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From A Reader on the Banks

October 21st, 2009

(ed. note) Having contacted this blogger as to what they meant by “ETF”, it means “Electronic Funds Transfer” usually abbreviated by “EFT.”
—————————————————————————————–
Thanks for your posts. Your posts left out one way banks make money in unethical ways – particularly in businesses which have many ETF transactions because of taking MasterCard, Visa, etc. charges from their customers.

Those charges are settled by the bank putting money into the businesses checking account. That money is supposed to be treated as cash when it arrives – immediately available. That does not happen.

On the weekends, if you receive an ETF transaction from the credit card companies, it is not recorded in your checking account until Tuesday morning. When you call the bank to find out why – you discover their claim is that things don’t happen over the weekend because banks are closed. When you ask about Monday, you hear them say – Monday is a part of the weekend because no work is done on Sundays and this business is not recorded until overnight Monday showing up in your account on Tuesday morning.

What’s wrong with this? If a charge comes in over the weekend from whoever, as an ETF charge, the banks somehow do work for those very large institutions over the weekend and the charge is posted against your account. On Monday, you will only have charges posted onto your account, possibly creating an overdraft situation even though there are credit card deposits which would cure that overdraft, because banks don’t work for the little people over the weekend and your deposits must wait until overnight on Monday showing up on Tuesday. For the large companies, banks do work over the weekend and their charges are posted overnight on Sunday showing up in your account on Monday morning. It helps the large institutions cash flow, it creates the possibility for unearned income for the banks (by charging overdraft charges even though there is money at the banks window to make that not true) and screws over the small entrepreneur.

Thanks for your blogs. This needs to be aired and I don’t know where else to find such information or to post the information I have. Imagine finding this on a blog about bed & breakfast.

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The Truth about Debit Cards

October 17th, 2009

This is a follow-up on Bettina’s Hall of Shame award.

We are beginning to think this award should be shared by the banks and the media. The more we read the more we understand that the American public is being grossly misled and it is either because the reporters are ignorant of their subject or the reporting we’ve read is a purposeful attempt to mislead the public.

There has been much obfuscation around Debit Cards. Much has been said and brought to Congress about how awful the banks are to give an automatic coverage of overdrafts for those with Debit Cards and how that automatic coverage allows the holders of these cards to overdraw their accounts and how it is allowing the banks to take them to the cleaners. That is not true. The public IS being taken to the cleaners, but its lack of knowledge and sophistication on how these things work allows this gross miscarriage of money which takes place on a daily basis. And now the public is being misled by the media as to the real problem around Debit Cards.

Why did Debit Cards come into being? It is another way the middle class can be drained of its money. Its a quick way to move money from the super rich to the becoming poor.

What’s wrong with Debit Cards and why this automatic overdraft business is gaining so much attention? Its simple. It is a red herring, meant to take your attention away from the real problem so Debit Cards can become entrenched in this society as another structural element within the banking system which makes loads of money for banks by quickly taking it away from the Middle Class.

The banks don’t want you to wake up to what they are doing. So, you get this righteous indignation to take your attention, time and resources away from seeing and objecting to the real problem with Debit Cards.

When the Debit Card phenomena becomes accepted and normal the overdraft coverage will stop and you will be ripped off in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.

HOW DO DEBIT CARDS WORK?

Today, when you make a purchase with your debit card, the money is immediately taken out of your checking account. Sometimes this happens the same day. If you make a purchase in the evening – say about 8pm, the next morning your checking account shows the withdrawal. It is a total and immediate movement of money from you to the bank. The merchant from whom you made the purchase doesn’t get their money for two to three business days later – so you are out the money paid, the merchant is out the merchandise or services without payment for two to three business days and the bank has the money, which is supposed to be the merchants, which the bank keeps for two to three business days before sending it on to the merchant involved. And the merchant gets to pay the bank from 2 to 3 percent in the form of an immediate discount, for this service.

Parallel that to what happens when you make a deposit. In most cases, your deposits are “cured” by the bank for 5 business days before a deposit goes into your checking account as available funds. So any money which you have deposited into your checking account which you put there to use for such purchases can’t be touched for five business days. (Only a few are exempt from this and then only temporarily until the bank can conjure up ways to put those few back with the unwashed – those who you now feel better than because you are one of the select few. That feeling of superiority is short-lived because your stay in that heavenly area is temporary and the bank is constantly working with its idea people to shrink the number of people in that heavenly area and to decrease the amount of time they can spend there.)

Now, you’ve made your deposit and two days later you go to the store to make a purchase using your debit card thinking you have this money in your account and available. What a mistake! You are now in the weeds. If you counted on that deposit to be there and usable you find you have overdrawn your account and are now being charged between $30 and $40 for that Debit Card transaction. So without the automatic overdraft account added to your checking account, the purchase you made with your Debit Card would have bounced; you would be embarrassed at the check-out counter of wherever you are; and you would be furious with the bank doing whatever you could to change the situation. What change would you be looking to make? You want your money available when you make your deposit – or at the very least within two days of your deposit.

Instead, your bank covers the purchase, charges you an obscene overdraft charge and leaves you feeling as though this was your fault. Was it your fault? NO NO NO! You deposited good money and good credit for that amount should be immediately usable by you, especially when you think back on the fact that the merchant isn’t getting paid for two to three business days.

In addition, even if the bank bounced your Debit Card you would still be in the weeds because banks charge you the $30-40 no matter whether they pay the charge or not. And with all the fees they add on to your account, you never quite know your balance. You can call the bank at 2pm and get your balance – at 3pm they can add a charge which reduces your balance, you try to make a purchase for the amount you think you have and voila, you discover you are overdrawn or your charge has been declined at the store. In either case you are out $30-40.

So what have we here:
1. You start the action by making a deposit to your checking account.

2. You go to the store to make a purchase.

3. Your purchase is immediately registered by the bank – they have their money as soon as you make the purchase.

4. The merchant is out the goods or services and the money. The Merchant waits 2 to 3 business days before getting paid for what you purchased and paid for days before. In addition, the merchant pays the bank about two to three percent for this service. The merchant pays that amount to the bank, not in the form of a check issued at the end of the month, but in the form of a discount immediately taken from the Merchant by the Bank.

5. You don’t yet pay for your Debit Card. – in some cases you are being charged for this service – but most are not and given a little time you will also pay the bank a percentage to use your own money. Congress will intervene on your behalf, but not for decades. Meanwhile the bank will have another scheme going to replace the Debit Card income which will make billions more. like the Debit Card gradually replacing the Credit Card. Credit Card limits are being reduced. They will finally go out completely. Why take something that only pays you $ .95 on the $1.00 when you can replace it with something which pays you $1.50 on the $1.00.

Who benefits? the Bank! What is your alternative? Use your check book.

Write a check for the goods or services you want.

If you have to wait in line with lots of people waiting behind you, that isn’t your problem it is the merchants problem. You have your check book and proper identification. There is no reason for anyone to deny your check, especially since there are all kind of services merchants could subscribe to which lets them know if your check is good. They have been brain washed to believe that every check given to them by their customers is going to bounce so they had better use the Debit Card route for their own protection.

WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW, but will soon find out is the Debit Card they accepted can be rejected by the bank even after they have received an approval code. The fine print in their contract says the approval code is temporary and can be withdrawn. So what have they gained by accepting your Debit Card instead of your check? They have gained the right to wait for their money and to pay the bank a percentage of your purchase to accept your money and let it “cure” and then pass it along to them.

