Thought for the Day 15.0

Once plants and animals were raised together on the same farm --
which therefore neither produced unmanageable surpluses of manure, to
be wasted and to pollute the water supply, nor depended on such
quantities of commercial fertilizer. The genius of American farm
experts is very well demonstrated here: they can take a solution and
divide it neatly into two problems.

-Wendell Berry, farmer and author (b. 1934)

Fans and Their Objects

Nobody writes better, more sensible songs—and plays a more-muscled, yet articulate, acoustic guitar—than Darrell Scott. His Kentucky holler roots feed his songs and create a knowing rapport with his fans. I would love to have been part of the audience at this intimate performance of one of his best— "It's a Great Day to Be Alive." It must be so heartening for singer-songwriters to realize that their fans know the words to their songs.

In the song above, Scott plays a lovely koa Taylor guitar, but in this one he plays one of Stefan Sobell's gorgeous acoustics. He is a fabulous guitar player!

It's No Wonder . . .

It's no wonder thousands and thousands of women read Dee Drummond's blog every day (and some men, like me). She writes, and lives, "funny" and "funnier."

Why I Like FORBES

I like Forbes magazine for many reasons, and have for years. The magazine is not afraid to integrate a biblical worldview into their capitalist commitments, knowing that only capitalism allows the creation of excess to fuel charitable and other non-profit efforts. (As is often said, capitalism is the worst system in the world—except for all the others.) They print a favorite Bible verse, sent in by readers, on the back page of every issue. Rich Karlgaard, the publisher, is an active churchman who often mixes his spiritual insights with his business sense in his editorial column.

And they are willing to publish articles like this: "The Christmas Conspiracy: Spending Less = Giving More" by Keith Levy—an article that champions movements like Advent Conspiracy and Living Water International:

English Christmas

Amazed Again

I posted this video back on February 3. I recently emailed the link to a friend (we were discussing a magic trick) and in the days following I got tons of blog visits from people that he shared the link with and who they shared the link with, etc. It really is an entertaining magic trick if you missed it back in February. Just for fun, if you like it send the link to some friends so I can see how the virus spreads over the next few days. Once people see this they seem compelled to send it to friends: "Hey, watch this!" (P.S. I saw a video on YouTube that explains how the guy does the first trick -- and here's how he does the card trick.)

THE Question of the Ages Answered: What Is the Opening Chord to "Hard Day's Night"?

Best Way to Spend a Half-hour a Day

Link.

A Gaggle of Angels

I'm not sure what a group of angels is called—a multitude, a host, a flock, a gaggle? I kind of like gaggle so I'll go with that.

These gorgeous paintings of angels are by the wonderful artist Jane DesRosier (until recently of North Carolina, now Washington state). Actually, these are prints of her original paintings (couldn't have afforded the originals even if they'd been available). Six of them were mounted on birch plywood when I bought them from Jane, and four I mounted following her instructions. I think they are captivating—so reflective of the different personalities angels surely have.

Here's the group before I got them up on the wall:

And here are some close-ups—Jane does incredible amounts of layering and texturing; the colors are so deep. If you look closely on the third picture below you'll see a portion of Scripture text that's been layered into the paint:

And here they are grouped on the wall (I could have used some art direction here, but did the best I could):

I've posted this beautiful video of Jane in her studio before, but I'll post it again here so you can see this amazing artist at work painting "Jesus and Mother" (accompanied by Patty Griffin's song "Mary" -- gorgeous): Link. (Warning: when you land on the page, scroll immediately to the bottom of the page and turn off the music that plays automatically as it will conflict with the music in Jane's speed-painting video.

And here's another artist's (Katherine Labbe) portrait of Gritty Jane (as Jane DesRosier is known) herself—it looks a lot like her!

Thanks to God for Jane's great talent and to Jane for sharing it abundantly.

Winter Greens

Stopped by the Matthews Farmers Market this morning and came home with some beautiful winter greens: two bunches of collards, a bunch of regular spinach, two bunches of Bordeaux spinach (red stems), a giant head of Romaine lettuce and a head of red leaf lettuce. The temp was in the mid-30's this morning (lower overnight), and our local organic growers are still producing this beautiful produce:

I've been fortunate to have an abundant supply of Swiss chard growing in my own front bed. These chard plants are all from seeds from a plant that went to seed last year. I picked a leaf 21" long the other day (the leaf only, not counting the stem) and 10" wide to make a wrap for lunch.

Steve Jobs: Postmortem

One of America's best-known plant-based doctors, Dr. John McDougall, did a significant amount of research on Steve Jobs and the cancer that killed him, and offers some reflections on what caused his death—his vegan diet likely kept him alive longer than he might otherwise have lived, and the surgery he regretted not having sooner would not have saved him. Link.

What Are We Paying You For?

How to Google

Great primer on how to use Google to search for maximum advantage—including using Google to perform math functions and metric/standard conversions. Here.

Oops! Chris Matthews Has Gone off the Reservation

Bicycle Friendly

Here's a great idea arising from a great story:

The cycling team at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky, takes regular, long training rides on the roads surrounding the college. They were approached by some local residents who said (paraphrasing), "We like seeing the cycling team come by on their training rides and would like to support the team. We'd like them to know that if they ever need any assistance, especially in more rural areas—food or water, a phone, medical or mechanical help, directions—they are free to knock on our doors and we'll help them any way we can."

So together, they came up with the "Bicycle Friendly" sticker above. It's large—about 6" in diameter—to affix to the mailboxes of homes that are "Bicycle Friendly." When cyclists see the sticker, they know there are "friendlies" living there who will welcome the opportunity to assist them if they need help. And local businesses have gotten on the bandwagon—coffee shops, restaurants, and others who welcome cyclists are displaying the stickers on their storefronts.

In a day when cyclists are viewed as a nuisance by many folks, it's encouraging to find people who, even though they don't ride themselves, are still "Bicycle Friendly."

You can learn more about the program here, and order your own "Bicycle Friendly" stickers for your own mailbox or storefront. Ordering info is on the web site, or you can send a PayPal payment to grigsbyd@lindsey.edu. Stickers are $1 each and $1 for s/h for every 25 stickers ordered. That's obviously a break-even price, but proceeds support the Lindsey Wilson College cycling team. I've ordered some and plan to take a few by the two bike shops near me to encourage them to participate in distributing them.

They've already sold the first run of 10,000 stickers with more on order!

Needed: Economic Freedom

John Mackey, CEO of Wholefoods, has a great Wall Street Journal opinion piece on the need for economic freedom in America—i.e., economic reforms that would get the American economy moving again. From his editorial:

So why is our economy barely growing and unemployment stuck at over 9%? I believe the answer is very simple: Economic freedom is declining in the U.S. In 2000, the U.S. was ranked third in the world behind only Hong Kong and Singapore in the Index of Economic Freedom, published annually by this newspaper and the Heritage Foundation. In 2011, we fell to ninth behind such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland.

How Apple Makes Money

Apple's secret weapon for making money is to control the supply and production chain—from manufacturing to retail. A Bloomberg Businessweek article provides a jaw-dropping look at how Apple controls how its products are built, shipped, and sold. Just amazing.

When College Presidents Were Eloquent

In his November 9 column, George Will discusses the financial power of college football—how teams are switching conferences, and traveling thousands of miles cross-country for games, in pursuit of ever-larger television and bowl appearance payouts. As a contrast to the current state of affairs, he cites the refusal of Andrew Dickson White, Cornell University's first president, to allow Cornell's football team to travel to Cleveland to play Michigan's team in 1873:

"I will not permit 30 men to travel 400 miles merely to agitate a bag of wind."

That's the kind of elocution one expects from a college president!

How Cats Use Computers

My daughter and her cat, Trina, are bunking with me temporarily after relocating here for a new job. Here is how Trina uses my daughter's iBook—as a be-hind warmer, apparently. If Trina was a Lab, a Vizsla, a German Short-haired Pointer, a Weimaraner, or Rhodesian Ridgeback, she would have had the computer open reading Drudge, making trades, or setting up a night of poker with her pals. But not Trina. As far as she knows, the white plastic thing is a hotplate just for her. Cats.

The Ultimate Tweaker

If you don't have time (or interest) to read the just-released 600-page biography of Steve Jobs, a condensed version of Job's personality is at The New Yorker here. It's a quick read, but captures the darker side of the man who many know only as conquering hero. I confess to feeling much differently about Jobs after reading the biography. Before the book, I saw him as a genius with quirks. After the book I saw him as a deeply flawed man who I wonder if I would have enjoyed knowing.

This article uses the paradigm of the English Industrial Revolution as a way to think about Jobs. He was not an inventor but a tweaker—the most obvious example being his implementation of the technologies developed at Xerox's PARC center that appeared in the first Macintosh, and which the world thought Jobs & Co. had invented: the GUI (graphical user interface), the mouse, and more. There were portable music devices and cell phones before the iPod and iPhone—but Jobs tweaked what existed and made it great. And drove people crazy in the process.

He was such a perfectionist that it took eight years for him to begin furnishing the house he and his wife bought—he insisted they discuss the "purpose of a sofa" for a long time before buying one. Same with a washer and dryer. In the hospital he rejected nearly three score nurses before he found a couple he could tolerate, also rejecting the oxygen mask and finger BP sensor because of their poor design. These and MANY other examples are in the book—and there are enough in the New Yorker article to flesh out an accurate picture of the man.

