Is Mormonism a Cult?

Today, I am missing Sunday services at Washington National Cathedral. I like to listen to them for the quality of the service, the sermon, and the music. I will miss Cathedral Dean Lloyd's leadership.

Please give generously to Washington National Cathedral as they make repairs following the earthquake and subsequent hurricane.

Is Mormonism a cult?

Cult: a system of religious beliefs and rituals regarded as unorthodox.

The latest assertions of a Republican saying that Mormonism is a cult has me thinking. Even though I am not a Republican, and it matters not who said made this accusation, I am a Christian.

I also believe church and state are separate entities and should remain such. Wars have been fought over that division. At the same time, this is my platform to discuss my views on Mormonism, and you are most welcome to visit.

Mormonism has certain givens up front, aspects many mainstream Christians, including me, find very disturbing:

1. It's not inclusive and diverse...as this picture illustrates:

Mormon Tablernacle Choir and Orchestra

Even if a few diverse groups have joined recently, I remain skeptical. Assertions to that effect wouldn't cut it with me.

2. Why is it not ever going to be truly diverse?

Mormonism is elitist at heart and in principle, and only allows certain people to join because of their genetics and family history. It does not allow those who simply want to join if they change their beliefs. Newcomers would not be accepted into the inner sanctums with their children. 

3. Mormonism believes in Prophets alive until recently. That doesn't happen in Christian denominations. All our prophets died thousands of years ago...

4. Some of the initiation rites, the marriage bed pictured in online photos, if true, and marriage practices of taking multiple wives, if true, are still  rumored to be going on.  These practices are illegal, and can be unconstitutional and hurtful to under-age or female participants.

5. Certainly, Mormons might consider themselves different children of God by choice and aspiration, but how free are they in the eyes of the world if they aren't allowed in principle to do normal American activities inside America? What's so wrong with drinking coffee or tea from Starbucks,  for example, or drinking a bit of wine?

6. No other church gets involved in uniforms and undergarments for general participants. To me, that makes it suspect and leaves it outside the Christian umbrella. God is supposed to love us at all times.

6. Mormons look at The Book of Mormon as their primary authority. Christian churches, in stark contrast, use the Holy Bible as their primary authority.

I am not going to delve any more deeply into the religion and invite quibbles. Any one of the above reasons would be sufficiently major to make most individuals around the world eschew it and take it out of consideration if they wanted to make a change.

Ultimately, I do not think Mormons are free enough to be happy and flexible,  either, even if they are children of God (as we all are), because freedom to change and join religions is an important and useful value.

To conclude, even if the religion works for some, and Mormons feel cozy in their beliefs, nevertheless, in my final analysis, yes, ultimately Mormonism is a cult as well as a religion. What it is not is mainstream Christianity, and most American Christians I have spoken to believe it is not Christian. What do you believe...Is Mormonism a cult?

Again, please give generously to Washington National Cathedral.

American Healthcare Systems Needs Overhaul To Focus on Fair Access and Healthy Futures

The world will read this blog post, and probably correctly call their own health care system superior to the American model, despite any improvements that may have already been enacted here.

Doctors in America work in a system in which they routinely and unwisely lose interest in their patients and get away with it. Medical doctors in America refer their patients around other doctor's offices without caring about outcomes just because they don't have to, and get paid for it.

They do not automatically, and only rarely, request a follow up return visit. They just seek payment for referrals of patients to other doctors and forget who matters. I have had doctors at all levels do that, and it makes me angry at their irresponsibility. They don't get paid for caring. They get paid more for other so-called services, like ripping people apart in surgeries, whether or not they have had their medical education in the United States.

They are in it for the money, and they are not supposed to be and should care more for their patients. They do not know if patients have followed up on their ailments and they don't care if  patients don't follow the recommendations -- sometimes because patients can't afford to. If patients don't get treatment, doctors wouldn't know or care. I know because I have been treated that way, too, and I supposedly have good insurance that covers catastrophic incidents.

American medicine is a joke for most Americans, even me, a vacuous hollow of the good health care system the country could have if it ever got its act together. It is an extremely poor, inefficient system, as it has been for at least thirty years since I have lived, fortunately healthily, for the last thirty years in this country.

Here's a good example of a gross inefficiency of the medical system overall...Someone who has insurance in one state has to pay the bills for health services rendered in another state.

That's exactly what happened to a good, old friend of mine, my former cleaning lady, who lives in Florida and pays health insurance there. When she visited her daughter on holiday, she had emergency gall-bladder surgery in New Jersey. A couple of months later, she has been billed for more money than she makes in a year in Florida.

A little background: she was visiting her daughters in New Jersey  when she was admitted. They looked after her when she was discharged from the hospital. She lives alone in Florida, so it was actually better for her to have the operation in New Jersey and stay afterward with her daughter's family. She also knew and trusted some of the doctors who performed the operation because she used to work cleaning the hospital for thirty years and felt familiar with it. Another of her daughters works at the hospital...

Which brings us back to the paperwork and the expenses  she submitted from  her New Jersey hospital that are now being rejected by her Florida insurer. Does this make sense to charge her to pay more for a required procedure than she can  make in one year? In her sixties, she labors in a job requiring a lot of physical effort. She might have spent a few more expensive days in the hospital in Florida had she done the procedure in that state. She would certainly had a lot more personal trouble since she hadn't anyone to help her post-discharge. She is understandably disputing her bills.