You have given up control of your money to the bank when you have and use a Debit Card. When you use your checking account, you write a check today to pay for your purchase. The money is withdrawn from your account about two days later and it hasn’t cost you anything. If you overdrew your account by writing the check you can make a deposit the next day to avoid overdraft charges, which would have immediately accrued to your account had you used your Debit Card instead.

What has the bank gained?

Your deposits to your checking account for five business days for nothing –
money they make money on.

They have in addition gained an additional two to three days use of the money because you authorized the bank to withdraw money from your account to pay the merchant and while the bank has its money immediately, they don’t pay against they money you have given them for two to three days when the Merchants bill comes due.

The bank has gained use of your money in three ways, making substantial amounts when you add together the numbers of people who give them this right of access.
You are left penniless,
the merchant is left struggling
and the bank is just as happy and rich as it can be.

From what we have seen in the economy of late, the bank isn’t keeping that money. It is being passed along in many schemes to the super rich. Ethics have been suspended. If the banks have to torpedo the society in order to create and work through its schemes – so be it as long as they are left functioning to continue this enormous transfer of wealth.

We are creating a modern version of the Emperor with his well-off minions and his indentured servants. You may not yet be the indentured servants, but quite possibly that is the future of your children.

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A Spectacular Breakfast

October 15th, 2009

This dish can be the centerpiece of either breakfast or lunch. Of course, we prefer it served at breakfast. It is spectacularly beautiful. Upon presentation to your guests it looks ike an ivory rose with a yellow center. We believe this dish has its origins in Brazilian cuisine, but we can’t vouch for that.

To serve four people you will need the following:

4 eggs, separated
4 slices French bread
4 slices cheese
8 slices bacon, ham, sausages (your choice)
butter

All ingredients should absolutely be organic – the eggs, bread, cheese, butter and the rest need to be organic or the taste will change to washed out, pasteurized. We find people rave over our eggs. We don’t do anything special to get that great taste, we just buy organic eggs from farmers we know and have seen how they raise and feed their chickens. The net result is their eggs taste like eggs. Eggs from chickens grown in those apartment houses stacked on top of one another, fed horrific feed tastes like eating scrambled water and they pass the anxiety, pain and agony they suffered on to you, probably compromising your health in the process.

Set oven to 350 degrees.

You need a mixing bowl (from your stand mixer) into which you put the egg whites.
Crack the eggs and carefully separate the whites from the yolks.
Put the egg whites into the mixing bowl.
You need an egg carton for the next step.
Put the egg yolk back into its half shell and put the half shell into the egg carton to keep it upright and ready for use. Do this for all four egg yolks or however many you are using.
Spread butter on the slices of French Bread. We like the bread cut fairly thick because it gives a better base for these egg-creations.
Place one slice of cheese on each slice of bread. Set these aside on a buttered baking sheet.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold their peaks. Don’t over beat because you do not want these egg whites to be dry.
With a large wooden spoon, or other kind of utensil with which you are comfortable, take out about one fourth of the egg white (now a meringue) and mound this on top of the cheese.
Spread the meringue over the bread, butter and cheese to the edges so the bread is covered.
This should look like a small mountain – the middle of the bread and meringue should be higher than the rest.
With the back of your spoon, make an indentation in the center of the meringue so it can hold the egg yolk, making sure your meringue looks beautiful. Imagine how it will look once browned with ivory and brown tinges on the peaks.
Very, very carefully put the egg yolk into the center of the bread in the depression you’ve just made.
Put the baking sheet with the bread, butter, cheese, meringue and egg yolk into the oven and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. 10 minutes if you like your egg yolk still runny; 15 minutes if you like your egg yolk cooked firm.
When done, put a meringue square on each plate, sprinkle with sea salt and cayenne pepper and serve with either bacon, ham or sausage around the merinque square arranged for maximum beauty.
If you do not like bacon, etc. just omit it. This dish carries itself off just as it is. It is light, very tasty and makes a wonderful breakfast by itself with fresh fruit and a breakfast dessert of some kind.

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David Letterman Needs to Resign

October 9th, 2009

It was clear where David Letterman was coming from when he made the very ugly and extremely sexist comments about Sarah Palin’s daughter. His disrespect and abuse of women showed through strongly when he could aim such ugliness at a young 14 year old girl who he didn’t even know. Why was that necessary? We now know why. To Mr. Letterman it was normal and funny and just a fine thing to do. His friends glad handed him, slapped his back, gave him a cigar and admired his macho. In his mind, it probably added two inches – and not to his height, to do such a thing.

At the same time, several people noted that David Letterman must be misusing and abusing women big time to come up with such an ugly remark, deliver it so easily and expect a great laugh therefrom. We were surprised no one called for his resignation then. We think many people let that slide because it was framed against a high profile political family who it is now fashionable to trash. Instead of letting politics get in the way, the remark itself should have been responded to properly and Mr. Letterman made to fade into a history, which minutely documented his inability to respect women and young girls.

Sexual abuse is very lethal in the work place and we are certain many women’s lives were changed and not for the better because of Mr. Letterman’s assumption that as boss, the women under him were literally obligated to be “under him” when he took an interest in them. Isn’t that the traditional way for insecure men at the top to act? Isn’t it time to call them out? Women should not have to trade sex for a job, a promotion or anything else. Women who have problems, having been raised without a father are prime targets for men like Mr. Letterman. And those same women are generally the last to be able to stand up and call out the men who have sexually abused them – can you ever doubt the truth of that?

Unless sexual abuse is recognized and rejected, equality will never happen because there will always be the David Letterman’s who get away with years of abusing the women who work for them and then point fingers – filthy fingers with even filthier comments at girls as young and innocent as the Palin daughter of 14 years who had to endure the lurid publicity which Lettermans comments generated.

It is interesting that he was so quickly and easily able to make such a heavily sexual comment about a young 14 year old girl. And the filthy fingers were all over women trying to establish themselves in a career, to support their families and to raise their children. There have always been and always will be the David Lettermans in the work place. When we endorse them by allowing them to stay and rub everyone’s face in their arrogance and inappropriate superiority who are we as a society? Our morality and ethics will have taken a big nose dive into the gutter – and it is a very dirty gutter.

It is past time to recognize those who come out so vocally in support of sexual abusers of women and to look closer at them, because they are in the same camp and will soon be “outed” for the same reasons.

The women who work and/or worked for David Letterman and who were so abused need to find their strength and courage to come out, stand up and be counted among those who will not allow such to continue and to continue being hidden. They can find work elsewhere if their bosses also are hiding their own sexual abuse by standing behind David Letterman. How does that old saying go – there, but for the fear I’ve engendered in those women who have children to feed – raise – take care of, who I have so seriously disrespected and to whom I have caused much grief, goes I.

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Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar (A Review)

September 28th, 2009

415, Washington Street
Somerville, MA 02143.
(Corner of Beacon & Washington Sts)
Ph.: 617-661-3254 Fax 617-661-2813
Web: www.dalirestaurant.com

House: dinner, 5:30-11pm, Sunday noon
Phone: 617 661 3254 Fax 617 661 2813

A visit to the Dali Restaurant is appropriate both for a romantic evening for two or a lovely night for a group. Small private tables within their own compartments and larger tables in open areas make this possible. The detailed decor is a feast for the eyes (picture yourself inside one of Salvador Dali’s paintings).

