Trigger Finger

I identify as a liberal because of the policies and candidates that I support. However, I think there are some messages from the conservative side of things that I agree with, although these messages get distorted by the more extreme elements of conservativism. See the following comparison.

Conservative messages I hate

You're a sinner (and by extension, I am a saint).
Don't have sex (any sex, you sinful whore).
Don't criticize me. I'm doing everything right.
My life is all the example to prove what should work for everyone.
You're the reason the world is going to hell.
Stop whining and just take care of it.

Conservative messages I agree with

Live by values
Make responsible choices
Take responsibility for your actions
Look to examples (and be an example)
Develop discipline and individual effort

My Liberal Life and Finding Shared Peace

As a liberal, I still believe in values like honesty and integrity, strive to maintain personal responsibility, look at examples in life and reflect on them, and continue to develop discipline while always making an effort to do what I can. In these times, I am more concerned about the divide among us getting so large that we will have to suffer even worse times from the division and hostility that will weaken us even further.

I have two recipes that I keep nearby, both of which involve beer. Of course, I like them because they involve beer. Did I mention that I like to cook with BEER!

Drunken Sausages

2 lbs. of Italian Sausages
6 small garlic cloves
1 each Red, Yellow and Green Pepper
Salt
3 or 4 pinches of red hot pepper
3/4 cup beer (of your choice)

The quick and dirty: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook sausages (poked with a fork) in oven safe pan with minced garlic. After 10 minutes, remove sausages and then cook peppers (they should be slice) for about 8 minutes. Then put everything back in the pan with salt, hot pepper and beer. Transfer it all the the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and enjoy (don't burn yourself).

Second version: skip all the frying and just put the ingredients in a baking dish with a bit more beer (such as a cup and a half). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Enjoy.

This recipe can be found in the most awesome cookbook, Young & Hungry by Dave Lieberman. See the cookbook Young and Hungry on Amazon.com

Irish Stew

2 lb lamb (or beef) cut into 1/5 inch chunks
1/4 olive oil
2 cups onion, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark beer
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup savoy cabbage, sliced
Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Stewing it up: fry the lamb in 2T of olive oil for 8 minutes, then set aside. With remaining 2T of oil, cook the onion for 5 minutes. Then add garlic and tomato paste until paste gets dark (2 mins). Add flour and coat contents. Cook for 1 minute. Add beer and cook for a few minutes (deglaze). Add lamb meet back in, and add both broths as well as the thyme. Simmer for 1 hour. Stir in potatoes and cook until they are tender (12 minutes). Add peas, cabbage, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes. Done. Enjoy. (Don't burn yourself).

Recipe was included in issue number 71 of Cuisine at Home magazine. Go to the Cuisine at Home website

The UK Telegraph reported recently that a more than century old club in Australia had to change its name, because it was sexist. The Broad Plain Boys' Club is now the Broad Plain Working With Young People Group thanks in part to its dependence on a more than 11,000 pound funding from the government. Those who object to the name change say there's too much history behind the original name, and changing the name hasn't changed the number of girls who come to the club.

Rule of the Inclusive

One clear issue here is that this is a club that depends on money from the government. As such, I see that this name change isn't just about any group's right to name themselves as they wish. This also includes using money from the public to help keep the doors open, and when groups should respect certain rules of inclusivity when they receive this kind of support. Apparently, the Australian government still funds other clubs that have only one gender represented in the name, so it is curious why they chose this particular group to make its point.

New Name, Same Girls

The point about there being no increase in attendance of girls in the club seems like a senseless reaction to the name change. Maybe they don't do enough to actually bring in girls to the club. Maybe there are so many young girls who already participate that it would be ludicrous to think that the name change was to help increase attendance but rather to represent the larger numbers who already participate. Maybe they do a lot less for girls who attend (or who could attend) partly because their former name truly reflected their focus. I don't know.

Naming Objection?

I wonder why they settled on the name that they now have, the Broad Plain Working With Young People Group. It would have been just as easy to call it the Broad Plain Youth Club. Is this some form of objection on their part, to ridicule the idea of trying to be inclusive? It seems with the comments coming back that this is a possibility. However, perhaps once they've gotten over their loss, they may take up the simpler name that is inclusive and allows all youth to participate while feeling like the club is for them.

Read about the Australian Youth Club Sexist Name

Here are a couple of websites that might help you seek out a different mood by playing around with their options and seeing what you get.

Flickr Multicolr Search Lab

Flickr has a Multicolr Search Lab that allows you to select up to 10 different (or same) colors that it uses to grab random photos to put into a 10 x 5 grid. This grid of photos creates an interesting combination of colorful imagery when you try putting different colors together or the same color repeatedly.

Play with the Flikr Multicolr Search Lab

Moodstream^TM by Getty Images

Interact with your moods by playing with settings, such as Calm/Lively or Nostalgic/Contemporary, to see what you get, both visually and audially. Moodstream, by Getty Images, is an interactive web-based application that allows you to tinker with settings to get a stream of visual and audio media to set just the right mood.

Play with the Moodstream audiovisual mood setting application

I delayed posting this weekend, and today, I am glad that I did. The inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America has given me a much better focus for my post than the one I originally planned.

Audacity of Hope

I did not read the book "Audacity of Hope" written by the now President of the U.S., but I believe the title so accurately reflects his attitude that I heard what I needed to hear in today's speech after he took the oath of office.

We have something to work for. We have something to give, and it is we, who will make hopes come true. Every one of us is a gift to the world and every one of us can make a difference. Just because we may not achieve an idealized reality does not mean that our efforts are entirely fruitless. The "Wisdom of Crowds" shows us that it is only together, as a community that our real gifts come to light. Together we are better than any of us could be all alone. We are smarter. We are more accomplished. We are stronger, and we can make a greater difference.

Whenever you make an effort to change things now, remember this. It is not so important that you achieve the goals of your vision, but that you participate in the larger vision. It is not so important that you keep yourself on the path, but that you help everyone stay on the path. Whatever it is that you do to struggle for something better, remember it is when our gifts come together that we realize our hopes.