In July 2006 I began conducting interviews at zaadz out of curiosity, love and a deep need to listen to/share people's stories.  Jake was the first brave soul to undergo the knife.  I decided to do one interview a month because they were popular, people were learning more about their community and I loved talking with zaadzsters on an intimate level.   And I was actually pretty good at interviewing people.

Toward the end of '06, two incredibly friendly, funny guys, Ryan Oelke and Vince Horn, sat down and dialogued with me to hammer out a mission statement for Buddhist Geeks, a podcast-blog (plog) that launched today.  You can hear our first podcast conversation together here.  Do yourself a flavor:  subscribe.  If you just opened up a new tab and are now listening to the mood-setting intro music, thank c4 for that.  And thank yourself for tuning in.

I love the way, with three voices in this podcast, instead of just me/the interviewee, you get a fuller picture of our mission, a nice round chorus feeling.  With a couple of funny solos.  (No, not to worry, nobody farts.  Ryan, our audio guru would have edited it out anyway, savvy?)

We'll post one interview podcast a week, and two blog posts a week, to keep things fresh and the discourse rolling.  Keep your eyes and ears open for some ideas that will stimulate, elucidate and elevate you late into the night.  Rawk.  Buddhistgeeks.com.  This ain't your average Dharma Lite.

Buddhist Geeks posted its first podcast with a Buddhist scholar today.  The podcast itself is about a pretty specific part of Buddhism, namely, Shamatha practice.  Even if you haven't heard of it before, Wallace explains the process in a very succinct, clear, friendly way.  If you'd like to check it out, you can do so here.

In addition to being an info-mercial (let's just call it like it is), this is a rallying cry to the LADIES!  I'd love to hear some female voices at Buddhist Geeks.  It's a great time for women to join the discussion.  That is, at the outset.  Let's hear women's perspectives on Buddhism, on the nascent website, on whatever you want to talk about.  Let's get the dialogue going because that is one area in which we (women) excel.

If you wonder whether or not I'm talking about you, send me a message.  Doesn't matter how much exposure you've had to Buddhism.  We're all beginners here.  You are welcome to join the discussion.  Please don't make me have to get out my stick.

Yes, I said it.

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.  To him he's always doing both.  -James Michener

I saved this entry and tried to think of something pithy to add to it.  Alas, nothing arose.  This is pretty much how I live my life.  There's no secret recipe.  Just live on the edge.  And plunge.  Then repeat.

Assume the Position:  How to Sit, a geeky piece by Gwen Bell, age 25

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