Either way, prepare yourself for a festival of flavors. You can find traditional Spanish dishes such as paella, a rich rice stew seasoned with saffron into which might be mixed a wide range of vegetables, sausage, chicken, meat, and seafood (the possibilities are endless; I have three cookbooks on my shelf containing nothing but paella recipes).

The real specialty of the restaurant is the numerous tapas, small plates, that enable the diner to sample many different dishes to make a meal. Each member of your party should start with three or so, but it’s not likely that you’ll stop there. Perhaps some thinly sliced serrano ham, the finest in the world, and some marinated olives to whet your appetite. If you’re more adventurous, perhaps some octopus vinagrette. The wonderful thing about tapas is that you can stick mostly with your favorites, or be just a little adventurous, or maybe a lot. Never had stuffed squid in its own ink or pheasant or quail or rabbit or venison? Try them all in a single dining experience, each in a regional Spanish preparation. My personal favorites are braised rabbit in a red wine, juniper, and garlic sauce, and venison sausage in pomegranate sauce, but the tapas menu changes monthly, so
there’s almost always something new to try, even after repeated visits.

The Dali Restaurant features a delicious, all Spanish wine list, many at surprisingly affordable prices, to accompany your meal, but perhaps you’ll want to try their home-made sangria, which has little in common with the prepackaged products that you can find in your local wine store.

The staff are very attentive and efficient; they’ve always been anxious to make my visit an evening to remember. The Dali Restaurant is to be recommended both for an intimate evening for two or a party for multitudes.

(ed.note) a restaurant review by a Bettina guest who frequents the Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar.

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Thanks for exposing Bank of America

September 25th, 2009

I really appreciate your blog and your guts in putting Bank of America in your Bettina’s Hall of Shame.

I have something to contribute, which is true of many banks. You talked about overdrafts. What I see now is banks claiming to address and reduce their overdraft charges and its a joke what they are proposing. I feel insulted! What they need to address is the 5 business days during which they keep your deposits ‘on ice’. That is what is causing all of the overdrafts. Your blog is the first place I’ve read which accurately puts the blame where it belongs. In many cases the banks don’t even tell you they put your funds on hold for five days. I opened an account with Bank of America just recently and they held my first deposit for five days. I couldn’t believe when I went to draw cash out from an ATM machine I couldn’t get five cents. I was in a very bad situation because I had put all of my money into Bank of America and the person who opened the account said nothing to me about my not being able to access my money for five business days.

The federal reserve needs to address why it continues to give banks that huge loop hole in which they can make billions. Banks do receive funds, even from out of state checks in much less than five days. They are making lots of money through that loop hole. Add that to what else they are doing with credit cards and you have an obscenity!

What are they doing? Taking money from the middle and lower middle class and yes, in many cases the upper middle class and giving it to the super rich – sometimes through the huge bonuses they pay out. Where do you think the money comes from to pay those bonuses? From those overdraft fees, those credit card overlimit fees, those credit card interest charges at 30% from people with good credit, and on and on.

I want to add what is happening with credit cards. Banks lowered many, many peoples credit card limits. They claimed it was because of their bad credit and late payments. That is a lie. I know lots of people who had their credit card limits lowered and their debt level was lower when it was lowered than it was a year ago. Their credit was good – they still had jobs and they had no late payments.

Why are banks lowering credit limits? So they can collect overlimit fees. If your credit limit is lowered – especially if you are not aware of that lowered amount – you charge over your new limit, but within your old limit and you have an overlimit fee. Or even if you don’t have anymore charges on your card you still get an overlimit fee because of the time of the month they lower it on your account and the credit card finance charges which get posted to your credit card balance throwing your account over its new limit. Your credit card limit is generally lowered to within an amount which will cause an overlimit amount when the finance charges are added. In some cases I know of the credit card limit is lowered to beneath your current amount due and while you don’t get a fee at the time it is lowered to under your balance, you do get an overlimit fee shortly thereafter because of the addition of the finance charges and you keep getting overlimit fees unless you can come up with the money to pay the difference between your credit card new limit and your old balance. They talk about contracts? They throw stuff into new contracts on practically a daily basis and they don’t honor contracts that they have with their customers. They reserve the right to change the contract at any time for any reason and everything you did under the old contract is now being held under your nose in a new contract. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It is horrible and ordainary people are living under these circumstances trying to raise children, put food on the table, pay their bills and more. This is a democratic country? It seems to be this is a country where theft is happening legitimately by banks and other financial institutions. The money banks are obtaining fraudulently from the American public makes Madoffs fraud look like pennies.

It is a total disgrace the way the banks are and are being allowed to rip off people. Yours is the first voice I’ve heard which has put it so eloquently. I hope you are heard. I doubt that you will be because most of the media depends upon advertising and other monies from banks so they aren’t ready to do a real indept article on all of this.

I would have thought Americans would be demonstrating in the streets against banks the way they are so shamelessly ripping off their own customers. You said Bank of America is cannibalizing its own customers. You didn’t go far enough. you should have said the entire banking industry – with very few exceptions – are cannibalizing their own customers. Something really drastic needs to be done about this. The small things being done today are insulting! The people addressing the issue must be getting money under the table from the banks because they are just letting air out of the anger of the public against the banks.

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Great Travel Tip and I Add….

September 23rd, 2009

Since reading your travel tip I talked to my boss. I am leaving tomorrow for California so your suggestion is very timely.

I asked about the possibility of my company paying for the overnight postage to mail my bags instead of carrying them onto the airplane and it is a go. Which is GGGGREAT!!!!!! I can now travel without dragging luggage through airports; it isn’t costing me anything; my company is going to save money because they don’t have to reimburse me for the cost the airlines charge to carry all of the books, papers, etc. which get schlepped all over the place.

I am going to do this overnight mail going and regular (probably book rate) mail returning – which is where my company will save a few dollars. Since I am going to a conference and would normally have a suitcase full of papers, books and more from the conference this is kind of exciting.

Hope this works as well as your travel tip indicates

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A Travel Tip

September 22nd, 2009

I travel quite a bit and with the new airline rules I have found that packing most of my belongings the day before and mailing them via overnight mail to where I am going tends to relieve my worry about the airlines losing my luggage; I don’t have to drag stuff through airports or worry about airport security making me miss my plane; and since I travel mostly bed & breakfast the host family always accepts my packages and I arrive to find them in my room. The few times I travel using hotels I do the same thing and the package is at the hotel desk when I arrive. Although doing this with hotels is not a sure thing because sometimes the hotel will receive the package and put it on the side and I won’t get it until the next day, even though it arrived in a timely fashion.

When I leave I do the same thing. Usually, the hotel or bed & breakfast will have boxes I can use for shipping. If they don’t there is generally a liquor store nearby and they always have boxes which can be used for mailing. Almost any kind of store will have empty boxes waiting to be tossed. Anything I buy while in a particular city generally goes into the box and goes back home regular mail because it isn’t really crucial that I receive those return boxes immediately upon arrival. It is a little cheaper, but not that much. If I am feeling flush I will send the boxes home via overnight mail as well, but I don’t do that very often.

The cost of paying airlines to carry a piece of luggage is a ridiculous thought. I stopped fuming over the cost and came up with something which relieves me of dragging luggage through airports. I now only have my overnight case and a computer.

