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Posts Tagged ‘Buddha’

Samsara, by Mötley Crüe

May 3rd, 2011 No comments

(Guest Blog for IDProject)

I’m taking a page from my friend and fellow IDP blogger Jon Rubinstein, who has a knack for seeing Buddhist linings in unlikely places, whether it be in a video for  “Shots! Shots! Shots!” or in an appearance by Chris Brown on “Good Morning America.” For days I’ve had the Mötley Crüe power chord extravaganza “Same Ol’ Situation” buzzing in my ears, and somewhere during the umpteenth listening while prowling the streets of Manhattan it finally dawned on me why. (Repetition, like rain, will eventually clear the air. Or make things muggy.)

Personal feelings about Tommy, Nikki, Vince and Mick aside, these guys are just singing about samsara, the endless wheel of suffering, plain and simple. Take away the scantily clad back-up singers and the misogynistic lyrics and you’ve got a band wailing away about how suffering never ceases, no matter how many trips around the world they take. Wherever, whenever, it’s the same ol’ situation, it’s the same ol’ ball and chain. Read more…

The Size of an Actor’s Role

March 29th, 2011 No comments

There’s a recurring frustration in almost every actor’s life, and it has to do with the size and scope of his or her role in any given production. Background players want to have lines, day players want to be supporting actors, supporting actors want to be leads, and leads are often the most miserable of the bunch, for reasons only the Buddha can explain. 

It’s a dangerous trap, and one that I’ve fallen into many times. Rather than focusing on what can be done with the material at hand, we get distracted by wondering why we’re not playing a different role, or worrying that the role we accepted is somehow beneath us. Neither of which is helpful. Read more…