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Hello! People OK!… Separating The Art from the Celebrity (Cross Talk Ep. 31)

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Tim Kuefler

Did you hear about what Olivia Munn and Chris Pratt? They might be dating now, and you better believer that Anna Faris is pissed off!

Celebrity gossip, and more importantly, celebrity meltdowns seem to be a fairly commonplace event, don’t they, dear readers? I do my best not to get too involved in celebrity news and hype, but it’s kind of everywhere, and almost impossible to avoid if you have any interest in staying on top of albums, movies or news related to those forms of art. And when you are a cultivator of the arts, like good ol’ timotheories, even more so.

But this is not a rant post. Let’s make that clear.

For whatever reason, the performing arts seem to draw a lot more attention and drama then say, being a sculptor or a painter. Though I have my suspicions that it’s not simply a black and white matter of these people searching for publicity or having deep-seated psychological issues which haven’t been dealt with yet (I guess those two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive either). The truth is, people are far more complicated then we could assess, and when we focus in on an individual the task becomes impossible. And so trying to simplify someone into their actions is a difficult affair.

Regardless of those considerations, we still have to consume this art and decide if it has merit. As the old adage goes, even doing nothing is making a choice.

This can be a difficult assignment given what I just mentioned on the behaviourisms of celebrities. Sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll, and murder… Which of these proclivities are acceptable and which of them prevent you from enjoying a comedy that OJ Simpson featured in? Can you separate the artist from their art? And does it matter if Shia Lebouf likes to wear paper bags and nude leotards?

That’s the topic of today on Cross Talk – Where Chris and I attempt with a level of sincerity to tackle the topic and figure out if liking Charlie Sheen is still okay or if he’s on the same level as Mel Gibson.

Hit the link below or head over to my YouTube channel to see for yourself.

theories Summarized

We might not have answered that question perfectly, but I for one am still having a hard time watching Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp without seeing their character flaws, regardless of how good they are at directing films or acting in them. But what do you think? And are there better examples out there of celebrities behaving badly that we need to address?

Like the video if you enjoyed, leave a comment if you have some thoughts, and subscribe if you want to see more from us. And come back tomorrow for an album review.

Tim!

Dum De Dum Dum Dee Da (David Deida)

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

I’m blue da ba dee da ba die, da ba dee da ba die, da ba dee da ba die.

When I was a boy, I thought that was a cool song. But when I was a boy, I thought a lot of things were cool, and boy was I wrong. Luckily for all of us, I grew up, and along the way I learned a few things about desire, love, spirituality, and work.

And thankfully, I am no longer blue. Because who wants to be blue when you can be green? (read: my True Colors test results).

Pursuing knowledge, gaining insights, becoming closer to the truth of the matter. These are the things that those of us with “masculine” energy should chasing after at all times.

Worldwide Trainings

I first decided to pursue personal enlightenment back in 2007, just after I had graduated from University, but before I had really settled into any discernable sort of full-time work. I’ve read books on science, philosophy, business, psychology, sociology, history, biography, and the ever popular self-improvement. Now I’ll admit, the first few years of reading were purely based on whimsy, recommendations from friends, and whatever I came across.

But one summer in 2010, a friend of mine lent me a copy of this book by David Deida, and I realized that I knew little to nothing about anything beyond what I could see.

You see, David Deida is an American author and life coach who specializes in books about relationships between men and women as they relate to each other through spirituality and sexuality. At this point, Deida is an interntational bestselling author with many of his books being published in various languages.

He is also known for hosting workshops on spiritual growth and intimacy, and is one of the many founding associates at the Integral Institute. Some of his more popular books on human spirituality include The Way of the Superior Man, Finding God Through Sex, and Blue Truth and the autobiographical novel Wild Nights.

And back in 2010, he taught me something about women, that I’ll never forget.

Superiority Complex

I decided to reread The Way of the Superior Man this month because I know what my purpose in life is, but oh so many of us refuse to acknowledge it.

Coming to terms with the notion that you may be doing everything wrong in your life is hard to accept, but Deida teaches that it is only when we are in moments of quiet reflection that our purpose presents itself. And it will do this over and over again if we need a refresher, all we have to do is sit in quiet reflection. In fact, it needs to be more important than any relationship you will ever have with a woman, and if you stick to your purpose, the woman you are with will be all the more attracted to you.

Deida has jam packed his book full of tidbits such as this, and while at times it seems overwhelming to read, it slowly starts to make more and more sense.

