Discovering the West Coast of Florida

I didn’t want to leave South Florida. I love the tropical weather, I love my friends and clients, and I love being in such an international and diverse culture.

I am returning to South Florida at least once a month to see my friends and clients and enjoy the tropics.

But the West Coast of Florida is actually showing a lot of promise.

There are fewer billboards, and more trees. Prices for many things are lower. In many cases people are friendlier.

Automobile insurance is cheaper – presumably because my chance of hitting a Bentley or a Ferrari is somewhat less.

I haven’t been to the ocean yet, but I hear it is lovely. I can’t imagine it is better than the beaches in Miami, but we’ll see.

We have plenty of flora and fauna here on the West Coast. I have seen a red-wing blackbird, an alligator and a grove of banana trees.

We have culture here too. I have already visited the Dali museum.

We have fewer palms, but lots of tall trees, unlike what you find in South Florida.

We are also a few degrees cooler, which, for me, is not a plus.

I will enjoy exploring a new part of Florida. I’m already feeling at home here.

But don’t worry, South Florida, I’ll be back. Often.

No Fries with That

Recently I have been doing some traveling. That means rest stops at America’s favorite fast food restaurants. I don’t generally eat the food, but I can’t help noticing the terribly unappetizing marketing techniques. As if the food weren’t bad enough!

We all remember the McDonald’s billboard campaign from a few years back. A man looked longingly at a Big Mac. The caption read “I’d Hit That!”

Apparently no one told the advertiser that the term “hit” in that context is sexual. So, for a short time, America was treated to the image of a man who wanted to have sex with a sandwich.

Now, McDonald’s has unveiled two aptly-named new products. First we have the McWrap. Go ahead, say the word “McWrap.” There is no way you can say it without having it sound like “McCrap.” Which is, in the end, what it really is.

Or, if you enjoy seafood-like substances, you could try the new “McBites.” I am sure that they do, in fact, bite.

If McDonald’s is just too McCrappy for you, you might enjoy KFC. Their new ad campaign is for a new boneless product. The tagline is “I ate the bones.”

How in the world is that an appetizing slogan? Is the chicken so unremarkable that we can’t tell if it is boned or boneless? Are we expected to be so mindless as we eat that we are in actual danger of eating bones and not realizing it?

Fast food chains like McDonald’s and KFC have huge marketing budgets. And what do they come up with? McWraps and eating bones. Yuk.

Thanks for your marginally-clean rest rooms. I’ll just take an iced tea and be on my way.

The End of Eureka

I am not really a fan of television – in fact, I don’t have either network or cable TV in my home. But I do have the internet, and therefore I can watch whatever I want whenever I want on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon.

Recently I’ve been enjoying science fiction TV series. I don’t like X-Files because Mulder always loses the evidence and Scully has to be re-convinced each episode. I do like Eureka. Last night I finished the series.

The Syfy Channel has offered us some great shows, but they always seem to cancel the ones I like best. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Eureka, although I recognize that scientists can only endanger the planet and be saved by a down-home sheriff so many times.

My favorite aspect of Eureka was this. Eureka showed us that intelligence comes in many varieties. Some characters have high IQs but no emotional intelligence. Our sheriff, Jack Carter, has only an average IQ but always manages to be the one to find the solution.

One thing I’m left wondering is this. Could the marriage between Allison Blake and Jack Carter really work over the long term? Sure, he’s great with the kids, and he’s brave and handsome. But, really? Carter’s IQ is 111. Dr. Blake’s is substantially higher. Do we believe that Allison will truly stay committed to someone so different than herself?

The issue of intellect and marriage made its way to our cultural forum recently when, on March 29, Princeton Alumni Susan Patton wrote an editorial, “Advice for the young women of Princeton: the daughters I never had,” published on the website of the Daily Princetonian, Princeton University‘s student newspaper.

Susan Patton’s advice to the women of Princeton was that they should find a husband at Princeton. Her reasoning was that never again in life would these women have such a field of worthy men from which to choose, and that highly intelligent women don’t do well with men of only average intelligence.

Obviously the feminist backlash against Susan Patton was intense. But the question remains. Can highly intelligent women be happy with men of lesser intelligence? There is a clear stereotype of smart men who choose flaky girls. But there doesn’t seem to be a stereotype of smart women who choose average Joes.

