Original Project InSECT Video

I have permission to post this video as I shot it for free for Project InSECT.

Hold on one second (or day) while I get the next post ready.

I hope you enjoyed Jessa "The Bug Lady" in this first video of her describing her Insect Art.

Please do not copy as this video is a gift from me to Project InSECT.

Project InSECT owns all rights to this video and I have permission to post this clip.

Script Writing

I will be taking a break from blogging till May 1st, 2009.

I will be rewriting the movie Born of Marrow.

The original script has a long and twisted story. The first draft was written in the most strange way. I started the story in the middle with the most heart breaking death scene I could write and then worked towards the beginning and end.

The first person I showed it to was Wayne Owens and he told me to toss it in the trash can.
Wayne was as close as I had as a mentor and I can say honestly this didn't slow me down at all.

After I finished the second draft I decided to make the script into a movie. While many of the concepts in the story were very good, spelling and structure were lacking. My friend Ed Downs wrote the third draft of the script.

I will be rewriting the second draft of the script for legal reasons I don't care to get into now.
I'm going back to my experimental roots with this version and will be writing a Branch Movie.

Multiple versions of the movie will be written into a single script.

Branch Movies may be the future of movies.

The Failure of Born of Marrow was the biggest mistake of my life.

I rewrote Born of Marrow as an epic poem about the end of the world. I want to shoot this as a movie but do not have the funds to do so now. 4-29-2009

What Do I Know?

"You don't know that!"

"I can't prove it but I know it to be true. For one man to steal billions of dollars is an impossible fantasy. He would need more than a few members of his family to pull off this massive fraud.
He must be the spearhead of a white collar crime organization with thousands of members."

"Admit you don't know that! You only think that!"

"I admit I can't prove what I say by any standard you will believe but still my knowledge of the body politics says otherwise."

My Father and I fell into argument about a man that went to prison for fraud.

Then the rest of my family began to mock me. Laughing at me for saying I had knowledge they didn't. I could have lied and said I knew less about how corrupt the world is but I'm tired of the lies. I'm so tired of hearing the lies and so very tired of repeating the lies.

What do I know? In truth very little. What I do know, I can't prove.

I love comic books. Bored with the early reading books of first grade (See Dick Run) I read and enjoyed the art of the Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. I learned to read with those comic books. I have never believed in the fantasy of comic books, not even as a small child.

I do not believe in Super Heroes or Super Villains.

Bernard Madoff is America's Super Villain in this news cycle but in truth he is just a man that is less corrupt than most of the men that are carved on Mount Rushmore.

Nadya Suleman or better know by her Super Villain name Octomom is a record breaking woman that is no better or worst than those that helped her break that record.

Lets not forget the Super Hero of a recent news cycle, C.B. Sullenberger and his miracle landing on the Hudson River. A good man that did his job with nerves of steel.

President Obama is a Super Hero or Super Villain to many. He has the same failings as all those seeking power. To get power to fight corruption you must become corrupt and then fight your own ego to bring change. I hope good will come out of his Presidency.

My point is that we live in a comic book reality painted in bright colors by a media that has no reason to search for the truth. People want heroes and villains.

I went and saw the Watchman movie. A political fantasy wrapped in a super hero cape.
As I sat and watched this candy coated piece of propaganda I wondered if our world media was any different than the fantasy before me. Altered history with heroes, villains and a political truth more important than the truth.

Love Pa Pa Love

"Love Pa Pa love."

I was talking to my little Grand Daughter on the phone and she just melted my heart.

My son with the big heart, Micheal asked if I wanted to go to the zoo with Cordelia and Amanda my Daughter-In-Law.

Amanda isn't home when I get there and I take Cordelia for two short walks in her little wagon.
I then buy lunch for her and Micheal and soon Amanda gets home with new plates for her car.
Micheal puts the new license plates on the car and the family is off to the zoo.

The Kansas City Zoo is a mess. Half open with few animal exhibits it is a sad example of bad design. I believe in the current zoo director and his ability to turn this around for the zoo but I shutter at all the money wasted in the past.

My little Grand Daughter knows nothing about the ugly politics of the city and loves the zoo.
She is happy with all the zoo has to offer and I see all the hard work given form in the smile of my Grand Daughter.

Cordelia wants me to carry her and I find this almost impossible with my broken rib. I find the only way I can carry her is on my shoulders. She loves this as she is higher than all of us for once.
I hadn't carried a child this way for a long period of time since her father was little. I was at an Art Museum and I was told by museum security I was endangering my child.

