Today  we leapt ahead an hour; it's also known as March Madness. March Madness has nothing to do with springing ahead--not really. It has to do with men's NCAA basketball. That's the mad part of it. But even without the NCAA, March is a month of madness.

The Northern Hemisphere of Earth will begin to tilt closer to the Sun in mid-March--nine days from today. The Sun will be at its zenith over the equator--this year, on March 20th at 5:14am UT (Universal Time). However, Julius Caesar had fixed the vernal equinox as March 25th in 45 B. C. E. (Before the Common Era) in what is historically referred to as the Julian calendar. But about 1,500 years later, Pope Gregory XIII, working with a Jesuit and astronomer named Christopher Clavius, creating the Gregorian calendar. The switch reinstituted fixing Easter through use of lunar phases based on the Hebrew calendar (explaining why Easter and Passover tend to intersect--Christ's "Last Supper" was, in fact, a Passover seder), and, it also shifted the vernal equinox to on or around March 21st. Gregory XIII had no intention of validating a Roman Emperor's perspective--given the role of Romans in the death of Christ. 

Interestingly, Julius Caesar died one year after the creation of the Julian calendar. And he died in March. The Ides of March, to be specific. Ides comes from the Latin "idus" which means in the middle of or to divide halfway. The word ides was used to describe the half-way point of other months during Caesar's time as well.

Caesar was stabbed 23 times on the Ides of March in the Roman Senate by Roman Senators. There were two leaders in the betrayal, including Brutus, made famous by Shakespeare in his play, Julius Caesar, with the line, "Et tu, Brute?" According to Plutarch, there was a total of 60 conspirators...or those whose silence allowed the atrocity to occur.

But what was behind Brutus's March Madness, besides an unquenchable thirst for power?

Brutus may have been Julius Caesar's biological son; Brutus's mother was one of Caesar's known mistresses. And Brutus's madness was apparent at least one year before he betrayed his Emperor--though in truth, despite some details being lost in time, it's clear that Brutus was a cruel man who profitted from other people's misery. But no matter what Brutus did, Caesar forgave him--even promoted him, adding more validity to the speculation Brutus was Caesar's biological son. In 45 B.C.E., one year before he murdered Caesar, Brutus divorced his wife, Claudia--a political marriage for her family--and married his half-first cousin, Portia. It was scandalous, not because of their closely linked genetics, but because Brutus essentially had no reason for divorcing his first wife outside of wanting a new one. Brutus was beginning to show social cracks in his mad psyche, but like his blood-lust, like his thievery, the cracks were ignored. It's an interesting parallel in 2012, an election year in the States, but also, a year with incredibly bizarre global weather. The cracks are showing--socially and physically. Just like Brutus.

The word vernal comes from the Latin "ver" which means spring or green as in "spring greenery." The vernal equinox is based on a Northern Hemispheric  perspective; March 20th is actually fall in the Southern Hemisphere. As the Northern Hemisphere tilts closer to the Sun, the Southern Hemisphere begins to tilt further away. The equinox represents that dualism. One part of Earth is closer to the Sun while another is yet further away. One part of Brutus loved his father, while another part resented him. 

There is only one other time of year where our eternal dualism, caught in binary opposition, sheds equal light on the cracks. In Caesar's time, March was named after the Roman god of war, Mars (Aries). The Ides of March was a Roman holiday, usually celebrated with a military parade. As we move through the month of March, keep Brutus in mind. Remember Caesar. And, Mars.

Spring is green, but before it's green--it's rather muddy. March is a transitional month--not just in the physical world, but historically, too. 

Tread lightly during March Madness, friends...tread lightly.



 

Last hour of a day that only comes once every four years. That's got to mean something, don't you think?

Where were you four years ago today and where will you be in another four? Four years ago today, I can't tell you what was happening. I know. I just can't express it. Am I in a better place? In some respects, perhaps, but mostly, no--not really. Where will I be, then, four years from now? Well, that will be 2016. I'll be turning 45. I hope. I was about to say that I can't even imagine where I'll be, but  that's not entirely  true. I can imagine. Good. And bad.

Where will my family be? My friends? I don't know. It's like looking into a fog. Because, four years ago today, I imagined I'd be in a very different place. I imagined I'd be there with people who are no longer alive. I imagined so many things. And in looking backward, it's hard to see that so much happened that I could not imagine, believe...or even want. Looking ahead four years, what I want seems less relevant. It makes me believe that in the last four years, I have gotten old. Not older. But old.

I'm jaded now. It took 40 years, but it's happened. And I'm sorry for it. Sun Tzu would be proud. Prouder still if I took that change and used it to get the upper hand on my enemies. I love people who claim to have no enemies. Those deluded souls believe their own lies. I don't lie--not because I don't want to--but because I'm not very good at it. Terrible, in fact.

Sometimes though, I use hope to attempt to lie to myself. Yes, that means there's underlying fear. My humanity makes me vulnerable. Fear is to be expected. But courage isn't. And to my own detriment, I never fail in acting with a courageous heart. A good thing? Sun Tzu would disagree.

In the next four years, no matter what happens to my mind, my body,  or my very life--I know I can accomplish at least one thing amidst the fog of the future: Continue to live as courageously as possible. I sometimes think cowardice would be easier. And it would be. So would apathy. But I can't pull it off. Any of it. I'm too honest.

The irony?

Because of my honesty, I'm persecuted. A simple thorn can disable a lion. Honesty and courage do not success make. If you're honest, Sun Tzu disciples call you a liar--always turn the tables on your enemy before they can recognize you are not a friend. If you're courageous, Sun Tzu would recommend your enemy put that to the test. Will you pass the test? Of course you will. But the point of the test is to weaken you, not kill you. Weaken you to lessen your strength--your conviction. That is the real moment of victory. Once a lion is humbled, he will never roar as loudly again. There may be future battles, but the war is essentially over.

Your enemies are lucky, whoever they are--because while they devour from beneath you--life takes bites out of you from other angles.

It's a conundrum. Like the parent-child relationship. Doomed to be imperfect. Destined to lead to grief. And while you can't change your fate, you can change what you do in between. I can change what I do in between. Med school? Law school? Astrophysics? Or, the Great American Novel?

You can probably guess my first choice: The novel. A thinly veiled "fiction," but all writers write what they know. And so, I ask my enemies, who certainly read this blog as good disciples of Sun Tzu: What is it that I know?

Ah. Here's where the lion bites back.

The thorn will always hurt, but the skin will heal over it. The lion will learn to walk again.

There's now 20 minutes left in this last hour that will not repeat for another four years. What is important isn't where you are or where you are going. That sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? But it's entirely true. Getting ahead in human terms is a weak definition of evolution. What truly matters between today and the next February 29th is that, no matter what happens, you take the leap.

Leap! Keep your courage in your right hand, your heart in your left. Let honesty light on your tongue and nest there. Because in four years time, regardless of what you expected, if you leap--every, single day--you will not have any true regrets. Know why? Because Sun Tzu never actually fought in the Battle of Boju. He trained a harem, not soldiers. And do you know how? By bullying unarmed women, killing those who didn't comply. How noble. 

Don't be like Sun Tzu. Leap. Leap into the next four years and measure their value by how much you value yourself, your integrity. For we are nothing without our integrity. Those without it may seem to be getting ahead--like Sun Tzu--but material gains are artificial. Your soul, however, isn't.

There is a choice. And when you make it, I hope you choose to LEAP. 

No one wants to believe it's true. Nihilism. The philosophical perspective that touts that life is, in its essence, meaningless. It's not meaningless when and while you're in it because you have opportunity to learn through social exchange as a physical being. Without our physical limits, however, there can be no learning. But does that mean that life itself is meaningless?

You need eyes to see. Ears to hear. Skin to touch. A mouth to taste. And a brain, to process it all. If the soul exists, it is not--cannot be--physical. All theologians must agree. So why is it, then, that we insist on assigning our experience as physical beings to post-physical life? Part of the reason is that it's easier to think of our own mortality through that chosen lens. Our physical lives end. There are no exceptions, despite best attempts by science and fiction. When our bodies die, if we have souls or energies or however you best like to think of it, there is an implied existence but it cannot be be as we perceive our physical lives. Has energy ever written a book? Kept a blog? Listened and wept to Beethoven? Been seduced by the dance? Is there a market share for souls? Do advertisers worry how energy perceives their commercials in order to boost sales? Does a soul stand? Eat? Sit? Drink? Without a body, how can it?

True, there is much beyond our imaginings as humans, confined as we are to physical limits. There may be more to the life of energy, to the life of the soul, than we can know. All we do know is that for unpredictable number of rotations around the Sun, we are physical. We can find meaning in our own physicality and the physicality of others and the natural world. We can find joy and pain, pleasure and horror, love and disgust. We look for "soul-mates" to define our physical lives even further, even though a great majority of humans place a very high value on physical chemistry in order to identify these supposed mates of the soul. As we age, our physical bodies begin to show signs of withering, of our impermanence. And we then begin to invest our physical bodies and physical monies into material items that make us feel more secure in our own physicality--things like clothing, jewelry, shoes, make up, boats, houses, cars, and a plethora of other items that bring us physical comfort, or that decorate, enhance, or otherwise celebrate our physicality. We use our investment in our physicality for sex, a physical act, that can produce other physical bodies we call "children." And children are a way to manifest our shared genetics, the building blocks of our physicality, so that some piece of our physical selves continues on into some imagined eternity.

As a society, people spend millions, billions, on the upkeep of their physical selves--a body that in the span of less than ten decades--dies. Withers. Decomposes. And eventually, disappears from physical existence altogether.

The strong evidence above is proofre's strong evidence that our existence is defined by, and is therefore meaningful because of, our physicality. So how and where does Nihilism fit in?

Because, once your physicality has ended, whether through natural death  from old age, cancer, a car accident, a freak accident, an act of God, or the musings of a mad man, the meaning of your physical existence has ended. Gone. Never to return. You can never speak again. Hear again. Think again. Write again. Whatever you accomplished before your physical end, unless you painted a Monet or sculpted the David or wrote Moby Dick, goes into the human-ether, remaining in the consciousness of those who knew you until their physical deaths. If you're lucky, your physical image will remain important to some of your future generations. You'll be a distant thought until too many generations pass. Your grandchildren are gone and their grandchildren know only half-truths, if anything at all. When your photo is found in its dusty frame, the last vestige of your physicality, will it be recycled? Sold to an auction house? Used in a school project that ends up in a basement somewhere? All the things you did--the good, the bad, and the humanly ugly--will have been long forgotten. All the things you learned on your journey as a human being, lost in the annals of time and space.

Is life meaningless? Not while you're in it. While you're in it, you assign yourself more meaning than you're likely worth. You assign your material items value, then, insure those values to even further prove the unprovable: You, and your physical life, matter.

Take it one step further: Let's say that while living our physical lives, we connect at the soul as well. If you do harm, you hurt the pool of collected souls or energies that some think of as God. If you do good, you improve it. That would certainly equate to our perception of physical justice, but how can there be an eye for an eye if we no longer have eyes? How can we turn the other cheek when we have no face?

We can only prove our physical existence. There is no evidence that said existence has implied meaning outside of our physical selves. You can point to any religious texts you want; ALL were written by humans in the midst of their physicality. Which means, ALL are skewed by that same physicality.

Essentially, we know we're here. Right now. And that is all we can ever truly know. What happens after our physical lives end, if anything, is a guessing game based on presumptions, assumptions, and suppositions. Would you define your life by a supposition? Make an assumption your mantra? Use a presumption as the rule of law? OR, would you use what you know to be true as the basis for your life? To live fully and well while you may, as there is no evidence that life as we know it continues after our physical bodies die?

The idea behind Nihilism isn't that life is meaningless so you can do whatever you want--it's the exact opposite. Be self-responsible, be caring, be generous, loving, kind while you can. You will not get another opportunity. The people you encounter will die along with you. Even if reincarnation is true, you will never live this same life again. You only have one chance to do the right thing--for yourself, for others, for the world. If life only has meaning while you live it, why would you choose to do otherwise? And though there is an abundance of humans who refuse to acknowledge the truth, that's not your problem. Your problem is living your best life and living it now. Not tomorrow. Not in Heaven. Or Hell. Or wherever you believe you may go after your physical body has found its end.

Today.

And without excuse. 

At the start of every new year, I develop a number of pieces that talk about new beginnings, making goals, and working toward moving your life in the direction you want it to go. In the meantime, I've been doing the same thing. I was curious to look back on the last year, and the year before that--to February 2011 and February 2010--and see where I was and if today, I'm in a better place, or at least, have made progress toward improvement. 

Essentially, you can think you are doing things to move forward, feel you're making new beginnings, imagine working toward goals--but how do you keep track of your efforts? Confident people always think they are doing the right thing, whether they are or aren't. Keeping a journal or blog can help maintain a system of self-checks-and-balances.

For me, in February 2010, I was writing a memorial to my friend, Susan Steed Allen, who passed away on March 1, 2009. In 2010, I was working on growing out my hair for the second time to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths for the American Cancer Society in Sue's honor. Something I did in 2009 as well. And I did donate 12 inches again in March 2011. That shows some forward momentum but I was looking for more.

This week in February 2011, I was apparently watching a great deal of movies and creating new, healthy Pop Culture Cooking recipes. So far in 2012, I've only seen two movies in two months and have barely turned on a burner, let alone create whole new recipes. I was also working out 5 days a week last February and doing more snowshoeing and winter hikes than at any other time in my life. This year, I'm not exactly on track there. But does that mean I'm not working toward my goal of moving my life forward?

Let's see:

While 2012 isn't exactly a disco-party, I had a deadline for a book chapter in late January and one for the end of February. The Pop Culture Professor also had herself a great two-hour interview with USA TODAY book critic, Deirdre Donahue; the resulting four-lines in a piece on Amanda Hocking was printed on January 3, 2012. Then, I got an invite last month from the Boston Comic Con promoter to speak on X-Men, True Blood and Twilight at the Hynes Center in Boston on April 22nd.

That sounds like progress, doesn't it? And yet, I feel less on task than I did one year ago when none of it existed.

