*Subject:* Fw: Inner Peace

_Inner Peace: This is so true_

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment ,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

….Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!

And you thought I was going to get all spiritual…

Photo by kudumono via Flickr.

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I received this on my @profhood twitter account that I’ve just got to share with you all. Yes, it does have something to do with the “religious”. Well, make that the “idolatrous”.

How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee from Ben Helfen on Vimeo.

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Peet’s has a new variety: Uzuri African Blend. It’s one of their best. Not an out of body, Bluebottle experience, but an outstanding blend.

Even if you hate Peet’s coffee, or don’t like coffee at all, you’ve got to view the slideshow about what they’re doing with TechnoServe. Superb.

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For me, given all the genuine Christian fundamentalism in the US and the “in your face”, cultural and political evangelical Christianism, or what one might call American religious Fascism, it’s been surprising to witness the renaissance of Atheism. Not to get too Hegelian, but I think these swings are good things. My own sense is that, globally speaking, religion has been on a not so good run lately. C’mon people! Did we really need Al Qaeda? We’ve even had the return of the evolution wars at school board meetings and in the courts.

At any rate, Hedges starts off with an overview of the past few years’ of godtalk and anti-godtalk in the media. Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the philosopher Daniel Dennett, have written books attacking religious belief. Hedges thinks some of the criticisms have been screeds; others have been thoughtful.

He criticizes Hitchens and Harris for their unfair, crude, and intolerant remarks. About Harris’ book (Letter to a Christian Nation), Hedges writes that Harris’

facile attack on a form of religious belief we all hate, his childish simplicity and ignorance of world affairs, as well as his demonization of Muslims, made the book tedious, at its best, and often idiotic and racist. (2)

I watched the CSPAN debate between Harris and Reza Aslan in 2007. I heartily recommend watching the debate on Reason and Religion. (This is just a small clip. Check out the rest on You Tube.) As for Hedges, I’ll have to keep reading to find out where he’s going.

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I’ve got a routine now. On Fridays I head over to my local Peet’s (San Jose/Union&Camden) for the second cup-o-the day. This last Friday I ordered a triple shot. (Don’t ask, don’t tell) And, oh darn! Just had to have a lemon curd goodie with it. Those little gems are really overly sweet, but since I don’t sugar my coffee the balance was perfect. And yes, that espresso was super strong. Ouch! Yum!

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I know I should finish the James post. But I’m off to go get some Peet’s coffee.

I am running a slight coffee deficit. The Sisters drink Folgers or Safeway’s best. I did bring some Peet’s Las Hermanas (cute, huh? It’s “the sisters” in Spanish), which I make early Thursday before I head out to school. But even though I worked a little Wednesday at a small cafe a block away from the convent, it’s not quite the same as camping out in one’s own, local Peet’s. Starbucks? Never. (Well, if I were desperate, yes, but only an Americano since Starbucks coffee is over-roasted in my not so humble opinion.)

I own lots of fountain pens and I enjoy using them. So Moleskines, not digital bytes, are what I usually take to Peets.

I’ll read and revise my James post while sipping some delicious coffee made with a French press.

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