Friday, December 30, 2005

Instant Karma?




BREAKING TALAN NEWS!!

Just for fun on a sloooooow work day, I wandered over to http://www.talantorriero.com. When I did, the "Somewhere Dead In Hollywood" song didn't play, no pictures of Talan and K-Stew came up, and I didn't see any offers to buy autographed pictures of him on eBay. Instead, I got this:

"The Law of Karma
In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.)

Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them.

Let's take an example of a sequence of events. An unpleasant sensation occurs. A thought arises that the source of the unpleasantness was a person. (This thought is a delusion; any decisions based upon it will therefore be unskillful.) A thought arises that some past sensations of unpleasantness issued from this same person. (This thought is a further delusion.) This is followed by a willful decision to speak words that will produce an unpleasant sensation in that which is perceived as a person. (This decision is an act of hostility. Of all the events described so far, only this is called a karma.) Words are carefully chosen in the hopes that when heard they will cause pain. The words are pronounced aloud. (This is the execution of the decision to be hostile. It may also be classed as a kind of karma, although technically it is an after-karma.) There is a visual sensation of a furrowed brow and downturned mouth. The thought arises that the other person's face is frowning. The thought arises that the other person's feelings were hurt. There is a fleeting joyful feeling of success in knowing that one has scored a damaging verbal blow. Eventually (perhaps much later) there is an unpleasant sensation of regret, perhaps taking the form of a sensation of fear that the perceived enemy may retaliate, or perhaps taking the form of remorse on having acted impetuously, like an immature child, and hping that no one will remember this childish action. (This regret or fear is the unpleasant ripening of the karma, the unskillful decision to inflict pain through words.)

If there are no persons at all, then there is no self and no other. There is no distinction between pain of which there is direct sensual awareness (which is conventionally called one's own pain) and pain that is known through inference (conventionally called another person's pain). Whether pain is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to quell it or an urge to cultivate it. Whether joy is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to nourish it or to quell it. In the conventional language of speaking of events personally, the urge to quell all pain and to nourish all joy is known as being ethical or skillful or (if you like) good. The urge to nourish pain and quell joy is known as being unskillful, unethical or bad.

Being fully ethical is said to be impossible for those who make a distinction between self and other and show preference for the perceived self over the perceived other, for such perceptions inhibit being fully responsive. Being fully ethical is possible only for those who realize that all persons are empty, that is, devoid of personhood. "

Interesting, to say the least...Especially when it's hosted on the URL of a reality star mostly known for his dating exploits and bitchin' way with a skimboard. And when you Google Talan, the first thing that comes up is the Karma site. Anyone have any ideas on what's going on? Retribution from Tay Tay for breaking her heart? Jealous musicians? Ste-phen? Float some conspiracy theories in the comments, hot stuffs!

PS-- Hi to all of my visitors from Trent...Welcome! Kick off your shoes, grab a drink (maybe a margarita from Kristin and Alex's fiesta?) and check out the rest of the site!

The After-Party Awards


E! Online's Party Girl awarded the Laguna Crew with an award that any schoolteacher would be proud of: The A+ Attendance Award. She says:

A+ Attendance Record: The Laguna Beach crew graduated to the Hollywood lifestyle with honors. Frederick's
of Hollywood fashion show
? Here! T-Mobile Sidekick blowout? Present! Teen Vogue to-do? Reporting for duty! And while Kristin Cavalleri photo op'd her way down the red carpet, the boys--namely Stephen Colletti and Talan Torriero--hit the gossip pages by playing with Paris and forging a supershort relationship with Kimberly Stewart.


Congrats, Kids! Click on all of the links to see pictures and read some hot gossip from the events...

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

More Kristin News


From Kristin Vietch at
E! Online's TV Diva Message Boards:

"Hey peeps!Just heard that Kristin Cavalleri of 'Laguna Beach' will be guest starring on Veronica Mars. She will be playing a closeted lesbian cheerleader who turns to Veronica when a blackmailer threatens to out her and a number of other gay students at Neptune High. The episode tapes next week and will air in February. Kristin is also hosting a UPN reality show called "Get the Party Started," so this is something of a crossover. Thoughts? Concerns? Predictions? Do we likey?"

So, um, peeps...Do we likey?

Video Helped The Reality Star




Looks like Kristin has secured yet another notch in her resume by appearing in a video for up-and-coming musician Teddy Geiger. Does his name sound familiar? If so, you’re probably under the age of sixteen…or, in a neato bit of MTV star synergy, remember him from an episode of “Miss Seventeen”. Check him out here. Also, look out for a "Making The Video" episode featuring the filming for the video for the song "Confidence".

This Time I Mean It!



The holidays are over, I'm back at work, and ready to talk Laguna. Since I've been out of practice, and because I'm feeling sluggish from a solid week of eating, I'll start off slowly. With this:



Hollister is selling it, in case you want to buy one for yourself. Or me. (I'd guess that I'm a medium in Hollister's teen-centric sizes.)

Do you think that licensing his name is how Talan was able to afford K-Stew's ring?

UPDATE:
There's a whole Laguna collection! New favorite shirt?
This: