Monthly Archives: February 2014

Writing

The Agent Persona

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Imbolc                                                               Valentine Moon

OK.  Today I push myself past the barriers, past the fear and write a query letter for Missing.  I’ll get a bit of feedback on it, then I’m going to start sending it out.

(Bruno Liljefors-Portrait of Father)

Read an interesting article about the creative process and it applies to me.  This woman said you need three different personas to be an artist.  The first is the creative who writes the book, blocking out self-censors and shoulds to get at the story.  The second is the editor, who takes the creatives work and shapes it into a polished work.  The third is the agent who handles the business side of the enterprise, writing query letters, submitting work, negotiating contracts.

With Missing I’ve gotten through the creative and editor personas and now I have to take on the persona of the agent.  I will represent Missing to the fast changing world of publishing.  Starting now.

General

Ear Horse

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Went back to exercising after a week’s rest to let my pecs heal from the fall I took a week ago Saturday.  Got to use my new Studbar (see below), a pull up bar mounted securely to studs in the ceiling.

This mantra often goes through my head:  get back on the horse. It comes in response to the usual inertia that notices how pleasant it is to have the time from 5 pm to 6:30 free.  Or, that not doing Latin frees up time for other matters.  You get the idea.  Doing pullups after the fall (so to speak) fits in here, too.  No concrete under me now and the bar is secure.

Faith and Spirituality, Great Work, MOOCS, Politics, US History

Merchants of Doubt

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Imbolc                                                            Valentine Moon

 

Spent yesterday doing the Climate Change course.  A fascinating series of lectures titled Merchants of Doubt.  Primary author of the book, Naomi Oreskes, is a historian of science at U. Cal. San Diego and a lecturer in this course.  This book and her lectures make a compelling and important case that climate change denial has its roots in the work of a small group of distinguished scientists, three initially:  Robert Jastrow, Frederick Seitz, and William Nierenberg.  All three were cold war physicists working on nuclear arms.  All three distinguished themselves.  Jastrow became head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Seitz was president of the National Academy of Science and Rockefeller University, Nierenberg headed the Scripps Institute for almost two decades.

Read Great Wheel for the expanded story. The three of them worked on an advisory panel for Reagan’s Star Wars Defense Initiative.  When 6,500 scientists refused to take SDI money or work on it in any way by signing a petition stating their intentions, it caused great concern among these three cold war physicists.

The three created the George C. Marshall Institute to challenge the scientific consensus against Star Wars.  Seitz also worked for RJ Reynolds as a consultant.  In 1989 the cold war ended. The U.S. had won the cold war.  This deflated the rationale for the Institute; but, using the strategies developed by the tobacco industry, “doubt mongering”, the Institute went on to attack the science behind acid rain, ozone holes and eventually, global warming.

This methodology, honed in tobacco wars and practiced against acid rain and ozone (unsuccessfully, as it turned out), has been blisteringly effective against climate change science and its policy implications.  Why?  Read the rest of the story on Great Wheel later today or early tomorrow.

 

Aging, Third Phase, Woolly Mammoths

Every Two Weeks

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Imbolc                                                       Valentine Moon

Read the other day that the average connection between close friends is every two weeks. The Woollies have been getting together every two weeks for over twenty five years. Builds a lot of trust. A lot of shared memories. A lot of support given and received.

Woolly Frank Broderick turns 81 next week.  Jim Johnson 72 today.  I was 67 on Valentine’s Day.  Even our group puer, Stefan, will turn 60 on April 1st, finally bringing us all beyond that mark.  A lot of white hair, a few bald spots, the occasional creak in the bend and much laughter.  And, too, grandchildren come up more and more often.

To have ten close friends is a rare and special gift, one I chanced into and I’m grateful.

Thanks, guys.

Art and Culture, Woolly Mammoths

Men Being Men

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Imbolc                                                                  Valentine Moon

(Arnold Bocklin – War)

This on a drive home from Wayzata, after a wonderful meeting discussing maleness and maleness in our time.  Tom suggested we bring images or other art work.  Tom chose three black and white photographs: a D-day landing, men working on the high steel with wheel-barrows and silhouetted couple dancing on a brick street.  He also chose three Symbolist pieces, two by Caspar Friedrich and one by Munch. (and the Norman Rockwell Boy Scouts)  Frank brought a photograph of Standing Bear, a Ponca chief, Michael Collins, a key mover in the fight for Irish independence and a painting of the spirit world by an Ojibwe painter.

Scott had a world tree with people and technology boiling up toward the sky, a wonderful mandala from Tibet done in gold leaf.  Stefan brought a Rothko and a Rilke poem about the ancient tower.  Bill Schmidt brought a Lonnie portrait of Regina, a selfie he drew some time ago and a new piano piece composed by a friend in Regina’s honor.  Warren had a coat of arms made by his sister when she was 14, his paperweight from the glass blowing evening (Bill brought his, too.) and a ceramic piece of old man smoking his pipe, hand clasping his head.

“Liebesfrühling” (Franz von Stuck)

Mark Odegard, Jimmy Johnson and Paul Strickland all contributed through e-mail:  Jim’s piece is a little hard to describe but it involved a yak or a Highland steer with a snake above it and some birds.  Mark sent a page of journal with drawings of gold panning equipment among other things and a self-portrait.  Paul sent a photograph of himself in a mask, himself with his grandson and son, himself and Sarah in Maine and a photograph of his grandfather’s grave.

Tom’s nephew-in-law by marriage once removed and sunny side up, Jordan, a newly minted nurse and a nurse-anesthetist to be, attended as well.

Conveying the conversation would be too difficult for easy summary.  We touched on sweet honey in the heart, a strong sword arm.  Of spreading our long-winged feathers in widening orbits around the ancient tower.  Of man the spiritual being and the man the relational being.  Of men to some extent set free from past constraints and expectations.  And most of all of the men we are, we Woolly Mammoths, who gather twice each month and see each other, man to man

(Franz von Stuck)

P.S.  Forgot to mention the birthday cake.  Thanks, guys.

Frank_and_Charlie

Writing

Ta Dah

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Imbolc                                                            Valentine Moon

Missing, the 5.5 version, is now in the machine and backed up.  Wow.

About a year ago I attended a very good marketing class taught by local agent and author Steve Edelstein.  It’s time to review those notes and start putting them into practice.

Oh. My.

Garden, Great Work, Health, Latin, Politics, Sierra Club, Translating Metamorphoses, Weather +Climate, Writing

The Week Ahead

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Imbolc                                                              Valentine Moon

Weather has warmed up over 40 degrees from the last few weeks and it’s still cold. That’s about where we live.  No volcanoes erupting to interfere with our lives though.

Today or tomorrow I’ll finish reviewing the edits made by Bob Klein to Missing.  Then it’s off to the agents.  I’ve probably taken more time getting to this point than a novel of this type warrants, but I’ve wanted to produce as good a book as I can.  The first two or three books sold can determine success over all (that is, being allowed to continue publishing) and I want to present clean, focused stories.

 

Also tomorrow I’m going to resume my P90X workouts.  I’ve taken a week + off to allow my chest to heal and it seems mostly calmed down now.  Dave Scott, the handy-man I mentioned a bit ago, has installed the new pull-up bar, the Stud Bar (Tm).  It will not pull out of the ceiling studs (aka Stud Bar) and I will not drop unceremoniously onto the concrete anymore.  This last makes me happy.

When Kate and I discussed my attendance at an Ira Progoff workshop, I initially wanted to go to an event in early May.  It was in Asheville, N.C. and the thought of contemplative work in the Blue Ridge mountains appealed to me.  But, she rightly observed, this was soon after our Colorado trip for Gabe’s birthday and at the beginning of the growing season.  Other dates and places I liked were either in the middle of the growing season or at the time of the honey harvest.  That’s how we chose the end of March.  No planting, no bees.  And I can make Denver on the way home, wishing an early birthday to granddaughter Ruth.

Another way of saying Tucson was not on the top of my list for places to go.

The polishing begins on the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha this week. Back to the beginning with careful attention to commentaries, dictionaries and other English translations.  The goal:  as well spoken a translation as I can muster plus commentary notes.

(st. jerome, patron saint of translators. and yet another great beard model)

It’s also week 7 of the Climate Change course.  This course has proved as influential for me as a weekend Kate and I spent in Iowa City with PSR, Physicians for Social Responsibility, a conference on climate change. That one propelled me into my work with the Sierra Club. Just where I’m headed now is not yet clear to me, but I’m for sure going to increase my activity level on adaptation.

Dreams, Faith and Spirituality, Health, Humanities, Myth and Story, Reimagine. Reconstruct. Reenchant., Third Phase, Writing

Oh. Yeah. I Remember That.

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Imbolc                                                                    Valentine Moon

A few days back I wrote this post.  In it I admitted my yearning for the mystical, the mysterious, the contemplative; but, the metaphysical superstructure for them had been stripped away. (by me.  and for the most part happily so.)  Those impulses, partly stirred by the long, cold winter and its isolation, welcome, but draining at the same time, have been niggling away at me for some time.

(Progoff)

Then, I remembered.  I know how to get those elements back in my life.  The Ira Progoff Journal Workshops. I’ve done two of these, the three part series.  I’ve included some introductory material on them below.  Progoff was a Jungian analyst who worked over his career to develop a means of self-work rooted in Jungian method.  His efforts produced the Intensive Journal ,Process Meditation and these workshops.

Here’s what I like.  The work is yours, for you and reviewed by no one.  It’s a method, which I’ve used off and on, for many years.  As some of you know, I was in Jungian analysis, also off and on, for many years.  That means the worldview behind Progoff’s method reaches into deep work I’ve already done.

There are no guru’s here, no dogma, no path other than the ancientrail of self-wisdom. There’s no follow up, no encouraging you to do more.  Yet, there is a deep passion for the work individuals do on their own through Progoff’s methods.  It fits me and I’m glad I remembered it.

In fact, I’m headed off to Tucson, Arizona in late March for a six-day retreat to do all three workshops.  There will be, too, side trips to Carlsbad Caverns, Chaco Canyon and grandaughter Ruth just before her 8th–no longer required to ride in the car seat–birthday.  Ah.

