The Year Of Ubuntu

We welcomed the new year in bed watching Monk with our noses running and throats sore, snacking on rose-hip jam for vitamin C and drinking ginger and pau d’ arco tea to boost our immune systems. According to the once renowned but now forgotten Antoine Bechamp this process is a cleansing that occurs cyclically and is necessary to remove toxins that cause our tissues to rot or oxidize. The well known Pasteur set our world on the germ theory course, which has led us to the current terror of micro-organisms which has given the pharmaceutical industry it’s hold on our state of health and our belief that we are being ‘attacked’ by nature. We become victims with no control over our own health. This is absolutely not true.

Just before we got the flu, we had been cleaning our apartment, getting rid of old and making room for the new. Over the New Year our bodies did the same thing and we are currently feeling more energetic than we have in a while. I also got a new hard-drive for my computer finally so I can start to really make use of the open-source applications that are available through Ubuntu. What with the body cleansing, house cleaning and new hard drive (named Tiamat), 2010 is a year that is begun with the ritual of cleaning and renewing that was traditionally associated with this time of year.

I recently noticed a wise woman call 2010 the Year of Ubuntu on facebook and this really struck me. As wikipedia mentions, Archbishop Desmond Tutu explains Ubuntu (2008) philosophy:

One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.

READ MORE

Burmese Mont Lin Ma Yar

I recently had a wonderful interaction with a Burmese food lover over a photo I had posted on facebook of the famous Burmese Mont Lin Ma Yar. These delicious street corner snacks are a real treat, I wish I could get them on the corner downtown Vancouver, BC! She kindly translated the recipe for me from her favorite Burmese recipe site and so I am posting it here for future reference:

From the Myanmar Cupid Cookbook by Pyo Pyo May
Translated by Naomi Aung. Amounts are variable, test it out to see how thick you need the mixture.

* Mix rice flour with water.
* Pinch salt
* Pinch MSG*
* Pinch sugar
* A teaspoon of baking soda
* Chopped tips of green onions
* Freshly pounded ginger, not too much.

Method:
Mix rice flour, water, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger and green onions. Test by putting a bit of mixture on the hot pan, when cooked, if it is too soft, it has too much water, so add some more rice powder. Leave the mixture, covered for 1 to 2 hours. Heat the pan, add oil and add the mixture, add a quail egg or a couple boiled butter-beans (pe-pyote). When the bottom is crispy, turn it and let cook a couple more minutes. When cooked, place one on top of another one and eat them as a pair.

READ MORE

Who named their son "Legal Tender?" http://ping.fm/Y1Fuv

Interesting site: http://ping.fm/8vVl5

Excellent interview discussing community currency: http://ping.fm/9S6gZ

Defend the Leopard Frog

Endosulfan is a deadly poison that has been banned in 60 countries, but not the U.S.This deadly poison is extremely dangerous for frogs, birds… and even people who are exposed to it. http://ping.fm/6R7yq

Rose Hips on the Tree of Life

“If the rose is burnt, it bears better flowers; for then, they say, the roses are improved.” This phoenix-like characteristic of the rose may be why the Persians traditionally depicted the tree of life as a rose tree on their carpets and tapestries. Rose hips can contain between 1500-2500 grams of Vitamin C per 100 grams of weight. Oranges contain around 53 mgs per 100 grams of weight, so head for the hills to collect these vitamin C powerhouses gifts from the bush. more