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Bank of America wins Bettina’s Hall of Shame Award

September 8th, 2009

We are beginning to receive notes from former guests on suggestions for companies which should be in “Bettina’s Box of Shame” and Bettina’s Hall of Shame.”

The company about which we have received the most complaints and suggestions as to why they should receive the award is BANK OF AMERICA. It is also the company which has been most negatively discussed over many breakfasts.

We have done what is a first for us – to go out and independently investigate this company to see if all of this discussion was real and true or misplaced frustration over the state of the economy and the huge anger at banks. We went through months of investigation and pushed the envelope beyond anything we have done before, including establishing accounts at Bank of America to experience first hand what we were being told.

Given the enormity of what we have been hearing for several years now, we felt the sacrifices we made to do this were worth it to either turn a light on a huge problem or exonerate Bank of America. We did wonder if Bank of America was being used as a scape goat for the anger focused on banks today.

What we wanted to know was why so much negativity was centered around Bank of America, far more than around any of the other banks.

What we discovered: Bank of America is a company which cannibalizes its own customers.

After doing quite a bit of investigation, we award to BANK OF AMERICA a place of dishonor. It is being placed in Bettina’s Hall of Shame.

There has been much anger over what has happened with banks in general and with the amount of tax payers money going into banks to save them from their own mistakes. That is not why we have given Bettina’s Hall of Shame award to Bank of America. What we discovered through our investigation makes other banks look angelic by comparison.

Bank of America has set up a computer system which creates a slippery slope for middle Americans to move swiftly from middle to lower class in income, finances, etc. What we have seen says to us Bank of America depends upon humiliation and lies to get away with what gives new definition to theft.

If you open a checking account with Bank of America you need to understand that one day they will take your money out of your checking account without your knowledge or consent and you will feel as though your checking account has sprung a leak.

The Federal Reserve Board is complicit in this, although Bank of America has taken the policies of the Federal Reserve and used them to fill their coffers in what we see as unethical and immoral behavior which is totally detrimental to this society and to the world community.

Since they are among the banks having financial problems, one wonders what happens and has happened to all the money they have ripped out of the American economy from American families!

When Bank of America erred and wound up in troubles from which they had to be extricated using American tax payers money – that all happened very quickly and their bottom line improved from having “free” money to use. They in turn use and used crime and punishment responses to their depositors and those who do business with Bank of America in the most vile and vicious ways. Their punishment is for the smallest of missteps and the price is extraordinarily high.

As we finished our investigation we realized the results were far too large to put in a blog. We have summarized our findings and will keep the interviews, statements others wrote about this abuse and ways that we went about this investigation for some other forum yet to be determined.

What we discovered that immediatley needs to be changed to mitigate some of Bank of America’s misuse and abuse of the system is the Federal Reserve’s policies allowing banks to hold depositors money for 5 to 7 to 9 days without paying checks presented against those funds and without allowing the depositor to withdraw their funds.

What kind of change? A change from allowing banks to use the new technology and the old ways to make money. Either one or the other should apply.

When you make a deposit into a bank in the form of checks – money orders – etc. , the money is in the bank within 2 to 3 days even if it is an out of state check. The Federal Reserve allows banks to hold your money as unavailable to you for 5 days, under some circumstances for 7 days and sometimes for as much as 9 days. Using that policy to the fullest, Bank of America has programmed into its computers ways of making huge sums of money for the bank at the expense of its depositors.

The bank is able to use your money for the 2 to 7 days it is sitting under their control, while it is returning your checks and collecting over $35 per check. Bank of America has programmed its computers to automatically put a hold on your funds once you have a returned check. That hold is kept on your account for an indefinite amount of time and employees of the bank are not allowed to remove the hold – even if there are extreme circumstances which caused you to overdraw your account. Subsequently you could have $8,000 in deposits sitting in your account, Bank of America will return a $43 check and charge you $35 for the experience. This is not limited to new accounts, this has happened to those who have had accounts for some ten years with Bank of America.

The quickness of technology has been taken advantage of by banks to benefit banks, and the slowness of the old ways has been taken advantage of by banks to benefit banks. Bank of America has taken this to a high art and has institutionalized applying stress on its employees causing them to lie and attempt to intimidate the very customers who make their jobs possible.

What we’ve seen is that those who can’t make that cut are fired or forced to quit. From what we have found, we think those who have left, either voluntarily or who have been forced out should be given an award for valor under fire.

To get an idea of the magnitude of this problem, put “Bank of America complaints” in your search engine and prepare to be amazed at what comes up. As you read these complaints, think about the stress and frustration the people are experiencing who have written them. We are basically lethargic as a country. A few activists, but mostly the quiet middle class. That quiet middle class is who is writing those complaints.

On their overnight transactions with the Federal Reserve, they have maximum monies from having returned your check – they can use the funds you deposited without paying your obligations, as they should – and they can continue to use your monies to increase their standing with the feds, lower the amount they need to borrow and receive interest on the excess amount they have to offer – all at their customers’ expense and you have paid for the privilege of hurting yourself for the bank.

The check example is but one of several ways in which Bank of America abuses its customers. We have cited it because it is one which negatively affects most people. None of us are perfect and those imperfections are what Bank of America uses to take its customers’ money while making them feel as though they have violated some ethical code while all the time Bank of America is the violator of basic ethical codes.

Middle Americans can be easily shamed by large institutions and Bank of America has taken that flaw and woven it throughout its institution. It has and is receiving benefits it should not derive from this kind of abuse.

We have two examples:

1. What was considered loan sharking and was illegal is now a respected way of doing business and is normal banking practices. Bank of Amerca has used every loop hole to squeeze and extract every dime from their customers without any thought to the methods it uses to do just that or the consequences to the people it leaves destroyed on the side of the road.

2. It struck us as very much akin to spousal and child abuse which we read a lot about today, where the people being abused have a hard time moving away from their abuser.

We live in a democratic country. It is not perfect by any means and we have done some really horrible things as a country, but we have continued to try to better ourselves morally and otherwise. When we have seen transgressions we have attempted to address them – first by a few activists who are out front before the rest of us know what they are talking about, and then gradually by the many who begin to get the message and the veil drops from their eyes giving them clearer sight.

We hope Bettina’s Hall of Shame gives you something to think about as to the length institutions and people will go to harm one another. We hope you will reach out to do something about these transgressions. We can, each one of us, in our own way, contribute to stopping this and relieving some of the pain and suffering these ways have caused our sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

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We submit to you BANK OF AMERICA as the first institution taking its well deserved place in BETTINA’S HALL OF SHAME. What say you? What will you do?

Respectfully submitted by All of Us at Bettina’s

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Editor’s Note on contributors to Bettina’s Blog

September 4th, 2009

We love to receive blogs from those who have stayed in a Bettina home. While we enjoy reading all of the blogs we receive, we only post blogs from people who have stayed in one of the homes in the Bettina Network.

The purpose of Bettina’s Blog is to stay in touch with guests and to let them know what is happening among other Bettina guests. We especially try to keep our guests up to date on breakfast conversations because most of our guests find breakfasts particularly enjoyable and interesting. We hope the rest of you enjoy reading the blog and will call the Bettina Network when you travel so you too can contribute to Bettina’s Blog.

