KtBlog
musings, news, events, and your letters to the editors
Who Are These Women?
Along the ramparts of the Brooklyn Museum’s Sackler Center for Feminist Art, there is a small exhibition of ancient female figurines, among them the oldest sculpture in the museum’s collection. What strange forms! Where are the supermodels, where are the Barbie dolls? At the confluence of second-wave feminism and post-Freudian psychohistory, the mid-twentieth century saw…
Some Love for My Loveless Universe
A while back, one of the deans of Christian conservatism, Marvin Olasky, invited me to the Empire State Building office from which he edits World magazine to quiz me on my spiritual condition and its relation to my recent book, The Family, in which Marvin appears a few times. I thought we had as lovely…
Praise for Plante
A shout out for David Plante’s Holy Mother of God from Hartford Courant blogger, Susan Campbell. “I don’t know,” she writes. “I just loved this, on the web site Killing the Buddha.” Such is the mystery of words, the universe and God. We just don’t know.
J.G. Ballard’s Pre-Posthumous Memoir
KtB contributor (Believer, Beware division) Mark Dery reviews the great J.G. Ballard’s latest and possibly last book, a “pre-posthumous memoir” titled Miracles of Life, for L.A. Weekly. “In response to my inquiry about who would be bringing out Miracles of Life in the States, and when,” writes Mark in a chronicle of his correspondence with…
Happy Darwin Day
We got a request this week to do something to celebrate Darwin Day here at KtB. Nothing was really planned, but it does give us the opportunity to do a little ruthless self-promotion. KtBnik Nathan Schneider has a new essay at Religion Dispatches that, in a Buddha-killing spirit, celebrates Darwin by toasting the creationists: [Darwin,]…
the ineffable
H.S. Haid sent us a nice letter that’s worth sharing (note, however, that we’re not quite “brothers”—3/4 of the KtBniks are women these days!): Bless you my brothers, for I have just read your creed, and it pretty well jibes with mine. I am the son of a non-observant Jew and a lapsed Protestant. Studyting…
Catholic Condoms and Freeze Dried Glaciers
We just got a letter from Devi suggesting that we pass this on to you all: Taking a hint from the philosophy that made Seinfeld such an immense hit (a show about nothing), there’s a new store on the internet that’s selling nothing, but in a unique, clever, and colorful way. As the header on…
Gay Liberation Theology
Brian K wrote to us with some love and suggestions: I love you guys. I have a quick question or two: 1. Do you have any gay representation in KtB? There seems to be very little that takes up any gay liberation theology. 2. Who’s the hot dude you have on the cover of the…
Military Mahabharata
This, from the February 2nd issue of India Today: “In a final showdown between two contenders for the title of Tank No. 1 this June, the Indian Army will conduct comparative field trials between the indigenously built Arjun main battle tank and the Russian-built T-90 Bheeshma tank in the 40 degree Celsius plus the heat…
Enlightenment through rock n roll
We got a thoughtful letter today from Satya Krishna Dass: Hey, Why can’t we have enlightenment through rock ‘n roll? It may originate from the lower chakras but it travels up to the higher ones right to the crown (in my opinion). If you can dig it without attachment then there you have it children.…
Creative Commons Explained
Today we got a nice email from one Todd Herbert. I really, really love the redesign. I’m genuinely exited! I find your new category headings quite clever (once I got over the initial confusion). I’ve been a KTB reader for quite some time now. I love the concept of the journal. I love everything about…
Redesign Launched!
After being stuck in the ’90s for almost a whole extra decade, we’re pleased to announce the launch of a whole new KtB! A new look, a new apparatus, but the same great anxiety about churches and the same clever mottos on rotation. A few of the innovations include: Fully searchable archives (though they’re not…
Killing the Buddha Resurrection Reading (Party!)
Join us for a night of readings, revelry & libations to celebrate the revival of the literary magazine Killing the Buddha. Pry yourself from your computer and come hear Toby Van Buren, Daily Afflictions author Andrew Boyd, and Emily Weinstein read some of their work. You will be greatly rewarded. Tuesday, August 5, 2008 7:00…
KtB is alive. Again. It just won’t die.
Since Killing the Buddha was first created in 2000, the unholy love child of Jeff Sharlet, Peter Manseau and Jeremy Brothers, religion stories have made it — to glossy magazines covers, the babble of the blogosphere, and the bestseller list. But Killing the Buddha is still the only place for brazen stories of belief —…
The Buddha Is Back
Since this site was first created in 2000, the unholy love child of Jeff Sharlet, Peter Manseau and Jeremy Brothers, religion stories have made it — to glossy magazines covers, the babble of the blogosphere, and the bestseller list. But Killing the Buddha is still the only place for brazen stories of belief — lost …
KtB is Dead
Seven years. That’s how long it has been since KillingTheBuddha.com began. Seven! That’s 63 in Web years. When KtB was born, there were no blogs; Salon was big news; the guy who started Facebook was in junior high. Old enough to know better, young enough to find something else to do, we who have been…