From April 21 to May 2 each year, it’s Ridvan! April 22, 2009

Happy Riḍván!

عيد رضوان مبارك

In case this is your first time hearing about this 12-day festival, here’s a re-post of a great introduction from the U.S. Baha’i website:

What makes the Festival of Ridvan, celebrated April 21 to May 2, the holiest of days for Baha’is? It commemorates the anniversary of Baha’u’llah’s declaration in 1863 that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions.

Up to this point, Baha’u’llah, who was born into a noble Persian family in 1817, had dedicated His life to improving the world and helping others. He became one of the foremost followers of the Bab, for which He was imprisoned, tortured and banished from His native land.

After spending 10 years in exile in Baghdad, Baha’u’llah was ordered to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) for another period of exile. Before leaving Baghdad, He spent 12 days in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. The garden later was named Ridvan, meaning “Paradise” or “good pleasure” in Arabic.

As His followers gathered around Him, Baha’u’llah announced that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions — “Him Whom God shall make manifest.” His declaration marks the beginning of the Baha’i Faith.

Baha’is suspend work on the holiest days of Ridvan – the first (April 21), ninth (April 29) and twelfth (May 2). These mark the day of Baha’u'llah’s arrival in the garden, the arrival of His family and the group’s departure for Constantinople.

Throughout Ridvan, Baha’is gather for devotions and attend social gatherings. It is also during this time that elections take place for Baha’i governing bodies.

Happy Earth Day! April 22, 2009

Click HERE to view the message, or HERE to create your own geoGreeting (thanks MAY).

And for more fun with Google Lat video messages, click HERE (thanks JOSH).

Where Gluten Lurks April 15, 2009

Pasta, pizza, deli sandwiches. It’s not normal to feel stuffed and sleepy after eating these?

For the longest time I thought imbibing a caffeinated beverage of sorts was the simplest defense against pesky afternoon lethargy.  I’d heard people refer to “food coma’s” and one sluggish afternoon mentioned to a coworker that I had one.  This solicited a puzzled expression and “But we just split a bagel and minestrone soup!”  Hmmm… mental notes: 1.) soup and bagels (for others) do not a food coma make, and 2.) lest it have a precise definition of which I’m unaware, look up “food coma” before claiming to have one again…

In any case, thanks to mum’s insistence, I recently met with a functional medicine practitioner and discovered that I have a gluten allergy.  After a lengthy questionnaire and a series of tests, the doctor informed me that my body was producing a high level of anti-gliadin antibodies. Yikes! She told me to treat gluten (the protein in wheat, rye, and barley — the “glue” that binds pasta and baked goods) like a poison attacking my immunity.  For a surprisingly high number of individuals, gluten can mean poor digestion, inflammation and skin irritation in the short run; and chronic diseases over time. Yikes²!

Well, sobering news as that was, I’ve spent the past six weeks diligently avoiding “poison”.  And as ubiquitous as wheat may seem in this highly-processed society of ours, there’s a surprisingly tasty world beyond it! Ok, some gluten-free food is downright disgusting, but there’s no gluten in corn, potato, rice, tapioca, arrowroot, carob, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, lupin, lentils, or quinoa.

I’m trying to be as strict as possible and have definitely noticed increased energy levels. I haven’t had that yucky feeling after any meals… you know, where the food seems to’ve drained rather than revitalized you?  I’ve also actually felt hungry at regular intervals — which might seem like a strange thing to celebrate, but when gluten messes with your metabolism it can often be tough to listen to your body.

What’s proving tricky, though, is the fact that (especially in the United States) gluten lurks in lots of unexpected places. For example, you find gluten in:

• soy sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• blue cheese (which comse from mold grown on… bread)
• malt vinegar/extract/syrup
• bulgur and couscous (used in tabouleh)
• semolina
• udon (wheat) noodles
• licorice
• pickles
• imitation crab
• elsewhere?

Gluten is also often used in fillers in many processed foods (like soups, yogurt, snack foods, lunch meats, sausages, ground beef, ice cream, etc.). Check the labels for words like: “stabilizer”, “starch”, “flavoring”, “emulsifier”, “hydrolyzed”, “binder”, “maltodextrin”, and “enriched”.

I’ve heard from friends about gluten-free menu’s at a few restaurant chains — like PF Changs, Legal Sea Foods, Outback Steakhouse , Maggiano’s Little Italy (yes, pasta!), and Amici’s Pizza (gluten-free crusts ).

If others have tips, insights, or personal experience regarding any of this, please share!

tinyus April 8, 2009

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“A mechanism of world communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity.”

~ Shoghi Effendi, 11 March 1936

♦

Fantastic Facebook Development April 8, 2009

Have you ever received a virtual chocolate chip cookie, flowering tulip pot, or neon skateboard and not quite known what to do with it? How touching! Ok, now what… send one back?

Given the success of virtual gifts it’s obvious our generation has developed a strong interest in this manner of expressing sentiments, but a new initiative launched in the Facebook Gift Shop today allows for gift-giving with purpose. Very cool and, not surprisingly, it’s already raised thousands of dollars since going live.  Also, check out Facebook for Good .

Social media for positive change — Hooray!