Speak Another Language - Operations - 9

Begin to learn a foreign language. Speak it in your daily life instead of English (or the language you usually speak).

Action...Cut...Wrap - Observations - 7

It is much easier to "do" your new character for short set periods at first…a couple of hours…then a day. A time period with a beginning and an end.

Like actors do in a play or film. They identify with the character for the duration of the production, then have no trouble dropping that character and taking on another. They give over the executive/directorial function. When the director says "its a wrap" they can move on...the production is over. Drop one character and move on to the next.



This does not happen in "real" life. There is no end to the identification with the character you are more or less stuck with…your ego/personality. Hence, if you try to change there is baggage that is carried around like an unwanted sack of shit. There is nobody outside…a director…to call action, cut and finally wrap, so you can drop the sack of shit and move on. The conditioning kicks in. But you can drop the conditioning for well defined short periods with less anxiety.



You have to learn to do it yourself…be your own director. Drop the old character, at first, for only a day. Take the risk of "doing" the new character for defined short periods at first…without anxiety. Make the transition gradually.

This effect can often be noticed on vacations. Especially in a foreign country. You don't "feel like yourself". You can drop the old you for the duration of the vacation, then when you return home the sack of shit is there again.

Paparazzi Yourself - Operations - 8

Get someone to follow you around for a couple of days taking your picture in public…at places you usually hang out… as the "character" you are now. Pose. Have the photographer direct you. Now...adjust yourself a bit. Create a new look. New hair style, grow beard if you are a guy. Different costume. Get photographed again in places you don't usually go. Compare the two sets of pictures. Note reactions of people watching you get your picture taken.

ALL THE WORLD'S A SCREEN - Observations - 6

Each Cinemorphic "project" should include all the elements of a film production…from conception (of new character), to story conferences, writing, financing, development, "crew" (show runner, director, acting coach, make-up, wardrobe, special skills/physical training, etc.), rehearsal, grand opening, performances (going live), promotion, distribution (playing in the real world), criticism/reviews, sequels, ancillary products, etc.

CHANGE ROUTINES - Operations - 7

Change the routines in your daily life. Your habitual ways of doing things outline a footprint of "you" in the world. If you want to alter your persona you should alter this footprint. If you drive to work via the same route every day, go a different way. Or take the bus...or a hot-air balloon. Shop at different stores. Eat at different restaurants. Hang out in a part of town you are not familiar with. Become a regular at a new coffee house. Shake things up.

A Note On OBSERVATIONS & OPERATIONS

OBSERVATIONS and OPERATIONS are included in this blog to provide a taste of Cinemorphics only. They are by no means exhaustive. Also, they are not presented in, nor are they intended to be applied in any particular order.

RE-BLOG YOURSELF - Operations - 6

Set up a blog for your new character (and name?). Post to it regularly. Tell stories. Use it as a tool to flesh out the new character.

TOMBSTONE - Operations - 5

Write your own obiturary. Take notes on how this makes you feel. Put it away. Have a look at it several weeks later...after starting the process of reconceiving, re-writing and re-"doing" yourself. Make notes on how you feel at this point. Consult your obiturary from time to time.

THE WORLD IS A MIRROR - Observations - 5

The reaction of the world (friends, lovers, etc.) will interact with re-invention of the persona. It may not always be good. If you change one significant thing, you change everything. Be careful what you wish for. The world will be a mirror that you observe yourself in. You may not like what you see.



Also, once you change the world will treat you like a different person…which is what you want…you think. This may be expressed in unexpected ways which you cannot control. To this extent, you are as much shaped by the world as by yourself. Good thing though…you become more aware of the dynamics of the process and are not so much at its mercy.

THE SIMS - Operations - 4

Play the Sims game. Practice becoming another character in virtual reality before "taking the show on the road" in the "real" world.