Perhaps the saddest example of his perfectionism came near the end of the life (this story is in the biography, not in the article): He only got half-way toward deciding whether there is a God or not. In one of his final interviews with his biographer, Walter Isaacson, Jobs said he wasn't sure about the existence of God. He figured there is a "50-50 chance" that God exists. Taking eight years to decide about furniture is one thing. But taking a lifetime to decide about the existence of God is a far more weighty gamble—and an unnecessary one in light of the evidence:

"But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse." (Romans 1:19-20, The Message)

I can only hope that Job's perfectionism—the demands that he made on those around him—didn't carry over to his contemplation of the existence of God right up to his final moments of life. The verse just quoted says there is enough evidence to decide. But perhaps not enough for those who demand complete compliance to their standards.

African-Americans, Diabetes, and Veganism

The American Diabetes Association says that 14.7 percent of African-Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes. A new study from Loma Linda University found that vegan African-Americans have a 70 percent reduced risk of being diabetic, while lacto-ovo African-American vegetarians (those who eat dairy and eggs but not meat) have a 53 percent reduced risk of being diabetic.

With the Centers for Disease Control saying that one-third of American adults (all races) could be diabetic by 2050, you wonder why this vegan/vegetarian solution is not being shouted from the government rooftops. Can you spell m-e-a-t a-n-d d-a-i-r-y l-o-b-b-y ?

Read the article here. (Thanks, Daniel)

How to Change Your Genes

Great Atlantic article summarizing some research on the effects of lifestyle on genes. In short, poor lifestyle choices (e.g., smoking) can make good genes go rogue, but people with genetic markers for, say, heart disease can greatly decrease the likelihood of the disease through things like exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables. The idea that our health and longevity are genetically predetermined and outside our control is no longer viewed as correct.

Summer Camp

If you're in the market for a summer retreat in the beautiful Adirondacks of upstate New York, you'll want to check out this unbelievable offering from Sotheby's—a collection of rustic structures on 42 acres on a lake, yours for $6.5 million. If you look at it for fun (I'm obviously not in the Sotheby's market), be sure to click on the various links (Interior, Exterior, etc.) to see more pics than those on the home page. Especially stunning are the pics taken at night showing the expanse of stars (the point is made that the nighttime pics are not Photoshop'd—that's really how it looks at night). The pic I've posted here is of the outdoor fireplace. Can you see yourself sitting around this on a brisk New York night? See it here.

What the Occupiers Need

(Thanks to Robert)

Viewing Jesus Wrightly

Former Anglican bishop (now professor at St. Andrews University in Scotland) N.T. "Tom" Wright is probably the leading evangelical New Testament scholar working today. I've always liked his perspective—creative and biblical. He has a new book out about Jesus (Simply Jesus—A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters) and is interviewed by FOX News here. Unfortunately, FOX News videos rarely play on my Mac through Safari or Chrome, though on Firefox they work okay. Viewer beware.

Give a Turkey a Break

Every year, the New York Times Well blog goes vegetarian for Thanksgiving, publishing three weeks of recipes (daily) leading up to the big day. This year's recipes started yesterday with four beautiful dishes: Coconut Butternut Squash Soup, Black Rice with Corn and Cranberries, Massaged Kale Salad with Cranberries and Cashews, and Seven-Vegetable Couscous. While they call this a "vegetarian" Thanksgiving, these first-four recipes are vegan—and the forthcoming recipes can likely easily be made vegan if there are any offending ingredients.

Vegan Endurance

The Tour de France is often called the most challenging sport of endurance in the world—three weeks and 2,000+ kilometers pedaling up and down mountains while sitting on a hard, skinny seat. But last year, long-time American pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie became the first cyclist to ride the Tour as a vegan, proving that plant foods are plenty adequate for strength and endurance. In his own words:

“I started watching a few documentaries and in conjunction with that I took a food sensitivity test. I had some allergies so the first thing I did was cut meat out of my diet. Then it was dairy and the last thing was the eggs. This year I become the first pro to ride the Tour de France totally vegan. It was a change that was important to me for an environmental reason as well. There are a lot of benefits to it. Of course it was tough at times. I’d see team-mates wolfing down hamburgers but I’m over the craving part of it. Then I turned it into an animal rights issue, a cruelty issue, and I began reading up about that too. That helped to reinforce my faith in the diet. I don’t preach to my team or anyone else. It’s just a choice I made. There are some hardcore versions of veganism that say you can’t have leather products but i’m not going to start tearing the seats out of my car. But perhaps I’ll be more conscious of things I’ll buy in the future.”

