- via annling's flickr A while ago someone close introduced me to Mika's music via his debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion. His upcoming tour dates are listed on his MySpace page. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UJIbZxQs0A] Mika's music - besides being oddly addictive - touches on universal themes like identity, love, and acceptance in remarkably refreshing and creative ways, inspiring legions of scarily devoted fans worldwide in the process. Their devoted fervor combined with his angelic face, lanky body, and ambiguous sexuality reminds me of deified artists like Michael Jackson & David Bowie. - via worldmegan's flickr  I recently finished reading Hardcore Zen. It's an awesome/totally unpretentious look at Zen Buddhism, the benefits of doing Zazen and "other stuff" by Brad Warner. While working for Projectile Arts in early 2006, I visited the Village Zendo to shoot a benefit performance. I was very drawn to what I saw but felt hesitant and never fully pursued it. I am suspicious of people who congregate together in general. I didn't see myself relating to any of the people there, or felt the need to talk to anyone -- Yet there was still something very intriguing about Zazen. Sometimes I feel I am forced into acts of Zazen on the subway. I often cannot move, have no place to look but right in front of me, and become so understimulated my mind goes completely blank. It's frequently in those spaces that some much needed clarity rises from the noise that pollutes my thoughts.