The joy of discovery

Metta Sutta

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 21:19:00 +0000

i have a copy of this sutta posted on the wall of my cubicle at work so i can look at it often (from this site)

The Buddha's Words on Kindness (Metta Sutta)

This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech, Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied, Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful, Not proud or demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing That the wise would later reprove. Wishing: In gladness and in safety, May all beings be at ease. Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small, The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born — May all beings be at ease! Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings; Radiating kindness over the entire world: Spreading upwards to the skies, And downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, Freed from hatred and ill-will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down Free from drowsiness, One should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views, The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, Being freed from all sense desires, Is not born again into this world.

one thing i notice is there is no mention of the word 'love' and as this word is so frequently used on the internet i wonder why it is not in this sutta ... maybe because of the translation? ... but i do notice the words 'wise' and 'skillful' which make me ponder maybe wise and skillful are necessary factors in order for the love to be rightly practiced and wisdom is even more important ... in Buddhism, the Buddha seems to stress that we should stay away from worldly desire and attachment so i wonder if 'love' was not done right it might be desire, obsession, attachment in disguise? ... can't help thinking about the Eight Fold Path in Buddhism which to me is the path to find the truth:

1. Right Understanding (Samma ditti)
2. Right Thought (Samma sankappa)
3. Right Speech (Samma vacha)
4. Right Action (Samma kammanta)
5. Right Livelihood (Samma ajiva)
6. Right Effort (Samma vayama)
7. Right Mindfulness (Samma sati)
8. Right Concentration (Samma samadhi)

http://www.beyondthenet.net/dhamma/nobleEight.htm (short)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html (long)

Nature's Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 20:46:00 +0000

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. --- William Shakespeare

I really like this quote because so many times in the presence or spectacular natural landscape like waterfall, mountain, lake, sunset ... the boundary that normally divide us like social status, wealth, value systems seems to vanish ... my experience is there seems to be no desire to find out what the person next to us is doing for a living ... a homeless person and a billionaire can stand next to each other and don't even know because we are being awed by what we see and we like to openly share with each other the wonderful feeling ... we are there to witness, appreciate the wonder of nature and that's when we connect in the most sincere level, imho.

Duyen

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 05:01:00 +0000

Duyen in Vietnamese means 'meant to be'

A few months ago i went to an exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art to see a special exhibition on the ceramic tradition of Korea ... after the exhibition i went to the gift shop / gallery area to see what's on display ... one piece called for my attention in particular, it's a large bowl (about 14in in diameter), the inside has crystalline glaze which normally i am not a fan of because of the glossy finish ... but the bowl's color, a light blueish lavender, was very soothing to my eyes that i decided to get it ... at the cash register i noticed a tiny crack, about 1/3 of an inch, at the rim, which was easily blended in with the design of the bowl ... naturally the transaction was off and the person helping me said ' let's find out what the artist thinks about this' ... i felt kinda sad because the bowl was defected but i reminded myself of the Japanese philosophy of 'wabi sabi' which beautifies the the nature of imperfection so i did not mind to have it but at the same time i didn't want to pay full price for the bowl either :-) ... the artist, Tom Wallick, was not around so the lady in charge of the studios asked for my information and she would let me know once she talked to him and she even asked me how much i wanted the piece to be discounted and i told her i would let him decide and i told her that i really like the look of the bowl.

A few days later, i got an email from her saying that Tom wanted me to have the bowl if i still like it. I was so surprised and really appreciated his generosity. I think probably to him anything that's not perfect to his eyes is not worth selling ... talking about making art for art sake, not money ... how beautiful! imho ... i guess it's duyen that i have this lovely bowl :-)

There was another piece by Tom that i like very much, a plate which has the same glaze but different color and since Tom gave me the bowl i decided to get the plate which again meant i have duyen with it too :-)

Unintended favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 20:56:00 +0000

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

After a trip i always came home with a few thousands pictures ( can't help clicking :-) ) and going thru them takes a lot time but looking at the pics i felt like i was doing the trip all over again and i realized that many of my favorite photos have nothing to do with the sight that i set out to see

I saw this lady walking a pig on the road next to the school that we visited in Otavalo - Ecuador

This sand 'painting' was on the beach where i went to watch the sunset

Went to Yosemite to see the snow and on the way to the bus leaving the park i suddenly
looked up

This pattern was on the sand at sunset

Saw this cutie on the hike to Mt Rainier, finnally caught him/her taking a breath after a good chase :-)

An overnight stop in a sleepy but lovely lakeside town in Norway turned out to be one of my favorite places to stay. I can still hear the sound of the little waves hitting the shore

Wandering the area around Geirangerfjord in Norway

From the bus in Norway

This beautiful lady was one of the vendors in Peru

Looking down from the restaurant in Peru where i went for lunch

Zion national park

At Havasu Falls in Havasupai Indian reservation

I came to Verona to see Juliet's balcony (as in Romeo & Juliet) but i fell for these windows

Pondering the creative process

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 05:55:00 +0000

'Waiting is certainly an unsung part of the creative process. Perhaps it is a part of life itself' - Brother Thomas Bezanson

Some of my favorite photos were created from 'non-qualified' ones or by accidents and that inspired me to adopt the non-plan mentality which means not having a concrete result in mind when i start working on a 'creative' project. I found out that by having this non-controlling mentality i can set myself free and this in turn opens many exciting possibilities. Then i realize that the creative process is only possible if i approach it with an open mind and heart, not trying to control what the outcome should or shouldn't be. The journey then becomes a wonderful experience, full of unexpected discoveries, and sometimes mistakes could be blessings in disguise so i embrace them too. Treasure could really come from trash so i let the work unfold itself and come to its own existence.