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Stock Information

September 4th, 2009

It is great reading your blog! Keep up the good work. I especially like the variety of information. My contribution will be two stocks I bought today. One is Avanti Mining (AVNMF) and the other is Sunridge Gold (SGCNF). Hopefully, these two will do as well for your readers as the stocks you mentioned in other blogs. I bought all of the stocks from your other blogs and am very happy with my new portfolio and not a minute too soon because the stocks I bought over the past several years lost a lot of money for me. So I shall reciprocate by suggesting stocks I think might benefit your readers in return for and as a thank you for the money I made on other readers’ suggestions.

Avanti Mining is a molybdenum mining stock. Your readers will have to search for the company and the molybdenum to know more about it. It costs something like $ .167 so it is really inexpensive and $100 dollars can buy almost 600 shares.

Sunridge Gold came out with a big announcement today of an investment by Antofagasta Mining putting some $10 million dollars into the company for exploration purposes. Sunridge has property in Eritrea. Antofagasta is in Chile and several other countries. Search on their name and you will learn something about the company. It was selling today for some $ .6225. It was selling a few days ago for $.45 so the investment of ten mill jumped the stock by about 25%. I think it will double shortly. It has about 4.5 million in cash on hand for exploration, this 10 million triples its cash. It should be able to do great things and the property Sunridge is exploring seems to be a company “sitting on riches.”

I know you check out these suggestions after awhile. I hope I am not embarrassed when you do that. I would not want to make money on someone else’s suggestions only to have mine tank! I did a lot of research on these before buying so hopefully, that helps.

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Guest Requested Cheese Cake Recipe

August 25th, 2009

This recipe was requested about July 1st or 2nd.

Sorry it took so long, but it was like pulling teeth to get this recipe. Not all of us want to share our most coveted secrets and apparently this recipe is very close to one of our host families. While I was able to get the recipe, I could not get the story behind it.

This is a lemon cheesecake with lemon curd topping:

There are three parts to this recipe

1) THE CRUST: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

We use a deep dish glass pie plate to make this cheesecake. DEFINITELY NOT a shallow pie plate. Butter the pie plate and put it aside.
Use organic graham crackers or organic vanilla wafers or your favorite crunchy sweet cracker or cookie. We use organic graham crackers.
Put 2 cups organic graham crackers (or two packets) in a food processor or use a rolling pin to get them to the consistency of bread crumbs.
To this, add 4 tablespoons organic turbinado sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon and mix thoroughly.
Melt one stick of organic butter in a small iron skillet and add to the above mixture. If you are using a processor, pulse this mixture until it looks evenly saturated with the butter. If you used a rolling pin to break up your crumbs, mix thoroughly with a fork. We have the best luck with a food processor.
Put the crust mix in the pie plate and pat it gently all over pushing it up and around the pie plate until it is evenly distributed and you have a pie crust which fills the pie plate and goes up the sides to the top.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Take it out of the oven and let it cool while you make the rest of the cheese cake.

2) THE CHEESECAKE FILLING:

For this you will need –

one 8-ounce package organic cream cheese (we use Organic Valley)

one 8-ounce package neufchatel Cheese (again Organic Valley)

one-half cup organic Turbinado sugar (we haven’t found a spectacular brand)

2 tablespoons ‘flavorganics’ French Vanilla Oil

If you prefer a purer vanilla, we suggest you use a powdered organic vanilla.

We don’t ever use vanilla extract.

the zest of one organic lemon

To get the zest quickly, use a carpenter’s rasp and rub it all over the lemon skin

until the yellow skin is gone and you are left with the white pith on the outside.

the juice of one freshly squeezed organic lemon

four large eggs

2 Tablespoons organic whole-wheat flour (optional)

4 ounces organic sour cream (again Organic Valley)

In your large Cuisinart mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, put the cream cheese, neufchatel cheese, and sugar. Beat at a medium speed until these ingredients are well mixed, fluffy and look a little like whipped cream.
Scrape down the sides of your bowl. Make sure the cheeses are melded together and you don’t have cream cheese on the bottom and a mixture of the two on the top.
Turn the mixer to low. Carefully and slowly add the flour and a “pinch” of salt. You really need to add salt at this point because if you don’t the cheesecake will have an empty taste, as though something is missing. Don’t add a lot or the taste of the cheesecake will change.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while continuing to beat the cheesecake to make sure they are properly incorporated.
Add the French Vanilla Organic Oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sour cream.
Beat on a slow speed until these are incorporated.

Pour this mixture into the crust in the pie plate you have been cooling and put it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 40 to 50 minutes.

3) THE LEMON CURD

This makes the pie very special

For this you need:

One organic lemon Six organic egg yolks

One cup organic Turbinado sugar One stick organic butter

Take the zest from one organic lemon by using a carpenter’s rasp. Rub the rasp all around the lemon until you have removed the yellow skin and the only thing remaining is the white pith.
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the lemon for its juice.
Whisk together the organic egg yolks, and organic turbinado sugar in a glass saucepan. No other kind of pot will do for this lemon curd.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula until the mixture thickens and coast the back of a spoon. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. If you feel better using a thermometer, it should read 140 degrees (a candy thermometer).
Remove the glass saucepan from the heat and stir in the organic lemon zest, juice and organic butter. Stir until the butter melts.
Put the saucepan on the side and let the lemon curd cool until you are ready to use it.

When the cheesecake comes out of the oven, let it cool a few minutes and then pour the lemon curd over the top. I always take a little out of the saucepan before pouring so I can have it with tea on biscuits or whatever kind of great bread or cake is available. It is a small immediate reward for making this cheesecake which others will devour.

The process used to make this cheesecake is not much different from the millions of other such recipes in cookbooks, newspapers, etc. What is different about this cheesecake is the quality of the ingredients you use. They should ALL BE ORGANIC, which takes the taste way into the stratosphere and makes your taste buds remember it for a very long time.

In addition, the ingredients should ALL BE TOP OF THE LINE ORGANIC. No “organic” from stores which sell their own brand to trillions at a cut-rate price. If you look cloely and taste – that cut-rate price produces cut rate quality.

No substituting regular sugar for the organic sugar and no substituting organic sugar processed in ways other than “Turbinado” – the least processed sugar you can find. All of these small things make a great difference.

I often have a taste for my grandmothers’ cooking and only sometimes can reach her height. I’ve discovered I also have a taste for other folks’ grandmothers’ and mothers’ cooking which I’ve tasted over the years and when I made the same dishes in the same way it didn’t taste the same. I thought I was, unknowingly, doing something in my own way and missing their process. It has taken years of experimenting to discover the big difference is in the quality of the ingredients, not in the process.

My daughters when they were little and didn’t know how to cook could make a better cake than those my friends made, who were experienced cooks, but who made their cakes from a ready-mix box. Generally, it takes the same amount of time to make your cake from scratch as it takes to make it from a box mix. AND, stop lying to yourselves, the box mixes are generally all the same. Different marketing, different boxes with prettier or not so pretty labels, but inside the same ingredients – all ready to attack your health and well-being instantly after eating.

We are being chased by all kind of degenerative diseases. Watch the ingredients in everything you eat and be very careful with your diet and you will see an amazing change in your health and feelings of well-being.

If you balk at the cost of the ingredients, – eat less and enjoy it more. The bonus to you is prettier skin, a more svelte figure, improved health and probably a longer life.

ENJOY!

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WHOLE FOODS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH

August 21st, 2009

We have had a few disagreements with Whole Foods. You can read about them in this blog.

