the idea of the warrior has been very interesting to me in the last few months. the idea. this sentence does not mean: for the last few months, i’ve been exciting about becoming a soldier. on one extreme, there is this image, or platonic ideal, of the noble, principled, disciplined, courageous and hopefully often victorious… Continue reading understanding war
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“for to carry you to freedom”: a remembrance day song
in a few days, november 11, it’s remembrance day here in canada, or veterans day in the U.S. many wars were and are still being fought, and many struggles. writing a novel about a slave on a louisiana plantation, one of the struggles that is foremost in my mind is the one against slavery in… Continue reading “for to carry you to freedom”: a remembrance day song
a solution for “but”
this morning i posted this on twitter: question to my buddhist friends: fear of connecting deeply with dharma/the divine = fear of ego death? william replied in a blog post, ego and the self. he has some interesting thoughts there that i encourage you to explore, and finishes thusly: the more we meditate and practice… Continue reading a solution for “but”
cuyahoga colours on a wordless wednesday
this photograph is by my blogging friend anthony. to see the whole splendid photo essay, click here.
obama: yes we can!
“yes we can!” i’m imagining the hero of my NaNoWriMo novel, joe – or kosi, his african name – watching obama’s acceptance speech tonight. “yes we can!” my novel spans close to 250 years, starting with a west african amazon who ends up a slave in louisiana. joe is her grandson. he dies and –… Continue reading obama: yes we can!
dia de los muertos and NaNoWriMo
it’s dia de los muertos today, day of the dead. thought i’d give you a little excerpt from my novel, right when the hero dies, slumped against a tree after running through the swamp. the hero is joe, who lived as a slave on a sugar plantation in louisiana. anyways, here i was sitting against… Continue reading dia de los muertos and NaNoWriMo
carnival of eating disorders on hallowe’en
it’s hallowe’en! i’m busy being a fashion mistake – that’s my costume for this year. this picture gives you a bit of a taste of but it doesn’t show the real nice touches – the smeared rouge, the bags under the eyes, the wool socks over the leopard pyjamas under the fancy black skirt –… Continue reading carnival of eating disorders on hallowe’en
diwali on a wordless wednesday
i’m very lucky to be living on one of the world’s most multicultural places. this week, we celebrate diwali, the indian festival of light. it’s similar to western christmas (and carries a similar baggage!) image by joshwah
simplicity and the internet
as someone with a strong buddhist influence, i often think about simplicity, and make tiny, cautious steps towards it. my baroque mind finds this rather ridiculous because life is most fun and exciting when there are lots and lots of decorations and curlicues, when there is boundless abundance and variations upon variations on themes upon… Continue reading simplicity and the internet
fireflies and a buddhist shrine: a sunday inspiration
in this post, i happily join sojourner in her sunday inspiration project. fireflies. from ancient times we humans have always been fascinated by these little beings. scientists explain that the firefly’s light is produced through a complicated interaction of a number of chemicals. but for me, its light teaches a very valuable lesson: the firefly… Continue reading fireflies and a buddhist shrine: a sunday inspiration