tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.comments2024-02-07T21:24:37.121-08:00BlogtrotterJohn L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comBlogger1006125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-39336796378816330222020-05-22T22:30:51.285-07:002020-05-22T22:30:51.285-07:00Thanks for the amazing book review post. I am extr...Thanks for the amazing book review post. I am extremely interested in reading books related to religious studies. Daoism is new to me, and I wish to read the book Dream Trippers very soon. Very eager to read the narration of Palmer and Siegler.Nithyahttps://www.chinmayaias.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-39306055697429480592019-10-26T07:42:34.659-07:002019-10-26T07:42:34.659-07:00Fenella was a somewhat mysterious Gypsy girl who N...Fenella was a somewhat mysterious Gypsy girl who Nina Hamnett says in Laughing Torso was discovered by Arthur Ransome (Bohemia in London) on a doorstep. In 1908 she spent a summer week with the decadent poet Arthur Symons teaching him the rudiments of Romany. She knew many other languages and could play guitar and dukker (tell fortunes). Quite accomplished for one born in the 1890s. Gwen's brother Augustus took a shine to her and may also have taken her to Paris where she found a foothold in the Rue Raspail in Montparnasse, the new artists' quarter centred on the Dome cafe. She was frail, thought to be consumptive, and so was pitied. Aleister Crowley fantasised about her and wrote a poor macabre short play with Fenella in it. Like Gwen, she may also have posed for Rodin. She certainly did in 1911 for <br />Rippl in Hungary.<br />Mike Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-6768107213249088892018-03-16T07:07:22.266-07:002018-03-16T07:07:22.266-07:00The Shambhala cult is a Tibetan Tantric group whos...The Shambhala cult is a Tibetan Tantric group whose own students have been used by the Lamaist hierarchy for decades now. The Dalai Lama is the victim face vis-a-vis China to collect billions to build out China's soft power in the West, as the Kama Kagyu cult, the umbrella organization of Shambhala is re-aligned with the Communist Party and its religious Department of the Workers Front since 1984, and officially in 2003.<br /><br />The West and the western students of Tantric Buddhism are the 'les idiots utiles du systeme as China's soft power, and the Dalai Lama and the Kagyu-Nyingmapa alliance with the CPC; the unwitting change agents to destroy their own western civilization, women's rights and freedoms in their own democracy; what Trungpa said was a 'failed experiment.' He wished to substitute his harem-keeping Kingdom as a role model for what he called his "Enlightened Dictatorship.' There are forces in our country that are keeping the Shangri-lai myth alive, and hiding the fact that Tibetan Lamaism is not Buddhism but a Mongolian-Tibetan occult secret society of misogynistic, androcentric priests,with a corrupt inner circle in all their sanghas who, for perks and status in their cult groups, allow egregious sexual abuse and skullduggery by the Lamas, who controlled their own people for a thousand years and still counting, and now most of Buddhism in the West. Occult Lamaism disguised as Mahayana Buddhism,that has been admired by dimwitted 'intellectuals' and the wealthy elite since Madame Blavatsky days, and by modern fascists, left and right, like Himmler, Berger, Serrano, and now George Soros who funds the Dalai Lama projects as well as any other group that is here to destroy democracy by stealth. Christine Chandlerhttp://www.extibetanbuddhist.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-57146523654563538282018-02-03T04:23:27.141-08:002018-02-03T04:23:27.141-08:00A DIASPORA STORY
Early Day
Press Release
