Brix index and Wal Mart

Regional officials from Wal Wart met with our city government recently and were told by our mayor we were all happy to have them open their new super center in Centerville. Maybe his memory is not so good or maybe he is just trying to be polite, but 72% of the residents in a poll conducted among residents of Centerville by Dr. Raymond Briscoe in 2004 said they did not want that big box here. As the store’s grand opening gets closer I am wondering what I will do to non-observe this event. Somehow I find no comfort in the words of our city manager Steve Thacker when he offered we were going to have the ‘finest Wal Mart in all Utah.’ Several other communities have taken that title away from us though as new and better Wal Warts are being constructed in Utah with better looking fake stone and archways.

Friday I planted 10 bushes and trees in my yard including two Pluots. If you have not discovered this very sweet fruit I recommend trying them. Maybe with the addition of these trees and bushes we can drown out the noise of happy shoppers driving on Main Street to the big box. At least we can reduce CO2 emissions with our new foliage and can look forward to new fruit in a couple years. It is a pleasant experience growing one's fruit and vegeys or getting it from local sources. If only I could grow pineapples in the green house I would not have to buy them at Target.

From a web site I found this about Pluots: “Pluots are a hybrid of a plum and an apricot. They mainly retain the characteristics and flavor of a plum. Their skin is a light reddish-yellow color with small speckles. Every year they become more available in stores across the U.S. as demand and production rises. This fruit has one of the highest brix level readings on a refractometer, meaning that it has a very sweet taste!”

Too bad Wal Mart leaves me with such a sour taste...

Children who are soldiers...

More than forty years ago the Reverend Martin Luther King offered this:

"One day...

Youngsters will learn words they will not understand.

Children from India will ask:
What is hunger?
Children from Alabama will ask:
What is racial segregation?
Children from Hiroshima will ask:
What is the atomic bomb?
Children at school will ask:
What is war?

You will answer them.
You will tell them:

Those words are not used any more,
Like stage coaches, galleys or slavery -

Words no longer meaningful.

That is why they have been removed from dictionaries."

Regrettably our lexicon of hurtful and evil words has not diminished over the decades. We have new words that speak of horror, terror, and death. Death comes from the muzzles of AK-47's brandished by an 11 and 12 year old boys. In Asia, Africa and South America there are by UN estimates 300,000 children who have been kidnapped at gunpoint and forced into government and rebel militias to fight and die. They will never knowing the peaceful life of a child like my grandsons. More civilians have died in Iraq under US occupation than in the brutal reign of Saddam by a 2:1 margin. Where is the outrage? Where is the action by America and the Bush Administration?

Read more if you want at Refugees International

Mormons wrote the book on torture...

Two Mormon psychologists from Spokane WA developed the techniques and wrote the manual for the unlawful torture techniques used by the CIA and DoD at 'Black Sites' in Thailand and other places. The article about these “two knuckleheads" who practice "voodoo"psychology, according to someone familiar with their craft, is found on line from a
Vannity Fair article by Katherine Eban. Brothers James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen are raking in the big bucks, driving Beemers, buying dream homes in Florida and have medals given them by the CIA. Their manual is being used at Gitmo, and they are responsible for the training of the guards at Abu Ghraib as well as additional “Black Sites” operated by the CIA.

Others involved in the interrogation business were revulsed by their crude, degrading, and inhumane techniques developed by Mitchell and Jessen. Associates referred to the two of them and their associates as the ‘Mormon Mafia’. The sad irony in all of this is that their techniques don't work and they have had no success in gathering intelligence of any value.

I am ashamed as an American and as a Mormon.

A Liberal in the best sense of the word... James E. Faust

He was also a life long Democrat because of his belief in and commitment to championing the causes of the poor and the less empowered. We shall miss his wisdom, compassion and voice of reason. Imagine also, he once served as a Utah State Legislator. His kind has not passed that way often.

Coprolite is s*#t

I saw a sign like this recently and appreciated the humor. Coprolite for the uninitiated is fossilized dinosaur poop or for that matter any poop that has been fossilized. One of my favorite things to do is to visit the local rock shop, Rock Pick Legend , at 1017 South Main Street in Salt Lake. I went by there today and bought a polished sample for a family member. I like to give dinosaur poop to my friends and family.

