Hmmm....Eat, Pray & Love???

I was not going to go, but....

Of course I did.

The most important part of this movie was the ability of the director, producers and Troupe to showcase just how disconnected many American women today are.  I applaud them for their efforts.  Finally someone even tried.  And, in a way, it was a "how to reconnect" manual - with the book going into further detail.  However, they failed to accurately discuss what is happening in the heads of American men?  Perhaps the scope might have been too big, or perhaps a few deeper 15 minutes scenes might have clarified this issue. However, it is critical for the survival of the American Society that this begins being discussed.

Can I give a better example of a 15 minute scene that would have helped?

Yes, I will.  If in one of the flash backs David revealed how he developed feelings for Liz.  If he clearly identified that he had worked with her for an entire decade - and then magically developed "feelings."  If he clearly identified the moment he saw her standing on the side of the road and how beautiful she.  If he spent a few minutes trying to convince her to start dating him.  If she clearly identified what happen in her last marriage and this made him protective of her and want to be with her more.  If she, then explained that she needed time to heal.  Then, David, in a last ditch effort, could asked if they could just get together and have sex from now on.  (However, I do give the director kudos for trying to do this - it just wasn't strong enough and had no support). 

????

Someone tell me they understand the problem here:  American Men are driven by Objectification.  They want a pretty picture.  They persist in obtaining that picture.  They do not really listen to what a woman is saying when they are in that acquisition mode - it is a point that is important.  Something the Stephen character exemplified if anyone really looked at all the pictures in the house.  Then, if it looks like they won't get the picture, they try to just have sex.

This is clearly created in the relationship between Liz and David, but not accurately explored.

Why is this a persistent problem in America?  And mainly in America???  Why is it more prevalent in cities and less prevalent - yet still there in rural communities?  Truly the problem is here people. 

And, as I discussed it with a transgender friend this morning, I started off by saying it was an attempt at recreation of the European culture here in the 80's.  I used the "Sweet Heart of the Mountains" Contest as an example.  In the beginning of the last Century, the girls were all farm girls, ranchers and mountain girls.  Then, by the 50's you see the pin-up look.  Then by the 80's there was MTV and all kinds of European influences.  The easiest difference to spot in the pictures was something so simple it was mind-blowing: a Tiara.  Then came make-up and finally the hair - mostly Euro hair-styles.  From that point on, American men and women began to disconnect.  My friend suggested that by making it all about a picture and sex, that it gave people licence to not really try to connect at the Heart level.  I agree whole-heartily. 

Europeans have what they have because the Family structure is 5+ generations deep.  Americans really haven't had that to the same extent.  400 years ago was a struggle.  Often men came first, women came last.  Or women would adventure out on their own, and find men without family structures at all later.  Strangely, the states that had strong family ties in the beginning 400 years ago are still the ones with the strongest marriages and connections.

And strangely the invention of films and TV, helped Americans create stronger family ties by showing modern family struggles: "Leave it to Beaver" "Andy Griffith" "Happy Days" "Brady Bunch" and "The Waltons."  Where they accurate depictions?  No, not really, but they were American families, their problems exacerbated and solved American style - from the hip...rather than European families.  My mother's family was British so I saw many of their TV programs and the families, problems and solutions were remarkably different.

However, by the 80's everything on TV became too extreme (soap operas), or just a showcase of disconnection and negativity.  By the 90's, it wasn't much better.  Very few programs existed to be positive, however they were some "7th Heaven." By the 2000's, was the solidification of Reality TV and anything positive fell right off the chart!

However, the real concern here isn't that women are disconnected, it's that men don't know how to connect and can't seem to realize that the woman they are with is disconnect. 

When I was disconnect, I used to sing from my Heart and Soul.  But that does not mean that I knew what I was singing, much less why.  In fact, I could not reproduce many of the tunes if I tried.  And I certainly would not have recognized them if a friend played them back using instruments. 

And this is the journey that Liz undertakes.  She doesn't know what's wrong, much less articulate it.  She can only start with the basics: food, balance - learning how the rest of the world does it and ancient wisdom.  Wisdom that didn't continue through the first immigrants because their children tried to shed the "Old Country" traditions.

Liz had to learn to reconnect to herself first, her life and then the world outside of herself.  Then at last, she could reconnect to another person on an intimate level.  That anyone could do it in a year is AMAZING.  But I'm going to have Faith that it is possible.  I only just completed the journey myself after 3 years.

Can women make that journey within the confines of their relationships?  With the present state of American men - I sincerely doubt it.  Can they make it within the confines of their family structures?? Maybe.  It depends if the family structure is populated by people who formed their relationships prior to the 80's.  Otherwise, a woman is better off going to her Grandparents to figure it out.

The goal of a relationship isn't to have sex.  I'm sorry, it just isn't.  The goal is to connect at the Heart level and share each other's souls and journeys.   Children are an actualization of that Love mirroring at a deep level.  If you do it right, then love making happens at a spiritual level - something far beyond what American's have today.  If you do it right, then love-making can happen at the family level too.

This is the key to America's Future...

Have You Ever Been the Wrong Person?

Have you ever been so Fucked up in the Head from Domestic Violence that you knew deep down in the core of your fiber that you were the wrong person?  That you were not living on ANY of the Eight Fold Paths - any Christian Virtues - that you were consumed by your Nafs?

What do you do when you are the wrong person?  When deep down inside you know you've hidden yourself - even from yourself? 

That you took everything that was precious and beautiful and hid it so he couldn't find it and destroy it.  You did it to save your very soul because you knew fundamentally that was his goal - if he couldn't own you like an object, he would destroy you...

That's what Domestic Violence is.  Its not just the many acts of throwing an animals down the stairs, breaking collar bones and jaws and scaring everyone around them.  Its not just the act of threatening to shoot Buddy in the head.  Its not just threatening to leave you homeless and penniless.  Its not just threatening to destroy your boss's life an his family.  Its not just the act of threatening to beat up the one person in Portola that tells you about the girlfriend on the side.  Domestic Violence is a pervasive hunt to obtain or destroy another human life and blame them for it.

And when that was my life, I did EVERYTHING to protect myself - even hid myself.  And it takes YEARS of guidance from a gentle Sufi named Sidi Al Jamal to help me break through to my REAL self.  I had to break into my Very

Own Soul to become who I have always been...

Someone Beautiful.  Someone Precious.  Someone Honest.  Someone True.

And even now, others want to be with me, not for me, but for the pretty picture.  They want to own a picture, not share the great mystery that is Life with a person and I have to hold them all away because the truth is Keanu

Drake and You were the only right people I ever wanted in my life...

Back then, I was just the wrong person at the wrong time...

I'm sorry I ever said otherwise, and I would have done it again because fundamentally, I knew that I would eventually be the right person at the right time...

