I love the Morningstar line for healthy eating. Their sausage patties are especially good—we snack on them often. A great breakfast food, too. They are not greasy like some of the real meat sausages, they have great flavor, and they don’t have alot of that “mush” taste so many of the tofu substitutes do. Beyond breakfast, they work great crumbled into a fresh Marinara and served over a nice linguine or faella.

Does anybody remember this show-we are working on some “Hero’s Journey” material for home instruction (high school) and I think the series makes a terrific springboard for metaphoric analysis and the power of Myth (Joseph Campbell). As a memory jog, there are 13 original episodes which aired in 1981 on CBS. “John Blackstar” was the protagonist-and the show was great. However, I am beginning to think I was the only child who watched the show. ;) Does anybody out there know more or even something about it? I would love some analytical suggestions on how to break apart the material as well as to find out where the ending would have landed had the series been picked up again by the popular crowd. As an early prototype of anime, the project has special value for pop culturists alike for those who have not seen the work, and it follows a He-Man/She-Ra type story (mixed with a bit of Buck Rogers and Alan Quatermain for those fans of B, “Trek” and hero stories). I am doing some lesson planning and trying to get a jump start before the DVD arrives so I figured I would throw my question out to the board. Does anyone remember the stories and what they inspired you to think about while you were a kid-or to remember when you were fully grown? Thanks!

Sabra makes great hummus. If you don’t have time to make this yourself from scratch, it is a wonderful solution. We could eat buckets of this stuff-handmade or not. I prefer it with baby carrots or spread heavily on pita and made into a sandwich (with cucumbers, lettuce, carrot, sweet peppers, etcetera). The greek olives make it more flavorful than traditional. The hard part is keeping it in the house. I recommend hiding it in the back of the fridge! ;)

Okay—so normally I like everything. However, I am going to leave this entry as wishy washy.

Our family is big about trying new things, foods especially. Every week, we seek out new items that we have not yet made at home, and as rewards for hard work or efforts, our son gets to pick out something new to eat or cook. He made this for us this afternoon, Tapioca Pearls, and we have been laughing now for over an hour.

The saga: this dessert is beautiful and fun to look at, but apparently he did not let it cook long enough or sweeten it while it was cooking. The result was a lovely substance that resembled hard over-chewed gum with a slimey coating. Yes, I said this right. We have officially opined that if one was to injest “super bouncy balls” they would have the same approximate gastronomic effects as Tapioca Pearls.

Never wasteful and always persevering though trying times, we almost thought we had managed to salvage this lovely batch—but as a humerous test for edibility, gave a pearl to one of our dogs (the little puppy who chews every little bit of weird thing she finds on the floor, always). She tried for a while to chew it up but finally gave up and spit it out. It was at that point that we decided this batch had literally gone to the dogs and failed to pass the “even remotely edible” litmus test we had devised, and for the day we have now given up.

We are still laughing and trying to decide if we will ever try to eat this again. I would think I would try it at a restaurant again but I would be more leary of having it at home in a great big bite without first supervising the cooking! I am certain someone who knew what they were doing when cooking could make this a tastey treat, but not us—at least not this afternoon.

This will go down on record as the “Tapioca Pearl Incident of 2006”. At least this time there was not any mess involved (such as with tales from the “Pudding Incident of 1996”) or a gross aftertaste such as with the “Pistachio Event of 2003”. Now, to figure out how to get these out of the bowls and sink and into a garbage so they do not glue shut our plumbing! LOL

Happy days, always. We are going back out to the pool.

amazingkae

Typing with one hand while eating… great evening treat! Tangerine is the best (though family swears by the Lime). Love these things…

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” starring Marilyn Monroe is one of my favorite classic movies. My son is watching it again with us right now and he loves it, too. Could anybody play a sexier or more philosophically funny character than Monroe’s “Lorelei”? Jane Russell as the choice for “Dorothy” is a little bit manly for our tastes but the character is still so endearing and Russell gives an excellently timed performance. The two gals, together as a team, do such a fantastic job that the film adaptation of such a wonderful novel (and later broadway production) is a real gem. For anyone with a fondness for musicals, remember, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” Now, back to my movie and plotting where to find a diamond tiara. I wonder if we can get one for me on Ebay? “I just love finding new places to wear diamonds!”...

Our baker adding warm roasted chestnuts is such a perfect and special feature. “Right from the oven” is always best. It is so easy to get spoiled with this treat… gotta love it!

Angels fly because they take themselves lightly! ANGEL BREAD… a must to be consumed as a routine part of a happy life.

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”

ELISABETH BARRETT BROWNING (1806-1861)

How does anyone interpret poetry? In this spectacular example of a writers passion for the art and craft of communicating through the written word, there is an inexplicable passion for life, love, freedom, joy, and liberty contained on one neat and tidy little page.

As philosophical inquiry into the anatomy of a human soul, and as simple poetic literature, I could read Barrett’s works [especially] more than a thousand times over. In doing so, I don’t believe that I could fathom a 10th of her passion and meaning.

Poetry, like any true masterpiece works of art, will always and perpetually take me “forever” to fininsh consuming, because with each new breath and each new day they provide more and more intensity of meaning. How many questions about the nature of the world, life, and true meaning spring forth to the forefront path of the mind’s eye when encountering such a timeless work?

