~C4Chaos

I talk too much on my blog

Damn. I knew it. I guess I'm compensating for my not being too chatty in person. I think I should scale down a bit.

Blogging is Good for Me, and You!

Blogging--It's Good for You, says an article from Scientific American. Here's a key quote:

"Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art." [read more]

Exactly. So I might be suffering (or benefiting) from hyperbloggia?

I've been blogging for about five years now and I can say that blogging has been, and continue to be, therapeutic for me. It's so therapeutic that I even came up with my own blogging manifesto (aka Kosmic Blogging). Based on my experience, blogging is more effective if you blog bits and pieces of you and if your intention is focused on blogging for personal growth. For the spiritually-minded, blogging can also be a form of spiritual practice.

But the bottom line for me is this: Like any activity in life, if you approach blogging with passion and compassion, serendipity naturally follows.

There is such a thing as too much blogging (aka blogging can kill you)

"SAN FRANCISCO — They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

"A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

"Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly." [read more]

I could relate to this because I also work from home. And I blog a lot too. Thank goodness I don't get paid by the blog. There are other things I do on the job. Blogging is my creative and reflective outlet. It's like doing yoga for me. I actually do my blogging on my free time, or from time to time when I'm compelled to share information or reflect on something.

Working from home is a double-edged sword. If you love your job (like me) you're more likely to end up logging more hours than with a regular nine-to-five. The challenge is to organize and prioritize, and to not get lost in the stream of information bombarding us constantly online.

Oh rats! It's way past my bedtime already, again!

Science Blogging is also Kosmic Blogging

A few years back I've written my blogging manifesto(s) on these two posts: Blogging with Passion and Compassion and Kosmic Blogging 101.

Serendipitously, one of my favorite ScienceBloggers, Coturnix (author of A Blog Around The Clock) eloquently captured my own philosophy on blogging with his closing statements on his very compassionate and passionate take on science blogging.

"Building and keeping a community, making friends, networking, proselytizing my pet causes (e.g., Open Access) and making good clear explanations of basics easy to find by Google are reasons why I blog. And I will never tell you how and why you should blog yourself. None of my business." [read more]

Exactly! Just replace the pet cause "Open Access" (note: I'm for Open Access too) with "Integral Stuff", add blog for personal growth, swallow my blog in a single gulp, then this is the essence of what I call, Kosmic Blogging.

Blogs Rule!

See Long Views: Decision: Blogs vs. The New York Times

Blogging is Like Weaving a Kosmic Web...

I just saw a post on ProBlogger reflecting on blogging metaphors.

Here's mine:

Blogging is like weaving a Kosmic web of serendipitous encounters. No wonder my daemon is a spider.

What about you? What's your blogging metaphor?

P.S. OMG! i've committed a cardinal offense of confusing a simile with a metaphor! i have to rectify this. i'm so buck naked.

Pleasure of Blogging

Uncle Scott said: "I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task."

Exactly. The pleasure of a completed task is one of the reasons why I blog thee. Another reason is blogging flow.

2,139 posts = Four Years in the Rabbit Hole

This is my 2,139th post. Four years ago I started blogging without any idea where it would lead to. Little did I know that the *consistent* practice of blogging would have a big impact on my life, work, love, friendship, ideas and worldview.

In the past couple of years I've been consistently updating two blogs: this personal blog and my personal blog at Zaadz. I'm fortunate enough to blog at work and not hide it from my employers and team members.

For four years my blog has been an extension of my thoughts and memories. It's been my personal reflective tool for looking into my patterns and biases. For example, I noticed that in the past year my interests revolved around the following controversial and timely topics:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/religion

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/climate+change

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/conscious+capitalism

I watched more online videos than tv shows:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/videos

I read more books:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/books/bookshelf

I bookmarked more websites:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/bookmarks/

I posted more photos:

http://www.kosmicaperture.com

And I even posted some crappy videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/c4chaos

Reading, watching, reflecting and writing converged into blogging. Four years of daily postings forced me to put my thoughts into blog posts and hyperlinks and put it in the context of what's already out there. Thanks to blogging I have developed a more embracing tolerance and critical thinking.

To those of you who have followed this blog, thank you for your time and patience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and encouragements via comments and personal emails. It's humbling to know that I've touched your lives in small ways the same way you've touched mine.

Four years is just a blink of a pixel in this digitized eternity. Here's to more awareness... in between blinks.

Steve Pavlina on A-List Blogging

via Confessions of an A-List Blogger
...

"If there’s one insider’s secret I can offer to how to become an A-list blogger, this is it:  Treat your blog as your primary outlet for contribution to the world.  Make it your legacy.  Write to pass on knowledge and ideas that you think will really benefit people. Focus first and foremost on providing value.  If you can do that, the rest is relatively easy.  Value builds referrals.  Referrals build traffic.  Traffic generates income.  Income increases your ability to contribute, which in turn helps you provide even more value.  The keys to unlocking this positive spiral are contribution, contribution, contribution."

