Secular Buddhism reading list

Borrowed from the Secular Buddhism podcast page

• No Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners - Noah Rasheta
• *After Buddhism – Stephen Batchelor
• *Altruism – Matthieu Ricard
• At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace by Claude Anshin Thomas
• Awakening is Real – Jack Kornfield
• Basic Buddhist Concepts – Mizuno
• Be an Island: The Buddhist Practice of Inner Peace - Ayya Khema
• *Become What you Are – Alan Watts
• *Beyond Religion – Dalai Lama
• *Bright Dawn – S.K. Kubose
• *Bring me the Rhinoceros – John Tarrant
• *Buddha – Karen Armstrong
• *Buddha’s Brain – Rick Hanson
• Buddhism for Busy People – David Michie
• *Buddhism Without Beliefs – Stephen Batchelor
• Confession of a Buddhist Atheist – Stephen Batchelor
• Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism – Trungpa
• Ethics for the New Millennium – Dalai Lama
• *Everyday Suchness – Gyomay Kubose
• Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better – Pema Chodron
• Gautama Buddha – Vishvapani Blomfield
• Great Disciples of the Buddha – Nyanaponika Thera & Hellmuth Hecker
• How to Practice: The way to a Meaningful Life – Dalai Lama
• In the Buddha’s Words – Bhikkhu Bodhi
• Living Buddha, Living Christ – Thich Nhat Hanh
• Mahamudra for the Modern World – Reginald Ray
• Mahayana Buddhism – Beatrice Lane
• *No Self, No Problem – Anam Thubten
• *Old Path White Clouds – Thich Nhat Hanh
• *On the Path to Enlightenment – Matthieu Ricard
• Peace is Every Step – Thich Nhat Hanh
• *Rebel Buddha – Dzogchen Ponlop
• *Secular Buddhism – Noah Rasheta
• *Secular Buddhism – Stephen Batchelor
• Shakyamuni Buddha – Niwano
• Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
• Smile at Fear – Chogyam Trungpa
• The Art of Communicating – Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Art of Happiness – Thich Nhat Hanh
• *The Book of Joy – Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, with Douglass Abrams
• *The Buddha is Still Teaching – Jack Kornfield
• *The Center Within – Kubose
• The Essence of Buddhism – Traleg Kyabgon
• The Essential Dogen – Dogen
• The Heart of the Buddha – Trungpa
• The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching – Thich Nhat Hanh
• *The Magic of Awareness – Anam Thubten
• The Myth of Freedom – Trungpa
• The Path is the Goal – Trungpa
• The Skill of Happiness – Matthieu Ricard
• The Universe in a Single Atom – Dalai Lama
• The Way of the Bodhisattva – Shantideva
• The Way of Zen – Alan Watts
• Thoughts Without a Thinker – Mark Epstein
• Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness – Trungpa
• Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life – Karen Armstrong
• *Untangling Self – Olendzki
• What Makes you Not a Buddhist – Khyentse
• *Why Buddhism is True – Robert Wright
• Why I am a Buddhist – Stephen Asma
• You are Here – Thich Nhat Hanh
• Zen Koans – Gyomay Kubose
  Finding Our True Home - Thich Nhat Hanh

Spiritual teachers / philosophers / speakers to study

Great philosophers

The Dalai Lama
Thich Nhat Hanh
Socrates
Bertrand Russell

Authors

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Daniel Amen
Daniel Goleman
Piero Ferruci
Eckhart Tolle
Viktor E. Frankl (read Man's Search For Meaning again)
Byron Katie (read Loving What Is, recommended by Daniel Amen)

Podcasters

Noah Rasheta
Jay Shetty

Not sure of what category to put them in yet

Pema Chodron
Shunryu Suzuki
Stephen Batchelor
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Ajahn Sumedho

Future You

This is a cool video series that looks at how technology will change how human beings are by 2050.

Jay Shetty and Dr. Daniel Amen

I really love Jay Shetty's podcast - it's inspirational and educational.  In the current podcast, he interviews Dr. Daniel Amen, who (so far as I've listened) talks about the brain, patterns, and how to have conscious control over the truth of your thoughts.

He references Byron Katie's "Loving What Is", which is now on my library hold list.

(to be continued as I listen more)

D Beat and new punk bands

I've been checking out some really cool D Beat bands, which I didn't even know was a subgenre.  I really like them - Wolfbrigade, Skitsystem and Disfear.  I need to find more.

I've also been listening to newer punk bands, to get some inspiration for a drummer I'm playing with.  I've been listening to The Bronx, E>K>U>K, Gallows, The Drips, and Poison Idea.

