That’s right. It’s the sign for a Portuguese strip club called the Buda Bar. It came to my attention by way of Bruno Fernandes, who knows a thing or two about deftly blending Buddhist thought with modern approaches; Bruno is the vocalist and lyricist for the excellent metal band, The Firstborn, whose lyrical content is very much informed by Bruno’s Buddhist practice. (I’ve covered The Firstborn, who describe their music as “Extreme Metal with Oriental influences and a concept dealing with Buddhist philosophy” a few times before on The Worst Horse and in the Shambhala Sun magazine, too.)

Bruno sent me the above photo with a note: “Recently opened, right next door to our rehearsal room… Talk about karma!” So I asked him if it really is a strip club, and he answered, “That and much more, or so I’m told… I’ve never gone inside so I don’t know if there’s some sort of Buddhist theme in regards to interior design and decoration, but I can assure you the people don’t seem to come out enlightened, only lighter on their wallets!”

Like Bruno, I try to have a sense of humor about these things. Still, I’m left wondering: Why would they do this? It’s not even that it’s offensive — which, to many, it certainly is — it’s more that there’s nothing “sexy” about this at all. Just who are they trying to attract with this unusual signage?

And how do you react when you see this kind of thing?

(PS: The Firstborn have a new album coming out, called “Lions Among Men.” Check them out online, here.)

And The Cult’s weapon of choice? The dorje – in Buddhism, a symbol of enlightenment. In a new Rolling Stone article, we’re told the “shamanic figure” on the LP’s cover, seen here, is holding a dorje… but I must confess I’m not quite able to make it out. (Perhaps in full-size?) Anyway, Astbury talks about the dorje, and a lot more — really, worth the quick read — in the interview, here.

And if you wanna hear “Lucifer,” the lead single from the record, you preview it via the Rolling Stone link above, or download it via the band’s website.

If you recall director Ron Fricke’s fantastic movie, Baraka, you’ll almost certainly want to see this, his new “guided meditation on the cycle of birth death and rebirth.” (Or, if you’ve seen Koyaanisqatsi, etc.) And if you don’t recall Baraka, you’ll want to see this AND Baraka. Here’s the story from the film’s website:

Samsara is a word that describes the ever turning wheel of life. It is a concept both intimate and vast – the perfect subject for filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, whose previous collaborations include Chronos and Baraka, and who, in the last 20 years, have travelled to over 58 countries together in the pursuit of unique imagery.

Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation that will transform viewers in countries around the world as they are swept along a journey of the soul. Through powerful images pristinely photographed in 70mm and a dynamic music score, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of the nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.

Coming soon. In the meantime, visit the website for details.

(Thanks, as always, to Sam DeWitt for the heads-up.)

You can listen to the band’s whole new LP online here.

There’s a video, too:

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN – COUNTING TRACK from LZKA on Vimeo.

More from Pitchfork:

It’s titled Your Emoticons Won’t Save You, and it comes out in a variety of electronic formats this week. My congrats to Ethan; I know he poured a lot of himself into writing this book. But then, that’s how he does things. Read on for a description and a link.

Here’s the book’s official description:

Somewhere where A Catcher in the Rye meets Stand By Me, Your Emoticons Won’t Save You is at once a tender coming of age story and a homage to male friendship. Nichtern’s hero, Alex Bardo, is witty, heartbroken, and lost. Going on 21, he is more interested in being the CEO of the Wannabe Poet’s Brigade than in his expensive education. Trying to find his way in the world after a debaucherous and painful summer in 1998 with his hyper-intellectual, trés annoying best friend Gabe, he sets out on a road trip to their childhood summer camp. Grabbing shotgun for the trip are his old camp friends, now all grown-up (sort of): Gideon the Player, Anthony the Traveling Man, and Lucas the Patron of Playtime. Alex is a true seeker and only a partial f-ck up: seeking spiritual aspirin to treat his perpetual hangover, seeking love, and seeking a mystical place called the “real world,” which does nothing but procrastinate on its arrival.

Click here for more info and to pre-order a signed print copy of Your Emoticons Won’t Save You. The electronic version will be available soon.

The person who made me aware of the video’s existence criticizes Sullivan’s take as “shallow.” He goes on: “Again with the ‘extinguishing of the individual,’ the nihilist error. The point being, of course, that *no* independent self can be identified or proven as having *ever* existed as an entity beyond false concepts imputed on the dependently arisen, temporarily-hung-together, psychophysical array – i.e., there’s nothing to extinguish except erroneous ideas that keep us in cycles of dissatisfaction. Who wouldn’t want to extinguish those? All Buddhism asks is that we give up false ideas. But don’t expect a political commentator to embrace that any time soon. [...] I do agree with him that Merton’s cool, though.”

What do you think?

UPDATE: The same person who commented above now writes with this update:

“A reader has followed up with Andrew, quite intelligently and gently. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. Maybe my perception of his attitude set me off. Also I said ‘nihilist’ when I should have said ‘eternalist.’ Now who’s the dope?” Click here to read the followup post.

Really. Offered by “Offering Light” who describes the product as:

We design and create innovative electric butter lamps for butter lamp offerings, Buddhist lamp offerings & Tibetan light offerings. [...]

How do butter lamp offerings become safe and clean? Make them with flameless candles! Learn how you can brighten up your world with these electric butter lamps.

Our Offering Lights are a brand new illumination on this classic Tibetan Buddhist ritual. It uses earth-friendly, super low-energy LED flameless tea lights that flicker just like real candles! Order now–you’ll love them!

I don’t have one so can’t vouch for the product but I have no problem endorsing the idea and the spirit behind it. Check ‘em out here.

PS: Thanks to online friend Ross B. for bringing this to my attention.

“I wanted to let you know about a book that might be of interest to your readers. It’s called “Buddhism in the Modern World,” edited by David McMahan. The reason your readers might care — apart from it being a pretty accessible book about the various iterations of Buddhism in the contemporary world — is that the last chapter, by me, is about Buddhism and media and pop culture. And I make several references to the Worst Horse because, well, if you’re gonna write a chapter about Buddhism and pop culture, you gotta mention the Worst Horse!”

Well, dang, Scott. Thanks for that. I can’t wait to see the book — luckily, it’s on its way.

As for you, dear reader, to order yourself a copy, just click here. And let us know what you think when you’ve had a look.

I got to speak to him a couple of times, one of which was for an audio interview for Shambhala SunSpace. It’s good stuff and I do recommend you checking it out. But if you really want a concise taste of who Mike was, check out this new piece, “Uneasy Rider,” culled from the WTF Podcast for “These American Lives,” a NYT piece curated by Ira Glass about people who died in 2011.

Mike was hilarious, and a beautiful, fearless guy.

(Thanks to the great Sam DeWitt for the heads-up on this one.)