They have a number of fine samples of coprolite that are cut and polished. Many other local rock specimens are found there from Utah and the intermountain area as well as other places in the world. Utah has an abundance of dinosaur poop and much of it is found between Moab and Lake Powell. It can be very small in size, almost BB, and so large it would be impossible for one man to lift in its petrified state, as big as a washing machine I have been told. Analysis of the poop by paleontologists can determine if the dinosaur was carnivorous or an herbivore. I have never seen one, but I understand some samples of coprolite have bone fragments encased and fossilized within the dung. If you don’t have anything to do and you find yourself on 10th South and Main in Salt Lake stop by and check out their petrified doodoo. You will not be disappointed.

Nazis, Lord Voldemort and the Albanian Forest

Albania is a very old country. Its language is unique and unlike any other. It is an Indo European language with ancient roots but different than Greek, Serbian or Russian. Throughout its history Albania has withstood the wars and occupying armies of its neighbors, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantine Greeks, Ottomans, Italian Fascists, and the Communists.

We don’t hear much about Albania in America. It is a small country and far away and has not oil to interest Bush and Cheney. Its history is an ancient one. I am not sure many areas or people can boast of such a long history with a distinct language. Archaeological research suggests that the lands that are today inhabited by Albanians were first populated in the Paleolithic Age over one hundred thousand years ago.

Some may be aware of the contested Serbian province of Kosovo under UN or NATO supervision. Albanians are the the ethnic majority but were massacred by the convicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic in the years after the collapse of the Communist government of Yugoslavia. Albania is also mentioned in the latest Harry Potter novel as Lord Voldemort, a.k.a. Tom Riddle, hid in an Albanian forest for several years prior to his return to England.

The past couple weeks we have had an Albanian young lady with us in California. She is remarkable in many ways and maintains a 3.9 GPA at the university. She taught herself to speak English by studying alone an English Book of Mormon. In addition she speaks Russian and Italian. Her Spanish is good enough to get around in any Spanish-speaking environment.

From one source I discovered that Albania is unique in another way. This pertains to the Holocaust, quote: “…it was the only European country occupied by the Nazis that ended World War II with a larger Jewish population than before the War. The Albanian response to the Holocaust is especially notable because it was Europe’s only largely Muslim country. Even so only a Jewish family of six was deported and killed during the Nazi occupation of Albania. Not only did the Albanians protect their own Jews, but they provided refuge for Jews from neighboring countries. The Albanians refused to compile and hand over lists of Jews. Instead they provided the Jewish families with fake documents and helped them disperse in the Albanian population.” They were also helped in this by the Italians who refused to cooperate with th SS.

Thanks E. for introducing a little bit of your country and culture to us. It is worth knowing something more about Albania than what appears in the latest J.K. Rowling installment of Harry Potter.

America the Beautiful?

No. 1 son posted this on his blog, Shenpa Warrior



"Sunday, July 29
"America the Beautiful (maybe some day)"
Today in church for the closing hymn we sang “America the Beautiful,” and I seriously had a hard time. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with patriotism, but it was difficult for me to feel patriotic singing words like “O beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife,” when we continue to invade countries that didn’t attack us first.

“Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!” This line bothered me quite a bit too. Are we talking about America or Heaven?

Maybe the song is how America should be. It’s just hard for me to feel patriotic when there are so many problems, and I’m so much better off than Mexicans, or Africans or whoever. I think the only way we can truly be grateful to live in this prosperous country and not be arrogant is by doing our best to help others, whether they live next door or in Darfur, whether they are legal or illegal, whether they watch Fox News or the “liberal” mainstream media. We're all immigrants."

