Hello all.
I have not posted here in well over a year. I post mostly on Facebook. But that's going to change in a few days. I will be putting a few of my best posts of 2019 and 2020 up for your perusal.
And I have an exciting announcement I will also be making this week.
Be on the lookout.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Saturday, November 10, 2018
The Meaning of Three Scallops
(Originally posted November 3)
I am on my way to Tajikistan with an intermediate stop in Bishkek. Whenever I am in Bishkek, I am always searching for food that isn't gretchka or chicken, seeking comfort in cuisine.
Indeed, I discovered that a shipment of fresh seafood had just arrived by plane to one of my favorite eateries. On the top of the fresh list were scallops. Though the price was unreasonable, I could not resist the temptation, because a fresh scallop in Kyrgyzstan is as rare as flamingos and palm trees on a tropical beach in Antarctica. Though give us about a half a century, and given current trends, those Antarctic palm trees might just become a reality.
Scallops are the most delicate of seafood. If you didn't know what you were eating, you might not even guess that they are from the ocean as they possess almost no fishy flavor. Scallops must be treated gently, because when cooked improperly they can become rubbery, not much more pleasing than eating an eraser. They are overshadowed by the breading when deep fried and certainly cannot be casually added to soups or chowders like the tough and durable clam, for when placed in a stew, a scallop disintegrates and almost disappears. Luckily the three scallops I was served, were cooked as they should be, seared in a frying pan with some light seasoning, retaining their richness and slight sweetness.
It was a plate of comfort on this raw, cold November day.
Comfort. After I finished my three scallops, I considered the lengths I sometimes go to while living in Kyrgyzstan to seek out comfort, especially in the form of food. And when I contemplate this excessive comfort I am able to obtain, I always seem to think of those who do not have any comfort in their lives.
What kind of unattainable luxury would three scallops be for most of those who live in Kyrgyzstan? Or for most of the world, indeed? And how many on this planet do not have the comfort of shelter? Or health care? Or clean water? Or are refugees? Those of us who seek comfort without consideration, I wonder about the moral condition we possess. I possess.
Perhaps my eternal fate does not depend upon the three scallops on my plate. But maybe it does depend on the concept of comfort. Advancing our own comfort can be a questionable moral endeavor depending upon the circumstance, but there is no ambiguity about our relationship to the comfort of others. For when we cast a blind eye to the comfort of those in need, then we truly must worry about our fate.
The faith tradition from which I come is quite clear. In the final judgment of humanity, mercy is given to those who provide food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, comfort to the sick and to prisoners, and welcome to all strangers. Providing comfort. That is what we must do as humans. Those who do not provide comfort, do not receive mercy.
This election is all about comfort. The President is offering the opposite. Not only isn't comfort being offered to the stranger or the refugee, but instead, the President is offering 10,000 troops with guns to meet a refugee caravan at our border. No food to the hungry. No comfort to the sick. Even worse, hateful rhetoric is offered, pitting one group against the other. Anyone from my faith tradition who supports this vision offered by the President has actually abandoned their faith tradition completely. That is why this election is so important. Depending upon the results, we will be choosing to believe in a society that attempts to provide aid and comfort to all or to believe in a society where only people from certain privileged groups are considered worthy of receiving the common good.
I suppose I should not worry too much about the three scallops on my plate, as long as I am willing to share two of them, with anyone, each and every day. And as long as I work actively and vote actively to extend comfort and hospitality to all those in need. As our first priority. No matter what.
I am on my way to Tajikistan with an intermediate stop in Bishkek. Whenever I am in Bishkek, I am always searching for food that isn't gretchka or chicken, seeking comfort in cuisine.
Indeed, I discovered that a shipment of fresh seafood had just arrived by plane to one of my favorite eateries. On the top of the fresh list were scallops. Though the price was unreasonable, I could not resist the temptation, because a fresh scallop in Kyrgyzstan is as rare as flamingos and palm trees on a tropical beach in Antarctica. Though give us about a half a century, and given current trends, those Antarctic palm trees might just become a reality.
Scallops are the most delicate of seafood. If you didn't know what you were eating, you might not even guess that they are from the ocean as they possess almost no fishy flavor. Scallops must be treated gently, because when cooked improperly they can become rubbery, not much more pleasing than eating an eraser. They are overshadowed by the breading when deep fried and certainly cannot be casually added to soups or chowders like the tough and durable clam, for when placed in a stew, a scallop disintegrates and almost disappears. Luckily the three scallops I was served, were cooked as they should be, seared in a frying pan with some light seasoning, retaining their richness and slight sweetness.
