When the late grandma Seydee Sedit-Best was eulogized at the Boyardee funeral home, there were many who shed tears for this pioneer. She was a philologist and Biochemist educated at Oxford who was well known for translating many cookbooks into French. A life well lived, her crowning achievement was her recipe for mystic chicken soup.  She had been struggled for years, using precise and painstaking research, documenting her groundbreaking discovery in her first book, A Lil’ Bit Of This And A Lil’ Bit Of That, on the new york best seller list for three consecutive years.

She was born on December 31, 1899 and died January 22, 2001, living in three centuries and two millenniums and she never let anyone forget it, for she was like one of her soup ingredients, an old hen, as close to death as they come before being cut down and plucked after  a century.  She had built a reputation for being a healer,  as her false teeth glared, immersed in a glass of brown water on top of the coffin covered with the flag of France.

As I glanced at the teeth, recollections, long submerged, rose to the surface. My first memories of Sedyee now held the answer to a family mystery. I was distantly related to her and now sat in the second row to the left of the hand crafted box carved from a tree that grows only in the forest just north of Dijon, France.

Seydee was still alive and perky when I grew up. I remember her in the living room, declaring that the mystic receipe had transcendental properties. From my part, whether this was true, not or just a crock was always a point of contention. I never believed her because she never came off as the scientific type, but rather with the essence of a peasant immigrant who migrated from an obscure village of France and always seemed a bit odd resembling more a character in a Parisian fairy tale, so I never took very her seriously. Little did I know about who she really was until her papers were found buried in the backyard, dug up by our beloved family dog, Mustard, a canine that was bred in the famous Dog farms of Dijon and whose descendants were sent to the royal houses of Europe as companions first to Queen Victoria then her many children, married to most of the major houses of European royalty .

Then there were her medals we found in an old shoe box in her closet next to the numerous girdles she washed by hand and kept hidden behind the wood paneled door next to the portrait of  Empress Josephine. France had bestowed her the grand legion of honor with the grade of chevalier in 1956. Two years later Italy awarded her the Knight Grand Cross of the order of merit.  Also found was an ornate scroll written in calligraphy of her nomination for the Nobel prize in Biochemistry. The day her shoe box was discovered my family and I  sat on the table and looked at each other and said, “Who new.”

Grandma Seydee had always said that the event making it possible to find the answer to her recipe came from an ancient Tibetan text she discovered quite accidentally in the old Strands Book Store on Broadway and twelfth street just south of New York’s Union Square while doing her doctoral dissertation on Medicinal Elements Of Mushrooms And Herbs. Her theory was simple: there was a direct correlation between the mode of delivery of herbs and their potency in the body.

Her scientific approach was highly controversial, and she was dismissed by her contemporaries “as a tribal medicine woman who plucked mushrooms in to basket, one marked poisonous and the other,  edible but hallucinogenic.” Her theories however were never disproved, and by using Vitamin B-12 as a baseline comparison, she speculated about how her chicken soup would bring someone back from the brink of death. From her experimental techniques she came to several clues about various components of long life in her first major paper, Vitamin B-12 Levels , Sleep Deprivation and Dreams. In the paper she claimed  Its well known that taking vitamin B-12 was poorly absorbed in the gut to be of any value. Injecting it directly into the blood stream yielded much better results. Perhaps. her hypothesis followed,  smoking herbs or using them as ingredients in soup were far more effective. Unfortunately, she experimented on herself, which resulted in some mental confusion that raised many questions about her methods and effected her reputation within the scientific community. Some of her peers claimed she was too addicted to her own methods to be truly objective about her research or the conclusions she drew from the results.

During the early part of her life Grandma Seydee traveled across Asia, India and the Near East. Her father had been a traveling Buddhist monk who by happenstance met her mother one day at an outdoor Paris Flea Market where they eventually married. In an unpublished book, he said, “When I saw the way she carried the chickens by their neck, I instantly fell in love,”  and Seydee was born seven months later. Perhaps this was the first indication that chicken was her destiny and in her blood.

Her father was simply called He as his full name was unpronounceable in French  He was well known in many ancient monasteries across China, and He left her the only copy of his unpublished autobiography, Mystic Curiosities And Inventions with several clues underlined using invisible ink. One was a hand drawn map of the upper Siang valley in Tibet.

As a child, He took little Seydee to The Bronx Botanical Gardens, and among the numerous rose bushes that bloomed in early May, while teaching her to meditate, he first told her the story of his ancestor Miri, shaman of the Adi people. The medicine woman was long lived, but myth and legend still resonates within hundreds of tribes that exist to this day. Her name was also found etched on walls of many underground caves discovered in the Gobi desert of Mongolia that were long rumored to house the remnants of scrolls rescued by monks from the Alexandrian Library before it was burned.

