random sunday musings...

in my wanderings today...i ran into Craig, owner of ism gallery...when i was a barista over at Armazem coffee house...the precursor to Hooked on Colfax...Craig and i used to talk about his gallery...the ongoing development on the block...art...girls...

anyway...

we caught up a bit with each other, and he mentioned that he was written up this year in westword...which was mostly positive...and for an art gallery in Denver, a positive notice in the westword is good for business...the thing i can't help but be amused by is that they describe him as a..."budding artist"...

here's Craig...42 years old...business owner...painting for most of his adult life...and he's "budding"...sorry, but this is the kind of shit that makes professional critics sound like fools...to say the least...no respect for a lifetime of study and work...whatev...

i can't wait to be a "budding writer"...

also, went to see Traitor last night...now that we have a new enemy hollywood seems to be hitting it's stride with mature, entertaining espionage stories...see it...you might like it...



just finished The Shack...i read this book because it's about a man who undergoes a spiritual awakening of extraordinary circumstance...call it research...



i bought copies of this book and gave them to my friends...to see what their reactions might be...that was in may...it seems i'm the first one to finish...

i can't say i liked this book...i didn't hate it either...this book is meant to be a message...so i had to overlook some of the hacky parts...because it's a parable...or is that allegory...doesn't matter...the book is meant to teach...or preach...again, doesn't matter...as a piece of fiction i thought it was poor...at best...as a religious tract...it was as entertaining as a religious tract can be...

oh and Mad Men...oh boy...

Yep, still beautiful...

NYC movie week wrap up...

new york has been on my mind all week...and not just for the obvious reason...thank you Mad Men...also this week's monday night movie...Roger Dodger...and to a lesser extent, Elegy...you just can't make Canada look like NYC...and tonight...Joshua...

first up...Mad Men...

great episode...I suspected Don was gonna have to pay for his dalliances, and it looks like the shit storm has come to town...what will our man Don Draper do now...I can't wait...

and then we have Roger...



this is my fourth or fifth viewing of this one...i've come to see it differently since 2002...i first saw this as a descendant of honest movies about the darker side of american manhood...think jack nicholson in Carnal Knowledge...not roger...roger swanson is what passes for an alpha male at the opening of the 21st century...a silver tongued, sharp eyed word shyster...an ad man...he probably thinks he's a modern Don Draper...roger couldn't carry Don Draper's piss in his shoes...it takes his 16 year old nephew nick...played with a perfect balance of innocence and worldliness by jesse eisenberg...to show roger just how pathetic his life is...

still a good entertainment...and the opening dialogue is brilliant bullshit...but this one may have to come off of my shelf...



saw this one last weekend...and Penelope Cruz is having a great year...first vicky cristina...and now this...she's not only gorgeous to look at in this movie...and in a completely different way than VCB...she delivers this movie's heart...she's more than just eye candy...

problem is, i didn't buy Toronto...Vancouver...or is it Montreal...as NYC...i never do...producers would be better off ponying up the dough and filming the real thing...if a creepy small budget movie like Joshua can pull it off...surely a movie with Ben Kingsley, Dennis Hopper, the aformentioned Ms. Cruz...and Patricia Clarkson...Best Supporting Actress, anyone...can afford to shoot on location...



this one just popped up in my queue...creepy and tense, i wanted to see it last year, but ms scribe doesn't like the scary...oh well...a great way to spend an hour and 45 minutes...if you can ignore a gap in logic or two...i won't give too much away except to say they could easily call this movie...Dexter: The Beginning...

that is all...

the beautiful part of the day...

Showing up is not enough.

James P. Johnson

an evolution of archetypes...

as previously noted, the seeds for the new thing i'm working on...started with...the western lands...here are excerpts from my notes...dated 6.23.01...

consider Burrough's seven souls as a model for an archetype set...

ren: the leader. arrogant, powerful, driven. can be benevolent, can be a destroyer. always has others to do the work for him, most likely sekem types, either by power or charisma. the man with the plan, but doesn't bother with the details. this makes sekem, the detail man, his most powerful ally and his mortal foe. at best, a philanthropist. at worst, a despot. can be either sex, but a very masculine energy.
identifying phrase: I WILL

sekem: the technician. intelligent, good with her hands, takes care of the detail work. she designs the machine and pushes the buttons. a natural fit with ren, but can be easily turned because she finds ren’s arrogance contemptible. saves her best work to be used against ren.
identifying phrase: I CAN

khu: the protector. empathic, sacrificing, other centered. externally motivated interests/activities. can be allied for/against any of the other types, tending to fall in with whatever ka is pushing. a very feminine energy.
identifying phrase: YOU ARE

ba: the lover. sensual, materialistic, earthy. somewhat short-sighted, living moment to moment w/o thought to consequences. most closely aligned with ka and ren because they are best able to provide experiences she seeks.
identifying phrase: I WANT

ka: the player. charming, gregarious, team-builder. like ren, values using others to achieve goals, but less self centered. can move easily with any of the other types, though not comfortable with khaibit's sociopathic tendencies.
identifying phrase: LET’S GO

khaibit: the seeker. curious, enigmatic, explorer. an outsider interested in asking questions and testing boundaries for the purpose of observing and recording the human experience. this type has a deep connection with mystery. the degree of awareness of this connection is reflected in the science/religion split that can occur in this type. higher levels of awareness in this type makes them less experimental and more reverent towards mystery. lower levels of awareness makes them more extreme.
identifying phrase: WHY

sekhu: the sheep. the nameless, faceless, mass. this is the vast sea of humanity. cacophonous voice, but can serve as chorus to main players. they like ren, as long as he has a benevolent facade. generally suspicious of sekem. looks to ba to guide them on what beauty/truth/art is.

additional notes:
each of the souls exists as part of an individual's personality. what makes each individual distinctive is which souls, in what combination, are dominant and what souls, if any, are dormant. obvious factors like trigger events, conflict (interior et exterior), growth, loss, obstacles, and alliances constitute story elements.
this is a basic framework. more structure and details can be added. my instinct is to keep it open and not choke it to death with rigidity. life is flexible. death is stiff...