Friday, April 6, 2012

In Uganda, Gays Face Growing Social, Legal Hostility

Via JMG: Bully Has Been Re-Rated PG-13


While some theaters have agreed to run the film without a rating, yesterday word came that Bully has been re-rated PG-13, a move made without cutting what some consider the film's most crucial scene. The film studio exults via press release:
This decision by the MPAA is a huge victory for the parents, educators, lawmakers, and most importantly, children, everywhere who have been fighting for months for the appropriate PG-13 rating without cutting some of the most sensitive moments. Three uses of the 'F word' were removed from other scenes, which ultimately persuaded the MPAA to lower the rating. Hirsch made the documentary with the intent to give an uncensored, real-life portrayal of what 13 million children suffer through every year.
The re-rating came after hundreds of thousands signed an internet petition to the MPAA.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Born That Way


Allegedly from a college survey form. Some of the comments on Reddit are quite amusing. "I've been Chinese all my life, Mom! You can't change who I am!"


Reposted from Joe

JMG Church Sign Of The Day


This sign has gone viral in the past couple of days and has even appeared on Glenn Beck's "news" site The Blaze:
While the message may be a tough pill to swallow for some Christians who believe that non-belief is a tragic societal occurrence — even more tragic than Christians behaving badly — Kay Pettygrove, an administrator at the church, says that positivity has been the predominate sentiment. Pettygrove claims that there has been 30 positive comments for each negative one and says that the church is “flabbergasted” over the response. “I got an email from a young Mormon man saying, ‘Thank you so much. It made me rethink how I treat people,’” she explains. “Many atheists have said, ‘If there were more churches like yours, we would probably reconsider.’”
(Tipped by JMG reader David)


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 6, 2012

There's Always a Tradeoff

The Buddha said, if you see a greater pleasure that comes from forsaking a lesser pleasure, be willing to forsake that lesser pleasure for the greater one. Sounds like a no-brainer, but if you look at the way most people live, they don’t think in those terms. They want everything that comes their way. They want to have their cake and enlightenment, too; to win at chess without sacrificing a single pawn. Even when they meditate, their purpose in developing mindfulness is to gain an even more intense appreciation of the experience of every moment in life. That’s something you never see in the Buddha’s teachings. His theme is always that you have to let go of this in order to gain that, give this up in order to arrive at that. There’s always a trade-off.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "The Dignity of Restraint”
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection