Wednesday December 7, 2016

I read more of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson. and am now to page 446. 

I continued re-reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and shared it with some people at the Brewery. The Brewery (named in the fine tradition of millennial church groups everywhere) is the interfaith mostly-bible study I go on Wednesday nights.

While there I also raved over the work of Neal Stephenson. I originally meant to talk about the magical book in Diamond Age but got carried away giving brief book talks about pretty much his entire bibliography. 

I also talked about the Enneagram again and how my type, 9s work better with the idea of "grooves" rather than "passions." 

At the end of work Charlie and I talked about the up coming movie Passengers. 

 and how it reminded us of Event Horizon...

and Sphere.

But then looking at these trailers other than abandonment and strange goings on, perhaps they are not all that similar.

Teusday, December 6, 2016

Well, I finished Luke Cage on netflix, watching  Episodes 12 and 13 of season 1. I am enjoying the more normal person centered marvel shows on netflix in general. Not so much melodrama and soap opera feel as you get from the DC comic shows. Though there are bits of it here and there. They are superhero shows after all.

I also read more of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson. and am now to page 322. 

I started re-reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, but only got a few pages into it. 

I also did another yoga class this time from Do Yoga With Me.

Monday, December 5, 2016

This morning I listened to a talk by Ajahn Sumedho on inner listening. 

I have read to page 280 of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson.
 I had read up to 148 at yesterday's post. Sanderson is hard to put down and easy to read so even when you are reading his 1000 page epic fantasy, you just fly through it.

 I listened to most of this talk by Ram Dass:

And started this talk by Stephen Wolinsky who reminds me of a friendly Rasputin so I am never sure if I like him or not, but what he says is interesting and he talks about advaita vendanta quite clearly. 

That is it for the day. It was quiet at the library though we did get to make lego robot race cars.

 
 

Sunday, December 4, 2016

So I did not go to church this morning so you will not see a whole bunch of church references.

Instead I stayed home:

Read more  Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson and finished the first story "The Emperors Soul" which was predicated on magical "chops."

I did some yoga for the first time in months. I used this video from Namaste Yoga, which was her first and probably my all time favorite.

I got to use my new tablet to watch it with, which was even more convenient than I had imagined it being.

I finished watching Contact. I watched some of it on my tablet at my breakfast table, and can now say that I feel I am living in the future. 

I watched Aldnoah.Zero Episodes: S1E9-12 and S2E1. 

I listened to this talk by Ram Dass:

and this talk by Ajahn Sumedho.
 

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Wow this has been going for a solid week now!

Today I finished Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson which ends on page 624.

So I started reading Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson and got to page 36.

I also browsed through The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Fr. Richard Rhor O.F.M. "O.F.M." stands for "Order of Friar's Minor." The "Fr." stands for "Father" which is the honorific for Roman Catholic priest. 

I watched Arrival for the second time in theaters. It was like deja vu all over again. This is an incredibly clever thing to say about it which you will know if you have seen it. 

 







At the library, mostly what I did was build lots of Lego robots. Also ordered a GED study book for a patron.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Another late night annotation. This time because of meditation at Huong Dam Temple in Corpus Christi.

I am at page 586 in Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
 
I watched this Ajahn Brahm dharma talk, essentially a Buddhist sermon, live this morning. Mostly. I did my morning meditation in the first part of the talk.

I also listened to some of Awareness By Anthony De Mello:

 

The library was fairly quiet today.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

The major feature of today was that I was Santa Claus at the library for the county tree lighting ceremony. I got to ride in a fire truck. It was a smaller one, basically a modified dullay. I can see how people do this every year for hours on end. The kids who are extremely excited to see you, more than make up for the kids who are not. You just soak in their joy and excitement and you hardly do anything. Amazing. I will get pictures.

I have also watched more of Contact.

Read to page 532 of Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

I received a Samsung Galaxy Tab E Tablet in the mail that I had broken down and ordered on Cyber Monday (note: this links to wikipedia which I have been trying to avoid, but most cyber monday results are about cybe monday deals, not about cyber monday.)
I have my excuses. (E-reader! Yoga videos! Chess practice!)