Japanese bands

I recently discovered that there's a thriving metal scene in Japan, consisting of a wide variety of sub-genres.

In the pop-metal with female vocals sub-genre, there are the following bands:

Unlucky Morpheus
Aldious
Lovebites
Sonic Lover Reckless
Mary's Blood
BRIDEAR
Raglaia
Cross Vein
LAST MAY JAGUAR
Cyntia
WagakkiBand
Band Maid
BabyMetal
DOLL$BOXX

More extreme metal bands include:

Flagitious Idiosyncrasy of the Dilapidation
DIR EN GREY
Gallhammer
Viscera Infest

Other stuff:

Tricot

Bands to check out

Jesus Piece "Only Self"
Trap Them "Crown Feral"
Code Orange "Forever"
Madball "For The Cause"
Mindforce "Excalibur"
Sanction "The Infringement of God's Plan"
Napalm Death "Coded Smears and More Uncommon Slurs"
Terror "Total Retaliation"
Magrudergrind "II"
Brutal Truth
ACxDC
Vitamin X


Non-metal
Minus The Bear
Animals as Leaders
Porcupine Tree

2019 Reading List

 I think for 2019, I'll delve into longer books, and revisit some of my favorites of the past two years.

Completed books:

1. The Beastie Boys Book - Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz (e-book started 12/29 finished 1/2) 10/10
2. The Art of Peace - Morihei Ueshiba (e-book started 1/1 finished 1/5) 9/10
3. The Untethered Soul - Michael A. Singer (audiobook started 12/31 finished 1/12) 10/10

Currently reading / listening to:

1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (e-book started 1/5 finished #/#) #/10
2. Challenger Deep - Neal Shusterman (audiobook started 1/14 finished #/##) #/10
3. I'll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson (e-book started 1/22 finished #/##) #/10

 Wish List:

1. NOFX:  The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories - Jeff Alulis
2. The Retreat of Western Liberalism - Edward Luce
3. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy - Sheryl Sandberg
4. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
5. The Elephant Vanishes - Haruki Murakami
6. The Waste Land & Four Quartets - T.S. Elliot
7. Have A Little Faith - Mitch Albom
8. Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
9. The Future - Al Gore
10. A History of Violence - Oscar Martinez
11. L.A. Son - Roy Choi
12. Delicious Geography - Gary Fuller
13. The Untold History of the United States - Oliver Stone
14. Hard Choices - Hillary Clinton
15. Blind Spot - Teju Cole
16. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
17. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
18. Don't Sweat The Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
19. Blink:  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Malcolm Gladwell
20. Art of War - Sun Tzu
21. The Story of My Experiments With Truth - Mahatma Gandhi
22. The Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
23. The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic - Jessica Hopper
24. Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II 
25. How To See Yourself As You Really Are
26. How To Practice The Way To A Meaningful Life
27. Nothing To Envy - Ordinary Lives In North Korea
28. Only What We Could Carry
29. The Pacific War
30. Taken Captive
31. Japanese Destroyer Captain
32. The Battle For Okinawa
33. Zero - Sabura Sakai
34. No Surrender - Hiro Onda
35. Tales By Japanese Soldiers
36. Samurai - Saburo Sakai
37. The Rape of Nanking
38. The Kite Runner
39. The Grapes of Wrath
40. To Kill A Mockingbird
41. Moby Dick
42. Don Quijote
43. Pride and Prejudice
44. Anna Karenina
45. War and Peace 
46. Inspirience: Meditation Unbound
47. The Unbound Soul - Richard Haight
 

 

Beastie Boys Book - Micheal Diamond and Adam Horovitz

I always loved the Beastie Boys, but love them even more after reading this book.

At the core of everything that they did was a love and reverence for music and culture.  The passion with which they rapped and played their instruments was one of true musicians.  They embodied the punk rock ethos of DIY, respect for their influences, and not selling out, and I loved that about them.

The only thing that sucked about this e-book was that the text sometimes overlapped the photos, making it impossible to read.

I may buy the hard copy of this book - it was that good!!

