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I love March Madness. I don't watch basketball during the regular season but I am glued to the TV during March. I went to a Division III school with a shitty b-ball team but I do remember the excitement of being at the game and I cannot imagine this kind of finish!

I'm back to reading " A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race & The Soul of America " ( Craig Werner ). Not only is he a wonderful writer and a gifted thinker, he is also an amazing researcher - this is the guy I want to be when I grow up. I've mentioned before what wonderful quotes he finds and today's quote is another example: It's not an act, but a state of being. I play and move as I feel. My music, my instrument, my sound, my body, are all one action with my mind. Jimi Hendrix

An accomplished person does not by a philosophical view, or by thinking become arrogant, for he is not of that sort; not by holy works, nor by tradition is he to be led, he is not led into any of the resting places of the mind. adapted from the Sutta-nipata, translated by V. Fausboll

One of my favorite bands finally as a new record. Ojos De Brujo , do some of the funkiest, flamenco inspired stuff you've ever heard. Who cans if you can't understand the words (Spanish), it sounds great, it flows, it's got style and soul. Here is the video: If you are a downloaded be sure to get it from Calabash ...it's fair trade music.

A little bit of info is a dangerous thing. Today I overheard a conversation about history and geopolitics that was wrought with partial info...just crazy misinformation and the party with this misinfo was passing a lot of opinion of as info. Although I try very hard to have accurate info, I wonder if I come off like that sometimes.

Benny Originally uploaded by cjgrinham . Marjorie mentioned the whole thing with me looking like our former coworker's boyfriend, Benny. Benny is Indian. What we saw as similar was our body shape. We are both about the same height and width. Our faces are similarly shaped and our complexion is similar, especially in the Summer. My wife is often mistaken for a latina and I have a cousin or two who could be seen as Greek, Italian or Central Asian. So, yes I guess we can all look mixed up.

As a single slab of rock Won't budge in the wind, So the wise are not moved By praise, By blame. Like a deep lake, Clear, unruffled, & calm; So the wise become clear, Calm, On hearing words of the Dhamma. Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Tara & Jai 2 Originally uploaded by bmitd67 . So, I started working at the Nashville Public Library . One of my coworkers is Egyptian , he's been in the US for a couple of years, very nice guy. Last week, during my training we were sitting across from each other and he looked at me and said I looked Egyptian. Very interesting, I've never been told I looked "ethnic", non-African-American. I don't know, what do you think?

And those who have no mental vigilance, Though they may hear the teachings, ponder them or meditate, With minds like water seeping from a leaking jug, Their learning will not settle in their memories. Sântideva, "Bodhicaryâvatâra"

The Ballad of Frankie Silver by Sharyn McCrumb I hated the dialog so I stopped. See more about The Ballad of Frankie Silver

I started a new job this past Monday. After years, I mean something close to 8 years, I have been trying to get a job with a library system in the Nashville area. I have interviewed with Vanderbilt 3 times and I have interviewed with Nashville Public Library at least 3 times. It's been extremely frustrating and disheartening but the library got a new HR director and I got a call. I interviewed twice and they apparently loved me. I was glad and sad to leave Landmark . I worked with a wonderful group of people but, my God, it was insanely boring. I am sad to say that I spent more time surfing the net than entering my data. Our goal was to verify artists and tracks with either a 2nd database or the product itself; all day, album check, track check, and add data. I loved the fact that we were working with new, proprietary software. When systems went down we would play name that tune. I had IM to talk with a couple of friends outside the office and, of course, we had Krispy Kreme Donu...

Every year something happens that we don't expect. I am only gonna address to musical surprises of 2006. One was very pleasant and the other was mixed. I was glad that I can say it exists for there to even be a surprise. The bad news is the release of " Boxing Mirror " by Alejandro Escovedo . I am so glad Al is around to give us new music. For those who don't know or haven't listened to the record, Al has Hepatitis and he almost died in 2003. We weren't sure if we'd ever get more music from him. He'd suffered a health setback and as a result he suffered a financial setback b/c he, like most working musicians, he didn't have adequate health insurance. So when I say I am glad to have more music I am sincerely happy that this master of lyric and melody is back out there. The part I don't like is the resulting record. I have grown to like the album more than I did when I first bought it but I have major problems with the production & some of t...

You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore Christopher Moore . I think you love him or hate him. I love him. I like his universal themes that victimized women have more strength than they imagine, there are unexplainables, homeless are people too and nerdy guys save the world and get the girl! This is a wonderful continuation of Bloodsucking Fiends . I liked Bloodsucking Fiends but not as much as some of his others so I didn’t expect much out of this one. I was surprised, this was a great story and has a wonderfully romantic ending. His characters are char-ac-ters. They have wonderful personalities, he understands different types of people and can bring them all to life. There are inside jokes related to his other books. If you like Letterman and Colbert Report with a bit of geeky fantasy I think you will love most anything Christopher Moore has written. See more about You Suck: A Love Story

It's 2007 and we're still noticing firsts. Congrats to Thelma, lets see if the College can follow soon. Thelma Monique Panton, a middler at Sewanee , the University of the South's School of Theology , is the first African American to be named student government president . Technorati Tags: sewanee , episcopal , african-american , black , religion

I was skipping around the R&RHoF Induction Thing and after the grand finale MHD switched to the Cream Reunion show from Royal Albert Hall . I watched and listened to how good they sounded. They have grown and mellowed, the music was relaxed, solid and emotive. Watching Cream I can't help but thing what it would be like if Jimi had made it and 30 years later he was jamming to a sold out audience with Mitch & Noel or Billy & Buddy. In my dreams, in my heaven.

I know it's early but this has to be the one: "We shouldn't be constantly feeding negative energy to these kids," he (Suge Knight) said. "You can get rich with the devil's money, but you can only be happy with God's money." SUGE SET TO BURY DEATH ROW Technorati Tags: music , hip-hop , death row , religion , spirituality powered by performancing firefox

All tremble at the rod, all are fearful of death. Drawing the parallel to yourself, neither kill nor get others to kill. Dhammapada, 10, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Technorati Tags: buddhism , daily meditation powered by performancing firefox

This is actually more a response - a dissent, if you will - to the extraordinarily smart and beautiful, poetically inclined maven of Brown Rabbit Tanning , Marjorie. Marjorie and I worked at Davis-Kidd together, we started on the same day (to walk into the breakroom and see her certainly made me feel better about working for $8/hr), and I typically agree with her on things film and political, although she once steered me to an insane Turkish movie, which I have fortunately forgotten the name of, although I did like the music. I will have to say that her disinterest in The Queen disappoints me greatly. I, not being an Anglophile wasn't interested in The Queen but when the lights went down I became enthralled and entranced by Dame Helen Mirren (who joins other silver-haired beauties, Raquel Welch - I know she's not silver haired but you know what I mean - and  Emmylou Harris , on my hottie list). Here performance was all encompassing, she is one of the few who truly and absol...

You cannot find Buddha nature by vivisection. Reality cannot be caught by thinking or feeling mind. Moment after moment to watch your breathing, to watch your posture, is true nature. There is no secret beyond this point. Shunryu Suzuki, " Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind " Technorati Tags: buddhism , daily meditation powered by performancing firefox