In an even more extreme case, an article called "Stuck in Bed for 19 Months, at Hospital's Expense" in the New York Times today tracks a case in an extravagantly inefficient American health care system that lacks accountability for long-term patients without insurance. The profiled patient had previously made $400 in cash each week, and been abandoned by his wife and children who could not afford his care, although he ultimately returned home.

"For the $1.4 million in services that [the hospital] had provided, total reimbursement to the hospital from Medicaid was $114,000...

If he had been insured or immediately eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, he might have gone to a nursing home after a week or two, where the average daily cost in New York is about $350 — and where he might have had steady companionship. Or he might have received a home health aide in his apartment, which could have cost even less, depending on the required hours. 

For hospitals---that treat many illegal immigrants, the health care plan enacted last year does nothing to solve this liability...During debates about reform, lawmakers insisted that the plan’s benefits not extend to the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants...Nor is this likely to change."

Hospitals keep patients and can't efficiently care for them; they don't automatically transfer them to less expensive  locations. This inefficiency is another example that hospitals fail to address. Even if hospitals say they don't have the money, by not improving this practice they have, in fact, consciously condoned it. They  actually allow patients  like him to stay at a place that normally charged over USD$2,000 a day instead of  forcing them to transfer to another  less-expensive alternative at $350 a day.  Why are the 'powers that be' not ashamed of this administrative malpractice. Why are they not held accountable for their inefficiency?

Either expense will appear nonsensical and outrageous to my international audience.  Yet, America lacks the business and political will to improve health care. Meetings between hospital, long-term care facilities, and the government should have taken place to care for this patient instead of making me, a taxpayer, help pay for his excessive bill and their mistakes. Let's face it, many mistakes have been made that have not been corrected yet. There should be financial incentives to reward results in the best interests of the long-term health and longevity of the patient. Successful diagnoses  obviously need to be followed through with intelligent treatments. Treatments and results matter to patients. America has a system where doctors are better rewarded for referrals and invasive surgery than long-term results, and have the wherewithal to sway politicians with graft.

If you are an international visitor, or on business, in the United States, and happen to land in the hospital, these extremely high bills will have to be paid.

What about patients who are airlifted to safety only to have to pay more than they can afford? They have no choice but to pay, unless covered by the appropriate insurance.

Instead of being an intelligent, broadly inclusive health care system, the bureaucratic rules are unintelligible at times, disconnected, and open to inconsistency and misinterpretation on an individual level. 

It should have made taxpayers in America revolt by now. Oddly, that has not happened. Businesses could not change the health care system; the inefficient American health care system has led giant car companies to bankruptcy.

Sensible rules to reward follow ups and make records of results need to be formed by the government,  as the British and Canadian governments did after the Second World War, or else all that is left is inefficiency and chaos. The rich might or might not pay for high end treatments, but every taxpayer loses overall in the American health care system. And that's not being caring, charitable, or compassionate to patients. For this reason, the American government must rule where businesses do not for the greater good of all patients. I just hope I don't get sick; the risks of getting sick are too horrific and expensive for me to imagine.

Washington National Cathedral Recovers

Washington National Cathedral is surely, off-site, preparing for  upcoming September 11 anniversary ceremonies. The Cathedral is ensuring the safety of worshipers and visitors, on-site, as seen in this video. Please give generously to the Washington National Cathedral to help fund recovery efforts. Thank you.

Video and article courtesy The Huffington Post

The  National Cathedral will host President Barack Obama, in our thoughts every Sunday in worship services,  Secretary Leon Panetta, Rhythm and Blues singer Pattie LaBelle, country superstar Alan Jackson, and renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, during services throughout the entire weekend, marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Titled "A Call To Compassion:Honor, Heal, Hope, the special weekend will host concerts to honor the fallen, help the nation heal, and renew our sense of unity and hope.

R & B Singer Patti LaBelle


Country Singer Alan Jackson

Mezzo-Soprano Denyce Graves

Washington National Cathedral's Jarring News

Here's a copy of a letter from the National Cathedral today. I hope they don't mind if I reprint it since it offers clues of the recent earthquake-related damages. From the pictures I am posting, the damage appears to have pushed pieces to lower sections of the roof rather than onto the ground. It makes me wonder whether it was planned that way, and proved a tremendously good idea if it was. Fortunately, the rose window pictured online in last Sunday's service, and indeed all 231 stained glass windows, were spared in whole.  

Interior of Washington National Cathedral 

Dear Friend,

The National Cathedral sustained significant damage yesterday in the biggest earthquake to hit the East Coast in more than 70 years. Fortunately, no one was injured and damage to the interior seems to be limited. Every assessment indicates that the Cathedral is structurally sound, but the exterior has suffered visible damage.

As a special friend of the Cathedral, we want you to be informed with the latest updates about this national treasure. To learn the latest information, visit www.nationalcathedral.org.

Here is what we know so far about damage to the building's exterior:

• Three of the four pinnacles on the central tower, at the highest point of the Cathedral, have broken off—luckily onto the roof, which is reinforced by concrete.
• Some of the flying buttresses also suffered major cracks, especially around the historic apse at the building's east end. The extent of that damage is still unknown.
• One large finial fell from the northwest tower onto the Cathedral lawn. Due to its size and weight, gravity has lodged it into the ground.
• A number of the Cathedral's beautiful exterior sculptures and carvings were damaged, particularly on the central tower.

An updated photo and video gallery showing details of the earthquake damage is now available for you online.

As we assess the damage and begin the hard work ahead, please visit our website for continual updates: www.nationalcathedral.org

Thanks to your help, our efforts to rebuild and restore the nation's Cathedral start today.

