Something I heard on the radio that resonated with me

On his Oct. 13 show, Brian Lehrer asks Deepak Chopra the naturally skeptical question about how the pursuit of enlightenment isn't just solipsistic "navel-gazing," to which Chopra responds:

"Because you see, solipsism is self-centeredness, more or less. Whereas meditation takes you beyond the separate self; it takes you to a trans-personal domain. And ultimately, enlightenment is a state where you don't actually believe in your personal identity at all, because you realize that your personal identity is a transient, impermanent, ephemeral manifestation of a more universal consciousness, and that's the only thing that it is. So it's the antithesis of solipsism." (Deepak Chopra, WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, 13 Oct. 2009)

The form of Chopra's answer has undeniably achieved a level of cliché familarity. But I nonetheless agree with him, and think that recognizing this difference is probably harder than most people would expect, or is a distinction that some people - despite their entire lives - never even consider.

Sharing is caring.

Nonprofit newspapers = way of the future

from Newsweek:

If Geffen were successful in landing The New York Times, said one of the confidantes, he'd convert it into a nonprofit institution. He would regard the newspaper, perhaps the world's most influential journalistic enterprise, as a national treasure meriting preservation into perpetuity. His model would be the ownership structure of Florida's St. Petersburg Times, which is controlled by a nonprofit educational institution, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. "David would hope the newspaper makes a profit," said the confidante. "But he believes that operating without the ultimate responsibility of paying dividends or necessarily having to be profitable is the best way to run an institution like The New York Times."

The article ends with the factoid that the aforementioned St. Petersburg Times has won two Pulitzers - surpassed only by the NY Times' five.

Dick Cheney And The Death Of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi

"..this article provides an overview of the story of the death of US “high-value detainee” Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, his “extraordinary rendition” by the CIA, and the torture that led to his false confession about a connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein..." Andy Worthington is a journalist, historian, and author of The Guantánamo Files...

read more | digg story

Kimberle Crenshaw for the Supreme Court

President Barack Obama should nominate Kim Crenshaw to fill the Souter vacancy.

read more | digg story

Update: Whatever - it's ok to fantasize, but Sotomayor seems like a reasonable reality.

Sign up to wade through newly released Reagan files.

Check it out at the Huffington Post.

Should be fun!

Also, thinking about what, if any, bridge I know of that I would have the patience to model for Google in their latest SketchUp competition. I think I'll pass...

Re: Jimmy Fallon = not funny

The feminist perspective:

Check out "Sarah Haskins declares Twitter war on Jimmy Fallon".

Basically, not only do I think that Fallon is not that funny and a poor replacement for Conan O'Brien, but I also don't think that he has much to offer in terms of raising "awareness" on women's issues, especially if his "Target" skit is to be any indicator. Here's to hoping he gets replaced soon - cheers.