(Wasteland Weekend) Check out the official highlight reel from #WastelandWeekend. Now, it's time for 2025 -- the 15th year of the event -- which aims to be even more epic. Directed and edited by Preston Yarger. Cinematographers: Louis Pei, Christian Cuevas, Justin Ramsey, Nathan Gresham, Christian Agurto, Dane Rising, Mike Darling. Filmed entirely on location at Wasteland Weekend, Mojave, California, 2024.
Wasteland Weekend?
Where's Max? Let's go beyond Thunderdome!
If driving on the 405 Freeway at rush hour isn’t "Mad Max" enough for Americans, then LAist has got a party at the end of the world that might catch some eyes.
Thousands of people will descend on the Mojave Desert on Wednesday, Sept. 24th, 2025, for the annual Wasteland Weekend (wastelandweekend.com) -- a five-day bash inspired by post-apocalyptic franchises like "Mad Max" and "Fallout."
What started 15 years ago as a group of "Mad Max" fans looking to hang out has grown into an intensely immersive destination for people from around the world.
LikeBurning Man, this festival takes place on a barren landscape. But Wasteland Weekenders go all-in on creating another world.
Have others ever felt a passion -- a sense of urgency -- to do what is profitable, what is wholesome and useful toward liberation? If one, there is an accompanying feeling that one is not doing nearly enough to make reasonable progress toward the goal. How much time has passed, and how much time will pass, before we get on the ball? "Long enough, wanderers," the Buddha frequently said, "has it been that we have wandered on in this round (samsara) -- long enough to have become dispassionate toward all formations."
Lord Time clips Cupid's wings
(TOI) It’s July 2nd. You’re sipping ice water, wondering where [half] the year went, maybe even scrolling photos thinking, Didn’t we just celebrate New Year’s? Suddenly, someone says, “Hey, you know today is exactly halfway through the year?”
Wait, what? Yep. July 2nd isn’t just another random summer day stuck between fireworks and a cousin’s birthday party. It’s Halfway Day — the dead-center midpoint of the year.
Half of 2025 is behind us. The other half? Still ahead, ready to be claimed [if we seize the day, or squandered if we worry about Trump and other corrupt politicians advancing Project 2025].
Whether feeling super accomplished or lowkey behind on every goal made back in January, this little calendar milestone is a gentle nudge from the universe to pause, [meditate like you thought you would], reflect, and maybe even restart. More
Time keeps on ticking, ticking...How can I gain energy to make effort in meditation?
Overcoming complacency in meditation
(Beth Upton) April 21, 2025: Here I discuss what we can do if we notice ourselves becoming complacent (lazy, fatigued, unenthusiastic) in our daily meditation practice.
These videos are only made possible by generous donations. Please consider supporting this work: bethupton.com/support-my-work. Patreon:bethupton Find out more about my work here: bethupton.com. Shot by Alexis P.N. and Zsolt Batar. @GuavaFunk: laffcotchtv. Contact: alexispn777@gmail.com.
What the top of Mt. Stupid looks like – Blue Origin’s “astroNOTS” with Katy Perry
(Derek Van Schaik) April 17, 2025: This is not feminism, nor is it progress; this is like pink washing ("greenwashing," a kind of whitewashing or "hogwash" to appear green, in this case to appear pro-female). The world’s most qualified asstronauts in human history recently made a trip up to "space" in a dildonic Blue Origin thruster to do very important scientific research to further humanity.
Okay, maybe kids who graduate from Space Camp are more justified in calling themselves "astronauts" or "scientific researchers" than these blue suited ladies. Well, at least these “astronauts” were professional enough to maintain their composure on their way down to Earth ten minutes later.
Okay, fine, this was a just a billionaire’s version of a 10-minute carnival ride. Yes, the entire trip takeoff to landing lasted just 10 minutes and 22 seconds. And the only "training" they received was how to buckle and unbuckle their seatbelts — so calling themselves astronauts seems inaccurate and unfair to real astronauts.
What’s the saying? Chopping down one tree doesn’t make you a lumberjack — or was that, "Guns don't kill people...it’s mostly the bullets." These sayings are usually used in a different context, but the principle still holds: a single brief experience doesn’t make one a pro. What was most ridiculous thing about this stinking B.O. joyride? Let everyone know in the comments below.
It's interesting, isn't it, how our English words "waste" and "waist" are homonyms? What goes on our waistline butt our excess? Why do we have so much excess that we have to carry it around like baggage? Could it be systemic? That is to say, could it be because of a system working upon us rather than the way we are told to think of it, which is just personally problematic? For instance, what does "mortgage" mean? You know that thing that will get you a house? It literally means "death pledge," because we make a "pledge" (gage) to keep paying until we die (mort as in mortician). There goes our whole life.