My comment:
I refused to have the BSA troop in Centerville, plant for dollars, the US flag in my yard on the high and holy days for America for this reason and others. I gave them a donation, 2X what they asked on condition they would not post any flags on my property. Our history is a bloodthirsty one. We took, stole and murdered our way across North America, bringing death, disease, and destruction wherever we went. Our history is a metaphor of the American Bison and those (the indians) who lived from them. Ours wars, other than WW I and II, have been wars of exploitation and imperialism. We stole Florida, Texas and the Southwest including CA from the Mexicans. The Spanish American War was faked up over the explosion of a Battleship Maine in Havana Bay. Viet Nam was a trumped up and escalated war by LBJ who had the DOD fake reports of NVA attacks on the destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy. In Iraq, W led us all down the path, (Hillary voted for it, Obama did not), because of WMD and the Al Qa'ida connection that never existed. What we really were after is the oil in Iraq, just an extension of the land grabs of previous conflicts and imperialistic notions. Shame on us for what we have allowed America to become.

Independence Day, 28 de Julio

The 28th of July is observed as national day of independence in Peru, independence from Spain. Because I have many Peruano friends and also enjoy their food and culture I am making Chicha Morada today. As I am cooking this our house is filled with a wonderful aroma. The recipe for this drink is very old and was made by the Incans and other of the indigenous peoples of South America. It relies of the maiz morado or purple corn from the plains of Peru. In addition, pineapple, oranges, lemons, cinnamon and other things are added to it for flavoring. I will be drinking it to celebrate this independence day with my friends coupled with my prayers for the end of tyranny and oppression around the world including those of my friends who live here in the Estados Unidos. They live under the burden of ethnic prejudice, the fear of ICE agents and deportation, yet they are a happy and wonderful people. Here’s to you all y mi hijos en Peru Miguel y Renzo. May the Lord preserve you and protect you always. Thank you for the richness you have all brought to my life and my family.

We cannot forget...

Number one son told me of this this article on LDS.Org. September this year marks the 150th anniversary of the slaughter of the Fancher wagon train members at the site near Cedar City called the Mountain Meadows. A new book is to be available soon, written by insiders, Richard Turley and Ronald Walker. I have read the Juanita Brooks, Bagley and Denton books. Brooks was the best of the lot, but Bagley and Denton had information not available to Ms. Brooks. I liked this article and it deserves to be read and pondered. I hope it will get some attention in Church discussions. I am glad it will be published in the Ensign. We need to understand, if we can, how good people could do something so terrible. The capacity of unquestioning religious zealots and believers of that day perhaps helps us understand the death squads in Iraq and other places today.

As I have read the accounts in the aforementioned books I was struck by the similarities in how people are moved so efficiently in and out of the Conference Center and other Church venues and the efficiency with which the Mormons choreographed this very cold blooded massacre. It was chillingly altogether too familiar.

I met a great grandson of Jacob Hamblin recently at the Bountiful Temple. We discussed his grandfather and his role in bringing John D. Lee to justice. His was the sole testimony at the trial to convict Lee. Jacob had an Indian son who saw Lee cruelly murder two young ladies, shooting them at point blank range while they begged for mercy and their lives. The indians would not do the deed because of their beauty.

We owe it to the Fanchers and their descendents not to forget.

Back Pain is a Democratic Thing

This morning I had a two-hour session at the New England Baptist Hospital's Spine Clinic. It has been two months since I first came to NEBH and started therapy. I was measured and tested in several ways again today including motion and flexibility. Because of my progress I got lots of 'attaboys'. Couch potatoing and babying one's back I have found from personal experience are not solutions for lower back pain mitigation. In an earlier post I noted these people have been written up in the Wall Street Journal, LA Times and the NY Times. "Therapeutic exercise has been shown to decrease pain and is primarily used to provide the patient with the experience to safely and effectively function despite back pain," according to the head physical therapist Lisa Childs. I, like many other sufferers from back pain are or had become kinesiophobic. We were afraid to move or be active lest we further deteriorate already painful vertebrae and discs. Thanks to the folks at NEBH my couch potato days are over.

I have been going to the local Excel in Bountiful. Their trainer thought these people in Boston were a little nuts and told me I could injure my back from the exercises they had given me here. Few trainers and only 10% of the back docs in the US are aware there are better ways for treatment of back pain than surgery and painkillers. This new therapeutic approach is to stretch yourself and do more in terms of yoga like stretching, weight training and exercise. The rewards will follow. Of course everyone needs to see their own doc and have an MRI or x-rays. In consulation with a qualified doctor and a program like NEBH miracles happen. It has been more than a month since since my last Celebrex.

