MY HEART GOES OUT TO MY FELLOW MAN. THE EARTH IS STRIKING BACK. OUR PETTY DIFFERENCES PALE IN COMPARISON. WE NEED TO REACH LEVEL ONE. TO TRULY KNOW YOURSELF IS TO KNOW THE COSMOS AND THE GREAT BALANCE REQUIRED. WE SHOULD NOT ONLY PRAY FOR THIS, WE SHOULD TAKE ACTION ANYWAY WE CAN.

You're medicine is in you, and you do not observe it. Your ailment is from yourself and you do not register it.
--Hazrat Ali, Sufi Master

As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm.
As is the atom, so is the universe.
As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.
As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind.
--Hindu Scripture

That which we do not bring to consciousness appears in our lives as fate.
--C. G. Jung

If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
--Gospel of Thomas.

Whosoever would see how the soul dwells within its body let him observe how this body uses its daily habitation, for if this is without order and confused the body will be kept in disorder and confusion by its soul.
--Leonardo da Vinci

A Takakjian photo.

It's all about communication and process, not about the name. The process will continue and the torch will stay lit.

There is a light within a person of light, and it
shines on the whole world.

--the Gospel of Thomas.

Our times need mighty spirits to lash into action these timid, beggarly human souls.

--Ludwig van Beethoven

CRC in Italy. Merry Christmas to all.

Every year Miss Edie works with all the students at my son's school preparing a Holiday Chorus show. What this remarkable woman is able to do with the children in so little time always blows me away. It is a testament to a love of music, love of teaching, and a love of the creative process. Most public schools unfortunately don't have a Miss Edie. My son is lucky. The parents and the community help to ensure that our youth get it all. Music and Art have been cut from the programs as frivolous spending by very shortsighted folk. Trust me, we will be paying for that in future. I thank God for all the Miss Edie's in the world.

I'm staying at a lovely B&B (I don't even like B&B's so this is saying a lot) in Olema, California. It's called Olema Druids Hall. It's very peaceful and calm. I needed that. I looked out the window early this misty morning. I could have been at Stonehenge. I looked in the mirror. My dried scab bolt was looking better. Life is good.

I admit I highlighted my dried bloody scab for effect. There are those that like to say I have an overactive imagination. I definitely have tons of imagination, but there is nothing overactive about it. Mark my word.

INWARD JOY (Eskimo, Siberia)

When one night an unbeckoned, sky-borne fireball descended into her body, triggering a profound shamanic "lightning," the following song spontaneously erupted from Uvavnuk's lips. Thereafter, singing it acted as a great healing force.

The great sea has set me in motion
set me adrift,
moving me like a weed in a river.

The sky and strong wind
Have moved the spirit inside me

till I am carried away
trembling with joy.

from Philip Novak's The World Wisdom.

Hollywood Party in a Stomachable Abstraction.

CRC with two very decent beings, EM and ZT.

Photo by ASC. Music by Joseph Spence.

A Hollywood Superstar can get over 20 million a picture and 10% of the gross. You do a couple big pictures a year you could be making between 60-100 million a year at your peak.

A Baseball Superstar can get over 20 million a year plus endorsements, etc. I'm guessing they can bring in 20-50 million a year at their peak.

Now, the Big Studios and Baseball Club Owners have to be making more than 50 times that amount to be able to offer it. Yet the Superstar takes most of the flack for being greedy. The Snifter Holding Big Money boys stay hidden in the shadows pulling strings. But some of these Snifters have started their own public campaigns to turn themselves into Superstars so they can get the cashflow from both ends. But, there is even a larger, Mega Snifter pulling strings for them.

The Cult of Celebrity and The Cult of the Rich both excites and angers the people. But these cults are here to stay unless something radical happens.

