| A Few
Of My Favorite Things by Julian Lee ALL TIME FAVORITE THINGS Bliss, Solitude, Good Scriptures FAVORITE GURUS and SPIRITUAL TEACHERS Yogananda Paramahansa Sri Karunamayi Swami Nityananda Ramakrishna Swami Muktananda All of the older Sikh gurus FAVORITE HEROES (Who are not gurus) Victoras Casimiras Mickunas (My Dad) Johnny Appleseed One of America's earliest genuine "saddhus." Lived alone out in the mysterious wild. Performed a solitary work of compassion for the arriving settlers, and was on good terms with the Indian tribes. Became a kind of legend within the unsettled region. Planted apple trees all over. Settlers would get deep in the forbidding wilderness, exhausted and afraid. Then Lo! An apple tree heavy with fruit! Johnny Appleseed has been here! And we'll have fruit this winter! Is depicted as a barefoot wanderer with a pot for a hat. He was probably one of the first American saints. Benjamin Franklin He was just plain smart, and the most interesting of the Founding Fathers. He attained and manifested much of what he wanted to attain. After I read his autobiography I seemed to "become him" for a couple of days. FAVORITE SEASON Fall. Next favorite: Winter. FAVORITE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS Forested hills, with a creek. FAVORITE MEMORY My kids are out playing in a great outdoors around my house. They are playing "faeries." FAVORITE THOUGHTS I am sitting at my guru's feet. FAVORITE SNACK Dried peaches with milk. FAVORITE PASTIMES Meditation, reading scriptures, sitting around in coffee shops, smoking good cigars, writing and recording music. (In that order.) FAVORITE BOOK "Autobiography Of A Yogi" Others: The Yoga-Vasistha FAVORITE PEOPLES The Scotts, the Irish, the English, the Lithuanians, and the Germans. FAVORITE YOGIC PUNDIT George Feurstein His book "The Yoga Tradition" is a master work and a must-have for anyone who wants to get an overview of the vast mystical traditions of India. FAVORITE ARCHITECTURAL AND SOCIAL CRITIC James Kunstler He is a bit of a hothead, but nobody says as many important things about civic design and architecture. And he says them in a way that is this learned, and articulate. BOOKS: "The Geography Of Nowhere," and "Home From Nowhere." I wish the whole western world would prick up their ears and listen to James Kunstler. For aesthetic edification plus some belly laughs, check out his Eyesore Of The Month serial. Here is a poem I wrote to honor this wise architectural critic:
FAVORITE FEMALE AUTHOR Wendy Shallit Book: A Return To Modesty I just noticed my three favorite intellectuals (above) are all Jewish. I guess the Jews are just a brilliant race. FAVORITE SINGERS Andy Williams This man's voice seems to come down from heaven. He was probably a Catholic monk in past lives. His voice floats out of him as easily as a bird floating downwind. Colin Blunstone This is an Englishman who was lead singer for The Zombies, an eanly 60's band. Many have heard him on their hit "Time of the Season." (It also features the jazzy Hammond organ work of Rod Argent, who later formed "Argent.") Blunstone's voice has an unaffected light and breathy quality unknown in other singers. It works well in the courtly, romantic pieces he favored in his solo work. I think that to produce an original melody is the height of songwriting. Though Blunstone did not write his material, he chose from among fine writers. Favorites of mine are: "I Don't Believe In Miracles," "Andorra," and "Misty Roses." The latter begins in a Brazilian samba mode and wanders into a chello/violin arrangement that is at once madcap and elegant. You've probably heard nothing like it. Enya Enya was a spiritual rescue for many people in the 90's. Her voice is clean and pure. Her multi-layered recording techniques betoken the inner divine sound of Aum (oceanic, multi-phased, full of faint whisperings). The digeridoo and the sitar were invented in the attempt to suggest the Aum sound. People love Enya because her music is like that. It comes from a timeless, ancient place and floats you away. Her writing is influenced by Celtic traditional music as well as the Gregorian Chant. Beautiful singing voices like hers are a fruit of good karma and profound spiritual practices. She may have been a nun in past lives, which would account for her solitary nature today. Her recordings are among the few that are listenable repetitive times without getting old. She is reclusive like Garbo, which adds even more weight to her music. She wisely avoids playing "celebrity" and spouting political opinions or making trash of herself, so her music remains pure and mysterious for me to listen to. Her albums are structured using a formula. They start with a contemplative piano piece. Side two usually begins with an upbeat thing with good melodic hooks. Somewhere around track 2 or 3 comes a dark, forbidding thing that plods along until your soul wants relief. When it ends, it's as if morning has broken. Her albums always end with a triumphant march full of hope with a repetitive chorus. The formula is pleasing. I intuit that Enya feels it is hard to top "Watermark." She named her recent too-short album "A Day Without Rain" -- as if she know she