Reddit mentions: The best composer & musician biographies

I don't really have many good stories but one that comes to mind is when i grew my hair out (down to the middle of my back) and stopped shaving for a short film I wanted to shoot. I was hanging out at my friend's apartment and she didn't have anything to drink so I wandered out with my skateboard to find a liquor store.

I ended up standing at a street corner on Van Ness waiting for the light to turn when three separate groups of people left a relatively nice restaurant (I think it was Stars) and stood waiting with me, and a homeless guy came by. He went up to the three groups, one by one, and asked for some spare change, but when he came up to me he kinda looked me up and down, gave me that 'sup head bob, and walked away.

I asked my friend when I got back to her apartment and apparently I'd been looking pretty damn homeless for the past few months and hadn't really been aware of it.

One thing I do tend to like about the bay area is that people tend to be casual about appearances and during this homeless-looking phase of mine I never had a problem eating at nice restaurants (I tend to eat out a lot). I mean the maitre d' might not be totally sure why I'm there when i first show up with my skateboard, bike messenger bag, shorts, t-shirt, reefs, and generally unkempt appearance, but when I mention that I have a reservation I'm normally treated like any other customer. The one exception was when I was in the mood for garlic and went to the stinking rose and the waiter (not the maitre d') gave me attitude.

Um, another relatively boring story (sorry, I don't really have many good ones) was when I was bar hopping with some friends and we ended up in some dive bar somewhere in the tenderloin. My gaydar is horrible and when one of my friends casually mentioned that we were in a gay bar I asked how the hell she could tell 'cuz as far as I could tell it was full of blue-collar workers. She replied, "I mean I could be wrong but those giant framed posters of naked men on the walls was my first clue." I was all, "oh, huh, didn't notice them."

As I mentioned earlier, I tend to eat out a lot so I tend to think in terms of places I like to eat when I'm in the mood for something specific. Like U Lee for chinese, little star stuffed spinach and mushroom pizza when i want something a bit different from the zachary's version (i hate the ambience here tho' - too loud), kara's cupcakes for filled lemon or passionfruit cupcakes (or chocolate velvet if i'm in a chocolate mood), la taqueria for tacos, el farolito for after-midnight burritos, and little orphan andy's for 24-hour diner food. Blue, or the completely unrelated blue plate, both for mac & cheese, in-n-out for animal-style burgers, the roli roti rotisserie truck at the saturday ferry building farmer's market for their porcetta sandwich (they appear other places, i just only know them from that farmer's market - also note that they sell out of said sandwich by noon or 1pm), suppenkuche for german food, minamoto kitchoan for fancypants japanese desserts or benkyodo for a cheaper mochigashi, memphis minnie's for some tasty (albeit a tad pricey) bbq, stars used to have good desserts but their dessert chef left plus i don't even know if that restaurant exists anymore. Firefly had decent grub and a very date-like atmosphere, boboquivari's had a good (but kind of overpriced) bone-in filet mignon, boulevard was also decent, one market had okay food but the clientele was a bit stuffy for my tastes, zuni cafe is okay but a little overrated, belden place is a kind of cool little blocked-off one-block street with a bunch of nifty restaurants (b44 is one i went to recently that my friends loved, me, less so), little delhi may not look like much but i dug its indian food, and for persian i go to alborz on van ness.

Oh yeah, one more lame story I have took place the day before I moved to mexico for a year or so. I was out with my friends bar hopping and we ended up in this place in chinatown and I saw a drink called a "mexi-me-crazy." I was like, "holy shit, a bar with a drink called mexi-me-crazy the night before i fly out to mexico city? that's totally a sign - I have to have that drink!" I took a sip and it was disgusting (keep in mind that I don't really like the taste of alcohol). My friends made me finish it anyway.

Oh wait, another story - I was flying in to sfo from eastern europe and brought along a shit-ton of crystal stuff (cups, plates, vases, whatever) 'cuz it was cheap and i was gonna hand 'em out as gifts. Because it was so cheap the dollar amount I wrote down on the customs form was pretty damn low but hoped i could squeak by the sfo customs people without any problems. Unfortunately, they took notice of me and wanted to check out my 2nd suitcase of crystal.

Fortunately (sort of), once the opened the suitcase they saw my two ultra-realistic-looking prop desert eagle handguns I'd bought in vienna, they ceased to give a single fuck about the shit-ton of crystal I'd bought and inspected the toy guns. Note that these guns looked real, felt real, cocked like a real gun, had real heft to them, had a safety like a real gun, shot bb pellets, and could be disassembled like a real gun. They looked so real, in fact, that all the customs guys in the room came over to take a look (not for work, but 'cuz they all seemed to be kind of into guns).

I told them the relatively funny story behind buying them, then one of 'em tried to take one of the guns apart. That was easy enough but then he couldn't get it back together so for about half an hour they all stood around taking turns trying to put it back together, until a supervisor came by and told 'em to break it up and send me on my way. I was all, "uh, no, you guys took it apart, you need to figure out how to put it back together". I spent about two hours in customs that night but ultimately the gun was reassembled and they didn't give a shit about all that crystal I was bringing in to the country. I've got another decent story about sfo customs from when I flew in from el salvador but that one requires me mentioning my name so I think I'll pass on telling it.

Anyway, I doubt that I could convince you that living in SF would be better than (or even as good as) living in boston, but it's a nice town, and small enough that most things are within walking distance of each other, but at the same time large enough that you can get most anything you need in terms of things as well as culture and sports and whatever else you can think of. I've lived and worked in a few different cities (sf, berkeley, santa barbara, mexico city, and, prague) and stayed for extended periods of time in several others. They all have their good and bad aspects, and it's kind of up to the individual to, y'know, focus on the good things.

Oh yeah, and if you wanna read some good stories about the east bay (like berkeley and oakland), you should check out back issues of a 'zine called "cometbus". It's a pretty famous 'zine so you can probably find it in a city like boston - in fact, i think cometbus just came out with a compilation book that gathers his best stories from the past couple of years.

tl;dr: sf is nice, mellow weather (some people think it's too cold and overcast but I like it), decent food, and with plenty of things to keep you busy and/or entertained if you look around. If you really want to read good stories about things like love and loss in the bay area (although not necessarily sf), check out cometbus.

Honey, you're not alone. With an estimated 10% of the population being gay, there are a lot of others in your shoes, many of whom have found happiness and acceptance.

Where do you live? You say you would be disowned and lose all of your friends -- you may need to move somewhere that is more accepting of diverse lifestyles. I live in the Bay Area in California and while I am a straight woman, many of my friends, both men and women, are gay. I'm sure they've had their struggles but all in all they are happy, satisfied, successful people with many friends and in most cases families who love and support them. Come to San Francisco!