This picture

came from this one

This picture

came from this one (the flame-like background was accidentally created when i tried to cleanup the shadow)

May you find treasure in trash :-)

Out of the comfort zone

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 00:07:00 +0000

Do you venture out to places alone? I am not talking about shopping :-) but to activities and events like dining, attending concert, gathering for certain causes, going to exhibition at museums/galleries, attending workshop/retreat ...

I have and i've had wonderful experiences and chances to meet and befriend with great people :-)

Not that i don't enjoy company, nothing could compare to having good companions, but sometimes when this is not possible then i don't mind venturing out on my own at all.

I have to admit that this takes some mental prepareness :-)

I remember the first time i went to a classical concert alone (most of my friends are not into this kind of music) i felt a little strange but when the beautiful sound of music started i felt like i was one of the luckiest persons in the world. One thing i notice is there are a lot of solo concert goers out there. If you attend a concert alone without buying ticket in advance you might even get free ticket at the box office :-)

Dining alone could be an intimidating experience so make sure that you pick the restaurant that you absolutely love because when the delicious food takes center stage you won't have time for anything else :-). Many times in the past i had to travel for business and when i had a chance to go to a new city i always look to see if there is any restaurant that i like to try and i always had a great time. Also you could get VIP treatment eating alone in gourmet restaurant :-)

I even went hiking alone but i stopped because i don't want unexpected thing to happen while i am alone in the wilderness.

Being among others with the same interest without having the obligation to interact, having the freedom to be an observer and only chat with whomever you feel like can be a fun experience, imho.

Give it a try, you might like it :-)

Fava bean

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 03:37:00 +0000

If i don't go to farmer's market the chance is i would have never known fava bean, except when it's presented to me in the restaurant as an accompaniment to the a main ingredient.

The first time i saw fava bean pods was in Santa Monica farmer's market. I have to say they are kinda ugly. The pods were big and most of the time they did not have a 'clean' look like green bean, string bean, snap peas. Intrigued by the look i bought some and i found out that it's one of the most beautiful vegetables that i have known both in look, the bean itself, and taste.

When i split open the pots the bean look like they were cradled in a case lined with a thick layer of soft cotton, pristine and even jewel-like. It sure commands my admiration :-)

I gently took the beans out of the pods, they reminded me of the sugar coated almond candies that i used to adore when i was a kid.

Then i steam the bean with the shell on. When the shell is taken off, the bean is shown in a beautiful bright green color.

I could not resist munching on them until they are gone :-). But sometimes i make sucotash

However, i still prefer to eat the bean right out of the shell with it's flavorful unadorned wholesome goodness.

One day i visited the Learning Garden in Venice high school and i saw the plant and a bean pod and this time i think the pod is pretty good looking :-)

Yin Yang at play

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:37:00 +0000

In reading the fascinating book "The Tao of Physics" i learned that opposites qualities are complementaries part of a mutual whole. As part of the Tao, they are merely two aspects of a single reality. I find this thought-provoking and the idea really dawned on me when i looked at my flowering cactus plant.

The plant is solid and the thorn is painful to the touch, having the masculine characteristics like rough, strong, hard.

The flower is quite the opposite. The petals, filaments, anthers, stigmes are so light that when i touched them i could hardly feel their presence. They have the feminine qualities like soft, delicate, yielding.

The flower bud is probably the ugliest bud i have ever seen. The first time i saw a bud i thought it was a fungus and almost cut it off the plant.

yet the flower is one of the most gorgeous

The contrasting qualities of the cactus plant is another thing that amazes me about the natural world and i can't help wondering what are the yin and the yang within each of us.

Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 31 May 2013 00:58:00 +0000

When i first came to the US in 1975 one of the things i noticed was the butter did not have any taste (same for some other food which i will write about later).

Being from Viet Nam which was the former colony of France i had tasted butter imported from France since childhood and being a food lover since my young age i distinctly remembered how the butter i had in Viet Nam tasted like. I tried so many kinds of butter here, Land O' Lakes, Challengers, Strauss ... and none could compare to the butter i had in Viet Nam. I always wondered what the difference between the butter here and the French butter was but could not figure out and since Google was not available back then i kinda gave up my quest for the answer.

One day, about 4,5 years ago, i went to Whole Foods, saw this butter , and bought it. The reason i bought the butter was because of the words 'pasture' and 'limited edition may - september'. I assumed that this butter must came from the cow that grazed on fresh grass from may to september and it sounded great to me :-). When i opened the cover i saw the color of the butter was more yellow, good sign :-). Then i tasted it, lo and behold, it tasted like the butter i had in Viet Nam! Awesome! ... althought i had to admit that the flavor was not quite as pronounced but i was so happy that i finally found a butter made in the US that i like :-). I begin to wonder what makes this butter more flavorful than others? No clue until one day i was kinda staring at the metallic green cover and i saw the word 'cultured' which i didn't remember seeing in other butters. This word turned out to be the key to the mystery. I started Googling and found out that French butter was more flavorful because it's cultured.

What is the process of culturing in butter making? here it is

This also explained why pastries in France tastes better than pastries in the US for me. The butter makes a huge difference in flavor, imho.

I love croissant and again i was in constant search for a good croissant here in the US, the one that matched those i had in France but i always get disappointed time and again. Until i run into this one which made me smile :-)

Croissant from Maison Giraud

Why? because the chef Alain Giraud used imported French butter :-). However, based on my last trip to Paris i have to say that texture-wise the best French croissants that i'd tasted are still a step above the best ones over here. This i will discuss in an other post :-)

I find out that cultured butter is becoming more popular here in the US. Artisanal maker like this one in Vermont are churning out small batches of very good butter and i hope that more bakeries, pastry shops will start using this kind of butter in their kitchen.

If you are a butter lover please look for the word 'cultured' in the package.

Btw, if you go to France, please check out the lovely Bordier butter (i bought it from LaFayette Gourmet)

This site shows how to make your own cultured butter

Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:48:00 +0000

When i started to learn 'Yoga' about 5, 6 years ago in a community class i thought Yoga was an exercise that would make me flexible and strong. In 2011 i took an Ayurveda class from my chiropractor i found out that Yoga is much, much more than an exercise. From the Ayurveda class i first heard about Patanjali Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Out of curiosity i asked my chiropractor's recommendation for books on these two subjects. What a revelation these books gave me on Yoga and in my humble opinion they are must-reads for all Yoga practitioners.

In reading these books realized i did not know what Yoga is about at all! Yoga is not an exercise but a profound philosophy which teaches one to achieve self-realization and liberation of the soul.  Yoga philosophy also teaches one to cultivate oneself to serve humanity through a set of rules for character building and spiritual development.

The exercise or series of postures called asanas as practiced in Yoga studios is merely the third of eight limbs mentioned in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Although practicing asanas will make one flexible and strong, the main purpose of the asanas is to quiet the mind to prepare one for meditation which will eventually lead to self-realization, and union of individual and universal conciousness. According to BKS Iyengar, probably the greatest yoga teacher alive, "Yoga is not a therapeutic science at all. Yoga is a science for liberating the soul by bringing the consciousness, the mind, and the body to a stage of integration".   Mr. Iyengar also considers practicing the asanas as meditation in action. Therefore, if we just approach Yoga as a mean to bring about physical fullfillment then we might have short-changed ourselves, imho.

When i was writing on Ayurveda i mentioned that i would write a post on Yoga and i thought i would finish one very soon after but months have passed until now. The reason was that the more i learn about Yoga philosophy through reading books, articles, and practice the less courage i have on writing about this profound subject. Somehow i think that anything i write about Yoga could be very misleading unless i became a real yogi, which is unlikely to happen in this lifetime :-).   According to Mr Iyengar " All may be able to do yoga but only one in a million is fit to be called a yogi."   Therefore all i like to do is to share with you the writings about Yoga philosophy, written by yogis, that have inspired me in my practice.

I love to hear from you :-)

Namaste

Books (more to come)

How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali
Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Tree of Yoga (Shambhala Classics)
Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga

Note: Regarding yoga asanas, I like to follow the form created by BKS Iyengar. The reason is because it pays great attention to detail on how different parts of the body should be precisely aligned in order to get maximum benefit and minimize the chance for injury.   Iyengar yoga (based on Hatha yoga) frequently uses props such as blocks, strap to help the body ease into the posture.   Iyenga teacher training is demanding and from this report there are 3892 Iyenga yoga teachers in the world and according to NAMASTA (North American Studio Alliance) in 2005 there were 70000 people holding teaching certification in the North America alone. In the US there are currently only 925 Iyenga teachers so in many parts of the country it is not easy to have a teacher close to where you live but if you could locate one  i strongly suggest that you take the class if possible. I am taking two classes, one Iyengar which concentrates on techniques, and one non-Iyengar which provides a flowing sequence like a workout. I find this works best for me from the exercise standpoint.

Titbits
In 2005 NAMASTA determined the figure of 70,000 yoga teachers based on both an estimate of the number of teachers who received training and readership surveys by the major yoga publications. The estimate includes people who might no longer be teaching and teachers who have received different levels of training.

The picture at the top of the post was created from this photo using Photoshop ( i had so much fun! :-) )

Outer light

becomes inner light

two aspects of the same reality

Farmer's Market

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 01:51:00 +0000

Going to the farmer's market is an eye-opening and spiritual experience for me. I discover wonderful new vegetables, fruits, fragrant, texture everytime. I love farmer's markets because there are so many kinds of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, at the peak of ripeness and beauty, which i never saw at the super market.   Before discovering the farmer's markets i get bored going the the supermarket because all year-round i kept seeing the same kind of vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrot, potato, tomato apple, banana ... over and over, with no varieties.   The farmer's markets show me what each season has to offer. Every kind of fruits and vegetables comes with so many varieties which could be a feast for the eyes and taste bud. I also get to meet the farmers,  ask them questions directly which they would be happy to share information about what they grow, from which i could feel the passion and love they have for their products which transforms into a deep apprieciation for these stewards of the land and the nourishing bounty from mother earth.

Have you ever seen these lovely bunches of fragrant lavender in the supermarket?

the delicate squash blossoms

or this huge beautiful organic head of lettuce :-)

and these gorgeous heads of lettuce, radicchio

So many kinds of peppers,

tomatoes

eggplants

How about these vegetables?

I first saw fresh fava bean at the farmer's market and it is one of the best discoveries

I used to disdain the sour, scent-lacking strawberries in the supermarket until i encounter the sweet, juicy, fragrant, melt-in-your-mouth strawberries from Harry's Berries.  They are not cheap but totally worth my hard earned money. Btw, i don't get anything from them for this advertisement :-). They ran out fast so make sure you come early.

How about some fresh sunflower seed

These cute lemon cucumbers are really juicy!

Giant sweet onions from one of my favorite stands owned by a young couple in the Santa Monica market

During the summer the best stones fruit like apricots, peaches, nectarines could only be found at the farmer's market, imho, because the best tasting fruits are quite delicate, they bruise easily and not suitable to sit for long the supermarket shelves.   These are the mouth-watering fruits from the Ferry Building market in San Francisco

and you get to taste them too :-)

You could also get grass-fed meat

Here in Southern California, there are many very good farmer's markets. The best known ones are Santa Monica (Wednesday, Saturday), Beverly Hills (Sunday), Hollywood (Sunday). Santa Monica is probably the best, imho. The Wednesday market is huge, it's almost twice as big as the one on Saturday. Many farms only sell at the Wednesday market and many chefs show up to get the best offerings.

Do you go to farmer's market?  i hope there's one near to where you live, you check it out, and let me know what you find :-)

And please stay away from GMO food!

