Why do waves go so well with Buddhism? There's something about sex, sand, and suffering -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the beach. But becoming a greater surfer has much more to do with wu wei (the ease of effortless flow), wushu (martial arts), and applying Taoist principles like yin and yang to Zen (jhana) Buddhist practice, which involves mindful in-the-moment awareness and radical acceptance of what is.
Southland facing a triple threat of heat, humidity, and high surf
Temperatures topping 100 inland raise fire risk
Rong-Gong Lin II (July 21, 2026, Los Angeles); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
Southern California will face a triple threat this week of dangerous heat, muggy weather and, along the coast, hazardous high waves. It may be better for surfing, but it will be risky for all beachgoers who get near the water.
"We're looking at an at least several days -- if not longer -- heat event, which can really be concerning," said meteorologist Robbie Munroe of the National Weather Service's Oxnard office. Hollywood may catch fire on the Sunset Strip from all the tourists dripping sunblock.
Officials warned of elevated fire danger across large swaths of SoCal starting Tuesday, with a high risk of fast-moving and "plume dominated" fires driven by heat and instability. Such blazes have large vertical growth and can spread rapidly even when not driven by the wind. More: latimes.com
Wisdom Quarterly's new book on going with the flow while out to sea among brutal sharks, cancerous sun, chapping wind, and rich territorial surf punks suffering from localism and getting into fights about it.
Why do waves go so well with Buddhist practice? There's something about "sex, sand, and suffering" -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy safely on the beach. But it has much more to do with wu wei, wushu, and applying Taoist principles to Zen practice.
For instance, when out on a wave about to ride, instead of "doing," try "allowing." Go with the flow. Rather than interfering or trying to cut against the grain, embody radical acceptance of what is and ride it out. That's what Wisdom Quarterly's resident Meditation Teacher Seven says is a far better approach than struggling to dominate.
Let the waves dominate so that the only thing to do is allow, allow, allow. Then in this allowing, suddenly it becomes effortless and intuitive, perfectly obvious and impossible to explain with words.
People do sometimes try to express it in words, but it all becomes a jumble of oohs and ahhs like surf slang or Himalayan shoestring spiritual seekers on ayahuasca down in the jungles of the Amazon with shamans Michael Harner.
As a graduate student in the 1950s, Michael Harner undertook field research on the culture of the Jívaro (Shuar)Natives of the Amazon in Ecuador [5] as he began to pursue a career as an ethnologist. His UC Berkeley doctoral dissertation (1963) became the basis for his book, The Jívaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls[6]. In 1960-1961 he reported that he became a participant-observer by experimenting with the powerful plant medicineayahuascawith the Conibo of the Peruvian Amazon [5]. He wrote about in the articles "The Sound of Rushing Water" (1968)[7] and "The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft" (1973)[8]. Dr. Harner, Ph.D. returned to the Native Jívaro in 1964, 1969, and 1973, at which time he learned the use of the psychoactiveentheogenmaikua (Daturabrugmansia, jimsonweed) [5]. More
There's a similar feeling to be had by skateboarding or hang gliding, BASE jumping or surviving the pit (slam dancing to a favorite song at a concert). Surfing seems very safe by comparison. It all becomes instinctive and beyond thinking. It's a good place to be just for that moment, rising above the turmoil of the mind or diving into the silence of the heart. Rumi would understand. The historical Buddha pointed out the detailed Path to it.
I'dunno, Bro, looks pretty gnarly. Let's just tan.
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual surfer (or two) uses a carefully modified wood, fiberglass, or polyurethane board to "ride" on the face, the forward section, of a swelling wave of water. This swell usually carries said surfer toward shore or to a watery death by drowning for not respecting Mother Nature enough. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores. But they can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, artificial simulators, lakes, rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools (and also in a physics experiment when a tide pool is sent back to sea). More
Surf Spots - California Beaches: The Wedge? That's Newport Beach. LA's Palos Verdes Peninsula isn’t known for its surfing outside of local circles, and there is a sad reason for that. It’s called “localism.” The area has a severe case of the disease. Located between Los Angeles and Long Beach, and possessing some excellent breaks, one would think this place would be much better known. Locals know all about surf spots like Palos Verdes Cove (near the crumbling peninsula called Palos Verdes Estates), Lunada Bay, Haggertys at Malaga Cove, among others.