And yes you can't fake being straight till you make it. You're gay, no amount of pretending or even the nicest girl in the world will change that! May as well learn to love and accept yourself for who you are.

Also, read this book. It's a great coming of age story of a gay man coming to terms with his sexuality and making peace with his conservative, religious upbringing and family.

>And that just doesn't cut it. That's what all religious people say about their beliefs. "Just go ahead and devote yourself to it for a while and you'll see what I mean!"

Yea, I know what you mean. Its unfortunate because religious fundies have made this argument so many times, its impossible to say it with out sounding like a tool. If any thing, I'd suggest reading Hardcore Zen, by Brad Warner.

Basically, all I can say is that I've been able to have so many insights and been so much calmer from doing zazen. Maybe its because I'm just naturally high strung, but I notice a dramatic difference when I'm doing zazen versus when I'm not. Its not a matter of 'just believe in god and some mystical thing will happen that probably has to do with him', its more like, when I practice the methods set down by ancient buddhist dudes, I feel a fuck ton less worse about my self, the world, and really life its self. Its not a matter of faith at that point. Its just the whole "why the fuck should I waste my time on this nonsense" part that requires faith.

Its like if you've eaten fast food all your life and you don't even know what feeling healthy feels like. Why would you believe that this magical "healthy food" would change any thing?

>All I want is to hear one bit of wisdom that Buddhism has provided to the world that is not arbitrary or an assumption.

Thats the problem... it IS based on assumptions. The problem for me was always that I was an extreme pragmatist.

However, the 'faith' in Buddhism is different then the faith in Christianity, like I said, in that you get ACTUAL results. You are calmer, happier, and better equipped to deal with life.

At some point, if you want to be a scientist, you have to have faith that learning science will help you get there. If you want to be a psychologist, you have to have faith that taking psychology courses will help you get there. My goal is to be centered and happy and productive. After much research and questioning, I decided to have faith that Soto Buddhism would help me get there.

>If that were reasonable then we'd all be spending all of our lives trying out the infinite list of religious ideas people claim to have veracity.

Not your whole life, no. And not even a huge chunk of it. But studying the worlds religions IS important to a lot of people. I did as much as a teenage, and found that 99% of them were silly as hell. I, like you, thought Buddhism was in the same group as well, but the western Buddhists always struck my fancy. But ya.. I felt like you do.. like they are just watered down pot heads. I'm glad I moved past that stigma.

If you don't like this stinking Buddhist stuff, try some Schopenhauer first. That guy is pretty sweet. His ideas are very similar and equally helpful., tho I tend to get on with Schopenhauer better then many others.

Just know that you are not alone for having visited a "psych ward." We all have times when we need help. And there will be times when we don't feel like what is happening is in our best interests but we have to work with it as best we can. JM Blaine is a writer who is a crisis worker and shares some pretty amazing stories and I just feel closer to people who have been through stuff when I read his books. Who or what groups can you find identity with and some solidarity? We all need friends.

The best advice I can offer is to try to communicate as calmly and in a goal oriented manner with your parents as you can seeing they are your legal guardians and are in charge of your health. Do everything you can to maintain a positive relationship with them while going through difficult times. You don't have to appease them but try not to blame them too much as it makes them your enemy when they're the main people who can potentially help take care of you.

Everything that happens on social media or through phone and text can seem poisonous. So try not to take it too seriously. People have to talk to each other in order to share information and we always feel criticized when we hear people talking about us, even when it's good. Criticism is an easy trigger for anger, so be cautious about taking things too personally. They have to communicate with each other and that's that. It is what it is.

Remember you can always call your therapist's office or an anonymous help line for advice. Whenever you get angry it helps to take walks to cool off. It's better to pause, stop, go to another room, get a glass of water, or for a walk than to say something that is negative. The anger management techniques like breathing slowly 10 times or just counting to 10 slowly (or 100 fast), etc., work if we understand why we are doing them.

Anything you can do that is a temporary, healthy distraction from the anger lets you cool off. Then you could for example, keep a journal to work through your feelings and thoughts.

Journaling is also a way to keep track of the most important things you are working on. There's Bullet Journal too which is a flexible system. It's a little expensive but after you get the system you can use any old notebook. There's a sub that does it too r/bujo. The creator Ryder Carroll came up with it to help him remember important things both with work and personal. It's an all in one organization system. You can use it as a calendar, a way to organize to-do lists and mood or positive habit trackers. I find journaling helps me calm my thoughts and stay on top of what I'm working on personally. Hope some of this helps.

I have not meditated in several years, but there was a time where I was doing zazen multiple times a week. There are certainly a lot of books out there that could be helpful guides: Zen Meditation in Plain English and An Introduction to Zen Buddhism would be good for the philosophy and practice, but my favorite book to recommend is Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality by Brad Warner. That last one is a brilliant treatise on Zen philosophy as it pertains to a modern, Western life.

The toughest part about meditation is getting the mind to do the right thing. As you said, it's about being more mindful of the moment that is happening while letting go of the past and not concerning yourself with the future. Generally, most practices center around counting breaths, focusing on the sensation of breathing, and generally getting the brain to shut off all of the extraneous things that are bumping around in there. For BPD sufferers, that would be all of the negative thoughts floating around, making their lives tougher.

Imagine that your mind is actually a little person manning a big control room with thousands of monitors. Each monitor shows a memory, a future plan, current sense data, emotions, etc.; basically everything that makes you, you is up on those screens. Zazen is about learning how to temporarily shut these monitors off at will, either individually, by category, or wholesale. The ideal is to shut all of them off and just be left with the mind alone (this is the idea behind the Buddhist notion of "watching one's own mind". When your mind is not distracted by past memories, by future plans, by sense data, by emotions, it is in it's most pure state: Emptiness. This is not to be confused with little-e "emptiness" but is a Buddhist concept unto itself.

It's tough to get to that point and it requires lots of practice. There will be many times when you are counting breaths and thinking about how stupid the whole thing is, or how you have to run errands later that day, or how your back hurts, or how that one time your friend called you fat in middle school and it really hurt. This is ok! It's normal! That's what your brain does all day every day, you can't expect it to not do that just because you are meditating. When thoughts and distractions arise, let them. Observe them. Then let them fall away and start counting your breaths again. With lots of practice, you will eventually get to the point where you can let all the excesses of your mind fall away and achieve relaxation, knowledge and mastery of the mind, and plenty of other benefits.