...

"Being an A-list blogger is a privilege, one I believe must be earned with every post.  Ultimately it’s a position of responsibility, not of status.  I encourage those of you who achieve such a position to take that responsibility seriously.  Use your influence to make a positive difference in people’s lives, but find a balanced and sustainable way to do it, so you enjoy the process without burning out or blowing up. Enjoy the rewards that come your way, but don’t lose sight of the fact that those rewards are a product of your service."

Exactly. Here's to swallowing our blogs in a single gulp!

BBS 2006: Day One Summary

(Crossposted from zBlog:~C4Chaos)

Just got back from Day One of Blog Business Summit 2006. For the most part, there's nothing radically hip or new from what I've seen today. I kinda expected that. I've been blogging for three years now so I already know most of the stuff covered so far. But what it did was, it reinforced what I already know. And that's a cool validation :)

Another aspect I like about this conference is the serendipitous meetings. I met and connected with some cool people. One of them is a Zaadz member, aka The Diva of Letting Go. She has a personal blog called, It's Not About Your Stuff. I also met David of ShapingTomorrow.com – ”Shaping Tomorrow helps people and organisations better anticipate and respond to change.” Another person I met is Anna of Givemeaning.com – ”an online charitable foundation for philanthropists of all ages and means.” Now that's very interesting from a Zaadz perspective :)

Although I already know most of the technical stuff and tricks covered, I still learned a lot of things on the business and legal aspects of blogging. This old dog is always open to learn new tricks.

Finally, it's worth noting that the common theme on blogging ethics is not complex rules and guidelines or fluffy philosophy but simply adherence to the Golden Rule. I couldn't agree more. If there's one ideal that I try to live up to as a blogger, it is the Ethic of Reciprocity.

Below are my real-time notes from all the sessions I attended. Follow the links and get suck into some eye-opening rabbit holes :)

BBS 2006: The Creation of a Sponsored Weblog

BBS 2006: The Future of Findability

BBS 2006: The Blog Advantage

BBS 2006: Getting Started: Your First Blog

BBS 2006: Working Your Blog: Posting and Beyond

BBS 2006: Getting Started with Podcasting and Video Blogging

BBS 2006: Legal Issues for Bloggers

More to come on Day Two!

~C (for Corporate Blogging)

Blog Business Summit 2006 in Two Days

Almost two years ago I brooded upon attending the first ever Blog Business Summit. However, during that time I didn't have much use for the knowledge I would've gained since my blogging is pureful for my own personal satisfaction.

Fast forward to Blog Business Summit 2006... I'm now planning my schedule of which sessions to check out. All scheduled sessions look interesting to me. So I think I'll check them all out :)

Looking forward to all new things I could learn about blogging from a corporate and business perspectives, and to meeting a lot of cool speakers and passionate bloggers out there.

Mental note: Thou shall not forget to bring my Canon Rebel XT. Thanks to Zaadz for this for this opportunity.

Blog Business Summit 2006

(Crossposted from zBlog:~C4Chaos)

A week from now I'll be attending the Blog Business Summit 2006 Conference here in the Emerald City. I'll be representing my blogging-self and Zaadz. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of corporate and personal bloggers and speakers and learn more things about the technology and business domains of blogging. Will take lots of notes and photos. Needless to say, I'll be blogging from the conference to share with you a thing or two.

Kosmic Blogging is about to go mainstream ;)

NOTE: To my dear readers: Let's make this a little more interesting. If you have questions about blogging that you want me to ask the speakers or those uber-bloggers, feel free to post them on the comment section. Let's learn together.

Red ~C Diary: Seattle Weblogger Meetup

I've been a member of Seattle Weblogger Meetup for a while now but I never attended any of the meetups. That is until I finally had the guts to attend my first ever blogger meetup a few days ago. Previously, I didn't attend because I'm a private person in real life. In short, I'm more of an introvert. I was already contented meeting up with people online through my blog. And besides, previously, I thought that I don't have anything useful to share offline. But things have changed. Blogging is now an integral part of my life, online and offline. I don't have to hide my blog from my employers and co-workers anymore because I'm allowed to blog at work now :) In fact, my blog was instrumental in getting me hired. Take that Mr. Donald Trump!

Currently, I have three blogs that I maintain. These blogs are not mutually exclusive. Most of the time I crosspost between them. One blog is for personal (aka The True), the other for work (aka The Good), while the other is for connecting with more communities (aka The Beautiful). Well, at least that's how I look at them.

Moving forward, I think it's high time to take my blogging to the next level and continue to practice what I preach. Kosmic Blogging is for kosmos, not just cyberspace.

Big thanks to Anita Rowland for organizing the Seattle Weblogger meetup :)

~C (for Connecting)

Red ~C Diary: Right Blog Commenting

Tom A. commented: So, how much does Brian "13" Johnson PAY to rub up against Wilber in the hopes of getting some Kenny mojo?

