bierkergaard

Zen Buddhism teaches that that life is permeated with suffering and caused by desire. Suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth. Should I try to be more Zen about the grass in the yard? Might I just cease from caring, let the desire for a nice lush yard die? Last summer I was assured by the Scott's rep that the grass out front was in hibernation because of the heat and lack of rain. He told me that it would go green again once we got some rain and the temps dropped. I let go. Well, the grass might have been hibernating for a spell, but then it died. In the early Fall, we were left with a hill of mostly bald dirt out front with some crabgrass combover. No rebirth or reincarnation here. Dead desire, dead yard. Fundamentally, dying to all desire is anti-life. The Buddha throws out the baby with the bathwater. The Christian ethos instead is to desire right thin...

Lina brought this grill (reasonable facsimile) into our marriage from her life as a a condo-dwelling swinging single girl in the New York City Metro area. As you can tell, it is hardly one of those grills the size and power of a nuclear plant. It is more like a 9 volt battery. Yet, when working, it did the job. However, ever since we got married, the grill has become less and less hot. The rectangular burner with rounded ends only had propane coming out of about 40% of the holes. I have little mechanical aptitude and even less patience for things that don't work because they aptly display my ineptitude. Yet, I also don't like to waste money. Thus, the other day, I decided to disassemble the unit to scrub the burners with a combination of vinegar and soap. That improved matters. Then, I shot water through the burner at a high pressure for about ten minutes turning the burner into a sprinkler system. The end result...we have about 80% of the holes operational. 80% is good enough....

First, for the link to this poignant painting, go here. It would be quite a bad example if I were to write about the Good Samaritan and then swipe a painting of the artist without props. Not very good neighborly. Lina and I went for a walk the second to last day in L.A. No sooner had we started on the dusty noonday path, did we see an elderly Asian man looking like he got beat-up. He kind of did. He had wiped out while walking and had been sitting wounded for who knows how long. He and the ground scrapped when he fell and he got the worst of it. Busted lip, bloodied knees, gashed wrist (from his watch) and probably some wounded self-sufficiency. I will call him Dr. C. to not to put his name out in cyberspace. Not many people in L.A. walk in the hills at noontime. Much too hot. Only us sturdy Easterners do so. God seemed to be in our inopportune stroll. Dr. C. was telling he was OK and did not need a hand. "Oh yes you do" we replied. We carried him back to his house, dress...

In Vancouver, B.C., like most of the Northwest, there are Starbucks everywhere. I counted as many as three stores in one block. Every time I pass a store and am jonesing for some Joe, I feel an irresistible pull to go in and grab a cup. Like the men on ships and the sirens of old seducing them to the rocks. I actually like coffee more than beer and drink a lot more of coffee, too. Hard to believe because I have a beer blog. I am not sure that all of this caffeine is healthy. At the World Futures Conference, a dude named Michael Dare who works for MTV was supposed to be in attendance but was a no-show. I wanted to chat with him. Later, I looked him up on the internet and came across this article that interviewed him about his coffee and caffeine addiction. Zoweeee! The article is well-written and tries to look at the research on coffee/caffeine both pro and con. If a pesky ad comes up before the article, copy and paste the url. It should leave the ad behind. I am struggling with the...

On the flight back from California, the movie was Jane Eyre. Our little TV set screen was fried. It only provided the most basic of shapes (and it had to be a lighter scene). The film was good but somber, so the hues were darker. I saw as if through a mirror darkly. So I, peering through newspapers and peoples' heads (both of which shifted around constantly), was able to view the screen in first class between the curtain and watch the film. Made me think of when Jesus died that the Temple curtain was torn in two. God's offer to freely come to His first class. " Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"