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bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Bodhipaksa
@bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
100 followers 3 following 1.7K posts
Scotland's most prolific Buddhist author. Currently living in New Hampshire. Author of books on meditation and Buddhist practice. Fan of Scots language. Learning […]

🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.scot/@bodhipaksa, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
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bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
If you like word games beyond Wordle I bought recommend AlphaLockgame.net. There are four letters but the twist is you’re told how many letters you have right but not which ones. It often places heavy demands on your working memory. Good for brain health!

My […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
The image displays statistics for a game called "Four Letter Alphalock," showing the number of games played (296), win percentage (98%), current and maximum streak (101), and average win (5.89). It includes a win distribution chart.
December 5, 2025 at 12:21 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
If smuggling drugs makes you a narcoterrorist, and therefore(?) subject to extrajudicial execution, then anyone buying illegal drugs is "giving aid to a terrorist organization."

Since Trump claims these supposed narco-terrorists are at war with the US, then […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
In a screenshot, Pete Hegseth, alcoholic psychopathic so-called "Secretary of War" posts an image of a fake children's book, with the title "Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists." It shows a turtle on a helicopter firing RPG's at small boats in the water below. One of the boats is exploding. Tom Nichols on Twitter comments, "There is something very wrong with the secretary of defense."
December 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Usha Vance visiting a Marine Corps base in North Carolina a couple of days ago. Notice anything missing from her left hand?
Usha Vance descending a staircase from a plane. She is not wearing any rings on her left hand. Who would blame her?
November 23, 2025 at 4:52 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Dear Guardian journalists: do we even need to ask these bullshit "both sides" questions?

You wouldn't write, "Twenty witnesses saw a man they all knew well rob the bank. But he denies it. Who's telling the truth?"

There aren't two sides here.
Screenshot of a Guardian news story, with a large photograph of Nigel Farage. The headline says, "Twenty people allege he has a racist past. He denies it. Who's telling the truth about Farage's schooldays?" The subheading says: "Reform UK's leader refuses to answer questions about his abusive behaviour, claiming there's 'no evidence'. We talk to victims and witnesses."
November 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
A new find in the Epstein emails. When Trump chose to stay in the White House rather than accompany Melania to Mar-a-Lago it's because he wanted to bang his 28-year-old personal secretary. So Trump himself said.
From: Michael Wolf. Sent: 3/11/2019 8:08:25 PM To. Jefrey Epstein [jeevacation@gmal.com] Subject: FYI Importance: High This is what I'm now going with--what do you think? In the White House, the President, to general surprise, announced that he would not accompany his family to Mar-a-Lago over the holidays—a confounding, even alarming, tun for anyone who knew how much he valued a golf-and-warm-weather opportunity over any presidential business. Melania certainly had no intention of staying behind. In an empty White House, Trump’s personal secretary, 28-year-old Madeleine Westerhout, brought his papers and call sheets from the West Wing up to the residence, finding him, she told friends, in his underwear. And herein, suddenly, was another subplot. Westerhout had been the elevator girl in Trump Tower during the transition. The comely young woman ferrying dignitaries and job-seekers up to the President-elect soon became something of a meme herself. Bannon recalled noting that Trump took a particular interest in her. A leering Trump kept repeating, “She’s got a way about her,” his signature, and creepy, stamp of approval for young women. Now the president was telling friends that he wasn’t staying at the White House because of the shutdown—he was staying because he was “banging” Madeleine. Shutdown bravado? Locker room talk? Or all part of a new alternative reality that only he seemed to be living in? [Irrelevant portion snipped to keep alt text within limits.]
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Backyard through ice.
An abstract image showing a small town backyard (a garage, lawn, and a neighboring house) seen through a sheet of ice held up in front of the lens. The image features distorted shapes and colors, primarily showcasing bubbles and a blurred background of green and light tones. The effect creates a fluid, textured appearance.
November 12, 2025 at 7:14 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
The #aurora isn’t as bright here as it is in other places, but it is still clearly visible to the naked eye
A red Aurora behind bare tree branches A green Aurora completely fills the sky behind bare tree branches
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
First snow of the year, Nov 11.
November 11, 2025 at 6:25 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Counterpoint: Have men ruined fucking everything?
Screenshot from New York Times webpage, with a headline "Did Women Ruin the Workplace." The asshole behind this is, of course, Ross Douthat. Later the NYT changed the headline to "Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?" presumably because they eventually realized how fucking offensive and stupid the original headline was.
November 6, 2025 at 9:41 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Oh, crap. Hell is going to be even more unbearable now that he’s there.
Screenshot of the New York Times with the headline “Dick Cheney, powerful vice president and Washington insider, dies at 84.”
November 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
I’ve never seen this before. This looks like a really cool lock screen but actually it’s not. The light from the window was hitting my phone in just the right way to produce rainbow streaks on the screen. You can’t even see the actual lock-screen, which is a photograph of one of my dogs.
A smartphone is displayed on a textured surface, showing vibrant and colorful rainbow streaks on its screen. The time is 2:02 PM, and the screen indicates "Do Not Disturb" mode along with weather details.
October 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
The contrast between how long it takes to grow one of these things and how quickly they come off is quite astonishing.