Masculine energy is about consistency, while feminine energy is constantly moving, it is life itself. He goes on to explain further that no matter what gender we are, we all have both kinds of energy, a sort of yin an yang of sexual identity. Where it gets complicated is in understanding that as a man, in a relationship with a woman (which can easily apply to gay men and women as well as sexual identities) it becomes your responsibility to provide the masculine energy so that the woman may focus on feminine energy, where balance is created in the differences.

Ideas of masculine energy leading the relationship, living according to a persona code, seeking freedom at all times, and seeking challenges constantly are some of the things that Deida expects of an evolved male.

That means learning to enjoy the drama in a relationship, working on your sexual identity and skill-set, while living outside of your personal comfort zone. What that means is allowing the woman in your life to communicate with you. Talk about the problem, but do not seek to solve it. Have fun, bring humour to the situation without making fun of her, and love her as she is.

theories Summarized

I could spend a lot more time outlining the details of this book, but that would betray it’s intent. It’s about spending time with the ideas contained therein, reflecting upon them, and then introducing them into your own life. I’ll leave you with this thought – You need to be both erect and at peace simultaneously, so that she may crush you with emotion, dance, and sexuality. And that’s no theory.

Tim!motiv

The Bends (Decompression)

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

The past few weeks have just been nuts for me, dear readers. On top of it all, I got sick not once, but twice. I’ve already written about this experience in my post about community, but today I wanted to focus on the practical side of dealing with a seemingly never-ending illness, jam-packed days filled with meetings, hundreds of emails to wade through, and all of events that happen over the holidays, plus the holiday aftermath.

Normally I pride myself on being calm no matter what the circumstance, working through the pressure, deadlines, and workload. But sometimes our bodies just shut down, and we get sick.

You see friends, stress suppresses the immune system, and as a consequence it becomes easier for you to get sick. So while stress cannot “make” you sick, it definitely contributes to the environment.

You have to make time to care for yourself when in stressful situations.

Decompression

What that really means is that you have to teach yourself some decompression techniques. No, I’m not writing about decompression sickness (also known as the bends or divers’ disease) but that is another type of illness that requires treatment early on.

What I’m referring to creative cuties is decompression from stress. I may have written about this in a different capacity once before, focusing on things like self-care, taking breaks, reviewing previous successes, enlisting support and seeking inspiration, but today I want to focus on things you can do immediately to help with the decompression process.

Most of these actions are physical which is good when you’re sick or stressed. We hold a lot of tension in our bodies from stress.

Here are some of the best options:

Deep breathing. Take a breath in, slowly exhale, and start over again. If you do this for about ten seconds each time and keep at it for ten minutes, you’ll feel it quick.
Self-massage. Tense and then relax each muscle, from your toes to your head.
Take a walk. A five minute walk in the midst of a stressful day does wonders.
Exercise. This can be great for quiet thinking AND all of the chemicals your body releases while exercising are great stress relievers.
Get outdoors. Just connecting with the outdoors can be helpful, but the fresh air helps too.
Sex. An obvious choice. Just ask my girlfriend.
Vacation day. Take the time to focus and recenter.
Meditate. Be somewhere quiet, close your eyes, relax, and focus on your breathing. Your mind will be very active during this process, so embrace the thoughts and allow them to leave.
Read. Whether you read fiction or something more practicaI like a biography. Taking some time with a good book is great exercise for your mind.
Love. Get in some hugs and cuddles with your loved ones. It’s a win-win-win scenario and helps strengthen intimacy for all involved.
Disconnect. Technology can be both a godsend and water torture. Do yourself a favour, and turn off the phones, computer, and ignore the outside world for as long as you can.
Take a nap. A shot nap does wonders for refreshing the mind and the body. Thirty minutes should do the trick.

Now with that said, finding and using different ways to reduce tension is important but it should never add to your stress. You need to pick the techniques that best suit your lifestyle, but I have this theory that as you add different habits, you’ll be hungry for even more.

Another thing to consider folks.

On a really busy day it might feel like you are faced with an impossible task and that none of those techniques will do the trick. Just stick with it though. I can assure you that taking the time to unwind will be huge for your health and I have this theory that you’ll be more productive in the long run.

Tim!