Sidi and Iman Ali gave me that hope...that I would find myself and that I was Beloved...because back then, I was so messed up, I didn't even know that...and I am forever grateful to both of them because no one else even knew what was wrong, much less how to help....

How to Deal? Dealing with Reality...

This is the most difficult thing about life.  People choose not to deal with reality all the time.  They watch TV, do drugs, drink, eat chocolate, play games in cyberspace and listen to elevator music. 

I've had people tell me to my face that I am not living in the Real world and yet every day I am up (regardless of how I feel) walking my dogs, interacting with others, looking at the world with real eyes and real appreciation.  I can take time in the middle of what I am doing and watch a snail roll over a red bell pepper strip, lift it up and eat it with a mouth (8 minutes).  I honestly had no idea they even had a mouth.  I thought they got nutrients through their pores and slime.  the mouth was the size of a capital "D" and it was fascinating to watch the entire process as I ran back and forth waiting tables. 

Like the Lakota in the top, black and white picture, I live in the Real world.  A world that many people have stopped paying attention to.  The world that Naturalist try to remind us about and shout warnings.  Most people know they have been seen by me because I take a Heart moment to look inside their Souls and recognize them - where ever they may be.  I never shake a hand without taking this moment to deeply know them through the eyes.  Most people are shocked - sometimes they come back for more, often they are too frightened and simply walk away - wondering why they are so uncomfortable.  For all those that accept my forthrightness and engage, they are amazed to discover the many layers of who I am and that I am genuinely interested in them. 

The Real world is about connections.  And while most people see me alone, or walking the dogs, I am deeply connected in the experience of "NOW."  This too is something many can't fathom, but ask me how I do it.  It takes remembering to cultivate that meditative moment, whether walking or sitting, it takes REMEMBERING.  That deep intention to breathe in and out and BE.

So when people ask me if you were Really in my life, I say wholeheartedly, "YES."  You only gave back 3 things and I remember each one and why.  I own 2 of the three.  You were right to give back 1 of the three.  And I burnt the most offensive and least honest on my part; 0.  And in your own way you were trying to give me the message you needed me to hear.  And then, you solidified it with the picture I will never forget.

Someone asked me last night where I got my Pikorua - if I had gone to New Zealand.  I said, "No, a Friend gave it to me."  Because the fundamental foundation of every relationship is Friendship.  The willingness to communicate and be connected.  I am "difficult" to relate with, because I believe in Naked relationships and call people into NOW, and as one friend said, I "never shut up."  (Smile) Of course you know that... (Arched Eyebrow).

However, I realize most people hate to be Naked.  I myself can relate to that physically, but not in my relationships.  When one friend went through a crisis, he told me "there's the door if you want to leave - go ahead."  I looked right back at him and said, "I know that makes you feel really brave - but I'm not going anywhere."

I hope in time you will understand that as well. 

I am not going Anywhere.

As the Pikorua entwines us through out Time and Karma, I am here for you.

I know I hurt you, I recognize that.  I know I freaked you out, I recognize that too.  Yet at the core of Everything there is Friendship and that is something you can Trust.  Friendship is a foundation that says, "I have your back" "lean on me" and "we can do this"

I will get beyond my fears, I will get beyond myself, the green veil will be removed - this too can be trusted.

Life is in the living, Love is in the giving...

The Hurt Locker

Yep, one of THE most messed up movies I've ever seen. 

Screwed in the head, completely dislocated and fine (freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotion).  This is WHY Career Military disagree with having enlisted men.  This is WHY politicians like having enlisted men - disposable population control - it's positively disgusting.  Career Military have spent centuries becoming what they are and know why they do what they do as well as how to do it while staying sane, in touch with their families and their country.  Being in the military is NOT about playing Xbox and yet that is what it has become in the age of political abuse of the enlisted man.  

As for the Sauds that promote, educate and train the use of IEDs and use women and children as IEDs - if it is His will and only if it is His will, may the Lord of Abraham, Ishmael and Issac follow through on His curses and give them their full course because they have done EXACTLY what He forbade in the Qur'an; after the death of the women and children in the streets.  Mohammad, himself relayed the strict instruction of the Lord through Archangel Gabriel that women and children were to be left out of war and all its ugliness - so I agree with the Moorish Sufi's that say, [If you are a Terrorist, you are no longer a Muslim - you are forsaken.]  Fortunately, it is the Lord himself that curses the Sauds - both in the Bible and in the Qur'an.  So, everyone else wake up, stop listening to the Sauds, and avoid them at all cost!!!  Literally avoid their mosques, their schools, their land, their businesses and completely avoid them.  They cut their citizen's heads off in the streets for a reason - they are lost.

AS for the movie itself...

After several hours of holding my breathe, I'm glad it's done.  It was exceptional, far better acted than Platoon.  Done in a superb realistic style.  Excellent pacing, plucking the same military movie notes as in the past, but doing a far superior job of it.  "Brothers" was worthless by comparison.  I'm glad to see it won 6 Academy Awards. 

However, I wish we didn't have to make movies like that, much less have war glorified and justified at the end.  What a mess.  As a Pacifist, I just have to say the ending was the absolute worst.  And the only realistic thing was the 365 countdown.  The whole, look at his shinny new boots and how proud he is to go back and do his duty was just morally messed up.  The fact that the character was the good guy willing to help both sides doesn't justify making War look pretty.  War has not solved one single problem on this planet.  Not one.  As a form of resolution it has completely failed in its viability. 

And of course for the main character, it's even sadder that anyone could reach that age and only love one thing - the scriptwriter lost his focus at this point.  I thank the Lord that I can stop and smell the roses and value all they are and all the beauty of their creation whether I am in a war zone, refugee camp or a peace zone.  Most people can't say that because they've never been in all three. There is a ton to love about this Life and if you can't figure out what those things are - its seriously time for an ashram or retreat.

I recommend everyone see this movie once.  Recognize the good parts - that it happens and exists.  Recognize it's bad parts - its a propaganda tool and don't get sucked in.  Then spend your kid's lives showing them Lord Buddha's, Jesus', and Gandhi's choice.  Their choices to stop war and the fundamental reasons/need for war are far superior.

Okay - lets take it to the extreme - since no one is listening...

"The Transition Handbook" also written by another amazing Brit, Rob Hopkins declares that mankind has taken approximately 200 Gigabarrels of oil per decade (that is not including all the years between the decade that's just the addition of the ten year marks).  Hmmm....  I'm still trying to figure out what a Giga-barrel is... 
A ton, I imagine.

If you took a 500 pound person and with an unskilled plastic surgeon took the micro-biological version of 200 Gigacellulite cells from pockets all over that person's body, what would you get?  A person who's skin sags in unsightly ways.  A person who can no longer keep warm in some spots or cool in others.  A person who wants to sue the doctor.  (Yes, still trying to have a sense of humor)

So, let's use our little homemaker mind and try to figure this out.  The animators of "Titan A. E." already figured out the Teutonic plates, their rates of movement and what would happen and how, and how big each plate would be if the earth herself cracked.  Gruesome-to-say-the-least for those of us that love the Earth, but at least all the data has been compiled.

