I'm currently in the process of writing something a bit controversial.  It has the potential to step on a lot of (or maybe a few) toes, but I'm willing to risk it for the sake of having something to say on the subject.  What caused this?

This article.

Eight Absurdities We Force on Female Characters

The only book I've ever published is about a character that I created in high school. 

So a lot of my long term ideas on women are somewhat compounded in that character.    I haven't taken the time to look at her as anything other than a fantasy daughter who I've been raising for more years than one of my own children.  As characters grow and as their creators mature, they begin to open up to new perspectives.  That is very much the reason why Eiko that exist as a novel/screenplay is a tad bit different than the comic intended source material.  I digress.

So these ideas on women are reflected in that major contribution to literature (sarcasm) that is Eiko.  But what does that mean you might be wondering.  

My attitudes on women and where those ideas come from are seen in the aspects of the characters entire existence.  They are a reflection of how I view women as a whole good or bad.  In Eiko I reflect my own desires for the perfect woman or at least how I would see them.  Because Eiko has been a constant companion we reflect on each other and 

I think that I am better for it.  This new article will go into some of the behind the scenes of why Eiko reflects how I feel and the strength the character has that goes towards being a person than a gender stereotype.  Some people might disagree.  It deals with a few subjects that may make people uncomfortable hearing. My hope is to express a very positive attitude and show something about how I create and what values are important to me and possibly why they should be important to all content creators.

listening to Eric Prydz - Opus

In deep thought

Nytmaer

What you learn: How you learn it Part: 1

I grew up during the 80's and for my time I'd like to think that I was a little eccentric back then.  My mind was always racing and while I wouldn't say I was hyperactive, I did have quite the imagination.  My mom loved books and she loved reading, so I grew up with a health appreciation for fine literature, romance, scandal rags and books of every different subject under the sun.  This along with my obsessive personality developed into what I like to call Passion Project side.

The Passion Project side is when I suddenly decide to create something amazing.  It may not be amazing, but it's more than a little bit interesting.  It is during these phases (and I go through them often) that I develop a bit of functional expertise.  By engaging in these projects of my own accord, I become well versed in how to complete the tasks required to complete the project.  Even if the project isn't that good, at the very least, I've developed some interesting skills in the process.  Don't believe me?  You seem a little skeptical.  Well I've got some of my own personal examples.  In fact you can say my career as a creator is based on a lot of what was gained from completing these projects or even engaging in them.

Example 1:  When I was making In Case of Hope animatic, I had to become familiar with various parts of making a film.  Even if it wasn't going into full production, I had to learn how to complete a film project with my own resources and what I was able to accomplish with a virtually unpromised budget.

My tasks as outlined by the credits of the finished result.

Screenwriter

Producer

Location Scout

Talent Scout

Director

Cinematographer

Editor

FX

Starting with the screenwriter.  Learning screenwriting was probably the most rewarding time I've spent learning how to do anything.  I learned not only to look at movies from the eye of one who creates them but to also appreciate the development of a well written script.  I spent hundreds of hours reading through all types of screenplays; from the most well known to the scripts of up and comers.  Screenwriting gave me the ability to form a story from idea to written medium.  That's very important because it shows that I have the ability to complete something as complicated as a screenplay.

The Producer. 

According to an Article in TIME Magazine:

"A producer may do any or all of these: find the literary property (a novel, play or original script), shape the idea into a viable film, raise the money, hire the director, choose the cast, oversee production and postproduction, mastermind the marketing, negotiate the worldwide rights — be a movie’s begetter and first, demanding viewer. Any or all, or next to none".

As the projects producer I had to play with the scale and shape the idea into something of a viable project.  I would be the one hiring myself as the Director.  I would be the one selecting the cast.  I would be overseeing productions and post production.  Being a director meant that I was the person responsible for every role and that I only answered to myself.  

Now, in spite of good intentions, this was in effect a thankless, payless endeavor; but it was a great experience and reveals a quality in me that I'm rather proud of.  I can do honest work for the sake of personal group even if it doesn't pay in terms of money.

That out the way; I knew what I had to do, but I didn't know how to go about it.  I needed to do some honest research.  Long hours of books, articles, Youtube Videos would be my only companions some nights, but I was determined to do this.

