des

Pepsi vs Coke. Well I was quite a Coke fan and had to have" (as in headache) my coke a day. But now that I am sort of doing South Beach I am drinking cafe au lait with Splenda, and really enjoying it. I don't like diet colas. As for any food with cans of soup (except broth or stock), I don't do any of that any more. I'll make my own "skinny" white sauce which would be olive oil and skim millk and a TBS of flour. But I do really like to cook. One thing I haven't figured out is baking here. The elevation is 1 mile. They give you directions but I wasn't ever that good at it anyway. I will not even attempt brown rice. I was burnign it before I moved here. You have to keep adding and adding water to regular rice. Just the wierdest thing. My best friend never has figured out about baking but took some seminars in gardening here and has made the desert bloom. --des

Good news on the Golden front. :-) Sounds like you found a great vet, and your very cheap dog cost you on arm and leg. BTW, don't feel too special there. I spent $$$$ on my rescue cat when I first got him to find out why he had constant runs. The shelter claimed ignorance, but I later found a history of irritable bowel disorder. But see, my story has a happy ending. Padfoot is now a very healthy (and sometimes quite wild) kitty. So here's to wishing that your story ends the same way. :-) BTW, I loved the fruit cake-- made it last night. Hic! :-) --des

Wow, this is a great post and very thoughtful. Fred, Fred, "extort" ;-) :-) --des

But wasn't he trying to push those folks out of their "comfort zones". He didn't kick the money changers out of the temple to get the people to see God's power. What would be the point of that type of message from your description of Jesus' activities on Earth. Besides getting them to bow to him, Jesus has these guys leaving their comfortable, normals lives. As I recall this incident was towards the beginning of the scripture. Yes, I'll admit that I am not going to consider the means that Jesus takes for each healing (for ex. the mud in the eyes thing), but as I asked why not just tell the fishies to get abiting? By asking them to move the net to the "other side", he's giving them the choice of the usual way or his new covenant way. Though I guess we will end up agreeing to disagree on these things, at least the company is good. :-) --des

Ah, Canada! Are you homesick? I think a better health care system might make me happier. Was a major factor in not being able to continue to do private practice-- no insurance, and no one would insure me. Yes, turkey hamburger. I don't see it marked like that anymore, but I think it once was. I use it in place of ground beef these days for everythign from burgers to meatloaf to spaghetti, to chili. To make a good burger you need to add veggies: mushrooms, onions, shallots, etc. No squirrels or possum. Ma might be Southern, but she'd be city folk, ya'll. ;-) Gosh darn, though speaking of food. I remember those wonderful Southern dinners (at lunch of course) with chicken fried in bacon fat, green beans or greens with more pork fat, and bisquits-- and tiny (6 oz) bottles of Coke. (As my sister said as we came into Huntsville Alabama-- we're in Coke country. And we were.) --des

Have you heard of the recent bruhaha on Plan B going OTC? (Plan B is not really an abortion, but basically for contraceptive failures, rape or incest, etc. within 72 hours.) The FDA panel approved it, saying that it was safe and effective. But some small group of conservative doctors have opposed it. Most of the opposition they stated was for teens. The group reworded their approval for adults only. The FDA took the unprecented of having another wait and see period. To me this would be a drug that could DECREASE abortions. This leads me to feel what I have often felt about abortion. There is a strong minority that really opposes it. I feel this group is sincere. But there is a politically right wing group that uses the abortion issue to get this group on their side. They would rather, I think, keep abortion legal so it will always remain an issue that they can USE. This drug is not an abortion, but this group uses the approval of this drug, which could possibly decrease abortions, for their own ends. (Look what this same group did with gay marriage. All the rage before the election, it has practically disappeared. It got people to the polls.) --des