If your use a Timeline of crude oil removal, where and how much, then you essentially have a basic, reverse-engineering game plan on how put non-equivalent material back in, as well as where and in what order. 

However, this plan is VERY crude and simply a very simplistic plan.  Then you bring in your Geologist and Marine Geologists.  After all, the earth is very much like a walrus what happens on one side happens on the other side.  For every neap tide there is a high tide.  For every Spring tide there is a counter tide.  The following UK link provides a very easy to understand model ( Tides explained ) .

So now you have a game plan that is simplistic, but far more realistic.  At this point you bring in the plastic surgeon's.  You know the kind.  They suck out people's leg fat, while the person stands up so they don't get the sagging going on without fixing it.  They also fluff up the face and breast by putting that same fat back in.  Using the skill and talent of these people you refine the simplistic plan into a true work of art.  You might even bring in a blubber specialist (whales, walruses, seals, etc...).  All of these specialist refine the game plan so that the crust/ocean floor is slowly and evenly lifted up.

Hmmm..... What will happen? one might ask.  Well, you would get a series of earthquakes.  Hmmmm..... Is this what people want?  Nope.  But if you ask people would you like plan A - a Total crack of the earth and a boiling of the ocean, or plan B - a return to the natural, relatively minor earthquakes of the past?  Then I would imagine most people would say, "Wake the Ring of Fire back up - we'll go back to doing our civil drills and enjoy a natural healthy Earth versus a completely cracked one."

But then comes the really serious question?  Who's going to pay for it?  Yeah, right.  Well you can either get the Kyoto Accord and the Linden Money stupidity again, or you can force the Oil producers to pay for it (Yeah, I'm laughing too), or you can gather a ton of private, international investors to do it.  These are people that can't expect a return on their money for at least 5 generations.  Now, finding those people would be harder than dirt and my estimate is just a number to say, "they personally won't get their money back, but they could provide for their grandchildren."  This is best.  Rockefeller was a shrewed business man.  He understood the value of laying the groundwork for the future while stealing from the citizens of day.  Something most businessmen seem to be good at today.  Oops, now I'm sliding into being snide so let me back up...

Oil companies are sucking oil out of sand.  Personally, I'm glad they are finally scratching in the dirt on top of the crust.  But if I could personally get them to start flooding old cavities with compost from Louisiana, California Avocados, Italian Olives, and Middle Eastern Figs, or anything else fossil fuel scientist think might cook properly, then I would.  But I think they are pretty busy scratching in the dirt.  So let's not disturb them.  They are already highly disturbed freakouts anyway - considering they have governments fighting wars so they can get their hands on something for free.  Hmmm.....

I think individual investors are the way to go...

And the reality....

,

I release the guilt because you didn't have the problem.  I did.  I had the problem.

I'm glad one of your friends told me.
May the Lord Bless her Heart and her courage...

I accept responsibility for myself forever more...

And just for clarities sake, the Maori symbol still exists.  I'm declaring that I was responsible for my own actions and given as little information as I was, I was a complete fool all by myself.  I release the guilt because had I known more And had we discussed my problem, its possible we both would have acted differently.

How does Guilt affect us?: Letting Guilt Go....

Read the following post by an Englishman I admire and consider the possibilities...

---------
The Law Of Forgiveness

By Mohammed
July 29, 2010  

In the 11 Forgotten Laws Bob Proctor and Mary Morrissey discuss the eighth Law of the Universe, the Law of Forgiveness. 

Of all the emotions, guilt and resentment are the most damaging to us. In a recent study, the levels of acidity in human sweat were measured from people whilst they were feeling different emotions. The samples taken whilst the subject was feeling guilty were the most acidic, followed closely by resentment. 

Buddha gives a very good definition of anger. He says that when you are angry, it is as if you a holding a burning coal. Your anger is affecting only you and until you release it, you will continue to do so. 

Jesus was once asked by his disciple, Peter, how many times you should forgive someone. In Jewish scriptures, it was said that you should forgive them three times, so Peter, knowing how much Jesus valued forgiveness, asked if it was enough to forgive seven times. Jesus said that seven times was not enough and emphasised that you would need to forgive 70 x 7 times! All religions teach of forgiveness and Jesus’ answer show just how much forgiveness we must show to the world. 

When Cynthia Kersey first met Bob Proctor, she had a lot of anger in her life. She asked Bob how she could better channel this anger. Bob advised her to do something more than her anger by finding something she was passionate about. Within the next few days, Cynthia met the founder of Habitat for Humanity and was inspired by her story. She committed to doing something that would be greater than her anger and she decided that she wanted to help build 100 homes in Nepal. Cynthia managed to achieve this goal and, in doing so, successfully released the anger within her and replaced it with purpose and forgiveness. 

Take some time today to apply the Law of Forgiveness. What guilt and resentment are you holding that is literally burning away your spirit? Try to show the level of forgiveness that Jesus advised us to show and see if these destructive emotions are reduced in your life.
------------------

So, I'm letting the guilt go. I tried to love a man who lived in the shadows of his own life. I catered to every insecurity and need to observe from far away. And I'm done doing that. 

If ANY man deserves to walk down main street in the Light; be Happy and feel Secure being approached by everyday citizens - just for the sheer joy of laughing and getting to know others and becoming known - it's you.

No hats needed. No bike for anonymity. No holds Bar. Just a peeling away of All the layers of security that have wrapped you up in a torturous existence of a guilded cage. You deserve to just be a Being of Light, living within the freedom of that Light.

You deserve this to the highest possible degree.  So I do too... 

As Lord Buddha raced into the burning building to get out the children, I too raced into the burning building. I tried to pull you out and I've felt guilty ever since for being unsuccessful. You only became more mired: leaving behind your clothes with holes for $5,000 suits and shoes. Leaving behind the comfort of sitting on the side of the sidewalk, in the light, with a milkshake to rarely be seen at all. I've rarely felt like such a failure before. And I wallowed too. But now I'm letting that guilt go too... 

And of course in the past, I wasn't successful in my own life. Yet all that's changing. I now have one of the best movie scripts out there - original and refreshing. I have new opportunities to take new paths. I have family and friends. Life is going in the right direction and by the will of H'Allah, it will continue to do so.
 
Maybe, one day, the ocean will crack and boil - it's possible but not preferable. It's preferable that mankind gather it's geologist, "Titan A.E." animators who studied the Teutonic plates and plastic surgeons skilled in cellulite removal/infusion and figure out how to refill the oil cavities where we have pumped out Billions of tons of oil, then figure out in what order to re-fill them, and with what material. The real question is, "Is it possible to make crude oil renewable?" I think so. Mother Earth did it without high tech just fine, so Anything is possible. 

