How to feel up when you're down:}

UPDATE February 24: Took my own advice and as of 7 pm tonight am hired for a new freelance writing gig. Yay, definitely feeling up now.

Also happened on this web series written, directed by and starring former unknown, itinerant actor Jeremy Redleaf called Odd Job Nation. Redleaf is on record saying that he was tired of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring so he created his own show. It's a hilarious, Wayne's World take on what it's like to suddenly lose a good job and try to find work in the great recession. Hello Craigslist.

Odd Job Nation won the 2010 Streamy Award for best new web series and Redleaf has since signed a development deal with Fox. From what I hear, he's also fielding several other offers as well. When you watch the clips (the first two), I think you'll understand why.




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All writers and artists are, in a sense, warriors. This is particularly true in the often covertly hostile Hollywood environment. But what I’m talking about here doesn’t have to do with survival strategies, power lunches and contracts. Nothing so exotic. It’s the subtle battle that goes on everyday within our own minds.

Unless working exclusively as a reporter (which has more to do with ferreting out facts and finding angles) or researching something technical, we live more in the right side of the brain than the logical left where the values are abstract and intuitive. And yet we also live in the "real" world. For most of us that means produce an income or work for someone else. The romance of the starving artist is a myth in the sense that starving isn't romantic and it's not a requirement to be a legitimate artist.

People may accuse us of “not working” or worse, we accuse ourselves. The work I do isn't good enough or it's taking too long to come together. I wonder what so and so will think. And how do I remind myself that the pile of rewrites in the trash is evidence that progress is being made? That the dreams I'm having are helping write the second act and have just introduced a new character? This is true even when the issue isn't whether or not I have enough money to pay the bills or buy a new car.

Ironically enough, when success does come, if it's big enough it can be overwhelming. High profile working artists tend to be seen as superhuman, not the everyman who triumphs over his own inertia on a daily basis. Success can be surprisingly disorienting. Which is not to say that when you're down success isn't the best medicine. It just may not be accessible this red hot minute.

Feeling up when your down has to do with finding a balance. No matter where we are in the cycle there is potential trouble, conflict. Chris Vogler (The Writer's Journey) has talked to me about "suiting up". By this he means wearing the armor of the intelligent artist. Being a warrior - alert and on guard – ready to thrust, parry, regroup and start again. I know he meant this on a spiritual level also.

So how do we stay fit, as it were, as artists and feel up when we're down?

- Get into action. For me, physical action works the fastest and is the most reliable. I'm a walker but I also love to dance.

- Go out for a run, meet up with a supportive friend. Watch a great film or listen to something awesome that inspires you. The important thing is to MOVE.

- Do something as an artist immediately that brings completion and, if at all possible, get paid for it. The physiological holds enormous power but there's nothing like translating creativity into cash.

The “enemy” (whatever it is that's blocking progress) is illusory. In this case anyway, we win or lose by what we do in those moments of uncertainty or despair. This movement, this getting into action is a psychic weapon that should be in everyone's armamenterium (isn't THAT a great word?). When in doubt, jump for joy! Do something outrageous. Enter a contest. Win a contest! But for heaven’s sake don’t just sit there. And on that happy note, I'm off for a walk.

Telephones, trips, hearts and estrus

UPDATE: It turns out the land line here was muted so all calls have been forwarding to my brother's cell phone. Wonderful. So that's fixed. Just an hour or so ago I learned that my father has been hospitalized. It's his heart. Say a little prayer.

Just got back from playing piano and singing for the folks in the Alzheimer's unit at Emeritus. They have a much less crowded entertainment schedule, as you might imagine. As my brother suggested, they'll love you for it but won't remember a thing. This makes it the perfect place to practise:) But seriously, my heart goes out to them - many of whom rarely see their families.

The Alzheimer's patients are very receptive to music. So from now on I'm serenading them every day at around 11:00. You couldn't ask for a more appreciative audience. Of course most of them are in their own worlds and disconnected from the present but they seem to "wake up" a little bit when I'm playing. Could music, or certain sounds (such as Sanskrit chants) hold the key to curing disease? I wonder.

My Himalayan has gone into heat. OMG! She keeps me up all night, yowling. It's like another entity has taken over my kitty. My sister (who lives in Fredricksburg) says one of their cows is also "in season". She moos like a banshee and yesterday they found that she'd jumped the fence to be with the neighbor's bull! Ah, love.

Meanwhile, still trip-writing for Trazzler. It's a great exercise for any writer to work with such specific guidelines - even if the result is just a 120 word blurb. Here's my latest creation. Of course the waterways aren't burbling yet and the flowers are nowhere near blooming...that's where imagination comes in.

Radiohead releases Lotus Flower

Twitter is all aflutter this morning about the new single and video "Lotus Flower" -featuring Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke. Love the music. Thom looks a little freaky doing this weird dance but then I realized that I sometimes dance the female, hula/belly-dancing version of this when inspired by a song and nobody is looking:) It's pantomime.



