Hopefully you have all had a chance to see the photos from various BTD-related activities. If not, please read the blog previous to this one....

Well, the time had finally come tonight to eat Monkfish. I was randomly given that distinct opportunity at Vincent tonight. I told you about Vincent before in a previous blog about the adventures to the MN State Fair. I ended my bad food journey at Vincent where I was able to turn around my poor eating habits for the more refined, BTD-friendly French cuisine habits that day.

So, tonight, friends (folk musician Cat Kinsey and alt country musician Chad Hinman, along with Cat's dad) and I broke bread, white baguette unfortunately, over lovely wine and entrees at Vincent. And on the menu was monkfish! And strangely enough it has a very funny texture, more like a scallop than a fish but I found it quite enjoyable. I would still have to say, hands down that Sea Bass is my ultimate favorite fish, followed closely by wild salmon. The monkfish was supposed to come with cabbage and Peruvian potatoes, but the server happily substituted Swiss chard and wild rice so that I could attempt to adhere to BTD principles. Thank you!

Now, unfortunately, eating out of the bread basket with whipped creamy butter may be counter-acting my wise entree choice. Oh well. I pray for better will-power next time I'm out with friends.

Finished the meal with one of their appetizer/salad staples.....beets with frisee and whipped goat cheese.

Heaven. Simply heaven.

It was fun having Cat and Chad in town again. I got to hear demos from Cat's new CD that she is working on, little-by-little. I am incredibly impressed with Chad's new CD that Cat dropped by my place a couple of months ago. To learn more about these two rockin' musicians, check out:

www.catkinsey.com and also www.chadhinman.com<br />
Cat informed me that her website is expected to get a lot more hits now, by accident, because of that new movie out called, "Kinsey." Oh, she is so lucky to have a last name like that! Haha! It is truly good for business.

Well, I finally got back to the blog. It was time. As you may have correctly assumed, I was incredibly disappointed with election results. There were many angry and sad things going through my head and heart that could have come out on the blog in the days past 11/02. But I chose to follow that good ol' fashioned advice in this particular instance: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. So I remained silent. Too bad for the reader who didn't enjoy my political opinions and spiritual beliefs up to that point. This reader perhaps should have followed this ancient advice before he decided to leave a blatantly personal attack (vs. constructively critical reply) on my comment page:

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What is with you Minneapolis types? Howard Dean? Liberally drinking? Is it the water, or what? Anyway, four more years, thank God. The rest of us have good sense.

David Owens



res08hao@yahoo.com

Wednesday, November 3, 2004 at 11:18:52

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When I first received this comment, I was a bit dumbfounded as to why a fellow blood type dieter would choose to attack my "sense."

After a week or so of sitting on this issue...I've decided that it's only appropriate to help this reader understand my perspective, however skewed it seems.

Dear Sir:

Gosh, what IS up with us Minneapolis types? (hmmm, you get one point deducted for stereotyping, albeit a stereotype I have no problem perpetuating as I am PROUD to live in a place as progressive as Minneapolis) but I suppose, for your sake, dear reader, I will answer your question...

Well for one, we Minneapolitans have the intellectual capacity and open minds to understand and adhere to a diet as complex and "unorthodox" as the BTD. Is it in the water? Perhaps. There are only 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. Minne being a Native American root word for "water". As in Minnehaha Park. Minnehaha literally means, "laughing waters." Minneapolis: city of water, city of lakes. So, hey, you might get a point back, because, yes, it probably IS in the water. It's all ABOUT the water here!

As we see the value in these sacred waters around us, we in turn realize a certain social responsibility to protect them. Yes, this may lead us to such left-winged activities as joining the Sierra Club and knocking on doors before and on election day in hopes that we elect leaders in our local, state, and national government positions who are interested in protecting these waters as well as the flora and fauna (including ourselves) which inhabit them.