Our hotel where we stayed is in Brookline, not far from the clinic. Brookline is the birthplace of JFK who also had a bad back from a WWII injury. The National Park Service maintains the home where he was raised. Back pain is both Democratic and something that can be diminished with effort and guidance. Other pains in the backside will not diminish for another year and half.

Chicha Morada

Twice now in two days I have had Chicha to drink for lunch, both times at a Peruvian restaurant here in Boston. The food is terrific and I regret SLC does not have a good Peruvian place either to get Chicha or comida de Peru. When I get home I am going to start working on good recipes for making Chicha. Of course if I leave it at room temperature for a while before consuming it I will not be driving anywhere. I will consult with a couple Peruanos for their advice and testing. Bountiful does have a Peruvian store so I might find the necessary main ingredient, the blue corn. The stuff comes bottled already but I do not like it much. Good Chicha is really special. One Peruano also told me it reduces blood pressure so that is a good thing.

A little research tells me some interesting things about Chicha. It was part of the Incan culture and women went to schools to learn how to make it. It was made from several types of corn or maize, generally yellow corn. Only the Chicha Morada is non-alcoholic. Chicha is a Spanish word but predates the conquistadores and was found in other cultures including the Aztecs and Mayans. Chicha Morada is made with the blue corn but other things are added to it such as pineapple, or orange jucie, or strawberries. What we had here in Boston had apple juice and small pieces of apples added to it. The best I ever had was con mi hijo de Peru en Lima.

Most of all I enjoy drinking Chicha Morada because it is so pleasant and reminds me of the good times I have shared with mis amigos Peruanos.

Salud!

A little boy and his family need help...

If you are inclined and feeling generous to help a little boy with a big problem you can visit a web site and learn about his rare Rigid Spine Muscular Dystrophy. Through a PayPal link on that site you can make a much appreciated donation. Remember this could be your son or in my case a grandson. Be generous. In the face of all of the energy we all expend every day bashing Bush, Cheney, Hillary, Edwards, Rocky, managed health care, as well as the legislature, it is perhaps time to do something very positive and meaningful. Take a moment and think how good this will feel to have contributed to someone, largely anonymously, who is not listed on and neither a recipient of the fast offering deposit slip at your local LDS ward. There is something about being anxiously engaged and not commanded in all things to bring to pass good things. Here is a chance to help a little boy cough, to keep him alive. How much do we take that simple physical reflex for granted? How simple is it for us to cough?

Thanks for thinking and doing something about it!

Update on the reunion

Grandson J took along the DVD of 'Napoleon Dynamite'. We watched it on the laptop. It is a sweet movie. Gosh, we stayed at the Preston Plaza Motel, in the very room where Napoleon Dynamite slept. This is the motel where John Heder, like the star of Napoleon Dynamite, lodged during the filming of that movie. #1 daughter stayed in the 'Principal's' room. If you ever stay in Preston Plaza Motel be certain to ask for room #41. It was Napoleon's room. His likeness gazes down on you from a poster, just like this one, above the relatively uncomfortable king size bed.

The in-laws were great, a good time was had by all, and I hugged a couple Republicans.

A family reunion can raise the BP I think

I saw a piece in Monday's Tribune about the deleterious effects of having ambivalent friends. Such friends raise blood pressure and increase the chances of heart disease. This is according to a new study completed jointly at the University of Utah and BYU to be published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. BP and heart issues are at risk, quote, "In fact... blood pressure and heart rate rises by merely being in the presence of such friends." I have to wonder if this extends to in-laws as I am headed toward a family reunion this weekend. Maybe I will need to take some extra medication. Can I wear garlic around my neck, maybe have a crucifix in my pocket? The study also concluded that when people discuss past negative events with an ambivalent friend, their health suffers. This means for certain any discussion of past uncomfortable events with my in-laws is to be avoided at all costs. I plan on taking along a couple good books though. I am leaning toward secular humanist George Lakoff's "Moral Politics". He has some well thought out insights why R's hate gun control, support the Iraq War, deny the anthropogenic causes of global warming, think the GLTG community threatens mine or anyone else's marriage and believe George W. Bush is a God fearing Christian.

