Over at my other blog, Fanatical Recycling Inc, I'm attempting to write about 52 beers in 52 weeks. I'm trying to focus on the micro breweries of Tennessee and Western North Carolina and, may venture into Georgia and other Southern states. I didn't have time to write the blog last week and hope I can write an additional entry this weekend.
Okay, here's some rpg news; in our Nightwick Abbey game, my M.U. has finally reached level 2!
I hope to write about more items from Saki's Varied Menagerie soon too.
"Go back down, shioggua! Go back down. I am a warlock of the Secret Flame. My circle is the Ninth; my sphere the Shpere of Darkness; my god is Azzamungandyr the Lord of the Mysteries, You may not take the girl!" Lin Carter: Vault of Silence
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Lewis Carrol: Eastern Philosopher
Charles Dodgson, better known today as Lewis Carrol, was a math tutor, lecturer, clergyman and author of one of the most highly regarded children’s books ever. Dodgson is never associated with Eastern Philosophy but, upon recently reading Alice’s encounter with the Caterpillar, it occurs to me to recognize him as such. Alice’s conversation with the Caterpillar reminded me of the lessons of the Zen Buddhists. Often, in these lessons, students’ questions will not be answered indirectly. The Zen Master’s answer may be a question or an abstract or seemingly illogical response.
Here is an excerpt of Alice’s conversation with the Caterpillar, for example;
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I-I hardly know, Sir…
“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar, sternly. “Explain yourself!”
“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,” said Alice…
“I don’t see,” said the Caterpillar…
…”You!” said the Caterpillar contemptuously. “Who are you?”
…”I think you ought to tell me who you are, first.” (Alice)
“Why?” said the Caterpillar.
Here was another puzzling question; and the Caterpillar seemed to be in a very unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.
“Come back!” the Caterpillar called… “I’ve something important to say!”
This sounded promising… Alice turned and came back again.
“Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar. (Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland; Second Norton Critical Edition, pp. 35 & 36.)
This exchange is typical of the nonsense which Dodgson has used to weave his tale of the Adventures in Wonderland. I would like to suggest, in all respect, that it is also typical of the nonsense used in some Zen lessons. I present the following passages of Zen lessons as examples of my argument.
A monk in all seriousness asked Joshu : “Has a dog Buddha nature or not?” Joshu retorted “Mu!”(Kapleau, P, The Three Pillars of Zen; p 76.)
Roshi: (master) Is there anything you want to ask?
Student: Yes, I have several questions. The first is: Why did you have a sign put above my place saying I should not be struck with the kyosaku? Is it because you feel I am hopeless?
Roshi: … I thought if you were struck it might interfere with your zazen. You don’t mind being hit?(Kapleau, p 104.)
Student: I have been working by myself on the koan “What was the face you had before you were born?” I believe I have the answer… I have dwelt… on what I was like… and what my parents were like… In fact, in my imagination I have already buried my ashes in a favorite spot. Have I been working on this koan correctly?
Roshi: No, you have not.(Kapleau, p 105 & 106.)
I have, admittedly, paraphrased these passages from The Three Pillars of Zen in order to support my point. Alice’s conversation with the Caterpillar reminds me of Zen lessons of this type. There was a very Zen moment as I was writing this article. My 19-month-old granddaughter came into the room and I asked, “They can’t keep you entertained in there?” She immediately responded, “No.” Or course, for a 19-month-old, “no” is the standard response about 50% of the time, or the very Zen of “no.”
While I’m quoting professional writers to color my life I’d like to barrow a quote from Charles Papazian. I’ve mentioned the final beer I had for the beer challenge, Monk’s Café, and provided my opinion of it. Charles Papazian created a description for Wisconsin Belgian Red from New Glarus Brewing Co. which I’d like to borrow to describe Monk’s Café.
Fortunately it has a malt foundation, without which I fear the sourness and sweetness might otherwise escape to the outward reaches of the solar system.
Finally, as the blogosphere is as unpredictable as winter holidays are static, I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a “Happy New Year!”
Here is an excerpt of Alice’s conversation with the Caterpillar, for example;
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I-I hardly know, Sir…
“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar, sternly. “Explain yourself!”
“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,” said Alice…
“I don’t see,” said the Caterpillar…
…”You!” said the Caterpillar contemptuously. “Who are you?”
…”I think you ought to tell me who you are, first.” (Alice)
“Why?” said the Caterpillar.
Here was another puzzling question; and the Caterpillar seemed to be in a very unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.
“Come back!” the Caterpillar called… “I’ve something important to say!”
This sounded promising… Alice turned and came back again.
“Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar. (Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland; Second Norton Critical Edition, pp. 35 & 36.)
This exchange is typical of the nonsense which Dodgson has used to weave his tale of the Adventures in Wonderland. I would like to suggest, in all respect, that it is also typical of the nonsense used in some Zen lessons. I present the following passages of Zen lessons as examples of my argument.
A monk in all seriousness asked Joshu : “Has a dog Buddha nature or not?” Joshu retorted “Mu!”(Kapleau, P, The Three Pillars of Zen; p 76.)
Roshi: (master) Is there anything you want to ask?
Student: Yes, I have several questions. The first is: Why did you have a sign put above my place saying I should not be struck with the kyosaku? Is it because you feel I am hopeless?
Roshi: … I thought if you were struck it might interfere with your zazen. You don’t mind being hit?(Kapleau, p 104.)
Student: I have been working by myself on the koan “What was the face you had before you were born?” I believe I have the answer… I have dwelt… on what I was like… and what my parents were like… In fact, in my imagination I have already buried my ashes in a favorite spot. Have I been working on this koan correctly?
Roshi: No, you have not.(Kapleau, p 105 & 106.)