Spearfishing in Heaven?

I recently enjoyed reading John Eldredge's latest book, Beautiful Outlaw—Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus.

Those who have read Eldredge's previous books—especially Wild at Heart—know his perspective on spirituality to be muscular, aggressive, and humanistic in a good way—using Jesus' perfect humanity as a template for Christian spirituality, especially for men. For Eldredge, Jesus seems to be Sir Lancelot, William Wallace (Braveheart), and Tristan Ludlow (Legends of the Fall) rolled into one.

Eldredge has done us a favor in his books by reminding us that Jesus was a man and helping to restore an image of what it meant to be the Second Adam. Beautiful Outlaw spotlights the extravagant, disruptive, scandalous, cunning (Eldredge's words) nature of Jesus, along with His more familiar virtues of humility, honest, and beauty. So far, so good—until the end of the book.

In the last four pages of the book, Eldredge recounts an interview in which he was asked a question for which he wasn't prepared:

"What are you looking forward to with Jesus?"

He realized that, for all the thought he had put into his present experience with Jesus, he hadn't given a lot of thought to his future with Jesus. The question made him remember that a day is coming when he will see Jesus face-to-face and share life with Him.

For my part, when I read the interviewer's question, my first thought was, "Do you mean 'looking forward to' in the sense of the rest of my life here on earth?" or "Do you mean 'looking forward to' in the sense of the future as eternity?"

Eldredge obviously understood the question as referring to eternity, to heaven, because he cites the passage from Matthew 19:28-29 in which Jesus tells His disciples,

"In the re-creation of the world, when the Son of Man will

rule gloriously, you who have followed me will also rule,

starting with the twelve tribes of Israel."

(The Message)

He goes on to emphasize the "re-creation of the world," calling it "a renewed heavens, a renewed earth":

"My friends, I hope you understand that we get the entire glorious kingdom back. Sunlight on water, songbirds in a forest; desert sands under moonlight; vineyards just before harvest—Jesus fully intends to restore the glorious world he gave us. Paradise lost; paradise regained. A hundred times over." (pp. 217-218)

In his eloquent way, Eldredge paints a picture of Eden reborn, the anticipation of which is hard to deny. But typical of Eldredge, he tends to read back into Eden romantic aspects of our fallen world, both in human and non-human dimensions. For example, will there really be deserts—"desert sands under moonlight"—in the new earth? Aren't deserts a sign of environmental disruption, hardly typical of "paradise regained"?

Quibbles aside, I was with him as he built a case for the joy of knowing, and being known by, Jesus in the "re-creation of the world." Only after painting the picture of what raced through his mind as he pondered the interviewer's question does Eldredge give us his answer—what he is looking forward to with Jesus when the world is restored to its created glory:

"Spearfishing." (p. 218)

Spearfishing?

He explained:

"I know this beautiful world will be ours again and so will Jesus, and all the time imaginable to play together. Beauty. Intimacy. Adventure. The very things we were given at the dawn of time. But honestly, more than all that, I'm just looking forward to seeing him, looking into his eyes, hugging him as Peter did on the beach and not letting go for a very long time." (p. 218, italics added)

First, credit is due for his priority of simply seeing Jesus rather than playing together. But his dream of "spearfishing" with Jesus in heaven, reflective of "the very things we were given at the dawn of time," is hugely problematic, biblically speaking.

Before saying why, I'm going to cut Eldredge some slack. The man is a hiker, a hunter, a high-mountain man—think William Wallace in High Sierra instead of Highlands plaid and Tristan Ludlow in Merrills instead of moccasins. His meal of choice is fresh meat on the bone and trout in the pan—preferably killed and cleaned with his own hands. So, not surprisingly, his idea of how to spend a day with Jesus in heaven is "spearfishing."

And that's where Eldredge gets into trouble biblically—reading the proclivities of fallen human beings back into an unfallen Eden ("the dawn of time") or forward into a recreated new earth ("the restored glorious world").

Where, in Genesis, does one find the image or idea of Adam spearing a fish, leaving a trail of blood in the water, for his food? God's prescribed diet for humankind was plants (Genesis 1:29). Yes, after the fall of humanity into sin and Eden into disrepair, a concession was made to allow man to consume animals for food (Genesis 9:1-6). But such a practice was not present at "the dawn of time."

And from where does the idea of Jesus being an enthusiast of killing animals for sport come? Jesus entered human history thousands of years past "the dawn of time" when concessionary practices were well established, such as raising animals for their by-products and pulling nets of fish from the sea. In fact, He facilitated such cultural practices by advising His disciples where to cast their nets to find a bountiful catch. He even ate a piece of fish Himself as a demonstration of His physical resurrection (and perhaps ate flesh foods on other occasions as well).