11 Ways People Die Before Death (Cross Talk Ep. 9)

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Death is a difficult thing to write about, I think. After all, I’m still alive and so I have no life experience (death experience?) with this particular topic. Films have addressed death since their inception in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that more honest portrayals of death started to come to light. Much like sex, drugs, and rock n ‘roll, filmmakers have slowly opened up and arts and culture have become more accepting of these harder to digest themes.

For instance, one of my favourite movies about death is The Fault In Our Stars, which is full of love and beauty, but is also a very real in its depiction of the nearness to death that the two leads are experiencing.

But when we record an episode of Cross Talk, we want to present a nuanced view of whatever topic we set out sights on. So why would we treat death any differently. We wouldn’t, is the answer – because we think using our brains is important.

With that made clear, we are going to explore a lot of great examples of the nature of death, in film on this episode nine of Cross Talk. You want to know more, dear readers? Well how about I lay it out for you?

We’re going to share an example of a character that can’t die, but not for an very obvious reason, associations of death and greed, an animated movie death that changed a franchise, whether we are really alive, dead or somewhere in between, if death is as unique as life is, and two movies that explore the idea of what we might do if knew we couldn’t die OR if we knew when we were going to die.

Just a quick disclaimer, Singh won’t be present for this episode, but we do give him a shout out, so please stay tuned for his next appearance; and as always, I’ve included a direct link to the full video for you here, but because we have the ability to embed vidoes you can click through here. After all, wouldn’t want you to waste any precious life overexerting yourself watching episode nine of Cross Talk!

I’m out of theories for now, but please check back tomorrow for an album review that is full of lemonade and bae. It’s a heart breaker for sure. Please comment, subscribe, and share this with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

Better To Burn Out? (Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression, review)

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

I didn’t want to leave him behind, but I knew it was time. It was for the best.

Sometimes that’s what happens though. You lose a friend, you say goodbye in your head, and you walk away. But that doesn’t mean your feelings won’t betray you and leaving you hurting, sometimes aching like a bad knee in-between seasons.

That deep ache is how this week’s album comes out.

Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression
released March 18, 2016
******* 7/10

Iggy Newell Osterber, Jr., better known by his stage name, Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is the vocalist of the infamous and incredibly influential band The Stooges, and is a bit of a wildcard.

Post Pop Depression is Iggy’s 17th solo album. That’s right, he’s made 17 albums on his own, and it’s his 23rd studio album altogether, if you include 1977’s Kill City which he partnered with James Williamson on, and the 5 Stooges albums he’s been a part of.

Interestingly enough, Iggy has been doing his own thing longer than he’s been partying with the boys, which says a lot about his own rock n’ roll journey. Iggy Pop has been involved with lots of different acts, and not unlike a recently deceased pop idol, he has been part of pop culture for decades, participating in film, television and radio too.

I think that’s important to keep in mind while listening to this record.

The album title says it all, Iggy Pop knows that his time has been significant, but he isn’t a young buck anymore, and this album feels like a nod to years gone by. He’s looking backwards on his life and sharing with us some anecdotes and utter honesty about what he sees happening, but he’s not lamenting entirely, he’s still having fun and making an influence.

Apparently the real reason the album is called Post Pop Depression is because the album collaborators Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), and Dean Fertita (multi-instrumentalist that’s played with literally everyone, think Dave Grohl), were sad for weeks after recording the tracks, and experience real depression.

But what is the album like you ask?

Gardenia is probably the standout track at the moment for me, with it’s jumpy lyrics and whisky tinted vocals. This is followed shortly by American Valhalla, a track that explores death and likely ties into David Bowie’s own death. And that’s the way the album goes the whole time, back and forth between sex and death. Not a terribly detailed account, but Iggy Pop manages to make it interesting for us anyway.

The closer, Paraguay is probably the most interesting though. Because it doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the album, but it’s message is very much an Iggy thought, one that demonstrates he isn’t exactly your classic and measured guy, he is an explorer and an innovator.

These tracks are raw especially so in Chocolate Drops, Vulture, and Break Into Your Heart. In short, if you are expecting heavy rock, you’ll be disappointed. But that doesn’t mean this doesn’t pop.

I’ve been there, I’ve lost my share of well-worn friends to circumstance and also to decisions, both of my volition and theirs. But that doesn’t mean that a friend for a season should never have been. Iggy Pop may miss his friend and his season may be fading away, but the memories and feels will remain. That’s one of the benefits of a legacy.

Check back tomorrow for a film review! Comments! Leave ’em! Subscribe! Please! No more theories today.

Tim!