Discredited: Microwaving Food in Plastic Does Not Cause Cancer

A long time ago, an old friend gave me a tongue lashing for heating up food on a plastic plate in the microwave. Let me add, this friend practically lives on the Internet.

"Never ever never use plastic to heat up food in the microwave," she admonished. The proverbial they have conducted medical studies, she continued, "proving microwave rays release carcinogens into your food which is very very bad."

Yikes, I thought.**Gasp** Cancer.

I did my own research, diligently searching for appropriate articles. When the bulk of information seemed to confirm my friend’s admonishment, I decided to leap on the bandwagon. Scrupulously adhering to the prohibition against mixing food and plastic, preventing members of my immediate family from engaging in this seemingly innocent but dangerous practice, I bowed to the wisdom of the proverbial they. After all, they would know, wouldn’t they? These people must be experts if they’re conducting studies about such things. I vaguely recall my husband being extremely dubious, but eventually dropping the debate when he couldn’t cite any source of conflicting information. That’ll teach him for lacking the gift of automatic recall.

Well, today my husband is vindicated. According to Vaness Wasta, public relations officer for premier medical facility and Baltimore jewel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, I am neurotic. Only a neurotic person could believe a myth like the one about microwaved plastic. "Most people who come to us, looking to validate [the myth about microwaved plastic causing cancer], are skeptical of it," said Ms. Wasta. "But there are people who by nature are pretty neurotic and actually believe it."

Excuse me? Neurotic? I think not. Gullible maybe, but neurotic, no way. The more I blog, the more I realize how much disinformation is out there. It’s mind blowing, really. In the past, I certainly believed more of what I read on the Internet, but in my defense, even Snopes isn’t infallible.

Ms. Wasta, and I quote, says, "You think maybe older people are more gullible than younger people, but you find that younger people have grown up with the Internet, and it may be more difficult for them to figure out what a reliable source is." I guess I’ll just have to stop hanging around those younger people. They’re such a bad influence. For once, baby boomers rock.

As it turns out, microwaving food in plastic containers, or probably anything plastic does not cause cancer. Just another "myth from the Internet ooze," pronounces the local rag. As an aside, the local rag lately appears much more impressive. Less bias, better investigative reporting, better columnists. The shake up in their editorial staff seems to be paying off. I’m not ready to jump the fence completely, but if their publication continues this trend towards journalistic integrity, I may have to stop referring to it as "the local rag."

The article also debunks the Mayo Clinic myth concerning the egg, meat, and grapefruit diet, as well as the Harvard Medical School myth about cash for human testicles. Good to know. I don’t recall reading viral e-mails on these subjects. Then again, I delete anything that slips into my inbox without a proper subject heading.

Don't Miss the Sunrise

"Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?"

"As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning."

"Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?"

"To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."

-Anthony deMello, from One Minute Wisdom

James: I feel that enlightenment is better understood as awareness. Thus, the seeker's question would then be, "Is there anything I can do to make myself aware?" He might as well be asking, "Is there anything I can do to make myself breath?" Being aware means letting go of our conceptual "understanding" and queries so that what remains is the Pure Awareness of observations and experiences as suchness unfolds and we are then free to simply delight in the process. I reminded of the story of Buddha, the disciple and the flower: By Thich Nhat Hanh, in Peace Is Every Step

One day the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1,250 monks and nuns. He did not say anything for quite a long time. The audience was perfectly silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking hard, trying to see the meaning behind the Buddha's gesture. Then, suddenly, the Buddha smiled. He smiled because someone in the audience smiled at him and at the flower. . . . To me the meaning is quite simple. When someone holds up a flower and shows it to you, he wants you to see it. If you keep thinking, you miss the flower. The person who was not thinking, who was just himself, was able to encounter the flower in depth, and he smiled. That is the problem of life. If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.

James: While intellect is important in Buddhism, too much thinking gets us no where because it is based on the mind--which is where the so called, "problem" arises from in the first place!! We think so hard that we miss the bigger picture because we are looking instead at each individual pixel. It is like saying, "No. I can't see the forest because there are too many damn trees in the way!!" When you stand back and just let yourself be apart of the grand tapestry then there ceases to be a need to "make sense" of it all. This is the reality of Oneness where there is no longer a "questioner" and a "question." There just simply is.

We don't need to understand every little detail to enjoy life, to experience blissfulness and peace. Our questions will never cease and one day our intellectual understanding will fail us and we will become disillusioned unless we have learned, again, how to let go and just experience (and accept) life for what it is. The mind will never be satisfied and that is why it is skillful to let go of it's biased "revelations." The mind can not experience Oneness because all it knows and desires is separateness, specialness, desire and greed.

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO: Borobodur at Sunset in Borobodur, Java, Indonesia by Jon Toma

New Networking Site Says "Paid for Page Views"

I love Facebook. Clean. Intelligent. Active. Plenty of free applications. I see so much good content there. The networking possibilities are endless. Never had time for MySpace, mainly because it would require too much effort to get noticed. I'd rather blog.

Someone else liked the idea behind Facebook and MySpace and decided to tweak it times ten. It's still in Beta, but already, word is making its way around the Internet. The idea behind Yuwie is to pay people for the same thing they do on Facebook or MySpace. Then The Y Guy and company pimped the concept one step further. Members get paid for using the site AND for content they create when it is viewed by other members.

The concept is pretty simple actually. Yuwie pays for page views. How much they will pay depends upon their own advertising revenue and how many times you view content and get other members to view your content. If you don't plan on viewing any content yourself, you can still get paid. In theory. Kinda cool.

Pretty soon, everyone online will migrate over there just to see if they can really get paid, and then you'll start to see articles about whether people are really getting paid. Until then, it's anyone's guess, so I figured, why not?

I've got nothing better to do than chase rainbows.

Anyone who wants to join me in this experiment, feel free. I will answer any comments posted here if you have questions or just want to spew.

Zen Story: A Cup of Tea

James: This is one of my favorite Zen stories:

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

~Peace to all beings~

Traffic Tricks for Desperate Bloggers

I love this. Desperate Bloggers. No one dropping by, not to browse, not to have coffee, not even friends who might otherwise leave comments. What does it take to get noticed in this racket?

Well, according to one blogger, all it takes is the following bit of creativity:

"A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on this website with a sentence in it that contained these three web addresses: www.sex.com www.religion.com and www.hell.com. Now look at the effect in our web log"

About a hundred tracked URLs followed that post.

Hmmmm. The idea gave me cause for pause. So, starting today, I've installed a site tracker. No muss no fuss. Just a bit of code. I'd like to see whether three URLs actually can increase traffic. If it does, great. At least I'll know people with a proclivity toward deviance are alive and well and searching for blogs. If not, ah well, it was worth a shot.

All I have to lose is my dignity, right?

My Interview with Mala Maker Brian McIntyre. Part II

CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST PART OF MY INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN MCINTYRE:

6). What are a few (2-3) of your favorite books on spirituality? Play of Consciousness! By Swami Muktananda. This will forever stand as the book that clarified my path and make all previous experiences clear and understandable.I am amassing a library of books in hopes that any one of the books will iPmpact their lives as this book has for me.