Seems like "moving forward" isn't as cut-and-dry as making a list, checking it twice, and seeing results in a year...or even two. We all tend to think in a very linear way even though the world moves in clear cycles. Cycles imply ups and downs. So while one area of our lives may be in the up part of a given cycle, another could very well be on the down-cycle. It's a rare moment when everything improves simultaneously. So rare, I've never seen it in my lifetime. At least, not yet.

By February 2011, I had my 20th anniversary comedy gig set up for June at Nick's in Boston. I was back to my physical peak, lifting ridiculous amounts of weights, rowing for 30 minutes at 35 strokes/minute and barely out of breath. I could snowshoe for miles, hike in the ice and snow for hours. Weirdly, most of my life was in balance despite the lack of a very large, very important component. But sometime after mid-June 2011, and, after experiencing yet another trauma, I was unable to maintain that balance in the same way. So when I look back to February 2011, I see progress from February 2010 but don't yet feel it in 2012. 

A good analogy may be something like paying off a car loan or education loan but finding you now have an equivalent balance to what you just paid off on your credit card. It's a shake-your-head-and-roll-your-eyes moment. Three steps forward, two steps back.

In some ways, it reminds me of cancer. You can have a perfect life, perfect kids, perfect house, perfect job, perfect spouse, and perfect friends, until you learn that you have cancer--and then, everything that is perfect isn't...and can never be again. Divorce, loss of employment and bankruptcy do something similar. It takes years upon years to get your balance back. But that's not to say you're unsuccessful in moving forward in between. 

We're conditioned in 21st century society to expect immediate results. But cycles aren't about instant gratification. It's about taking your time. Figuring things out. And avoiding previous pitfalls that may have plagued you in the past. In short, a cycle is a journey. And at the end of one journey, a new beginning emerges. That's not exactly a comforting thought, true--but what is comforting is understanding that to stay on track, you don't have to walk a straight line. In fact, walking a straight line may take you somewhere else entirely. You may walk the diameter of a given cycle, cutting out half the journey, only to end up in a similar position again.

It's good to look backwards, to check on your progress. It's also necessary to fix a point of origin for your return. In any three-dimensional space, though there are six points that may define that space, you need a seventh to both know where you're going and where you have been. That's what looking backward is all about. Finding the seventh point. And following it home.

What progress do I hope to make by February 2013? You'll read more about that in the coming months. The more important question today is, where do YOU want to be one year from today, February 18, 2012?

Assess where you are in your journey, what points are fixed and what points are not. And most importantly, forgive yourself if you have a sense you've lagged a bit, remained static, or, maybe even have had some backward movement. The whole point of today's piece is to tell you there is no such thing as backward movement. We only ever move closer to the pinnacle of our cycle--no matter what stage we think we're in at a given moment.

To say you'd like to be in Hawaii by February 2013 is easy. Even easier, go online, get out your credit card, and make the reservations. But you still have to pay for it. You still have to earn the money to pay for it. And still have to consider your job, vacation time--if you have any, who will watch your house, your dog, your kids, parakeets, ferrets--or whatever you have in your life that you are responsible for--besides you, that is. Just making the reservations and putting it all on your credit card is not as proactive as it may seem at first glance. All that does is create the illusion of forward momentum. In the end, you're only setting yourself up for failure.

Look for "real" solutions to the obstacles in your life. Put down the iPad. Step away from the iPhone. Leave your laptop out of the equation.

It's all about YOU now.

Good luck!  

From pop culture to philosophy, this blog has it all. And to kick off February, we're going to get a little philosophical. Philosophy is the voice of reason in a mad, mad world. A world where parents hate their own children, disabled people are treated like lepers for simply surviving (the nerve!), anti-Semiticism persists, racism, misogyny, and people who stand up for what's right aren't called heroes anymore but things like "snitch" and "whistleblower." You can't trust anybody. That's why people have turned to technology to find life partners and get important information like world news.

Here's a for instance for you to ponder; call it an example of the madness I'm talking about above:

A beloved, award-winning teacher goes through not one but multiple cancer diagnoses that leaves the teacher visibly disabled, but all the more enthusiastic and grateful for life. The people who called themselves colleagues despised this teacher out of jealousy at first, which later turned into suspicion--how could anyone have survived that and be so, so...happy? The hatred became so consuming that these "colleagues" made it their singular mission with Hitler-esque focus and Nazi-like force to ruin an otherwise innocent person's life. Drive the teacher out of not just the school and district, but the very profession this teacher's life was dedicated to.

I wish I could tell you that this was like a Hollywood movie, where the teacher finds a sympathetic person who takes a chance, giving the teacher a new job, and subsequently, a new lease on life. Or maybe, the teacher, down and out with no money, finds a winning lottery ticket on the way to the unemployment office. If this were a supernatural flick, the teacher would get a vampire or werewolf bite while weeping on a park bench, evolve into a sympathetic monster and then go about taking justified revenge, reclaiming agency over the hopelessness that comes when robbed of the ability to earn. Maybe it's more of a fairytale, where a Rumpelstiltskin- or fairy godmother-like character make an appearance to the hapless teacher, on the brink of bankruptcy and considering suicide, and gives the teacher the ability to go back in time and fix what happened, fix the nasty colleagues, and regain 100-fold all the teacher lost. Superheroic twist? Okay. The teacher, so distraught at all that happened, is distracted while packing up and loosens an exposed brick that shouldn't be loosened, releasing a radioactive gas. The teacher passes out and wakes the next day to the janitor knocking on the office door, looking to gain entry to collect the garbage. The teacher feels super-strange, everything is louder, clearer and there's a strength and quickness of movement the teacher has never had before. Learning quickly, the teacher recognizes the new superheroic talents and uses them to set the world aright. Picture a be-spectacled, be-suited colleague hanging from a fourth-floor window begging for life, offering anything for that privilege.

Sadly, none of these scenarios are real. So what really happens to a person in a similar position to our unfortunate teacher?

Depression. Health problems. Blackballed from the profession. Loss of retirement and life savings. Debt. And any number of other related unfortunate events that come along with being hopeless and helpless. Use your imagination. Welfare. Food stamps. You get the idea, don't you?

And the nasty colleagues? Oh, they win. They continue their lives, happy now that they no longer live under the shadow of the overacheiving teacher. They continue to earn. Continue to build their retirement and savings, uninterrupted. Go on nice vacations. Get promotions. Continue to provide for themselves and their families. They never once look back or take responsibility for anything more than improving their own lives. Whatever happened to the teacher is "not their concern."

This is why the movies exist. This kind of real-life circumstance is why superhero movies are so popular. Why the supernatural is so popular. Why the fairy tale is so popular. In the absence of REAL truth and justice, suffering audiences have to look to fiction to satisfy their need for both.

Now you're wondering, but couldn't the teacher sue? Sure. But that doesn't mean what you think. There's no justice for what these people did. They don't go to jail. They don't have to do anything. The teacher is put on trial instead. The word of many against one? You really think the teacher has a fair chance? Well then, you've just proven my point, haven't you?

We all live in what social theorist, Jean Baudrillard, called "integral reality." Integral reality is the place between what's real and what has been created to look real--or simulacra. Simulacra is artificial representations of reality...things like movies, TV shows, books, YouTube videos, music videos, pop music, magazines, any kind of social/media--pretty much, any and all modes of popular culture.
 
