EisforEverything

I ask because I'm looking at a gluten free bread recipe includes xanthan gum, and wikipedia has this summary about the gum:

"Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide used as a food additive and rheology modifier.(Davidson ch. 24) It is produced by a process involving fermentation of glucose or sucrose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium."

um...hello...isn't this the stuff you get when you mix yeast and sugar and stuff and let it sit warm for a while?

I'm experimenting with Gluten Free cooking this Thanksgiving and learning the ingredients involved. Thanks.

What is the origin of "going to hell in a handbasket"?

I say because he had so much that today would be considered against him --

-He was military (General)

-He had been a Jehovah's Witness (Don't knock on ~my~ door)

-He was Republican (Oh my god ~gasp~)

But does anyone remember his "Cross of Iron" speach? I have exerpts from that printed and pasted in my cube at work and I am here to tell you, it's spiritural when I see people read that and reflect on it.

Would you vote for him if he'd run today? Even if he doesn't have as much $$$ as Hillary in his campaign warchest?

Google search "Eisenhower Cross of Iron Speech" to see what I mean. It's a brilliant play on words against the "Cross of Gold" thingy....

Would you vote for him today? Given his "negatives"? What if it were Dominici? Or Romney? Or Cain? Or ....(Fill in the blank...)

Or is it just me?

Seems that Buddhism focuses on the knowable and does not address anything unknowable - therefore believing or not believing in God and other unknowables is a non-issue in Buddhism.

But in the matters of the knowable -- I find the two belief systems to be very similar and in agreement...Even to the point where it's possible for a person to practice Catholicism and be agnostic, and possible for a person to practice Buddhism and be Christian.

I ask because my most recent attempts at participation in Church leave me thin on meeting my needs to relate person to person and that is where Buddhism steps in. But then there is my relationship with God which is not addressed in Buddhism and so I rely on the Roman Catholic community. But I really feel like a kid whose parents have divorced...and would like to reconcile this issue within my own self.

The "two masters" I percieve are Christ and His Body...

Thoughts?

Isn't he (the president of the United States of America U.S.A.) elected by the people of the United States of America?

And if "he" (the president of the U.S.A.) blows off the (um..) mandate of the electorate because he can't run for president again....and so just does what he wants 'cause he can....

Then who serves the U.S. military more? That president and company who directs the military to do whatever and contrary to democratically determined best policy? Or the electorate who clamors to get that president out and get a commander in chief in who is held more accountable?

I was called "insolent" for a previous question based on an assumption to the general answer to this question so I would like to do a reality check here. Please help me understand.

NPR had a piece I heard this morning interviewing a veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan who is trying to find a job in his endeavor to re-integrate to life in the US and is having a very tough time of it. His interviewer asked him a question that I would like to hear other veterans answer as well -- What can we here at home do to support our troops coming home? His answer was for people in positions of influence who interview him to look past his intensity and see his answers to interview questions are awesome and bring him back for another interview....yah I'd bring someone like that back and ask him what he could do to bring his intensity down a notch, and what can we civilians do to help him?

So much potential and so much sacrifice made for the sake of "My country right or wrong" -- What can we do to help our returning troops? Agree or disagree with the politics that sent them on their mission, how can we honor their sacrifice? Especially since the current presidency appears not to?

Stuff that isn't regular on TV Land okay, I'm so tired of "Leave It to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" sure, I love them both but there are more! SHOW US MORE :) Maybe give the writers some inspiration while they are on strike so they will come up with really cool stuff when it's all negotiated....

Here are some nominees from me:

Gilligan's Island

Get Smart

Scrubs (I'm still trying to catch up)

Lots I've seen about purgatory lately - that place where Catholic Tradition (dogma?) says souls go to be finally cleansed before addmittance to Heavan . . . .

But the death of Jesus is said to cleanse all believers?

What sins are cleansed?

What if my relationship with God is "perfect" but the relationships of others with me is still not perfect (cleansed) - like -- what if I hurt someone through an act that God forgave but my "brother" (or sister or mother or son or daughter etc) are still hurting from?

While they are still in pain over this, and not healed by God/Jesus, then is there still some attachment between me and the person hurt by my indescression?

