What Matters?

Altar in the World, An: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor



How often books come when they need to...this book is about the embodiment of faith; it's what we do that matters, not what we believe (don't we really do what we really believe, not what we think we believe?). And Chop Wood, Carry Water. Love is food, hugs, and smiles at the wonder of the world; love is tears, comfort, sweat, and laughter.

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The Spirit Level

The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Kate Pickett


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The authors propose a welcome vision for the peaceful transformation of society. The first two thirds of the book is a marshaling of facts and figures that show, in their view as health researchers, that wide divisions of material wealth are bad for the rich as well as the poor. They tellingly do not point out (perhaps it's that British reserve) that such wide divisions in human society have generally resulted in bloody revolt (usually very bad for the rich). They vote for gentle revolution instead.

Simplified: greater inequality results in social tension, lack of trust (both interpersonal and towards society as a whole), lower lifespans and levels of wellness both physical and mental for the poor AND the rich, and the breakdown of society; greater equality leads to a firm social fabric, greater interpersonal and impersonal trust, less violence, better health and longevity for all. The societies at the "top" of the world have entered a phase where greater wealth is not providing a better life, or indeed, better opportunities, for all. In fact, such societies have higher rates of physical and mental illness, violence, crime, and suicide.

Capitalism is not democracy. Communism (as practiced by the state) didn't work. What shall we do? The authors acknowledge that the political will to change must come from the grassroots level, from the bottom up, as it were. (As most beneficial changes in societies have.) They also seem to realize that people are not moved to change by rational thought and the thoughtful presentation of facts and figures. They call on Martin Luther's vision of the arc of history leading toward the good, and ask all like-minded people to help further the vision by promoting equality in many different ways.

I am amazed and happy to say that they have a proposal for social change that doesn't rely on violence or plague. It involves rather than a simple (ha!) redistribution of wealth, that governments act proactively to provide incentives for a major shift in business (from corporation to cooperation)--where the ownership of businesses changes from that of anonymous shareholders to that of mutually responsible and accountable employees. They argue that unethical and morally reprehensible acts (carried out by tobacco and oil companies, for example) are easier for people when they are "only following orders" than when they are both making the decisions and carrying out the acts. Also that people are happier and more productive when they perceive that they have more control over their lives.

It's time for our world to move beyond the age of the individual and toward a society that mirrors our innate sense of fairness and goodwill.
Website: www.equalitytrust.org.uk

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Little Bee

Little Bee by Chris Cleave


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Little Bee is wonderful.
I agree with the jacket copy in that the magic is not in what happens, but in how the story unfolds. How the story unfolds is in beautiful language, in beauty and horror and everyday meanness and the kindness of strangers. The lives of a Nigerian refugee/illegal immigrant and a middle-class British magazine editor intersect. The book could be about the plundering of natural resources, about the state of deportation centers in Britain, about adultery, about first world/third world relations. In the hands of a lesser writer, the book could be about these things.
But like all good novels (good stories), the book is about what it is to be human. I love Little Bee's voice, it reminds me of Richard Llewellyn's achievement in How Green Was My Valley, how translation becomes poetry in humor and tragedy alike.
Little Bee is wonderful.

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Dead Bird/Heaven

This dawnlight awakened
by the thunk
of a bird hitting the bedroom window

how often I too
break my neck
flying toward the reflected trees
of heaven

when all the while
the great wide warm welcome
waits around me

Forking Fantastic Book Review

Forking Fantastic is forking fantastic!
When a book says, "Put the party back in dinner party," I expect great and funny things, and the authors do not disappoint.

Perhaps the book is best read with a glass of wine to hand (and mouth). I read the book in smorgasbord format, delving in here, diving in there, pausing in slight consternation (over the lamb, I don't do lamb--but hey, I might try it for a party. One could certainly use two meats at a big enough party!). I read the Intro, then jumped in; only now as I write this review did I discover the first chapter, "Pep Talk," in which the secret powers of cooking for others are revealed: Sex! Art! Power! But I am the cook in my household; I knew that.

