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2012-05-07

Accidental 30 minute dinner

Jamie Oliver talks about the "30 minute frame of mind" which means that he has already spent an hour shopping and harvesting and chopping and preparing bowls and ovens and pans. This lead to some amazement from my own side when I discovered that I had actually done a meal and a salad in less than 30 minutes.

Coming from the shop, I quickly washed a handful of almond potatoes, cleaved them in half and put them in a pan to start boiling. I then put a pan on the stove and started to heat up some butter. When it was melted, I tossed in the newly bought, pre chopped meat. While this was warming up, I chopped the mushrooms, before I tossed them in and stirred. Ecological carrots don't need much washing and certainly not pealing, so these are quick to chop and toss in as well. For fluid, I added coconut milk, which I then thickened with potato starch. The starch kills some of the taste, so I counter this with salt and a little bit more butter. Season with a dash of black pepper, salvie and oregano. Everything left to simmer.

Now was time for the salad. Glass bowl, toss in prechopped salad mix. Wash and chop cherry tomatoes, drop them in. Now to get creative about seasoning. Take cup, fill a dash of the oil we had left. The potatoes were already done, so some of the water to thin the seasoning, before adding a dash of honey. Mix with some black pepper and oregano before tossing it in the salad - and then toss the salad itself.

...and dinner was done, tasted amazing and I had not spent 30 minutes.

2012-05-01

Finding out...

Why do we find out things instead of finding in? There is ultimately more out than in - at least in the areas that humans ordinarly operate - so it should be a lot easier to find out than in. Finding in is a lot more challenging. Especially if you're locked out. Though a lot of people seem to be locked in. Perhaps that's why they can't find out. Do we need a series of articles about finding in and out?

2012-04-20

Bettervision 2012: Estonia

Similar to Hungary, Ott Lepland from Estonia wants us to stop and listen. To observer and just be is a therapeutic meditation that helps you get rooted with "now". The moments you are able to block out past and future are moments of euphoria. He doesn't sing it, I speak from experience. People should do it on a regular basis. It is an important ingredient for a better world.




Listen to the horizon
Listen to how far it takes you
Listen to what the wind has to say
Listen
Watch as darkness approaches
Wait – the light remains within us
Listen to how your land breathes
Listen

Listen to what has fallen silent
Just listen to these simple moments
Listen – the heart too has a voice

The path has passed into shadow
I look and keep on looking
Silence has the power to resound
I wait for you here, halfway there
Listen to my voice calling you

Listen to what has fallen silent
Just listen to these simple moments
Listen – my heart has a voice

Listen

2012-04-13

Bettervision 2012: Hungary

A better world begins with listening to our hearts, defeating hatred, accepting differences as a source of enrichment. This is the message of the Hungarian entry, a strong candidate for Bettervision 2012.


The whole big world is just one place
You can say it’s all the same
You may feel hatred’s it sows
We can show it’s no way to go

This is the sound of our hearts, if you listen
This is a zeal from above and it can say it all
This is a fever they can’t take away
This is the sound of, the sound of
The sound of our hearts

The sound of our hearts
The sound of our hearts

Harmony can be achieved
Just find some way to get connected
Differences may not be wrong
They enrich the things that we know

Different faiths, different views
All we can do is to turn them in key

This is the sound of our hearts, if you listen
This is a zeal from above and it can say it all
This is a fever they can’t take away
This is the sound of, the sound of, the sound

This is the sound of our hearts, if you listen
This is a zeal from above and it can say it all
This a fever they can’t take away
This is the sound of, the sound of
The sound of our hearts

The sound of our hearts
The sound of our hearts

2012-04-09

Unemployed Vagabond: It is so bad at home...

