randoms

"There is a traditional story about a Zen student who complained to his master that following the breath was boring. The Zen master grabbed this student and held his head underwater for quite a long time while the student struggled to come up. When he finally let the student up, the Zen master asked him whether he had found breath boring in those moments underwater." - man, imagine if this was done to a modern, ready-to-sue American

Rumble!

One of Sensei Tony's standard lessons in an article

In honor of the upcoming additions to Tucson, the secret menu

Huh, an interesting difference in the yamas I've been talking over on the other blog, between the yogic kind and the Jainist kind, is anekantvada

triviaball of oddity

-Xenu - ok, seriously that's just trippy

-actually, this series of very closeup photos of a snowflake is also pretty trippy

-to whoever I was telling about this, I wasn't kidding! Chess boxing.

-who knew that Wingdings could generate controversy?

a striking image

"In spite of active fighting in the area [Vietnam], I was drawn to visit a temple built by a famous master known as the Coconut Monk on an island in the Mekong Delta. When our boat arrived, the monks greeted us and showed us around. They explained to us their teaching of peace and nonviolence. Then they took us to one end of the island where on top of a hill was an enormous sixty-foot tall statue of a standing Buddha. Just next to Buddha stood an equally tall statue of Jesus. They had their arms around each other, smiling."

mmm...Miami....

Reno 911!: Miami, with the Reno police. I wonder what the actual Reno police think of that show. And the Rock, in a very short cameo. And what looked like a vaguely familiar stand-up comedian, on roller skates. And that guy from Blade Trinity, as Abby and Chris noticed. And my personal favorite, the standard women-walking-around-in-bikinis that signify the city of Miami in any sort of cinematic-text. Has anyone else ever noticed that? Any movie with Miami in it, there are just women constantly walking around in bikinis. Not that I'm complaining in any way whatsoever, mind. So. Anyway. I thought it was kind of stupid, in general, but in that stupidity it pulled off some hilarious moments. I'm sure I would have appreciated it a lot more had I ever seen the television show, say, with all the different attractions between the main characters, but I got the jist of it I think, and that was funny enough.

Well, I'm excited....
World War Hulk is the story of the Hulk returning to Earth, where those puny humans live, and much smashing will ensue.”
-
“The Hulk’s like Santa Claus,” said Gage. “Santa has his naughty and nice list, and the Hulk’s got his ‘smash’ and ‘smash really hard list.’”

Also: the new status quo

The...topography....geography, hm, whatever of the Judaic version is kind of interesting, makes me want to go back and read some Dante Alighieri again

Wow, I didn't know an entire nation could be tried in court

Things of Note - A Weekendy Weekend

-congrats to Ms Kim and Rooney - theeeey arrrre the chaaaampions, THEEEYY AAARRRRE THE...::cough:: anyway...
-thanks to Kevin, we now know we've inadvertantly been growing London rockets, aka, desert wasabi, all over both yards...it's deceptively burny
-Mission Impossible: Reverse Dumpster Diving (be sneakylike!)
-a bobcat tried to break into an apartment (at least, that's what it looked like); a chihuahua may or may not have been pleasuring itself in said apartment (gah! teeth!)
-even if you win Speed when the other person is blatantly cheating, don't yell "ha!" and fall over backwards - you'll fall into a puddle and crack your head on a rock bench
-New Balance stores are horribly expensive...but the service, magnifique!
-I finally got a picture frame! Woo! Now, to get several more...
-we're one step closer to a Zen garden! And we can see the porch at night again! Yay housework!

mindfulness, mindlessness

Vinyasa Flow Yoga, with Seane Corn. Yay Valentines gift! I enjoyed this dvd a good deal, especially as in regular class we concentrate on a kind of mellow, slow vinyasa style, and this is more of an amp'ed up, sun salution based sequence. Or rather, it's interesting because it's directed towards instructing one on finer points of those basic sun salutions. All that said, there was something that bothered me just a little about Corn herself, I'm not sure what, but I was wary of it, not insincerity, but...ah, who knows.