7). What is your view of the world today?

FEAR brings ignorance and despair. Living in fear forever roots us in samsara and believing that we are separate from one another will never heal the state of the world.The more people can sit in reflection of themselves and realize that we are all related in light and LOVE than the world will be a space of LOVE and devotion. A world where we all live together and help each other realize our own divinity.

8). Your website mentions that incense is available. What is your favorite incense and why? (You can choose two if you’d like).

“Temple Incense” I call it this because I am not sure what the name is but it comes in bunches and you can buy them in Chinatown’s…with red sticks holding the incense together. It reminds me of my many visits to North East Asian temples.“Prasad Incense”. This is any incense that has been gifted to me by monks off Shrines where people have worhsipped and offered to the gods. After the evening winds down these offerings are taken off the shrines by resident monks and passed out to people.

9). Have you visited any other Buddhist and other religious holy sites? Which ones and what did you think of them?

Too many to name! Haien-sa, Korea. The location that has over 10,000 tablets of wood encompassing the entire Pali Canon! Borobodur, Indonesia. The largest Buddhist complex in the world, it is a representation of Buddha’s life from birth to Nirvana and requires the devotee to walk clockwise around the complex and once a full round is done you walk up to the next level and repeat until you make it to the 9th “floor”.“Vulture’s Peak” near Hangzhou, China where caves are carved out into images of the Buddha. AMAZING!
(Above: Brian at "Vulture's Peak" near Hangzhou, China).

10). What do you think of the spread, growth and adaptation of Buddhism in the West?

In the consumer culture of the West some people become jaded believing that Buddhism has been “marketed” but in the end the image of a divine being is the best for a society. Simply having an image of the Buddha in your home or work space creates a tranquil and peaceful state of mind.

There have been some people who have “jumped on the band wagon” because of Buddhism popularity. But only the true at heart will live through this popularity and show the way, leading by example. Buddhism has created a present culture or mindful citizens and compassionate beings and it is a matter of time before our society as a whole benefits from the actions of these beings.

I always tell people that you have to believe the West is becoming a more conscious and connected culture when someone can make a living being a mala maker.
(Above: Gazebo in a lake. Hangzhou, China).

James: I think you would agree that Brian is a very fascinating, kind, talented and wise person. Thank you Brian for the interview. Once again I would like to recommend Brian's malas. They are the best malas that I have ever used/worn and I have worn many. If you would like to learn more about his malas then just check out his website by clicking on the name, Destination Om: Custom Malas and Prayer Tools.

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO CREDITS: All photos are the sole property of Brian McIntyre. The image on the top left of the blog is credited to Brian's website: Destination Om: Custom Malas and Prayer Tools.

Downy Ocean Vacay

In about three hours, the girls and I are leaving for a trip downy ocean. In Baltimorese, that means we are headed to Ocean City, Maryland for a little sun and surf. Don't know where we'll stay, but do intend to relax and soak up those waves, hon. In the meantime, the ginner's cage needs changing and there is still a load of laundry in the dryer. Gotta get some shut eye before it is time to beat the heat. Monday morning traffic makes me nauseous.

Who knows? Might just make an entry for this Francis Scott Key Family Resort video contest. The batteries in my digital better be juiced for this one. Last time I tried to take pictures, they died right in the middle of the shoot.

Enjoy the updated features while I am gone. I tried to leave enough to entertain through Tuesday.

Also, through October 31, 2007, vacationers can win a thousand bucks, a week's stay at The Francis Scott Key Family Resort, and some other fancy bling just by submitting their own video of a great vacation in O.C. There are some contest rules, like the video must be under two minutes, but other than niggly details, this looks like something I might want to enter.

Click here for more details.

My Interview with Mala Maker Brian McIntyre. Part I

(Above: Brian sitting with some of his malas).

Brian McIntyre is a deeply spiritual mala maker and world traveler from Canada who learned his ancient craft in Bodhgaya, India (the alleged site of the Buddha's Enlightenment) from a local artisan. The design of his malas are unique: Reading from his website, Destination Om: Custom Malas and Prayer Tools:

The most obvious design that sets these malas apart from others is that I incorporate a "stretcher" into every mala which is a slip knot placed either at the top of the mala (opposite the guru bead) or as the guru bead itself. This slip knot allows for the practitioner to choose the spacing between the beads ideal for them by sliding the stretcher this can be accomplished.

James: I have had many malas over the years but they always had some kind of design flaw that made them uncomfortable and cheap in quality. Brian's malas are the best I've ever seen or worn. The beads are gorgeous, the thread is strong and the design is excellent. The unique "stretcher" construction allows the mala to easily slip over my thick hand and still tighten up snug around my wrist time after time. The stretcher conversely allows for a quick removal. These quality meditation beads retain their shape day after day and Brian will even restring them should they break!! He knows that despite using this brilliant design the malas will one day break and thus he will restring them for free as he doesn't want to see a mala go unused. You can't beat that deal!!

Thus it is without any reservation that I recommend his malas. In fact, I won't use any other mala from now on. Now, on to my interview with Brian:

1). How would you describe your spirituality? When did you become interested in spirituality/religion?

I have followed a path guided by my guru from the time I was able to hear the inner voice. I had a near death experience at the age of 16 that was a wake up to my potential in this life. From that day forward I had delved into Eastern philosophy and religion in search of answers to my inner questions. As time went on I read about Taoism, Confucianism, all levels of Buddhism, and Hinduism. From this I felt compelled to follow Buddhism and was given the blessed occupation of being a mala maker and learning to do so through a mala maker in Bodhgaya, India. Just recently I have awakened to my guru who sits as the head of Siddha Yoga, Gurumayi. It is a branch of Hinduism much like Dzogchen called Kashmir Shaivism. In this practice I have been able to bridge the gaps of my understanding in both Hinduism and Buddhism and adopted both as my practice in this life.

2). What got you interested in making malas?

I have been travelling since 1999 and while living in numerous places in Asia I would come across temples (especially in North East Asia) that would sell beads to assist in funding the monasteries and construction of new temples. When I returned to Canada there was nothing of the sort so I began making simple bracelets. At one point a friend came to me with yak bone and rudraksha and said “You should be a mala maker.” Two months later I was taken to India, guided to Bodhgaya and graced with a mala maker willing to teach me his craft! Now I sit in service to all that feel that a mala is a required tool in their practice.

3). You have visited Bodhgaya--can you describe for us a bit what visiting this sacred ground was like for you? And secondly, can you describe the atmosphere there a bit?

(Above: Brian in front of the Mahabodhi temple. Bodhgaya, India).

Below are two stories written about this question, that feed the emotion from being there in that moment!

Bodhgaya and the cave. March 4, 2006 1:36:09 AM

Bodhgaya is an interesting place, everything centres around the Mahabodhi Temple...the location where Buddha obtained enlightenment, an offspring of the original tree still stands today...an off-shoot was cut from an original in Sri Lanka and brought back here when the last tree died in the early1900s.

