Who's The Best?

Now it's official...Fall is here. Cloudy, damp days, wet chill, and soggy leaves, shift the appetite from short ribs to soup; not the can kind, but homemade. Who better to give recipes for the best? Foodnetwork.

Browsing the site, I find myself pulled to recipes from Paula Dean and Ina Garten. (I like Bobby Flay, but his ingredients are sometimes a mystery.) What makes these two woman so appealing, or I should ask, what makes their recipes so appetizing? Simplicity! Readily available ingredients, minimal effort, great taste...The three things I look for in a good recipe. But, does that make them the best? Who is the best on Foodnetwork?

Emeril is the flagship for the food channel, though others like Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay have turned their talents and their names into brands. Does marketability define the best? Repeated messaging certainly sways us in their favor, but "packaging" isn't a suitable criteria for evaluation. It takes more than a pretty dress to make a girl attractive. It takes soul.

Emeril calls it "food of love." What transforms good food into great food is heart; never listed as an ingredient, but integrally important. Paula Dean is the handsdown favorite for immersing her food with heart and soul. Everything about her: her history, her restaurant, her sons...Show us how she pours everything she has into what she does. Less effervescent, but just as devoted is Ina Garten. She brings us into her home, shares the love she has for her husband, her appreciation of friendship, and stirs up perfect fair of food and fondness. She makes us want to cook for others. Both women-- Paula and Ina--convince us we can do the same. Their devotion makes us believe in ourselves; helps us believe we can do it, too.

It doesn't matter what we make--soup or short ribs--what we add of ourselves is what matters. If we put our heart and soul into what we do, we'll be the best. And all those in our lives, like Paula's sons and Ina's friends, will benefit. We may not get the acclaim offered by a television network, but those in our homes will appreciate it, especially on cloudy, damp days.

Conclusion: I made cream of cauliflower soup and my granddaughter said it was, "Yummy, yum in my tummy, tum!" (hand motions included.)

Net Neutrality and the Pope

The recent reactions to the Pope's speech to German professors and the Senate's debate on Net Neutrality illuminate today's fragile state of free speech.

There is a fundamental assumption made by citizens of free democracies: we are allowed freedom of speech at any time in any application. Limiting access to information by any means--federal regulation or fear--thwarts the fundamental basis of free societies.

Is it a far stretch to compare senate legislation to extremists' activity? Maybe, but both actions work to limit what we say, what we read, in essence, what we believe.

Fundamentalists believe critisim of their faith is prohibited, even in intellectual dialog. The Pope's comments were not critisism, but an invitation to acedemia to debate the contrary existence of peace and violence as believed by some in the Islamic faith. History shows us that many religious premises have been clarified or even abandoned through analysis and debate of opposing views by philosophers, acedemia and followers. Debate is integral to practice. Without debate, organized religion is stagnent, bordering on dictitorial. Fundamentalists demonstrate, "It's our way, or the highway!" Through violent means, they demand belief as they perceive it. Interpretation is prohibited. Opponents of net neutrality support the same premise, only with different methods and motivations.

Opponents of net neutrality don't threaten with fear, but with fees. Their plan provides that we be given access only to information provided by the highest bidder. Tiering usage and fees to content providers limits free access to information on the internet as we know it today. In its simpliest form, regulation impacting control of content diminishes competition, comparison and ultimately trust. Accurate interpretation of data will be impossible. We will no longer be able to judge if the information provided is neutral or complete, knowing we are limited only to content provided by those with the deepest pockets. "It's their way, or the highway." Their means are less violent, but just as threatening.

It is easy to reject extremists' overt dictitorial stance and methods; to determine that they are over-reacting to a comment taken out of context. We know the context. Yet, how are we to make similar conclusions in the future if access to information is limited; if the context of information is skewed by those who pay the highest price for access? Not only will access to information be dimished, so will intellectual debate. We will be relegated to the imposed views of the few, not exposed to the varying views of many.

Unlike the terroists, legislators are not working to limit our freedom to debate, but like the terrorists, their actions limit our capability. Limiting access to information, either through fear or fees, threatens the fundamental principle of democracy: free speech.

This is a grossly, over-simplified discussion of both issues. It's purpose, however, is not to define the issues, but to expose the common threat to free speech. It is obvious extremists are making an illigitimate claim. It is less obvious to discern the actions of our legilators who are working to limit access to information through legitimate channels. "Democracy depends on freedom of speech. Freedom of connection, with any application, to any party, is the fundamental social basis of the Internet, and, now, the society based on it."

Fall Focuses Us on Love

Temperatures have gone from 100 degrees to 65 degrees in a matter of days. The winds in the heartland, they are a changing. The season, like so much of life, is changing.

One thing we know for sure is that nothing stays the same. The restlessness of life continually surprises us with new challenges. In just a few days I've learned of death, birth, job changes, health issues, divorce, and an unparalleled act of kindness toward a family member...All news coming to me as I sit at my computer. One doesn't even have to leave the sanctity of home to be immersed in all that life has to offer. Seasons change, as do lives, whether we're ready for it or not.

As with all change, there is the good with the bad. Beautiful fall colors are followed by piles of fallen, brown leaves; nature's way of telling us there is good and bad in everything. We must learn not to focus too fanatically on either. "This too shall pass..." A simple adage defining all of life's moments. What always remains are memories.

Fall is the time of year when we begin focusing on holidays, traditions, memories of special moments in the past. The most memorable are those infused with love. Love is the adhesive that adheres our greatest moments to memory. Love is the common thread through all change--the celebration of birth, the sorrow of death, the anticipation of a new job or the gratitude of generosity. Paramount to change is love. When we are confounded with life's changes, we need only to love more. Love is what pulls us through. It's what comforts us. It is what sustains us. Fall is a time when we focus more on love.

Love of family, love of friends, love of comfort foods, of football, apple picking, sweater-weather...Fall gives us the bounty of life we love. We conclude the great season with a holiday of Thanksgiving; of being grateful for all we have.

Temperatures fall, seasons change...Life continues its forward motion. Good or bad life changes. We cannot stop change, but we can love more. We can transform all life offers into loving memories. Fall helps us focus more on love. We need to remember that.