Monday, December 31, 2012

Molly's Monday Musings

 Molly here.

I am still around.  Not liking the cold very much.  I think hibernation would be a good thing.






 I still know how to sleep however, even it there is something else sitting close to me

 We got some more snow.  I went outside and when I came back in I was covered with the stuff.

BG (Big Guy) brushed it off for me.  I have a little problem reaching that part.  The other day he tossed me a Dorito (which landed right there in the middle of my back.  I had a heck of a time getting it. (but I finally did.)




 Jon stopped over to play with me.  I luvz him.  He had a picture of Miles who he left back in Arizona. We miss him but he looks good.  BG stole the picture off from Facebook so I could share it with you.
 Jon came over on Friday night while BG was at a meeting in Des Moines.  (His friend John took him down to the meeting.)    Jon told BG that I was the best dog he had ever had. (He really didn't like Bailey very much.  I never knew Bailey but BG loved him)  BG was pleased.   BG likes to take pictures of us.
 

 So that is about it for this week.  I suppose things will change this week.. BG tells me that this is the last day of the year.  I wonder what that means.

This is my "wondering face."

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sunday Salute XLI


David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an Americantelevision host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.
...
Letterman was a recipient of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors, where he was called "one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm."
...
American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer SocietySalvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.


Source Wikipedia
Over at Forks Off the Moment my blogfriend Dianne has a post about the Kennedy Center Honors and Dave.  I invite you to pop over and read it.


After 9/11 Dave came back on his show and delivered a monologue.  To me it was so important and it began the healing process for our country.  I cannot find it as a video but I did find a transcript of  it and in lieu of short quotes I invite you to read this.


Thank you very much.
Welcome to the Late Show. This is our first show on the air since New York and Washington were attacked, and I need to ask your patience and indulgence here because I want to say a few things, and believe me, sadly, I’m not going to be saying anything new, and in the past week others have said what I will be saying here tonight far more eloquently than I’m equipped to do.
But, if we are going to continue to do shows, I just need to hear myself talk for a couple of minutes, and so that’s what I’m going to do here.
It’s terribly sad here in New York City. We’ve lost five thousand fellow New Yorkers, and you can feel it. You can feel it. You can see it. It’s terribly sad. Terribly, terribly sad. And watching all of this, I wasn’t sure that I should be doing a television show, because for twenty years we’ve been in the city, making fun of everything, making fun of the city, making fun of my hair, making fun of Paul… well…
So, to come to this circumstance that is so desperately sad, I don’t trust my judgment in matters like this, but I’ll tell you the reason that I am doing a show and the reason I am back to work is because of Mayor Giuliani.
Very early on, after the attack, and how strange does it sound to invoke that phrase, “after the attack?”, Mayor Giuliani encouraged us—and here lately implored us—to go back to our lives, go on living, continue trying to make New York City the place that it should be. And because of him, I’m here tonight.
And I just want to say one other thing about Mayor Giuliani: As this began, and if you were like me, and in many respects, God, I hope you’re not. But in this one small measure, if you’re like me, and you’re watching and you’re confused and depressed and irritated and angry and full of grief, and you don’t know how to behave and you’re not sure what to do and you don’t really… because we’ve never been through this before… all you had to do at any moment was watch the Mayor. Watch how this guy behaved. Watch how this guy conducted himself. Watch what this guy did. Listen to what this guy said. Rudolph Giuliani is the personification of courage.
(applause)
And it’s very simple… there is only one requirement for any of us, and that is to be courageous, because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior. And I believe, because I’ve done a little of this myself, pretending to be courageous is just as good as the real thing. He’s an amazing man, and far, far better than we could have hoped for. To run the city in the midst of this obscene chaos and attack, and also demonstrate human dignity… my God… who can do that? That’s a pretty short list.
The twenty years we’ve been here in New York City, we’ve worked closely with police officers and the fire fighters and…
(applause)
…and fortunately, most of us don’t really have to think too much about what these men and women do on a daily basis, and the phrase New York’s finest and New York’s bravest, you know, did it mean anything to us personally, firsthand? Well, maybe, hopefully, but probably not. But boy, it means something now, doesn’t it? They put themselves in harm’s way to protect people like us, and the men and women, the fire fighters and the police department who are lost are going to be missed by this city for a very, very long time. And I, and my hope for myself and everybody else, not only in New York but everywhere, is that we never, ever take these people for granted… absolutely never take them for granted.
(applause)
I just want to go through this, and again, forgive me if this is more for me than it is for people watching, I’m sorry, but uh, I just, I have to go through this, I’m…
The reason we were attacked, the reason these people are dead, these people are missing and dead, and they weren’t doing anything wrong, they were living their lives, they were going to work, they were traveling, they were doing what they normally do. As I understand it (and my understanding of this is vague at best), another smaller group of people stole some airplanes and crashed them into buildings. And we’re told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor… religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make any sense to you? Will that make any Goddamned sense? Whew.
I’ll tell you about a thing that happened last night. There’s a town in Montana by the name of Choteau. It’s about a hundred miles south of the Canadian border. And I know a little something about this town. It’s 1,600 people. 1,600 people. And it’s an ag-business community, which means farming and ranching. And Montana’s been in the middle of a drought for… I don’t know… three years? And if you’ve got no rain, you can’t grow anything. And if you can’t grow anything, you can’t farm, and if you can’t grow anything, you can’t ranch, because the cattle don’t have anything to eat, and that’s the way life is in a small town. 1,600 people.
Last night at the high school auditorium in Choteau, Montana, they had a rally, home of the Bulldogs, by the way… they had a rally for New York City. And not just a rally for New York City, but a rally to raise money… to raise money for New York City. And if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the… the spirit of the United States, then I can’t help you. I’m sorry.
(applause)
And I have one more thing to say, and then, thank God, Regis is here, so we have something to make fun of.
If you didn’t believe it before, and it’s easy to understand how you might have been skeptical on this point, if you didn’t believe it before, you can absolutely believe it now… New York City is the greatest city in the world.
(lengthy applause)
We’re going to try and feel our way through this, and we’ll just see how it goes… take it a day at a time. We’re lucky enough tonight to have two fantastic representatives of this town, Dan Rather and Regis Philbin, and we’ll be right back.


