The Island (2005)

This aggressively stupid movie makes I, ROBOT look like 2001.  I mean, there was definitely a better, smarter, more thoughtful movie hidden in there (what?  Without consciousness the cloned tissue is rejected?  For a moment I thought we were heading into some kind of meditation on the nature of the soul.  No such luck.)  But that movie would have been smaller, and not half so cocksure that they were making a smart piece of social commentary.  Social commentary?  Well...
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Let's start at the beginning.  THE ISLAND tells of a society of people raised in an underground environment.  They have only months or a few years of memory, and supposedly survived some kind of terrible biological holocaust that makes the surface so deadly that the discovery of a single moth is big news.  (this turn into the film's most insanely stupid scene, when these people, who, we are told, ALL believe that the world outside is poisonous, witness a rupture of the walls, not ONE of them runs for shelter.  Instead, they wander out into the sunlight with childlike curiosity.  Must have brought tears to their eyes in the pitch room, but was even ONE of them thinking realistically?  95% of people , convinced that on the other side of a wall was contamination and death, would RUN, dammit. Not one did.  Suspension of disbelieve out the window.  There were many others).  Ah, well, the "Science fiction" aspect doesn't really matter--it was all in the service of a buncha neat explosions and stunts. but when you can't believe the situation, that's al you're looking at onscreen.  Stuntwork. CGI.  Not for a moment do you believe.  You know, I can watch a stage play and BELIEVE I'm watching the edge of a great battle, although only three men are onstage.  Or, I can watch 70 million worth of special effects and think: "ooh.  effects."  And that was the problem here.
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and there's another.  SPOILER WARNING.  STEVE'S PET PEEVE ABOUT TO SURFACE. 
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There is a big, honking, obvious, blatant slavery metaphor operating here.  Djimon Hansou, a very very African actor of considerable skills and presence, plays a mercenary hired to pursue folks escaped from this facility.  they keep rubbing it in our faces that he is thinking of these people as slaves.  that because he is black, he begins to empathize with them sufficiently to ultimate trash his own career.  Well, that's fine, and one can almost hear Michael Bay and the white guys who dreamed this thing up slapping each other on the back and congratulating themselves on how daring and relevant it all was.  Guess again, guys, your secret attitudes are showing. 
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this is one of the whitest films I've ever seen.  There are a few black men walking around in that colony, almost no non-Caucasian women.  You know, that's all right, because they make it clear that it costs 5 million to "buy in" to this game, and the economics are about right.  Fine.  But there are three black characters with speaking lines. What are they?
1) Michael Clark Duncan, the human boulder, playing a childlike clone who babbles his gratitude, and later runs like a terrified animal and is dragged back in metaphorical chains, crying and screaming like a bitch.  A big, buck slave.  Wow, how original.
2) A fat black Sista-girl who does the typical incompetant/oblivious  black receptionist routine.
3) Djimon Hounsou, the enigmatic mercenary/sopiritual guide, who destroys his career so that "enslaved" (mostly white) clones can discover the joys of sex.  He, of course, has no human relationships.  This is one of Hollywood, and America's very very favorite black images.  Watch out for Jamie Foxx coming up in "STEALTH" next week, who will, I predict,  give his life so that his white co-stars can screw.  No, I haven't seen it yet.  Yes, I'm willing to bet I'm right.  I've been right about this stuff for thirty years.  I don't figure anything's going to prove me terribly wrong anytime soon.
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Anyway, for fun, loud explosions if you're stoned enough to turn off the logic centers, a "B."  For paper-thin characters, plot stupidity, and the most egregious misuse of racial guilt since Johnny Cochran got O.J. off, the Island gets a "D+".  At best.

More on Hoodia

Because I agree with Mr. Perry--anything that messes with brain chemistry should be considered a drug.  If it has positive effects, it also has counterindications.  I'm trying to take this very seriously, and exposing all rational thoughts to the Group Mind for analysis.  Here's a note Steve sent me:
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Yo, Barnes --



A quick web search for interactions/contraindications on hoodia:

Phytopharm owns the patent to P57, and no other company or individual can sell hoodia as a weight loss aid.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer entered a deal with Phytopharm and tried to isolate P57 into a form that could be marketed to the public. After several years of research, they determined that this was not possible, and they pulled out of the agreement.
Hoodia is currently being sold online by various companies and individuals. They are selling dried, powdered hoodia. However, the appetite suppressing ability of hoodia gordonii is only found in large fresh pieces of the plant. The powder that you purchase contains such a small amount of P57 that it cannot produce the desired effect. These products are not regulated or inspected, and the exact contents are not known

Phytopharm is still working on developing a viable source of hoodia gordonii that can be marketed to the public. They expect this to take several years. When this is available, it will only be sold by companies that are certified by Phytopharm as being authentic and having the correct amount of P57 to benefit the user.
The current supply of genuine hoodia gordonii is very limited, and is considered rare. The South African government has chosen to protect hoodia gordonii as an endangered plant. In October, 2004, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) provided added protection. Hoodia gordonii cannot be exported as a weight loss product. Limited amounts of the plant can be exported, but only as herbarium collections. The extent of illegal trade is unknown.



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Bold type is mine. 




If Phytopharm is selling this stuff in pill form after saying it only works if it is in fresh pieces? Your basic contradiction there, seems like to me ...




Doesn't seem to be much in the way of interactions/contraindications, save don't take it if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure, or are taking other meds. I'm guessing that if there's no active ingredient in it, that would probably account for these lacks. Doesn't sound dangerous per se, but caveat ingestor ...




--

Steve

Musashi #3: Become acquainted with every art

I've seen this translated as "every martial art" or "every fine art form."   the implications are different, and let's see why.  If a warrior becomes familiar with all other martial arts forms, he starts seeing how there is a single 360-degree rotating sphere of motion, comprising throws, locks, holds, punches, kicks, etc.  Add weapons and you have stabbing, slashing and striking--extrapolations on the empty-hand motions.  From a further distance you have arrows and spears--extrapolations of rock-throwing, which are extrapolations of punching: the joints rotate in sequence, and technique translates rotary to linear momentum.  Guns, of course, lift the entire equation to another level: they barely depend upon musucular strength, or in some cases even coordination.  They have more in common with catapults--in other words, a purely mechanical approach to killing.  Somewhere within these arenas will be found most of the tools of warfare, or the things that a warrior will deal with.
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But a warrior (by my definition) is one willing to kill or die for what he believes in, his dearest values.  That means that he is also happiily prepared to live in the world, seeks peace, hopes for a bloodless victory.  That means that politics (myu personal weak suit), commerse, interpersonal communication, spiritual harmony, and other factors must be at optimum level--n the sense that war is always a failure of diplomacy.  the position of warrior should be one of a balanced series of options for a human being--including healer, teacher, lover, merchant.  Some of us will specialize in one position or another, but all of us should, in emergency, be able to fill in.  (Emergency lovers, anyone?)
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To this end, then, we should all strive to be, as the Chinese say, "Masters of the five Excellences"--or folk committed to a balanced path.  Much of the deep nature of human beings is revealed in their art works.  I would say that anywhere excellence is to be found, you should be sniffing about.  Painting, writing, acting, dancing, photography...can you converse with people in these different fields, learn what they think creates excellence?  And if you speak to enough different ones, can you begin to read "between the lines" and sense the path that leads to excellence in ANY endeavor?
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Mny brilliant human breakthroughs came from people studying one arena, and applying somethign there to another.  I've gotten ideas for writing from dance.  For martial arts from music.  For parenting from watching clay sculpting.  And on, and on.  go beyond the bounds of what is "obviously" applicable to your life, and learn to appreciate excellence everywhere, in every form you find it.  You will be enriched.