Completed Reading List 2018

Here is my reading list for 2018

Completed:

1. On Writing - Stephen King (audiobook started 1/1 finished 1/9) 6/10
2. Catalyst - James Luceno (e-book started 12/30/17 finished 1/6) 6/10
3. From Cradle to Stage - Virginia Hanlon Grohl (e-book started 1/6 finished 1/14) 6/10
4. Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker (audiobook started 1/9 finished 1/16) 10/10
5. Japan 1941 Countdown To Infamy - Eri Hotta (audiobook started 1/17 finished 1/30) 9/10 
6. Grape, Olive, Pig - Matt Goulding (e-book started 1/16 finished 1/31) 8/10 
7. Sting-Ray Afternoons - Steve Rushin (e-book started 1/27 finished 2/10) 6/10
8. The Death of Expertise - Tom Nichols (audiobook started 2/2 finished 2/11) 8/10
9. It Was Me All Along - Andie Mitchell (audiobook started 2/12 finished 2/18) 9/10
10. Promise Me, Dad - Joe Biden (e-book started 2/19 finished 2/21) 9/10
11. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (audiobook started 2/19 finished 3/3) 10/10
12. James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl (book started 3/3 finished 3/3) 8/10
13. Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro (book started 3/6 finished 3/8) 7/10
14. Love Her Wild - Atticus (e-book started 3/9 finished 3/10) 10/10
15. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (audiobook started 3/6 finished 3/17) 8/10
16. Ghosts of the Tsunami - Richard Lloyd Parry (audiobook started 3/19 finished 3/29) 8/10
17. Flow -  Mihaly Csikszentmihaly (e-book started 3/22 finished 4/4) 10/10
18. Understanding Japan - Mark J. Ravina (audiobook started 3/29 finished 4/5) 10/10
19. Ikigai - Hector Garcia (e-book started 4/7 finished 4/10) 10/10 
20. The History of Love - Nicole Strauss (e-book started 4/11 finished 4/12) 10/10
21. Socrates in 90 Minutes (audiobook started 4/12 finished 4/12) 10/10
22. Animal Farm - George Orwell (audiobook started 4/16 finished 4/18) 7/10
23. Churchill and Orwell - Thomas E. Ricks (e-book started 4/16 finished 4/20) 8/10
24. The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving A Fuck (e-book started 5/15 finished 5/21) 7/10 
25. Thrive - Dan Buettner (audiobook started 5/15 finished 5/26) 7/10
26. Mr. Lincoln: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (audiobook started 5/28 finished 6/8) 9/10
27. Lying - Sam Harris (e-book started 6/17 finished 6/17) 9/10
28. They Call Me Supermensch - Shep Gordon (audiobook started 6/8 finished 6/21) 9/10
29. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin (audiobook started 6/30 finished 7/7) 10/10
30. A Higher Loyalty - James Comey (e-book started 6/30 finished 7/7) 10/10
31. Aristotle in 90 Minutes - (audiobook started 7/8 finished 7/8) 8/10
32. Aristotle For Everybody - Mortimer J. Adler (audiobook started 7/9 finished 7/15 6/10
33. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (audiobook started 7/12 finished 7/24) 10/10
34. What I Believe - Bertrand Russell (audiobook started 7/25 finished 7/28) 10/10 
35. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (audiobook started 7/29 finished 8/4) 10/10
36. Depression and Other Magic Tricks - Sabrina Benaim (e-book started 8/5 finished 8/7) 6/10
37. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (audiobook started 8/6 finished 8/20) 9/10
38. Captivate - Vanessa Van Edwards (audiobook started 8/21 finished 8/28) 10/10
39. Man's Search For Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl (audiobook started 8/29 finished 9/1) 10/10
40. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins (audiobook started 9/2 finished 9/14) 9/10
41. Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain (audiobook started 9/15 finished 9/25) 6/10
42. Why Buddhism is True - Robert Wright (e-book started 9/12 finished 10/1) 8/10 
43. Supersurvivors - David B. Feldman (audiobook started 9/27 finished 10/10) 10/10
44. Fulfilled - Anna Yusim, MD (e-book started 8/6 finished 10/14) 8/10
45. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century - Yuval Noah Harari (audiobook started 10/15 finished 11/3) 9/10
46. Born A Crime - Trevor Noah (audiobook started 10/11 finished 11/4) 10/10
47. The Art of Stillness - Pico Iyer (audiobook started 11/5 finished 11/7) 8/10
48. Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert (audiobook started 11/8 finished 11/16) 8/10
49. Black Kkklansman - Ron Stallworth (audiobook started 11/20 finished #/##) #/10

Way too much good new albums coming out this year

Jeez, 2018 is turning out to be the most amazing year for new metal releases.  There are tons from some of my favorite bands (Deicide, Behemoth, Soulfly) as well as releases by bands I'm not as familiar with (Harms Way and Jinjer).