We are, however, appalled at what is happening around Mackey, Whole Foods executive. It is especially appalling because we live in a democracy and one of its founding freedoms is FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Mackey, private citizen of these United States, has freedom of speech. Are those calling for a boycott of Whole Foods calling for change – from a country devoted to Freedom of Speech to one better suited to keeping those silent who disagree with you, through threat and intimidation?

Mackey can say anthing he chooses to say and make his statements as public as possible, we will defend his right to speak without consequences to his company or to anyone around him.

Why so much fear and upheaval about one man’s comments? They are neither truth nor gospel. The words he says are his. The ideas and opinions he puts forth are his opinions. He lives in a country where he can do that and his rights around his free speech are protected. If you disagree with him say so; find a forum which allows you and others to express their disagreement with his ideas, but threats because he spoke and disagreed with what you would say, don’t belong in the U. S. of A. Those clamoring to shut him up, boycott his business and make him an example so others can be terrorized into keeping quiet, are way off base. They need to take a look at the implications of their actions. Shut me up today and someone will shut you up tomorrow. Keep quiet and don’t defend my right to free speech this morning and your right to free speech will be taken away this afternoon.

PLEASE REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU LIVE AND HOW HARD OUR ANCESTORS FOUGHT AND HOW HARD WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO MAINTAIN A FREE, DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY. There are times when you can’t tell the Liberals from the Fascists and this is one of them.

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A Stock Market Follow-Up

August 21st, 2009

From the blog “Stock Market Action at Breakfast”.

The guest wrote about buying two stocks from a discussion around the breakfast table at a Bettina Network home. The blog is dated June 15, 2009. The stocks they talked about were IVAN and IVN. IVAN – an oil stock and IVN a gold mining stock. On the day we received their note – June 15, 2009 – IVAN was selling at $1.56/share. Today IVAN is selling at $1.39/share.

IVN, however, was selling at $6.12/share. Today IVN is selling at $9.13/share so on the whole, they did very well. We will continue to follow the stock tips we receive to keep you up to date on how good or how poor these conversations are for stocks.

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Update on Guests Stock Tip

August 21st, 2009

We received a correspondence from a former guest on 7/4/2009 saying they bought SIRI – Sirius Radio at $ .425/share.

The Blog is entitled “A Guests’ Email re Stock Tips” We will not let these stock tips go un-followed, so today we looked up SIRI and discovered it is currently selling for $ .76/share. That is an increase of $.335/share – not far from a double and today is August 21, 2009. Not bad. We don’t know how much they purchased and if they sold it or kept it so we can’t comment on their profit. Not bad folks.

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Tekka Popcorn

August 20th, 2009

A really great snack – healthy and it tastes great.

To pop the ORGANIC corn, use an air popper so you don’t have to use oil.

Save on oil in the popping so you won’t feel guilty about adding butter at the end.

Pop the corn. While the corn is popping, melt one stick of organic butter in a small iron skillet

Once the corn has popped, slowly pour the melted butter over the corn; sprinkle the popped corn with a little salt and add a generous amount of Tekka.

Using two wooden spoons, one in each hand, go under the popped corn with the spoons – making sure the spoons are on opposite sides of the bowl, lift up and turn over the popped corn in continuous motions around the bowl until all ingredients are well mixed.

All told – this takes about 2 to 3 minutes to make and even less time to eat.

Haven’t heard of Tekka?

It is a condiment, generally made from hatcho miso, sesame oil, burdock, lotus root, carrot, and ginger root. It is sauteed on a low flame for several hours. OR it can be made of a number of root vegetables such as Burdock roots, carrots, ginger root, lotus root and more. They are generally stir-fried and boiled to a concentrated powder. Traditionally Tekka’s preparation time is about 16 hours (on a low fire), yet speedier preparation is possible.

If you don’t feel like popping corn, another great and quick snack is crackers, organic butter and Tekka. Or better still, while we were not able to sleep without our bread, butter and sugar with a little warm milk with cinnamon liberally sprinkled over the milk and a little organic turbinado sugar added – now, we have crackers, organic butter and tekka before bedtime, but we still have to have the warm milk This totally violates the macrobiotic laws, but it is much better than what we were doing and a very satisfying nighttime snack which puts us right to sleep.

If you can’t find Tekka, it is made by Eden Organics and you can reach them on the internet via edenfoods.com. by phone – 888 424 3336. Put ‘tekka’ in the search box and you will be able to order it at about $6.60 per bottle or $5.50 per bottle for a box. We ordered a box because we have been using it the way most people use salt. It gives a wonderful after-taste when you use it – in brown rice, pasta, bread baking, salad, and whatever else you can think of.

A little history? Tekka was specially formulated by George Ohsawa (1893-1966) the founder of modern macrobiotics. Mr. Ohsawa taught that modern refined foods, along with high consumption of animal protein and fat, are the major causes of modern degenerative diseases and that whole natural foods with their intrinsic healing properties can restore our health. Tekka was developed to help counteract the effects of refined sugar, refined grains, and other nutritionally deficient modern highly processed and refined foods.

According to the macrobiotic principles taught by George Ohsawa, tekka is a strongly contracting or ‘yang’ condiment, as is salt, yet offers qualities far beyond salt alone.

EDEN Tekka is made in the traditional manner. After aging hacho miso for three years it is ground into a smooth paste. Equal proportions of burdock root (cocklebur or Arctium lappa, Articum majus), lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), and carrot are finely minced. The burdock is sautéed with unrefined sesame oil in cast iron cauldrons for several minutes. The carrot and lotus root are then added and sautéed several minutes. The hacho miso is added and evenly mixed with the vegetables and ground sesame seeds. Lastly, the mixture is sautéed over low heat for five to seven hours. During this long slow cooking process the liquid in the vegetables and miso evaporates completely, resulting in a dry, deep black, strengthening and energizing condiment. Tekka literally means ‘iron fire’.

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Ajaron’s Omelette

August 17th, 2009

to learn more about Ajaron click here

A wonderful omelette which has received rave reviews.

You need: 2 eggs per person

onion

green pepper

scallions

cheese (gruyère, jack cheese with jalapeño, or your preference of a melting cheese)

and/or whatever you have in the refrigerator that you want to add

(i.e. mushrooms, red onions, potatoes, asparagus, green peas, salmon, capers, etc.)

salt and cayenne pepper (we don’t recommend using black pepper on anything)

For optimal results, all of your ingredients should be organic and washed under cool running water (except for the cheese).

Before you start this omelette you must first deal with your attitude. Are you happy? singing while you work? In a giving, sharing, upbeat mood? If not, look in the cabinet for a few crackers, slice a little cheese to put on your crackers and forget about trying to make this omelette, it won’t be great.

Put on a bit of music that you like, sing to yourself for a little while, think beautiful thoughts, look through elegant magazines, read inspirational poetry out loud. If you’ve had an attitude adjustment, now try to make this omelette.

Be mindful of your utensils since the utensils you use will conduct your energy into the dish you are cooking. Wood will temper the Chi energies, while metal will more easily transmit them and plastic will poison because bacteria stays and grows more easily in the grooves and pits that increasingly occur as you use plastic.

To keep harmony in the kitchen, the center of the home, cook and clean as you work on your “chef d’oeuvre”. Organize yourself to clean your surfaces and cutting instruments in-between each vegetable, using cool water. When you are completely finished with the cooking process clean all utensils and surfaces with cool water and vinegar, which basically disinfects. Do not mix the vegetables until you put them into the pot.

