Vancouver Web Fest Metanoia March 2015

METANOIA March 2015

VANCOUVER WEB FEST

2015

THE NEW FRONTIER IN ENTERTAINMENT

METANOIA EXECUTIVE AND STAFF

A NEW WAY OF THINKING

PUBLISHERS

SALME JOHANNES LEIS & ALLISON PATTON

COPY CHIEF

CALEB NG

ASSISTANT TO COPY CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

JODIE LEITCH JR LEIS AND HEINO LEIS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

DAL FLEISCHER

PHOTO ARCHIVIST

GALINA BOGATCH

CONTRIBUTORS Maureen Bader Hank Leis Alex Barberis Salme Leis Andy Belanger Chris MacClure Donald J. Boudreaux Seth Meltzer Dr Tim Brown Dr Caleb Ng Brian Croft Janice Oleandros Miki Dawson Dr Allison Patton Cheryl Gauld Luis Reyes Kulraj Gurm Cara Roth Marilyn Hurst Pepe Serna Richard King IV Dan Walker Peter and Maria Kingsley Harvey White Suzette Laqua Dr Bernard Schissel Marilyn Lawrie Dr Jack Wadsworth

Cover Photo By Salme Leis DR. ALLISON PATTON, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

METANOIA MAGAZINE is a publication of METANOIA CONCEPTS INC. For questions, comments, or advertising contact by Phone: 604 538 8837, Email: metanoiamagazine@gmail.com, Mail: 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4P 1B5

METANOIA CONTENTS

A NEW WAY OF THINKING

P. 10

P. 16

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A NEW WAY OF THINKING BODIE JAMES OLMOS INTERVIEW: TOM SKERRITT LEADERSHIP & MEDICINE VANCOUVER WEB FEST 2015 RANT VANCOUVER WEB FEST THE STOCK MARKET CUSTODIAN OF GORDON SMITH I AM LIMITLESS DAN WALKER CHRONICLES MISSIVES

BY HANK LEIS

P. 6

BY DR. ALLISON PATTON & SALME LEIS

BY SUZETTE LAQUA

BY DR. ALLISON PATTON SUBMISSIONS

BY HANK LEIS SCHEDULE

BY DR. JACK WADSWORTH

BY PETER STOREN

BY DR. CALEB NG SHENYANG & NORTH KOREA

BY DONALD BOUDREAUX

4 5 6 10 14 16 20 22 26 28 32 35 39

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Edition of Metanoia is devoted primarily to the Vancouver Web Fest, considered to be one of the best on the planet. Suzette Laqua the founder of the event, interviews Tom Skerritt, one of the stars of the television series Picket Fences, now director of one of the over 200 submissions to the Web Fest.

Dr. Wadsworth continues his very erudite discussion on why it is difficult if not impossible to predict the future direction of stock markets.

Allison Patton and Salme Leis interview Bodie Olmos, actor and athlete, in Whistler, B.C. where Olmos competed in the triathlon event.

They also attend a luncheon with Prof. Don Boudreaux, an economist who famously points out the irrationality in statements made by public figures.

Peter Storen from Australia, a former teacher from Canada connects his passion for one particular “antique� car from his past in St. Lambert, Quebec to another where he currently resides.

Then of course there is The Rant. Less said, more read!

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METANOIA

By Hank Leis

T

he Greek origins of the word Metanoia [met-uh-noiuh] convey the notion of an experience or a moment that is transformative. In fact the change itself would be so remarkable as to shift paradigms and these shifts actually would cause a change in behavior and ultimately the consequences of those behaviors. The articles in this magazine are intended to introduce a different way of thinking so that ideas and notions we take for granted can be reframed in such a way as to renew our life by making it more interesting, challenging and rewarding.

Many of us have abandoned our intelligence, our ability to think, our various gifts for being able to create and instead joined the masses whose only goal is to perpetuate the species and dwell in a complacent and apathetic state amounting to nothing more than mere existence.

We at Metanoia believe we are all capable of more than that and more importantly are able to generate epiphanous moments for you. We hope that our plethora of deep-thinking writers will be able to transform your life into something meaningful and wondrous. Every one of us, to a varying degree, has experienced these moments and most of us who have been so transformed are driven to rediscovering the process that first allowed us our enlightened clarity of mind.

In the last decade, scientific advancements have given insights into human phenomena that were previously thought science fiction, such as the viral theory as a contributing factor in the feeling of “love”. Anthropologists may have noticed nuances in human behavior early in our development, but these scientific discoveries now actually explain the physiology of “metanoic thinking”. Our own behaviors are being re-examined in light of these discoveries about brain function, and in particular that our usual way of thinking leads us to our usual results. Moreover mostly we do not think- but react- not unlike reptiles- and this process does not always serve us well.