Location Scout

Finding the perfect place to shoot didn't require much.  Being saavy on the internet gives you advantages.  Knowing people who also know the web is very advantageous.  At the suggestion of a friend I was able to find a location with very few issues and deep enough that any shot would not be ruined by people to curious or too nosy.  It was during this time I learned about the legalities of shooting in public places.  Unlike what some people think, that is not always easy or possible to capture in a public space without ample preparation. The legal issues of capturing people who do not consent could leave you in a legal hellscape that you don't want to be in.  With that in mind, I made sure that the location would meet all of those needs.  It was perfect for the scale and scope of the shots.  

Talent Scout

Finding the right people requires an understanding of the roles they will fulfill.  Your choice in casting could make or break the project in a big way.  Think of all those who applied for the roles in major blockbusters but the role was given to someone else, like the Nicholas Cage as Superman, or Will Smith as Neo instead of Keanu Reeves.  I placed an ad on Craigslist and held interviews online using Skype or accepting videos.  I wrote a sample script for interviewers to read and I would judge their performance.  

The interview process took several months, as I was determined to find a person to best represent the character they would be portraying.  I couldn't put it all into words, but I'd know it when I saw it.  I got some very 

Ultimately I selected this guy: Tim Parrish.  You might have seen him on Ballers recently.  I could tell in his work that he was the right guy and I've continued to support his talent since.  He did me a big favor by agreeing to work for nothing, but that's just the kind of guy he is, and is a credit to his talent and professionalism.  

That being said, that is the quality of the talent I was able to draw in and that wasn't easy, but in order to do what needed doing I had to be willing to take it up a notch.

Here is where a major shift happens.  I go from behind the scenes, gathering all the necessary pieces of the puzzle to collecting and directing the major piece.  Capturing the footage.  Up to this point I have largely worked on my own.  For all the things I've done up until this point, from gathering mock weapons, to collecting pieces of wardrobe, down to getting the camera and lenses.  

There's more to tell, and I'll be back with Part 2 Next week.

5 Reasons Why you should support your friends...

FIERCELY SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS.

Make a big deal out of their achievements.

Shout from the rooftops about their art, their book, their creations.

Support their work financially even if they offer it for free.

Help your friends rise as high as they deserve to ✨

— Megan 🐼 (@bodyposipanda_) April 6, 2018

Someone posted this on Twitter, and it really drove home a point.  When someone becomes passionate about something, the people around them (friends, family) can often forget how difficult it can be to push that something forward without help.  When they forget, you can remind them with this 

"5 Reasons why you should support your friends."

5. People who have support can often find greater motivation to succeed.

Think about it.  How easy is it to believe you can succeed at something?  Pretty easy right?  Think about that feeling magnified by when you know people are supporting you, knowing that they believe in you?  People cheer their favorite teams on their favorite player hoping that their words, their shreks, somehow reach them and help them push through harder.  It's why there are cheer leaders whose only purpose is to help rouse the crowd.  It's purely psychological, but it works.  After all it's easier to reach the top when so many people are pushing you from the bottom.

4. Friends make good sounding boards.

Imagine you are into nanoscale robotic assemblies and your best friend or even your mother, knows nothing about them.  Attempting to explain it to them can be a haphazard experience, but in doing so, you are also learning how to explain it to other who are of equal knowledge.  Other times it can be the simplicity of explaining an idea to someone to see if it sounds remotely feasible.  Sometimes we get excited and we overlook the common aspects of an idea, like does it work under common usage.  Having someone to ask; a friend, spouse, family member what they think is a good way to help make sure that the wilder ideas stay in the brain. 

3. It can help produce a far greater result.

As a content creator, it's a known fact that what you produce often improves as your audience grows.  When your friends and family are among that audience, you want to impress them and not waste their time.  Knowing them, it is often easier to get good feedback.  If they are close, they may be brutal, but they will help provide some of the best feedback.  That feedback when utilized, goes back into the product to help it improve.  Eventually with enough feedback, the outgoing content is sharp and refined.

2. Support reveals a belief in their competency.

Saying you can do something and then actually doing it are two different things.  When you support your friends, (their dream, their professional change, etc), you are saying to them: I believe in you.  I believe you possess the wisdom and knowledge to meet and ultimately exceed your goals.  You are competent enough to complete that transaction.  To ones who are creative, that kind of support goes a long way.

1. The greater the support, the greater the reach.

Everyone knows someone who knows someone.  This is just my theory, but it's it quite sound.  You share at least five things in common with your friends and family, and these could be completely silly things like pieces of bread and Big Bang Theory, but more than likely, your friends and family may share more in common and they have friends that they may also share things in common with, and they have friends who...you see where I am going with this?