was short on inspiration but had to fulfill a contract. But it's still a good album. She secrets little reprises from Watermark into her later albums like wistful reminders of that big hit. I think she considers it her best. It probably is -- everything on it is magic, especially "Storms In Africa." People wait for a new Enya album as drought-stricken people await a great rain. Other Singers I've Liked: Greg Lake, who was in "King Crimson" and later "Emerson, Lake, and Palmer." A full, sonorous, and manly voice. Doug Cameron of Canada. LEAST FAVORITE SINGERS Phil Collins, Peter Cetera of Chicago, and all who strain their voices and sound like a badly played trumpet. Rod Stewart and node-blown raspers and shouters; all who sound like they have screamed too much and had too much gin; all dolt screamers and shouters with little vocal cultivation or discipline. All-Time Most Repellant Singer: Alanis Morissette. Her music is hellish and hurts the ears even at low volume. Her voice drips with negativity, anger, disgust, female ignorance, and just plain negativity. I'd bet plants would die if you played her stuff around them. She appears to need therapy. It would probably take years of therapy before her music could take on any spiritual tone. I'll bet her heavy metal crap has made given her deafness by now, along with thousands of innocent girls. Least Favorite Forms Of Music Grungeand most heavy metal hell music. Any music that is highly digital, hurts your ears, and indulges in negativity, or where the "singer" is basically just shouting like an oaf. I also loathe the "Soul" style of singing that is taking over our culture. In this style of singing lazy trills and stylistic aspirates stand in for vocal discipline, unrestrained emotiveness substitutes for spiritual subtlety, and tonality is not developed beyond the sound of a bleating calf. Generally the tone of "soul" singers is tinny and completely uncultivated. The overhyped Ray Charles is an example of the "bleating calf" tone achieved by any fool who tries to sing. "Soul" singers compensate for their lack of vocal displine with rapid tripletts that are nothing but emotional affectation. If you asked them to just sing a sustained note without wavering -- or blaring -- they'd be stumped. The young singers of today who imitate these people are losing out on the potential of their voices. It is a divine gift when a singer's vocal tone itself touches the soul. And it takes a cultivated, disciplined voice to sustain a pure note strongly, gently, and evenly. That style of singing -- developed over eons by our anscestors -- conveys values of discipline, strength, and purity. A typical example of this soul" singing is "Beyonce," who -- quite inexplicably -- dominated the 2005 Oscars. The woman had a nice personality, but it's a great mystery why this mediocre singer was selected for three numbers (possibly unprecedented at The Oscars). Oh, no wait. I suppose it's because Jews run Hollywood and they never tire of elevating blacks above their hapless Racial Prey -- the White Gentile. Mystery solved. FAVORITE KIND OF MUSIC Instrumentals of all kinds, "ambient" stuff, Gregorian Chants. FAVORITE INSTRUMENTS Cello, the Vina, and the Piano when used as intelligent embellishment. FAVORITE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR Dick Morris FAVORITE BROADCASTER None. Chris Matthews would be likeable if his voice was not shot. He is very sincere. Diane Sawyer at least tries to hold onto a little class (while she interviews perverts and murderers). Deborah Norville is earnest and has a pleasant face. But she ought to save it for her hubby and be home with her kids. MOST OBNOXIOUS BROADCASTER Bill O'Reilly Bombastic tool of Israel and the N.W.O. Arrogant pomposity with an insufferable Brooklyn accent. Accused of sexually harassing female employee. |
BOOKS
I HOPE TO FINISH WRITING The Delusion of Technological Progress Location and Your Life (COPYRIGHT 2001,2002,2004 JULIAN LEE) A Commentary On The Yoga-Sutras. FAVORITE CAUSES Morality and self-control, meditation, understanding ancient dharma and scriptures, pedestrian town development, decent and beautiful old architecture. FAVORITE DOG The Pug Mine is very smart. He is affectionate and bonds with you. He always has to be in my lap. I think they are pretty. They have monkey faces and big eyes. Here he is. FAVORITE MOVIES I try to avoid movies, especially the modern loud ones. Nowadays they make even the sound of a horse breathing like a blast from a jet engine. These digital techno-dorks are making us deaf. Here are two movies that I like, and they won't ruin your hearing: Pride and Prejudice (The version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth) Ahh -- to again know culture, and true romance. Set in England's great Edwardian period. (That was the name of the King, ya see.) From the novel by Jane Austen. The movie shows how clear rules surrounding sex make life more elegant, more safe, and more romantic. It was nothing for the flu-struck Kate to spend a few nights at the manor of the new bachelor in the neighborhood, because the rules were so well understood. Also shows how culture is always at its highest under a