RSS TRENDS MARCH

Just wanted to share some thoughts and stats about my feed-reading habits.
I'm using Google Reader (switched from Feedreader when I started using a Mac)
and also have it on my Google Homepage.
Doesn't work too well with Firefox (2.0.0.3) though. Have some problems adding feeds.

Here are the stats:


Needed to catch up with a lot of unread feeds some days ago.
Not the best way to read though.
When I read them daily, I go into more detail (and the actual post)
than when reading 300 on one day... where I'm mostly skipping from headline to headline.


A list of starred items during the last days. It would actually be great
if Google could offer a "print all to .pdf" (with different criteria like e.g.
tags, time starred because I maybe want to exclude the ones I starred months ago, etc.)

DEF POETRY JAM - TAYLOR MALI

If you got this ...
then you follow this ...
and if somebody ever tries to judge you for what you make,
you give them this...

Have to see it to understand.

CONDE DUQUE LIBRARY ...

... in the center of Madrid, and just minutes away from where I live,
is where i spend my afternoons at the moment.


This is the courtyard of Conde Duque Center. The wall you can see there shows a piece of art
by Monica Rodriguez, called Des Cartes. It's made up of 224.000 playing cards, giving a really
nice effect when it's dawning. They put up a floodlight and as one side of the cards is golden, it
looks really cool.
Thanks to Popi 1909 for the photo.

It's a really good place if you want to retreat and learn.
Mostly quiet - but you shouldn't come later than 4.
Even though it's not exam time for the majority of universities here,
it's getting quite packed.

Opening times are from 8.30 to 21.00 on weekdays.
Still have to find out for Saturdays.

TOWARDS THE FIRST REVOLUTION IN MIND SCIENCES

Wanted to share this great video with you.
(approx. 55 min, with some questions at the end).



"Galileo took a seminal role in launching the first revolution in the physical sciences,
and a key element in this revolution was the rigorous,
sophisticated observation of physical phenomena.

Darwin likewise launched a revolution in the life sciences
on the basis of decades of meticulous observation of biological phenomena.
Although scientists have been studying the mind for more than a century,
no comparable revolution has taken place in the mind sciences,
and the missing element that may account for this delayed revolution
is the absence of rigorous, precise observations of mental phenomena.

By integrating the third-person methodologies of the cognitive sciences
with the first-person methods for examining the mind
that have been developed in Buddhism and other contemplative traditions,
our present generation may bring about the first revolution in the mind sciences."

B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D. has been a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970. He is currently seeking ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices and Western science to advance the study of the mind. He is the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies

Abstract and Biography, as well as Video courtesy of Google Inc.

NEXT JOURNEYS

Some upcoming journeys I've planned for the next month:

I'll be flying to Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday the 30th of March.
Stay there until Thursday to spend some time with
my family and friends.

On the 22nd of April, I'll fly to Paris for two days (until the 24th).
Have to present my proposal for a university project.

Paris from Tour Montparnasse. By initram5

SUMMER TRAVEL I

If I get my internship on time and I only have to work for 3-4 months, I'll be travelling to Asia this summer.
Backpacking on my own.
The countries I'd like to visit are Vietnam, Kambodja, Laos and Thailand. All depends on how much time I'll have. With 4 weeks only, I'll probably just do two of them. With some more time, the others, too.

BUDDHISM I

I'm trying to find out more about Buddhism.
To track my learning, I'm sharing sources and insights here.

The first one:

Mindfulness in Plain English

The return by ... Arjun

"The subject of this book is Vipassana meditation practice. Repeat, practice. This is a
meditation manual, a nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step guide to Insight meditation. It is meant
to be practical. It is meant for use. "

The introduction alone is excellent. Makes a lot clear on just 8 pages.
Go, read!

DEF POETRY JAM - STEVE COLEMAN

"I wanna hear a poem - I wanna learn something I didn't know. I wanna say yes at the end - because I'm sick of saying - so?"

LEARNING...

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else", says James Barrie.




At the moment my task would be to learn, have 5 exams coming up next week.
But I'd rather be doing something else.
Think.
Freely, not within the restraining boundaries of the courses.