Saturday, April 10, 2004
LOOK WHAT DC HAS LYING AROUND! [Meera]
D.C. actually has a pretty spiffy statue called Our Awakening in "East Potomac Park" (my city has parks?)
Posted on
11:46 AM
CREATING A CULTURE OF CONSCIOUS COMPASSION [.j.evonne.]
Larry Harvey , founder of Burning Man (and featured this week on iNaked), on making integral connections:
This process begins with radical self-expression: the feeling that your inmost vital self is real and that you can project a vision of this sense of your own being onto the surrounding world. I mean all these ads say be all that you can be, buy this car and you'll be free, but they're just substitutes. You're not going to be unless you can project a spiritual reality out onto the world.
But most people just don't have the confidence anymore because they're too isolated; they're too passive. So it starts with this, and I'll call it "I Am." And it proceeds, as in a theme camp, to a feeling that you are united with others, that you are linked in a bonded circle and that together you can share the same experience through an act of giving, because the value of a gift is in its flow - not as you consume it, but as it consumes. And I'll call this, "We Are." Finally there is the feeling that somewhere outside this circle there exists some greater gift that everyone is joined together by as they give to it, and I'll call this "It Is."
And I have come to believe that whenever these feeling states can be strung together like pearls on a string, as if they were parts of one spontaneous gesture, you will then generate an ethos, a culture, that leads, in Jefferie's words, to a "boundless shower of good things forever descending."
Posted on
11:15 AM
Friday, April 09, 2004
COTTAGE GROVE, OREGON [wrench]
is a town my pop and I have stayed at during our small mouth bass fish rides down the umqua river. but, did you know it's also where the late tibetan-born dzogchen master chagdud tulku rinpoche (who was ken wilber's primary dzogchen teacher) established his first meditation center here in the united states, "dechhen ling." how wild is that: the Great Perfection, in little cottage grove, oregon. just shows to go ya :)
Posted on
11:59 PM
SIGUR ROS AND BRAIN/MIND MACHINES [.j.evonne.]
Senor de Leon has been tuning me back into the magic of brain/mind manipulation like a magnet back to source. Neurotheology starts my question train, as I wonder just how far we can play with our own godspot. If the brain has some gross or fixed spiritual G-spot that responds to electromagnetic, radio or light waves as much or more than our common nutritional/chemical fixes, then how should we proceed in sharing and developing massage tools for the people?
A friend of mine offered a great image as we discussed spiral dynamics and the evolution of human awareness and intelligence. He expressed an obstruction preventing connection with the majority of the population, those who seek limited engagement with the world and live in the broom closet of their minds. They are oblivious to the interior castle, so they meticulously decorate their one or two rooms of being.
I spoke of the 10% or so who start to branch out, explore, turn a few knobs and lightswitches. Their world grows to encompass the planets and stars, the swirling electrons. They begin to sense the beauty of our evolutionary diversity and its capacity for creativity. Most of my blog friends can relate to this postmodern dance for truth.
But how far does that exploration go? Are there a few who've turned on every light in the house and have seen the essence of it all in grand detail? My friend, when faced with this question, had a beautifully mysterious look on his face, a vexing grin of possibility.
Can we go there now? And what if our job is to tell the broom closet kids that they are other rooms? Can it be done, would a major evolutionary leap be made...or is this form of awareness transferred by DNA only?
It seems to start with sex, as most evolutionary things do. These tools and capacities are ecstatic, deliciously sexual in nature. When that crown chakra turns on, it lights up every torch on the runway, every room in the house. When Persinger helmets come in designer colors on HBO then we'll start to see whole neighborhoods....if given enough light to construct with.
Posted on
12:58 PM
WHY I LOVE MODEST MOUSE [Paul]
Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock is the subject of a recent interview with The Onion AV Club, and his hard-won words suggest an integral level of consciousness. Isaac on the dialectic of progress:
"The Onion: But you seem of the opinion that it might destroy us all, too.
Isaac: It's trying both. Basically, it's a push-me, pull-me thing. Science finds a way to fuck things up, and then science finds a way to fix it."
Isaac on God:
"O: Do you still consider yourself an atheist?
IB: Pretty much, but there are things that make me think. Like that guy who played Jesus [Jim Caviezel] getting hit by lightning during the filming of that movie? That just makes you think, "I can't be 100 percent sure." But I'm not going to change my game plan anyway."
The music also happens to be pretty damn good as well.
Posted on
12:14 AM
Thursday, April 08, 2004
WHOOSH [Matthew]
That is the sound of Camile Paglia, one of our greatest hawks against extreme postmoderism in arts education, swooping into the debate about how best to educate students using the classical and contemporary arts. What an advocate for arts she is. In addition to a published scholar in any number of fields of social criticism and art history, she is a professor at Philadelphia's University of the Arts. Her recent essay in Arion, A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, is called The Magic of Images: Word and Picture in a Media Age. One of the many Kosmic quotes:The visual environment for the young, in short, has become confused, fragmented, and unstable. Students now understand moving but not still images. The long, dreamy, contemplative takes of classic Hollywood studio movies or postwar European art films are long gone. Today's rapid-fire editing descends from Jean-Luc Godard, with his hand-held camera, and more directly from Godard's Anglo-American acolyte, Richard Lester, whose two Beatles movies have heavily influenced commercials, music videos, and independent films. Education must slow the images down, to provide a clear space for the eye.
