Hallelujah

If you know me at all, you know that I like music and reading. Something about the imagery that words provide and the emotion it can generate is just... really amazing to me. And sounds can pull words out, emphasize, and stretch and pull you beyond literal meanings - you can depict sarcasm, humor, sorrow, and more all just from swell and pull of sounds.

I also am not really a fan of sequels. No need to add on more than was originally intended. If Lord of the Rings was meant to be a trilogy and written that way, fine. No need for Pocohantas #2 or all that jazz.

But there is an exception to that - a song I love very much and has over 300 versions of it, ranging from 3 to over 80 verses.

So I wanted to share it with you guys, and a few of my current favorites of the verses. And my favorites change quite often, since there are so many to choose from and all were written by the same man, the same genius, one night in a New York City hotel, reportedly sitting on the floor in his underwear banging his head on the floor to get them all to come out.

Hallelujah
Leonard Cohen

I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well, it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth,
The minor fall, and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Well your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the rood
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to the kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah

Well baby, I've been here before
I've see this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me, do you?
But remember when I moved in you,
The Holy Dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Well maybe there's a God above
But all I really learned from Love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the Light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

You say I took the Name in vain
Well, I don't even know the Name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard:
The Holy or the Broken Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't Feel so I learned to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong,
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah

*Capitals and arrangement of verses are entirely my interpretation, not Cohen's.

You can see some re-occuring themes here - like drawing breaths in and words out of lips (the power of speech/sounds), defensive explanations (what's it to you, do you, didn't come to fool you, wasn't much), the idea of a broken Hallelujah and not following the proper religious path, Love as something painful, and isolation. That's part of what pulls all the verses together and makes it more like Lord of the Rings sequels rather than a Disney one.

Dude, I love this song.

Selfies? I guess...

Selfie: A picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website. You can usually see the person's arm holding out the camera in which case you can clearly tell that this person does not have any friends to take pictures of them so they resort to Myspace to find internet friends and post pictures of themselves, taken by themselves. A selfie is usually accompanied by a kissy face or the individual looking in a direction that is not towards the camera.


Well, I am not a selfie person. I understand that it is important to be proud of your features and left people around you know what a beautiful person you are. Selfies can be empowering, but they can also be excessive - just like how a little make-up can draw out your facial features, and too much can obscure them.

I have nothing against selfies. They seem very interesting, as far as trends go. I've done them in the past. I don't do them frequently, though.

But I decided it's been long enough. Maybe today.

So here are some pictures of me. I tried to fit the Urban Dictionary definition, but the my face got a little strained, so I stopped posing and just looked at the camera instead.

Also, I don't know how to rotate these pictures? But yeah. I got kinda bored towards the end. Not very exciting pictures of my face, I just wanted to see my hair. Yup.

 

Religion?

Okay, team,

I would like to take a second to acknowledge that not everyone is open-minded about religion or would like to spend their free time reading debates/propoganda/etc on faith, institutionalized religion, specific religions, or all that jazz.

So if you want to stop reading right now, feel free. It's your right.

For the rest of you, I am agnostic: as in, I have no belief that there is or isn't a God, god, gods, goddesses, or Goddess. I spend my days living by a set of morals I have determined to be sound and the government's laws (for the most part, though I do speed).

But recently, one of my friends asked me if I wanted to join her Christian book club, knowing that I don't even think about God, god, gods, etc. I'm not sure what made her ask, but I decided to accept the offer, under the condition that I can talk freely about my relationship (or lack thereof) with religion. We are reading a book called "Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are" by Craig Groeschel, which delights me simply because it is about dealing with societal labels and self-improvement.

I showed up for the first meeting and met a lovely bunch of young women, who all knew each other from their college's Young Life Christian program or other various collegiate inter-faith programs. We had a variety of personalities present, and there was even vegan orange cake, which was delicious. One of the ladies read the inside covers, and then everyone talked about how excited they were to read this book.

Now, I've never been in a book club, but I didn't realize that people sat down and talked about how excited to read a book they have only read the inside cover of - isn't that like 'judging a book by its cover?' And isn't this a book about who you are or are not? This struck me as a little odd, but I put in my two cents and then the conversation devolved into who is getting married to who, and when, and what the wedding will be like, and all sorts of chit-chat that is likely to show up around springtime with engaged or soon-to-be engaged young women.

The next book club meeting, I had dutifully read the first chapter and realized that I am out of touch with the Bible, because Craig made mention to many Bible stories and I had forgotten a few of them. Ironically enough, only 1 other person showed up outside of me and my friend. So we decided that discussing the first chapter would probably be better when more than 3 people were present, and we talked about other things instead.

The third week was held in my apartment, and we finally got enough people to discuss the first chapter - about the labels we are given. We talked about everything from "well, what if we don't like the label God gives us?" to "do we absolutely have to hit rock-bottom before we remake ourselves into the person God wants us to be?". I enjoyed hearing lots of logic coming out as they tried to answer these questions for themselves, and I offered up a few comments I had learned about slowly improving yourself over time and 'calibrating' yourself by asking others what labels they would give you. For example, my coworkers called me 'a nazi' the Friday before Memorial Day weekend (3 day weekend) when all the managers let their workers go home by 1pm and I kept mine until 3pm.