This, like your blog, is a function of crass capitalism, right?  Rip off the reader for the sake of profit?

Funny. When book reviewers are exposed as having been paid by publishers or authors to deliver good reviews, we look upon it with horror. Here, Brian and you are doing very much the same things -- advertising tacitly disguised as opinion -- and you suppose that it is ethical.

Shame on you C4.  Shame on Brian and Ken, too.

---

I did some reflection before deciding to reply to Tom's comment. To him maybe he's still "heckling." But I don't find it funny. The above comment is bordering on slander and libel and does not embody whatever excellent work Tom is doing on his Blogmandu site.

But I'm not the type of person who will be dragged down into stupid lemon-eating debates. Everyone is free to express their opinions on my personal blog. My comment section is open and have always been open since I started blogging three years ago. I rarely censor comments and trackbacks even (especially) if they don't agree with my views. As far as I can remember the only comments I've censored are SPAMS.

My blog commenting philosophy is: Let people say what they want to say. Their arguments and opinions will stand by their own merits. Having said this, in my opinion, Tom's comment above has no merit whatsoever. Therefore, I choose to not engage Tom's "heckling" until he has something of substance to offer. I respect the intelligence of the readers of my blog. So I will leave it to you (readers) to make up your own minds.

I hope that I've shared enough of my interiority and transparency on this blog for people to get a sense of where I'm coming from. I'm not a malicious person. I'm just someone who is blessed to find my calling, my bliss, my passion.

For the record: I'm not paid to blog. I blog because I want to. Blogging fulfills me. Blogging makes me flow. I'm just fortunate enough that my own (kosmic) blogging is supplemented by my right livelihood.

I hope that all of you get the courage to follow your bliss too. Thanks for your time.

Red ~C Diary: Turning the Wheel of Compassion Starts Now

When I started this blog about three years ago I had a clear general intention: blogging with passion and compassion. I didn't know the specifics on how I'd do it. I was relatively new to blogging to know any better. All these years I did my best to honor that affirmation, and I would continue to honor it until this bodymind decides to discontinue this practice.

Recently, I was inspired by a co-worker of mine who added a very simple yet powerful gesture on Zaadz. The gesture was adding a Tibetan mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, on the header section of Zaadz pages. That gesture was very inspiring. So starting today I've also implemented the same gesture by adding the mantra, along with my affirmation on the intentionality of my blog, on the header section of all pages coming from this blog site.

<meta name="description" content="Om Mani Padme Hum, 
blogging, passion, compassion" />

A small and simple gesture that would contribute in turning the wheel of compassion from within, without, and beyond the vastness of the blogosphere.

KB101: Blog your talents with compassion

(via zPod:KB101)

If you have the talent, don't be squirmish to show them off. You don't have to be an expert at it. You can blog your talent as you learn it. It will be more fun and you'll meet people whom you can learn along with. Consider sharing your talents with the world by licensing your work under Creative Commons. It's a more compassionate route when it comes to copyright.

If you've got it, flaunt it! RETICULUM REX rules!

—

Here's something that will surely inspire all the artist-bloggers out there….

Artists take paintings to masses

RICHMOND, Va. — In his sweltering studio on one of the hottest days of the year, artist Duane Keiser should be sweating, but he's smiling. He sold a painting today. And yesterday and the day before yesterday and the days before that going back 18 months. What's more, he's virtually certain to sell a painting tomorrow and all the tomorrows of the foreseeable future. 

Keiser once was one of those artists lucky to sell a couple of paintings a year. Now he's something new: artist as blogger. Every day he makes a postcard-size oil painting of something he sees around town or of a still life he arranges here in his studio in the warehouse district of his hometown. Then he posts an image of the painting on his daily blog, DuaneKeiser.blogspot.com, under A Painting a Day.   

You like it? Want it? Click on it.

Read more…

The Blogosphere is NOT Everything

While some bloggers say (even if only sarcastically) that "the blogosphere is everything," to me this is just a silly (sarcastic) notion. This maybe true for some bloggers who are enclosed and enraptured by their own ingenious blogs, but if we pull away just a little bit and use our bigger beer-goggles, then the blogosphere is just a big slice of cyberspace, not to mention meatspace.

Here are just some reasons why the blogosphere is just a freakin' big slice:

-- State of the Blogosphere, August 2006
-- Seth Godin's Web 2.0 Traffic Watch List
-- Social Networks gaining on Internet portals
-- Digital Divide

A big slice, yes. But still just a slice. Always swallowing mine in a single gulp.Yum!

Red ~C Diary: Blogs and Bloggers are Not Created Equal

I've been blogging for almost three years now. I've met a lot of people online and offline because of my blog. I landed a cool job because I blog. Yet my blog is still virtually invisible within the vastness of the blogosphere. I'm really serious whenever I say that I think I only have around ten (10) frequent readers. If you look at the comment section of my entries for the past couple of years, most of them (like 90%), are Zen-like in their emptiness. No big deal. That didn't stop me from keeping on. I'm still at it going strong. I even have three interconnected blogs to prove it. I don't call them ~Ubiquitous Nirvana just to be cute.