Interior of Washington National Cathedral

 Actual photographs of the damage can be seen on the Cathedral website here and here. Meanwhile, we'll just have to stay tuned. Dean Lloyd is magnificently handling the challenge, as always. Now if only he could stay... 
UPDATE: The Atlantic and The Washington Post have interesting reports.

Change.org: A Change for the Better

Dear Reader,

There are many of us who don't or can't vote, for one reason or another, yet wouldn't mind giving politicians at all levels our opinions.

Now there is a super-easy way: Change.org, touting itself as "free online petition tools for social change." It's possible to log in to start a petition, and I'm relieved all the ones I have seen make a lot of sense. Somehow I got added to their mailing list, and it makes me feel extraordinarily empowered.

If you agree with them, you press a Sign bar, and add your name to some sort of cyberspace list, like voting for it. Feels good, actually, whether or not it goes anywhere. Sometimes, when I read, I notice the petition has gone somewhere, and is quoted as a source.

There are many attitudes that could be changed in the world, and Change.org is surprisingly focused on some of them I have thought about, and would like to see changed.

In fact, so far, over the last few months, I haven't neglected to sign in even once if requested, since their  suggestions appear so common-sensical.

Why not add your name to the Change.org mailing list, and you will see for yourself how many of their causes you believe in, and how good you feel when you press the Sign bar. It's easy to help online!

Love,
Shelley Seymour

All Hotels Should Sign EPCAT

EPCAT

"End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and

Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes"

I would urge all hotels to sign the EPCAT Agreement and be on the lookout for sex trafficking of any ages. Hilton and Wyndham hotels have signed it, and I would encourage all other hotels to agree. EPCAT is important public relations to help lift the "code of conduct" in hotels, and more substantially, as the written code hotel employees can refer to if necessary. In fact, they should be rewarded if they help. We want and need those who have been kidnapped to get out of it and live better lives.

While it isn't very surprising to hear that hotels should be involved, it only occurred to me  recently when I saw a man of sixty with a young Asian girl of ten in a hotel pool where I stayed overnight. I didn't stop and investigate. Ever since, I have felt guilty for not having taken an interest in her. I will always wonder if there is something I could have done, because I don't know if that child was being kidnapped. I certainly hope not, I simply don't know. 

When I think about it, I suppose sex kidnappings do use hotels, as expensive as they may be. I had always assumed evil kidnappers moved in vans directly into the houses of those involved in organizing it. Maybe it's not only done that way, as I have read. 

Next time, I would do something. I would ask that man what on earth he was doing with that young kid swimming in the pool. I am not saying he kidnapped her. I just wonder if he did. If so, I don't have the vocabulary to chastise him.

"The Help": Educational and Interesting

Recently, I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett reluctantly, worried it might not be sympathetic to African Americans. Turns out, I could not have been more mistaken. I enjoyed the book immensely, for its entertainment and pedagogical value. It's an important book and should have been easily published.

I have to say, the book made me feel and think about southern civil rights in ways that were new. The author's goal was to entertain, not to create any perception of a well-rounded agenda of further action that needs to be delivered to ignorant masses of white Americans. The author's audience is much larger, and more elusive, and points politely at  important issues, at least those of the time.

The author's major contribution is to voice the sentiments of  southerners in a way that is entertaining enough to be digested by mass populations not knowledgeable on the subject. I believe another book of the same caliber of entertainment on the subject has not been written since the original story of Gone with the Wind first published in 1936. It was an immense epic that idolized the old south and rich white people, and starred African-Americans only in secondary roles, with the exception of Scarlett O'Hara's Overseer.

The author claims much of it is fiction, despite the fact that a maid of the author's brother is suing her for using her in a story, which is rather a remarkable outcome, I would guess. Even if part of it is fiction, she must have gotten the material from somewhere, although I am not saying for a second the author lifted material from an actual person. I wouldn't know that. Maybe that's the trouble, I am confused about what's fact in the book, and what's fiction.

While I can in no way portray myself as an expert on the civil rights or factual content in The Help, anyone I have talked to about the book has taken away different historical references to chew on.

In an entertaining memoir I have just read, The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, references to a few injustices in the deep south were explained in a matter-of-fact way, and broadened my understanding of social injustices - one of my favorite topics on this blog, by the way. When I was about thirteen, I read Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" as I drove with my parents to a wedding on a three-day trip through northern Ontario, and the heat of that book warmed me for weeks, if not months.

I can't resist my opportunity to be supportive of an author against the unkind, hate-filled words of an opposing organization. I read a review of "The Help by Rebecca Wanzo in the Huffington Post which mentioned an organization with which I am unfamiliar, the Association of Black Historians. This Association has written an angry notice on its website directed to fans of The Help and in doing so, is amplifying racial overtones. Here are my reactions to their accusations, although I am only one person, and they are an entire organization.

The website notice by the Association is guilty of slews of oxymorons combining contradictory terms. It surprises me they should backlash against someone who has portrayed an era with sympathy for the workers, as Gone with the Wind did not, at least not as much. I just can't understand the unkindness of all those group members. Kathryn Stockett has depicted inequalities in ways they have not, at least as an organization, and it comes off as a rant of jealousy, bitterness, and is inaccurate, at best. It is a fiendishly topic to make interesting, isn't it?

Any foreigner in search of reliable information about the deep south wants to find it doled out in a palatable, entertaining way. I think the writers of that vituperative manifesto on the website have made several errors, which are rather obvious.