Wow, so, things I discovered while being completely mindless and exploring Second Life this evening. I've never had so much fun with clothes. I found a mall, which was eerily empty, but had no money (alas, I couldn't buy recordings some stranger had made of....naughty things). I also had no money to tip the random person who jumped up on a stripper pole in an impromptu fashion, so I left. I found a trailer park. That people lived in gleefully. With a working waterpark. And a little cabin, with a bed all set up for bondage and D/s stuff. In a different house I found, well, more of a mansion with an indoor pool and a spiral staircase and interesting art, I found showers and beds one could click on, and get menus for everything from foursomes to any position one could think of; the ironic thing is, I was just wandering around, it just took me a while to realize the region I'd randomly clicked on was called "Sleazywood."

Anyway, the conclusion I came to in that region is that it was eventually kind of boring to just wander around by myself in, but I think Second Life would be a wonderful tool for people in, say, a long distance relationship. Hell, they could go so far as to 'buy' a house and a private island and 'live' together if they were so inclined, or just hang out in a trailer park in Sleazywood and chill at the waterpark, whatevah.

more l'il bits

Conception, Girls Vol 1 - Wow, what an intriguing beginning. There's something viscerally disturbing going on in this, it's too subtle to name right off the bat, though. Something about small town creepiness, maybe, or there's got to be something going with how normal conceptions of sexuality are being turned on their head, then there's an element of Silent Hill-esque way-beyond-isolation. Basically, it's good.

Gen13
5 - I think I might actually have to go back and get a couple of the prior comics to this, I actually think I like this reboot; it's not as wacky or irreverent as in the past, but it's got some interesting points

Star Wars Legacy 4 - ah, here we are, no Skywalkers here, just a very interesting one-shot from the point of view of StormTroopers, and it's pretty much the last thing one would expect

The Boys 2, 3, 4 - Wow, it's apparently very hard to find a website or even a listing for buying these puppies. They're just that filled with gratuitous violence and sex, hilariously unique characters, and are completely subversive to nigh every mainstream comic book in the worst possible ways. I'll say it again, it's great!

Also, in a second viewing of Music and Lyrics, I noticed a few things. As much as all of Cora's songs were like to make my head explode, you really couldn't have that fun or irreverence with, say, Judaism, Islam or Christianity. There was a funny little thing going on with introductions - maybe I'm just not used to people introducing themselves with both first and last name around here, or being put off if they just get the first name, did anyone else notice that? And I think it made sense for Sophie to go for an older guy, she'd already established a pattern of sorts with the jerk author, which could kind of be an argument for consistent characterization.

-from Wyatt, keep an eye on the candidates for '08

-bwa! (apparently, we weren't the only ones who had that idea)

passage from book

“The first thing that happens after you make a mistake is that you become upset. Everyone I know gets upset. That is the first indication of a mistake. At this point of upset, you find out who you really are.”

-the Liar- the liar will say such things as: 'I didn’t do that.' Or, 'No, no, no. It wasn’t me.' Or, 'I don’t know how that happened.' Or, 'Prove it.'
-the Blamer – the blamer will say such things as: 'It’s your fault, not mine.' Or, 'If my wife didn’t spend so much money, I would be better off financially.' Or, 'I would be rich if I didn’t have you kids.' Or, 'It’s my boss’s fault.'
-the Justifier – the justifier will say things such as: 'Well, I don’t have a good education so that is why I don’t get ahead.' Or, 'Oh, I really didn’t want to get it anyway.' Or, 'Well, everyone else was doing it.'
-the Quitter – the quitter says things such as: 'I told you it would never work.' Or, 'This is too hard and it’s not worth it. I’m going to do something easier.' Or, 'Why am I doing this? I don’t need this hassle.'
-the Denier – the ‘cat in the litter box,’ which means this person likes to bury their mistakes: 'No, there's nothing wrong. Things are fine.' Or, 'Mistake? What mistake?' Or, 'Don’t worry. Things will work out.'

When people are upset due to a mistake or accident, one or more of these characters will take over their mind and body. If you want to learn and gain wisdom from this priceless mistake, you have to let The Responsible You eventually take control of your thinking. The Responsible You will eventually say, ‘What priceless lesson can I learn from this mistake?’
If I blame, I give power to the other person. If I take responsibility for what happened, I will learn a precious lesson that I obviously needed to learn. If I lie, blame, justify, or deny, I learn nothing.

Unsuccessful people blame the other person. They often want the other person to change, and that is why they stay upset for so long. They are upset because they fail to learn their personal lesson. Instead of being upset, such people should be grateful for the other person being there to teach them something they needed to learn.

To be upset or hold a grudge against another person is like being upset with your bicycle because you fell off once or twice while trying to learn something new.” - by Robert Kiyosaki

-and a complementing article, Polishing the Mirror

li"l bit reviews

New Avengers 27 - the underground side of the Avengers, post-Civil War, it has an unexpected, rough style of art, sassy dialogue, the biggest all-out-all-ninja brawl ever, and Elektra getting kicked in the...wow
Wisdom 2 - nonsensical in a Mulholland Drive dream-sense, times British English = an interesting, semi-coherent ending, at least
Stormwatch PHD 3,4 - the current incarnation of the everchanging Stormwatch, Post Human Division is chock-full of creepy-disturbing villains, clever action, and character development with unexpected layers; in these two issues we've got some expanding of the setting with a trip to Vegas, and a girls' night out gone violent
New X-Men 35 - ugh, can't stand the cover, but the comic itself is an engaging setup for what looks to be some mad action involving the young'ns, regular X-Men, and the O*N*E.
Cable & Deadpool 36 - I was chortling, and then just plain laughing out loud...imagine a comic chock full of 'Frank-jokes' and this is probably it (mmm so bad, and yet so good...)
X-23: Target X 3 - gorgeous art, and nothing that can't be guessed at, knowing the character, but still a good yarn nonetheless
Astonishing X-Men 20 - Whedon's writing can always be counted for what he's known and loved for, but beyond that I think I'm just personally not that interested in this comic (which isn't to say it isn't top-notch, however)
The Boys 1 - whoa....do not let anyone under the age of 17 near this comic (that said, it's great!)
Drain 1 - lovely style, but I think I'm realizing for the umpteenth time that that kind of manga-art just doesn't do it for me
X-Men Annual 1 - quality art, kinetic and exciting action, this one shot is a great development of setting and tying up of loose ends
Barracuda 1 - "an' the night is but muthafuckin' young".....ah, more violence and humor, lovingly mixed
Civil War 6 - another one that's just a big setup, but beautiful splash pages like whoa
X-Men 195 - again, I use the phrase kinetic action, and on top of that I think this is the most interesting of the X-comics
Star Wars Legacy 1 - the expanded setting is very interesting, but I was sorely disappointed to realize it was going to be another Skywalker-centered tale (I enjoy the Star Wars stories best that don't deal with that central story)
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born 1 - an amazing comic, and the writing stays true to the novels, but I think I'm kind of suffering from a, "Well that's not how I imagined it," thought, but that seems unavoidable

-this is completely random, but I thought it odd/interesting - he's sneaky
-a whole collection of interesting articles on some old-school MA

storytime

"There is an old story about a famous Rabbi living in Europe who was visited one day by a man who had traveled by ship from New York to see him. The man came to the great rabbi's dwelling, a large house on a street in European city, and was directed to the rabbi's room, which was in the attic. He entered to find the master living in a room with a bed, a chair, and a few books. The man had expected much more. After greetings, he asked, 'Rabbi, where are your things?' The rabbi asked in return, 'Well, where are yours?' His visitor replied, 'But, Rabbi, I'm only passing through," and the master answered, 'So am I, so am I.'"

-and completely irreverently: for Kevin, I have to post the continuation of that comic, there's no bones about it

triviaball

I like how framework interpretation does a kind of close-reading on Genesis

I created another bloggie - Trinity

A tutorial on bookkeeping

Shawarma - the best sammich ever...oh little Arabic restaurant on University, I still tear up at the thought of you....

money, curves, and violent but somewhat cute things

I'm reading two related books at the same time, as I...well, often do, I guess - both are about financial planning and investing, but one is from a decidely yogic persepective, but the other is more of standard archetype, about making more money. They both have stasis points at various places, which I haven't finished cataloguing yet, but one interesting thing I did notice is how they unexpectedly (though I was secretly hoping they would) complement each other. The latter book emphasizes first off that the most important thing in investing is attitude, attitude, attitude (or perspective, if one wants to assign it a different word)...but just directs the reader to figure out whether they want to and whether they can change their attitude. Which means were I just reading that book I'd probably think about it for a few seconds ineffectually, and move on, not really gaining anything. But, luckily, the former book (so far, at least) is practically about nothing but changing one's attitude towards money and financial matters in a healthy manner, and various methods and exercises for doing so, which have turned out be very practical and helpful. So, I feel more like, as they say, I'm in business now.