Hoodia, anyone

Well, the Barnes household has discovered Hoodia, and we all love it.  Hoodia Gordonii is a South African cactus used by San bushmen to repress hunger on long hunts.  At this point, I know of no counterindications (if anyone has heard anythign negative, PLEASE provide the data!).   There is a lot of fake Hoodia on the market ritght now--stuff from china, stuff mixed with fillers, etc.  I wanted to try the real thing, so I called a major phytochemical assay company, and asked them if they'd done work with Hoodia, and they said yes.  They gave me the name of three different companies who had passed their tests, and mentioned that one of them had been a "blind buy"--they had purchased the Hoodia through the mail through a consumer account, so they were recieving the exact same product any customer might get.  The brand was "Desert Burn," and they checked out pretty well--seemed to have a good attitude toward the Bushmen, had their certificates in order, etc., so I bought three bottles.  It comes in bottles of 60 750 mg capsules.  They advise taking two in the mornign, and then one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.  I've never taken that many, but T and Nicki vary.  the judgement:
IT WORKS.  It's just spooky.  Your brain simply gets a signal saying your stomach is already full.  Carb cravings disappear.  I think you need to actually be careful to eat proprely, and healthfully--you can damn near "forget" to do so!  And strangely, the energy level stays pretty far up--there doesn't seem to be as much blood sugar drop as you'd expect.
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My estimation?  This stuff is the bomb.  Assuming no drastic side effects are discovered, Hoodia, in combination with a decent exercise program (walking?) will take weight off just fine, thank you.  Combine it with a serious exercise proogram (clubbells? Kettlebells?  Running?) and you'd actually lose weight at an unsafe speed.  I'd say drik PLENTY of water, and make certain that at least one meal a day is designed  for maximum, full-spectrum  nutrition.  Tananarive LOVES this stuff.  Nici was glowing over her results.  No speediness, no sleep disruption.  You just aren't as hungry.  wow.
For more details on the product, either go to Desertburn.com, or type  "Hoodia" into a search engine and do your research.  Fascinating.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Actually, I liked it better than "Willie Wonka".    This story, dealign with a poor child and his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the ultimate candy factory,, is a riot of visual invention. Johnny Depp is rather creepy as Wonka (evoking thoughts of Michael Jackson), and my only real compaint is that it feels a little long at times, and the songs aren't as good as the original song.  There's anothre complaint, too--I have a bit of problem with the spiritual Guide element.  There are no black people in the movie at all, really, save for the man in whose store Charlie finds his ticket, and Geoffry Holder ("this is a cola-nut!") narrating.  I have some problems in using black voices when the filmmakers don't want to use black faces, but that's just me.  And self-sacrificing, noble  black characters who exist only to provide white people with the necessary (and often magical) help  bothers me more (Morgan Freemanin "Miss Daisy" or "Bruce Almighty", anyone?")
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At any rate, there are time swhen you could feel Dr. Seuss under driector Tim Burton's skin, and that's a very good thing indeed.  I'd give "Charlie" a "B"

Race and I.Q.

I thought I'd comment specifically on my thoughts concerning race and I.Q., since that is an issue as volatile as any in the American dialogue.
1)  My most basic belief is that there are probably genetic differences in mental attributes between major racial groups, but those differences are not primarily responsible for the differences in performance on IQ tests or life itself.  What are those differences? Don't know, but it would make sense that they might exist.  But I hold any "ranking" of different racial groups with great suspicion and doubt.
2) One of the reasons I hold such rankings in doubt is that there seems an interesting breakdown in people who believe one way or another about, let's say, The Bell Curve.  I see people across the political and racial spectrum who believe "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (primarily an environmental explanation for cultural differences), whereas 99% of the supporters for the Bell Curve are white conservative males.  A little vested interest, there? 
3) There are highly intelligent people who take both sides, but mainstream geneticist, the American Psychiatic Association, damned near every cultural or biological anthropologist I've ever read or spoken to seems to shade stongly toward "GGS".  The other side of the argument seems to be, well, kinda fringie to me.
4) A disproportunate percentage of the "BC" supporters seemed to be of Southern heritage, constructing apologies for the misdeeds of their ancestors, maybe?
5) A VERY telling point to me: all the "BC" supporters think that genetics are such a strong factor that, in essence, they explain 95%+ of the social and performance difference between, say, whites and blacks.  Very interesting.  In other words, they think  that 300+ years of slavery, jim crow, segregation and prejudice, which only REALLY broke down in the 70's, would have no difference on performance.  Wow.  We black folk are really resiliant.  On the other hand, the closest to an admission that environment might hurt performance was an analysis by a conservative think tank basically saying that the black family survived all of that just fine, but was murdered by Welfare and "The Great Society."  Damn those pesky liberals!  If the "BC" supporters had ever said something like: "we think this is responsible for 50% of the difference, and the rest is the horrific social conditions imposed for 300 years..." I would have been willing to consider that they were not as politicized as I think they are.
6) To me, "Bell Curve" is a hyper-conservative political tract written backwards from a premise, that premise being that social programs to improve performance do not work, so why spend money on them?  All the rest is a justification for that position, and they are being disingenuous to say otherwise.
7) I like "guns, Germs and Steel" because it's conclusions can be studied whereever you see small, isolated groups of human beings, regardless of racial background.  Population density is important for social progress, and you can't have that without other kinds of preconditions.  If Asians are said to be the highest on the IQ rank, then isolated Asian groups out on islands and in Polynesia or the Arctic should have developed technological civilizations. As far as I can see, what they developed was roughly comperable to what was developed in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Location, location, location.
8)  One of my favorite metaphors: if you saw three men running over broken ground, and that race continued for a thousand years, and at the end of that race they were within a fingernail's distance of each other, is there some huge difference in their abilities?  If you saw two men running, and one was fifty feet in front of the other, and you came back a year later, and there was only a forty foot gap, would you assume the runner in front was better?  Wouldn't you ask questions about the time and position in which they began their race?  I often hear those who like the Bell curve that, because blacks haven't completely closed several gaps in social measurement, this must be proof of genetic inferiority.  My sense is that, if black genes were inferior, then the gap would WIDEN year after year, not remain stable.  And certainly not narrow, as it has in most measures.  And IQ?  The so-called "Flynn Effect" suggests that IQ is raising by several points per decade, across racial divides.  Anyone who thinks this is genetic needs to post to me immediately--I'd love to hear that argument.  And, again, the gap has remained roughly the same--which I interpret to mean that the starting positions were different socially.
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And in the secret nasty depths of my heart?  I look at the two men running a race for three hundred years, with the one behind traversing brutally more severe territory, and see the gap narrowing.  And I wonder if those who believe the Bell Curve hypothesis cling to it so desperately because, deep in THEIR hearts, they wonder if the reverse might be true.

Condoleeza Rice for President?

I was recently asked if I thought Condoleeza Rice could win the presidency. The answer is "no," and part of the reason is that she is not, and has never been, married. This may sound kinda strange (and I've even been accused of sexism), but my defense is simple: when was the last time a bachelor ran for President? I don't think this is just some statistical anomaly. Nor is it just to get "the women's vote." No, I think on a subconscious level, we know we can learn a huge amount by looking at the woman by a man's side. People DEFINITELY judged John Kerry by the behavior and demeanor of his wife. No question about it. Ms. Rice might be perfect for the job, an exemplary human being in every way. On the other hand, there could be very, very serious flaws that would be immediately obvious if she married a weenie, or some domineering hulk, or someone who displayed some other personality problem. If she has never found that life partner, I'm sorry--I'm going to assume something is out of balance, because the pair bond instinct is simply too strong in most human beings for me to give the benefit of the doubt. Yep, I've met what seemed to be perfectly healthy, sane, wonderful people who never married. But most of the time, there seemed to me good and obvious reasons why that connection never happened. And if we make judgments based on what we see--then one damned fine window into the invisible world of her heart would be her partner. Absent that, too many of us--me included--just don't know who this human being is, and won't take the chance. Oh, you might say, she sacrificed relationship on the altar of ambition. Well, I don't consider that balanced or healthy enough to trust with one finger on the Button. What else that most people hold dear might she be willing to sacrifice? Sorry, not interested. And I think an awful lot of Americans would agree. Add that to her race and gender, and I think you have insurmountable obstacles. Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Musashi #2: The Way Is In Training

The second principle is "The Way is in training."
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I read this as: the "Way", (the path, the door, the goal, the method.) is in ceaseless, daily effort.  There is a great scene in John Steinbeck's WW2 memoir "Once There Was a War."  In it, he describes the expression on the face of a naval cook, when he realizes there is no way to "feed a man once and for all."  Loved that.  The concept of ceaseless, incremental daily improvement, or constant engagement with the processes of life, goes back to every wise person in every culture since the beginning of time.  "Before Enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.  After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."  The tasks of life go on, and it is in engaging with them that our momentum is maintained.  Just try slacking off after you've gained fitness.  Every run into that high school quarterback about twenty years later? 
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Let's take a look at this second principle in our three arenas.
1) Body.  You need to stretch, move, connect with your body EVERY DAY.  You should stress it at least a couple of times a week, and build to "peaks" a few times a year, just allowing a gentle fluctuation of intensity.  Treated like this, constantly seeking to learn something new about the body-mind connection, is enough to keep you busy for a thousand years.
2) Career/Mind.  Well, we're being specific to writing.  Write every day.  Write a story a week, or a thousand words a day.  Constantly seek to improve in small ways.  Seek higher and higher levels of criticism and feedback.  Improve your resistance to failure, fear, and disappointment.  Work to tap more deeply into your creativity.  Every damned day.
3) Spirit/Relationship.  I start every day with meditation.  Finding that calm center within me, that connection with the divine, that essence that is, in actuality, the only thing any of us need.  Connecting with that space erases fear of abandonment or rejection. Failing to make that connection leads one to believing that outside relationships will complete us.  They will not.  We must complete ourselves, otherwise we will attract only wounded people to us.  Otherwise, we will pass our fears and neediness on to our children. Otherwise, we will reinforce our dear friend's dysfunction, because we need them to reinforce ours.  We will live lives of quiet desperation, and begin to consider our wounds to be spiritual strengths.  But beyond that, relationships, friendships, love, marriages, require daily work.  You have to be there emotionally, physically, financially, mentally, energetically.  All it takes to have a healthy relationship is everything you've got, every day, with complete honesty, compassion, and self-confidence.  This is why I consider our relationships to be our best and finest mirrors for who we are. 
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The Wedding Crashers (2005)