I can no longer comfortably use either male or female pronouns. I tend to go with the grammatically awkward. ;-) In private it might be another pronoun entirely-- you! (or Hey you depending on my mood. :-)) --des

darby, But for sure there are multiple images/meanings here. For sure Peter goes to his knees and proclaims Jesus. And perhaps there is the idea that Jesus GOT the fish to bite. But why tell them to put their nets on the "other side". Why not just say, "Bite ye fish!" (or whatever is King Jamish), and they didth bite. He tells them to put their nets on the other side. They also eventually leave their regular ordinary lives. What's the "real meaning"? Aren't they all there? --des

Well I think I get your drift Fred, but there is a fatal flaw to the idea that God is some kind of potter creating out of some kind of clay. What is God creating things FROM. From nothing essentially. Therefore God would be, in this analogy, both potter, clay and creation. That's pretty divine, imo. --des

BTW, kids are still reading Judy Blume! The Amazon reviews of "Are you there God, it's me Margaret" are 4-5 stars. Another great book for kids (boys and girls) is "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickam. The movie October Skies is based on the book but the book is way better. In fact, he has written a trilogy that gets rave reviews from kids. (The latter is not really a kid's book). --des

Hi Neanderthal girl, If you aren't Korean, where did you come from originally? BTW, I agree with you. You can be grateful for what you have. I don't normally eat turkey, dressing, and so on (well lots of GROUND turkey-- not quite the same). Still I am happy to have a good diet and the means to afford it (to some extent). --des

I don't think that autonamy in personal beliefs is necessarily anti-community. Perhaps it is within the beliefs of the Catholic church. But it isn't absolutely antagnostic. I don't need to have the person with me sharing EXACTLY the same beliefs and understands I do. In fact, they could hold fairly different views. OTOH, I do acknowledge you have to have similar enough views or you won't really make it together. It is one of the reasons for denominations I think. --des

But Flow, isn't Neandergirl Korean? I didn't think they did Thanksgiving (at least Nov. Thanksgiving). But certainly you have your feast and celebration days? Is that true? So anyway, I don't feel guilty. I think that those types of days go very far back in our existence as humans and we should just enjoy them. --des

Actually the absurdity thing was the point. I'm glad it added a bit of humor! ;-) I wanted to take the argument that ID takes and stretch it to the most absurd point possible. Funny thing, imo, that they have focused on evolution. There is a whole world of science out there and they haven't begun to get into requiring God in those sciences. The "new (very old) definition of science that they seem to be using is an "explanation of the natural world". By that "definition" then the earth could just as well have been created on the back of a great tortoise as one Native American myth has it (I think). NO fair saying most (or any) scientists don't subscribe to it. Hey it is an explanation. It just does not happen to be the Judeo-Christian one. Shouldn't we teach this one in schools too? They get very upset about this sort of suggestion! Prayer in the public schools, ok have the wicca teacher lead one. They don't like that idea! I don't either. But I'm not the one suggesting the integration of religion and education. --des

I went to a friend's house (13 people), I brought an onion caserole (pearl onions, white sauce, homemade croutans). The most unusual dish was some fancy stuffed squash. Looked very pretty and wasn't bad. One of the guys is a vegatarian, but I think he had enough to eat. I am trying to do South beach but didn't for Thanksgiving. However, I like to have all the Thanksgiving stuff in the house for awhile so I cooked a turkey breast. I just basted with olive oil. (Olive oil is allowed on South Beach.) But since I am doing South beach I decided not to do the usual stuffing. I made a low fat version I found on the net with more veggies, nuts, and less bread (all whole wheat) and no butter. I can't claim it was quite as good as the butter filled stuff I am used to, but I thought it was pretty good (better crunchy). So it is definitely a keeper. I made cranberries with Splenda which were good but needed more Splenda--they'll be nice on a sandwich. I had a great time this thanksgiving, better than usual. The group was very funny. Two women claimed they met in jail. Torie, the Corgi, came and had a thanksgiving dinner (turkey, squash, a few peas, and a little kibble). She ate it in record time. --des