Posthuman - Harms Way (February 9, 2018)
Cloud Factory (reissue) - Jinjer (February 16, 2018)
And Justice For None - Five Finger Death Punch (May 18, 2018)
EX_MACHINA - Crossfaith (August 1, 2018)
Head Cage - Pig Destroyer (September 7, 2018)
Scourge of the Enthroned - Krisiun (September 7, 2018)
Overtures of Blasphemy - Deicide (September 14, 2018)
Terrorvision - Aborted (September 21, 2018)
Total Retaliation - Terror (September 28, 2018)
I Loved You At Your Darkest - Behemoth (October 5, 2018)
Battlefields of Asura - Chthonic (October 12, 2018)
Ritual - Soulfly (October 19, 2018)
The Legacy of Shi - Rise of the Northstar (October 19, 2018)
The Book of Suffering - Tome 2 - EP - Cryptopsy (October 26, 2018)
Upon Desolate Sands - Hate Eternal (October 26, 2018)
The Arrow of Satan is Drawn - Bloodbath (October 26, 2018)
Battlefields of Asura - Chthonic (October 12, 2018)
Victim of the New Disease - All That Remains 

Also, here are some things that already came out:
Devouring Mortality - Skeletal Remains
With Inexorable Suffering - Our Place of Worship

Split - Integrity and Krieg

Monument of the End - Soreption

Slaughter Monolith- Abhorrent Deformity
Tu - Alien Weaponry

Then there are some non-metal and heavy rock albums:
And Justice For None - Five Finger Death Punch
Vicious - Halestorm
One Bad M.F. Live!! - Marty Friedman

Fulfilled - Anna Yusim

It took me awhile to finish this book.

I really loved it at around 2/3rds through it.  I loved the parts about living an authentic life and doing a "soul correction".  But in the last (3rd) section, I was immediately turned off.  She talked about some supernatural concepts that I was a little skeptical about - psychic phenomenon, communicating with the dead, etc., and I felt that those things undermined the whole idea of the "science" of spirituality.

I have a hard time enjoying books with endings that I don't like.  I wish I had ended reading this after section 2 - and if I had, I'd give this book an 8 out of 10.  But with the last section, I didn't much like this book.

My favorite books

I was asked by a friend to recommend some books, so here are some of the books that have made lasting impressions on me.  My favorite books of all time are highlighted.

My essential health/wellness/happiness reading list
(Note:  for what it's worth, I've read authors like Jen Sincero, and supposed self-help books that talk about how to get rich and get everything you want like the Law of Attraction or the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and they seem to emphasize finding happiness through material wealth and career advancement.  Those books didn't resonate with me at all.  The following books are the exact opposite, as they emphasize finding happiness through kindness, health and wellness, empathy, meditation, purpose, and positive connections with people.)

The Art of Happiness - The Dalai Lama
The Book of Joy - The Dalai Lama and The Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker
Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman
The Power of Kindness - Piero Ferrucci
Your Inner Will - Piero Ferrucci
The Blue Zones Solution - Dan Buettner
The Blue Zones - Dan Buettner

Flow -  Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
Ikigai - Hector Garcia  
Captivate - Vanessa Van Edwards 
Man's Search For Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl
Fulfilled - Anna Yusim, MD 
Supersurvivors - David B. Feldman


My favorite fiction

1984 - George Orwell
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Never Let Me Go -Kazuo Ishiguro
Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
The Hunger Games series - Suzanne Collins
The History of Love - Nicole Strauss


Great biographies

A Higher Loyalty - James Comey
Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
Troublemaker - Leah Remini
Wild - Cheryl Strayed
The Rainbow Comes and Goes - Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper 
Without You There Is No Us - Suki Kim

History and science books

Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin

Philosophical books

What I Believe - Bertrand Russell
Socrates in 90 Minutes
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu 
Why Buddhism Is True - Robert Wright

Books about World War II

Unbroken - Laura Hillebrand
To Hell and Back - Charles Pelligrino
Midnight In Broad Daylight - Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

Beautifully written poetry books

Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur
The Sun and Her Flowers - Rupi Kaur
Love Her Wild - Atticus

Books about Japan 

Rice Noodle Fish - Matt Goulding
Ghosts of the Tsunami - Richard Lloyd Parry
Understanding Japan - Mark J. Ravina

Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain

If my enjoyment of this book was analogous to the late Anthony Bourdain being up to bat at a baseball game, it would go something like this.

Pitch 1.....

There appears to be a lot of hyper-masculine posturing to his writing, everything from talking about how badass every kitchen is (apparently all kitchen workers are drug addicted, tattoo'd, burn resistant handed badasses), to sexual prowess (ironically, Bourdain's only direct sexual "encounter" was the cook he was working with mock fingering his ass through his pants - not something to be proud of), to the fact that he will not let anyone listen to Billy Joel or Elton John in his kitchen.  Not to mention his disdain for vegetarianism.  Strike 1

Pitch 2.....

He does, however, occasionally exercise some humility and reverence when referring to chefs or people he admires.  Ball 1

Pitch 3......

