Located at 8205 83rd street in Edmonton, next to the TD branch on the corner of 83rd and 83rd, Mmm…Pho is a small, sparsely decorated, but clean restaurant.  My daughters and I have dined at Mmm…Pho twice in the past month and we were pleasantly surprised. The service is friendly and helpful, which differentiates it from the myriad of Chinese restaurants I’ve sampled in Edmonton.

With a small selection of appetizers and desserts, the remainder of the menu is entirely pho. For the unfortunate few who haven’t tried pho, it is a fragrant Vietnamese noodle soup. Various vegetables and meats can be added to pho. Pho is also traditionally served with a side of fresh basil, bean sprouts and various spice enhancing peppers.  My oldest daughter is a vegetarian and was unable to find any dishes that were clearly meat-free, but after our server consulted the kitchen, we were informed a vegetarian pho could be prepared. My omnivorous daughter and I tried the steak pho. Each order of pho came in an enormous bowl, which could have easily fed 3 people. The vegetarian pho consisted of carrots, broccoli, sprouts and cabbage while my steak pho had thin slices of medium steak mixed in. The phos were deliciously fragrant and tasty. While the vegetables in the vegetarian pho were slightly overcooked, my daughter still gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. This is not fine dining, it’s a Vietnamese diner serving Vietnamese comfort food…and it’s very comforting.

If you like pho, check out Mmm…Pho!

I’m going to ask you a lot of questions today. You’re going to have to do a lot of thinking. For anyone who was coming today to find an uplifting message….sorry.

First a bit of a background on Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica ran from 2004-2009 (we’re not talking about the campy Battlestar Galactica  from 1978, just in case there’s any confusion). Before I go on, I have to say this is the best show I have seen on television, and I’m not alone. Battlestar Galactica  was a critically acclaimed series and when it was over, I hate to say it, but I felt a little bit empty…Battlestar Galactica, the re-imagined series, told the story of refugees from a genocidal holocaust. The human race went from over 70 billion to 40,000 in the matter of a few hours. The human race is clumped into a ragtag fleet of a few hundred spaceships that flees its enemies, but these could be steamships, rowboats or a caravan. The military, based on the Battlestar Galactica, serves to protect the remaining human fleet, and a civilian government still sets policy and governs what is left of humanity.

Battlestar Galactica, is not science fiction, so much as it is a drama that is set in outer space. Battlestar Galactica can also be used as a thought experiment. Would we do things differently if we were faced with extinction? Would we still hold to our seven principles? I subscribe to Twitter and I also frequently see messages tagged with thought-provoking quotes. Quotes that are nice to read and think about while you’re sipping your cup of tea whilst curled up in the easy chair. How do you feel about these same quotes when your life is going to shit? Think about these situations from Battlestar Galactica…

• You are a hero. You always make the right and just decision. You hold a gun to the head of the black market. The black market is engaged in the sale of alcohol and cigarettes as well as more “disgusting” services. What would you do? Keep in mind we have a principle that speaks to “The inherent worth and dignity of every person”
• You are the military commander for all that is left of humanity. You appear in front of a tribunal, but you quickly realize it’s not a trial, it’s a witch hunt. What do you do? “Justice, equity and compassion in human relations”.
• An election for president sees the potential for a less than desireable candidate to win. The election of this individual could result in the extinction of the human race. It is in your power to rig the election. What do you do? Please remember our principle on “The right of conscience and the use of democratic processes” Frame these questions in the thought experiment that is Battlestar Galactica. You are part of a species that is nearing extinction. One wrong step could doom humanity. So what would you do?

Have you decided? In the show, the hero shoots the gangster in the head and threatens his henchmen with an ominous warning…”the fleet needs the black market, stay away from children and the slave trade or I will come back and blow this ship out of the sky.” The military commander, not wanting to be subjected to a witch-hunt, ends the proceedings and removes the tribunal members from his ship. To prevent the undesirable candidate from winning, the senior officers of the fleet rig the election so their candidate wins. Is that what you would have done? Is it fair for me to ask you these questions sitting in the comfort of this sanctuary? Can you put yourself in that situation and think about your actions?