I also received Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson

What's the Cosmere? Why I am glad you asked! Basically it is the meta setting for most all his settings in his novels. I think I heard him say something about planning to write 38 books set in the Cosmere at Worldcon a few years ago. But I know he is already writing more that he hadn't planned. Fortunately for us all, he writes and publishes fast. He has released six books so far this year!

One final thing then bed:

Did you know that Santa Clause is a official bodisattva in Budhism?! I have been thinking about this all day.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

It's late so this will be a short one.

I listened to the newest podcast from The Road Back to You about Anxiety and the 6 type.

I am at page 512 of Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

At the Brewery, the interfaith bible (mosty) study I went to I mentioned:

God Makes the Rivers to Flow: An Anthology of the World's Sacred Poetry and Prose by
Eknath Easwaran.

This poem:

Once in Persia reigned a king,
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance
Fit for every change and chance.
Solemn words, and these are they;
“Even this shall pass away.”


Trains of camels through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to match with these;
But he counted not his gain
Treasures of the mine or main;
“What is wealth?” the king would say;
“Even this shall pass away.”

‘Mid the revels of his court,
At the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried, “O loving friends of mine;
Pleasures come, but do not stay;
‘Even this shall pass away.’”

Lady, fairest ever seen,
Was the bride he crowned the queen.
Pillowed on his marriage bed,
Softly to his soul he said:
“Though no bridegroom ever pressed
Fairer bossom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay –
Even this shall pass away.”

Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield;
Soldiers, with a loud lament,
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning from his tortured side,
“Pain is hard to bear,” he cried;
“But with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away.”

Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue, carved in stone.
Then the king, disguised, unknown,
Stood before his sculptured name,
Musing meekly: “What is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay;
Even this shall pass away.”

Struck with palsy, sore and old,
Waiting at the Gates of Gold,
Said he with his dying breath,
“Life is done, but what is Death?”
Then, in answer to the king,
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray,
“Even this shall pass away.”
–Theodore Tilton

I first read it in Leaves of Gold which is a poems, quotes and prayers anthology.

Last year I bought myself a ring based on this poem from Vulpecula Jewelry which is on etsy, and based out of Pennsylvania.

Teusday, November 29 2016

Well it was my first day back at work after Thanksgiving.
I had someone ask me the contact information for CPS and Ralpha House.
I had a kid ask me for a book on silence but using the magic of reference interviewing, found out he wanted the book Shhh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton.

It is a hilarious book to read out loud with kids.

Then I had a long lunch break, went to lunch and read some Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson where I am now up to page 490 for the day. 

Note: I count pages from when I last counted pages so that is everything I read last night after posting, this morning at breakfast, and what I read at lunch. 

I went to the coffeeshop, got a Chai Frappe, and chatted with the barrista. He and I talked about a number of things, and I told him about this blog and promised to annotate the conversation so here are the topics I took note of:

Admiral William Adama from Battlestar Galatica, played by Edward James Olmos

The Enneagram Personality Type System
MBTI Personality Type System
Lego Mindstorm Robotics Kit We watched this video from jkbrickworks: 

I identified the a Nutcracker Suite that was playing on the radio.

Also we heard a choral version of the Carol of the Bells. It wasn't this one but it is pretty good:

It also was not this one which is even better:

Also we talked about Handbell Choirs

And looked up ticket prices for the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra.

When I came back to work it was a pretty quite day. 

At home I watched the first part of Contact. It is based on a book by Carl Sagan

 

Monday November 28, 2016

It was a meditation kind of day. 

I don't know where this picture originated
but it was the sub-reddit pic for /r/meditation for some time.

I listened to most of this talk by Thanissaro Bhikkhu: The Art and Study of Practice. The talk is supposed to be 1hr 17m long but the mp3 of it claimed to be over seven hours long. I think I listened to about 45 minutes of it and when I started it up again, it was repeating itself. So I did not finish it.

