misc.joy

I always loved that Bowie line. After several years of talking about putting together a radio show, not to mention dreaming of it when I was in college, I finally had my first show last week thanks to SBCC Radio.

My second show airs in a few minutes. You can listen in iTunes Radio (College/University Stations), in SecondLife, online, or using the iPhone App.

There is no long term podcast, so if you want to hear the show be sure to tune in live.

Here’s the set I’ve got planned for you:

1. Airport Surroundings, Loney Dear
2. Flat of the Blade, Massive Attack
3. There is a Wind, The Album Leaf
4. FeelingPulledApartByHorses, Thom Yorke
5. Numb, Tricky
6. Powerless, The Flaming Lips
7. Seeplymouth, Volcano Choir
8. Some Riot, Elbow
9. Kettering, The Antlers
10. I Think UR A Contra, Vampire Weekend
11. Foreground, Grizzly Bear

Here I am DJing in Second Life…

SBCC Radio in SecondLife

Next month the iPad will be unleashed on the world and I want one. First question, how can I justify the cost against a household with a fixed budget. Second, balancing the desire to reduce consumption and the need to stay current with technology. Third, the balance of ubiquitous computing and family harmony. Finally, the environmental cost of technology.

When is enough enough?

Though I definitely don’t own a great deal of gadget technology compared to many others, it still feels like quite a bit. Specifically, I own a 2004 iPod Click Wheel, a 2008 iPhone 3G, a 2009 Flip HD, and a 2009 MacBook Pro. What does adding an iPad to the mix create?

Each piece of technology comes with its own environmental impact in the production, ongoing use, and ultimate disposal. Aware that I am only one consumer, collectively we consume and waste a great deal. It seems that we often consume without thought or awareness and we easily succumb to desire through marketing and possibly an underlying unhappiness. [Read more →]

Tet is the Lunar New Year for the Vietnamese community. Our family is very close to the Vietnamese because our Teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, is Vietnamese. We came to Deer Park Monastery in Escondido to celebrate Tet with out brothers and sisters.

Dragon and lion dances. Firecrackers. Drumming. Laughter. Lisi (red envelopes with money). Generosity.

Today is the second day of the new year. It is the only day in the year that lay people (non-monastic) may visit the quarters of the monks and nuns. What joy!

As we travel from room to room, carrying our glasses, we share tea, cider, snacks, and songs. Interspersed with visits by drums and dragon for us to offer up oranges and snacks to the beast.

The monastics live in simple quarters. Some sleep on the floor, others on thin mats. A few books, some clothes, and an altar are usually in each room. They share their space and their tea.

It is a lesson in simplicity. It is a lesson in friendship. It is a lesson in generosity.

May your tiger year be healthy and may your life be long.

(posting from iPhone; links and pix may arrive later)

Though I missed the first few Library Day in the Life last year, I thought I’d participate this year using Twitter as my primary tool of tracking. This year the selected date was Monday, January 25, 2010. This so happened to be the first day of the spring semester at Santa Barbara City College. Not a normal day.

My day started at 4:00am, followed by 60-minutes of sitting meditation at 4:30am. I started sending tweets at 6:10am.

Here follows my Library Day in the Life as the Library Director: [Read more →]