Physical security. It's one of the basic needs of humans. But as Antarctic hikers and Mt Everest climbers prove, every individual have a different pereception of what is acceptable security. It is easy to understand that large numbers of people flee from war zones. Yet some insist on staying, even though their lives are in imminent danger.
    "Ah, Oklahoma!" the other man said, finally putting the pieces together. "Yes, Oklahoma City. It is a dangerous place?"
    I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. Cowboys? Indians? "Dangerous?"
    "Wasn't there a bombing"
    "A-? Oh, right. Yeah, well, there was one bombing."
    "But it was a very big bombing, yes? Many pople killed."
    "Sure, it was very big. But it was one bombing almost ten years ago." We were in occupied Palestine and this guy was worried about Oklahoma being dangerous? I supposed that was what happened if you knew nothing about a place except its bombings.

It is difficult to set a universally defined threshold as to when someone decides to just pick up and leave. I see three degrees of uncertainty associated with leaving, which is part of the formula deciding when to leave. They are:
    Things are so bad for my physical health and/or mental health and/or economy (all three are interrelated anyway), that I can not imagine my current situation as sustainable, therefore I must leave and...
    1. ...I have found a new and better place to go to, all is set up.
    2. ...where I'm going I have a social network to take care of me while I attempt to get on my own feet.
    3. ...must face the unknown in a desparate hope that I find a way to support myself (and my family).
The lower the degree of uncertainty, the lower the threshold to move. Leaving at a third degree uncertainty is usually invoked only when you find your health in imminent danger and see absolutely no way that the current situation will improve on its own. And that's when you get the "unemployed vagabond".

The world operates with two distinct flavours of unemployed vagabonds - that is, people with no fixed income who travel and thus lack basic physical, mental and economic security. They are "War Refugees" and "Economic Refugees". The war refugee has been recognized for so long that the term "refugee" is usually perceived as refugees from a war zone specifically.

Economic Refugees have also been around for quite a while. The Great Transatlantic Migration from 1836 to 1916 was greatly an economic escape from Europe to The Promised Land of North America. Similarly, many Africans risk their lives trying to cross over to Europe, because a small chance of surviving, and still have no clue as to what awaits on the other side, is somehow better than the status quo.

More recently, during Iceland's economic crisis beginning 2008, many people got on the ferry to Norway in search for a new life. Greeks have found their way to the United Arab Emirates. Mexicans have been migrating to the USA for a long time. Now, Americans are finding their way to Ecuador. Irish find their way to Canada.

The list goes on and on. And it's about economy:


"I didn't leave Cuba for political reasons, I left for economic reasons"
"An economy run into the ground because of what?"
"Because of the government of Cuba"
"I see now that you're not as dumb as you sound"

While a country's economy greatly affects its people, Hans Rosling has shown some tremendous statistics about the difference between rich and poor within each country as possibly more important than the difference between countries. Local politics play as much a role, if not more, than international politics.

I conclude this article with Hans Rosling's 2007 statistics about poverty:




2012-04-06

Bettervision 2012: Russia

Unline most party songs in Eurovision, Russia's contribution is an invitation to a communal dance. The message being, let us ALL be happy. Ordinarily, party songs is not what I wanted to include in Bettervision, but I needed to make an exception here, as even Russia has made a very unexpected exception to their own contribution: The lyrics are not in Russian, but in the Udmurt language. This makes me very happy, and I would love to party with these Udmurt grannies!


I am spreading a tablecloth carefully, waiting for my sons
Let the dough rise and warm our hearts
Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and boom, boom

The house is full of my dear children, who have just returned
The house is full of my dear children, who have just returned
I am going to put on a green dress and a red shawl
I am going to put on a green dress and start dancing

We wanna boom boom boom, we wanna party party
We wanna boom boom boom for everybody

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and boom, boom

The cat is happy, the dog is happy
The cat is happy, the dog is happy
We are in a wonderful mood and very happy
We are in a wonderful mood, oh joy

We wanna boom boom boom, we wanna party party
We wanna boom boom boom for everybody

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and… boom, boom

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and

Party for everybody, dance
Come on and dance
Come on and dance
Come on and boom, boom, boom, boom