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January 16, 2021

Dr. Bart Ehrman.  Why do we suffer?  The canonical gospels.  Who wrote them?  When?  Quelle (source).  Problems of translation such as "logos".  Meaning of Messiah.  Gospels as credos, not historical records.  No record of Jesus in documents written in the 1st century.  James, brother of Jesus, was the first "pope";  he was Jewish, not Christian.

Dr. Robert Wright:  A History of God.  Starting with spiritual origins with hunter-gatherers. Reassurance of survival especially on a planet where volcanoes, earthquakes, and famines threaten survival.  The idea of fairness--does it pre-date religion?  God--a concept to discourage theft.  Polytheism--monolatry--monotheism, a transition during Israelite history.  Polytheism and monolatry encourage peaceful trade and discourage wars.  Monotheism encourages warlike behaviors.

Emperor Constantine.  Not really a Christian himself but encouraged it to tighten control over the Roman Empire.

Dr. Reza Aslan.  "Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth".  See highly cringeworthy Lauren Greene-Aslan interview on Youtube.  He has chosen history over theology.  10 facts that I learned from the book, Zealot.

Again, ignore the statements about the bars.  I am making the bars here in France from chocolate made in the village of Lakota.  If you want some bars, please contact me.

Thanks.  Tom 

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Dec 12, 2020

Three geological examples of impermanence are considered:  the clinkers I picked up as a Kindergartner, the Petoskey Stone, which is the state mineral of Michigan, and the Cambrian Explosion, when multicellular life first appeared.

Our village Cordes sur Ciel represents a fourth example of impermanence.  We live on top of a 200 foot layer of limestone, dolomite, and sandstone and  houses and buildings of the community are made of these three stones.

Catharism, a "heretical" sect represented a threat to the permanence of the Roman Catholic Church.  1209-1229 was the period of the Albigensian Crusade, a genocide funded by Pope Innocent III during which over 400,000 Cathars were obliterated by the Church.  The sect no longer exists.

The Fifth Industrial Revolution, based on batteries and electricity grids, is a fifth example of impermanence, as we have to go through extraordinary pain to wean ourselves of fossil fuels.

Adventures with our Citroen Ami

David made 1800 bars.  This is all old.  You can purchase bars from me here in France, but you will have to arrange with UPS, FEDEX, or DHL for a pick-up.  To know more, contact me at [email protected]

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Nov. 11, 2020.

A friend (Ahmadou) put me in touch with the captain of the Cameroonian soccer team.  But it was a fraud.  My friend was deceived.  Becoming increasingly suspicious, I made a list of "flags" that signal the fraud.  I sent 200 euros and learned a valuable lesson.  The most valuable was that when you are trying to do good, you are highly susceptible to fraudulent people as you lack the requisite skepticism to protect yourself.

I finish by talking about selling chocolate bars.  We have not yet established a way to sell bars.  I can sell bars made with our chocolate from my business in France, but you will need to initiate the purchase from your end using UPS, FedEx, or DHL.

If you are interested, write to me.  

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More walking through Cordes.  Very sorry that the images are no longer with us.  Some important points:

• Albigensian Crusade:  a genocide of the Cathars ordered by Pope Innocent III
• Pastel:  made from a local plant (woad) that made Cordes rich
• Valleys and hills:  all formed by erosion of softer limestones
• Bastide:  a heavily defended market town 
• Planol:  between the 4th and 5th walls
• Lavoir:  where village women congregated to wash their laundry
• Charles Portal Museum:  see weaving machine in the basement
• Callipyge:  where the piano is located

Comments about chocolate manufacturing in Depa and Pezoan.

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October 12, 2020

I walk around Cordes.  Hope you enjoy it.  Tom

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September 23, 2020

Plant Pigments and the Cooking of Vegetables

• Differences between plants and animals
• Pheophytin and overcooked vegetables
• Effects of blanching
• Chlorophylls, carotenoids, xanthophylls
• Effects of pH on vegetable colors
• Flavonoids as anti-aging antioxidants

A Little Tour of Cordes sur Ciel

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September 1, 2020. Andrew Wilson-Dickson plays Bach and Couperin to illustrate:

• Pipe length and pitch and sharpness of sound—examples by Bach and Couperin
• Use of harmonics to imitate reed instruments
• Sound of reeds, wooden and metal pipes

History, Ingredients, and a Culinary Story

• The story of Danish
• Cinnamon vs Cassia
• A Fishy Tail

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"Toccata" by Francis Jackson.  Performed by Andrew Wilson-Dickson.

• The Prelude and postlude in a Christian service
• Organ as vox dei or pious
• Three periods:  classic, romantic, instrumental
• The tracker organ, ranks, stops
• Quint, Terce, 
• Materials:  white pine, pewter, lead, tin
• Principals, bourdon, reed pipes (fagott), strings
• Manuals:  great, positif, swell, recit
• Length of pipe and pitch:  32, 16, 8 ,4, 2, 1
• Ganache (food). Theobroma cacao (food of the gods)
• The culinary gullibility test and culture

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• Companies pretend to be shocked about child labo
• My solution—help the farmer climb the value chain
• WFCL—definition
• Use of agricultural chemicals—effectiveness
• Cocoa price at the time:  68 cents per lb
• Daloa produces 10% of Ivorian cocoa
• Gender and control of family’s cash
• Green pods, black pods and quality
• Pisteurs and traitants:  who are they?
• Shia Lebanese and Ivorian economy
• Child labor vs WFCL—differences
• Commercial advantage of deforestation
• Ugly beans make great chocolate:  why?
• Harkens-Engel Protocol—effectiveness

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July 23, 2020

Dark Lutheranism and Light Lutheranism

• Is Dark Lutheranism caused by epigenetics?
• Swedish foods celebrating church festivals
• Coexistence of science and Christianity
• Correlation of Liberalism and Light Lutheranism
• PH&F’s work and Light Lutheranism

Culinary Issues

• The microwave oven—effects on food
• Plastics in food—BPA
• Explosion in the kitchen

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