A great interview on the Mighty Avengers, one of the two new Avengers comics, along with the new New Avengers, which for the first time I'm actually quite interested in, as opposed to prior-ly where I thought it was kind of dumb, at best. Now it's got all the conflict and character development and history of Civil War to infuse it with literary goodness, Bendis writing his standard controversy in, and crazy line-ups. [might want to skip to the second page what with the opinions/previews of various characters, if not horribly interested]

Hm...curves...I'll go with it

tankettes - so cute!

And to continue that theme (very sort of), I think in some sense this is kind of a tangent on Kevin and me (though I'm still an ass-man) [see the license plate in this one]

triviaball

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Aaaand this is why I live in the desert (from the recent storms)

Living on the Edge - nice story about equanimity on the first page, though the rest is also interesting

Sidemount Posture - (I like the second posture best, if I can get to it, but with my hands clasped behind their back)

Dreamtime - I'm surprised this hasn't been picked up by a New Age movement or something

Things of Note - A Spring Cleaning Weekend

-practicing finger-spelling when Grand Funk comes on the radio makes for interesting gestures
-cleaning out really old stuff seems like one of those things that's painful and/or interesting, and probably ultimately cathartic either way
-Speedway is not for speeding
-cute little Mexican kid in that Jeep: you are awesome
-Sunday was fun family storytime (I love storytime)
-yay Kristin for getting the washer fixed...I empathize, on the initial problem
-as horrifyingly tempting as it is, never eat Nico's right before going to bed
-I want to read the comics I bought so hard
-I just remembered another reference, something about the almost-casual violence in Pan's Labyrinth reminded me of George Martin's Fire and Ice novels (a difference being that there might have been a sexual element, as well, in the latter)

a movie trifecta? well, not really, but sort of

Music and Lyrics, with Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, and that woman from Third Rock from the Sun. Well, as we found out, it's Barrymore playing the same girl she always does, and Grant playing the same guy he always does. But who cares, they're doing it together, and it's cute! And there was something strangely alien about the popstar-analogue girly, it was a bit unnerving. Yep, it's fluff, and it's a rom-com, but that's exactly what it's going for, and it pulls it off well. Mmm, cheese. And songs I still can't get out of my head. And the most hilarious opening credits ever. Shanti shanti!

Hannibal Rising, with Gaspard Ulliel and Li Gong. Given as I haven't seen the the other stories of Hannibal, only read about them, I hesitate to say much about this one. So! Fragmented comments. I thought the Japan-trope was a bit contrived and/or gimmicky, but it had its positive points, like the bits with the mask and heads. And Li, even though she's Chinese, but hey. I think Lecter is a very interesting character in being an anti-hero of sorts, even though he's not really, but is he? Hence the interesting. I'll note how we seem to be watching movies with continuing themes of late (here, cannibalism). And the portrayal of the soldiers who are Hannibal's main adversaries was especially interesting in how they changed (or didn't) over time, in the sense of one might wonder at that having happened in a similar manner in real life, in that context.

El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), with Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, and Maribel Verdú. Not exactly what we expected (a lot more time in fantasy-land), we still thought it was a solidly good movie. Just...yeah, all-around good. For anyone who might get the reference, it was kind of a period-piece de Lint story plus gratuitous violence - I'd love to take kids to it, but wow, yeah that's some hardcore shit that goes down. But, in that sense, it stays true to a fairytale having that hyperviolent core, so I can't complain that it's not appropriate. I adore the idea of a child viewing an insect as fae, as soon as I saw that I'm sure my eyes lit up - it just makes so much sense to me, with an insect being such an alien little being (not like a mammal or a pretty songbird, or even a lizard with four legs, though I could easily see a tiny gecko filling a similar role). Oh, also, the faun (never trust 'em!) and the baby-eater were great. An overall sad movie, but done right.
(heard walking out of the theatre)
"Yeaah, that was a good movie and all, but....*whack!* You didn't tell me it was in Spanish!"