But even with my experience with blogging, I always continue to learn new things from people who've been blogging for a while. Case in point: The 120 Day Wonder: How To Evangelize a Blog by the uber VC Wizard Guy Kawasaki. In it Mr. Kawasaki listed his blogging tips, in the context of his marketing experience. I find some of his tips very useful, while others I don't resonate that much with, simply because my approach and intention for blogging is different than his.

For example, one of Mr. Kawasaki's tips is to think of your blog as a "book" not "dairy" -- to present your blog as a "product." That's a cool advice to make a blog of higher quality than the blog next door. However, in my case, since day one I've never thought of my blog as a "book" or a "product" that I'm out there to evangelise. My blog is primarily for expression. It's more like snapshots of this stream of consciousness. It's neither a diary nor a book, but it can also be both. I make extensive use of tags and categories to organize the streams into sub-streams in order to have clearer context when read from a higher vantage point. But I don't plan them ahead. I just let the context and the connections between context happen over time. I have more trust on serendipity than my own ingenuity.

Another tip from Mr. Kawasaki is to "answer the little man." This is another useful advice. I also find myself talking to the "little man" before I blog something of significance. What is the value of this rant? Am I just trying to make myself look cool on this post? What am I trying to accomplish with this essay? Is this post compassionate or would it create more suffering? However, there are times when I just post whatever. And there are also times when the "little man" is wrong. This is my blog you little man! Shut the f*ck up and just let me FLOW!

Then again, Mr. Kawasaki's tips, as useful as they are, are not for the majority. There will always be bloggers who would rant and destroy rather than create value. There will always be bloggers who would focus more on themselves rather than ideas. There will always be bloggers who would focus more on ideas rather than themselves. And there will always be bloggers who would do all of the above. That's because bloggers go through stages of moral development. And so their blogs too.  

Stages and Styles of Blogger Development

AQAL 
{
Pre-conventional: What's a blog? ;
Conventional: Check me out! ;
Post-conventional: Don't look at me, check this out! ;
Trans-post-conventional: What's a blog?
}

Vox: My First Impressions

I finally got an invite to join Vox. I spent a couple of hours exploring this new cool blogging / social networking tool. All I can say is, VOX IS HAWT!!!

Vox is Blogger + LiveJournal and then some! Photo functionality is integrated with Flickr and PhotoBucket; Video functionality is integrated with YouTube; Audio functionality is integrated with, um, nothing yet (i hope they integrate it with Odeo). The Organize feature is kick ass! You have access to all your stuff in a single portal. The Explore Your Neighborhood provides users with a cool navigation to easily explore the Vox network. Design customization is limited but sweet since there are lots of themes to choose from. The tagging feature is neat and I really like the automatic importing of tags from Flickr and YouTube. For now, all I can say are props to the SixApart team for doing a fantastic job of integrating blogging and social networking functionality into one cool package -- one blog tool to rule them all. I feel like a kid with a groovy new toy. I hope they open up their API so we can integrate it with Zaadz.

In the meantime, I'll be exploring this Vox Rabbit Hole some more. Check out my my Vox Blog and my Vox Profile. I'm adding this thing to my ~Ubiquitous Nirvana. That is all for now. 

~Blogging in Duality

~C4Chaos : ~C4無秩序

CrossZaadz Plugin: WordPress to Zaadz! W00T!

Attention WordPress bloggers! Jay (aka The Pagan Bodhisattva) just released his uber cool CrossZaadz Plugin.

"The CrossZaadz plugin enables WordPress bloggers to crosspost from their blog to their blog on the Zaadz spirituality community. Zaadz is a great place to confab with other spiritual folk and incubate new and exciting ideas in human consciousness evolution. CrossZaadz makes it easy to maintain a public blog presence as well as a more "internal" presence on Zaadz."

So if you have a personal blog and you use WordPress, you can now feed your Zaadz blog in a single stroke. For those who don't have a Zaadz account yet, you can always join for FREE.

Consider this just a preview of cool Zaadz plugins to come. Personally, I'm looking forward for a Typepad plugin :)

You rock, Jay!

Ze Da Vinci Code Project

I'm running a little Collaborative Intelligence experiment on Zaadz. I call it,

Ze Da Vinci Code Project.

Check it out.

If you're already a Zaadzster feel free to participate. If you're not yet a Zaadz member, how come you're not a Zaadz member? you can always join for FREE you know :)

OR, you can still participate via the comment section of this blog.

Let's do it!

UPDATE: Here's my ~Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code.