Since i am an organic-food freak, these are some of my favorite Farmer's Markets in Southern California

Santa Monica Wed/Sat
Hollywood
Beverly Hills
Long Beach

Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:36:00 +0000

Yesterday i went to Huntington Beach to walk by the water and at the end of the walk i stopped near the pier to watch the sunset. The sun was going down, quickly. I started seeing that the people around me all looked in that same direction. Everybody seemed so still and mesmerized by what was going on even when they were trying to take pictures. As the sun slowly disappeared in the horizon bringing with it the last shine of the day, a sense of tranquility seemed to take over. About 5 minutes after the sun completely left the day, the cloudy sky started to take on a bright reddish glow and this went on for another ten minutes before the color faded. Suddenly i felt a peaceful togetherness in the air, i felt connected with all the people around me because we were all seeing the same thing. We were all in the 'being' with the sunset, experiencing that magical moment together. I felt love all around me. Can't help thinking about one of my favorite quotes 'Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.' --- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I wonder if more of us took time to watch the sunset, wherever we might be, would this world become a more harmonious, loving place?

Please share your feeling in watching the sun goes down. or up :-)

In every winter there is a trembling spring,
Behind the veil of each night, there is a smilling dawn.
Kahlil Gibran

Julia Child

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:11:00 +0000

I used to watch Julia Child's cooking shows on television and always enjoyed the way she performed. She seemed so comfortable, having lots of fun, even sloppy sometimes, and her love for cooking was contagious.

So last year when a friend told me about Julia Child's book 'My Life in France'. I read and loved it. Her adventures with food in France, her love for the land and people made me want to go back for a culinary tour. "Oh, how I adored sweet and natural France, with its human warmth, wonderful smells, graciousness, coziness and freedom of spirit."

Besides the food, the other fascinating thing about 'My Life in France' to me was the friendship between Julia and Avis De Voto which resulted from a letter that she wrote to Avis's husband, the historian and journalist Bernard De Voto in responding to his Harper's article about the sorry state of stainless steel knife in the American kitchen. Avis De Voto answered her husband's mail to Julia and this sparked a 35 years friendship. Avis also played an important role in having Julia's revolutionary 'Master the Art of French Cooking' published.

This friendship led me to the next book 'As Always, Julia' which is a collection of letters between Julia and Avis from 1953 to 1988. In reading this book i found myself continuously underlying/checking/noting, just like when i was in college. This book is not only about food but about culture, people that make great food possible, the unyielding effort to make excellent dishes but also a peek into American history after WWII such as the hipocrisy of the McCarthy's era and the changes that were taking place in the American kitchen.

A great meal could change one's life, according to Julia Child in 'My Life in France', and I cannot agree more. A great meal to me is more than satisfying the taste bud. Taste is only one part of it. A great meal gives me a sense of gratitude toward the chef for expressing his/her love for the ingredients and respect where they came from. The ingredients, sourced from farms tended with labor of love from the stewards of the land really connect me with mother earth, the one that nourishes us. I could not help appreciating and consider eating as a sacred act and reading Julia Child's books re-enforced this thought in me.

"The pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite — toujours bon appétit!" --- Julia Child

Additional Readings:

"The Paring Knife at the Crossroad' - Bernard Augustine De Voto

Prop 37 - YES!

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Los Angeles City Council unanimously supports Proposition 37 - 10/24 (National Food Day). Hooray!!!! (more pictures here)

Do you know what Monsanto means?
If yes YES 37!
If no YES 37!
May you be healthy and stay away from GMO food!

This proposition will be the most important thing on the November 6 ballot that i will vote on. It might even be the most important thing that i ever vote on. GMO labeling is long overdue in this country, imho. After several months gathering signature to put the proposition on the ballot, with only a few weeks left to go, and with so many news about how the genetically engineered food coorporations like Monsanto, Dupont, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kelloggs, Nestle USA, Grocery Manufacturers Association ... are pouring money into ads to mystify, confuse the public, i could not help to wonder what social, political system we are having here. The people who cares about food like me could not rely on the government they voted for (Democrat or Republican) to make sure that the food system is protected from the exploitation of big for profit companies that they have to take the initiation to force the issue of food labeling. Prior to this consumer groups like the Just Label It campaign has collected 1.2 million signatures on a petition to force the FDA to label GM foods to no avail. I am not surprised because there are so many connections between the government and Monsanto.

In reading this article by Michael Pollan for the New York Times this morning i totally agree when he stated

"Americans have been eating genetically engineered food for 18 years, and as supporters of the technology are quick to point out, we don’t seem to be dropping like flies. But they miss the point. The fight over labeling G.M. food is not foremost about food safety or environmental harm, legitimate though these questions are. The fight is about the power of Big Food. Monsanto has become the symbol of everything people dislike about industrial agriculture: corporate control of the regulatory process; lack of transparency (for consumers) and lack of choice (for farmers); an intensifying rain of pesticides on ever-expanding monocultures; and the monopolization of seeds, which is to say, of the genetic resources on which all of humanity depends."

This is an interview with farmer Howard Vlieger who noticed that his cows avoided the genetically modified Bt corn while totally consuming the natural corn.

I urge you to do your own reseach on GMO (Genetically Modified Organism). It might well be one of the most important discoveries you ever made. It sure was for me.

For those who live in California, please vote YES and for those who live in other states please keep this in mind and i sure hope that similar proposition will appear in the very near future.

May you be healthy and stay away from GMO food.

Additional information:

Genetic Roulette (watch for free until November 6)
The Future of Foods (watch for free)
California Right to Know
Unmasking the No on Prop 37 lies and dirty tricks
Opponents of Prop 37 misled voters 1
Opponents of Prop 37 misled voters 2
Seed Companies Control GM research in the US
Study in France linking GM maize to cancer
A Farmer's Concerns
What will you do for the food movement
GMO-Free campaign in India

Gil Shaham

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:12:00 +0000

This morning on the way to work, listening to KUSC, as always, i heard Gil Shaham's playing Haydn's 4th violin concerto. The sound was so charming, didn't remember hearing this piece before, have to check it out. Too bad i arrived at work before the piece ended.