The stereotypical aspects of the novel elude me because I do not know any persons like the characters in the book. They may provide stereotypes to persons familiar with the content. I am just saying these roles are an introduction of fictional characters in a novel, no more, and no less. Certainly, they are not stereotypes to me.

The website, to make its point, states that The Help has sold "over three million copies, and heavy promotion of the movie will ensure its success at the box office." Numerous  books and movies have been flops despite huge budgets on top of "heavy promotion" so that's a clear oxymoron.

To say Kathryn Stockett's portrayal of representatives of "90 percent of working black women in the south" in the 1960s (a shockingly high number to me), is just a "disappointing resurrection of Mammy" is another oxymoron. I have not ever read such a well-rounded, sympathetically detailed description of the everyday life of  1960s African-American female (90% of them, after all, which is a point the author is making, too) in Mississippi. Not ever. That's a large number of the population with which many of us in the world, and even within the United States, are unfamiliar. 

I don't believe there is a lot of nostalgia for the 1960s in Mississippi in the book. Certainly, the book highlights the wrongs with that way of life, surely, when "a black woman could only hope to clean the White House rather than reside in it." Excuse me, but weren't female bathrooms installed for Senators only recently? We're all in this together, we women. The Vatican in Rome, Italy, had the longest line to women's (not to the men's) bathrooms I have ever seen in all my days!

The note says the black maids in the book are portrayed as "asexual" (without giving examples, but I do not agree).  Aren't  most maids in the novel married? Also, "loyal"? I think Minny was one of the most independent and disloyal of all maids I have ever read about..

Also, the letter of the historians misspells "smart" to "smat" and complains about spelling "Lord" -- "Law" although the entire linguistic attention showed a reader the dialect of southern speech in highlights as other classic southern stories have, so that the sounds of the voices could not be ignored.

The letter also complains about the sexual harassment and abuse of all kinds in the homes of white employers. Considering I thought that had gone out of style with the Civil War, the sheer volume of abuse detailed in the book was news to me. I think the author did an excellent job, even if the detailed abuses were not as deep as these Black Historians would have liked. This is a fictional novel; it is not the work of a historian. The author can say what she likes. After all, isn't she taking the blame by being sued, and for bearing the generational brunt of black female historians like these women?

White supremacist organizations like the White Citizens Council, I had never heard of in my life.  Perhaps the author wrote what she knew about, firsthand, which wasn't the Ku Klux Klan. (These are groups that believe they are "protecting" those of European origin and are anti-immigration). That is the right of the fiction novelist....One of her themes had to do with the unsaid rules of society. Far from "stripping" black women's lives of historical accuracy "for the sake of entertainment" I think the novel reveals valuable new ways of looking at old problems. It shines a new light on the topic of deep south society in the early '60s, the mistakes and the changes that needed to happen to correct them, rather than stripping it of importance. I don't know of anyone who thinks those days were better than  today. One of the goals of the novel, I think, is to highlight the racism of genteel white society in the bad old days of the early 1960s.

If the movie makes light of real fears and turns them into moments of comic relief, then that is truly a travesty, I agree. If so, I sympathize. I am surprised about the choice of actresses in the movie. I would have cast roles differently after reading the book, specifically Hilly.

I would have preferred to see certain disturbing scenes of the book  edited out -  specifically, about the intruder (which was edited out of the movie), and even the cake, the point of which, as "insurance" Hilly would not go after the maids is questionable to me - and I think it would have made as strong an impact. As well as being entertaining, this novel and movie, triumph because of the importance of the topic.

 The Help doesn't promise anywhere within the text to be a well-rounded historically accurate depiction of the sociological implications of the 1960s in Mississippi. The amazing contribution is that it's better entertainment than many alternatives out there, in a socially sensitive area where few others have succeeded, and been as educational. The Association has suggested further books to read on it's website. I hope they are interesting, and I will write reviews if they are.

A Few Random Questions

Here are some ordinary, every day questions on varied topics....

• Why don't people generally say they are sorry if they've made a mistake? Are they busy and forgot, or are they afraid it is a sign of weakness?
  

• When people have good cell phone reception, how much better are their relationships than if they have poor reception, especially if they are not conscious of the importance of the quality of the phone lines?  

• Why are Afghans angry if their teenagers want to play together?

• Why does American society, as a whole, play dead to bigger crimes and make innocents pay the costs of justice - which may or may not happen?

• Why is the head of the Tea Party holding up the two sides of the debt debate from making a settlement if, as she said on CNN, she is neither Republican nor Democrat, or even elected? 

•  Why did Michele Bachmann say she will try to impeach the President when any agreement on the debt debate is a joint decision made by many people from both parties?

 

• Why can the 'buying pool' of my 'house for sale' in America only afford to rent not buy, time after time???

I don't think they have short answers.

What is Mental Illness?

Sometimes I worry about social values around the world, and how societies  and their citizens sometimes refuse to admit to the reality of mental illness.

The young man in Norway killed over seventy people, is estranged from his family, and is not, at least according to some news accounts, believed to be mentally ill.

Casey Anthony who danced for a month after her newborn completely disappeared was not accepted by a jury as a mentally ill killer.

If violent acts are not done by the mentally ill, then exactly who in this world fits the label "mentally ill"?

Here's a new story of an educated young Bangladeshi woman blinded, bitten, and mauled almost to death by her husband, and yet her husband is publicly allowed to turn the blame on her.

"With the community breaking its typical silence, a more nuanced universal story is emerging of a young wife struggling privately in a difficult marriage with a man who may have been suffering himself from a mental illness, family members say."

