Sex, Chocolate, and Buddhism

Dhr. Seven and Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly; S.F. Asian Art Museum (asianart.org)

Gorgeous Idea

Rare Buddhist masterpieces on display

Imagine talks that are informal, impromptu, in-gallery conversations. Imagine that they are facilitated by scholars, artists, filmmakers, and writers. Imagine that the facilitators explore ideas arising from the artwork on view in the exhibition "Gorgeous." And when done imaging, visit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco to see them brought to life. Each facilitator presents an idea that piques the curiosity of the host and the audience then engages in a session to investigate it through two or three artworks:

• Gorgeous Idea: The Aura of an Ore with Jeff Durham

  August 7, 2014, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm. Meet near the information desk. Evenings, Talks, and Lectures. Buddhist expert Jeff Durham hosted "Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Mind Maps" at the Norton Simon.
  
• Sex, Chocolate, and Kimonos with Tina Takemoto

  August 14, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk:

Caveat emptor: you get what you pay for.

How do artists use sex, food, physicality, and clothing to seduce and deceive viewers? Tina Takemoto explores how sexuality and race are deployed in artworks presented in Gorgeous that engage with cross-dressing, masquerade, embodiment, and ethnic drag.

Tina Takemoto is an artist and associate professor of visual studies at California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
 
Takemoto's research explores the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated during WW II. She has...received grants funded by Art Matters, James Irvine Foundation, and San Francisco Arts Commission. Her film Looking for Jiro received Best Experimental Film Jury Award at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Int'l Film Festival. Her articles appear in Afterimage, Art Journal, GLQ, Performance Research, Radical Teacher, Theatre Survey, Women and Performance, and the anthology Thinking Through the Skin. Takemoto is board president of the Queer Cultural Center and co-founder of Queer Conversations on Culture and the Arts. On occasion, she makes guerrilla appearances as Michael Jackson and Bjork-Geisha.

• The Skin/Skein I’m In with Việt Lê

  September 4, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk.
• Behind Closed Doors with Michael Stabile

  September 11, 7:00-8:00 pm (free with museum admission, $5 after 5:00 pm). Meet near the information desk. Details

Sex, Chocolate, and Buddhism
Wisdom Quarterly and Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda (Question Time)

Don't we have a parlor to get to? - Oh, S, we're gonna to be late! - I think they'll understand.

.

"Chocolate" is a fruit seed crushed with sugar.

We have a gorgeous idea, too. Crystal, what should our idea be? We can tell Jeff, and maybe he'll do it.

 

We can take a cue from Prof. Takemoto and concentrate on sex and chocolate! Did you know that chocolate is a fruit? 

What are you talking about? Chocolat is a fat. 

 

Yes, but Theobroma cacao -- "cocoa, the food of the devas" is the bitter crushed pit of a tropical fruit mixed with sugar or some sweetener, like raw agave, to take the edge off.

Chocolate Buddha (Patosoftineto/flickr)

That's rad; we should make raw chocolate, mold it into little Buddha bars, and hand them out at our talk -- our parlor room discussion -- about sex.

They would never go for it. San Francisco is way too uptight.

Maybe, but they let Jeff do Cosmic Mandalas in the main gallery, converting museum space into an actual, working sacred mandala.

True, that's true. But sex is a touchy subject for Americans. We're Judeo-Christian Puritans whether we like it or not, and most of us don't even realize how uptight we are.

"Touchy" subject is right. Maybe we should start with hugs -- chocolates and a snuggle party!

This is a Parlor.

Whatever, did you know that all sexual misconduct is sexual conduct BUT not all sexual conduct is sexual misconduct?

The real life mandala at the SF Asian Art Museum (Dr. Jeff Durham/asianart.org)

.

A woman discover the sensual scent of flowers

What, well, obviously! "All whales are fish, but not all fish are whales."

Fish are whales?

Whatever, things that live and swim in water all day.

What is sexual misconduct?

Who cares, our talk will be about sexual conduct.

Cool.

But Amber's not going to give the go ahead on this presentation.

Hmmm...I've got it! We'll run it by Seth instead.

Yes!

Worse comes to worse, we'll convince Ashley.

No, worse comes to worse they'll say we're parlor talkers. That chocolate had better be good, good like fudge.

We can quote Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, the renowned Sri Lankan Theravada scholar-monk from Malaysia who says in Question Time:

Is sex bad?

As human beings, we have bodies that crave for all kinds of pleasures. Not only sex, we crave for food, pleasurable fragrances, sounds, sights, tastes, and tangibles.

