Fiscal Cliff

Congress created the Fiscal Cliff because the super-committee they created couldn't come to an agreement on reducing the deficit, mainly because of the election.  The election is over now, Congress.  Now it's time for congress to do the work they should have done a year ago, but didn't because they were too busy asking people for money.

Can someone please shoot the tires of this Thelma & Louise congress and make them actually do something other than drive America off a cliff?

If the insane growth in Medicare spending was cut in half, if we stopped vaporizing TRILLIONS of dollars on unnecessary medical care and bureaucracy, and instead put more of that money into education and research and development, imagine how prosperous America would be.

It's time to invest in the young and not just the old and sick.

America has plenty of money.  The problem with America is it's (seemingly corrupt and money controlled) congress and it's inability and lack of desire to control wasteful spending on entitlements.

It's time for change.  Time for the Government to stop the politics and start the actual work of putting America on the path to prosperity.

This is the time to rebuild America, literally and figuratively, better and stronger, inside and out.

"Film Biz Feng Shui"

Fung shui, is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven (Chinese astronomy) and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi.^[3]  -- Wikipedia

"Film Biz Feng Shui"

It's an all American system of catalyzing ideas (scripts, books, dreams) believed to use the laws of both the real world and the bizarro world, to improve the end product and receiving of positive cash flow or true world of art (ideally both).

I pride myself on being a master of it.

It's all about the little things, like setting up office furniture in just the right way, for ideal business flow.  Or a well placed plant or well timed surprise treat can pay for it's self many times over in productivity. It's about understanding the mix of personalities and how they are working or not working.  It's about connecting all the little things, the rain drops into the big things, the river, aligning your project with the right people, and with the larger patterns and movements of the Hollywood Stars and the Hollywood system as a whole.

I know how make a flow, go with the flow, and eventually guide the flow.

Film making is a very collaborative process, it takes bringing together of many different "elements" and people.  To make a feature film you need (sometimes crazy) creative Artists, unpredictable crew members, accountants, non-creative or "money" people, IP lawyers, and more...   You will need to know how to mix and blend these elements in just the right way.  It's a lot harder than it seems.  If you didn't know the proportions of the ingredients of a cake, your cake would not be edible most likely.  Sometimes, if you mix "elements" (people, energy) in the wrong way, it'll blow up in your face.  With the right FBFS, you can make a film production flow almost effortlessly... and save millions.  You can have your cake and eat it too.

It's why I know I will be a great Producer or Production consultant one day.

It's all about Film Biz Feng Shui.

Areté

Make Art with arete.

Be an Artist with areté.  

Just by saying areté you will have it.

Arete (Ancient Greek: ἀρετή), in its basic sense, means excellence of any kind. In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential.

Areté is explicitly linked with human knowledge, where the expressions "virtue is knowledge" and "Areté is knowledge" are used interchangeably. The highest human potential is knowledge and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity. If Areté is knowledge and study, the highest human knowledge is knowledge about knowledge itself; in this light, the theoretical study of human knowledge, which Aristotle called "contemplation," is the highest human ability and happiness." -Richard Hooker  *** thanks Wikipedia ****

And from Areté we get Art.  Art in the purest essence of the word, in every expression.

September

I can't believe it's September already.  This year went by so fast.

Working on my screenplays today...

I'm updating my opus project PHARAOH. I want it to read more like a story.   I am reducing the formatting to make it flow better and read easier.  Watch for new developments on the Pharaoh website.  I hope to make PHARAOH into a novel, and a comic series, as well as a movie trilogy.  Dream big, right?

Also doing a polish of my TV Pilot "Project Starry Knight". I may change the title to "The Cube".  I Googled the title and found a 1969 cult surrealist movie titled "Cube".   I am curious to watch it now, since I am debating a similar title.  I'm hoping it's on Netflix.

I'll be sending out scripts soon!  Can't wait to hear what you think!

Equity

"For every wrong there is a remedy"

In Latin, "Ubi jus ibi remedium" ("where there is a right, there must be a remedy").  It's a maxim of law >> Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy.

"The maxims of equity evolved in Latin, and eventually translated into English, as the principles applied by courts of equity in deciding cases before them."

"Equity is commonly said to "mitigate the rigor of common law", allowing courts to use their discretion and apply justice in accordance with natural law."

"Natural law, or the law of nature (Latin: lex naturalis), is a system of law that is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal.  Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature -- both social and personal -- and deduce binding rules of moral behavior."

The Aristotelian approach to practical reasoning is based on the notion of a virtue, and generally avoids the separation of 'moral' considerations from other practical considerations.

Morality thus came out of the very idea (the essence) of civilization itself.  Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, who used these principles, morality, ethics, logic, to create law -- EQUITY -- and a civilization we call "Western Civilization".  The civilization Alexander (and his wise men) created was the basis of the empires of Greece and Rome, which Europe and English are derived from, and which the American Republic was built on.