His family finally admits he "may have been" suffering from a mental illness, as if he may also not have been? Excuse me, but exactly who validates, defines and gives mental illness start and end dates? Who decides who is and who is not mentally ill?

If violent acts are not necessarily carried out by the mentally ill, then who perfectly fits the label "mentally ill"? Sounds like a world desperately uncertain of the definitions of mental illness.

We should be skeptical of a so-called division between violent acts and mental illness.  We should recognize the symptoms of mental illness: inability to cope, detachment from reality, excessive anger, withdrawal from friends and activities, and  possibly delusions, in extreme cases. To me, it's  a sign of healthy common sense to believe they must be linked. Isn't that why children can legally be protected from parents, wives from husbands returning from war duty or aggressive sports games?

Here are necessary humanitarian social values as promoted by the United Nations, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: 

gender-equality

non-violence

non-discrimination

impartiality

voluntary service

unity

universality

neutrality

education

maternal and child health

disease and poverty eradication

environmental sustainability 

and mine,

kindness

love

courage

compassion, and friendship

These are a few of the social values that win against mental illness, ignorance and anger.

                                                                    

elements: Princeton, New Jersey

The Privateer

• 1 1/2 oz  Batavia Arrack,
• 3/4 oz  Smith and Cross,
• 1 oz  Velvet Falernum,
• 1/2 oz  Dubonnet rouge, 
• 3/4 oz  fresh lime juice,
• 3  healthy dashes of Angostura bitters.

Shake well  and strain onto fresh ice.  Garnish with  freshly grated nutmeg over the top.                                                                            Photo and recipe courtesy  elements barblog.Mattias Hägglund

Restaurant Review

elements

163 Bayard Lane (Route 206 at Leigh Avenue)

Princeton, New Jersey 08540

609.924.0078 

The drink pictured above was the hook that enticed me into a restaurant in Princeton, a venue I know has been super-busy since it opened. An NPR food show on the radio made me curious: the food experts rated this drink higher than any other found in the Philadelphia area -- high praise, indeed!

Chef and owner Scott Anderson

Chef and owner  Scott Anderson  has also recently won numerous local awards for inventive cooking, and is heading to New Orleans to compete as well. His awards are well deserved if our recent visit is any indication of the norm of the restaurant as a whole. 

elements has a special area for diners interested in ordering a very long tasting menu. The style of the main room is sophisticated and modern. A smaller room upstairs for overflow and meetings hides a giant hidden computer monitor which we got to see on our guided tour at the end of the evening. This tour astounded me since they didn't know I like to write restaurant reviews; they saw me looking into the kitchen and invited me inside the door. Surprisingly warm for an expensive restaurant, non? It's a  very large kitchen; fish and meat prep areas are separate. A well-cooled storage area upstairs holds an awe-inspiring array of wines. Shiny caramel wood ceilings and walls enrich the atmosphere, and impressive windows angle rays of golden sunlight.

elements is a restaurant with an attitude aspiring to old-fashioned excellence in a modern, international package. They want you to enjoy the meal, or else they take the consequences and make it better. 

Interior of elements Princeton, New Jersey

We were offered three choices of waters when we first sat down. After ordering,  a gift of three precious appetizers  arrived on a platter, tastings of fish ceviche and so on, all described in detail by our server. The menu offered a variety of seafood and meats.  My dish seemed to have everything -- including curds and whey! Presentation was careful and decorative in china of varied shapes.

Frequent service proved proud, friendly and caring. I can't  praise the quality  highly enough. And sure enough, off went the crumbs!

Our main course offered a melange of tastes emanating from fresh ingredients and spices. The vegetables were taken fresh from "Frank Muth's" farm to create the "farm to fork" service the restaurant prizes.  

 

elements Restaurant, Princeton, New Jersey

For a better than Manhattan meal in Princeton, elements is the place, especially now  Princeton's favorite old European restaurant Lahiere's is closed. Similar in ambience to Salt Creek Grille, elements has more unique, upscale food and service. The tasting menu with around fifteen dishes in the small dining room sounds overwhelming, but many seem to like it. It also looks like Cut in Beverly Hills.

In conclusion, I would call elements excellent from varied points of view: atmosphere (ambience), service, and food -- taste, quality, and presentation.

A cellphone here (if I dare say so) would be an unwanted interruption to the sybaritic and hedonistic enjoyment of food-tasting at elements. Call them anyway (609.924.0078) or stop by. Best try weekdays, when at least there's a chance of a table. Free parking on site.

Cathedral Dean Lloyd: Sad Day at Washington's National Cathedral

Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III announced on July 8, 2011 he plans to leave Washington's National Cathedral to return to Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston, as their priest-in-charge.

He has written a letter to explain the reasons, although they all appear as reasons to stay at the Cathedral.

Under his stewardship, the Cathedral has instituted online records of services of worship for a few years now, which I have enjoyed following most Sundays, holidays, and special services from here in New Jersey. He has shown unparalleled leadership at bringing together disparate groups of the country and the world, and creating new programs within the Cathedral. While others may say Cathedral Deans "come and go" no other  will match his uniquely gentle personal style of truthfulness, humility and magnificence.

To say I am surprised and disappointed is an understatement. I am shocked (since I imagined the  Cathedral is a summit position within the religious community) and will greatly miss his leadership. I am sure the congregation will miss his  rare style of authority profoundly as well.

I will have to check whether his new appointment will offer live online services. If it is, I'll watch there.

Juries Should Use Common Sense

When a news story is interesting and over-reported, such as the recent Casey Anthony child murder trial, I tend to hold my comments.  That case has taken ages to play out, and the weight given to ego and trivia made it extremely painful to follow. I can feel sympathy for the jury.