Humankind is evolving, and more and more the primitive fears that govern our behaviors are being discovered to be limiting rather than opportunistic. What we are discovering about ourselves is what our evolution is all about; the beast within will soon be quelled and what will emerge is anybody’s guess.

Individually, the context of one individual within a population of seven billion suggests his/her insignificance – let alone a lifetime in the span of eternity. And yet we still have this narcissistic sense that our existence is of tremendous relevance. And while there may be something to this belief, how do these enormous discrepancies in size and time fit together to explain the relevance of this epic story? Simplified, what is the relevance of a person making a living to pay for food and shelter to the formula E=mc2. Our mission, certainly for Metanoia is to explore all those ideas, and to change ourselves and you in pursuit of this intelligence. To put it another way, we want your brain to be engaged in way it never has been before. Are you ready for the challenge? M

A NEW WAY OF THINKING

By Dr. Allison Patton & Salme Leis

BODIE OLMOS

Bodie James Olmos is the son of Edward James Olmos and Kaija Keel (daughter of Howard Keel, who was known for Dallas, Seven Sisters For Seven Brothers, and Calamity Jane). He was named after a ghost town in California that his mother Kaija visited as a young girl. We met Bodie on July 26th in Whistler. He was preparing to take part in Ironman Canada the next day. (Ironman is one of a series of long-distance triathalon races organized by the World Triathalon Corporation consisting of a 3.86 km swim, 180.25 km bicycle ride and a marathon (42.2 km) in that order without a break; considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world; it has a strict 17 hour time limit to complete the event.)

Bodie attended and graduated in 2000 from UCLA School of Theatre in Los Angeles. He took additional courses in acting and received a degree from the Stanford Meisner Center. He enjoys live theatre and has performed in a revival of the Luis Valdez play Zoot Suit. He also performed in War at the Latino

Theatre Company in the Los Angeles Theatre Center. In 2001, he joined the cast of American Family (2002) in the role of the young Jess Gonzales. He completed a short movie entitled Manejar which has been accepted for competition by the 9th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in October 2005. From 2004-2009, Bodie played a recurring character, Brendan “Hotdog� Constansas in the TV show Battlestar Galactica.

It was a beautiful July morning; we had risen early to drive up from White Rock. We met near one of the ponds close to the Olympic Rings just after 9 am. Bodie was relaxed and surrounded by his family entourage that included his father Edward James Olmos.

We took a few photos and then sat down by the pond and spent about an hour talking to him about his life thus far. Bodie James Olmos could boast many talents; ironman athlete, a twenty year veteran surfer, an accomplished drummer, and of course, actor; but he remained a very humble individual.

You began your career at the age of seven in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

What kind of consideration went into you accepting the part?

and family. Personally, a level of stubbornness helps me stay with it even when I feel totally exhausted by the training regime. There were times when part of me wanted to just stay in bed and forget all about it; this is when you feel very alone and don’t know what to do Acting was just what the family did; it was the family next. Due to my stubbornness and the support of those business. It was not Hollywood, it was just normal around me, I was able to recover out of it and I didn’t life; I was just hanging out and acting was part of our have to stop. I would pull back from the training, calm regular routine. myself down; there was a tenacity to stick with it and ride it out. Then I would get my second wind and then You have been in and around the there was no looking back.

movie industry your entire life – Have Your father is a social activist in the you ever thought of doing something US Hispanic community. Are you an other than make movies? activist as well?

Fitness is something that I have been involved with as well. I like to be part of physical activities as I find this energizes people to get out there; inspiring them to engage in physical activity. I have been physically active all of my life. When I was three, I was in gymnastics and I would train 5-6 days per week. This early life discipline that I learned through my sport activities has served me in other aspects of life. You will fall down and fail; it is then about how you get up again and what you make of the fall-how you turn it around; this is the important part about falling.

The triathlon is physically very demanding. In order to be successful as an athlete or an actor, you have to have lots of self-discipline.

Do you find yourself constantly preoccupied by deciding what the next step is?

I would call myself a human activist. I had a few different upbringings. I had a multicultural upbringing.

My mom is Swedish and there is a certain structure that she brings; as well, I get down with the Spanish and embrace that side of my culture.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez was a cerebral story about the treatment of Mexican Americans. It was a project taken on by your father who in his career has always looked for serious roles rather than frivolous ones; some that could have made him more of a star. What kind of roles would you like, given the choice?

I like more dramatic roles; I really like the process of the dramatic unfolding. I also like comedy and more lighthearted roles; comedy is difficult and not as edgy.

I often work from the premise of “seizing the What do you prefer, racing vs a moment.” Early on I spent a lot of my time surfing. As well, I played music; rock and roll and blues. As for jazz making a movie? music, I appreciate this style of music but I cannot play As for movies, you are impacted for life; with races, this style. For example with the triathalon, I planned to do one in 2014- I started planning and preparing a year I like that you get ready and then you complete it; it is in advance. I find that with something like a triathalon; over. it could easily take over your life.

Do you ever get nervous I completed my first marathon in 2010 then I went onto before a shoot? the LA marathon in 2011. It is difficult to stay motivated Yes definitely. It is unrealistic to think for that length of time; my coach Scott Chaney helped that I wouldn’t. The familiar nausea, palms me tremendously with the motivation as well as friends

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sweating and heart racing. If you are acting with a partner it always helps to get together and run through it a few times.

Have you had projects you’ve had to fund?

In terms of funding; if you are passionate about a project, you can turn a “no” into a “yes”. It is difficult to sustain it. You might get the ball bouncing but then you have to keep going. Sometimes repeated “no’s” are Writing is very solitary and I am more of an extrovert; hard to take and you risk giving up. I saw my father I like to be social. I am most interested in the directing work 20 years to fund a film; timing is critical. You have and acting side of the industry. I have not done much to back it, believe in it, and not give up. It is hard to directing yet but I am interested in it. deal with this for six months to one year; eventually As for directing, you have to consider it becomes old news. You have to be self-inspired and which genre- historical pieces take then you can inspire others. You might have to walk you back in time. Topical issues are away from it and then it might become relevant again.

As writer, director, and actor, what interests you the most?

to be considered as well. Travelling to locations is also appealing,

Currently I am taking a break from acting and the whole business. I have lived my whole life in LA. It has been a bit of a love and hate relationship; acting, I remember my father talking to producer and film and television as it has been our family business. director Stanley Kramer about raising money to fund Currently my burning desire is to go to the mountains movies. He always claimed that the toughest part of and run a trail or get on my bike and ride. movie making was raising money

Left to Right: Ryan Long, Eric Burnett, Andrew Marschall, Scott Chaney, Mark Tripp, Reilly Smith, Tom Regal, Bodie Olmos, Billy Hackett & Craig Pansing (behind the lens)

Edward James Olmos and Hank Leis in Whistler, BC

Dr. Allison Patton, Bodie Olmos, and Salme Leis in Whistler BC for Ironman Canada 2014

Suzette Laqua interviews

Tom Skerritt

The word that most comes to mind in describing Tom Skerritt is reliable. Reliable because his presence in a movie assures a well written script, measured and competent acting, and characters that are able to evoke reality by their mere presence. Skerritt, an Emmy Award winner and two time Golden Globe nominee, may not always choose his projects (as with most actors the projects come to him) but he chooses his friends and colleagues well so that whatever movie he is asked to perform in will be cerebral and entertaining.

Tom Skerritt is probably best known for his performance in the TV Series Picket Fences. He is also the stabilizing force in the 1992 movie, A River Ran Through It in which he stars with Brad Pitt.

His career in over 200 TV shows includes Laramie, Wagon Train, The Fugitive, Hawaii Five-O, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Barnaby-Jones, and Cheers; and he boasts over 40 movie roles which include Harold and Maude and Top Gun.

Tom Skerritt is entering a new era in his career - the era of the web series. His web series Stroller Gangs was submitted to 2015 Vancouver Web Fest and had been chosen as an Official Selection. Tom is also up for a Best Director award at the festival which takes place March 6th – 8th at Performance Works on Granville Island.

Josephine Hoy, Tiffani Rae Mallari, Angela DiMarco, Bhama Roget, Kate Purwin, Jackson Clough, Sara Coates and Sasha Docker are the stars of Stroller Gangs with Tom Skerritt as the Director. Josephine Hoy who plays Lily is a Seattle based actress and sometimes funny lady. Sara Coates (Penny) is an actor, comedian and writer. She was nominated for a “Gregory Award” for her work in the play Gingerbread House. Angela Di Marco (Stella) has been involved in film, television, commercials, theatre and web-series. Bhama Roget (Beth) has nineteen credits as actress including the TV series Wrecked.

1) You have had one of the longest careers in Hollywood as an actor. Undoubtedly that is only one of the many threads that has run through your life. Some of the others have been as family man, strategist, businessman, and survivor. Can you talk about the critical path that took you from there to here?

Living in the Northwest for 26 years has made a huge difference in ‘survival’ in my profession.