Quotes: "Spatchcock: Another word we put in just because we like saying it." (It's Britspeak for butterflying.) "Raw chicken=napalm." From the recipe for Passion Fruit Curd: "Contrary to all cooking logic, more jam does not make it better--believe us, we've tried." "...give a few shakes, just to the point where you start getting embarrassed about the jiggling in your upper arms." Is this too many for reviews? "If only 'Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown' were just an awesome song by the Rolling Stones (re: entertaining.)" I have two favorites, one that is too long to retype but involves sausage gravy and a kindly farm wife--and: "... this is probably the secret of entertaining in a truly grand style: Jump in blindly. Julia would have approved. (Though be warned about the F-word, there's lots of it.)

The authors write both to cooking and entertaining novices and those with experience. They provide wine advice, definitions, and the lovely "learn from our mistakes" asides. There are lots of asides in this book, but I like that. There are also tips on "horde management" and kitchen equipment. I enjoy the relaxed style, as if one of your neighbors were there in your kitchen with you. The design of the book is great as well, allowing you to pay attention to the recipes only or to divert to other matters. Especially great is the fried chicken recipe, formatted for a few friends (1 chicken) or thirty (8 chickens) under the heading, ARE YOU INSANE?

My top recipes to try: Spanish Tortilla with Saffron (amazingly, this is not a flat substitute for bread, but a riff on a frittata!). Overnight Chuck Roast. Fish with pomegranate molasses (okay, the recipe's not in the book, but the suggestion is. I can wing it.). Baci di Ricotta.

Step by step recipes, step by step party set-up, this book revives my dreams of the international cooking club I started with my friends in middle school. Please, please please, Tamara & Zora, come over to my house & play! I, too, keep Jiffy Cornbread mix in my pantry. Behind the wine. And please bring Dapper Dan.

I have recommended the book to my local library system and friends, but I will not be loaning it to anyone. It's mine, all mine.
Disclosure: I won the book on goodreads.com. Yay!
Thanks!

Morning Poem

Job Hunting

Every few years

I come to a point

where I'm floundering:

a rudderless ship,

a leaf on the wind,

cuckoo's child in a strange nest.

What should I do? I ask.

What should I be?

Funnily enough the answer is always the same...

This is my job:

to get up singing

so that the sun will rise

in its glory;

to add my soul's small

gasp of delight

to the chirring chorus

of the waking world;

to stretch like a tree

with my arms held wide;

to capture the wind

and soak in light like water

pouring out of the sky.

I am a cloud child: water, light, salt.

This is my job:

to cradle each heart I touch

tenderly

for it will bloom into beauty;

to dream dreams

extravagant as fish

colored hummingbird-bright

swimming deep in the dark ocean

so that time will turn

like a kaleidescope

and stars will bloom

like bright hearts

in the smiling universe.

San Diego

Oh, how beautiful is Little Italy neighborhood in San Diego! Caprese sandwich! Crisp lovely Italian bread, tomato, fresh mozarella, balsamic vinegar. Yet another taste that is Heaven on Earth.
I say this after ceating a beautiful Thai/Indian dinner, marinating chicken breasts in fresh dried lemongrass--yes, i grew it myself! Adding garlic, some Tikka Masala spice, extra turmeric, my very own garlic/chili rub, sesame oil, teryaki sauce, peanut/sugar/chili. Marinating chicken for 12 hours--like to do it for 3 days--also did not do coconut milk but next time. Stir fry, adding onion to acheive the caramelization (say that word slowly, it's like sex). Set aside. Rice with red chili, gulangal, coconut milk. Stir frying peapods, broccoli, carrots. Mix chicken & onion, serve with rice. Heaven on a plate. I would eat Thai or Vietnamese every day. Or Caprese italiano. Or Mexican. Or steak, lobster, crab, asparagus, potatoes, leeks, green beans, corn...fruit salad. Food is good, I say definitively.
Celebrate life, my children, and yes, the pleasures of the senses. What else is incarnation for?
Peace out.