Maybe, everything will be normal and life will go on and on for several 1,000 upon 1,000 of years. 

And maybe only one or two of the above and maybe none of the above... 

It's all about choices. Making them from the Heart and Soul - not calculating. Living our own lives in the Light, not in the shadows. Reaching out to others. Luving others. 

Letting be and letting go is what needs to be done with the negative as Thay says "composting." Not a shorning and ripping and throwing away, but a decompositon of sorts to create renewal. 

Embracing and accepting is what needs to be done with the positive, living in the Light...

Hmmm....Career vs. Script....hmmm indeed!

So, I would like a career that lets me write, go to school and live my life, pay child support and do all the things I enjoy doing because I enjoy doing a lot of things.

Recently and several times, I was offered a portion of a restaurant - simply the option to operate the business side and stay out of the kitchen.  I like the idea but my only education in this area is in marketing and very basic daily cash drawer keeping so I am a little wary of it.

However, I've decided to ask my former Business teacher if he would watch over my shoulder and provide advice.  And instead of buying part of the business, I think simply buying the option/right to operate for a 6 month period is good to start.  It would give the original owner a lot of leeway to end it and protection from legalities if things don't go well in both of our opinions.  As well as limit my assets and legal liabilities.

It would also allow me to continue to work on my College Incompletes, and my next movie script - an adaptation.

The next movie script is going to be Very interesting.  Like most Sci-Fi scriptwriters, I'm going to stay pretty close to the material.  The main reason is obvious, after several decades have gone by, any following/audience now has a clear picture in their mind and will most often only accept a replica.  This was found to be very true with "Dune" and
"Star Wars." However, there was a wonderful pre-quell story that I just can't get out of my mind and I might include bits and pieces to simply jazz the main storyline up - It's exciting!

One "How to....do adapting" book that I started reading was written by a guy at ABC, he also worked on the Perry Mason series.  Unfortunately, it gets very tecknical, however, it IS very interesting.  Thus, I decided to stop and use it as guidance for when I get stuck.  I seem to have an innate tallent in this area, and even though I am new to the concept of adapting a script from a book, I have done reverse engineering for many decades. 

I guess my main concern is that if I follow the "rules" too much, I won't have anything "new" to offer.  It's sort of the same concept as actors have when considering a new version of an old movie.  Do you go rent Every movie ever based on Hamlet?  Or do you simply throw all that out and try novel approaches and surprise the audience?  I like surprises, so I like this more open approach the most.

I look forward to my second adaptation the most because it will involve a lesser known docu-fiction (my favorite genre).  It's a ficticious historical that takes place 10 years after WWII and takes place in France.

So, I've also decided to learn French.  We will simply see how it goes...

Are there Leading Scriptwriters?

Everyone always expects for the Leading Man to have a Leading Lady, no one considers that he might have a Leading Scriptwriter?  Why is this? 

Seriously...

Someone can dream up and write the most beautiful piece of music for a soundtrack.  A composition that actually says, "I Love You" in it's melody.  And yet everyone assumes that it's for the Leading Lady and not the Leading Scriptwriter.  I think people need to rethink this concept.

I know I am.  I am the Leading Lady in my own life, but in the Film Industry, not a chance.  I'd rather be the Leading Scriptwriter ANY day of the week.  I'd rather treasure the beautiful legacy that the Bard left behind.  I'd rather treasure the honorable traditions of Chinese, Japanese and Yiddish stage Theatre.   

I am a Historian.  I am a Writer.  I am a Woman.  I am a Military Brat.  I am a Jew.  I am a Sufi.  I am a Christian. I am a Belgian.  I am a Texan.  I am a Brit.  I am an American.  I am a Lover of Life.  I am a Lover of Heaven.  I am a Sci-Fi Lover.  I am a student.  I am a Scholar.  I am a Saint.  I am a FOOL.  I am a Drama Queen. I am a Queen in my Domain.  I am someone who screws up and someone who heals up.  I am a thousand different things and a multi-facet of those same thousand things.  I am a Renaissance Woman.

Why would I, with all my talent, want to be a Leading Lady, when I could enjoy writing the stories we LUV to hear and see?  When I've got such a wealth of getting things wrong and how to fix it, that I can put my knowledge to good use?  To ask the audience to reconsider their perceptions and their views of life and living?

And yet, when I walk away from work, I am the Leading Lady in my life and embrace all that comes my way.

Take your time in life and find what you are good at and then spend the rest of your life becoming it by exploring it...

Prince of Persia: Great Movie, but the Sufi's got Smeared

ersia

Prince of Persia was a fun video-based movie. A little too much CGI in a few places and not enough kissing in others. Lol! But the concepts flowed. If anything, the vagueness of the "Gods" was just weird and the prince’s reference to the One Creator not strong enough. So, obviously some scriptwriter just plain chickened out BIG TIME.

Like I always tell people, "Be very, VERY good or be very, VERY bad." Don't sit in the middle; it's a pretty ugly place to be.

Future scriptwriters, when writing about the Persian Empire, remember to put in that they were Muslim and it was a common practice to take orphans, especially Christian orphans, into the palace. Christians are viewed as dependable and worthy of equality in the Qur’an. (Infidels are people that don't believe in Judgment Day; and thus live their lives without consequences) That's why the bad guy, a Muslim, is justly and rightly killed by the Christian orphan. That's right, the Christian saves the day! Whoo Hoo!

It's interesting and beautiful when you watch a movie like "The Kingdom of Heaven" which didn't sugar coat anything. I think people appreciated it more and the Box Office Tickets showed it. However, despite the sugar coating in the "Prince of Persia", it was still very good and the gray, "Chicken Out" area was only two lines in the whole movie.

Unfortunately, their use of Sufi meditation was just vulgar and sadly misinformed to the point of being incredibly stupid. The spin is a re-enactment of the earth's lopsided spin and a form of prayer. It is not about visions and certainly Not about fortune-telling.

I guess the only consolation is that they used a dancer for the Sufi. The man was both upright and "spotting" which means that he was keeping track of one point in front of him to keep from getting dizzy. This means the whole scene was fake from the inside out.

I am grateful for such kindness. If they had used a real Sufi, I would have completely lost my joy of watching the movie. But misrepresentation happens all the time in Hollywood. AS LONG AS NO ONE THINKS ITS REAL, then everything will be fine.

Fortunately, Fasting and sleep deprivation is the only form of vision questing known to man and it is done in every religion: Buddhism, Christianity, Shintoism, most native people etc...meaning ANYONE can do it.

So, in the future, do your homework both historically and religiously and next time you'll get A's from everyone! Certainly, the Ostrich races were a Hoot!!! I Loved the end and thought it was quite inventive, thus making the Film completely enjoyable - the whole point! Thank you Walt Disney for a fun-filled effort!