I kind of half want this alarm clock, and half dread the thought of it (not to mention the dogsplosion that would occur)

I'm glad somebody reviewed Paul Vunak's dumog instructional, I was actually thinking about getting it myself

triviaball

Snowtown Murders - a real life Hostel, in a sense, interesting to imagine the context and psychology of the people involved, though the details are disturbing

It's interesting how closely the original Day of the Triffids novel parallels the much later 28 Days Later in a few specific ways (or I guess that would be the converse, rather)....oh...ha, I just noticed somebody else already noticed that in the trivia. Hm. Well, screw you, anonymous person! The story itself is still very interesting.

The three main actors in this surprised me, intially, though then I thought of this movie (and no one noticed any connection there! ha!)

Mmm...pom-line outfits...

The whole time I was sitting at the UA basketball game last night, I was trying to think of something wonderfully profound to expound upon, in a round and resonating manner. Yay alliteration!

But yeah, I got nothing. It was a lot of fun, besides us kind of dippily losing. It was interesting sitting in an area where there seemed to be several people who knew each other through having season tickets, it kind of reminded me of the movie Fever Pitch, though to a much lesser degree. There was a quite vociferous gentleman, who the elderly Japanese man next to us referred to as "our cheerleader," though in my head I was mostly hoping we wouldn't have to give him a CPR due to apoplexy. I greatly enjoyed hearing Ms Kim's flashing back to her experience with the UA band, and her enthusiastic cheering, which was adorable. I could also see her leading a whole section of cheering people very well. Hardcore. The pom-line outfits in their various incarnations were also adorable, in my head, on Ms Kim. If anyone can provide me one of those in her size (or, hey, smaller, that would be cool in a sense, too), I will...uh...think you are very awesome. And provide you with some service. Yes.

from Phil: encourage your kidlings

Gog and Magog - one of those things where I desperately wish I could go back and time and see exactly what historical person or situation generated such a proliferation of stories across cultures (or, maybe it was just Bill and Ted)

Action packed, yet old school

jaw was dropped.

Last night I got to watch an Australian shepherd puppy and a pit bull-mix puppy take each other on. Ozzie and Duke, respectively, have apparently been puppy-friends for a good long while, and have a long-standing rough-housing relationship. And, they are badasses. I think I can confidentally say it's at least as, if not more fun, to watch two dogs play out martial arts principles in a solidly balanced, not-trying-to-hurt-each-other-way, than it is to watch two people sparring. I saw everything from side-mounts to over-and-under clinches, and, I shit you not, a body-side-drop. Ozzie got some sort of hold on Duke's collar, flipped over onto his back, and we all started to say something to the effect of, "aww, he slipped," only to see a very suprised look appear on Duke's horribly cute pit bull face as he was flipped over in turn by the sacrifice throw. Acrobatic Ozzie's got some skillz.

another interesting bird, possibly linked to the etymology of "jinx"

Completely Random Quote of the Day:
"I drank, I pursued the gentler sex, and so forth." - Naguib Mahfouz (I just like that, "and so forth")

Glory, I tell you.

So, the sourcing for this little thoughtball comes from a running conversation that's been bouncing around and being refined, between me, my roommates, my family, and even across the country. Finally it got to the outlet that is this forum, which is where ideas such as it is are generally revealed in all their awesome and terrible Glory.

Or, you know, just me spouting off. But I like to imagine the fanfare and dancers, so we're calling it Glory.

Back to the topic of interest. Just as I'm all about principles in yoga and martial arts, I'm also all about principles in general life (which one might argue yoga and martial arts are all about, but that's besides the point). And one of those principles is that one just does not deride, or knock down, or be negative about someone else's dream or passion. Zip. Zero. Nil. It's inviolate. Now, to clarify, we're not talking about, say, the naivetée of the person - if they're a communication major thinking it'll be easy as a DeltaDeltaDelta girl to be famous and make six figures right off the bat, that's just naive. But smacking them upside the head for that is just a different issue. It's one thing to tell a fat person that their dream of being a supermodel inside a month is a tad unrealistic, but it's another to laugh at them for wanting to feel good about their body-image.

And we're talking about that latter part - scoffing at or being condescending about the dream itself. That is just unconscionable, and not something I'll put up with, if I'm involved. If someone loves and cherishes something, say, they're passionate about quilting, or they've always had a dream to be the best tap-dancer in three counties, I don't care how silly it is for someone else, it is not to be touched. That is their hope, a truly positive thing in its nature, and to lay any shadow on it is a dark, dark thing in my mind.

