Accept my words only when you have examined them for yourselves; do not accept them simply because of the reverence you have for me. Those who only have faith in me and affection for me will not find the final freedom. But those who have faith in the truth and are determined on the path, they will find awakening.

- Majjhima Nikaya

I'm happy to announce that Audible.com has acquired the rights to Shadows Return and The White Road, which means that soon all of my books will be available in audiobook format. The rest can be found here.

Saw "Pelham 123" last night, in the mood for an action flick and with a headache that precluded 3-D "Up." I read the book years ago, and may have seen the original movie--I think there was one-- but had fortuately forgotten enough for it all to be fresh.

It was really enjoyable. The action was good, with plenty of crashes and assorted acts of unglorified violence, but the character interplay between Ryder (John Travolta--even today I almost say Vinnie Barberini) and Denzel Washington's dumpy, tired, middle aged hero Walter Garber is what really carries the film. Other characters--weasely boss, more weasily mayor, evil henchmen 1, 2, and 3--are throwaways but they are just set dressing anyway. Garber comes across as the more believable of the two, but Travolta is entertaining as always.

Sitting here on the couch, half paying attention to the TV, look up and there's David Carradine on a show called "Mental".

Louisville, Kentucky pastor Ken Pagano has had a "bring your gun to church" "Open Carry" day. Of course, they have to be unloaded and not concealed . . . And there will be a raffle. The prize: a handgun. Don't know if he did a blessing of the handguns.

He says, and I quote, "Christian pacifism is an option, not a requirement." He interprets "turn the other cheek" as "purely an act of disrespect" (to the slapper). Somebody show me in the Gospels where Jesus ever sanctioned violence? I've read 'em all and the closest I remember is when he cleared the money lenders from the temple in Jerusalem. So many people seem to forget that Jesus preached a New Covenant and was most assuredly a pacifist. Today he'd be called a dang long-haired lefty liberal elitist, I guess. But then you have Bush and his ilk declaring holy war in the name of God/Jesus. Christianity has wandered so far from her roots.
http://www.topical-bible-studies.org/24-0025.htm

Un-Buddhist/Christian grrrrrrrrr. >:-(

It just occurred to me, counting on my fingers, that Luck in the Shadows turns 13 this year. I may not be a best seller (yet) but my books stay in print and that's pretty darn good, not to mention all the foreign translations.

BANGKOK — Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu,” who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.


Read more

We're enjoying a rare thunderstorm this morning. Rain is scarce this time of year, and thunderbumpers are even more so. When they do roll down out of the mountains, however, they are pretty impressive. The first crack of thunder earlier today shook the house and the dogs have been wild ever since. Emma is certain something needs to be done about it, something that requires lots of barking and jumping over furniture. Jackson is much more laid back now, though his back and tail bushed up during the first ones. Bosco pays it absolutely no mind and thinks the others are being ridiculous.

This is a new one, and deliciously convolute.

Dear Counsel,

Ok, you can stop right there . . .

I am sending this email as a mutual introduction (potential representation). Mr.
Rahman Omar is the Manager and owner of Jinan Haohua Industry, Co. Ltd. Mr. Rahman
Omar entity is a steels and chemical trading company in Seoul , Korea .

Wait. Is this Ramen fellow a Manager or a company?

Jinan Haohua Industry, Co. Ltd., has a claim against an American company for breach of contract. I
cannot handle this matter at this time because I will be going for a surgery
operation very soon.

Oh, well, in that case . . .

I have represented this company in a different matter, in the past.

If you'd said "in the future" I'd have been impressed.

This matter is in
your jurisdiction/region;

Skala?

that is why am referring him to you and I do not require a
referral fee.

That's a relief.

Please contact Jinan Haohua Industry, Co. Ltd if you are interested in
representing him and his company. Below is his contact information as follows:

Mr. Rahman Omar
(deleted)

Should you have any questions, please contact my legal assistant Ms. Julia Weston at:
juliawestonla@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Peter Smith
(deleted)

Oh, I have many questions, but they are outweighed by common sense and the need to get on with my day. By the way, you should fire Ms. Weston. She is either an atrocious copy editor or never finished junior high. And doesn't your company employ any Koreans?

Utmost question in my mind, as always-- who falls for these???

Jackson went on his first trip to Huntington Beach Dog Beach this morning and had a very good time! He ran around after Emma, played with other dogs, sniffed a few humans, pooped on sand, got to sniff a very dead seagull, and while he's not swimming yet, he did some serious wading in the Pacific. A thoroughly good time for everyone. Pics to follow.

This afternoon, Jackson graduated from Puppy Class. We have the pics to prove it. He was a very good sport, as you can see.