He slams celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay, but I still don't understand why he doesn't like them - perhaps he thinks their craft is compromised by commercialism, but then he hypocritically says that had he been at a certain level, maybe he'd be a Food Network star too.  Strike 2

Pitch 4......

Shit, I can't remember where I was going with this whole analogy thing, nor do I have any more opinions about this book.  I think his arrogance put me off a little bit, and I wonder if he judiciously exercised hyperbole.  Nonetheless, I think if I were uninitiated, I would have found some of the things he talked about shocking and interesting, but I got the gist of kitchen life through Sous Chef, which was a very similar read, only without the arrogance.

Sadly, Bourdain is no longer with us, having taken his own life.  I wish he was able to conquer his demons and/or his drug use.

It was a fairly enjoyable book to read from the perspective of being interesting, but as far as personalities go, and delving into the mind of someone to be inspired by, I think I prefer reading more positive approaches to life, from bios by people like Shep Gordon, Leah Remini, etc.

I Loved You At Your Darkest - Behemoth

 I've been looking forward to this album for a long time.  It came out today, and I'll do a stream of consciousness review as I'm listening to each track......

Solve - A very cool start to this album.  It begins with chanting children and the band soon comes in with a killer intro.  I love drummer Inferno's fills - they remind me of my favorite Behemoth album - Demigod.

Wolves ov Siberia - I got to see this song live when they opened for Slayer.  The chord structure reminds me of their Apostasy-era songs, but the blast beats in the verses remind me more of traditional black metal.  This song translated really well live and I really love the orchestral stuff near the end - more an element to enhance the music, ala Nile, rather than classical virtuosity stuff like Fleshgod Apocalypse or Abigail Williams.

God = Dog - This song sounds evil.  The drumming is very creative, which is what I love about Inferno.  Nergal's vocals sound like his old stuff.  I love the production of this song and album - very clear.  I loved the layered vocals in their older stuff.  I wish they did that here.  I wonder who's singing the choir sounding stuff.

Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica - This song has the kind of drumming that made me lose interest in Behemoth before The Satanist came out.  It's very straightforward double kick, but perhaps it's growing on me as a different sound for them.  With extreme music, I mostly like a lot of changes - I think I get that from my love of Cryptopsy's "None So Vile".  This song is kind of straight ahead driving.  Oh wait now, check out this ending.....  acoustic guitars that go into a different end section.  Black metal blast beats - that's pretty cool.

Bartzabel - Whoa, a slow intro.  Damn, those toms sound huge.  I love Orion's bass sound.  Cool song.  Heavy as fuck when the loud section comes in, and then it drops back again.  More of those weird classical vocals - not sure if I like them, but they change up the song.  A lot of times, a slow song breaks up an album in a bad way - that's

If Crucifixion Was Not Enough - Cool, a punk rock beat!  Something different for Behemoth.  Works pretty good with the arpeggiated guitars.  Nergal really has a unique style of writing.  I think he's one of the few guys that write guitar riffs that sound both evocative of his influences and unique at the same time.  Seth's (I think it's his) guitar solo is killer and I wish he shredded more of the other songs, but that's not really a huge part of the Behemoth sound.

Angelvs XIII - Where the hell do they get these song titles from?  Aah, there are those Inferno drum fills that I love.  I'm wondering if this album sounds disjointed, or interesting?  Maybe if Inferno played the same beats for the whole album it would be boring.  Oh, there are those layered vocals that I love.  This might be my favorite song on the album.

Sabbath Mater - More classic Behemoth goodness (evilness?).  Oh wait, there's that double kick beat.  Hmmm....  now there's that punk beat.  Cool high tom fill.  Damn, Nergal's vocals are near perfect.  This is the best he's ever sounded.  He's definitely my favorite death / black metal vocalist.  I think that's what I don't like about a lot of black metal - the vocals are too "high".  Nergal never sounds like the Exorcist, but then his vocals aren't just pure low growl like Glen Benton or Corpsegrinder (both of whom I absolutely love).

Havohej Pantocrator - Another slow intro.  Sounds like a mood piece in the beginning.  Now it goes into a standard slow dirge type Behemoth piece.  I like this one - it breaks up the album pretty well.  Wow, they've really matured as songwriters.  Cool blast beats in the middle.  This is pretty epic sounding.  Maybe this is my favorite song on the album.  :)

Rom 5:8 - Another slow song with blastbeats throughout.  I like this style.  It's much more black metal than death metal, but it has more depth than a lot of black metal, or at least what I've heard.

We Are The Next 1000 Years - This sounds more traditional black metal.  I think this would satisfy guys that are into Immortal and Gorgoroth, though it's a little more atmospheric and pop.

