[It's] about going back to space, because it's waiting for us, and it's where we're meant to be.
     -- Warren Ellis, from his introduction to Orbiter

Schrödinger's Dog - Orbit (2009) Inspired by both Clint Mansell's excellent Moon soundtrack and Jon Hallur's work for the sci-fi MMORPG EVE Online, Orbit is began life as an experiment in downtempo dubstep but quickly evolved into a two-part minimal/ambient epic, running to nearly 20 minutes in total. The sound is sparse yet evocative, with sweeping synths providing atmosphere and shuffling, evolving beats giving a sense of unease. Ethereal melodies float in and out of the music, but nothing stays exactly the same for long when you are in ORBIT.

Direct download: 31mb .zip

[4shared] [Megaupload] [RapidShare] [archive.org]

As my prayers became more intense and deeper, I had less and less to say. At last I was completely silent. I transformed, which is probably an even greater contradiction to talking; I transformed into someone listening. At first, I thought to pray was to talk. But I learned that to pray is not just to be silent, but to listen. It is like this: To pray does not mean to listen to oneself talking. To pray is to become silent, and be silent and wait, until the one who prays can hear God.
     -- Søren Kierkegaard

It is difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. [...] Consequently, they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining their personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally perfer a kind of merging into the impersonal void.
     -- Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (4.10, purport)

God is the exalted father, and the longing for the father is the root of all religion.
     -- Sigmund Freud

[Bhishma] is saying that both theistic and non-theistic can lead to salvation; the critical consideration is the sincerity with which they are practiced—and that they are pursued with an ardent desire to attain the Supreme. So whether we are talking of [...] Buddhism, or [...] Vaishnavism, we can see that the wise Bhishma counsels that we should have respect for all such paths to Truth—for each leads, in good time, to the Supreme destination.
     -- Steven J. Rosen, From Nothingness to Personhood: A Collection of Essays on Buddhism from a Vaishnava-Hindu Perspective

If I saw no signs of a divinity, I would fix myself in denial. If I saw everywhere the marks of a Creator, I would repose peacefully in faith. But seeing too much to deny Him, and too little to assure me, I am in a pitiful state, and I would wish a hundred times that if a God sustains nature it would reveal Him without ambiguity.
     -- Blaise Pascal, Pensées

In summary, our species' awareness of inevitable death placed such a strong pressure on our cerebral (cognitive) evolutions that at some point during the latter stages of hominid evolution, nature selected those lineages which posessed a built-in predisposition to believe in or perceive an alternate reality, one that supersedes the limitations of this finite physical realm which can only offer us pain, suffering, and ultimately death. And so, a new reality was born in man, one which compelled our species to believe itself transcendent, to imagine that we are more, perhaps, than we actually are.
     -- Matthew Alper, The 'God' Part of the Brain

Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are.
     -- The Dalai Lama

When you know for yourselves These teachings are beneficial, these teachings are without fault, these teachings would be accepted by the wise, these teachings, when fully taken up, lead to well-being, to ease, you should live embracing those teachings.
     -- The Buddha, Kesamutti Sutta

While Param-Atman is never in doubt, the individual always lives in doubt. Because of this he is always wanting miracles to happen in order to establish his faith. But even if a miracle does happen and his faith is established once, that faith is shaken again and again by subsequent doubts, and he wants fresh and repeated miracles to re-establish it. He fails to realise that he is constantly living in the midst of the most wonderful miracle, the world itself.
     -- Shantanand Saraswati, Good Company

Though each washes equally as water, a well is not a pond, a pond is not a stream or a river, nor is a valley stream or a ditch a sea. As the Tathagata, the world's hero, is free in the Law, all the laws preached by him are also like this. Though preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end all alike effectively wash off the delusions of living beings, the beginning is not the middle, and the middle is not the end. Preaching at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end are the same in expression but different from one another in meaning.
     -- The Buddha, The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings

I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing and ever dying, there is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and recreates. This informing power or spirit is God.
     -- Mahatma Gandhi, Pathway to God

aerowolf

• For footpad, a number of Buddhist centres in Zurich;


• For gravecat, Diamond Way Buddhism and the FWBO Centre in Liverpool;


• For torque_tiger, fubuki_, and salith, although I've mentioned this many times, the FWBO Centre in Sheffield;


• Some information on Buddhism for beginners (and sceptical Westerners);


• Introducing Buddhism: A Guide for Western Beginners, in the Zen tradition;


• And finally, a friend's insightful blog post on Religious Tolerance.

torque_tiger

1. Harmony - Dragon Song (Secret of Mana)
   This is such an amazing track. Some beautiful guitar and synth work as well as original vocals. I never really played any of the Seiken Densetsu series, but I can totally agree with the feeling in the track -- even when games were pretty primitive in both audiovisual and technical terms, they could really get the imagination working and make you feel invested in them.