It was a plate of comfort on this raw, cold November day.
Comfort. After I finished my three scallops, I considered the lengths I sometimes go to while living in Kyrgyzstan to seek out comfort, especially in the form of food. And when I contemplate this excessive comfort I am able to obtain, I always seem to think of those who do not have any comfort in their lives.
What kind of unattainable luxury would three scallops be for most of those who live in Kyrgyzstan? Or for most of the world, indeed? And how many on this planet do not have the comfort of shelter? Or health care? Or clean water? Or are refugees? Those of us who seek comfort without consideration, I wonder about the moral condition we possess. I possess.
Perhaps my eternal fate does not depend upon the three scallops on my plate. But maybe it does depend on the concept of comfort. Advancing our own comfort can be a questionable moral endeavor depending upon the circumstance, but there is no ambiguity about our relationship to the comfort of others. For when we cast a blind eye to the comfort of those in need, then we truly must worry about our fate.
The faith tradition from which I come is quite clear. In the final judgment of humanity, mercy is given to those who provide food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, comfort to the sick and to prisoners, and welcome to all strangers. Providing comfort. That is what we must do as humans. Those who do not provide comfort, do not receive mercy.
This election is all about comfort. The President is offering the opposite. Not only isn't comfort being offered to the stranger or the refugee, but instead, the President is offering 10,000 troops with guns to meet a refugee caravan at our border. No food to the hungry. No comfort to the sick. Even worse, hateful rhetoric is offered, pitting one group against the other. Anyone from my faith tradition who supports this vision offered by the President has actually abandoned their faith tradition completely. That is why this election is so important. Depending upon the results, we will be choosing to believe in a society that attempts to provide aid and comfort to all or to believe in a society where only people from certain privileged groups are considered worthy of receiving the common good.
I suppose I should not worry too much about the three scallops on my plate, as long as I am willing to share two of them, with anyone, each and every day. And as long as I work actively and vote actively to extend comfort and hospitality to all those in need. As our first priority. No matter what.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Go Little Vote, Go!!!
Today I picked up my ballot for the upcoming midterm election at the Central Administration Office. My mother was kind enough to send it to me via DHL and it traveled from Spokane to Seattle to Cincinnati, Ohio, to Leipzig, Germany to the DHL sorting center located "North of Moscow, Russia," ironically enough, then to the Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan DHL Center, to the Central Office, where it came into my possession.
As you can see, I cast my ballot for Democrat Lisa Brown for the U.S. House of Representatives against the Republican Trump Enabler who voted in agreement with Trump's positions over 97% of the time the past two years. Unfortunately, my home 5th District is very Republican, but Brown has an outside chance (about 20%) of winning. If enough Democrats win House races across the U.S. on November 6, the Democrats will take control and will be able to stop some of Trump's terrible policies. And they will be able to investigate some of the horrible corruption that Trump and his minions have been engaging in.
This election is potentially the most important one in my lifetime. If the Democrats cannot take back the House, then Trump will remain unchecked and will be able to engage in even worse actions during the next two years. Everyone out there who is able to, be sure to vote as if your life depends on it, because it actually might.
Even though sending DHL packages back and forth across the planet is horribly expensive, the price is worth it, because the cost of not casting a vote is far, far greater. So, fly back to the polling station, precious little vote and may you be one more tiny voice of dissent against the anti-democratic forces currently in power and my wish is that you will serve as one small drop in a massive blue wave that I hope will be the first step in helping to wash injustice and intolerance out of the mainstream of our political landscape and back into the murky depths from which they have emerged.
As you can see, I cast my ballot for Democrat Lisa Brown for the U.S. House of Representatives against the Republican Trump Enabler who voted in agreement with Trump's positions over 97% of the time the past two years. Unfortunately, my home 5th District is very Republican, but Brown has an outside chance (about 20%) of winning. If enough Democrats win House races across the U.S. on November 6, the Democrats will take control and will be able to stop some of Trump's terrible policies. And they will be able to investigate some of the horrible corruption that Trump and his minions have been engaging in.
