Schnormeier Gardens for a nice summer trip

 Ohio's 'secret garden' filled with Asian treasures | 10tv.com

This might be a nice trip to take this summer as we check out the places we've been missing these last 50 years. We're at Lakeside right now, but soon we'll be free to explore.

Schnormeier Gardens | Japanese Style Garden in Gambier, OH

Dining near the garden - Schnormeier Gardens

"The focal point of the property is a spectacular Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home. This private residence was completed in 1994. Other structures on the property include a Japanese teahouse, garden house, Chinese pavilion and arched bridge. An ever growing collection of unique sculptures are also located on the grounds.

Our gardens have a distinct Asian flavor and feature a variety of plantings rich in color and texture. Rare conifers are plentiful here. Large boulders and stone walls add dimension and contrast to the landscape. Designed with a bold vision and attention to detail, the gardens offer delightful viewing in any season."

Tara Reade and Russia

Tara Reade, one of the women who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, has decided to seek asylum and citizenship in Russia. Well, they were calling her a Russian agent anyway, so that will certainly ramp that up. She was interviewed by Megyn Kelly, who also interviewed her several years when the scandal (ignored by media and Democrats) broke. She seems terribly naive about Russia--says it is beautiful and she's never felt so free. I believe her about Biden, she even filed a complaint and told people at the time (Democrats say to always believe the woman unless she's reporting on one of their own), but she's pretty dumb about Russia. It's not just Putin. Russia has had such a long run of terrible, awful leaders from before recorded history, that I can't imagine anyone seeking citizenship there. Do they even have an immigration policy? Who breaks into Russia?

Chick-fil-A and DEI

No one ever objected to Chick-fil-A having gay, black, Asian, female or atheist employees. It helped them build their brand as Christians. Chicken and good service for all. Just as Jesus offers salvation for all as a gift, and not by force and offers an opportunity to love your neighbor through service. But now it has created a DEI department, which is just a trinitarian formula for a cult that promotes anger, hate, and the religion of division. They've submitted to the corporate cronyism that is the hallmark of the Biden Administration. I've never eaten there--not even a nugget of chicken, if they have that. I guess that opportunity has passed me by. This is not like Amazon, McDonald's or Ohio State having bloated DEI departments, committees and task forces at every level. Chick-fil-A was openly proud of its Christian roots and philosophy. 

DEI is a religious cult (aka DIE). 

DEI is anti-life (pro-abortion); 

anti-woman (destroys women's safe spaces, sports, careers); 

anti-capitalism (submitting to ESG, an invention of Community China);

anti-American (teaches destruction of the free-market); 

You can't be woke/dei-ist and love America and Jesus. Don't bend the knee for Caesar.

Chick-fil-A sparks anti-woke outrage for hiring VP of DEI (nypost.com)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Chick-fil-A

Gender dysphoria and population

Gender dysphoric people are rare (less than 1%), but among those who are children and seeking a solution that will change their bodies to fit in with the current fad, 80% are girls. Cross sex hormones and genital and breast surgery will make them sterile.

The fertility rate in the U.S. is below replacement, the sperm count for men all over the world is dropping mysteriously, and chemical abortions in the U.S. requiring no medical supervision are at an all-time high, further endangering the wombs of women. You can't fix this with immigration, which is the latest form of colonialism and slave labor, leaving other countries drained of brains and brawn.

Democrats are the new flat earth society led by prosecutors trained in the methods of the Salem Witch Trials. They are blind to what they are doing by pathologizing this condition and eager to destroy our country. They are so terrified to swim against the LGBTQ tide that even those whose brains still function, go along with the BIG LIE.