The situation in Battlestar Galactica may seem extreme, but we can look at ourselves to find other examples.

• World War II, a Jewish girl and her family ask you for help. They need to be hidden from the Nazis. If you hide them and they’re discovered, severe punishment could be given out to you and your family, including your children. What would you do? If a family were to turn them away, would you brand that family cowards? Do you know their circumstances? Another family says yes and does their best to hide away the Jewish family. Are they brave or foolhardy? Are you clear on the issue? What does the principle about “Justice, equity and compassion in human relations” suggest we should do?
• Many people know the story of Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer who killed his severely disabled daughter. Our first principle states we affirm in “The inherent worth and dignity of every person”. Can you fault Robert Latimer for his actions? He clearly disregarded the first principle to accomplish his goal. Can you put yourself in his situation and think about everything that led him to the decision to kill his daughter? Is the principle still clear?

When you think about the application of the seven principles in these situations, are you thinking about it from the comfort of this sanctuary, or you are you trying to put yourself into those situations to honestly think how you would handle each one. There is a difference. In our childrens’ story this morning (What I Be, by Michael Franti and Ben Hodson), there was a quote that said “I could be you, you could be me I could walk a mile in your shoes….. And you could walk a mile in my bare feet” Can you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes?

We have seven principles, and read in the comfort and relative safety of this church, they all seem quite altruistic.

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to grow spiritually.
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
5. The right of conscience and the use of democratic processes.
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

We strive to follow them and when we can’t follow them, we know we’ve erred…maybe… Are these principles that we should strive to follow all the time, or most of the time. Who here tries to follow these principles? Who here has broken some of the principles before coming to church today? Who expects to make it to the end of the day with all the principles still intact? These thoughts have been percolating in my mind for months. Christine Lesiak and I sat down last week and she helped me a great deal in this service and with this sermon. She asked me “What’s the take away message for your sermon” what’s the thesis? I have an answer now…I don’t know. I was looking for an idea to tie everything together, but I can’t find one. The only thing I can come up with is that the principles look nice on paper and I can mostly follow them when things are going well for me. I can probably even follow them when I’m going through a bumpy patch. I have no idea what would happen to my principles if I was worried about where my next meal was coming from or if I felt my family was being threatened? I’m sorry…the only thing I have left for you are more questions? I hope someone out there can answer them.

Many people commented on this story and many of those comments quite obviously came from a place of ignorance. I will assume most people just wanted to share their opinions and weren’t trying to be mean or hateful…but I could be wrong. There were a large group of commenters who assumed international adoption is tantamount to “buying babies”. This is not true. It is true there are numerous fees for social workers, doctors, translations, facilitation, etc. None of these fees are for the purchase of a child. Many of these fees are also present for domestic (I’m in Canada) adoptions, but they may be covered by the tax payer.

A large number of commenters were critical of international adoptions using the argument “there are plenty of Canadian kids who need our help”. I don’t disagree with this statement. There are lots of Canadian kids who need help and need homes. My wife and I support various charities that help some of these kids. That’s charity, not adoption. When my wife and I adopted our youngest daughter, it was because we wanted another daughter, not because we wanted to save the world. Adoptive families are not “opening their homes for the less fortunate” or “doing selfless work”, they’re expanding their families. Period.

Adoption, not just international adoption, is a way to expand your family, it is not charity. Keep this in mind when you comment about adoption or meet an adoptive family.

In the past 8 years, I’ve seen birthdays for my daughter and her friends become bigger every year. There are facilities to handle parties like these, such as indoor playgrounds, waterparks, etc… There are birthday themes such as the tae-kwon-do party, the fancy dress-up party, the dinosaur party, etc… It seems that if you allow your child to invite over 4 or 5 friends for hot dogs and cake, you’re doing your child a disservice. This is wrong.
How can a child have a happy birthday when their parents are madly running around trying to control 30 kids?

In 2010, after extensive negotiations, my wife and I convinced our oldest daughter that taking one friend to Galaxyland might be just as fun as a 100 person pool party. After a day at Galaxyland, my daughter said “it was the most fun ever!”. Supermom. Superdad.