No one seemed to mind I was carrying my Grand Daughter like this. After we saw all the animals I bought a zoo train ride for the family. This was Cordelia's first train ride.

I talked to Cordelia on the phone again.

"Cho cho Pa Pa cho cho."

A week had passed since the zoo trip and Cordelia tells me her first story at my home.

"Cho cho Pa Pa cho cho. Bird, Monk (Monkey) Cho cho Pa Pa. (Finding no words in her small vocbuary for train tunnel, Cordelia cups her hands over her head)

"We went through a long dark train tunnel didn't we?"

Bright eyed Cordelia shakes her head yes.

"Cho cho Pa Pa cho cho."

My heart melts.

Novel Time Line

2030 Trial of Grandfather Green Tie
1957 November 9th
1958 July 25th born
1959 Grandfather English dies
1960 Pretend reading
1961 Drag Car blowout
1962 First Fight
1963 Rocket Man
1964 Little D
1965 Girl Bullies
1966 The Beating
1967 Second trip California
1968 Small town prison
1969 Canada and Moon Landing
1970 Gun Bully
1971 Grandmother English Died
1972 Grandfather Vollrath Died
1973 George and Henry
1974 Unicycles
1975 Car Wreak
1976 Falling Down
1977 Married
1978 Dark Visions
1980 Mark is born

My first novel is based on two things. My real life and the history of my imagination.

Born of Marrow page 1

This is the first page of a feature length script I wrote and a friend of mine (Ed Downs) rewrote.

For legal reasons this script will never be anything more than a script. I own the copyright to this script. I can not answer any comments why this script can't be made into a movie.

I experiment with this blog more often than I should. This experiment didn't work and I don't have the time to fix it right now. I'll come back to this post if and when I have the time.

I have decided to create a blog about Born of Marrow. I plan to post the entire script and storyboards.

How to Lucid Dream

You own your dreams they do not own you. You can stop yourself from having nightmares, night terrors, sleep walking and many other sleep and mind-body problems. I know this to be true because I have done this in my own life.

If you are having Nightmares or Night Terrors do not fear your sleep. The cure for those bad dreams are in your sleep. If you are a very rational person this process will be harder for you.
If you believe in only what is known you are at a disadvantage in Lucid Dreaming.

If you choose to Lucid Dream, you will rewiring your mind. Rewiring your mind using the tool of imagination is much safer than using drugs. I do not believe in illegal drugs. I have never been drunk in my life and I no longer go to parties because of the free floating drugs in the air.

Do not Lucid Dream under the influence of drugs. You must be Lucid first to have a Lucid Dream. This is my opinion and I believe a psychedelic experience is a very different animal.
I have never had an illegal psychedelic drug induced experience but I have had one legal one.

I was given gas for oral surgery and had a terrible psychedelic vision because of this gas.
I have also done many imagination experiments and one of those drug free experiments induced a three day psychedelic vision. This break down of the mind in fractal terms has nothing to do with Lucid Dreaming.

To Lucid Dream you must calm the mind. Quiet and darkness is best for this in most people but I have had Lucid Dreams in bright sunshine as I slept on the bow of a moving speed boat.

In the twilight between sleep and reality tell yourself what you want to dream and that you will know that you are dreaming when you see or hear a marker you've given yourself in your dream. Remember Lucid Dreaming is about building up your mind and not about breaking down your mind. Use Lucid Dreaming as a positive force in your life and not a negative one.

Lucid Dreaming is symbolic and the marker you use to tell yourself that you are in a dream should be a symbol that has meaning to you. I use Lucid Dreams to work on scripts and books in my dreams. I also use Lucid Dreams to fight my greatest enemy in my life, my anger.

My first marker is my Grand Daughter doing something magical and my second marker is my Grand Son climbing something that is impossibly high. I don't need these imagination tools but I have them in case my bad dreams return.

You just can't hope to have a Lucid Dream, you must believe you will have a Lucid Dream.

There are many books and articles on Lucid Dreaming and I suggest you look into these to expand your knowledge on the subject. I have been reading about Lucid Dreams for three days now. I accomplished all my goals I set for myself with Lucid Dreaming and feel it is time to read other views on the subject.

I started a new blog called the Lucid Dream Machine to record my controlled dreams.

