a junior, took home $150 for his business, Distant Reality Studios, a music production company operated out of his own house. Both students won an in-class business plan competition in their third-period T.C. class before advancing to the D.C. competition.


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Kindly select your desired print size. Upon checkout, you will be securely routed to PayPal, where you can pay with a credit card without establishing a PayPal account or you can pay with your PayPal account. If you don't see a size or option that you like, please contact me. I will do my best to accommodate your special request. Print sizes are approximate and actual dimensions of each print may vary slightly. My prints are custom made to order, so your order may take up to 2 to 4 weeks to ship. Matting and mounting is available at an extra cost. If desired, please contact the artist.
Purchase Prints
"American No.32"
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Investment Terminology
The following will familiarize you with terminology regarding Apartment Investments:
Bread and Butter Properties
Properties that are generally older, in need of repair and located in poorer neighborhoods. These properties generally produce more income relative to purchase price than pride of ownership properties produce.
Gross Scheduled Income (GSI)
The amount of income that potentially could be generated if all the units remained rented for an entire year. This income could include other miscellaneous income generated from rented storage units or garages etc.
Gross Operating Income
Equals gross scheduled income minus vacancy allowance.
Net Operating Income (NOI)
Equals gross operating income minus operating expense
Gross Operating Expense
Total of all expenses of the property with the exception of interest expense on all loans on the property.
Net Income or Net Cash Flow (scheduled) (NOI)
This is the amount of money remaining after deducting, from the Gross Scheduled Income, all expenses of the property including but not limited to the following expenses: Real Estate Taxes, Insurance, Utilities, Landscaping, Maintenance, Interest on all loans on the property, Management, Advertising, Trash Removal.
Gross Spendable Income (GSI)
Equals net operating income minus the loan payment, including principal and interest.
Gross Rent Multiplier (GRM)
Price divided by the Gross Scheduled Income per year. Properties in Orange County sell for gross rent multipliers from approximately 10 x gross for the worst properties in the toughest areas to 20 to 25 x gross in the best beach areas.
Return On Investment (ROI)
A percentage figure equaling the net income from the property per year divided by the amount of money invested to purchase the property.
Capitalization Rate (CAP RATE)
The rate of return from the property obtained by dividing the Net Income Per Year by the Purchase Price. When an investor pays all cash for a property (purchases the property with no loan) the capitalization rate is the same as the return on investment.
Price Per Unit (PPU)
The Purchase Price divided by the Number Of Units purchased.
Vacancy Allowance
This is a monitory allowance for potential vacancy (usually expressed as a percentage of Gross Scheduled Income) that the property may experience over the course of a year.
Leveraged Investment
Leverage as it relates to Real Estate is the ability to own property that is worth an amount usually much greater than the amount invested. Example: When an investor purchases a property and does not pay all cash, in other words he obtains a loan to purchase the property, the investor is considered to have purchased a leveraged investment. Using 20% of the purchase as a down payment would be considered greater leverage than putting down 50%. In this instance, the investor would be purchasing property 5 times the amount of his cash invested as opposed to 2 times the amount of his cash invested thereby yielding the investor greater leverage by greater use of the down payment funds.
Unit Mix
Example: A four-plex may contain: (1) 3 bedroom – 2 bath (1) 2 bedroom – 2 bath (2) 2 bedroom – 1 bath
Master Metered Building
This is a building, for example, that has only one meter for the gas or electric utilities. Generally this means that the owner of the property pays for all the gas or electricity for the tenants use. Most buildings have a central hot water heater thereby causing the owner to be responsible for the cost of heating the water. In the case of properties having separate hot water heaters, gas meters and electric meters the expense charged to the owner of the property is less than in the case of master metered buildings.
Enclosed information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.


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Toronto, ON Fence Contractor Lead Generation
Real Fencing Leads. Real Results. Real Fast.™
Are you tired of throwing away your hard-earned marketing dollars on services like HomeAdvisor, Angie's List, Yellow Pages, or Yelp? Are you tired of competing with other fence contractors for the same leads, if you manage to get any leads in the first place?
That's not how we operate.
We believe that your leads should be yours and yours alone.
We believe that your marketing company shouldn't also be working for your competitors.
We believe it should be easy to understand what your marketing partner is delivering.
We believe that in order for us to win and keep your Toronto, ON fence business long-term, we need to deliver Real Leads. Real Results. Real Fast.
A Different Kind of Marketing Firm
Focused on Results, Not Reports
Are you planning to hire a marketing partner because you want to look at reports, or because you want a steady and reliable stream of new Toronto, ON business opportunities?
A lot of SEO companies and other fencing marketing firms will try to redirect your attention to rankings, reports, and other distractions that keep you from focusing on what really matters- the results. With 25+ years in business, we know that isn't the smart way to keep a client happy.
We don't do traditional reporting like other digital marketing agencies. The only thing we report on are the leads we are delivering to you, which you can monitor 24/7 on your cloud-based Lead Manager Dashboard. This keeps you laser-focused on maximizing those new business opportunities, and your lead-specific grading lets us know which leads you like best so we can focus our efforts on delivering more like them.
If you are looking for a no-nonsense, let's get to the point and get the work done type of marketing partner for your Toronto, ON fence company, let's talk.
At Mark My Words Media, we deliver Real Leads. Real Results. Real Fast.™
Let's Talk About Leads
Local. Targeted. Exclusive.
Mark My Words Media actively delivers targeted, local new fencing leads directly to your phone and email.
Our exclusive Real Leads are yours and yours alone. We generate them specifically for your Toronto, ON fencing company via our all-inclusive digital marketing strategy. We don't sell your leads to multiple fence contractors, which only creates a perpetual bidding system, ultimately reducing your margins and wasting your time, energy, and gas.
Instead, we deliver the opportunity to build relationships with new potential fence clients, in your local or target area, that are seeking the services you asked us to promote.
As you tell us what leads you like the best, we focus our time and attention on getting you more like them.
A Predictable Revenue Source
With Easy Lead Tracking
The types of leads our marketing will deliver for your unique business will depend greatly on you and your desires. We start each of our new client relationships with a conversation about your fencing business, your specific product and service blend, determine what an ideal lead would look like for you, discuss your preferred geographic target, and cover many other relevant details to ensure your campaign targeting is in-line with your main business objectives.
Once we understand your expectations for your marketing campaign, we immediately set to work to meet and exceed them.
Our average fence contractor partner gets about 28 Real Leads their first month. Your individual lead results will vary based on your location, niche, and needs. We will discuss what you can expect from your campaign before we ever start work.
We make it easy to track exactly what we are delivering using our cloud-based Online Lead Dashboard. Access to your dashboard makes it simple for you to view your lead details anytime, anywhere. Track the status of a project in progress, listen to call recordings, provide feedback on lead quality, and measure your marketing ROI in real-time with our straightforward dashboard.
Did We Mention That It's Fast?
Real Fast
There are 2 main things that drive us to deliver Real Leads, Real Fast.
First, we know you need new business TODAY. You can't afford to wait the 30, 60, or 90+ days it typically takes our competitors to start delivering leads, and we know we can't wait that long to make you happy.
Second, we want you to be such a stark-raving fan of Mark My Words Media that you not only stay with us forever, you tell all of your business owner friends, and can't help but leave us fantastic reviews all across the web.
We don't believe in waiting for results. Our comprehensive, all-inclusive marketing strategy delivers your very first targeted fence company leads as soon as Day 1!
Get Started Today
And Start Getting Leads Tomorrow!
You need targeted, local, and exclusive new fence leads to effectively grow your Toronto, ON business and you can't afford to wait.
It's time to have a conversation with the proven fence company lead generation experts at Mark My Words Media.


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I was wondering, if there is no higher power, how you would justify morality in an atheist at all? Please don't misunderstand, as a young person on the verge of apostasy, I'm not saying that atheists have no morals, although I have met 'christians' who have claimed as much. After all, if there is no higher power, then there is no objective truth, ergo no objective morality, meaning all morality is subjective. If that is the case, then to say that a murderer is immoral is surely a fallacy, as he no doubt acted as his morals saw fit. If morality is subjective, then he is as moral for acting out the murder he saw as moral as you are for not acting out a murder you saw as immoral.