A survey of all the moms on my morning bus (1) showed complete agreement with my position. Who else agrees?

Here’s some fun facts about these fun temperatures:

• Heavy duty construction cranes, from the little picker trucks to the massive superlift cranes rarely operate below -35°C.
• Heavy duty construction workers also rarely operate below -35°C. Although this is no slight to those highly skilled trades, but more of a reflection of Occupational Health & Safety guidelines.
• 100 proof vodka freezes at approximately -40°C.
• The boiling point of pure chlorine is -34.04°C.
• Pure mercury melts at -38.72°C.
• The low for Vostok, Antarctica was -37°C this past weekend.
• Exposed skin can freeze in less than a minute (Yay! Fun!)

It was cold. Edmontonians put on their long underwear and toques and mitts and survived. Social agencies and aid organizations did their best to make sure no one froze out on the streets and the AMA had wait times of up to 24 hours for a battery boost.

Fun!

A Complaint Free World is an organization that strives to help people by helping them become complaint free. It sounds simple, and even a bit naive, but it works. My wife and I tried this approach after the service and learned a lot about ourselves. When we became conscious of our complaining, we realized that we do an awful lot of bitching and whining. It took a while, but after a few days, our levels of complaining had dropped significantly, but our happiness levels rose. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I believe the simple act of talking and discussing rather than complaining was the main factor behind this newfound happiness.

Becoming complaint free is not simple. Becoming complaint free doesn’t mean you become a pushover either. Becoming complaint free is worth it, look into it.

I recently completed a knowledge management course at the University of Alberta in the Engineering Management program in the department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Touraj Nasseri was an excellent instructor, so I have no problems there. The course material and course work were appropriate and helpful, again, no problems. The students were keen and eager to learn; no problems. Many of the students had entered into the Engineering Management program straight from their undergraduate studies. Most of these students had little or no experience in the workplace. This was a problem.

The students are taking Engineering Management, presumably, to learn about management in the engineering field. I get that. Other programs exist in engineering management where students must have at least 5 years of experience in the workplace. In the situation at the University of Alberta, a mix of students may be appropriate. If half of the students in my knowledge management class had at least 5 years of experience and half of the class were fresh from undergraduate studies, I think class discussions would have been more valuable. The mix of experience and fresh perspectives could have generated new ideas and improved discussions.

I should say that a group presentation was involved in this class and the members of my group had little or no engineering experience but performed exceedingly well. They were eager to learn and willing to try new ideas.

That’s just my opinion though, others may disagree…

I do believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they’re not necessarily right or wrong, but rather informed or uninformed.

If you feel the need to share your opinion with others, please do a little research first. If you need to share an opinion, try to make it an informed opinion.

Think of the children.

Sitcom candidates, in no particular order:

• WKRP in Cincinnati
• MASH
• Soap
• Seinfeld
• Family Guy (I’m not sure if this is a sitcom)
• The Simpsons (ditto)
• The Facts of Life
• Diff’rent Strokes
• Three’s Company
• Grace Under Fire
• The Cosby Show
• Gilligan’s Island
• Mad About You
• Faulty Towers
• Mork & Mindy
• Welcome Back Kotter
• Barney Miller
• Married With Children
• Spaced
• IT Crowd
• Bosom Buddies
• Corner Gas
• Happy Days
• Arrested Development
• All in the Family

My top 5 are as follows:

1. WKRP…with the greatest moment in television history “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
2. Three’s Company…I like the episode where Mr. Roper thought Jack was gay
3. The Simpsons…the show that makes fun of itself making fun of itself
4. Mad About You…I just really like Helen Hunt
5. Faulty Towers…injured myself laughing every single episode

Am I right or wrong? Help me pick the real top 5, and please have a good argument as to why your shows should be in the top 5. Please, let’s keep it to sitcoms; I realize The O’Reilly Factor is the one of the most hilarious, whacked out shows on television, completely separated from reality…but it’s not a sitcom.

My first music was material supplied to me by my parents. Disney records (they were vinyl) and Sesame Street sing along albums were what my parents thought I should listen to. I’m pretty sure they didn’t realize their musical selections would influence me later in life. When I wasn’t listening to “The Jungle Book” I had to endure endless hours of ABBA at home and non-stop Elvis on the 8-track whenever we took a car trip.

 The next step in the evolution of my musical tastes was my discovery of radio. Unfortunately for me, the first place I discovered radio was Prince George, BC in the early 80s. Nothing against good ole PG, but the selection of radio stations was quite small, never the less, I was introduced to Genesis, The Police, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis and the News (whoops) and the always fantastic Cyndi Lauper. It doesn’t seem that spectacular, but it was a big jump from “It’s Not Easy Being Green” by Kermit the Frog.

Along with radio, I also discovered the TV shows “Kid Video”, “Video Hits”, and “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (I was never a fan of “4 o’clock Rock”, even back then I knew Mike Sobel was a goofball). Even with all this exposure to new music, I was still listening to music that the major record labels wanted to sell. I saw rigid classifications of music (mostly fabrications of the music industry). I liked rock and pop, I didn’t like country, jazz, classical or folk music. I didn’t even have to listen to music to find out if I liked it or not, it just had to fit into the proper category.

Moving into the nineties and university, I was exposes to live music for the first time in my life. I had never heard live music until university. Going out with friends on the weekend to catch some live music became a fairly regular event. There were always gigs at Dinwoodie’s, People’s Pub, The Sidetrack Café, or The Power Plant. The music I remember was great, but I also remember the bands doing great cover tunes of songs and artists I’d never heard of before. I learned about “musical influences”. During this era in my life, Fishbone, Parliament, Led Zeppelin (they weren’t old enough to be considered classic rock in the eighties so I’d never really heard much about them…please don’t judge me), and guitar wizard Joe Satriani made it onto my regular playlist. Even with my musical tastes expanding, music still fit into strict categories. I still liked rock and pop, and I still disliked country, jazz, classical and folk music.

Near the end of the decade, in the summer of 1998, my musical tastes were forever altered for the better. I met my wife in June of 1998. I was in love (still am) and I was ready to do anything she asked, including accompanying her to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. I knew I didn’t like folk music though, anything that could be classified as folk music didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t have to listen to it, I just had to know it came from the box labelled “folk”. Still, she really wanted me to go, so I went.

I was amazed.

I expected a bunch of people sitting around listening to “Kumbaya” sung a dozen different times and Joan Baez wannabes boring people to death with melancholy, depressing melodies. I was wrong. When Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir perform, you can’t help but get up and dance, and I was no exception. I was totally floored by Billy Bragg and Colin Hay. Although I loved that first festival and was stunned by the great music, I was deeply, deeply troubled. The inflexible compartments that made up my musical world didn’t apply anymore. Rock, pop, classical, jazz, blues, folk were labels created by record companies to make it easier to sell music. When I removed the labels, a whole new musical landscape presented itself to me.

Since 1998, I haven’t missed a single Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Every year I find 2 or 3 or 4 artists that make it onto my regular playlist. Every year, I discover musical styles that don’t fit any classification or categorization.

My wife changed my life. My musical taste was pretty sucky before I met her. There I said it. Let’s move on.

Recently, I was chatting with a friend and the topic of the Folk Festival came up. “I don’t like that type of music” she said. “Folk music isn’t for me”.
“What folk music have you listened to?” I asked.
“I don’t listen to folk music. I just know it’s not my thing”, she replied.
She’s still young, there’s still hope for her.

In the beginning, I listened to Disney soundtracks and Muppet music. Now, with 2 daughters, things have come full circle. In addition to my musical selections, I also listen to “The Lion King” soundtrack and the Backyardigans sing-along DVD frequently.

Hopefully, my daughters don’t have to wait 27 years to develop good taste in music. When asked, my 7 year old said her favourite musicians were (in no particular order) Ani Difranco, The Police and Michael Franti. My 18 month old likes bustin’-a-move to AC/DC and Michael Franti. They aren’t necessarily doomed to repeat my mistakes.

Me at The 2008 Edmonton Folk Music Festival