Do the winter blues got you down?

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs. - G.K. Chesterton








Today started off me going to work and having a flat on the way. It was actually a flat from a few days ago.  Apparently the rim was bent like a pretzel. Being that I live basically in one big pothole, my low profile tires are in a random state of being circular and not.

I also hung out with my friend, who truthfully for a while was draining the life out of me talking about all the issues with his family.

I get out afterwards and do some errands and end up going home to somewhat unwind (and continue with this weeks challenge). I turn on the old tele and there is a special on about homeless teens. I was watching it and I realized that my so called worry and problems weren't really problems. Yeah, I mean there are things that I have to be aware of and bills and such that I have to pay, but truthfully after seeing what other people are going through, I can't say my life is all that bad.

There was another trailer for a new show coming out in March about these millionaires who go out and live in some of the most impoverished areas in the US. They live amongst people who are really struggling and they each pick one and give them money. Enough money to change their lives.

The other day, a gentlemen came into where I work and he was waiting outside for 2 hours. We had opened late due to the crazy amount of snow we had been getting. I had helped him before. If you saw him, you could tell he was just made of money. He had gold bracelets and Cartier glasses. Very expensive overcoat. I mean, I have helped upscale clientele before but what struck me about this guy was how grateful he was. Everything I did for him he would proclaim "thank you, thank you." There was a sincerity in his voice and he just seemed honestly thankful. He wasn't originally from the US and spent half his time here and half in Nigeria. It was just a pleasure to help him actually. It was actually very nice to know that people out there exist. I don't mean to come off jaded, but if he stands out to me, sadly he may be an anomaly...(hopefully not).

I have to admit. I get caught up in the game of blaming and criticizing and wishing I was somewhere else. There are many days that I am this oblivious person walking around not realizing how lucky I really am. It's nice to hit upon stories that remind us that we are more then our petty dramas. And for those stories I say, "Thank You."

Got Snow?

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water -Carl Reiner 








So if you're living on the east coast you probably already know that there is an overabundance of snow out right now. It is not helping my tasks for the the week any. But I guess I'll kind of settle in and take care of everything else I was supposed to be doing this week.


It is "Art Week" for me so I figure I will get in some extra drawing time. I am also online currently trying to find some online museums. The tentative plan is to hit up a museum on Friday. I'm thinking the Met. The Guggenheim is putting up another exhibit so a lot of areas are closed off. Oh well. 


I figure, somehow, everything is a blessing in disguise. I guess I'll just run with the being stuck at home and either a)get some much needed relaxation in, b)take in some movies on Netflix (love you Netflix), c)shoot another vlog or (I'm thinking some inspired piece of mayhem for youtube) d)clean up the squalor that is my apartment. 


Anyhow, I am posting an old video I found on my phone of me and my friend Carolyn (amazing singer oodelieoo on youtube, check her out now) doing a cover of At Last by the incomporable Etta James. Hope you likey.

52 Week Challenge - Week 3 Part 1

So I realized I have got to stop posting and shooting videos at like 3 in the morning. I have been doing so much lately that it seems like the only time I have to do stuff is super late (or early depending how you look at it). I usually am in a pseudo comatose state as I start these and I end up building up to a crescendo of absolute insanity (okay maybe not that far).

First off I wanted to post a vid I did to help Tara Stiles out. She put up a challenge in which she would make a video for anyone who had a picture or video of themselves purchasing her video at target. Here is was I made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB6Nf-FS-fQ

I'm putting a link because apparently there are some issues with the video and it was banned in Germany. Yes, yes I was banned. I'm thinking of throwing a party. Your nobody until at least one of your videos get banned somewhere right? Apparently I used the song "Fireflies" and it caused some issues with copyright infringement. But it was all in fun and I put the song on last minute. Lesson, I will make my own tracks to put on the videos.

I also got to meet a few of my hero's this week as well as tried to contact a bunch more. I'll tell you the truth, it  was a lot more intensive then I realized. I also feel like I went about things the wrong way but heck, I still learned from it. I still have a lot of stuff to organize in terms of pictures and videos and stuff so I will get that straightened out and get to posting that soon. Anyhow, I will see you in part 2 of this report.

Do what you can where you are with what you have - Eleanor Roosevelt

A film shot with the iphone 4. There was a bit more to it than just iphone (lighting and such), but essentially this 30 minute film was with a phone many people have access to.

Taken from an article in the Los Angeles Times:

Park champions cellphones as an inexpensive filmmaking tool. “Find a location. You don’t even need    sophisticated lighting. Just go out and make movies,” the South Korean filmmaker told the Los Angeles Times. “These days, if you can afford to feed yourself, you can afford to make a film.”

Hmmm.....getting off track for this week. But inspiring none the less...Hope everyone is well

Inspiration: (for me is) Learning to see the same thing in nEW wAYS(;

Never let limitations define the problem. Creativity is born from limitations, otherwise there would be no need to be creative

The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Week 3 - Whew

"No one gets very far unless he accomplishes the impossible at least once a day" - Elbert Hubbard








So a few people commented about this weeks "mission". I think I had more than a few "are you crazy" looks directed at me than I thought I would get.