But maybe the point is this. Jack Carter isn’t an average Joe. He’s not a scientist, but he has a lot of other qualities that women want.

Another interesting aspect of the Blake-Carter marriage is this. Race (he’s white, she’s black) isn’t an issue at all. Granted, Allison is light-skinned, fine-featured and wears a weave. Would the story have still worked if Allison looked more like Henry Deacon’s wife, Grace?

Nonetheless, the subtle message of Eureka is this. Smart people don’t make race an issue. It’s another reason I really love Eureka, and am sad the series is over. How about a sequel, Syfy?

An Exercise in Compassion

Tragedies happen everywhere. Some are natural and unavoidable; others are conceived and carried out by a human hand. So often in the face of violent tragedy we find ourselves wondering what role Higher Power has played.

Some believe that tragedy is a direct punishment from an angry God. Others believe that Higher Power lets us sort out our difficulties without celestial interference.

I think tragedy is an exercise in compassion.

It is our human nature to respond to violence with threats of more violence. It is our nature to respond to hurt with anger.

But each tragedy gives us the opportunity to rise above violence and to rise above anger. Each tragedy gives us the opportunity to make compassion our highest priority.

It is easy to hold bereaved families in our hearts and prayers. We grieve their losses. We hold our own loved ones a little closer. At least this time, we were spared.

It is harder to have compassion for the perpetrators of heinous crimes. How can we hold terrorists and murderers in our prayers?

It is right to seek justice for those whose actions cause fear, injury and death. But justice and compassion can coexist.

I think our challenge in the face of tragedy is to hold all people in compassion. Not just the victims and survivors, but also the perpetrators.

Energetically, the love and peace that flows when we hold compassion in our hearts may be exactly what is needed to elevate the consciousness of our planet.

Perhaps tragedy is visited upon us for exactly this reason. Perhaps, when our first response is compassion rather than anger, the need for tragedy will cease.

The Power of a Word

Health educators and feminists are understandably concerned about the demonization of the word "vagina."

On June 13, 2012 Michigan State Representative Lisa Brown's use of the word led to her censure. In the aftermath a state representative declared the word "vagina" so offensive that he wouldn't say it in mixed company.

Now Idaho High School science teacher Tim McDaniel is being investigated for saying "vagina" during a sophomore science class on human reproduction. No fewer than four parents complained about his use of the word.

Helene Martz and I had a conversation about this topic last night on Christiana's Psychic Café. She felt as I do, that this is another way to disempower women. That the "offensive" word refers to a specifically feminine body part is evidence of the misogyny that is working its way into the fabric of our society.

We must find a way to normalize words that describe our bodies. Teaching our children to refer to their genitals as "wee wee" or "pee pee" or other pet names is a huge mistake. Bowing to a misinformed public who prefers not to hear word "vagina" is another.

The underlying message is that women are bad, sex is bad and our bodies are bad. Turning the vagina into a Voldemort-like thing whose name shall not be spoken can only hurt our society in the long run. We must remember that the vagina is the pathway to life for us all.

And, as Helene pointed out last night, this is another attack on science. The teacher and the lawmaker both used the proper scientific term, and both were punished for it.

A society that tries to marginalize both women and science seems very dangerous indeed.

If we are not permitted to speak the word "vagina" now, eventually those with vaginas will not be permitted to speak.

When people's sensitivities become squeamish about scientific facts, eventually decisions will be based on those sensitivities rather than on facts.

It is interesting, too, that as the acceptability of the word "vagina" decreases, the acceptability of rape seems to increase. We even have a buzzword for that now - "rape culture." It may be that the freer we are in speaking of our bodies the safer our bodies will be.

On the other side of things, there are young artists such as VulvaLoveLovely who create pillows, jewelry and statues in the shapes of uteruses, vaginas and vulvas. I had never really before understood why I might want to wear a vulva around my neck. Now I get it. To honor our bodies in art is to love ourselves. It may be that the only way to fight misogyny, or any kind of hatred, is with love.

Le Petit Cafe of Dania Beach

Someone once said Florida was little more than strip malls and palm trees. On the outside, the strip malls seem remarkably similar. It is easy to forget where you are because everything looks the same.