One finds clarity living up here. Overall, I realized, early on, taking risks and surviving leads us to what we become; optimistic or not. It’s been said, “That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Woody Allan summed it up, “Much of life, is just showing up.” I tend to ‘show up’.

2) As a businessman, did you start your own production company or figure out and get involved in the financing of your own projects?

Business? Logical next step in my life, looking to do more of what you really envisioned yourself doing... 50 years ago. The Internet, used wisely, is a whole new inviting world. The creative possibilities are there for everyone! New Media is a new challenge and it feels right, so I’m showing up again.

3) Have you had a person or group of people who have helped you make decisions on how you made your choices?

Have known Bob (Robert) Redford from the beginning of his rise. We share a view of the industry and have both maintained the integrity of that view; knowing we can do better and trying to make that happen. Bob (Robert) Altman, gave me suggestions as to how to look at the industry. Both Altman and Hal Ashby taught me how to enjoy the work. Ridley and Tony Scott showed me how to paint the picture. All embraced storytelling as the basis of a good film.

4) Is there a theme or philosophy that in retrospect you can see that determined your choices?

Storytelling done well goes a long way to inspire the best work we can do and it serves the public’s best interests. The better the writing the more inspired everyone is doing the work and the more engaged the audience will be.

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5) Can you talk about some of the critical decisions you made that allowed you to make headway in your career?

I entered UCLA as an English major and writer interested in becoming a film director, and felt it necessary to act in theatre to know how to effectively direct actors, etc. I was seen in a play, asked to act in a film where I met Redford and the late Sydney Pollack. At the same time, I met a TV director who lived in the neighborhood, who suggested a part for me in a TV show he directed. I liked the director, decided he might be a good guy with which to mentor as a filmmaker. That was Robert Altman. Success is often the result of putting one foot in front of the other.

6) Your private life of course is your private life, but how did your choice as a public person affect your private life and vice versa?

As you say private life is private. Thank you.

7) How did you get involved in your current web series, Stroller Gangs?

STROLLER GANGS is a working model to learn how to design and provide content for new media.

8) What is your relationship with the people involved in this project?

Finding success serving Women’s demographic on the web with layers of humor and life, hopefully, will encourage an independent NORTHWEST business to serve the demanding future needs for good entertainment.

9) Ideally what would you like to see happen with Stroller Gangs?

New Media content. One doesn’t know ‘til one shows up.

2015 Calendar of Events

hcPRP Prolozone for Sports Injuries Wed April 1st, 7 p.m.

Regenerative solutions to optimize performance after sports injuries.

Maintaining Brain Health and Memory Thurs April 2nd, 7 p.m.

Tired of forgetting where things are, people’s names, why you came into a room? Stay sharp and energized.

Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries Wed April 29th, 7 p.m.

Don’t bang your head against the wall looking for treatment solutions, we have the answers.

Book your Facial Acupuncture Party Sun May 3rd, 1-3 p.m.

Prepaid price includes: full facial acupuncture treatment, four Moor Spa facial care products and refreshments.

All events are held at 3566 King George Blvd To reserve your spot, please call

604-538-8837

www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca

Leadership and Naturopathic Medicine; An Inherent Synergy

By Allison Patton, BSc., (Hons.), MBA, ND

“There are many synergies and congruencies between the holism found in Naturopathic medicine and the holistic leadership theories described in the emerging leadership perspectives.”

Naturopathic physicians have an important yet underutilized role to play as emerging business and community leaders because of our intimate understanding of the current leadership perspectives that describe thinking in systems, chaos theory, and the fact that “in the quantum world, relationship is the key

determiner of everything”; a talent we rarely realize we have. The medicine we practice each and every day represents a fractal (any object or form created from repeating patterns evident at many levels of scale) of how today’s leaders are being asked to lead small businesses, multi-national corporations,

our communities, and, on a larger scale, our nations.

There are many synergies and congruencies between the holism found in Naturopathic medicine and the holistic leadership theories described in the emerging leadership perspectives. For example, currently, there is a call for “leaders to strive for wholeness,

“ Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (s)he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

-Robert F. Kennedy

and practitioner publications depicting effective leadership as an integration of body, emotions, mind and spirit...”

Similarly, one of the key principles of Naturopathic medicine is to treat the whole person; this is achieved by “taking into account individual physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and spiritual factors.”

A system, whether it be a human system or an organizational system, can be defined as “a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole” that is greater than the sum of its parts. Systems theory explores how everything is interrelated. Natural systems have the ability to cure themselves, to self regulate, to adapt and to create something new. Since human systems are natural systems they can behave (if allowed to) in the same ways as other natural

systems do. As everything in a system is interconnected, “before you disturb a system in any way, pay attention to what’s already there.”