We pay good money on a daily basis to buy entertaining distractions or ways to get those distractions faster, clearer, better--like the latest iPhones, iPads, Nooks, Kindles, tablets, smart phones, smart TV's...you name it. People take it for granted as something that's just normal and natural for 21st century life...but it's neither. People have no idea why, all of a sudden, they need to be distracted at ALL times. Life is devolving. And everytime we buy something more to fill the giant chasm in our very human souls growing deeper from the quiet, insidious dissatisfaction with a reality we can't change, we take another step (or ten) backwards.

When history looks at the first fifty years of the twenty-first century, do you know what will be seen? Not the decline, but the FALL. We're dying. We just don't know it. And like all walking dead, we pretend we have another decade of life, more chances, more opportunities--never recognizing that all of that is past. We have but months, weeks, days, moments...in the span of human history, we won't be remembered for who we were as much as for who we weren't.

Did you know that? Know that people are remembered, not for what they did, but for what they didn't do??? It's true.

We aren't facing the drunk, stinking reality of our decomposing lives at all but if we want something to change, we should. Family is all but meaningless. As parents, we failed our children by not giving them the chance to, ironically, fail. Now, we're stuck with a rising generation who never stand up straight because they're afraid of their own height.

Failure opens the door for success. At least, when you're young. The teacher in our earlier "for instance" was not. Young, that is. No one wants the table scraps, the leftovers, the day-old bread. No one wants "damaged goods." Such a prissy, weak lot, humanity. So vapid. So easily controlled. It will be our doom. "It" being "us." Our own worst enemy.

That parable about the eagle raised as a chicken is an outright fallacy. Genetics, not psychology, wins out everytime. You can't excuse yourselves with bad parents, divorced parents, no parents, abusive uncles, nasty school-mates...who you are, the "real" you, comes from three little letters that loom large in humanity's lack of social evolution: D. N. A.

Your psychology may help shape your views. Your age may make you cocky, or, terrified. Regardless, your DNA decides how you ultimately act. The eagle will be hungry for meat, eventually seeing its' chick-hatchling mates as food. Its' wings will grow strong. It will begin to try flight. It will begin to use its' naturally stronger claws and beak. Even if it never looks up once, it will still become an eagle. Because it is an eagle. Not all birds are created equal. Neither are all humans.

Some of you are chickens; others, eagles. The baby eagle kills its' hatchling-mate out of hunger, the corn-feed unsatisfying. It becomes a pariah amongst its' adopted brood, having "sinned" doing what comes naturally. One day, the eagle takes flight. It can't yet make it over the fence with its' wings alone, so uses its' claws, falling hard on the dusty ground after a clumsy start...but outside of the chicken coupe. No longer fenced in. It's an outsider now. Isolated from what it knew its' entire life. But something inside pushed it beyond its' knowledge, beyond its' psychology. Genes.

Hard to believe that yours may make you a coward. Or brave. Highly intelligent or highly stupid. Naive. Happy. Miserable. Even whether or not you have a sweet tooth is determined by your genes. How tall you are, or aren't. Your hair color. Whether or not you can see, hear, or how any of your senses translate to your brain. Whether or not you are articulate or verbally clumsy. Violent. Passive. Aggressive. Peaceful. Loving. Angry. Graceful. Witty. Dull. All based on genetics...not free will.

You think you are who you are because you choose to be so. But most of you are on autopilot. Most of you are chickens. But your humanity, ah...that implies choice. Your opposable thumbs and complex brains give you the chance to change your genetic destiny. But our obsession with constant access to integral reality renders our complex brains simple, our opposable thumbs, paralyzed.

So is the teacher a chicken, or, the eagle?

The colleagues that ruined the teacher's life better hope for the former. For if it's the latter, if the teacher is the eagle, at least a few of those colleagues may end up being fodder for a now starving predator. The colleagues believe they outsmarted the unfortunate teacher, the teacher now no longer part of their coupe. But if the teacher is, in fact, the eagle, the teacher can fly. While the colleagues are trapped by the fence. At the whim of the farmer. Or worse, the eagle.

And Jean Baudrillard? He is molting on the other side of the veil, freaked out by how ALL reality is integral. How, what he once thought of as definitive and "real," was the true mirage. How eternity for the eternal spark is plagued with nothingness. There can be no learning without physicality. An infinite amount of time to just exist. While those of us who are physically-manifest dream about a time when we won't have to do anything more than just that.

Irony. Cosmic irony. The best kind.

Another late review, I know...but this, unlike its Twilight predecessor, isn't for lack of words. I LOVED UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING. Plain. Simple. To the point. Admittedly, I'm a fan of the Selene character, played well by Kate Beckinsale. She's a tough, smart, strong female hero who also looks amazing in tight, black leather jumpsuits. What's not to like???

I knew Len Wiseman didn't direct this time around--not because I read it in the credits, but because the film lacked his overall intuitive directorial touch. Wiseman did, however, help write the storyline, produce, and is the creator of the characters themselves. Wiseman and Beckinsale are a good team, on and off screen. The two are married, currently living in L. A. Beckinsale was reluctant to don Selene's black-leather again for reasons anyone should be able to imagine. But in the last decade of the 21st century anyway, audiences love a continuing storyline. Throw in a hot vampire chick, some werewolves and a dystopian future (complete with V for Vendetta's Stephen Rea), and you've got a hit made in Hollyhood-heaven! Kind of like Beckinsale and Wiseman. AWAKENING is currently the highest grossing film worldwide at just under $80-million dollars, and only two weeks after its premiere!

Mans Magnus Marlind, the Swedish film director, took on the directorial reins in 2010 during pre-production; the film is the first in movie-making history to be shot in Red Epic, a new kind of digital camera tool released in 2010 from Oakley-founder, Jim Jannard. Many of 2012's new releases like Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Killer, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and Ridley Scott's Prometheus will be shot using Red Epic; future pics using it include Avatar 2 by Titanic-sized director, James Cameron.

Using British Columbia as the backdrop, the film began shooting at Simon Frasier University. What was perhaps weirdest about the whole thing was the achived footage of Scott Speedman, who played Michael Corvin in the first two films in the franchise. He announced in 2010 he wasn't going to reprise his role as Michael for the fourth film...so what was he doing instead? Playing a much smaller role in this month's THE VOW? I threw my hands up in the air, too. I. Don't. Get. It. A stand-in played the shots of Michael toward the end of the film. 

The most impressive part of this film wasn't just Beckinsale's performance as Selene--though it was entirely mesmerizing, even Variety agrees with me on that one--it was the addition of another female-supernatural-hero-juggernaut, that of Selene's daughter, Eve.
 
Yes, that hot sex scene in the second film between Selene and Michael was the foreshadow I hoped it would be. Just as Selene and Michael try to make their escape from a world gone mad after the knowledge of vampires and werewolves becomes public, the two are captured and put on ice, literally, for twelve years. Luckily, Selene's daughter is just as feisty as her mother. She's the ultimate hero in the film.

