My new Suicide Girls article will be up as of 6AM Pacific Time Monday June 23rd. This would have been my mother's 67th birthday if she were alive. But that isn't what I wrote about. I won't be able to post the link, though, until I return from Tassajara in two weeks. So maybe some clever person can post the link in the comments section of this posting. Also, on June 25th my interview with Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God goes up. So maybe someone will post that link as well.
I looked over a couple of the over 300 posts to my previous thing. Jesus God in Heaven! You people really do need to get yourselves a hobby! For the record, I do not think prison rape is funny. Nor do I think that prisoners are not human beings. In fact, when I made the comment, the idea that Bruno The Snake (who is fictional, I should add) might have raped me did not even enter my mind. Some will call me disingenuous. But believe it or not, folks, I am not disingenuous. I am actually stupid. Talk to people who know me. They'll tell you. Smoggy Rob, Mary Grace, tell them! In any case, I'm sorry the comment upset people so much. But would you have even been able to address the topic had I not written what I did?
The sesshin in Berkeley was very nice, thank you. I have to get up at 5 AM tomorrow to drive for three hours. So forgive me for being brief (that's what she said).
.... It's 4:34 AM. I can't sleep anymore. So I'm going to leave even earlier. But about that sesshin and the new SG article — as the sesshin progressed I was feeling more and more the feelings I expressed in that piece. I hated it. The ceremonial aspects of the thing were so forced and so contrived and everyone there was so into all that silliness. I just wanted out.
The sesshin culminated in a shusho (head monk) ceremony. Go look it up, I haven't got time to explain. This was the worst. After four and a half days of ceremonial nonsense, this was the most nonsensical ceremony yet. Before it started I heard some people gabbing about how beautiful and moving it would be, and beaming glowing love beams at the woman who was to be head monk. I wanted to puke.
But you know something? It was a beautiful and moving ceremony. I was glad to have been there. And, Geri, I don't know you at all. But I know you'll be a great teacher. You told the truth up there. That's such a rare and valuable thing.
And with that I'm off to Tassajara. There are fires on three sides of the place and they're already preparing for evacuation should the closest fire start to threaten the monastery. But the person I'm going to see up there is very dear to me and I'm not going to be deterred.
