Wednesday, March 31, 2004
A Little KnowledgeIn case anyone tried to leave a comment yesterday, sorry. I applied something I just learned in my HTML class to my blog's template, not realizing it would cause both of my javascript links (Guestmap and comments) to malfunction. I fixed the problem, so flame away.
Air America, a new liberal talk-radio network, launched today on half a dozen stations across the U.S. With hosts including Janeane Garofalo, Chuck D., Randi Rhodes—and of course, Al Franken—this promises to be the best thing to hit radio since "Rock Around The Clock." If you don't live in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon or San Francisco, you can listen online at www.airamericaradio.com, or on XM Satellite Radio channel 167.
On this date in 1959, the Dalai Lama arrived in India after fleeing Chinese repression following the three-day Tibetan uprising. Thus began a new chapter in his life, in which he established a Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, and gained fame (and eventually a Nobel Peace prize) as a shining example of peaceful resistance to tyranny.
I think it's only appropriate that he chose today to unveil his new look.
Posted by Me at 23:49 link
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
How Personal Is Too Personal?You answer 20 questions and Belief-O-Matic matches your beliefs with the world's major religions.
My Belief-O-Matic Results:
1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%)
2. Neo-Pagan (89%)
3. Unitarian Universalism (84%)
4. Hinduism (81%)
5. Liberal Quakers (78%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (78%)
7. New Age (75%)
8. Jainism (72%)
9. Taoism (69%)
10. Reform Judaism (64%)
Thanks to Gael for the link.
I barely agree more than I disagree (57%) with "Mainline" Christianity, the faith I was raised in. I agree with the Roman Catholic faith only 7% of the time.
This doesn't feel totally right. I'd never even heard of Mahayana Buddhism before taking the quiz, New Age gives me the creeps, and I still feel deeply comforted every time I'm in an Episcopal Church.
At risk of alienating everyone, I believe all true religion leads the believer to God, and that all the different gods people worship are simply manifestations of the one true God/Supreme Being/Universal Soul. I wonder if Mahayana Buddhists believe that, too?
What I've never been able to figure is why God would create the universe, and us?
Boredom?
Posted by Me at 23:32 link
Monday, March 29, 2004
Things To Do Instead Of BloggingApart from the obvious (school, family, eat, sleep, et cet.), I went up to New Jersey for Spring Break (woo hoo!), hiked with my Friend in Harriman State Park, biked a few miles of the Delaware & Raritan Canal towpath, biked several miles in a snowstorm, went sledding with my Friend at a ski resort, and at Mount Washington, went for a long walk in Manhattan, watched Pirates of the Caribbean, read Caroline Alexander's The Bounty, learned how to cook lentils, learned a new way to cook eggs, ate way too much delicious food...and spent a lot of quality time just chilling out.
The hiking and biking were good. The sledding was great. Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't nearly as good as I'd expected (I don't like cheesy supernatural stuff, and maybe I'd just heard too many rave reviews), The Bounty was excellent, and as I already said, the food was delicious.
You probably wouldn't have blogged, either.
Posted by Me at 23:30 link
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Fighting the FireI went for a 35-mile bike ride this afternoon in Virginia (read the details on my fitness file, if you like). I listened to FM radio on the drive up. I found myself in that wonderful frame of mind, where I could appreciate pretty much every song that came on, even if it wasn't great.
One song really caught my ear: Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire." Not that it's an amazing piece of music, but its message resonated with me. From time immemorial, the world has been filled with chaos, discord and unhappiness; each of us has only the short span of our lives, and within that, a limited span of control, to change things. It's natural to find those limits disheartening, but in a way they free us—from the weight of the world. We can do what we can do, but the world will continue to be filled with chaos and misery as long as the world exists. Nobody expects us to make it all better.
Of course, each of us can do tangible good. Collectively, we can do tremendous good.
For me as an individual, the goal is simple.
When I was in the Boy Scouts, our Scoutmaster taught us when hiking always to leave the trail a little better than we found it. To this day, I try to copy his example, removing gum wrappers or cigarette butts when I find them, or clearing small tree limbs from the trails I walk. I remember when I was a child, I always saw a lot of trash on the trails when I hiked with my dad; today, though, I seldom find much, if any, trash on trails. I guess a lot of folks listened to their Scoutmasters!
Similarly, if each of us puts just a little more happiness into the lives of the people we see each day, if we act to protect human rights, and set good examples of tolerance and simple, sustainable living—then each of us makes the world a little better. If enough of us each make the world a little better, it'll get a lot better. Think of your part as throwing a bucket of water on that fire. Music In My Head- Boomtown Rats — "I Don't Like Mondays"
- Beastie Boys — "Finger Lickin' Good"
- Prince — "Let's Go Crazy"/"Take Me With You"
- Billy Joel — "River of Dreams"
- Journey — "Don't Stop Believing" (earworm)
- Leopold Mozart — "Trumpet Concerto in D Major"
- The Darkness — "I Believe In The Thing Called Love" (persistent earworm)
- Tommy Tutone — "Jenny (867-5309)" (welcome earworm from New Hampshire sledding)
- Olabelle — "Get Back Temptation"
- Sheryl Crow — "First Cut Is The Deepest" (earworm!)
- Sunna — "I'm Not Trading"
That last one has a very spooky intro; listen to it in a dark room by yourself late at night to see what I mean.Where the heck have I been?I've been... around. I just haven't had much to say. Probably has a lot to do with the realization that I can't do much more than throw an occasional bucket or two of water on that eternal fire. To avoid this "blog-out" in the future, I plan to take a week or so off on a regular basis, say two or three times a year.
So, nothing horrible happened to me or anything, unless being busy and a little bored are horrible. The weirdest thing in my current life is that I'm about to finish my degree, and I am a little freaked-out at the prospect of finding—and working—a "real" job. I know most of you just rolled your eyes, you regular-job-workers, you.
Otherwise, life is wonderful. More soon (like, tomorrow).
Posted by Me at 23:00 link
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