  Another way of looking at it.  Have you ever asked your friend or family for a recommendation for a good place to eat and upon eating at that place, realized it was AMAZING?  So much, that you took your date there and they raved about so they told their friends.  The word of one person, branched outward reaching the ears of at least five people. The owner of that restaurant now has more business.  Think of your friend as the owner of that restaurant.

It can be tough to support your friends, but they who need it, become better for it. 
I'm one of those people who is in need of support of some friends but I want to give as well.  You can check out my blog Nytmaer's Dreamspace.  You can also follow me on @Torgnytmaer on Twitter and if you're into gaming, you can check me out at my Twitch: www.twitch.tv/theoriginalnytmaer.

Stay Awesome!

The Hard Truths: You're going to fail...

You may as well accept it.  Failure is a reality, it's a fact.  You're going to fail somewhere in the process.  You are going to hit depths that make hell seem like a kiddie pool.  It's going to be terrible.  Screwing up when trying to succeed is going to happen.  It's all part of the process, the trial and error.  Failure is a hard feeling to deal with.  It can make you feel as though everything bad that happens is your fault and yours alone. It can make you feel that you have no chance to succeed, that your plans and actions are worthless.  This is often an over-exaggeration of the truth.

Failure is real.  Accept it.

When you do fail, I want you to remember and follow the Five R's of Failure.

• Reflect on how it makes you feel.  Why do you feel as bad as you do?  Know why you feel the way you do.  If the reason seems illogical, it probably is.

• Resign your emotions.  Take the time to come to terms with your feelings.  How you feel is as important as what you feel.  Take the time to get your head and heart aligned.

• Resolve to make each successive failure hurt less.  The things about successive failures is that they often hurt less as you become more proficient in handling misfortune.

• Repair the damage.  Failure sometimes breaks something inside of us and it is often easy to start over without repairing what was broken.  Like pouring water through a hose that has a hole in it.  You must take some time to make repairs so that when you go to the next step you are ready.

• Restart the process anew.  Failure is only failure when you don't continue to try and succeed at what you were originally trying for.  Restarting is important.  It's the whole get back on the bike part after you've fallen off.  

Failure is only the end when you allow it to be.  Accept what you learn from the experience and grow from it.

The Hard Truths: Everybody isn't coming along

It's a sad truth, but one that you have to accept.  As you reach for the golden ring of success and strive to make things better, you have to realize that everyone isn't going to come along for the ride.  We've all got friends and family, some that want us to do well, some that will just be there as long as we are (doing well).  Some will reappear at random and disappear just as often.  You are going to have to cut some people loose.  

"Most of my boys are with me, some are still out seeking glory. Some I had to leave behind, my brother I'm still sorry..." 7 Years Old. Lukas Graham. Lukas Graham,Warner Brothers/Copenhagen Records. 2015.

You may love them dearly.  You may have made promises to keep them close.  Just remember that a promise is an agreement and unless contractually bound (and sometimes not even then) a promise can be broken.  It's sad, but it is the truth.  The sooner you accept it, the easier the sting when it comes true.  Know when to get toxic people out of your life.

Never...

Seeds of Wisdom

Million ideas....

Even the most successful minds in history failed, some many times, but for each failure, they were one step closer to a life-altering success.  The best predictors of success change with the time and method.  You may go through many methods in order to find something that makes the effort worth your time; but when you find it.

Be Careful

The universe doesn't care about you, but somehow in the tidal forces that cause change, things can work out in your favor, or in your sort of favor.  I've learned to be careful in what you ask for from the universe.  The what referring to the object itself.  I've learned to be careful to ask the how as in the form.

Change can come at the empowerment of wealth or the violence of the gun.  If we telegraph our perceptions of object and form over what it is that we want, then doesn't it make sense we can achieve our goals with greater clarity?

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How to think and be; Starting at level one towards wealth and success

While reading You Are Now Less Dumb, I started to learn the secrets behind who and what I am, what motivates me and how many of the things I think and the justification behind them are wrong.  Once the realization was there, I started to take a different approach to my life.  Now when I think about something in a certain way, I question it based on what I read and my understand of those facts.  With this new knowledge, I started to understand why I am where I am and some of the things I can do to change my situation.

Today I decided to find out something that has a lot to do with wealth and success.  Looking up this search

how does a rich person start their day?

That's all I wanted to know. What are the successful general habits that rich people have?  Clicking through the first ten links allowed me into their well kept world.  The first one I found was on www.daveramsey.com called.

20 Things the Rich Do Every Day

So let's start here.

So let's start here.