Jesus chose not to try to restore Eden in three years of ministry. Rather, He introduced the present-and-future kingdom of God in which all things (as Eldredge rightly notes) will be ultimately restored, ultimately recreated. But even though Jesus lived in the concessionary parenthesis in which we ourselves live, we don't see Him in Scripture as the blood-and-bone adventurer that Eldredge and those in the "Christian sportsman" movement want Him to be—taking pleasure in spilling the blood of animals for sport or even for food when such killing for food is neither original (Genesis 1:29) or necessary (as in today's world where plant foods are abundant).

How does the idea of "spearfishing with Jesus" fit with Isaiah's image of the future recreation?

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lied down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,

and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

(Isaiah 11:6-9)

That sounds like an Edenic setting, something to be found at the "dawn of time." And Isaiah says it will happen in the future—at least until John Eldredge and Jesus show up with their spears, bows and arrows, and guns and knives and start recreating the fall all over again on the new earth, staining soil and water with the blood of animals who were created to trust man, not fear him (Genesis 2:19-20).

Really? Something tells me Jesus won't be part of that adventure, nor will He sanction Eldredge or any other citizen of the New Jerusalem marring the eternal kingdom with behavior that is characteristic of fallen humanity.

Here's where I'll cut Eldredge a second portion of slack. What if he used "spearfishing" as a metaphor for "guys hanging out doing what guys do"? What if he used "spearfishing" as a way to say "spending time around the campfire with Jesus and a PBR, talking about life in guy terms"?

If that's what Eldredge meant, that's what he should have said. In Beautiful Outlaw and his previous books, he has established himself as a man's man who likes to hunt and fish and live in the great outdoors. So when he says he looks forward to spearfishing with Jesus in heaven, one can only assume he means shooting a barbed arrow through a defenseless fish, mortally wounding it, spilling its blood in the ocean simply because it's possible to do so.

In either case—whether Eldredge is speaking literally or metaphorically about spearfishing—it's an example of mature, thinking Christians not having a biblical theology of animals. Whether one uses hunting as a metaphor for "fun and fellowship" or a reference to a literal act, in neither case is there biblical grounds for doing so. The Bible gives no indication that animals were treated with anything less than complete respect at "the dawn of time" or will be in the restoration of all things. The fact that we treat them otherwise during the concessionary parenthesis of this age is a sign of our fallenness, not our maturity. (What Christian could be called mature who uses the concession of divorce as a way to casually and without cause dishonor the Edenic, permanent institution of marriage? The same question applies to animals. Concession does not equal creed; permission does not equal prescription.)

If you want a thought-provoking, biblically-based book on the humanity of Jesus (that doesn't diminish His divinity at the same time), read Beautiful Outlaw. Just don't make the mistake Eldredge makes of reading into your present or future life with Jesus everything that fallen man has invented for pleasure or entertainment—like the killing of animals.

God is in the process of conforming us to the true image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). We only distort and delay the process when we imagine Jesus looking in a mirror and seeing us.

The Skill of Blaming Others

At a fundraiser in San Francisco yesterday, president Obama said,

"We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge."

The arrogance of that statement is stunning. Imagine: in three short years—since he became president—America's people have lost their ambition, their imagination, and their willingness to dream and build big. None of it is his fault, of course. It's all our fault. For some reason, which he failed to reveal, America's entire ideological ethic has changed.

I wonder if he can't see the correlation: This so-called loss of ambition, imagination, and ability to build big has happened on his watch. (It goes without saying that there has been no loss of ambition, imagination, or ability. People are doing what is natural in the face of the unknown—consolidating in a defensive position until the enemy leaves the gates.)

More and more, the evidence is that this man is in way over his head. For his own sake (and ours), I hope his misery ends next November.

Welcome to Amerika 2

In my humble opinion (and that of lots of businessmen), the number one impediment to job creation and economic growth in America is the Obama administration—period—for at least three reasons: excessive regulations, the highest corporate tax rate in the world, and uncertainty about future costs connected to ObamaCare. Businesses can't grow, and won't grow, until something is done about all three.

I have followed the story of the Gibson Guitar Company for months now. Their factory was raided in 2009 (by armed federal SWAT teams) for suspicion of breaking laws relating to the importation of certain kinds of woods used in guitars—woods that are on endangered species lists in certain countries. Gibson maintains its innocence (they have never been charged with any violation) and the countries of Madagascar and India have said Gibson violated no export laws of their countries. Yet Gibson continues to be persecuted by the federal government. This is a great example of the kind of irrelevant and unnecessary interference by the government in business.

