A guy named Brian who posts on my blog (hardcorezen.blogspot.com) asked:
“I’m wondering how you feel about stories of Zen masters who endured what would normally be insane levels of pain through the discipline of zazen? No doubt some of the stories are fanciful, but we have on video the monk who set himself on fire and didn’t flinch until he was dead.
“Do you think you could do that after so many years of sitting or is something missing? Or is that really not the point of zazen, just a type of parlor trick that’s cool to know can be done but isn’t the primary purpose of meditation?”
Around the same time I got a message from one of my Facebook friends mentioning this video by Ken Wilber:
In case you can’t view it, this is a video of the uber-spiritual wonderman Ken Wilber hooking himself up to a machine that supposedly demonstrates how he can voluntarily stop his brainwaves.
This stuff kind of reminds me of juggling.
When I lived in Santa Monica, I used to walk down to Venice Beach on weekends. There would always be lots of talented people on the boardwalk doing various tricks for chump change from tourists. One of these guys was a juggler. He was absolutely amazing. He had this trick where he’d climb up on a balance board on top of a top of a rickety wooden ladder and juggle like five butcher’s knives, all while making clever jokes at his own expense. It was astounding. Take a look:
Like most people on the boardwalk, I’d watch his act, be amazed and then put a dollar or two in the bucket he passed around at the end. I was a local, and hence a cheapskate. Maybe the tourists slipped him fives and tens. Or maybe some of them were cheaper than me and just threw in quarters.
I’ve done twenty plus years of daily zazen meditation, plus more intensive retreats than I care to remember. Having been through some interesting scenes during practice I can understand how one could use meditation practice to learn to do some pretty impressive tricks. I personally could not sit still while I was on fire and I doubt I could wire myself up to an EEG and make the indicators do whatever I wanted. But I can see clearly how that could be done.
“I love SuicideGirls.”
– Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara
To fans of Tegan & Sara, it may seem like it’s been a quick rise from unknown indie band to one with a respectable following. But to Tegan & Sara it has been a long, hard road with many artistic rewards along the way. One of their most recent rewards is that they are finally putting out a DVD. It’s Not Fun, Don’t Do It!, features all of their music videos, a full length concert, the making of their video for “So Jealous,” and endless commentary by these talkative sisters/singers.
INTO: Having a lot of fun, dancing, eating, drinking and laughing with my friends. The beach, the ocean, swimming, being wet! Adopting as many children as I can. The man of my life! VAMPIRES!!!
NOT INTO: Being used, bad red wine, and feeling guilty!
MAKES ME HAPPY: Summer, seafood, red wine, sushi, strawberry daiquiri, people laughing and dancing, the sound of the ocean, the stars, masturbating, having someone to talk and to have sex with!
MAKES ME SAD: Injustice, hypocrisy, lies, guilt, anxiety, finishing a good book, little children all around the world being sick and hungry!
HOBBIES: Reading, watching movies and TV, drinking and dancing, writing, the internet.
5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: My glasses, deodorant, red wine, books, and movies.
VICES: Seafood, sushi, red wine, vodka, smoking, kissing.
I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Working, watching series/movies, reading, going out at night, dating, studying, and modeling.
Before the final batch of DC’s New 52 hit stores, every issue had officially sold out at the distribution level. The order for a second printing of all 52 titles was given before the latest batch had even gone on sale. Justice League #1 remains the best selling comic of the year. Nearly a dozen comics have sold over 100,000, while Batman #1 and Action Comics #1 have broken 200,000.
Catwoman was a very sexually driven piece, ending with a splash page of Batman and Catwoman mid-intercourse. Some have called it amazing and artful, most are calling it an attack on feminism and females in comics. More outrage came from Red Hood because Starfire was changed into a busty nymphomaniac with little regard for individual humans, a major change from her past character. I enjoyed Catwoman, and sit on the artful side of the argument. I also highly enjoyed Red Hood, but I’m not sure how approving I am of Starfire’s changes. Hopefully they will be part of what has been promised to be explained in issue #2.
WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: I can always find some great recipes and inspirations in the “What I made for dinner” thread, and usually see pictures of what other vegetarians are eating! I get hungry every time I scroll through it.
DISCUSSION TIP: Include pictures! We eat with our eyes, whether you are veggie or carnivorous.
BEST RANDOM QUOTE: “You can catch more flies with agave nectar than with vinegar.”
MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: Definitely the “Vegetarians don’t eat meat” thread. There is a lot of debate about what qualifies as vegetarian. I think there is probably nothing more annoying to a vegetarian than someone who claims to be veggie even though they eat chicken or fish. There are quite a few misconceptions about the term vegetarian; Just the other night my waiter asked me “So, do you eat fish then?” after I asked for a veggie menu.
WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: Anyone who doesn’t eat meat!
“[Hellboy] will become more philosophical.”
– Mike Mignola
With the creation of his character, Hellboy, Mike Mignola has spawned a world of projects including animated and live action movies, as well as a wealth of brilliant merchandising. Mignola first broke into the business over 20 years ago doing comic books, which will always be his first love. He has been crafting Hellboy stories for over ten years and is just now reaching the middle part of Hellboy’s life. Hellboy continually evolves into a more complex and interesting character, and Mignola’s infinite ideas are highlighted in the new trade paperback that offers the collection of the Hellboy miniseries “The Third Wish” and “The Island.”
