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Detail from a photograph in a post titled "in memorium" by Michael of One foot in front of the other. |
Whoa! It's been a while, but allow me to begin again and get a head start on my New Year's resolution. Here, at long last love: more juicy goodness from the thriving integralbuddhoblogosphere. All of the following is just some of what was wonderful yesterday:
Wonderful writing and photographs in F & X Kwan’s foot before foot: the photoblog make a visit to the couple’s blogspace delightful, even as their lives seem always to be a hard slog. Yesterday, there was rain.
Baghdad Burning, a blog reporting events from Iraq’s capital, had been down for quite a while, but it is back. Ajahn Punnadhammo tells us of a recent post in that famous blog with an entry in his Bhikkhu’s Blog, reporting from the safe, quiet wooded compound of Arrow River Forest Hermitage, west of Thunder Bay.
Cliff Jones of This is This manages a TV network or somesuch in Britain and was under the razor of an Arab barber when a call came in from the vid guy at work regarding what to air of Saddam’s execution. Cliff relates his dicey conversation on a cellphone in the busy-barber’s chair.
Whiskey of whiskey river quotes Fyodor Doestoevsky’s The Idiot. It begins, “You smile at the absurdity of your dream and feel at the same time that the tissue of those absurdities contains some thought …”
Michael of One foot in front of the other remembers a blog friend who died in a recent automobile accident in his touching post "in memorium." His post includes a photograph the woman admired of his, showing a country road in Japan.
Steroids of chess: George P. Dvorsky of Sentient Developments considers the future of competitive chess. Hidden devises that supply computer access, stimulants, and “genetically modified competitors” all pose a challenge to fairly contested events. George concludes, “…as the human species changes so too must our competitive activities. The rules of sport, whether these sports require mental or physical skill, will have to bend in the face of the biotech wind.”
James in his The Buddhist Blog posts a quote from Stephen Batchelor that concludes with this summative sentence, “The survival of Buddhism today is dependent on its continuing ability to adapt.” James finds the teaching valuable in his own life in remembering not to be judgmental of the path other Buddhists take dealing creatively with each of their unique life’s challenges.
Writes Mike of Unknowing Mind, “The new year is fast approaching, and what better time than [this] to take stock of your life, and dedicate just 10% of it to true daily practice. Allow the other 90% to continue living exactly as you do now.”
Bill of Integral Options Café has been keeping us abreast of ‘best of” lists that have been coming out in recent weeks. Yesterday, he found three more: Cinematical’s best ten films of 06; Ten wildlife conservation success stories in 06; and the 500 greatest albums of all time, according to Rolling Stone’s 60s-and-70s prejudice editors.
And finally, speaking of “best of”s, the nominations for the 2007 Blogisattva Awards, honoring excellence in Buddhist blogging during calendar year 2006, will be announced right here, in Blogmandu, in the middle of next month. There will be 50% more categories and 50% more nominees than last year [2006 nominees; 2006 winners], reflecting the growth in quantity, variety and quality of Buddhist blogs, bloggers and their posts. Yowza! Blog on and read on, y’all.