The LGs have been taken over by the BTQ+xyz group, and it has spread.  My doctor's office now says my sex was assigned. Formerly respected journals now refuse any real information that confirms biological sex. Species confusion, trans-humanism is chasing at the heels of the chest feeders. Huffington Post reported on that almost a decade ago, so don't think this is about civil rights, or "finding" a true identity. We bought into the "it's all about love," or "it doesn't matter what adults do." Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  

Third anniversary of the riots

We're in the 3rd anniversary of the worst riots in our history, riots supported by some in our federal government, and many at the state and local level. Yet many of those criminals got a slap on the wrist or very short sentences. Kamala Harris raised money for them. None got what the J-6 protestors did, because some black lives matter much more in politics. But most who lost their lives in these massive, nationwide, primarily blue cities were black. The businesses destroyed and the homes burned were owned by blacks. Those lives didn't matter at all to the Democrats.

In Portland they voted to defund the police. "The effect in the streets was immediate: From Jan. 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, Portland had just four murders. In the following 12-month period, Portland tallied 94 homicides."  'Where are we headed?' Portland's record-setting year for murder fuels search for answers (yahoo.com)

Say what? APoB

 Listening to Dr. Peter Attia on a podcast today (he has a new book so he's been on several), he was discussing the 3 most important things for preventing heart disease--the #1 cause of death.  1.  Blood pressure (he recommends 120/80)--check.  2.  No smoking--check.  and 3. APoB.  Say what? Had to look that one up.  I don't see it on my lab reports.  Apparently, neither have most people--even doctors.  Here's what I found on a website called Levels.   https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/why-apob-may-be-a-better-cholesterol-marker

What is the ApoB Test?

"The ApoB test measures your body’s level of Apolipoprotein B-100 (also simply known as ApoB). ApoB is a protein that helps carry cholesterol and other important compounds through your bloodstream to the tissues that need them. Testing for this protein helps doctors quantify the number of potentially dangerous cholesterol-carrying particles in your body, thus giving insight into your risk of heart disease. . . 

"To understand how ApoB predicts heart disease risk, we first need to step back and understand cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy substance, a type of fat (lipid) that’s essential for human life. It’s used by cells as a structural material (to build cell membranes and insulate nerve cells) and as a building block for important hormones (e.g. cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone). Every cell can make its own cholesterol, but it’s produced in the largest quantities by the intestines (which absorb and repackage some cholesterol from dietary sources) and the liver. These organs then export cholesterol to other cells and tissues via the bloodstream. But this step presents the body with a challenge: Cholesterol is hydrophobic. It does not disperse easily in the blood but instead clumps together like oil in water. The solution is a particle called a lipoprotein—a molecule that encases cholesterol in a hydrophilic shell so that it can travel through the blood in small, discrete parcels.

There are many different types of lipoproteins that sequentially change into each other as triglycerides are offloaded. At the beginning of this chain is the Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) molecule. VLDLs are formed when your liver bundles cholesterol along with triglycerides (another fatty substance that stores energy) into a large, protein-wrapped molecule. This molecule is “low-density” in the sense that it floats in blood—it is buoyant. The VLDL is then sent out into your bloodstream, where it circulates until it encounters a cell with an open receptor (typically a smooth muscle cell or fat cell). The VLDL then deposits its triglycerides into the cell, which can store them or use them for immediate energy." continues at web site. Important to read.

. . . "ApoB can give you critical information about your long-term heart health. This may be especially important for people with a personal or family history of heart disease, as well as people with a current heart disease diagnosis who are monitoring their condition."

Secrets of Hillsong, pt. 2

Last night I finished watching the FX Vanity Fair four part documentary on Hulu, The Secrets of Hillsong, a Christian (Pentecostal) megachurch in Australia, which spread to the United States. Much of this story was revealed in 2022 on the Discovery Channel. I was unaware of any of this, mainly because Hillsong first became famous through its music, which so many churches were already using. I don’t attend a service that uses that so there were probably discussions I ignored.

The first episode is primarily about Pastor Carl Lentz, the rock star pastor of the New York City Hillsong church who was so charismatic and charming (think Bill Clinton charisma but younger and better looking) that he became an entertainer-preacher who had celebrity guests like Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant and Vanessa Hudgens at the worship services. Lentz even appeared on the View. The footage shown of the services looked like rock concerts, but with more arm waving and jumping up and down. Even OSU Buckeye football fans don’t get that worked up!