Not to lighten the weight of the point, I'd still like to end with a (slightly paraphrased) point of wit from Mr Kevin:
"Oh, you're an English major, huh? Guess you won't be making any money, heh!"
"Oh, you're a jackass. Guess you won't be making any friends."

body language

I half-realized, half-remembered something while doing my portion of the yoga class last night. That is, when I first started jujitsu way back when, I think we began with a Brazilian armbar from the guard. And my mind was completely boggled. I didn't know what the hell they were trying to get me to do, much less where my own body parts where. I literally couldn't tell where my own thighs or hips were. But, over time, as I gained more control over and awareness of my body, I completely forgot about that. Till I started doing yoga anyway, and realized I was completely blind in reaching over a shoulder to find a foot, and I learned the interesting feeling of my sense of sight actually being de-prioritized for a moment. But then I forgot about that too, as it became unconscious. So yesterday two new gals were in the yoga class, both appearing quite physically fit...but I realized within the first couple movements that they were at exactly where I'd been when I'd started jujitsu. They hardly knew one side of her body from the other, much less how to rotate or connect two different body parts. While the teacher was almost one step ahead of my instruction, I had to quickly think of several ways to re-phrase things for the two girls in question.

I don't say all that to be arrogant and say "look how coordinated I am," of course. Rather, in one sense I think it's a point in favor of one reason yoga and martial arts are so beneficial, in how effectively they put can put one in touch with their body, which helps with all manner of mental and emotional issues, and dealing with illness and injury. And in another sense, it's a reason I want to teach yoga, to spread that learning, especially because I know from where I started that painful confusion of feeling disconnected from my own body.

Desolation Jones seems intriguing

Monaco has an interesting coat of arms

Woo! Go English Springers!

-for the holiday, from Yoga Journal
A More Perfect Union - on relationship issues
Intimacy and Ecstasy - on combining spirituality and sex

triviaball

Evensong - a thought-provoking allegory

Dogfights - I caught a portion of this show on the History Channel, and was riveted immediately - what I saw took veteran's accounts of their own experiences, and translated them to CGI dogfights that are intense, like Top Gun, say, but with that quality that makes you want to jump up and crow and duck and tense like Operation: Red Flag and Abnett's Double Eagle. I think I may actually get the dvd's of this at some point, it's exciting, and real. The last image I saw before I had to run out the door was of a Crusader gunning through a turn back from the A-4's it was escorting to pull a rear-guard against a sky-darkening wing of MiGs, with flak and missile contrails and falling fireballs and arcing tracers flaring past the screen. Hell, my lips are pulled back from gritted teeth just thinking about it, I love things that make me want to cheer the main 'character' on.

Biggest diamond ever.

Just because I'll probably be following this path to some degree in the future, the founder of Viniyoga

shpledoinkle!

Cannibal! The Musical, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I think this movie worked perfectly in the sense that, yeah, it was made while the in college (so one might expect it to be crappy or stupid), but instead it's surprisingly high quality and in that is the kind of movie one might wish they'd made while in college. Stupidly funny, but the key word is funny. I have to say, in any case, I liked the Japanese 'Indians' best, and Polly Pry was pretty hot for some unknown reason. Incidentally, the wiki on the real Alferd Packer (what's with his first name?) has a funny quote or two on it.

-yoga article which is kind of about kegel exercises on several levels, if one is seeking an upgrade on that, and at the same time could be made into an oblique reference to the idea of hyper-fine muscle control in Frank Herbert's novels

-the new New Avengers; interesting lineup, I like Echo best

-Eros Day seems like an interesting holiday (in honor of the Hallmark day tomorrow); I like how the modern originator would celebrate it, "though only with a girlfriend or two"

-Carcinoma Angels, a quick short...story (?) with a hallucinogenic but interesting ending

interesting passage:
"God arrives for the apocalypse, but humanity is a no-show. All that's left is the phrase 'We were here. Where were You?'"