Anyway, these are just some scattered thoughts. Just start reading about it! The Brad Warner book is a great place to start because it summarizes lots of Buddhist philosophy in a really palatable way. Good luck!

In my opinion, it's better to spend your money on music rather than books.

There are some banjo books that are important. I used to own these. I really should build my library back up. Currently I only have the "Hot Licks," "Banjo Styles by Bela Fleck" and "Masters of the Five String" as I've leant out the other ones and never got them back.

Earl Scruggs and the 5-string banjo has already been mentioned. I would recommend trying to find an older version, simply because I'm a nerd.

Masters of the Five String Banjo. A very cool, very informative piece on bluegrass banjo players, their set-up, and some tablature. Obviously dated, but an incredibly insightful book.

Melodic Banjo: by Tony Trishka. Again, I like the older cover

Hot Licks for Bluegrass Banjo, another book by Tony Trishka, is pretty good.

Banjo Picking Styles: Bela Fleck is also a pretty interesting book. And not just for the 80s shirt that Bela is wearing on the front.

If you're looking for specific bluegrass songbooks.

Bluegrass Songbook, by Pete Wernick. Seriously, this is a great book.

Bluegrass Fakebook. This covers most of the standards.

And though you didn't ask, here are some other books that may be of interest to bluegrass/banjo nerds:

Bluegrass: A History Neil Rosenberg's very thorough history of Bluegrass music

Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941. If you're interested in prewar Gibson banjo, this is an incredible resource.

Gibson Mastertone: Flathead Five-string Banjos of the 1930s and 40s. For the prewar nuts.

Can't You Hear Me Calling: The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass Music. An interested read.

What I Know 'Bout What I Know: The Musical Life of An Itinerant Banjo Player. This is an autobiography of Butch Robins. It's... interesting.

I haven't really looked into it before. I was curious myself so I ended up finding this one on amazon.

Even if you don't read a book on him, Trent's story is an interesting one. He signed a really crappy record deal when when his first album released. Most people believe his second album, "Broken" reflected his anger towards his record label, and it's probably his most "raw" musical outputs (this is also where some people unfamiliar with NIN get the impression that it's "heavy metal" band).

Trent did a lot of drugs in the 90s and really poured his heart out during the albums "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile". Most people consider "TDS" to be most representative of his work, while "Fragile" is his magnum opus (an opinion I understand but I personally don't appeal to).

Trent went into rehab and came out with the album, "With Teeth", which was palatable to the mainstream audience. At the time the album was pretty polarizing for some fans as it seemed too "safe" and didn't have the experimental qualities Trent exhibited in his early work.

A few years later, NIN released "Year Zero" which was precluded by an extensive ARG. Some people chalked it up to be a really clever marketing ploy, but for myself and other fans it was an experience, and really showed that Trent was still passionate about his craft and willing to experiment.

I believe it was his remix album to "Year Zero" that finally freed him from his long standing contract with Interscope Records. For a while he dabbled in releasing albums for free online, and invited fans to remix his music.

NIN went on hiatus for a while. Trent focused on composing music for films (mostly with director David Fincher), and started a side project "How to Destroy Angles" with his wife. He resumed his work under the NIN banner and released "Hesitation Marks" not too long ago.

Sorry for the long post... I kinda don't know when to stop once I start writing. The thing that makes many NIN fans so captivated by Trent Reznor is that he's not afraid to make very personal music. He's a very self-aware guy that speaks his mind publicly about things he doesn't agree with. His songs often reflect a deep introspection mired with tragedy... a tragedy that was once very real for Trent.

So yeah, the music is engaging, the man behind the music is captivating... and I think that makes the music even more awesome for the fans. I know this sounds like a huge NIN circlejerk (and maybe it is), but I like to think these are the reasons why NIN fans are sold for life.

I have hundreds of books, all on an overly expensive device I bought to have when I am on the motorcycle and camping. I wanted a waterproof one that would be fine if it got damp. Kindle Oasis (9th Generation) 32GB Wifi w/ Cellular - much better overall for reading than my phone or iPad. Overspent on a simple device, but it has been wonderful.

There are two books I keep reading over and over.

1. At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk's Life, Thich Nhat Hanh
   
2. In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha), The Dalai Lama
   
   I have also a bunch of Survival and Bushcrafting books and reference material. A lot I pulled from the Pathfinder School's FB page in their files list. If you are looking for something to cover a lot of topics, this one is a great collection: The Bushcraft Boxed Set: Bushcraft 101; Advanced Bushcraft; The Bushcraft Field Guide to Trapping, Gathering, & Cooking in the Wild; Bushcraft First Aid, Dave Canterbury & Jason A Hunt
   
   And while I have listed the 2 books above, I have a ton of one of my favorite genres right now (it's a phase, I know) but I love reading Zombie stories in the woods!
   
   As for keeping the Kindle charged up, that is easy. I pretty much leave it on Airplane mode unless I am getting a book pushed to it. It uses very little power if the screen backlighting is turned off. If it's low, I have a small solar charger I can use to charge it. I got the charger for my portable battery pack - 26000 mAH, charges in about 6 hours from 0 from the solar. OR, I take a few hours ride on the bike (go ahead, twist my arm) and recharge it from the charging USB plug on it. Same with phone.

Not sure about books but check out My Cat From Hell for good tips. Jackson Galaxy has written a book but I haven't read it and from Amazon it doesn't sound like an advice book but an autobiography of sorts.

Best advice I can give you is to play with your cat. If she doesn't like a toy, try a different one. My cat is very picky about what toys she likes but loves to play. It took a while to find favourites but you can donate her rejects to a shelter!
So many cat owners I've met think their cat just likes to chill/sleep and so they never play with them. Most cats do like playing but you have to keep them interested!

EDIT: Actually, sounds like there is advice! Here's the link

Thank you for posting this. While I have listened to Ives' symphonies at various times during my life, I am now just trying to really listen to them "hard" and try to gain a better understanding of the music. This essay is a wonderful entry point. I'm going to get Jan Swafford's book on Ives. His being an accomplished composer and a composition teacher who can discuss sophisticated musical concepts in clear, expository, English is a rare gift. None of the vague, subjective, woolly prose you so often see in reviews of Ives and other complicated music. Swafford is probably well-known to the people here who listen and study music less casually than me. I just mostly listen and attend concerts ... unless I happen to catch a fascination with some kind of music. Then I start to research a little.

LGBT

• Queer: A Graphic History, as the name announces, is pretty much exactly what your looking for in in the LGBT history deptartment.
  
  
• Love is Love isn't historical yet. But's is a response and testament to the Pulse massacre in Orlando, a historical event in LGBT history.
  