The Movie: Remember Me

Wow!

One of the best movies I've seen in a long, Long, LONG time.  We get so used to plot based movies that when you come to a character based movie, it is both refreshing and startling. 

For now, my Heart, mind and body are just tired. If you see the movie, watch it early in the evening - with friends and loved ones - and have a box of Kleenex. And no it is not a chick-flick, a romance, an action or a Sci-fi.  It is simply one of the best movies I've seen since "The Soloist" and "Pursuit of Happyness"



A scriptwriter can only pray to make a movie so good, so well crafted and so beautiful.  From the music score, to the script itself.  The Love story was profound, the character story difficult but good and the acting was deep.  And while the middle seemed a little confusing, the end cleared it all up and then some.  The average life in America is simply not the clean cut living that happened in the 50's.  People have honorable moments and flaws, and today's American's are deeply complex people.  And more importantly, they don't get a nice and tidy script to read.  They must find their own path and sometimes they aren't ready for what life brings them, but they try anyway.  And that's the beauty of all the souls I've met in America, they keep trying until they get it right.  They don't give up, but will try to hold onto their moral standards and keep reaching no matter what comes their way.  Some American's have it easy, some have it hard and a ton fall in the middle, and while I love traveling, I rarely have found an entire nation of people I Love More.  And while most might think that's a stretch, I have moved 47 times in 43 years, and known hundreds of thousands of people, I can say, "I Love My People."  I get tired of the garbage, the politicians, etc... but the American People make it worth living here, at this point in time, every day!

Please go see the movie.  It is a gift to yourself. 

However, be prepared for a very unusual and powerful ending.  I was watching it at 1 am and was snuggling on the couch with a blanket.  The ending was so powerful, I took my blanket, laid down and cried on my prayer rug.  Since Sophie died at New Years, Mau is the only other to pray with me.  He came and crawled under the blanket and two Hearts lay beating in prayer...

I'd say more, but any other review would spoil the ending.  Peace and Loving-kindness to ALL...

The Question came up: Should We Ever Look Back?

This is about as silly as asking if we should ever look forward.

And in a Nutshell, we would not have Jazz today if we didn’t have talented people that looked back. We wouldn’t have fabulous music and lyrics by Bob Dylan or Nirvana if they didn’t look back at the past: folk music, gospel and Christian music. The earlier music shaped their music and thus shaped humanity’s consciousness because of their interpretations. Think about Dylan’s “Turn, Turn, Turn” that is a total and complete example of looking at the past (one of King David’s Psalms) and creating the present for future generations.

Looking back is ABSOLUTELY Essential to being in the Present and RIDICULOUSLY Necessary before entering the Future.

Let’s look at this concept in action…

A man was once told that he would have three choices for a wife. Some screw was loose in his brain and he thought that meant he had to pick 1 of 3 females; INSTEAD OF REALIZING THAT HE WAS BLESSED AND COULD HAVE ALL THREE CONSECUTIVELY. The beauty of his life was that he would have an Opportunity to meet ALL of them, and love All of them in the manner He Chose because it was His choice and not theirs. Karma was on his side. Wow, what a concept!!!

Here he thought bad things happened to those he loved and he simply misunderstood that their Karma was simply not to be in his life as long as he was to live. Sort of like a Redwood Tree lives 1000 years, but all the humans that might protected it live less than 100 years, so one tree would need about 10+ humans for a full cycle of protection. Of course, I’m trying to make light of the situation to balance out the strength of my words.

Sorry gentle readers.

Perhaps it wasn’t a screw loose per say, but a sincere misunderstanding of how linear lives present themselves. You can’t move from the Past, to the Future and simply skip the Present. In order to go from one wife to the next wife, you have to at least travel WITH the middle wife, because those chains of events lead you to the next one or better prepare you for the next one.  I think Orson Scott Card captured it best in his books, "Women of Genesis."

Westerners have such weird beliefs about what a wife Is and how she is Found. I’m always simply amazed at this lack of understanding. Each person, place and event in our lives SHAPE US for the next person, place and event in our lives. And just because you meet your next Karmic wife, doesn’t mean you have to actually marry her. How many men actually legally marry their wives? But you do have to actually know her well enough to at least consider the idea with an honest appraisal. But missing the step, misses the opportunity for growth and thus being prepared for the third wife; as well as sometimes meeting her.

Easterners have this down easy as pie. Either they have their wives at the same time, or they have them consecutively.  Heck, with the Tibetans, their wife have several husbands, so you know it goes both ways and isn't gender specific.

To “refrain from looking backwards” is to miss the point. We can either fight the Present and miss the Future or we can go with the flow and everything will happen naturally.  Believe it or not, there really is a reason for everything under the sun.
Not to mention, if you were to study the many surveys of men that have 3 wives consecutively, you would find that all of them needed that middle step for some very important reasons: She either carried two keys and not one…or he had to work on some issue before he was ready to commit to one person for the rest of his life. Very simply put, a braid involves three pieces of hair, all leading to one complete piece.

This isn’t Western brain surgery, its fundamental 101 in the Eastern world.

Make life easy on everyone and go with the flow: examine the Past, to come terms with It in hands of the Present, so you can be whole and ready for the Future.

Another Question: Betwix and Between?

What happens when you ask a painful question?


The one that's close to your Heart?  And the answer is neither here nor there, but somewhere between and betwixt?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes

Between as:

Taking together the combined effect of

Betwixt as:

In a midway position : neither one thing nor the other

And this is a difficult place to be.  When learning to write my first movie script I did several things in tandem:

1) I learned a software program based on tabs instead of returns - It's harder than it sounds
2) I read books about how NOT to write a movie script - always the best way
3) I watched movies in order to understand and see WHAT the books were telling me
4) and I wrote the script itself while verifying the historical points

None of this was easy, but it was all worthwhile.

So recently, I asked if I could learn a specific language.  And the teacher's answer was,  "Before you learn that language you have to learn this one."  Sigh. 

This is not my favorite response.  Now understand I love yes/no answers.  Do you like ice cream? Yes, but really I LOVE sherbet.  You see my point?  However, there is a certain kind of inherent wisdom in this deeper answer.  If, for example, you want to learn Italian, you can do it and do it well.  It won't be the same as if you were in the country learning it.  Nor will you ever be fluent in it because you have no one to converse with.  However, if you learn Latin and Italian in tandem with having someone to talk to, pen pal with, or watch Italian movies and listen to the music, then you will probably learn the language with some degree of accuracy and fluency.  Many a linguist has told me the secret to absorbing a language lays in hearing the music and singing the songs.  Music is based on mathematics and thus a universal language - just like Bob Marley said.

For example: When I learned Vietnamese, I did not learn to speak it.  I literally sat in prayer and read it as everyone else spoke it.  Many were surprised that I could read it so well.  But the knowledge of what I was reading wasn't there.  Given another 6 months, I'm certain I would have easily understood the meanings behind the words.  And that is why being immersed in your endeavor is so important.  Troi Ong is a word that means August Heaven.  This phrase is SO important to the understanding of all of their culture.  It is at once an ideal, as it is a creation story, as it is a love story, as it is a belief system, as it is a future hope.  It is what separates them from the Chinese forever.  It is what brings all Vietnamese together no matter where they are on the planet and what generation they are born into; even to the point of bringing the Catholic and the Zen together.

When you are immersed in writing a movie script, you are creating scenes that exist like a waterfall, dripping down a mountain side.  Many tributaries meet and join and others separate and are absorbed into the rock and still others evaporate into the atmosphere.  While it is based in culture, language, art and expression, it is created specifically for visualization and auditory acceptance.  See your scenes visually and they will be easier to write.  One of the benefits of "seeing" them is simply that you will automatically know when they are out of order.  Rarely does a French Kiss happen before the lean in.  If you are visualizing it, then you will automatically get them in the right order.  Of course, the upsidedown kiss in "Spiderman" was a lovely way to break the rules - but trust me, someone visualized that before they wrote it!  When you are immersed, then that creative spark of inspiration will naturally flow out of your fingers and onto the page.

And as you begin that creative endeavor you must find your immersion point.  What is the point where all things converge?  What is the Point Horizon?  What is the Point Perspective?  This larger theme is at once where everything begins and where everything disappears.  This theme is your larger picture and yet, well crafted, it is so intrinsic that it can be unseen.  Think again of water.  Water is clear and can not truly be seen.  It is at once a liquid and a gas.  It is at once hexagonal and bent.  Air literally lifts it's bent atoms.  Yet, as clear as it is, it reflects EVERY color on the planet and the cosmos.  It even reflects starlight and the appropriate color spectrum of the planets.  Your immersion point is truly amazing.

This is why Every GREAT movie begins with a question.  A question from the Heart.  Think of the Green Mile - actually a collection of short stories.  But the movie focuses in on the Question from the Heart of the scriptwriter.

Now, I don't know if this concept applies to horror film writers.  "Invasion of the Giant Tomatoes" (sorry, I couldn't find the actual title), "The Blob" and many others I think come from Fear, "What if", and "How much can we Freak the audience out" and not from the Heart at all, but that is just a guess.  :-}

But when The Bard and other scriptwriters chose/choose the place Betwixt and Between; when they go for the place where everything converges and disappears all at once, then something magical happens.

I think a prime example of this is the gorgeous movie with Anthony Quinn, "The Message".  You never see the main character.  And it is this Betwixt and Between state that creates the enjoyment of the movie.  Now from a scriptwriters point of view, this probably took a lot of focus and attention to detail.

But it is when we, as scriptwriters, take a second look at the deeper answer that we say, "Wow, here is an opportunity to be creative beyond our own ability."  It may not be our favorite place to be, but it is the one that stretches us the most and lifts our work out of the gutter and into the ethereal.

Joy is found in the creative endeavor, when it is embraced, immersed in, and joyfully focused on!

And yes, breaking the rules is fun too!!!!

Another Side Question: Is Life about a Pretty Picture?

This is an interesting point. 

People often look at us through microscopes, telescopes, cameras, webcams and cyberspace.  They do almost everything to avoid a real contact and instead create a pretty picture in their head about us.  And thus, most people are only interested in their pretty picture and not really interested in the true person behind the picture.

It's known as objectification.

Once, at my job, I was stared at for an hour and 45 minutes by someone as they created all these pictures in their head, then asked me out.  It was very unpleasant.  I've had my crazy moments, we all have, so I could have compassion for the person, but we all have to learn not to do that, to try to grow up and speak to each other as adults.

Real adults have a real conversation and don't approach people at work.  A real conversation goes something like, "Hi, I'd like to get to know you better, but you are at work.  Is there a way I can reach you outside of work?"  It's a hard thing to be straightforward, but it's best.

Real people have flaws.  Some flaws are gross, but funny.  And if all you see is the picture and not know the person, then you can't appreciate the truth of the situation at all; much less the depth of the person.  For an joke-able, but real example, let's look at nose picking:   :-}

Sufis will pick their nose, if it needs to be cleaned and there is no water nearby.  Muslims will to.  However, most do it five times a day and thus don't need to do it outside of prayer time.  Cleaning the nose is actually prescribed in the Qur'an, and most people (religious or otherwise) will do it unconsciously.  This is actually a cute point because a study once showed that most Christian kids, who pick their nose, do it at church during the first 15 minutes, then settle down and don't do it for the rest of the day. 

This point is an attempted look at the thin line joining humor, truth and perspective.  :-}  If you only look from the outside in, then you see an ugly picture of someone picking their nose and balk at it.  If you look from the inside out, then you see someone highly conscious (to the point of being unconscious) of keeping their body clean, yet not having the right means in which to do it.  Every "Ear, Nose and Throat" doctor will tell you that the best way to avoid infections (colds and flu) is to flush the nose with salt water or fresh water, but to avoid chlorinated water.  Keeping the nose clean reduces locations for viruses and bacteria to breed.

When we make people objects by making them a pretty picture, then we miss the depth of who they are and are often mystified as to why they are doing something.
 
So the Question today is:  When will You Reach Out and Talk to Those You Love? 
 
Take the mystery out of your relationships by asking the questions to things you don't understand. It can be fun and enjoyable if you approach it the right way.  After all, everyone has picked their nose and scratched their pattootie at least once in their life!  Lol!

Remembering the Past...

n,

Don't worry, I'll get back to the Four Questions soon.  But this is important too.  As we walk through the Four Questions, other questions may pop up.

----

One of the most common experiences we all have is pain.  It comes in many forms: a finger cut, an ankle sprain, a broken nose, etc...

I've broken my nose 15 times; Murphy's Law seems to like my nose.  (Wry Smile)  However, I've only broken my back once.  Perhaps it wasn't a true break, perhaps it was a nick in the spinal cord.  But once done, you never forget it...

I fell in P.E. on my chest and jaw without putting my wrists down.  Later the doctor said I would have snapped my wrist off, but they probably would have healed faster - it was a toss since that would have been four bones instead of one spinal cord injury.

Most people know what it's like to have their foot go to sleep and then live through the excruciating pain for several minutes while they stamp the blood and oxygen back into the limb. 

I was paralysed from the sternum down.  I could not move and could not feel and the school office personnel thought I was not telling the truth and simply ignored the silent tears running down my face.  I sat there for four and a half hours.  Eventually, I gained the urge to go to the bathroom.  Two women helped me "walk" there.  I clung to their shoulders and managed to move my limp legs in agony.  I screamed and cried from the pain once I got there.  It was a pain never to be forgotten.

