How lucky to have such amazing role models who believed so much in your talents; and you are amazingly talented…FiFi is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing your life and what shaped you into who you became!
Thank you so much. Beautifully written and it almost made my cry to hear about these wonderful teachers you had. Cry, because I didn't have them and all my life I had this nagging feeling that I never really lived my full potential.
I also envy your courage to not allow anyone to have your wings clipped as a child and teenager.
I am thankful to you that you pointed out that certain pursuits are suitable for old age and until death, and others are not. While this is somehow obvious, it re-foccussed me and encouraged me to put even more attention and love ("Make art like you are making love" - how wise and beautiful) to the one big passion that still drives me: The practise of non-dual spirituality (Advaita Vedanta). And I will aplly the above love maxine to it. Now, thinking about it, I think that is one very important missing piece in my spirituality: Not enough love.
How wonderful that you, being blessed with great teachers, unknowingly and probably unintentionally, taught me something really important just know. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to more of your writings. I also really enjoyed looking at Fifi.
Thank you Markus. That makes me happy. I have tried to make my stories hopefully helpful to someone. And you are right to be sad that you didn't have early great mentors. Now that I am older I realize how incredible helpful and lucky I was to be exposed to the best. They make everything much easier to understand and much easier to be motivated to do the work.
Jenn, oh that warms my heart you looked him. He had one series that was symbolic and very clever: paintings featuring spark plugs with an emphasis on their feminine shape! He also always had a twinkle in his eye, as you might glean from the series.
I will look for the spark plugs! I really loved his work. That’s incredible that you learned from him. I love him from what I’ve seen and from what you’ve written of him ❤️
Michael, you had some fabulous guiding lights leading you to be an incredible artist. It seems their inspiration ignited your talent and passion for all that you live for and love.
Jonathan, my ex named himself after the character Jonathan Hemlock. He really got into that character. He was obsessed with him. Coincidence you mentioned the Eiger Sanction.
No freak'n way!? There are no coincidences where I come from ... It was very difficult to write about Kevin Robb, and he wasn't originally included, but with my life experience and looking back I realized he was a "type" that I would repeatedly come across; intelligence operatives. LOL, I have no freak'n idea why they seek out connections with me. I am quite simple, I like people who are authentic and create good works and reach their potentials; and I like dogs.
Changing his name from Claude to Jonathan was a rite of passage for him. Everything bad was associated with the name Claude, and good from the Jonathan Hemlock character where he could explore and immerse his love for stuntwork. I think he received most his inspiration for his swashbuckling stage persona from the Hemlock character. He was always on stage on and off!
So do you think your friend authored the Eiger Sanction? The brain behind it? I'd love to hear more about that story.
Yes I do. I tried my best to suggest that Kevin was a star. His lectures were fantastic stage craft: he had charm, body language, kindness, and by far the smartest in the room, and he delighted in all of it. And he never missed a beat in handling questions from 4th year philosophy students. And he was deeply curious/inquisitive of what made people tick, even sexual practices, ha, which I deftly ignored. A weird thing, he tore off book covers that might reveal his inner world to his home's guests. It is also interesting that in searching him online almost nothing comes up, no obituary, no records, financial records, just his 10 or so articles about Linear B or some ancient stuff like that. And he had a lot to do with Switzerland. Hospers, the director of the USC philosophy dept was a Fullbright scholar, in other words CIA. I think Kevin was an agent, and relished a OO agent role as exciting, dangerous, and fun. I think he share a lot of the clue with me, maybe to recruit me, or share a little truth. But even then I seemed to know more about aesthetics then either Robb or Hospers, an I distinctly remembering that they didn't have anything to offer me in that regard. Thank you again, the way you write about people that came into your orbit or you theirs, was very instructive....and look at that amazing coincidence.! WTF! : )
Intriguing as hell! A good friend of mine who worked in Army intelligence advised me to write a fictional account of some of the more traumatic moments of my married life. He told me the CIA used novels as a way to disperse a specific narrative on the public.
So was Trevanian a front? I read Shibumi, do you believe your friend write it as well? I wonder where he vanished?
