"Valkyrie" (2009)

I'd give Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie" a solid "B." Director Brian Singer had the unenviable task of creating a suspense film where we already knew the ending. In addition, you have the problem of a film where the heroes are "good Nazis" and "good German officers"--who seemed to be mostly pissed at Hitler for losing the war. Would they have been as interested in his crimes against humanity if he'd been winning? The suspicion is: no. And why did they want Hitler killed? To take power and negotiate a settlement with the Allies that would prevent an occupation. One suspects that it would have been far more difficult to prosecute the perpetrators of the Holocaust under such a circumstance.

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Of course, I think that the real thing that horrifies us about Germany and WWII is that they have the exact same range of human frailties and strengths that the rest of us have. Every nation seems to have the ability to compartmentalize fear, hate, and blame. It's not humanity, it's the Germans. It's not the Germans, it was the Nazis. It wasn't the Nazis, it was the SS...

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Oh, screw it. It's us, the second we think that we're beyond that crap, we'll fall back into it. Anyway, it was an honorable film, not a classic.

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Speaking of movies, now that Jennifer Anniston has a hit movie that is doing better than Brad or Angelina's latest, do you think maybe her PR people will stop pushing her name in connection with them? Get a life, PLEASE, Jen. It's embarrassing.

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And stop beating yourself up. You'll never be as hot as Angelina. Crazy chicks are hottest. Everybody knows that.

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Does anyone know a source of REALLY solid information about, say, blacksmithing or carpentry as craft and profession in the early 19th century? I'm doing research for an historical novel, and would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

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DAY ONE:

I'm actually going to take some time every day to discuss the "101" program, which will probably be on-line in the next 48 hours (the beta test version.)

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I've had a difficult time defining what I'm up to here. Partially because there isn't quite language for it. But let's say it has to do with the concept of a deeper level of balance than most people have ever experienced. Here's a question for you: "what is the part of your consciousness, personality, or true self which could simultaneously produce the three results of:

1) A strong, healthy, attractive body

2) A career you love that provides support for you and health to your community

3) Finding self-love, and your Soulmate."

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THAT place is pretty close to the bedrock of the basic human character. It requires an awake, adult human being to have all three. THAT is the real goal of the program. We use several basic pieces

1) The Five Tibetans. The only physical movement system I know of that requires no equipment, little time, is available to almost anyone, and can be learned out of a book. In general, if you can already do 21 repetitions of each movement in 10 minutes, whatever you are doing physically is working great. But for the program, go ahead and just take the time to work through it, starting with 3 repetitions a day. This allows me to distance coach you. I know EXACTLY where you are in the process, and can offer productive suggestions.

2) Intermittent Fasting, or the Body/Mind diet. The reasons: we need to get you balanced, focused, increase your energy, and then keep you on-track during the inevitable "failures." I.F. is a great way to improve your health and simultaneously place your psyche under a little strain. You will definitely hear the "Drunken Monkey" chatter at you, and will experience a wide variety of phantom aches, pains, and hungers. Fascinating. You are touching some of the bare wiring of the human animal, bringing you into direct confrontation with your demons.

3) Triangle Goal Setting/ 5MM. The Five Minute Miracle uses the concept of Synaptic Facilitation: that is, a skill is best learned when performed multiple times over the course of the day. By stopping five times a day to breathe properly, calm yourself, and visualize your goals, you are making an incredibly powerful adjustment to the way most human beings operate, as well as beginning to forge a Pavlovian stimulus-response loop between stress and a re-integrative, powerful response. Every hour divisible by three, remember? Select a goal in each of the three major arenas, one that IF you could have perfect discipline, would move your life powerfully in a positive direction in 101 days. Push yourself a little. Don't worry about falling off the horse. EVERYONE falls off the horse, except those poor timid souls who never saddle up in the first place.

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We'll go further tomorrow, but today: do three of each Tibetan (you can find them at:

http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm) , and consider what goals you might want to push toward for 101 days.

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