In her first role in a major motion picture, India Eisley, also known for her role in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager, plays the most powerful living creature on the planet. A hybrid like her father, Michael, and the last living descendent of Alexander Corvinus, the original immortal, she is remarkable strong, smart...and, psychically connected to her parents.

Newcomer to the franchise, Theo James, known for his role as the unfortunate, if not roguishly handsome, Kemal Pamuk in Downton Abbey, plays David, a vampire who aids Selene in the brave new world she awakens to. The 27-year old British actor-philosopher is a good match to 38-year old Oxford-trained Beckinsale on screen. Even if Michael is eventually written out of the storyline, audiences would enjoy seeing Selene and David develop their budding relationship in future films.

Non-stop action from beginning to end, UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING earns a 9/10 on the Housel-scale. If you haven't seen it yet, go and enjoy the 3-D thrill ride while you can. If you have already caught it once, consider going a second time. Its big-screen worthiness and all-around entertainment value is in the large-scale supernatural action...more so than any other movie in early 2012.

See you at the movies!!!

Your Pop Culture Professor bent space and time to be on the scene for all the Golden Globes gossip...what a fabulous way to kick off award-season! The stars were certainly shining that afternoon, like being around 200 of Stephenie Meyer's sparkly vampires in the sunlight, minus the fangs. The clothes, the jewelry, but best of all, the movie tid-bits picked up for the next year...that's what after-parties are really all about. Do I have the low-down on the next 007-flick? You betcha! And what about the LOTR franchise? Maybe a little Dark Shadows action via Tim Burton and Johnny Depp??? Hello! LA was all a-twitter on January 15th. And I have the dirty details...just for YOU!

Let's begin with March, as we're in mid-January already. If you've been to the movies at all during the holiday season, chances are good you've seen the trailers for upcoming flicks this month and next, like Haywire--which looks AMAZING by the way and was listed as on of TRIBECA's top picks for January 2012. Steven Soderbergh directed...and has directed a number of upcoming flicks for 2012, including Channing Tatum's film, loosely based on his own life, MAGIC MIKE--which is scheduled for release in June, and has Tatum and Alex Pettyfer (I AM NUMBER FOUR) practically naked for the majority of the film. So is it any good? Who cares??? Channing Tatum. Naked. Nuff said.

Remember how Johnny Depp made it big? It was a late 80's television "crime" drama called 21 JUMPSTREET. The show was really just a venue for hopeful tall, dark, and handsome actors. Depp got lucky. Of course, he's talented, too. That helped. Now, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs co-directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord head up another silly caricature, minus the animated meatballs. Though there's no telling what may happen on screen; Jonah Hill is co-starring in this 80's remix. Hill's silly persona is off-set by Channing Tatum's solid presence. Worth the price of admission if you're nostalgic for the 1980's, or, if you're hoping to see Tatum shirtless before Magic Mike premieres in June. The film opens on March 16th.

Globes Gossip: Tatum, whose Native American heritage contributes to his good looks, and his wife of seven years, Jenna Dewan, practically glowed on the red rug. Tatum gushed about his goddess in green, discussing how his wife clocked him in the face while teaching her about on-screen fight scenes. You go, girl! Cute couple. Makes me want to go to every movie Channing Tatum stars in from now on. His abs may have something to do with it, too...maybe. Tatum is also in pre-production on a GI Joe sequel, GI JOE: RETALIATION, reprising his role as Duke. You can see Tatum in HAYWIRE this month and a definite Valentine's Day flick, THE VOW, with Rachel McAdams, being released on February 10th.

Competing for box-office dollars on March 16th is MIRROR MIRROR, directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Julia Roberts. This fairytale adaptation of Snow White, the first of TWO for 2012 (the second stars Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron, opening in June), also stars Taylor Lautner's flame, Lilly Collins (ABDUCTION). Basically, the film is more of a story about not getting your mommy's approval, no matter how hard you try, or how innocent you look.

THE HUNGER GAMES, the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' wildly popular YA novel series, hits silver screens on March 23rd. Gary Ross directs and Jennifer Lawrence (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) and Josh Hutcherson  (THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT) star  as competing teens in a weird apocalyptic totalitarian dystopia...disturbing enough for you? Ross says that it was even weirder on set, seeing kids next to all these deadly weapons. Sounds like a light-hearted pre-spring jaunt. No? Well, I tried.

April's got a few fun flicks, like THE THREE STOOGES and an AMERICAN PIE reunion, aptly named AMERICAN REUNION. Oh, and TITANIC will be re-released in early Aprill as well...in 3-D. Sigh. 

Not gonna lie--just thinking of May's movies gets me wet. Girl-wood! Am I allowed to say that??? The thing is, it's true. THE AVENGERS opens on May 4th. Hello?!?! The Pop Culture Professor is one of the pioneering female scholars in the States to look at comic books as more than just a bunch of "low-culture" entertaining scribbles. And, the film is written and directed by--wait a sec, gotta get a towel--Joss Whedon!!! My geek-heart be still.... Fellow brain tumor survivor, Mark Ruffalo plays the Hulk; RDJ is back as Iron Man; ScarJo plays Black Widow; Hawkeye is Jeremy Renner and vice-versa; Chris Evans continues to play the Cap; and last but never least is Aussie-talent, Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Yeah, I'm totally unobjective about this movie. Don't trust a thing I say. Because if it were up to me, it would be mandatory for every American citizen to see this movie in order to maintain citizenship. Yup, I'm THAT passionate about it. Wooh. Was it as good for you as it was for me??? Probably not. Awkward. Moving on....

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton team up again for what should be a fun romp down memory lane, an adaptation of DARK SHADOWS, opening on May 11th. And where would Depp and Burton be without Helena Bonham Carter? She plays the part of the female doctor, in this version, a psychiatrist, while the always beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer is one of Barnabas Collins' descendants. Chloe Grace Moritz (LET ME IN and KICK ASS), one of The Pop Culture Professor's favs, also joins the star-studded cast. Even more fun? The screenplay was penned by Seth Grahame-Smith, author of 2010's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.(which hits theatres in June, btw). I'm pretty psyched for this Gothic remake. You should be, too!

Globes Gossip: The DARK SHADOWS comic book based on the original television series is getting a facelift with a fresh face, Mike Raicht, newcomer to the series, but not to comics (Raicht has contributed to Wolverine, X-Men and other Marvel comics as well as the graphic novel series,THE STUFF OF LEGEND). The first storyline by Raicht promises a potential "cure" for Barnabas...so stay tuned! You can see Raicht in person at GraniteCon this June.

More Globes Gossip: Helena Bonham Carter is playing Miss Haversham in an adaptation of GREAT EXPECTATIONS directed by Mike Newell. Word on the red rug is that the flick will hit theatres in fall. And, that Bonham Carter is as crazy as ever...just the way we like her!

May 18th sees Taylor Kitsch in BATTLESHIP, an adaptation of the once-popular board game. Hey, if PIRATES of the CARIBBEAN can turn a corny carney ride into box office gold, who knows???

Rounding out the start of the summer box office season is (yet another) MEN IN BLACK film...number three in the franchise. Josh Brolin plays a young-version of what was formerly Tommy Lee Jones' role. Will Smith promised fans after WILD WILD WEST that he wouldn't make bad movies again. Disappointed! But like WWW, MIBIII will make millions and Josh Brolin's gotta do something to avoid being mistaken as George W. Bush, or, cast in a second Jonah Hex movie.... The film opens on May 25th.