Slice the onions. Be careful when you start to slice the onion that you slice them from top to bottom and not across the middle. You do this to maintain the yin and yang of the onion. Slicing the onion against the grain through the middle cuts the yin from the yang and doesn’t give you the kind of energy and nourishment you could otherwise get from this onion.

Take out the seeds and the ribs and slice the green pepper from top to bottom (for the same reason).

In a hot, iron, omelette skillet, put in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. For the more adventurous, you can use Ghee (clarified butter instead of oil). Count to 23 and then add the hard ingredients (i.e. onions, green peppers as opposed to ‘soft’ mushrooms). Sautè ingredients until the onion is transparent and slightly brown and the other ingredients are also nicely cooked. You may need to add extra oil or ghee to keep the cooking process going. After the hard ingredients are tender, add the soft ingredients. Thinly cut ingredients will cook faster.

Crack open the eggs and put them in a glass bowl. Whip a good amount of air into the eggs to make them lighter. Add salt and pepper to the eggs.

In the skillet, prior to pouring in the eggs, add salt, pepper and turmeric. Spread the veggies so they have an even and consistent thickness. Gently pour the eggs over ALL of the vegetables. Let sit for a few seconds, while you clean up your preparation dishes.

With one hand on the skillet handle, tilt the skillet up to a 45 degree angle. At the same time, with the opposite hand, insert a thin spatula at the outer edge of the omelette, gently moving and lifting the outer side of the omelette towards the center allowing the eggs to run into the space created by the spatula. The lift and tilt needs to go around the skillet (kind of like an amusement park ride). Keep the pan close to the burner so it continues to cook.

The stove process is finished when you have gone around the skillet, tilting and lifting, once or twice. NOTE: The length of time this takes depends upon the amount of eggs you are using and the size of the skillet. The top of the omelet should look runny. Turn off the burner. If you have smoke or popping sounds, you are overcooking your omelette. This should be done very fast.

Sprinkle cheese over the top, put the omelette in its skillet into the oven or under the broiler. Leave it in the oven for about a minute, until the cheese melts. Depending upon your ingredients, the omelette will puff-up giving it a Spanish omelet look (not runny). If you prefer a French omelette, don’t put it in the oven or under the broiler. Add grated cheese a minute before turning off the burner. The heat of the omelette will melt the cheese. Serve it straight from the skillet.

This omelette can be served hot or cold. Leftovers are delicious. To serve this omelette, slice it as you would a cake. Enjoy a wonderful and easy to make breakfast treat. If you have leftovers your lunch is already prepared. Don’t eat lunch? Add a salad, a great bread, dessert, lemonade and you have an elegant French dinner!

This is a French omelette with a Spanish twist.

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A Guests’ Review – Boston Harbor Islands

August 14th, 2009

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2009 by “Mac”

A trip to the Boston Harbor Islands is becoming the thing to do when visiting the Greater Boston/Cambridge area. A very knowledgeable guest took the boat trip and spent the day and was generous enough to write a review for all of us.

There are 34 islands and peninsulas. Most are glacial drumlins, basically a drowned drumlin field. They were created between 100,000 and 15,000 years ago when glaciers moved across the region. Deposits of glacial till beneath the ice were left behind as elongated hills when the glaciers retreated. These hills were later covered by rising seas with some tops remaining above water – these are the Boston Harbor Islands. The harbor’s great tidal swings and moderate salinity create environments hosting an array of land and marine wildlife.

Since 1995 they have been rescued from filth from human activities with the help of local American Indian tribes, the Deer Island’s Wastewater Treatment Plan and others in a partnership which is emphasizing “green” among other priorities.

“Summary of my trip to the Harbor Islands:

Make your way to the New England Aquarium and from there, walk around or through the Long Wharf Marriot to find the ticket booth. (note that tickets are also online at http://www.BostonHarborIslands.org).

You have to book a return time at the time of ticket purchase. Late afternoon returns from Georges Island fill up so its best to be early on weekends during good weather.

I only made it to Spectacle Island, made mostly of material from the “BigDig”, but it affords a great view of the harbor and city, and has miles of ADA accessible walking paths and large grassy play and picnic areas. One theme of this island seems to be “Green Technologies” so, for instance, they have a large photovoltaic (PV) array on the main building and ranger led programs on recycling and alternative energy.

The islands are part of a National Park and you can reserve for camping on some of the islands. There are ranger led programs on Georges and Spectacle Islands. The ferry costs $14 for all islands round-trip fair. The boats appear well maintained and safe. If you want to spend a day on or around the water, the
Harbor Islands make for a fun adventure.”

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An Interesting New Book by a Bettina Guest

August 12th, 2009

NUMINA ~ Power, Spirit Place

by Anne Gordon

What follows is an interview of Anne Gordon by Anne Allanketner about the process that went into the writing of “NUMINA”.

“Anne discovered labyrinths in 1997 and became a Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator in 2002. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, is married, and has a 20 year-old son. She is a bookkeeper and in addition to presenting lectures on the history of the labyrinth, she has been on staff at Sacred Heart Medical Center as a Labyrinth Facilitator for six years. She is self-publishing “Numina” through LuLu.com. Anne Gordon’s novel is available from LuLu.com or by contacting Anne at greeneden@comcast.net.

Your novel is called “Numina ~ Power, Spirit, Place”. I understand this is your first book. What does Numina mean and what happened along your path that brought you to writing a novel?

“Numina” is a Jungian term referring to a spiritual force or influence present in an object, phenomenon or place. It is the product of a lifetime of musings. I think we all carry with us deeply felt emotions and ideas. I did not set out to write a book, but I found that when our only child left for college, I had the opportunity to transfer this tapestry of thoughts and reflections to paper. These reflections came out as short stories and ultimately as the story line of “Numina.”

This is a work of fiction. Are there labyrinths or labyrinth experiences in the novel?

There is a labyrinth and a labyrinth experience in “Numina.” In the literal sense, one of the main characters who resides in a different time period, makes an annual pilgrimage to a Gothic cathedral. At the end of her visit there, she walks the labyrinth. In the symbolic sense, the flow of the book is very labyrinthine. As I mentioned, there are short stories and these are interwoven with the main narrative. The main narrative takes place in present time and also several hundred years ago. While I take great liberties with linear time in the novel, the characters, whether those of the main plot or those of the short stories, are all traversing a path much like that of the labyrinth. They are in different places on the path. The characters are held by the container of the book as we are held by the container of the labyrinth when we walk. What might appear to be a detour or backtracking from the plot is actually a necessary meandering. As the reader enters the book, softening his or her focus, it is evident that the characters are all moving towards a common center. This is very similar to watching people walk the labyrinth. The order and interrelatedness of things is apparent only over time.

What are some of the themes in the book?

Women’s History, religion, politics, evolving consciousness. When I began writing “Numina,” I thought the book was going to be an examination of the Burning Times, a time in our history when many women (and men) were executed for being different. These people were driven to the margins of society. They were ostracized and condemned for worshpping differently, for being healers, or simply being eccentric. As I followed the story in my mind’s eye, watching it unfold through the main characters, I was led to the topic of our creation story. The characters in “Numina” spoke to this damaging portrayal of women and how it may have played a role in allowing atrocities to be committed against women and against many people who revered the feminine face of God. The result was that “Numina” became a story about the betrayal of the feminine and of our relation to the Divine Feminine as she is present in Nature.

