DaoWaDiddy

The Dao Bums
  • Content count

    115
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by DaoWaDiddy

  1. Favorite Fantasy or SF Novels

    I like many of the books/authors already mentioned (Asimov, Herbert, Tolkien, etc.) Here are some other favorites: Spider Robinson - Callahan's Crosstime Saloon and some of the follow-ups. The Stardance books. Roger Zelazny - Lord of Light Neil Gaiman - American Gods Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash. You have to love a book where the main character is Hiro Protagonist. Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris - The Adept (and the rest of the series) Talbot Mundy - OM: The Secret of Ahbor Valley and others Harlan Ellison - Damn near anything. He's written a ton of short stories, TV episodes, etc. Some samples short stories: Repent Harlequin Said The Ticktockman I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream William Gibson - Neuromancer / Count Zero / Mona Lisa Overdrive - the Father of Cyberpunk David Drake - the Honor Harrington series Theodore Sturgeon - Again, damn near anything. He wrote amazingly great short stories, wrote my favorite Star Trek episodes - "Shore Leave" - and came up with the phrase "Live long and prosper". Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson - The Illuminatus Trilogy - not quite SF or Fantasy fnord but an amazing read none the less. -------------------------------------------------------------- My favorite SF book is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein. I first read it as a teenager while attending a very conservative parochial school. One of the things that the book helped me do was to take a look at religion from a very different perspective; it was one of the crowbars that helped me dismantle the box and become the lapsed Daoist that I am today. Read to enjoy and enjoy what you read. Charlie
  2. Can science and religion coexist peacefully?

    I left no answer on the poll. As others have said the choices were poorly worded - except for perhaps "Other". The larger problem is that "Religion" and "Science" are such large generalizations that they are realistically meaningless in terms of describing actual behavior by real people.
  3. One book that I enjoyed was Tales of the Taoist Immortals by Eva Wong. It has a version of this story, stories of the other immortals, and tales of Sages, Magicians, Diviners and Alchemests. I found it enjoyable. All the best, Charlie
  4. I am LORD

    There are days when I am practicing in the living room and squirrels or the occasional rabbit will stop by and watch for a while through the picture window. Much less drama involved...
  5. How Do You Control Your Emotions?

    Large caliber weapons carried to high places Intellectually, I'm with Scotty. Emotions happen, but it seems more useful to "eat the Chi" from them rather than spray it all over the room. In practice, there are days when I'm a real dick. Charlie
  6. Back to bulbs: How many programmers does it take to change a light bulb? None - it's a hardware problem.
  7. Do You Train Martial Arts?

    I did several years of Yang style Tai Chi back in the 70's along with a bit of Hsing I. I have recently started training Tai Chi again. It's good to be back... Charlie
  8. It sucks to live in UK

    Charlie
  9. good "energy" toys ~$50

    A couple of things to watch out for with incense: - Some people have a very strong negative reaction (allergy) to scents like incense, perfume, etc. - Burning incense can be fairly pervasive in an open cube farm and your neighbors may not share your tastes. The second hint is when they start taking target practice with squirt guns... In my little corner of the behemoth I've tended to use visual images (Windoze desktop images, printed calendars, etc.) All the best, Charlie
  10. Everyone post some favorite quotes!

    "If God dropped acid, would he see people?" ~ Steven Wright
  11. Sean and Lezlie's Youtube Debut

    Beer for breakfast? What was he thinking? You have to stick with the traditional breakfast foods with the stick-to-your-ribs nutritional fortitude that have given so many the strength to made our country great: A Moon pie, YooHoo and some grits - with gravy. All the best, Charlie And maybe some pork rinds to settle the stomach...
  12. .

    I'm another one of the old farts elder statesmen that usually lurks around here on the board. At 56, I seldom manage to empty my cup - rather, when I actually manage to stop and check I discover once again that I'm full of it. AugustLeo (Michael), my wish for you and your bride is that your marriage become an ongoing celebration of what is possible. May you be so profoundly happy/sad/angry/blissful together that you can barely contain it. All the best, Charlie
  13. Family

    I recently ran across a pointer to this show over on the Healing Dao Forum. The show is about recent scientific work which seems to indicate that experiences and environmental factors that influenced our ancestors do result in changes that are passed down genetically. The Ghost in Your Genes - Part 1 The Ghost in Your Genes - Part 2 The Ghost in Your Genes - Part 3 The Ghost in Your Genes - Part 4 For having your energetic body access the information you are on your own. Be well, Charlie
  14. Can anyone recommend good Tai Chi DVDs?

    This DVD has a wealth of material on it: Taijiquan, Classical Yang Style (YMAA Tai Chi) Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming Shows movements, has stills of each movement, explanation of many movements, and so forth. Charlie
  15. Is there a way to change the order in which images are displayed in the gallery? Currently it seems that in my gallery (still private as I am tweaking it) the images are displayed in reverse chronological order - the last image uploaded is displayed first. Is this intrinsic to the gallery or is there some way for me to jigger it so that the images show up in the order I want? Thanks, Charlie
  16. Change order of images in gallery?

    OK - thanks! I'll deal...
  17. Bill Bodri's Tao School course in production...

    Has anyone followed the protocols and suggestions in Bodri's "How to Clean Your Arteries and Detox Your Body for Spiritual Practice" e-book? If so, what was your experience?
  18. Siddhi

    I don't think these are the same group. Shanti Mandir has a web site here: http://www.shantimandir.com/index.htm. A quick look seems to point to a lineage from Baba Muktananda - see his listing on "Rate a Guru" here: http://www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/RatingsM.htm#mukie. That said, I have no real knowledge of them or their practices. GT, what was your experience Charlie
  19. proof of qigong

    It's all part of the ongoing aim: "Live forever or die trying." Which if you reparse it leads to some interesting ambiguities. The other day I was talking to a friend about something that I believe is Native American - although I don't remember if I read this or saw it in a movie or what. Two warriors are about to go to battle and one looks to the other and says "Today is a good day to die." And the other nods. And when I said this to my friend a distinct wave of letting go - some level of release - went through my body. Meanwhile, I continue to do qigong. Forever yours, Charlie
  20. Heavenly Mountain

    I was a bit concerned when the news came out a few weeks ago that Michael and company would have to change sites - I plan to be at a course this summer and suddenly all plans were up in the air. So the news that the North Carolina site was confirmed was pleasing. And the site looks amazing! There are photos here. Here's the newsletter where Michael tells the tale of how they ended up with such a great site. Charlie
  21. Happy Birthday Sean!

    Sean, Best wishes on your birthday! Celebrate thoroughly and completely in whatever is the best possible fashion for you - then repeat regularly (starting tomorrow) for no particular reason. Charlie
  22. Whiskey and beer

    While Googling for Taoist Drinking Songs I ran across this on Drinking Games - I'm Just Drinking: This could be adapted by substituting your favorite Daoist Teacher, Taobum, or other notorious person for Cho - think Chiaisms / Yodaisms / Yudeloveisms... although you'd probably need a special crowd for Ronisms. Meanwhile, the web comic that the drinking game is based on - No Need For Bushido - is a hoot. Charlie