monarch. Democracy creates a debased culture. The party and dance scenes are delightful as all get-out. I do believe had I been a marrying man in the story, the Charlotte Lucas character (played by Lucy Scott) would have been my pick. The two romantic leads are very affecting. Both Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle should receive Titles and be knighted for acting in this film. When I saw their awkward first kiss at the end -- and it was obvious that neither of these mature, intelligent persons had ever kissed the opposite sex -- I plain cried. It is inspiring what human beings have once been, and can be. Merlin An English fantasy dealing with the "young Merlin," who then grows up and brings about King Arthur. It is beautifully done. The acting is tops. Sam Neill plays the middle aged Merlin. The actor has a handsome nobility, and this is the only film I've seen where he was not somebody ridiculous. From his youth there is a sweet romance with a woman acted by a "Rosellini." Isabella? Anyway, she comes across in a pure hearted, womanly way that is very endearing. They are an ideal couple. The casting is extraordinary. A plethora of Aurthurian characters are depicted with memorable color -- from the Lady of the Lake, to the beautiful Gwynevere, to a hapless soothsayer: "It could be an omen! Might be an omen!" The black haired actor who plays "Mordred" is outstandingly wicked. Sam Neill plays the wizard with quiet male strength. Merlin is an overly-involved occultist who by magical means has brought down a divine son, in an effort to give mankind a better King. But the events he initiates thru magic still lead into a tangled web of fate over which he has no true control. Even with magic, he is battling duality. In the climactic moment he chooses to conquer evil by removing it from mind, leading the people to do the same. (This is the very technique given in the Yoga-Sutras for ending evil. ) The movie is a lot of fun, with good effects, such as the dragon. The technical effects are not cheesy in the least. But thankfully, they are not the essence of the movie as with so many new American flicks. The pleasure is in the story and the characters. This is a high class production. Seems like both these favorite films are made by the Brits. The British still have some human culture about them and give us something other than blast fests. Casablanca How can you not adore Ingrid Bergman in this? And "Rick's" brave choice at the end to put his people over personal interests. The First Three "STAR WARS" Movies Pure movie magic. Has profound philosophy, father-son psychodrama and other eternal themes. Cool effects, great acting, great humor, a wonderful script. A little too much noise in the drawn out battle scenes, but that was forgiveable. "A Christmas Carol" with George C. Scott There are many versions of the Dickens Christmas classic, but my favorite its this one with the masterfully gruff actor who once played General George Patton. Both the casting and sets are superb. It appears to have been filmed in historic English townscapes. The wintery street scenes are sheer magic. The scenes of the street ensembles playing Christmas music are very rich. You realize how much was lost when we gave up a pedestrian, human-scale environment in exchange for Car-Hell. The character actors take you to another time. The little blonde Tiny Tim is the most endearing I have seen. Only a great actor could utterly dominate this much excellence, and Scott does it. His Scrooge compels respect from beginning to end. The transformation of his mind is believable though he is never maudlin. To top it off the film has a charming score involving string quintettes, and innocent voices singing a Christmas carol I've not heard. The production is a far cry from a recent Hollywood version (Dec. 2004). The Christmas Eve dance seemed to take place in a shopping mall, the lighting was so unnatural. It featured the now obligatory black dude as "Ghost of Christmas Present." This "ghost" turned it into another "Black-Guy-Yells-At-Honky" scene. I have noticed it is now a fetish of the Hollylizards to fill guru/superior roles with blacks (ala Morpheus/Law And Order, ad infinitum). It's Hollywood's version of affirmative action. All authorities and guru figures must now be blacks. Then too, they always must be shown shouting abusively at whites. To Hollywood, even Scrooge is just a honky. MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIE The Attack Of the Clones/ Star Wars Series This second of the Star Wars "prequel" series was a real downer. No magic in it. The philosophical and metaphysical overtones were silly. Terrible dialogue. It would have been nearly as good to put up a cardboard cutout of "Princess Amidala," so lifeless was the actress. Nothing profound about the male lead (young Darth Vader). With his "rattail" hair thing and juvenile delivery, he seemed like just any other shallow skateboarding punk from the present age. Digital wonders can't save a bad script, a poorly constructed story, and bad actors. After George Lucas moved up to northern California he altered his astrological chart, changing his midheaven from a philosopher's midheaven to