A minor film with some major laughs, this sexy comedy with Owen Wilson and the slightly creepy Vince Vaughn drags at times, but never sputters out.  Basically, these two guys are divorce negotiators who are incredibly cynical about marriage, and attend weddings for the sport of bagging lusty bridesmaids.  I have a serious suspicion that the script was based on someone's real experiences, by the way--psychologically, it makes a certain amount of loony sense.  There is one absolutely great line ("they say we only use ten percent of our brains...I think we only use 10% of our hearts..." WOW!) amid the shameless pick-up tactics, and enough general, genial hilarity to keep me in chuckles for the two hours this confection lasts.  Christopher Walken plays the Secretary of State, and doesn't get quite as wierd as we might like, but is still great fun. All in all, I'd give it a "B" and say check it out.  I am SO glad to see an R-rated comedy, after so damned many PG-13 "sexy" romps. 

Musashi's Principles and Mastery

Musashi's Principles andMastery
Trying to communicate something that can't quite be put into words is an interesting challenge.  A path to mastery is, (I honestly believe) revealed in the balance of body, mind, and spirit, as we have defined them on my blog.  YES, there are other paths, of course.  Possibly better paths.  I only comment on this one because I think it's available to anyone who can accept the three major goal arenas
1) A healthy, primary intimate relationship
2) A healthy, fit body
3) A healthy, prosperous career
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If you accept ALL THREE of these, and take responsibility for both past and future results, you are taking the first steps.  You understand that as you move toward these goals, there will be massive stress--and this is where the BE BREATHED technique and the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE come in--they take that stress, keep it from becoming strain, and deepen your work in all three arenas.
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Another thing that you need is a way to reduce fear. Remember?  The Dark Night of the Soul is the gateway to excellence.  The way through  (according to the Hero's Journey)  is Faith.  But note that fear destroys faith.  Note also that these stroies often contain violent action sequences, in which fightened people are forced to cope, or die.  Long action sequences.  Long enough to reach second wind...
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In other words, many of our greatest, oldest stories contain sequences where people are running, climbing, fighting, carrying, working, or whatever, while under masive emotional stress.  The "Fear Removal" technique we have spoken of, thereofre, AUTOMATICALLY kicks in!  Even though people didn't know wht they were talking about, there was an instinctive understandign of the resources necessary to move from one level of efficiency in your life to the next, and these stories encoded those resources at either the conscious or unconscious levels.
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IF you accept all three goals, IF you keep learning and modeling successful behaviors in all three, IF you have a stress reduction method, and IF you learn to deal with your fear--or better still, have a daily discipline that does this for you automatically (yoga, Tai Chi, Body Flow--all will work if you have a meditation practise that brings up your honest emotions) then you are on your way.
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One of the reasons that this method seems to work, is that you are forced to find "wisdom", not just "knowledge".  In other words, to function in all three arenas, you have to have philosophical positions that do not conflict, and are generative inthe sense that a simple rule can be applied in multiple areas.  You look for highly successful people, and see how their principles impact EACH  of the Big Three (Body, Mind, Spirit).  For instance, one of my favoirites is Musashi Miyamoto.
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Arguably the greatest swordsman in Japanese history, Musashi was also an excellent artist.  The principles he wrote about in his book "A Book of Five rings" will yield great riches to those who look at their application in non-martial arenas.  I'm going to look at these nine principles, and discuss their application in all three arenas.

PRINCIPLE #1:  DO NOT THINK DISHONESTLY
Interesting principle for a man who was, in essence, a killing machine.  But Think about it: how better to get killed quickly than to be dishonest with yourself about your level of ability?  How quickly might one become a monster if one lied about motivations or values or intents? In the arena of the physical body, I've met a huge number of people who simply aren't honest about how much or what they eat, or the intensity and frequency of their workouts.  Fear of one kind or another stops them from being true to themselves.  Or they lie about how much time they have.  THIS is why I created the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE--to have an exercise routine so short that NO ONE can say they don't have time.  Sure, you can spend more time, but if you say you don' thave five minutes--you are lying to yourself.
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What about business?  Well, my business is writing.  I've said a thousand times that I don't believe in talent.  I believe in hard work and honesty, over time.  but you need to pay damned close attention to those two areas. HARD work.  BRUTAL honesty. Most people can't do those things, so they fall back on "talent".  And if their first few works get rejected, they lie to themselves and say it "means" they can't do it.  Pity.  Be honest about what you want to write--it should be about he same as what you enjoy reading.  It should thrill YOU, turn YOU on, horrify YOU, make YOU laugh.  There is no better way of cutting through the b.s. to get to your true capacities.
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What about relationships?  There is nothing that kills relationships faster than dishonesty. Lying about money, sex, emotions. Witholding vital information, misleading, misinforming...all of it is horrible. I've watched so many relationships die because the partners couldn't be honest. I've watched so many co-dependent friendships fail to nurture either partner because they won't tell the truth (I jsut had to deal with yet another sob story about a girl who has been in one bad relationship after another.  Why?   According to her longtime friend, "because she's too sweet.  Too nice."  Bullcrap. She makes bad choices.  She has crappy judgement.  And Doesn't have the clarity to see what people are, the self-respect to demand the best, or the health to offer value for value.  People's whole lives go down the toilet becauseof lies like this, and I simply won't collaborate in it any longer.
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Anyway--that's the first principle.  We'll go over the other eight in the next couple of weeks...

Developing Style

A recent note asked how one develops a personal writing style.  The most straightforward answer is by writing a million words.  However, those of  you looking for a shortcut might try the following. 

1) Choose two favorite writers with very different styles. Call them "A" and "B".
2) Write one story imitating writer "A"
3) Write a second story, imitating writer "B"
4) Write a third story, imitating the way "A" would imitate "B"
5) Write a fourth, imitating the way "B" would imitate "A."
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By the time you're done, you'll be thoroughly confused.  You'll also be well on your way to your own voice.

Steve

Great Sky Woman

the book that would not die.  It feels as if I've been working on this forever, and meanwhile, other contracts are piling up.  Frankly, I made some mistakes working on this book:
1) I tried writing without as complete an outline as I usually use, a more "organic" approach like that used by my wifie, Tananarive.  Oops.  Not on something THIS complicated!  I should have outlined it to the last twist and turn, to have a more direct road map.
2)  I originally experiemnted with changing tenses, to represent the different mental states of the different characters.  Ugh.  Didn't work at all.
3) I let myself get intimidated by the importance of the project.  Betsy Mitchell, my editor, really trusted me on this one, and I let that get mixed up with my own urge to do something right here.  This project is different from anything I've ever tried before, and that difference will be a very good thing--if I can hold my head together.
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It's odd how stress can make you feel stupid if you don't balance it properly.  (Remember that it isn't stress that hurts you...it's strain).  With EVERY SINGLE PROJECT I've ever written, I reach a point where it all feels like its turned into pureee of batshit, and that I've lost whatever small capacity I ever had.  this is why its important to break a task down into component parts. The larger and more complicated it is, the more vital this becomes.  overwhelm is an absolute bitch-kitty, and will drain your self-confidence and eat your mind.  One day at a time, friends.
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So...what is my daily program right now?  I wake up,  and meditate for fifteen minutes until I get the white light moving inside me.  Up, make tea, check e-mail.  Then my golden hour.  This month I'm studying Argumentation, the study of effective reasoning.  Great Stuff.  Enormous fun listening to the various radio talk show hosts and specificaly deconstructing the b.s. arguments they use to sway their audiences. Tsk.  today, I'll be starting with Warrior Wellness (joint circles), and then Silat, then Kettlebells for 15-20 minutes. Then I'll play with some of Coach Sonnon's Prasara until I feel loose and connected (I know that sounds like a contradiction, but...)
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Then I'll play with Jason some, and after that, get to work.  Work-time will start with reading the last scene of Troillus and Cressida (Jeeze! Achilles and his myrmidons just put a hurtin' on Hector!).  I read one scene of Shakespeare aloud every day--for many, many reasons.  When possible, I read it to Jason.
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then into Great Sky Woman.  Right now, I'm correcting fifty pages a day.  When I've finished this run-through, one more read-through, and I'll actually have a book. Wow.  I can't believe it.
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Then at some point I'll quit, maybe watch a movie (I Netflix'd "ffolkes" with Roger Moore, a guilty pleasure of mine, Anthony Perkins hamming it up like crazy...) and later tonight Tananarive and I will get together with physicist and Shotokan karate maven and Chili expert Keith Kato to see the play "Purlie."  Life is good. 
And by the way--it's cheat day.  That means I get to eat chocolate.  Yum. 