Hi, Mr. Glasser,I doubt you remember me, but we had a discussion about religion and so on just under a year ago. I have since become an atheist and I thought I'd drop you an e-mail to thank you. The video I e-mailed about in the first place was the first real faith-shaking material I had come into contact with, and from there I kept investigating my religion scientifically, historically and morally. Obviously, I found it wanting and, as I said earlier, have since renounced it. I thought I'd let you know a few of the final arguments in convincing me that the bible, at least, is wrong, not really in case you hadn't heard them (I'm sure you have), but rather because, since our discussion must have been frustrating for you, I'd like you to know. One is that the God of the bible forced us into sin, and therefore knowingly and willingly condemned literally billions of people to hell by creating the Eden situation in the first place, for he knew what would happen but did nothing to change it. This is an act of incredible cruelty, and is unjustifiable, giving trouble even to my own father (a minister). That's a moral argument, I suppose, but also shows a biblical contradiction (if God is all loving and unchanging then this act (among dozens of notable others) should be impossible). The second is the fallibility of the bible. I wonder if you knew that Luke, in his gospel, lists 28 generations between Joseph, Jesus' father, and David, whereas Matthew gives 41. On top of that, the census Luke wrote about never happened, and the local census upon which it may have been based happened long after Herod's death.Those are just a few, but anyway, thanks again for showing me another way of thinking, and it's thanks in part to you guys and what you're doing that I am being fascinated and amazed every day by the way that the world works without resorting to the 'Don't ask questions, God did it' train of thought.


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My next tasty new burger this grilling season is inspired by the flavours of shrimp pad Thai, aka shrimp pad Thai burgers. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of pad Thai and I always enjoy using pad Thsi flavours in different dishes and with burgers being on my mind a lot lately it struck me to combine the two. Pad Thai , a stir-fried noodle dish, can be made with any meat but my favourite has to be shrimp and a shrimp burger patty sounded like a fabulous idea. When I think of a shrimp burger I think of large chunks of juicy succulent shrimp bursting in your mouth with every bite and not some kind of texture-less shrimp patty so I decided to start with some fairly large shrimp and to cut them into a few big pieces. The only question was how to hold those large chunks of shrimp together and the obvious solution seemed to be to grind up a small portion of the shrimp in a food processor and to use shrimp to hold the shrimp chunks together. I do not really like to use 'fillers' like egg and breadcrumbs in burger patties so these shrimp burgers are simply large chunks of shrimp held together by some shrimp paste along with a few pad Thai flavours including garlic, shallots, fish sauce, lime zest and cilantro.
Up next was the condiments for the pad Thai burgers and I had to start with the sauce. Pad Thai is normally made with a tasty sauce consisting of sour tamarind, sweet sugar, salty fish sauce and spicy chilies so that is where I started but this sauce is a little too thick for what I wanted so I thinned it down a bit with the addition of some coconut milk. I could have stopped there with the sauce but I could not resist adding some peanut butter, which is not commonly used in pad Thai, but since pad Thai is often topped with chopped peanuts I figured adding some more peanut flavour could only make things better. I filled the pad Thai burgers out with some of the vegetables in pad Thai including bean sprouts and shredded carrots along with plenty of fresh cilantro and I finished them off with some chopped peanuts and crispy fried shallots.
I have to say that these tasty shrimp pad Thai burgers exceeded all of my expectations and that the pad Thai flavours work really well in burger form! I was also really pleased by how well the shrimp patties tuned out! The texture of the large chunks of shrimp was quite amazing and I am looking forward to making many more shrimp burgers in the future!
Just look at those large chunks of succulent shrimp!
These pad Thai shrimp burgers are sure to impress at your next barbecue get together!
Pad Thai Shrimp Burgers
Succulent shrimp burgers with all of the flavours of pad Thai!
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small shallot
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate (or the juice from 1 lime)
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup carrot, julienned
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 buns
- 1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped
- 2 tablespoon crispy fried shallots (optional)
- Mince 1/3 of the shrimp in a food processor along with the garlic, shallot, fish sauce, lime zest and cilantro.
- Mix the minced shrimp into the chopped shrimp, form 4 patties and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Oil your grill, heat to medium-high and cook the shrimp until pink, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Heat the coconut milk, tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and peanut butter over medium heat until the sugar and peanut butter melt and the sauce thickens a bit and set aside to cool.
- Mix the bean sprouts, carrot, green onion and cilantro and toss in the pad thai sauce.
- Place the shrimp patties in buns and top with the bean sprout mixture, chopped peanuts and crispy fried shallots.
Teriyaki Shrimp Burgers with Grilled Pineapple Salsa, Bacon and Blue Cheese
Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Pad Thai
Chicken Satay Burgers in Spicy Peanut Sauce
Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce
Pad Thai
Pad Thai Soup
Spicy Peanut Sauce Pad Thai
Pad Thai Omelette
Thai Chicken Pizza with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Jerk Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa, Slaw and Pina Colada Crema
Chicken Pad Thai Nachos


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License Summary
- Commercial use allowed
- Can modify source-code but cannot distribute modifications (derivative works)
- Support provided
Popup Builder – Terms and conditions
- Preamble: This Agreement, governs the relationship between You, a Business Entity, (hereinafter: Licensee) and Looking Forward Software Inc., a duly registered company in whose principal place of business is 3 Germay Dr, Unit 4 #2349, Wilmington, DE, 19804, United States (hereinafter: Licensor). This Agreement sets the terms, rights, restrictions and obligations on using Popup Builder (hereinafter: The Software) created and owned by Licensor, as detailed herein
- License Grant: Licensor hereby grants Licensee a Personal, Non-assignable & non-transferable, Pepetual, Commercial, Royalty free, Including the rights to create but not distribute derivative works, Non-exclusive license, all with accordance with the terms set forth and other legal restrictions set forth in 3rd party software used while running Software.
- Limited: Licensee may use Software for the purpose of:
- Running Software on Licensee's Website[s] and Server[s];
- Allowing 3rd Parties to run Software on Licensee's Website[s] and Server[s];
- Publishing Software's output to Licensee and 3rd Parties;
- Distribute verbatim copies of Software's output (including compiled binaries);
- Modify Software to suit Licensee's needs and specifications.
- This license is granted perpetually, as long as you do not materially breach it.
- Binary Restricted: Licensee may sublicense Software as a part of a larger work containing more than Software, distributed solely in Object or Binary form under a personal, non-sublicensable, limited license. Such redistribution shall be limited to unlimited codebases.
- Non Assignable & Non-Transferable: Licensee may not assign or transfer his rights and duties under this license.
- Commercial, Royalty Free: Licensee may use Software for any purpose, including paid-services, without any royalties
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- Upgrades: for the purpose of this license, an Upgrade shall be a material amendment in The Software, which contains new features and or major performance improvements and shall be marked as a new version number. For example, should Licensee purchase The Software under version 1.X.X, an upgrade shall commence under number 2.0.0.
- Updates: for the purpose of this license, an update shall be a minor amendment in The Software, which may contain new features or minor improvements and shall be marked as a new sub-version number. For example, should Licensee purchase The Software under version 1.1.X, an upgrade shall commence under number 1.2.0.
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I'm back with another tutorial and review. Today I'll be reviewing the Bare Minerals Tutorial - Lesson 1: Smoky Eye. I know many of you are familiar with this brand as one of the first huge mineral makeup companies. I used to use their mineral foundation back in the day and it was my first time trying out some of their eyeshadows.
The kit came with instructions and all the materials you need for a smoky eye.
To see my tutorial and review, click here!
What the company says about the product:
Tutorials - Lesson1 : Smoky Eye ($54 Value)
What it is:
Tutorials provides instructions in simple steps on how to achieve the makeup styles you've always admired but were never able to get quite right.