This election is potentially the most important one in my lifetime. If the Democrats cannot take back the House, then Trump will remain unchecked and will be able to engage in even worse actions during the next two years. Everyone out there who is able to, be sure to vote as if your life depends on it, because it actually might.
Even though sending DHL packages back and forth across the planet is horribly expensive, the price is worth it, because the cost of not casting a vote is far, far greater. So, fly back to the polling station, precious little vote and may you be one more tiny voice of dissent against the anti-democratic forces currently in power and my wish is that you will serve as one small drop in a massive blue wave that I hope will be the first step in helping to wash injustice and intolerance out of the mainstream of our political landscape and back into the murky depths from which they have emerged.
The Joy of Pie
(Originally posted, June 30)
I have participated in debates, icebreakers, and other activities where people (Americans) discuss which they prefer: cake or pie. While I enjoy cake, I definitely fall strongly into the pie lovers camp. Although, one can find a nice cake in virtually every country of the world, including Kyrgyzstan, pies are a much rarer commodity.
This evening I went out to dinner with my parents and we all had pie for dessert. It is almost July and yet it is only my first piece of pie of the year. Luckily in the State of Washington it is berry season--cherry and berry pies being my favorite type of pie. I enjoyed a delicious piece of Oregon Marionberry pie (a hybrid cousin of the blackberry only grown in the West) and my parents both enjoyed strawberry-rhubarb pie.
The eating of fruit pie is a reminder that the simplest of pleasures are sometimes the ones that touch our spirits most deeply.
I have participated in debates, icebreakers, and other activities where people (Americans) discuss which they prefer: cake or pie. While I enjoy cake, I definitely fall strongly into the pie lovers camp. Although, one can find a nice cake in virtually every country of the world, including Kyrgyzstan, pies are a much rarer commodity.
This evening I went out to dinner with my parents and we all had pie for dessert. It is almost July and yet it is only my first piece of pie of the year. Luckily in the State of Washington it is berry season--cherry and berry pies being my favorite type of pie. I enjoyed a delicious piece of Oregon Marionberry pie (a hybrid cousin of the blackberry only grown in the West) and my parents both enjoyed strawberry-rhubarb pie.
The eating of fruit pie is a reminder that the simplest of pleasures are sometimes the ones that touch our spirits most deeply.
America, the Metric System, and Trump
(Originally posted, September 16)
I always find it fascinating that the United States is basically the only nation on Planet Earth that hasn't adopted the metric system. I have spent much of my adult life living in nations that use the metric system and it is so incredibly amazing how much easier it is to use, if only you adapt for a few days and put your mind to it.
Once you get over your initial resistance and stubborn mindlessness, it is such a joy to work in multiples of 10 rather than in multiples of 3, 12, and 5280. It's not just ease of use and its logical simplicity that makes the metric system superior: if the U.S. were to adopt the metric system, even when considering the initial cost of conversion, most studies indicate that, in the longer term, the U.S. economy would gain billions of dollars from being in sync with the rest of the world.
There's only one reason America doesn't adopt the metric system: most Americans would rather remain trapped in an outdated past than make the effort to transition to a better future, because it would require a little work and a change of mindset.
So, what does this resistance to the metric system have to do with Donald Trump?
Donald Trump is like our antiquated system of measurement. Outdated. A relic of centuries past. Something lesser and inferior to other alternatives out there--a pathetic attachment to a warped vision of the past. Trump and the old measurement system are both attractive to those who are fearful of the changing world and resistant to new realities. 62 million people voted for Trump because they were afraid of the changing demographics of America and frightened of the changes that happen in a chaotic world where few jobs are safe and ways of life are never secure.
Donald Trump is proof that America is actually a very fearful country. The notion that we are a country of dynamic trailblazers may have been more true at one time in our history, but Trump is proof that, outside of a few bustling urban areas of progress and progressiveness, the U.S. is a fundamentally backward-looking country. Trump and our clinging to old ways of measurement, just to name a couple regressive American relics, indicate that American individualism is often more a function of our wanting to be isolated in our own little houses in our own individual cars, away from perceived threats. Just as many of our pioneering ancestors were searching for escape, looking for homesteads isolated from society, not integrated with the rest of the world, the Trumpian tribe of Americans is similarly retreating from facing the future by looking to simple, but ultimately unproductive, answers from the past to comfort them. (Besides, it should always be noted that any nation that accepts human slavery, then racial segregation for 90% of its history should never be considered forward-looking or progressive.)