Gil Shaham is one of my favorite violinists. I first heard him play at least 15 years ago and was immediately drawn to the lyrical quality of the sound. For the untrained ears of mine i could only tell that Shaham's sound was very nice and there was an elegant clarity to it. The flow of the sound was smooth and easy. His playing somehow reminded me of that from Yehudi Menuhin, my favorite violinist. I could not help but looking for more information about him.

He was born in the US in 1971, while his Israeli parents, both scientists, were spending time at the University of Illinois on an academic fellowship. At the age of 4, after hearing recordings by Itzhak Perlman, he asked his parents to buy him a violin. A 4 years old? in relating to my modest Buddhist studying, i could only say that it must be karma, the seed surely had been sewn in his previous incarnation(s) :-). At age 10 he performed with the Israel Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. At 11 he was admitted to Juilliard, studying under Dorothy DeLay who also taught other amazing violinists like Midori, Sarah Chang. He attended Columbia University after turning down Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Impressive!

His talent was put to a test in 1989 when he filled in for Itzhak Perlman in London because Perlman was having ear infection.

My first Gil Shaham's recording was Vivaldi: The Four Seasons/Fritz Kreisler: Concerto for Violin The second one was Wieniawski: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
but i take anything he plays :-) and love to attend his concerts. when he comes to town.

Gil Shaham currently plays with his Stradivarius violin, the "Comtesse de Polignac" of 1699, originally lent to him by the Stradivari Society in Chicago ( i better check out other recipients from this list :-) )

Sidetracking, i found this interesting article about lending Stradivarius instruments. So impressed with this quote by Mary Galvin, one of the lenders "I realised though that many artists could not afford the tools of their trade; we try to give them a leg up. The instruments inspire the musicians to search for a new, more profound voice. Then they go out and make recordings and for a few dollars everyone can enjoy these incredible instruments and the music these talented youngsters express."

Bread Lounge Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:54:00 +0000

Three weeks ago i went to Wally's to get my favorite baguette from Bread Lounge. The moment i walked in their Cheese Box boutique, Jenny the manager, told me "we are out of baguette and we even ordered more this time", i wanted to cry, but she continued "they have a store now, i will give you the address" :-) Looking at the address near downtown, it was almost 6pm, and i had another event at the Craft In America Center so i had to suppress my excitement.

I went home, checked on the internet and there was a blogpost from LA Weekly about the store opening in late May. When the next Saturday came i had to check it out. After a few phone calls to Ran Zimon the owner asking him about the direction to the store my two friends and i finally pulled into their parking lot and we walked in through the back door. The place didn't even have a store sign in the front if i could remember.

The inside was was simple with a big glass window looking into the work area with some people kneading/forming pastry dough. Facing that window was the counter with display area for the baguette and pastries, maned by two young and friendly staff members. Ran Zimon, from Israel, is passionate about his craft and this showed in the beautiful looking pastries. The croissants turned out to be as delicious as it looked. The outside was crusty

the inside was soft and flaky,

but still not to the same level with my favorite, made by Noubar Yessayan, from Maison Giraud which i still consider the best in town.

Maison Giraud Croissants

However, considering the distance from Orange County i am quite happy with the croissant from Bread Lounge :-)

I also got the ricota cheese with white chocolate creme patissiere and cranberry danish (didn't have a chance to taste it because it's was my mom's favorite), chocolate swirl which had thick and rich layer of chocolate paste (great with coffee), the huge nice tasting spinach feta pie which coud have been half the size and more filling

The mint lemonade had a nice green color, refreshing and not two sweet. It was a hot day so i was so into it that i forgot to take a picture :-)

Based on the selection and quality, this is probably the hottest bakery in town at the moment, imho.

Until next time.

Bread Lounge
700 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, CA
(213) 327-0782
Close Monday.

Good Baguette in Los Angeles

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:14:00 +0000

I discovered this bread when i went to dinner at Test Kitchen, on the night that Walter Manzke helmed the kitchen. The moment i walked into the door i noticed big brown market bags full of baguettes on the counter. The look of the baguettes, with pointed ends, rugged brown crust covered with flour, immediately told me that those bread should not be ignored and my eyes kept gravitating toward them.

A good baguette is dear to me, it's my favorite kind of bread and i like the kind that has a nice aroma, thick brown crust, crispy but not crumbly, on the outside, and non-white, chewy (again not crumbly) with large irregular holes inside. This kind of texture is due to the living wild yeast which creates a long rise during the fermentation. I also prefer the ratio between the outside and inside to be around 60/40 since i love the crust :-).

The baguette was served with butter (excellent from Vermont) before the food arrived and it pleased me a great deal!

I had to find out where this bread came from. Up to this point i had been buying baguette from Bread Bar, and before that by La Brea Bakery. Talking about La Brea Bakery baguette i meant the one bought from their flagship store on La Brea in Los Angeles, not those by the same brand sold in other market like Trader Joe's, Costco, etc, because i notice a big difference in the crust texture.

It's difficult to get a good baguette in Los Angeles that is made in the traditional, artisanal French method. By the way, even in France, the art of making baguette was declining. In Paris, the baguette capital of the world, the number of 'bad' baguettes (where the dough was pre-made by machine, frozen, and later baked, shipped to the shop where the bread was sold) was on the rise. Enough to
make bakers recognized that they must return their focus to quality to protect the important meaning of bread in the French culture and diet. The government also made bakery to label 'baguette' (pre-made with commercial yeast) and 'baguette de tradition' (handmade with natural yeast on premise). Now 'good bread is back', kinda, according to this book by Steven Kaplan, highly regarded as one of the authorative figures on French bread. This article by David Lebovitz contains some general criterias on how to recognize a good baguette.