Coagvla - Good closer for the album.  Blast beat fest with orchestral parts.  I can totally see them closing shows with this.  I'm headbanging to this as I'm listening to it.

This is a solid album!  Having just seen them opening for Slayer, I have a renewed interest in their new music.  I've always loved Demigod and The Apostasy, but I didn't like The Satanist as much, even though it's a great album.  I think they strayed too much from the Death Metal aspect of their music and got more Black Metal.  While I love BM, I love Behemoth because of the balance they achieve between the two.  This album feels like a return to form for me.

stuff to check out

Lizzo
Cardi B
Pusha T
Childish Gambino
A$AP Rocky
Valee
Drake
Tyler, The Creator
Vince Staples

Long Beach Cambodian Rap

CS
$tupid Young
Tee Cambo
Sneezy Tweet

Best (non-metal) albums of the 2000s

Sometimes I listen to music other than metal.  Here are my top 21 favorite non-metal albums of the 2000s, in order from oldest to newest.  The year 2000 is a pretty good cut off date for me in terms of music because it represents the end of an era of music (the 90s) that I really loved, having played in cover bands in the 90s.  My post 2000 album list consists of a few popular things, and a bunch of obscurity.

1. Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park (2000)
2. Magic Line - Stellar* (2001)
3. More Than You Think You Are - Matchbox Twenty (2002)
4. Futures - Jimmy Eat World (2004)
5. In Your Honor - Foo Fighters (2005)
6. Something Like Strangers - Stellar* (2006)
7. The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006)
8. Chase This Light - Jimmy Eat World (2007)
9. Pretty.  Odd. - Panic! at the Disco (2008)
10. The Resistance - Muse (2009)
11. How I Got Over - The Roots (2010)
12. Right Here - Boh Runga (2010)
13. Undun - The Roots (2011)
14. Vices and Virtues - Panic! at the Disco (2011)
15. Wasting Light - Foo Fighters (2011)
16. Vessel - Twenty One Pilots (2012)
17. Vibrato - Paul Gilbert (2012)
18. The 2nd Law - Muse (2012)
19. Sonic Highways - Foo Fighters (2014) 
20. Death of a Bachelor - Panic! at the Disco (2016)
21. After Laughter - Paramore (2017)

Vibrato - Paul Gilbert

This album blows me away!!

Paul Gilbert is one of my favorite technical guitar players.  He plays with clean technique, and has beautiful phrasing and an almost classic sensibility.  Though he got his start as a Shrapnel Records-styled shredder in the 80s (super fast, flashy, Yngwie-influenced, metal), his love of 70s pop music influences his current musical direction.

Vibrato is a great album that reflects his diversity as both a guitarist and songwriter, yet each song is distinctively Paul Gilbert.  It's overall very progressive and jazzy - like a cross between Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, the more progressive side of the Allman Brothers, Return the Forever, etc.

An oddball album that maybe isn't his most popular, it's not only one of my favorite Paul Gilbert albums, but one of my favorite non-metal albums of the 2000s.

I don't like to throw out superlatives at the risk of sounding like I'm praising everything, but I can comfortably say that this album is genius!!

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

I don't read a lot of fiction.  Of the 89 books I've read over the past year and a half, only 18 were fiction - the majority of the remainder being non-fiction and a few poetry books.

I've read Ishiguro's "Remains of the Day", "Nocturnes", and "Never Let Me Go".  Of the three, "Never Let Me Go" is the best of Ishiguro that I've read so far, and ranks up there among the best of my limited read fiction among all authors.  I think it might be tied with Orwell's "1984" for my favorite novel of all time.

Though his writing style is sometimes pandering in the cliffhanger chapter endings, it was still quite enjoyable and touching.  I don't want to give anything away, so let's just say that it revolves around three central characters and their experiences as they grow together.

It was deep, contemplative, and sad.  I guess that's what I like in a book, as that was also the theme of 1984.

Overtures of Blasphemy - Deicide

I'm SUPER excited for this album to be released on September 14th!!  The music sounds a lot like my favorite Deicide album "The Stench of Redemption".  They've had some misses in the years since that album, but this one sounds like that album from the production and songwriting standpoint.  Plus the over-the-top satanic lyrics are hilarious!

We Bare Bears

My daughter turned me on to this cartoon recently.  It's a great cartoon - funny, sometimes touching, a little crazy, and just slightly weird.

It's my new favorite cartoon!

Aristotle for Everybody - Mortimer J. Adler

Ugh.  I'm not sure what I didn't like about this audiobook.

Perhaps it was that the reader sounded like a pretentious asshole.  I'm also wondering if the content was truly representative of Aristotle's philosophy - as this book just seemed to define some really common things like contradiction, ideas versus actuality, etc.  In that sense it was almost a waste of time.