There is a rebellious punk rock song by Deadly Reign promoted by the Dead Kennedys' Alternative Tentacles Records (a subsidiary of Jello Biafra, Unincorporated) that has the refrain, "Systems suck, system's f*ck*ed, systems suck, okay?" (from Not So Quiet on the Western Front). And the DKs have a song called "Life Sentence" about the way we've mortgaged our lives away.
Today is "Punk for a Day" Day, and coincidentally Danny "Oingo Boingo" Elfman appeared on the "Horselaugh and Fred Show" on KLOS (95.5 FM, Los Angeles) to judge some new music for "Stay or Go" on New Music Friday. Elfman is doing of Day of the Dead concert November 2, 2024, at the Hollywood Bowl.
This will serve as his Halloween spectacular which he tries to pull off every year. He leads an orchestra to score films, but he does so much more, including working on a new album. He skyrocketed to fame with Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (a sound that may be onomatopoeia for a bouncing bedspring) and his appearance in the fifth dimension.
We fell in love on hearing Jed the Fish play a song called "I'm Afraid." It was scary good and catchy, "Peace of mind, peace of mind, hard to keep, hard to find." Oingo Boingo formed, and it was never heard again. There were just too many OB hits like "Only a Lad" filling the airwaves.
Elfman talked a little about the beginnings this morning on the HF Show, in which a sickly woman with an extra-long tongue cleans Fred's crack (Irish craik), his budding side project station, on a regular basis. And she does it some more, imitating Robin Quivers, weekday mornings.
I'm Mad Max, with Jonesy and Jane, and this is CARMAGEDDON, LA
The big news in LA today is "carmageddon," as the LA Dodgers show the New York Yankees what's what with secret weapon Japanese Shohei Ohtani (pronounced \show-me da-muh-nee\), who is bringing thousands of fans over from Japan, where millions monitor him and watch games.
The previous greatest Dodger ever (legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela) just passed away this week, so there's extra fervor in Chavez Ravine, site of Dodger Stadium and this evening's game.
But Imagine Dragons is playing, and there about three other big shows around town plus countless Halloween parties everyone's attending. One does not want to drive anywhere.
What better way to commemorate the day than LA's Wasted Youth, a hardcore band from back in the day. They attended Uni High, near UCLA, an iconic place, alma mater for many, including Elfman. (Wasted Youth's "Uni High Beefrag" is a pretty funny song if vulgar and possibly misogynistic with typical sophomoric enthusiasm).
Punk for a Day Day
Today, October 25th, is all about celebrating the punk movement and punk music. This is because the movement is amongst the largest in the world and has some distinguishing factors.
For instance, punks dress in a certain way and possess a non-conformist attitude. Due to this, they are often stereotyped and treated as outsiders.
However, this does not change how great the movement is as people continue to join it even today. Moreover, punk bands are heard across the world, and this form of music is created in different languages. (Think of Pussy Riot yelling in Russian). Here is more on the glorious history of the movement. More
Bartender Hailey Welch is the "Hawk Tuah Girl," not Elaine Robinson (of The Graduate fame, a girl from LA who studied at UC Berkeley before returning and marrying the graduate). And this is the most significant story of the day in the US, where a boring election as two guilty parties vie for the right to continue their corruption and graft, using the name of the person to enrich family members behind the scenes. Hunter needs more bribes and pardons, and Ivanka might not always have Jared, but at least the men of the US have a chance to maybe one day meet, date, and be spit on by Hailey. That's the shock news people in this nation really care about. Party on and see how much fun the new promiscuity can be.
One is reminded of Chappell Roan singing "Good Luck Babe" during her sexy tour celebrating drag culture. "You can kiss a hundred boys in bars...good luck, babe..." Meanwhile, what is Bernie Sanders up to? Saving us from corruption and another disaster in the White House? What about The Squad's loudest star AOC? She must be fighting for all that's right and fair. Did Genocide Joe really commit the war crime of sending banned weapons to a country that is using those weapons to commit war crimes? Cluster bombs, which are illegal by international convention, are raining down on Russians because Ukraine knows it has diplomatic cover from the US if its leaders should be brought before the Int'l Court of Justice (ICJ in the Hague) just as genocidal Israel?
Too Good to Go; Gary & Shannon (KFI AM); CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
LET'S END food waste TOGETHER. Food waste is a big problem. We can be a solution. Too Good To Go is the app that lets users rescue unsold food at favorite food spots from an untimely fate. Use the app to explore stores and restaurants in local area -- and save surprise bags of surplus food (some of it vegan or specialty depending on outlet) from going to waste at a great price: Save Food - Help The Planet - Too Good To Go (www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us).