1. 70% of wealthy eat less than 300 junk food calories per day. 97% of poor people eat more than 300 junk food calories per day. 23% of wealthy gamble. 52% of poor people gamble.

(i'm terrible guilt of the "more than 300 junk calories...an hour)

2. 80% of wealthy are focused on accomplishing some single goal. Only 12% of the poor do this.

3. 76% of wealthy exercise aerobically four days a week. 23% of poor do this.

4. 63% of wealthy listen to audio books during commute to work vs. 5% of poor people.

5. 81% of wealthy maintain a to-do list vs. 19% of poor.

6. 63% of wealthy parents make their children read two or more non-fiction books a month vs. 3% of poor.

7. 70% of wealthy parents make their children volunteer 10 hours or more a month vs. 3% of poor.

8. 80% of wealthy make Happy Birthday calls vs. 11% of poor.

9. 67% of wealthy write down their goals vs. 17% of poor.

10. 88% of wealthy read 30 minutes or more each day for education or career reasons vs. 2% of poor.

11. 6% of wealthy say what’s on their mind vs. 69% of poor.

12. 79% of wealthy network five hours or more each month vs. 16% of poor.

13. 67% of wealthy watch one hour or less of TV every day vs. 23% of poor.

14. 6% of wealthy watch reality TV vs. 78% of poor.

15. 44% of wealthy wake up three hours before work starts vs. 3% of poor.

16. 74% of wealthy teach good daily success habits to their children vs. 1% of poor.

17. 84% of wealthy believe good habits create opportunity luck vs. 4% of poor.

18. 76% of wealthy believe bad habits create detrimental luck vs. 9% of poor.

19. 86% of wealthy believe in lifelong educational self-improvement vs. 5% of poor.


20. 86% of wealthy love to read vs. 26% of poor.

"Tom Corley, on his website RichHabitsInstitute.com, outlines a few of the differences between the habits of the rich and the poor."

Naturally I'm compelled to ask, what rich habits do you have as opposed to poor ones?  I'll discuss how I rank if you tell me how you rank.


Oh and if you'd like to understand yourself a little better, here's the link for the book.

You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself

They're Coming Right For US

This is from an older Episode of South Park, but I've had it in my mind since the Trayvon Martin case.  They're Coming Right For Us, says Uncle Ned to Jimbo in the context of it is illegal to hunt animals, but if they were to say attack or charge at you, then as long as you proclaim "they're coming right for us!!!" then that allows you to kill it in self defense.  Recently I've seen it used to hunt what some people would consider an animal.  African American Men.  Trayvon Martin wasn't the first but he stands out in recent memory.  There was also Mike Brown, then even more recently Darrien Hunt.  Killed because they were considered a threat.  The use of lethal force was justified by the fact that in each case the wild and savage beast was coming right for them, so they had to kill them.  Most black men do not wish to die and having been raised in America, know what that one wrong move will guarantee.  I've known it for years, so I refuse to believe that my brothers don't know it as well and yet the same excuse is heard repeatedly.  "He charged at me." "He raised a sword at me" "He had a weapon" and yet the evidence never seems to match their recall of events.  I think South Park showed us the future of the black man as a possible endangered species hunted by those who think the justification for killing them is in some sort of mock fashion.  I pose no threat to anyone and those that know me can verify this.  I know how to handle my self in the presence of law enforcement officers.  I will never be coming right for them.  I will not run, I will not shoot off my mouth, I will remain silent until a lawyer can be found.  I can almost guarantee if a situation with a police officer "were" to escalate and they seem to quite quickly; I'd be dead and that officers would most likely quote...I was coming right for him.

This is not the America that any of us were promised.  The newest shooting of Darrien Hunt, an aparent cosplayer dressed as Mugen from Samurai Champloo most likely wasn't charging at them, but these days corrupt police of all colors seem to need little justification in taking another life.  When proven through the use of cellphones and social media, when a man of color is involved, his chances for survival drop exponentially.  I'm really sick of seeing another black man dying as a result of "he's coming right for us."

The "Perfect" Motivation for Anime Fans

What Color is the Sky?

I took these pictures last week.  Couldn't figure out why the sky was such an odd color.

So this is the new blog...

I realized at some point I needed to another blog separate from my Carving A Path To Success.
 I needed a place to put up other material unrelated to my professional pursuits.  I'm more than just writing and screenplays.  I'm also an accomplished (in my own mind) photographer.  Sometimes I get it all confused and overshare things unrelated to the true nature of the Carving Blog.  So I've decided to change that.  I won't be pulling things from the other blog, instead I will now keep certain things seperated.  I figure if I do this, then the message of my professional blog remains clear and concise and anything else, well I will just share on here.  This blog will be my personal one.