Laws are there to assure that those without morality are punished, wrongs are set right, so society/civilization can prosper.

LOVE

What is love?  "Is" is "to be".

What to be Love?

To be what, Love?  To Love be what?

Love to be what?

Love?

Love just is.  Love is "to be".

Love is to be Love(d).

Love is the answer to all the right questions.

Love is what concurs all.

Love is the Truth.  Truth is Love.

Love is Universal Truth.

Love is that which cannot break, that which has no end and no beginning.

Love is light.

Love has no particle mass, no quantifiable empirical value, no definition in science.

Love is life, consciousness, soul, that which science cannot create.

Love is what binds everything, what transcends everything, what permeates everything.

Love is God.  God is Truth.  Truth is Law.  Law is not Love or God.

Love is the essence of God / Law; the reason for it, that which gives it purpose and power.

Love is to be revered, to be worshiped, because to worship is to Love.

Love always finds a way.

Love knows what to say.

Love will show you the way.

Love will save the day.

Love today.

Be Love today.

Disruptive Innovation = Postmodernism

A friend of mine told me she wanted to find and read an article in the New Yorker.  It was the May edition, last month, so it might be hard to find a hard copy.  She Googled it, and showed me the cover.  It was a play of Magritte's surrealist faceless businessman.  I was instantly interested. Surrealist imagery and style that resonates very strongly with me, as you can tell by my avatar.  I quickly noted, "We don't need to find a hard copy.  I'm can just download it onto the iPad."

There's an app for that...

I was told the article was about "disruptive innovation", which of course also immediately sparked my interest.  First the cover I loved, and now an intellectually titillating subject like "disruptive innovation" for the article?   Disruptive innovation strikes right to the core of my two great passions, Science and Art.  I wanted to find and read the article as well.  My attention had been captured.

The article was:  "When Giants Fail:  What Business has Learned from Clayton Christensen"

Remind me to look into his books.  His ideas about the steel mill still hold value in the theory they construct, but "disruptions" are far more complicated now than the steel mill analogy can define.  I think of it as derivatives being a disruption on Wall Street... the steel mill analogy helps get the idea across, like the Bohr model of the atom, but it's only where you start your understanding, it does not account for the quantum mechanics involved and is thus difficult to produce answers from, directly.

The article was nice profile of him.  Christensen is a very interesting person, with a very good story and observation.  It got me thinking.  First, "disruption" is always relative to the disrupted.  Not everyone is disrupted, by every disruption, in fact sometimes people are better off from disruption, it is only the bottom line that is not.  Sometimes the bottom line is far better off with the disruption, it is the consumer, their health, or another specific industry that is disrupted -- starved to death and obliterated.  Manufactured food is disruptive to organic farming.  Rome was disruptive to Hellenism.  Modernism -- most explicitly in architecture, but also intellectually -- was disruptive to everything that came before it.  But...

Postmodernism is "disruptive innovation".  Postmodernism is disruptive innovation on Modernism.  It's sound onto the silent film biz, 3-D on Blockbuster filmmaking.  Postmodernism is that slight mutation of an idea or form that triggers a dramatic shift in the environment in which it operates.  When I think of disruptive innovation, I think of "Reality TV" -- disruptive innovation on traditional scripted programing.  It's an inferior technology overtaking a better one by numbers or force; market force.  It's what the invention of mp3s did to the Record Industry.  Napster brought an industry, that was over 100 years old, to it's knees in about one year's time.  Disruptions come fast and strong in Postmodernism.  Like hurricanes out of the clear blue sky, "disruptions" sweep in and the operating landscape is changed.  Facebook disrupted Myspace to death, but only distracted Google and Apple into paying attention.  Apple disrupted music, movies, books, cell-phones, computers... Silicon Valley is disrupting Hollywood, but also helping it...

Digital media is disrupting publishing, but it is also helping it.  This is when I realized to point of the article, and the idea.  Creating (your own) disruptions, ones that can help (you), is the name of the game.  Disruption can be a good thing, it doesn't have to be a bad thing, so long as you know how to use it.

***

I've been a fan of the New Yorker for a long time.  It's important to support good writers and organizations that nurture them.  "Buy writing content", I thought to myself.  Support the digital publishing model!  So, I downloaded the app and bought the magazine.  I wanted it enough to buy it, rare for me.  No need to call or drive around looking for it.  Instant readability at a nominal fee, really helped me.  

"What an age this is..."