If we deny ourselves these as being "sinful" then we repress natural desires. Instead of repressing these natural desires, we must seek to understand how and why they arise and to realize that it is not in our best intere3sts to pander to physical desires.

The victim of maya (illusion) sees the body as real and craves to satisfy a longing for sense desires (kama), which covers all kinds of sensual pleasure.

As the person, the being, matures spiritually, illusion is replaced with knowledge and wisdom (vidya and prajna). With spiritual matureity, the body is seen as an illusion and the person naturally grows out of craving. Here we see the spritually advanced being renounces sex (and other five sense strand pursuits) just as a child stops playing with toys as s/he grows up.

Quagmire is a pandaka (Family Guy)

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with sex. What is wrong is attachment and slavery to it, in believing that indulgence in sex can bring ultimate happiness.

This is the problem with the exploitation of sex by the mass entertainment industry today -- perpetuating the myth that sex can bring lasting happiness.

The third of the Five Precepts recited in daily Buddhist practice is, "I undertake the training rule to refrain from sexual misconduct." 

First, let's not that there is no compulsion, no fear of punishment for the infringement of any "divine law" here, but rather -- when we recognize the danger of attachment to sex, we freely take the steps (training rule) to grow out of it, that is, "I undertake."

(From Question Time with Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, 2012, pp. 40-41, Buddhist Maha Vihara, Malaysia, Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society).

When is social media too much? (cartoon)

Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Tom Tomorrow (thismodernworld.com)

If teens have been peddled to and become addicted and obsessed with social media, what are they really after? It used to be "being part of the group." Now it's all about money and FAME.

Stimulating the brain's reward centers with addictive devices (thismodernworld.com)

In a day and age obsessed with social media and spying technology, it's hard to picture life without them.

Is that good or bad or neither? According to Andrew Keen, author of the book Digital Vertigo: How Today's Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us, the Internet, and particularly social media, is changing society in a way that is worrisome. (Christians agree).
 

Keen has long been known for the position he has taken on the addictive Internet, claiming that it is having an adverse effect on society and people personally. After voicing this position in his book The Cult of Amateur, he has been given nicknames like the "Net's supreme cyber-grump" and the "Antichrist of the Silicon Valley."

Speaking to WebProNews he explains that, while he supports the Internet and social media, he is concerned that the public nature of the social age is resulting in "losing something essential about what it means to be human." 

(The National, Feb. 2014) How are teens being affected by social media? Research suggests the impact is emotional - bullying, obsession with money and fame (defined as likes), and sexting.

"One of the problems, I think, with social media is that it isn't very social. It's really just an aggregation of individuals," he says. As he explains, many of our actions on social networks aren't pro-social. The movements that have developed are not coherent, viable movements. For example, Occupy or the movements in the Middle East, are atomized and radically individualized not "social" movements. Most social networks, instead, represent "just an aggregation" of people.

To avoid a potential harmful impact, Keen says the Internet needs to become more civilized and habitable. He also suggests that government regulation regarding privacy protections against spying could help prevent the concerns from getting worse.

• The problem is not loving Facebook; it's hating it but still using it: Top 10 Reasons to Quit Facebook (Diggnation Daily)

Choosing money over morality? (Scar Jo)

Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; BusinessInsider.com

What would Anathapindika do, which would Anathapindika choose? (AP/Business Inisder)

 

Scarlett Johansson sells sexy do-it-yourself fizzy pop for money. But Oxfam does not approve since (SodaStream) the Israeli-company's manufacturing base is in Palestine, the un-autonomous region of Israel, exploiting suffering Palestinians. It and the Gaza Strip are known as "the world's largest open-air prison." So after appearing in accused-pedophile and beloved American movie maker Woody Allen's movies, she's taking a stand: She dumped Oxfam, where she once held the title "Global Ambassador." Now she's just a pregnant shill out to destroy the Avenger's franchise. Shills sell sugary soda streams for profitable income streams. We liked her better naked and less obsessed with selling out to the highest bidder.