Now the trial is over, and Marcia Clark, the chief prosecutor in the OJ Simpson case, has written an extremely persuasive article in The Daily Beast/Newsweek, illuminating how the jury went wrong with its final decision. She explains how a mother who "probably" killed her baby and didn't report it for a month is getting away with it.

The reason seems to be a failure of a jury to think for themselves or to feel for the baby.

Sometimes, "Group Think" as she calls it, works well - to fix cars, computers, machines and complicated problems. The reason: when one person doesn't "get it" or can't fix it, another person might...Everyone brings different strengths to a challenge.

In the case of the prolonged, sequestered jury trial of Casey Anthony, the jurors got too cozy with one another, and with the defendant. They agreed together and thought they didn't NEED to connect the dots. They couldn't convict Casey or so "they thought" and they didn't. An emotional decision, it's sad that rationality and independent thinking hadn't prevailed and weighed the preponderance of evidence.

The facts didn't successfully force common sense on the jurors since they were too close for too long, according to this article.

The court of public opinion sees the failure of the justice system in this case, and when the general public sees something wrong, they're usually right. That little group of jurors failed to do justice. They didn't do their job of connecting "the dots" as they should have, according to Marcia Clark...It looks like someone has got away with murder.

Read my post about the visit to the South Pole by the first successful American explorer in nearly one hundred years to see how sometimes one person, against all odds, can succeed where many groups before him have failed. It's an inspirational story of a real leader.

Proust's Questionnaire: A Party Game

Marcel Proust, novelist, 1871 - 1922, believed that to understand others, we must understand ourselves. Over time, we change in many ways, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Proust wrote a questionnaire we can each use for ourselves, and with others. If writing a novel, this questionnaire is useful to ask about characters.

Here are the questions---

What is your current state of mind?                                                  What do you most fear?

What do you most dislike about your appearance?                   What is your favorite occupation?

What do you consider the most over-rated virtue?                    Which living person do you most admire?

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?                           Who is your favorite fictional hero?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?     What is your most favored possession?

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?       Who are your real heroes?

What do you consider your greatest achievement?                    When and where were you happiest?

What is the quality you most admire in a man?                            What is your idea of perfect happiness?

What is the quality you most admire in a woman?                      What is your most obvious characteristic?

What do you value most in your friends?                                          What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?

If you were to die and come back as a person or animal  what do you think it would be?      

If you could choose an object to come back as, what would you choose?            
What is the trait you most dislike in others?                                      Where else would you like to live?
What historical figure do you most identify with?                         What is your greatest extravagance?

Who has been the greatest influence on you?                                   What is your favorite journey?

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?                      On what occasion do you lie?

Which natural talent would you like to have as a gift?                What is it you most dislike?

For which fault do you have the most toleration?                          Where would you like to die?

Which military event do you admire most?                                       What is your favorite bird?

If you could have been anyone in history, who would it have been?                   What is your motto?

What are your favorite names?                                                                Who is your favorite hero in a novel?

 What is your favorite food and drink?                                                  Who is your favorite heroine in a novel?

What is your favorite color?                                                                       Who is your favorite composer?

What is your favorite flower?                                                                    Who is your favorite painter?

Who is your favorite poet?                                                                          Who is your favorite author?

If they make you smile,you can answer questions like these interactively at this Vanity Fair site, and find out who you resemble from your answers.

At this site, your answers will be preserved at the New Library of Alexandria.

Of course, they make terrific questions to answer at your leisure, and share with a friend, or ask at a party, if you dare. If nothing else, these probing, personal questions will make you think privately about the lives we live and have lived in the past, and the hopes we have for the future.

Airbus' Airplane of the Future

  Airbus/PA

Airbus envisions these extraordinary glass-lined airplanes in 2050 flying from New York to Paris in ninety minutes, and 2-1/2 hours from Paris to Tokyo.

I see a lot to like, but maybe some passengers will feel airsick rather than exhilarated by the views.

Do you like everything about this new idea?

Everyone's A "Friend" In the Unreal World of Facebook

Maybe there's reason to hope after all. Facebook has competition from new services, such as Diaspora and Path, the next steps up the evolutionary ladder  of internet services.

Do you sometimes wish you could divide your facebook friends? Do you sometimes hurry to check your page, other times dread clicking on, or almost?

 

What is the point of facebook friends if you are close enough to hear of wedding details, but not close enough to be invited? Where does anyone draw the line with facebook friends? I know of someone with a large collection of facebook friends, over 2500, not just close friends. Many of my friends don't like facebook, or won't use it for one reason or another.

 Friends seems to be the new catch-all for old friends, new friends, business and school acquaintances who might or might not ever be friends, and family, who are a separate, group in their own sphere. I suppose it sounds friendlier, optimistic and idealistic to call everyone your friend, and yet it cheapens the word, in my view, and isn't very realistic. 

Now, Linked In can be useful for some people. Not everyone wants to fill in the blanks at this website. It can take precious time. Who can blame someone who doesn't want to take the time to play the game, and perhaps give up some privacy? Are social media sites slowly turning into obligations, like paying taxes?

I know popular sites, such as Active Rain - for people in the real estate community - have caught on, expanded and become very successful, and charges to participate. It starts with membership at a dollar a month, and then asks sixty a month after two months. It's not a professional obligation....yet.

The catch is, to make the sites work, your friends and acquaintances have to join. Google's Buzz social media network site didn't catch on in a big way.