In fairness, there are two tribes in America: the builders of walls and the builders of bridges. Currently the builders of walls are in control as evidenced by Trump, the stubborn refusal to adopt metric measurement, the rise of American Neo-Nazis, and the presence of a hundred other reactionary features in current American life. Whether those of us who wish to build bridges--we who wish adapt and progress, not only in the way we measure things, but also in our refusal to build walls and to accept the intolerance and bigotry of the Trumpists--will ultimately regain control of our nation's destiny is up to us who care. And we must begin now, one action, one meter at a time.
I always find it fascinating that the United States is basically the only nation on Planet Earth that hasn't adopted the metric system. I have spent much of my adult life living in nations that use the metric system and it is so incredibly amazing how much easier it is to use, if only you adapt for a few days and put your mind to it.
Once you get over your initial resistance and stubborn mindlessness, it is such a joy to work in multiples of 10 rather than in multiples of 3, 12, and 5280. It's not just ease of use and its logical simplicity that makes the metric system superior: if the U.S. were to adopt the metric system, even when considering the initial cost of conversion, most studies indicate that, in the longer term, the U.S. economy would gain billions of dollars from being in sync with the rest of the world.
There's only one reason America doesn't adopt the metric system: most Americans would rather remain trapped in an outdated past than make the effort to transition to a better future, because it would require a little work and a change of mindset.
So, what does this resistance to the metric system have to do with Donald Trump?
Donald Trump is like our antiquated system of measurement. Outdated. A relic of centuries past. Something lesser and inferior to other alternatives out there--a pathetic attachment to a warped vision of the past. Trump and the old measurement system are both attractive to those who are fearful of the changing world and resistant to new realities. 62 million people voted for Trump because they were afraid of the changing demographics of America and frightened of the changes that happen in a chaotic world where few jobs are safe and ways of life are never secure.
Donald Trump is proof that America is actually a very fearful country. The notion that we are a country of dynamic trailblazers may have been more true at one time in our history, but Trump is proof that, outside of a few bustling urban areas of progress and progressiveness, the U.S. is a fundamentally backward-looking country. Trump and our clinging to old ways of measurement, just to name a couple regressive American relics, indicate that American individualism is often more a function of our wanting to be isolated in our own little houses in our own individual cars, away from perceived threats. Just as many of our pioneering ancestors were searching for escape, looking for homesteads isolated from society, not integrated with the rest of the world, the Trumpian tribe of Americans is similarly retreating from facing the future by looking to simple, but ultimately unproductive, answers from the past to comfort them. (Besides, it should always be noted that any nation that accepts human slavery, then racial segregation for 90% of its history should never be considered forward-looking or progressive.)
In fairness, there are two tribes in America: the builders of walls and the builders of bridges. Currently the builders of walls are in control as evidenced by Trump, the stubborn refusal to adopt metric measurement, the rise of American Neo-Nazis, and the presence of a hundred other reactionary features in current American life. Whether those of us who wish to build bridges--we who wish adapt and progress, not only in the way we measure things, but also in our refusal to build walls and to accept the intolerance and bigotry of the Trumpists--will ultimately regain control of our nation's destiny is up to us who care. And we must begin now, one action, one meter at a time.
The most disturbing sign I've ever seen in a public restroom...
(Originally posted, September 18)
Evidently some of the customers at this Kyrgyz roadside eatery have a little difficulty using the facilities. It makes me a little hesitant to order the dinner special. Glad I'm not responsible for cleaning this restroom.
Evidently some of the customers at this Kyrgyz roadside eatery have a little difficulty using the facilities. It makes me a little hesitant to order the dinner special. Glad I'm not responsible for cleaning this restroom.
Hobbies
(Originally posted, September 30)
When I was a child my hobbies were collecting baseball cards, climbing trees, and attempting to avoid my daily chores. Now my hobby is cooking assorted pastas and making lasagnas. Today's lasagna was particularly gooey and contained mascarpone cheese, Kyrgyz white cheese, mozzarella, sautéed red peppers, tomato sauce with roasted zucchini, garlic, onions, and best of all: a massive center layer of local morel mushrooms from Jalalabad. Strangely, I have morphed from being an eight-year-old boy into a grandmother from Napoli stranded in the Kyrgyz mountains, although at times I feel I am both.
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