• Scarlett Jojansson finally addresses the Woody Allen and SodaStream controversies

Early idea for Scar Jo's Avenger's costume

How To Succeed at Speed Dating (video)

Dev, Kelly, Wisdom Quarterly; Hurry Adele (HurryDate.com); Metro.net; Allison Armstrong

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Brown University presents us with a chance to make personal connections in less time than it takes to read this with not one but two speed dating events. Blog Daily Herald has eight useful tips for speed dating More

On Valentine's Day Metro is pleased to present...Speed Dating! Speed Dating on the Red Line On Valentine's Day Metro Los Angeles (train system) is pleased to present SPEED DATING on the Red Line! It will take place from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Metro staff will be at seven Red Line stations to tell everyone how. Register in advance. Whether you believe love is a matter of “fate” or coincidence, luck or strategy, you can have your own “meet someone cute” moment by participating in Speed Dating L.A. style. Try it on a shiny train that's moving on smoggy tracks while you dodge deranged bums, insufferable hipsters, and the great mass of weirdos we call “neighbor” or would would call if anyone spoke to anybody else. Try smiling first. That's life in the Big City. Just ask Steve Hymon (thesource.metro.net). More   Life in Los Angeles riding the Metro (2:00 minute flick)

This educational video addresses the topic of "speed dating." It was shot for Oxford University Press for a video textbook. After learning the basics, dive in. Sign up for a speed dating party at HurryDate.com

 

(Aware Show) Alison Armstrong on celebrating men, satisfying women

(Mike Reynolds) Men, learn how to be charming in 7 steps

How to find love on OkCupid, Match (audio)

Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Caitlin Roper (Senior Ed., wired.com); "AirTalk" (SCPR.org, Can a few words turn us into successful online daters?)

What? We met online! It's like we've known each other for years. Miley is our role model!

   

Annoying Ugly Duckling transformed. Who?

Trying to look attractive on online dating profiles? Take up yoga or surfing.
 
According to WIRED’s analysis of “massive amounts of data” from popular dating sites OkCupid and Match.com, what people say in their profiles may play a role in how attractive other users find them to be. (Continued with audio below this simple How To).
 
How To Score Dates on Match.com
Agatha Thornbush, Guest Contributor

10. Tell them right up front: "NO DRAMA!!!"

First, set your standards high. Way high. It's like my firstborn's father used to say, "Aim for the stars to hit the moon." Second, be firm. Stand your ground. Don't let anybody cross your boundaries. Three, set boundaries. You've got to tell him/her right on the first date. I didn't pay Match.com good money to date a scrub. Fourth, go light on the pictures. God knows, if they're really interested, they'll wait. Whose going to want to buy Coca-Cola in cans when he/she can get Pepsi in plastic? Think. D'uh. Fifth, don't wear your heart on your shoulder. But a chip is OK. Six, make sure there grammer is impecable. 

Think his dialing finger broke?

Six, don't ask about money or a job. But keep an eye on their shoes and where they take you. That'll tell you ALL you need to know. I'm out to protect myself. Seven, make your expectations known right up front. Speak your mind; don't edit. Do you have time to waste? Because I don't have time to waste! If you don't want commitment, marriage, a house, kids, and all of it on my internal-clock's schedule, why are you wasting my time? Eighth, read The Secret and Law of Attraction, and Cosmo, and let the man chase. There are plenty of fish in the sea. What makes you think you're so special? The same probably holds true for thespians. Ninth, find me on Match, J Date, Christian Singles, Buddhist Singles, Agnostic Singles, or Catpeople for Catpeople, and let me know how it goes. Remember, "My package, my rules!" It's a lot of steps, but here they are all summarized in this short instructional video:

WARNING: Corporate situations, sexual references, language, Riff Raff!

 

In the good old days, no one had sex. Wink

A hard look at the 1,000 most popular words on the site and how attractive the people who use them are rated shows that the “hottest” men talk about oceans, breakfast, and live music.
 
The women mention fitness, Radiohead, and fashion. Attractive people of both genders overwhelmingly mention yoga, surfing, and London [associated with well heeled travel or the London Olympics?]
 
Another common theme for the most attractive online daters is some breaking of gender norms: Women interested in technology and men who mention crafting are rated very attractive.
 

That's? No way! Yes way. (DailyMail.co.uk)

Are we a culture of "Karma Police" listening, yoga enjoying, Anglophiles?
 
Is the dating pool on sites like OkCupid and Match self-selecting? Does online attractiveness translate to in-person chemistry?

• LISTEN NOW: AUDIO (19:29)

• "Peaceful" publication scandalizes celebrity by calling her a f*gl* llama-faced @$$&!#
• Ready or not, Winter Olympics competitions kick off in Sochi, Russia
• Resurgence of long-form journalism - quantity vs quality

Maybe whom we meet is due to our "Karma Police" - Ashley
 

The Agatha System worked!! Wait, these are just pics of pen*ses. WT*? (F.J. Brown)

Poor SLEEP makes us fat, demented (audio)

Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Allison Aubrey (Morning Edition, 10-17-13, NPR.org)

Americans aren't getting the recommended 7-9 hours (Franck Camhi/iStockphoto.com)

  

American men are fatter than other men

Is that 6:00 am workout getting in the way of good sleep? Don't think those fat cells won't notice.