When she was in Egypt studying meditation in one of the secret chambers of the great pyramids   she met Akmid Sedit who became her professor in the mystic arts and her first husband. Together, as man and wife they studied many degrees of Freemasonry and had a shared interest in Herbology experimenting with many mushrooms from a variety of cultures until his untimely death. After the mourning period, Seydee was determined to follow in Akmid’s footsteps which led her to the first two major ingredient of chicken soup: water and chicken; although she reasoned that water was in everything and therefore  a medium for soup rather than a true ingredient. However,  chicken was more specific and when she used different kinds cooking chickens, she realized in order to cure sick people, an old hen had to be used, “as close to death as they come.” This became her mantra that set her on the path of  her most important discovery: Grandma Seydee’s Mystic Chicken Soup.

Its clear there was more to grandma Seydee then the appearance an old bent woman who wore black orthopedic shoes and had purple tinted hair, always in the kitchen struggling with an old hen mumbling to herself incoherently.

When the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences honored Sophia Loren on May 4th, 2011 with a special night devoted to her life and career, it was the third recognition by the Academy of her talent and legend. It has been fifty years since her 1961 Oscar winning performance in Two Women and she continues to be an important figure in the golden age of both Hollywood and Italian Cinema.

As she approaches her seventy seventh birthday on September 20th, this was the perfect time to honor the actress once more, not with another statuette, none are necessary; her stature has gone beyond myth and legend. Sofia’s life has been nothing less then a fairy tale come true and celebrating it is not just about her beauty and talent, its also about the way she explains her views on life that elevates her to a philosopher. Her ideas are simple: live with passion, honesty, humility and a sense of humor.

Her first Oscar in 1961 was for Best Actress for a stunning performance in La Ciociara. The cinematic adaptation was directed by Victorio di Sica and based on the the book written by Alberto Moravia (1907 -1990). His novels explored social alienation, contemporary sexual values and existentialism. The production was filmed in Italian and subtitled in other languages. It centers on a woman in her early fifties who struggles to protect her daughter from the horrors of war. Sofia was twenty five at the time and lacked confidence she could portray a women twice her age, but di Sica  believed she could do it and convinced her to trust him and play Cesira, a middle aged woman with a teenage daughter.

Her experiences in Italy during World War ll and her relationship with di Sica who she described as a great teacher motivated her to try. “He gave me roles that were appropriate to my temperament  and brought things out I never knew I had. He would just look at me and I knew what he wanted.”

Her spellbinding portrayal in Two Women was hailed as one of best performances captured on film and established her as a dramatic actress with great authenticity. The brutality of war was never more clear then when both mother and daughter were raped by Mussolini’s soldiers. Its unfortunate that most copies of La Ciociara are so faded with a warped score, that the Academy would do well to restore the film and preserve it for future generations.

Her second Oscar was an honorary award bestowed to her by the Academy and presented by Gregory Peck in 1991 for being one of the treasures of world cinema. Not only were her Italian films  being honored but  her American pictures as well. Some of them featured many of Hollywood’s  most prominent leading men and directors.

Her philosophy shines not only in many of her roles, but also the interviews she has given over the years. They are incredibly witty and cover a wide range of subjects that reveal the simplicity of an old soul with much to teach.

In 1999 Sofia  was asked about aging. Her response was,  “ What can you do, time goes by for everyone, You are who you are,  and  you have to look the best you can , if you can, and then go on with life “

On love and  her relationship with Cary Grant, she said, “I was twenty two, and to see Cary Grant attracted to me the way he was, I fell a little bit for it, just a little, but it was worth it.”

When asked about her career, she responded, “ My career has been everything I was dreaming of and so much more, and probably much more then I deserved. i have no regrets about things I wished for but didn’t get, it would be a mortal sin, such a small thing, it would not be worth mentioning. My life has been like a fairy tale, really.”

The public has no misconceptions about Sofia because her candidness and  insights ring with clarity.  She has a rare gift  to convey her philosophy of life, reflecting what she has learned on her journey, both good and difficult. This is a legacy worth celebrating and a footnote in the life of one of the most fascinating women of the Twentieth Century.