THE SIMS GAME (Ordinary Life Computer Simulation)
From the Manufacturer (as found on Amazon)
In the The Sims 2, you direct your Sims over a lifetime and mix their genes from one generation to the next. You set your Sims' goals in life; fame, fortune, family, romance or knowledge. Give them a long, successful existence or leave their lives in shambles. Take them to extremes, from getting busted to seeing a ghost, from marrying an alien to writing a great novel. Unleash your creativity with the all-new Create-A-Sim feature, new building options, and the new in-game movie camera. Get ready to mix their genes, fulfill their dreams, and push them to extremes. What do you want to do with your Sims' lives?



• Mix Genes: Your Sims have DNA and inherit physical and personality traits. Take your Sims through an infinite number of generations as you evolve their family tree.

• Fulfill Dreams: Your Sims now have purpose in life. Do they aspire to a life of fame, fortune, family, knowledge, or romance? It's up to you to decide if they will be a lover or a loser, a prince or a pauper, a fool or a mastermind, and many other choices. Give them what they want and they'll lead a long, successful existence; indulge their fears and risk ruining their lives. It's all in your hands.

• Push The Extremes: Will your Sims be left at the altar and need a shrink, or inherit a fortune and become filthy rich? Witness the big moments that make every Sim's life uniquely memorable.

• Unlimited Creativity: Generate unique Sims with the new Create-A-Sim, packed with a vast selection of facial features, hairstyles, and outfits. Build dream homes and design neighborhoods with new building, design, and home furnishing options.

• Revolutionary Movie-making: Make your own Sim films with the all-new movie-making feature. Create the cast, set the stage, take control of the camera, and capture your own screenplay in action. Zoom in close to record every detail as your very own Sims sitcom unfolds.

MADONNA - BRANDO - Operations - 3

Spend the day "as" a well known personality. i.e. pretend you are…say… Marlon Brando or Madonna all day…identify with and play an array of different personas. Don't just feel it from the inside…act it out. Do impersonations. Variation: Be an animal for a day…a gorilla, say…or a cat.

ON B.S.

The ego/persona, the character that you have become over the years, is really nothing more than a belief system, or B.S. as Robert Anton Wilson calls it. So messing with your B.S. is messing with your persona, your identity, which as religious wars have shown us, can have serious consequences. It also implies that the fluidity involved in engaging in a project like Cinemorphic alteration of "you" can result in an openness, wide-eyed disbelief and hair-on-end wonderment at the nature of things which engages life in a way that allows one to break out of the prison of B.S.



Belief systems are constructions...just like egos. They are tools to be used to maneuver through life and should not be confused with reality itself. Nietzsche wrote that belief systems are like windows and that one should "look out of this window, now out of that" but never get stuck looking out of only one. This is what the Cinemorphic malleability of ego/persona construction can accomplish.

CINEMORPHICS - Operations - 2

Start consistently writing well put together letters to the editor of at least one daily newspaper "in character"...the character being the new persona you are developing. Sign a new name or altered version of your current name to these. Don't look at this as a joke or spoof. Take the things you say seriously...try to form the opinions your altered persona would express. Experiment with points of view different from the ones you typically hold as the "old" you. If your opinions are challenged...your new persona attacked...by either the editor or other readers, notice the protective feelings you now have for this "fictitious" character...which you are beginning to identify with.

CINEMORPHICS - Observations - 4

This is a production not a daydream. What is the budget? Like a movie, it costs money. Can be either low budget or blockbuster but consciousness of the projects interaction with financing is important…all the way from cost of "effects", e.g. new "costumes", cosmetic surgery, flying lessons, a trip to Rio…to day to day living expenses. Is your new character commercial or a low revenue producing art house offering? You are the producer. You have to raise the money.



Another take on this same question: This type of project is much easier and more effective if money is not a consideration. If your new character involves having to do something new for money…e.g. art not fixing cars…the new character has to be marketable. This is part of the character description. This is a different game indeed.

CINEMORPHICS - Observations - 3

Cinemorphics is a tool, not a panacea. It is a way to look at and handle reality. One angle on things…that can lead to insight and "freedom of movement."

