Remember Howard Jones?

I was very inspired by an experience that was shared today at our World Peace Meeting this month. I'm still practicing the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin with the support of members in the lay organization, Soka Gakkai International (SGI). I learned from one of those members through her experience, that keyboardist Howard Jones, one of my favorite musicians of the 80's started practicing this Buddhism about 14 years ago. She's a huge fan of his and learned about Buddhism through his website at http://howardjones.com/about/buddhism.html. I was so impressed by this that I checked out his website to see for myself, and sure enough, his personal testimony is stated clearly with sincerity and conviction, and ends with links to more information about Buddhism, one of which I have also added to my page. In reading his page, I instantly felt a connection with him through our shared practice. I understood from my own personal experience exactly what he was saying. Howard's words reminded me to appreciate how fortunate I am to be practicing this Buddhism and to remember that the greatest gift I can share with anyone is knowledge and understanding about the ultimate law of life, of cause and effect, of the interconnectedness of all beings, and how chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which is at the heart of this practice, can help you be in harmony with the law and experience the highest life condition, and the awesomeness of human revolution. My own personal human revolution started happening about 20 years ago and is still evolving, as I continue to create my virtuous future with each thought and action in the present. I'm grateful to those who inspired me today, and everyday. Thank you.

Celebrations!!

I'm happy to announce that my brother has just been selected as the new Executive Director of Friedens Community Ministries http://www.friedenspantry.org/. Their primary mission is to feed the hungry and they run a couple of food pantries in the city. We are all super happy for David and very proud of his accomplishments. I've included some recent pics of me hanging out with David at a birthday bash celebrating the city's 162nd year (in the beautiful lobby of one of our most historically significant hotels), and at dinner last night to celebrate David's new job along with our Dad and some of David's closest friends.

Second Story

Finally, we get to the second floor after nearly a week away from my computer. I've had lots of evenings packed with activities lately, Todd Rundgren concert last week, an all-city birthday party this week, and my favorite event, a Pinot Party the next night. We tasted three pinot cultivars including blanc, gris, and noir, mostly from Italy and the US West Coast. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any Burgundy. My favorite was the Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris from Alsace. It was actually pretty rich for a pinot, and off-dry with some really nice apricot notes. The Cloudline pinot noir (Oregon) was disappointing compared to previous vintages.

OK, back to the house. The first room, the den, the main attraction is the daybed, my favorite place to fall asleep reading. The next room, the study, is used more for working out now than as a study. I find myself wanting to move the laptop to the kitchen instead of using it at my desk. The studio is least developed--lots of potential there.