Author Philomena Cunk (with just a tiny bit of help from Diane Morgan) has 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,888 reviews). A VULTURE BEST COMEDY BOOK OF 2023. From the star of the “deeply funny, unexpectedly informative” (The Daily Beast) Netflix mockumentary Cunk on Earth, a helpful guide covering every single topic in the known universe, from Adam and Eve to Top Gun. Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that changes the world. The Origin of Species. War and Peace. Nineteen Eighty-Four.
And now, Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena, by Philomena Cunk. Philomena Cunk is one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century, and in Cunk on Everything she turns her attention to our biggest issue: Why are there so many books? Wouldn't it be better if there were just one? This is that book — an encyclopedia of all human knowledge, delving into not only life's greatest mysteries but our most important political figures and cultural touchstones. Read it, and you'll never have to read another book again. More
(KODEN OBSCURE) May 26, 2026: Zen Wisdom: Been struggling to break a bad habit for years and feel like it's losing battle using willpower?
Many of us are fighting a war we were never meant to wage. In this video, we explore a profound piece of wisdom from the Japanese monastic tradition: Zen monks never fight their habits.
Instead of using force, they use intelligent design. Discover the five unusual and quiet methods used in Zen monasteries to redirect energy, change environments, design time, and observe urges without judgment.
Learn why treating our mind with patience rather than going to war with it is the ultimate secret to lasting freedom. What this video covers:
Why willpower almost always fails in the long run
The "replacement gesture" and how to redirect energy
How breaking the spatial anchor of a room can instantly stop an urge
The danger of "empty time" and how monks structure their day
Why harsh self-judgment actually feeds our bad habits.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The monk who couldn't break a habit
1:29 The secret monastic view of habits
3:01 Method 1: The replacement gesture
4:10 Method 2: Breaking the spatial anchor
5:29 Method 3: Eliminating undesigned time
6:50 Method 4: The practice of conscious permission
8:15 Method 5: Escaping the loop of self-judgment
9:37 - Why fighting keeps the habit alive
10:29 - Wrestling the shadow (a Zen metaphor)
11:37 - How to finally become free.
Make sure to subscribe for more insights on Eastern philosophy, mindfulness, and personal mastery. #zenwisdom #breakbadhabits #japanesephilosophy #mindfulness #selfimprovement how to break bad habits, Japanese philosophy, Zen monk teachings, habit replacement, stop using willpower, Zen monastery secrets, overcome bad habits, personal growth, self improvement, mindfulness practices, replace bad habits, Zen habits, Eastern philosophy, mental health, how to stop overthinking, discipline, atomic habits, dopamine detox, Buddhist philosophy, master the mind
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an annual observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to promote equal participation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields [1].
Did the world forget all the female greats in herstory (his-story)? There was Kwan Yin (Buddhist Goddess of Compassion); Scheherazade; Asherah (the Jews' God's wife); Ven. Khema and Ven. Uppalavanna (the Buddha's chief female disciples); the world's first Buddhist nun (the Buddha's mother Maha Pajapati); Prince Siddhartha's wife -- who became an enlightened Buddhist nun and the top debater in the land -- found hidden all over ancient Buddhist texts by many and varied names: Rahulamata (Rāhula's mother), Bhaddakaccā (Lucky One), Yasodharā (Graceful), Bimbā Devī (Princess Bimba), Bimbā-sundarī (Bimba the Beautiful), Bhadda-kaccānā (Lucky Kaccana), Subhaddakā; though Mahayana Buddhist texts favor the epithet "Yasodharā" the daughter of Dandapānī, she was born Bimbā, and names like Yosadhāri were descriptive epithets applied to her, which later became regarded as names. It is also possible that in Gautama's court there was a Yasodharā, daughter of Dandapānī, and that there later came to be a confusion of names (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names).
The U.N. General Assembly passed the resolution in 2015 [2], which proclaimed February 11th as the commemoration of the observance [3].
A theme is selected annually as a focus point for gender equality [or parity] in science [4].
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is implemented annually at the U.N. Headquarters by the Royal Academy of Science International Trust in partnership with UNESCO and UN Women to promote the role of women and girls in scientific fields and celebrate those who have been successful in the field [5]. More
Sheherazade (mnemonic "She Her a Sadie," Scheherazade, Shahrazad, Šahrzād) is the legendary narrator and central character framing One Thousand and One Nights (Arabic ألف وواحد ليلة, Romanized Alf wa waħid layla).