What else you need to know:Smoky Eyes is perfect for a night on the two, cocktails with the girls or a candlelit date, provided you've done your homework. Just follow our simple instructions on the detachable tip card and in no time at all you'll be wearing this smoldering-hot, smoky look. With tutorials, you'll learn how to create this look in no time flat.>
Set includes:
-0.02 oz Eyeshadow in Skyline (gray lilac)
-0.02 oz Glimmer in Celestine (shimmering pewter)
-Plus a Double-Ended Smoky Eye brush
Retails for $32 at www.sephora.com
Check out my video tutorial and review! What it is:
Tutorials provides instructions in simple steps on how to achieve the makeup styles you've always admired but were never able to get quite right.
What I thought About The Product: I love little kits like this. When I opened the box, I was surprised to see that there was only 1 brush and two mineral eyeshadows in a box that looked like it would hold more. It comes with two shadows: one is a highlight all over lid color in a shimmery champagne shade (Celestine) and the other gives you the smokey color in a lilac gray shade (Skyline). It also comes with a double ended brush...one side a pencil point for precision and the other for blending and all over color application. I find the colors to blend easily but they're not the typical charcoal/black/grey smokey shades. Instead, it's more of a blueish toned smokey eye. The instructions don't say to include a base, but you definitely need one with this. The all over shimmer color is a little dark for the bare lid color, so I'd recommend wearing a lighter base shade like MAC's soft ochre paint pot to keep the lid highlighted. Check out my pros and cons for more.
-Shadows are easy to blend
-Colors are very wearable and appropriate for all ages
-Kit includes instructions and diagrams
-Brush is stratchy and loses shape. It was hard to fit the large brush end into my eye space.
-Highlight shade is a bit dark...you definitely need a lighter base underneath
-The kit itself was a bit sparse...I expected more
Would I recommend? I probably wouldn't recommend this for those of us with sizeable makeup applications...it's more for new makeup wearers who are building up their collection. If they redid the brush it would have gotten more brownie points. The colors are pretty and blend easily but for me, I would pass.
The final look!
Here's What I Used:
-Bare Minerals Eye Primer
-NYX Eyeshadow base in Skin Tone
-Bare Minerals Smokey Kit
-Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Zero
-Ardell Lashes
-MAC Lingering brow pencil and eyeshadow in cork on brows
-MAC Prep & Prime
-MAC Studio Tech in NC43
-MAC MSF Natural in Medium Dark
-Ben Nye Banana Powder
-Graftobian Warm Cocoa Eyeshadow as contour
-MAC Pearl matte Face Powder
-NARS Giza Lipgloss
Giveaway Alert, Giveaway Alert, Giveaway Alert
Bare Minerals has generously sponsored a Smoky Eye Kit for one lucky reader.
Here's How To Win:
- You must be subscribed to my YouTube Page and follow my blog
- Leave a comment telling me which set you'd like to win and why
- You can enter multiple times, but no consecutive comments
- I'll pick two winners at random and announce on Wednesday
FTC Disclosure: I received this product for review. I am not affiliated with the company and not paid. These are my honest thoughts.
Atlanta Makeup Artist


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Norman gives the fourth talk at the Mar de Jade April 2013 Sesshin on Dogen's Guidelines for Study of the Way (Part 3) as found in Moon in a Dewdrop by Kazuaki Tanahashi.
Dogen's Guidelines for Study of the Way Part 3
By Zoketsu Norman Fischer | April 8, 2013
Transcribed and edited by Barbara Byrum and Cynthia Schrager
This morning, we were studying the third and fourth points of Guidelines for Study of the Way. Point three: "In the buddha way, always enter enlightenment through practice." In his discussion, Dogen emphasizes the importance of practice, not for something else, but for its own sake. He says that practice already includes enlightenment and goes beyond enlightenment.
Point four: "You should not practice Buddha's teaching with the idea of gain."
Even compassion can be used for gain, if we stick to the idea of compassion and take credit for how compassionate we are. Compassion is the basis for all of the teachings, but compassion comes freely and naturally, without trying to do something, without trying to gain something, and without any idea of compassion.
We are now up to the fifth of the ten points: "You should seek a true teacher to practice Zen and study the way."
A teacher of old said, "If the beginning is not right, myriad practice will be useless." How true these words are! Practice of the way depends on whether the guiding teacher is true or not.
The disciple is like wood, and the teacher resembles a craftsman. Even if the wood is really good, without a skilled craftsman, you won't see the beauty in it. Even if the wood is good, without a skilled craftsman, its extraordinary beauty is not revealed. Even if the wood is bent, placed in skilled hands its splendid merits immediately appear. By this you should know that realization is genuine or false depending on whether the teacher is true or incompetent.
But in our country from ancient times [he is writing this in 1234 in Japan], there have not been any true teachers. How do we know that this is so? We can guess by studying their sayings, just as we can scoop up stream water and find out about its source.
In our country from ancient times, various teachers have written books, and they have instructed disciples, and they have offered teachings. Their words are are immature, their discourse has not yet ripened. They have not yet understood the way. They only transmitted words and phrases or taught the chanting of Buddha's name. They count on peoples' treasure day and night, not having a penny themselves.
Previous teachers are responsible for this. They taught people to seek [something called] enlightenment [or spiritual awakening or truth or wisdom or Buddhism] outside the mind; or to seek rebirth in a better land. Confusion starts from this.
In other words, they never taught people to find their hearts right here where they are. They told people to seek outside their own mind, outside this moment of their experience. This has created confusion. Even if you have good medicine, if you don't know how to use the medicine, you might get sick, just as if you took poison.
In our country, from ancient times it seems as if no-one has given good medicine. No-one knows how to control the poisonous effects of medicine. Because of this, it is difficult to penetrate birth and death [and it is nearly impossible to overcome sickness, old age, and death.]
What is interesting here is that Dogen is not saying that the other teachings were wrong. He is not complaining about the things said in the past by these teachers. Maybe all those teachings were perfectly good medicine, but the teachers didn't know how to administer the medicine so that it didn't become poisonous. So nobody could understand their life, and nobody could overcome old age and death.
In classical Buddhism this was the goal: to practice so that you could overcome sickness, old age, and death. Of course, the way you do that is by fully embracing every moment of your life. When you completely embrace every moment of your life, there is no sickness, old age, and death. There is only what happens, and you learn how to accept and practice with whatever happens.
Then Dogen continues complaining:
All this is the teacher's fault, not at all the fault of the disciple's. The reason is that those who are teachers let people neglect the root and go out on limbs.
The root is this moment here – this breath, this awareness of the body right now, this thought, this perception, and this feeling, whatever it is, good or bad. When we step into this moment and really live it, we cut through our ideas and confusion and just step back and enter our life.
Before they establish true understanding, they are absorbed only in their own thinking, and they unwittingly cause others to enter a realm of confusion. What a pity! Those who are teachers do not yet understand this confusion. [If the teachers don't know that this is confusion, how are the students going to learn?]
How sad! In this small, remote country, buddha-dharma has not yet spread wisely. If you want to study the unsurpassed buddha way, you have to travel a great distance to call on the masters in Song China, and you have to reflect deeply on the vital road outside thought.
We have to find a foundation for our life underneath the thoughts and feelings. You have probably noticed that you can't sit down and think, "No more thinking," and then no thoughts come. Even if you swear that thoughts aren't going to come, they come anyway. You can't stop them.
So we want to find a foundation beneath the thoughts. When we don't find a foundation, the thoughts are flying, and we are flying all around with the thoughts. We believe all our thoughts, as crazy as they are. We believe them all! Even if we realize that they are crazy thoughts, we believe them enough that we wish they would go away. If you have thoughts, and you don't like them, and if you don't like them, and you wish that they would go away, it means that you believe in them.
In presence you find a foundation that is deeper than your thoughts. Just presence. Just the miracle of being here at all. When you find that wonder at the heart of your life, then it doesn't matter what thoughts are there or not there. The thoughts are just like clouds in the sky: they come, they go. Who cares? Terrible thoughts, dark thoughts, beautiful thoughts – what is the difference? When you find the foundation, you are willing to let everything come and go. Whatever comes is good.