It's dangerous to have "on demand" movies through Time Warner Cable when I'm sick. Watched several yesterday, but the only one I really remember is a Finnish horror film "direct from the festival circuit". Set in the late 16th century, it's about two brothers who commit a terrible sin and have to deal with the psycological and supernatural consequences. The story line is compelling, set on a trek by a team marking out the boundaries between Russia and Sweden after a long war. I'm sure I missed some of the cultural things, but it was a fantastic, spooky, stylish film. Also loved the costumes, thinking "Yeah, Micum would dress like that!"

If you can find it, watch it. It's available on Movies at On Demand under "IFC in Theaters."

My husband the home brewer also designs his own labels. I supplied the tag line.

Note the bottle of aspirin on the table.
Note: That's Emma, and she's female. She's quite put out that people assumed she was male just because she has short hair and holds an editorial job. She can be a real bitch about it.

Jackson is bigger and happier than ever. Regular trips to puppy school and the dog park are yielding slow but good results. Probably because of Emma, he really likes little dogs. With the larger, more dominate ones he completely wusses out, putting his tail down and slinking away. When the crowd is less pushy, though, he mingles in with the pack, still shy but wagging his tail. He has a stripe of darker, stiffer hair down his back and sometimes that goes up, but doesn't seem to mean much so far, other than alarm. The other owners seem to really like him, especially his tiger stripes and curly tail. The only time he growls is when he gets tired and lays down. Then if another dog gets too close he gives them a rumble. I think he feels more vulnerable when he's down, or territorial. I give him a sharp "Quit!" for that.

We haven't been to the vet lately, but I'd guess he's around 70 lbs now, and seems to be slowing down quite a bit.

Emma is still queen of the house, though. When he gets too rough for her she yelps and grabs him by the cheek, which settles him down quickly.

Poor old Bosco. He is still as chipper as ever, but his incontinence is getting worse and I'm going to have to find some kind of pre-made doggie belly band for him to wear at night. The sock/pad/safety pin route just isn't working. Any recommendations? Still love him to pieces, but he's wrecking the rugs.

Had a terrific time at JACON in Kissammee/Orlando, FL. Came home jet lagged and con cruddy, as always.

People were wonderful, met lots of lovely readers and may have created a few more. All I know is that I left home with a large suitcase full of books to sell (47 lbs. Take that, American-we-charge-for-bags-over-50lbs-Airlines!) and returned with three books. I was able to get three sets of the nine book Japanese edition of Luck, Stalking, and Traitor and sold all of them.

I was entrusted to a handler, a very nice fellow named Sean, who kept voice actor Brett Weaver and me free of crumbs and fed. I was the only writer in the bunch. The rest were artists, singers, and voice talent associated with anime. There was a strong presence of yaoi fans, including a very nice woman I met at Yaoi-con last fall. *waves to Nicole*, who'd recommended me to JACON. I spent Fri night and a bit of Sat am at the Yaoi PJ pajama party and had a ball.

I was a "dealer" for the first time, spending lots of time in the dealers room selling books. It was a good way to take in all the costumes roaming the con and get a lot of face time with fans and potential fans. Came away with a few gifts, too, including a lovely bit of fan art, a necklace, and two little hibicus plants named Alec and Seregil who have appeared on this lj and hopefully will again. It was a challenge getting the latter home and I do hope they survive the trip via large suitcase and box. They are rather bedraggled, poor things.

I even managed to get some work done and am closing in on the end of the White Road edits. Spent yesterday dazed and lagged. Only slightly better today. Must get moving!


*Staggers off for more coffee to cut the brain fog*

Thanks, mouseclick chick!

I am leaving for Florida and J Con early tomorrow morning. My schedule is as follows, for those of you who wanted to know:

Friday

14:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) Panel

18:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) VIP Dinner

21:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) Yaoi PJ Party

Saturday

16:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) Panel

Sunday

9:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) VIP Breakfast

12:00 Special Events (Paradise 4) Panel

I'm not sure about the Sunday events. At the moment they have me flying out at 8 am. That hasn't been resolved yet, but I suspect I won't be there Sunday.

[Mindfulness] is like walking on a tightrope, [either grasp at something or push away] and you lose your balance and fall... and inevitably what we land on is another tightrope, another opportunity for mindfulness.

-Sharon Salzberg

From Science Daily

Meditation May Increase Gray Matter

ScienceDaily (May 13, 2009) — Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers — people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain? Meditate.
That's the finding from a group of researchers at UCLA who used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of people who meditate. In a study published in the journal NeuroImage and currently available online (by subscription), the researchers report that certain regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a similar control group.
Specifically, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the hippocampus and areas within the orbito-frontal cortex, the thalamus and the inferior temporal gyrus — all regions known for regulating emotions.
Read more.