Note on Writing

Just a quick note before I plunge into the day's work:

character and plot are two sides of the same coin. When you get stuck, ask questions such as:
1)  Why is this character the perfect POV to explore this situation?
2)  Why is this situation my character's worst nightmare, and how could it turn into the best thing that ever happened to him?
3) or: why is this situation the best thing that ever happened to my character, and how could it turn into his worst nightmare?
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Asking questions of this nature forces you to explore the connection between plot and character.  And it is in this exploration that you will find the bones of your work. 

My Goodness--isn't it great being black!

Had great fun yesterday at Tananarive's management agency. There, for the first time we pitched a television series idea we've been fooling around with.  They wre both xcited, not only by the idea, but by the fact that they think we will KILL in a room.  YOu have to understand--Hollywood is a game of both image and performance.  And another thing...
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Jonathan B., one of the managers, cleared his throat, looked a little embarassed, and said that being "African American" would work to our favor.  There are many reasons for this, and I think that he may be right  For the very first time in American history, it just might be right. Whether one has racist tendencies or not, almost EVERYONE   likes to think that they are tolerant.  bigots like to think that they simply understand something about race that it's not "Plitically correct" to admit.  Therefore, when they meet "smart" darkies (a tribe I am certainly proud to count myself among) they slobber all over us, and get the "if only the rest of them were like you" look in their eyes.  Die-hard racial radicals black and white want to find anyone black who won't embarass them, and help 'em up. And most of the folks  in the middle consider us exotic--we are a bit mysterious.  They're not sure why the crime and poverty statistics are skewed, and love meeting black people they can talk with as "equals."  Hmmm.
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then, of course, somewhere in the discussions their real attitudes will come out, positive or negative.  I can often tell if they make the comment that "X" or "Y" is easier for black people than for whites--usually because of Affirmative Action or some such.  Hmmm.
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All right, here's my attitude.  A black person who has survived the gauntlet of bullshit thrown at us from the cradle, who has survived the lack of role models, the constant ego-pounding and denigration of our sexuality and distortion of our history, who has managed to be strong enough to pass through that with her head high and sense of self intact--that person will see that there really ARE opportunities now that never existed before.  For THAT person, life can be sweet.  I really believe that.  But that's a little like saying: "if you can just lift 500 pounds, you'll find that most household chores are simple..."
##
At any rate, a new adventure is at hand.  Yeah, I'll have sour grapes from time to time, but Faithful Readers, you know that I love you all, and love this country, and this world, and the people God put in it, and just want a chance to play with Hollywood's erector set.  And I'll do my best to keep my personal wounds hidden, and just let the work speak for itself.

But from time to time you, my cherubs, will hear my danker thoughts.

Weight Loss

Well, its been about a month, and what I learned (as I kinda suspected), trying to losemore than about a pund a week isn't a particularly good idea for me.  My habits are already pretty good--diet, exercise, rest--and when I try to push it harder, my body tries to "snap back" to its original weight--or even more!  My current weight: 189.7, so I lost about 6 pounds in about six weeks.  Go figure.
1)  When you break diet, your body seems to grab those calories and hold onto them for dear life.
2) You have to combine aerobic and strength training for best effect.
3) Maintaining a balanced diet while cutting carbs a bit seems to work very well. Make up the extra bulk with leafy vegetables.
4) Drink plenty of water--it helps to kill hunger.  Much hunger seems to be thirst misinterpreted.
5)  Watch "The Machinist."  Christian Bale is a madman.

50 Stories sold

A reader's note:

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E's husband here. The Traceless Warrior introduced me to your blog. Anyway, just one question about the story/week. Is the process dependent on getting all of those 50 or so stories sold, or just out there in circulation?

Thanks for the great site!
Don
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Well, Don--if you sell fifty stories, I'd say you are all the way to pro land!  What I'm marking out here is not a destination, but a path.  Write stories, finish stories, send them out for publication, move on to the next story.  By the time you've sold, say...five of them, you'll be a very different writer than you  are today, and ready to move to the next level!

Steve

Five Minute Miracle

Went out to hermosa Beach yesterday with Niven and Pournelle to talk about the possibility of a third "Heorot" novel.  It was kindo f amazing how easily it all came together. Although my politics and Jerry's could hardly be further apart (he's got 'em, I really don't--sort of), it's fun to see how many arenas we have agreement on. 
##
At any rate, I had to get up early to drive into L.A. for the meeting, and didn't have as much time as I might have wanted--and this is after several days of interrupted workouts.  I've been working with Mushtaq on the new LIFEWRITING CD, the SOULMATE and FEAR CD, and a WRITING FOR BLOGGERS package we're putting together.  Great fun, but having  to do eight hours of taping in two days (!) was just grueling.  Thank God for the Five Minute Miracle!
##
Remember what I said: once you've learned the basic technique and methodology (the Be Breathed technique, and performing for five short periods every day) the way to improve isn't necessarily to add more time (although that  can be important as well) but to increase the intensity and/or neurological complexity of the motion, or to take them more deeply into the reserves of Fear Reactivity.  For instance, if you have the Body Flow tapes, you can perform a quick combination therefrom. Afew clubbell swings, concentrating on Breathing-Movement-Structure gives you a good edge, as will a few kettlebell Clean and Jerks.  Performance of a martial arts kata or Djuru is excellent--jsut keep your attention on that triumverate, so that all of your exercises are different versions of the same work.
Hindu Squats and Pushups are also excellent.  In fact, one of my favorite 5MM "breaks" is
1) Hindu Pushups (until very lightly winded)
2) Hindu Squats (twice as many)
3) Be Breathed
4) Djuru.

This all takes me about three minutes, max.  Those who want to invest less time could alternate during the day.  If you want to push for more fitness, you could add a 5-15 minute workout session in the morning, and stress your CB, KB, Hindus, or whatever.
##
The point is that you can start with only Five Minutes a day, and make a solid impact on your fitness.  Adding the right 5 minutes is effective, even for an athlete--it keeps that Body-Mind connection alive.

Do yourself a huge favor, and get  on the Five Minute Miracle bandwagon.  If you've already got your copy--are you using it?  Are you pushing forward?  Are you keeping that connection alive?  If you don't have it yet...what are you waiting for?

Fantastic Four (2005)

Well, it could have been worse.  I read so many terrible reviews that I was ready for an absolute piece of crap, and Fantastic Four, the film version of the landmark Marvel comic, was not that.  The saga of four friends who, exposed to a cosmic storm, transform into The Invisible Girl, Mr Fantastic (stretching), The Thing (strength and massive orangeness) and The Human Torch, could have been a cinematic gem in the right hands.  These weren't the hands.  Tim Story, who brought us Barber Shop, directs like a decent TV movie director.  To take him from Barber Shop to this with a stop at "Taxi" might have been asking a bit much, but the problem goes beyond weak direction.   The script is WAY under-developed, and the character interaction is sometimes weak.  The re-imagining of Dr. Doom is just painfully stupid and bad. What were they thinking?  Add to that some painful special effects (the stretching effects are particularly bad, and are often edited away from, or shown only at night, thank God) but there are good things.  Some decent stuntwork, the gorgeous Jessica Alba, a good sense of byplay between the guy who plays the Human Torch, and  Micheal Chiklis.  Chiklis is just the best part of the whole movie, and  is excellent, both in makeup and out.  He IS the tragic Ben Grimm, and I'm hoping for a sequel just to give him another chance to do his Thing.  So to speak.

A Story a Week #2

Another question:
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What about those people who simply plan to self-publish their work, or just put it on their websites? How do those people gauge improvement in their work?
Vince | 07.05.05 - 4:25 pm | #
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The exact same approach can be used--you are sending material for publishing because
1) The sincerest complement in the world is a check from a stranger.
2) A professional editor can give you insight you'll never get from your friends, teachers, or family.
##
Then, after you can get paid for your work--go right ahead and self-publish or put it up for free on your blog.  Yeah, right.  We both know that almost no one would give away for free what they can joyfully sell.  I think that in the majority of cases, people self-publish because they are afraid that they can't publish in more traditional patterns. That's not always true--but people who are doing well in the publsihing world almost NEVER self-publish.  I think it's often (not always) a way of avoiding the work necessary to get to the next level, the pain of rejection.
##
However, if none of that motivates you, you can still write a story a week, and just circulate them among your friends, or post them. but you won't have the same growth curve.

Steve

A story a week

a question  on writing a story a week:

#####
While I think this is a good idea, it dosen't tell people *how* to write a story a week. Some people write slower than others, and some people write in burtst, and then slow down for a while.

I think there's an emotional stamina that might need to be built up to hit the kind of pace you're talking about.
Josh Jasper | 07.04.05 - 10:20 pm
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If you write more slowly, swrite shorter stories, dude.  A story can be one page long, if it's compressed enough.  The number of words per day shouldn't be an obstacle--unless fear is stopping you.  In other words, a lot of times  the real object of a behavior pattern is to stop you from growing too quickly, to give your ego time to adjust, or even to hold you back completely.  This path I'm laying out WORKS.  And brothers and sisters, you'd better believe that there is a part of you that FULLY unerstands that if you write a story a week, or a story every other week, and send them out for publication, you are going to get rejected like crazy---and thenn you are going to succeed.  that means that whether you are afraid of success, or of failure, this is going to push your buttons like crazy.   this technique is the "here's the button.  Push it, and get what you say you want" method.  Now what?  What if you can have what you say you've wanted your whole life? Be very careful what you ask for.  Once you see how you can get it, you'll run flat into who and what you really are, and it's not always pretty.
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In terms of "how to do it"--well, you study story structure, especially the technique of the short or short-short story. You write 500-1000 words a day.  Saying "some people write slowly" is suggesting that there is no volition, no variance uneer conscious control.  Nonsense. ou can talk slowly or quickly.  Walk slowly or quickly.  the only thing stopping you is fear.  If fear is stopping you, address that DIRECTLY rather than using it for an excuse.  Say: "Fear stops me from going further.  How can I deal with that fear?  How can I turn it into energy to sustain and motivate me?"  On this website, I've talked about techniques for dealing with fear and anxiety. There are others.  Find and use them!

Steve

RIP Chris Bunch

Lost another friend yesterday.  A warrior, a storyteller, a good man. One who lived hard, laughed loud and loved much.  He was my friend, a man who served his country and refused to compromise about damn near anything.  He didn't take care of his health.  Please, people...take care of yourselves, and each other.  You do your loved ones no favor not to give them honest feedback on the damage they do to themselves.  We are here to mirror each other, to help each other through. 
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I'll miss  you, Chris. 
Damn.

Year-Long Writing Program July 2, 2005

The difference between people who succeed and those who fail is rarely talent.  Persistence means more than almost anything.  That, and the ability to find appropriate models of behaviro and imitate them, so that you aren't trying to re-invent the wheel.  A simple approach to developing professional writing skills, one that has worked for hundreds of writers is:

1) Write a story a week, or a story every other week
2) Finish them
3) Put them in the mail, keep them in the mail until they sell.
4) Don't re-write except to editorial request.
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What if you want to write novels?  Still write stories.  The reason is the same reason that, if trainign for a marathon, you start with shorter distances.  No one suggests you train for a marathon (if you've never run before) "by running 26.2 miles."  that would be absurd.  No, there are literally countless sub-skills of breath control, relaxation, rhythm, let alone just fitness stuff of accustoming joints to the stress load.
There are so many sub-skills to writing that MUST be placed at the level of unconscious competance.  gigantic numbers.  I'm going to spend some time over the next few days trying to lay out the basic ones.  And all of them are contained within the short story.
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What about poetry?  Easy.  A poem a week.  Maybe a Haiku every day!
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What about screenplays?  Easy.  A short script every week, or every other week.  Say 10-20 pages.  The second iteration of the "Twilight Zone" bought stories that short.  that will allow you to refine your skills in a similar way.  True, there's no place to sell such work right now (that I know of), so the effectiveness decreases--part of the point of the short story route is the ability to interact with professional editors.
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There are innumerable reasons not to go directly for the novel.  One of the best is that every successful novelist I know CAN write short stories.  The majority of people who go directly for the novel never publish.  I know of NO ONE who has gone the short story route, stuck it out past, say, fifty stories, and not been published.  Personally, I set myself a goal of 100.  What does this mean?
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What it means is that most people who say they want to do something, anything, don't have the stick-to-it-iveness.  That means that if someone is more talented than you, but you've got more guts, and stay with it, you will outperform them in the long run.  That's the way life actually is.  the hares tend to burn out fast. The tortoises stay in there.  Going to your 10th or 20th High School reunion is an eye-opener, if you never, ever quit.
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50-100 stories from now, you can be publishing regularly.  If you're willing to pay that price, you can have your dream.  If you're not, PLEASE don't lie to yourself and say you didn't have the "talent."  No.  You didn't have the endurance. 

Steve

Weight Loss Project

O.K.--after Bikram Yoga today (I sweat like a pig, but drink lots of water, and finish up with a 20 oz. Smoothie) I weighed in at 190.2 pounds. 
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I think I've figured something out.  One of my problems is always balancing all of the working otu, and fighting burnout.  One of the problems is that, if I'm not careful, after a brutal workout ther eis still so much tension in my obdy that I don't sleep well that night, creating a vicious burnout cycle.  You have to RECOVER from a workout for it to be useful.  Well, this week I carefully, VERY carefully experiemented with a little Clubbell or kettlebell work before yoga.  A couple of weeks ago I started experimenting with doing a few Hindu Squts and Pushups IN the heated yoga room. 
Today, I did a little of body.  The idea is to do no more than 15 minutes of kettlebell or Clubbell (or less) and then as many Hindu Pushups as I can do in the yoga room, and double that number of squats.  Then survive yoga.  The next day---Five Minute Miracle (using Body-Flow variations), with Warrior Wellness and Silat ONLY.  Don't push the tissues.  In other words--pure active recovery day.  I felt like superman after class.  it was terrific. 
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My reasoning:
1)  I figured that the heat would reduce my endurance so much that any Hindus I did were worth twice the actual count, while not taxing my joint and tendon recovery as much.

2)the KB and CB work "pre-exhausts" me for the Yoga, making it more effective as an endurance builder.

3) The Yoga is active recovery from the KB/CB work, guaranteeing me a deep, healing night's sleep.

4) I confess it's  actually good, evil fun to watch the people suffering around me in Yoga, because they have no idea what I put myself through before I even got there.  Does my old heart good.  When I see people half my age crawling out of the room....well, sniff, I get all sentimental inside...

Really, really interesting.  Keep you posted!

Steve

Spiritual Relationships

The following copyrighted essay was sent to me by a friend and student. It may help you understand the concept of "mirroring" in relationships...

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Spiritual Relationships
Partnering through Change
Guest article by Jodie Foster

In relationships, we have the opportunities to develop a deeper sense of ourselves through the mirror of our partner. If you have a generous, loving partnership, then you are possibly learning lessons related to creating a generous and loving relationship with your inner self as well. If you are in an abusive relationship, are you seeing the mirror of your relationship with your self?

Many people wonder why they keep attracting relationship partners that don't work out, or that repeat the same patterns as past partners. Often, relationships can bring out the worst in ourselves and in the other person. Understanding why these things happen and what we can do about it them is one of the keys to successful relationships.
Relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners can be a valuable "laboratory" for trying out new behaviors that can change our life.

However, when we go through changes or life transitions, it may put additional stress on the partnership by having little time for each other, being agitated and upset, etc. One person in the relationship isn't experiencing change, they both are. If one person in the mirror changes, then the other will reflect that change. These may be positive changes or can be a stirring up of old issues that haven't yet been healed or released.

In a partnership, we partner through change as well as through stability. Life is constantly changing around us and our ability to remain flexible and grow together make for a stronger spiritual relationship.

Choosing to look in the mirror of our partner, you see aspects of yourself that may be ready for transformation or release. Is there something that irritates you about your spouse? Is there a common argument that you have? Do you share similar views on many things, but have a particular stuck point on one subject?

Instead of leaping first to blame or lash out at your partner, look into the mirror and see what is there for you to see. Is there something attempting to get your attention? Are you faced with this same theme over and over again? Is there a deeper issue regarding change that you're avoiding or overlooking?

Change itself can be a scary experience for some. In partnerships, change can feel threatening to the solid foundation or nest that you have built together. When one partner is undergoing deep internal changes, the other may feel left out, neglected, no longer connected and unappreciated. If that partner refuses to reflect upon the mirror that he/she is presented with, and chooses not to undergo changes as well, the mirror becomes out of balance. There is no longer a reflection of each other. One person has changed more than the other is willing to change. This is when struggle appears in the relationship.