Traditionally one grows a beard for winter, but I needed to remove this one because it doesn't go with my Halloween costume. In a few days I'll start growing it back.
A white man with thinning gray hair and a gray beard stands in front of a yellow wall, on which we can see an out-of-focus Tibetan thangka painting, and the leaves of some houseplants. The same man, from more or less the same angle and in the same setting, but the beard is now gone.
October 24, 2025 at 4:38 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
This photograph of Trump holding a rendering of his new ballroom reveals it to be a ghastly gilded confection of hideousness.

The idea of the capital city containing a permanent monument to Trump's vanity and lack of taste is just intolerable.

I look forward […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
Donald trump sits in the center, with suited men to the left and right. He holds a large photograph of an interior that is entirely gold. It looks fucking hideous.
October 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Voting against Trump seems like the most basic test of political decency.

Not only did you fail that test, but you seem to boast about it, apparently thinking of it as a mark of purity.

And I'm not sure that being "Black and trans acts as an ethical Get Out […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
| was just blocked by a mutual follower for saying that I'm a non- voter, in the context of expressing my resentment at non-voters being blamed for Trump's election. So be it. Anyone else who wants to blame a Black trans person like myself when tens of millions actively voted for Trump in increasing numbers in 2016, 2020, and 2024, feel free to block me as well.
October 20, 2025 at 10:52 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
"Thousands."

Really, guys? Why not go all in for Trump and say "dozens"?
www.bbc.com screenshot, with the headline "No Kings: Thousands attend anti-Trump protests." New York Times screenshot, saying "‘No Kings’ Protests Against Trump Draws Thousands Across the U.S." Note that this isn't even grammatical. The headline says "protests ... draws." They were in such a hurry to downplay the protests that they didn't even proofread the distorted headline.
October 19, 2025 at 3:12 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
I love the cover of this pulp fiction novel from 1960. (I photographed this yesterday in a used book store, where this was on sale for $25). It's basically a porn novel, but the cover is obviously suggestive rather than explicit.

I haven't found much about Hal […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
A blonde girl sits on the wooden steps of a hut, with the knee of one bare leg raised. She's wearing what seems to be a ripped negligée that reveals her legs up to the thigh. She's staring confidently at the reader, wearing red lipstick and holding a cigarette in her left hand. In the background, in front of a field of cotton, a man with a blue shirt and a cowboy hat leans on a wooden fence. He is also looking directly at the reader. The title reads "Shanty Girl" and a description of the book says "She craved new and violent pleasures! She found them all in Shanty Town." The author is Hal. R. Moore.
October 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
I went down to Boston yesterday and browsed several bookshops. I didn't buy this one (it was $25 – a fair hike from the original 25c) but I liked the cover so much I took a snap of it.

This collection of novellas is still in print. H.E. Bates wrote a lot of […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
A pulp paperback from the 1950's. It's H.E. Bates "The Nature of Love" showing a young woman sitting on a wooden chair, wearing a white sleeveless shirt, open almost to the waist, and a red skirt that reveals her crossed legs. She's wearing bright red lipstick and is looking down and to the side. She doesn't look happy. In the background a young man leans against a door jamb. He's wearing a blue suit and a white shirt, and he has an intense look on his face as he smiles. He may be talking.
October 17, 2025 at 2:11 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Interesting. Ancestry.com has been fine-tuning their DNA analysis and is now saying that I have some Danish ancestry on my dad's side. They're also showing some NW Scottish ancestry, which is also new. The other areas are known to me from my genealogical […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
A map of the UK, Ireland, and adjacent European countries. Several areas are colored in, including Northern Ireland, Ireland's east coast. most of Scotland (the SW, NW, and NE), and Denmark.
October 17, 2025 at 12:01 AM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
My book's publication day doesn't really demand a lot of me. I spent 50 minutes this morning in a video call with people from the publisher, and I've written a couple of posts here.

But it's barely midday and I'm exhausted. There is an emotionally exposing […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
My book, "The Heart's Awakening: 108 Steps to a Life of Love." The cover of the book consists of concentric red and purple circles, with white handwritten lettering. It's very vibrant!
October 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Amazon sent me an email today. I heard it's good.
We thought you'd like to know about a new book by an author you follow. New from Bodhipaksa (which is me). The Heart's Awakening: 108 Steps to a Life of Love, by Bodhipaksa. A Buddhist guide offering 108 practical reflections and meditations to cultivate kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity in daily life through the brahma viharas practice.
October 14, 2025 at 1:36 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
My collection of books I’ve written (and translations thereof) is expanding. With one more book to be added in February.)

#writingcommunity
A row of 21 books written by Bodhipaksa. Some are the same books but translated into various languages, including Spanish, Romanian, Polish, German, Finnish, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and French.
October 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
I finally got my hands on a copy!
A photograph of me, a man in his mid 60s with grey hair and a grey beard, holding a copy of a book called “the heart’s awakening”. The book has a red cover with bold, concentric, purple circles, and the text is in a white handwritten font.
October 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
I was delighted to learn today from @BenGleason that there is a cat opposite the title page of my forthcoming book.

Now I'm wondering if I should have saved this post for #caturday
A two page spread, showing a cartoon cat sitting upright — it looks like a Siamese to me, but I'm no expert — on the left page, and the book title, author name, and the Wisdom Publications logo on the other. The book title is SIT: 28 Days to a Rock-Solid Daily Meditation Practice, and the author is Bodhi paksha.
October 9, 2025 at 10:11 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
Tweet from Aaron Rupar, saying "Trump to the Navy: We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats." Below is a video, showing Trump standing in front of sailors, who in the video are applauding this virulent fascist incitement to violence.
October 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
bodhipaksa.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy
The Minnesota Star Tribune has seen text messages confirming that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth considered a military occupation of Portland Oregon by the 82nd Airborne, an infantry division that has been parachuted into combat zones in both world wars […]

[Original post on mastodon.scot]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center, with U.S. military senior leadership as they listen to President Donald Trump at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Va., on Tuesday.. Text says: "The messages show high-level officials in the Trump administration discussing the possible deployment of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, an infantry force that has dropped into combat zones in both World Wars, Vietnam and Afghanistan." Summary of news article: "Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show. A high-ranking White House official was indiscreetly texting about the Portland, Oregon, planning last weekend, according to messages shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune."
October 4, 2025 at 2:58 AM