June. The real summer blockbusters begin. On Cruise-control is ROCK OF AGES, starring Tom Cruise as rocker Stacee Jaxx in an effort directed by Adam Shankman. And Tomcat can really sing! See it on June 1st. Sharing the opening day is SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, the second of two Snow White flicks of 2012--but for my money, this is the one to make box office gold. Charlize Theron plays the evil queen; Kristen Stewart is Snow; and Chris Hemsworth is a dishy, if not conflicted, Huntsman. Rupert Sanders makes his epic directorial debut on June 1st. This sinister film will be worth the price of admission.

Globes Gossip: Kristen Stewart dropped Hemsworth like a big, blonde sack of potatoes during rehearsal of a fight scene! Girl power? Hell's yeah!!!

June 8th sees PROMETHEUS open, an ALIENS pre-quel by, you guessed it--Ridley Scott. If you're of the same opinion as I am, you'll love this fictionalized account of who spawned humanity...oops. I wasn't supposed to say that. Sorry, Mr. Scott. That was Globes Gossip that shouldn't have left the coatroom!

June 22nd is a shared premiere of ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER and Pixar's 13th film but first featuring a strong female hero, the well-named, BRAVE. See them both, then, see BRAVE a second and third time. It ROCKS! Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews share BRAVE directorial credit. HBO's Boardwalk Empire actor, Kelly McDonald, voices the BRAVE-star.

July's got the usual run-of the mill superhero flick's, starting with a new THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF SPIDER-MAN on July 3rd and ending with the last of the Dark Knight movies, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, with Christian Bale as an equally dark, angst-ridden Bruce Wayne.

August 2012 sees THE AVENGERS Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner, in the latest Bourne flick, THE BOURNE LEGACY and Collin Farrell starring in a remake of TOTAL RECALL, both opening on August 3rd. 7500, directed by Takashi Shimizu, opens on August 31st; True Blood's insanely adorable Ryan Kwanten stars in this horrible horror of a movie, taking place mainly on an airplane crossing the Pacific. But don't worry, there won't be any snakes on this plane. 

The biggest haps in September is a re-release on the 14th of FINDING NEMO, in, you guessed it--3D. Double sigh. And, another Taylor Kitsch film co-starring Gossip Girl, Blake Lively, in SAVAGES on September 28th.

Other flicks include to-be-annouonced fall releases of GREAT EXPECTATIONS with Bonham Carter and Keira Knightley as ANNA KARENINA, an adaptation of the classic novel by acclaimed Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy.

One of the biggest fall pre-holiday season releases is happening on November 7th. SKYFALL, the 23rd Bond flick, stars Daniel Craig losing faith with M, played by Dame Judi Dench.

Globes Gossip: Dishy Javier Bardem is playing the bad, bad boy (very bad!) and Albert Finney and Ralph Fiennes also star in super-secret agent roles. Sam Mendes directs his first Bond film in the 50-year old franchise. Fiennes makes his own directorial debut in this month's CORIOLANUS, a Shakespearean adaptation in which he also stars.

Not that it needs any sort of mention, but BREAKING DAWN II opens  on November 16th, the final film in the TWILIGHT franchise. GRAVITY ironically follows starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock...in space, and, in 3-D. More sighing ensues. But, Alfonso Cuaron's directing. And, it's George. Clooney. Mmm-hmmm.

LES MISRABLES opens the December literary adaptation season with Hugh Jackman and Dark Knight alum, Anne Hathaway. Baz Luhrmann directs  Leo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan in THE GREAT GATSBY, but ten days before on the 14th, audiences get to see Peter Jackson's long-awaited, THE HOBBIT. Speilberg will surprise audiences in December with a yet-to-be-announced LINCOLN starring Daniel Day-Lewis, about Abe Lincoln as the 16th President...NOT as a vampire hunter. Ang Lee directs LIFE OF PI, an adaptation of a 2001 novel by Yann Martel, the hit of all women's book groups that year, opening December 21st. The same day, audiences can skip down to see Brad Pitt fighting...zombies? WORLD WAR Z competes with the Apatow family film project, THIS IS 40...40-year olds everywhere should avoid this film like the plague or risk puking up your milestone birthday carrot cake from that swanky little bakery in Haight-Ashbury.

But wait! The saving grace for this holiest of holy movie seasons is from film-Jesus, Quentin Tarantino, with his Christmas gift to the world--the reason for the season--DJANGO UNCHAINED, starring Jamie Foxx as a 19th century slave-turned-bounty-hunter in Mississippi. DJANGO opens on December 25th.

Naughty, or nice, I'll see you all at the movies in 2012!

2012 is a year of fresh starts. In November, we'll be voting for our next President. But this year isn't just about making political change, it's a chance to get ourselves back on track as well.

In 2011, gold reached an all-time high, and the American dollar, an all-time low. Diamond-prices increased last February, and will only be going up from there. There were natural disasters and global social unrest that stunned the world in 2011. But today is January 10, 2012. ALL of that is over. It's time, then, to look ahead as we face 12 new months to set personal, financial and professional goals that will move us FORWARD. 2011 felt like a year of back-tracking, missteps, and utter falls. 2012 doesn't have to be the same. There really is a choice. Even if it doesn't always feel like it.

The first step is assessment. Where do you want to be personally, financially and professionally in one year? Be realistic when you answer the question. Assess what you can do to acheive your goals--things you can accomplish over the next year--again, being realistic is key. I give my students a warm-up essay based on a quote by Gandhi about imagining your life without failure, except in my assignment, it's a question of realistically assessing what one might do given a year of guaranteed success. Ten days into 2012, you have the same benefit. Now, you just have to begin to imagine what to do with it.

Fear is a powerful enemy. An enemy we create ourselves. Others help it along, true, but ultimately, the choice is always ours in how we deal with it. Bad things can and do happen--with no rhyme or reason. It's not God punishing you. It's simply being a part of the human equation. We have sensitive psyches, fragile bodies--we can be broken in many different ways--and that makes us vulnerable to all kinds of pitfalls. BUT, it also makes us vulnerable to perfect joy. To feeling empowered and therefore, helping others feel the same way. To using our vulnerability to bring peace to some, courage to others. And most of all, using our humanity to move ourselves upward, onward, keeping pace as we traverse into the unknown. There is a great deal of fear, but cowering your way through life only brings misery. And that's a long journey to undertake in horror. Bravery is always the harder choice but if you put one foot in front of the other, even if scared, you will see yourself through even the worst of circumstances...and be all the better for it.

Make 2012 the year you recognize your fear and move forward anyway. Fear makes it difficult to see things clearly. So recognizing its influence on your life is an important first step in moving forward. From there, you can begin to set goals to make 2012 your best year yet!

Every month, you need to be able to see your progress toward your goals. If one of your goals is to save $10,000 in 2012--a reasonable goal if you're employed and have no debt--you will need to put about $800 in cash in a savings account each month for the next 12. That may mean changing your spending habits, or finding a part-time job to supplement your savings. Maybe $10,000 is too lofty a goal--about $400/month will see you $5,000-richer by 2013; $200/month will see you $2500 richer. Even if all you can afford to put aside is $50/month, over 12 months, you'll still be $600 richer than you are right now.