Things of Note - an Anaheim Weekend

-props to Ms Kim for never losing her poise or classiness, even while dealing with a stomach flu (hell, almost no one could hardly tell how miserably sick she was)...50 points
-thanks to Abby for driving like a hellionette, though always in a calm and relaxed manner: we made some good time (and had a good time...wink, wink)
-after Kim and I had a two hour+ adventure wandering the back alleys of Corona, we had to wash grime off our faces, just from the atmosphere itself...like, ew
-we saw the most horribly despicable handler ever, I kind of want to make a website just detailing how disgusting a person she is
-some people just have no class.
-rain is kind of fun at a dog show, it adds that whole 'mud' element
-carpeted mall = just...odd
-an RV park with a ginormous guard-tower = awesome
-Rocky as a folk hero, I think it's a nice idea

-another article on using the principles of aikido in an interpersonal setting, because I'm very much a fan of it (as much as I'd love to use the principles of jujitsu instead, but that just doesn't turn out well at all)

like...ow.

I'm reading this book which is basically about financial planning, but is kind of a yoga-book in disguise at the same time. Each chapter has a set of evolving questions, modified by the subject of the current chapter. I've only gotten through two chapters so far; the first is about getting to know how you first came to conceptualize money, and to get a better understanding of how that has influenced how you think about it now. Fine, all well and good, I copied down the questions and answered them.

The next chapter is about 'suffering' (in the Buddhic sense, like one of the Noble Truths suffering), and getting to know how whatever suffering you might feel might stem from the experiences and thoughts explored in the last chapter. So I get to the questions of this chapter, type them the modifications to the previous chapter's (in blue this time), and go about answering them.

And then, by whatever intuitive manner the blob in my skull works, I realized something, and it hurt like heartbreak for a moment. It's hard to explain without, well, I'm not sure I could if I tried, but nonetheless I realized something that's been causing me fear and suffering for years. Going through experiences and memories of mine, I realized several of them were of people striking out to make their lives better, or happier somehow, and that only leading to miserable amounts of hard work, seemingly pointless sacrifice, and never quite achieving the goal they set out for, if they even got close. And so I'd unconsciously been laboring under this fucked up assumption that that's the only way things could be for me, as well. I mean, I can say I realized that, and might've even guessed at that before, but it's another to have the structure of an essay with evidence staring at me, just from those questions I was so blythely answering like a myspace survey.

This whole thing isn't a question of blame, or excuses, of course, but of releasing unconscious chains and weights that I've weighed myself down with - of actually removing blame and excuses, and taking responsibility for my self. The question is, how to move forward, once I get over the pain a realization like that brings.

integrating life, dreaming life

The Heart of Yoga, by T. K. V. Desikachar. I suppose it's another book that would only be of interest to someone interested in yoga, but hey, I'm basically reading textbooks for class, so there it is. Anyway, this text provides a pretty comprehensive, and yet very easy to read rundown of a general view of yoga by acting as an oblique commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. That is, it explains what most people would generally think of as hatha yoga, and not any of the more modern (Kripalu, Iyengar, etc) variants, and moreover emphasizes that the poses and physical component that most people think of as "yoga" is only a small portion of the whole. So, in the end, I'd recommend this to anyone who's taken an interest in yoga, and wants to further their interest beyond just the baseline physical aspect of it.

Last night, I was playing Second Life, or rather, basically wasting my little time at home. But I don't think it's entirely wasting; sure, I haven't even gotten off Help Island yet, not being done exploring it and snagging free stuff. But I was having fun 'people' watching, just seeing what people can create when they can create anything they'd like. Then environment seems designed to be pleasant, and relaxing, and that's really the word I'm looking for - I was relaxing. It's like an enormous, shared lucid dream, that has rules that keep it pleasant. Of course, I also realized that in attempting making my female avatar prettier (as one can change even the minutae of facial features, such as the cleft beneath the nose), I was unconsciously making it look more like my girlfriend, but I guess that's a compliment on her. Now, if only we could get an internet provider that actually was worth the money....

Seriously, how fun would pillow fight flash mobbing be?

triviaball

Interesting point about pranayama (breath training) - that in one sense it's not so much to have perfect control over one's breathing, but to be able to be aware of one's breathing without taking control of it. Which is actually quite the trick, if one tries it - being aware of your breathing, but without straining to control it in some way, subtle or overt. Of course, to get to that point, one has to become very good at controlling it, to transcend that.

This morning I saw hawk almost take a dove in a midair, right above the midline of Glenn. It's so interesting how wildlife adapts to suburban areas, like the other night when we heard a coyote pack near the house.