A few weeks ago, LA and OC beaches were being subjected to king tides, riptides, with dangerous surfing conditions for experts only. The cause this time seems to be a tropical storm elsewhere disrupting the height and frequency of waves. Surfers may love it as they avoid great white sharks, but others will find it hard to take a dip or swim. Localism is, of course, a greater danger as human sharks with a sense of entitlement circle strangers and drive them out. Expect swells, tubular conditions at The Wedge and elsewhere. Warning: Water may be a little contaminated due to crumbling infrastructure. Sharks are a tiny worry compared to the microscopic contaminants and plastic particle debris. Enjoy.
Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jennifer B., Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
NEMOPHILA takes over The Glass House in the Pomona Arts Colony (next to the Fox Theater Pomona), Los Angeles County, on Tuesday, July 14, 8:00 pm. The cost of attending the future Babymetal overlords in Los Angeles is $25 (DOS) or $39.87 (full price in advance, no surprises later).
Female fronted Mortalis opened, but they need a lot more practice. The drummer was struggling, the singer was nervous, and... what can be said that they don't already know? Next was Islander, which was a significant improvement with the metalcore growling for every song and real guitarwork, though between bands we left and worked our way into neighboring all-ages nightclub The Haven to see A November Morning (a kind of early Job for a Cowboy). The sign at the door clearly says, "No Crowd Killing, Moshing, Slamming, Mosh Pit, Crowd Surfing, or expressions of aggression," the floor was cleared by berserkers doing the tornado with fists, feet, and cartwheels, practicing their karate high kicks. It was all well and good until the young girl with bone earrings in the striped suspenders got kicked in the face and had to be taken out crying, bleeding, and lamenting her choice to participate in the ultraviolence. But A November Morning and the other acts on the bill were good, so good it delayed us returning to the Glasshouse to continue the show. Eventually, we had to and, boy, was it worth it! Nemophila are fantastic.
We love that crazy Disney plush toy fish?
First, what's with the name? Like the unspeakable act known as necrophilia, "love of corpses," the band loves (philia) Nemo from Finding Nemo? Maybe they meant Nemo'tode.
It's not a gimmick. There's very little "hard rock" about it, except that the singer has clearly listened to a lot of Iron Maiden. This is aggressive metal core in the vein of Hanabie. (shown above) and the goddesses that are Babymetal. But every song was solid, as they were coming off of an 11-stop North American tour that started in Chicago, hit New York, and crawled its way to LA. These are future stars with tremendous drumming talent, no ego, young girls who dress more like Billie Eilish or Tokyo schoolgirls than the rockstars they already are. The rhythm section just kept chugging along non-stop. It was amazing. And how the singer, who must weigh all of 80 pounds, can keep that Chester Bennington yell going song after song, tour stop after tour stop, boggles the mind. The highlight was when each member got the mic to speak their love of LA in very broken English. The first few songs were marred by technical issues, no fault of the band, that the club couldn't seem to fix. So they had to delay the show and turn on the lights. In the meantime, the singer got on her phone, seeming to make a call to her mom in Japan about how it was going, but actually using a translation app to explain to the audience that these technical issues were no fault of theirs and please be patient. She later read a speech to the audience that must have taken her hours to compose on the tour bus with a thesaurus. The audience -- mostly white and Latino, older with lots of dads and grandpas, with an unusually high number of teenybopper Asians and their guardian chaperones for an extreme metal show, and not a single Black person -- loved it, chanted along, and after the fifth song broke into a continuous circle pit of appreciation. Watch out, Black Pink and Katseye, these gals are coming.