In a spiritual relationship, partners consciously work through these changes, each partner facing their inner feelings, looking in the mirror to see that which is ready for transformation. A spiritual relationship as such requires tremendous courage for both partners, trusting that the other will continue to transform and flow with the changes along with you. Any relationship requires courage and trust. Communication is a necessary aspect of partnership and courage is most valuable. Stepping up to the plate and facing yourself in the mirror everyday can be exciting, thrilling and challenging. Allowing it to be something you face together every day is powerful and is the cornerstone of a spiritual partnership. This intimacy can grow and deepen over years, decades and a lifetime together. And as it grows, new worlds of closeness open, love can reach its highest expression, and the highest in the human spirit manifests itself in your life.

© 2005 Jodie Foster

About this Contributor: Jodie Foster is an Intuitive Counselor who assists clients to create extraordinary transformations in their daily lives. Her work is uplifting, empowering and success-oriented. You can visit Jodie's website, Illuminations Network, for further information and to schedule a private intuitive session.

War of the Worlds (2005)

Not Spielberg's masterpiece, but the man plays at such a high level that even his disappointments are better than most filmmakers' successes. And this is no disappointment.  Filmed on a truncated shooting schedual, I occassionally had the vague sense of this or that aspect being rushed (I thinkthe script could have used one more polish, for intance) but, that said...

WOW!  The performances are great.  Yes, you needed a Tom Cruise.  We are with him from beginning to end, and rarely has a single actor carried as much of a major film as does Cruise, here.  No, you couldn't have cast more of an "everyman" without resorting to stunt castng in tons of extremely minor roles.  Not unless you wanted to make the film for 1/10 the money. There is a reason that stars get the money they get--people turn out to see them.  The built-in empathy factor.  and in this case, a built-in confidence in their goodness or capacity for survival. Because, folks, this ain't your daddy's WAR.  It's not the sanitized George Pal version, which kept an odd sense of fun through it all, or even my beloved INDEPENDENCE DAY, a thinly-veiled WAR that winked at the audience through the mayhem, right down to the "virus" that saves the day.  No, this is grim, unrelenting, top-of-the-line filmmaking, filled with horrors no SF film has ever put on the screen in this magnitude.  The story of a  divorce dad (Cruise) coming to terms with the miserable man and father he has been, and learning just how far he'll go to protect his family is in one sense, simplistic, but it works.  It REALLY works. And the SFX, by ILM, are in a few places utterly indistinguishable from reality. 
Those Tripods!  By keeping focus on a single family, we see only what they see.  (Was Cruise the only civilian who could get his car going?  Who knows?  We're so tight on him there could be another thousand cars on the road, and we'd never see them)  What do the alines want? We have only the vaguest, and most disturbing notion.  This is one of the best disaster movies ever made, chilling and thrilling and hopeless and oddly optimistic, absolutely not for children, but just try to stop them.  Wow.  I wish they could have spent a little more time.  But that said, it's a solid "A."

Hindu Squats and Pushups

A question was asked about the performance of Hindu Squats and Hindu pushups.  Here are links to a pair of animations showing exactly how to do them. The Hindu Pushup, which is in essence the mid-section of a Sun Salutation, is arguably the single best calesthenic in te world, when it comes to overall body involvement, or return on investment.  Treat them as practise sessions for proper breathing, and remember to keep the abdominal muscles firm...and you'll get a fabulous workout.  Start quite slowly if you're not already in shape.

http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/HinduPU.gif

http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/HinduSquat.gif

today

In six hours I see WAR OF THE WORLDD--probably the movie I've been most excited about so far this year.  Yeah!  but a little note on working out first...
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I Openly reccomend three sources of workout information.  First and Foremost, Coach Sonnon at Rmax.tv.  However, he's a graduate class, folks. You'd better be serious about body-mind integration.  The man is absolutely for real. 

A level down from there--but still superb, is Pavel Tsatsouline.  His kettlebells are simply excellent.

And the most basic level--but still highly, highly effective, is Matt Furey with his Hindu Squats/Hindu Pushups.  Just two exercises that can trash you within minutes.  Yow!
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Here's a way to use the Hindus effectively for beginners. 
1)Block out a 15 minute period. 
2)  Perform as many Hindu pushups as you can.  Two?  that's fine to start.
3)  Immediately do 2-3 times  as many Hindu Squats.
4) Rest 30-60 seconds.
5) Start over, and continue for time.
#######
This will wipe you out, believe me.  I like to do 2X the Squats, but 3X isn't a bad idea for those who really want to stress cardiovascular.  These are intense exercises, don't underestimate them or you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow!

Land of the Dead (2005)

It's amazing to me that it ha taken so long for someone to finance a new zombie film by George A. Romero.  He created the entire genre with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, back in the 60's, an instant classic so disturbing that Reader's Digest ran an article basicaly blaming it for the downfall of Western Civilization.  He followed years later with DAWN OF THE DEAD,  which was less frightening, with an almost satirical edge, and nose-dived with DAY OF THE DEAD, which was in most folk's view, a disappointing work.  Now he's back with LAND OF THE DEAD, and folks, it just flat-out smokes.  There is such a difference between Romero and all of his imitators. there HAVE been other decent zombie films (Dead Alive, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, etc.) but Romero has a vision of our consumerist, racist, classist society devouring itself that is unlike anything anyone else has touched upon, and it is in full flower here.  Basically, it is some unspecified number of years after the dead have risen to devour the living.  Most of society has fallen, but there are a few outcamps, barricaded cities, where life goes on.  Mercenaries raid outlying towns in armored trucks, seeking resources.  but there are problems--the dead are evolving, gaining intelligence and a sense of purpose (somehting hinted at in DAY. And for those complaining about 'Tool using Zombies"--they've been using tools since the original "Night."  Remember the little girl and the trowel?  No, you probably deliberately forgot that, and I can understand why.  Yuck.)  At any rate, the Upper Class in this armed paradise, "Fiddler's Green", is predictably white and rich, and they need the underclass as a buffer zone between them and the zombies.  When one of the Mercs (an excellent John Leguizamo.  Asia Argento is also outstanding) gets tired of his flunky status and hijacks "Dead Reckoning" the armored tank, the fun really begins.
##
Gory, sexy, funny, thought-provoking, suspenseful...but not really a horror movie, more an adventure film set in a universe of horrors, LAND OF THE DEAD is a bit abrput at the end--but set up perfectly for a sequel that Universal better get off their duff and make.  It has the makings of the very best work of this important American fantacist. The Master is back, and he's got a lot on his mind. 

Sex and the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE

And of course, your best Mastermind--your life partner.  The following is a combination technique drawn from about four different sources.  At some future time I'll break them down for you.  For now, I'll just tell you what you NEED to know to understand the way this works.
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1) Remember the Mastermind principle.  In order to reach goals unavailable to you as an individual, create a Mastermind group--at least one other person you commit to speaking to at least weekly, going oer your goals and actions.  This person must be as close to perfectly synchronized with you as possilbe.  Better one person who is in synch than a dozen who argue.
2)  The best and most primary partner is your significant other.  An incredbly disproportunate percentage of high-performing people have, throughout history, had intensely close marital/sexual relationships.  It is further known that in a fascinating number of cases, when there were important decisions to be made, the high-performer would postpone the decision until after they could have sex.  (Read the 1st edition of THINK AND GROW RICH.  This information was removed from some later editions).
3)  The first sexual magic technique I ever learned during the 3 1/2 years I was researching for IRON SHADOWS was the following: you and your partner agree on a common goal.  Let's say you want a house.  Find a picture of a house that you can both agree upon.  Engage sexually.  Hold the image of the house in your mind as you become more and more excited, all the way through your orgasm and into the post-orgasmic buzz.  An insanely powerful technique, which creates a Pavlovian simulus-response loop between the desired object and the most powerful positive sensation your nervous system is capable of.  Try it--you'll be amazed!
4)  Here's where the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE comes in.  Sexual response, like so many other human qualities, is affected by breathing patterns.  The 5MM is designed to train your body to move in such a way that your movement "breathes you" rather than you being in control of your breathing.  One of the key aspects of it is to concentrate on the EXHALATION phase of the motion, allowing the inhalation to happen automatically.  In other words, Conscious Exhale on compression, Passive inhale on expansion (See Coach Sonnon's work on the Breath Mastery Scale for deeper understanding).  Once you have learned this...
5) Apply it during love-making.  allow your motions to control the depth and pace of your breathing.   IF you have previously mastered the technique (by slowing your motions down to 10 reps in 10 minutes), after an initial awkwardness, you will find that concentrating on the exhalation opens up a whole new level of intimacy between you and your partner.  Amazing.  And when it becomes automatic (practise makes perfect!) the quality of orgasm is absolutely astounding, a complete, whole-body, rock-your-socks-off, spiritual experience you may have never known before.  when you learn to share your dream with a partner while in THIS state, it is absolute magic. 
##
I can go into this more if you guys ask...but for now, I've gone a little closer to the "edge" than I usually do.  I promised myself I would stay with the strictly logical stuff on this blog whenever possible.  But it's not always possible.  I have just described a step along another path.  those of you who have sought a path to the mystical...well, just try this for six weeks and get back to me.  I think you'll be very interested in the things I'm NOT saying about this technique.  Heh heh heh.

