A Byrd's Eye View

Happy Birthday, One-Year Old!

Well, tomorrow, April 18, 2008 will be the one-year anniversary of this blog, "A Byrd's Eye View" at Fraught With Peril (cue cake and candles). And this entry is....the 101st entry! Wow. I'm getting all misty just thinking about it. So, let's take a stroll down memory lane and see what all sorts of fabulous online mischief I've gotten myself into this year, and if you have a special request (as they say on the radio) for any online mischief you'd like me to get into this coming year, feel free to let fly in the comments section. For those of you who have recently started to look at this blog, a "greatest hits" (in my opinion, at least) list may help you understand what's goin' on, as the man sang. All right...dim lights...cue soft, nostalgic music.....

It all started when this blog got introduced with an entry I called "A Soka Gakkai Jerk" This title was meant as an acknowledgement that not everybody was going to like what I was saying, or the way I was going to say it:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001438.html

Then, I discussed one of my favorite members of the Nichiren family, the Nipponzan Myohoji monastic order, then I discussed memorial prayers and the truly inspiring Nichiji Shonin, who was one of Nichiren's original disciples, and who went to China after Nichiren's passing, to single-handed fulfill Nichiren's dream of carrying the Daimoku from East to West:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001451.html

I love that guy! Anyway, two entries that I am really proud of laid out my hopes for interdenominational Nichiren Buddhist cooperation:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001454.html

and:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001455.html

I took a little detour to post a tribute to the woman without whom, I wouldn't be here, blogging or doing anything else, my mom:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001489.html

I took my first foray into truly deep SGI doo-doo in July of 2007 when I wrote about the opening of our (much appreciated) Burbank Activity Center (what a rash of comments this one drew!):

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001541.html

Of course, we Boddhissatvas of the Earth aren't always engaged in Gakkai activities and policy discussions. Sometimes the most important things in our lives involve higher life forms than humans. Yes, sometimes they involve cats:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001630.html

and:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001635.html

I bounced around a bit, writing about my encounters with other schools of Buddhism, including Zen Buddhists Brad Warner and Thich Naht Hanh. I nipped back into the SGI policy realm with a couple of posts about how the organization didn't respond to an interfaith marriage too well:
http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001696.html

and a few thoughts on how Nichiren Buddhist "unity" should (or should not) look:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001697.html

Then, I talked about everything from dieting to the Writers' Guild strike, with silent meditation, juvenile diabetes, and the SGI-USA Learning review in between (not to mention an emergency trip to the veterinarian).

In November, I took on one of the most rewarding projects I've done in a long time -- I became a literacy volunteer with my local public library:
http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001736.html

And I talked about the future face of Nichiren Buddhism in America, and how I believe the ongoing monthly Gathering of Friends in Granada Hills is a good pioneering experiment:
http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001737.html

Things got good and heated up in December, when I decided that I was going to really put my foot down about the SGI's campaign to pray for the closure of Nichiren Shoshu temples in the US. This one brought in a lot of comments, and it may be what my SGI leader was thinking of when she encouraged me to chant about my tone. Actually, if I could have used a stronger tone, I would have:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001753.html

and:

http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/001756.html

Actually, that whole fracas was sort of a"blast from the past" with all those old Shoshu War emotions getting dragged up again. I'm happy nobody got a chair broken over their head, anyway.

Well, that's my greatest hits up through 2007. Whew! What a year! Thanks for being in there with me.

I'm going to stop there, just because once I got into 2008, it was tough for me to decide what I wanted to include in a list and what to leave out. Anyway, I think you all get the idea. Anyway, it's been a hell of a year, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

I don't want to leave you with the impression that I am always at odds with the SGI or its policies. Not at all. I frequently find myself very much in agreement, as I did here:
http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/byrd/archives/002374.html

Hope this upcoming year is a doozy, too! If there's something you think would make a good topic, let me know. Otherwise, happy birthday to you, Byrd's Eye View, and many happy returns of the day.

Keep reading, keep chanting, be cool.

Byrd in LA

Posted by wahzoh at April 17, 2008 01:49 PM