"The true hero is the one who gains victory over hatred and anger."
— The Dalai Lama 
Sorry for my absence. I've just returned from a nice long trip around the World. It is a big World, A beautiful World. I want to thank all of my friends from home who stayed in touch with me via email; and also all of my new friends from around the World, you know who you are. The Louvre and Gare D'Orsay were inspirational. The Velasquez paintings in the Prado altered my DNA. Guernica. The time spent in Florence was rich and deep and wonderful. Thank you. I remember now why I began. Annigoni advised me thirty years ago, "Life is the greatest teacher". And the soft refrain still echoes, "Trust Life." Ah Vienna. I admire the Klimts in the Belvedere and the murals in the Succesion . In India, the poverty overwhelmed me. The Hyatt was my safe haven. I arrived in Kathmandu for Buddha's 2548th birthday, A full moon and total lunar eclipse. I walked clockwise with thousands of the faithful around Bodhna stupa late into the night. Thanks for my "sherpa" guide Kuman "Norgay" for leading me to the holy monestaries at Tengboche and Pengboche on the trek to Everest. And I thank Lozang for guiding me to Laudo Gompa. It was here, alone, in my cave retreat, where I fasted and prayed , and decided to return to America. Thank you.
The exhibition opened in Santa Barbara to rave reviews. The Museum did a beautiful job. Seattle was nice too and we visited Eliot in Montana. He is doing well. Drove across America back to Philly. I love America. Times are difficult. Midlife doesn't let up. But, I appreciate the sites seen, the people met and the lessons learned while traveling. Trust is a big issue. I am trying to live so that I can be pure and honest without being gullible. I am sick and tired of being a hopeless romantic. I am tired of whitewashing things and living in a false reality, a reality based on "what I want to be", instead of "what Is". I am practicing "patience and non-attachment". I apologize for the missed messages. My life has been in utter upheaval since last Fall. But, I am sensing a new way. And I appreciate everyone's concern. Thank you. Pema Chodron writes, "Inspiration and wretchedness are inseparable. We always want to get rid of misery rather than see how it works together with joy. The point isn't to cultivate one thing as opposed to another, but to relate properly to where we are. Inspiration and wretchedness complement each other. With only inspiration, we become arrogant. With only wretchedness, we lose our vision. Feeling inspired cheers us up, makes us realize how vast and wonderful our world is. Feeling wretched humbles us. The gloriousness of our inspiration connects us with the sacredness of the World. But, when the tables are turned and we feel wretched, that softens us up. It ripens our hearts. It becomes the ground for understanding others. Both the inspiration and the wretchedness can be celebrated. We can be big and small at the same time." I'd like to continue the tradition of providing some lists before I leave for Maine. 
Some Books:

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter	Carson McCullers
Widow for One Year	John Irving
Healing Anger	The Dalai Lama
The Myth of Freedom	Chogyam Trungpa
A Guide to The Bodhisattva way of Life	Santideva
Walking in this World	Julia Cameron
The Monk Downstairs	Tim Farrington
Anger	Thich Nhat Hanh
When Things Fall Apart	Pema Chodron

Some Music:

You are the Quarry	Morrisey
A Rush of Blood to the Head	ColdPlay
Sleepy Hollow 30th anniversary	WXPN.org
The Lover and the Beloved	Donna DeLory
Kid A	RadioHead
My Favorite Collection	Nawang Khechog
Chronicle	CCR
Sao Vicente	Cesaria Evora
Hannah and Todd's wedding CD

Some other fun things to take a gander at: 
Fahrenheit 9/11
Heartland exhibition at The Santa Barbara Museum of Art
www.ManBartlett.com
www.Soulriffic.com
www.IntegralNaked.org
MuseoPrado.mcu.es
www.AWyeth.com
Lost In Translation on DVD (Sofia Coppola)
things in the dirt and things in the clouds 
"The reason one makes resolve that one will never let one's mental joy be disturbed is because by being unhappy and discontented, one will not be able to accomplish what one wishes.. I believe life is happiness; this is my belief. This is not necessarily a selfish feeling. It is for serving others, and certainly not for creating misery for them. Serving means not only to enjoy happiness oneself, but also to help other people, other sentient beings, have more happiness."
— The Dalai Lama "Why be unhappy about something
If it can be remedied?
And what is the use of being unhappy about something
If it cannot be remedied?"
— Shantideva
Namaste, Bo