The mastermind Group--and your best Ally. You.

One of the most important factors in the achievement of any goal beyond your current capacity is the quality of what Napoleon Hill referred to as your "Mastermind Group."  This is 1-5 people who are absolutley aligned with your goals, intentions, and values.  This group must be consulted at least once a week, and all members conferr on the current goals andplans, and what has been done to move toward them.
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The application of this principle to Lifewriting is clear,a nd simple.  Remember the most important Mastermind principle: you must have complete harmony on the matter of our goals and intentions.  therefore, it is better to have only one person who is actually aligned with you than four or five who bicker.
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1) First start with YOURSELF.  And here is another arena in which meditation is beautiful.  Develop an internal scale for the "light" or 'warmth" or however else you  represent an internal state which, when reached during your morning meditation, seems to provide you with greater balance during the day. Greater energy.  Measure it from 1-10.  Set a time frame, say 15 minutes.  Keep a journal.  In 15 mintes of meditation, on a scale of 1-10, how deeply into your "zone" did you get?  if you keep track of other factors: diet, exercise, dreams, etc, your subconscious will, over time, start figuring out how to give you deeper and better experiences. 
2)  Once you have a "number" that represents to you a bedrock of emotional health (say, 8), see how long it takes you to reach that number reliably.  You might take one or two days a week and go more deeply into your meditation:  NOTE: for many people, the first 20 minutes are filled with garbage, and only AFTER twenty minutes are you in the actual zone.  For these, you might need to set 30 minute blocks. However, even 1 minute, 5 times a day  is infinitely better than nothing. Start seeing how swiftly you can get to a level "8", and then stay there for at least 5 minutes.  YOu might try keeping a stopwatch by the side of yoru meditation mat.  Meditate.  When you reach a cool, clear (or warm--however you represent it) bright, light, whatever space, stop the timer.  How long was that?  Write it down, then go back to your meditation.  Ask your subconscious to help you decrease this time.
3) When you are in this space ("8" or above) you should be able to detach from your ego a bit, and look at your life without the usual pain.  Ask yourself: what were your deepest, best intentions about life as a child.  As a young adult?  To what degree to they align?  To what degree are these goals healthy and appropriate?
4)  if the beliefs are healthy and appropriate, then ask yourself to what degree your daily actions are in alignment with the goals.  Short and long term goals, of course--we need both.  It may be painful to realize how "out of touch" we are with our real goals. this is all right. Pain is good, if you pay attention to it. It teaches us.  this is why drugs and pointless entertainments are dangerous--they anesthetize us to our pain, the very indicators that something must be done. what would happen if you lost the abillity to tell when your body was injured?  It would deteriorate rapidly.  And so will your life.
5) When you can clearly see your original goals, and your current goals, and your short and long term goals...all of this can be represented by your subconscious as, for instance, a golden braid.  It may be knotted or tattered, but when you can visualize it, you are coming along beautifully.
6)  See this golden braid (or however you represent it) flowing up your spine.  Go one major energy center or chakra at a time:  your goals in body, heart, and mind must all be in alignment, not conflicting with each other.
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As you begin this process, you will find all kinds of dark patches, knots, hot spots-it is amazing the way your subconscious will represent emotional damage to you.  As you start working in the direction of your goal, as you meditate what was once a clear area might turn into a garbage dump. Wow!  What an incredibly literal symbol, eh? 
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but at this point, checking in every day, or preferably twice a day (what are my goals today?  Aand later, "what did I do today?"  Ask yourself how you did, and what you can do to improve 1% next week.  Just one percent, folks, in each arena.) you can consider yourself genuinely in alignment with yourself.  And NOW you can begin to seek that outside ally. 
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The most perfect one is your Significant Other.  If you don't have one, a best friend, brother, sister, son or daughter (if adult) or business associate can work just great.  but start with ONE, and one that you are sexually connected to is fabulous...
Want to know how to use sex, and the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE to increase your income, health, and happiness?  I'm about to start talking about some things some people might consider kinda woo-woo.  sorry about that.  Come on back Monday if you're ready for some serious magic.  Otherwise...well, you've been warned.

Social Darwinism and the one-balled man

One of the reasons I vacillate between left and right wings of the spectrum is my attitude toward the concepts lumped together under the umbrella term "Social Darwinism."  Actually predating Darwin, and the creation of a guy named Herbert Spencer, the survival-of-the-fittest idea applied to social context (and later in economic context with unfettered Capitalism) is a great idea, and seems to hold true down to the protozoan level: those more efficient and effective organisms, social systems, individuals, methodologies or groups will thrive, and the lesser will fade away.  and I think about 50% of me agrees with that.
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The problem is that ol' debbo called the level playing field.  I've seen incredible martial arts systems die out because they didn't know how to promote themselves. The McTaekwondo domnating the strip malls in the 90's were hardly "superior"--but man, they knew how to  promote themselves.  In fact, you could get our ass kicked rather roundly trying to make a lot of that stuff work (this is not to criticise REAL TAE KWON DO--a brutally effective and aesthetically astonishing Korean art--which barely exists in America).  but there is this thing called Gresham's law that states counterfeit money will drive out good money...adn the same thing can happen in other arenas.
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I've know a lot of people who believed in Social Darwinism, that basically, the people how are on top deserve to be on top, the people on the bottom, er...well, it's not PC to come right out and say this any more, but, well, they deserve to be there.  And if there are a disproportunate number of the "others" there, well...too bad.  Reality is harsh, ain't it?
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Of course, I've always found it interestng that people tend to justify the positin of whatever social class or group they are born into.  I.E.--wealthy people tend to think that rich people are rich because, well, they're better.  Poor people tend to think that poor people are poor because they are more honest, and have better values.  The people who believe that government shouldn't interfere in social process are those already at or near the top.  those who think the government should get involved in every aspect of our lives, and "level the playing field" tend to have been nearer the bottom.  And so it goes. 
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I remember stories in the Science Fiction field like "The Marching Morons", takign the position that because smart people breed less than "less smart", we will be swamped by stupidity.  Let's not note that, for the last sixty years, the average I.Q. (whatever the hell that is) has actually gone up (if anyone has contrary information, I'm sure they'll let me know!).  What is interesting is how much of a classic this story is, how most of my friends and associates in the SF field nodded their heads sagely and agreed this was a classic piece of work, and basically agreed with it.  I'm not sayign that they were wrong.  What I AM saying is that they combined this with the comlete lack of non-whites in SF--either as writers, readers, characters, cover images...the comments by John Campbell (verified by two independant sources) that black Africans, even in the future, would not be capable of developing or sustaining a technological civilization AT THE SAME TIME Campbell is counted as the single most influential SF editor by a large chunk of the field...and yet SF readers like to think of themselves as being progressive and open-minded about racial issues.  I can't tell you how many panels I've had to sit on and disabuse folks of that notion.
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In other words: everyone wants to think that thier group is where they are because of their positive qualities.  and every group likes to think that their group are oepn, loving, realistic, and the blessed of god.  I'm telling you, put these things together, and ANYTIME you have a group with numerical or political or financial advantage, they will use it in ways large and small to keep and increase their power, simultaneously acting pious as hell.
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There was a deifnition of hubris in Greece that went something like this: to rob someone, or beat them, is one thing.  To then crow about the fact that you did it is a greater crime.  But do you know what human beings do?  Do you know what absolutley common behavior justifies the lower, deeper circles of hell?  To rob someone, beat them, piss on them...and then tell everyone that the victim is just "naturally' smelly, broke, and crippled.  THAT is what people do.  They justify it because that is the only way they can live with themselves. Tall, White, upper-class, educated, Christian, lean-bodied, heterosexual males are pretty much at the top of the social pyramid in America, and oftimes sneer at the "special interest" groups tryign to steal tax money for their own pork-barrel interests.  but you know what?  Secretly, most of those in that group are part of a less-advantaged sub-group.  Take any one of them, and make them gay, or non-white, or past 50, or take their jobs, or make them disabled Veterans, or women, or whatever, and suddenly they're screaming for help just like the people they castigate.  In other words, human beings tend to take their blessings and consider them to be their due, just for being born.  And to ignore any aspect of their history that goes against that.
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so Social Darwinism works...to a point.  Because human perception will promote inferior skills and goods into positions of power, and we will justify our advantages and consider them the grace of God--and permission to destroy the competition.  but the opposite position is no better--if you hobble the most capable among us, and 'tax the rich until they're dead", I think you DO create a kingdom of the impotent, in which the one-balled man is king.
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I remember talking to Jerry Pournelle once, and his positin was that society shouldn't provide basic goods and services.  My position was that every citizen should be guaranteed a basic education, room, board, and medical treatment.  He said: "why in the world should we do that?"  I said, "We need to provide at least the level of social service one would get in a State prison, because all I have to do to get those things is kill you. " Jerry looked at me curiously, and said he'd never thought of that.
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You want the lowest among us to feel enfranchised inthe system--otherwise, what motivatin do they have not to simply kill you to get heir basic necessities?  On the other hand, anyone who knows me knows I believe in individual initiative and responsiblity.  to the max.  THIS is what we need to teach our kids in school--how to succeed.  and in the twelve years of public school education, I received not one hour of genuine success coaching, the principles that actually lead peole to success.  Not one hour.
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if I was to do the 'Poor little me" thing for a minute (and I think I may be permitted.  It's my blog after all) I'd also note that in those twelve years I never received an hour's teaching on African history.  The white kids in my class received thousands of times more reinforcement about their blessed advantages and heritage.  I had to search high and low for any scrap of self-esteem, and if my blessed mother hadn't brainwashed me with "the Power of Positive thinking" and "Psycho-Cybernetics" and "Think and Grow Rich", I'd probably be just as dead or broken as many of the kids I grew up with.  and I had no role models in the Science fiction field, and they put a white guy on the cover of my book.  And I was told that if I wrote stories about people who looked like me, no one would buy them.  And had scripts turned down not because of quality, but because of the race of the characters.  For thirty years I've struggled with this, while staying more focussed, more directed, more obsessively optimistic (and anyone who knows me will verify this) than any human being has the responsibility to be.  And at every turn, what I meet are people COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that this is what I've gone through.  erpetually astonished when I tell them, show them, prove to them.  "Wow!  I thought we'd gotten beyond that!"  No, we haven't. And women, and the elderly, and the poor,a nd the disabled, and gays ("does megastar XX really think it would hurt his career if he came out of the closet?  What nonsense!") and any other group...and as individuals, that includes most of us...get screwed.
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But if you can make it into that "upper" group.  If you can talk the talk, and dress that way, and shut up about where you came from, and agree that "anyone who has what it takes" can make it, then you can get the goodies. there would be nothing wrong with Social Darwinism as a theory if combined with sufficient compassion and honesty.  But while most of the people I know ARE compassionate, Honesty is hard to come by.  We praise our birthrights, and rationalize away our personal failures.  When will I believe we are honest enough for Social Darwinism to not be an excuse to simply steal and kill and piss on the people we've hurt while blaming them for their wounds?  When the average person is in a healthy relationship, has a healthy body, and a healthy career, that's when.  Because all it takes to have those things is honesty, clarity, and hard work over time.  Gee--isn't that what the Social Darwinists say it takes to succeed?
It's harder than it looks, friends.  It's harder than it looks.

