Maya Panika's Blog, page 6
April 2, 2013
Proof of Heaven…?
…Modern physics tells us that the universe is a unity—that it is undivided. Though we seem to live in a world of separation and difference, physics tells us that beneath the surface, every object and event in the universe is completely woven up with every other object and event. There is no true separation.
Before my experience these ideas were abstractions. Today they are realities. Not only is the universe defined by unity, it is also—I now know—defined by love. The universe as I experienced it in my coma is—I have come to see with both shock and joy—the same one that both Einstein and Jesus were speaking of in their (very) different ways. I’ve spent decades as a neurosurgeon at some of the most prestigious medical institutions in our country. I know that many of my peers hold—as I myself did—to the theory that the brain, and in particular the cortex, generates consciousness and that we live in a universe devoid of any kind of emotion, much less the unconditional love that I now know God and the universe have toward us. But that belief, that theory, now lies broken at our feet. What happened to me destroyed it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.
When the castle of an old scientific theory begins to show fault lines, no one wants to pay attention at first. The old castle simply took too much work to build in the first place, and if it falls, an entirely new one will have to be constructed in its place…
This sounds like it could have come straight from Entanglement, but it’s actually the words of distinguished neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander, talking about his NDE in Newsweek, via the Daily Beast. Click on the pink clouds to read the rest of Heaven Is Real: A Doctor’s Experience With the Afterlife – then read his book, Proof of Heaven. The gorgeous image comes courtesy of JaneandD Photography at DeviantART
"First do no harm": My interview with Amazon and Goodreads on the future of Goodreads
Amazon announced Thursday afternoon that it has acquired the popular book-related social networking site Goodreads for an undisclosed sum. I spoke with Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler and Amazon's VP of Kindle content Russ Grandinetti on what's next for Goodreads and its 16 million members.
Questions and answers have been edited slightly for clarity.
What does the acquisition mean for Goodreads' reputation as a neutral hub for readers, authors and publishers?
I'm wondering how everyone feels about Amazon's takeover of Goodreads? I'm unsure. I have no major beef with Amazon, but they do seem to be going all out to acquire anything and everything - especially to do with books; to be the Tesco of online sales. As a fond and regular user of Goodreads, I hear what the enthusiasts are saying, but personally, I would have much preferred Goodreads to stay independent. Anyway, I'm reblogging this interview from paidContent: read. Make up your own minds.
You can read the original announcement here.
April 1, 2013
Simnel Cake
Our oven died on Saturday, throwing up the vile possibility of no Simnel cake for Easter, a prospect not to be countenanced, so I had a crack at baking one in the microwave. After only 12 minutes, a sort-of cake did result. 
It was a very messy process. There was considerable seepage (if I ever did this again, I’d only use half my normal recipe).
The clean-up was mighty, but the seepage was delicious! Buttery, sweet and salty, crunchy-chewy, a bit like a fruity brownie. Rather more delicious, it has to be said, than the cake itself.
When it was all tarted up with apostle balls, yellow ribbon and icing, the microwaved cake-thing did look very much like a Simnel cake, but taste-wise, it was nothing like as nice. I mean, it was OK, alright…ish. A bit dry though, tending to positively crunchy at the base. The marzipan didn’t have that gorgeous, melting chewiness that makes a Simnel cake such a treat. It was an interesting experiment in an emergency, but absolutely no substitute for the real thing.
Here’s how to do it properly. You’ll need:
8oz self-raising flour
7oz sugar of your choice – I use a mixture of light brown and caster.
4oz ground almonds
2 teaspoons mixed spice.
A pinch of salt
4oz butter
3 eggs
8oz dried fruits – currants, raisins, cherries, peel, however you like it.
A little honey, or apricot jam.
Nuts, if you like them. I usually add a couple of tablespoons of blanched almonds, but you can use more, can use different nuts, or none at all. It’s up to you.
Lemon icing – about a teacup of icing sugar, mixed with enough lemon juice to make a smooth icing.
Pre-heat your oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2
Mix together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, spice and salt. Rub in the butter till the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the fruit and nuts, if you’re using them. Beat in the eggs until the mix is smooth and pales in colour.
Butter and flour an 8” cake tin. Pour in half the cake mix and smooth it even.