Sophia Loren Quotes

According to Japanese myth “good fortune follows a child conceived under the fiery plasma emanating from the Earth’s magnetosphere.” On the other hand western scientists and theologians might argue that it is not possible to know the precise correlation between “expelling billions of electrons funnelling to and from a pole,” and mitosis, immersed in a field of magnetically charged particles under the Aurora Borealis.

A peaceful place, calm and harmonious, where the energy of the planet is as vibrant and subtle as the stars flickering  through the  aqua red  sky of the northern lights, an ideal place to think about philosophy, religion or contemplate the breath of Japanese myth and the Ho Ho Ho of Old St. Nick.

Unfortunately, busy professionals are often unable to travel to the Arctic regions to find the northern lights to breed a child of good fortune. For them, a unique solution has been devised to bring the lights to their location by thinkgeek.com called the Aurora Projector. “This unique object uses three colored LED’s and a frosted lenses to simulate the ice of the northern region that is now melting due to global warming from the products of the industrial revolution,  to project twisting swirling misty lights on your wall or ceiling. Four triple-a batteries power it for up to 20 hours to avoid any interruptions in a thoughtful conception. The controls are simple to master – On, Off, and  a Timer  which  shuts it off after 30, 60, 90 and  120 minutes, especially thoughtful  for those who are in the geriatric age range. Plus, the lamp is hinged, so if you are concerned about straining your neck muscles or pinching the wrong nerve to stare at the light show on the ceiling, you can tilt it vertically, and project the pretty colorful lights on the wall instead. The size of the contraption: H13 x W18.5 x D11 cm. The 4 AA batteries it takes to run this thing are not included and it doesn’t appear to have any plug in components.”

Now for the right yen and $39.00 you too can conceive a child of good fortune that will make parenting as easy as baking a souffle.

During the Roman Empire, a group of large carp like fish known as genus Barbus were domesticated in marble tanks under the bed of guests invited to lavish Roman Orgies  signifying their fascination with underwater life that led to aquariums. But, it wasn’t known until much later that goldfish like others in the Carp family are social animals who frequently become bored with their environment when left alone without other fish to interact. For them, a stark, un-embellished bowl of water just wont do because their inclination when happy is to be curious. In fact this quality is believed to have encouraged the development of elaborate fish tank rock formations, miniature sunken ships and the R2 Fish Training Kit. which made Albert the goldfish pictured above a member of the Guinness Book Of Records as the fish with the largest repertoire of tricks of any aquatic vertebrate with scales.

According to historical records, The concept of fish school, not to be confused with a school of fish was first founded by Dean and Kyle Pomerleau in 2004. Kyle who was seven years old at the time won two common goldfish at a school fair spending hours watching them for several weeks. He suspected that there was more going on in their brains then most people were willing to give them credit for. On a whim, he and his father decided to see if it was possible to train fish to do tricks using techniques frequently associated with  training dogs, cats, and circus animals.

In an attempt to give fish their just due as responsive pets rather than some kind of decoration at risk for being flushed down the toilet or eaten by a house cat, their scientific investigation led to the Fish School Training Manual, initially written in French. The basic principles set forth in the pamphlet are positive reinforcement and shaping which uses the fish’s innate curiosity to encourage behavior modification. After all, Kyle  claimed,  “Fish have often been served in various cultures as religious symbols, deities and the subject of art, books and films such as The Incredible Mr. Limpit,” a 1964 live action/animated film by Warner Brothers about a human who mysteriously turns into a talking fish and helps the US Navy defeat the Nazis using his “thrum,” an intense  noise that disrupts underwater  instruments and weapons long before Finding Nemo won the Oscar as best animated feature in 2005.

Although its green, nice to look at and fun to count, the US dollar has no intrinsic value. As an illustration of money, it’s just printed paper representing an IOU in lieu of some societal value. In fact, money everywhere has the same purpose, of easily providing purchasing power to whoever has it, while being a source of envy for those who don’t.

Most of history, and politics, issues of war, civil unrest and peace involve money somewhere in the mix as the causal factor of conflict even if no one is around to identify the transaction. Arguments often arise between nations when formulas are created to measure one countries’ currency in relation to another. Many cultures define success as the ability to get as much of it than is needed, while each generation passes down the misguided notion that “security” is synonymous with possessing it.

The idea that, suffering along the way to obtaining money will somehow teach the value of having it, has become more wishful thinking than a golden rule, since greed and temptation for an easy buck seems to be everywhere. What happened to the idea that self-confidence in one’s own ability to find a solution to whatever uncertainty presents is where the nature of true security lies.

