There’s been a lot of hubbub about Mad Men‘s use of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” on the show; Producer Matthew Weiner and Co. paid $250,000 for the usage. Yes, that’s a crazy-stupid lot of money. But then again, it shows just how much the Tibetan Book of the Dead — upon which the song was based — and its influence were part of the mid-late 60′s zeitgeist. In fact, this was the show’s second reference to the Tibetan Book of the Dead in two weeks. (Earlier, the show depicted ad-exec Roger Sterling, his wife, and other well-to-do New Yorkers taking an LSD trip under the guidance of none other than Dr. Timothy Leary, whose book The Psychedelic Experience quickly gained fame as an acid-trip roadmap, based on the TBotD.

But as the LA Times‘ Show Tracker blog points out, this was not the first time the song had appeared on TV. It actually showed up in an animated Beatles cartoon, which you can watch here, below. But do check out Show Tracker for more.

Bodhichitta — maybe you’ve heard the term. But what is it? Well, the Shambhala Publications online glossary (a great thing!) defines it as:

Bodhichitta Skt., lit., “awakened mind”; the mind of enlightenment, one of the central no­tions of Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the Tibetan tradition it is seen as having two aspects, rela­tive and absolute. The relative mind of enlight­enment is divided again into two phases (1) the intention and wish, nurtured by limitless com­passion, to attain liberation (nirvāna) for the sake of the welfare of all beings and (2) actual entry into meditation, the purpose of which is the acquisition of the appropriate means to ac­tualize this wish. The absolute mind of enlightenment is viewed as the vision of the true nature of phenomena. The various methods for arousing the mind of enlightenment stem primarily from Atīsha and entered into all schools of Tibetan Bud­dhism through him.

Pretty heady stuff, eh? Thank god we can just forget about all that, and simply think of it, instead, as a new line of bubble baths:
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“Bodhichitta — You’re soaking in it!”

Thanks to my brother Konchog Norbu for the heads-up (and photo) on this one. As always. …And if you’re into this sort of thing, go here to learn more about the Bodhichitta product line.

“We recently displayed poor judgment in running an advertisement that included an image of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama,” said Jacquie Berglund, CEO of Finnegans Beer. “We apologize for this and want to reassure all who were offended that we have pulled the advertisement and it will not run again.”

Here’s the whole story.

Thanks to friend Konchog Norbu for pointing out this Mercedes-Benz ad from a couple years back. I kinda thought I’d posted it here, but no.

As a Mac user, I have no need for Norton products. And now I feel especially glad about that, having just seen this current ad of theirs. Note the ending lines.

Sheesh. What a mad, mad, mad, mad worldview.

Sleeping Beauty actress Emily Browning has told CBS News Entertainment that she dealt with possible discomfort while filming nude scenes for that film via the practice of meditation. Her words:

“I taught myself to meditate in those scenes. I wasn’t present in those scenes at all, so they didn’t really have as much effect on me.”

Here’s that story.

That’s cool that she found a way to deal, but does that sound like meditation to you? She may not have been sleeping, but she doesn’t seem to have really been awake, either.

It would look that way.

By now you’ve probably seen the Super Bowl ad that, perhaps more than any other ever, got people talking: Groupon’s ad featuring Timothy Hutton. (Click here to see it in previous coverage.) Yes, it got people talking, but not in a good way. Its convoluted pro-Tibet messaging, which then turned on a dime into selfish concerns, will be legendary for the way it turned viewers off. Part of a campaign called “Save the Money,” the ad, and its ilk have been discontinued. (more…)

C’mon, Groupon, — and, Timothy Hutton. Did you really think this was going to come off well?

You may very well have lost more customers than you could’ve gained with that one.

Really: The initial online chatter about this ad has been very strong — strongly opposed, that is, with many people proudly announcing on social media, via the “#Groupon” hashtag, that they find the ad exploitative and will no longer support the bulk-couponing/group discount service.

And yet: Groupon is actually trying to raise money for The Tibet Fund. See here. This is not backpedaling; the site you’ll see when you follow that link was live when the commercial aired. The question is: will it work?

Maybe. But not too long after the Super Bowl had ended, the Wall Street Journal had already published an online piece called “That Was Fast – Groupon’s Super Bowl Ad Draws Backlash” and an online Facebook group decrying the ad had been created. Clearly, if Groupon was interested in raising money for the Tibet Fund, that message did not come through.

(Do you want to help Tibet? The Shambhala Sun’s special “Helping Tibet” page, full of organizations you’ll be proud to support, is a fine place to start.)

Update: As New York’s Vulture entertainment blog now writes, Guess who directed this commercial?

…is found printed on a Domino’s pizza box, as discovered (and sent to the Horse) by none other than the mighty Thanissaro Bhikkhu, teacher, friend, and abbot of Metta Forest Monastery:

Much gratitude to him for sending it.

(And he has some gratitude for you, too.)