I love/live Art

Ever since I was a small child, I could never get enough information about things.  I would sometimes read the encyclopedia for hours as a child.  I enjoyed it, I always wanted to know more.  I wanted to build a better "big picture" of the world.  But the more I knew, the more I knew I didn't know, you know?  I know now, that while I see the "big picture" better than ever, I also see that it is so big -- infinite -- that you can/will never see all of it.  But the better and more quickly you do see a big/bigger picture of the situational topic essence, the more useful and insightful/creative information you have recall of and skill for, the more amusing, valuable and fulfilled you are.  Being and/or appearing smART -- with words and wit -- is also an art.  I love/live Art.

My Fanpage

Having a fanpage is a great way to explore, experiment and learn about social media, which is integral to the media/content business today.  I love the 'stats charts' and all the information that Facebook gathers for you.  I love information! I've always been really interested in social-media, and technology and how they impact the film/content business and my career in it, and what the information can do for you.  Since last year I've been fascinated by how social media is effecting global politics and economics.  For a content generator or Artist today, it's all about data, platforms, interfaces, knowing your audience and understanding your audience; catering to them.  Creating and selling rights or ads on/to desirable IP.  Finding your market and voice is key.  Meeting and learning from the right people.  For me, it's about being true to yourself, and telling your story.  Telling good stories, with heart, and imagination.  Connecting with people, in a real/meaningful way.  Living the dream, one like at a time.

I'm a writer

I'm a writer.

It's a skill that has allowed me to work, perform and communicate well with people.  I love to meet people, learn about people and their life, and thus about life in general.  I'm a social person, who is perfectly comfortable being alone on a Saturday night reading a book, or going to a movie alone.  Being able to write with skill, comes from having reading skills, which come from a desire to learn.  I love to learn about everything.  I learn very quickly, and often get an instant grasp of the situations, work systems and problems, and/or solutions.  I'm an outside the box thinker.  I pick up on what you are thinking and off my spin on it, helping you flesh out the best way to move forward.  This is what I do, I communicate with people and for people to make them, and me, happier and more wealthy.  I have a very broad skill set and a sharp bullsh*t meter.  I know what works and what doesn't, what is a lie and what isn't, and I can back it up with something tangible -- or I wouldn't say so.  I like to meet people in person because I like to watch them talk to me.  I learn just as much if not more about someone by watching them as I do by listening to them.  Some people think I'm intense.  I am intense, because I dig for the truth.  I look for it, and many people don't like being examined for truth.  I'm a loyal friend and a powerful ally.  I'm a passionate, discreet, efficient and innovative worker.  I'm a romantic at heart.  I'm an intellectual with my head in the clouds, looking for the answers to the questions I'm seeking to ask myself and the universe...

I subscribe to the philosophy that the universe -- the infinite and the divine -- are found in the external Universe, but also internally in our own Mind.  You can go out or you can go in, but if you go wisely you will end up in the same place...

I love Science and Art.  I love the Art of science -- MEDIA -- and the Science of Art -- HOLLYWOOD / WALL STREET -- get it?  Good.

I have always loved to read, write and think about things.  I am proud to able and am becoming increasingly willing to share my thoughts about things.  I like to be a part of the dialogue, to be heard and to make people think about things.  I'm innovative and sometimes that has the effect of rattling people's cages, or stepping on their inflated ego, when I come up with a much better idea or proposal, so sometime people don't like me.  I understand there's a pecking order, but I also have trouble standing by as money, time and effort is wasted because of someone's ego.  I'm a team player, with strong energy, positive and realistic goal making and setting skills, and a bridge-builder.  I can help translate "Creative" into "Business" and visa versa.  I'm a Media Mogul in the making... That's what I tell myself.  I like to be right.  I'm not a sore loser, I play with honor and strategy, and my endgame is a game well played, a battle of wits won, a job well done.  I aim to please, with style, finesse, skill and ease.  I walk the walk and talk the talk, and can mock, shock, or rock your world around the clock.

I'm a very private person, but I'm an open book at a well curated Art studio.  I'm secretive, mysterious, and full of surprises.  I like to be fun and interesting, and to see fun and interesting.  Confidence and intelligence are just as attractive to me as aesthetics.

I like to read and learn about every subject, from the Sciences like Physics or Chemistry, and from the Arts like performance, dance, singing, Qigong, etc.  I like to be able to speak to any topic with enough understanding of the essence of the discussion.  I have always loved words and language.  Language is also an Art form, like drawing, painting, graphic designing, it is the creation of symbols and images to convey ideas and concepts.  I love to create images and also to criticize/interpret them with words.  For me being a writer means being able to see deep into something, -- like a reporter on the front lines of the war -- you can find the core of the story and situation, and present a solution and narrative to write from.

Being a writer is also about being creative.  Finding perspective that moves or resonates with people.  Finding that undercurrent, that wave, and riding, 'hanging ten' on the proverbial surfboard and striking a cord with people.  Like in the form of a blogpost, or a TV show or movie.

I like to create and help others create.  That's why I came to Hollywood...

To let my imagination run free and make dreams come true.