I'll do my best to keep the content unique.

What would you suggest to someone starting a new blog?  Leave comments below, because I would really love to hear from you.

Celebration: Eiko: R3M1X

Today is a good day for two reasons.

First off is one year ago, my first book Eiko was published.  That was a great day for me and the realization of a dream, which was to publish a book.

Today is also the day that I completed the first draft of the Eiko: R3M1X screenplay.  I've talked about it before in previous post.  It's been rough for me to complete it, as It wasn't just changing the background but changing the context and reasoning behind everything.  Anyway I did it.  I managed to complete the first draft.

R3M1X has some all new material.  The story follows the same path as the original Eiko but there are some major differences.  Some battles have changed all together.

Now the hard part.  Cleaning up the draft and submitting it for approval.

October 1st.  Definitely a good day for me and Eiko.

#2 Eating Better

In a toss up between a Big Mac and a Asparagus, I'd rather have the Big Mac.  Plus it's easy and cheap, and Asparagus taste like $#!+.

This is how most people think when it comes to eating healthy and I am no exception.  I love all the things that are bad for me.  I love Pepsi, Home Run Inn Pizza, Sarah Lee Cheesecake, and a Big Mac.  I will always love them, as we have had a long tumultous relationship, but sometimes you have to learn to let go.  Now I'm not going to try and pass myself off as some sort of weight loss or dieting guru, because I'm not.  I'm a fat guy, like a lot of people out there who wishes to be smaller.  I will make the same mistakes like most people, but where I plan to differentiate myself from others (and this is where most people fail) is that I will start slowly.

Yep, that one of the biggest secrets to eating better.  Don't rush it.  

One of the mistakes that people make is that they try to change their eating habits like a Lambo does 0-60; to fast.

Instead of slowly decreasing their caloric intake, they try to get rid of all the sweets, and pastries and other "unhealthy" foods and then start eating carrots, before realizing that they don't like carrots. Then what tends to follow is, they start force feeding themselves these foods that taste wise; might as well be eating dogsh!t, and they rebound back to the sugary sweet goodness of unhealthy snacks.

The trick is; and it's very easy.  Ween yourself.

When I decided to start losing weight I was adamant about it.  I knew I couldn't just rush it.  At the time I was drinking Rip-It's like every single day.  Two cans every other day, along with Snickers and Flaming Hot Cheetohs.  These are some of my favorite snacks, but I knew they were super fattening and had a ton of sugar.  If I was going to lose weight, I was going to have to cut them out.  I started with the Rip-Its.  I slowly phased them out of my diet, then the Snickers.  Instead of a King Sized, I went to normal size and then slowly phased them out as well.  To replace the sugar rush, I switched over to fruit.  Strawberries, Bannans, Apples.  Healthy substitutes.

For the drink side, I started drinking more water.  I also started to drink more Diet Pepsi, but I have learned that because of the sweetener Aspartame found in DP, it may not be the best bet.  Tea is actually a good substitute and if you can find a good sweetener, that's even better.

Now that we have snacks covered, you may be wondering; well what about meals?  Depending on your lifestyle, meals can be one of the toughest parts to get under control.  If you are the type of person who depends on fast food as your main source of sustenance, then you will have to make some adjustments.

I'm not an expert, but I will say that you should

1. Eat reasonable portions
2. Track your calories
3. Drink lots of water (it helps you feel full)
4. Avoid lots of greasy foods

I'm not an expert, but I am learning as I go.  Sure I could drop in a bunch of facts that I have looked up, but what I am telling you now is just the basics and off the cuff.  It's up to you to learn what it takes to eat better and what sort of foods to eat.  I will help but I'm a beginner just like you, so my knowledge is still very basic.  Still we can learn from each other.

#1 My plan

This is the start of something new for me.  The complete and total dedication to improving my health and improving my physical appearance.  For the longest time I’ve neglected my body and ate poorly.  I ate whatever I wanted and over time I went from 185 to 265.  That's over a hundred lbs.

Not that I was anything great or special, but I was at a weight where I could feel more comfortable, and pants weren’t so hard to find.  I was a size 36 waist, and I liked being at that size.

I finally decided to do something different, and this is where I will start to chart more of my progress.

I’ll try my best to chart everything that happens good and bad from now on, as a way to see where I am going and where I have been.

(I'd add pictures, but Blogger isn't allowing me to.)