The tabloids are abuzz with the news that the young Hollywood star Zac Efron is into “ZEN.”

Notice the scare-quotes there? That’s because Efron’s not into the practice of Zen meditation, or anything to do with Buddhism, but rather, ZEN Foods. (Zen here stands for “Zero Effort Nutrition.”) According to The Daily Mail: “The 23-year-old star has been pictured carrying a Z.E.N.  Foods cooler bag as he left a Hollywood studio. Z.E.N. is a diet delivery service that helps stars eat calorie-controlled meals.”

And according to the Z.E.N. Foods website, Vanessa Hudgens (actress and supposed former flame of Zac) is into the diet, too.

Hey, why make Right Effort,* when you can instead make Zero Effort — and indulge in a big, heaping Dharma-Burger while you’re at it?

(*Link opens up a Dhamma talk on Right Effort by teacher and friend of the Horse Thanissaro Bhikkhu.)

Is the son of Ronald Reagan — the US president who some would say was the very face of modern conservatism — a Buddhist? According to Wikipedia, Ron Reagan told the New York Times that he’s not religious but that “his sympathies are with Buddhism.”

But that was in 2004, and it’s notable that a new Washington Post article about the younger Reagan and his new memoir begins in this way:

“In Seattle, up on the ridge in the little Craftsman-style bungalow, tucked among the Buddha statues on the mantel, there’s an old Meerschaum pipe. The stem snapped in half years ago, and its case is worn, but it still exudes a kind of fusty dignity.

‘That was my dad’s,’ Ron Reagan says.”

One photo included shows what looks to be another Buddhist statue by the fireplace; this one, it appears, is of Jizo Bodhisattva, who according to Japanese tradition is a protector of children and those who reside in the hell realms.

While previously described as an atheist (though one married to a Buddhist), Reagan has also interviewed Dzogchen Poplop Rinpoche and is credited with this quote: “I admire the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and loving kindness and compassion.”

So, he a Buddhist, and would it matter if he was? Sure, maybe not — but Reagan’s been an outspoken figure for as long as he’s embraced his place in the public’s awareness, so it will be interesting to see if he’ll begin to speak more about Buddhism and/or how his understanding of it has informed his political views. At the very least, it was a nice surprise to see Jizo there in the Post…

“Undoubtedly the most bizarre element of [this temple's] design is the presence of contemporary images throughout the interior. Images of the Predator from the Schwarzenegger film franchise, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Avatar, Keanu Reeves’ character in the Matrix, rocket ships, and others line the walls. The sea of hands holding skulls rising up towards the bridge to the temple is also very striking.”

Really. You’ve GOT to see this. It’s apparently quite real. (Funny thing is I had a photo of the temple’s exterior as desktop photo for a while, having no idea what was in the inside, until now.)

And here’s some video of the exterior:

(Tip of the hat to Scott Mitchell.)

As you may have heard, Adam Yauch (aka MCA) of the Beastie Boys has been battling cancer, in the form of a tumor on his parotid gland. Earlier today news broke that he had been declared cancer free. As the Toronto Sun reports, the hoped-for diagnosis came after Yauch “adopted a strict vegan diet and turned to ancient Chinese medicine upon the advice of Tibetan doctors.”

But Yauch himself writes on the Beastie Boys website:

While I’m grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated.

I’m continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future.

Hang in there, Yauch — we’ll keep the positive energy coming your way.

Sri Lanka is considering banning miniskirts.

Why? Because of Akon’s 2010 video — you know, the one that included scantily clad women dancing around a pool overlooked by a big ol’ Buddha statue? (More on that here. Though, sadly, the actual video is now offline.) And so the pendulum swings…

And by best, I mean “absolute stupidest”:

Sure, Bieber may be the spiritual and temporal head of the ‘tween set… But come on. Duh. (Via.)

Apparently. The newly (and successfully) sober crazy stunt-dude practices Nichiren Buddhism, as mentioned — but not touched on further — in the introduction to this new interview.

A new National Geographic Explorer show, “Born to Rage,” debuts tonight. As The Onion’s A/V Club writes about the show:

“There’s a gene that can, surprisingly, indicate a stronger likelihood for men to engage in violent behavior. The hook is engaging: Punk rock icon and genuinely angry man Henry Rollins serves as a kind of host, interviewer, and lead test subject. Their other test subjects are also interesting: retired gang enforcers, biker dudes, Buddhist monks, and a former Navy SEAL/current successful CEO.”

Here’s more from the AV Club, and here’s the show’s site.

[Updates: Here's a new National Post piece about Jeff Bridges, Zen, and Tron: Legacy. And on December 14, I added a video of Jeff Bridges talking about Buddhism and Tron to my blog on Shambhala SunSpace.]

Tron: Legacy star Olivia Wilde talks in a new interview about how her character, Quorra, is inspired in part by Buddhism, and “coolest Zen Buddhist alive,” co-star Jeff Bridges.

Check that out here.

And for more from the Horse on the Tron/Jeff Bridges/Dharma connection, click here.

MTV has a cool little piece up now, featuring Ian Astbury — singer for the 80s-and-beyond band The Cult, and more recently, the awesome BXI, a collaboration with weirdo Japanese metalheads Boris — talking about his love for Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, by Chogyam Trungpa.

Astbury has read the book, he says, “countless times.” Check here for more.