{"id":120,"date":"2008-04-14T09:38:08","date_gmt":"2008-04-14T09:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2008\/04\/i-contain-multitudes.html"},"modified":"2008-04-14T09:38:08","modified_gmt":"2008-04-14T09:38:08","slug":"i-contain-multitudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/04\/i-contain-multitudes.html","title":{"rendered":"I Contain Multitudes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was in Memphis this weekend, teaching meditation workshops with Mr. David Nichtern. A lot of folks in Memphis are into meditation, so that was super inspiring. Who woulda thought?
\nI’m not going to do another political post until after the Pennsylvania primary, but let me just say that Hillary’s new strategy, to make it look like Obama is more elitist than she is, is a really flawed strategy. A candidate who looks like Martha Stewart, and who made $109 million in the last 7 years, is going to have a super-hard time selling herself as the “of the people, I luv huntin” candidate. Kudos to her if it works, but I would be utterly shocked if her new line of attack doesn’t backfire on her. Seems like it already is. People ARE bitter, Hillary. Very. How do you work with it?
\nSecond, I was utterly shocked last week to discover\u2014among my very friends and colleagues\u2014a vitriolic disdain for my Scifi post among some seemingly open-minded and compassionate I.D. Project<\/a> members. My particular surprise goes to GZA, who I know loves Battlestar Galactica every bit as much as I do, who tried to throw the “nerd” label at me, invalidating my experience through puerile name-calling (Eva, you too should learn to appreciate what you don’t understand). GZA’s actions, to dismiss Scifi while still watching it in the closet, can only be compared to the deep confusion that mires homophobic homosexuals. Yes GZA, you and other Scifi hating closet watchers are like the Roy Cohn of Scifi. There, I said it. Now maybe the healing can begin. I hope you someday come to terms with your true nature.
\n\"Walt<\/a>
\nBut just to show you that like Walt Whitman, I too contain multitudes, baby, here is a list of my favorite top ten albums of all time, five honorable mentions, and five of the best albums I’ve been introduced to in the last two years. Keep in mind that a favorite album is something different from a favorite song or artist. A favorite album is an hourlong meditation session with all the lulls and highs and backaches, not just the peak experience of a few minutes of blissful soaring presence.
\nYou better post a few of your own favorites – up to ten albums – in the comments section. Especially GZA. I wanna see what you’re made of.
\nHaving no self means having a big self, ladies and gentlemen. Here are a few more pieces of mine.<\/p>\n

Ethan’s Top Ten Albums<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Digable<\/a>\"leonard<\/a>
\n1. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde
\n2. Digable Planets – Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
\n3. Radiohead – OK Computer
\n4. A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders
\n5. Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony
\n6. Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life
\n7. Nina Simone – To Love Somebody
\n8. Arcade Fire – Funeral
\n9. Mos Def – Black on Both Sides
\n10. Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/strong>\"Radiohead<\/a>
\nDe La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising
\nRadiohead – Kid A
\nBeck – Mutations
\nBob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
\nAretha Franklin – Live at the Fillmore West<\/p>\n

Some Favorites from the last Two Years<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"flobots\"<\/a>
\nFlobots – Fight With Tools
\nCocoRosie – Noah’s Ark
\nThe New Pornographers – Challengers
\nAntony and the Johnsons – I am a Bird Now
\nBlue Scholars – Blue Scholars (LP) and Joe Metro (EP)
\nBudos Band – Budos Band<\/p>\n

What multitudes do you contain, boys and girls?<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was in Memphis this weekend, teaching meditation workshops with Mr. David Nichtern. A lot of folks in Memphis are into meditation, so that was super inspiring. Who woulda thought? I’m not going to do another political post until after the Pennsylvania primary, but let me just say that Hillary’s new strategy, to make it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\nI Contain Multitudes - One City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/04\/i-contain-multitudes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Contain Multitudes - One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was in Memphis this weekend, teaching meditation workshops with Mr. David Nichtern. 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I’m not going to do another political post until after the Pennsylvania primary, but let me just say that Hillary’s new strategy, to make it…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/04\/i-contain-multitudes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-04-14T09:38:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/onecity.files.wordpress.com\/2008\/04\/whitman_walt_1819-1892_-_1855_-_da_front_di_foglie_derba.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ethan Nichtern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I Contain Multitudes - One City","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2008\/04\/i-contain-multitudes.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I Contain Multitudes - One City","og_description":"I was in Memphis this weekend, teaching meditation workshops with Mr. David Nichtern. 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His writing has been featured in numerous print and online publications. He is the founding director of the Interdependence Project and the host of the I.D. Project\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s popular weekly podcast (available on iTunes). He is currently on the part-time faculty of Eugene Lang College at New School University in NYC, where he teaches Buddhism. 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