Fri 15 Jul 2005
If you look at my Blogger profile it now says that I am 22. Ahhhh, 21 was so long ago… ;-D Thanks to the B-Day shout-out from SalaTHRUStra over @ GenSit, and thank you to all the beings everywhere who have supported me and given freely to me; my teachers, family, friends, wife, and Sangha. Thank you!
Wed 13 Jul 2005
It’s a showdown between Pope Benedict and the young wizard Harry Potter! In correspondence with a Catholic critic of J.K. Rowling’s phenominal bestseller, Pope Benedict apparently dissed the young wizard:
‘It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because these are subtle seductions which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly’ - Pope Benedict
Them is some strong words Pope… but what’s the real issue? My theory is that it’s really a battle for the top of the bestsellers list… Where is my evidence for this? Well:
After Benedict was named Pope in April, his own writings shot to the top of the German book charts and dislodged the most recent book in the Potter series from number one.
Come July 16th, you’re going down Pope!!!
Tue 12 Jul 2005
Integral Naked just got funky, and launched their own podcast! I just downloaded the new I-Tunes, and subscribed to the cast. Kinda cool, but blogging still rules supreme!
P.S. It’s FREE!!!
Tue 12 Jul 2005
The Washington Post recognizes the huge upset of liberal bloggers concerning Karl Rove’s possible involvement with a CIA info leak:
The liberal blogosphere is aflame with animosity toward Karl Rove, now that he’s been sucked deeper into the Plame probe. …
To some on the left, Rove is the epitome of all they despise about the administration. He is Bush’s brain, pulling the strings from behind the scenes, injecting politics into every conceivable decision. Rove further infuriated his critics a couple of weeks ago when he seemed to use the 9/11 tragedy to score political points, saying Republicans wanted to wage war and liberals wanted to offer the terrorists therapy. - [via]
Left vs. Right… Ahhhhh, the fury and fragmentation.
Mon 11 Jul 2005
Karuna G
Originally uploaded by vincenthorn.
Picked up the latest edition of Popular Photography and learned a couple photoshop tricks. One was what I used on the above photo, called Velvia. It’s basically a way of bringing the color saturation up, and is named after a type of Fujifilm film.
Sat 9 Jul 2005
Emily and I busted on up to the Brainard Lake area, right in the heart of the Roosevelt National Forest, and went on a beautiful hike. We passed Long Lake, and then after another couple miles hit a high elevation lake (11,000ft or so), named Isabelle. The views were gorgeous, the trail was well-kept, and lakes were COLD!!! I’d show you a few shots, but I couldn’t find my camera this morning! FART! Take my word on this one though, b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.
Wed 6 Jul 2005
A new post on Rising Up (from Integral blogger Joe Perez) looks at the issue of Male Bisexuality. Does it exist? According to the research he cites, from a purely biological perspective, it seems as though heterosexual males aren’t hardwired to become sexually aroused by other males. Same seems to hold true for homosexual males (with females that is).
Of course, pure biology isn’t all that’s at play, as Joe points out very quickly, but this is still a fairly interesting finding….
Mon 4 Jul 2005
After attending one of Integral Institute’s Integral Practice seminars in June, I thought that I’d definitely come back with an amazing article to write for GenSit on the profundity of Integral Practice. Well, I do and I don’t….
On the “do” side I’d have to say that the concept of an “integral practice” is perhaps one of the most balanced, and well, integral approaches out there concerning skillful whole-being cross-training. It is a bit skewed towards the autonomous/driven type like myself, which is why I think any integral practice (IP) must also exist within a larger context of care and compassion for the ones closest to us, and to the environment(s) we find ourselves in. With that caveat said, the seminar I attended introduced us to smorgasbord of kick-ass practices {the ITP Kata, 3-2-1 Shadow Work, Big Mind, FIT (Focus Intensity Training), and embodied integration (aka dancing our asses off)}, all of which I think are extremely helpful and profound practices.* The fact that we also designed our own IPs throughout the course of the 5-days (or clarified the ones we had), so that when we left we’d have a committed vision and course of practice, makes the seminar’s value extend far beyond the course of the 5 days. With all of those things in mind, I’d like to look at why I think having an “integral practice” can also be a sham. In particular its sham-like nature has to do with the major emphasis on practice, and the unrealistic expectations around it.