I have absolutely no problems with the term "Creator", actually maybe more comfortable than the term "God", which often conjures up images of Jesus, man on throne, etc. But the thing is that if you consider creation a once only happening-- ie, God as Creator, past tense, then you have a God that once created but then is just sitting around looking at his/her creation. If Creation is a continual thing, which I am certain it is, then you see God as creating at all times. Creation is never finished. I think the idea of ID that I have a problem with is not the concept per se. I mean I do think that a Creator is (not was) necessary. If you take the set of coincidences that must exist, then the coincidences become unworkable, imo. The thing is that I see this in the realm of philosophy or religion and not science. ID is a pseudoscience, imo, that implies since evolution as we now know it (and you'd think from these folks that nothing has been done in evolution since Darwin) is not sufficient to explain things that we pull in from religion very specifically from JudeoChristian (and as it happens Islamic) tradition. And you teach evolution like htis in public schools. Do we then teach them, ok well God gave us minds so that now we need ID psychology; we need ID chemistry because God created the elements; we need ID physics as God created the laws that run the universe? If you take it to it's logical extreme there's where we get. Science, otoh, has to be disprovable. You have to be able to take the idea and say, what happens if this is not the case. So we have teh ID fans going around and redefining science to not be disprovable. --des

Hi and welcome y'all. (I can officially say y'all as my family is from the South.) I don't know too much about Kim Chi except that they show people digging up kim chi pots in MASH on tv. It doesn't sound too appealing. Gosh, whoever figured out Korea, you guys are SMART! (or have found a good atlas page). --des

You're the only one I think who could pull the whole thing off. I double dare you. :-P --des Don't tempt me! <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hah hah, glad I'm not the only one. I thought "how rude"! :-) :-) Though I was pretty sure no one would really start such a thread. --des

If there's enough brandy, you won't need to actually taste it. :-) BTW, when I read the title of the post in the tcpc generally discussion it looks like "Does anybody really like Fr..." I was thinking it was Fred. :-) --des

Depends on whether you mean "all powerful" (does and is constantly intervening in all affairs of all at all times) or "all powerful" (has the power to create the whole universe-- and any other universes that exist). --des

Yes, I think I read that in Deut.-- something about thou shalt not eat unclean things like cakes shapeth like a brick that require a chisel to eateth, dusteth off from last years gayity and passed on by Fed Exeth. :-) Something like that anyways. --des

>>"I still struggle with the idea of a God who is all powerful,and yet sometimes refuses to act when terrible things happen." I don't really look at it that way, that God is somehow "refusing" to act-- even though God could act. When terrible things do happen, they are part (generally) of some larger thing-- creation of the Earth thru earthquakes and volcanoes; life of the planet (includes disease-- as virus are "life" too). If God "interferes" with these things then God interferes with the general order and beign of the universe. People living in a flood plain get flooded out (goes for New Orleans-- living under sea level), then you will get flooded out. It is the natural action of things. Of course, there are financial or other reasons that people build where they should not, that type of thing. >I understand what you mean... for me the answer lies within the challenge to define terrible. "lots of people died" - is death bad????? "people were afraid and suffering" - some people may have found faith, some did great things, lives were changed. Well there is that. We are all mortal as well. SO if lots of people died, well they die anyway. There isn't anyway that we somehow become immortal. I don't see it as a "so what" attitude, but more of that is one of the basic laws of the world that cant' be violated. Yes good things sometimes do happen from bad things, but i see this as more what people chose to do with this world which we are given. --des

Yes, I have heard some others claim that they like fruitcake. I am guessing that actual real, homemade type fruitcake is prob. very good. The only sort of that I have ever had was full of citron. I don't think I like that much. I do think that fruitcake that is usually given and received is really good as a makeshift hammer. I remember an episode of David Letterman where he "bowls" or knocks down groups of holidays things with fruitcakes-- stacked wine glasses, Xmas trees, etc. hilarious! --des

This is way way OT-- that is off topic, not Old Testament ;-) but I take klonopin for seizures, the other medication I take is Tegretol. However, I don't think it is ever used by itself for seizures though I may be wrong. Also all the anti-anxiety drugs in that family have anti-convulsive properties. They give Valium IV to people having multiple and nonstop seizures (very dangerous condition if seizures are of the grand mal type). --des