I also found some concepts strange and not what I believe, which blows my mind because I can't imagine that I am more insightful than the father of modern philosophy.  I'll have to explore other books about the teaching of Aristotle to have a firm conclusion about that.

Aristotle in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern

I listened to this after I enjoyed Socrates in 90 Minutes.  It was a good biography but didn't touch much on his actual philosophy.

A Higher Loyalty - James Comey

This was a really well written book by Comey, the former Deputy Attorney General and later FBI director.

He seems earnest, but there is still some part of me that thinks that he is justifying the actions he took as FBI leader which some claim cost Hillary Clinton the presidential election.

In this book, he talks about growing up on the east coast, and his stints as Deputy AG under the Bush administration where he had to deal with the legality of torture, FBI director under Obama where he had to deal with Martha Stewart's insider trading and Clinton's e-mail "scandal", and then as FBI director under Trump, arguably the most interesting part of the book.

I still loved reading it despite my hesitation that it might be one huge justification of the whole Clinton thing - in general I think it is pretty truthful but perhaps slanted on that one subject.

Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin

This was a really great audiobook that described Lincoln's time in the White House and the problems and successes he had during the Civil War, particularly with his cabinet, who are the team of rivals.

A friend recommended this book, telling me that she was reading it while waiting for a flight at LAX, when Warren Christopher, former secretary of state, sat next to her and said it is his favorite book.

The book was inspirational because Lincoln maintained a sense of calm and composure despite all of the backstabbing and problems he was faced with.  That's one of the many ways in which he was a great leader.  It was also inspiring in that he was a bit awkward, but that didn't affect his leadership.

I discovered later that the audiobook was an abridged version of the book, and the book is a LOT longer.  I intend to read the book but I'm sure it will take a long time.

Vogg

Vogg is an amazing guitar player.  He plays great lead guitar, and writes some super cool and complex riffs.

I had initially written off Decapitated as a generic death metal band, but as their albums went on, they really came into a unique style.  Their album "Blood Mantra" from 2014 has now become one of my favorite albums of all time.

I've been learning one of the riffs from "Instinct" from "Blood Mantra" and it is so killer.

He doesn't seem to get much critical acclaim, but I think he is one of the top metal guitar players out today.

Supermensch

This was the movie based off of Shep's book "They Call Me Supermensch", or is it the other way around?  I liked the book a lot more than the movie.  The movie required a lot of video imagery that was culled from other video footage that was of similar content, but not related directly to Gordon so in some ways it was misleading.

Also, certain details that Gordon went into in the book were left out for brevity's sake, but changed some of the implications.  Overall it was a good movie though, and I got to see people described in the book that I hadn't seen - particularly his hanai family.

They Call Me Supermensch - Shep Gordon

This was a great biography about Shep Gordon, who had a huge hand in the career of Alice Cooper, Anne Murray, and later, celebrity chefs like Emeril LaGasse.  It's an honest and introspective biography where Shep talks about his successes in the entertainment industry, and his misgivings about not starting a family of his own.

I particularly loved the section where he talked about cooking for the Dalai Lama.  I think anyone who incorporates some of the Dalai Lama's teaching into his life shares a common bond with me.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, which was read by Shep himself.  He has a pretty calm reading style but never bores you.

Hired Gun

This was a super cool movie about musicians that play in the shadows, along the lines of "Twenty Feet From Stardom".  Unlike that movie though, I could really relate to "Hired Gun" because I am a guitarist and songwriter and producer.

Some of the stories were a little sad, most were positive and cool.  A lot of my favorite musicians were featured like Phil X and Justin Derrico, and I learned about Jason Hook, who is a great guitar player.

I loved this movie!

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck - Sarah Knight

This is a typical self-help book, but written as a parody of Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up".  Kondo's book is a good, if not just a little weird (see my review somewhere else on this blog).

In this book, Knight talks about "not giving a fuck", but obviously by the use of vulgarity, it's taking a bit of a negative perspective on not caring about things.  And it's weird, because it's advocating something that I think is more positive.....  to not worry about what other people think, etc.

I don't know that I buy her perspective, but I think overall it's better to not worry so much about things like attending events that you don't want to go to, etc.

It is an interesting perspective though, and like any book, you take from it what you want to.  My friend asked me how a book like this reconciles with the teachings of the Dalai Lama, and I think if you read it a certain way, there is a theme of letting things go that permeates both this book, and the teachings of the Dalai Lama.

I'd give this a 7 / 10.

Pantera live 1992

Geez, this is the best Pantera bootleg video I've ever seen, possibly even the best Pantera live video I've ever seen.