  Music
  
  
• The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song is a fantastic biography of the First Family of Country Music. It won an Eisner award, if you put stock in those sorts of things. In addition to the music history it touches on the the Great Depression and on the sociology of the rural South.
  
  
• Definitely going to second /u/DobbyDude on The Fifth Beatle. Interesting narrative structure and some of the most beautiful art I've seen in a comic.
  

I know you were just proposing an example, but I just want to say that the earth is in fact round and we do orbit around the sun. We have sent so many people into orbit, and so many probes into space that give you such a clear view of the earths shape that I personally can't take the idea that the earth is anything but round. I would also urge someone who believes the earth to be in another shape that isn't round to take some time and look at the science of satellites, GPS, and time keeping. They all run on precise measurements based on the earths round shape. If the earth wasn't round, these systems just wouldn't work.

A simple way to prove yourself of this, is to tie a gopro to a weather balloon and launch it. In the footage of the gopro, you will see the curvature of the earth. Now, I digress...

> Does it make me crazy in "your" opinion that I believe it is "possible" that there is a great conspiracy concerning the truth of mankind that we are taught versus what is reality?

It really depends on what you believe and the basis of that belief, along with how quickly you're throwing away the basis of our current understanding of what our reality is. If you're basing your theory one some headline you saw in a tabloid or a small article buried deep in the web, I am going to consider you crazy until you can present to me a lot of facts on why you believe.

I really don't think that providing facts is too much to ask.

> Why do some people think it is insane to question the "facts" that are fed to us?

I highly believe its our education system and how we teach people along with how the scientific community works. We essentially teach people that once you graduate college you know everything, or at least that what people think, that these are the facts. They are taught this is the world, there is where we are, and now go add to it. So people come out with a sense of entitlement when it comes to their knowledge and education. People are rarely ever taught to think for themselves, but rather that the answer is in the back of the book.

I think there is a good number of scientist out there who do question everything. But the problem they find themselves trying to balance is their own credibility while trying explore new findings. So much of what the science community does is based on things they already view as fact. If you introduce a new theory that disrupts all of that, you best have a pretty solid basis to do so. Otherwise you will find yourself discredited and it will make it harder to find funding. On the other side of that you also have scientist who have worked their whole life on a particular subject matter. So when someone comes along and says, "well, what about this?" there can be a lot of push back. Some people just don't want to loose their authority, or loose their life's work from someone who is on the outside.

If you propose questioning science in a public forum to a scientist, they are going to tell you that the science is sound due to peer review and the scientific method based on multiple experiments. That really is the key, multiple experiments that have been peer reviewed. So it can be pretty understandable when someone comes from the outside and says "well, what about this?" that it is immediately met with skepticism. I think you would be pretty hard pressed to find a scientist who doesn't question something. Its what they do for a living. If they don't question it, and scrutinize it, they are probably not a great scientist.

I might suggest to you a great book called But What If We're Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman. In it I think you will find a pretty deep book that examines our current understanding of the universe and questions what would happen if there was found a fundamental aspect to knowledge, that if discovered, would cause us to rewrite everything we currently know.

Don't know if you're talking about this graphic novel, If not, it's a great read for a Beatles fan.

Last year, I watched this beautiful Spanish film about a teacher and two young somethings travelling across Spain to meet John, who was stationed to shoot How I Won The War. You could probably try getting a copy of the film. It's shot with great finesse, among other good things about the film.

Mattel recently released a line of Yellow Submarine-themed collectibles. They look pretty funky and should be a great gift.


Philip Norman, who wrote what many consider to be the definitive Beatles biography and also went on to write one on John, has come out with Paul's biography this year. Here are some interesting things The Telegraph thinks one could learn from the biography.

Mediation itself sounds like a great idea but I have no interest in the spirituality or metaphysical aspects. A few years ago I found this book:


Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality by Brad Warner.

It's pretty good, and helped me get started on meditation purely for the empirical physical and mental benefits.

There are several popular 'flavors' of Buddhism, but unfortunately I have not read any general overview books covering all of the sects. Most of my generalized knowledge has come from podcasts like Buddhist Geeks and Zencast. Gil Fronsdal and Jack Kornfield are both enjoyable to listen to.

But back to books!

The most accessible Zen book I've read was Nishijima's To Meet The Real Dragon. Other overviews like Alan Watt's What Is Zen and Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind are good but a little obtuse.

And while I can't give it a general recommendation because the writing style isn't for everyone, I really enjoyed Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up.

Of those mentioned, I would go with To Meet the Real Dragon unless you prefer a much more informal style -- then I would pick Hardcore Zen.

I was raised in a very strict Evangelical, Fundamentalist Christian household. I had a feeling from the very beginning that it was all bullshit, but I tell you what, I tried valiantly to hang in there. As I got into college, I had moved onto reading Kierkegaard and other Christian Existentialist in order to try to make my religion make any damn sense. Paul Tillich also figured in prominently. Honestly I still really like a whole lot of what both Kierkegaard and Tillich have to say.

Anyway after doing that for a bit, I realized that there was no point in all the mental gymnastics I was doing. I was clinging to this thing because I was raised with it, and that is a lousy reason. So I tossed that shit overboard. For about a minute I hopped onto the New Atheist train. Several things there immediately became obvious to me though. The first was that while I generally agreed with them, they were kind of dicks to everyone. That was kind of not cool in my book. Then there was fact that they seemed to be completely missing a part of life. There seemed there was a sense of mystery, I guess, that that kind of stark atheism just misses. That is not quite it. Maybe wonder or some other ineffable quality. The whole thing just seemed too mean, with a pat answer for everything. And it does a lousy job of answering the whole, "Ok, so what do I do now?"

It was about this time that my ex-wife (we were married at the time) gave me the book Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. As a side not here, I think Brad is kind of a creeper, and a lot of his teachings strike me as a little simplistic these days, but he will always have a bit of a special place in my heart for bringing me into Buddhism. Anyway, so I read that, and stuff in there just kept ringing true for me. I have always been a little bit of a philosophy dork, and there were so many things things in Buddhism, specifically Zen, that struck me as applied philosophy. Philosophy taken out of the clouds and actually put into practice. Which, as it happens to be, had been one of my major critiques of philosophy for a long time.

"In relation to their systems most systematizers are like a man who has built a vast palace while he himself lives nearby in a barn; they themselves do not live in the vast systematic edifice. But in matters of the spirit this is and remains a decisive objection. Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives—otherwise it's wrong." -Soren Kierkegaard

While the above quote was specifically about Hegel, it has much broader application.