Saving money is one of the easiest ways to see how cumulative efforts can add up to positive change. But what about professional goals? That's not always as easy to add up.

If you're not happy with where you are in your career, nothing can change until you do. If you've been frustrated with the job market--which has been VERY frustrating since 2008--think of how you might use your body of skills differently. Maybe you'll need to take a few classes at your local community college, or hire a resume doctor to help you revamp your job materials. Regardless, if you do nothing, there can be no change. One of the best ways to test the employment waters is by CASTING A WIDE NET. What does that mean?

Essentially, you have to think outside of the box. If you've been applying to the same kinds of jobs with nary an interview in the last year, it's time to change your focus. Continue applying to every job that interests you, but try to see where else you might use your experience in this job market. Make an appointment with a career counselor at a local college. Find out what options may be available to a person with your education and experience. Get an assessment of what more you might need to enhance what you have for today's job market. DO NOT network with your friends. Your friends are most certainly in a similar position to you. You can let your friends know of your efforts; anyone who can help will offer. Otherwise, look to your professional circles to network and move forward; LinkedIn is a great resource to do this. Consider applying to jobs outside of your current city. Look at the employment pages of universities, colleges and hospitals or health centers. There are a myriad of broad-ranging jobs needed to make these employment hot-spots run. Your skill-set may fit better than you think. Another tip for professional change is to consider taking a lower-paying job in a company you want to work for. The idea of working your way up in the company may not be appealing, but in order to move anywhere in any company, you must first get your foot in the proverbial door. Shoot for finding and acting on 2-5 opportunities/week every week for at least 3/4 weeks each month in the next 12. If you do this, along with casting a wide net, getting some career advice and boning up on your education and experience, you WILL find that by 2013, you'll have made great strides toward acheiving professional change...and, success.

Personal change isn't as easy. Maybe you're goal is to get out of debt. That may seem like a financial goal, but if you're over-spending because your emotions--your fear--have taken over, it's personal. You may have had a bad stretch over the last several years. Maybe your health has taken a hit or three; perhaps you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who lost your job in 2008-2009 and haven't been able to get back into the earning game since. Maybe you've dealt with a family health crisis, depression, divorce, bankruptcy...any number of these viable reasons--alone or in combination--are solid reasons to have sustained debt-damage in the last 3-4 years. The first thing to do with revolving debt that is $10,000 or higher is to review your resources. Using things like low-interest, fixed bank loans to consolidate your debt and/or using retirement savings to pay it off or down are your first lines of defense. You cannot use cash savings if you're unemployed because you need to maintain whatever cushion you have--without a steady income, cannot replace it once gone. Look around your house, see what you can sell on eBay or Craig's List that might earn you some dollars to pay off your debt. That, and not spending. Everyone has to eat; if you're buying your groceries with a credit card that has a high balance because you would starve otherwise, it may be time to look into food stamps. Government programs may not be something you want to use, but if you've been unemployed for 3 or more years, you may have to. 

If you worked for ten or more years prior to your unemployment, you contributed to government programs--just for this reason. Think of it as a stop-gap measure to keep you afloat without accumulating more debt. Your fiscal health and responsibility is worth the temporary hit to your ego. Life is long. Keep your debt short.

Things like student loans should be deferred if you're unemployed. Yes, you will accumulate interest but you can pay the interest while in deferrment--and that is much more afforable on say, $60,000 in student loans--about the average for 21st century students, which roughly equals $700/month in pay back over a ten-year period or $350/month over 20 years. 

You can find more hints and tips on spending and savings under the "21st Century Etiquette Series," including how to deal with maintaining social connections while spending drastically less. But if you need a new car in 2012 and are on a fixed income or have no income, and  if you have cash savings, use some of it for a downpayment on a used car with less than 35,000 miles. Something like a Hyundai offers economic options with warranties that are for 100,000 miles or ten years. Car insurance is less on used cars and though a lease is tempting, you have to put down $2,000 every 2-3 years to replace the car. Over a decade, that's $6,000 in down payments alone. If you put down $2,000 on a used car with less than 30,000-miles, you'll own the car in 5 and will enjoy no further payments for at least 3-5 years more. Over the course of a decade, that adds up to anywhere from $9,400-$13,000 in savings. Cha-ching!

Getting that pesky fear in check is not as easy; if that's the root of the blockade on your personal, financial and/or professional goals, it's time to find a good therapist to talk out your fear(s) on a weekly or monthly basis. Don't worry about people making you feel like you're crazy for seeking help; seeking help isn't crazy. Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results is. Remove the obstacle and support your efforts by incorporating 60 minutes of cardio and strength training 6 days a week--you don't need to join a gym or take expensive classes. Turn on the radio and dance. Take a hike in a park. Walk in your neighborhood. Add a pair of 15-lb hand weights, and you're on your way to better physical AND emotional health for a $10 investment. Incorporate meditation; learn how by doing an internet-search. Start with 5 minutes of meditation a day, working your way up to 20 minutes over the next year. All for FREE. Your fear will be under control, and your life will follow.

No matter what you want to change in 2012, and no matter what your circumstance, you can move your life forward if you recognize your fear(s) and assess the actions needed to make positive change. Begin your journey toward getting richer, being happier, and acheiving career success. 2012 WILL BE a banner-year!

So what are you waiting for??? 

Go!

I do try to write something upbeat and positive at the beginning of each new year. This year, it's particularly difficult for me to do. If it were as simple as making a few New Year's resolutions, I'd be a happy girl. But for me, and hundreds of thousands like me, our lives, for the most part, are out of our own hands.
 
It's interesting and strange how talk of New Year's resolutions puts my stomach in a twist. As if life may be imporoved by losing unwanted weight or making good on the promise to yourself to take that watercolor class. Some people greeted the year with a cancer diagnosis. Or the loss of a job. Or are entering their third year of unemployment since the 2008 crash that is still sending economic reverberations around the globe. Some people face 2012 after the loss of a child, or, with a sick child. Others may be in the process of bankruptcy, divorce, or trying to deal with a seemingly unending pile of personal debt--related to any and all of the above. My point isn't to make you feel badly if you don't have similar problems; it's to simply raise awareness that not everyone can sparkle and shine with the newness of the New Year. Much like every holiday, the New Year suffers under the weight of the contiuing cultural discourse of distraction. Distraction is a proven economic motivator. Apple's "i" products are a great example.

The iPad 3 will be release between February and March 2012; the next newest iPhone--not the recently released iPhone 4S, but the iPhone 5--will be released in fall. These products will cost anywhere between $300-$700...not exactly a drop in the proverbial buccket. Or at least, it shouldn't be. But every Apple store from coast to coast to coast will have L-O-N-G lines of people practically begging to give hundreds upon hundreds to Apple for the latest "must-have" gadget...or, DISTRACTION.

