I first heard this in Mr. Smith’s computer labs at TAS. I think its one of the most underrated romantic pop albums. Most people get turned off by his past associations and then base their judgment of this album on that.

On another note, the music video for Forever Love is still my favorite ever. I would remember it randomly through out the early 2000’s and wish I had access to it before the onslaught of YouTube.

Anyone who has ever been sincerely interested in Hinduism, Vedanta or the general philosophy that has come out of India needs to read this book. Or if you are looking to deepen your practice, this is a wonderful treatise to read and think a lot over. While it is not a primary source, I’d say it is best to start with something like this because it gives a beautiful, comprehensive and lucid overview of the subject. At the same time, this isn’t a summarized superficial stab at this complex subject. It digs deep, and nuances of meaning are brought forth in a pure manner.

There is an excessive amount of will.i.am on this cd, which makes it hard to listen to after a while. If his voice had been limited to fewer tracks, I would probably have rated this wuth 4 stars.

Now I just find myself skipping every track that features him!

“The point is what’s so wonderful is that every one of these flowers has a specific relationship with the insect that pollinates it. There’s a certain orchid looks exactly like a certain insect. So the insect is drawn to this flower, its double, its soul mate… and wants nothing more than to make love to it. After the insect flies off it spots another soul mate flower and makes love to it, thus pollinating it. And neither the flower nor the insect will ever understand the significance of their lovemaking. How could they know that because of their little dance, the world lives? But it does. By simply doing what they’re designed to do something large and magnificent happens. In this sense, they show us how to live. How the only barometer you have is your heart. Now when you spot your flower, you can’t let anything get in your way.” – John Laroche

Intriguing movie. Great acting.

spoilers part 1: if you don’t know what this movie is about AT ALL, do not read this
At first, I was irritated by the bland colors and the raw, choppiness of the cinematography. The off-focus and slow shots were at times more ambiguous than purposeful. Yet despite the rough technical aspects, I still found myself drawn into the movie because of how it pushed the emotional intensity to the limit. Once the tragedy in the plot hit, it was almost agonizing to watch because I knew (from listening to the soundtrack beforehand) how the movie was going to end. At times, the director seemed to revel in destroying and torturing the main character, played by Bjork. Bjork’s performance was flawless, as she immersed herself (maybe a little too) deeply into the role of Selma. I can’t say that I loved the film, as it wasn’t easy to watch and yet it still lingers in my mind…

The movie is also troubling because of it’s portrayal of American life through a European lens. Selma works non-stop to pay for medical bills (while in Europe, the government pays for health care). Her neighbors, a seemingly charming couple, are trapped in the vicious cycle of consumerism. The husband who is a police officer (gun control?) talks of suicide (high rates in the US) and eventually steals from Selma (corruption of law enforcement and government).

spoilers part 2: don’t read if you haven’t watched
This all leads to the ultimate American obscenity: capital punishment (The only developed country in the world that still practices it.) I guess this is partly why the movie frightened me… Bjork’s portrayal of Selma during the last confinement scenes were so intensely real. It was almost uncomforable to sit through the ending where they hang her. From her finger tapping, to her screaming, her emotional expression brought up compassion beyond comprehension. It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t meant to be. It was very real, and that is what made it so haunting.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, the movie I Heart Huckabees is pure genius. It’s bold, witty and all eccentric eclectic like but not without some beautiful depth. I absolutely loved it, in fact I was in a moment of love watching the movie.

I can’t say that the movie exactly touched me deeply so, but I sure as hell wanted to stand up and clap at the end of it. It was that touch of light profundity mixed in with poking humor. I highly recommend that everyone watch it at least once. And if you watched What the Bleep and liked it but maybe even found it lacking, this is it… the genius that was present in this movie has not been matched.

As far as the acting goes, that was also wonderfully done, I could not have asked for anything more. Mark Wahlberg was the most surprising. :)

Mmm… the parts, the whole, ahh but the juicy details of the parts… the entire thing! It was oh so good.

Pyaar aathma ki parchhaaii hai, ishq ishwaar ki ibaadat, or mohabat zindagi kaa maksath. Devdas

Love (mas) is the soul’s shadow, passion is God’s adoration, and love (fem) is life’s goal. (Ick translation.)

[Aug 28, 2004] Just ran right through David Deida’s Awakening Your Sexual Essence.

Lame. Unimpressive. Obvious. Ick. Glad that only took several hours to read.

The book was essentially about feminine verses masculine energies and the way they operate and form relationships. But the book had nothing profound or anything beautiful to offer. It repeated a lot of dumb abstract crap and didn’t really get into the depths of the truth of the types of energies it was addressing. In its explanations I felt like nothing was fully explained, and its expressions fell absolutely flat.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Strange though, Deida’s talks and seminars. and his writing are just polar opposites!

Eh, it was an okay book, some nuggets of simple suggestions put together as a book. Very simply, money is rain, and do whatever you can to make it rain. Without customers there is no rain, so if you want to be a rainmaker, you focus on the customer. Blah blah blah.

Outside of the usefulness for better English, the surprising but stellar introduction “Let’s Start With Chinese” is a piece I love quoting from, especially in my intro to new students of Mandarin chinese. The author has made a beautiful summary of the history of languages, and then goes on to give a outside view of Mandarin as a language by exploring the patterns and evolution of the language. Even as a native speaker of the language, I did not understand the cultural and signifcant developmental differences between English and Chinese. Did you know that Chinese is 10,000 years more evolved than English? For those who are seriously taking up Mandarin, you must read the introduction. It is vital to how you learn Mandarin. It add a dimension to your perspective.

And now for a bit more relevance, some comments on the rest of the book. But really, just the few pages of that intro was amazing for me! :) Although this book dates back to the 1950’s, the fact that it is still in print is testimony to how useful it is. The author give simple and concise advice on effective communication and writing. Give this list of rules a read from time to time, to remind yourself of techniques to keep communication clear.

25 Rules of Effective Writing
1. Write about people, things, and facts.
2. Write as you talk.
3. Use contractions.
4. Use the first person.
5. Quote what was said.
6. Quote what was written.
7. Put yourself in the reader’s place.
8. Don’t hurt the reader’s feelings.
9. Forestall misunderstandings.
10. Don’t be too brief.
11. Plan a beginning, middle, and end.
12. Go from the rule to the exception, frm the familiar to the new.
13. Use short names and abbreviations.
14. Use pronouns rather than repeating nouns.
15. Use verbs rather than nouns.
16. Use the active voice and a personal subject.
17. Use small, round figures.
18. Specify. Use illustrations, cases, examples.
19. Start a new sentence for each new idea.
20. Keep your sentences short.
21. Keep your paragraphs short.
22. Use direct questions.
23. Underline for emphasis.
24. Use parenthese for casual mention.
25. Make your writing insteresting to look at.