I think it was the generally unkempt Bojangles angle that seemed contrived. But Yorke's staggery moves felt authentic the second time through. He telegraphs the tune beautifully in the raw. As it turns out, this seemingly drunken dance was choreographed by none other than Wayne McGregor, resident director of the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden.

Lotus Flower is one of the crown jewels of Radiohead's latest album, The King of Limbs. Still, I think my favorite Radiohead video so far is "House of Cards" because it's a torchy love song (which is something I personally love doing) done in 21st century pop/rock style. The ghostly digital images reflect the electric, illusory aspect of romance and, indeed, all of life.

Going Vegan at Casa de Luz

My latest Trazzler trip, sans photo.

Tucked behind a painted adobe arch and wrought-iron gates adjacent to Zilker Park, Casa de Luz (house of light) is a thriving community of health-oriented individuals devoted to sharing the macrobiotic way of life. Stroll down the bamboo-lined garden path and commune with nature and friends in the simplicity of the humble Japanese tea house at no cost. Rent one of four other unique private spaces for your own enlightening functions. Take a tai-chi class or treat yourself to a massage from a menu of bodywork services. Shop for handmade cards, trinkets and soaps in the restaurant foyer and feast on organic, gluten-free fare in the suffused naturally-lit dining area. You can even volunteer to help prepare a mindful meal in exchange for your supper.

Singing for the Seniors

UPDATED: I am of the habit of writing my blog in rough, publishing and THEN editing. Not the preferred method for journalism but since this is a blog I take liberties like that. It's a way to get myself to write more freely, more often and without fear. I can only hope that readers enjoy the flexibility of it and enjoy seeing a first draft move into revisions.

In this case, there's nothing for it but to lose the whole first draft. Sometimes you've just got to begin again. There was a scheduling mix-up at Emeritus* (an assisted-living community in south Austin) and I won't be singing for the seniors there until the first Wednesday in March. Aww. I had gotten geared up for it too. They have two beautiful grand pianos. So it looks like scales and chord progressions on the electric keyboard until then.

My father sent me the most beautiful valentine. Thank you dad, if you're reading this. I love you too and am so proud of you. My father is a WWII hero - a flying ace and many more amazing things. At 91, he's still as sharp as a tack and works out every day but he has always preferred to communicate by example. If I get lucky, maybe he'll do some pen and ink drawings for my jungle-myth story. We have just learned that he and his wife plan to move into an Emeritus-like community in Tennessee in June.


* Emeritus is an upscale private facility - not a state-run nursing home - although it does have an Alzheimer's unit.

Climbing Mount Bonnell at Covert Park

Here's another of my Trazzler trips. My original photo finally made its appearance. I've included it below. The one you see to the right is from the Austin Parks Foundation. You should be able to vote for my story (it's entered in the Texas Freelance Writing Contest) by clicking here right now. It's not really voting but "they" look to see if viewers "save" the trip. It creates a ranking. So if you love me, save my trips! Okay, here we go...

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Named after one of the unsung heroes of the Texas Revolution, Captain Joseph Bonnell, this popular in-town getaway at 3800 Mt. Bonnell Drive, is the highest peak in Austin - rewarding visitors with stunning views of the lake and surrounding Hill Country. Climbing the 104 limestone steps to reach the top may leave you breathless but don’t sweat the small stuff. Pause in the shade of centuries-old oak trees. Inhale the invigorating fragrance of wildflowers. Exhale at the lookout and feel your anxieties sail away as you gain a new perspective. Better still, pack a picnic for a romantic sunset supper and cuddle under the stars. Local legend has it that lovers who make three trips to Mount Bonnell together will marry.

Photo Credit: That would be me.

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This was a fun place to visit and there were several couples up there, lips locked and oblivious to the vistas that stretch out for miles in all directions. It turns out there is some confusion around which Bonnell the park was originally named after. The historical plaque on-site has George Bonnell as the inspiration for naming Mount Bonnell. He was a New Yorker who became publisher of the Texas Sentinel in 1840 - the same year Joseph Bonnell died, while on sick-leave in Pennsylvania.

George was a prominent citizen in the region a decade before Austin was officially established as a city (1850) but he also, for reasons unknown, "had it in" for General Sam Houston to the point of publishing slanderous articles about him in his newspaper. Recent, very compelling evidence points to Joseph Bonnell (an infantry Lieutenant from Fort Jessup) as the man behind the mountain. As the story goes, Joseph Bonnell single-handedly negotiated a treaty with the Caddo Indians just prior to the Battle of San Jacinto - a feat probably only he could have handled.

