Something moved me

Those of you who have known me for a long time are aware that I do not voluntarily discuss politics very often. It takes something special to move me to do so. Something moved me today.

Jon Favreau (pictured at right), 26, heads Senator Barack Obama's team of speechwriters which also includes Adam Frankel, 26, and Ben Rhodes, 30.

In my opinion, the speech they wrote for the Senator's victory in the Democratic Primary in South Carolina is uplifting and brilliant. If you haven't already heard it, please check out the video posted below.

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Homemade Pizza Recipe

I am posting this recipe 'cause I agreed to share it with a girlfriend, plus this is a backup in case I lose my copy of the recipe sometime!

PIZZA from WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspsoon white sugar
(I use Spenda 'cause my man is diabetic)
1-and-a-half cups warm water
(about 110 degrees F)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1-and-a-half cups all-purpose flour
one-half cup of cornmeal
(My tweak of the recipe — makes the crust better!)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.

Stir olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the flour and cornmeal until dough starts to come together. Tip dough onto floured surface and knead until all the flour has been absorbed and the ball of dough becomes smooth. Place dough in an oiled bowl (I coat the sides of the mixing bowl I used, rather than dirty another bowl), cover with a kitchen towel, and let stand in a warm place until the dough doubles in size (about one hour).

Tip dough back out onto floured surface and divide into 2 halves for thin crust pizza, or leave whole for a deep-dish style pizza. Form into tight ball(s) and let rise for 45 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both fists and gently pull edges outward while slowly rotating the dough. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well-oiled pizza pan or screen. Spoon your favorite sauce (I make my own from canned tomato sauce, minced garlic, chopped onions, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper) onto the crust, then add toppings (meats, veggies, cheeses).

Bake for 15 - 25 minutes (depending on thickness, how fast your oven cooks, and how crispy you want your crust). Ideally, the crust should be crisp and golden at the edges, and cheeses should be nicely melted on top.

Enjoy!

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

New Year's advice

I posted the following in a friend's blog last night and then decided it would be good to share here as well. If nothing else, perhaps having it here will help me remember it when I need it.

We are here to "get our hands dirty" in this world, to live life to the fullest. With living, a little suffering and sorrow comes here-and-there — it's unavoidable, it's a sign of a life well-lived. With each bit of suffering and sorrow comes a greater capacity for compassion towards ourselves and other people. Keep living, keep loving, and let that compassion come until it overflows your soul and rains down onto the world!




© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

New Year's wish

© 2008 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Out of the darkness, into the light

 
I posted this entry in my blog last year.
For whatever reasons, I feel motivated to repost it this year, too.
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This time of year, the daylight hours in the northern hemisphere are fewer in number compared to the nighttime hours, a phenomenon that will continue until the Winter Solstice. In 2007, the Winter Solstice falls on December 22nd, at 1:08 AM EST (6:08 AM GMT). Afer that, those of us above the equator will begin to see a slow shift towards more daylight and less darkness until the Summer Solstice arrives in June.

During this darkest time of year, many people decorate their houses with pretty lights. I love the darkness — it is peaceful & mysterious, comforting & enfolding like a womb, giving seeds and ideas the possibility of germinating. However, I love pretty lights, too!

Many people associate the lights with religious traditions rather than the original intent of merely "brightening the dark time of the year with a little cheer." We do not observe any holiday in our household this time of year, other than my quiet acknowledgement of the arrival of the Solstice. We prefer a year-round celebration of the Light of the human soul, illuminating the darkness of our being.

In our happy home, there are no trees, no stockings, no gifts, nor are there any dreidels spinning, no menorrah being lit. He is a Bright, and I am a Buddhist. Both of us were born into homes that strictly followed religious observances, but both of us believe that following one's heart is more important than following the herd. There is awesome power and beauty to stand as a wild creature on the mountain precipice and look down upon the gleaming valley below.

All year long, I try to hold as much love in my heart as I can for myself and for other human beings. I believed in recycling things before it was considered fasionable. I respect Mother Earth, and believe in treating everything with respect and acting with personal accountability. I believe in the beauty and power of the human soul, and I believe in a connectedness to All Things that exists as the Universal Consciousness, that thing I call "Goddess." I do not believe there is an actual "Being" that needs to lift us, pitifully, out of our wallow in misery. We need to lift ourselves. We can do it, We have the Power. My partner's beliefs are different than mine, but are similar and harmonize with mine.

For those that see the light, we wish you cheer.
For those that feel the darkness, we wish you cheer.
For those that are lifting themsleves, we wish you cheer.
For those that are waiting to be lifted, we wish you cheer.
Whatever your beliefs, whatever your path, know that We wish you cheer... and peace.

© 2007 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Rather odd...

Something feels rather odd about a Buddhist decoracting a Christmas tree in a business establishment managed by Hindu folks. The first of our clientele to see said tree after it was decorated was Muslim. Too weird.

© 2007 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com

Stalking the wild ephemeris

Someone asked me a couple of questions about an ephemeris.
Here's the poop...

An ephemeris is a table that shows the positions of the plaets and other celestial bodies. It is usually organized in a day-to-day format with the positions shown for noon (12h) Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). By the way, GMT is sometimes called "Universal Time" (UT). An example of an ephemeris is shown, below:

In the example, the Sun is positioned at 16°30'51" in the sign of Sagittarius. The Moon is shown as being located at position 8°23' of the sign Sagittarius. An excellent ephemeris may be otained online — free for personal use — at AstoDienst. Hardcopies of several ephemerides may also be purchased at most bookstores in the "Astronomy" section for $10 or under.

Please note that positions given for celestial bodies might differ slightly from ephemeris to ephemeris. Differences could be a result of the different algorithms being used to calculate the position of the objects, or it could be that one ephemeris is showing astronomical positions rather than astological positions (see "Precession of the Equinoxes" for an explanation).

© 2007 Sapphire @ Blogspot.com