LYRICS: Babymetal's "Gimme Chocolate!!" - "Give me chocolate! Atatata taata taatatata zukkyun Watatata taata taatatata dokkyun Zukyun, dokyun Zukyun, dokyun/ I won't, won't, won't, won't/ Never, never, never!// [CHORUS:] Check-it-out chocolate/ Can I have a bit of chocolate?/ But my weight worries me a bit these days/ However, chocolate/ Can I have a bit of chocolate?/ But wait a while!/ Wait a while! Wait! Wait! Wait!/ Atatata taata taatatata zukkyun Watatata taata taatatata dokkyun Zukyun, dokyun Zukyun, dokyun/ Not yet, yet, yet, yet/ Never, never, never!/ Check-it-out chocolate/ I can have a bit of chocolate, can't I?/ But my weight worries me a bit these days/ However, chocolate/ I can have a bit of chocolate, can't I?/ But wait a while! Wait a while!/ Wait! Wait! Wait!/ Parappappappaa rappappappaa rappappappaa paapapapapaa/ Too, too late/ Too, too late/ Too, too P! P! P!/ Come on!"
NEMOPHILA’s music can be described as a mixture of various styles ranging from loud rock to grunge.
The band displays a sound heavier than heck, while presenting a soft [infantilized] and gentle-cute character at the same time. The band aims to exhibit an unpredictable mixture in their appearance and fashion along with a positive heavy metal sound bringing a smile to everyone around the world. Full lineup:
NEMOPHILA
Islander
Mortalis
This is an all-ages event presented by The Glass House Concert Hall. Doors open 7:00 pm. The Glasshouse APP: Discover the best nights out in this city, with tailored recommendations synced to any music library.
Keep track of what’s coming up by saving events, sharing them with friends, or even listening to new music in the app.
The Glasshouse has made it easy to swap a ticket with a friend or return it to the waitlist no stress (iOS
Android). MoreVENUE:
(The Huntington) Started streaming at onset of anticipation of bloom on July 6, 2026: Join us as we watch and wait for two unpredictable corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) plants to bloom. The Number 1 question: What does it SMELL like? This is very easy to answer and experience without a visit. Scratch your bum. Cup hand. Breathe hot breath on it. Now take a short whiff. WARNING: Do not attempt if living in Boil Heights or experiencing intestinal parasites such as the dirty fruit bug (cyclosporiasis) currently overtaking the U.S. or if under a heat and humidity alert. Learn more: huntington.org/botanical-...
We traveled from state to state, driving from affordable Arizona to the warm beach town of San Diego on the tip of SoCal on the border with Mexico, which everyone calls the Mexican border.
Q: Wisdom Quarterly, what religion was Alan Watts?
A: While he speaks like a Hindu professing Advaita Vedanta at every turn, and often explains Zen and Mahayana concepts quite nicely, with a grasp of Theravada, by his own admission he seemed to love Taoism best of all, although born Christian and ordained as an Episcopalian priest rather than a Buddhist monk as was his early ambition in the Buddhist Society of London with Christmas Humphreys and other prominent Western Buddhists. He was an early voice in the West for explaining and interpreting Eastern philosophy for Western ears, particularly those of Beats and Hippies, remarkably ahead of his time, openminded, and quite a New Ager. We love him because he has been with us all of our adult lives through Berkeley's KPFA FM, KQED (TV), and he continues to inspire through KPFK FM in Los Angeles (Sunday mornings at 8:00 am and Thursdays at midnight) and the invaluable preservation work of Roy of Hollywood Tuckman.
I blended the footage with digital audio from their album and made this fan video from live footage of the band as well as post-gig footage at Oki Dog in Hollywood, Los Angeles, all shot by Dave Markey.
Dave Markey of We Got Power Films, drummer of Sin 34, was very ambitious and always carried a movie camera and film with him back then. And from the footage he shot, he made some short films and the punkumentary The SLOG Movie, featuring a number of SoCal bands including Sin 34.