15th Bl...<br /><br />A DIASPORA STORY<br /><br />Early Day<br />Press Release<br /><br />15th Bloomsday<br />2018<br /><br />A Celebration of Literature - Words - Wit - Wisdom - Where?<br /><br />James Joyce's book 'Ulysses' depicts the events of one day when Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom took their epic journey through Dublin.<br /><br />For millions of people, June 16 is an extraordinary day. On that day in 1904, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom each took their epic journeys through Dublin in James Joyce's Ulysses, the world's most highly acclaimed modern novel. <br /><br />"Bloomsday", as it is now known, has become a tradition for Joyce enthusiasts all over the world. From Tokyo to Sydney, San Francisco to Paris, Trieste to.... Northampton, dozens of cities around the globe hold their own Bloomsday festivities. <br /><br />The celebrations usually include readings as well as staged re-enactments and street-side improvisations of scenes from the story.<br /><br />To celebrate that special day, known as Bloomsday, the Irish Community Arts Project will present a reading by invited literary figures at the graveside of Lucia Anna Joyce who died in Northampton in 1982. <br /><br />We remember this family as part of the Irish diaspora in this place.<br /><br />This annual event will take place at 3pm on Saturday 16th June 2018 at Kingsthorpe Cemetery Northampton. <br /><br />The Triskelion Theatre Company will perform in period costume.<br /><br />Further details from<br /><br />Peter Mulligan<br />Project Co-ordinator<br />The Irish Community Arts Project<br />Northampton Connolly Association<br />5 Woodland Avenue<br />Abington Park<br />Northampton NN3 2BY<br /><br />Tel. 01604-715793 <br /><br />Email: caprojects.pm@gmail.com<br /><br />ps if you can bring a chairAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-68714683073087886512017-11-22T09:04:00.890-08:002017-11-22T09:04:00.890-08:00My objections to The Swerve have less to do with s...My objections to The Swerve have less to do with sweeping pronouncements about entire cultures -- although there may be much merit in such objections -- as with concrete errors and specific misconceptions spread by the book (although Greenblatt himself may often actually know better.) Lucretius' poem was never lost (although very many very important Classical texts have been), Poggio did not singlehandedly save it, other ancient Latin authors were Epicurean, and so forth. http://thewrongmonkey.blogspot.com/2017/11/stephen-greenblatts-swerve-is-not-as.htmlSteven Bollingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03215202747829300924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-1879466329556372162017-04-21T21:54:55.605-07:002017-04-21T21:54:55.605-07:00I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend, Jo...I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend, John, and what a lovely tribute. Although I never had a chance to meet her, Kathryn was my cousin, and I came across your blog while working on the family tree and seeking information about the cause of her death, shocked that she had died so young. I'd always meant to look her up and introduce myself when I still lived in California, after discovering her existence, but alas, never got to it. Thank you for the window into who she was.<br /><br />I wonder if you'd be so kind as to allow me to use your photo of her. Attributed, of course, if you wish.<br /><br />Wendy Hoechstetter<br />wendyannh at comcast dot net<br />Wendy Hoechstetterhttp://hoechstetterinteriors.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-22111124469024325512017-04-03T17:14:48.921-07:002017-04-03T17:14:48.921-07:00Hi John,
thank you for reading and writing the st...Hi John,<br /><br />thank you for reading and writing the stories by my fellow Icelandic authors.<br /><br />This is just a quick note to alert you to a word missing from the quote from<br />my foreword. It should say "comparatively LATE" and not just "comparatively".<br />So the complete sentence should look like this:<br /><br />"Perhaps it is because philosophy reached these shores comparatively late that Icelandic writers have never felt bound by the truth. While recognizing no literature except that which springs from reality, they reserve the right to distort the truth according to the demands of their tales."<br /><br />All the very best from the affluent and comparatively mysterious Reykjavík,<br /><br />Sjón<br /><br />Sjón<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12251325314394606530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-79676381892611072882017-03-10T14:18:57.330-08:002017-03-10T14:18:57.330-08:00True enough, Steven. I read that novel in college ...True enough, Steven. I read that novel in college and saw the film. Both were quite lengthy. Good to see you stop by here...John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-68927110133732865082017-03-10T04:58:00.366-08:002017-03-10T04:58:00.366-08:00If you found this one long, you should Try