When I Lucid Dream I don't try to control the whole dream as I will wake up if I do that.
My first dream marker was my son Mark Vollrath. Until my Grandchildren were born I used both my sons as dream markers. Mark is my six year dream marker and Micheal is my three year old dream marker.

With an ability to Lucid Dream you can put an end to your nightmares. After gaining some skill with Lucid Dreaming, think about your nightmare as you go to sleep. When you have that nightmare turn the thing you fear most into something silly. I like to turn monsters into flower petals in a strong wind and watch them blow away.

Dreams and other Things

Today I began to read on the internet about Lucid Dreaming. After reading several articles and one blog I decided to create my own blog about Lucid Dreaming (Lucid Dream Machine).

I will be removing the Followers feature from my five active blogs in the next couple of weeks.
I liked the original version of this feature but find the new version is ugly and hard to use.

I've changed my mind and will be keeping the Followers widget. 3/11/2009

Those that follow this blog will be getting an Art Flag and solo link on one of my other active blogs. New Art Flags will be appearing soon on my other blogs and I will begin posting more on those blogs.

I will be creating title art for my other blogs soon and I'm starting to over paint the world map for this blog. I started redesigning Europe yesterday and will begin to paint a lighter hue of blue in the oceans tonight. The world map is based on Buckminster Fuller's "one-world island in one world ocean." I added tectonic plates to this concept and grouped Antarctica with Australia.

The above scan is of an alien for a Sci-Fi Graphic Novel and is based on a Lucid Dream image.

Lucid Dreaming

I was taught Lucid Dreaming by my son Mark Vollrath when he was six years old in 1986.
He taught me how to fly in my dreams.

"Dad, do you ever fly in your dreams?"

"No, I've always wanted to but I've never had that type of dream."

"Oh Dad you've got to fly in your dreams it's the best. When you go to sleep think of me and I'll teach you how to fly in your dreams."

That night six year old Mark came to me in my dream with a ball of kite string.

"Hello Dad, this is a dream and I'm going to teach you to fly."

Mark tied the end the kite string around one of my shirt buttons and then ran away from me letting the ball of string unroll in his hand. A strong wind blew on me as Mark grabbed the string.
High in the air I rode the wind being pulled by a kite string in my young son's hands.

"Don't be scared Dad, I'm cutting the string. It's a dream and you can fly in it."

I flew like Superman and awoke from the dream laughing.

Years later my then wife left me and I began to have Night Terrors, Nightmares times ten.
The Night Terrors would always play out the same way, I would be having a peaceful dream and would be attacked by a hellish demon born out of the darkest corner of my imagination.

The worst Night Terror was a black orb that would rip me apart with four claw like legs. I would jump out of bed screaming looking for a knife to cut the creature from my chest. The bed room door was jammed and the creature in my mind was clinging to my torso, cutting deeper into my flesh. I was trying to get to the kitchen to get a knife to kill the creature when I heard a pounding on the bedroom door and woke up.

"Dad wake up you're having a nightmare. The monster you're seeing isn't real."

My son Mark had saved me from getting a knife and hurting myself in my sleep.

A few weeks later Mark told me about a book he had read on Lucid Dreaming.
I never had a Nightmare or Night Terror at home again using the knowledge Mark had given me.

I didn't learn how to defeat waking dreams (hallucinations) on long road trips until last year.

I simply turned any negative vision into a positive one.

In January of this year I woke myself from sleep paralysis for the first time using Lucid Dreaming.

Last night I put myself to sleep by using Lucid Dreaming, another first for me.

I have never read a book or article about Lucid Dreaming. Everything I know about Lucid Dreaming I've learned from my oldest son Mark and my own imagination.

My "Then Wife" called me the day after this post and told me she had been able to Lucid Dream for many years. I was married to her for 18 years and never knew this about her. As I'm writing this now I realize I never told her I cold Lucid Dream either. I wonder why we never talked about this?

Building on Failure

For two years I've worked on a college map of the world only to find out it can't be captured by a photo. The deep blue of the oceans suck all the detail from the land. So why am I still posting this photo of my map of the world? Why would I still use it as a background for my title?

I had a Lifeline to meet. This map of the world and many of the Art Flags are failures. I will build on these failures. I don't believe in Deadlines as that way of thinking limits change in a world that needs more change. Positive productive change in the form of using imagination for good.

You'll see the map behind the title change and I plan to change for the better as that map becomes more than just another failure.