Transcendental Pressure Melts Your Bones and Fries Your Eyes

via KW: Blog: A Love Affair with Truth (by Clint):

“With a fierce compassion and pinpointed accuracy, Ken turned the spotlight on the narcissism hiding out in John’s noble intentions. In summary, Ken offered the following: This narcissism says that you aren’t going to do a moderate amount of really good work because it is not going to change the entire world. Basically, you hurt the greater good and yourself because you are holding out for grandiose desires. Better to do some moderate good lest you die and find out that you haven’t done anything. This anxiety you speak off is eros, and all of us involved in bringing the Integral vision to life are blessed and cursed with a great deal of eros. We are moved by this transcendental tilt to make the changes that will bring about the greatest good, for the greatest depth and the greatest span. We can’t let our narcissism stop us from taking the first step because it is not a global step. We need to learn techniques to handle eros—the transcendental pressure that will melt your bones and fry your eyes—so that we can realize our Big Minds, Big Hearts and Big Hands (Wisdom, compassion and skillful means) and watch our big egos. The combination of both will help us clear enough bramble so that we can start taking steps towards riding this coming wave of integral consciousness. A wave that people will be surfing. This is not grandiose and it may as well be you.

“The room was silent, riveted, awash in the truth and beauty of this call to realize the incredible energy and power tied up and trapped in the depths of our shadows. From this, reemerged the question about Ken’s purpose. To hear his answer, Click Here for MP3 or Click Here for Windows Media, and listen to the full 18-minute dialogue between John and Ken. His answer is profound, yet deceptively simple. He reveals the essence of what guides his work, writing and life. And, in doing, invites us reexamine our relationship to the purpose guiding our greatest aspirations.”

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons why I blog.

Dreaming in Kanji

(Targeted)Serendipity + RETICULUM REX = KICK @$$. Check out these out.

Japanese Translation in old-style Kanji of Buddhist++ Floetry (which is a remix of this). See?

buddhist++ floetry
Originally uploaded by coolmel.

Japanese Kanji for Chaos (disorder). Watch this blogger-body-mind make this into a household tattoo....

~C4Chaos Kanji (in red)
Originally uploaded by coolmel.

Thank you Ayako!

That is all (for now).

~C (for Culture Remix)

---

Tagged @ Ma.gnolia with: kanji, ayako, serendipity, tattoo, japanese, xistential memoir, creative commons, reticulum rex, existential memoir, kick ass, free culture, ~c4chaos, ~c4無秩序, buddhist++ floetry, calligraphy, mogen, artworks, art

---

Tagged @ Zaadz with: Kanji, Ayako, serendipity, tattoo, Japanese, Xistential Memoir, Creative Commons, RETICULUM REX, Existential Memoir, kick ass, Free Culture, ~C4Chaos, ~C4無秩序, Buddhist++ Floetry, Calligraphy, Mogen

Pagan Bodhisattva On The Blogosphere as Teacher

I was surfing the waves of the Buddhoblogosphere when I bumped into the Pagan Bodhisattva. He IS a kindred buddha-blogging soul! I had no choice but to bow down to his wisdom. Here's what transpired in the comment section. Read the entire post for a more compassionate context. Thanks, bro, I needed this affirmation. And now I'll do my laundry...

"I also know what it's like for blogging to become a dangerous obsession."

thank you for articulating this. you really do understand what i'm going through. i will take your wisdom to heart so i don't screw myself up, and those i love.

"We can all teach according to our capacity, just as we all learn according to our capacity. I have great capacities for learning and communication. It would be silly to keep these to myself. There is no need for myself or anyone else, after all, to be the "perfect" teacher, to be "The One" a la Neo."

you really do understand me man! thanks again. my intention is to teach what i can while learning what i can, in hyperspeed, until i burst out laughing.

"And I believe blogging is the perfect medium for teaching in this manner. Blogging can be ego-driven and single-minded, sure. But as shown by the blog roundups at Blogmandu, it can also create a rich dialectic of insight. The one dissolves into the many. One person's insights aren't as important as the network of insights. In other words, we can all be teachers - from the most enlightened among us down to the rankest spiritual amateur. This is the social dimension of spirituality taken to a new, exhilarating level."

perfect! i will quote this. you have a better flavor at articulation my friend.

"Perhaps that's what Coolmel - er, C4 is feeling in his recent "rush" of blogging. Let's hope for all of our sakes that it is. (And let's hope he manages to do something about the pits. There's nothing worse than a sweaty Bodhisattva.)"

i hope you're right. but like i said, i'm just flowing with serendipity, no end goal, no lofty plans (well, maybe), but you're right, i need to really do something about this sweaty piece of sh*t. so i will go to QFC and buy the strongest anti-perspirant i can get.

take care and stay lucid!
~C (for Can't stand the sweating)

P.S. speaking of blogging addiction, do you have a Zaadz blog? i have. ooops! sorry man, don't blame me.

P.P.S. i see you have a blogger named coolmel in your blogroll. who the f*ck is that?! i'm outta here! w00t!

~C4Chaos in Duality

Pssst! Check these. Follow the rabbit holes....

http://www.c4chaos.com

http://www.cforchaos.com

Cool, eh? What do you mean, not cool?

~C4Chaos Says Books Suck!

