Tag Archives: zen

“Meet the Beats“ ~ Upgrade your Heroes #1

Video December 11, 2021 daveo 10 Comments

A rapid-fire introduction to the “Beat Generation” focused on the story of “6 Poets at Gallery 6” reading Oct, 1955 SF CA when Allen Ginsberg, Phillip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Micheal McClure, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti et al were all in the room for a reading hosted by Kenneth Rexroth that would go into legend and launch a poetry renaissance in San Francisco and the world. Presented by Cannaverse Club.

Includes extended erstwhile members of the movement and “what happened” after that night as the poets and their friends scattered their influence globally (with, not surprisingly, a little bit of extra emphasis on Japan, Zen, India/Nepal) plus Merry Pranksters, Furthur bus, Grateful Dead and even the Simpsons. Whoa!

Lots of the usual ephemera, show & tell, couple of vinyl records, loads of books, various digressions and asides, hats & homework.

Note from UW: “If you’re curious *at all*, please share your questions and comments &/or “Replay live chat” at Youtube to catch some of the stuff I forgot to say during the premiere”

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Notes to Future Self

Memo: a fork in the spoons

Image February 23, 2021 daveo Leave a comment

Fujita family ohaka grave marker – our home is just beyond

Sometimes life’s circumstances create conundrums – a fork in the spoons, (he says, mixing metaphors). So when I need to sort the spork out, I come here, talk to the ancestors, do some walking meditation, light incense, wash graves and see if *the* path presents itself or, *a* path anyway, a *middle* path perhaps.

Note: I like to think about the stories behind the stones. And here in Japan, pour water on top of the graves, light incense – clap & bow.
PS in this case, this is grandpa Ichiro (died at 49 yrs old many years ago) and grandma Tomiko who died just after our Ichiro was born.
We’ve had a lot of wind storms recently so I like to tidy up their little area though I neglected to take some fresh flowers this time.

Our house is just behind the cemetery so you can kind of see the hills and green space behind us

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Notes to Future Self

Memo: tree, roots, wall, rock, house…

Image February 23, 2021 daveo Leave a comment

Sometimes the tree and the roots and the wall and rocks and the house are all the same thing.

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Writing Life

The Houseboat Summit: February, 1967, Sausalito, Calif. Featuring Timothy Leary, Gary Snyder, Alan Watts and Allen Ginsberg

Link April 19, 2020 daveo Leave a comment

The Houseboat Summit: February, 1967, Sausalito, Calif. Featuring Timothy Leary, Gary Snyder, Alan Watts and Allen Ginsberg

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Video Dim Sum

Waves in Katakolon, Greece

Video April 24, 2017 daveo Leave a comment

In the village of Katakolon, Greece, i simply watch some small waves lap at the shore as i think about living here. This is all. Zen.

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Cannabis + Culture, Japan Life/Travel

Zen Rambling in Japan ~ Originally in Heads Magazine

June 1, 2010 uncleweed 4 Comments

Authour’s intro in Heads Magazine
Authour’s note: This article “Zen Rambling in Japan” by me Dave Thorvald Olson originally appeared in Heads Magazine (now defunct) in the Vol. 6, Issue 4, circa: Spring 2006, as the cover story for the Travel Issue. The iteration below is a late-version draft rather than the (apparently misplaced) submitted final version so there are some minor errors. This article is also markedly different from my “classic” Hemp Culture in Japan articles (see below) as this all original piece concentrates on modern times and practical tips rather than focusing on history and cultural change. Heads did a beauty lay-out (excerpt scans included) and added several ancillary articles about Japanese culture in the issue. I’ll try to add in the photos where {indicated} in the article. Be wary and read all the safety tips and caution closely – neither the Japanese police or Yakuza are to be trifled with but, if you keep it chill the good times are in store. Ganbatte! dvo, June 2010, Vancouver.

More Hemp in Japan

Hemp Culture in Japan – a 1992-7 ground-breaking treatise on the history and cultural significance of hemp in Japan is available in .html or .pdf . For alternate versions, visit JapanHemp.org, a site dedicated to Hemp in Japan. Published in Cannabis Culture magazine (#13 & Best of …), the Journal of International Hemp Association (V.4 N.1), as well as excerpted in several books including Hemp Horizons (USA), Hemp for Victory (UK) and “Hanp” from Norway.