Is this a book for men as well as women?

Absolutely. Men and women were cast out of the Garden, and we have been dealing with the repercussions ever since. “Numina” is about healing our stories and ourselves.

Some people think this book is very radical. What do you think about this? Are there radical elements in this story?

Well, if taking a break from thousands of years of acceptance of a story that demonizes half of humanity is radical…then I guess it might be considered radical. If on the other hand, you feel comfortable examining long-held assumptions in a different light, it would be a story about just that.

You have taken on enormous historical topics in “Numina.” Why is it a work of fiction?

Many wonderful and informative non-fiction books have been written on these topics. I am not claiming to be a historian, but I was able to weave a large amount of historical fact in with an ineresting human story. in writing “Numina,” I realized there was a lot going on in the world that did not suit me, so I created the world I wanted. This book contains a great deal of history and no small amount of political thought, but it is not about pointing fingers or ranting against the patriarchy. It is about posing questions instead of prescribing answers. It is about healing, rather than judgment. “Numina” considers the possibility of restoring a Partnership Paradigm.

You mentioned following the story in your mind’s eye. What do you mean by that?

When the storyline of “Numina” first appeared to me, it was in the form of a movie. I imagined being in a small, darkened theater. The screen was black and the sounds of the opening scene came first. Then, I could see in my mind’s eye what was happening. When I was able to quiet my mind, often as I walked the labyrinth, I could re-enter the world of “Numina” and gradually more and more of the book was revealed. Eventually I stopped listening to the radio when I was driving, I wanted to be available if ideas for the book entered my imagination. Gardening was a place of inspiration, so I kept a notepad handy when I worked in the yard. Many ideas and conversations from the novel’s characters came to me as I walked the labyrinth. Since I didn’t really want to interrupt by walks, I found it became necessary to walk with paper and pen in hand.

How did you know the book was complete?

The characters stopped talking. At first it seemed as if they had moved away. Then I realized they had not moved away, they had simply finished telling me their story.”

To the readers – Anne Gordon introduced the Bettina Network to labyrinths. We learned about them over several breakfasts with Anne and have introduced them to other homes in the Network and to other people we have met. Anne wrote an article for the Bettina’s Blog about her experiences with labyrinths and we are very grateful to her for the introduction. We take the opportunity to look for and walk labyrinths wherever we travel. You will find the location of several labyrinths in Bettina’s Blog and we will probably add more as we find them. Click on the label “labyrinth” and enjoy another great read.

We hope you will buy and enjoy reading “Numina”.

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New Orleans Gumbo

August 6th, 2009

A reader asked for a recipe and a cultural comment about New Orleans Gumbo.

The reader must know something about Gumbo to have asked specifically for ‘New Orleans’ Gumbo. There is cajun gumbo and creole gumbo, but top of the list is New Orleans Gumbo. Give me your family’s gumbo recipe and I will tell you if your family was upper, middle or lower class in Louisiana.

Tomatoes make a difference in making New Orleans gumbo. If you came from a lower-class family the gumbo recipe you have from your family will not include tomatoes. If your family had a bit of money and upper-class history, your family gumbo recipe will include tomatoes. How you make gumbo also tells whether your family lived “uptown”, “downtown” or “back-a-town”.

Gumbo basically differs by the family. One recipe for New Orleans Gumbo follows:

Before you start your gumbo, take one pound of shrimp (wild, gulf shrimp). Peel and devein the shrimp. Put the shells in a large pot covered with water and boil about an hour. Drain the resulting mixture and throw away the shrimp shells. This can be used as the liquid in the gumbo.

Chop or process – 2 onions, 3 green peppers, 4 stalks of celery. Sort of reminds you of New Orleans’ 1-2-3-4 cake – but that’s another recipe.

To make this gumbo use a large cast iron pot – no aluminum PLEASE! And glass doesn’t make as nice a gumbo

Put one stick of butter in the pot with about 1/2 cup organic, virgin olive oil. A new twist to gumbo with all of the new food ideas floating around is to replace the olive oil with virgin organic coconut oil. Some people like to add organic peanut oil. I don’t because I don’t want the taste of peanuts in my gumbo. It doesn’t add anything to the flavors. And that is not a put down of organic peanut oil because I wouldn’t fry chicken in anything else. I also would not use coconut oil because it also adds a pretty strong taste, which I don’t like – but to each his/her own.

Turn on the heat and let the butter melt. Put the ‘trinity’ – the onions, green peppers and celery in the pot and let the vegies cook until the onions wilt and the vegies begin to cook.

Put two tablespoons of organic, whole wheat, stone ground flour in the pot and cook the vegies and flour together until the flour begins to turn medium brown. This is not what you will find in other recipes, but this is my way. Most of the ‘cultural professionals’ will tell you to first make a roux – you can try that, but I like this way better.

What you add next depends upon your taste. Add thyme, oregano, sea salt, cayenne pepper to the flour mixture and continue to cook on a low heat. Add ham, andouille sausage, one can of organic diced tomatoes and the water from your boiled shrimp shells. Let this simmer until you see grease on top of the ingredients cooking in the pot. That has always been my sign that the gumbo, to this point, is done.

If you like okra gumbo, slice okra and add it to the pot. Once the okra has been added, don’t allow the gumbo to come to a boil. If you do, the okra will make the gumbo stringy because the okra will let out mucilage and ruin the gumbo. Keep it cooking, but under a boil – not even a small one.

Some people like to add shrimp boil to their gumbo. Some add sassafras. All kinds of food and herbs are added to gumbo depending upon the person cooking. As you experiment making gumbo you will find wonderful additions which create new tastes.

Gumbo is one food that is best created by a committee – or a family where it has been passed down several generations and all the aunts, uncles and cousins have had their say as to how it should be made. It gets better over time as the recipe changes with the cook.

When you are about twenty minutes away from serving the gumbo put in crabs and crab meat, shrimp and oysters along with the oyster juice. I wait until the end to add this because to cook oysters and shrimp too long they will turn hard and not be a great addition to this dish. If you are in New England and want to be a pretend creole, but need your New England heritage to colonialize everything, you might add scallops to the gumbo and replace the crabs with lobster.

Serve over organic brown rice – a rice as unprocessed as you can possibly find.

The best gumbo I have ever eaten was made by my grandmother. She gave me her recipe when I was about 21 years old. I was never able to make gumbo which came up to her standards, but over the years it has gotten better as I have moved away from the processes set out by the big “Creole” and “Cajun” cooks and gone with my own taste buds and memory.

If you have another recipe for gumbo or other stories behind your gumbo recipe, send us an email so we can make this recipe “Gumbo by Committee, an International Creation.”

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From A Reader on the Banks

The Truth about Debit Cards

A Spectacular Breakfast

David Letterman Needs to Resign

Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar (A Review)

Thanks for exposing Bank of America

Great Travel Tip and I Add….

A Travel Tip

Bank of America wins Bettina’s Hall of Shame Award

Editor’s Note on contributors to Bettina’s Blog

Stock Information

Guest Requested Cheese Cake Recipe

WHOLE FOODS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH

A Stock Market Follow-Up

Update on Guests Stock Tip

Tekka Popcorn

Ajaron’s Omelette

A Guests’ Review – Boston Harbor Islands

An Interesting New Book by a Bettina Guest

New Orleans Gumbo

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