Pastor Lentz falls from grace due to marital infidelity in the first episode after the audience has been introduced to his incredible ability to spin the Gospel and sway with the culture, but if that were the point of this documentary, there would be no story. The underlying theme and purpose in my opinion is to tell the audience that Christianity and Christians are a bunch of fakes and charlatans out of step with LGBTQ, BLM and Feminism, plus they are stealing money from their congregants and molesting children as sidelines.

In episode one we are introduced to the journalists and writers who put this story together (obviously with Pastor Lentz’s input). They dead pan pithy explanations yet do not condemn. That is left to the other on camera speakers, mostly from the NYC church who at one time were “volunteers” in responsible positions. (By the end of the 4th episode, they’ve all left the church, and some have left the faith, but you don’t know that in episode one). In the first episode, these are all women, several black, one possibly Hispanic, and one gay man who had been on a reality show with his boyfriend. In the 3rd or 4th (don’t remember) episodes we meet some men who worked with the Australian church, and like Lentz, were dismissed or “cancelled” by Brian Houston, the Australian founder of Hillsong (originally that was the name of the music arm, and the church took the name).

The final episode focuses on the sins of Brian Houston and his father Frank (d. 2004), who had been charged with child sexual abuse, but the church and particularly son Brian took no action even after a lengthy investigation by secular authorities. The trial is coming up in June, so that is yet to be revealed. Maybe there will be a fifth episode.

As I watched the very moving stories about the child abuse, I couldn’t help but think that this looks like nothing compared to what our current “leaders” from entertainment to school boards to medical clinics to churches are accepting-- the mutilation and sterilization of children who cannot give consent, either to attend drag shows, read assigned books or to have their bodies destroyed. Will they ever come to trial?

https://youtu.be/5_aIauL2xKA Shout to the Lord (Hillsong) The composer is at piano, and the lead singer might be Darlene Zschech.

https://news.yahoo.com/where-brian-houston-now-hillsong-203049379.html?guccounter=1

Keep in mind if you watch this, that from start to finish, the whole point appears to be to condemn all Christians, not a particular church or group of sinners. Why would Vanity Fair care? There are other sources for this story which may not have that slant.

Memorial Day, 2023

Today is Memorial Day, the last Monday of May, originally observed on May 30. It began in the South in 1866 to recognize their war dead, and became a national holiday in 1868. We now memorialize all those who died in service to our country, and it has become customary to honor also our friends and family who are deceased. To my knowledge, my family on my mother's side has only one Civil War dead to honor, Jacob J. George, my great grandfather's youngest brother. In a cruel irony, his parents who lived in Adams County, Pennsylvania (Gettysburg is in that county) sent their youngest boy to live in the relatively safe area of Lee County Illinois with his adult brother, a farmer.

Although we can find Jacob's name in the History of Lee County Illinois with the other volunteers from Company G, he and the others (almost 2,500 just from that county) had no idea they'd signed on for bad food, injuries, disease and prison. Lee County was paying $100 bounty, and it probably seemed like a great adventure to him (obviously lied about his age). He enlisted on January 4, 1864 when he was 15 years and one month old.

He's buried in The National Cemetery in Nashville, TN with over 16,000 soldiers, both Union and Confederate, whose names are known, and another 3,500+ unknown. He died in the hospital of acute diarrhea on May 10, 1865, having entered the hospital on April 12. General amnesty was proclaimed by the President on May 29, 1865, and the war ended. Many in this cemetery were transferred from hospital burial grounds. His Discharge papers (death certificate) showed his age as 18. He was 16.

It was about 120 years later that my mother and her sister learned about Jacob through the genealogical research of their cousin, and a few letters were found that he had sent his sister in Iowa describing his ordeal and homesickness. This is my own speculation, but I'm guessing his brother in Illinois, my great-grandfather, never mentioned him to his family. His birth and death dates are not in the family Bible. It's possible that when Mom was a little girl waving her flag at the parade on May 30 when the old Civil War veterans marched by, some may have been from Jacob's regiment.

Death and the Civil War: Extended Trailer | American Experience | Official Site | PBS