Huh, the wiki for Tucson is pretty nice, and the 'place names' section has some interesting trivia

Francis of Assisi is one of my favorite historical figures, for several reasons (for example, look at the part where he was involved with a Crusade), and I also wonder what it would be like to really figure out experiences and choices led him to take the course of life that he did

On that most blessed of condiments: guacamole

"So...if you're nice to them...they give you things?"

PCU, with Jeremy Piven (who we seem to have seen a lot of, lately) and some ubiquitous but anomynous actors. I didn't expect to be, honestly, but there were several points where I was really guffawing, watching this. Yeah, it's about as deep as a puddle, but I've a growing appreciation for Piven, and the "pre-frosh" character really is the pimp, as he was described last night. I suppose if one really wanted to, the movie could be read as a sort of social commentary in microcosm, or from a different angle, a commentary on the bubble-environment of academia and school-life.

Coming soon (anyone up for attending a midnight sale?), The Dark Tower in comic book form - interview and review

An interesting opinion on natural movement - its notes on the nature of some Chinese internal martial arts' forms could tangent off to yoga and parts of the novel Cell, I think

Nasrudin - ah, gotta love Sufi mystics (scroll down to "Examples") [and a whole lot more]

Things of Note - a Varied Weekend

-I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that a sheltie specialty is probably one of the quietest dogs shows that could be
-goofiest looking bounty hunter ever.
-confused: wearing a gi...that says Shaolin on the back...swinging nunchuks...and wearng a cowboy hat (if that's nonsensical, ask me why that seems the definition of confused, to me)
-there was a turtle, I swear it!
-I'd never really noticed it, but yeah restaurants to do get all sorts of crowded during the gem show
-speaking of which, seems to have gotten annoyingly harder to get into, unless I'm missing something
-it did result in the finding of a more 'down-to-earth' show (literally, it was in the dust)
-and also hotel rooms - it's odd to buy some cavansite standing next to someone's hotel sink and bathroom
-purple rain (again, literally), a few cool plays, an early touchdown, a loss of money, and Monopoly marked this year's Superbowl
-Grosse Point Blank is still a great movie, with several scenes that could be talked about for their import and layers, and of course the John Cusack everyman character that is subtly way more than an everyman

The Divine Song

The Bhagavad Gita, tranlated by and with commentary for by Eknath Easwaran. One of the books I borrowed from my yoga teacher, this is a famous and very significant text, dating back a good few thousand years. Essentially, it's a dialogue between a soldier and his chariot-driver, who just so happens to be an avatar of sorts; the soldier is having a crisis of whether or not to fight, as he can see across the battlefield (which has incidentally been discovered as a battle that actually occurred in real life) his friends and relatives on the opposing side. So, the avatar lays out in a kind of Matrix-moment of suspended time his entire plan for living a happy life, and how to decide what the right thing to do is, in that or any situation. I wasn't actually so interested in the text itself (if for no other reason than I'm often frustrated with anything translated) as the commentaries that go to lengths to explain each chapter, and difficulties in translation. In any case, I certainly think it's an interesting and moreover refreshing text to read (I think I might get a copy to just to have to cool me down when I'm angry or upset), but unless one's really interested in yoga, it's probably not for them.

phone crazies! are scary

Cell, by Stephen King. I'm torn. It's King's writing...so it's pretty damn good writing, in pacing, style, characterization, etc, as per usual. Trivially, I had fun picking out some scattered references that seem to be there just to let the astute reader know that yes, this is within the same...uh, metaverse that The Dark Tower includes (who wants to listen to my theory about a Beam breaking being involved in Cell?). I loved the first half of the book, with all the mystery and carnage and horror and quickquick pacing, but ultimately didn't really like where it ended up, narrowing in focus and slowing with exposition, and straying just a bit too much into unbelievable in one minor way that bothered me. All the same, I can't really think of any other way King could have gone with it, including the ending, which I'm sure a lot of people won't like. Hell, I don't really like it, as much as I think it was a good ending, all the same. As good an ending as could have come out of that story, anyway. It's like I think the author of the long-running Walking Dead once said, he doesn't really have any plan to end it, he's just going to keep it going as long as he can, as there really isn't any way to satisfactorily end a story of this genre.

-an interesting historical connection between Rome and Norse culture

-an old favorite article of mine about arm stretches that involve lolling around