Hello, Dalai

Hey! Lama! (Keep It On the D.L.)
The Dalai Lama was in town this week. Exciting stuff. His message was The Seeds of Compassion. On Friday, after visiting U-Dub, there was an event at Key Arena, where a panel discussion preceded a concert by Seattle resident Dave Matthews and Bellingham natives Death Cab For Cutie. I think Dave has more live albums than studio albums, which is funny in a not-even-the-Grateful Dead-had-balls-that-big kind of way. I dig Death Cab because, aside from their music being unique, interesting, artistically endearing, and good, they're unassuming while doing cool things without pimping for credit (Ben Gibbard & Co. are delightfully Springsteenesque in that way), and because they handle it all so well, fame and success, that is. But we digress... Saturday at Qwest Field, the Lama was introduced by governor Christine Gregoire and spoke to a crowd of 50,000. There was talk of protestors. What? I was there and saw no signs of protest, but I'd imagine it'd go like this:
Lama: "I'm for peace and compassion."
Protester: "F**k you, a**hole!"
I'm not a religious guy, though I tend to be on board with the core values and behavioral mores which are about the same in most religions. It's the ritualistic and public nature of it that doesn't work for me. I'll dive into that issue some other time. I imagine His Holiness is well-received in Democratic towns like this one, but what happens when he visits the decidedly Right-wing areas? You know the ones - they're the places with the lowest rates of literacy & education, where UFOs are most often seen, the markets which explain why NASCAR is the most popular "sport" and "reality" & tabloid t.v. shows are the most-watched in the land. I expect the Lama is less known if not less liked in those areas, as the lower of the common denominators are less likely to have access to news media and further, less likely to consume (or possess the literacy to consume) that news media which is available to them. The rural Right areas appear to be those of the Lama's greatest room for growth, but as I casually peruse his schedule, I only see locales that reside historically and decidedly to the Left (Ann Arbor, MI; Hamilton, NY; a host of cities in Germany and the UK; Bethlehem, PA; Madison, WI; France...). Is he preaching to the choir, or is he executing the time-tested concert tour approach, warming up with his core audience and building (inter)national hype before bringing the show to the places where he isn't such a household name? I hope for the later. In any event, I dig the DL and encourage you to Click here.