Here's a short interview with the president of Gibson summarizing the situation:

Thought for the Day 14.0

In the preface to his new book, Suicide of a Superpower—Will America Survive to 2025?, Pat Buchanan asks,

"What happened to the country we grew up in?"

The last paragraph of the Preface provides an eloquent summary of what has gone wrong:

"When the faith dies, the culture dies, the civilization dies, the people die. That is the progression. And as the faith that gave birth to the West is dying in the West, peoples of European descent from the steppes of Russia to the coast of California have begun to die out, as the Third World treks north to claim the estate. The last decade provided corroborating if not conclusive proof that we are in the Indian summer of our civilization. Historian Arnold Toynbee wrote, 'Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.' And so it is. We are the Prodigal Sons who squandered their inheritance; but, unlike the Prodigal Son, we can't go home again."

Ron Paul: Still Making the Most Sense

Ron Paul is still making a lot of good sense. Here he is on last Sunday's Meet the Press:

Remembering with Excellence

It's not enough for Apple to create insanely great products (Jobs' term) -- they even do insanely great memorial services. The outdoor memorial service for Steve Jobs was great: reminiscences by Tim Cook, the new CEO, Bill Campbell, longtime board member, Johnny Ives, who designs the Apple products, and most compelling, Al Gore, Apple board member. For all of Gore's wacky politics, the man is a terrific speaker. Music by Nora Jones and Coldplay—wow! I got tears and chills listening to the Coldplay song that backed one of the early iPod commercials.

The whole service is a reminder that good and great are not enough in life—only insanely great will change the world.

You can watch the service here.

Need for Speed

While watching a YouTube video, I accidentally control-clicked (Mac; right-click on PC) on the video window while it was playing and discovered a choice to view my download speed for YouTube videos for the last month compared to other local communities, my state, and the USA. As you can see from the chart below, I averaged about 13 megabytes per second download speed while watching YouTube videos—significantly higher than the other averages presented. I wonder how accurate these numbers are? With the proliferation of broad-band connections (I have Road Runner Turbo), I would think average download speeds would be higher than 4-5 megabytes per second. Knowing, however, how many homeowners use DSL to connect to the Internet, which is VERY slow compared to cable (see the "Windstream" rating in the lower-left corner—3.3 mpbs—which is a local telephone/DSL Internet provider in my area), perhaps the numbers are accurate. But my speed of 13 mbps from YouTube is still significantly less than what I get when testing my down-and-up-load speeds at sites like speakeasy.net and speedtest.net (depending on the time of day around 21-25 mbps). Understandably, downloading a video from YouTube might be slower than a clean packet download from a test site.

Watch a YouTube video and check your own download speed compared to other averages.

At least once a year . . .

At least once a year, I try to spend an hour at the web site of the Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio to watch videos of the acoustic artists and bands that have performed there. Blue Rock is located near Austin, Texas, and combines a high-end music production facility with a small, intimate concert venue. They keep a regular schedule of top indie and labeled acoustic artists coming through. Most are unknown to me, I'm sorry to say, but I thoroughly enjoy the professionally produced video summaries of their concerts. Well worth an hour or two of time.

Biblical Illiteracy

What's wrong with this picture? (If the Wall Street occupiers don't know any more about the economy than they do about the Bible, they're in for a disappointing run.)

Touché, Warren!

As a much-more-fair counter to Obama's "Buffett Rule" (forcing the wealthy to pay higher taxes), a senator and representative have introduced legislation to provide the opportunity on tax returns for any citizen to donate $1.00 or more to reduce the federal deficit. Excellent! Now, Mr. Buffett, along with all the other self-titled "patriotic millionaires" can step up and voluntarily give their money to their bleeding hearts' content. I don't know if we'd ever be told, but my bet is that none would do it.

Alas, they'll likely not have the chance since the legislation has zero chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Read the whole story here.

Amazing Design for Sustainable Food Production

Back to Eden is a new film on sustainable gardening techniques. Ironically, the techniques are not new, but mirror the way nature has reproduced bountifully for eons. The subject of the film, Paul Gautschi, mixes his knowledge of the Bible with his gardening techniques, which I found quite insightful. The first half of the film is narrated by him and exposes his own work and is excellent. The third quarter is about other families that have implemented his techniques, and drags a bit (but very practical in terms of how to turn a grassy plot into the kind of garden he has built up over years). But the last quarter of the film returns to Gautschi. What this guy has implemented is truly amazing. Anyone who has ever labored with dry soil and weeds will be bowled over.

The film is available for purchase and watching for free at the film's web site (scroll down). Well worth the investment of time.