Solamente para mi esposa iré a la reunión, debido a amor. Muchas gracias mi esposa por todas cosas.

A view at the gym

Stanley Parrish is one of the executives with the Tabernacle Choir. He also happens to be a close friend of Orrin Hatch. I have read he gets paid nice sums of money for advice by Orrin along with Mac Christensen. Mac is the president of the Choir and owner of Mr. Macs. Stanley is my first cousin and a gentlemen. This morning at the gym I spied him using one of the nautilus machines. He had on an "Orrin" T-shrt. I complimented him on how well he looked except for that shirt. He responded that it was a great shirt. I advised him I was a Democrat and had voted against Hatch in every election I could. He chuckled and said he knew I was.

We discussed bad backs, politics and old age. Nevertheless, it was nice to see a member of the family even if he is a member of the dark side and close to the evil senator, emperor wannabe.

Dark water and KIng Salmon fishing

Darkwater is not the name of the largest and most well financed mercenary army in the world. That is Blackwater and they are getting paid big bucks in Iraq. The guy in this photo from the stern of the Trek II is known as 'Wally' to the locals of Ft. Bragg CA He is 86 years old and was on Admiral Kimmel's staff in WWII. To win the WWII trivia test you must correctly identify who was Admiral Kimmel without googling or other help. If you know the answer let me know. I knew the answer and told Wally where he was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Because of that and maybe for other reasons Wally and I struck up a friendship. Later in the war Wally was a driver on a naval vessel off Iwo Jima. Every day at 8:00 AM they buried the American dead. Early on in the Battle of Iwo, Wally said, they were burying four hundred GI's every day. WWII was the 'last good war' a number of observers have said.

Wally has done a lot of things in the world and has seen a lot in his day. He is a master of many things. When I grow up I would like to be like Wally. He knows about catching salmon too and what kind of lure to use on any day. Salmon like dark water the best and the temperature they like off the coast of Northern CA is 52°F. I saw Wally on two days. We went fishing with him on our Friday before Memorial weekend and visited with him prior to our leaving the second day. Wally gave us a salmon to land and take home. He told us what lures to use and where to stand in the boat. #1 daughter and I complied. We caught two fish though one escaped when it was close to the stern. The deck hand did not quite grab it well enough. Tequila Sunrise is a good lure to use when the water is clear. Also the King Salmon like purple lures when the water is clear. Green is a better color when it is dark.

Thank you Wally for being a patriot, for being generous, for caring and truly being an 'officer and a gentlemen'. I am glad you survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the entire Pacific campaign. It was a pleasure meeting you and knowing about your past. The salmon on the grill was superb too.

I would recommend

Two movies I have enjoyed on my trip to Boston so far. The trip is not over yet. On the airplane I saw ‘Pan's Labyrinth’. It is an award-winning 2006 Spanish language film written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. The film takes place in pre WWII during the Spanish Civil War. It is both an accurate portrayal of the brutality of Fascist soldiers who are charged with guarding a mill in a mountainous region and neutralizing local insurgents. Juxtaposed in this story is a tale of fantasy that ultimately____________. It garnered several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. It was both enjoyable and good for my Spanish language studies. Not a film for kids though even though it was partially a fairy tale.



I also watched ‘Déjà Vu’ at the hotel. It is a nice Denzel Washington movie. Déjà Vu is a science fiction crime thriller directed by Tony Scott and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. I recommend both films.

What's on tonight?

The Hospital for the Boston Celtics and me...

I am vacationing in Boston at the New England Baptist Hospital. It is one of the top 10 or 20 rated hospitals in the USA by AARP and US News and World Report. The Spine Center at NEBH has developed a nationally recognized program for helping people with chronic and acute back pain when everything else has failed. They have been written up in the New York Times, the LA Times and a one-hour program appeared on the Discovery Channel last year. A number of their patients and the media have dubbed this program, "Boot Camp for Backs". It is not mainstream medicine yet. Only about 10% of back doctors across the country are on board. Folks in my classes have difficulty walking or climbing stairs, even carrying a bag of groceries in from the car. 'Boot Campers' are encouraged to overcome their fear of activity and follow punishing exercise regimens using Nautilus like machines that help strengthen and stretch back muscles, making them stronger and more limber.

