Bible quiz? Okay, that was a little surprising.

This is probably scary coming from a Buddhist, but:

You know the Bible 74%!

 

Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

What?

Yeah, those "which book follows which" questions? No clue. Hooray random guessing.

wildernessguru's very sad, and filenotch has a point: I haven't been through losing a parent and have no way of knowing what he's going through. All I know is that for many people, their last word is "mom."

I'm now listening to John Sheppard skating music. Come on, Out Of Bounds, cheer me up....

John Sheppard and cheating.

I think I forgot to say in my comments to Sunday: oh, how long I waited for John in dress blues. Now all he needs to learn is how to stand at attention. I like that. *slow smile*

The glee continues over here at the implications ( Cut for John Sheppard spoilers. )

Four things you should take away from this:

1 - Men are incredibly honest with Buddhist nuns, future Buddhist nuns, and past Buddhist nuns, probably because a you're not an option.
2 - A man is more likely to cheat when a relationship is unstable than a woman.
3 - Zelenka probably didn't get laid until very late in life.
4 - Given a choice between Sheppard and Zelenka, you should definitely go with Zelenka. Unless you're really attached to those dress blues. ;)

Honors program.

Continuing to spam (yes, I am bored, and sick. Can you believe I used to post this often all the time?):

Honors program.

I don’t know if I can handle this.

I’m writing the application essay for the Honors paper in Asian Studies and it’s so clear to me how far I have to go in:

a) refining my question for the paper, and
b) understanding the methodologies I have at my disposal

Then, too, the research papers I’ve done in the past are all for the English program, so I don’t have a social sciences research paper I can use to apply to honors. I have to go with either an English Lit research paper (the topic was not one people would take seriously, though the content and research was good) or a very good Mughal History essay. Or include both, the first as an example of my ability to do a research paper, and the latter as an example of my approach to social sciences.

I’m also one day past the deadline.

There are so many strikes against me that, if I were on the Honors committee, I don’t think I’d accept the application. But then again, I don’t know what the other applicants look like. I haven’t forgotten my experience in reviewing the applications for student leadership. Those applications were terrible. And maybe my topic is interesting enough they’ll give me a shot.

If, in the unlikely event I’m accepted, can I handle this?

The reason I want to do it is two-fold: one, I want to be taken seriously as a scholar in Asian studies. I want to make it clear that I’m not someone who’s punching a ticket, getting their bachelors, and la-la-la leaving.

Two, I want the excuse to force myself to do this research into the roots of esoteric Buddhism in Ancient India and Tibet.

I want to know where my tradition came from in a relative-truth physical sense, not just the spiritual philosophical sense where the “texts fall from the sky,” (symbolizing a personal recognition or unfolding that happened in someone’s spiritual practice, not an invention but a representation of the experience. On the one hand, texts falling from the sky shouldn’t be taken literally; on the other hand, it shouldn’t be dismissed either, because “I experienced X” is one step removed from the actual experience, while the poetic image is closer to a direct unmediated experience). The history given in the tradition therefore is based on practice (praxis) and it’s presented in an ahistorical way.

Anyhow, it's really not enough to just go with spiritual explanation without the history. It breeds so much confusion (note all the tantric B.S. on the market).

The current western Buddhist scholasticism either avoids tantric Buddhism altogether, or disses it in a big way. But I don't think scholars can afford to ignore such a huge sweep of Buddhist traditions (across Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh, China, Japan, and Korea... and now the U.S., Europe, South America, Australia) and dismissing it out of hand has the same problem: you can't pretend you understand Buddhism as a whole unless you study it as a whole. Yet studies flounder when it comes to esoteric Buddhism. There's a lot of that... you know the story of the blind men and the elephant? One touched the elephant's ear and said it a fan, and so on? Like that.

I'm not sure if I should apply though. *coughs some more*

Fanfiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: I want this book.

More spam! I so need to get some movies and stop bugging you guys.

But, really, everyone should read this book. I want it. Now. Here's princessofg's detailed review:

Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet by Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse

Do you love the meta? Me, too.

SGA Recs: Milk and cookies for you.

Since I'm still spamming, two fics to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Call them milk and cookies for the person who's too sick to have either.

First the milk, because little kids need milk.

Normally I loathe kidfic, but that's for a specific reason: most kidfic is written by people who obviously don't have kids and haven't spent much time around them. Little kids have dramatic and obvious personalities, eat their own boogers unless you tell them not to, and are likely to wipe their noses on your shoulder if they're sick (it's more convenient than a tissue). Parents in turn are often grossed out, confused, and called on to deal with things that were not in the job description. It's a battle of confusion, disgust, love, and yes, enjoyment of the cuteness.

Thank god for sheafrotherdon's Farm In Iowa kidfic. It's an anodyne to all the rest.

Major Scary Monster Catcher John/Rodney, kidlet.
In which John's job description as dad experiences "mission creep."

Next there's the cookies, because you could call this dessert.

perfica writes hot, realistic sex. She just never forgets that these are guys. John is such the little boy, and Rodney, well, let's just say he's very "natural" here and leave you to your amusement. This has less steam and more warm-from-the-oven goodness.

Morpheus: Interrupted John/Rodney, established relationship. Very established.
"John sulked for a minute – all his friends were having fun while he was stuck working – then finished his meal and grabbed a coffee to take back to his office."

Aww. Now, off you go. Have fun, guys. "And you! Stop throwing mud at your sister!"