This collection of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and North African folktales compiled in Arabic between the 8th-14th centuries is a powerhouse in the West, where its origins are deemphasized.
Buddhism came out of the Middle East, not today's geopolitical morass dubbed the "Middle" East but rather Gandhara [ancient Afghani-stan, Saka-stan, Paki-stan, ir "Kapilavatthu-stan," the mahajanapada of Gandhara at the foothills of the Hindu Kush, which are part of the greater Himalayan range, in Central Asia, northwestern frontier of what later became the Empire of "India" united by Buddhist King Ashoka, but was not yet India or Hindu-stan and no longer Maha Bharata), and the Buddha was a Saka (Indo-Scythian, Shakya, Sakya] in the ancient Kingdom of Magadha now the modern Indian state of Bihar. Note that nowhere is Nepal mentioned because, according to Dr. Ranajit Pal, author of Non-Jonesian Indology and Alexander, that seems to be where the Buddha's hometown/homeland was RELOCATED for religio-historical, cultural, and geopolitical purposes after Islamic invasions overrunning the Near East and "Middle" East, and the rich Empire of India, all make-believe designations resulting from imperial British colonialism in a region of the world the ancient Greeks called Scythia and beyond].
Princess Yasodhara, Prince Siddhartha's wife
Sheherazade is the super smart wife of King Shahryar who saves herself, and ultimately all the women in the kingdom, from execution by recounting a continuous sequence of interlinked stories over the course of 1,001 nights.
Sheherazade is not the protagonist in the individual tales she narrates. Rather, she functions as the unifying narrative consciousness of the entire work of brilliance. She's the storyteller.
Through [the use of cliffhangers or] deliberate pacing, narrative suspense, and thematic selection, she gradually transforms King Shahryar from a ruler driven by misogyny and vengeance into a just and stable king. More
Prices start at $2,000 and go up to $6,300, all under $10,000!
The cheapest car in the U.S. today (was the discontinued Mercedes' Smart car at $24,000 then the Nissan Versa at $18,000) is now the Nissan Sentra at $23,000.
Average new car in U.S. costs $50,000.
The model shown here, the Bestune Pony, is only $4,800 (the Playful Pony), the Petite Pony ($6,300)
Man accused of killing healthcare CEO will NOT face state terrorism-related murder charges, but other charges will stand
People's hero or future model?
Handsome accused killer Luigi Mangione scored a major legal victory today (Tuesday, 9/16/25) as a judge dismissed the two top state charges against him, first-degree murder and second-degree murder, both of which prosecutors had argued were "terrorism" crimes.
Mangione still faces an additional second-degree murder charge, as well as a federal murder charge, in the killing [execution, assassination] of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson last December.
I'm super smart, so I'll shoot this thief...
The overseer of Mangione’s state criminal case, Judge Gregory Carro, said “the evidence put forth was legally insufficient” for the two terrorism-related charges, in a written decision that was posted during a 15-minute proceeding in Manhattan court on Tuesday.
I got away by bike; my brows brought me down
“Counts one and two, charging [the] defendant with murder in the first degree (in furtherance of an act of terrorism) and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism, are dismissed as legally insufficient,” Judge Carro wrote. “The people presented legally sufficient evidence of all other counts, including murder in the second degree (intentional).” More
"He's so good looking, he could get away with murder," people say. Deny Defend Depose, the profit-driven insurance companies insist. Are the killers getting more handsome, or is it just me? Sweet, super smart shooters, why? Bonnie and Clyde were popular American figures, Jewish mafiosos who brought down Italian ones by selling them out to the Feds and destroying some families by working with the American government...and we as a population are cheering for more missiles to Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Yemen, Iran, Venezuela...like we just can't keep our missiles in the Pentagon's pants.
Race may play a role in these murder cases, because today the Menendez Brothers, stars of a documentary that almost got them released from prison, lost their bid to retry the case. Now their only hope for release is California Gov. Newsom. (What's in it for him since he intends to run for president and doesn't want to be accused of being "soft on crime"?) And in three years, they can go back to the prison board to petition for release.
What is history? Who knows? Who has time to read? If only there were a way to learn about historical figures and events of significance through music and rap lyrics, like Hamilton, but with wit, humor, and bravado galore. If only. There are Epic Rap Battles on YouTube that concern themselves with history. Imagine seeing the battle LIVE.