First Movie Deal

Well, it looks as if Tananarive and I have our first movie deal.  More as it develops, but both agents, Nia Hill (our producer), Blair Underwood (our other producgn partner) agree that a particular deal we were offered looks best.  So...we've given our representation permission to move forward.  Like I said, more as it develops.
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I put a sign up in my office that says the following (a quote from a self-improvement book I recently acquired):  "the grateful mind is constantly fixed upon te best; therefore it tends to become the best; it takes the form of character of the best, and will receive the best."

There are, indeed, two different kinds of people in the world.  One, when you suggest a project or an approach that might bring them greater health or happiness, will tell you all the reasons it won't work, and you will end up in an argument, trying to offer them resources and help them be more flexible.  It's hell.  The other says: hmm.  How can I make this work? and starts looking for solutions. 

1) I've never met a human being who didn't have a perfect set of reasons to be a failure.  Too old, rich (!), black, poor, gay, female, short, whatever.  Not one.  Everyone has some set of reasons that life isn't going to work out.  and you can always find a pity party ready to agree.

2) I've never met someone with nothing to offer, someone who genuinely had no path to success.  I remember a woman talking about how she had a friend who was quite ugly.  I believe there was fire scarring involved, and would therefore not be able to find a man.  this, she said, disproved my idea that everyone can be happy.  My immediate response was that if I was that woman, I would get a job at the Braille institute, and find a really nice blind guy.  She was thunderstruck.  How could I even SUGGEST such a thing?  Because I play to win, that's why.  I don't play to make other peole happy, or to salve my ego.  I play to accomplish the goals that I've chosen and maintained over the years, and that means that I have to keep going no matter what.
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When Tananarive, Nicki, Jason and I moved donw here to Southern California, my plan was to write for television until I found a route to work in film.  My plans were COMPLETELY blown out of the water because:
1) my previous television credits were so long ago, they didn't help me.
2) the entire game in television has changed--they don't hire freelancers.  The work is all being done on staff.
3) The television shows don't hire anyone for staff who is over 40.
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I panicked.  This was an unmitigated disaster.  My entire strategy had to be re-framed, and I had to FORCE myself ot look for hte spaces between the trees, otherwise I would crash and burn.  The first thing I had to do was resolve not to take it personally.  This had nothign to do with me--it was just a situation.
Secondly, I had to be very clear on my intent.  To win.  To survive long enough to get into the movie business.  This ran into other problems.  I was unable to make contact with anyone who would hire me (despite interesting promises before I moved here.  Hmmm.) and evey possibility for interem money seemed to fall apart.
Third, I had to have a great stress-coping mechanism.  without it, I would have been crushed.  Brothers and sisters, this was where the FIVE MINUTE MIRACLE was absolutely a life-saver.  Five times a day, I used the breathing technique, and then kept barreling forward on my projects, keeping clear-eyed and sober, and progressing.  Taking meetings.  That was anightmare, because I couldn't let my partners, or the folks I was pitching to, suspect how desperate we were.  for Five months I struggled with this.  and then...about two months ago the clouds began to part, and the sun began to shine. 
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I would never have survived without the support of family and friends, and my ability to keep my mind on what I WANTED to happen, rather than the potential disasters.  I couldn't directly control my career arc, but I coujld work on my spiritual/personal life, and my fitness.  and I did.  the two-thirds of my tripod kept me alive long enough to meet Steven Spielberg, long enough to get my first movie deal, long enough to be able to take a deep, deep  breath. 
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and I wanted to thank all of you.  Being able ot make a core dump of my thoughts every day is a life-saver.  I don't know wht will happen from here, but I'll keep you posted, and say more as it is politic to do so.  but thanks, guys.  Hang on.  It's going to be an interesting ride!

Steve

Klansman convicted of Manslaughter

Well, after 41 years, Edgar Ray Killen has been convicted in the murder of three civil rights workers.  You know?  there's a glass half-empty and glass half-full sense about the whole thing.  In my upbeat mind, I think "Thank God!  Justice at last" that things have changed enough in Mississippi, one of the most intractable states, racism-wise, to get a conviction.  The other part of me says that, in essence, the man has been fined.  I mean, if I could kill someone with a guarantee that I wouldn't be punished until my active life had passed, knowing I'd spend the last part of my life in, in effect, a hospital of some kind (he's obviously a sick old coot) I'd be FAR more likely to consider that a good deal.  So he dies in prison in a couple of years.  Wow.  Meanwhile, he spent forty years eating at Burger King and getting laid and playing with his grandkids, and chuckling about the Northerners he put in their graves.  Hardly seems fair.
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On the other hand, sometimes you don't get fair.  Sometimes, you have to settle for justice.  So I guess I should grit my teeth and smile.

Weight loss progress

Well, THAT was frustrating.  I actually went down 1.5 pounds by last Friday.  I worked out with a student on Saturday morning, helped friends move, and then did a kettlebell workout yesterday.  Ate very well, and judging by the mirror, was noticably leaner...but my weight was the same! My pants fit looser, as well.  Ah well--I was trading muscle for fat, no doubt, and muslce weighs more cubic inch for cubic inch.  But still, the goal is weight loss, and if I don't get it, I have to be honest about it--I don't have a really reliable fat loss measure right now.  Arrgh.  but an important lesson--if fat loss is your only measure, it can seem as if nothing is happening. 
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Daughter Nicki is down a pant size, and her shirts are looser.  So we're both making progress.  Be interesting to see if her weight has changed!

Steve