Who knows whether a successful site might not at some point bill users to participate, and then  find a way to punish users with fines if they don't sign up? Let's hope it doesn't happen.

Washington National Cathedral Plans Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

Today, Washington National Cathedral offered a live webcast, here online, of the installation of new Cathedral cannons: Kathleen Cox, Jan Naylor Cope, and Mike McCarthy. It was a beautiful service, superbly well-rehearsed and filmed. It's great for all  of us, theologians or lay, to see this service online, at any time, and for the Cathedral to keep as a record in the future.

Since I like to follow the Washington National Cathedral, in general, on this site, I am on a mailing list from the Cathedral, and have just noticed  that a formal announcement has been made of a full weekend of activities to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Washington National Cathedral was the place to which the nation turned for prayer and reflection following the 9/11 attacks. At a national prayer service on September 14, 2001, the President delivered a speech at the Cathedral. The Cathedral, in turn, is planning to offer "a weekend of compassion, remembrance, resolution, and hope."

A special concert at the beginning of the weekend will honor the Pentagon and all those who serve America abroad. The Cathedral's weekend is expected to have a "full array of events and programs" for all ages, a special concert, a commemorative exhibit on site and on the web, a youth leadership event, and an interfaith prayer vigil. The special concert is being planned to include reflections by celebrity actors, musicians, and government officials.

Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III will lead a Forum on Compassion with Karen Armstrong at 10:15 a.m. Sunday morning, September 11, 2011. At a Commemorative service at 11:15 a.m., the Bishop of Washington will preside, followed by a Concert called "For a Healing World" at 8 p.m. 

The events of this special weekend of reflection,  "A Call To Compassion" are described in detail at the website of the Washington National Cathedral. In an uncertain world, that sounds wonderful! It will be exciting to count on and look forward to this fall.

Please give generously to the Washington National Cathedral, an institution unconnected to this independent website.

FDA Replaces Food Pyramid With A Plate

Nice and simple. Looks like there isn't any excuse now!

Some nutritionists are already commenting on the idea that a drink of milk might own too large a place in the picture. They also say grains and dairy have protein, as well.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has asked Americans to post pictures of healthy plates of food on Twitter: #MyPlate. 

An older food pyramid preceded this latest one. It will be a radical change with historic significance. Since other countries around the world follow an America lead on nutrition, this piece of news is international in scope. 

Then again, my perfect readers already eat this way, correct?

A View On Cities

While researching one of my novels, I came across a wonderful website called "A View on Cities" that is perfect for travelers as the summer season rolls around.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

How I wish I had this one to check earlier on in my life. It's great! 

The City Index has the list of cities included in the site. Each City has top attractions, and these attractions are further rated in popularity. Did you know that the top world attraction is the Colosseum in Rome, followed by the Eiffel Tower in Paris? 

Times Square is most popular square. Most popular streets in the world, parks,  churches, opera houses, railway stations and Towers are listed. Next, a tab has a hotel booking site (untested, please let me know). There is a tab for "Activities" with regions and dates to input to "Find things to do." 

There are city maps and facts at one's fingertips, such as maps, most popular photos and poster pictures (dynamite!). Finally, there are landmark and geography quizzes in the back for know-it-alls, or even those of us who don't mind learning by doing and want to be challenged.

At the end of the site is a line saying "Don't despair, more cities are in the works"...I can't believe they added Pittsburgh before they added Ottawa, which is a capital city, and has far more attractions.

Try it out, it's a wonderful site. I found it as I was searching for traffic around the world. It's amazing how many webcams of traffic are now online.

New Names For Canadian Indians: Inuk, Innu and Inuit

The Globe and Mail wins awards as Canada's best newspaper, despite being a day late with the news very often. Yet, when it comes to news of Northern Canadians, it's close to, and perhaps is, the most reliable source of general news there is in Canada today.

It was with some interest, therefore, I noticed in an article today, the Governmental Department that used to be  "Indian Affairs" has been renamed. So have the Indians!  They're now Aboriginals.

When I was in high school in the seventies (gasp!) we learned in school that Aboriginals lived in Australia. Indians and Eskimos lived in northern Canada.

Since then, Canadian Eskimos have changed their name to Inuit, and Eskimos are American and inhabit American land.

Today's article brings this issue up to a whole new level.

The Canadian Government Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is now called "Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development." It includes all First Nations Indians, Inuits, Metis, and non-status Indians.

The article says the new term for Inuit Canadians is "Inuk." In addition, Canada's Inuit Organization, ITK, "issued a pre-emptive news release Wednesday...Innu and Inuit are two different people....Innu are First Nations (Indian) group located in northeastern Quebec and southern Labrador...represented by the Innu Nation." 

Now we've been told. Lesson learned. Wonder who Inuks are, if there are Innu and Inuit - according to the ITK? Just asking.

Come to think of it, the father of my high school friend was head of that government department back then. The article says, "The new working title has no impact on the Minister's responsibilities with respect to First Nations, and the Government remains committed to making progress on issues that are important to First Nations" and are represented in the new Cabinet leading the country with Stephen Harper, the recently re-elected head, the Prime Minister.

The government insists "there are no legal implications to the name change," and yet there are treaties and the Constitution to consider.  Interesting.

This Crime Often Goes Unpunished

This isn't about me. My experiences don't matter and I'm not going to discuss them.

When I hear about a high official getting away with rape, it makes me angry. When I hear that the victim's own mother asked her to keep quiet about it, I can't stay quiet. If we women won't talk about this problem as if it is a big problem no one will believe us. It is a problem, a huge problem and it's happening quietly, unreported all over the world every day.