I wasn't able to attend the 4th week, and I hadn't read the chapters for the 5th week (so I'm behind and need to read chapters 2, 3, and 4). But I decided to take a leap and go with my friend and her husband to church on Sunday (today).

And that's what prompted this post: Why do people need religion, and more specifically, why do I not need religion?

In my book club, all the women are young, intelligent, college-educated individuals that embrace modern times and ideals - whereas I was used to religion being based in more of a 'Jesus said so, that's why' mentality. Obviously, these ladies are fully capable of questioning an all-powerful, all-knowing being, and still choose to have faith.

Can you prove that God does or does not exist? No.
If someone came up to you and gave you a thesis that said, "It's true because I believe it is.", would you consider that a credible explanation? Probably not.
Can you justify having one part of your life that is inexplicable and doesn't apply the basic rules of logic that you apply to the rest of your life? I wouldn't think so.

And yet, these women can practice medicine, psychology, banking - these women are teachers, students, wives, and day-care instructors. And they still choose to have faith in something they cannot prove or disprove. They have taken a side in a question that they cannot get an answer to unless they die - which none of them plan on doing anytime soon.

And, by choosing to be agnostic, I have just found a way to avoid the question all together. I do not offer my pain and suffering up to what may or may not exist. I do not offer up thanks and joy either. And as I was sitting in that church, watching people pour out their souls in song, praise, and tears, I was wondering, if there isn't a God, god, gods, goddesses, or Goddess....

...where does it all go?

Risotto

I love lots of kinds of food (mainly, rice). Anyone who knows me is well aware of my love of Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Malyasian, and other Asian cuisines. However, my love of rice does not stop there. I am in love with rice all around the world - from the delicious Spanish paella to the wild rice of the American South, all the way to the Chipotle lime-cilantro rice. And I'm not even going into what a stuffed tomato, bell pepper, or apple does for my saffron rice addiction!

But what is the big rice that vegans miss out on? Risotto! I don't know what started this craze where people add Parmesan cheese or cream to risotto, but it's driving me nuts! Risotto is naturally creamy and doesn't need all this other nonsense!

Arborio rice (also known as risotto rice) is very weird to me, at least as far as rice goes. It acts more like a dessicant, absorbing moisture, until it oozes apart while still maintaining it's crazy rice-ness. It's like a rice that comes with it's own gravy, and it's not some tasteless knock-off gravy either. This is how risotto should be.

Anyway, here's my Risotto recipe:
NOTE: I make a TON of risotto with this. Seriously. Good for potlucks or tons of lunches. It freezes well, and it seems to get better with time (and a little giardiniera doesn't hurt). 


How many lunches and dinners can I make at one time?!

Arborio Rice (I use the whole box, which is 1 lb)
Garlic cloves 4-6, minced
Vegetable stock 1 qt.
Diced Sage (dried) about 1 tspn
Diced Basil (dried) about 2 tspns
1 can of diced tomatoes
a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
Oil for saute
3.2 Qt / 3 L saucepan

Veggies to stir in while things cook and you stir:
One zucchini or two little ones
4-6 oz mushrooms diced/sliced (if you like them as much as I do)
A couple handfuls of diced green beans
Spinach, a couple handfuls or to taste
Diced onion, celery, or a mix of the two about two cups
Whatever else you want. Risotto is pretty forgiving as far as ingredients go.

Saute the garlic gloves and dried herbs, with a little stock to give it a nice color. Then... ADD ALL THE RICE!! And stir it around sauteing for a while until it gets coated in oil and a little see-through. It's a lot of rice, and it looks super funny, but this is the key to keeping it rice-like and not porridge-like.

The next step is the most important: Slowly add the broth, one half cup at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Once it starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, add another half cup, and keep on stirring with your big wooden spoon. Keep going until all the stock has been used up or the risotto is done. The rice is really absorbing the flavor of the stock, so try not to use plain water unless you run out of stock and the rice isn't done yet.

Whenever you want to add your tomatoes and other veggies, go for it. Save the fresh basil until the risotto has absorbed all the liquid and is fluffy. Turn off the heat, gently fold the basil in, and then you have a masterpiece!


And maybe I forgot the fresh basil in this batch...

Your pot will be FULL, so make sure you have plenty of containers to freeze this up in single-servings or a big party to go to. The oil you cooked it in at first helps it come out nicely and reheats into a smooth creamy risotto that doesn't goo into a big mess.

Why would you not make this?
Takes too much time - If this takes more than an hour, you're doing something weird. Stop that.
Takes too much work/stirring - Seriously? I'm probably punier than you are.
I don't have enough room in my kitchen. - Look at my kitchen.


Do you see counter-space there? I don't.

No excuses - this is a quick 30-50 mins that will feed you for a while and you will sound super fancy when you show up at work with your risotto for lunch. Like you actually spent time carefully crafting your lunch last night instead of making it last weekend and freezing it.

And you, my friend, are one classy cat.

Love,
M