Thus, simply put, this is standard reading. Paglia tends to emphasize a bit of a retroromantic view in some of her work, but you simply cannot doubt the intellectual heft that she brings to everything she produces. Yes, taken whole, she is one of my models. Could you tell?
Posted on
5:54 PM
HOLY THURSDAY!!! [coolmel]
Originally uploaded by 
coolmel. Posted by
coolmel from
Posted on
3:02 PM
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
NEW DRUNKS ON THE BLOG [coolmel]
when it comes to blogging, TDH is a tadpole. yeah, a fuckin' tadpole! the layout is simplistic, no freakin' commenting system, only a freebie account on blogger.com, no blogrolling, not even a stupid calendar. but it gets the job done.
those who are passionate about blogging know that the essence of blogging is the personal touch. to blog is human, to group blog is divine. but only the New Kids on the Blog can give you that personal aperspectival thingy.
Posted on
12:08 AM
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
PROPS TO YO' MAMA [coolmel]
good health and recovery to yo' mama Wrench. hate hospitals and emergency rooms... been there. so here's something i think you'll appreciate while hangin' -- Journal @ NeilGaiman.com
and the sandman cometh...
Posted on
2:54 PM
YO' MAMMA [wrench]
I'm in cali visiting my mom in the hospital (long story - click here for details), and we have a running joke, inspired by when the nurses come in and ask patients, on a scale of 1 to 10, what their pain level is. well, we all agree that mom's 2 is another person's 8. I secretly think she's a badass bodhisattva in a mom suit. manjushri w/ earrings. muhammed ali of moms. mahatma mommy...
Posted on
2:33 PM
Monday, April 05, 2004
DOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONY ON ME! [.j.evonne.]
First the passion, then the apocalypse...
The man who brought us Godzilla and Independence day is now taking on global warming and the impending ice age. Fox is releasing The Day After Tomorrow on Memorial Day weekend, just in time to freak out those summer travelers.
Where will you be when it hits? Tornadoes clocked at 250mph rip through LA while NYC is engulfed in tidal waves. Lightning storms, grapefruit-hail, scorching heat and frozen cities....Hollywood fodder ripped from the Pentagon report on climate change.
At least we can't feign ignorance now. Sounds like a good time to invest in a survivalist training business -- or at least buy some remote land with a water supply.
Posted on
11:48 PM
NEVERMIND KURT [coolmel]
from LAUNCH Music on Yahoo! --
Monday, April 5th marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic death of Kurt Cobain. Though we can only imagine what incredible music he'd be creating today if he were still with us, we do know his impact will be immense for decades to come. So today, we invite you to post your tribute to Kurt's legacy here. Whether it's how Nevermind changed your life, how Kurt's lyrics comforted you during difficult times, or how his untimely passing affected you, we want to hear from you.
the first time i heard Nirvana my eardrums almost popped out. my first impression was, "man this dude have some real anger to vent." too bad he had to go to the deep end early. but hey, at least it was a great prelude to this. thanks Kurt. meet you in Nirvana, grab a case of Red Bull, and hangout with this dude.
Posted on
4:28 PM
Sunday, April 04, 2004
FILE THIS IN THE 'WHO'D OF THUNK IT' FILE [Matthew]
The Washington Post offers the article: "Badda-Ping! The Whacky World of Olympic Table Tennis" with this money quote: "People think you play table tennis in your basement while you're eating a sandwich, but I think it's one of the hardest sports to succeed in," she says. "People compare it to tennis, but it's more like boxing than tennis. Tennis is, like, boring to me. It's not fast enough."
I have actually never compared ping-pong to tennis or boxing, nor have I met anyone who has. Maybe shuffleboard, or croquet. But hey, I guess it is all in the way you look at it.
Posted on
11:24 PM
Guide to iPartying in Hollywood [.j.evonne.]
* When seeing Hellboy at the Chinese Theatre, bring earplugs.
* There are no bananas, only liquor stores.
* All women in LA clubs look gorgeous in their short black skirts and heels. Counter this by wearing old grubby clothes and showing off hairy legs at every possible venue.
* Best time to score speed on the street: 6AM.
* Renaissance hotel has military rates. Work it....and don't miss the pool.
* Do not pay $8 to bowl a game at Lucky Strike. The BBQ chicken sandwich is a much better investment.
* Sleep well before you go, 'cause Hollywood will debauch you 24/7.
Posted on
5:02 PM
WIRED MAVERICKS [coolmel]
based on the subjective preferences of these experts and visionaries, below is the result of The 2004 Wired Rave Awards --
They are the mavericks, the dreamers, the innovators. The 20 people paving the way to tomorrow and inspiring us to follow in their footsteps. We admire their smarts. We salute their achievements. And we can't wait to see what they'll do next.
Bram Cohen; Photo by Chris Mueller
Image linked from Wired.com
too bad i'm not in the committee. otherwise, this guy would have my vote.
Posted on
1:14 PM