The idea for this weeks challenge came from something Tim Ferriss would ask people to do at his lectures. He would give a whole lecture about "entrepreneurship and making your own business, and designing your lifestyle" and at the end of one of his lectures he offered to give a paid trip around the world if you were able to accomplish a task related to being an entrepreneur. He told anyone interested in the challenge to meet him after the lecture. Out of 60 people 20 showed up for the challenge. The challenge basically was to be the first person who was able to get an A-list celebrity to respond to three questions. In that group no one did it. But he did offer the challenge again and told people about the first group and in the second group 4 people accomplished the task. Hmmm...

What strikes me about the challenge is that many people I told this to thought the challenge impossible. But it turns out for many people, that accomplishing this mission is their reality. This made me question the whole nature of what is really possible. Ironically going into this week I turned down an opportunity to hang with "A-list reality stars" and my friend was hanging out with an Oscar Winning Directors grandson. Not that this particular piece of information is significant or is the whole celebrity kick  worthwhile or impressive in anyway. It is more of a matter of "what is possible?"

The list of people that I am contacting have significance probably to only me. I don't want to contact someone just based on their star factor. I want to reach out and contact people who truly inspire me and do things that I find inspiring in some way. In researching this particular task, I realized that there is more to this than I could have imagined. But I will do my best with this task and share my results. I also will continue to keep this task up due to the fact that it does intrigue me. I have to admit, I have no clue what I am doing. I also have no clue if it is possible. I guess that'll be the only way for me to succeed.


Resources:


-contactanycelebrity.com
-The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
-Smarter, Faster, Cheaper by David Siteman Garland

Tony Jaa = Pure Inspiration

Really liking Nathan Sawaya...check him out now!

Yayyy, youtube works!!!!

So here is the aforementioned update that has caused me much consternation....

Updates and the 52 weeks...aka Week 3

Okay Youtube is not co-operating and driving me crazy. I can't get any videos up so I am writing here...(boring).


So I have one more movie to watch and I will have completed this week. It was a very interesting week and I've had a lot of little moments of clarity. First off pretty much all the movies were awesome and I wish I had done this sooner.

I have to admit, between the fiction and movies I am getting stuck up there in my head, but I guess that's not always a bad thing. I guess it's not bad for those moments in between.

"When I'm deep inside of me, don't be too concerned, I won't ask for nothing while I'm gone" - Billy Joel


I hopefully will be able to get a classic movie in once a week, but we'll see. I started another fiction book. I am now reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. I got in a conversation with a friend about the nature  of free will and I was going through some of my old books and I must have bought this book and forgot about it. Uh oh, I think I am liking fiction.

Week 3


Now what's in store for week 3? Being that week 1 and 2 were a success, I should have enough momentum to work week 3's challenge. The inspiration for week 3 comes from a challenge mentioned in  Tim Ferriss' book "The 4 Hour Work Week". By the way if you haven't checked out his site go to

fourhourworkweek.com

Anyhow, he was doing a lecture and he gave an assignment to the class and whoever accomplished the assignment would get a roundtrip vacation around the world. The task was to get a response from a celebrity within the next few days. From that spark came...

Connect with my Heroes


I made a list of my heroes who I will attempt to connect with over the next week. I am also doing a lecture and taking classes with a couple of my true inspirations. The first being Wayne Houchin...

He is an awesome magician and has consulted for the likes of Criss Angel and David Blaine. The other class I will be attending this week will be that of Marcelo Garcia, grappler extraordinaire...

I do have a strategy going in but it is relatively flexible. My hope is I can get one of my heroes to respond (other than the ones who I will be seeing in person). I also realize it might take longer than a week. But I do have nothing to lose (and restraining orders to obtain;)). 

So anyhow, much work to do, and hopefully youtube will start "helping a brother out..."

Later...

Re Igniting a former Passion

So watching these movies as part of my 52 weeks, it kind of reminded me of how much I love movies and movie making. Because of this I am gonna post a couple of movies that I made with my friend. Warning, don't take em too seriously. The first one is called Waterproof:

What happens to my diet when a Blizzard hits

52 Week Challenge - Week 2

So week one has come to an end. What did I learn. I really like fiction. I really really like fiction. I find myself actually browsing the fiction section. I also realize that I should limit the number of books I read. Easy challenge I guess but the year is just starting.

I also found out while making this list that when you set your mind to doing something and you give yourself a time limit that things start to happen. Having a focus and just "getting on with it" so to speak is like 50% percent of it.

I have about half of the year worked out. Most of the list came from conversations I've had with people about what I always wanted to do. Not so much a "bucket list" but things I just never got around to doing list. I always pictured a bucket list to be all the places and things you wanted to do before you die. A getting around to do list involve more of the places and things you want to do in order to live.