After the dinner i asked Stephane, one of the owners and manager, where the bread came from and he told me it was from Bread Lounge. I'd never heard of Bread Lounge before so i asked him where i could buy the bread and he said the baker only sold the bread to a few restaurants in town. On the way out i told Stephane if i could order the bread to go and he was so nice to give me the whole loaf :-)

One day i came to Wally's to buy cheese and chocolate i noticed some baguettes against the wall and they looked very good. One of the staff told me that they started to get the baguette from a new place and the customers are welcome to a free loaf to see how they like it. I jumped to the chance and i liked the baguette right away :-). A few weeks later, i stopped by Wally's again and noticed the same baguette and this time it was also complimentary so i help myself to another loaf :-). The next time t stopped by Wally's the bread was for sale. However, this time the look of the baguette suddenly reminded me of the bread that i had at Test Kitchen so i asked Jenny, the manager where the bread was from because it looked like the one i had at Test Kitchen by Bread Lounge. She nodded and said 'it's the same bread'. Bingo :-)

This past Saturday i went to Wally's and had the baguette with the wonderful Appalachian cheese from Meadow Creek Dairy and the amazing Acorn-Edition Spallacia from La Quercia.

This gourmet lunch probably cost me less than a full meal from McDonald's, depending on what you order :-)

Bread Lounge
700 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, CA
(213) 327-0782

Related reading

Best Baguette in Paris

Pig/Pork chase

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:19:00 +0000

My quest for naturally raised pork product is a never ending one. It was kinda started when i read "Pig Perfect" by Peter Kaminski.

The most recent is from this a few days ago from that link i googled 'ReRide Ranch' and i stumbled on this blog post, which led to an acorn-fed dinner at one of my favorite restaurants which made me so hungry and reminded me of my un-finished quest from two years ago to look for a restaurant serving the acorn-edition pork from La Quercia where i always get my prosciutto from.

From Sinosoul blog i looked up Becker Lane farm to learn about the the organic Berkshire pork but by this time the urge to check out La Quercia's Acorn-Edition product became so strong that i had to google 'La Quercia Acorn Edition' i got this and then i was sidetracked to this . Wow! this cut look so amazing and the comment by the famed wine critic Robert Parker sparked my desire to find out where i could get some so i went back to dear Google and i found out that Wally's carries which made me happy! By the way, looking at the specification for the Acorn-Edidion prosciutto i noticed that Becker Lane farm is one of the meat providers.

Wally's is one of my favorite food digs in Los Angeles :-). I called to confirm and Jenny from their Cheese Box mentioned "we also have the Spallacia, acorn-fed". I told her "i'll be there tomorrow" :-)))

When i stopped by Wally's the next day, Jenny gave me a paper-thin piece of the Spallacia to taste and it was awesome! The meat was not as salty as other kinds of prosciutto and the flavor, sweet porky and buttery, soft melt-in-your-mouth texture, sure was the best cured pork i've tasted, even better than the highly acclaimed and more pricey Iberico de Bellota from Spain (i think it's sweeter, creamier, less salty). I then tasted the Rossa Heirloom Berkshire that i originally intended to get and it was salty for me. Having tasted the spallacia had ruined my appreciation for the Rossa, imho. I guess i am in big trouble now because i can't see myself eating any other prosciutto but the Spallacia.

Related post

del Mano

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:58:00 +0000

del Mano (translated as "of the hand") is my favorite gallery is Los Angeles. The gallery specializes in turned and sculptured wood.

In 1996 i found out about an exhibition called "Artists of the White House Collection" at del Mano (this probably was inspired by this collection). The degree of creativity and craftmanship presented by the works, especially wood, in the show just blew me away. I realized that so many museum-quality works are being made in the so-called 'craft' area and yet not presented by museums or more widely publicized. One of my favorites was a rocking chair by Sam Maloof, whom i had a chance to see quite frequently years later.

That beautiful exhibition began my interest and quest in checking out new works in wood whenever i could and del Mano became my frequent stop. I later found out that del Mano has been one of the oldest and most prestigious galleries specialized in wood in the country. It has been opened since 1973. The gallery represents not only artists in the US but all over the world and the people there work hard to find and represent the best, imho.

Going to del Mano has been an inspiring and educational experience for me and i have learned a lot from Ray Leier, one of the owners of the gallery. He has been so kind to share with me information about the artists, what makes each work stand out, how to look for and appreciate the craftmanship along with the beauty of the wood itself.

Ray Leier wrote many books on wood with the co-owner of the gallery Jan Peters. He also did the narration for the excellent DVD set "Beyond wood ... portrait of an artist" which is a series of interviews with some of the best wood artists in the world in their working environment and what prompted them to produce certain pieces. I love it! :-)

Through del Mano i have a chance to appreciate wonderful works by:

Sam Maloof (organic and elegant furniture)

Bert Marsh (very thin-wall, simple yet stylish and refined bowls that show off the best in wood color and grain)

Hans Weissflog (the amazing 'ball box' and spiderweb-like design)

David Ellsworth (miniature 'spirit' vessels)

Ron Fleming (bowls in forms inspired by leaves, plants)
William Hunter(works inspired by the flow of water)
Binh Pho (intricate carving bowls with multi-color theme)
Ron Kent (extraordinary showing the translucent quality of wood)

and by many other artists for the exquisite forms and techniques

del Mano has many special annual exhibitions thoughout the year. "Turned & Sculptured Wood" features impressive new works but my favorite is "Turned Wood - Small Treasures" since small works required more dexterity, imho. A visit to del Mano is always an eye-opening experience.

The gallery now operates online.
Interview with Ray Leier and Jan Peters
www.delmano.com

Disney Concert Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:32:00 +0000

Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is one of my favorite architectural works in Los Angeles (the other is Getty Center). Disney Hall was designed by Frank Gehry whose works include the Bilbao Museum in Spain. It was built in 1999, completed in 2003. The project was initiated by the $50 million gift from Lilian Disney in 1987 as a gift to the people of Los Angeles and as a tribute to her husband Walt Disney's devotion to the arts.