Tickets on sale now. Thursday, June 12th, 2025: LIVE in West Hollywood, Los Angeles @ THE ROXY
9009 West Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. erbofhistory.com
Monty Python's Flying Circus competitive mass spectacle sport of Novel Writing (The Final Rip Off)
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A century of spelling keeps going strong
A field of 243 top young spellers will converge on National Harbor, Maryland, from [today] May 27 to May 29, 2025, to compete in a historic Scripps National Spelling Bee.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the iconic American competition, which was first held on June 17, 1925, with just nine participants.
“Reaching 100 years is more than a milestone — it’s a testament to the enduring power of words, learning and the human spirit,” said Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“For a century, this competition has brought people together through eras of profound change — from world wars to the digital age — and still, the Bee continues to inspire excellence, curiosity, and connection. It’s a living piece of American history, and we’re honored to celebrate its legacy.”
This year’s 243 national qualifiers advanced through local and regional bees that took place through the end of March. All rounds of this year’s national competition — preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals — will take place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland.
Highlights of 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee field
Yes, well, it comes as no surprise really. *Yawn*
The spellers range in age from 8 to 14.
Only 53 spellers return from the 2024 field, and 178 spellers – 73% – are competing in their first Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Only one 2024 finalist advanced to the 2025 national competition: Faizan Zaki, who finished second last year behind Bruhat Soma, following his record-breaking spell-off.
Tarini Nandakumar is competing in her fifth consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was a finalist and finished ninth in 2023.
Navtaj Singh, Micah Sterling and Avinav Prem Anand are competing in their fourth straight national competition. Harini Murali is in her fourth Bee overall, as is Zaki.
There are spellers from all 50 states and the [ruling imperial seat of power known as the] District of Columbia [Columbia being the original name of "America," after the titular goddess who was buried and erased from U.S. history, as if Amerigo Vespucci gave the Americas their name].
Texas has the largest representation with 22 national competitors. California is next with 20, followed by Ohio with 15, and Illinois with 13. Florida and New York have 12 each.
There are 13 competitors from outside the 50 United States, representing the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Kuwait, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More
Celebrating a 100-year tradition...
2025: 100 YEARS OF THE BEE
(Scripps National Spelling Bee) 2025 - For a century, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has been much more than a competition. It has become a symbol of perseverance, intellect, and community. From its humble beginnings to becoming a cornerstone of American culture, the Bee has empowered millions of students, fostered lifelong friendships, and united communities in the love of language and learning. Through the words we spell, we tell stories — stories of personal triumph, academic achievement, and the diverse fabric of the American experience. As we honor this incredible milestone, we celebrate not just 100 years of history but 100 years of making an impact on generations of learners and the communities they inspire. Join us in commemorating this momentous occasion, as we reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and look forward to an even brighter future.
What is spelling but memory? Memory, like most things, is due to karma: Ananda
Ananda recounting all the suttas, beginning each with, "Thus have I heard." (First Council)
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This is the Middle Way avoiding extremes
Among all the disciples of the Buddha, foremost in memorization was his personal assistant [and possibly one of his sons with a dancing girl named Mriga, according to some traditions, which would make him Ven. Rahula's half-brother] Venerable Ananda.
[It makes sense that Ananda would also be the Buddha's son but that this would have been suppressed or discarded in most traditions. One shining piece of evidence is when Ven. Rahula (whom the Buddha had ordained at age 7) was 18, he was getting very frisky and overwhelmed by sensual craving, presumably due to hormones at that age and the luxurious life he had left behind in the palace in his former kingdom of Kapilavatthu. He was walking with the Buddha and Ananda, if memory serves, making comments about how at that moment there were in the world only three people with the past karma to become "world monarchs" (cakkavati or chakravartin rulers).
Ven. Rahula, the Buddha, and Ven. Ananda
Prince Siddhartha had turned his back on that possibility, forecast by soothsayers when he was a child, much to his father King Suddhodana's delight. Ananda was already a monk for a long time. And there was him. If Rahula disrobed, returned to the palace, and let nature take its course, he could become king of this world. Such talk worried the Buddha, who instructed a monk that -- after 11 years in the robe learning the basics -- Ven. Rahula was now ready to intensively put the Teachings into practice. He did and thereby attained arahantship. If the other person there was Ananda, it would be among these three close relatives that the karma existed to attain to the status of a world-monarch.] Was Ananda the Buddha's son?
