Butterfly in the sky ....

In case you're wondering what the equivalent of a month's rent looks like in books, here you go:

I went a little nuts at the bookstore today, but it's far away and I only want to make one trip there. Now to get down to business ...

India

I'm in Kathmandu now getting settled, but I thought I'd post some pictures from India. I landed in Delhi and went to Majnu ka Tila, the Tibetan refugee area. Unfortunately, I arrived at just before midnight and all the hotels and guest houses were completely full. Lucky for me I met a Tibetan guy who let me stay in his room. It was a small, unheated place no bigger than 8' by 8' but 4 Tibetans were living there - but it beat staying out on the street!

I took the train to Varanasi from Delhi and the train arrived about 10 hours late and by the time we got to Varanasi it was a bit over 26 hours late. I was later told that the trains are late because the track switching is done manually and in the thick fog of winter, they cannot see the signals. When they can't see they have to stop the train to go check the signals.

I arrived just in time to crash the Tengyur Translation Conference in Sarnath and talk to some people about my research.  The conference was interesting and I got to meet a lot of people. I also managed to visit the site of the Buddha's first teaching and catch a glimpse of HHDL before I left!  Anyway, here are the photos:

Trying to sleep on the train. I didn't bring a blanket so I had to use my towel!

The hotel in Sarnath. Looked like a level from some zombie first-person shooter

On the train

Me and a guy from the train

Riding in a tuk-tuk

At a Hanuman shrine

Sarnath

I finally made it to Sarnath, India.  It's the place of the Buddha's first teachings.  My train from Delhi was a little over 26 hours late though.  It was about 10 hours late arriving and had to make frequent stops (they say because of the thick fog).  Anyway, I've surely missed my chance to meet with the professor I waned to meet here, but I'm taking the chance to visit the places.  I visited a Jain temple for the first time and learned about their intense practices (going naked, not eating, etc).  The monk at the temple had lots of photos to show me.

The train ride was really really cold.  I was used to the (comparable) luxury of Chinese trains, which do not have open windows and provide a blanket for sleeper cars.  Luckily, a Tibetan family lent me a blanket the second night.  Together with my towel and jacket, it made for a not too chilly night.

I leave for Kathmandu on the 11th and I hope I can settle into a nice routine there (and post some photos too!).

A man of means by no means ...

I made it to Delhi and I'm staying in Majnu ka Tila, which is the Tibetan area.  I didn't know that winter is high tourist season so when I arrived at midnight all of the hotels were full.  Lukcy for me I met a Tibetan guy who let me stay in his room.  It's a small room (maybe 10' x 10') with four Tibetan guys living in it.  Without them I'd be out on the street!

Tonight I take a train to Varanasi.  From there I'll make my way to Kathmandu. 

New Music

 I have a new song on Bad Panda records called T27.  Check it out and read a short interview with me here.  It's about 18 minutes long, so get ready!

Nepal / India

Tomorrow I leave for a short trip in India and a long stay in Nepal.  I'll have a camera and some internet access so maybe more interesting things are to come! 

"Art"

Get it?  I haven't been doing much drawing lately, but I did this while on the phone a few days ago.  Lately I've been busy grading and working on my dissertation topic.  I'll be in Providence for a few more weeks and then in Michigan for the holidays and then in Nepal for a few months.  Maybe more blogging then.  Or at least more interesting blogging.

Newport and such ...

Alex and I took a nice relaxing trip to Newport last week.  It was cloudy and windy, but not crowded at all.  Plus, it was restaurant week so we got some pretty fancy food for cheap.  When we got back my brother and his wife came to visit, which was nice and resulting more delicious food.  

Now that it's time to get down to grading, I've started to get sick.  I'm hoping to get rid of this one early; I stayed home and slept most of the day and I'm starting to feel better.  It seems unfair to grade some student's paper on Plato's Parmenides while jacked up on NyQuil ... 

From the desk of ...

I found this pretty interesting (and short) documentary about the desk called Desk





Today was my first day in a while without teaching or grading to do, so I took the opportunity to clean up my room.  For what it's worth, here's a snapshot of my desk (well, one of my desks) in it's current state:

Now to try to do some work on it ...

Lately ...

Someday I'll get back to actually thinking about philosophy ... someday ...

A Naked Baby Photo ...

While I was at my parents house in Michigan this summer I came across a box of old cassettes.  One of the tapes was of the Grosse Pointe North "Senior Concerto Concert" on June 1st, 1995.

In 1995 my older brother was in a band that lacked a drummer but wanted to play in the concert (I assume someone in the band was a senior in high school at the time).  I was twelve at the time, and though I got a drum set for the previous christmas, I hadn't been playing much longer than a few months.  Somehow intense shyness and lack of musical ability didn't stop me from playing with them.

We played an epic eleven minute version of the Allman Brothers' classic "It's Not My Cross To Bear" complete with a kazoo solo and what sounds like a violin (though I have no memory of any violin player).  Anyway, for your listening pleasure, here it is:



Sound quality is not the best, but what do you want from a cassette that's been sitting in a basement for fifteen years ...

Melodramatic But True

'Nuff said.

New Guitar

While I was in Michigan this summer I got a new guitar.  I've had it for a while, but I've only recently been able to start recording with it (and blogging about it).  My previous guitar was a hand-me-down faux-Stratocaster made by Washburn called a "Lyon".  It worked pretty well for me for the last ten years, but lately it has not been doing so well.  In the summer, my dad and I went to our local music store under the pretense of looking at guitar strings.  I was very close to buying a Fender Jazzmaster.  After thinking on it for a few days, we came back and that day the store got in a shipment of Gibson hollow-bodies.  I was reluctant because my dad's Gibson ES-335 is so big, but the ES-339 is the same but with a smaller body.  Once I tried it, I couldn't go back. The fact that it was about as much as my first car was also cause for some deliberation.  Anyway, I bought it and managed to get it back to Providence safely.   Here are some pictures:

So far I really love it - sounds great (sustain!), plays great.  Now to make some time to record with it ... 

For all your upcycled / vintage jewelry needs ...

Alex has been making cool jewelry for a while now, but she finally opened her Etsy Store where you can buy some of it for yourself.  It's way stylish, so check it out!

A hitch in my git-along

I took a short trip to Seattle to see my friend Michael.  While I was there I saw some shows and did some recording at his Empty Sea studio.  While we were taking a short motorcycle trip on Orcas Island, I dropped his 400+ pound Triumph Bonneville on my foot.  The bike was mostly fine (just one bent turn signal and shifter), but it was sad because it was such a beautiful ride and the rest of our day was spent finding a clinic, getting x-rays, and waiting for the ferry back to Seattle.

Anyway, since then I have had a limp.  When I got back to my carrel in the library, I was going through the calendar of folksy sayings that Alex gave me and this one really fit the bill.