After the building was completed, as a subscriber to the LA Phil i was invited to tour the hall before it was opened to the public. Walking through the building with sculptural, slick, metalic exterior

contrasting with the elegant, warm, intimate wood interior acoustically designed by the famed Yasuhisa Toyota and Minoru Nagata of Japan, i felt so fortunate to live in Los Angeles :-).

The imposing organ, with many of its 6134 pipes enclosed in wooden jackets, built by the Glatter-Götz Orgelbau company of Owingen, Germany, is itself a work of art, imho.

Even the fabrics used for the seats were beautiful and had a retro look

Benches in the orchestra-view section

I always tell out-of-town guests that this building is a must-see and the Los Angeles Philharmonic is a must-hear :-)

Since then i have been to so many concerts at the hall and the acoustic of the hall, no matter where i sat, never failed to impress me. I remember attending Handel's Messiah Christmas sing-a-long and the sound of turning pages were so crisp and clear it was amazing!

One of my favorite seats was in the orchestra view section, which you will see the back of the musicians in the orchestra but since it is so close to the stage you get to see the face of the conductor close-up, how he leads the orchestra, and it's great if the concert is a piano recital. The price is the cheapest in the house (shhhh) :-)

The gift shop is a good place to get unique music and non-music related gift in addition to a good selection of classical music CD, DVDs, and books (i got my lovely handmade evening purse by Bosart there :-) )

More pictures here

GMO Labeling

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:13:00 +0000

The term GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) was instilled in my mind after i watched the film 'The Future of Food' on how the agricultural biotech company Monsanto conceived seeds of manipulated genes, patented, and spread them throughout the world via their lobbying power. This movie was like a horror science fiction to me, the difference was all the material were real! :-(

I think GMO food labeling is long overdue not only in California but the whole country so when i learned about the campaign to gather signatures for GMO labeling initiative in the upcoming november ballot, organized by LabelGMOs.org and CaRighttoKnow.org , i volunteered to be a signature gatherer.

After ten weeks, from February to April, almost 1 million signatures (971,126) were collected from California registered voters and this morning i went to a state-wide event in Norwalk to celebrate the turning-in of signatures to the gorvenment official.

Boxes of signed petitions waiting to be delivered to government official

Zuri Allen

Stacey Hall

Sasha Earnheart Gold

Government official to receive the boxes of signed petitions

It is sad that the GMO labeling had to be initiated by the people and not by govermenent agency like USDA, FDA, EPA which were created to protect the public from food that could do harm to the body and environment.

I can't wait for the day when i walk into the supermarket and see two signs for corn, one is just 'Corn' and the other 'GMO Corn' so each one of us could have the right to choose which corn (and many other food) we want to feed ourselves with.

However, if the initiative was made into law it will exempt some food that i think should be labeled such as animal meat fed with GMO seeds.

Coming back from the event i stumbled on this news and the phrase "God Bless America" suddendly came into my mind.

In 2007 President Obama, during his presidential campaign, promised to have GMO labeled. Click here to read his quote. I sent an email to him through the White House website regarding this promise and i am waiting to hear a reply.

More pictures here

Monsanto's Minions in California

Monsanto cafeteria bans GMO food

Battle Brewing Over Labeling of Genetically Modified Food

The Future of Food (movie)

GMO film 1 (video)

GMO film 2 (video)

King Corn (movie)

One Man One Cow One Planet (movie)

The Omnivore's Dilemma

They wont let us label GMOs in the US

http://archive.truthout.org/the-new-earthquake-manifest-haiti-monsantos-destiny66930

Haitian farmers burn Monsanto aid seeds/

http://grist.org/food/fda-to-gmo-labeling-campaign-what-millon-signatures/

Are Genetically Modified Foods Safe To Eat?

Slow Food USA to build 1000 Gardens in Africa

Drawing White Tara

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:46:00 +0000

You probably wonder what/who White Tara is :-)

White Tara is a female Bodhisattva in Buddhism. She is connected with compassion, good health, and longevity.

The mantra for White Tara is OM TARE TUTARE TURE MAMA AYURPUNYE JNANA PUTIN KURU SVAHA, the short form is OM TARE (liberating from samsara) TUTTARE (liberating from the eight fears) TURE (liberating from disease) SVAHA (so may it be)

I learned about White Tara from Garchen Rinpoche when he came to teach in Southern California. When the Dalai Lama came to teach in Long Beach i got some White Tara postcards by Andy Weber from England, who spent seven years living and studying the iconographical art of Tibetan Buddhism from accomplished masters in India and Nepal.

Last weekend Andy Weber came to Los Angeles to conduct a two-day retreat/workshop at the Asian Classic Institute of Los Angeles (ACI-LA) and i had a chance to learn how to draw White Tara with this wonderful artist and scholar. It was a spiritually and artistically inspiring experience.

Here's a painting of White Tara by Andy

There is a method to the art of drawing and painting icons in Tibetan Buddhism. The method is grid-based, and since deity like White Tara represents enlightened being who emanates a sense of perfection, exact symmetry and proportion is very important in drawing many features such as head, face, body, hands, ornamentations.

Each day we spent about 8 hours in class. The class always began which a meditation session and mantra citing led by the teacher. I love this part because it put me in a contemplative and centering state so i could mindfully draw with the awareness of what White Tara represents. Andy Weber's mantra chanting was wonderful and with closed eyes i thought it came from a Tibetan Lama :-)

We started out drawing the head

Then combining the head and the body. For the White Tara the head is slightly tilted to one side

All details in the picture have spiritual meanings. For example her left hand holds the stem of the Utpala flower representing her knowledge of past, present and future. The open flower shows the past, the closed the future and the just-opening bud the present. Through Andy's explanation i learned to look at picture of White Tara with much more understanding and appreciation. His book "Images of Enlightenment Tibetan Arts in Practice" is a wonderful resource on Tibetan Buddhist art.

