“My Fair Lady”

Here’s a sneak peak of my interpretation of a wonderful portrait of a German woman from the ’70’s called “My Fair Lady”. Upside down view shows a lot in the interpretation. I’m glad I have differences; but I think I am capturing the essence.

Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

I spent time…darshan with Anandamayi Ma via the internet today, and share this with you.

New watercolor “Fleur de Feet”

Feet can wear flowers, too.

Finished on 052809, “Fleur de Feet” is a watercolor of my own feet. The top soles of the sandals were a fluorescent iridescent material. I tried to capture it, but realized I needed a couple of wacky colors to actually get it right. Fortunately I did have Opera (a hot magenta color) and Peacock Blue. I needed a similar hot fluorescent green, though. All in all, I think I did alright.

BEARING WITNESS TO THE LIGHT: Merton’s Challenge to a Fragmented World

Thomas Merton

BEARING WITNESS TO THE LIGHT: Merton’s Challenge to a Fragmented World

The Eleventh General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society
Nazareth College – Rochester, NY – June 11-14, 2009

In June 2009 the International Thomas Merton Society will hold its Eleventh General Meeting in Rochester, NY, on the campus of Nazareth College. Featured participants in the conference include:

• Rachel Fell McDermott, Associate Professor and Chair of the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures Department at Barnard College where she specializes in South Asia, especially India.

• Herbert Mason, William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of History and Religious Thought at Boston University where he teaches in the field of Arabic and Islamic Studies. For a number of years he corresponded with Thomas Merton.

• James Conner, OCSO, a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani. He was a student of Thomas Merton and was Merton’s under-master for novices. He has served as chaplain to the Benedictine Community of Osage Monastery, Oklahoma, and, for five years in the late nineties, as Abbot of Assumption Abbey in Missouri. He was fourth President of the ITMS and has written on Thomas Merton in Cistercian Studies, The Merton Annual, and in the volume Thomas Merton Monk: A Monastic Tribute.

• Judith Simmer-Brown, a Professor at Naropa University and a prominent Buddhist scholar. She is on the Board of the Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies, and a member of the Lilly Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter.

• Kate Campbell, originally from Sledge, Mississippi, the daughter of a Baptist preacher. Kate’s formative years were forged by the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and those indelible experiences continue to inform her music. Kate has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals at home and abroad including the Cambridge Folk Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

• Donald Grayston, now retired from teaching at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, will deliver the presidential address.

Many other Merton scholars will also be participating in concurrent sessions and workshops.

Other highlights will include:

• Opportunities for interreligious prayer and dialogue

• Exhibit of photographs by Thomas Merton

Full details of the conference can be found on the conference web site: http://www.merton.org/Rochester/
Reserve your place now – late registration fees apply after May 15th

In peace,

Paul.

##########################
Dr Paul M Pearson.
Director and Archivist,
Thomas Merton Center,
Bellarmine University,
2001 Newburg Road,
Louisville, KY. 40205.

Tel: 502 452 8177.
Cell: 502 693 1937.
Fax: 502 452 8452.

www.merton.org

“Thrill on Bluebonnet Hill”

Thrill on Bluebonnet Hill

True, I found my thrill on bluebonnet hill at Shambhala Ranch this past weekend. During a meditation retreat, we had a break on one of the afternoons, a perfect time to capture this simple shock of lavender blue lupines, also known as Bluebonnets, set amidst stately Redwoods.

Duck Crossing

Duck Crossing

A Starry Sky Above a Coral Sea

This is a fun free-form where I started with a watercolor wash, used salt, and when dry, I painted in the shapes that the wash created. I had no idea what would transpire. In the end, it looked like…”A Starry Sky Above a Coral Sea”.

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher Watercolor

“A large, skulking bird of thickets and hedgerows, the Brown Thrasher has one of the largest song repertoires of any North American bird. Boldly patterned, it is conspicuous when singing on its territory, but is hardly discernable during the rest of year.”
The Brown Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia. Click this link to hear its song: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/Brown_Thrasher1.html

First painting of the New Year: “Little Hummer”

Little Hummer

How pure is your olive oil?

 Recent controversy has led to articles being published on the purity of olive oil. We expect we are getting what the label tells us when we by the oil; but not so, says Connecticut food importer Luciano Sclafani. In an article to the Lexington Herald in Kentucky on Nov. 22, 2008, he had tests performed when he suspected a three liter tin of extra virgin olive oil was retailing for only $9.99. In reality, a quantity of EVOO such as this should go for around $25-30. The tests revealed the oil in the tin was 90 percent soybean oil and 10 percent pomace (oil that’s collected from the ground flesh and pits of olives after pressing). Extra virgin olive oil often sells retail eight to ten times more than soy oil! Shocking? You bet!

Only olives in your olive oil?

Time-travel back to a piece submitted to the Living Section of the New York Times in 1996 by Richard J. Sullivan, the President of North American Olive Oil Association in Matawan, N.J. who claimed that “the facts support a near-perfect record for the purity of olive oil sold in the United States”. He goes on to say “Everything is done in accordance with procedures in the ‘Agreement to Monitor the Olive Oils and Olive-Pomace Oils Marketed in the United States and Canada’”. With that said one must take into consideration that this was written 12 years ago.

So, what has happened since then? If Mr. Sullivan was correct, something surely has gone south.

What standards do we have in place now to ensure purity and truth in advertising? Enter an article from the Connecticut Post dated November 21, 2008, which says that Connecticut became the first state in the nation last week to regulate the purity of olive oil. Previously, there were no regulations in place by the Federal Government to ensure the purity of olive oil. After many complaints, state Department of Consumer Protection has prompted “regulations to ensure purity standards by requiring that any additive must be indicated on the labeling”.

Food allergies? Be careful what olive oil you select, then. Until there is national regulation in place, you may not know that you are consuming soy or nut oils mixed with your olive oil, and that can spell trouble if you have an allergy. As state officials point out, there’s a health issue at play. Deceptive labeling that does not identify the addition of cheaper soy oil, for example, which can be harmful to people with soy allergies.

More reading can be found at CONSUMER PROTECTION; FOOD LAW, STANDARD OF IDENTITY FOR OLIVE OIL

Let’s hope Connecticut’s lead will open the door to regulate the Olive Oil industry throughout all of the United States.

More links:
bohemian.com: Snake Oil?

High Beam Research: PURITY OF OLIVE OIL QUESTIONED

Live Well Naturally Newsletter: Will the Real “Extra Virgin” Olive Oil Please Stand Up?