The temple is impressive and a towering stupa of over 50m defines this town...the gardens surrounding the complex are dotted with smaller stupas built by devotees from various countries...around the temple worshipers walk barefoot on marble and circumnabulate in a clockwise fashion, many with malas in their right hand reciting mantras as they continue in their meditative walk...the Bodhi tree also known as The Root Tree of Knowledge is enclosed by a sandstone fence, beneath the tree is a diamond throne which protects which is believed to be the very sandstone tablet that Buddha sat on...
( Above: Brian sitting in front of the Diamond Throne at Mahabodhi temple, the wall behind stops too many people from viewing the sandstone marker that is meant to be the EXACT location where Buddha sat!

he would sit here for seven days straight before achieving nirvana and the answer to the entire understanding of human suffering and realizing all his previous lives, understanding the cosmos and communicating with other realms...for 49 days he would sit under a different tree for a period of 7days, each tree would give him different insights and feelings...He would goto Sarnath from here and find his first 5 disciples.

The prayers reverberate from every spot in the complex, millenia of prayers can be heard in the walls, flowers, trees, and ground...there is a sense of over-whelming awe...you enter the complex in a sort of hyper-reality and sensitivity, everything is more intimate and people are together for one reason...to understand this life we live in and overcome the burdens that are unnecessary...when you sit in the temple you can imagine the Buddha sitting next to you in his sublime state...the world is a happier place here...then as he would have it planned...AS SOON AS YOU LEAVE THE COMPLEX...BAM!!!

Indian reality and the perpetual struggle of BIHAR state, the poorest state on this subcontinent...the lack of education and industry have been their downfall, in addition to their state being divided, with the wealthier southern part taking on a new state name and reaping the royalties of their riches...leaving Bihar to struggle. Buddha warned the people of Bihar to be weary of feud, flood, and fire...of which, feud is an everyday occurrence in this region...bandits stroll the countryside to steal riches from vehicles on the roads and they are not afraid to hold entire villages ransom!!It only seems right that the region where Buddha travelled the most would be one of the poorest in a monetary sense...I feel that these people may have more then money, they most likely have the spirit and soul that Buddha graced upon this area...it opens your eyes to the struggles of the world and a need to find some sort of equilibrium...in time I believe we will find a balance of justice...we must for the sake of humanity...time will tell, we can only do our best to make a difference.

There is a cave near Bodhgaya where Buddha spent six years meditating and wasting away in his search for the end to human suffering...plagued by his lack of answers he fast and periods during these six years would eat one grain of rice...he would later write..."In truth, O Aggivessana, if I thought " I will touch my spine", it was the skin of my belly I also took hold of...I was so wasted away with fasting that the skin of my belly cleaved to my spine. Realizing this was not the way he left the mountain cave for a village close by where he took food from a woman called Sujata(the name of the village today)...in these fields he would conceive the idea of the Middle Way.

(Above: Brian in the Mahakala Cave).

Spending a couple of hours in the cave today you could only imagine the mental struggles that he was going through in his mission to SAVE HUMANITY!!... skin and bones are replicated in a golden statue of Buddha during this period in his life, sure to be one of the few statues of Buddha one will ever see in a skeletal form! I take all of you in my heart through my travels and every tear that is shed is for a greater happiness for all...with love and compassion...know you are all close to me...with love.

Mahabodhi Temple – Bodhgaya, India.

(Above: Brian in the shrine room inside the Mahabodhi temple. Bodhgaya, India.

Approaching the town is like a passing through time, the pastures give rise to a waterway that once was. Buddha would have came down from the cave he was meditating in for six years, just in the distance it can be seen…a white temple marks its location.
Bodhgaya is a collection of buildings with a monolithic temple as the “core” of this town and the heart of the world…the location where Buddha obtained enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

Time is immemorial, it stands still, a testament to prayers and mantras that have been chanted and stored in its every crevice…a veil of universal proportions consumes your every thought, until it is only you and the love of prayer reverberating your being. Time is nothing; the only indication is the movement of the sun and the change of hues and shafts of light that illuminate various parts of the temple grounds.
The realization cannot be missed by any; we sit here, one and all…in divine oneness.
The temple pulses, the tree drops its leaves to offer pieces of itself for worship…devotees scurry about picking every last leaf off the ground Others sit eagerly watching a branch, hoping to dart out and catch a leaf before it hits the ground. Honour, love, respect, compassion, and devotion. The Buddha watches on. I am home.

4). You mention visiting 19 countries in seven years—which ones stand out the most in your travels? In other words, which ones are your favorites if you had to chose a few?

Borneo – isolation and raw beauty. Mozambique – scuba diving at depths of 35m (100’) with 6m (18’) Manta. India – heart of the world. Indonesia – walking Borobodur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world! On Java, now home to the most densely populated Muslim community in the world.

5). Could you speak a bit more on your focus to build a meditation and retreat centre?

I want to build a period style Hindu temple and a period style Buddhist temple (likely in Korean architecture) with a library in the middle (of what I am presently amassing for the public)Temples have been a refuge for me while living in Asia, when I am without a place to stay on my walk I often sleep in temples (that are open 24 hours) or sleep within the grounds of monasteries.

The space is always welcome to all and I want to develop a place of worship and divinity where people can come to temple and perform whatever practice caters to them. What lacks in Canada are traditional style temples akin to what is found in Asia. The centre will be open 24 hours. The plan will be to host different events and celebrate holidays of importance to both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

James: This is the end of part I of my interview with Brian McIntyre. The last five questions and answers will be posted on Monday. I hope you all have a peaceful, happy, loving weekend.

~Peace to all beings~

Blogger Mistakes and Other Misfortunes

On a positive note, The Spewker has a new look. It only took the entire day to design. I'm ready to call it a night.

Warning to the blogging unwary. Before spending gobs of time and effort adding content, better spend time perfecting your site design. I feel like I lost an entire month due to stupid mistakes and my inability to recognize them. It's not as if blogging comes with instructions. Luckily, I realized the error of my ways. Now perhaps, I can get back on track.

For some reason, my site feed wouldn't burn content, and as all good bloggers know, without a working site feed, one might as well pack up and go home. Not only that, the tiny little handful of subscribers I had so carefully culled dropped out of sight. Guess I should have subscribed to the medic blog of Feedburner. Let this be a lesson to everyone out there who may be even more clueless. Your blog will slip into obscurity without a properly working feed.

Please come back little subscribers. I promise to treat you oh so nicely this time around.

On a less than positive note, today I discovered that The Spewker had slipped so far down in the search engine ratings, not even ReviewMe would let me sign up. Perhaps that had something to do with my site's lack of meta tags and other such misfortunes. Listen. I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to site design, okay? All I know is that I like to rant and poke fun at stuff. Does that make me a bad person?

Don't answer that.

Anyway, I'm tired and the hour is late (or early, depending on the point of view). I had such high hopes of accomplishing so much today. Unfortunately, none of it ever materialized. Here's hoping that the upcoming month of September sees an increase in visibility and readership.