I have, admittedly, paraphrased these passages from The Three Pillars of Zen in order to support my point. Alice’s conversation with the Caterpillar reminds me of Zen lessons of this type. There was a very Zen moment as I was writing this article. My 19-month-old granddaughter came into the room and I asked, “They can’t keep you entertained in there?” She immediately responded, “No.” Or course, for a 19-month-old, “no” is the standard response about 50% of the time, or the very Zen of “no.”
While I’m quoting professional writers to color my life I’d like to barrow a quote from Charles Papazian. I’ve mentioned the final beer I had for the beer challenge, Monk’s Café, and provided my opinion of it. Charles Papazian created a description for Wisconsin Belgian Red from New Glarus Brewing Co. which I’d like to borrow to describe Monk’s Café.
Fortunately it has a malt foundation, without which I fear the sourness and sweetness might otherwise escape to the outward reaches of the solar system.
Finally, as the blogosphere is as unpredictable as winter holidays are static, I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a “Happy New Year!”
Saturday, November 14, 2009
It is finished!
It’s an odd title for my second blog post but the theme will all be clear shortly. First, I’d like to address the lack of the possessive punctuation in the name of my blog. The proper grammar for the name of my blog would be “One Consumer’s Opinion,” but I don’t think the apostrophe digit is used in the html code. You all know the process, when naming the blog, I just typed the letters for the phrase and it automatically became the title for the blog. I didn’t call the blog “One Gamer’s Opinion” because I am sure I’ll write about topics other than rpgs and speculative fiction as today’s post will prove. My apologies for the grammar error in the heading and now we can get back to my opinions.
Yes, it is finished; I have acquired a $1210 t-shirt and a pewter mug. That’s a pretty high price for some souvenirs but the price also included 300 beers. I’m an admitted beer snob and when I learned that one of our few local pubs has a “beer challenge” it was destined that I take that challenge! So, at least 300 beers and nearly 2 years later, I had my last beer on the challenge yesterday evening. I’m not certain of exactly how many beers I consumed or the exact number of days it took; I should have the statistics in a few weeks. There were 247 beers on the challenge when I began it in Feb. 2008 but the challenge is an ever shifting thing. Beers come and go and change with the seasons. I’ve been informed that the Christmas ales will be available at the pub, Union Jacks, this coming Monday. (Union Jacks does not use any possessive punctuation in their logo either.)
Obviously the beer challenge involves some bookkeeping by the management of the pub and I’m very thankful to them for their work and contributions. The challenge is complete when you have had every beer they offer and I nearly finished a few times only to learn that more beers where added or some old brands had returned. When the challenge is complete the reward is a nice green Union Jacks t-shirt, a pewter mug engraved with the pub’s logo and your name is added to a beer challenge plaque in the pub. I’m personally adding a mental notch to my beer snob card and would like to thank the Belgians for their creation, sour ale, 24 oz. of which would make an excellent baste for the turkeys we will all be cooking soon. My estimate, $1210, is probably low too. It is based on an average price of $4.00 per beer multiplied by three hundred. I don’t regret having spent the money on the drinks and Union Jacks has become a weekly meeting place for our local gaming community. I should also thank my friends and family who where very supportive and encouraging during this bit of social fun. I’m certain I’ll start the challenge again before the end of this year. I’ll see if I can finish in a year’s time on this attempt.
Now, some random business:
I have not figured out all the options for this blog. I don’t know how to add the “What I’m reading” and “What I’m playing” information to the border of the blog. I will attempt to figure these options out soon. I’ve been reading Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. My game group is currently playing 1st edition AD&D supplemented with Osric. I suspect that we will have our final episode in Castle Ravenloft at this week’s game.
Yes, it is finished; I have acquired a $1210 t-shirt and a pewter mug. That’s a pretty high price for some souvenirs but the price also included 300 beers. I’m an admitted beer snob and when I learned that one of our few local pubs has a “beer challenge” it was destined that I take that challenge! So, at least 300 beers and nearly 2 years later, I had my last beer on the challenge yesterday evening. I’m not certain of exactly how many beers I consumed or the exact number of days it took; I should have the statistics in a few weeks. There were 247 beers on the challenge when I began it in Feb. 2008 but the challenge is an ever shifting thing. Beers come and go and change with the seasons. I’ve been informed that the Christmas ales will be available at the pub, Union Jacks, this coming Monday. (Union Jacks does not use any possessive punctuation in their logo either.)
Obviously the beer challenge involves some bookkeeping by the management of the pub and I’m very thankful to them for their work and contributions. The challenge is complete when you have had every beer they offer and I nearly finished a few times only to learn that more beers where added or some old brands had returned. When the challenge is complete the reward is a nice green Union Jacks t-shirt, a pewter mug engraved with the pub’s logo and your name is added to a beer challenge plaque in the pub. I’m personally adding a mental notch to my beer snob card and would like to thank the Belgians for their creation, sour ale, 24 oz. of which would make an excellent baste for the turkeys we will all be cooking soon. My estimate, $1210, is probably low too. It is based on an average price of $4.00 per beer multiplied by three hundred. I don’t regret having spent the money on the drinks and Union Jacks has become a weekly meeting place for our local gaming community. I should also thank my friends and family who where very supportive and encouraging during this bit of social fun. I’m certain I’ll start the challenge again before the end of this year. I’ll see if I can finish in a year’s time on this attempt.
Now, some random business:
I have not figured out all the options for this blog. I don’t know how to add the “What I’m reading” and “What I’m playing” information to the border of the blog. I will attempt to figure these options out soon. I’ve been reading Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. My game group is currently playing 1st edition AD&D supplemented with Osric. I suspect that we will have our final episode in Castle Ravenloft at this week’s game.
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