Anyway, being that as it may, there were lots of things about Buddhism that rang very true to me. So I started reading everything I could put my hands on about it. In addition to this, I found that there was a temple near me, the Houston Zen Center. I immediately felt comfortable there, though it seems like I was the youngest member there by a decade or two. Then a couple of guys and myself wanted a more youth oriented group, so we sent out an email to Noah Levine and got permission to use the name Dharma Punx for the group. We have been meeting for a couple of years now.
My schedule is all messed up with work, so getting up to the zen center is kind of a pain in the ass, but I make it up there as often as I can. I sit zazen with some regularity. I have a fantastic teacher in Gaelyn Godwin. Not only is she brilliant and possible one of the most wise people I have ever met, she has got a wicked wit on her. She is constantly messing with me, but in a most perfectly loving and gentle way. She has been a profound influence on my life.

I have taken the lay precepts. I have been talking about here in another decade or so, when I reach retirement age, going into the practice full time, and taking the full monastic vows. We'll see. No definite plans, but that is one of the ideas I have floating around my head.

Yes, yes. This scenario is kind of the whole point of the title.

Anyway, If you like The Onion or The Daily Show, you'd enjoy How To Be Black (even if you aren't). Baratunde Thurston (the author) is a director and a producer of both, respectively. And, just to make absolutely sure the rest of us feel like unaccomplished shlubs, he's also a fellow at the MIT Media Lab.

Oh, he carries a guitar case because his other love is music. His autobiography, Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean has far too long of a name, but it's a short read.

I could summarize it as a man dives into some dark places in life and finds redemption through taking care of cats. He apparently still plays shows, but prefers to keep those lives separate.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who's watched it. There might be tens of us!

According to the glossary in the book "Pimp: The Story of My Life" by Iceberg Slim, the bottom woman is defined as a "pimp's main woman, his foundation".

If you look at the pimp game like it's a kind of upside down pyramid - the bottom woman is the base. She is the first one the pimp recruits, the one he has to convince to work for him when he's just on his own, and therefore the one he has to make the most effort to get, and the one who has the most senior rank in his organization. She then is the one who goes out and recruits a couple of more women, who then each go recruit more women, etc. The bottom woman is the base of that upside down pyramid. It all has to do with the psychology of it, using women to recruit other women is meant to be easier than the pimp doing it all by himself. So it's a heirarchy.

Ultimately, the pimp doesn't get too closely involved with the rookies, if he's a good pimp with a large stable - he's got trusted women who deal with the other women. Just like in any crime syndicate, the person at the center of it doesn't want to have to deal with all of the "little people" in his organization. The people at the edge present more of a risk to getting busted or creating drama than your more trusted veterans at the core of your organization.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224

> The Onion’s Baratunde Thurston shares his 30-plus years of expertise in being black, with helpful essays like “How to Be the Black Friend,” “How to Speak for All Black People,” “How To Celebrate Black History Month,” and more, in this satirical guide to race issues—written for black people and those who love them. Audacious, cunning, and razor-sharp, How to Be Black exposes the mass-media’s insidiously racist, monochromatic portrayal of black culture’s richness and variety. Fans of Stuff White People Like, This Week in Blackness, and Ending Racism in About an Hour will be captivated, uplifted, incensed, and inspired by this hilarious and powerful attack on America’s blacklisting of black culture: Baratunde Thurston’s How to Be Black.

awe, I kinda figured it was more of a mind playground :) it is indeed fun. I'm interested in finding ways to develop it though, I'll look into some of the concentration stuff you mentioned. I feel like that time is when I am most in touch with my 'self'.

that is kind of interesting about our difference in thoughts on shikantaza. my understanding (from a single book) was that is was a really chill and informal form of meditation.

thanks for your response.

First of all, I would like to state that before mentioning my additions that books should be thought of like classes in college. Yes, you need the basic knowledge to go do what you're going to do, but you also need to get off your ass and apply it.

Without further ado, here are my recommendations in addition to what was mentioned.

Pimp by Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck). It's a nice introduction to the psychology of gaming women on top of an interesting exploration of race, gender and intersectionality. It's smarter than it's rep.

The Mystery Method by Mystery (Erik von Markovik). It's not a great book, but it gives you immediate actionable steps to apply immediately. Then, once you read the theory and get experience, you can apply what you learned.

The Red Queen by Matt Ridley. This should be read with the next book to up your fundamentals in evo-psych.

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan. Written as a critique of the first book, these two will give you some deeper theory of evo-psych.

Coincidentally, Chuck Klosterman just released a new book like 2 days ago - But What If We're Wrong? So that's an option.

In that vein, I also really enjoyed Gene Weingarten's The Fiddler in the Subway, which is a collection of his features and columns for the Washington Post. The headline story is about a stunt where they get a world class violinist to play in a DC Metro station to see if anyone will notice, but the other stories are quite good as well.

I don't know about the greatest, but here are a few I've found enlightening:

• For tearing down bad reasoning, Matt Dillahunty.
  
• For showing the beauty and consistency of the naturalistic worldview, Sean Carroll.
  
• For showing how to have better conversations about religion, Anthony Magnabosco.
  
• For illuminating the Satanic way of life, Anton LaVey and Peter Gilmore.
  
• For Stoicism, William Irvine.
  
• For Zen, Brad Warner.

Some good books about Zen, if you're interested in learning more:

Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality Great book, written by a modern Zen 'master.' Colloquial, not translated and thus easy for us westerners to understand.

Not Always So, Shunryu Suzuki

Moon In A Dewdrop, Dogen This guy is the real shit. Lived hundreds of years ago. You can go as deep as you want into this guy's writings, many levels of meaning (or none?). More metaphorical/figurative than the others, very poetic.

When/if you read this stuff, don't worry about understanding everything sentence. It's easy to get caught in the trap of reading and re-reading sentences and paragraphs to try to understand, but in doing so you miss out on the flow/stream of consciousness of the works. Just read it through, eventually the ideas will start to become clear.

I would agree that Jesus is an important thinker, definitely, revolutionized Judaism, but not the most important. It's tough to pinpoint the "most influential human being or thinker." I can't pinpoint Jesus' ideas as revolutionary or wholly unique as most of the philosophy is highly Eastern... and can be found in Zen Buddhism, some of which I hope you have read. If you have the time, check out Hardcore Zen, fun read. No I'm not a Buddhist.

We've already briefly discussed scripture... and we disagree on the historical veracity, I tend to believe early Christians were quite the storytellers, you feel they were more historians.

I've not misunderstood Jesus' teachings... but I would say a large number of Christians have, no?

I'm glad we have the stars thing in common. I am not so lucky as to live in the country... but that's why I rock climb in the mountains every weekend.

