DELIVERANCE

5 of 5 in my series of worship folder cover art for the Sundays of August. The pastors are focusing on the Old Testament lectionary texts, working with the theme of "Restoration and Renewal." Once I created the first paper cut collage, the others came to me in quick succession. It was serious play!

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"Deliverance"
Jeremiah 15:15-21

STURGEON MOON

"Sturgeon Moon," Speedball block printing ink, art marker, and found paper on cardboard box panel.

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Today, I observed the full moon by sitting this morning with my lineage temple for a fusatsu ceremony—a time of atonement, repentance, and renewing the bodhisattva precepts/vows I'll take in less than a year.

This evening, I sat with my home temple of South Sound Zen, for one of my "better" sits, which countered last week's body shenanigans.

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Moon's voice is the bell 

calling me to the cushion— 

a body of tides

JUST OUR HEART

Just Our Heart (2026) directed by Maartje Nevejan. "Grief is love that has nowhere to go." It is the rare film that draws forth tears from me. This is one of those rare films. It's a poetic, cinematographic, meditative film that explores death, grief, loss, and transformation. It does so both gentle and firm. It does so obliquely, in "slant rhyme" as Emily Dickinson would say. It's about being open to being broken, to being cracked open, to engaging the tears that flow, and waving back at those who wave at us, with us. This is a truly beautiful work of documentary art.

It is also about the importance and need for rites of passage and rituals in our lives.

This is the August 2026 selection of the Tricycle Film Club.

SUCCULENCE

4 of 5 in my series of worship folder cover art for the Sundays of August. The pastors are focusing on the Old Testament lectionary texts, working with the theme of "Restoration and Renewal." Once I created the first paper cut collage, the others came to me in quick succession. It was serious play!

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"Succulence"
Isaiah 51:1-6

MY GRANDFATHER CHARLES MANSON

My Grandfather Charles Manson (2026) directed by Sophia Maddox and Alexandra Orton. This documentary tries to answer the age old question of whether or not we are products of our genes (nature) or our upbringing (nurture). It's a film about identity, self-discovery, intergenerational trauma, and truth (or the various strands of truth).

I found it interesting because it overlaps with two strands of thought happening in my life right now—(1) my reading of The Shards, in which the Manson cult appears in a peripheral way; and (2) my current study of the three pure bodhisattva precepts (do no harm, do good, do good to/with/for others).

Is it sometimes necessary to divorce ourselves from our families, from those we love? I believe so, and this story is one such example.

Streaming on Hulu.

HINT HINT

This guy!

Wrigley is trying to get me to sit, so that he can sit too. I told him maybe later today, after dinner.

FOCUS

Tonight was the most brutal sit I've ever experienced. Instead of a cushion, I sat in a chair, otherwise it would have been an order of magnitude worse. I didn't have to confront my thoughts or my mind, but rather my body as it slowly "unravelled" into nervous system chaos. My body walked me through internal shocks, muscles tightening and locking up, and the exquisite caresses of The Visitors (who haven't shown up recently) during a grand performance.

So my glasses on the table in front of me became a point of return when stuff got too crazy. I thought of them as me watching me. It was a technique to reset and refocus, in order that I didn't bother anyone else in the room.

I did it! I survived an hour of sitting (two 30 minute sessions) and 10 minutes of walking meditation.

NOMADLAND

Nomadland (2020) directed by Chloé Zhao. A melancholy film that feels like a modern/updated version of The Grapes of Wrath. It's about loss, loneliness, community, freedom, humanity, and the beauty of being alive, the beauty of other people, the beauty of this nation. Frances McDormand lives in her role.

I'll be thinking about this film for quite some time. This is a "must see."

Streaming on Netflix.

PRESENCE

3 of 5 in my series of worship folder cover art for the Sundays of August. The pastors are focusing on the Old Testament lectionary texts, working with the theme of "Restoration and Renewal." Once I created the first paper cut collage, the others came to me in quick succession. It was serious play!

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"Presence"
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

KATSU BURGER

KATSU BURGER! Katsu Curry pork burger + fries with nori flakes + miso honey mustard dipping sauce + black cherry soda. Heavenly!

Adventure Time with The Wife, who had the flagship Tokyo Katsu beef burger.

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The crunch of the burger was perfect. It added texture. The ingredients were well-balanced and I can honestly say this was one of the best burgers I've ever had. Next time, I want to try beef.

GRAVE of the FIREFLIES

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) directed by Isao Takahata. This is one of the most melancholy Studio Ghibli films I've ever seen. For that matter, it's simply one of the most melancholy films I've ever seen. It is the story of two Japanese orphans trying to survive the last few months of the war amidst firebombings, deaths, starvation, and neglect from other family members and adults of the area. They eventually carve out a small paradise for themselves, but it comes at a cost.

(The person who picked the film to watch didn't realize it was the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, which added to the solemnity of the viewing.)

Highly recommended.

Streaming on Netflix.

SILENCE

2 of 5 in my series of worship folder cover art for the Sundays of August. The pastors are focusing on the Old Testament lectionary texts, working with the theme of "Restoration and Renewal." Once I created the first paper cut collage, the others came to me in quick succession. It was serious play!

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"Silence"
1 Kings 19:9-18

WOOBLING

I was TODAY years old when I discovered Korean BBQ. This might be humanity's greatest invention ever—a grill right in the middle of the table (the top of which they switched out seven times during our meal) and all-you-can-eat meat and side dishes. Spectacular!

(We've made bulgogi at home for years, but this was leveling up!)

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES

Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) directed by Olivia Newman. Remember the outrage when Deckard's voiceover was added for the original theatrical release of Bladerunner? Now imagine Deckard is a CGI octopus, and you have this film. The story of the broken people in this film is predictable and meant to tug at heartstrings. (It's related to The Odyssey because the main storyline is about what constitutes home, and returning to it.) Plus it ends with a big old Hollywood happy ending plus the cherry on top of the sundae plus the chef's kiss. Like the gum stuck on the floor of the aquarium lobby that is one of the movie's main sets, "it's gross."

And don't even get me started on the arrogance of the octopus character or it's strange behaviors and movements!

Streaming on Netflix.

ABUNDANCE

1 of 5 in my series of worship folder cover art for the Sundays of August. The pastors are focusing on the Old Testament lectionary texts, working with the theme of "Restoration and Renewal." Once I created the first paper cut collage, the others came to me in quick succession. It was serious play!

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"Abundance"
Isaiah 55:1-5

BON ODORI

Bon Odori. Tacoma Buddhist Temple. 

 

Good food. Good friends. Brief worship. Dancing for the ancestors. Taiko drumming.