Bhikku Nyanaponika Thera wrote a short book entitled The Power of Mindfulness, in which he describes four principles which may assist understanding the benefits, aims, and strategies of meditations. These he lists as: The functions of tidying and naming The non-coercive procedure Stopping and slowing-down Directness of vision Thera describes unofficial four powers for meditation, Regarding...
Thomas More – Utopia
Journal: Even before finishing this book[I] I felt underwhelmed. First, it was too easy, as if any text from the 15th century needed to be difficult. Difficult because it should be foreign. And difficult because of one pre-existing standard for the text’s mould: Plato’s Republic. Essay: Before, I had categorized this book as a combination of Plato and Swift[II]. And so after, my...
A Temp Batman Reading List
?1973: B #251 ?1976,87: DC #457,572 ?1977: B. Strange Apparitions (B. #469-79) ?1980: Untold Legends of the Batman (#1-3) ?1984: B. Special #1 1986: Batman The Dark Knight Returns 1987: Batman Year One ?1987: B. Son of the Demon ?1987,1990: B. Annual #11,14 1988: Batman The Killing Joke 1988: Batman A Death in the Family (B #426-9) ?1988: B. Ten Nights of the Beast (B. #417-20) ?1988: B. The Cult...
Flash #1
Volume 1 – Selected[I]: #105 – [Katmos] the mind controller from 8myo. And in another tale: [Mirror Master] first cross-paths. Includes F’s origin story. #123 – [Barry Allen meets Jay Garrick; The Fiddler, Shade, Thinker] BA vibrates, accidentally sending himself into an alt (golden age Earth-2) dimension where he meets JG and deals with some of his foes. #148 (1964)...
Aquaman #1
The Atlantis Chronicles (1990)[I]: King and his brother, scientist and priest, an unreliable narrator, and like any history, it is a composition of flaws and man’s attempt at decisions. By the end the city is below the waves, the end of one nightmare. Thanks to King Orin they can breathe underwater now. Tritonis has killed its evil king after he cursed them with an aquatic (legs)...
Hawkman #2
Hawkworld (1990-3): [Hommy (dies), Bladebat] H to be sent to Earth (something to do with a Thanagarian museum exhibit (?) and bonus to deal with Byth who escaped to there). I like the tension between H&H, she’s from Downside, and they differ in their politics. I also like the intensity of H, esp. following his isolation for years on the Island of Chance, and the tribulations he overcame...
Superman #5
Pre-Interim: AC 676 – [Hellgrammite] MOS 11 – [Hamilton, Flashpoint (from Exile World)] S 67 AOS 49O – [Hamilton, Husque] AC 677 – (Sg will work with Lexcorp) MOS 12 – (Monster from beneath Metro.) S 68 – [Deathstroke the Terminator] AOS 491 – [Metallo] AC 678 [Lex, Metallo] MOS 13 – [Cerberus] S 69 – [Pete Ross, Agent Liberty] AOS 492 –...
Hawkman #1
Shadow War of the Hawkman (1985)[I]: #1 The Shadow War of Hawkman – Origin story (chased criminals to Earth, decided to stay, esp. after their homeworld was taken over by a warmongerer who turned the entire populace mediocre); shadowy villains try to rob Hawkman’s (aka Katar Hol) antigravity belt, and have attacked Hawkwoman (aka Shayera). #2 Fallen Angels – H tracks the...
Superman #4
First, Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite: S 49 – Barrage from Superman Annual #2 (the one who shot that cop [Dan Turpin] that fell in love with Sawyer) is back in town. Mr M gives L that red kryptonite he made, it takes away S’s powers on the condition that L not reveal M’s involvement. S & L brawl, L kicks S out to be dealt with by those who hate him too (L really does...
Heart of Stone
As I write this, I am also experimenting with possibilities: what will I write, what will it mean, what is its purpose? If the tone of these questions sounds excessively ponderous, then that is only a side-effect of what I wonder, here and more generally. I am noticing that although the first few sentences are beginning to accumulate, they are not leading anywhere; circular labyrinths...