Two things about Dave that I admire the most.  One he is intensely loyal to his friends and those who work for him.  During the writer's strike he personally paid the salaries of his staff.

 The other thing I really like about Dave is watching him as he became a Father to Harry and you can just tell as he talks about it on his show that he is proud,  amazed at being a dad, curious about what will come next on this journey he never thought he would have and totally in love with the boy.


Previous Salutes
Maya Angelou


 Brad Pitt  
Bishop Desmond Tutu             
Betty White       

Apiarian II




Were I to be the founder of a new sect, I would call it Apiarians - and after the example of the bee, advise them to extract the honey of every sect. My fundamental principle would be that we are to be saved by our good works which are within our power, and not by our faith which is not within our power."


"The religion of Jesus is founded on the Unity of God, and this principle chiefly gave it triumph over the rabble of heathen gods then acknowledged. Thinking men of all nations rallied readily to the doctrine of one only God [sic] and embrased it with the pure-morals which Jesus inculcated. 

Thomas Jefferson

From Revealation  22:2 -  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

"The secret of health for both mind and body in not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."
             Buddha (563-483 BC) 

The following was found on the page Following Atticus by Tom Ryan, a wonderful book that will tug your heartstrings.
Gleanings from Song of Myself by Walt Whitman 1819–1892


A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughtfullest,
A novice beginning yet experient of myriads of seasons,
Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion,
A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker,
Prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest.


I resist any thing better than my own diversity,
Breathe the air but leave plenty after me,
And am not stuck up, and am in my place.


(The moth and the fish-eggs are in their place,
The bright suns I see and the dark suns I cannot see are in their place,
The palpable is in its place and the impalpable is in its place.)

These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me,
If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing,
If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing,
If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing.


This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,
This the common air that bathes the globe.
....
I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.


One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own to-day or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness I can wait.

...

This minute that comes to me over the past decillions,
There is no better than it and now.


What behaved well in the past or behaves well to-day is not such a wonder,
The wonder is always and always how there can be a mean man or an infidel.

...
All truths wait in all things,
They neither hasten their own delivery nor resist it,
They do not need the obstetric forceps of the surgeon,
The insignificant is as big to me as any,
(What is less or more than a touch?)


Logic and sermons never convince,
The damp of the night drives deeper into my soul.


(Only what proves itself to every man and woman is so,
Only what nobody denies is so.)

...
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.


They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
...

Why should I wish to see God better than this day?
I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass,
I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign’d by God’s name,
And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe’er I go,
Others will punctually come for ever and ever.
...



Namaste


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Iowa Research Lodge No. 2



2012 Semi-annual Meeting
Iowa Research Lodge No. 2
Friday, January 18, 2013

Scottish Rite Masonic Center 6th & Park Sts Des Moines, IA

  • Open Lodge 5:30 p.m. - Business Mtg Masons Only
  • Research Semi-Annual Dinner
  • Ladies Invited 6:15 p.m. $20 per person
Send Reservations by Mon., January 14 to
IRL 2 • P. O. Box 13048 • Des Moines, IA 50310
or call 515-255-7600 for reservations/email masmedia@dwx.com
Give a 2013 Membership - $30.00 + 4.25 postage
New Members Receive 3 Books from our library plus the 2013 Book a $45.00 Value

Petition to join may be obtained here.