This is the book that got me into zen meditation, you can probably get it for almost nothing off ebay. It's a really good book which isn't esoteric like many on meditation. I'd really recommend trying zen meditation, it's about as basic and easy as meditation gets and if you do it enough on a daily basis it will be the most beneficial thing you've ever done in your life. I has been for me.

Loving your cat is a process, not an event, and if you don't at least know about the "slow blinkies" then you have probably skipped some steps. Additionally, you may have skipped a fear factor or two introduced while your cat was a kitten.

The best book that I have personally seen about this relationship between human and cat is "Cat Daddy" at https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Daddy-Worlds-Incorrigible-Taught/dp/0399163808

In that book, which I happened to get the Audible version of it on discount so I'm mildly biased, he describes different modalities of general cat behavior as well as his experiences around shelters. Generally speaking, the experiences around shelters are fairly depressing. The cat behavior descriptions are spot-on though and may help you diagnose what is going on with your cat.

YMMV and all the usual disclaimers. I hope that helps!

Currently enjoying But What If We're Wrong?

Super interesting.

The truth about Tiananmen Square is far different than what you commonly read in the press. The following excerpt is from the book Red China Blues by Jan Wong. She was a western journalist who was liberal, pro-democracy, and against the Chinese government. She was on the ground in Tiananmen the entire time, and interacted directly with all the protesters. This is her account:



>I was becoming more than a bit cranky. The outside world thought the demonstrators were disciplined, and marveled. But having lived through the Cultural Revolution myself, talents like slogan shouting and mass marching didn't impress me. Maybe it was sleep deprivation - I was working nineteen hours a day - but to my jaundiced eye it seemed that the students were merely aping their oppressors. They established a Lilliputian kingdom in Tiananmen Square, complete with a mini-bureaucracy with committees for sanitation, finance, and "propaganda". They even adopted grandiose titles. Chai Ling was elected Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Tiananmen Square Unified Action Headquarters.

>Like the government, the students' broadcast station sometimes deliberately disseminated misinformation, such as the resignation of key government officials, which wasn't true. They even, indignity of indignities, issued us press passes. Using transparent fishing line held in place by volunteers who simply stood there all day, they carved the huge square into gigantic concentric circles of ascending importance. Depending on how our press passes were stamped determined how deeply we could penetrate those silly circles. We reporters had to show our passes to half a dozen officious monitors before we could interview the student leaders, who, naturally, hung out at the very center, at the Monument to the People's Heroes.

>One night, a rumor swept through the square that the students had captured some assault rifles. If true, it meant they possessed weapons for the first time. I tracked down the tent where the guns were supposedly stored and asked the wild-eyed student guard if I could take a peek. He refused, but assured me the guns were inside. For an allegation that serious, I had to see the guns for myself. But he wouldn't budge, and I finally stomped off in frustration, never reporting it. Later, I found out it was true, and perhaps a reason the government decided to shoot to kill on the fateful night.

You can read it yourself via Amazon's search inside the book

The West needs to stop falling in love with every movement that calls themselves "pro-democracy" and start looking at the actual actions of that group. Remember, the tyrant Mao came to power with the aid of the American State department, under the banner of "New Democracy" ( and the same for Mugabe in Zimbabwe).

The current leadership of China leaves much to be desired, but it is indisputably the best government China has had in centuries. The leaders of the Tiananmen movement were armed revolutionaries who showed every intention of destroying a competent, if autocratic, regime, and replacing it with a tyranny of their own.

if you are interested in a first-person perspective on the cultural revolution you would probably like the book "red china blues: my long march from mao to now" by jan wong. it's told by a canadian journalist who went to beijing after university in 1970 to explore her chinese roots. her follow-up books are also good (she wound up a foreign correspondent) but red china blues is the most fascinating.

edit http://www.amazon.com/Red-China-Blues-Long-March/dp/0385482329

Buddhism can be as secular and non-religious as you want. You're not going to burn in an eternal fire, sentenced by some authority figure.

You seem like someone who would vibe as well with Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner as I do. Highly recommended.

If you need someone to message as a friend, I'm always around. And even moreso if you read that book and would like to discuss 🌚

Absolutely. Brad Warner is an interesting example. He went from being in punk bands to teaching English in Japan to becoming a Buddhist priest. He wrote a great book called Hardcore Zen if you'd like to read more about his philosophy and experiences.

You should read Between a Rock and a Hard Place if you liked that movie. I thought both were good, but Aron told the story much better in the book, as well as the book is more of a general biography than the movie (which just depicts his entrapment).

in snoop's autobiography he says

1. he was called snoop basically from birth. so i think we can safely assume he was born a dogg
   
   
2. he smoked weed for the first time when he was 12 years old
   
   
3. he smoked about an ounce a day once he hit his stride
   
   Snoop turned 40 in October and turned into a lion in what? like June? to compensate for the fact that he def didn't start at an ounce a day, I'm gonna say he started smoking an ounce a day when he was 16. So that's 24 years and 8 months at an ounce a day. So that's about 563 pounds.
   
   So I'm gonna say, assuming that the effect is cumulative, you should force your dog to smoke about 570 pounds of weed, just to be safe, to turn him into a lion.

Wow $35 is great considering I aaaaaalmost picked it up at a retail store for $55 last week.
I Me Mine: The Extended Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1905662408/

Black people wanting to know how be a black friend or how to be a better black friend, should check out How to be Black.

(Everyone who isn't black should also read it, but mostly because it is inspiring and hilarious)

Personally, I don’t think you’re going to find your answers on reddit. These seem like really deep-seated issues that would be best treated by a professional. Like a cognitive-behavioral or behavior modification therapist.

If I had a “hack,” it would be learning about Zen Buddhism. I went through a period of extreme anger and frustration. I was bitter at the world, and always had to be right/get the last word in. Everything was a battle. In hindsight it stemmed from feeling hurt.

The book I read—Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner—changed my life. It’s been 10 years since I read it and honestly don’t remember much of it, but I do recall how much lighter and freer I felt after reading it. It offered new perspectives and helped me recognize the things that actually matter in life. It helped me learn how to pick and choose my battles and, most importantly, how to let go.

(For the record, I realize this makes me sound like a born-again but it’s not like that at all—I’m am atheist. Buddhism is more like philosophy and life lessons than religion.)

I think I heard of that before. Also, Buddhism teaches how connected we are...read a pretty good, straight forward book called Hardcore Zen.