People with “no money” usually fare better during economic downturns than those who have more than they know what to do with, as long as they have access to good education which translates into a level playing field. For them, ingenuity is the way of survival rather than spending their lives obsessing over how to generate more and discover ways to avoid losing it by inventing ways to keeping track of it.

Perhaps finding another way to engage goods and services is possible if money were totally abolished, as in the Star Trek Universe of the Twenty-Fourth Century, where society provides for all needs effortlessly allowing everyone to be creative and focus on higher pursuits. It sounds wonderful but removes incentives and the need for personal motivation, not necessarily a good thing for a balanced equation. Conservative Republicans might add their two cents, “It’s a bit too socialistic.”

Maybe science could eventually invent the ‘Duplicator’ to make everything out of nothing, so no one has to worry about anything, creating another form of a classless society, eliminating the need for competition. But wait, this is not a credible option since matter, according to Physics, can neither be created nor destroyed. However, if one is able to think outside the box, other alternatives will make it possible one day to lose money happily with a smile.

In Scotland, many years ago, a new game was invented

It was called, “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden”.

Thus, the world GOLF entered into the English Language.

Is It True, Not Or Just A Crock (#2)
Is It True, Not Or Just A Crock (#1)

According to custom, “the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is given periodically at the Academy Award ceremonies for outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes. It is named after screen actor Jean Hersholt, who served as the president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund for eighteen years. The award trophy is an ‘Oscar’ statuette. Past recipients have included producers, directors, writers and actors.”

This year, come Oscar time, no person is more deserving of finally being bestowed the humanitarian award as actor, comedian director, writer Jerry Lewis.

In a career that has spanned seven decades, from his first days as part of the Martin & Lewis comedy team (1946-1957), he has worked consistently and passionately for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, which he founded in 1966, and continues in his yearly Labor Day telethons aired for decades as well as off camera despite his advancing age. He has raised over two billion dollars that have been used to further scientific research to develop a breakthrough in neuromuscular research and patient care.

On his 40th Labor Day telethon in 2005, Lewis added Salvation Army fund raising for Hurricane Katrina victims to his usual MDA fund raising. He also hosted the French version of the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in 1987 and 1991.

As an actor/director he has amassed a resume of comedic films and dramatic performances, including experimenting with innovative camera techniques adopted and currently used by directors and technicians which should have garnished him a technical Oscar for those achievements. Yet the Academy has ignored his efforts and accomplishments to the industry.

Although he has been criticized by many in Hollywood for some of his outspoken and controversial statements, the body of work anyone does in life, must be balanced by the overall good one has achieved. Clearly, this talented man, humanitarian, and world citizen finally deserves Hollywood’s recognition. “Get it together Academy and do the right thing.”

Today it was announced that the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to The UN’s International Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) jointly with Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton. This is the very same Al Gore who should have become the forty-third president of the US, had it not been for the disastrously bad partisan (5-4) vote by the Supreme Court in its 2000 decision to anoint the Presidency to whom historians now call “ The worst President in US history, George Walker Bush.

According to BBC News, “By choosing Al Gore and the IPCC for the award in 2007, the Nobel Committee have rightly brought to our attention that climate change is the single biggest threat to world peace we have ever faced.”

Mr. Gore has been a champion for bringing awareness of climate change with his 2006 Oscar-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”, and numerous books over the years on the the importance of ecology.

The IPCC, a UN body which is composed of 3,000 atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, ice specialists, economists and other experts, is the world’s top scientific authority on global warming and its impact.

Reaction was mixed as a spokesman for Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a climate change skeptic said, “It rather seems that Gore’s questioning of the basic foundation stones of the current civilization does not contribute to peace much.”

Dr. Jeremy Leggett, Oxford University Environmental Change Institute thought this was a good choice for “the previously unsung and much–falsely maligned legion of scientific whistle blowers, and their tireless chief advocate. He added, “Perhaps now the shriveling band of fossil-fuel-funded contrarians and car-enthusiast media stars will finally have the good grace to shut up with the ignorance they pedal about the threat we face.”

Joseph Bast of the Heartland Institute said, “Al Gore doesn’t understand the science behind climate change or he deliberately misrepresents it. Either way, that should disqualify him from a prize like this.”

Although the choice of Mr. Gore will probably be seen by the Bush Administration as a political statement against his policies, its clear that public opinion respects the choice of awarding the peace prize to Mr. Gore for his consistent public efforts to focus attention on this problem. It also draws a marked contrast to the failed policies of Bush’s consistent stonewall attempts against any ecological measures that would limit his most ardent supporters, the private sector which has a financial stake in delay tactics. In any event we should all join together to congratulate Mr. Gore on this award.