If the soul is true, then how much free will and destiny paths intertwine with each successive incarnation or appearance of reality… and how much deeper is the meaning of knowing the differences between “I and Thou”? What is real-and can the heart be contained by the erasure of time? Are time and space real? How much of us exists in the here and now and what continues on in the spirit and essence of the divine? What is love… and indulgence or the willingness to embrace purity of affection that transcends practical natures? Post mortum, what of us lives-or fails to live—on throughout the ages with a sense of sentimentality?

In pondering truth, one embraces life’s purest and most essential meanings. Ahhhh, or to take the opposite perspective one could say that the metaphysics of the contemplation or the mortal coil is just all just smoke and mirrors, hoopla, horse poop, and gobbledy-goo. ;) What difference is this true love poetry to me or you, as existential beings? I and thou, us and them, it all has the ability to provide one with the xenophobic foundation of the position of “other”, which in all reality is probably an illusion anyhow says the more prudent side of the philosophers stone. What one embraces is the here and now, without conscience, without contemplation, and as a mere expression of a carnal ID, grasping in the full Freudian sense the concept of impulse and need. Therefore, Ms. Barrett may have life entirely wrong, and be wasting her time hoping in vain that there is some substance to her own self-improvised reality. Could that be why I like her work-for the grand delusion of it all, embraced so passionately and with such reckless abandon?

Perhaps I just like all the pretty words. ;-) [I’ll leave those decisions up to the reader.]

Whatever your opinion, Ms. Barrett seems to support that the truth of any matter is always up to the approval and blessings of God. For that simple assertion of a willingness to show the humbleness and humility of character, I am impressed with her historically. Combining high spirit with a willingness to sublimate desire as bending to the will of the creator, Mrs. Browning displays both elegance and eternal lady grace. As writer and woman, she was remarkable, and one can unconditionally recommend a thorough read of all her work. Enduring what was a physically challenging life, albeit a life of luxury, perhaps drove her to explore her own psyche more and more deeply; with the tool of the pen, she crafted articles of faith for romance generations, making her immortal in her words and deeds despite any physical ailings. If spirit does continue to live on, then, via memory and culture, she is as timeless and relevant today as she was vital during the 1800’s.

Now him… Browning… everything he says is a different story. Is he genuine, AUTHENTIC, believable? Or does he use words crafted like points of arrows, seeking out their target; words he makes with the same precision of carefully chiseling stone-for effect but potentially without meaning or substance, and exist purely as subterfuge to hide and camoflauge his own flawed and perpetually selfish essence? Did he marry for money, for notariety, for connections-or was it love? Either way, it does not matter, as he was her icon, a rock of truth—and she died peacefully in his arms like any proper lady with a devoted and proper fondness for a gentleman would choose to do.

To those innoquous questions, I will also quite innocently leave the discovery up to the reader. As such, and without accepting the responsibility for causing ripples in the waters of more paranoid imaginations, I’ll leave my written analysis of the male psyche to another day. Time today to move on to more meetings about where the sidewalk ends with my true loves and family. I have accomplished my goal of “writing something every day” today, and with that, in the poetic words of Shel Silverstein, I’ll say, “Goodbye, I’m going out to play.”

Su Doku puzzles are addictive because they are mindful, meditative, and relaxing. I can’t seem to complete enough of them! I look forward to a new one every day—and have more fun analyzing these silly little things and solving them; my family has joined in the habit, too, but without the success of full solutions yet.

It’s official; tag me “Soduku junkie”. That, or “compulsive brainiac geek”! ;-) Mindless heathens hear me ROAR! In our household one is often liable to hear the champion fight song, “Hark, the herald angels sing, So Doku done, I can SOLVE ANYTHING!” Obviously, by finishing these innocent looking little monsters one creates a profoundly satisfactory way to release tension and provide yourself with an utterly meaningless sense of pride and accomplishment upon completion.

EXERCISING YOUR LOGIC CERTAINLY BEATS FILLING YOUR HEAD WITH THE DRIVEL OF TV, ENGAGING IN SOAP OPERAS, BLUSTERING ON AND ON ABOUT SPORTS OR READING TRASHY NOVELS AS PASTIMES. GIVE IT UP, GET A CLUE, AND WORK ON SOMETHING THAT BUILDS PATIENCE, FOCUS, DEDICATION, LOGIC, AND IQ.

[In all actuality, its just a Zen thing. By clearing the mind of all frivoulous thoughts and being able to see through confusion and chaos into the light, heart, and depth of true meaning with clarity, you are able to detect the subtle truth patterns not obvious to the conscious mind, thereby freeing the mind to transfer the deep knowledge of truth from the subconscious and core of being into the forefront of mind. By engaging in the process, one is “enlightened” metaphorically, and the right placement, proper order of things in the universe, and correct reflection of knowledge harmonized with the veracity of accuracy of each intellectual movement comes through, thereby providing the final, obvious and one true solution. Get it?]

In the immortal words of the Highlander, “There can be only one.” Thus, and so it is with So Doku.

To all future addicts and present geniuses, I salute you.

So Doku on… THAT’S THE END OF MY LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON COMMERCIAL ABOUT THIS PRODUCT. Good luck.