Guntag ...If you found this one long, you should Try Guntag Grass's The Tin Drum that is is based on.Steven R. McEvoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08040746404354724752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-16464153479185248152017-01-24T00:08:08.774-08:002017-01-24T00:08:08.774-08:00Thanks very much for this John! Very kind. :) I ho...Thanks very much for this John! Very kind. :) I hope you're well.Bohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333815636018847583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-70250015043561692102016-11-12T08:17:25.241-08:002016-11-12T08:17:25.241-08:00A comprehensive survey of the presidential electio...A comprehensive survey of the presidential election.Nobody knows how the upcoming administration will turn out. To misquote Yeats: And what rough beast, its hour come round at last/ Strides towards the White House to be president? <br />Patrick Devaney Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-77626103330163106362016-10-23T12:29:29.406-07:002016-10-23T12:29:29.406-07:00Is é mo ainm Rose, chonaic mé ar na mallaibh fiana...Is é mo ainm Rose, chonaic mé ar na mallaibh fianaise faoi draoi de shaghas éigin ar bhlag go Thug mé cuairt le haghaidh fadhbanna ag dul treoshuíomh líne mar tá mé ag a bhfuil fadhbanna tromchúiseacha le mo bhuachaill agus bhí muid ag dul ar feadh sé mhí, ach amháin d'athraigh go tobann nuair a ais ar mo glaonna, thosaigh cheating, bhí sé ag hurting dom i go leor bealaí shíl mé riamh go mbeidh aon réiteach féideartha teacht agus shíl ba chóir dom iarracht a dhéanamh, b'fhéidir ag an éadóchais de chineál éigin i dteagmháil liom iad. Ar Dealraíonn dtús gach rud mar bhrionglóid, comhairliúcháin agus an réiteach a bhí beagán níos éasca agus aisteach agus fuair mé beagán scanraithe mar gheall go raibh léite agam agus chuala go leor scéalta de rothaí seal bréagach, camscéimeanna agus ní chreid i ndáiríre i draíocht. Bhí mé le dóchas beag agus creideamh agus chuir mé táirgí bia cúpla ndeireadh thiar, agus d'oibrigh sé mar a miracle, gach rud a chuaigh i dtreo nua, cé go raibh sé agus tá sé iontach. Sílim go raibh sé de mheon macánta a rinne mé a léamh an lá áirithe mar dílis. Tá súil agam gur féidir liom cabhrú le daoine eile, mar a rinne siad dom. Rinne mé beagán agus fuair mé gach rud a bhí mé agus theastaigh m'fhear céile, mo theaghlach agus mo shaol. Déan teagmháil leis an caster seal ar an seoladh ríomhphoist seo Drobosspiritualspellcaster@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-38648495286782872092016-04-13T14:59:55.199-07:002016-04-13T14:59:55.199-07:00The Trimondis wrote their expose of Tibetan Tantri...The Trimondis wrote their expose of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism not because of a history in leftist politics, but because after abandoning that, and devoting themselves to a spiritual path, which involved extensive study with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, they learned directly from the DL that the TB tradition had a secret, esoteric side full of teachings and rituals involving sex with underage teens and pre-teens, and rites involving the consumption of bodily fluids and wastes as "proof" of transcendence of ordinary reality. Becoming alarmed and disgusted, they decided to research the tradition and make the results of their research available as a public service. <br /><br />The Dalai Lama's public face in the West, in which he plays the role of a sort of philosophical cuddly teddy bear spewing platitudes and humor, is an act intended in part to demonstrate to the Chinese that he's harmless, and isn't playing politics in the West. It's also designed to whitewash a tradition with a very long history extending to the present time, of exploiting girls and women with no concern at all to the trauma they suffer from being coerced into rituals they don't understand or agree to. Ex-monks who know the DL well or who have worked in his entourage have learned the same masking technique, and deploy it to gain the favor, trust, and sometimes monetary gain from unsuspecting and naïve Westerners who want to believe the hype about Tibetan culture. The reality of that culture often couldn't be more opposite to the image they peddle. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-21901392876757096562016-02-18T21:44:21.325-08:002016-02-18T21:44:21.325-08:00Hi John, great work you are doing here!