Taking a step back from my studies and reminding myself of my roots, I started to pay attention to what was already there. I would like to take this moment to honour my colleagues of today, yesterday, and those yet to come along for the journey.

Your depth of understanding of the interconnectedness and interdependence of our human systems qualifies you as the type of emergent leader that is desperately needed in our businesses, communities and political spheres right at this very moment. It is only now that the business and global community is waking up and beginning to value what you have inherently known all along.

1.) Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering order in a chaotic world. San Francisco: Berrett-Kohler: 1999.

2.) Constance R Campbell, “On the journey toward wholeness in leader theories,” Leadership & Organization Development Journal 28, no. 2 ( 2007): 137-153. Emerald Journals Online (accessed October 4, 2009).

3.) Dr. Kevin Passero, “Mind, Body and Spirit in Medicine,” Docstoc website, 2003, http://www.docstoc. com/docs/1398470/Mind-BodySpirit 4.) Ann Perodeau, “Systems,” PowerPoint presentation to MBA-Leadership class, Royal Roads University, March 23, 2009.

5.) Ibid.

6.) Donella Meadows, “Dancing with Systems,” www.sustainabilityinstitute.org/pubs/Dancing.html, accessed April 2009.

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2015 Vancouver Web Fest Submissions Series that submitted: 3 Strikes (Los Angeles, USA) 403 Forbidden (South Shields, UK) À temps pour Noël (Montréal, Canada) The Abs•Tract: Core Philosophy (Vancouver, Canada) Acting Dead (Studio City, USA) The Adventures of Suzy Boon (Auckland, New Zealand) All My Pants (Toronto, Canada) All I Need (Burnaby, Canada) Altruman (St Kilda, Australia) The Amazing Gayl Pile (Toronto, Canada) Asset (Toronto, Canada) THE AUDITION ROOM (South Pasadena, USA) Augie, Alone (New York, USA) Bad Timing (Valley Village, USA) The Bear Two Show (Pennington, UK) Behind the Rock (Vancouver, Canada) The Bench Project (Astoria, USA) Bennington Gothique (Los Angeles, USA) Bernie Says So (Pleasant Prairie, USA) Best Roommate Ever (Regina, Canada) Beverly Pills (Burbank, USA) Bienvenue à Vancouver ‘’Welcome to Vancouver’’ (Vancouver, Canada) BIGHEADS (Berlin, Germany) Blackout the series (Moneglia, Italy) Bleak (Melbourne, Australia) Bonus Content (Coal Township, USA) Book of Rules (Toronto, Canada) Bronies (Vancouver, Canada) Brothers (Brooklyn, USA) Caledonia (Glasgow, Scotland) Camille raconte (Montreal, Canada) CAPER (Valley Village, Canada) Chasity’s Corner (Los Angeles, USA) Chic (Madison, USA)

Chop Socky Boom (Seattle, USA) Chris & Josh (Richmond, Australia) Chuggers (London, UK) Common Charges (New York, USA) Complete Works - Los Angeles, USA Cost Of Living (Los Angeles, USA) Creative Continuity (Coal Township, USA) Crisi Criminale (Milan, Italy) Darren Has A Breakdown (London, UK) De Pontis (Madrid, Spain) Derrick & Sally: Bathtub Killers (Vancouver, Canada) Devil’s Circus (Springfield, USA) Dex Everett: Man Tamer (New York, USA) Discrépance (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) Disrien (Sooke, Canada) Dog’s Breakfast (Vancouver, Canada) Doobie Nights (Caulfield North, Australia) Down Dog (Brooklyn, USA) DRAKUL (Washington, USA) Dress Up! with George B. Style (New York, USA) Drifter: Lonesome Highway (Springfield, USA) The DuChamps School of Acting (Vancouver, Canada) Dudemates (Vancouver, Canada) Dudes (Chicago, USA) Dynamo (Vancouver, Canada) Enter the Dojo (Albuquerque, USA) Epilogue (Springfield, USA) The Ethical Slut (Madison, USA) Fatty Littlehead - Space Ranger (Seattle, USA) F*ck The Zombies! (Rome, Italy) The Fame Show (Toronto, Canada) Fantasy Hospital (Los Angeles, USA) Fat Magnum (North Vancouver, Canada) Fatty Littlehead - Space Rangers (USA) Feathers and Toast (Los Angeles, USA) Fight Day (Seattle, USA)

