KtBlog

Art in Dark Times: A (Made-Up) Solstice Ritual
Around this time of year, I often find myself telling people about the mixture of holidays I grew up celebrating as a child. My back-to-the-land hippie parents, one Jewish, one not, both fairly atheist, kept what they liked from their respective family traditions, and added some new ones of their own. My brother, sister, and…

Only the End of the World Again
I don’t think there’s much point in reiterating the genesis of this post; if you’re reading Killing the Buddha, I’m guessing that you’re exposed to the same media universe as the rest of us, and you’re aware that a significant portion of the population believes a significant portion of the population believes the world is…

Predestination or Retroactively Suspicious Nomenclature?
James Arthur Ray— does your name seem sinister because of your amateur sweat lodge massacre? Or was it all over for you the minute your birth certificate was filled out? @ And this just in: Please, God don’t let me die crammed in a sweat lodge in Sedona, starving thirsting desperately While some joker periodically…

Hand-waving and Healing Energy
In today’s Providence Journal, KtB associate editor Alex Rose kills the Buddhas of the alternative medicine fads: I don’t mind the practice, or that acupuncturists assert that the practice works. (Studies suggest that its success rate does in fact slightly exceed pure chance.) What I do mind is the assertion that it works for the…

Your Pathway to Personal Peace
Life Changers International saw fit today to include us on their “morning thought” email blast. Seems like more than one thought to me. Kind of a lot of mumbo-jumbo to handle all at once. Perfect work and perfect supply are mine. As I accept this truth, it is done. I refuse to look upon effects…