My son wants to be a major league ball player. Everything for him is baseball. He told me he would be willing to play for a big league team for just 10 dollars a year even if he was a better hitter than Mr. Bonds. I told him that was way below minimum wage. He said that the amount of people talking about him working for 10 dollars a year while everybody else was making 20 million had to be worth something. Yeah. Probably even bigger money. I asked him what he would do with all that money. He said open museums and schools for people. I suddenly felt both relieved and proud. It always comes back to Plato and his idea of the Benevolent Ruler. Greed and Power has always been there. It's not going away. Today, we need more Noble Snifters to balance the Ignoble Snifters. Maybe, my son's generation will balance the scale for humanity.

WEAN YOURSELF

Little by little, wean yourself. This is the gist of what I have to say. From an embryo, whose nourishment comes in the blood, move to an infant drinking milk, to a child on solid food, to a searcher after wisdom, to hunter of more invisible game.

Think how it is to have a conversation with an embryo. You might say, "The world outside is vast and intricate. There are wheat fields and mountain passes, and orchards in bloom. At night there are millions of galaxies, and in sunlight the beauty of friends dancing at a wedding."

You ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up in the dark with eyes closed. Listen to the answer.

THERE IS NO "OTHER WORLD." I ONLY KNOW WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED. YOU MUST BE HALLUCINATING.

Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) from Phillip Novak's The World's Wisdom.

PEACE BE WITH YOU, MAMARELLA. 12/12/12.

I was at a very good Italian restaurant having a dinner meeting with an honorable film distribution specialist from an honorable Hollywood family. Our dialogue was positive and cutting edge. To make healthy, positive change one cannot do it alone, you need strategic partners. Some of the ideas coming out of my mouth and my guest's filled me with hope. Hope strengthens and refreshes the heart. Three ladies approached me and told me that the energy around me was comforting, then proceeded to ask me if I would help them get a picture with Mr. Bob Newhart. I had no idea the great, understated Bob Newhart was eating at a table right next to mine. I told them I would be glad to help. It was all coming from a good place, not a tacky place. Mr. Newhart was delighted to oblige. The ladies got their picture and then I wanted one with Mr. Newhart.

These SFAI students were great! The experimention they're already doing at the Ars Nova XXI HD Lab blew me away.


I told the audience that I was extremely grateful to SFAI for taking me under its wing so, so long ago. I wanted to give something back. Also, there's been a history of extraordinary talent from my alma mater. SFAI needs to keep this talent abreast of all the new digital tools out there.


Cartoon CRC participating in panel Q&A.

Little Mary and Uncle Buck reunited over 20 years later.

Mr. Silver produced several of my movies and is co-writing Duck, Duck, Goose with me. He's a PHD with an extraordinary knowledge of cinema especially film noir, samurai films and anything digital.

I don't know why this is, but I have always felt more at home in the South, than the North. LA over SF, Albuquerque over Santa Fe, Alabama over New York, South America over North America, Southern Europe over Northern Europe. It's probably my body temperature.


Beautiful Christmas cheer from Old Town Albuquerque.

My heart has opened unto every form: it is a pasture for gazelles, a cloister for Christian monks, a temple for idols, the Ka'ba of the pilgrim, the tablets of the Torah and the book of the Qur'an. I practice the religion of Love...

Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) Spanish-born Sufi and one of Sufism's greatest teachers.
Grace Notes from Philip Novak's The World's Wisdom.

My friends in Albuquerque thought I should pay a visit to the film festival they throw up in Santa Fe while I am in town to interview local marketing groups for the Ars Nova XXI Film Festival. I did that. Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to see any movies. I really wanted to see Arau's "Zapata". I'm a fan of Kazan's "Viva Zapata". Apparently, Arau's version is more dream-like and centers around Zapata's shaman-like qualities.


However, Elyse and I did go to the Milagro Awards Banquet 2004. We were guests of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. How cool is that?!

The Mediterranean Ensemble. A talented group of local college kids. They sang energetic folk songs from around the world. It was nice to see young people really embrace old musical traditions with respect. I looked closer. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I had know idea that PlasterCITY's Michael Cioni had a long lost brother and...

Brittany Dust had a mysterious sister. I went to the roof to get some air.

The Luminarias were all aglow. I love the Feast of Lights. I went back to the banquet.

A photographer quickly snapped my photo.

I try to fit in. I really do.