The Times has a most interesting spread on Western traditional attitudes about the mind and self-analysis and what Zen philosophy's answer is to both.
Here's a paragraph.
"...Rubin was convinced that “the marriage of Buddha and Freud” would benefit both disciplines. “When you combine the best of Buddhism and psychoanalysis,” he told me one day last winter, “you get a full-spectrum view of human nature focused on both health and spiritual potential as well as on the psychological forces we struggle with and the obstacles we unconsciously put in our way.” But people at the conference still seemed bunkered in their doctrines, and he often found himself tacking between camps. He was scheduled to summarize a dialogue between a Buddhist and a psychoanalyst, but he was suddenly struck by the fallacy that enlightenment meant complete freedom from self-deception.."
(Jeremy Piven's character of 'Ari Gold' is on the right.)
I was never interested in the HBO show Entourage. For some reason its charm never rubbed off on me. But when Jeremy Piven was awarded a third Emmy in a row for his portrayal of Hollywood super agent Ari Gold, I thought I would give it a bit of a chance. Season 5 is the only one I watched and I'm glad I did because during the experience I got to learn about the character of Ari Gold. There are a lot of snore moments in this show and the only reason to watch it, per me, is to see Jeremy Piven's Gold in action.
Ari makes other hyperactives feel gotten. He gets the pace of life of a hyperactive and he unapologetically humanizes the essence of an overachiever.
Yes, he resorts to crudeness quite often but what makes him likable, even relatable, is his brutal honesty vis-a-vis those he truly loves and appreciates.
The episode length is perfect for those of us who are a) pressed for time or b) are of the hyperactive persuasion. Another thing I discovered in the episodes of Entourage, Season 5 is that the subtext of gender is quite fascinating. I read up on the show and many of the reviews say that some have a hard time with the show's premise. More specifically, the show does not have many strong female characters and it's too much representative of male speech. I am not one of these people. To those who say that the show lacks strong female characters, I say, I see you and I raise you Dana Gordon. Even Amanda. The show's creator Doug Ellis wrote a show about the lasting value of true friendship within the bounds of solid homosociality and that it is, de facto, the only thing one needs to survive the plastic nature of Hollywood.
Let me provide a bit from the show. In here one sees Ari Gold in a therapy session with his wife.
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