Cut your block of marzipan in half. Set one half aside and roll the other into a round that fits neatly into the cake tin. Lie this round in your tin, on top of the cake mix, then pour the rest of the cake mix on top of the marzipan. Level off, then slide it into the centre of your oven and bake for about 2 hours – until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean – bear in mind the marzipan will remain sticky, it’s the non-stickiness of the cake you’re testing. Cool on a wire rack, in the tin, don’t turn it out just yet.
Roll the remaining marzipan into evenly sized balls. There’s a difference of opinion about the number of balls. Some say there should only be eleven, representing the apostles, excluding Judas. Others say there should be 12 balls: 11 apostles and Jesus. In my family, it’s always been 12, and it’s easier to divide your marzipan into an even number.
When the cake is cool, lightly brush the top with honey, stick your balls on top, around the edge then pop it under a hot grill for a minute or two until the marzipan balls are lightly toasted. This gives them a lovely crunchy texture.
Mix together icing sugar and lemon juice till you have a smooth, pourable icing and pour over the top of the cake. The consistency should be stiff enough to coat the top of the cake, but thin enough to run down slightly, through the marzipan balls.
Happy Easter!
March 31, 2013
Hot Cross Buns for Breakfast!
Here’s our recipe. You’ll need…
1 level teaspoon of sugar and 5fl oz hand-hot water (for the yeast)
2oz caster sugar -
1 level tablespoon of dried yeast
1lb plain flour
1 level teaspoon of salt
1 rounded teaspoon of mixed spice
3oz currants/raisins/sultanas
2oz chopped candied peel
2 fluid ounces (or slightly less, use your judgement) of warmed milk
1 beaten egg
2oz melted butter
2 ounces of plain flour and
1 ounce of cold butter – for the crosses.
2 level tablespoons of granulated sugar
And 2 tablespoons of water for the glaze.
First, make your cross dough (it’s not angry, it’s going to make the crosses on the top). Cut your cold butter into little pieces and rub it into the flour to make a stiff dough. Add more water if it’s crumbly, the dough should be smooth and pliable. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then put them it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, this will make it easier to roll.
Stir the teaspoon of caster sugar into the warm water, sprinkle in the yeast and let it get a good, foamy head.
While the yeast is working, sift the flour and mixed spice into a bowl and add the 2oz sugar, the dried fruit and peel. Make a well in the mix and pour in the foamy yeast mixture and the milk – finger hot, just stick a digit in, it should feel like a nice, hot bath, the beaten egg and melted butter (most recipes say unsalted, but I always use the regular salted stuff and it always works out fine for me).
Get your hands in and mix it to a sticky dough then get it onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for about 10 minutes – until it’s like good bread dough, smooth and elastic.
Pop the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and leave it in a warm place to double its size, then turn it out and knead again for a couple of minutes. Divide into a dozen buns and arrange them on greased baking sheets, leaving plenty of room between each one so they have room to rise
Take your cross dough and roll each out, with your hands, into a long, thin sausage. Cut each in half and use it to gently – don’t flatten them – make a cross on the top of each. Leave the buns to rise, till they have doubled in size again – about half an hour. Pre-heat your oven to 425’F, 220’C. Slide the buns in and bake for 15 minutes. While they’re cooking, melt your glaze sugar in the water on a low heat. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush them with the sugar glaze then let them cool for as long as you can bear it.
Split them, toast them and drench them in butter.
If you can’t be bothered with all that, buy them from your favourite bakers or shops. Mine came from Aldi, and very good they are, too.
HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!
March 28, 2013
I am just going outside and may be some time.
The snow plough came through today and we were able to get out of the village for the first time since the snow first fell. We thought we’d seize the chance to nip into town and provision-up in case conditions worsen again. Unfortunately, everyone else in the district had the same idea. Reader, it was MENTAL, worse than Christmas Eve – but we have returned, victoriously laden, from M&S and can now batten down the hatches for Easter.
And since the snow is still with us and likely to remain with us for a while yet, the time has come to post some pictures.
Folly Lane yesterday…
And today.
March 27, 2013
I should be writing…
But the whole house seems to have got up early this morning. There’s a kind of quiet uproar and I kno not why. Perhaps it’s something cosmic? Perhaps one of my astrologically-minded friends can tell me. There is no peace and, tired of staring at empty Word docs and sitting seething in silent despair, I find myself prevaricating, making endless cups of coffee and mindlessly scouting the interwebs and fell upon this gem: Unseen images of Withnail and I – my most favourite film bar none, my eternal Number One. It’s from the Mail, March 2009. However did I miss it?
In other news, it’s snowing again. I’ve managed to avoid making a weather post so far, but with twelve foot drifts blocking every road here, it’s a virtual certainty that I shall be writing about it before much longer. I have pictures, of course. Lots of them. It can only be a matter of time before I inflict some on you.
March 26, 2013
Review: Habits of the House
by Fay Weldon
3 stars
“If you liked “Downton Abbey”, you’ll love this!” shouts the sticker on the cover, and, the truth is, I’m probably not the intended reader of this upstairs-downstairs tale. I’m not really a fan of Downton Abbey and I certainly didn’t love this. I have enjoyed Fay Weldon’s work over the years, but Habits of the House is not one of her best.
It’s hardly an original tale – that wouldn’t matter much if it had other things to offer, but the writing is pretty horrible throughout. Some sentences are so strangled they made no sense at all, even after several readings. Worst of all, after such an intricately detailed story, the ending was peculiarly rushed. I felt short-changed.
Which is not to say it’s a bad book. I gave it 3 stars because it’s a nicely readable tale that I did enjoy, once it got going. The characters are a little cardboard, but the story runs along pleasantly enough. It makes no demands. It was perfect bedtime reading. If you’re a big Fay Weldon fan, or even, maybe, a fan of Downton Abbey, you’ll probably enjoy it very much more than I did, and maybe even love it.
Review: Drink Me! How to choose, taste and enjoy wine
by Matt Walls
4 and a half stars
I enjoy a glass of wine. I’ve watched every episode of Oz and James. I know a teeny-tiny bit about it – a nodding acquaintance with grape varieties, wine growing areas and the like – enough to be more or less secure of getting what I’m after when I pick up a bottle at the supermarket. I am a very, very long way indeed from being any sort of expert. Drink Me’s blurb – don’t know how to spot the diamond bottles from the dross? …You just need to know where to look – suggested this was the book for the likes of me. Chapter 8: ‘How to tell what it will taste like by looking at the bottle’, pretty much confirmed it. Withnail’s quote on the very first page was just jam.
Matt Wall’s book doesn’t cover lighter fuel (it’s not a wine), but it does cover a multitude of the kinds of wine someone like me is likely to encounter in Morrison’s Tesco or Aldi. Part 1, Buying Tasting and Drinking, covers the basics. Part 2 goes into more detail on the ‘World’s most common wines’, with chapters on what you can expect in a wine from various countries, including all the usual suspects, and a few more unusual ones, like China, India and Japan. On page 77, there’s a very basic, really good table of grape varieties by country: A quick guide to countries and regions and what they do well. There’s more advice on tasting, more detail on regions and basic advice on how and where to buy a decent bottle of wine.
I love the cardboard cover, the look of this book and the feel of it, which is satisfyingly solid. It’s a refreshingly easy read. The detail is there, but tempered with anecdotes and plain good writing, it doesn’t overwhelm. Drink me it is simple without being simplistic, plainly written but never condescending or patronising.
Matt Walls has a blog - Practical tips, tricks and info to help you get the most out of wine – which is well worth checking out.
March 23, 2013
30 things that every writer should know.
Ten years after his first book deal, Matt Haig reflects on 30 things that being published has taught him. Re-blogged from The Telegraph. Click on the pic to read the rest.
March 21, 2013
Review: The First Book Of Calamity Leek
by Paula Lichtarowicz
5 stars
It was quite a while before I began to enjoy this. The style is peculiar. It was hard work. For the first several chapters, I had absolutely no idea what was going on (and not sure if I cared very much, either). But then, just as I was wondering if anything was ever going to happen (or indeed, make any sense at all), the fog began to lift, the story began to emerge, the horror of the situation showed its petticoats and suddenly, I was absolutely riveted to the tale of poor, damaged Calamity Leek and her ‘sisters’, who live monastic lives, cloistered behind the high walls of a garden they are forbidden to leave. All their lives, they have lived in strict accord with the rules of their bizarre religion. Until the day that Trudy Polperro dared to peek over the wall…
The story is weird and the characters, positively bizarre – like Aunty, the girl’s apparent guardian: a failed theatrical wannabee, straight out of Julian Clary’s Devil in Disguise. And the even weirder Mother, in her wheelchair and sunglasses, a grotesque straight out of Psychoville.
Extreme, bizarre, surreal and riveting. Very strange and very, very good.