Clapton and Cordings

For those who love tweed and tattersall—and who incline toward Eric Clapton—this video will have appeal. Cordings is a traditional maker of fine men's and women's clothing in the British tradition, located in London. Clapton tells the story of his lifelong love of English tradition, especially clothing—so much so that he is now a co-owner of Cordings.

I smiled all the way through this video at the thought of Eric Clapton, having survived drugs, Cream, the Sixties and Seventies, now settling into his graybeard years as a tailor—or at least a partner of tailors. And who can blame him? When you see the closeups of the tattersall shirts in this video, one's sartorial pulse is immediately quickened. And note the beautiful gussets built into each side of the back of the jacket he tries on, to allow plenty of motion for swing shooters in the field. Gotta' love the British style, if not the reasons (shooting birds). But that alone sets the British apart—the fact that they go bird shooting in tweed jackets, tattersall shirts, and wool ties.

Indian Vegan Recipes

To get 21 days of vegan recipes from India, sign up for the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine's "21-Day Kickstart India" campaign. (Starts in November.)

Beautiful Bread

Chad Robertson has become world famous for the bread he bakes at his Tartine Bakery in (where else?) San Francisco:

His book about bread, Tartine Bread, is available for home bakers to learn his ways.

B-12, D, and Iodine

From solid vegan nutritionist Ginny Messina in an article on vitamin/mineral supplements:

But vegan diets always need to be supplemented with B12 on a regular basis (not “occasionally”) and often with vitamin D. If you don’t use iodized salt you should take a supplement of iodine. I recommend a DHA supplement as well, although the research on benefits remain conflicting.

My two cents: From what I've read, the population at large is mostly B-12 deficient which is problematic since B-12 is so critical to long-term health. No one should be adding extra iodized (regular table) salt to their food because of the negative effects of salt (hypertension, etc.). (Even sea salt should be limited.) Iodine is critical for thyroid health, but getting iodine from sea sources (kelp, dulse flakes, etc.) is far healthier than from iodized table salt. (The government mandated the addition of iodine to table salt years ago to make sure the population got iodine, a non-optional ingredient. Table salt is nothing but a delivery vehicle for the iodine which we do need. Gov: "What does every American crave to which we can iodine?" Answer: "Table salt.")

Lots of vegans STILL don't take B-12 regularly, to their detriment. Omnivores get B-12 from meat, vegans and vegetarians have to get it from other sources. Supplements are the safest, most predictable way. It's inexpensive and plentiful. (The methylcobalamin version of B-12 is supposedly better absorbed than cyanocobalamin -- look on the label for the kind. But either is better than none.)

n.b.—the presence of B-12 in meat is not an argument AGAINST plant-based diets. Animals get the bacteria that synthesizes to B-12 by eating plants in nature, and they process it well because of their extensive gut systems, getting into their flesh which humans consume. We would get the same bacteria from nature if we "grazed" plants like we were created to do (Genesis 1:29). Instead, we eat sterilized plant foods, miss the bacteria, and thus produce little B-12 of our own. (I've made this argument in this space many times before and make it again only to dispel the common myth that the presence of B-12 in meat is an argument against plant-based diets.)

(Thanks to vegan.com for the link.)

Thought for the Day 13.0

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.
-- John Adams

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
-- Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.
-- Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-- Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
-- George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
-- G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
-- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
-- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
-- Frederic Bastiat, French economist(1801-1850)

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
-- Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
-- Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
-- P.J. O'Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-- Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
-- Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
-- Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
-- Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
-- Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
-- Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-- Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
-- Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-- Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
-- Aesop


Five Truths:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealth out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for...another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work, because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation!

(Thanks to Dan B.)

"When I was your age . . . ."

I have held on to this New Yorker cartoon for over a decade. It cracks me up every time I stumble across it in my stuff as I did today. (As with all New Yorker cartoons, some people will get it, some won't.)

P.S. I searched my blog to see if I had posted this before. In any case, enjoy.

Spontaneous? Really?

During a press conference this afternoon, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi had this to say about the Wall Street occupiers:

"God bless them for their spontaneity. It's independent . . . it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused."

Spontaneous? Really?

I heard something in the news today that led me to check the domain name registration information for two of the main web sites being used by the protestors:

occupywallstreet.org was registered on June 9

occupywallst.org was registered on July 14

Looks like somebody was planning these protests long before they spontaneously occurred.

The Leaves They Are a'Changin'

Early photos (taken Oct. 5) of the leaf changes along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina: Mt. Mitchell, the Linville viaduct, Grandfather Mountain, etc. Just a foretaste of what's to come. Link.

Peel a Head of Garlic in 10 Seconds

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

And that's what happened to the dinosaurs.

(Thanks to Robert!)

