djbuddha

Category: Posts from the Before Times

  • here we go

    From 2003 to 2012, this site was host to a fairly regularly updated blog, by me, “the buddha is my dj.” By around 2010 I had stopped posting as regularly, and did a long slow fade out trying to figure out what I was up to, what the point of the whole project was. Then…

  • the morning after

    the morning after

    I am sitting at my desk in my office the morning after. I do not know what to say or do or feel. I know how I feel. Desperate. Sad. Angry. Uncertain. That word isn’t strong enough, uncertain. Uncertain in the way that Edvard Munch’s subject in The Scream is uncertain. Uncertain because the world…

  • All self-promotion-y

    A couple of quick notes. First, the book has arrived. You can order it direct from the publisher or from Amazon (including in swanky Kindle format) or your friendly local independent bookseller. If you’d like to see a preview of the book, click here to read the introduction and first chapter.

  • Buddhadécor

    Buddhadécor

    Since our daughter was born, on vacations, my wife and I have gravitated away from hotels and into vacation rentals — VRBO, the problematic AirBnB — which, when traveling with a small child, are just easier.

  • The book

    I sent off the final page proofs of my forthcoming book to the publisher earlier this month. I assume that means it’s all said and done, that’s all she wrote, whatever mistakes were made and not caught will just go to press, and I’ll have to live to this thing for the rest of my…

  • On tattoos and whiteness

    Seeing my name in (digital) print, I can’t help but to comment a bit further on this piece published by Tricycle on Buddhist tattoos. I’m not going to comment too much on the meat of the issue, but I did want to comment a bit on what I was trying to do when I spoke…

  • On oxymorons, briefly

    On oxymorons, briefly

    The author of a review over at Trike of the Steve Jobs movie used the following phrase: These days, Buddha branding of all sorts of things has created the oxymoron of a Buddhist consumerism. I have nothing to say about this review nor the movie since, I’ll be honest, I didn’t read the whole review…

  • The stories we tell

    From America’s most trusted news network: Study Finds Every Style Of Parenting Produces Disturbed, Miserable Adults. Our daughter turned four last year. Hands down, the past four years have been some of the most joyous, profound, fun, exhausting, and frustrating years of my life. I feel like I must look like those before and after…

  • Not everyone must be Buddhist

    I was just going to tweet the following sentiment. But then it became a short rant. It may not be long enough for a bona fide blog post. But I can’t think of where else to get this off my chest. More substantive posts are forthcoming. I promise. I cannot tell you how sad it…

  • Dispatch from AAR

    Dispatch from AAR

    For context, it’s Monday afternoon, and I’ve found a comfortable spot to write in the Tibetan sand mandala exhibit. As such, I am surrounded by chanting and the sound of sand mandala construction, a repetitive metal scratching from their implements as the monks construct the mandala. Oh, and, of course, the occasional cell phone going…