Dogen then says,
Until you have a true teacher, it is better not to study. Regardless of the teacher's age or experience, a true teacher is someone who has simply apprehended the true teaching, and who has attained the authentic teacher's seal of authentic realization. He does not put scriptures and doctrines first or understanding first. His capacity is outside any framework and his spirit freely penetrates the nodes in bamboo [will be free from concepts and entanglements in words. He is not concerned with self-views and does not stagnate in emotional feelings.
Emotion can flow freely in such a teacher without getting stuck. So emotion is good. We want to feel everything: good things, bad things – everything. But a good teacher does not get stuck in the emotions.
Did you ever notice how difficult it is when you get stuck in an emotion? It is like a fly on flypaper. The more you try to get out of it, the more you are stuck to it. So being stuck in emotions is really painful.
Thus, practice and understanding are in mutual accord. This is a true master.
For this teacher, the practice that he or she is doing, and the understanding that is expressed, is exactly the same. They are not saying one thing and practicing another. This is how you can tell a true master.
I think that we are better off than they were in Japan in 1234. I think there are good teachers in our times who fit Dogen's criteria.. Dogen's point is a little extreme:if you don't have a true teacher, it is better not to study. I think it is better to study than not to study. And it is better to practice than not to practice. If there is no teacher that you can find, then practice anyway and wait until one shows up. And someone always will. It is not as if you need to live next door to the teacher. I think it is very possible to study with a teacher and only encounter the teacher from time to time. The important thing is commitment and sincerity. As Dogen has said here in many ways, it is not about learning something specific – a set of skills or something from books. It is a matter of a radical turning of the heart. This does take a true teacher, but you don't have to hang around the person all the time.
The sixth point is "What you should know for practicing Zen."
Practicing Zen, studying the way, is the great matter of a lifetime.
I find that phrase very inspiring: "The great matter of a lifetime." In big temples they have a wooden block, and they hit it to bring people to the zendo. It makes a good sound, and you can hear it from far away. On the wooden block it always says, "Birth and death is the great matter." When you think about it, this is the highest pursuit for a human being: to understand our life, to understand our death, and ask, Why are we here? What is the point of this life? Human beings are concerned with meaning and purpose and truth.
To seek these things is the fruit of a lifetime's effort. Studying Zen is this, says Dogen. It is the great occupation of a whole lifetime. Of course, we can all do many things. We can think of all of them as part of our practice of Zen – the way we are in our families, the way we treat people in our life, the way we speak, the way we act. All these are the materials we use to understand the "great matter."
Truly this is the greatest undertaking of a lifetime. So you should be careful with it, and don't be in a rush – just keep going.
A master of old once cut off his arm and another cut off his fingers. These are excellent models from China.
This is an image of the seriousness of these people. Supposedly they really did this. We don't know for sure, but I have met Japanese monastics – older people from another generation – who had a finger missing, because they cut it off to show the seriousness of their study. I don't think that anyone should cut off their arm or their fingers! We have our own way of showing that we are serious.
Long ago, Shakyamuni Buddha abandoned his home and left his country. This is an excellent precedent for practicing the way.
I think that Dogen is making the point that practice is serious and requires a serious commitment.
People of the present say you should practice what is easy to practice.
Maybe I should give a footnote to this. Dogen lived in very dark and difficult times, when the social order was falling apart. The Buddhist scriptures say that one day Buddha's teachings will fall apart, because the Buddha said that everything is impermanent. Someone asked, "What about the Buddha's teaching? Is that impermanent too?" The Buddha said, "Yes, it is impermanent. It's going to have a good period, and a not so good period, and then a terrible period, when everybody is confused, and nobody knows how to practice. Then it is going to disappear." He said that. So everyone throughout history was trying to figure out which period they were in, because the Buddha didn't give any dates! "Are we in the good period or the not so good period? Are we in the horrible, decadent period where you can't even practice?"
The people in Japan in Dogen's time figured out that this was the really bad, decadent period. So they said, "Forget about doing practice. It's impossible. In this period nobody can do practice." They were completely serious. What they said was, "What we need to do is not try to practice. What we need to do instead is chant the names of the buddhas and pray to buddhas. Pray to them that we will be re-born in a place that is better for practice, in a time that is better for practice."
[recording cuts off]


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This Tuesday, October 18th, the family comedy Monte Carlo arrives on Blu-ray and DVD. A while back I asked if you guys would be interested in movie giveaways, and you replied with a solid YES! So I'm happy to announce that three readers will receive this fun movie featuring actress and pop star, Selena Gomez.
Monte Carlo is about Grace (Gomez), a high-spirited high school graduate looking forward to a vacation in Paris with her best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy, "Melrose Place"), and stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester, "Gossip Girl"). Just as the girls think their trip is ruined when their hyperactive tour guide leaves them behind, Grace is mistaken for a wealthy socialite and the trio is whisked away to Monte Carlo for a thrilling week of glitz, glam, and unforgettable fun.
Take a look at this clip:
Three lucky readers will receive a DVD copy of Monte Carlo.
To enter, simply leave a comment below.
The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Saturday, October 22nd. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! Open to United States residents only. No purchase required.
And to increase your chances of winning, you can:
1.) Blog about this giveaway and include the link to your post in the comments below.
2.) Tweet the following: Win a copy of Monte Carlo from MommyMaestra.com @LatinMami #giveaway
3.) Follow MommyMaestra on Facebook.
Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!
¡Buena suerte!
Disclosure: This is not a paid post. I received a copy of Monte Carlo to facilitate this giveaway.


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Steamed Mussels & A Buttermilk Frangipane Cake
I hope that everyone had a great holiday break and celebrated the New Year as they wished. Quietly or with lots of fireworks and revelers. I don't know about you but even if I don't make resolutions I truly enjoy this feeling of starting clean that comes with January. Twelve new months, yours for the taking. Yours to create, get inspired, start, accomplish…There is something exhilarating about the new year.
Personally, it gives me an even greater wish to leap, with all my fears at times, or without any at others. It also fills me with the desire to reset the clocks, just like we do with a new calendar. Internal clocks, personal clocks, work clocks. Setting priorities and goals. Making inspiration and mood boards.
It's been good to dive back into creating recipes, writing the stories around them and thinking about their photographs. There are lots of fun blog projects in the planning. In the middle if all these "happy new year moments", my family suffered another great loss yesterday. Once again, without my family being close enough to hug and comfort, I turned to the only things I knew to do at the time. Clearing my head, getting inspired and cooking.
Anchoring feeling of loss to the present, to tangible things I could do and explain, I took my camera and headed to the beach. I observed quietly. My fingers got numb gripping my camera straps so hard. But the colors, the quiet empty beach before me…blues, grays, reds… They put my mind at ease. The waves crashing at my feet truly reminded me that life is "it". It's full if we make it so. It's not perfect because we make it so. There is life inspired in everything.
On my way home, I stopped at the fish stands at the end of island and got a bag of fresh mussels. My comfort food. It was close to lunch time. Convenient to start cooking. Like most of us, beside being a necessary act of survival, food is also part of our story. My food stories involve every member of my family. They include many friends. They are full of laughters, jokes, pranks, animated discussion, etc… They are full of life.
Deeply aware that every part of me was now bursting with energy and inspiration, I cooked and photographed. I found my rhythm in the things I knew to be my constant. After a much needed break over the holidays it felt good to be back in it. Normalcy coming back little by little.
Steamed mussels are pretty much my go-to super fast dinner or lunch. They really take very little time and are super flavorful when cooked with some white wine, garlic and parsley and finished off with a spritz of lime juice for example. Ok, they are a bit messy but that little imperfection is part of their charm. Just like the beaten up Key limes I got at the store (in the reject box where overdue fruits are sold for pennies to the pound). I am founding imperfection really soothing lately.