Ananda lived one kappa = 120 years
It is only because of Ananda that we have "Buddhism" as we do. When the Buddha passed into final nirvana, having established the Sangha (the Buddhist Monastic Community) and left in place the Noble Sangha (the community of enlightened disciples in any of the four stages of awakening), Ven. Maha Kassapa took it upon himself to begin a religion. He did this by calling together the First Buddhist Council of fully enlightened disciples (theras and, presumably, theris). The texts say 500 arahants (fully enlightened beings) attended, but this number simply means "a large number." It was almost 499, as it were, because Ananda was the most important person to be invited, but he did not qualify to attend. He was needed to recount the suttas (sutras, sermons, narrated teachings, the Buddha's "discourses").
Another monk was put in charge of the Vinaya (Monastic Disciplinary Code rules). But Ananda was only a stream enterer at the first stage of awakening. So he made a strenuous effort to put into practice all that he knew, had heard directly from the Buddha, and committed to memory. It was no use. He failed. This path cannot be accomplished simply by a "sense of urgency" (samvega), which is important to recognize the meaning of the Buddha's last words to be a lamp unto oneself and work out one's own salvation with diligence (to mindfully put into practice the theory of the Teaching in so consistent a manner that one makes an end of all suffering in no long time). Because he tried so hard, Ananda failed. He had slacked off for years, so he never attained arahantship, full realization.
Now the opposite problem was impeding him -- to much efforting, too much strain, too much craving and grasping. He needed santosha ("contentment") to ease his mind so it could blossom. The night before the Council was to meet, he practiced intensive meditation deep into the night. Finally, he recognized his failure with frustration and exhaustion, so he gave up and decided to go to sleep.
Laying off the pressure (surrendering, giving up, letting go of craving it and needing it), he began to lie down. He was going from the extreme of too much to the other extreme of too little, at one moment achieving balance between the two, the Middle Way that avoids extremes of austerity and luxury. He became the only disciple to achieve awakening outside of one of the "four bodily positions" (lying down, sitting, standing, or walking). He attained, because he let go, between sitting and lying down.
He sat right up and experienced the paths-and-fruits of self-realization (magga-phala). He was welcomed into the Council by the other fully enlightened beings and recited all the discourses he had heard over the preceding 25 years as the Buddha's chief assistant. This is why all sutras begin not with "once upon a time" but rather "thus have I heard" (Evam me sutam).
Buddhist tradition maintains that the disciple Ānanda used the formula for the first time, as a form of personal testimony... [to say that he himself was attesting that this is what the Buddha had said]. Scholars may rightly doubt that this could be true for all sutras, certainly not applying to later apocryphal Mahayana inventions, which have become some of the most famous "sutras" [sutured together sermons with a single throughline or thread] of all, namely, The Heart Sutra, The Diamond Sutra, The Lotus Sutra... More
Nevertheless, it is undisputed that Ananda had a tremendous memory like a spelling bee champion. And one is forced to wondered what it is about India (ancient Maha Bharat, Jambudvipa, Asoka's Empire) that produces to many remarkable memory banks in little boys and girls of Indian origin.
Is it Goddess Saraswati's doing?
Is it the clean vegetarian (ahimsa) diet?
Is it past study of the Vedas (in previous lives) as Brahmins memorizing countless slokas?
Is it genetically handed down?
Is it training and the way the Indian system chose to educate its children?
Is it rich minerals in the soil coming down from the Himalayas nourishing the babies?
Is it Hinduism (or Islam or Jainism or Sikhism)?
Is it yogic magic?
Is it British colonial rule, forcing everyone into a Western model of learning and punishment and stealing Indian and Islamic innovations (in mathematics and sciences, like the invention of "zero" and the Ayurveda or "health sciences") and calling them British?
No, it's not likely this last one, but possibly any of the previous ones.
The Buddha praises Ananda
“The foremost of my monastic disciples who are very learned is Ānanda… with a good memory is Ānanda. ...with an extensive range is Ānanda. ...[foremost] in retention [memory] is Ānanda. ...[foremost] as a personal attendant is Ānanda.” Source: AN 1.219–234: Catuttha Vagga—Ven. Sujato (trans)
Scripps National Spelling Bee; Monty Python; Ven. Sujata (suttacentral.net); memory and the story of Ananda explained by Dhr. Seven; Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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