Eco-Hangers. Recycled Cardboard Clothes Hangers

This from CNET:

The idea for the company--which makes a dry cleaner hanger made entirely from recycled paper--came after founder and Chief Operating Officer J.D. Schulman's mother asked him to throw away a bunch of old wire hangers. He put them in the garbage, the hangers poked a hole in the bag, and gravy dripped on her white carpet when Schulman took the garbage out, says HangerNetwork CEO Bob Kantor.

The result was the EcoHanger, a sturdy replacement for wire hangers that can be folded and tossed into the ordinary household recycling bin. Because they biodegrade relatively quickly, the hanger conceivably could displace significant amounts of difficult-to-dispose-of garbage every year.

"3.5 billion wire hangers go into U.S. landfills every year, and they sit in there for over a hundred years," Kantor said.

Perhaps just as important, the company says it can bring these hangers to market in an economical way that makes it attractive for dry cleaners to switch. HangerNetwork doesn't sell its hangers. It gives them free to dry cleaners, who ordinarily have to pay about 8 cents per wire hanger.

So who foots the bill? National advertisers pay HangerNetwork to put ads on the hangers, which then stare consumers in the face when they get dressed in the morning.

"We have Van Heusen shirts, L'Oreal, Dunkin' Donuts, Mitchum antiperspirant," Kantor said. "On average, (the hanger) stays in your closet six to eight weeks."

The company is already pulling in "multimillions" in ad revenue, he said. Ad campaigns can be targeted at men or women and will be available nationwide or aimed at specific markets. The ad campaigns start at 250,000 hangers.

Technically speaking, the EcoHanger is made from 34-point paperboard (a relatively thick paper) that is folded onto itself. The hanger is then glued and laminated for extra strength. In the end, the hanger is strong enough to hold clothes, but remains flexible. The company has sought patents on the device.

James: My only complaint is that I can't figure out how to order some for my personal use!! I want to replace all my hangers with these environmentally friendly ones.

~Peace to all beings~

An Epiphany: My Spiritual Awakening and Path Toward Forgiveness

Taking a nod from Peter I decided to write about an epiphany in my life. This is the epiphany of my spiritual awakening. I had just returned from a difficult, trying, scary, confusing and exhausting two year Mormon mission from Cote D'Ivoire, West Africa where my world had been turned upside down. My unflinching commitment to the Mormon faith was unraveling by the day as I began to do some research into what were the opposing views. You see, I had been taught to not question the veracity of the church let alone read a different viewpoint on the history and teachings of the Mormon faith.

Yet I had questions that nagged at me day and night that even invaded my dreams. I could not push them away. There were too many things that were not logically lining up or making sense to me as I looked further into the looking glass of (what was for me) honest investigation. I had to know what was out there in the spiritual garden to choose from that I hadn't even glanced at before. I had never before looked at both sides before making up my mind on something so important as my spiritual path. I firmly believe in knowing all the information out there before making decisions. I had simply borrowed from my parents testimony in the church and those of my teachers/leaders. I thought I knew that the Mormon faith was the only truth possible on the Earth but I began to realize after my mission that I was simply parroting what I was told in Sunday school class. I wanted to fit in and be like everyone else who had such seemingly undeniable faith.

Yes, I did feel some wonderful spiritual moments growing up in the Mormon church and I've always had a deep spiritual foundation yet the older that I became the less the same old answers and explanations made sense. The more I read the more disillusioned I became yet I still attended meetings in hopes that maybe something would change because although I wanted to know what was true for myself--I was afraid of making such an earth-shattering change to leave the faith. It wasn't long, however, before I knew that I couldn't carry on the charade anymore. I had to leave if my integrity meant anything to me.

I left and didn't look back which was difficult for me because it meant possible alienation from my family and friends who were at the time all Mormons. But how could I stay--living a lie?? No, for once I had to be brave and set forth on my own path in life. So, for the first time in my life I was free to be who I wanted to be and think for myself. I dined at the spiritual feast of options and engorged my hungry appetite for knowledge. Yet nothing seemed to fit--just as Mormonism didn't seem to fit. In the meantime a monster was brewing in my brain--Schizo-affective disorder.

I was living with a brain disorder--a chemical imbalance in my brain that was causing wild mood swings, depression one minute and mania the next. However, this monster hand many heads. Along with the mood swings came hallucinations in the form of voices, visual disturbances, paranoia and delusional thinking. This combined with a raging anger at a feeling of being misled by the religion of my youth made a dangerous mixture. In short, I was growing more and more isolated from people and more and more disillusioned with all things spiritual, material and otherwise. I was in deep suffering not knowing where to turn, not knowing there was medicine out there that could help my chemical imbalance. Hell, not even knowing I had a chemical imbalance!! I saw everyone as my enemy. I finally saw a psychiatrist who started me on medicines but they didn't work and that began a journey of jumping from one psych to the next. None of them were helping much and the medicines seemed to just make things worse.

I was listening to angry music, reading about bizarre spiritual practices and becoming more enraged by the day. The climax of my spiral through this Hell though came when I was so angry, fearful and depressed that I just wanted nothing more then to blow up the entire planet (or for someone else to. I wanted to take a nuclear bomb straight to the head). Just end the misery that I saw the Earth experience to have become. I wanted to end my suffering, that of others and destroy all those whom I perceived had done me wrong. I was in a very bad place. Enter my friend "Charlie" I'll call him. We met in a summertime class at the university--I can't remember the name of the class now but I remember him, yes, indeed I always will for "Charlie" opened my eyes. He introduced me to a man named, Dr. David R. Hawkins via his books. He was some sort of mystic I gathered and agreed to read his first book, "Power vs. Force" and I couldn't put it down.

There for the first time I learned about Oneness, mindfulness, impermanence, ego, karma and the description of a "God force" that made much more sense to me. This force taught by Hawkins is one that is intrinsic within all things and goes beyond a physical being. There were some things in his books that I didn't really get or agree with but over-all I was astounded at what I found. It was no less then finding not only the meaning of life but the meaning of the existence of everything that ever was, is and will be!! Talk about an epiphany!!! I was spun around and "reborn" to use a heavily loaded word. The more I read these books the more the very world around me shifted into a new light. I didn't just see the trees around me as "scenery" but as living breathing brothers and sisters that I was dependent upon and vice versa. That my friends as many of you know has a powerful effect. I was apart of something powerful, loving, beautiful and perhaps most importantly--meaningful. It was about this time that I met my current psychiatrist and psychologist who finally found a combination of medicines that help me manage my condition as best as possible. I knew that from that point onward I would be a totally different person and I wasn't scared--I was relieved. It also through his books that I was introduced to Buddhism and four years later--here I am.

Now, I try to see the good in all religions and I often succeed but I still struggle with the Mormon faith. Never the less, I am working on forgiving past wrongs and healing scars. I still have some strong opinions about that church but I am trying to put that all behind me. It is a personal challenge for me to forgive those people and accept that faith as having value and benefit to society. There are times when I see much good in their teachings but still others when I see them as dangerous. I am by no means a perfect man. Yet, there are many wonderful people in the Mormon church who's lives have been greatly improved by their faith and who have beautiful, pure, loving hearts--my mother, father and two older brothers are a few. In fact, there are even some things that I agree with them about after all these years. It isn't always easy but I am determined to let this anger, bitterness and hurt go one day once and for all.