The cake was an experiment that did not turn out the way I hoped for but which did not take away any of the wonderful taste or aroma. I had made a small galette des Rois over the weekend and had a half quantity of frangipane left. I layered it with the cake batter and swirled it, hoping it would create a nice design when cut through. I apparently did not swirl hard enough. Imperfect result. Perfect taste. Paired with a cold glass of milk and I suddenly felt my entire body relax.
As cliche as it may sound, food truly has magical powers. Well…cake does…!
I truly wish you the happiest of New Years. Live fully. Play hard. Leap and take chances. Tiny or big. Do what makes you truly happy.
Steamed Mussels:
1 pound fresh mussels
1 cup of white wine
1/3 cup seafood stock (or water)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
lime or lemon juice (I used a Key lime)
Clean the mussels by scrubbing them under cold water and remove the little fuzzy "beard" that hangs on some of them.
Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the white wine, stock and garlic. Bring to a strong simmer, add the mussels all at once. Cover the pan with a lid (or if you are like me, lid-less, another skillet of the same dimension). Let the mussels cook 6 to 8 minutes. Thrown in the parsley, toss with the mussels. Discard any that did not open and serve immediately with some of the an juices and a spritz of lime or lemon.
Buttermilk & Frangipane Cake:
Makes two 8-inch loaves
1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk
1/2 cup (125ml) sour cream
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil
zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups (280gr) Jeanne's gluten free all purpose flour mix (or 2 cups regular flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 portion frangipane filling (recipe follows)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Position a tray in the middle. Grease two loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Place the pans on a baking sheet. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, sugar and eggs until pale (takes about 2 minutes). Add the oil and lemon juice and zest and mix until well blended. Add the flour mix and baking powder and whisk about 50 strokes until the batter is smooth. Divide half the batter in between the two pans. Top each pan with the frangipane filling over that first layer. Divide the remainder of the cake batter in between the two pans to cover the frangipane.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes (on convection) to a hour (regular) until a knife inserted in the middle comes free of raw batter.
1/2 stick (55 gr) butter, softened
1/4 cup (25gr) sugar
1/2 cup (50 gr) ground almonds (blanched, slivered, whole, your call)
1 egg
2 tablespoons (30gr) heavy cream
Place the butter, sugar, ground almonds, and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir in it instead of whisking not to emulsify it or it will rise while baking.


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Half-way through today's hearing in London into the Murdoch family's "scandal-tarred British newspaper unit," and the ethics of British media outlets, the inquiry's focus has shifted, NPR's Philip Reeves reports.
The "underlying issue" that's now of most concern to investigators, he said earlier on Morning Edition, appears to be: "Did the Murdochs use their power as media barons to try to strong-arm British politicans to agree to allow them to take total control of BSkyB," the British satellite broadcasting giant.
James Murdoch, son of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and a top company executive himself, is facing many questions about his many meetings with top British politicians in recent years, Philip says.
And while James Murdoch has been saying that the get-togethers involved nothing more than the normal advocacy that any executive would do on behalf of his company, the issue is whether they amounted "to bamboozling by media moguls of politicians who are very eager to stay on their right side," Philip says.
NPR's David Folkenflik adds, in a report for our Newscast Desk, that:
The chief attorney for the inquiry, Robert Jay, "noted that Murdoch met repeatedly with Prime Minister David Cameron and other key Conservative Party officials at which he advocated News Corp.'s takeover of BSkyB. Jay tied the Murdoch newspapers' endorsements for those conservatives to the politicians' subsequent support for their bid. That bid was abandoned at the height of the hacking scandal last summer."
David, by the way, is tweeting as the hearing continues. Rupert Murdoch is scheduled to testify Wednesday.
The News Corp. scandal, as we've been reporting for nearly a year, began with word that one of the company's tabloids — News of the World — had hacked into the cellphone of a missing teenaged girl (who later, it was revealed, had been murdered). Since then, evidence has emerged that the practice was far more common than realized.
One related issue is whether James Murdoch did or did not know how common it was for his company's newspapers to do such snooping.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Check www.mcdonalds.com for menu and nutritional information.
Categories: Restaurants


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It was in college that I first encountered this such parents, buying the kiddies coloring books with whimsical titles like Medieval Women Composers. Inside, presumably to instill a dedication to historical accuracy, were instructions like, "Color Hildegard von Bingen's wimple gunmetal."
Instructions. In a coloring book.
Of course, it's easy for me to tease because I don't have children and it seems unlikely, though not impossible, that I ever will. If the stork dropped a squalling bundle on my lap, I'd probably buy the kid a mobile that played selections from Pagliacci, and I am quite certain that by age four it would be sitting on a cushion working an alphabet sampler.
Thing is, though, you never know what's going to stick in a child's head and what isn't. You can spend thousands on tutoring and piano lessons and Baby Einstein books and still wind up with a dolt. Or, you can spend a dollar and twenty-five cents on a paperback book and rewire your son's brain.
I started mulling this over this week after digging into the "Print o' the Wave" pattern in Heirloom Knitting.
I've been working on what you might politely call a lace sampler (if you're impolite, it's a pointless and weird-looking swatch) for about the past two months. It's nothing but a ten-inch strip knitted from what was supposed to be sock yarn, but turned out after purchase to be rather too itchy for my sensitive, princess-like feet. I wanted to try out all the stitch patterns from my Stitches Midwest classes in Orenburg and Estonian lace.
It has been fun, and great practice, but it was only this week as I worked my first Shetland pattern that I got that feeling of "Wow. This is beautiful. And I made it!" If there is a better feeling in the world that you can talk about in front of your mother, I don't know it.
This spring when I was in Belgium (oh, I get around) we sailed into Antwerp and all 70 of the old ladies I was shepherding about ran berzerk in the lace shops. The Belgians are no dummies (no matter what the Dutch say) and they know what tourists want. Every other storefront in the cathedral square sells lace (and the ones in between those sell chocolate).
I looked, and it was beautiful stuff. Frightfully complicated to make, or so it seemed from watching this woman at work.
For heaven's sake, look at all those bobbins and pins. Her fingers were flying around like Horowitz's at the climax of a molto allegro movement. Yet if she ever made a mistake or even hesitated, I never saw it.
Anyhow, while the ladies on the trip were whipping out credit cards and buying enough tablecloths, placemats, tray covers, and shawls to smother the west front of the cathedral (hey Christo...you reading this?) I quickly realized the only thing I could afford would be a machine-made bookmark.
I was already knitting steadily at that time, and I think it was then that I resolved to try knitting lace.
My whole life, this has been a primal impulse for me. I see somebody making something beautiful, and I feel compelled to try doing it myself. Unlike most of my primal impulses, which remain mysterious in spite of the best efforts of well-paid therapists, I know where this one comes from. In fact, I can pinpoint the moment it was born.
One year during the Christmas season, my parents picked up a book at the supermarket that was an inexpensive holiday mish-mash for tiny tots. I don't think they make this sort of thing any more, because it wasn't tied to a breakfast cereal, a Nickelodeon show, or a Disney film. It was just stories, carols, and bits of dubious history and culture with lots and lots of color illustrations.
If I read it today, I suspect the treacle-sweet fiction would make my teeth curl. But when I was five, it was hot stuff. I loved that book so much I took it to bed with me like a teddy bear. There was one story in particular that I read over and over.
In retelling, it's like a Very Special Episode of "The Waltons" with shades of "Little House on the Prairie." The setting was a small town during the Great Depression, and the protagonist was a girl from a large family who had been asked by her parents to do without Christmas presents that year because they simply had no money for them.
The heroine was terrified that this would publicly humiliate her in front of her arch-rival, a Nellie Olsen type who (I remember this so well) had a fur-trimmed coat. (Her parents must have owned the local meth lab.)
Because you see, the entire town had a Christmas assembly at which carols would be sung and speeches made and then, as the finale, presents for the children would be distributed from the big town Christmas tree. The little girl could not face sitting there, getting nothing, while Rich Girl made a big show out of her new pony or a personal bodyguard or whatever Depression-era kids would have considered the equivalent of a custom iPod.