Eventually, I got more lower body use and "walked" home.  A 15 minute walk took well over an hour.  I sat down several times and simply focused on the goal - getting there.  The pain made it hard to keep the world from going sideways.  When I made it through the door, I crashed on the family couch and did not wake up for more than 12 hours.

What's my point?

Pain means nothing.  No matter how terrifyingly real and awful it is.  No matter whether it is in our body, our mind or in our heart.  It can be survived.  It is not the end.  It is the beginning.

Bruce Lee's wife sat and helped him write his first book when his back was broken.   She wouldn't let him give up on his dreams or on living his life.  And he did survive.  It wasn't the end, it was the beginning.

Even when really stupid, immature people hurt us and we choose to hide our Heart behind a sea green veil, love doesn't die, it finds a new beginning that says, "When you grow up..."

And when those stupid, immature, people grow up, we try to find it in our hearts to forgive them.  Not because they deserve it.  Nope, but because it was the beginning we wanted in the first place.  And because they asked...

Who have you not forgiven???

Have they grown up???

Will you forgive???

These are not easy questions, but they are the right questions and they are important questions.  All life changes and all people grow up.  This fact alone gives hope...

A Different Kind of Question; Go Home?

Why do we tell those we Love to go home?

Fascinating to see how a dog acts when told to go home. Casey was a beautiful Orange Chow mix. A brute of a dog designed to fend off Golden Monkeys in China. Yet brought up here in American he was a kind, gentle soul - plagued by loneliness and panic attacks. I once told him to go home - believing that he would easily go to his Best Friend's house (His master by our standards). I forgot the true meaning of the word Home. Casey didn't. He looked at me with a question, looked across the valley floor, saw his Home and began walking. Little did I know that he took my dog Sophie with him. Eventually, my son's Godfather told us that he got a call from his old Landlord. Casey and Sophie had gone to the one location Casey felt at peace - his Home - the River...

Now I did it because I was busy with human stupidity and felt that Casey was simply lonely and needed to be with his Best Friend. I forgot that I too was friend and Casey had come to visit us; his extended family. I value animals as true, beautiful life forms, but on occasion I've been human enough to forget the bonds I make and keep them well Loved. Casey taught me something important that day. So did Sophie, friends don't let lonely friends walk alone...

As for people, that seems to be a different story. When humans tell Loved ones to go home, it's because they are afraid. Not for themselves, but for the other. They simply don't want the other person to get hurt. They think they are being noble and honorable in sending away those they love. They often miss the entire first point.

Other times they are simply afraid for both Hearts. If I let this person in, then I might get hurt again. I might not be strong enough to handle it. But my Love certainly is not strong enough. Again, they miss the second point.

Sometimes they send Loved ones away because they have a unique belief system that says, [everyone that comes into contact with me dies, or gets hurt, or becomes unlucky, or falls from grace]. The sending home is a way of protecting others and full-filling the self-created prophesy. Yet again, they miss the third point.

Each Adult is capable of making their own decisions. We don't make decisions for others.
THE FIRST POINT:
Respecting fellow adults means that we respect the choice they make to come into our lives.

As Casey made a choice to come visit us. He then made a choice to go home. He was 14, approximately 98 in human years. Who was I to think that he wasn't old enough to make his own decision?
THE SECOND POINT:
An Adult is an Adult. Don't make them into children. Don't make their bed, wipe their nose, or decide where they should be.  Let them choose, because its there choice.

If part of your Karma is to learn how to deal with grief, then consider this your lucky kick in the pants! Go get books on grief and learn to deal with it. Self-help or Intuitive books are amazing on this topic. However, most holy books mention quite clearly reincarnation (the Bible, the Qur'an, etc...). They will live again. I personally have chosen not to reincarnate, perhaps I will change my mind. I can not see how anyone can live without hope of touching those they Love again.
THE THIRD POINT:
Stop all self-full-filling prophesies.

And that's the ENTIRE POINT. Touching each other physically and sliding our Souls and our Hearts along each others Chi is the reason for being here on this plane. Every time we send others away, we are only hurting ourselves and creating the problem in the first place.

Just now, my Pharaoh's Hound Cooper asked me to come play. I sent him away so I could write this blog, but pretty soon we will go play. We will walk, and commiserate on the heat, then I will shake him down to loosen his fur, I will gently tug on his huge ears and make a little fun of them, and last I will pull his tail and he will try to go for the crown jewels (thankfully I'm a girl), patootie and wrists and all in all we will have a wonderful experience called (Love, Friendship and Affection) and he will know that I am here for him. And he is here for me.

How could I do any less for the Humans I Love...

So, do not send me Home, but instead, Come and Join me...

Question Two of Four

,

How did you use your body?

This is a very interesting one. While a typical American does many things with their body every day, we don't always think of "how" it is used. We think of how we dress it. What we put in it when we eat. What we put on it. But not what we did with it.

However, if you think of the human body as a Temple, then this question takes on new meaning, new dimensions and new expressions...

Did you use your body to:

Shield another?
Share another's pain?
Give strength to another?
Lift another?

Did you use your Chi to:

Heal another?
Feed another?
Kiss another?

Did you use your Spirit to:

Encourage another?
Caress another?
Inspire another?
Shelter another?

3/7ths

AS there are seven layers of Atmosphere to the earth, there are seven Heavens and seven dimensions, there are surely seven layers to the body. And while I can only think of three layers: Physical, Chi and Spirit, I am certain that is simply a failing on my part and more time is needed to discover the others. Perhaps prayer and sexuality are others?

And when one considers the beauty of such a question: "What did you do with your body," then one can't forget the miracles of human added developments on top of Divine.

Did you Skydive?
Did you Run with shoes?
Did you go Surfing?
Did you go Bungee Jumping?
Read a book?
Play Frisbee with your children?

While at first glance these may seem unimportant to Heaven, they too are important - even the Angels fly. And flying is a form of liberation of the spirit.

Even Sufi's spin and spinning is a form of meditation...
Even police run and running is a form of protection...
Even military go bungee jumping and this is a form of peacekeeping...
Even book reading can be a form of prayer as when one reads the Psalms...
Even Frisbee playing can be a form of laughter which lightens the Heart and Shares the Soul...

And as much as we all think of our vices and what we do wrong, the question really is asking for the positive:

What did you do with your body?

Did you give your wife a child?
Did you give your Heart with thought-filled Love?
Did you provide an example?
Did you speak with kindness and compassion?

What did You do with your body?

ONE of FOUR questions:

Today I was asked:

How did you live your life? and was not certain how I would answer. This perplexed me and even though I enjoyed the day, I thought about the question. Then I went to watch the movie "Letter to Juliet" and found my answer to the question.