I Dare You to Eat One Serving

I recently learned about Liz Lovely artisan, organic, vegan cookies. They are made in the Green Mountains of Vermont, by a young couple and their small staff. And while the operation appears small, they are available in some 500 retail locations around the country (check on their site).

The article I read said they had just opened up their first hometown storefront when hurricane Irene powered through a few weeks ago and flooded their store. The article's appeal was to order some cookies just to keep their bakery going while they rebuilt their storefront. Never one to turn down a reason to buy good vegan cookies, I placed an order, which arrived promptly and well packed.

These are bad, bad (meaning good, good) cookies—seriously decadent (meaning delicious). The ingredients are fine (except the use of palm fruit oil)—vegan and mostly organic—but they are loaded with sugar and dark chocolate. (Did I mention they are delicious?) The cookies are large, so a serving size is one-half of a cookie. The sample pack I ordered had four different kinds of their cookies, each having a serving-size calorie count of 170-200 calories—for ONE-HALF of a cookie. And I defy you to eat a half of one of these babies. They are sold in packs of two cookies, meaning you could put down around 800 calories if you eat both—which you probably will. So, caveat emptor.

I won't order more (I don't suffer from sugar deficiency), but I'm happy to see a young couple doing principled work with good ingredients. Nobody could eat these on a regular basis, but for a special treat they'd be hard to beat. (You know you want to try them, so go ahead. You'll be helping them get back on their feet after the flood.)

P.S. Read their inspiring story here.

"How to Change a Lightbulb" by the U.S. Government

The U.S. Government Printing Office just released the official federal guidelines on changing a lightbulb. (Not really, but who would be surprised if they did—and if it looked like this?)

So Much for Royal Values

The general opinion of Prince William has been that he seems fairly thoughtful for a rich young man who's had life handed to him on a gilded platter. But the tide of public opinion has taken a hard shift. His plan to celebrate his brother Harry's recent birthday is to purchase 250 ducks, pheasants, and partridges for a shooting party in Harry's honor. As one commenter on the LondonNet site said, "Why not just toss puppies up in the air and shoot them?"

England has a long history of shooting animals for sport—men and women in tweed, tattersall, and Wellies tromping through the moors and heath blowing birds out of the sky, or chasing foxes on horses with dogs, etc. But buying 250 game birds for the express purpose of slaughtering them? Prince William ought to be ashamed.

Welcome to Amerika

Adam Guerrero teaches high school math in Memphis, TN. But currently his front yard is a crime scene because he has a garden planted there. (The yellow Crime Scene tape looks like it was Photoshopped in -- but his yard is, in fact, the scene of an illegal activity.) He was cited for violating two ordinances: failure to maintain "a clean and sanitary condition free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage," etc. This in spite of the fact that there is no such rubbish or garbage in the front yard. Bottom line, some neighbors complained which makes Mr. Guerrero a nuisance.

Not only has Mr. Guerrero been growing food ON HIS OWN PROPERTY, he's been using the garden as a teaching tool for several of his high school students who are interested in learning about gardening:

You can go HERE on the Kitchen Gardeners web site to read about this situation. He is due in court on Friday, September 23. There is a petition you can sign in his support, a Facebook page in his support you can join, and the email address of the judge hearing the complaint. (I've done all three.) Please speak out in support of this man's right to grow food in his own front yard.

9-23-11 update: Adam gets to keep his garden—and more!

The Kitchen Gardeners International web site reports that the judge was so impressed with the support from all over the world for Adam that he decided Adam can keep his front-yard garden. Plus, the city is going to make a vacant lot nearby available for him to expand his educational gardening activity. The people have been heard! :-)

What You Need to Know About Chia Seeds

I've been eating chia seeds for a couple of years, having had to order them from exotic distributors. But they have hit the mainstream—I noticed they are now available in bulk at a local market (EarthFare). They supposedly contain the highest amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids of any plant food. Fooducate.com has posted a nice little summary of "what you need to know" about chia seeds.

My two cents: Chia seeds are so small (read TINY) and hard that they will not get broken down by your teeth—you'll swallow them whole, which means they might go all the way through your system without ever being broken down to release their inner goodness. Therefore (and this is true of almost all small seeds like flax, un-hulled hemp, etc.), they should be ground in a coffee-type grinder and then sprinkled in/on your food as a meal or powder. I've worked my way through lots of different coffee bean grinders and currently have two of this model which does a good job. There are so many available that it's hard to know what kind to pick, but I've been happy with the Capresso grinders.

Anyway, read the Fooducate article on chia and incorporate "the little buggers" into your diet to get the fiber and the Omega-3's. (And subscribe to Fooducate's RSS feed. They publish great stuff on food and have iPhone and Android apps that you can use at the grocery store to get the facts on foods you're interested in trying.)