The reason Joseph was able to put down the Caddo uprising peaceably is even more interesting. Sometime earlier Lt. Bonnell witnessed the signing of Caddo Indian lands to the U.S. government. He suspected foul-play and later filed a law suit against the government agent who had deceived the Caddo by including provisions in the treaty for private gain. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Bonnell defended the Caddo and won. This got General Houston's attention big time. In fact, he made Lt. Bonnell his aide-de-camp and later promoted him to Captain.

West Point (Capt. Bonnell's Alma mater) is presently undertaking a renovation of Covert Park to bring this landmark spot back to its former glory. One may assume they will also change the on-site dedication (or at least augment it) to reflect the fact that Mount Bonnell was more likely named for Captain Bonnell.



There IS still some debate on this issue. It's hard to correct the history books nearly 200 years later but this is exactly what West Point, The Texas State Legislature and the Bob Bullock Museum seem set on doing. The correct thing to do as a reporter is to mention the debate and emphasize the which way the facts lean. That's what I'm doing here, with you. But as far as writing for Trazzler goes, and especially with all the documents that have come to light over the last 5 years, I'm making a judgement call and going with the captain.

When working on newsy copy (even for soft, breezy little travel blurbs like the ones I'm writing for Trazzler), the work of a writer is split between being a captivating storyteller and responsible reporter. Fact-checking is essential. The ultimate responsibility usually falls on the editor, who must pass muster on everything that is published. However, the first responsibility rests with the writer (and no editor wants to work with someone who can't get their facts straight) so it pays to do your research well and choose your sources with care. And who knows, you might just strike gold and uncover a story (like George Bonnell's public disdain for Houston) in the process.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons - This certificate was awarded by the Texas State Legislature just this last March 5, 2010 in honor of Texas Independence Day and to belatedly but officially recognize Captain Bonnell's contribution to the Republic of Texas.

Happy Valentine's Day

To the man
in the white hat
who is out there
somewhere
waiting to take me home.

Photo Credit: Estelle Hanania

Exploring Edwards Aquifer at Zilker Park

UPDATE: 2/15/2011 - Successfully added the correct picture to the Trazzler site so all can read this dazzling tale of adventure and admire the focused photography. There's a learning curve for everything!

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Here's a contest entry I wrote yesterday for Trazzler.com, a small travel start-up with co-founders Adam Rugel (its CEO) and Biz Stone from Twitter. I have a byline on this one and two others. This IS a contest entry but it's also a great writing exercise. You might call it "the art of the blurb". It's finely-tuned, travel storytelling for the one-minute mind. To vote for my story, go here and click SAVE.

For some reason the nice crisp photo you see here looks blurry on the Trazzler site. Bummer. But the photo isn't part of the contest so technically it doesn't matter. Of course, it matters to me. Oh well. This is how we learn. You can still vote for me to win here. What follows is the story-within-the-story (aka the backstory).

I had borrowed my brother's cameraphone but went through all kinds of @#*! trying to email the cell phone picture you see above to my email. It was lost in space. After half a dozen failed tries and almost as many hours, the thing finally landed on my brother's Facebook page. It was a last ditch effort - and it worked.

By this time, my brainy and tech-savvy 14-year-old nephew was on the case. In a matter of minutes he sent me the original picture in two different formats. So that was cool but it now seems that I accidentally uploaded the picture of the picture instead of the picture. Or something like that. The next one will go smoother.

So here it is...the amazing story of the birth of Edwards Aquifer...

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Beloved and beautiful, Zilker Park boasts 378 acres of city-owned recreational space bordering the south western shores of Town Lake. There's a lot to do here but the "Splash" exhibit, housed in the old bathhouse, makes a refreshingly cool stop on a hot day if you don't want to get your hair wet. Meander through a labyrinthine limestone cavern past aquariums nestled in rock. Learn the inner alchemy of one of the largest artesian water-filled rock formations in the world - also home to the 900 foot spring-fed Barton Springs Pool and two endangered species of salamander. Take in a hawk-eye-view of the protected Edwards recharge zone and play in the interactive steam punk science lab while listening to ambient sounds of a Texas rainstorm. Admission is free.

Photo Credit: C'est moi.

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It's trickier than you might think to write these pieces. In the above case, they have a maximum word count of 140 words and have given directions for a particular style (a gerund in the title, lots of active verbs, characteristics of the physical location and as much "sensual" detail as possible (sights, sounds, smells, etc.).

I was assigned similar stories in college so this is deja vu. The standing homework was to go out every week with a video camera (broadcast writing/Communications at Pepperdine), find three or four local stories and write and edit them for the campus TV station. I was on a music scholarship so most of my "free time" was spent in rehearsals for opera and choir. Somehow I managed to do all that AND work as sound engineer for Smothers Theatre too. Ah youth...

Threshhold of a dream

I've been keeping a dream journal off and on since my late teens. What started as an amateurish field study, scribbled down randomly in response to intensely charged images or characters in the dream space, evolved into a discipline and is now a habit and cherished writing tool. Dreams are nothing if not inspirational.

You can hardly mention dreams in the context of writing and film without paying homage to Christopher Nolan's movie, Inception. The WGA gave Nolan their best original screenplay nod. He's also likely to take the best original screenplay Oscar this year. If you haven't seen Inception, you MUST.

Inception is not the subject of this post but its immense popularity and ability to captivate the collective imagination are telegraphing an important development fact - especially in the context of other popular films in the last few years. There is intense interest in alternative realities, vortexes, inter-dimensional experiences and the nature of reality itself. And that interest is registering on a global scale. That means there will be more of them - which means the door is open to these types of stories.

No matter where you go with this idea, dreams are a tremendous creative tool, full of highly original ideas and insights all told in a wonderfully bendy, out-of-whack, illogical sequence. I keep a dream journal by the bed, along with a pen. If you don't remember much at first, that's okay. Just start describing whatever wispy image is still there and the spirit of the dream will cooperate with you and yield more. It's like drawing water from a well. We prime the pump with one memory and tease out more detail and more memory, little by little.

Last night, for example, I was at the doorway of another world - one very foreign to me - yet one I'm eager to explore. We (for there were three of us) somehow found or stumbled on the entrance, which was hidden by a wall that was both there and not there at the same time. The air took on the texture and color of sepia tone film stock and our bodies were shifting at the subatomic particle level. That is to say, we were physically there but the molecular structure was altered and moving us into the realm of invisibility.

There was a priestess of purity there (not a classic archetype, more like a well-groomed former hippie with a degree of enlightenment) offering incense and waving it over three plain music box size black boxes. Then came a stirring of wind. No words were spoken. At this point, some experienced "travelers" came through reverently but in a rush and vanished into the vortex behind the wall. Matt Damon was among them.

As you can see, my dreams have a cinematic flair and a sense of humor. It's no coincidence that this semi-sacred dream sequence fills in some of the blanks of a fantasy/adventure that's currently in-work. What a gift. These dreams (there have been several lately on the same theme) are like pieces of a puzzle - working as they do with their own logic, memory and imagination. It's unlikely I would've articulated the symbols so beautifully in my waking state.
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Photo Credits:

Inception Architecture: from Richard Slusher - Infographic winner of the Inception design contest at Fastcodesign. The characters are color coded to show their presence at different levels of the subconscious. The concentric rings laid out on the curve of time depict how the perception of time slows in deepening layers. This is the dream world according to Nolan. I love these graphics for their clear cut visual representation of the story structure, character placement and linear timeline.

Celtic Symbol for Purity: From Aon-Celtic. Just one of many beautiful designs by international artist Cari Buziak.

WGA Awards "Write it Gay"

What did I tell ya? Check this out from the WGA Awards.



A little bawdy for my taste but bang on, if you'll excuse the pun. Time to find your inner lesbian, gay man, bisexual or transsexual - unless, of course, you're already gay:} The Huffington Post has dedicated an entire page to gay marriage.

DreamWorks TV has also just announced signing Debra Messing to topline the up-and-coming NBC pilot SMASH a dramatic ensemble written around the mounting of a Broadway musical. The core of the show features a gay composer and a straight female lyricist who is uncertain about doing a show about Marilyn Monroe in the first place. This is a natural for Messing, who played the straight female roommate in the hit sitcom Will & Grace.

From an analytical standpoint, the bottom line here is not so much the gay factor as it is the way of the "jungle mindset" - which is made up of a complex mix of marketing factors. In this case it looks like one part herd mentality (everyone else is doing it so we better do it too). One part altruism (monitoring the pulse of change and leading the charge of social reform when the timing is right). One part playfulness (toying with taboo before it loses the stigma).

This movement is also part of a much larger trend, perhaps even cosmic in scale, to embrace diversity and accept cultures and beliefs foreign to our own. It is ultimately about expanding consciousness but it is not traveled without conflict. And conflict, as we all know, is what drives every story. Look for more stories that challenge old paradigms and beat with a heart of compassion.

The Bridge between A and B

I'm in a rush this morning but wanted to share a writing insight. While working on a collection of short stories for my next book, the work is very different from adaptation or non-fiction (which, for me, was all about finding the structure).

Fiction writing is very much about making space for the muse. Working and not-working. One day, the animal story speaks. The next day, the mythic one reveals a bit more of its design. There's a lot of waiting, wringing of hands and proverbial wall climbing. Sometimes it's an exercise in coaxing out a few pages.

The best part is when the writing comes from an intuitive place. Then it's like taking dictation. What I've noticed lately is the A/B plots are developing separately in my subconscious mind. The work right now is in the bridge between them. In some sense, this is the heart of all writing. We stay in the "gap" and the storytelling is all about finding and navigating the bridge between them.