FIRSTS (Los Angeles, USA) Flip and Glib and the Theory of Everything (Pacific Palisades, USA) Foodists (Vancouver, Canada) Food Flix (Vancouver, Canada Fools for Hire (Vancouver, Canada) A FOOL’S IDEA (Long Beach, Canada) Force Push (Redondo Beach, Canada) Fracasados por el Mundo (Massalfassar, Spain) Friends in Therapy (Los Angeles, USA) The Fursona Files (North York, USA) FUTURE DUCK! (London, UK) The Future Starts Here (San Francisco, USA) Game Genies (Vancouver, Canada) Garage Sale Diaries (North Vancouver, Canada) Gary Saves the Graveyard (New York, USA) Gates and Strays (Petaluma, USA) Gays the series (New York, USA) Ghetto Nerd Girl (Jamesburg, USA) Ghost Light (Brooklyn, USA) GIFTED CORPORATION (Bilbao, USA) GIGS (Burnaby, Canada) Girls in Shorts (Chicago, USA) Goons (Burnaby, Canada) The Greatest Love of All (Merewether, Australia) Greetings! From Prison! (Chicago, USA) Growing Alice (Chicago, USA) Guidestones: Sunflower Noir (Toronto, Canada) The Happiest People In New York (New York, USA) Haphead (Vancouver, Canada) HelLA (Hermosa Beach, USA) Henry (New York, USA) High Road (Auckland, New Zealand) Hipster Horror (Vancouver, Canada) Housed (Astoria, USA) Hot Lube (Vancouver, Canada) The Hungry Todd Rungy Show (Austin, USA) The Hurler (Waterford, Ireland) I LUV U BUT… (Alexandria, Australia) I’m Harry Clark (Santa Monica, USA) Ian (New York, USA) If These Walls Could Talk (Auckland, USA) In English, Please? (Hammond Park, Australia) In the Weeds (Toronto, Canada) Introverts (Los Angeles, USA) Jared Posts a Personal (Brooklyn, USA) Job Hunters (Seattle, USA) A Jock’s Guide (Toronto, Canada) Justice Woman (Hoboken, USA) Kelly and Lindsay Do New York (North Hollywood, USA) Kiss My Incoming Abs (Vancouver, Canada)

Kits (Vancouver, Canada) L’ENTRAINEUR (Montréal, Canada) L.A. Macabre (Canoga Park, USA) The Lab (New Westminster, Canada) Ladies Small Group (Inglewood, USA) La Supercafetera (Madrid, Spain) LARPs: The Series (Montreal, Canada) Late Bloomers (Pacific Palisades, USA) Left Over (Dallas, USA) The Legend of Gavin Tanner (Perth, Australia) Les Fleurs du Mal (Lavaltrie, Canada) Les Jaunes (Montreal, Canada) A Little Help (Springfield, USA) The Louise Log (New York, USA) Love Hurts (St Annes On Sea, UK) The Lyons Den (Augusta, USA) Marokkaan Geeft Rijles (Maroccan Gives Drivers Lessons) (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Marvelless Martan (New York, USA) Meat Man (Northridge, USA) Meet The LadyBugs (North Bergen, USA) Memories from the Past (Rome, Italy) Middle Stage (New York, USA) Miss Guidance (South Pasadena, USA) Morning Wood (North Hollywood, USA) Mr. Ginger (Austin, USA) Mr. Wang Goes to Hollywood (Los Angeles, USA) “My Lupine Life” By Louis Pine (Saskatoon, Canada) My weekend with Mémé (Viroflay, France) Nasty Habits (Los Angeles, USA) Nightwing: Prodigal (Vancouver, Canada) Noirhouse (Hobart, Australia) Off-Awful (Naples, USA) Oposto do Sexo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden (Washington, USA) Outside the Box (London, UK) The Pantsless Detective (Austin, USA) PARKED (Vancouver, Canada) Perfect Girl Series (Singapore, Singapore) People You Know (New York, USA) Pillow Talk (Los Angeles, USA) The Popcorn Show (Paris, France) “Por el último round” (“For the last round”) (Monterrey, Mexico) Pretty, Dumb (Bell Canyon, USA) Quella sporca sacca nera (The dirty black bag) (Tortoli’, Italy) RED (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Red Shirts the Series (North Hollywood, USA) Relationsh*t (Vancouver, Canada) The River (Bainbridge Island, USA)