Shelfy (vitesy.com, October 2023); Crystal Quintero, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
We grow it greener. You keep it fresher longer.
Discover a brand-new product: a revolution against food waste. It's a smart device that improves the shelf-life of our food and removes odors from our refrigerators to keep the food we have fresh much longer. There's no need to grow more. Waste less.
Factsopedia, June 15, 2023; CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Junk food is not food: They'll have us eating insects "and loving it" -- feces, maggots, worms...
20 Foods You'll Never Buy Again After Knowing How They Are Made
I just vomited in my mouth. How is this legal?
(Factsopedia) We all love indulging in our favorite foods, but has anyone ever stopped to think about what goes into making them?
From the synthetic chemicals used as preservatives and flavorants in processed snacks to the cruel treatment of tortured animals in factory farms, the food industry can be a shocking and disturbing place.
Maggots have protein. May cause diarrhea.
This video takes a closer look at the production process of some popular foods and exposes the often-hidden ingredients and practices that will may make one think twice before reaching for them in the store. Brace yourself. This video may just gross you out!
► For copyright matters, make sure to send an email to: ithenewwonder@gmail.com
Georg Rockall-Schmidt, 6/23/23; Sheldon S., Crystal Q., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
How Teflon Poisoned the World
(Georg Rockall-Schmidt) June 23, 2023. This is the story of how poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, brand name "Teflon," has poisoned almost the entire world with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is cancer-causing (carcinogenic).
The amount of PFOA in the average person isn't always necessarily harmful. Nevertheless, PFOA can be found in dolphins in Florida, the rain in Tibet, household dust, and human food and water. It's basically everywhere. Yikes!
Life Kit (npr.org, Jan. 10, 23); CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Food waste is a big problem. These small changes can help
(Life Kit/NPR, Jan. 10, 2023) Over one-third of the food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten, harming people's wallets and the world's climate. [We actually waste a lot more food than that when food thrown away at farms and supermarkets is included.] Here are some steps we can take in our supermarket and kitchen to cut back on waste, have more food to eat, and save the planet. More
Yum, potpourri! My loo is beautiful and healthy with a Buddha to remind me to be mindful.
What does it mean to be "mindful" (sati)? It is being aware and accepting what is.
.
"Let that sh*t go" (The Buddha)
A British writer traveled the planet to find the world’s worst public toilet. He says it’s in the country of [formerly Buddhist] Tajikistan, once a part of the Czar's Empire, The Stans, the old USSR or Soviet Union.
It looks like an outhouse that’s about to fall down. It’s built on a pile of rocks with filthy rats and venomous snakes all around.
There are two walls are just a sheet for a third wall, which people sometimes use as toilet paper with which to wipe (929Rock).
By the way, most of the world uses and has always used water for wiping, even before the fancy French bidet craze caught on.
Classy French female riding the "pony" or toilet bidet cleaning herself.
If we had £150,000 to spend, the last thing we would want to do is tour Planet Earth looking for the very worst public toilet. Butt to each his own.
That being said, that's exactly what travel writer and blogger Graham Askey (pronounced \ass-key\ or Phileas Bog) -- also known as the "King of Porcelain" -- did when he trekked terra firma to find the world's worst lavatory.
He believes he has found it -- in faraway Tajikistan of all places.
The toilet in question has been dubbed the "perfect hell hole" -- a poorly constructed tent where the walls double as a loo roll (reusable cloth toilet paper rag). Not gonna sugarcoat it, but that sounds disgusting. More
According to Mr. G. Askey, the toilet in the Ayni region of Tajikistan, on the western edge of the Pamirs and not far from the Afghanistan border, is so vile that the locals refuse to use it unless "absolutely desperate." Askey, a self-confessed "squatter spotter" [and loo investigator], visited hundreds of public toilets in six of the world's seven continents before crowning the Tajikistan, Central Asia, outhouse the worst of them all. More
Doesn't seem so bad except for the poop, rats, and snakes
All materials on this site are submitted by editors and readers. All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the Internet and are assumed to be in the public domain.
In the event that there is still a problem, issue, or error with copyrighted material, the break of the copyright is unintentional and noncommercial, and the material will be removed immediately upon presented proof.
Contact us by submitting a comment marked "private."
Do not follow this journal if you are under vinaya or parental restrictions. Secure protection by Sucuri.
Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at creativecommons.org/about/licenses.
_-_Time_Clipping_Cupid's_Wings_(1694).jpg)