This reminds me of another school of thought: that life is a projection of our minds.

and

What is real is just your perception. [7]

The most read book in the history of black American culture. I am certainly not kidding. Now that urban redditors know, they will notice it in people's hands on the subway/street.
http://www.amazon.com/Pimp-The-Story-My-Life/dp/1451617135
That is the most read book in the ghetto in history. Sales schmales... every copy has been read until it resembles a wad of crumpled toilet paper.
Passed from generation to generation.
Ice T recently made a film about Iceberg Slim. It was seen by and discussed by the bulk of black American folks, and written/talked about in every single black American news or culture media outlet.
Not one other US mass media outlet has mentioned it. >EDIT. I retract that sentence.<
It was specifically marketed to black people ONLY.
http://www.icebergslimmovie.com/
99% of white people will go to the grave without ever hearing of Iceberg Slim. Every, and I mean every single solitary person in the black ghetto ,over the age of 12, knows exactly who Iceberg Slim was, and have seen his books being passed around or read. There's no escaping the influence of Iceberg Slim on modern urban black culture.
White, Asian, and Hispanic folks have never heard of him, and most never will.
Every rapper who is black that has Ice in their name is paying respect to their Pimp hero Iceberg. Fact.
Ebony, the black US Time Magazine shoe in, applauds wildly!
http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/portrait-of-a-pimp-uncovers-iceberg-slim#axzz3Ji6CLJ1P
How glorifying!
I can't imagine any other kind of US main stream media holding a rapist pimp heroin dealer up into being a hero of the black community.
His books are cheap as fuck to buy used, so have at it folks! Actually learn and see what kind of culture we are talking about.
I, old white dude, have read all of his books, due to my twisted sense of curiosity. Weird, huh?
Edit for serious clarity:
More black Americans have read PIMP, than have read the Bible. I will confidently stand by that assertion.

Pimp: the story of my life by Iceberg Slim, read it before but its a great read

link

>Add to that the fact that he's a gangsta rapper and named himself after a delicious summertime beverage.

Fun Fact: Street-names that contain 'Ice' pay homage to the original macdaddy pimp, Iceberg Slim -- a reformed pimp-turned-writer who authored his most famous book in prison, PIMP: The Story of My Life

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzTEJWr27NY
  
  
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7lPJW1IAA
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Iceberg-Slim/e/B000APBNT2
  
  
• http://wfmu.org/LCD/21/ice.html
  
  
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Slim
  
  
  
  

Actually sounds like an interesting book.....well there goes $12 to Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mw_dp_mdsc?dsc=1

I'm reading Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality, by Brad Warner.

Kind of a punk rock introduction to Zen Buddhism. Digging it so far.

A good book for anyone interested in this post: https://www.amazon.com/But-What-If-Were-Wrong/dp/0399184120

For anyone wondering this is a real book and it is both hilarious and poignant. I'd highly recommend it.

I Just read Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner, currently working on Sit Down and Shut Up, also by Werner. After I finish the other two books in the series, I'll settle down with Shobogenzo. I'm just getting into Zen, it looks amazing!

I've enjoyed Hardcore Zen. It's a little tedious at times, but I feel it gives a fair introduction to a layman's version of Zen Buddhism.

I thought that some of the men behind "Stuff White People Like" were Asian? I can't find tell given a quick google search but somehow I feel like I read that in "How to to be Black."

According to /u/Here_Comes_The_King's autobio (yes, I know), they actually got the name Crips from their original name Cribs (reference to the young age of the members), and an Asian market owner was reporting that he got jacked by a gang, in his accent, sounded like Crips.

The first part of that seems to be "Wikipedia true".

Charles Ives: A Life With Music was an amazing read.

Gooooooo Communism! (for those who want more information on the culutral revolution from a first hand perspective, read Red China Blues: My long march from Mao to now)

The ultimate sell-out band.

Oh, and if anyone here has not read The Fifth Beatle and loves that kind of music, please correct that ASAP.

Book covers aren't allowed? Amazon site book

Either way...whatever :)

A book that sounds relevant to your class that might interest you (full disclosure: haven't read it yet) is Chuck Klosterman's But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past.

Try Hardcore Zen sometime :)

This movie was adapted from the book entitled "Between a Rock and a Hard Place". I have not read it myself, but my father is crazy about it. Hooray for human endurance!

Not necessarily my favorite book ever, but I'd want you guys to read it if you get the chance: Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner.

It is an incredibly approachable, unpretentious introduction to the idea of mindfulness and enjoying what you have. It's a casual way to shake up your world view and get you to try every day meditation without the whole trappings of mysticism that often get tied into the practice of zen. It brings it down to it's core... that when we get stuck in our own heads and worry about the future, we're not enjoying and taking full advantage of the present.

But What If We're Wrong

It came out like 3 days ago

I don't think any of them are satisfactory.

I Me Mine is the essential. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Me-Mine-Extended-George-Harrison/dp/1905662408/

Get the book of the doco https://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Harrison-Living-Material-World/dp/1419702203

​

Otherwise, take a look at some of the reviews of the other biographies:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Here-Comes-Sun-Spiritual-Harrison/dp/0553817965/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Harrison-Behind-Locked-Door/dp/1785582690/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/While-My-Guitar-Gently-Weeps/dp/1423406095

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Working-Class-Mystic-Spiritual-Biography/dp/0835609006

More of an autobiography to see what real manliness is like:
Pimp: The Story of My Life by Iceberg Slim
http://www.amazon.com/Pimp-The-Story-My-Life-ebook/dp/B0043RSK9E

On a side note, if you're interested in this form of writing, there's an autobiography of a pimp - Iceberg Slim - that's almost impossible to read (I have to google every other phrase). Terribly interesting, though.

This book was written by Baratunde Thurston, published in 2012. https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224

He has been an occasional guest on This Week in Tech, was digital director for The Onion, and is currently the supervising producer of original digital content for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

He’s also funny as fuck.

If you really want to know, this is the seminal reference: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043RSK9E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I sent you a PM in case r/venting has a issue with posting links.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224

Correct.

The book Pimp by Iceberg Slim should of had this for the definition page.

relevant

Klosterman

https://www.amazon.com/But-What-If-Were-Wrong/dp/0399184120

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman

$38.34 right now.

Aint happen to me. Jus an example.
If u wanna learn more read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Pimp-Story-Life-Iceberg-Slim/dp/1451617135

You need to read the book "Pimp" by Iceberg Slim.

https://www.amazon.com/Pimp-Story-Life-Iceberg-Slim/dp/1451617135

http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224/

This gem that mixes punk rock music, Godzilla, and Buddhism

It's been done.

nope. http://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-Zen-Monster-Movies-Reality/dp/086171380X

Here you go
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224

HERE

Then explain this!