I only read Eiger Sanction as a teen, long ago, It would be scary and fascinating reading it again with what I know now. I didn't read Shibumi. Yes they are big in propaganda. Have you seen the TV series Chuck? I think it brilliant, but I assume it was funded by intelligence, because all the agents are charming, beautiful, clever doing exciting 007. I will look into Shibumi when I have some down time, it will be fun to read between the lines. It is only now that I understood how much Kevin was revealing to me if he was indeed an agent. So I would definitely recognize him in his books if he did write them.
I haven’t read the Eiger sanction but I’ve seen it dozens of times. Of course it was my ex-husband‘s favorite movie. He had a copy. I always thought James Bond 007 movies were just fictional fantasies, but now I realize there is much truth behind their narratives. Or at least propaganda and not so much truth. Universities must be full of these agents.
Haha! Michael, when I read your section about Kevin Robb, I thought the same thing: you do repeatedly come across intelligence operatives! I’ve often wondered about who Trevanian actually was, and now I think you have provided the answer. Perhaps it’s time for a re-read of The Eiger Sanction and Shibumi. And he was entwined with John Hospers as well. Well! Well!
Keep unfolding these wonderful, wonderful stories. Now I’m off to look up Edgar Ewing!
Your made me smile. Oh most definitely read them again, I have to do that as well. I think by the time I finished the book I will have a better understanding of the clandestine BS, or maybe the deepstate is simply that massive?
I can’t wait to read the whole story. The values informing your narrative from the start remind me how important your story is at this time. Congratulations on your masterpiece.
Fascinating read, Michael. I'm hooked!!! Next stop-Europe!
"It really didn’t matter if it was true or if he was a pathological liar; it showed that my pursuit of authenticity and truth would eventually weed out the disingenuous."
I love this realization. And I love Fifi! Gorgeous.
How lucky to have such amazing role models who believed so much in your talents; and you are amazingly talented…FiFi is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing your life and what shaped you into who you became!
Thank you so much Jenn. Your comment is a wonderful affirmation. Thank you!
Thank you so much. Beautifully written and it almost made my cry to hear about these wonderful teachers you had. Cry, because I didn't have them and all my life I had this nagging feeling that I never really lived my full potential.
I also envy your courage to not allow anyone to have your wings clipped as a child and teenager.
I am thankful to you that you pointed out that certain pursuits are suitable for old age and until death, and others are not. While this is somehow obvious, it re-foccussed me and encouraged me to put even more attention and love ("Make art like you are making love" - how wise and beautiful) to the one big passion that still drives me: The practise of non-dual spirituality (Advaita Vedanta). And I will aplly the above love maxine to it. Now, thinking about it, I think that is one very important missing piece in my spirituality: Not enough love.
How wonderful that you, being blessed with great teachers, unknowingly and probably unintentionally, taught me something really important just know. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to more of your writings. I also really enjoyed looking at Fifi.
Thank you Markus. That makes me happy. I have tried to make my stories hopefully helpful to someone. And you are right to be sad that you didn't have early great mentors. Now that I am older I realize how incredible helpful and lucky I was to be exposed to the best. They make everything much easier to understand and much easier to be motivated to do the work.
Oh! And I had to look up the art of Edgar Ewing before I could finish your post— it is amazing. Thank you, I enjoyed looking at his art.
Jenn, oh that warms my heart you looked him. He had one series that was symbolic and very clever: paintings featuring spark plugs with an emphasis on their feminine shape! He also always had a twinkle in his eye, as you might glean from the series.
I will look for the spark plugs! I really loved his work. That’s incredible that you learned from him. I love him from what I’ve seen and from what you’ve written of him ❤️
Michael, you had some fabulous guiding lights leading you to be an incredible artist. It seems their inspiration ignited your talent and passion for all that you live for and love.
Jonathan, my ex named himself after the character Jonathan Hemlock. He really got into that character. He was obsessed with him. Coincidence you mentioned the Eiger Sanction.
Continue to stay magical! 💫💞💫
No freak'n way!? There are no coincidences where I come from ... It was very difficult to write about Kevin Robb, and he wasn't originally included, but with my life experience and looking back I realized he was a "type" that I would repeatedly come across; intelligence operatives. LOL, I have no freak'n idea why they seek out connections with me. I am quite simple, I like people who are authentic and create good works and reach their potentials; and I like dogs.
