Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mythic Journeys Documentary

Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity to go up to Whidbey Island for a visit to Whidbey Institute, which was hosting a screening of a new documentary film called Mythic Journeys. Footage for Mythic Journeys was filmed at the 2006 Mythic Journeys conference in Atlanta (which I was unfortunately unable to attend due to being both too pregnant and too poor as a Pacifica student). The film is a combination of snippets from some of the sessions by Deepak Chopra, Ellen Kushner, and others, as well as interviews with people like Steve Aizenstat, Bob Walter, and other luminaries of the field. In addition to the "talking heads" sections, there was also a myth told in segments throughout the film, interspersed with the interviews. The myth was "The King and the Corpse", and the dolls for the animation section were designed by Brian and Wendy Froud (designers of films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal). Ron and the boys came with me, and we spent the night at Whidbey Institute, which was a lot of fun for all of us.
Last night, at our October meeting the round table hosted Whitney Boe, one of the filmmakers of "Mythic Journeys". She showed us an extended version of one of the sessions at the conference, on how to change the world for the better, and we had a discussion on the film and it's themes.
So, what did I think of the film? I think it's terrific. The intent of the filmmakers is to introduce the themes of mythology to a wider audience in America and worldwide. This is what I've been attempting to do in my own small way through my work with the Campbell Foundation and the round table for the past few years. They are having another showing of the film on Bainbridge Island the first weekend in November, which I look forward to attending as well. Here's hoping the film is a huge success! I know the filmmakers are hoping for a grassroots movement of the type that made "What the bleep do we know" and "The Secret" such successes. The film definitely connects with people; I hope everyone who might be interested gets an opportunity to see it.

Monday, October 05, 2009

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming

Wow. I've really neglected this blog lately. Doesn't mean that nothing is going on here in Stiegerland, rather so much is spinning along; the days are flying by so fast that I barely get a glimpse of them before they're behind me.
Ben is getting bigger and is doing beautifully; he'll be 7 months old tomorrow. Starting to crawl, gobbling down anything we're willing to feed him.
Alex started preschool a few weeks ago, and he completely loves it. He's attending Kirkland Coop Preschool, twice weekly in the mornings. I'm there with him one day a week. We're getting closer to the finish line with the potty training issue, and (drumroll please) he's starting to learn to read! So proud of my boy-not even 3 years old yet! Of course, Ron and I were both reading by 3, so I guess it runs in the family. :)
I've been working out a lot lately, pretty much as often as I can fit it in. Swimming, weight training, and workouts with my trainer, Kellie, twice a month. Getting healthier-it feels good.
I've also recommitted to finishing my novel. I began it in early 2005, and ran into a roadblock in the story right about the time I got pregnant with Alex, and unfortunately the poor thing languished for quite a long time. However, earlier this year I decided that it was time to either finish it or give up the idea of writing a novel, and stop toying with it. So, I created a project schedule for myself (just like I used to do for software projects back in the day), and so far I've done a pretty good job of keeping the schedule. I also signed up for a Popular Fiction writing certificate at the UW, in an effort to help with the process. It started last week, and I'm really excited about it.

In the myth space, I'm still leading weekly meetings for the Seattle Mythological Round Table of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. I've also (just recently) gotten more involved with the leadership of the Foundation, which has me really excited. :)