Just kidding again. It's only half-meant. I actually have a list of Books That Don't Suck (yep, that's a plug, hence the bold and the italics). But I don't have any lofty plans of writing a book, because blogging kicks more seeds (disclaimer: until we have digital readers that can hyperlink to the Web that is.).

Anyway, here's another nugget of wisdom regarding books and blogs, via The real threat of blogging (note: i added the hyperlink to the quote) --

....Publishers are interested in printing books and articles they can sell, nothing more, nothing less. When publishers evaluate a book proposal, they don't ask if the work is true or original or insightful or well-written. First and foremost, they ask themselves if they can sell it. If they don't think they can, they pass. If they believe there is a market and that they can effectively market the work, they buy it....Blogs are threatening to a certain type of writer not because they allow mediocre writing to flourish — the commercial market already does that. They are threatening because they unequivocally demonstrate that commercial publishing does not necessarily represent the best writing that is available.

Like I said, Kosmic Blogging Goddess(Rebecca) rocks! Mwah!

ZPod:KB101: RSS Feeds For Your Kosmic Souls

I've compiled all Zaadz Pod: Kosmic Blogging 101 RSS feeds in this post. Check them out. They're radically hip and groovy.

~C4Chaos Says FAQ Me

Since this blogger-body-mind is undergoing a radically-hip-evolutionary-fluffy transformative translation, I thought of revamping my cheesy old Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

The seed of this idea came from Scott Adams when he asked his millions of readers to pin him down with his opinions. Groovy, Uncle Scott. Just groovy. So in the spirit of participatory revolution, here I am transcending and including that idea. I would like to ask my ten (10) readers to help me build an uber-hyper-evolving FAQ section. This FAQ section will be dynamic. I will constantly update this and link to this on the main page of this blog.

So go ahead, ask any questions. I give you no guarantee that I will answer everything, but for what it's worth, I will attempt to answer them with authentic interiority and a dash of chaotic smugness. ~C is not for Cute and Cuddly. Thanks and be gentle.

---

HYPER-EVOLVING FAQ:

---

Matthew asks: "What is your ladyfriend's name, where does she live, and why do you love me so much? DYB!"

I call her ~myDakini. She lives in my heart. I love you so much because you love me too. Right back at yah!.

Matthew asks: "How come I can't add hypertext to my words, but you can to yours? Is Zaadz's a better textbox in your opinion?"

Um, eat this! Then read this. I see that this is a trick question to shamelessly plug your Zaadz Blog! This will not be tolerated!

Matthew asks: "...Be specific (as in, "yes, my heart lives in the Filipines" or something)."

You spelled Philippines wrong. I choose to ignore your other boring questions. You troll! Now where is my Troll Kolektor?

A super hot female asks: "Is there anyway to add notifications to this blog? Matthew is sexy! I think he's the most interesting person around."

Shut the f*ck up Matthew! I can see right through you! No "Super Hot Female" ever reads this blog! Except for ~myDakini.

---

Tom Armstrong asks: "Are you Buddhist or not?"

Yes, and more. But you can also call me Buddhist++ for short.

"Is authentic interiority the same as buddha-nature?"

Yes. Because everything is buddha-nature.

"A test will determine what seventeen people in the world are best suited to being your friends. How much money would you be willing to accept/pay to exchange your current friends for people who, truly, would be perfect for you?"

ZERO. Because friendship is FREE and PRICELE$$.

"Ken Wilber offers you the Teal Pill. No more need to stive to overcome suffering and become wonderful, this simple pill does it all for you, boosting you to the Spiritual Pinnacle. Would you swallow the pill if it was safe and effective but made from animal byproducts?"

I'd take it in a heart beat. But you forgot to mention if it's free or not.

"For a two-week period, God will allow you to exist without a conscience. You'll be free to do anything you want with no pangs of regret or shame. No matter what happens, you will feel good about yourself. After the end of the period, you will be allowed to decide whether you want to switch back to who you were, or remain a psychopath. Would you take God up on his offer?"

Yes. I've always wanted to have passionate sex with Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, all at the same time, seven days a week. Two weeks should be just right. Then I'll choose to switch back. But you forgot to mention if I'd get to keep the memories of those events or not.

"Ceefour, re 2 wks as a psychopath: You get to keep the memories of being a psychopath. But of course your decision to revert back to who you now are would be decided, not by you, but by the psychopathic you."

But I'm already a psychopath to begin with, and so are you. That's why you read me. But don't be cute and call me "Ceefour," it's ~C4Chaos to you, or ~C4無秩序 if you can speak, write, or read Kanji.

---

Brondu asks: "Where did Damn you Banana start/come from?"

It all started with Matthew's lame performative contradicting Top Ten List. Matthew explained the origin of DYB in his blog post.

"How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand? Bob Dylan asks that to a lot of people. Very frequently asked if you ask me."

I won't answer that. I'm not a freakin' hippie. I don't care about Dylan. SRV is my idol.

"Do you reserve entire nights for video games? Watch Late Night TV?"