This video was put together by me uses his footage, which he shot for the Slog Movie. #WastedYouth #ProblemChild #DavidMarkey #DaveMarkey #WeGotPowerFilms #punk #PunkRock #SoCalPunk #AtomicVideoJukebox #DJAtomic #djatomiclv #djatomic702
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to any of the audio or video. All audio, video, and images belong to their respective copyright holders. I am just here to promote content creators, artists, and musicians, all of whom I hold all in the highest regard. If copyright holders have not been given proper credit for any of their material that appears in this video, or if they wish their content NOT be used in this video, PLEASE contact me so that I may correct the issue by crediting work or providing appropriate links to websites or removing content. Contact me at: hansonmeyer@yahoo.com. Wasted Youth Problem Child 1981 ATOMIC.
Punk's Not Dead; Atomic Video Jukebox, 5/10/21; Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
It's a prom for adults (21+) and a great chance to relive having missed it in high school.
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Jeremiah was not a bullfrog.
Morongo is an Indian casino complex, and the ballroom was rented out so Woody could relive his frustrated childhood. He missed his prom because he was working and determined to have a career in radio. Now that he has it, gosh darn it, he's going to have a prom experience, even as a fat, depressive radio personality with waning ratings compared to the competition he and lackeys face in Los Angeles. But they're heard around the country and online through iheart.com. It started at 7:00 pm, a lot of people were dressed up, and the others were at least wearing joke tee-shirts that looked like tuxedo fronts. An amazing close-up magician named Jerimiah "Jer Bear" DeMatteis wowed the crowd with impossible feats of sleight of hand and stage magick (that may have had demonic assistance because it can't be explained, like a signed playing card ending up two stories up against the ceiling after it had just been all over the deck with a possibly buzzed Greg Gory holding a bag of Funyuns). DJ Tim played.
Jewish Co-Host Gina Grad behaved neurotic AF. Spaz band played. People played. It ended up being better than last year's. Sadly, Chubs Menace was there, using his phone to zoom in on the card on the ceiling. The gays were making time with him, and then he disappeared. He was as gone as Morgan, vomiting in her car, drunk as a furry black and white animal that stinks, missing three hours of the prom. Rick showed up too early and claims he left disgruntled, having asked the concierge where the big party was and not having the sense to plan ahead. Most people, coming in from all over the country, got hotel rooms at Morongo. "If you fail to plan, [it must mean] you plan to fail." Everyone knows that, even Bork and Menji.
Prom update news. It may not even be worth going now. Miss Sammi Marino's new boyfriend, Steamboat Willie, won't let her go. He's planned a family outing to Disneyland with his parents, so she's out. Guess there's always Mel' Morgan, not the pornstar, but the Mellow Melancholy One, the Lucy Goosey grrrl boxer. And Chubs Menace is sure to be snacking on something stup*d.
I was looking forward to it, Woody!
The prom is on for Saturday, June 6th, 7:00 to 11:00 pm at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. It's free, and all are welcome. We’re taking a trip back in time, back to the ultimate prom night with 1980s cover band The Spazmatics, DJ J. Espinoza, and special guest magician Jer Bear performing close-up magic throughout the event.
Dress to impress for a chance to win prizes for Prom King, Prom Queen, Best Dressed, and more. No spiking the punch. Book a room at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Good times, so it's 21+. Dressing up not required but encouraged. No RSVP required.
A prom or promenade is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year [1, 2]. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a prom king and prom queen [3] and/or a prom pandaka (LGBTQIA+).
Other students may be honored with inclusion in a prom court. The selection method for a prom court is similar to that of homecoming queen/princess, king/prince, and court.
Inclusion in a prom court may be a reflection of popularity of those students elected and their level of participation in school activities such as sports or clubs [4, 5].
The prom queen and prom king may be given crowns to wear. Members of the prom court may be given sashes to wear and photographed together [6]. Similar events, which may be locally inspired by debutante balls, take place in many other parts of the world. More
Gaygory, Fats, Gina Grad, and Fats Junior (plus Morgan, Byork, and Sammi are TWS
Sammi Marino (@sammimarino • IG) Productions, Alt 98.7 FM LA; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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