I lived to find Love. I crossed the ocean to find Love. Love was not there for me.

And yet I still believe it exists.

And in all things, I encourage my son to believe in it. Whether it is the Love of his father being returned to him, or the Love of a future woman, or the Love of the Divine. I encourage him to have faith in it's existence and believe. It is not a fairytale, it is a truth, a passion that people put walls around and bars around and limit anyway they can. But it's existence is undeniable.

Love is not based on actions...
It has no time limit...
And it does not fail because someone was afraid...

Think of the rose...
The branch exists with or without the bloom...
And yet, the bloom enhances the living...
Once the bud exists, it may die at any point...
And yet, it can not stop it's own existence...

It's existence is not a myth...
It blooms...
It seeds...
It brings forth Life...

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY

The failure of one rose, does not mean the failure of another rose...
The failure at one time, does not mean the failure at another time...
The failure of Lovers, does not mean the failure of Friends...
The failure of Friends, does not mean the failure of Lovers..

Right or wrong, one must go to the ends of the earth for Love.

And even when it is revealed that it was the wrong choice, the child-like choice, the fact that the choice was made and followed through reveals the maturity and depth of the Human's nature - herself.

To have Faith ALWAYS,
To Leap ALWAYS,
To be HONEST despite the breaking of the Heart
and to except the responsibility of the choice in the first place.

There is Honor in that...
It Honors the very nature of the Universe...

No one person,
No one experience,
No one material item,
No one thing

Is more important than the Divine,
Yet the Divine put us here to be
A mirror of steadfastness
and Divine emanation...
The Divine put us here to find Love
To give Love
To be Love

You are important
You are meaningful
And you will only find your other half by living...
by breathing in...
by going outside...
and by interacting with others...

Cyberspace is but a dream
And Realspace the only Reality...

Finished the Movie Script

I turned in the script to the Final Draft Contest. It was a wonderful experience and I am grateful for the software. While it was difficult to learn it WHILE writing a script, it was easy once I understood it. Thank you Finaldraft.com!

Now, for the second hardest part - waiting. Waiting is like turning in a Final College Exam, but not finding out how you did for two or more months. I simply hope I learn sooner than later.

The third hardest part is finding my next focus. I have incomplete college classes that need to be done, but I am chomping at the bit to get back to being creative and write the next script.

It's interesting to note that Paramount asked me to be a part of a panel board. In the middle of their survey they asked, what part would you like to have in a movie (i.e. the Lead, the best friend, the hero, etc..) I chose the "extra" because I remember the gentleman who wrote and directed the "Mary Tyler Moore" series always tried to be an "extra" in the scenes. I always thought that was a nice way to be a part of something you love, but have the good sense to know you can't act and that's why you let great actors get the good parts! Lol!!!

I've outlined my next 6 movie scripts of which 3 are adaptation - another learning process - and 3 are originals. It's hard not to want to just jump on the Originals and embrace them to my heart. I'd love to do them yesterday, but they involve a TON of research and knowledge I don't have so those scripts will take time to court. And courting an original script is like Exhilaration, Passion and Curiosity all slammed into a Glorious Adventure! I wish I could be paid to write full-time!!!

I truly love it!

The 3 adaptations are all a series within a series. The first one is a 5 part harmony of SciFi: Religion vs. Science. The second is a 3 part harmony: a wonderful young adult docu-fiction series by an old friend. The third is...okay, it is not a series...it was just a fabulous read filled with laughter and hoots!

So I will be responsible and focus on school, but oh the agony...why couldn't someone pay me to write full-time!!! :-}

Twilight: NM Love Triangle. How Believable is It?

Well, the triangle is really simple at first, and then complex in the LAST book. (1st) Essentially, Jacob is "real." He's the man she can touch and be with in the open, daylight. He's her human counterpart. (2nd) Edward is her "imaginary" man (pretty well described in the second book and movie - not really made clear in the first one).

So, the triangle is simple: She loves both, but who does she choose? Does she live in the real world with real concerns (tribal & human) or the imaginary world with imaginary concerns (vampiric & blood/cannibalism).

Edward's group of vamps are "vegetarians;" more like vegans. They appear weak because they eat animal blood (Yuck) at half the value of human (Double Yuck) - out of retaining their respect for mankind. As for his other traits (reading minds, empathy, etc...) he's actually extraordinary and that probably has more to do with why he's vegan than not. Nothing like eating something that's screaming it's last thoughts into your brain. (sorry delicate hearts and too bad Blade lovers - I love vampire movies, but the concept is really pretty gross)

And yes, Jacob is the better choice of the two - at the point in time for New Moon. If you read the LAST book, you will see why it doesn't work out and why it shouldn't work out. But he does get a lovely parting gift in the end.

And ultimately, I think that's why people have enjoyed the series despite Bella's cry-baby, immaturity: We all have our fantasy man or woman. People fall in love in cyberspace, in books, in letters - but confronted with the reality, most people don't pick the imaginary. They pick the real. Of course, Romeo and Juliet pick the imaginary - which is why the story has survived all these Centuries. While people pick the real, they often still wish for the imaginary. (The crux of Cipher's problem in the Matrix Trill)

Essentially, this author, manages to mix her stories. Twilight is actually a blending of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and Wagner's "Lohengrin" (both are my least favorite story lines) however, again Juliet/Elsa's death gets a nice twist in the LAST book.

Me, I never liked either story - my favorite it is "Snow White and Rose Red". That is the only story of value in my fairytale book and it shows: Respect, Love and Honor. The other two don't and never have - they are fairly insipid whinny tales of stupidity (Sorry Shakespeare - Fabulous writing, stupid story). Twilight seems stupid at first, then becomes smart, respectful and honorable and is the only reason I think people enjoy it over the other two (R&J and Lo&El).

Unfortunately for most teens, most school systems will probably not update to the better book that teens across the nation fell in love with and thus schools will still promote teen suicide rather than a more modern, four-part maturity storyline that steadily moves towards respect, real love and honor.

-- TOO BAD. I'd love to see the amount of double, teen suicides go down the tubes. I think the 21st Century would enjoy lower numbers...

One Down...

I will be completing my first movie script and sending it out for review amongst the some professionals. They will get my leather bound scripts and write their notes directly on the pages. I can't wait.

If the final reviews are good to great, then I will make alterations accordingly and submit to one of the Film Festivals this summer.

Meanwhile I've got one go ahead with an famous Author and will attempt the Book to Movie adaptation this summer. Three new ideas simmering for my next docu-fictions, one sci-fi and tons of reseach to do.

However, the main focus now is College. At 16.5 units I am just keeping my head a float and enjoying the Heck out of it. I could not have picked better topics: Chemistry, Baking (applied chem), Cartography, Trig and Western Civ. I am getting movie ideas and simply enjoying myself.

The personal life was incredibly painful last year, but it's getting better every day.