thanks
Bre...Hi John, great work you are doing here!<br />thanks<br />Bren<br /><a href="http://www.meditate.net.au/best-free-meditation/tara-brach/" rel="nofollow">Tara Brach Free Meditation</a>Bren Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15484789907845282383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-59443463422694590692016-01-19T18:54:26.808-08:002016-01-19T18:54:26.808-08:00Great interview here:
http://www.pointofinquiry.o...Great interview here:<br /><br />http://www.pointofinquiry.org/religious_belief_naturally_selected_-_with_john_c._wathey/<br /><br />Thanks for the review JohnAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08587307476149808869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-59904206292668271912016-01-19T18:53:37.228-08:002016-01-19T18:53:37.228-08:00Thanks John, great review. Josh Zepps interviewed ...Thanks John, great review. Josh Zepps interviewed John Wathey for Point of inquiry, great discussion: <br /><br />http://www.pointofinquiry.org/religious_belief_naturally_selected_-_with_john_c._wathey/<br /><br />cheers, Glenn LangfordAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08587307476149808869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-91131213156799145552015-11-13T01:41:13.233-08:002015-11-13T01:41:13.233-08:00I am impressed, Tony; my first 'real' conc...I am impressed, Tony; my first 'real' concert was the Clash on their first US tour supporting their second album. I think I already ruined my hearing back then...I will examine the photo with a magnifying glass when I get back to my copy at home...JLMJohn L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-45560984321233822482015-11-12T04:29:02.256-08:002015-11-12T04:29:02.256-08:00I am in this book, somewhere to the back of the cr...I am in this book, somewhere to the back of the crowd in the picture of the gig at Mount Mellory. I must have been 12 at the time. My first gig.<br />Tonytony bailiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07731020544736406357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-90825824438817115572015-11-09T12:45:41.644-08:002015-11-09T12:45:41.644-08:00Thanks, Doris, your firsthand testimony is welcome...Thanks, Doris, your firsthand testimony is welcome--however belated! I will check out the Reddit site as I have been curious to get both sides of the situation. There was a bit of coverage on Soka U by the OC Weekly a few years ago, but other than that, given their prominence locally, nothing else, to my bafflement. I am trying to get a balanced perspective, given as you say the predominant perspectives are positive. I wish you too all the luck, and I appreciate your response to my inquiry. FionnchúJohn L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-45205250109383657202015-11-08T13:37:55.999-08:002015-11-08T13:37:55.999-08:00Hello, Fionnchú. I realize my reply is rather a c...Hello, Fionnchú. I realize my reply is rather a case of coming late to the party - I only hope you remain alive and kicking across the intervening years! I was a member of the Soka Gakkai International - SGI-USA was the latest name here in the US - and I practiced their pseudo-Buddhism for just over 20 years. I rose as high up the leadership ladder as a Young Women's Division Headquarters leader, the highest Youth Division leadership position at that time. <br /><br />What you should be aware of is that, aside from Montgomery, all the authors you have cited re: Soka Gakkai are apologists. They can be counted upon to provide only positive, even glowing, accounts of the SGI. One is a UK top leader. So you're only getting one side of the story from them.<br /><br />For example, recent studies have shown that SGI members are more likely to be divorced, unemployed or under-employed, and living far from their families of origin - in other words, these are the most vulnerable members of society. 95% of everyone who tries the Soka Gakkai/SGI quits; the SGI-USA's widely touted membership of "500,000" back in the late 1970s (when it went by the name NSA) is widely recognized as empty self-promotion. The SGI-USA today boasts a mere 35,000 members; that organization's campaign last year was to increase their subscriptions to 50,000, even if that meant members should purchase multiple subscriptions. If what they're promoting really worked, why would anyone quit, much less 95%?