Now, the little girl (are you all enjoying this as much as I am?) came from a poor family but had a practical mother, and had learned how to sew. So she made herself a doll out of scraps of cloth and old buttons and chicken bones and whatnot, and she planned to sneak it onto the Christmas tree with her name on it.
But on the big night (please get out your handkerchiefs) as everybody was filing into the town hall, she saw a Desperately Poor family arriving. If I remember rightly, their tiny daughter didn't even have shoes. So the heroine, at the last minute, scratched out her own name on the doll's gift-tag and wrote in Shoeless Girl's name instead.
Excuse me, please. I need to go have a moment.
Okay, I'm back.
Before the story faded out to swelling violins there was a passage that struck me so hard that it is imprinted on my brain forever, along with the theme song from "The Facts of Life" and my social security number.
The presents had all been given out and the heroine was watching everyone leave. Shoeless Girl was clutching her new doll and smiling, and Rich Girl was leaving with her new pet ocelot on a leash or whatever and pouting, and the heroine realized - let me see if I truly have this by heart...
"She realized that Lydia would only ever have presents, while she would always be able to make things more wonderful than any that came from a store."Yeah. I know. It makes Louisa May Alcott sound like Dorothy Parker. But it made me think. And I was five.
I come from a family of do-it-yourself people. We weren't poor, but we had the usual working-class limits on our income. My parents dealt with this by being creative and resourceful.
My father could build and wire anything we needed or wanted, from furniture to an extra room. My mother could upholster furniture, and sewed us practical things, like school clothes and curtains; and less practical (but even more wonderful) things like matching Christmas pajamas for the whole family, not to mention the best damned Halloween costumes in three counties.
I'm doubt they meant to send a message by doing all of this, but they did. You want something? See if you can make it yourself. Because if you make it, you own it. If you make it, you can make sure it's good or better than what can be bought. If you make it, you are that much less reliant on others. If you make it, you can be proud of yourself for making it.
As I said, I don't know anything about parenting. But I wonder if the parents in the mansion across the street from my office–who send their four-year-old son to tennis lessons in a limousine–would be surprised at how much you can accomplish with a $1.25 book of stories and a good example.
And How's This for Timing?
Yesterday I got a call from a coworker who was very puzzled about a box that arrived on her desk. The university's mail service had mangled it on receipt and partially removed the label, so they weren't sure to whom in the building it should go. They sat on it for what must have been two weeks before calling our receptionist to see if she could identify the recipient. They opened it, examined the contents and said it was probably for "some woman" who works with her.
They brought the box over. She looked into it and immediately phoned me. "Did you order some yarn from Canada?"
Well, not exactly. Awhile back, I got a very nice letter from a blog reader who had some non-knitting-related questions. It was a pleasure to answer them, and not at all difficult, but he said he wanted to send me a little something in thanks.
And what he sent was this.
It's merino. It's hand-painted. It's lace weight. And he spun it himself.
It's completely gorgeous. I've never had anything hand-spun to work with before. This is so even and fine I almost can't believe it was done by hand. I have no idea what it's going be yet, but I can tell you it's going to be carefully thought-out and it's going to be special.
Ted, my dear fellow, there aren't words. Well, there are two: thank you.


text:
A thread that is pushing towards 400 comments probably doesn't need more people repeating what's already been said, but I want to take some time out to address one of the most... confused... comments that I saw thrown out and repeated a few times in there. It's this:
This is embarrassing. I feel the need to comment on this because Martin, Tracy, and Matt are clearly being hypocrites here.
"Lets make a TV show where we call all religion false. People will feel offended/threatened/fearful for viewer's salvation, but in the name of free discussion, its worth it. After all, people don't have right not to be offended."
And now look whats happened. "Its good for Rebecca to set incredibly subjective social rules for all men (applying to all women as well) because she might be frightened."
Of course people don't have the right not to be offended.
And by the same token, people don't have the automatic right of association with people that they've offended.
Look, I don't spend time talking about atheism because I think it's naturally fun to offend people. I talk about atheism because I feel that it's an intelligent point of view which has been unfairly misrepresented by a large number of religious people. When I'm on the show I have different goals depending on who I'm talking to. The three most common goals, for me, are as follows:
- Hello, fellow atheist! Don't feel bad that you're an atheist, because many other smart people agree with you and have good reasons for doing so! We support you and appreciate what you're going through.
- Hello, theist! We may disagree with you, but we're not a danger to you. We have values, we don't harm people, and we aren't on a mission to destroy your freedom to believe what you want. We think your beliefs are wrong, but we'd like to discuss why rather than drawing the knives. Yay for pluralism, am I right?
- Hey, audience! Get a load of this guy! His religion has caused him to have an extraordinary number of obviously false beliefs, so hilarious that they are transparent even to his fellow religious people! Let's all enjoy him for entertainment value, since it would obviously be a waste of time to try to convince him of anything.
That's the formula in a nutshell, and all three types of caller are valued. Caller #3 is the most likely to be "offended" by our topics, but that's okay with me. He is free not to watch, and if he watches anyway, well, offense is part of the package deal.
But I also don't expect to hang out with those people. I usually don't come into their church, tell them things from their pulpit that will offend them, and then get angry because they don't immediately hire me as the new pastor.
So the question is: do we, in fact, give a crap about having women like Rebecca and Tracie and and Greta and Jen Peeples and Jen McCreight feel comfortable as a part of the atheist activist and outreach community, or don't we? If several of our existing activists explain what it is that is making atheist conventions a potentially uncomfortable environment, are you gonna say "Suck it up, babe, I have the right to offend you"?
Well, yeah, you have the right to do it. But you're kind of like a guy who is sitting in a public place for hours making armpit fart noises. It's not illegal to make armpit farts, it's probably not "threatening behavior" per se, but you can rest assured that the vast majority of people will find you annoying and stay far away from you. Some might even approach you and say "Please stop doing that, it's obnoxious." As Richard Dawkins might point out, the amount of discomfort it causes people is quite trivial compared to what oppressed women in the Middle East have to go through, but it doesn't change the fact that it will cause a lot of people not to like you.
So if I say "Please stop with the armpit farts," I am not curtailing your free speech. And if you insist on your "right" to do it, and then as a result I choose to avoid you, I am also not curtailing your free speech. And if I later throw a party, and I say "Don't invite him, that's the armpit fart guy," I am still not curtailing your free speech. I'm just exercising my freedom of association because I don't like you.
Sometimes in the past I've talked about debating atheism as being a kind of competitive game, much like chess or poker or Starcraft II or football. In all competitive games, there is a certain amount of luck involved with the circumstances under which you play, but the main way to increase your skill is to play a lot. When you lose, you observe what your opponent did and see if there is anything you can specifically borrow from his style so that you improve the next time. When you win, identify why you won and keep doing that, but also review where you were weakest and how you can stop doing those things.
Being socially effective and well liked is no different, but this is a difficult thing for some atheists to get their heads around because a lot of us are -- show of hands, please! -- nerds. It's not a coincidence that there are strong nerdy tendencies among a group that emphasizes intellect, rationality, and scientific literacy. It comes with the territory. I'm a nerd, I'm engaged to a nerd, I love talking to nerds.
But one thing that characterizes some nerds is that they care more about their chosen area of passion -- whether it's physics or Greek poetry or getting really good at Starcraft II -- than about their personal interactions with other people. And that, of course, leads to frustration when they recognize that social acceptance doesn't come for free; you have to work at that too.
Let me throw out a chess analogy here. I prefer to use chess rather than other games because I feel most people (particularly nerds) are likely to have at least a little bit of familiarity with it. At all skill levels, most players start the game by moving the king's pawn. A smaller number move the queen's pawn first, often as part of a queen's gambit. It's also possible to open with any other pawn or even a knight, but it's very rare for good players to do this for a lot of reasons: you give up early control of the center, you delay your ability to move out key pieces on the board, etc.