Changing his name from Claude to Jonathan was a rite of passage for him. Everything bad was associated with the name Claude, and good from the Jonathan Hemlock character where he could explore and immerse his love for stuntwork. I think he received most his inspiration for his swashbuckling stage persona from the Hemlock character. He was always on stage on and off!
So do you think your friend authored the Eiger Sanction? The brain behind it? I'd love to hear more about that story.
Yes I do. I tried my best to suggest that Kevin was a star. His lectures were fantastic stage craft: he had charm, body language, kindness, and by far the smartest in the room, and he delighted in all of it. And he never missed a beat in handling questions from 4th year philosophy students. And he was deeply curious/inquisitive of what made people tick, even sexual practices, ha, which I deftly ignored. A weird thing, he tore off book covers that might reveal his inner world to his home's guests. It is also interesting that in searching him online almost nothing comes up, no obituary, no records, financial records, just his 10 or so articles about Linear B or some ancient stuff like that. And he had a lot to do with Switzerland. Hospers, the director of the USC philosophy dept was a Fullbright scholar, in other words CIA. I think Kevin was an agent, and relished a OO agent role as exciting, dangerous, and fun. I think he share a lot of the clue with me, maybe to recruit me, or share a little truth. But even then I seemed to know more about aesthetics then either Robb or Hospers, an I distinctly remembering that they didn't have anything to offer me in that regard. Thank you again, the way you write about people that came into your orbit or you theirs, was very instructive....and look at that amazing coincidence.! WTF! : )
Intriguing as hell! A good friend of mine who worked in Army intelligence advised me to write a fictional account of some of the more traumatic moments of my married life. He told me the CIA used novels as a way to disperse a specific narrative on the public.
So was Trevanian a front? I read Shibumi, do you believe your friend write it as well? I wonder where he vanished?
I only read Eiger Sanction as a teen, long ago, It would be scary and fascinating reading it again with what I know now. I didn't read Shibumi. Yes they are big in propaganda. Have you seen the TV series Chuck? I think it brilliant, but I assume it was funded by intelligence, because all the agents are charming, beautiful, clever doing exciting 007. I will look into Shibumi when I have some down time, it will be fun to read between the lines. It is only now that I understood how much Kevin was revealing to me if he was indeed an agent. So I would definitely recognize him in his books if he did write them.
I haven’t read the Eiger sanction but I’ve seen it dozens of times. Of course it was my ex-husband‘s favorite movie. He had a copy. I always thought James Bond 007 movies were just fictional fantasies, but now I realize there is much truth behind their narratives. Or at least propaganda and not so much truth. Universities must be full of these agents.
Haha! Michael, when I read your section about Kevin Robb, I thought the same thing: you do repeatedly come across intelligence operatives! I’ve often wondered about who Trevanian actually was, and now I think you have provided the answer. Perhaps it’s time for a re-read of The Eiger Sanction and Shibumi. And he was entwined with John Hospers as well. Well! Well!
Keep unfolding these wonderful, wonderful stories. Now I’m off to look up Edgar Ewing!
Your made me smile. Oh most definitely read them again, I have to do that as well. I think by the time I finished the book I will have a better understanding of the clandestine BS, or maybe the deepstate is simply that massive?
I think your second supposition is the right one: it is simply that massive…with many arms…
You are welcome! ❤️
I can’t wait to read the whole story. The values informing your narrative from the start remind me how important your story is at this time. Congratulations on your masterpiece.
Thank you Melinda!
You write beautifully, couldn't put it down, was reading over the stove while trying to cook dinner.
Thank you Mia.
"What do I want to be as an old man?" Great question.
Do you have an answer for that? : )
Beautiful image.
Fascinating read, Michael. I'm hooked!!! Next stop-Europe!
"It really didn’t matter if it was true or if he was a pathological liar; it showed that my pursuit of authenticity and truth would eventually weed out the disingenuous."
I love this realization. And I love Fifi! Gorgeous.
Ah, Jacqueline, you are making me so happy! <3
GREAT!!! ❤️