Reader Jeremy Dugosh let us know about the hyperstylized NYC restaurant Buddakan, which, according to its press release, is all about "modern Asian cuisine and dramatic atmosphere":

The 16,000 square foot restaurant seats 320 people in several areas, each with its own individual ambiance. At the center is a chandelier-lit, opulent and grandiose dining room that contains a central, communal dining table and leads to intimate dining areas as well as The Golden Library -- a private room with glowing walls lined with golden books. Buddakan’s decorative theme parallels the menu concept; it is Chinese meets Parisian meets industrial New York City. Reproductions of Renaissance Bacchanal paintings and Buddha icons hang next to Louis XIV curiosity cabinets.

Their website is hyperstylized, too, but a little wonky. You can check it out for yourself here.

Thanks again to Jason McGill.

This one just HAS to go here. It's promotional "wallpaper" for the new documentary Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed.

Dharma of Star Wars author and Horse friend Matthew Bortolin was of course interviewed for this film, and appears in a longer version. (The History Channel is showing a cut version.)

There's no point in our attempting to write about this so long as Matthew's out there, so here are his comments, as found on his MySpace blog.

In this web-ad, part of a campaign for the technology company Cisco, we see a gaggle of young Tibetan monks gathered around a laptop -- surely we're supposed to assume it's got a wireless hookup.

We see this kind of imagery a lot, don't we? "Buddhist Monks Doing Western Things" is practically a genre unto itself. We see this approach in ads and magazine covers again and again. Apparently it sells -- but who's buying?

What's interesting is how easily this approach can come off as somewhat condescending (even if it's unintentional, as it -- probably -- most often is). This ad is a good example.

Just look at the tag-line: "Welcome to the human network." It's not entirely crazy to read that as "Hey, you kooky third-worlders, nice to see you finally getting with the program." And jeez, the irony: if Tibetan monks don't have a jump on being plugged into the "Human Network," who does?

We bought the latest issue of GQ, of all things, for the Stephen Colbert article. (Not that we need much of a reason to buy magazines. They're pretty much our number one expense.)

Turns out the Colbert article was, surprisingly, just okay. But there were a couple more surprises.

First, on page 175, in a piece titled "The Self-Reclamation Vacation," there was a recommendation for Shambhala Mountain Center ("America's most prominent Buddhist meditation center"), and a separate bit where a writer wrote how a detoxing colonic left him feeling "fit as a Rinpoche." That's a first.

Then, on page 186, there's a "GQ&A" with "the world's second most famous Buddhist," Richard Gere ("His Holiness, the Most American Gigolo").

It's a good little piece. (Strange, though, that Gere's appearance wasn't worth a cover-mention.) In it, the actor talks a good deal about his Buddhism and his involvement towards upholding Tibet's people and culture.

He even shares a humble little anecdote about his book of photographs -- did you know he's a really good photographer? -- published to benefit Tibet: "I worked really hard on this book. [. . .] And yet His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] told me, urgently and repeatedly, that he thinks my photographs are crap."

All in all, it's a typically charming good turn from Gere, who really needs one what with all that nasty "burning him in effigy" business that he's been trying to contend with lately. If you don't know him, or think you do and don't like him, it's probably worth checking out. Of course, you'll have to find it -- pound for pound, it seems like GQ has nearly as many ads as Vogue.

We also liked the intro paragraph: "Since his first big role as Mr. Goodbar thirty years ago, Richard Gere has served two masters: the Dalai Lama and the false gods of Hollywood. How does he square both?"  . . . A fine, and -- dare we say, even Horse-y --question.

Thanks to hawkeyed reader Jason McGill for these two shots. He writes:

[These are from] of a nightclub here in Providence, called "Tantric."' It's fat buddha with martini. never seen anything like it.

it was a weird angle to shoot, so neither are great photos, but you get the point! I peeked inside and they actually had impressive buddha statues in the lobby. a nightclub! some serious vajra shit.

Yes, this seems to be a recurring theme -- "Buddha Bars" and "Buddha Lounges" (not to mention Buddhas on bottles of rum) keep cropping up in Burgery ways.

This is a great one. Thanks again, Jason.

Cover painting by Harish Johari