I used to. I don't own a TV. In short, I grew up.

"Eat breaded chicken by accident?"

By purpose. I eat more breaded shrimp. Like shrimp tempura rolls.

"Have nightmares about burgers ever since you turned semi-vegetarian?"

No. I'm not semi-vegetarian. I'm vegetarianatkinstarian and then some. But if you're a vegan who can read Kanji, check this. It rocks!

"Drink gatorade?"

Used to.

"Read Watership Down?"

WTF is that?

"See the beauty of the Ferret?"

Hell, yes.

"Sit quiet in blizzards as spiritual practice?"

No. I hate cold.

"Do any spiritual practice?"

I blog.

"Count everything you do as spiritual practice?"

No. Not even masturbation.

"Feel free to fart around others as long as it is in your own house?"

No. I'm shy and I've got ethics.

"Have the President's e-mail address?"

No. But I have his mailing address and telephone numbers. Are you talking about Canada?

"Have Scarlett Johansson's e-mail address? Entertain notions of acquiring the aforementioned debatably-sexiest-woman-alive's e-mail address? Care about celebrity e-mail addresses?"

I wish. Yes. No.

"Do you own your own house?"

Soon.

"What's your policy on swearing or disgusting topics?"

Depends on the context and your target audience. There is such a thing as targeted disgust and cussing. Brood upon this.

"What would you never allow out of your mouth?"

Turd.

"Do you ever blog about troubled bowl movements?"

If and when I get it, I'll blog about it. Is pissing ok?

"Do you know the meaning of life?"

I believe I do. If you don't believe me, you can believe what other people are saying about what they believe the meaning of life is.

"What is your relationship to shame?"

I'm shy and self-conscious in person. That's why I blog.

"Is guilt ever worth it?"

Yes. For a while. Then you move on.

"On a scale of 1 to 10 how awesome is passion?"

11.

"Kosmocentrically speaking, how much of an impact do you believe you are having?"

Only time will tell. But if I'm having an impact on you then my time has been worthwhile.

"If Douglas Adams died young, does this mean pretty much anyone could die young?"

Yes. Do aborted babies count?

"Would you ever take the place of Dr. Laura? Is it morally wrong to take the place of Dr. Laura? Do you know who Dr. Laura is? Kosmocentrically speaking, what is the origin of Dr. Laura?"

No. I prefer Dr. Ruth. For a fluffier advice column, check out Cary Tennis.

"What is your opinion on legalizing marijuana?"

Why the f*ck do you care when you live in Canada? But to answer your question, I think the government should look at The Netherlands. And no, I don't use marijuana, or any illegal drugs. Never have. But I'm open to new experiences. But no, I won't join you.

"What is your opinion on giving political opinions?"

It's a good thing.

"What is without an opposite?"

Stuart Davis says Love. I think he's onto something.

"Fourteen days ago I petted a dog on the forehead. Could this start a hurricane in China or not?"

Twenty-seven years ago I petted a dog on the back. He bit me. I still have the marks. So my answer is yes.

"What is my real name?"

Who the f*ck cares?!

"Is it too subjective to postulate how serious I am right now? I'll shut up."

I think you're serious and you care that's why I took the time to answer all your crap. Thanks for shutting the fart up.

---

steve asks: "What year will we hit the Singularity?"

2025.

Vince rebutts: "Correction on the singularity date dawg, according to Kurzweil it's 2045, not 2025... ;)"

"I set the date for the Singularity--representing a profound and disruptive transformation in human capability--as 2045. The nonbiological intelligence created in that year will be one billion times more powerful than all human intelligence today" - The Singularity is Near, p 136."

Dawg, the dude asked me. Last time I checked I'm not Ray freakin' Kurzweil. So my answer is 2025. Dig? Watch me.

---

ken wilber asks: "hey buddy, i'm not sure what stunt you're trying to pull here, but i'll play along. those street drugs are not working at the moment... so, can you give me the top 4 reasons why you're doing all this shit?"

Holy AQAL-man! Is it really you?! the KW?! Ok, I'll pretend not to be giddy as a school girl and answer your questions with my authentic perspectives beer-goggles.

#1 -- My ulimate cause is actually to let the whole of samsara know that Voltron is a copycat!

#2 -- I really dig your Integral Theory and it has changed me a lot. In fact, it turned me into a fluffy monster. So if I step on your toes from time to time, you only have your Original Face to blame.

#3 -- Blogging is my spiritual practice. It's more effective than those lame 1-minute module thingies, ugh! I really think you should add kosmic blogging to your ILP 2.0, otherwise you'd be doing RETICULUM REX a disservice and will only negatively contribute to the calculus of our collective torment. You dig?

Speaking of RETICULUM REX, I think you should also seriously consider this: Creative Integral Commons.

#4 -- Because blogging is a lot better than street dugs and pissing in the snow. And it's legal and ethical too.

"tell me, honestly, are you competing with Integral Naked (IN)?"

Hell, no! I've just outgrown my juvenile fascination with the IN forum. People there are cool but they're too wimpy for my taste. All talk. Too heady. Too geeky. No action. Phooey! Not very fluffy. I tried to get them into blogging, but most of them chose to cower within their so-called integral walled garden. I say that's classic BOOMERITIS. Or maybe, they're just clueless. But I won't degenerate into name calling. Patience is not my strongest virtue. But I'm still a proud member of IN, because the What's New section is still steaming cool.

"are you competing with Integral Institute (I-I)?"

Hell, no! In fact, I've been patiently awaiting its launch since time immemorial.

"because when it launches this Spring, i think it will make you look like a fool."

With all due respect, it's almost Spring already, you've been saying that since... There I can't even remember. But I still have faith in you and your groovy I-I crew. Then again one earth year is equivalent to 1,000,000 in blogging years so by the time you launch, ~C4Chaos will be like,,,,UNICRON! And we all know that even The Multiplex is no match for that!

"or probably you're doing all of this just to get noticed by my good buddies, the Wachowskis?"

Hmmm... Thanks for the idea! I never thought of that. But before I become a groovy Hollywood material, I need to get noticed first by Scott, Boing Boing, Slashdot, and WIRED. When I'm done with all of those, then yeah, you can be my agent. And don't worry, when I get interviewed by WIRED, I'll do a Clinton move and name-drop you too. Then you'd be more popular because the Pop Culture doesn't care about World Economic Forums and geeky Ultimate Matrix documentaries.

"and why the f*ck are you trying so hard to get me into blogging when i already repeatedly said that i ain't got no time?"

Because I think you're missing a lot here, Ken. I don't buy that "I ain't got no time" crap of yours. Matthew is right. You're a freakin' writer! What's two or three sentences per day?! You don't have to defend AQAL, or write another book fer Chrissake! Just give us some samples of your interiority, your authenticity, your poetry, your humanity -- your Simple Feeling of Being and One Taste, in blog form. Not everyone can write stuff while their brainwaves are down to ZERO, you know.

"but here's the most important question... it's been driving me nuts lately everytime i look into the mirror... so, on the scale of 1 to 10, how hot do you think i am? i have a feeling that you're doing all of this for me."

9! I instinctively uttered that, not in a brokeback way. You may be hot with the ladies, nimfadoros, and effeminate men, but don't let your ego grow big and rut, cause you're still NOT ALL THAT!

Fart! Is this a trick question?! I smell something fishy here. I think you're a poser and a fraud. Is it you again, Matthew? That last question was a giveaway. Ken would never ask that because he's too humble and Selfless. So please don't pull this trick again. Understand that I answered all your questions because they were relevant and entertaining.

---

Matthew rants: "I think it's funny though that you thought it was me... we already know KW "essentially agrees with" me. In fact, for about ten years, I've had this suspicion that Ken has hired someone to follow me around with a notepad. In fact, I think I came up with "A Brief History of Everything" while I was singing in the shower one day. When I turned off the water, I could have sworn I heard the door slam, but I figured it was just my imagination. Hmm..."

I think this is one of those rare instances in which you make sense.

"So good guess on thinking it was me, but KW and I just think alike. We're not actually the same person like you and Scott Adams. Oh, but I'm supposed to be asking a question, so what's your take on the inevitability of you losing to me in a game/tournement of wits?"

I think you've just proven my point. You misspelled tournament. Here's a Dilberito. Feel free to shove it up your nose. Don't worry, it's made of yummy tasting veggies, and backed by enlightened capitalism.

"What?! That's how you spell tournament?? Well, I'll be damned! Best 2 out 3?"

You blew your one and only chance! Now be gone like a bad dream! It will be good for you. Just stay home with your tasty chihuahua. And give my regards to Ayako, because unlike you, she IS cool. ~C4無秩序 and Asian babes rule!

---

Victoria observes: "Couldn't have been Ken in that question though. He would never worry that anything or anyone is competing with IN or II. That last questions however, sounds a bit like his sidekick. Can't you just hear Stu asking if you think he's hot?!?"

I don't think it's Stu. He rocks, but he's not that witty. Plus, he cusses a lot, sleeps with hundreds of people, a babymaka machine, and believes in aliens. Like I said, not that witty. But to answer your question on whether Stu is hot or not, I say neither. He's a nimfadoro, and he admits it to his teeth.

---

~Matthew asks: "Ok, so NOW which textbox is better? Zaadz's or typepad's?"

This is a tough call. However, as of this writing, I personally think Typepad is better since I can easily switch from rich text editing to plain text editing. I like editing in plain text. For now, Zaadz text box will only allow you to do plain text editing by manually turning off Javascript on your browser. Now if Zaadz text box would have a button to easily swtich from rich text to plain text editing then Zaadz will be BETTER.

What da?! Is this another ploy to pimp Zaadz? This will not be tolerated!

---

Next question! (please don't be boring like ~Matthew and Brondu).