<br /><br />There are so many different flavors of Buddhism in the world, and perhaps the only thing all can agree on are the Four Noble Truths, one of which is that attachments cause suffering. But SGI teaches that attachments are enlightenment! SGI's leader, Ikeda, teaches that winning is everything and warns people against becoming losers in life. This turns the Four Noble Truths on their head; SGI actively promotes attachments, which in turn is a means of deepening the members' dependence upon the cult. Sure, it would be great if chanting a magic chant truly changed reality in one's favor, but it doesn't. Though the Soka Gakkai promises material benefits, in my 20 years within this organization, I noticed that the members were very average, even lower-socioeconomic-strata, and that they were largely dissatisfied and unhappy, despite the happy masks they put on at meetings to try and convince "guests" to join (which they didn't). During my last 6 years with the SGI-USA, though we had at least one guest at virtually every meeting, not one joined. Not one came back for a second meeting, for that matter!<br /><br />If you would like some in-depth information from the other side, both from those who have been in (some for longer than me!) and from scholarly sources, there are a bunch of these collected at the sgiwhistleblowers site on reddit. You should be able to get there if you type "reddit sgiwhistleblowers" into your search engine.<br /><br />Best of luck in all your esoteric interests - may they all bear the fruit of satisfaction and fulfillment!<br /><br />Doris FromageDoris Fromagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07804899422584862557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-50321006461687996512015-11-04T10:50:52.296-08:002015-11-04T10:50:52.296-08:00Hello, I would like to tell you about the Richard ...Hello, I would like to tell you about the Richard Causton (1st General Director of SGI-UK) youtube channel I opened last year. Feel free to advertise it on your website if you like. Hope you visit soon and that you find plenty of encouragement and inspiration. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCUCr0QuC4lvgzAQ5DjlfCQ/videosSIMONhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00120510591729039864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-58249001570182863232015-10-27T15:05:38.188-07:002015-10-27T15:05:38.188-07:00Hello, Dr. Trish. I thought I had responded to you...Hello, Dr. Trish. I thought I had responded to you already, but my alternative e-mail is fionnmaccu at aol dot com or DrJLMurphy at the same domain. Thanks for asking (and pardon any delay as somehow this popped up in my messages pending file).John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-79654732475623842932015-10-27T15:03:19.407-07:002015-10-27T15:03:19.407-07:00Hello, EJ. As my blog shows, my interests are dive...Hello, EJ. As my blog shows, my interests are diverse, and I'm open both to Irish authors and others who write for New Society Publishers. Thanks for asking...John M.John L. Murphy / "Fionnchú"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16616876266772470719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-28173958466052108272015-10-27T13:21:24.264-07:002015-10-27T13:21:24.264-07:00Thanks for reviewing Mark's book John. I want...Thanks for reviewing Mark's book John. I wanted to let you know it is now off press. Are you interested in reviewing other New Society Publishers books or only those by Irish authors :)<br /><br />EJ Hurst<br />New Society PublishersEJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14656417688860998332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31875695.post-45947130635699765902015-08-27T12:54:37.152-07:002015-08-27T12:54:37.152-07:00//the author delves into the presumption of atheis...//the author delves into the presumption of atheism//<br /><br />I hope he doesn't promote the presumption of atheism, if he's writing about agnosticism. <br /><br />"The introduction of this new interpretation of the word 'atheism' may appear to be a piece of perverse Humpty-Dumptyism, going arbitrarily against established common usage. 'Whyever', it could be asked, 'don't you make it not the presumption of atheism but the presumption of agnosticism?'" ~Antony Flew, 1984<br /><br />//Can you live religiously while remaining agnostic?//<br /><br />No.<br /><br />//Should schools teach agnosticism?//<br /><br />They do. It's called demarcation. <br /><br />"Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe." ~ Thomas Huxley, 1884<br /><br />Huxley was a scientist, above all else. His agnosticism amounted to a form of demarcation. No evidence = untestable/unfalsifiable = unscientific/unobjective and inconclusive. Suspending judgement, due to lack of evidence, is not compatible with forming a belief. <br /><br />Karl Popper was a self-described agnostic, as well...just agnostic.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856906756858048551noreply@blogger.com