Program
"European Freemasonry"
Dr. Natalie Bayers, Assistant Professor, Drake University
A native of Russia, Natalie Bayer graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in modern European history. In 2000 she moved to the US to pursue her education. She received her Ph.D. in European intellectual history from Rice University in 2007, writing her doctorate thesis on interactions between European and Russian Masonic lodges during the eighteenth century. 

After teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio as a Visiting Assistant Professor between 2007-2009, Dr. Bayer was selected as the inaugural post-doctoral fellow for the study of Freemasonry and Fraternalism at the History Department of UCLA, sponsored by the Grand Lodge of California.
Working with Professor Margaret Jacob, Dr. Bayer was responsible for creating and teaching an innovative course on Freemasonry and Fraternalism in European History. Bayer taught the course at UCLA and at the Grand Lodge of California. 

In August 2010 she took up the tenure-tracked position of Assistant Professor at Drake University in Des Moines, where she now teaches coursesin European and Russian history and the history of Freemasonry.

Dr. Bayer has published extensively on the subject of eighteenth-century Freemasonry in English, Russian, French and Spanish, and actively participates in national and international conferences. Her keynote speeches on Masonic-related topics include papers delivered at the Centre for the Research of Freemasonry and Fraternalism at the University of Sheffield (UK), the Canonbury Conference in London (UK) and the symposium on “Expressions of Freemasonry” at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands.

In addition to her teaching and research, Bayer is currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism  ); a member of the academic committee of the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry and a member of the standards and practices of Masonic research committee for the Quarry Project.

Something Yummy for Saturday




From my nephew - This is excellent
Reuben Dip
Ingredients
  •  16 ounces sauerkraut, drained
  • 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  • 16 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
  • 8 ounces thin sliced corned beef, cut up OR shredded cooked corn beef
  • 1/4 cup thousand island dressing
  • 2 teaspoons caraway seed
Directions
  1. Put all in crockpot on low heat  or slow cooker for 2 hours.
  2. Mix up.
  3. Serve with rye triscuits.
Note:
  • 8 ounces = 1 cup
  • Corn beef is optional if a vegetarian option is desired.


Braunschweiger Dip
2  lbs            Braunschweiger
1  8 oz. pkg.  Cream cheese
4  T              Onion, minced
4  T  Gherkin pickles, finely chopped
2  T  Prepared mustard
        Sour cream (enough to make dipping consistency)
Procedure
1   In a large bowl combine all the ingredients.
2   Refrigerate.

Source: Jean Cole Bates

Cheese Ball
1/4  lb             Blue cheese (Roquefort)
1     5 oz glass   Old English cheese (Kraft)
1     pkg,          Cream cheese
1  tsp     Worcestershire sauce
1  tsp     Onion, grated
    dash   Paprika
Procedure
1   Place all ingredients in electric mixer bowl.
2   Let stand until soft.
3   Beat until well blended and smooth.

Source: JoAnn Cole Peterson

Olive and Cheese Savories
This can be stored in a freezer.
1     cup   Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¼    cup   Butter, softened
3/4  cup   Flour
1/4  tsp  Salt
1/2  tsp  Paprika
Procedure
1   In medium bowl cream cheese and butter together.
2   Add dry ingredients and blend well
3   Shape by tsp. around stuffed olives.
4   Bake: on ungreased cookie sheet.
5   Serve warm.  Can be stored in a freezer.
Oven Temperature: 400°F
Cooking Time: 12 minutes

Source: JoAnn Cole Peterson

T.V. Party Mix
"I usually mix a total of 12 cups of dry ingredients, depending on what I am hungry for. Sometimes I add more as it cooks. When I was growing up we only had this at Christmas time. One year my cat, "Fritz Montgomery Jackson" jumped on the table while the party mix was drying and mom and I were visiting granddad at the hospital. We managed to save most of it along with Fritz." Ginny
2     cups   Cheerios
2     Cups  Rice Chex
1     lb       Mixed nuts
3-4   cups   Pretzels broken
2     cups   Peanuts
1/2  lb    Butter
2     tsp  Worcestershire sauce
2     tsp  Garlic salt
1     tsp  Seasoned salt
Procedure
1   Melt butter in roasting pan.
2   Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and seasoned salt.
3   Stir.
4   Add cereals, nuts, and pretzels.
5   Bake 1 hour at 225°, stirring every 15 minutes.
6   Let dry on paper towels.
7   Store.
Oven Temperature: 225°F
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Source: JoAnn Cole Peterson