Now suppose you're just learning to play chess, and you decide that you want to open every game by moving your rook's pawn, way over on the side of the board. After I watch your games a bit, I say "I think you should stop using that as your opening move, try something more traditional." A player who wishes to improve at chess will seriously consider this suggestion and most will eventually recognize it as correct. This improvement comes in two stages: first understanding the reasoning behind the strategy, and second, trying it out and observing that, yes, you win more when you do it.
But another reaction to this advice would be to throw a temper tantrum, saying "What an unfair demand! That's the problem with this dumb game, it's so rigid and has all these unspoken 'rules' that I'm expected to follow even though they aren't part of the official rules of the game! I think you're just imposing on my freedom to open with the rook's pawn, and you can go fuck yourself."
That player is always going to be bad at chess. He's right, of course, to think that you "have the right" to make a rook pawn opening. But what he's missing is that you don't have the right to open with the rook's pawn and then win the game. Being good at chess is not a right.
Forgive the incredibly convoluted analogy, but I do have a point. There is a way of acting which will be regarded as offensive and out of line by most people who give any actual thought to the matter. People who insist on their "right" to act this way do not have the right to be respected or appreciated for their independence, which would constitute "winning" the social game.
Periodically we'll see discussions going on about why there are so many white dudes in the atheist activist movement. Atheist men would like to have more women around. Atheist women, minority that they are, would like to have more women around. Black atheists, and non-racist white atheists, would like to have more black atheists around. We don't want that so that we white men can have more chicks to hit on, or so we can smugly say "I have some black friends!" It's because we would like atheist activism to be an open and inviting community for all people of like minds to be comfortable congregating and exchanging ideas. We don't want to be forever hiding our atheism because Christians are the only ones who know how to apply social pressure.
Because, see, Rebecca Watson does not presume speak for all women; but if you look around at the reaction to her story among female bloggers, you'll see that she obviously speaks effectively for a lot of them. The atheist community is either going to be a place that welcomes and embraces guys being obnoxious douches for the sake of celebrating their freedom to do what they want... or it's going to be a place where women like to be. It can't be both. You can offend people if you want, but you can't be aggressively, unapologetically offensive to people whom you then also hope will like you.
Those are the rules of the game. Sorry if it cramps your style. Learn to play or go find a different game that you're better at.


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Hoping to reduce unnecessary antibiotics use, the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday issued new guidelines for how doctors should diagnose and treat ear infections.
Every year, millions of parents take their children to the pediatrician for ear infections, and most of them end up going home with antibiotics. In fact, ear infections are one of the most common reasons kids see doctors and the leading reason kids get antibiotics.
"Parents, if their child is up all night screaming and tugging the ear, they want something to make the child feel better," says Dr. Richard Rosenfeld of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, who helped write the new guidelines.
But about 70 percent of children get better on their own within two or three days, and about 80 percent are better within a week to 10 days, he says.
And he says there are some real downsides to using antibiotics when they're not necessary: They can cause upset stomachs, allergic reactions and other problems. And they can contribute to the development of superbugs — infections that are getting harder and harder to cure.
"The bacteria that do survive the antibiotic get tough, and next time you get an ear infection or any other type of infection, they're harder to manage," Rosenfeld says.
The first thing the new guidelines say is: Make sure the child really has an ear infection.
"There are dozens of reasons an ear can hurt," Rosenfeld says. "In this guideline we say, 'Listen, if you're not sure of the diagnosis, don't even think about giving an antibiotic. Please, don't even think about it.' "
The only way to know for sure is to take a close look at the eardrum and see if it is clearly bulging.
"If it's pushed outward — looks like it wants to pop — that is a very, very accurate sign of an ear infection," Rosenfeld says.
But even kids who really do have ear infections don't necessarily need antibiotics. The guidelines say doctors have the option of just watching kids who don't have intense pain, a high fever or other symptoms of a severe infection.
"You don't have to freak out as a parent. [Ear infections] tend to go away on their own quite often with just some pain medicine," Rosenfeld says.
But there are some kids who definitely should get antibiotics, such as those ages 6 months to 2 years who have infections in both ears or any child who has severe symptoms, such as severe pain for several days and a fever of at least 102.2 degrees. Any child who has a ruptured eardrum should also get antibiotics, according to the guidelines.
"If you have a severe infection, no point discussing it further. Those children are going to get antibiotics. And the reason is they'll get the most benefit," Rosenfeld says.
Other experts praised the guidelines. But some worry they might make some doctors a little too hesitant to use antibiotics.
"When the diagnosis is correct, then antibiotic treatment is never wrong," says Dr. Ellen Wald of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. "Kids tend to recover more often and they recover more quickly if they're treated appropriately with antibiotics."
That's especially important for working parents, Wald notes.
"We live in a society where there is so much pressure for both parents to be working outside the home and it's just complicated when our child is sick. Besides which, there's always parental anxiety and concern when their child is sick," she says.
Rosenfeld stresses that doctors are free to figure out the best way to treat each child. In many cases, they can give parents a "safety net" or "wait and see" prescription and say: "Hold on to this antibiotic. Give some pain medicine the first day or two. And if they're not better after two days, then we do want you to let us know and start the antibiotic," Rosenfeld says. "But if they are better, just throw it out and they'll do fine."
The new guidelines also recommend ways parents can protect their kids from ear infections in the first place, such as by breast-feeding and keeping kids away from cigarette smoke.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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By Donald B. Kursch,
CSCE Senior Advisor
The United States Helsinki Commission hosted an inter-Parliamentary Forum December 10, 2002 on Confronting and Combating anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region. The meeting, held in conjunction with the observance of International Human Rights Day, strengthened the partnership between members of the U.S. and German delegations which began earlier this year in Berlin during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).
This process was launched in response to shared U.S. and German concerns with the upsurge in anti-Semitism in many parts of the 55-nation OSCE region and is designed to encourage parliaments to take decisive actions to counter this disturbing trend. A letter of intent outlining concrete steps to be pursued was signed at the conclusion of the Forum.
Chairing the meeting jointly were Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) and German Bundestag Member Professor Gert Weisskirchen of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Group. Helsinki Commission Members Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) also participated, with Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) in attendance. Other German Bundestag participants were Dietmar Nietan of the SPD and Markus Löning of the Liberal Party (FDP). Senator Jerahmiel Grafstein (Liberal Party) of the Senate of Canada also took part in the Forum.
In his opening statement, Rep. Smith, who led the U.S. Delegation to Berlin, reaffirmed the principles that were set out in a U.S.-sponsored resolution from the Berlin OSCE PA meeting that anti-Semitism must have no place in the 21st century and that parliaments should "take concrete steps to make this vision a reality." He expressed the hope that representatives of other parliaments from the OSCE participating States would join this process.
Prof. Weisskirchen defined anti-Semitism as a unique kind of racism. He stressed that the threat of ethnic hatred is an affront to the principles of democracy. Weisskirchen suggested that programs with long-term goals would be most effective at combating anti-Semitism and that focusing "on the education, both formal and informal, and on the media and on religion" are vital parts of a preventive strategy.
Rep. Cardin spoke to two points raised in the letter of intent. The first was the importance of education as a tool of erasing ignorance and promoting tolerance. The second was the establishment of a "coalition of the willing" to address the rise of anti-Semitic propaganda in the OSCE's Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation, including Egypt. He proposed a parliamentary dialogue with these countries to deal with this problem. Rep. Hastings noted that in his home state of Florida a 1400 percent increase in anti-Semitism occurred this past year and that much of this increase was attributed to people under 21 years of age.
Mr. Nietan spoke from the perspective of a member of the younger generation of parliamentarians in the German Bundestag. Like his colleagues, he emphasized youth education as a crucial step in fighting discrimination. Mr. Löning emphasized two points: the need for instilling respect for other peoples, especially minorities, and creating the ability to "deal with the identity of others on an open and fair basis."