that of a mere techie. That's why the movie was so shallow. Big mistake. FAVORITE MUSICIAN Jai Uttal Jai Uttal represents the new direction in music. He is a genuine blend of east and west, and his albums are permeated with a spiritual longing; you could even call it the spirit of bhakti. Yet he is technically skilled and sophisticated as a composer, with a great band that includes a bewitching violin. His best album, hands down, is Monkey and is dedicated to Hanuman the monkey-devotee of Ram. His voice is a bit like that of a cow, but he uses it to great effect, wailing away with deep feeling. Meanwhile, nobody touches Jai Uttal for interesting melody, exotic instrumentation, and a fusion of eastern traditional instruments with electric jazz flavors. His instrumentation is eclectic -- electric bass in a tight drum groove is there. He makes tasteful use of synths and, here and there, distorted electric guitar. But his bread and butter is the contemplative acoustic environment that he creates with ancient instruments like the Dotar, the Ektar, the Gopichand, and the "Oud." He appears to have mastered these and others. It's all in the service of the composition rather than a gimmick. The word "fusion" comes to mind, but it's well beyond that. The greatness of his music is in the composition, rather than in effects. His "Looking For My Heaven" is hauntingly beautiful and never gets old. His "Never Turn Away" (on the album Shiva Station) is one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. You start in some jungle deep, spying on some dangerous crones. You come out of the jungle and float introspectively over a desert wasteland. Before you know it you are jumping off a cliff and flying up and up into an emotional blue yonder, from which you never return. Unfortunately, that is the only great cut on Shiva Station. His second best album is Beggars and Saints. It carries some tedious funk grooves, but has amazing range in the end. You will find surprise and relief when you get to the albums hidden gems: "Gopala," "Beggars and Saints," "Lake of Exploits," "Conductor," and "Coda." Monkey is a more unified work of evener quality. But Beggars and Saints is a must-have. Jai Uttal appears to have some connection to the mysterious guru Neem Karoli Baba, whose miracles are depicted in an out-of-print book called "Miracle of Love" and who was the inspiration of early American "pundit" Ram Das. So he appears to be connected to some kind of erzatz "yoga" scene. But nowadays, who knows what that means. MOST ANNOYING MUSICIANS Yanni, Kenny G, Phillip Glass, John Lennon in his solo period FAVORITE SONGWRITERS Lennon/McCartney Neil Young (especially "After The Gold Rush") David Bowie (the period from "Hunky Dory to "Alladin Sane") FAVORITE SONGS "Moon River" by Henry Mancini "Lady Grinning Soul" by David Bowie "Tammy" (sung by Debbie Reynolds) Don't know the composer. FAVORITE ALBUMS "Sutra" by Donovan "In The Court Of The Crimson King" by King Crimson "Revolver" by The Beatles The "Trance Planet" series of collections, assorted artists. FAVORITE BEATLES SONGS Hey Jude, Penny Lane, Hello/Goodbye FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONGS O Holy Night / Let it Snow / Do You Hear What I Hear? FAVORITE ROCK SONG "Nantucket Sleighride" By the 70's rock band "Mountain." Written by bassist Felix Papallardi. It's an epic rock song. I can't get over it. Feature's Leslie West's tasty riffs on his old Les Paul Junior. Writer was probably influenced by Methodist hymns of his childhood. FAVORITE GUITARISTS Joe Walsh and Leslie West From the archives of younger days when the hormones ran wild. (Young men like lead electric lead guitar only because of hormones.) These two guys were too damned loud, but no guitarists -- Eric Clapton included -- played lead with a more magical feel. Nobody has ever approached them. FAVORITE SYMPHONY Mozart's Symphony No. 29 in A FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS Clint Eastwood In my next life I would dig having a father who looks and behaves like his characters. Gillian Anderson I began watching T.V. again after a 20-year hiatus, and ran across "The X-Files" reruns on late night television. I can't believe how much this woman can communicate with her eyes. Makes me believe again in the power of the "mysterious feminine." Kate What's-Her-Name She was in "The Gift," and the Hobbit series, and "The Missing." I loved her in "The Missing." She was a fine actress in those. She was in one about an Irish woman who tangled with the mob, but she was terrible in that. I like her face. When she is in a movie as great as "Pride and Prejudice," I'll remember her name. I find it's better if you never see these actresses interviewed. The magic goes. It's a downer when an actor seems like a profound person based on roles, then comes across as modernly shallow in interviews. It spoils it later when you see them act again. I guess we have to remember that clever writers put intelligent words in their mouths, but the actor may not be that intelligent. MOST ANNOYING ACTORS Brad Pitt, George Clooney Lord save us from shallow pretty boys who think being actors qualifies them to spout on philosophy and politics. |