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Posted on 06.18.08 by Emily
What’s tree-fitty? Loch Ness Monster: $3.50 Global Climate Crisis: 350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth. Where are we now? About 385. Learn more, connect with others and take action at the newly relaunched 350.org founded by Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy (one of the most compelling and inspiring books I am reading right now.)
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Posted on 06.16.08 by Emily
Today you can see this photo I took of Robert Thurman standing in front of Mt. Kailash in the San Francisco Chronicle, accompanying a great interview with Robert by David Ian Miller, “Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman on Why the Dalai Lama Matters,” about his new book, Why the Dalai Lama Matters. In the picture, Robert stands near the Tarboche flagpole at the outset of our kora (circumambulation) around Mt Kailash. Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Bön traditions all revere Mt Kailash as the axis mundi - the center of the world. From it flows 4 major rivers that feed Asia: the Indus, Brahmaputra, Sutlej and Karnali. Thousands of pilgrims arrive each May and June, but this year China has delayed the pilgrimage season and limited the number of participants, restricting all foreign visitors during the Olympic torch relay in that region. After four days trekking around the mountain and reaching an altitude of 18,600 ft, we arrived back here in time for the Saga Dawa festival, celebrating the birth and enlightenment of Sakyamuni Buddha.
On this occasion, the flag pole, wrapped in prayer flags, is raised by poles, ropes and trucks.
A perfectly upright flagpole signifies a good year for Tibet.
Musicians play throughout the festival. Thermoses of yak butter tea keep throats in singing and horn-blowing condition at dry high-altitudes on the Tibetan plateau.
Then, at the moment the flagpole is raised, thousands of windhorses (colorful squares of paper printed with prayers for happiness) fill the air and fly towards the peak.
Saga Dawa occurs each year on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month. This year, Tibetans will celebrate Saga Dawa on June 18, 2008 — may the pole stand upright and usher in a good year for Tibet! An excerpt from the SF Chronicle interview:
To learn more:
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Posted on 04.16.08 by Emily
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Posted on 04.05.08 by Emily
I was feeling low this morning over some romantic nonsense and preparing to schlep a giant duffel of old clothes down to Housing Works so they could start a new life. Heaving the bag to the corner, I spotted tangerine stilettos and followed them up saffron spandex-wrapped legs and persimmon leather purse, fur bomber jacket, and flaxen blonde hair with coarse black roots, just marveling. She turns around to look at me and says “Oh My God, Oh My God.” I wonder what has her so freaked out. “You are so beautiful,” she says. I laughed and thanked her, leaning my arm out for a cab. “No — you don’t understand. I was born a man. And I’ve been studying real women my whole life. And you are just so beautiful — for real.” A cab arrived, and Jasmine turned chivalrous, opening the door for me and making sure my bag got into the trunk, then asked for (and got) a big hug goodbye. We didn’t exchange numbers, so thanks for turning my day around, Jasmine.
Strolling back from depositing the dresses and trying to decide between eggs at Petite Abeille or something salady at Le Pain Quotidien, I see “The New French” written on the windows of the old Le Gamin at 522 Hudson St (btw W. 10th St and Charles St, New York, NY 10014) in Maira Kalman’s unmistakable handwriting. Peering through the windows I see a funny table of guys waving at me to enter. So I do. Adorable wall mural by Maira Kalman (detail above) and short but intriguing menu (also in Maira’s handwriting) of bistro dishes with a twist plus pho and vegetable curry.
My spinach/pepper/gruyere omelette accompanied by fresh baby greens and shaved yellow beets was so lovely and delicious it conjured up the plastic bag scene from “American Beauty“. Is dinner tonight too soon to go back? Inside the paper that accompanied me to brunch, OK Go’s Damian Kulash Jr. contributed a great op-ed “Beware the New New Thing” on Net neutrality in terms of the old rules of common carriage. Across the page, Adam Cohen editorially observed “The Already Big Thing on the Internet: Spying on Users,” explaining that the fourth amendment of the US Constitution’s bill of rights, which guarantees protection against illegal search and seizure, was originally concerned with protecting homes and bodies then extended to cover telephone communications. He concludes that work has to be done to grant Internet communications the same level of privacy protection. I agree, but are we even still protected by the 4th? Looks to me like we’re back to Bill of Rights basics and work has to be done to assure any privacy protection at all. I guess it’s a perfect time to dig into Jonathan Zittrain’s intriguing new book, The Future of the Internet — and How to Stop It. Song of the day: “Willie Deadwilder” by Cat Power (Specifically the one from Speaking For Trees, though they’re all good.) Related Posts:
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Posted on 04.01.08 by Emily
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Posted on 03.15.08 by Emily
Oprah’s online book club event with Eckhart Tolle for A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose is truly wonderful. You can watch it on her site, download (video, audio and transcript) or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. The most exciting part is the use of Skype, allowing people from all over the world to participate in the live event using video chat. Whether you’re interested in the topic, technology or both, it’s worth registering (free) to see how it works and check out the extended materials. In the amazing TED Talk above, Dr. Jill Taylor (author of My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey) reaches the insights Oprah and Eckhart discuss through a stroke. As a neuroanatomist, she was able to observe her own stroke from the inside out. She uses a real human brain as a prop, showing how differently the left and right hemispheres experience the world, outlining an anatomy of enlightenment and “circuitry of peace.” Her talk highlighted for me how we are literally out of balance individually and collectively. “Modern” education focuses almost solely on the left brain and undervalues development of the right side. We need to develop the whole thing and use everything we’ve got. Bring back arts, music and movement and add in meditation. (Of course, if you use more than 5% of your brain, you don’t want to be on Earth anymore…)
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Posted on 03.12.08 by Emily
Just returned from a delightful talk with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Bokara Legendre at the Rubin Museum of Art (filmed for her series on LinkTV, so surely you can see it soon too). It was too dark in there to take notes, but he read a couple of poems I love, so I’m sharing them here with you. Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, Coming to Our Senses, Full Catastrophe Living, and Arriving at Your Own Door, opened the conversation with a gorgeous poem from which the title of his latest book came: Love After Love
The time will come and say, sit here. Eat. all your life, whom you ignored the photographs, the desperate notes, — Derek Wolcott The second poem Kabat-Zinn used was by a poet from whom the name of yours truly was inspired. (Thanks Mom and Dad): Me from Myself — to banish –
Had I Art – Impregnable my Fortress Unto All Heart – But since Myself — assault Me – And since We’re mutual Monarch — Emily Dickinson During the discussion, he defined meditation as “attention in service of self-understanding and liberation.” He also used “awarenessing” as a verb in places where you might expect to hear “thinking” instead. Both he and Bokara somehow started to blame technology for accelerating time, to which I respectfully disagree. Oddly enough, my brother gave me a book on just that topic this week, The Mayan Code, which asserts that time acceleration is a manifestation of the acceleration of consciousness. So perhaps it’s Jon Kabat-Zinn and Bokara who are responsible for this phenomenon through talks like these! Your thoughts (and awarenesses) welcome, of course.
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Posted on 03.05.08 by Emily
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Posted on 03.04.08 by Emily
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Posted on 02.22.08 by Emily
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