enlightenment for everybody

I've come across several personal enlightenment stories in the past few weeks. Examples here and here. I think there's a lot of value in reading these stories, especially the modern ones. It's easier to connect with someone's enlightenment story when it's set in the same context as your own everyday life.

Enlightenment stories. Funny concept. They're commoner than I thought. They just reflect a certain moment or period in your life when you awakened to your own self. When you recognized that you were not alone, and even that you weren't any different from anybody else. You can take that concept, like any concept, as deep as you'd like to go; but the very state of enlightenment is brought about simply by acknowledgment.

Acknowledging that you are, is enlightenment. Nothing more, nothing less. The rest becomes a lot simpler after that.

easy online photo publishing

Okay, I don't know how long these guys will be around, because they have a great service but it's totally free, but I saw vyoma's albums up there and I thought I'd give it a try.

My first album is here - it's some pictures of the pond and forest behind our house from last month. The "home page" for all the albums is here It only took me ten minutes from start to finish to create this album, and that includes setting up my account. What a great site. More pics to come!

music news

Wow. Has anyone heard what's been happening on the East Indian popular music scene lately? A lot of those traditional-sounding movie theme songs (you know, the Bollywood soundtracks that are played in lots of Indian shops and such) are being set to a house beat. You get these Indian-sounding melodies, harmonies and instruments, but set to a fairly modern-sounding beat such as what you might hear in a young college bar on Ladies Night or something.

Another crazy thing they're doing is covering some old 80s tunes, but different ones than I'm used to hearing on retro shows in the west. For example, I've got a house remix of the theme to Knight Rider, that old David Hasselhoff show with the talking Trans-Am. I also have a house remix of Michael Jackson's Beat It, set to a love duet between the elderly-sounding male and female leads of a movie called, "O Laila!"

Oh, it's all good. The more, the merrier at this party. The pot continues boiling. Busy, psychic soul stew.