PHOTO: The temples of Bagan in Myanmar by Stuart Clyne.

Publication Fails to Accurately Examine PETA Protesters

Sex sells. Just ask The Examiner, newfangled competitor of the local rag trying its darnedest to get noticed in an already overcrowded field of tabloid journals. Today’s edition, page 4, certainly grabbed my attention, but not for obvious reasons.

Yesterday, PETA members, Ashley Byrne and Shawn Herbold, apparently having nothing better to do, decided to picket a KFC on West North Avenue. Looking much like the fetching young lass pictured here, they drew curious inquiries from local police and rubbernecking from passing motorists. The article didn’t bother to explain why PETA is claiming KFC tortures chickens, but investigative journalism has never been The Examiner’s forte. The editors must have thought it would be enough to report the event and move on.

They thought wrong.

The overexposed picture and accompanying story proclaims, “Protesters Bare All” and “The Naked Truth.” Reporter, Kelly Carson, describes the two ladies as “nude protesters.” However, one astute reader quickly pointed out that the women wore pasties, underwear, and high-heeled shoes. They could not be “nude” as reported because they covered the private areas of their bodies with accepted articles of clothing.

Hmmm. The last time I looked in the dictionary, nude was defined as “naked or unclothed.” These rabblerousers were neither. Therefore, I have to agree with astute reader. The description of them as ”nude” was inaccurate and/or misleading. One would hope not to find such carelessness in a publication seeking regional recognition, but there is such a long list of things one would not hope to find, why quibble here?

I’ll tell you why. Journalists have a moral duty and ethical obligation to report just the facts, not their personal opinions. They are supposed to be held to a higher standard. Unless Carson meant to include a snide reference to their teeth, these women did not in fact “bare all.” I have no problem with the use of “The Naked Truth,” a reference to their protest banner, as a subheading for the article, but don’t expect me to believe they were actually nude.

Sexy or not, the real story was whether KFC tortures poultry before serving it up hot and spicy or with a blend of seven secret ingredients. Today, The Examiner had a chance to truly distinguish itself from the local rag. On this account, it failed miserably.

The Future for "Premonition" is Bleak

I just finished watching the movie, Premonition, starring one of my favorite actresses, Sandra Bullock. A riveting premise taking a wrong turn down to the place of no return.

Get off at the nearest exit.

I don’t know who is more responsible for this clunker, the writer or the director. My bet is on the latter. I don’t care if he and Sandy shared little German moments on location, this movie did not gel.

For starters, which part is the premonition and which part really happened? Don’t just expect the audience to know. Presenting the days out of order is a brilliant disorienting device, but the plot still has to tie together at the end. Once the progression of days appears illogical, the movie can’t possibly work unless when unfolding sequentially, the days convey some sort of rhyme and reason. Otherwise, the audience is left with a “Huh?” or their lips, kernels of popcorn in their teeth, and nothing to write home about.

Second, like an unwrapped present accidentally discovered in a closet recess, Premonition never delivered the goods. Even after watching the bonus features, I couldn’t understand why on Thursday, Sandy couldn’t remember how her kid cut her face on Tuesday, and to add insult to injury, got carted away for it on Saturday. Even if her character suffered a complete mental breakdown, the two girls should have remembered how the accident occurred and told their story to the men in little white coats, or at the very least, to their grandmother.

Third, I cannot stand when music is purposefully injected into a film to manipulate the audience. Over the years, I have grown immune to such cheap ploys. Cut the violin from the shower scenes. It doesn’t work. Ditto the long pauses. Sandy looked ridiculous. Two seconds – at most – is long enough for the meaning behind her wonderfully expressive facial features to register in the minds of village idiots.

As the plot became more intense, the movie simply spiraled out of control. Loose ends hung so miserably, someone ordered an alternate ending. The original ending must not have tested well in California, because the alternate ending became the real one in theatres. How sad.

Both endings were such a disappointment no matter how many ways sliced. Here I thought the plot was working its way toward something very powerful, like the pay off in The Sixth Sense, but it never materialized.

While lamenting the choice of directors in this film, I came up with my own alternate ending, one I believe works much better with the disorienting technique, and which makes much more sense to the plot. Get this. Her daughters die with their father in the horrific crash, but this is too traumatic for Sandy to process, so she continues to imagine them alive. At the outset, we see she has grown disoriented. Like Nicole Kidman in The Others, she can’t come to grips with her misfortune. As she works with the shrink, the painful memories come flooding back. She cannot forgive herself for failing to recognize the signs of her daughters’ death in her premonition, only that of her husband. In the end, she becomes insane.

Movies like this are largely responsible for my decision to rent most movies rather than pay obscene amounts of money in theatres. My alternative was to find a job as a full-time movie critic, but I probably would have quit after a few weeks. Love the thought of being paid to watch movies; cannot imagine the torture involved in reviewing turkeys like this.

Thankfully, Sandy was in just about every scene or the movie would have been unbearable. Ever since Vanished, I have loved that little crinkle in her nose, the little skip in her step, and the way she eyes the camera with those slightly parted lips. Those who croon, “But you’re married,” please simmer down. I’m merely praising the woman, not wooing her.

Finally, the last outtake in the bonus features blooper reel is hysterical. If anything, rent the DVD just to see that.

The rest of this flick you can throw in the shower.

Buddhism and Children

I read an interesting article in the latest Tricycle Buddhist Review regarding Buddhism and children. Basically the author, Clark Strand, was saying that American Buddhists need to teach their children to be Buddhists to make sure the religion continues to grow or it risks dying out.

While I'm sure that his intentions are good this article raises a big red flag for me. That is because I do not feel that children should be indoctrinated or forced into their parent's religion. Perhaps it stems from being raised in a religion that told me not to question the things being taught to me as absolute and unassailable truth. And the strong feelings of anger, being lied to, mislead and being spiritually and mentally abused that came with realizing that there was more out there then I was blindly taught to believe in.

Author and Atheist Richard Dawkins has some interesting things to say regarding children and religion:

I think we should all wince when we hear a small child being labeled as belonging to some particular religion or another. Small children are too young to decide their views on the origins of the cosmos, of life and of morals.

James: Dawkins is on to something yet I do not feel that this means we should not teach our children certain things such as ways to relax and calm themselves when feeling afraid and scared. This could come in the form (for Buddhist parents but also for those of other faiths) of teaching a type of basic, dogma-free meditation or just simple breathing techniques. I also see it important to teach them basic humanity--right and wrong, kindness, compassion, love, acceptance and other life lessons.

This also means that we must look into whether children should be allowed to join monasteries or if a person must be at least 18 before being allowed to enter into such a major life decision/commitment. We Buddhists (and most importantly monks and lay leaders) should study and re-evaluate what the monastic life does to a child. However, I understand that most children do not take actual monastic vows. I also realize that in many Buddhist countries the monasteries act as schools and homes for poor, unwanted children but monks aren't trained to be parents either. These are murky, difficult issues to wrestle with to be sure. I need to meditate upon this more.