2. The Wingless - Godspeed (Star Fox)
   This is another good one, though it's different in tone -- completely electronica, far as I can tell, but it's got a great ambience. It's long but the two parts come together really well. Again I never really played the game, but it manages to have that feeling of flight which is appropriate for, well, almost any space-combat game, but particularly made me think of the Wing Commander series.


3. Star Salzman - Pillar of Salt (Xenogears)
   I really loved Xenogears; in all its overblown pretentiousness, it was one of the first really good post-Evangelion stories out there. Sadly I never managed to finish it (though I still own a copy) due to my memory card crapping out. Anyway, this track is all kinds of pretty. It manages to maintain the distinct style of the original and have a unique identity at the same time. The middle-eastern feel combined with the sci-fi ambience reminds me of the best aspects of Assassin's Creed, too, which is no bad thing.


4. Scott Peeples - Another Inspiration (Chrono Cross)
   Now, Chrono Cross I actually finished, despite it being (like Xenogears) only ever available on import here. It quickly became a favourite, although in my life when I was playing it, it wasn't a great time for me. Without wanting to sound over the top, this track reminds me of that time; it's got that little melancholy edge while at the same time being really pretty. And man, getting the end boss with the colours in the proper order was hard.


5. Arkimedes - Dreaming While I Wake (Shenmue)
   Shenmue was one of the reasons I bought a Dreamcast. I loved that game, even with all the flaws. It's a shame that the story was never really continued beyond Shenmue II, though obviously some of us still hold out hope that Sega will stop making awful Sonic sequels and go back to a franchise that has plenty of life left in it. Anyway. THis is kind of... not quite synth-pop, but it's got that 80's feel certainly. I love the original vocals on this. It reminds me a little of lo-fi stuff like Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, and that can only be a good thing.


6. ceili, Sephire - Snowfall on Forbidden Lands (Shadow of the Colossus)
   I do not have words for how unbelievably pretty this is. If you only download one from this entirely arbitrary top 9, make it this one. SotC was a good candidate for the whole games-as-art thing, and this remix is the poster child for how awesome remixes of game music can be.
   
   The last few are a bit more light-hearted, but no less good for it:
   
   
7. The Megas - The Annihilation of Monsteropolis (Mega Man 2)
   This is basically rivalled only by The Protomen, who made a Megaman Rock Opera, and really it's pretty difficult to beat that.


8. Arkimedes - Fall From Above (You Can't Stop) (Halo)
   If I did not include a Halo mix at some point, nidonocu would kill me. This one I was a bit shaky about at first (the robot voice and the other vocals really shouldn't work), but somehow this manages to be pretty great.


9. Game Over - Little Mac's Confession (Punch-Out!!)
   Don't let the pretty arpeggios in the intro fool you. This is from a Swedish band that does metal covers of Nintendo game music. If you think that sounds awesome then you are right.

Nitai, ISKCON monk, giving a teaching from the Bhagavad-Gita

There are many Indian religious systems that involve strong devotion to the guru, and there are many adherents who totally dedicate their lives to spiritual practice. They are impressive. Mindful of the impermanence of this life, they put great effort into religious devotion. But only Buddhism sees the very apprehension of self to be faulty, and instead puts forth a view of selflessness.

     -- His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Becoming Enlightened

I know a kid who thinks he's hip hop cause he buys it
I know a kid who thinks he's hip hop cause he never buys shit
Underground or mainstream
Some are bound to change schemes.

     -- Sage Francis, Underground For Dummies

mikosquirrel

Werewolves are lame.

Well, at least that was my logic.

I hate the damn things. I figure they're these hokey old holdovers from another age where we actually used to find such cartoony monsters scary. They've seeped into popular culture now. You'll be more likely to find them in romantic comedies and kid's cartoons. They've been neutered, so to speak. And let's face it, they were always the poor second cousin to the vampire.