 

Introduction to the Intensive Journal Program

Experience a life-changing process to give your life greater direction, vitality and purpose. Developed in 1966 by Dr. Ira Progoff, our nationally-recognized program has helped 175,000 people lead more fulfilling lives. Discover resources and possibilities you could not have imagined. The Intensive Journal method can be your honest friend in the creative process of shaping your life.

Article 1: The Intensive Journal Process: A Path to Self-Discovery
by Kathy Juline
Article 2: The Write to Fulfilling Life: An Interview with Ira Progoff
by The New Times
Article 3: The Way of the Journal

How can you benefit from this method?

  • By using an integrated system of writing exercises. It’s much more than a diary.
  • Gain insights about many different areas including personal relationships, career and special interests, body and health, dreams and imagery, and meaning in life.
  • Apply fresh approaches to access your creative capacities and untapped possibilities.
  • Work in total privacy. Neither you nor anyone else will judge or analyze your life.
  • Use a method that is without dogma. The Intensive Journal method is a process that can be used by people of all different backgrounds, interests and faiths.
  • Attend workshops at leading centers for reasonable prices.
  • You do not have to like to write or be a good writer. You are the only one who reads what you write.

Part I: Life Context (LC) Workshop: Gaining a Perspective on Life

Develop an inner perspective on the movement of your unfolding life process. Gain greater awareness of the continuity and direction of your life as it reveals what it is trying to become.

Generate insights about major areas of your life, including personal relationships, career and special interests, and body and health. The dialogue process provides a unique way to gain feedback and momentum as you deepen your understanding of these areas.

Part II: Depth Contact (DC) Workshop: Symbolic Images and Meaning in Life

Deepen your experience as you focus on the exercises in the second half of the Intensive Journal workbook. Learn how to use Progoff’s unique non-analytical method to draw forth messages from you inner symbolic experiences which can provide important leads in your unfolding life process.

Using Process Meditation™ techniques provides specific ways of developing your spiritual process in the context of your entire life. Explore experiences of connection that had significant meaning, gain insights about your ultimate concerns, and explore major themes in your life. Progoff’s advanced meditation techniques provide an avenue for greater reflection.

Part III: Life Integration (LI) Workshop/Journal Feedback™ Process: Integrating the Life Process

Progoff said the Journal Feedback process is the “essence of the Intensive Journal method and one of my main contributions.”

Experience the cumulative dynamic process created from working with material in one workbook section and how it can lead to entries in other related areas. This progressively deepening process generates an inner momentum and energy as you apply Progoff’s non-analytical Journal Feedback techniques. Your workbook becomes an active instrument as you approach situations from different perspectives.

New awareness and growth become possible as you realize connections between diverse areas. You are drawing your unfolding life process forward as you move toward greater wholeness and integration.

Asia, Family, Travel

You Canceled It For What?

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Imbolc                                                                 Valentine Moon

Sister Mary had a chance to keynote a conference on education.  She’s spoken at several conferences, but never keynoted before.  An honor.  But.

She wrote that her flight to the island of Java had been canceled and she would not be able to make it to the conference.  Why?  Volcanic eruption.  Mt. Kelud. (see right)

It grounded planes and caused tens of thousands of people to flee.  I wrote back and said that was a new one for this flatlander, located mid-continent.  Snow, yes.  Ice, yes.  Even flooding.  But volcanic eruption?  Quite the exotic reason for cancellation sitting in Minnesota.  Not so exotic in Indonesia, a very volcanically active and earthquake active region of the world.  It is, too, the fourth largest nation in the world by population.

Where is Mt. Kelud?

 

Art and Culture, Myth and Story, Translating Metamorphoses

Apres Deluge

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Imbolc                                                                   Valentine Moon

Finished the Deucalion and Pyrrha story in the Metamorphoses.  This is Ovid’s flood narrative, one he shares with other classical writers, the Enuma Elish and, most famously in our culture, Genesis.  Unlike the other long passages I’ve translated I’m stopping here and returning immediately to the beginning.  My goal this second time (third in the case of some of the verses) through is to work on polishing, creating as pleasing an English form for Ovid’s work as I can.  This will force me into the nuances of translating rather than the brute force, literal work I’ve done up until now.

(Léon-François COMERRE (1850-1916)

My pace has picked up though it’s not yet where I want it, but I’m still very much focused on the grammar and the syntax, trying to produce a faithful and mostly literal translation of Ovid’s Latin.  This is a distance from a good English translation for several reasons.  The range of meanings for each word.  The syntactical demands of Latin and English.  Certain grammatical constructions that don’t appear in English or become clumsy when translated.  The fact that Ovid wrote for an audience with far different background knowledge and expectations of poetry than ours.  The meaning of the work in its own time and the inevitable distortion of it when read in ours.  And so on.

None of these are insuperable.  There are many translations of so many works.  Yet each does a certain violence to the home text, wrenching it out of its natural medium and forcibly inserting it in another.  Translating is both art and skill.  I’m finally getting the skill necessary to give the art a try.