Why distraction? Because it's easier than trudging through the deep sands in the desert of the "real." Things are bad. Very bad. Japan was hit with an unprecedented 9.0 earthquake in 2011; the quake caused ruptures in their nuclear power plants. The tsunami-sized waves that joined in the destruction along Japan's coasts destroyed homes, and people's lives along with them. People died in the quake. Many more were injured. And the rest were left to clean up, living in the nuclear fall-out, the radiation from which has a half-life of one-thousand years. A crystal ball dropped by Lady Ga-Ga at midnight isn't going to help Japan in 2012. But it did help you...to forget.

A recent call about the passing of a friend's parent started off with "Hate to be a Debbie-downer BUT...." Why the apologetic reference? Because humans, in their continued interest in distraction from reality, don't like to hear "bad" news; it's a "downer." Puts a harsh on your mellow. Well, isn't that too bad. You don't want to hear, or even talk about, difficulty because it makes you sad? Pathetique, as the French would say. People make fun of the French for their political swings with popular opinion, but the French are actually an evolved culture. Enjoying life, or "joie de vivre", is an integral part of French philosophy. And somehow, the French still manage to deal with death as part of life--"c'est la vie"--despite having distractions far richer than the latest tech gadget that will be outmoded within 12 months. Look at their wines, cheeses, breads and pastries, art and architecture, long expanses of mediterranean beach, fields of lavendar, and of course, Paris. It's no wonder famous authors like Hemingway spent time there. French life is a truly full life. Which is in sharp contrast to the celebrity-focused, rather vapid American sensibility that values appearance above all else, willingly investing in turn-over technology that implies spending thousands every year just to have what everyone wants...it's wasteful. And it's no wonder that we live in The Wasteland.

No matter how much we all wish, hope and dream 2012 to be "better," "peaceful," "healthy," "whole"...we will, inevitably, be disappointed.  Wishing doesn't make things real, despite what The Secret says. You know what will? Hard work. Putting our collective noses to the grindstone. Valuing things below the surface might be a good start. Which is exactly why it will never happen. In another twelve months, people will be singing the same songs, pretending that anything is possible if you just believe. Disney World is a fiction. Fairy dust isn't real. And there are no lost boys who never age and know how to fly. We need a revolution for change. Not a political revolution. Not a technical revolution. A psychological revolution--one that ripples through society in an unprecedented way. One that, in its greatness, will transform the way humanity interacts with not just each other, but with the Universe itself.

I know. Tall order. But I'm only 5'4" tall and still managed to have a son one-full-foot taller, so have high expectations. Do you???

There's a saying about how even an eagle can be a chicken, never learning how to soar, if it's raised in the barnyard eating feed with the other chickens. That's not true. An eagle will always fly; and chickens will never look up.

Which one are you?  

You all have my best wishes for 2012: 

Be introspective. Learn and take complete part in the process and pride of true inquiry. Seek good health by using your body at least one hour a day, everyday. Go out into the sunshine as much as you can. Learn how to meditate. Find a good therapist. And get rid of the cigarettes, soda, and processed foods. Open your mind. Let your heart follow. And then, perhaps, 2012 will not just be a good year, it will be GREAT.

Happy new year....

I saw the latest in the Twilight film franchise at its New York premiere. That was November. So why I am I writing about in January? Good question! If you're a fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga, you may not like the answer:

Part of the reason why I'm known as The Pop Culture ProfessorTM, is because of Twilight & Philosophy, a book I co-edited with J. Jeremy Wisnewski, now published in seven languages and sold in about 20 countries world-wide. The e-book and audiobook are both available on iTunes. And in that book, we discuss basic philosophical tenets found in the Twilight series as a whole, including elements from the film franchise. So I know Twilight. Backwards, forwards, you name it. And when I saw the fourth film in the franchise in November, one of two parts adapted from the original Breaking Dawn novel, I found articulating my thoughts and feelings on the subject...difficult.

Kristen Stewart plays an extraordinarily gaunt Bella. While there was certainly good usage of CGI in the film, both with Bella's physique and the later birthing scene, it was clear that the actress--already too thin to be healthy--had lost some weight for the role. So not only is the basic message of Twilight that feminine fulfillment can only be found by changing yourself for a manm now, the visuals of this particular adaptation are cueing the female-audience about body image, perpetuating a negative stereotype that comes directly out of patriarchal discourse.

Fans will love the heterosexual matrix, or love triangle, between Bella, Edward and Jacob. It still exists, and in full force. Make-up on the set continues to evolve, trying to take the white pancake from the vampire faces this time around, and doing a good job there--kudos! But Rob Pattinson is clearly frustrated with the stiff role, wanting, desperately, to flesh out an otherwise flat character. Taylor Lautner's Jacob is always very "real," and pulls on the audience's emotional heartstrings. If Aristotle were here today, he might congratulate writer Melissa Rosenberg for her good use of pathos in persuading the audience to the under-wolf's favor.

The cinematography was excellent this time around. I am a HUGE fan of Guillermo Navarro's work in film like I AM NUMBER FOUR, HELLBOY, and of course, PAN'S LABYRINTH. The wedding scene was gorgeous, lush, and had an etheral quality only possible through the magic of cinema. The wardrobe had equal aesthetic appeal, with Bella's gown designed by Carolina Herrara, one of the most graceful designers of the century. 

The direction by Bill Condon, whose last film was 2006's DREAMGIRLS, was quite good. Though Meyer's basic storyline may be lacking, the film adaptation added dimension and visual conplexity where there was none. Condon has also recently directed two episodes of Showtime's The Big C with Laura Linney. The 56-year old director has heart. And it shows in BREAKING DAWN I.Condon is directing BREAKING DAWN II, being released in fall 2012. Expect good things! 

The music in the film was by Carter Burwell; Burwell, who has worked with the Coen brothers, has done the music for some really terrific films like No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading. The Harvard-educated Burwell's musical ingenue was no more apparent than in A Knight's Tale, where he combine musical elements like David Bowie's "Golden Years" with the medieval setting. He also directs the music for HBO's newest edgy series, Enlightened, starring the indomitable, Laura Dern. Burwell was in charge of the muic for the first TWILIGHT film. Glad you're back, Carter!

Melissa Rosenberg had written a piece that appeared in Entertainment Weekly before the 2011 film premiered, asking fans to forgive her for various omissions or changes necessary for adaptation. What most people don't understand is that a typical film script for a two-hour movie is about 90 or so pages. The original novel was some 700 pages. It is IMPOSSIBLE to create film from a book and include EVERYTHING. As a writer, I disagreed with Rosenberg's PR tactic; why try to appease? I've NEVER seen any male writer do anything like that. Women's brains produce neurotransmitters that result in apologetic behavior in efforts to maintain vital social connections. It's basic machinery of the human brain. With more than half of Rosenberg's family being therapists, you'd think someone might have advised her otherwise. Because she had NOTHING to apologize for. Her script was good; it allowed for some rather awkward moments, like the vampire birth and the imprinting between 17-year old Jacob and the infant, Renesmee, to look almost normal. Not an easy feat, I assure you.

Overall, the film itself earned a healthy 8.5/10 on the Housel-scale. Everyone involved in the project put A+ efforts into turning a book with simplistic dialogue, settings, and characters into full-blown entertainment in living color and sound. But you don't need me to tell you that--the film has grossed close to $300-million world-wide.