Intention and Detachment

Something came into shockingly clear focus for me last night. I think my man Deepak Chopra here best said it:

“The only true security comes from your willingness to embrace the unknown. By relinquishing your attachment to the known, you allow wisdom and uncertainty to factor into all your choices…Practicing detachment and embracing uncertainly, you relinquish the need to hold on to the past, which is the only thing that is known. By being open to what is happening rather than trying to control how things unfold, you experience the excitement, adventure and mystery of life.”

In other words, it is only through focused determination to go in the direction in which you want, balanced with an acceptance of the uncertainty and chaos of life—in other words not being too obsessed with a certain set of results coming from your efforts—that fulfillment can be achieved.

This mix of intention and detachment seems to me to be the key to happiness and making your “dreams come true” so to speak.

Of course, it’s easier said than done…

(photo by the one and only Meg Pukel)

It breaks my heart to say that while I was in pain
I wanted you to feel the same.
But nothing gets you really?
That’s a shame
I can’t believe you didn’t feel a thing.


(image from: http://twofeetin.typepad.com/elisa/amazing_sky/index.html)

“If you accept that your personal body is not separate from the body of the universe, then by consciously changing energy and informational content in your body, you can influence the energy and information of your environment, your world. The influence is activated by two qualities inherent in consciousness: attention and intention.

“If you want something to grow stronger in your life, direct more attention to it. If you want something dimish in your life, withdraw your attention from it. Intention, on the other hand, catalyzes the transformation of energy and information into new forms and expressions."

“The Law of Detachment revelas a great paradox of life. On order to acquire something in this world, you have to relinquish your attachement to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to fulfill your desire—you simply give up your attachment to the outcome.

"Attachment is based on fear and insecurtity. When you forget the only genuine source of secutiry is your true self, you begin believing that your need something outside yourselrf in order to be happy."

-Deepak Chopra

Here's my review of the film, The Prestige.

Are You Watching Closely?

The Prestige
4 out of 5

A movie like The Prestige reminds us that going out to see a magician perform was once as common as going to the movies. Technology has “pulled back the curtain” so to speak on such magic, and it’s a lot harder to fool people in the same way, but such magic does still exist. The only difference is that the practitioners no longer wear black hats--instead they sit in Hollywood studios and wave their hands this way and that and poof! Audiences walk out of theaters happily surprised—at least they do when the Nolan brothers are at the helm.

Based on a Christopher Priest novel of the same name, The Prestige tells the tale of Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale), two men working as audience “volunteers” and friendly apprentices for an older illusionist. Their friendship turns sour, however, when a mistake in the act leads to the death of Angier’s wife, and from there on in, it’s a cold and dark display of two men bent on discrediting the other while at the same time sharing an identical obsession—the fame, fortune and prestige of being the best illusionist in 19^th century London.

The story is masterfully laid out by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, known best for the fragmented storytelling style exhibited in Memento and Batman Begins. The film’s only flaw comes from unevenness stemming from the actual nature of the characters. Jackman’s Angier is a natural showman with little smarts in creating tricks, while Bale’s Borden is the true genius but a creepy introvert both on stage and off. The story mostly follows the more likable Angier, including a trip to Colorado to meet with real life inventor Nikola Tesla (a terrifically bizarre turn by David Bowie) to create a special machine he hopes will enable him to perform an illusion called the Transported Man. While the filmmakers slight of hand is endlessly engrossing, the characters themselves are difficult to sympathize with as they throw aside all that matters to them (including love interest Scarlett Johansson, who looks completely lost) until it seems even they can not recall what exactly began their tumultuous feud. Nevertheless the audience will be hard pressed to look away as it seems at every turn you feel you are getting a peak behind the magicians cloak, only to see another hallway of smoke and mirrors.

The inclusion of Nikola Tesla as well as Thomas Edison in the film—themselves bitter rivals in the game of invention and vying for grant money—hint at the film’s underlying theme. Set in a time when electricity was first being discovered, The Prestige shows us that the true magic in the world lies not with illusionists, which we know deep down are simply tricking us, but rather with the progression of science and technology, which even today are the things that truly inspire awe.

THE EARLY YEARS

The Early Years / Beggars Banquet

4 out of 5

Putting your finger on exactly why this band totally rules is difficult at first. There’s a certain psychedelic jamminess to them that makes them sort of resembles The Secret Machines, with heavily effected guitars swooping in and out of the sky like the ring wraiths on the backs of black dragons. At other times the trio sounds like Stereolab, frenetically searching around the room, exploring its dimensions with echo radar like demented space dolphins. The Early Years are a composite of many subtle elements that really just makes you wanna get up on your chair at work and rock that air guitar like no one in the office is watching. “Song for Elizabeth” is the perfect Western drug ballad, channeling the spirits of Jesus and Mary Chain and Mazzy Star in some kind of unholy ritual. Their extended instrumentals are totally trippy without being corny at all and will rattle your spine like strychnine if you are wearing headphones. Take me away!