In my opinion, however, forcing hard religious opinions and beliefs upon children blocks their own ability to decide things for themselves and sets them up for intolerance and distrust of others in their adult years. At the very least I think that parents and monasteries should emphasize this important teaching by Buddha from the Kalama Sutra:

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Nor traditions because they are old and have been handed down from generation to generation and in many locations. Nor in rumor because it has been spoken by many. Nor in writings by sages because sages wrote them. Nor in one’s own fancies, thinking that it is such an extraordinary thought, it must have been inspired by a god or higher power. Nor in inferences drawn from some haphazard assumption made by us. Nor in what seems to be of necessity by analogy. Nor in anything merely because it is based on the authority of our teachers, masters, and elders.

However, after thorough observation, investigation, analysis and reflection, when you find that anything agrees with reason and your experience, and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, and of the world at large; accept only that as true, and shape your life in accordance with it; and live up to it.

These words, the Buddha went on to say, must be applied to his own teachings.

James: There is nothing wrong with also teaching the basic, general teachings of the Buddha and Dharma but I believe that it should be coupled with telling children that there are other beliefs out there. In addition, teach them not to let anyone tell them what to believe or not to believe. To quote Dawkins again:

Let children learn about different faiths, let them notice their incompatibility, and let them draw their own conclusions about the consequences of that incompatibility. As for whether any are "valid," let them make up their own minds when they are old enough to do so.

PHOTO: Buddhist Children Ceremony in Seoul, South Korea taken by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

~Peace to all beings~

Bloggers Will Help Shape Election 2008

I am blogger, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore.

No, I am not just parroting Helen Reddy.

Without a doubt, 2008 has the greatest potential to go down in history as the year Netroots slammed a monkey wrench in the mainstream political machinery. Wherever I look, bloggers are taking names and kicking patooty.

Just look at this clip from the YearlyKos Convention. A liberal cache of bloggers utilizing name recognition from DailyKos managed to secure the attendance of top Democratic leaders as well as presidential candidates. The convention’s panel rivaled anything coming out of today’s Iowa debate. In contrast, CNN has yet to secure commitments for its YouTube Republican forum (major Republican candidates are still on the fence).

Is this a great country, or what? Anyone with an opinion and a keyboard can join the media elite to help shape the course of America.

Ellen Goodman and Bill O’Reilly are two recent examples of national newsmakers with ears pinned to the ground. Colleagues who choose to ignore the telltale signs of an encroaching political blogoshpere risk becoming the twenty-first century media dinosaurs. I feel sorry for stalwart journalists unable to see what’s hurtling down the pike. Not.

Like so many other bloggers devoting their time and energy to the Internet, I grew weary and leery of the national news media. I want facts, just the facts, ma’am. If I wanted opinions, I could read editorials. If I wanted to be influenced by American conglomerates, I could read the New York Times. If I wanted sound bytes, I could watch YouTube. I mean, why watch the CBS Evening News when Comedy Central has similar content with better irreverence? It’s all commentary.

Bloggers know America can and will do a better job of story reporting. This nation prospered because freedom played a major role in its development. More and more, however, these freedoms are being curtailed. By the media, by the government, by radical fringe elements on both sides of the political spectrum. It's time to take back America. Serious bloggers are willing to oblige.

These are incredibly exciting times. With the advent of the Internet, Americans can once again participate in a true democracy. We can report information free from hidden agendas. We can try to influence opinion. It’s not a perfect medium, far from it, but at least a large portion of the blogosphere is being penned at the hands of Americans.

Power to the bloggers! Power to a truly free press! In the words of our beloved sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln, "…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

More Political Articles

Hopelessly Devoted to HBO's Entourage

Hands down, Entourage is the sexiest show on television. Ordinary people, rejoice!

Apologies to those who eschew the benefits of cable or prefer to spend money on basic necessities. If you count yourself among the former, the Complete First Two Seasons are currently available on DVD. Me? I’ll continue to quaff this farcical half hour expose of the Hollywood underbelly the old fashion way - via satellite.

I’ve been a huge fan of the show since its 2004 debut. The camera angles create a delicious illusion of being an insider looking in. I am a fly on the immaculately clad shoulder of Mary J. Blige, a penitent congregant shushing Trustfund Baby (Adam Goldberg aka Nick Rubenstein) between prayers, the melting ice quenching lecherous sunbather Jay Lester (Will Sasso), or a diner in the private enclave of studio honcho, Harvey Weingard (Maury Chaykin), eavesdropping a blusterous tirade.

Sunday night invitations are out. My weekly cruise down Sunset Boulevard is in. The neon soaked view from that exquisite Lincoln Continental gives me reason to dream. It’s Tinseltown on steroids, sun swept scenery as far as the eye can see, commercialism times ten, up close and personal glimpses at real and invented beautiful people. I revel in every made-up minute.

Last Sunday night’s episode "The Young and the Stoned," left me satiated, yet begging for more. Starting with naughty flashes of house porn (I want that house, I want that house now), segueing to E’s bumper locked serendipity with platinum-tressed Anna Faris, rollicking to the sensual friction between Mrs. Ari and her man, a quick wink and a nod for the strong silent bond between Vince and his half-brother, Johnny D., a wince at Turtle’s untimely encounter with the LAPD (all the recent Hollywood arrests made a happy ending unlikely), culminating in the ultimate climax. Mixed skinny dipping overlooking a breathtaking apex after dark. Need I say more? Be still my blasé-riddled heart.

Every recurring character is steamy hot, including everyone’s favorite personal assistant, Lloyd. Don’t listen to those who characterize the show’s spectacular premise as Sex in the City for men. Okay, okay, it’s four good-looking guys who like to hang out together, but that’s where the similarities end.

Vince, Johnny D., Turtle, and E have been BFFs since grade school. They can push each other’s buttons, reminisce about old times, go for the Gold (as in Ari), and still share a breakfast of champions. Yes, they’re riding the coattails of the star with the more meteoric rise, but that doesn’t diminish their individual accomplishments. Coat the main setting in plastic, throw in a smattering of personal growth, and mix with a smidgen of conflict. Voila. Pathos.

That would be enough to hook me (I was a huge fan of Thirtysomething in the 1980s). But Entourage is much more than childhood buddies using a cutthroat agent to dodge the bullets of fame and fortune roulette. Every episode is a stroll down the red carpet, a peek at the seamier side of Rodeo Drive, a dissection of cogs in the showbiz grind. Before Entourage, I got my celebrity fix from pumped up tabloid tales and Internet fan gossip. Rancid. I devoured stories like You’ll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again and The Devil Wore Prada. Needs salt. With Entourage, I get a heaping helping of the good, the bad, and the ugly with a simple flick of my remote. Tasty. Please, sir, I want some more.