So I was asked to adapt a screenplay into sequential art, dealing with werewolves, no doubt to help sell it as a movie... and I declined. I just didn't want to go there. Visually I'm just not into them, and couldn't see myself gettng enthused at all. All I could think of was Teen Wolf.

Then I got a letter from the Colorado department of corrections or some such, explaining to my publisher that another of my books [...] had been banned from their fine institutions [...]

But I got thinking. Prison, eh? I'd been watching a lot of prison documentaries at the time anyway and wow, there are some messed up people in some messed up places... and something clicked.

After that, this thing sort of wrote itself to a degree. I sincerely hope you like it and want to desperately thank you for picking this here graphic novel up in the first place.

Whatever you do, just don't drop the soap.

     -- Ben Templesmith, preface to Welcome to Hoxford

The Dalai Lama [...] states that one may practice the dharma by following the teachings and practices of non-Buddhist traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or Hinduism. [...] In this sentiment he hearkens back to the historical Buddha, Śākyamuni. [...] As he was about to die, the Buddha was questioned by some of his students, who were concerned that after the master's death people might begin propounding doctrines that had not been spoken by the Buddha himself and that these people might tell others that their doctrines were the actual words of the Buddha. In reply, the Buddha told them, "Whatever is well-spoken is the word of the Buddha." In other words, if a particular teaching results in greater peace, compassion, and happiness, and if it leads to a lessening of negative emotions, then it can safely be adopted and practiced as dharma, no matter who originally propounded it.

     -- John Powers, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

God creates our bodies, God bestows our nature. Inside and outside are both from God; how dare we derange them? We are within God, God is in our hearts; if we see the universe and emulate its purity, this is not different from the Great Way. If we have even a little selfish intent, we experience penalties that are not trivial.
The physical body is God-given nature; if you act in accord with God-given nature, you will spontaneously be free of the burden of human desires. Daily tasks are norms; act in obedience to the laws of God and there will be no mistaken excesses.

     -- The Cultivation of Realization, trans. Thomas Cleary (in Taoist Meditation)

[T]he Hare Krishna mantra is not sectarian. Because we are chanting these three names -- Hare, Krishna and Rāma -- someone may think, "These are Hindu names. Why should we chant these Hindu names?" There are some sectarian people who may think like that. But Lord Caitanya says, "It doesn't matter. If you have some other bona fide name of God, you can chant that. But chant God's name." That is the instruction of this Krishna consciousness movement. So do not think that this movement is trying to convert you from Christian to Hindu. Remain a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim. It doesn't matter. But if you really want to perfect your life, then try to develop your dormant love for God. That is the perfection of life.
[...]
You may profess any religion, but to test whether your religion is perfect or whether you are perfect, you have to see whether you have developed your love for God. Now we are distributing our love among so many things. But when all this love is concentrated simply on God, that is the perfection of love.

     -- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, talk given at Northeastern University, Boston, Summer 1969 (as reproduced in The Journey of Self-Discovery)

aerowolf

• 10:11 Been awake for an hour orso which feels crazy early for a Saturday. Vaguely hoping books will arrive but suspect they were lost in the post #
• 10:20 Also? Looks like loudtwitter's autoposts to my LJ are working again, suddenly. Thanks, @loudtweeter #
• 10:27 Retweeting @loudtweeter: mouser.livejournal.com/379686.html is a useful guide to getting your tweets shipped to your LJ #
• 11:33 Post arrived and no books again; if they're still a no show on Monday, I'll email for replacements. Hopefully that'll all be okay #
• 15:33 Mercs 2 may be buggy but it's a lot of fun. Plus, naming all the Achievements after metal tracks is a cute touch #
• 19:39 Coil is good brooding music. Not feeling so great this evening; maybe if I eat I'll feel better, but I'm apathetic at best #
• 22:55 Talked to my folks and made dinner; feel a lot better. Also perfected my spaghetti recipe, will blog at some point #
• 23:15 Dying my hair purple for a change, messy business as always. Watching Buffy while it works, then shower time #
• 01:45 Hair enpurkled, but could do with another cut. Am also all clean and shiny. Bed soon, then roleplaying tomorrow with the usual suspects #
• 02:04 Slight mistweet.Twitter grade is 69 (hur hur) / 100: see twitter.grader.com/electricdog . Went down after I nuked some spammers. #