Roomiess (Los Angeles, USA) Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy (Toronto, Canada) Sad Motivator (North Hollywood, USA) Savvy Spinster Does the Cinema (Fergus, Canada) She’s Out of Order (Chicago, USA) Shoot or Die (Grábalo o Muere) (Puebla, Mexico) SIDES (Auckland, New Zealand) Sin Vida Propia (Valencia, Spain) SingleDumb (Brooklyn, USA) Single and Dating in Vancouver (Vancouver, Canada) Slice (Brooklyn, USA) Small Miracles (Rock Hill, USA) Someone Not There (Toronto, Canada) SpacklerVision (Port Moody, Canada) Spaniards in London (Brentwood, USA) Squirm (Vancouver, Canada) Standard Action: Season 3 (Vancouver, Canada) Starting From Now (Marrickville, Australia) STILL (Everett, USA) Stranger (Springfield, USA) Stricken (Vancouver, Canada) Stroller Gangs (Seattle, USA) The Student Body (Annapolis, USA) The Super Alliance (Dallas, USA) Swipe Click Bang (Los Angeles) Tandem Bike Cops (Framingham, USA) Texting with Gosling (Austin, USA) The Fuzz - USA There Are No Second Takes In Life...Take 2 (New York, USA) This is Me Trying (New York, USA) Til Lease Do Us Part (Toronto, Canada) Time Baristas (East York, USA) Time Keeper (Seminole, USA) The Transplanters (Los Angeles, USA) Twenties (Encino, USA) Twenty Five (New York, USA) Valley Meadows (Minneapolis, USA) Vancouver Cycle Chic Films (Vancouver, Canada) The Verge (Los Angeles, USA) Wallflowers (North Hollywood, USA) Walter Wants a Woman (Auckland, New Zealand) We are Darren and Riley (Yarraville, Australia) We Might Be Superheroes (Sunnyside, USA) Weekend Warriors (Los Angeles, USA) What You Can Do (New York, USA) Whatever, Linda (Toronto, Canada) YidLife Crisis (Cote-St-Luc, Canada) Zac and Me (Los Angeles, USA) Zero - The Series (Pordenone, USA)

Here are VWF2015 Official Selections: Asset - Toronto, Canada Behind the Rock - Vancouver, Canada Bennington Gothique - Los Angeles, USA Blackout the series - Moneglia, Italy Bleak - Melbourne, Australia Camille raconte-Lily Tells - Montreal, Canada Caper - Valley Village, USA Chop Socky Boom - Seattle, USA Chris & Josh - Richmond, Australia Complete Works - Los Angeles, USA Discrépance - Boulogne-Billancourt, France Disrien - Sooke, Canada DRAKUL - Washington, DC, USA Dress Up! with George B. Style - New York, USA Drifter: Lonesome Highway - Springfield , USA Dynamo - Vancouver, Canada Epilogue - Springfield, USA Fatty Littlehead - Space Ranger - USA F*ck The Zombies! - Rome, Italy Food Flix - Vancouver, Canada Foodists - Vancouver, Canada Fools for Hire - Vancouver, Canada Friends in Therapy - Los Angeles, USA FUTURE DUCK! - London, UK Garage Sale Diaries - North Vancouver, Canada Gary Saves the Graveyard - New York, USA Growing Alice - Chicago, USA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir - Toronto, Canada Haphead – Toronto, Canada If These Walls Could Talk - Auckland, New Zealand Jared Posts a Personal - Brooklyn, USA Justice Woman - Hoboken, USA Kiss My Incoming Abs - Vancouver, Canada L.A. Macabre - Canoga Park, USA LARPs: The Series - Montreal, Canada Late Bloomer - Pacific Palisades, USA Les Jaunes - Montreal, Canada Mr. Ginger - Austin, USA My Lupine Life By Louis Pine - Saskatoon, Canada My weekend with Mémé - Viroflay, France Nasty Habits - Los Angeles, USA Nightwing: Prodigal - Vancouver, Canada PARKED - Vancouver, Canada Perfect Girl Series - Singapore, Singapore Por el último round (For the Last Round) - Monterrey, Mexico Quella sporca sacca nera (The Dirty Black Bag) - Tortoli, Italy Relationsh*t - Vancouver, Canada Ruby Skye P.I.: The Maltese Puppy - Toronto, Canada