CINEMORPHICS - Observations - 2

Fluid, shifty identity meme proliferating in the last decade. Many manifestations. Identity theft. Extreme make-over TV shows. Popularity of cosmetic surgery. Nip/Tuck a hit. But all of this is physical enhancement (not ID theft of course). Cinemorphics is psychological and psychic as well as physical.

CINEMORPHICS - Operations - 1

Take a "vacation" and be someone else while you're gone. Possibly use another name. Make up a new personal history for yourself. This is a version of the Astonish Yourself! experiment described elsewhere in the blog. Don't use this as a period of debauchery...act "normal" (relatively)...just act like like someone other that the habituated everyday you.

As they say...what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Observe carefully how it feels to now be the old "you" when you get back home. Which "you" is the "real" you?

CINEMORPHICS - Observations - 1

Look at the attachment to your ego/persona/character you have haphazardly become over the years as an addiction. It is a habit that is hard to break. There is resistance and fear of change for which falling back into old patterns…the old character…is a narcotic.

SATORI TANGO, A Benny Pristine Mystery

SATORI TANGO, A Benny Pristine Mystery is the title of a limited edition novella that I published a couple of months ago. Since the story has close ties to Cinemorphics...e.g. a draft of the Cinemorphics FAQ is found in Benny Pristine's apartment after he has disappeared...I make reference to it here. Also, here's a link to a SATORI TANGO blog which comments on and expands some of the book's themes.

Old school San Francisco P.I. Benny Pristine is hired by a mysterious and wealthy femme fatale to find the meaning of life...or else. Benny disappears. His girlfriend, Crysta Bella enlists the aid of several of Benny's inner circle, including H.P. Moondog and the enigmatic Quantum Coyote. Moondog's description of "QC"...a sort of preview of Cinemorphics...is presented below.



QC was short for Quantum Coyote, his "real name", his
identity of birth having been either lost to him following
a fall of several hundred feet while attempting Mt. Everest
alone, which he miraculously survived intact except for his
memory (the story he tells most often), or deliberately
erased by either himself or some covert government agency,
which he occasionally alludes to but which I carefully avoid
discussing.

Tonight, QC looked taller than usual and his skin tone
seemed different, but the ever present rumpled white
tropical suit and Panama hat were the same. I had noticed
over the years that "Mr. Coyote", as he liked to be
addressed by the uninitiated, could change his appearance
depending on the part of the world he was in, the language
he was speaking (he seemed to be able to speak them all),
the story about himself he was telling at the time (if he
was claiming to be half Irish and half Apache Indian and
expounding on the similarities of Native American and
Celtic Shamanism, he looked the part).

"I am a fictitious character...I make myself up as I go
along. Everybody else does too, they just don't know
it...what a pity..."

QC did not seem to age. Or, more accurately, he was able
to appear to be younger or older depending on the character
he was "playing" at the time. I once watched him make the
color of his eyes change like a mood ring.

"Controlled Multiple Personality Disorder...valuable tool
in my line of work!"

and...ALWAYS ASTONISHED...

Like ASTONISH YOURSELF!, here is another fascinating book and author. Fernando Pessoa had all of the personas he inhabited write their own poetry and prose "in character". The works are all very different from each other.



ALWAYS ASTONISHED: Selected Prose by Fernando Pessoa

An excellent introduction to this esteemed Portuguese poet's work, including his influential essay, "On Shakespeare." Pessoa is of special interest in the authorship debate because his fame is linked to the "heteronyms" (Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Alvaro de Campos) under which he also wrote and published. He has described "heteronyms" not merely as "pseudonyms," but as other characters/personalities that live inside him. "After looking for him in the poems, we search for him in the prose. The pursuit of the Other in Pessoa's work is never-ending," writes Edwin Honig (the translator and editor of Always Astonished) in his Introduction. In Always Astonished Pessoa and his several selves (Caeiro, Reis and de Campos) discuss one another's work, revealing how Portuguese modernism was shaped. "To pretend is to know oneself," Pessoa once wrote.

ALWAYS ASTONISHED is published by and available from City Lights.