Week 2


Week two is gonna involve a passion of mine. Movies. There are a good number of "Classic Movies" I haven't seen yet but have been meaning to. I checked the AFI List on Netflix and asked a few trusted advisors and came up with a list:

-Raging Bull
-2001
-Singing in the Rain
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
-Taxi Driver
-Clockwork Orange
-Chinatown or Giant (cause I've never seen a James Dean Movie)

There are still a lot of good films that I need to catch up with. My goal eventually is to see everything on the AFI list. Speaking of which...A surprise post to come. Later

There's Always Hope

What would happen if everyone found their voice?

Week Numero Uno

20 Dollar Socks and the lesson of the Soggy Feet

So I was hanging around the city waiting for my yoga class to start and if you haven't heard, there recently was a large blizzard here on the east coast. A good amount of snow had been cleared, yet there was still a decent amount of snow on the ground. If you had ever been in the city after any snowfall you know there are puddles at every street corner. Let me tell you, not all puddles are created equal. I stepped in what I thought was a puddle only a couple of inches deep. It ended up being about a foot deep and I proceeded to soak my foot to the bone. Trying my best to look composed as I made it through the "puddle minefield" I realized that I would need to pick up some socks.

I go to a local outdoor sports store. It is one of my favorite stores for buying winter goods and I also was able to find my Vibram Five Finger Shoes there so I didn't totally mind this small incursion.

As I started browsing through their sock selection, I realized that there were more to socks then I realized. There were so many selections I kind of got overwhelmed. It was at that moment my parents voice chimed in. You see I had notice that the price was 20 dollars for the pair I had wanted. Now all of my life I had always bought the 6 pack of socks that were usually on sale for less than 10 dollars. Out of reflex I put the 20 dollar socks back on the rack and started looking for the "cheap socks". Well alas, they didn't have em. I caught my self saying that the sock were too expensive and just decided to buy em. They were the best socks I ever owned. I said to myself "my parents lied to me." Why would they not tell me about these great socks. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being frugal and saving money but I realize that there is nothing wrong with paying more for a quality product. To whatever degree great products are made with passion (usually) and spending the extra money is in a way supporting passion.

Once again, starting this year in trying to find my purpose I realized that it involved finding my passion. Now I did the typical list making and still I wasn't content with the answers I was finding. I guess it worried me that I might be so far removed from who I was that I would never find it. Hence following my passions. Joe Vitale mentions in his book "that the Universe likes speed". Opportunities come up everyday. Sometimes we acknowledge them, sometimes we don't. But if I am to be true to who I am (in terms of finding my passion), then I realized that I would have to act on it immediately. When you say yes, so does the Universe. At times there are problems put before you to test your resolve, but if you are intent, then you won't even notice. And when you do notice the problems, also notice the lessons involved...Even it they are 20 dollar socks;)

Later

New Years Resolutions....hmmmm

Happy New Years everybody! I must say it was one of the best New Years in recent history. I am still trying to piece together the night, but thats a whole other blog post. I spent a good part of the night asking people about their resolutions. I had a variety of responses from, "I don't have any", to "I just want to appreciate what I have." Inevitably they would say "What's yours?". Hmmmm...good question.

I had been contemplating this question and initially I would tell people that I wanted this year to be different from last year. I was somewhat joking when I told people this but I also intended this to be my resolution. My thinking being that people are running a lot of the same programs when they go about life. There are many new experiences (for most people) but we are essentially doing the same habitual things. This led to...

The 52 Week Resolution


It hit me that if I was gonna have a different year I would have to do different things. I decided to do one new thing a week. It could be something difficult like Jumping Out of a Plane (thanks Chris) to something as simple as trying Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers (can't do this cause I already did it). I got excited immediately. I don't know exactly how this is going to turn out but I will chronicle the entire experience.

Week One:


Okay this week is gonna be simple, and truthfully I did a lot of new things this week which could have counted but I did want to struggle a bit. I am an avid reader. I read a ton. My Kindle for iPad is getting up there and I have a ton more "real" books to go through. That being said, I am not a big fiction reader. I kept saying that I was gonna read some classics but they just never worked out.

The book I choose to read was "Zorba the Greek", a recommended read from a blog post of Tim Ferriss'. I just started so I'll post my progress as I go.  There are a good number of things I want to do this year and have so many ideas, but for now I am just gonna "let it be," and take one week at a time.

Speaking of Tim Ferriss, he just came out with a book called "The 4-Hour Body". I am almost through all of it and I have to say...the book rocks. A lot of stuff mentioned in it I have already been exposed to but there is definitely a plethora of stuff I had never seen before and I will refer to it on a regular basis. It is a definite must read and I will be giving it as a gift to a few close friends...Pick yours up today!

As for the picture, for those who don't know, it's a Daruma Doll.  It's from the Japanese tradition and is traditionally made without eyes. You fill in one eye when you create a goal and fill in the other after you have completed the goal. You would make one for each goal that you create. Does anyone know where I can get one...hmmmm.

Anyhow, till next time;)