The truth is that many of these generic-looking strip malls contain absolutely unique restaurants. My friend and I just discovered Le Petite Café of Dania Beach. Le Petite is a French restaurant with a menu that includes crepes and other French specialties. It is a bit pricey, but we thought it was well worth it.

Once inside Le Petite we forgot we were in a strip mall. Each table was decorated with fresh flowers. French music played in the background. Most of the other diners were speaking French.

Our meal included a choice of soup, salad or fresh fruit. My friend had the salad, which came with a special dressing that we both liked, but neither of us could identify. The dressing was creamy and tangy. It turns out it was a mustard vinaigrette that had been whipped to a creamy consistency.

I had a delicious potato and leek soup.

Our entrees arrived on large square plates. We were each served peas, carrots and potatoes. I enjoyed duckling with orange sauce, topped with peach slices. My friend chose the steak with pepper sauce.

For the more adventurous, or the more traditional, there were snails and frog legs on the menu.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Although we weren't really still hungry we decided we would be remiss if we did not end the meal with a light, creamy chocolate mousse.

If you enjoy French food or want a change from the ordinary and don't mind spending a bit of money for a nice meal, Le Petit Café is a truly enjoyable experience.

Movie Review: Olympus has Fallen

Rarely do I actually see a movie on its opening day, but somehow Olympus has Fallen seemed worth catching right away. The magnificent cast (Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott, Aaron Eckhart, Ashley Judd) and the plot line appealed to me as an exciting story.

I was right.

Post 9/11 Hollywood has some interesting challenges. On one hand, we've already seen real terrorism up close. What fictional terrorism could shock us now? One the other hand, we now believe things are possible we wouldn't have believed before. Which one of us, on 9/10/2001, would have thought we would lose the Twin Towers to terrorism, let alone the White House, which is the premise of this movie?

Olympus has Fallen has a high body count, a lot of action and some terrifying scenes. It's also patriotic and redemptive. Our hero has an early Steven Segal quality to him as he fights against all odds to save the President.

This is an action movie at its best. When it's over you will think about the many reasons those things that had you on the edge of your seat couldn't actually happen. But while you are watching the movie those things will seem real, and will terrify you.

And, whether blue state or red state, Occupy or Tea Party, Olympus has Fallen will remind you why you are proud to be an American.

Shock Value

There was a time before the internet when FM broadcast radio was how the cool kids (of any age) stayed connected to each other and their world.

During that time morning radio was ruled by the Shock Jock - DJs who pushed the envelope with language and subject matter that was designed to get a response.

Now it's hard to shock anyone. We've seen it all on-line. Sadly, the most shocking things we hear seem to come from the mouths of our politicians.

But that doesn't seem to stop the spiritual-but-not-religious community from trying to shock us. Right now it seems that everyone, from get-rich-gurus to life coaches to tarot mavens, is trying to separate themselves from the pack by being edgy.

Edgy - that is - true edginess - is a wonderful thing. But here's a clue. Using foul language is not inherently edgy. True edginess has to have some intelligence behind it; some cleverness. Putting the word "ass" in your title or text doesn't make you edgy. It may make you look like an ass.

Other things that are just not edgy include intentional misspellings. "Krazee" is not edgier than "crazy." It just makes you and your product look, well, crazy.

Using the word "naked" to describe anything other than an absence of clothing is not edgy. It's also not unique; everyone is doing it. Unless your book, program or event is really going to be in the nude, don't call it "naked." Just don't.

My fellow spiritual entrepreneurs, if you want to be edgy, be edgy - but take the time and energy to be clever, not crude. Otherwise you look like Howard Stern in Downward Dog.

Don't try to shock us. In 2013 we are unshockable. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us think.

It may be that in 2013 the way to separate yourself from the pack is to be courteous and professional. What if you presented yourself as respectful and kind? What if you took the time to use good punctuation and proper spelling? What if you did your research and spoke (or wrote) with grace and dignity? What if you tried to distinguish yourself with your message, rather than with cheesy packaging? I think that would be shockingly edgy!

EatPeruvian Restaurant: Some Things are Worth the Wait

EatPeruvian
3210 Lantana Rd
Lake Worth, FL

This past weekend I had business in Palm Beach County and needed a quick meal. We saw EatPeruvian restaurant on Lantana Road and decided to give it a try.

