MetaFilter posts tagged with Monks

Monks in Space!

Artw — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:30:30 -0800

Concept art for the Alien 3 that never was - Before the Walter Hill version was shot, entirely in brown, by David Fincher there were many iterations of the Alien 3 script. One of the more exotic ones was the Vincent Ward & John Fasano "monks in space" script, illustrated here. [via io9]

Drowning

homunculus — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:24:13 -0800

Can the Burmese people rescue themselves? A powerful piece by George Packer in the New Yorker on the recent history and current conditions in Burma.

Between enraged and engaged Buddhism

homunculus — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:35:17 -0800

Asia's Angry Monk Syndrome. [Via]

Poison pen

WPW — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:18:21 -0800

Historical fact follows historical fiction. Lick your fingers to turn the page. Possible historical fact, anyway: "Medieval bones from six different Danish cemeteries reveal that monks who wrote Biblical texts and other religious materials may have been exposed to toxic mercury, which was used to formulate just one of their ink colors: red."

Burma: monks vs. junta

homunculus — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:20:44 -0800

Monks Succeed in Cyclone Relief as Junta Falters. In Burma (Myanmar) the Buddhist monks are doing more than anyone to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. At the same time, Burmese officials are trying to stem the influence of the monks by forcing survivors who have sought refuge in monasteries to return to their shattered homes. [Via Barbara's Buddhism Blog.]

The Zen Mind

homunculus — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:08:29 -0800

The Zen Mind - An Introduction. A Day in the Life of a Zen Monk. Zazen - A Guide to Sitting. Interview with a Zen Buddhist Priest (previously). Happy Rohatsu!

Shaolin Awesome

lazaruslong — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:22:29 -0800

Over the past eight years, photographer Justin Guariglia has slowly but surely won the trust of the notoriously secretive warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple. Shamelessly taken from kottke.org, because this is some amazing photography and video. "With the blessing of the main abbot, Shi Yong Xin, Guariglia has earned the full collaboration of the monks to create an astonishing, empathic record of the Shaolin art forms and the individuals who consider themselves the keepers of these traditions. It is the first time the monks have allowed such extensive documentation of these masters and their centuries-old art forms-from Buddhist mudras to classical kung fu-in their original setting, a 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple." Additionally: Yes, the single finger handstand is real.

Monks back on the streets of Burma

schroedinger — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:55:08 -0800

Monks march again in Burma. Approximately one hundred Buddhist monks marched in protest oif government policies in the central city of Pakokku yesterday. One monk who spoke to journalists claims more marches will be organized. Will we see a resurgence of the mass marches--and crackdowns--of August and September?

Burma

homunculus — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:05:35 -0800

Risking all: the Burmese jokers who laugh in the face of danger. In Burma (Myanmar), comedians are targets in the junta's war on words. [Via BB.] The Moustache Brothers have a website, but it doesn't look like it's been updated for some time. Htein Lin, the artist mentioned in the fifth link, was the subject of this post.

helpdesks in history...

drhydro — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:58:25 -0800

Introducing.... the Book.

deep reverberations

nickyskye — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 23:30:06 -0800

Multiphonic chanting of the Gyuto Tantric University monks. [more]

Like a Chinese Petra, but for Monks

jonson — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:10:52 -0800

The Hanging Monastery of Xuankong is is one of China’s unique and remarkable feats of architectural engineering. It is built about a third of the way up a vertical cliff in Golden Dragon Canyon. The temple consists of forty caves, or rooms, including six main halls, but its characteristic feature is the elaborate wooden façade of pavilions and walkways precariously resting on timbers jutting out horizontally and vertically from the cliff.

Black Monk Time

MetaMonkey — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:44:39 -0800

The Monks
Formed in the early '60s by American G.I.s stationed in Germany. After their discharge, the group settled in Germany to concentrate on finding a unique sound, and soon began to shave their hair into Monk's tonsures and appear in cassocks. One of the truely original bands of the 60's, The Monks are now often refered to as 'proto-punk'. The Monks experimented fervently, developing a unqiue sound, with heavy bass, repetitive but amelodic rhythms, nursery rhyme style, yet powerful vocals and a good helping of feedback. They recorded only one albumn, Black Monk Time, until their 1999 reunion.
Hear some tracks from the albumn (in realmedia), See and hear The Monks Live in Germany, Also, check out Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback, a documentary (with trailer, though there seems to be something wrong with it). [Trivia: the song I Hate You can be heard in the background in one scene in the bowling alley in The Big Lebowski]

Monks and Beer

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 21:30:32 -0800

Trappist Ale. (warning, music on first link.) The six Belgian breweries Achel (little English), Chimay, Orval, Rochefort (unofficial site), Westmalle (no English), and Westvleteren, along with the Dutch brewery De Konigshoeven/La Trappe (first is English link to monastery, second is non-English brewery site.) are the only recognized producers of Trappist beers, although the latter was only recently granted the appellation after several years without it. Ranging from the relatively commercial and large-scale operations of Chimay and La Trappe to the other extreme of Westvleteren, who want to live quietly and don't want their beer distributed, these beers are considered some of the best in the world.

Food, Food, Food!

unreason — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 11:16:23 -0800

The city of Austria was saved from invasion by pretzel-making monks. The first pickles may have been pickled in India, circa 3000 BC. The hush puppy may have originally been made with deep-fried lizard. Learn all manner of food lore with the Food Timeline!

Italian mummies

euphorb — Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:57:09 -0800

Long ago in the town of Palermo in Sicily some monks got together and decided that they wanted to start praying to one of their own after he had passed to the Great Beyond so they embalmed him. Four hundred years and 8,000 corpses later you can see the Capuchin Catacombs for yourself.

Building Coffins Boosts Monks' Coffers

bluedaniel — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:49:23 -0800

Building Coffins Boosts Monks' Coffers. Trappist monks at the New Melleray Abbey in rural Iowa turned to casket-making five years ago after their farming operation went under. But the casket business is good. So now, in between prayers, the monks can be found in the wood shop.

Where have all the nice books gone?

humuhumu — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 07:54:15 -0800

A monstery mystery. A tale of confused monks, hoarded books, secret passageways, hidden cupboards and, ummm, CCTV.