Adding the ornamentations

Almost there :-)

Final version

Besides beginners like me there were other students in the class who had previously attended Andy's workshops and they were working on the color version

Andy also taught us how to make our own canvas using a wooden frame (made by his son) and a sheet of fabric

and shared with us his use of natural colors in a mandata painting

I had such a joyful time and could not believe that i was able to make drawing of this beautiful deity (i have to say that my drawing is far from making her justice :-)).

Thank you Andy!

OM Shanti

A Closer Look

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:53:00 +0000

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain."
Henry David Thoreau

I try to keep my eyes closer to the subjects of interest because many times i discovered wonderful patterns and designs

Queen of the night is one of my favorite flowers. This particular kind starts blooming in the late evening into the night and at the same time releases an intoxicating fragrance. The flower is ivory white in full bloom. It wilts the next morning. This one is a closeup of the flower once it's over, my very first attemp to look closer :-)

Lotus is another flower that i love but the close-up below is of the leaf

At the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden i saw a group of cactus plants and the leaves have fascinating patterns on them

I was waiting for my carwash and i saw this in one of the planters :-)

This water pattern looks like a meshed necklace

On the hiking trails i love to look closely at the tree trunks

and new growths like these at Eaton Canyon Nature Center

Do you see the tiny 'feets' that cling so tightly to the walls?

One day i went to the beach and looking down on the sand i saw these forests

i was so fascinated so i kept shooting for hours. Some people gave me strange looks as if they wondered what i was looking at. You can click here for the slide show.

Later on the same beach when the sun began to set the reflection on the sand was quite spectacular

These were taken at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

this one reminds me of the black jelly drink that i like very much when i was still living in Vietnam :-)

I have so much fun looking closer :-)

Amalfi Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:11:00 +0000

This is the most beautiful coastline that i have been to. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When i went there in May 2004 the weather was fantastic, pleasant temperature in the low 70s and the sky was always clear, blue with floating white clouds.

We stayed in Maiori

and made day trips to nearby town like Amalfi

I love wandering the narrow streets, looking up to see laundry being hang above my head

browsing the colorful store fronts

making stop for the sweet treats :-)

The quaint, charming little town of Ravello was a little piece of heaven, with wonderful views of the coast and lemon orchards. This gem of a town has been the favorite of many famous figures from all walks of life, here's a list in case you wonder who they are :-). I sure envy those who live there,

the blue of the sea and sky seemed to merge into each other

Two of the most famous spots on the Amalfi Coast are located in Ravello. One is the historic Villa Cimbrone, built in the 11th century, which were frequented by many artistic, literary, and political figures like T. S. Eliot, Greta Garbo, Leopold Stokowsky, Henry Moore, Jaqueline Kennedy, Winston Churchill ...

The other is Villa Rufolo with breathtaking view of the coast from it magnificently manicured floral gardens

Did you see the lizard? ;-)

The volcanic soil of the Amalfi coast was great for growing lemons and the thick, juicy skins of these lemons are used to create a sweet and tangy liqueur called limoncello which is found everywhere, served chilled, so refreshing and great for the warm Mediterranean climate. Limoncello is usually used as an after-dinner 'digestivo'

Driving up and down the coast could be a hair-raising experience because the road was so narrow, barely wider than the width of two buses, but scenery is nothing short of spectacular! Slide show for large format

Hope to be back someday ...

Paradise Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Lien) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:00:00 +0000

In December 2010 one of my co-workers showed me an article in the January 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine that made me thrilled. The article was about a newly discovered cave in VietNam and it was considered the largest complex of caves in the world. This system of interconnected caves was discovered in 2005 by scientists from the British Cave Research Association with the help of a local man. It is the most beautiful cave in the Phong Nha Ke Bang area, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The whole length is 31 km long but only 900m was opened to the public. The world's biggest cave, Sơn Động, is also in this complex.

I am not really into cave but this one is not like anything i had seen before. Looking at the pictures i was spellbound by the beauty and dream of the day to visit.

The opportunity came in January 2011 when i went back to VietNam with friends and family. When we came to Hue, the ancient capital, the chance to visit the cave materialized and after a road trip of almost 5 hours we finally arrived at the place. Once there we learned that the cave was only opened to the public since September of 2010 and it was closed from October to almost the end of December due to a big flood. The ticket price to visit the cave was $120,000 in Vietnamese currency and we paid an extra $100,000 for the ride on the golf cart to the cave entrance since we didn't want to walk the 1 mile road.

There were 524 steps up to the cave opening. I was so thankful that it was a cool day :-). This picture is at the 500th step

The hike up took us throug a forest setting and i noticed a lot of plants with name tags.

Once we reached the top we were give a presentation about the cave.

Then our tour guide led us to a staircase about 100 steps down before we ended up on the nearly 1 km wooden boardwalk through the cave. At the start of the staircase we were greeted by a huge column of stalagmite

the inside opened up to a grand space where the ceiling was filled with colors

at the end of the stairs i looked back at the cave entrance

from this points on i was speechless because as we went through the cave its beauty was beyond words. We were the only group in the cave and i felt like i was walking inside the most magnificent and grand cathedral ever built, colorful and serene, even the Sistine Chapel or Saint Peter Basilica were pale in comparison. The most elaborate Baroque churches in Europe or South America were mere imitations of what mother nature could do artistically

the colors of the rock are the things that set this cave apart from others, imho. I am glad that white light is used in most places

The formation of stalactites and stalagmites here are very unique

this one reminded us of the ceremonial house in central VietNam by ethnic people

reflection pool where the water was still like a mirror

We spent about 3 hours in the cave and when the tour was over nobody wanted to leave. This place is truly a heavenly site and i felt so very lucky to have been there.

Slide show

National Geographic article 1
National Geographic article 2

Phong Nha National Park

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++