This morning, after yoga with the wonderful Sally McNally at the An Lac Buddhist Mission in Ventura, Kari Jensen and I went out into the garden to see the preparations for the sharing of the Jade Buddha and the Holy Relics Exhibition tomorrow, Saturday February 12, 2011 at the AN LAC MISSION- GARDEN, 901 S.Saticoy Ave., Ventura,CA 93004. Kari took photos with her nice camera, but for now you’ll have to make do with photos from my iPhone!
Several monks in orange garb and nuns in grey scurried around giving directions to the many Vietnamese people there getting everything ready. Flowers are everywhere, some already in arrangements, others waiting to be placed.
The garden at the Buddhist Temple is one of my favorite places in Ventura. While the Jade Buddha and tens are temporary, the are several monumental statues. While Guanyin has been in the garden for a while, these other Buddhas pictured are new.
If you would like to attend tomorrow, please arrive to be seated by 12:45 for the 1pm Opening Ceremony and a Parade of Buddhists from different countries with monks and nuns. I understand there will be at least 50 in attendance.
There will be Buddhist and other faith prayers for Universal Peace. Buddhist, Native American, Jewish, Christian, and clergy from other religions will present a short prayer for world peace.
At 3pm, a Cultural Show will feature music and dance including Japanese Taiko Drums from Togen Daiko, Oxnard Buddhist Temple, Oxnard, Sacred Songs by Chumash Native Americans, Thai Dance by Wat Thai of Los Angeles, Vietnamese dances by An Lac Mission members, Sri Lankan Dances by An Lac Mission and Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara members, Cambodian and Laotian Dances by Cambodian Cultural Group, Bangladesh Dance by California Bodhi Vihara and Chinese Songs by Alex Tin Guo Aaron Tin Guo.
Following the entertainment, traditional foods will be available for a donation. Everything smelled so good today! I can’t wait to sample various vegetarian foods tomorrow!
This will be an amazing afternoon and evening and I hope to see you there!
If drumming is more your style (instead of chanting!), to further celebrate the presence of the Jade Buddha at the Ventura Buddhist Study Center, join a Drum Circle for Peace to the festivities Thursday evening, Feb. 17, at 6:30pm.
3 Reviews of Academy Award Nominated Films
My friend Ron Wells periodically sends me reviews of books, music, and films. In the past few months, he sent reviews for three films which have been nominated for Best Picture at Academy Awards (Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone.)
Here are links to Ron’s take on The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, and The Social Network.
Because of strong stories and excellent acting, I strongly recommend you go see: The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, and True Grit.
And no, I’m not having an Academy Award Party. This is probably as close as I will get to one!
Need some ideas for Valentine’s Day? Check out my guest blog for the Secret Sherry Society where I go on a quest for sherry and it’s no secret anymore that Belgian chocolate and sherry are a great pair!
Going wine tasting also pairs well with Valentine’s Day–and in Ventura County this weekend, you and your Valentine can go on the prowl with a passport that will let you taste to your heart’s content! Or close to it, anyway…Check out these wineries that are members of the Ventura Winery Association!
Bella Victorian Vineyard and Winery
Camarillo Custom Crush
Cantara Cellars
Casa Baranca Winery
Four Brix Winery
Herzog Wine Cellars
Malibu Family Wines
Magnavino Cellars
Old Creek Ranch Winery (and one of my favorites, Vino V!)
Rancho Ventavo Cellars
Rosenthal Estate Wines
San Vicente Cellars
Squashed Grapes
via Wine Predator
On many Fridays from 8:15-930am, I attend Sally McNally’s Iyengar style yoga class at the Buddhist Temple in Ventura, the An Lac Mission located over on Saticoy Avenue at Darling Road across from Huntsinger Park. 
For a $5 donation to the Temple, you’ll find a great teacher, a wonderful space, and some props available. Sally is so sweet and joyous and really knowledgeable about yoga and how the body works: her training is in nursing and her specialty is in childbirth.
Not only do I adore Sally and her classes, but I love doing yoga in the sanctuary of the church. I think it was formerly a Catholic church and as we do our yoga, we face the stained glass windows that glow with the morning eastern light. I love going just to hear the 3 oms that close class and how it reverberates deep within!
I’ve also enjoyed many talks on Buddhism and life while getting to know Sutadara Tapovanaye, one of the main monks.
Last Friday in class, we enjoyed the flowers and altars set up to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year. The Mission is also getting ready for the arrival of the Jade Buddha. Learn more about both:
via art predator
Poetry: Man Ray Kitty Jumps
Most Mondays, I post poetry and link to the Monday Poetry Train …. For this Monday, I decided to reblog this post I published back in September 2008. I’m thinking of Egypt which I visited just before the uprising. I’m also thinking of Cleopatra’s cat which is a symbol of good luck which I’m sending along with prayers to Egypt as they try to right the wrongs and get back on track. I plan to post more photos and stories about my trip to Egypt soon but you can read a poem I wrote in Egypt, see a video I took as well as photos of Egypt here.
It’s also the Vietnamese Year of the Cat and we did a Pink Panther Rides Again ArtRide last Friday. So fun to ride around in a pink wool suit, purple cowboys boots and a soft pink feather boa tail and ears! (Pictures to come!)
I was also thinking about this poem “Man Ray Kitty Jumps” because it is one of the most popular poems on the site with almost 3,000 page views; it’s averaged nearly 15 page views a day during the past six months.
Surprised? Me too. That kind of traffic for a poem? According to my stats page, the traffic is coming from searches for the surreal artist Man Ray. Even though people are looking for information on Man Ray, they still come to my blog to check out this poem which was written during the 3:15 Experiment in 2003, originally published in Art/Life Limited Editions in 2004 and published in a Valley Contemporary Poets anthology.
