N Korea: Bush administration does something right!

In seeming contradiction to dealings (or more correctly non-dealings) with Iran, the US, via the "six nation talks" to grant fuel aid and work toward better relations with North Korea, in exchange for Pyongyang stopping its nuclear weapons program.

This is good. Sure, we don't know if the deal will hold, but we have to try. So why is it that when Iran (also part of Bush's 'Axis of Evil') has repeatedly tried to talk, Bush will have nothing to do with them? Hmm.... I'm sure it has nothing to do with oil, right?. Shortly after we invaded Iraq, Iran wanted to strike a deal, putting everything on the table. Iran was offering to allow inspections of their nuclear facilities, officially recognize Israel's right to exist ...sheesh, those 2 items right there are pretty huge. And there's not even any proof that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons; it's certainly against the teachings of the Koran. North Korea, on the other hand, has been quite blatant about their nuclear ambitions.

Well, here's hoping that the Bush administration will continue this new-found ability for dialog, and perhaps begin to follow some of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, and actually talk to Iran and Syria.

One can hope.

Meet Barack Obama

All we are is God in drag

Every day I spend 45 minutes or so on the treadmill. I typically listen to music or podcasts during this time. Hearkening back to my Catholic upbringing, on Sundays I'll usually listen to a podcast of something spiritual; I'll do this on other days as well, but especially on Sunday. The persistence of childhood traditions is funny that way.

So today I was listening to talk given by Ram Dass about 10 years ago (podcast from Zencast). Early in the talk, he said that all he's doing is saying what people already know, as evidenced by audience members nodding in agreement at various statements ...but that we all seem to need to hear things over and over until we truly hear them. And in my mind, I nodded in agreement as the sweat began to trickle down my face and back and arms.

After a while, he said what I now gather (after some quick Internet trolling) has been a theme of his for years: "All we are is God in drag"

And I nodded in agreement.

My own spiritual path has been far less intense than that of Ram Dass. But after forays into - or readings about - traditions Catholic, Pentecostal, Hindu, Buddhist, transcendental, Native American, Sufi, Hawaiian, shamanic and others ...and reading biographies of saints from various traditions, of political figures from around the world, of other people of interest ...and after years of meditation, sometimes along with pranayama, asana practice, chanting, and various other little ventures ...after or during all of that, I have had glimpses. I've had moments (or longer) of near overwhelming bliss, feelings of the unity of all that is. And I've certainly experienced the strongest grasp of my own human emotion. And it's like a yo-yo, going to one end and then the other, staying near either end for varying periods of time.

"All we are is God in drag"

And I nodded in agreement.

Long Island Iced Tea

There are, I am certain, stronger versions of this drink. But one of our requirements for any drink is that it has to taste good, not necessarily dump you on your backside. So this version is not even 2 shots of booze, but tastes great and if you're not driving or working, a couple of these can gitchya.

Long Island Tea:

• 1/3 shot gin
• 1/3 shot light rum
• 1/3 shot vodka
• 1/3 shot Cointreau
• 1/3 shot tequila
• 2/3 shot lime juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill the mix. Pour over fresh ice and top the glass off with cola. Enjoy :)

Mango Drag Queen

Hmmm... it will be interesting to see what searches bring folks to THIS post. Oh well :)

We live next to a very small area called Mango Florida. Our friends from Mango were visiting a couple of weeks ago, and we were - of course - hanging out on the lanai out back by the pool and the bar. Michelle mentioned a drink she'd been experimenting with, based loosely on a drink called a Dragon. With a little taste-testing, we all decided that the recipe here is a winner. As for the name, "Mango" is partly because our friends are from Mango. The "Drag Queen" part is because a drag queen can sometimes fool you. In this case, the drink has 2 1/2 shots in it, but tastes really good, so you don't necessarily realize how strong the drink is ...and there's no mango in the drink at all. Try a Mango Drag Queen tonight ;-)

Mango Drag Queen:

• 1 shot Coconut Rum
• 1 shot Light Rum
• 1/4 shot Vodka
• 1/4 shot Peach Schnapps (this is the secret ingredient)
• 1/4 shot simple syrup
• 6 oz pineapple juice

Combine all ingredients except the pineapple juice in a shaker with several ice cubes. Shake to chill the drink, then strain over fresh ice and top off with the pineapple juice. Mmmmmm....