My biggest complaint is my own Baltimore skew. It hinders any ability to separate possible reality from outright fiction. For instance, David from the gay nightclub in "Dog Day Afternoon" was not David Faustino (appearing in season one episode two), nor David Milch (Deadwood mega mogul and creator of pilot episode), but rather Jim Holmes, a character actor, writer/producer. His chance romp with the flustered Pivster was hilarious. Mr. Holmes apparently avoids the limelight because he barely registers on the celebrichter scale. Must be tight with some bigwig to snag such a juicy part. Some people have all the luck.

To Doug Ellin, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Rob Weiss, thank you for answering the prayers of the superficial. This gratified patron declares Entourage a delectable confection of delight. Now get back to work.

Click for Spewed Videos du Jour.

(This article reprinted with permission of Blogcritics Magazine)

Touching Suchness

This is one of my favorite quotes/teachings from the Great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh:

I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"

James:

This has certainly been my experience as well. Some of my greatest teachings, lessons and profound insights have come from nature and the small things that our modern world all too often tramples over as unworthy of our time, energy and attention. For example, I yearn one day to visit the sacred ground of Bodh Gaya (the place where it is said that Buddha obtained Enlightenment) yet I wonder what the Tathatgata would say about my desire and attachment to such zeal? I imagine that he would gently yet convincingly remind me of inter-being--that the Holiness of Bodh Gaya is no further then the end of my nose or the unassuming mock pear tree in my front yard.

He would remind me that the little sparrows that visit our humble abode are no different then the wise monks to be found at Bodh Gaya. They remind me that each moment is precious and that all places, times and people are sacred if we but look deeper into ironically what will be discoved as the obvious.

I am honored, blessed and profoundly thankful to live close to some stunning mountains that are just as stupefying as the most sacred temples. The rushing sound of the breeze blowing through the pine trees in those pristine mountains is no different then the resonating sounds of singing bowls and shrine bells.

There is no other place to be then here--in this moment. All we need or could ever want is right here, right now within us.

The ego desires specialness and religion can often feed into that fervor. It seems sometimes that we think that Enlightenment is discovered in ancient temples or that we expect to see angels or Bodhisattvas to tear the sky and grant us that which is already within us--nothing short of Buddhahood.

Perhaps I will make it one day to the sacred and historic Bodh Gaya but in the mean time I will rest and meditate in the Bodh Gaya of my home, mountains and pear tree. May we all see the sacred temples in all places and Buddha in all beings.

PHOTO: Maha Bodi Temple at Bodh Gaya near the City of Gaya, in the State of Bihar in Eastern India.

~Peace to all beings~

Bloggers are Not Slackers - They are Virtual Reality Challenged

Has there ever been a time when you have looked at your life and said, "I must be crazy"? I have.

Today.

For starters, I am eating left over Chinese for breakfast. I'm supposed to take our youngest child to visit friends up in Philly this morning. Suddenly, I realized I hadn't posted anything on my blog since Monday.

Since Monday!

I think virtual reality assumes one is a slacker when one fails to blog about something every single day. People have said as much to me. If only they knew. No, I am not a slacker. I am incredibly productive. I'm just not doing it where virtual reality can take notice.

I never did finish the article I started Monday evening. Maybe because I was busy doing camp laundry, filling out school forms, going through snail mail, trying to clear out e-mail (still must have 400-500 I haven't touched), and doing my once a month pro bono stint.

Apologies to relatives (and anyone else) who have asked to be friended on Facebook. I haven't logged on in over three weeks. Don't worry. I'll get to it (hopefully soon).

Tuesday came and went in a blur. I must have been trying to go through old magazines, newspapers, and whatever other papyrus had piled up on our dining room table, do the dishes, feed the guinea pig, water the garden, empty the dehumidifier, cook dinner, buy new garbage cans, return the rejected school supplies I purchased while the kids were out of town, yada, yada, yada.

After our middle child arrived home early from almost eight weeks away at a camp, not only did he bring home three large piles of laundry, but a chin with sutures (this is why he came home early) which had to be removed no later than ten, count them, ten days from the time of stitching. For various reasons which I do not have time to go into detail about here, the stitches had to be removed yesterday. Otherwise, I would have to go through life knowing I failed to have my only son's stitches removed within the prescribed time. This could result in all types of awful consequences, don't ask me what.

I thought I was lucky to get an appropriately timed appointment with his pediatrician to have said stitches so removed, but to my dismay, when I arrived five minutes before the scheduled time, I learned their office had mistakenly scheduled our appointment a full hour later.

A full hour later!

If those people expected me to wait around one to two hours (the doctor had other scheduled appointments and the staff wasn't certain she would be able to "fit me in") to have what turned out to be nine stitches (not ten as advised by the doctor in New York) removed from my son's chin, they had another thing coming. Steamed, frustrated, ready to explode. What were my options? Luckily, there is a private care emergency facility up the street. I would probably wait as long as I would in the pediatrician's office, but at least their stupid office wouldn't get my money. We quickly left and, thankfully, the facility up the street took care of everything in about the time we would have started (if lucky) the appointment with the pediatrician. What an ordeal.

Also, the youngest child came home from camp yesterday with her multitudes of laundry. One of her trunks is still sitting in the foyer unpacked. I may get to it by September.

Oh, and the - ahem - brain addled lawyer I'm opposing in a hotly contested case had the unmitigated gall to ask for a postponement on our less than a week away trial without the decency to contact me first. At least have the courtesy to let me know this coming, huh? You better believe that guy was hit with some pre-trial motions. Only took about four hours to draft. Had to get it done on the same day I received his outrageous motion because I'll be in Philly for the rest of the week and don't work on Saturdays. This after spending three to four hours preparing my client for Wednesday's trial. If there is any frivolous case more deserving of an award for attorney fees and costs, this is it.

Did I mention all the time I spent on the telephone trying to speak to an administrator at our children's private school about the draconian changes in their hot lunch program? Nobody bothered to tell the parents they were even considering any changes. Again, not enough time to provide details, but I am plenty peeved. Still haven't spoken to anyone with any power to change anything.

Did I also mention I had to pick up my new glasses? Or make additional doctor appointments and appointment changes for the kids? Or start taking their too small, uncool clothing out of their closets to make room for the new school clothes? Or that I'll never get to Philly by the time I promised our friends because I can't stop writing this article (wow - I'm really on a roll)? Or that last night's Chinese just made a beeline straight down?

No? Well, gotta run.

Oh, and another anniversary for Elvis. Long live The King.

Dick Cheney the Unpatriotic Liberal

I don't usually talk politics on this blog but this video was too much to pass up.



To hear him talk in this clip he's one us. Those "nasty, stupid, unpatriotic liberal" war critics that he has cursed. The Cheney camp claims that things were different because of 9/11. Yep, he is still beating that long dead (now decomposing) horse that Saddam had something to do with those horrible attacks. And I'm sure he'll be dragging the picked clean, parched bones with him to his grave.

---End of Transmission---

Maryland Needs a Little Turkey in the Straw Poll

A recent GOP treasury report indicates Maryland's Republican Party is clinging to life support, its coffers dwindling toward bankruptcy. Apparently, their annual Red White and Blue Dinner didn’t produce necessary funding.

Don’t tell me the minority party pins its financial stability on one annual fundraiser?! No wonder Maryland is dominated by Democrats.

