Remembering New Age

I was remembering the New Age movement today.  Doing some house cleaning today I tossed out a copy of Journey to Ixtlan, The Lessons of Don Juan (1972) by Carlos Castaneda .  I made a note in the book, "the world is a feeling."  The quote on page 193 says, "The most difficult part about the warrior's way is to realize that the world is a feeling.  When one is not-doing, one is feeling the world..."  Remember the movie Star Wars came out in 1977 with a big emphasis on feelings:  "Stretch out with your feelings," said Obi-Wan to Luke.  The movie cashed in on some New Age jargon.

I had family that liked the works of Carlos Castaneda and I had friends who liked the book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior (1980) by Dan Millman.  I read both books because I wanted to see what family and friends liked, and I was unmoved by both books.   They made a movie out of the book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior and I took my daughter to see if she, as a young person, could see any value in the story.  My daughter was bored.  I was truly bored to tears.  Yes, my eyes teared up, I was so bored that I discovered that "bored to tears" is more than an expression.

In retrospect, I continue to be amazed at how many people were drawn to so many off-beat ideas within the New Age movement.   But then people still believe in Marxism.  Bad ideas have a long shelf-life.

Robert

The Big Short is an Amazing Movie

I saw The Big Short this weekend.  It is an amazing movie with Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Hamish Linklater (from The Crazy Ones and The Newsroom),  and Karen Gillan (Amy from Doctor Who).  The movie is based on a book with the same title.  Michael Lewis (the author), the screenwriters, and the director took a complex set of events and explained the 2007 financial meltdown in a way that is informative, dramatic, and humorous.  And yet when characters showed a lack of respect for the human tragedy caused by the meltdown, other characters berated them for insensitivity.  That was tasteful self-restraint.  This movie is a work of genius.  Because the seamy side of Wall Street is portrayed, the movie has a deserved R rating.  This is not a family film, but it is an important film.

For the shear educational value, I think every person in the world should see this film.  The subprime mortgage disaster caused hardships around the entire world, so this film is of global importance.

Robert

Marfa in the News

Marfa, Texas, is mentioned in the Sunday New York Times, January 3, 2016, page 1 of the Arts & Leisure section, in the article Big Visions, Barely Seen by Randy Kennedy.  Apparently Robert Irwin is considered an "installation artist" and he is constructing an installation for the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas.  It is always nice to see people showing a positive interest in Texas.

Robert