The View Up Here

Fred In the Can needed some updating. I get bored with the same look, but I find it frustrating to use the Blogger design templates. Very limited. But for now, it'll do.

It's been a busy couple of weeks! I've started a new screenplay, and taken a free lance gig proofing and copy-editing a short manuscript for a local author. I am also quite addicted to my Kindle. My brother gave it to me for Christmas of 2010, and it wasn't until last month that I started using it. I don't have room for lots of books here, so I decided to make use of this lovely device, and it has totally changed my world. Imagine bringing multiple books with you where ever you go, so that whatever you feel like reading is at your finger tips. Most of what I have loaded on here now reflects the new direction my spiritual path has taken. Of those, the most inspiring, important, and perfectly appropriate is Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian , by Paul Knitter . He identifies himself as a "Buddhist Christian" as I have come to do, and his treatise on "crossing over" from Buddhism to Christianity is invaluable. Of special note is what he calls...

Stonehenge, where the demons dwell... http://blog.stonehenge-stone-circle.co.uk/2011/01/05/stonehenge-spring-equinox-2011/ Perhaps the Vernal Equinox means more back East than it does here, but nevertheless, I feel the ground beneath me awakening, and it does my heart good. I've been quite busy of late, hence not blogging so much. I've finished the sci fi script and have almost completed the outline for my next script. I'm also excited about going to the Space: 1999 con com this September ( Alpha: 2012 ). What was to be the usual fan-run convention has become quite a to-do thanks to the reboot Space: 2099. Jace Hall of HD films will be there to talk about the new show, and many of the luminaries from the original show will be there as well. Powys Media will have a panel with the editor and writer that I've been working with on Black Doves , and we are shooting for my book to be ready in time for the con so that they can introduce me there. These days I h...

Yesterday I did something I haven't done in years: willingly and of my own accord, I went to church. I've been craving a spiritual community for some time, now, and while there are Buddhist centers here in L.A., I realized I wanted something a bit more focused. And I've realized that while being Buddhist has made me a better person, by far, the things I've learned through that practice really fit in quite nicely with what Jesus taught - love one another, commit acts of compassion, respect yourself, recognize that we are all the same (seeking wholeness). In fact, my understanding of things like kleshas (strong emotions that pull us toward and away from pleasure and suffering - aka clinging and aversion which drive our actions that obscure our innate Buddha essence) help the concept of original sin make sooo much more sense than biting into an ancient apple and blaming it on the woman (yes, I know it's an allegory, but it never worked for me). So what was I saying?...

A NEW CARRRRRRR! Okay, let's be realistic. It's more like this: It's weird to get up on a Saturday morning and say to one's self, "Today I buy a car." And it's weirder to go out to the very first dealership one researched and buy the first car one test drives. Cause you're not supposed to do that. But the stars aligned, and this Toyota Camry is exactly what I was looking for. Price, mileage, transmission, condition. The best part is the stereo. I'll have to take some photos of this - it's most definitely NOT factory issue is all I can say for now. That'll be a future post. It's definitely a "boy car." Any suggestions for names? Currently thinking of Marlon. The stereo interface is very Battlestar Galactica, so "Baltar's Basestar" might work. There's also Benedict (as in, Dirk Benedict, or Benedict Cumberbatch). Come to think of it, Cumberbatch basically has the same coloring as my car.

Yeah I had a birthday last weekend. It was sublime. Skyping with loved ones, Hamlet performed by the Independent Shakespeare Company (I'm going again on the 17th, for the 3rd time on their final performance - yes, I'm a groupie). I also drank a lot of free wine, hung out with the actors afterward, got to do some silly improv that involved a four-legged stool and a giant, imaginary Ouija board, and then had really good Mexican food with sangria. My roommate treated me for the evening. All I had to pay for was bus fare. Speaking of which, I'm going car shopping this Saturday. Say a prayer, make a wish and send me some good vibes that I find exactly what I'm looking for in my price range, and that I don't have to deal with a skanke salesman. I've gotten so used to not having a car, it's going to be weird. Not to mention expensive - insurance and gas. Holy crapola gas prices out here are $4.50. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat the f************ck??? This week has been i...