Read more below to see the original Art/Life page and to read the poem. You can read lots more poetry by me on this site or order my new collection of 3:15 Experiment poetry from en theos press! I’ll be doing a reading from it on 3/15 at the Artists Union Gallery 330 S. California St, Ventura. I hope you’ll join me there.
via art predator
Lisa Citore’s My Two Cents On Sex Light Addicts & Riding Dragons
Lisa Citore is one wild woman. She’s a dancer. A poet. A Tantra teacher. A yogini. A massage therapist. A greeting card composer.
We met at Zoey’s where I was hosting Spoken Word Salon. She invited me to participate in an erotic dance and poetry event where we each composed poems to go with a different sexual position…then we ran into each other at a performance art workshop where she brought down the house.
She’s written several plays and monologues including her newest one woman show “My Two Cents on Sex Light Addictrs & Riding Dragons” which she will present TONIGHT Friday February 4 at 7:30pm at the Ayni Gallery on State Street in Santa Barbara.
Lisa is funny and heartfelt. She’s a beautiful amazing dynamo. This should be a a great show and I would be there except I’m leading the Pink Panther Rides Again ArtRide through the streets of Ventura.
But part of me will be up in SB with Lisa where she will be pouring her heart out on stage and the audience will be pouring their tears of laughter and a bit of sorrow too I imagine.
So go and enjoy!
The Future of ArtWalk: Arts StakeHolders Meet Tonight at City Hall
Ventura’s popular semi-annual ArtWalks have been shuttled by the economic crisis. What do you think should be done?
In order to find a way to continue these events, the supporters of a thriving Ventura arts community have met to imagine the evolution of our Art Walk through a unique, community-driven process.
The Second All Arts Stakeholders meeting on February 3, 2011, 5:30-7:30 pm in the City Hall Community Meeting Room (501 Poli Street, Ventura) will offer an opportunity for you to work alongside other arts supporters to:
- Cultivate a shared vision for a successor event (or event series) to the Art Walk.
- Identify key success factors for implementing the event or event series.
- Develop a structure for a committee to guide the process.
- Recruit volunteers to involve in the work and identify critical next steps.
Focus on art and artists. The event(s) should focus on artists and their work.
Generate income. The event(s) should provide opportunities for artists to sell art.
Educate and inform. The event(s) should raise awareness and increase knowledge of the arts.
Celebrate Ventura. The event(s) should celebrate our unique arts community and ‘capitalize on the moniker of ‘California’s New Art City.’’ (UGH!)
Create a virtuous cycle. The event(s) should generate the fun, inspiration and ‘buzz’ needed to build momentum, attract resources and perpetuate itself in subsequent years.
Build on existing momentum. This event should evolve by honoring the energy that currently exists among artists and arts organizations.Help write the next chapter in the history of our local arts scene by attending one or more of these important meetings.
New Year Ceremony for Year of the Cat
With the arrival of the new moon comes the celebration of the New Year for many Asians and Buddhists–and the arrival of the Jade Buddha in Ventura! This year is the “Year of the Cat” and the local Buddhist Temple, the An-Lac Mission, is commemorating the occasion with a series of events tonight and in the coming month with a visit by the very special Jade Buddha. Read more about the Jade Buddha here.
Here’s the schedule:
AN LAC BUDDHIST MISSION: Ventura Buddhist Study Center
901 S. Saticoy Ave, Ventura, CA 93004
2011 LUNAR NEW YEAR -Year Of The CAT
FEBRUARY 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 13, 17
The Venerable Thích Thông Hải President & Abbot of the An Lac Mission writes:
May all the members, devotees, well-wishers, & friends of An Lac Mission have a peaceful, prosperous, and happy life in the ‘Year of the Cat’ with the blessings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisatvas. I invite all of you to join us for the New Year Services at the temple beginning from February 02, 2011 to February 06, 2011. After the New Year religious ceremonies you all are invited to go on a pilgrimage to some temples in Southern California on 13th, 2011.
FEBRUARY 02nd (Weds)
06:00PM–Chanting in Pali by Bhante Sutadhara; 06:45PM – Calling of the bell; 07:00PM –ProstrationS to thank the year of the tiger (2010) 08:00pm – lunar newyear’s eve party
11:00pm – new year religious ceremony Year of the cat (2011)
12:00am – good luck red envelopes
FEBRUARY 03rd (Th.) Read more…
Contribute to A Creative Community
What kind of a creative community do YOU want to live in?
On Wednesday, head to downtown Ventura to see the vision of seven individuals and to participate in conversations to make these visions become reality!
Ventura’s 20×20 event this Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 offers food and good times. Take this as an opportunity to mix with the community and push forward fresh dialogue on what’s happening in Ventura!
Where: 230 E. Main Street (near the San Buenaventura Mission)
What: Join us in Downtown Ventura as architects, artists, community activists, and others in Ventura’s design community collaborate on what’s new and happening in ‘creating spaces, places, trends, and a stronger Ventura.’ This will be an opportunity to engage in a fun, creative, and fast pace presentation style allowing 7 presenters only 20 slides each and 20 seconds per slide.
730pm – presentations end and open discussion begins.
Collaborate until 9pm and help propel good ideas into a place of gaining more ground and traction. Come share your ideas and help build a stronger community!
If you have any questions, please email Kevin Waldron ventura.20×20 AT gmail DOT com
“Pink Panther Rides Again” for February 4 First Friday ArtRide
Next Friday is the First Friday of the month which means it’s ArtRide time once again! After party at el Jardin with beer donated from Anacapa Brewery so remember your mug and some money to donate to the Ventura Bicycle Union!
via Bikergo Gal
art predator 