Time for those folks down on Church Circle to study their well endowed brethren in the Hawkeye State. Even with a pitiful turnout of 14,302 (compared to 23,685 in 1999, not to mention the Iowa State Fair same day attendance of 98,207), pundits anticipate last Saturday's straw poll raising about a million smackers for GOP breadbaskets. Not bad for a one day haul on the picturesque grounds of Iowa State. Since 1978, this “political state fair for Republicans” has become the first litmus test measuring campaign strength, organizational abilities, and momentum building of GOP candidates. What more could a state party desire?

Let’s start with top-tiered candidates paying the per person $35.00 admission fee. Not exactly vote buying -- participants are free to vote for the candidate of their choice -- but a pretty hefty price to ensure supporter turnout. That alone could put Maryland Republicans in the black.

Reminds me of these gobs of grease. Freebies littered the straw poll like wads of paper surrounding public waste baskets. Like a big fat butter sculpture in a spraying tent set in front of the University’s Hilton Coliseum, wrapped in free yellow t-shirts, handing out free barbeque from local smoke pits, under a colossal-sized tent with its own performance stage, within eyesight of a free climbing wall and inflatable children’s slide, with a free bus ride to and from the event ... um.... wait a minute. That was Mitt Romney’s campaign. Romney finished first with about 31.6% of all votes cast. Quelle surprise.

Hilton Coliseum is home to each candidate's mock nominating convention. They rally inside, attempting to whip supporters into a political frenzy. Ritzy tent locations like the ones erected closest to the Coliseum run $25,000.00 per, while less desirable spots cost as much as $15,000.00. Now that’s a lot of butter!

Personally, I think former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, actor and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, and Arizona Senator John McCain were wise to skip the event. As the only candidates whose family values wouldn’t pass muster with social and religious conservatives, their financial resources could be better spent. Predictably, Thompson’s absence didn’t stop FredHeads from setting up shop. Despite his undeclared status, Thompson garnered 29 more votes than participating candidate Congressman Duncan Hunter.

Earth to Hunter. When you're beaten by a guy who isn’t even sure he’s going to run, it's time to throw in the towel. Give it up while you can still use the money to campaign for re-election. Ditto, businessman John Cox. Three other candidates who didn’t pay for a tent, a snow cone machine, or admission tickets finished ahead of you. Time to purchase that one-way ticket back to Chicago. At least former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson got the message, admitted defeat, and moved on. Cheer up, Tommy. Senior law partners still have appeal and look great in briefs.

For what it’s worth, here’s how Iowa's non-binding straw poll separated the men from the boys:

1. Mitt Romney – 4,516 votes
2. Mike Huckabee – 2,587 votes
3. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback – 2,192 votes
4. Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo – 1,961 votes
5. Texas Congressman Ron Paul – 1,305 votes
6. Tommy Thompson – 1,039 votes
7. Fred Thompson – 203 votes
8. Rudy Giuliani – 183 votes
9. Duncan Hunter – 174 votes
10. John McCain – 101 votes
11. John Cox – 41 votes

In keeping with his Baptist minister roots, Huckabee likened his second place finish to a parable from the New Testament. More likely, the Elvis impersonator rallied Huckabee's support. Rock star appeal is the theme of Election 2008. I'll bet Iowans were also smitten by Huckabee playing bass guitar. As for Tancredo and Paul, those are the real stories. Too bad the national news media didn't give either candidate much attention.

Traditional pundits say the straw poll didn't amount to a hill of beans. Less than 2.5% of active Republicans participated. That’s a huge gap from the number anticipated at Iowa's winter caucuses. According to Dennis Goldford, political science professor at Drake University, "68% of those who voted wanted someone other than Romney, even if they didn’t participate in the event." Stressing the lack of participation by Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and McCain while factoring Romney’s campaign spending along with the amount of family stumping, Romney's win was a Pyrrhic victory. But pundits fail to acknowledge the event's fundraising caliber. It's a clear winner for Republicans. A piece of fat to chew on and that's no beef.

Getting back to Maryland, I'd hate to see the Republican Party tank before 2011. Now that the District of Columbia has scheduled a January primary, there’s nothing stopping Maryland Republicans from planning a summer straw poll of their own. University of Maryland's Comcast Center would be the perfect venue. With its "Fear the Turtle" centerpiece positioned outside, Republicans could easily imbue a Maryland straw poll with an electric competitive vibe.

I hope someone is listening. Especially since the Party's annual Red White and Blue Dinner left their cupboards practically bare.

politics, celebrities

The Mitre - part 1

This summer I've been trying to do more bike riding. I've finished most of the foot trails that i can get to and finish in one day but year after year i've ignored biking trails. A few weeks ago i did the Eklutna Lake trail. It's a 13 mile dead end and i was interested in it because it's supposed to terminate at the toe of the Eklutna Glacier, one of Anchorage's main water sources. The trail is really an old dirt road for service vehicles with numerous offshoots for biking/hiking closer to the shore. It's closed to public driving. You are allowed a couple of times a week to use an ATV on it, and the other days it's reserved for non-motorized use, which seems fair. I would really like an ATV but since i don't have one i had to ride a bike.


Baleful Peak comes into view after passing Bold and Bashful Peaks.

I had problems almost immediately. After previous long rides i determined that my bike seat did not live up to the task of cushioning my ass. I had been meaning to buy a new one but instead i decided to take Maree's more padded seat (and post) off of her bike and just stick in on my bike. I didn't actually put it together until i was at the lake an hour later. I was dismayed, to say the least, that her seat post was smaller than mine, and as a result, even tightening my post hole as far as it would go it couldn't grip the post enough to keep it in place. So i improvised and filled the shaft with gravel until the seat sat at the right height. It was a very imprecise method that required very frequent readjustment to get the height right and to then keep it in place as rocks shifted or were ground down into smaller pebbles. Pretty maddening, actually, especially since i could find no way to keep the seat straight, so even if it was the right height, it continuously twisted back and forth and would even turn to face backwards if i was in a standing position.


A glacier on the lower reaches of Baleful Peak.

Additionally, I had decided to use this bottle of water someone left in our refrigerator two years ago. I put it in the bottle holder above the gears and because the the trail was so rocky, the bottle holder poked a hole in the bottle. That, in turn, sprayed water all over my face and the sudden drop in pressure bounced the bottle out and onto the dusty ground where the newly wet bottle immediately covered itself in mud as it rolled to a stop. Again, very frustrating.


Even from half a dozen miles away, the Mitre is imposing.

The trail proved to be a much more scenic ride than i had imagined. After 8 or 9 miles along the lake shore the trail continues beyond the lake and your view is taken up by the largest mountains in Chugach State Park: Mt. Bold and Bashful. What i was most impressed with though, was a huge mass of rock called The Mitre. I'd never paid attention to it on maps and had never seen it when visiting because of a bend in the lake, but it turned out the be the final destination of the bike trail.


In this closeup a tiny red and orange dot signifies a kayak with barely seen paddlers nearby. The beach and forest are still 4 miles closer than the massive scree slopes in the background.