 

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that inadequate shut-eye has a harmful response on our fat cells, reducing their ability to respond to insulin by about 30 percent. 

 

Over the long-term, this decreased response could set the stage for Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and weight gain.

BREAKING NEWS: Reason we sleep discovered!

The brain on final rinse cycle by end of a good night's sleep (Katherine Streeter/NPR.org)

(All Things Considered) While the brain sleeps, it clears out harmful toxins, a process that may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, researchers now say. During sleep, the flow of cerebrospinal fluid to and from the brain increases dramatically, washing away harmful waste proteins that build up between brain cells during waking hours, a study of mice found. "It's like a dishwasher," says Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Rochester and an author of the study in Science. The results appear to offer the best explanation yet of why animals and people need sleep. More (LISTEN)

 

Dr. Maiken Nedergaard (URMC)

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that there's "an intimate relationship between the amount of sleep we get and our ability to maintain a good, healthy body weight," says sleep expert Helene Emsellem, director of the Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

 

But Americans don't seem to be getting the message that we need seven to nine hours per night. More than 1 in 5 of us, according to a from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is getting six or fewer hours of sleep per night, on average. LISTEN

• Mysteries of Sleep were Just Too Mysterious
• "Memory Pinball" and Other Reasons We Need a Nap
• Of Neurons and Memories: Inside "Secret World of Sleep"
• What happens in our brains while we're asleep? That's one question neuroscientist Penelope Lewis is trying to answer. She directs the Sleep... 
• How Sounds Undermine Sleep
• We're thinking about sleep. Do we really need it? How do we get more? And what happens inside our brains...
• Pulling Back the Covers on "Strange Science of Sleep"
• "He said, 'You know, I have to be honest; there's a lot we know about sleep, but there's a lot that we don't know. So just try to take it easy.'" 
• The Secret World of Sleep
• There is no need to say that we humans tend to feel pretty lousy if we don't get enough sleep. Perhaps the most extreme example of this... 
• Science of Slumber: How Sleep Affects Memory 
• So how much rest does your brain really need, and what does it do with that rest once it's getting it? We're talking about the science of sleep...
• How Much Sleep Do Kids Need? Not Such a Mystery After All
• Are doctors really clueless on how much sleep children need? That was the provocative premise of a study we reported on yesterday.
• PSYCHIC: (Coast to Coast) Saints and Sages
  World-class spell collector, psychic practitioner, scholar, and teacher Judika Illes offers encyclopedic knowledge of the sacred, helpful mystics, saints, and sages from a large variety of religious traditions. She'll share the various ways these beings and traditions can be used to help illness, unemployment and more. But in the first hour of tonight's show, retired professor of climatology Dr. Tim Ball discusses Arctic ice and climate projections.

What's wrong with American men?

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Huffington Post

I filled this veggie-fridge, Joe. If I want to empty it, I'll empty it! Get yourself to the gym!

 

Yeah, girl, yer FAT; go make me a sandwich.

The average American man is named Joe (or Jose), is fat, and lives at my house. Why won't he exercise and lose weight? His toe hurts.
 
Why does his toe hurt? Because he stubbed it on his way to the fridge for a late night snack. Hey, Jojo, put down the mooncake, get out of the kitchen, and onto the bathroom scale! (Too harsh? 10 Things to Say to Make Men Go Ballistic)
  
The fact is American men are pudgy, sloppy, and potato-couchy. They won't deny it. It's not as if men have ever had to live up to the standards of beauty, physical attractiveness, and shapeliness females are forced to deal with from. We give men a pass, but that was when they did a lot for us beyond being eye candy. Now, guys, at least have the decency to look good! And shower. And use a dab of natural (non-aluminum) baking soda under the armpits; it's a wonderful natural deodorizer. And work off that flab.

  

Hey, fatso, look to your left and stop stuffing carbs, flesh, and fast food (Big Deals/HuffPost)

 

(HP) America's expanding waistline may not be new news, but throwing the average American male's body into a line-up spotlights America's obesity epidemic. This is exactly what Pittsburgh-based artist Nickolay Lamm did when he created these visualizations (which obviously deal only with body size and not race, ethnicity, or skin color).  "I wanted to put a mirror in front of us," Lamm told The Huffington Post in an email. "Americans like to pride ourselves on being the best country in the world [WQ EDITORIAL: when everybody knows that's Switzerland]. However, it's clear that other countries have lifestyles and healthcare better than our own. More

Buddhist missionaries from India and Afghanistan were welcomed in ancient Greece.