Senator Grafstein noted a disturbing increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Canada pointing out that there had been four arson attacks on synagogues during the past year, a number greater than at any time in his country's history. He underscored his strong support for complementary parliamentary initiatives process and his determination to have the Canadian Parliament adopt a resolution he has introduced condemning anti-Semitism.
Three European and three American expert witnesses shared their views and recommendations with the parliamentarians. The first witness was Juliane Danker-Wetzel from the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism of the Technical University in Berlin. She tied the rise of anti-Semitic acts in the European Union states to the recent conflict in the Middle East. Danker-Wetzel pointed to the Internet as an important conduit for disseminating anti-Semitic propaganda. She then highlighted how the Arab-Israeli conflict and criticism of Israel is often linked to anti-Semitic attitudes.
Ken Jacobson, Associate National Director of the Anti Defamation League began by suggesting the OSCE as an "ideal forum for meaningful action." He noted a rise in the incidences of hate propaganda, citing the "big lie" which holds that Jews were responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He concluded with ten recommendations for fighting the virus of anti-Semitism, including increased anti-Israel bias and Holocaust awareness education programs, improved monitoring instruments and training for law enforcement and military personnel. Jacobson also recommended that the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in April 2003 be utilized for a special meeting to stress Holocaust education.
Dr. Hanno Loewy, Founder of the Fritz Bauer Institute in Frankfurt, argued that the most serious threat of anti-Semitism in Europe derives from the conflicts and discontent that exist in a post-colonial world. He cited as evidence, the large immigrant populations in Europe, who brought with them anti-Semitic beliefs. Loewy recommended that European countries establish legal structures regarding education, tax collection and access to public funds for Europeans of Islamic faith comparable to those that Christians and Jews already have.
Ambassador Alfred Moses, former President of the American Jewish Committee, asserted that modern manifestations of hatred towards Jews are rooted in a tradition of anti-Semitism that has plagued Europe for centuries. He argued that anti-Semitism must be defined more broadly than a "purely political phenomenon." As such, he recommended that the United States and Germany use their influence in organizations such as the OSCE, NATO and the EU to raise anti-Semitism as a top priority to be addressed at the highest levels.
Rabbi Israel Singer, President of the World Jewish Congress, highlighted the problem of cynicism and indifference on issues of anti-Semitism by legislators. He deplored how Holocaust restitution efforts were used by some Europeans to justify anti-Semitic attitudes, an increased tendency by European politicians to use anti-Semitic nuances to appeal to certain constituencies, and the lack of balance in the positions of certain international institutions, such as the World Council of Churches, to developments in the Middle East.
The final panelist, Dr. Arkadi Vaksberg, Deputy Head of the Moscow PEN Center, recommended that a uniform legal structure be established across Europe and Russia for dealing with issues of human rights. He supported a clear and concrete definition of anti-Semitic acts, as well as creating an international commission to monitor and fight global anti-Semitism on a global basis.
Rep. Smith and Prof. Weisskirchen, concluded the Forum by signing a "Letter of Intent" that affirms a commitment to work together closely to fight anti-Semitism and encourage their colleagues in the U.S. Congress, German Bundestag, and in the parliamentary legislative bodies of other OSCE participating States, to adopt an action plan of concrete measures to counter anti-Semitic actions and attitudes. Recommended measures include:
- the adoption of parliamentary resolutions condemning anti-Semitism; the swift, forceful and public denunciation by parliamentarians of anti-Semitic acts;
- the enactment and vigorous enforcement of appropriate criminal legislation to punish anti-Semitic actions;
- the promotion of educational efforts among younger persons to counter anti-Semitic stereotypes; and
- the creation of an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly-based "coalition of the willing" among OSCE parliamentarians to address anti-Semitic propaganda that appears to be increasing rapidly in a number of countries designated as OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation.
The signatories pledged to meet again in conjunction with the February 2003 Winter Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna to evaluate progress, seek active support from other parliamentarians and determine how the July 2003 Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to be held in Rotterdam can be best utilized to combat anti-Semitism.
The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.


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President Barack Obama picked a senior White House budget official to become the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, the same day another top official announced plans to leave the agency amid the controversy over agents targeting tea party groups.
Obama named longtime civil servant Daniel Werfel as the acting IRS commissioner. Werfel, 42, currently serves as controller of the Office of Management and Budget, making him a key player in implementing recent automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.
"Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill," Obama said in a statement. "The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time."
Werfel replaces Steven Miller as acting IRS commissioner. Miller was forced to resign Wednesday amid the growing scandal, though he is still scheduled to testify Friday at a congressional hearing.
Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller's top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.
When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.
Before he joined the IRS, Grant was a top official at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Grant's predecessor at the IRS was Sarah Hall Ingram, who is now director of the agency's Affordable Care Act Office. Ingram was in charge of the tax exempt division when IRS agents first started targeting conservative groups.
The IRS said Ingram was assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before an inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.
Still, the fact that she was in charge of the division when the targeting first started is sure to give Republicans fodder in their fight against Obama's health care law. The Republican-led House voted 229-195 Thursday to repeal the health care law.
Werfel agreed to head the IRS through the end of September, the White House said. Presumably, Obama will nominate a new commissioner by then.
IRS commissioners serve five-year terms and must be confirmed by the Senate. Werfel won't need Senate approval because he is a temporary appointment. The Senate, however, confirmed Werfel for his current position without opposition in 2009.
Werfel has had several jobs at the Office of Management and Budget and worked there during President George W. Bush's administration. He has also been a trial attorney in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
"He is an immensely talented and dedicated public servant who has ably served presidents of both parties," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement. "Danny has a strong record of raising his hand for — and excelling at — tough management assignments."
Former Bush chief of staff Joshua Bolten said Werfel was highly regarded by the Bush White House and that departing Bush budget officials recommended Werfel for controller to the incoming Obama camp after the 2008 election.
"He was consummately professional, well organized and effective," said Bolten, who also served as Bush's budget director from 2003 to 2006.
Werfel takes over an agency in crisis and under investigation. The IRS apologized last week for improperly targeting conservative political groups for additional, sometimes burdensome scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. The practice went on more than 18 months, diminishing the ability of these groups to raise money during election cycles in 2010 and 2012, said an inspector general's report released this week.
The report did not indicate that Washington initiated the targeting of conservative groups. But it did blame ineffective management in Washington for allowing it to happen.
On Thursday, Obama dismissed the idea of a special prosecutor, saying probes by Congress and the Justice Department should be able to figure out who was responsible.
"Between those investigations I think we're going to be able to figure out exactly what happened, who was involved, what went wrong, and we're going to be able to implement steps to fix it," Obama said at a Rose Garden press conference.
Obama promised to work with Congress in its investigations, and he reiterated that he did not know that conservative groups were targeted until it became public last Friday.
"I promise you this, that the minute I found out about it, then my main focus was making sure that we get the thing fixed," Obama said.
Don't look for the controversy to subside.
Three congressional committees are investigating, and the FBI has launched a criminal probe.
On Friday, Miller is scheduled to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee. Also testifying is J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
Ways and Means Committee members are expected to grill Miller over why he failed to tell lawmakers that conservative groups were targeted, even after the agency said he was briefed in May 2012.
"The IRS has demonstrated a culture of cover up and has failed time and time again to be completely open and honest with the American people," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. "The committee and the American people deserve honest answers from Mr. Miller at our hearing this Friday."
Miller, a 25-year career civil servant at the IRS, took over the agency in November, when the five-year term of Commissioner Douglas Shulman ended. Shulman was appointed by President George W. Bush.
At the time when tea party groups were targeted, Miller was a deputy commissioner and Grant's supervisor.
The Senate Finance Committee said it will hold a hearing on the matter Tuesday. The House Oversight Committee is to hold a hearing Wednesday.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans called for yet another investigation into whether agents in the same Cincinnati office that targeted conservative groups released confidential taxpayer information from some of those groups.
The Journalism website ProPublica reported this week that the IRS had released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year.
The IRS said in a statement that the inspector general already had investigated the matter, and "found these instances to be inadvertent and unintentional disclosures by the employees involved."
Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
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