EatPeruvian is an easy-to-miss storefront in a seedy strip mall across from the local airport. Despite its unfortunate surroundings it had a wonderful glow about it, and the aroma wafting into the parking lot was irresistible.

The menu at EatPeruvian is extensive. I ordered a chicken dish, my friend ordered beef. I was in a hurry to get  to my engagement or I would have tried something more adventurous, like the seafood.

Our food was beautifully presented and delicious. The problem was that service was incredibly slow. We were only one of three tables in the restaurant and it still took more than half an hour to get us our food!

The atmosphere was lovely - if I hadn't been on a time schedule I would have enjoyed a glass of wine and waited patiently.

I recommend EatPeruvian highly, as long as you have the time to enjoy a luxurious meal. The prices are reasonable and the food is fantastic!

Dark Star Orchestra at Revolution Hall

This week I had the rare opportunity to see one of my favorite touring bands. Dark Star Orchestra played Revolution Hall in Fort Lauderdale.

Dark Star Orchestra has been touring for fifteen years. Their name reveals their intent.

"Dark Star" is a much-beloved Grateful Dead song that for many fans typifies the Grateful Dead experience.

An orchestra dedicates itself to preserving, interpreting and performing the works of long-dead great masters.

So the intent of Dark Star Orchestra is not to be a tribute band, or even a commemoration or reenactment of the Grateful Dead scene. The intent of DSO is to take the music of the Grateful Dead forward. They do it well.

Most Deadheads will admit that on many nights DSO's performances are technically better than the Grateful Dead's, especially vocally.

The remaining members of the Grateful Dead seem to appreciate DSO. John Kadlecik, one of the founding members of DSO has been playing with Furthur since 2009. Furthur is a touring band that features both Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. What a job promotion for John Kadlecik, and what a vote of confidence for DSO!

The February 26 performance at Revolution Hall was the first time I had seen DSO without John Kadlecik. I did see Furthur with him in 2009 and they were fabulous.

As it turns out the new DSO line-up is terrific. As with any good orchestra, a change in personnel does not change the quality of the performance.

DSO reproduces Grateful Dead shows song-by-song, note-by-note.  The show for this special night was from June 22, 1976. In 1976 I was in middle school and had yet to fall in love with the Grateful Dead, but the songs from this show were some of my favorites.

One of the best parts of the night for me was a deeply reverent Cassidy that exploded into a Promised Land at the end of the first set. I also enjoyed the earlier fun and funky Tennessee Jed.

The second set included an absolutely joyous Eyes of the World and a Samson and Delilah that really could have torn "this old building down".

Revolution Hall is a quintessential rock club. I found the bar on the second floor and discovered the entire second floor was wired for sound. When it comes to Dead shows I don't need to see the band, I need to hear the band and I need room to dance. I found all that on the second floor. It reminded me of the coliseums that would put speakers in the hallways for those of us who needed room to groove.

Travis Newbill wrote a great review of the show for the New Times. He said that Dark Star Orchestra provides a healing service. He's right. It is a healing service for those of us who spent years organizing our lives around Dead shows, traveling to gather with our brothers and sisters in parking lots across the country to eat fried rice and burritos, trade handcrafted items and join in that sacred dance.

But DSO isn't just for my aging brethren to remember the days of yore. DSO, along with Furthur, 7 Walkers and the many other touring projects have attracted new, young fans; kids who never saw the actual Grateful Dead.  These kids tour with the bands, know the songs and feel proud to carry on the traditions.

I danced next to one such kid (well, he could have been thirty). We were tearing it up in the second set. Without being asked, he told me he understands the sacred nature of the music and feels a personal responsibility to keep it going.

The Grateful Dead, capricious as they were, did not always play an encore. On June 22, 1976 they closed the show at the end of the second set and called it a day. Dark Star Orchestra would never leave their audience so deprived. They chose Ripple as a special treat with which to send us on our way.

Ripple in clear water
when there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow…

That song describes the spiritual mystery of the Grateful Dead. That spiritual mystery is preserved by many musicians - local bands playing Dead covers, new projects of the original musicians and, of course, Dark Star Orchestra.