Super Human Times Ten

Last night I attended the Portland edition of Henry Rollins' latest roadshow. According to his website  21361 he states, that this tour is to celebrate the end of the Bush era. If this night is my final memory of the Bush era I will be one happy camper thanks to Henry.

On this night Rollins was in prime form, weaving in and out of stories that only he can deliver. The show lasted over an hour and by the end I felt like I knew both Henry and myself a little better. He is like an eccentric relative that you only see once a year, but when in-town you connect with them even though much of the year they are a big mystery.

He packed his show full of current project updates, psychotic stories, poems and many off the cuff conversations with himself. He noted many times throughout his show his deep fondness for the city of Portland, even stating he was jealous because we can go to Powell's Books any day of the year.

Henry Rollins is a lengend, his presence is something to behold, intense, intelligent, angry, compassionate you name it, he is it, times ten.   

Freedom To Be Happy

"The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at a given moment. And if this is a correct view of freedom, our chief energy must be concentrated on achieving reform from within."

-Gandhi

I have been reading Matthieu Ricard's book "Happiness" and this quote was found in the book and struck me, so I thought I should pass it on. Ricard is a Buddhist monk in Nepal and is the son of renowned French philosopher Jean-Francois Revel. Some have called Ricard the happiest person alive.

Reading Is Cool

Like normal I find myself reading more than one book at a time. Right now I'm bouncing back and forth between "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future" by Bill McKibben and "A Gradual Awakening" by Stephen Levine.

Both books have been inspiring in very different ways as "Deep Economy" is a reality check on the past, present and future in regards to peek oil, global warming and global interdependences and "A Gradual Awakening" is a book of meditation and Buddhism.

I would highly recommend both books, but maybe not read at the same time like I have done. (ha!) Here are some other book and spoken word things that I suggest you check out:

• The Nerd Is The Word (Blog)
• Wordsy (Blog & Podcast)
• Fiction Lounge (Blog & Podcast)
• The Short Story

What should I read next?