Killer Keller

Keller Williams to release new CD in December

Keller Williams has been called guitar’s mad-scientist, a one-man band for the new millennium, and dozens of other clever sobriquets dreamed up by fans and music journalists trying to get a handle on his uplifting and ever-shifting style of music. Though Keller’s music has evolved since he first started playing music over twenty years ago, some things have remained constant: Keller is a prolific artist, an exceptional guitarist, and an accomplished songwriter. Now, Keller’s twelfth album release looks back at a ground-breaking and already remarkable career. Aptly titled 12 , the album features one standout song from each of his previous eleven releases. Keller himself dubs this his album of “hitless greatest hits.” Added to the mix is one new, previously un-recorded song. While the Keller Williams adventure has only just begun, 12 is a fantastic celebration of a musical milestone.

Also this fall, Keller Williams and The WMD’S will tour the east coast. The WMD’S features Williams on guitar/vocals, Keith Moseley on bass (The String Cheese Incident), Gibb Droll on guitar (Marc Broussard), and Jeff Sipe on drums (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Trey Anastasio, Susan Tedeschi, Phil Lesh). The WMD’S debuted at select festival performances this past summer, including an epic and electrifying Bonnaroo show. Their November run of shows brings them to indoor venues for headlining shows.

T

Higashi Hongan Ji

So Far Away From Me

Not Far from Buddhahood

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: "Have you ever read the Christian Bible?"

"No, read it to me," said Gasan.

The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these... Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider an enlightened man."

The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."

Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

Congressional Gold Medal

Dalai Lama to Visit D.C. Next Week
Thousands of Buddhists Expected as Leader Is Honored

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 10, 2007; B01

Thousands of Buddhists from around the world are expected in Washington next week, including some of the most senior teachers in Tibetan Buddhism as well as devotees arriving on all-night buses, to see the Dalai Lama receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the United States' highest civilian honor.

Advocates close to the exiled Tibetan spiritual and political leader say the award, which will be presented next Wednesday in the Capitol Rotunda, is the most significant tribute to the Dalai Lama since he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. President Bush will attend the ceremony, the first time a sitting U.S. president has met in public with the Dalai Lama, whom Chinese officials consider a secessionist agitator for his work to give Tibetans more autonomy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a longtime advocate of the Dalai Lama's, will host the Rotunda ceremony.

The U.S House and Senate voted last year to give the Dalai Lama the medal, which describes him as "the unrivaled spiritual and cultural leader of the Tibetan people . . . recognized in the United States and throughout the world as a leading figure of moral and religious authority." The bill's sponsors included Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

The Rotunda service, which will be held from 1 to 2 p.m., is private. But about 2:30 p.m. on the West Lawn, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak to what is expected to be a crowd of thousands as well as others around the world listening on a webcast. Tibetan-style performances, featuring about 200 singers and dancers, will start on the West Lawn at 11 a.m.

A week of events has been planned to celebrate the visit to Washington by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders. They include films and photo exhibits as well as an interfaith concert at Washington National Cathedral and chanting and music at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church.

The Washington trip is part of a month-long tour of North American cities, but it is the only stop that doesn't include a "teaching," or spiritual talk. The Dalai Lama's speech at the Capitol will be more secular in nature, said Cate Saunders of the special envoy's office at the National Campaign for Tibet, which represents him in the United States.

He will arrive Monday from New York City and will stay until Oct. 19. The event next Wednesday is his only public appearance, Saunders said. He will also be feted Oct. 18 at a celebrity-filled gala hosted by Feinstein and her husband and attended by actor Richard Gere and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, among others.

The Dalai Lama comes to the United States regularly. He was last in Washington in 2005, when he addressed thousands of the world's top neuroscientists and encouraged them to work more closely with moral leaders.

About 10,000 Buddhists live in the Washington area, at least half of whom come from immigrant communities; the other half are converts who often are called American Buddhists. The Dalai Lama is considered a teacher to them all, although he comes from the Gelugpa sect, one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Among those in the region's Tibetan community is the Venerable Lama Kalsang Gyaltsen, spiritual director of the Sakya Phuntsok Ling Center in Silver Spring. He said he and others will be driving to hear the Dalai Lama speak in New York City and Ithaca, N.Y., before coming to Washington. Busloads of Tibetans from Boston, New York, Minneapolis and Canada, among other places, are expected in Washington, he said.

"There is so much excitement in the Tibetan community," he said yesterday. "It's such an extraordinary thing."

Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two

Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two

Nansen saw the monks of the eastern and western halls fighting over a cat. He seized the cat and told the monks: `If any of you say a good word, you can save the cat.'

No one answered. So Nansen boldly cut the cat in two pieces.

That evening Joshu returned and Nansen told him about this. Joshu removed his sandals and, placing them on his head, walked out.

Nansen said: `If you had been there, you could have saved the cat.'

Mumon's Comment: Why did Joshu put his sandals on his head? If anyone answers this question, he will understand exactly how Nansen enforced the edict. If not, he should watch his own head.

Had Joshu been there,
He would have enforced the edict oppositely.
Joshua snatches the sword
And Nansen begs for his life.

Go ahead Young!

Young named NL Comeback Player
First baseman takes advantage of second chance by Nats
By Bill Ladson / MLB.com

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Dmitri Young hit .323 with 13 homers and 74 RBIs for the Nationals in '07. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- Nationals first baseman Dmitri Young is living proof of what a person can do if given a second chance. On Tuesday, Young was rewarded for taking advantage of his second chance by being named the 2007 National League Comeback Player of the Year.

The club beat reporters at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, selected the winners for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Devil Rays first baseman Carlos Pena was the American League winner.

Young, 33, was one of the most important players on the Nationals this past season, hitting .320 with 13 home runs and 74 RBIs.

Young also is the No. 1 reason the Nationals' clubhouse went from being one of the worst in team history to one of the best in the game. He is the leader and is always trying to give a young player a helping hand.

Young has come a long way. He thought his career was over after the 2006 season. He was released by the Tigers, was put on probation for domestic violence as well as being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. His plan was to drive his camper across the country and watch his siblings, including Devil Rays outfielder Delmon Young, play sports. But Delmon and his father, Larry, told Dmitri he had too much left in the tank to quit.

The Nationals were the only team interested in Young. He had a history with general manager Jim Bowden, as the two worked together when both were with the Reds from 1998-01.

Bowden wasn't convinced that Larry Broadway and Travis Lee would provide the consistency with the bat, so he invited Young to Spring Training. The Nationals told him there was a no-tolerance policy if Young had problems off the field again. They would release him the moment he got himself in trouble.

Now, Young is part of the Nationals' future after signing a two-year extension in July.

Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its

Soon Come?

EL FASHER, Sudan (AP) -- A group of elder statesmen, including former President Carter and Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, began a tour of Darfur on Tuesday to promote a political solution to the region's conflict.
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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, left, and Desmond Tutu, meet in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday.

The visit by the delegation of prominent international personalities comes at a crucial time -- with peace talks due to start in Libya and a U.N-African Union peacekeeping force to begin deploying later this month.

It also come days after a stunning attack in which rebels overran an African peacekeepers base in northern Darfur, killing 10 -- the deadliest assault on the force since it arrived in the region three years ago.

"We are not here on a sightseeing tour. We hope we can do something that will make a significant difference ... and bring peace," Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his fight against apartheid in South Africa, told reporters after the delegation arrived in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province.

The Nigerian ambassador to the African Union, Obioma Oparah, tried to dispel fears the weekend deaths of peacekeepers would discourage African governments from contributing troops to the joint force. Sudan has insisted that the bulk of the new force be African.

"No doubt about it, we are deeply saddened by the situation and we condemn the attack on the soldiers," said Oparah, whose country lost the greatest number of troops. But, he said, "We are determined to forge ahead. We are committed." Video Watch what the attack means to the peacekeeping process »

The delegation visiting Darfur -- called "the elders" -- is headed by Carter and Tutu and also includes billionaire Richard Branson; Graca Michel, wife of former South African Nelson Mandela; and several prominent former statesmen from Africa.
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Their visit is largely symbolic, aiming to influence all sides to make peace in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven out of their homes in four years of violence.
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The group met first with North Darfur governor, Youssouf Kabir, then headed to the compound of an aid camp located next to the sprawling Abu-Shok and Es-Sallam camps where 150,000 refugees who fled Darfur's violence are living.

Darfur is scene of the world's largest humanitarian effort, trying to feed those hit by the turmoil. The conflict pits the Sudanese military against ethnic African rebels who rose up against discrimination by the Arab-dominated government. To help put down the rebellion, Khartoum is accused of unleashing Arab janjaweed militias who have burned hundreds of ethnic African villages, killing and raping civilians.