It did get me to read some of In the Buddha's Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi which I put in my bathroom so I can read it a piece at a time. "Bikkhu" is the Pali word for "Monk." Bikkhu Bodhi is well known for his translations of the Pali Cannon into English.

Also in my bathroom which I read a bit out of today was Who Ordered this Truck Load of Dung? by Ajahn Brahm. "Ajahn" in Pali, is "teacher." Ajahn Brahm is the monk who's talk I listened to yesterday. He is well known for his teaching on getting into Jhana States, and having his talks full of funny self-depreciating stories, and bad jokes.

I read more of The Mantram Handbook by Eknath Easwaran and reviewed parts of With Each and Every Breath by Thanissaro Bhikkhu which helped me with some breathing issues in my meditation. 

I talked some with my sister Katie in France. We talked about future plans, this blog and The Enneagram as well as the podcast The Road Back to You. I am a Enneagram type 9 and I am still finding interesting ways that it plays out in my life and things I need to watch out for. Things like starting a blog and then not keeping it up which is why I started talking about the enneagram with her in the first place. 

The only show I watch all the way through today was DC's Legends of Tomorrow: S1E2: "Pilot: Part 2"

I also read to page 442 of Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson 
I studied pages 109-114 of How to Reassess Your Chess (Fourth Edition) by Jeremy Silman the beginning of part 3 on rooks.

  

Sunday November 27, 2016

I went to church today. There was a baptism. The ceremony for Baptism starts on page 299 of the Book of Common Prayer. It is the first Sunday of Advent, and thus the Liturgical Year.
The readings were:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
Psalm 122

The Eucharist was Prayer D

The Hymns were from the 1982 Hymnal:

#59 Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding.
#57 Lo! He comes, with clouds decending.
#65 Prepare the way O Zion.
#454 Jesus came, adored by angles.
#68 Rejoice! Rejoice, believers.

Bishop  Rt. Rev. Gary Lillibridge the celebrant.

Afterwards was pot luck. In the discussion at pot luck I mentioned The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg because it is a book I have re-read not realizing I had read it the first time.

Also this sketch of someone trying to sight read "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"

It should go something like this:

The I went home and vegged out.

I watched:
Luke Cage: 
S1E8: "Blowin' Up the Spot"
S1E9: "DWYCK"
S1E10: "Take It Personal"
DC's Legends of Tomorrow: 
S1E1: "Pilot: Part 1"
3%:
S1E2 "Coins"

I read:
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson pages 352-404
The Mantram Handbook by Eknath Easwaran "How to say the Mantram" Because sometimes repeating the mantram, mine is "Jesus" is very handy when the mind won't shut up.

I also listened to most of this talk by Ajahn Brahm:

Saturday November 26, 2016

I talked to my sister in Marseille, France.
She has a broken foot.
I spoke to her about our lego robotics program at the library!

Also about improving my chess with

How to Reassess Your Chess (Fourth Edition) by Jeremy Silman

I read Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson pages ~300 to 352. It is the second book in the Mars Trilogy.

I worked through How to Reassess Your Chess (Fourth Edition) by Jeremy Silman

pages 91 "The Incarcerated Knight" through the end of Part 2 "Minor Pieces" on page 105. 

 

I bought  Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert H. Lustig which was the book that got me to quit drinking sodas almost 4 years ago. I plan to read it again soon, hopefully it will freak me out more into a better diet. Robert H. Lustig is a Professor at the UCSF School of Medicine, and worked at St Jude's Hospital in Tennessee for several years before that. 

I listened to tracks "28-Training your Minds" thorugh "35-Insight into Pain." of the With Each and Every Breath collection by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

I played on my guitar:  

"A Hard Rains Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan

"Upwards over the Mountain" by Iron and Wine

"From the Morning" By Nick Drake

 

I watched:

Black Books S1E6 "He's Leaving Home"

Luke Cage S1E7 "Manifest" 

3% S1E1 "Cubos"