What else is up with us Minneapolis types? OK, well, we have TONS of co-ops. These co-ops have lead to dangerous hobbies such as free and critical-thinking about the world around us, about our bodies, about nature, about our sprituality, however manifested. With these co-ops, not only can we discover such alternative methods of healing, such as the BTD, but FIND AND PURCHASE THE FOODS AND HERBS THAT SUPPORT OUR DIET! We have a chance to BUY LOCALLY. We have a chance to SUPPORT ORGANIC FARMERS. We have a chance to use our pocketbooks and minds to create a sustainable world and try our best in this heavily synthetic world to be in tune with nature. We recognize the interconnectedness of man with nature. With the universe as a whole. We understand how being selfless in our quest for justice for the environment and for respresenting the underdogs and those who cannot represent themselves leads back to good karma and peace within ourselves.

In order to follow the Blood Type Diet successfully, you need fresh organic produce. You need real, unadulterated food. In order to embrace naturopathic medicine, you must embrace NATURE. It helps to live in a community that supports this type of living in harmony with nature with all its heart.

It is simple really. In our greed, we destroy things that are seemingly benign. Rain forest? "Who cares?" people say. Or how about global warming? "Not a threat". Suddenly we recognize how destroying the ecosystems of the world around us leads directly and indirectly back to the destruction of ourselves. Just come to my pharmacy and I'll show you how to make a progesterone vaginal suppository so that a woman can actually become a mother because her body cannot support the initial stages of pregnancy without losing the fertilized egg. Watch male sperm counts go down year by year, first in the smallest animals, and now, here in 2004, in human males.

WATCH AS WE CAN NO LONGER EAT FISH WITHOUT FEAR AND RECOMMENDED GOVERNMENTAL HEALTH LIMITATIONS BECAUSE THE AIR AND WATER IS FILLED WITH MERCURY WHICH LEECHES INTO OUR BODIES AND ADVERSELY AFFECTS THE DEVELOPING BRAINS OF OUR OFFSPRING. In a world where the bottom line has defined our corporations, here is the karma for years of not doing the right thing when we knew in our most infinite wisdom that what we were doing was not right for the earth, and in turn, self-destructive.

To make this an argument of simply right vs. left, or Bush vs. Kerry, republican vs. democrat is to me unproductive. The real argument to me is this: realistic common-sense moderation vs. unrealistic ideological extremes. Each party can justify that each is the former and their opponents represent the latter, but take a deep look at laws being passed and/or rights being banned due to greed and extremist ideology. This is what the majority (80%+) of "Minneapolis types" (according to election results per Hennepin County) have chosen to do.

Perhaps it IS my world. Perhaps, working at a pharmacy where I regularly dispense anti-viral meds to HIV positive homosexual males who now have lifelong partners has led me to believe that despite the great pharmaceuticals keeping them alive and healthy, if they were ever to fall ill and require hospitalization and/or hospice care, either due to AIDS-related ailments or simply old age, I would hope their life partners would not be discriminated against due to unfair hospital visitation rules because their partners are not considered "family." Perhaps, they could also attend funerals without worrying about employers refusing to give them time off because they are not legal "spouses." But the point is that, it is not my decision to take away these rights, but it is my responsibility to protect them and allow them the most peaceful last days that I can, the same rights as heterosexual couples, with my vote and my voice. I have seen a common pattern of LOVE between the men in these partnerships. I have seen a common pattern of HATE (disguised as Godly reverence) from the people who are trying to take away their rights. I am not alone in this perception.

I could say so much more, but I will say one thing regarding "The rest of us have good sense"..... Remember, this was NOT a landslide victory for Bush. He may have won the "majority" of America, but we, the people, have lost respect from the majority of the world. "Who cares about the rest of the world?" Remember, we are all connected. America is a great nation, but not infallible.

Here come more comments, good and bad....please note death threats will be reported to authorities. Not sure why I'd get them. I'm American and I'm just practicing my right to free speech. Isn't that why we put all this money into the war? To protect our freedom? Oh, the double-edged sword of propaganda strikes again.....