M. WARD

Post-War / 4AD

3 out of 5

Steely strings and raggedy vocals most notably characterize M. Ward’s body of work. The singular voiced singer/songwriter personifies the American Southwest to a tee. Just listening to this album you can almost see the desert plateaus painted in crimson and lavender hues, the sleepy towns, the abandoned shacks and surreal rock formations aside a long burning strip of highway cutting the vacuous landscape in two. Nestled neatly between indie rock, folk and American country music, Post-War sounds like a collaboration between Johnny Cash, Nick Drake and Arcade Fire. It’s a collection of campfire melodies, old time rags, myths, legends, creaky wives tales and dirty-mouthed poems. Its chugging, locomotive rhythms are at times borderline hokey, but for the most part are entrancing. It’s a unique listen for those in a quirky, mellow mood.

DEPECHE MODE

The Best of Depeche Mode / Mute

1 out of 5

Mute as a record label has definitely had their heyday in terms of releasing some really cool music over the years, but something is obviously wrong with them at this point. Seriously—what are you thinking releasing another Depeche Mode “greatest hits” album? How many of them are there at this point—15, 20 maybe? All right, so they are perhaps the coolest synth rock band in history, but still. In 1998, Mute themselves released a definitive collection of DM’s hits on two CDs—one covering their best and brightest released 1981-85, and the other covering their hits 1986-98. OK, so the group came out with a few more releases since 1998, but nothing that even approaches the quality of their earlier work. And the songs on this collection are not their greatest hits. Kudos for including “Never Let Me Down Again,” an oft-ignored gem of the DM catalog, but there are some glaring absences on this album. For example, where is “Dreaming of Me”? “Get the Balance Right”? “Blasphemous Rumours”? “Shake the Disease”? Hello??? Is anybody home? Come on, boys, you should know better.

Here's a couple of my recent CD reviews. Whoopee.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS

Rudebox

2 out of 5

What do you do when your boy band breaks up? The most obvious course of action is to become a solo artist. Mr. Williams did exactly that years ago and up until now has enjoyed a fair amount of success, probably due to his tongue-in-cheek, cheesy vibe that’s kind of likeable and he is ballsy enough to drop his trousers on stage. But one can only really carry off that shtick for so long before people remember that the whole reason you were famous to begin with was not because of some innate musical ability you had, but rather because you agreed to be a record label muppet and dance around on stage while someone else was pulling the strings. Rudebox may very well be the point at which people start thinking, “sorry, remind me again why you are famous?” (if they haven’t already thought this). The album is an amalgamation of styles, but mainly centers in on electro funk pop, with some of the songs trying desperately hard to sound like Gorillaz. He got some production help here and there from the Pet Shop Boys, and those songs are decent if unspectacular. The rest is just OK. I think the main problem he suffers from is that he’s a much better singer than he is a rapper, and yet he insists on rapping terrible lyrics throughout most of the album. Williams is very eager to entertain, and that may be cool for a live show, but as for listening to his album, I wouldn’t make it a priority.

RAY CHARLES AND THE COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA

Ray Sings, Basie Swings

3 out of 5

As David Ritz so succinctly writes in this album’s liner notes, “This pairing never happened, but it should have.” The idea was born when record exec John Burk was going through some old tapes and found one labeled “Ray Charles and Count Basie.” However instead of being what he had hoped for, a collaboration between the two giants, the tapes were actually the two artists playing alternating sets at a mid-70s concert in Europe. The idea stuck with Burk, though, and with a little creative recording, they matched Ray’s solo voice tracks with a new recording of the still existing Count Basie Orchestra (Basie himself died in 1984).

Is it ethical to do such things to the works of an artist who is already deceased? There’s little doubt that the artists both respected each other a great deal, and upon listening to it, it’s clear enough that the result certainly harnesses some magic. The sound is bluesy, big band jazz and perfectly reflective of Charles’ repetoire at the time. No longer did he play songs he himself penned, but instead settled into what many call his much stronger role as an artist—that of master interpreter. This album features both songs he became well known for (“Georgia on My Mind”) as well as some interesting personalized renditions of not so well known material (Lennon/McCarney’s “The Long and Winding Road”). Great for the casual listener, but serious fans may find the renditions a bit less exciting as neither of these geniuses actually was there to approve the recording.

I was supposed to go to Tokyo this weekend--didn't work because my travel agent messed it up. Then the alternative plan was to go to Hua Hin, but... woke up too late on Saturday morning. So, poo poo poo, I'm in Bangkok again for another weekend. S'ok tho.

Saw Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs here on Friday--he played a DJ set at Astra. Pretty cool. the place was half empty when I got there around 11. He came on at 12:30 and the place went nuts. Highlight was def when he dropped the Daft Punk track. It was fun. Lots of crazy dancing and such...good times.

Here are a couple pics from my recent trip to Luang Prabang, Laos. It was radical! Totally laid back place where you can forget all your worries. Luang Prabang is positioned in the middle of the Mekhong and Nam Rivers, and when you sit on the banks, you KNOW you are miles from civilization. Not that Luang Prabang isn't "civilized," but it's definitely not anywhere near as hectic or built up compared to a city like Bangkok. Take a few steps out of town and you are in the jungle, brother. Fun place to dissapear for a while...