I’ve been trying to get into the audiobook world for years, and finally broke through, getting two books in one month. What I hadn’t fully understood, though, was how taxing the work can be. The latest volume I’ll be reading is thicker than the yellow pages, and we’ve got to get it done in four days.
After several hours of reading aloud, the mind goes numb. Try it some time and you’ll understand. The voice, too, strains and cracks, but that seems minor compared to losing all faculty for language. Read more…
Abundance surrounds me. When I think about the staggering wealth at my doorstep, the endless talents of my colleagues, and the limitless blessings my life has had, it boggles the mind. Even at my lowest points, it seems, a guardian angel descends from the heavens to cradle me.
Add to this my belief that our greatest efforts are the ones that lift others up, it would be natural that I become the most successful person I could possibly be, leading the way for others, showing the world that gifts bestowed can be turned into gifts given. My good fortune could benefit others. Read more…
It happens with alarming regularity. I wake in the night with a prattling thought, and toss and turn for a while, trying to relax back into sleep. Between pointless rolls of my body east and west I start coming up with ideas that, like Jack’s beanstalk, climb towards the heavens at steroidal speeds.
I spent the better part of the week in an intensive workshop-like writing process with a friend. We got an amazing amount done in a short period, but we refrained from the scripting of any dialogue, sticking solely to the outline process. Naturally, you start hearing lines you’d like to include. Read more…
My father was fond of saying that stream of consciousness was stumbled upon when trains were invented. It was the first time humans were able to see the world go by at rapid speed through a window, thereby creating some illusion of a conscious dream state. Whether the historical hypothesis is true, I can attest that my mind behaves differently on trains and busses. Read more…
I always know when somebody has an insightful suggestion for me because I want to punch them in the face. It’s likely generated from the frustrated realization that (a) it’s a good idea, (b) I should have figured it out myself, and (c) I’d rather not examine that particular aspect of my life. So when somebody told me recently to “allow space for the abundance that surrounds me,” and I subsequently wanted to toss her off a rooftop, I figured there must be something to it. Read more…
This is not a piece in favor of incompetence. Quite the contrary, it’s a call for competence via incompetence. Read on, you’ll understand…
I’ve had several discussions lately about timing. When do you do something, like, say, make a short film project. And certainly timing, and planning, matter. But more often than not, in waiting for the perfect moment, which of course never arrives, we don’t do anything at all. Read more…
There are at least two versions of the story. In one, a man tosses breadcrumbs into the air every day. When asked why he does this, he says, “To keep the tigers away from the village.” When told that there are no tigers within a thousand miles of the village, he says, “See?”
The second version has a man standing on a street corner snapping his fingers continually. When asked why he does this, he replies, “To keep the elephants out of the city.” When told that there are no elephants in the city, he says, “See?” Read more…
I may be wrong about this one, and many will say I am, but looking at film posters around the city the other day, I had this overwhelming sensation that the difference between me and the many stars whose names were written across the top in block letters was negligible. I don’t mean the obvious – they have more money, are more famous, and so on – I mean that their ability to do what they do is not infinitely higher than mine, but that the difference lies in a few intangibles.
Please don’t misunderstand. These guys, and gals, have real talent, and great charisma, and an uncanny ability to navigate the waters. I’m just not sure they’re doing anything I can’t, and it’s been a long time since I felt that with such conviction.
Perhaps it’s the heat…
Professional acting is not a meritocracy. There are countless talented actors who toil in obscurity while bona fide hacks saw the air too much nightly across living rooms throughout the land. It has always been thus, and shall always be thus.
Professional ball players might get paid too much, but if you can’t throw strikes, you’ll be sent down the minors pretty quickly. Not so with entertainment. If somebody up there likes you, they’ll make the strike zone fit whatever you’re chucking down the pike. Your only talent could be in getting people to believe you have talent. Read more…
My concentration has waned miserably in recent years. (Thank you, internet, you are truly a blessing and a curse.) I find it hard to stay focused on any one thing for more than a few minutes, but the cultivation of concentration is the final step on the Path, and one that should be taken very, very seriously. Anyway, let’s break concentration into two categories: the short-term and the long-term. Read more…
I’ve been trying to get into the audiobook world for years, and finally broke through, getting two books in one month. What I hadn’t fully understood, though, was how taxing the work can be. The latest volume I’ll be reading is thicker than the yellow pages, and we’ve got to get it done in four days.