The book

Nothing to take creep shots over.

I found it

The latest Chuck Klosterman book deals with this a bit near the beginning.

It's a real book, guys

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478406941&sr=1-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=how+to+be+black&dpPl=1&dpID=41F7kGUmSHL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479536118&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=how+to+be+black

There you go

This is what caused me to have irregular heart beat (and feel like it was pounding), dizzy spells, anxiety, and a variety of other problems. It also made my blood pressure unusually low - on the low side of normal. Alcohol makes it much worse. I also had a strong adverse reaction to trees in the past, where I would have panic as it was wearing off.

I was able to connect it to food because fasting was the only time I felt better. Since I've been paying attention to this and monitoring my diet for this, I'm not having anxiety attacks - at all.

Read this or listen to it and see if it might resonate with you. I find a lot of relief from doing ashtanga yoga with meditation, but that's kind of girly, I know - though my current teacher IS a man. Regular old meditation might help you, though. It might sound crazy but this also helped me during a really high-stress time.

I'll just leave this here... Enjoy

https://www.amazon.com/But-What-If-Were-Wrong/dp/0399184120

I hope that you trying to finish off your goals will dissuade you from doing this act.

I am currently 29. When I was younger I had a family member kill themselves. Shortly after I graduated high school a friend of mine killed himself. A few years back a military buddy of mine killed himself. A girl I have care for dearly has on several occasions come to the point...

No matter how you go about doing it, those who care about you will always feel the impact. Most will always wonder if there wasn't something else they could do, why they did not see something.

When someone goes it is like tearing a point out of a spider's web, it is felt throughout the web. The web will always bear some reminder of the damage that was done.

If you have spoken to all of these people, have taken the anti depressants etc.. maybe you just need to spend some more time in introspection.. Grab some old philosophic literature, do some reading and think over what you read.

I don’t expect any one answer to fit for everyone.

I recommend reading this book, even if it’s not your answer it’s worth a read and it’s considerably less dry on the subject than others.
http://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-Zen-Monster-Movies-Reality/dp/086171380X

You stop giving a fuck about things like authority, or superficiality. But at the same time, you don't just turn into some rebellious prick. You cut out a lot of bullshit from your life, both external and internal.

It's from Hardcore Zen and the author devotes a whole chapter early on, and it becomes a theme of the book. This blog post gives a few of the highlights, but I can't recommend the book enough. It, and Dale Carnegie, are the only self-help books worth reading if you ask me.

> Question Authority. Question Society. Question Reality. Question Yourself. Question your conclusions, your judgments, your answers. Question this. If you question everything thoroughly enough, the truth will eventually hit you upside the head and you will know. But here’s a warning: It won’t be what you imagined. It won’t be even close.

Ich versuche regelmäßig zu meditieren aber ich bin da leider viel zu inkonsequent...

Generell bin ich Fan des meditieren an sich und halte es für sehr sinnvoll, aber mit dem ganzen spirituellen Drumherum kann ich weniger anfangen.

Mein Einstieg in das Thema war Hardcore Zen von Brad Warner. Er ist Anhänger des japanischen Zen Buddhismus der (deutlich) weniger rituell und spirituell ist wie der "normale" Buddhismus. Das Buch ist halb Biographie und halb Einführun in den Zen Buddhismus, also wenn du dich für einen praktischen Einstieg und Meditation ohne Spiritualität interessierst dann wäre das ein guter Tip.

This book helped me understand what I've been doing wrong my whole life.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224

Plus Hardcore Zen's full title is excellent!

You were embarrassed to say it, weren't you? :)

I see that word 'guilty' thrown around a lot on this issue.

I'll be clear, I think the systemic oppression of blacks in the US is an enormous crime and the ramifications will be felt for probably thousands of years.

That said, I don't want anybody to feel guilty. Guilty feelings aren't going to make anything better, it's a negative emotion that breaks you down as a person. Guilt isn't something you should feel, but you should be aware of the advantages you have and the disadvantages other people have. It's that blindness to the privilege that just makes people furious -- And even not having contributed to slavery in your past, your whiteness has led to you benefiting from racist society. Like this comic illustrates (someone else in the thread linked it already, good comic though.).

It's only natural that people get downright angry about it. Some people will be furious. Some people get so many doors slammed in their faces that they get bitter, and they start only seeing the advantaged as cogs in the system of oppression. That's not a good thing of course, but can you really blame them? A lifetime of being generalized and marginalized, those frustrations are going to go somewhere. I'm sorry if people are always venting on you, but a lot of people just want to see some awareness of that privilege -- some perspective on what it means to be white versus what it means to be black in this country.

That book reddit is always making fun of, 'How to Be Black', is actually a very funny but sometimes very painful book for anybody to read about racial issues in America. If Reddit would stop laughing at its hilariously over-repeated joke pretending it's an instruction manual and read it, they'd understand the title. I don't know, just an example of something I see popping up a lot that shows a lack of perspective. But anyway, good luck to you and thanks for the response.

https://www.amazon.com/Pimp-Story-Life-Iceberg-Slim/dp/1451617135/ref=nodl_

Currently reading this. Basically his mom ruined him for life starting at a young age, destroyed any semblance of a family to chase after dangerous dudes. Man grows up with deep hatred to punish women and manipulates them for his stable of hoes, furthering the cycle of ruined families.

>The only piece of shit who should be ashamed the guy narrating. What kind of empty, soulless, cruel person would attempt to humiliate women who are already in the direst of circumstances.

I'm not sure if you've had the privilege to live in such a shitty place. However, I assure you, these women for the most part, are there of their own free will and accord. With the exception of the women being trafficked. However, those women are typically kept under lock and key. I know, it sounds blunt and cruel, however in my experience, having cousins themselves as street walkers, are lucid of their actions.

>It’s not funny at all to laugh at the cruelty of this sociopath.

You probably aren't aware, that this may be the pimp or a local pimp observing his surroundings through a pimp's perspective. Pimps are sociopaths, they don't give a shit about anyone's opinion. It is their business to profiteer off of willing women. They are inherently sociopaths.


> I’ve never read the accounts of women on the street who were happy being treated worse than garbage, being used, being a mans blowup doll with as much respect given to one, and being battered and abused.

You should REALLY read or listen to Pimp: The Story of My Life

>Shame on this garbage for amusing himself over such misery. I’m so disgusted at the absolute depravity and soullessness of some people. Who the fuck is he to judge these women? He’s a nothing and a nobody sociopath, so fuck the fuck outta here!

We all live in a dimension of our own creation. It will exist even if you don't approve of it. Unfortunate truth.