Why am I talking about it?

It's a human rights issue for all women. If men don't believe it is happening because they don't hear about it, then that is an excuse or a philosophical outlook. They may not hear a tree fall because they aren't there, but it does happen...flying squirrels fly, too, whether anyone believes me. I've seen them...

And rape happens whether or not it gets discussed, talked about, punished, reported on, and so on. It happens. 

I have not ever heard of a woman (with the exception of the one-in-twenty-million oddball  at Duke University) who would say they have been physically invaded unless they actually have been. Why?

Maybe people cannot understand rape if they have not experienced anything like it. Mainly that's because rape is an embarrassing experience. It's shameful, dirty, and humiliating. Victims loathed the experience by definition, and want to put it into the past and move on to a better future.

Men get raped, too, and I'm not trying to minimize that, either. Perhaps more should be made of that, and then it will help women get relief, too. 

People who have been raped need to be believed, and that is the number one reason they do not discuss it. Better to keep it quiet and forget about it  (like a bad dream) than tell someone one who refuses to believe it ever happened, and doesn't care, either.  It happens even by the powerful and the mighty, and that's how a crime goes unpunished. Enough said, for now.

UPDATE: Hilary Clinton is truly a saint for flying the Libyan law student who agitated about her mistreatment. Anyone who doesn't believe her wouldn't believe his own sister if it happened to her.  I also believe it would be the lowest of the low not to believe her story.
 6.5.11

UPDATE: On the DSK case, I think the police did the right thing. Unfortunately, the maid has hurt others in her position (if she was not raped and has indeed fabricated the story). Now lawyers will automatically seek injunctions if any wealthy person is accused of rape, according to Alan Dershowitz, and that hurts all women. Ouch. 7.4.11

Revise, Revise, Revise Your Writing

In case you are thinking of self-publishing, or hoping to publish one way or another, please do yourself - and your future readers - a favor and find an editor to correct your slip-ups. 

Every writer has slip-ups. The blogs of prolific writers freshly available online prove that point very well.

A good editor, as is the brilliant one I have found for my novel, might have read your novel before meeting you. In my case, my editor requested permission to allow a second reader to read it. 

At first, you might sit down and get to know each other better. You should feel comfortable enough to discuss every detail about your manuscript: the concepts and ideas, the characters, and the episodes and whether they push the story forward and make it exciting. Your book will get better because of the outside influence, trust me. Most of the corrections are ones you know you should have done, some are minor slip-ups previously overlooked, and other ideas are insights that will make your book sell better, and be more interesting to readers. Sometimes "more is more"....more corrective action makes a much better product.

While I am happy I revised my own manuscript as thoroughly as possible before the offical editing and felt confident of having written a viable story, there is still usually a lot of editing to do before setting your work in front of everyone. There are episodes to polish, characters to round out, even plots to extend. Writing can almost always be improved.  Be humble, dear Writers, and revise, revise, revise.

Here's a humorous cartoon, and what's not to like?

Look Around And Dig Deep

“The idea that Scandinavian crime writers have something in common is a myth." 

Jo Nesbo, writer

That idea is clearly true in many professions besides writing. Anyone can write. Not every writer can write well.

Mathematicians, too, I would say, have nothing in common except their knowledge and interest in mathematics, at least until they discover their similarities.

Members of the same family can grow up and be very different. As we mature, we gradually express uniquely individual strengths. It has ever been thus.

As we celebrate our diversity today on Mother's Day, we need to embrace the idea we are more alike than we are different.

It's good and useful that we enjoy our various specialities, however narrow. By pursuing a variety of several strong interests, we can diversify our inner capabilities and strengths.  Only by trying new skills can we achieve our potential as human beings. Keep busy doing anything, almost, and you will find it can provide the motivation to keep living.

click to enlarge

Spring Scene in Lawrence Township, New Jersey

Look around and dig deep. Here in my home state of New Jersey, this month is a heavy month for gardeners, and all around the northeastern part of the United States for that matter.  Vines, weeds, and perennials thrive in abundance. Bushes, trees and grass are greening up, and the sun is shining warmly and telling us to venture outside. 

Life is precious. As you go out and enjoy yourself, remember you have been loved.  Incredible attention has been invested in each and every one of you beginning at your birth and earliest days! Isn't that amazingly miraculous? 

A List of the Most and Least Stressful Jobs in America, 2011

These slideshows show a list of the most and least stressful jobs, and here they are listed in one spot:

Most Stressful:

1. Commercial Pilot
2. Public Relations Officer
3. Corporate Executives (Senior)
4. Photojournalist
5. Newscaster
6. Advertising Account Executive
7. Architect
8. Stockbroker
9. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
10. Real Estate Agent


Least Stressful:

1. Audiologist
2. Dietitian
3. Software Engineer
4.Computer Programmer
5. Dental Hygienist
6. Speech Pathologist
7. Philosopher
8. Mathematician
9. Occupational Therapist
10. Chiropractor


For further information, salaries and more figures, see here.

While these lists make the point that some jobs carry more stress than others by general agreement, personally, I think jobs do not change in stress that much from year to year  (in five years, maybe).

Also, jobs vary in composition. Real estate agents and teachers, as examples, are sometimes more busy and stressed at different times of years, of the week, and responsibilities vary from school to school and office to office (with which I have firsthand experience).

Furthermore, most people envision air traffic controllers having extremely intense workplaces, and yet that occupation didn't make the official list.

Do any of these surprise you? Do you agree?