Sunday, November 18, 2007

Monkey Mind + Quarterlife


Remember that scene in "Ghostbusters"?

Harmless pop icon turns to evil in mere moments? It's those times when you know you shouldn't think about something, try and not think about it, but oops! There it is.

That's what I'm talking about. That's how my brain is working right now. The Buddhists call it "monkey mind" and the monkeys in my mind have been quite busy typing out their nonsense transmissions.
whenwillthestrikebeoverwhatcanIdointhemeantimetoearnmoneytopaymybills
whatifthere'snopilotseason?WhatamIgoingtodoaboutChristmas?Howmuchlongerwillthis goonhowquicklywillstufframpbackuponcethestrikeisovershouldIleavethebusinessWTF?

And then: I remember what M said to me once: "Remember, we can't really DO anything else. We have to stay here." He's right. Yes I can do other things, but I've done other things and not liked it. Creative people need to "follow their bliss", tempered by economic necessity of course.

He and I have a date to meet at the big rally on Tuesday afternoon in Hollywood. It's supposed to be as large as the one at Fox. I'm going to ride the subway so I don't have to drive, sit in traffic and pay to park.

But sometimes monkey mind is what gets me thinking creatively and passionately as well. If I don't absolutely love a project, my heart isn't in it. If I'm not suffering from a type of limerence, not thinking about it, visualising it, replaying it in my mind: then I have a much harder time doing it. I want to be intoxicated by what I do because that brings work much closer to a state of flow.

This caught my eye yesterday a piece in the New York Times about "Quarterlife". The producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz are AFI alumni too.

I just watched Episode 3 and was pleased to see Barret Swatek, an actress I've worked with before, playing idea-stealing co-worker Brittany.

As far as I can tell, "Quarterlife" is the second scripted series that is utilizing a social networking site. I believe Showtime's "The L Word" was the first to do so. This is where television is going, and going quickly. It's Television 2.0

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