  

More proof we're fat

 Here's What The Average American Man Looks Like Compared To Other...

 How do YOU measure up? Artist compares "average" shape of men from around...

 The Average American Male Body: How Does It Compare To Men In Other...

 Artist compares men's bodies by nation

 Meet Todd: The Average Man

 This Is the Average Man's Body - James Hamblin - The Atlantic

 Defining the new male ideal - CNN.com

Why I love Cocaine

Anonymous, Ashley Wells, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Dennis Romero, laweekly.com

Sia (and/or her tiny alter ego) is the Girl You Lost to Cocaine

 

Hi, my name is Minsky. And I'm a coke fiend...

Hi, Minsky!

 

...Not the toxic corn-byproduct and fizzy flavorant-laced poison. I mean the Columbian plant extract. Can'ts get me enough of that powdered goodness. It is the s!

Nina Sia-khali Moradi it too hot.

It all started in the Lab, you see? These dealers in fancy coats were just giving it away. Know what I'm talking about? They would force it on me and the other mice. We were going A-1 loco in those cages. Now I know why.

 

But back then, I was chasing the dragon with the devil in me and I didn't need to eat, sleep, or worry about acting like vermin in the nesting area. It was great. I'd still be on the stuff, but then things got tight. My heart was racing, supplies were low, and I looked like some kind of snake, my hair falling out in patches, and breath like the devil. Can you feel me on that one?

The best way to rob a bank is to own one, and the best way to deal drugs is work for the pharmaceutical industry selling addictive toxins as "medicine." How to Make Money

 

It got so bad I was stealing pellets to survive, peeing in the water dish, fighting over nothing, and keeping everyone up with my rodent drama. It was a mess. Think I'm going to go kill myself, or become a born again Christian mouse, or take out a loan, and get a job in the military or at WalMart and really make something of myself. And now it all comes out in the news:

Love at first Snort?

Dennis Romero (laweekly.com, 8-27-13, "Cocaine Takes Over Your Brain After First Snort?")

Life in the mirror (Irina Slutsky/flickr)

 

If you ever wondered why Lindsay Lohan repeatedly returned to her nightlife haunts despite warnings from judges and others to tone it down, this might explain it. Allegedly.

 

Socially-conscious SoCal

New research from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco for the first time documents immediate physiological effects from a first dose of cocaine use, at least on mice. 

Not only that, but researchers found that the little rodents in question seem to want to go back to the place from where they got their Bolivian marching powder. Strong stuff, that.

 

The study was published this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

 

L.A. (The Informer)

The academics measured the rodents' brains via "2-photon laser scanning microscopy" and found immediate growth of "dendritic spines" of the frontal lobes.

 

The researchers claim that's the first time this has been documented for initial doses of cocaine and that it shows how the drug affects immediate physiological changes that can predict addiction. More

British mom and lingerie model is ditching her life of posing for one of modesty and obedience as a Muslim wife (Thanks Allah and Islam).

• 
  
• The 12 Steps of Recovery and Buddhism
• Lindsay Lohan is a Cray-Cray B, and we love it
• Dr. Gabor Mate: NO drug is "addictive" by itself  
• Iranian beauty deemed "too pretty" for public office
• Why Relationships Fail: 4 Tips (Tiny Buddha)
• Rave DEATHS cause closure of massive EDM fest
• VIDEO: The Amitabha Buddha Stupa, Sedona
• VIDEO: The Vortex at Sedona, Arizona
• Hafiz (Sufi poet) goes beyond right and wrong
• Los Angeles Weekly Calender of Event
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (Los Angeles)
• "Sea Monster" (naga) washes ashore in Spain
• Archeology: Monastic residence, Wadi Natrun, Egypt 2014

Egyptian monasticism at Wadi Natrun

OHIO - Dr. Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom of Wittenberg University will present a lecture on the monastic residence at Wadi Natrun. The Desert Fathers of Egypt were the first Christian monks to establish a community on the fringes of the desert. Wadi Natrun, ancient Scetis, was home to thousands of monks from 500-1100 CE. Archaeological work in the region at the Monastery of John the Little demonstrates monastic life in multi-roomed homes with spectacular wall paintings and complex kitchen facilities. Dr. Brooks Hedstrom will present Egyptian monasticism under the Islamic caliphate in the tenth century CE. The lecture is free and open to the public.

• [Editor's note: All such monasticism is a direct result of Buddhist influence, where monasticism was a novel concept to Jewish and Christian conceptions of spirituality imported from the East and its most successful shramanic tradition.]