20,000 folks have come through the boot camp at NEBH in the past 10 years. Most have been helped. Researchers are not sure why this taxing regimen works. Dr. Rainville told me this exercise program and physical therapy in addition to strengthening muscles somehow desensitizes people to pain messages sent out by the brain. Those of us who fear further deterioration or degeneration in our backs tend to baby them; by doing so the back gets worse. The rule used to be from the physical therapists, 'if it hurts, don't do it.' Not so anymore. By taking it easy and becoming more of a couch potato the back pain increases and our lifestyle decreases. This is called deconditioning. It is a very positive option for many others and me. According to an LA Times article the statistics for back surgeries suggests as few as 3% of patients are benefited. Side effects of infections, limited mobility and persistent pain are not uncommon following invasive surgical treatment.

The link here gets you to the Spine Center for New England Baptist Hospital. I was able to get in relatively easy and get an appointment in less than a month. The people are very friendly and attentive. And yes, few people like Mitt Romney, their former governor. I have heard a few cracks about Utah and when did electricity arrive in our state, etc.

Haagen Dazs and Lumbar Degeneration

Just got back to my hotel from my appointment at the Spine Center of the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston MA. The news was so good I decided to have a treat before lunch. I bought an ice cream bar, chocolate and dark chocolate. It is an 'all natural ice cream bar'. I think that is important. I never had much of a passion for 'unnatural' ice cream. The printing on the box says, "chocolate ice cream dipped in, then drizzled with fine dark chocolate." It was every bit as good as advertised. Haagen Dazs uses Belgian Chocolate too. I like Belgian Chocolate whenever I can find it. I prefer it as well for political reasons to the Swiss varieties, as the Belgian people did fight against the Nazis in WWII rather than collaborating with Hitler and laundering their murderous Fascist larceny.

Lest I get too far a field, I should return to why I am celebrating. In addition to arthritis, degenerating discs between L-3, 4, and 5 there is some evidence of stenosis. I had MRI's done 8 years ago and then again early this month. The Spine Center at this hospital is doing world-class work with backs and the good news is I qualify for their program called 'Boot Camp for Backs'. With a disciplined exercise regimen and guidance I can expect to have the level of pain significantly reduced, enjoy more activity and maybe resume some things I used to do such as back packing and hiking. The doc told me it would be fine to hunt more too. It seems counterintuitive but the more sedentary life style, to protect one's remaining back resource, leads to escalation of pain. Exercise and therapy will strengthen the back muscles and reprogram the nerves in the area to send fewer pain messages to the brain. 20 to 25% of their patients report freedom from pain after their 'boot camp'. 40 to 50% report significantly reduced pain and 20 to 25% have some improvement but still in pain.

It is a beautiful day in Boston. It is 70 degrees here and I am going for a walk to celebrate the good news.

Mormons should oppose the Iraq War

In the ongoing debate over the Iraq war, and it reached a new high or low locally last evening in the debate between Rocky and Hannity, it is useful to look back to another day in another war from a statement made by the Brethren.

“We renew our declaration that international disputes can and should be settled by peaceful means. That is the way of the Lord. We call upon the statesman of the world to assume their rightful control of the affairs of nations and to bring this war to an end, honorable and just to all. Animated and led by the spirit of Christ, they can do it…Hate driven militarists and leaders, with murder in their hearts, will, if they go through to the end, bring merely another peace that will be but the beginning of another war.

We call upon the Saints the world over to pray to God constantly in faith, nothing doubting, that He will bring His purposes speedily to pass and restore peace again to the earth to bless His Children.”1

For Latter Day Saints, at least from a historical perspective Rocky’s statements reflect most closely those enunciated in this First Presidency Message. Truly, the values we once cherished have been betrayed by the war mongering Bush administration and the attendant evils of illegal incarceration of combatants, torture and the challenges to our civil rights here in America. Remember WWII was the so called “last good war” and yet we have this inspired statement from President George Albert Smith, and his counselors, J. Reuben Clark and David O. McKay condemning it.

1 Message of the First Presidency, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 3, 1942