What if I've been hurt by a person who has asked forgiveness and recieved that from God - but I still hurt? Does that person still have any obligation to me? Or vice versa? Would the process of paying that obligation be "purgatory"? And if the injured essentially said "no forgiveness, is the debt considered finished anyway?

How about this --

Mythology = stories to explain things we don't understand

Truth = the things that mythologies try to explain

resonates for me because truth is a difficult thing to understand... your thoughts?

I keep reading about what to do about acidity too high in the body but how do I know if I'm acidic or balanced or basic (too much alkaline?)

I don't want to jump on any homeopathic bandwagons until I understand the whole cause and effect....

I mean what if I tried to decrease acidity in my body when it was already balanced or even too low in acidity? Now that would be bad, wouldn't it??

:)

My answer at this point would be - no

God loves me, but He does not need me.

Otherwise -- how could I have no debt to repay to Him?

As for me;

any time someone asks me, I say a prayer for them.

any time I notice someone struggling with something I've struggled with, I say a prayer for them.

any time I am struggling with something, I pray for everyone who has, is, or ever will struggle with that same thing....

As for me - my list includes

C.S. Lewis

-The Screwtape Letters

-The Great Divorce

-Until We All Have Faces

Thich Nhat Hanh

-Living Buddha, Living Christ

Pope Benedict XVI (aka Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger)

-God is Love (I was amazed that I could comprehend it)

oh, and most recently, to a different degree, there's this one my Mom gave me:

Martha Bolton

-Didn't My Skin Used to Fit?

Could mythology be a way of expressing a truth for which people do not have the words to express otherwise?

Or is mythology always completely fiction? But if that were true, what then is the attraction to something un-true and ficticious which to be always fiction can't have any relevance to anyone?

Pope Benedict's proposal to name Mary Co-redemptrix (and a bunch of accompanying statements) has me in a tail spin but tonight I've come up with this and would like feedback (no bashing please - thank you)

Could Mary be the femine aspect of God, the Holy Spirit, incarnate as Jesus is the Son of God incarnate?

I recently read a book "Why I'm Catholic" by Gary Wills, a Jesuit-educated historian, in which this is hinted at. Wills presents in his book and observation that when looking for the Holy Spirit (Divine Femine) in the Roman Catholic doctrines and traditions, one finds Mary mother of Jesus/God instead. Well if the Son of God incarnate is Jesus, and God is 3 aspects in one (Father Son Holy Spirit) then why not Mary the incarnation of God the Holy Spirit as well?

I posted about a book called "Hardcore Zen" and you can see the post for yourself, that's the only thing I can see that would raise any flags about my 360 blog (&Flags appear to be going up I keep getting prompted to update my user settings which are up to date...what else could it be?)

Understanding the concern that 9 year old Johnny is going to search the blogs for potentially sexual explicit stuff, and find mine because of my use of the word "Hardcore" -- what would be so bad about that? I'm using the word in the sense of committment and explicitness. Or am I too controversial in other ways? Please, there's a link to my blog on my ID here if you care to look, or just sound off about what I've written so far -- Is my blog "adult" material or not?

I will abide by the concensus of the group on this one.

Thanks.

And not just the name brand, I'm seeing it in the store brand equivalent. Used to be creamier. It is "harder" now, and doesn't melt the same. It's easier to slice, granted, but I don't buy it for how it slices I buy it for the taste and texture....

Please if you are comfortable, include the state and a city near where your are replying from.

I'm serious.

I want to write a letter to Pope Benedict XVI respectfully, and am not sure how to address him.

Pretty sure "Dear Papa" won't cut it.

What is the correct respectful way to address a letter to Pope Benedict XVI? What other details of etiquette might I consider?

I heard that CRT monitors paired in a dual monitor array can flicker due to alternating frequencies in the two monitors, and it's better to pair LCD-LCD

Also, that the frequency of the display on a CRT is different from that of an LCD making it so pairing a LCD with a CRT can cause eye strain.

Is there any information about this, either confirming or denying?

Any information will be helpful, and if you can provide links to inforamtion on the web from reputable sources, that would be greatly appreciated.