Csquared Thoughts

I really dislike Halloween

I do. I don't like Halloween. It's disruptive. It bothers our dog Tasha, and we have to give her a tranquilizer. People show up at the front door who have no business trick-or-treating. They're too old to be doing so, and some don't even bother to put on a costume. Yes, there's a few cute kids in cute costumes, but that's the exception, not the rule. I know this isn't going to change, and there's nothing I can do about it, but I need to vent.

an end to the baseball season

The Phillies won the World Series last night, albeit under strange circumstances. The game was suspended on Monday in the face of cold wind and rain and it resumed yesterday. That's never happened before in the World Series. But win they did, and that wraps up the baseball season for the year.

I always miss baseball when the season is over. Not that I was an avid fan this year. The Giants and the A's weren't very good, and I didn't sit down and watch games with rapt attention. I didn't stay up late and watch the conclusion of a close game when I needed to be up early the next morning to catch my train, as I had in some previous years.

But I still love baseball, and as background sound when I'm doing something else, baseball is still always at or near the top of my list. I'll miss that for the a while.

But then it's only a little over five months until pitchers and catchers report in 2009.

(You) Don't Speak for Me Sarah Palin

I know, I know...I said I would say nothing else about Sarah Palin, but this is just too, too good! Especially if you remember Evita. Now that's definitely it from me about Sarah. Really. This time for sure!

Thanks to FranIam for this.

my new laptop

I really love my new HP Pavilion dv5 Entertainment PC laptop. I decided to go one level up from the basic Compaq laptop, and I'm glad I did. The keyboard and mouse controls are larger and I click the wrong button much less frequently.

The laptop came with a Web cam built in. I didn't order it as one of my upgrades. I found the software that controls it. Scary! Now I can do rambling incoherent commentaries on You Tube, like this one. Or maybe I'll just start my own cooking show.

Please, stop me before I do something I'll regret!

Join the Choir

I was reading through my blogs, and came across a blog post called "Join the Choir." I'm not a singer, and don't plan to join any choir, but the title made me think of Holly Near.

She has a song called "Change of Heart" in which she sings:

Something changes in me when I witness someone's courage they may not know I'm watching, I may not let them know that Something changes in me that will last me for a lifetime to fill me when I'm empty, and rock me when I'm low There's a change of heart anytime there's someone counting all the lives that won't be thrown away There's a change of heart anytime you join the choir, be a voice up on the mountain or see a fire...in the rain © 1993 Hereford Music

You can order Holly's music here, Please take a look.

Appreciating Kate Wolf

I ordered a new laptop, and was cleaning up the files on the old one. (Which goes to Terry, since her work requires programs that demand XP, as they don't play nicely on Vista.)

One of the files I found was the lyrics to the Kate Wolf song, "Give yourself to Love." I really like it. It's is so relaxing, comforting, and soothing.

You must give yourself to love if love is what you're after; Open up your hearts to the tears and laughter And give yourself to love, give yourself to love. I've walked these mountains in the rain and learned to love the wind; I've been up before the sunrise to watch the day begin. I've always knew I'd find you, though I never did know how; Like sunshine on a cloudy day stand before me now.

Toto, we're home. Home!

Toto, we're home. Home! And this is my room, and you're all here. And I'm not gonna leave here ever, ever again

I was in Austin this week at a vendor conference. I don't like business travel. The airports and airlines are a pain. Air travel is not fun and hasn't been since 9/11. And when at my destination, I'm either standing around doing booth duty, or attending sessions of marginal interest to me while I'm in a jet-lagged state two time zones away from home. But when my manager says "you should go," I go.

So coming home is a real pleasure. Back to my wife, our house, our affectionate dog Tasha, our kitchen, and our new stainless steel Calphalon. I'm ready to get back in the kitchen.

And I missed my favorite blogs. I read my blogs using an RSS reader, FeedDemon, that's on my personal laptop. So when I'm on the road with my work laptop, as connected as I am otherwise, I don't get my blog fix.

It's so good to be home!

Communion as civil disobedience

Meg Cox writes in Theolog about John Fanestil of the San Diego Foundation for Change, who began celebrating the Eucharist with a colleague on the other side of a border fence in San Diego’s Friendship Park. Doing so is now a customs violation.

She reflects:

I thought about other situations when breaking bread has been both illegal and profoundly scriptural: When gleaners retrieve discarded food from behind grocery stores and share it with hungry neighbors. When congregations provide sanctuary, sharing homes and meals with people who have entered the U.S. illegally to escape danger in their home country. When black and white demonstrators sat side by side at lunch counters in the Jim Crow South, no one willing to eat until everyone had been served.

"One table where everyone is welcome and there’s food for everyone: a subversive table, stirring up our longing for liberty." (Dean Alan Jones,Grace Cathedral)

Christina Cooks

I recently wrote about the Hippy Gourmet television program. Here's another cooking show for your consideration: Christina Cooks. This program is strictly vegetarian. Unlike the Hippy Gourmet, no fish, and, in fact, it's pretty much entirely vegan. At least I don't recall seeing her using any egg or milk products. It's on various PBS stations. So check your local listings, as the cliche goes.

I don't think there's any really recent episodes, and you'll find it's not as polished as most cooking shows you see on TV. I'm certain the show is shot in a real kitchen and not on a set. In one episode Christina bangs into her pots and pans a couple of times at the beginning of episode. And in another episode, she cooks up pasta, but never does anything with it.

Nonetheless, there's a lot of good information and recipes. In addition to demonstrating vegetarian cooking, she offers hints and tips on a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.

If you're interested in vegetarian cooking, this program is well worth checking out if it's available in your area.

Burnout

From MaggiDawn, who saw this in Roberta's Blog:

Burnout comes not primarily from doing too much, but from doing what we don't really want to do - so that one foot is moving forward and the other foot is trying to run away. --Dennis Linn - Sleeping with Bread

Given my summertime struggle with acedia, this certainly rings true to me.