Plane entertainment

E-books:

Audiobooks:
The Art of Happiness

Movies:
Hired Gun

Lessons:
Japanese

Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix

I had a pretty good childhood, and music reminds me of those times.  I grew up in the AM radio days of early Elton John, Wings, Bee Gees, and other pop radio hits.

Guardians of the Galaxy has so much good music that takes me back to vacations with my family in California....  Brandy by Looking Glass, Southern Nights by Glen Campbell.....

I think it's pretty cool that a movie that my son got me to watch brings me back to my youth.  Especially since I don't listen to old music, and I don't listen to anything other than heavy metal most of the time.

Churchill & Orwell: The Fight For Freedom

This was a good book, recommended by a friend.  Though some of the book focused on the biographies of Churchill and Orwell, much of the middle of the book talked about the events leading to World War 2, which were really interesting.  I learned that the ruling party in England was advocating appeasement of the Nazis, which Churchill was against.  I also learned of England's disdain for Americans, though Churchill said nice things in public about Americans to garner their help in the war.  I also learned about Russia's role in the war, and their initial pact with the Germans.

I was expecting much more interrelation between their stories, but the book was more about how their individual efforts reflected what was happening at the time.

Binge watching Marvel movies

It's not hip to watch Marvel movies, but it's fun!!  My son and I have tickets for the very first showing of Avengers: Infinity War on the day before the opening day, and he asked me to catch up with him on the backstory by renting and watching several preceding movies that provide a background for Infinity War.

I watched Doctor Strange.  I thought the special effects were pretty good, but the Doctor Strange character was not really that believable in that he was too sarcastic, which I think a rational person would be able to temper given the risks that that behavior would provide and his desire to fix his fingers.  I also thought he came into power too quickly, and that the magical books in the library would have been more secured.  Overall, not Marvel's best movie, and in fact maybe one of the worst I've seen from them.  I'd give it a 6 stars.

I hadn't read the Guardians comics when they first came out, so knew nothing about their story.  I enjoyed this movie, but Disney seems to rehash the Star Wars formula of invasion of a destroying spaceship with simultaneous dogfight and hand-to-hand fighting scenes.  But maybe that formula still works for me because I enjoyed it in this movie, as I did in Black Panther.  8 stars.

Eh, this one was just alright too.  Weird that such epic things happened, yet it was still so silly.  Thor's father Odin died, he lost his hammer and his eye, and his home Aasgard got destroyed, and yet he can still have silly banter with the Hulk.

2018 metal albums

So far, the new Harms Way album is my top pick for 2018, but I saw on Nails' Instagram feed that they love these new albums, so I'll check them out today:

With Inexorable Suffering by Our Place of Worship is Silence:

Devouring Mortality by Skeletal Remains:

Animal Farm - George Orwell

I really loved 1984, so I guess I expected a lot from Animal Farm.  I suppose I was a little disappointed, for a number of reasons.  First of all, as a story that replaces animals for people in a revolution, it was only moderately interesting.  Second, it was predictable just about from the start, and sad in it's dystopian outlook.  Unlike in 1984, when there was some redemption in the sadness of Winston's insanity, it was harder to relate to the characters in Animal Farm as they were so one-dimensional.

I don't get why this is a classic, but I'll still give it a 7/10.

The History of Love - Nicole Strauss

I was blown away by this book!!  It was slightly confusing and moved in many different ways, and the ending leaves a lot of room for interpretation, but I found my interpretation and meaning, and even found a little life lesson.

It's a beautifully written book, and thought-provoking, both in a self-reflecting way, and for the analysis of the story line.

Socrates in 90 Minutes - Paul Strathern

This was a really quick audiobook that explained Socrates' life, as well as his philosophy.  I really enjoyed it.  Though I took Philosophy 101 in college, I wasn't aware of Socrates' influence on the school of thought - specifically that his "dialectic", his style of discourse, and his approach to thinking in terms of rational thought and observation, had forever changed the way that people thought about things.

Prior to Socrates, much of the "sciences" were explained in terms of mythology and religion, whereas post Socrates thought was rooted in observation and rationalization.  As soon as astronomic philosophy converted over to an observation based field, it became a science, and soon many studies were converted over to "sciences".  But the semantics are not as important as the fact that conceptually, there was a revolution in the way that people thought - without dogma, and with rationality.  In fact, the first university was founded by Socrates student, Plato.

I always loved the Socratic Paradox - "I know that I know nothing".  It's the way I try to live my life, and the purpose for this blog.  In this spirit, I have so much more to learn about Socrates and his teachings, so I give this book a 10/10 for reintroducing me to Socrates and for invigorating my desire to learn more.