Sin Vida Propia - Valencia, Spain Single and Dating in Vancouver - Vancouver, Canada Slice - Brooklyn, USA Small Miracles - Rock Hill, USA Standard Action - Vancouver, Canada STILL - Everett, USA Stricken - Vancouver, Canada Stroller Gangs - Seattle, USA The Abs•Tract: Core Philosophy - Vancouver, Canada The Future Starts Here - San Francisco, USA The Fuzz - USA The Pantsless Detective - Austin, USA Time Keeper - Seminole, USA Vancouver Cycle Chic Films - Vancouver, Canada Wallflowers - North Hollywood, USA Whatever, Linda - Toronto, Canada VWF2015 Official Award Nominees: BEST ACTOR Complete Works - Joe Sofranko - USA PARKED - David Lewis – Vancouver, CANADA Perfect Girl Series - Jason Chan – Singapore, SINGAPORE Quella sporca sacca nera (The dirty black bag) - Maurizio Pulina - Tortoli’, ITALY Time Keeper - Matt Lunsford – Seminole, USA BEST ACTRESS Growing Alice - Lisa Barber – Chicago, USA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir - Supinder Wraich – Toronto, CANADA Nasty Habits - Charissa Hogeland and Hope Lauren – Los Angeles, USA Perfect Girl Series - Khaleila Hisham – Singapore, SINGAPORE Single and Dating in Vancouver - Sheri Rabold – Vancouver, CANADA Whatever, Linda - Hannah Cheesman – Toronto, CANADA BEST CANADIAN Guidestones: Sunflower Noir –Toronto, CANADA Les Jaunes – Montreal, CANADA My Lupine Life - Saskatoon, CANADA PARKED - Vancouver, CANADA Whatever, Linda – Toronto, CANADA BEST FOREIGN CAPER - Valley Village, USA Discrépance - Boulogne-Billancourt, FRANCE Dynamo – Seattle, USA Perfect Girl – Singapore, SINGAPORE

Quella sporca sacca nera (The dirty black bag) - Tortoli’, ITALY Sin Vida Propia – Valencia, SPAIN The Future Starts Here - San Francisco, USA BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Dynamo – Vancouver, CANADA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir – Toronto, CANADA Quella sporca sacca nera (The dirty black bag) - Tortoli’, ITALY Small Miracles – Rock Hill, USA STILL – Everett, USA Stricken – Vancouver, CANADA Whatever, Linda – Toronto, CANADA BEST DIRECTOR CAPER - Donald Murphy - Valley Village, USA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir - Jay Ferguson – Toronto, CANADA PARKED – Peter DeLuise - Vancouver, CANADA Small Miracles - Moshe Mones – Rock Hill, USA Stroller Gangs - Tom Skerritt – Seattle, USA Wallflowers - Kieran Turner- North Hollywood, USA Whatever, Linda - Matt Eastman – Toronto, CANADA BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Fatty Littlehead - Space Ranger – Los Angeles, USA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir – Toronto, CANADA Haphead - Toronto, CANADA Quella sporca sacca nera (The dirty black bag) - Tortoli’, ITALY Whatever, Linda – Toronto - CANADA BEST SCREENPLAY CAPER - Valley Village, USA Discrepance - Boulogne-Billancourt, FRANCE Gary Saves the Graveyard – New York, USA Guidestones: Sunflower Noir – Toronto, CANADA My Lupine Life – Saskatoon, CANADA Sin Vida Propia - Valencia, SPAIN Wallflowers - North Hollywood, USA BEST SFX CAPER - Valley Village, USA Disrien – Sooke, CANADA Dynamo - Seattle, USA Les Jaunes - Montreal, CANADA Standard Action – Vancouver, CANADA The Abs•Tract: Core Philosophy – Vancouver, CANADA

Rant Rant Making Good Choices

By Hank Leis

Nobody can guarantee your life. Not even if you make “good” choices and live with great care. The trials and tribulations of life are so unwieldy, that on any day of your life, all the assumptions you have made, you have taken for granted, can be dashed away without a moment’s notice. And I’m not even talking about events in Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa, South America, where things take place that we outrageously assume could never happen here.

Yes, they are there and we are here and here is better than there. We are indignant when we hear the comparisons made. The stress created by badly designed systems, laws and rules in our “civilized” society are as difficult to bear as the stress of war-when we have reached our limit of what we can endure.

And we are all close to that critical mass of endurance that things feel like they are falling apart because we can’t take it anymore. We get up in the morning, readying for work, perhaps even take a cup of coffee and drive off. We start making that right hand turn at the light, where we’ve turned one hundred times before, when suddenly, out of nowhere, a cyclist appears and we are frozen.

He appears to be looking down to minimize wind resistance thus maximize his speed, and so does not see you. You don’t know whether to pull forward or go backwards because you have no idea which way he will pull. So you pull forward to get out of his way and he swerves at the same time. His bike goes out of control but both he and the bike survive. He screams and shakes his fist at you and rides off. Thankfully everyone is OK and it is over.

One year later, you are still battling in court because you have been sued for damages you could not have dreamed of in your worst nightmare. If you lose, you will lose everything. All that you have worked for and your family, your business associates might be lost. At this moment you might even think that taking a bullet in a war might have been easier.

As time goes on, you are numbed to the fact that all you are or might become is over. The pointless thought that whoever put bicycles and cars on the same pathway - must have been out of their minds serves no purpose. Your life is no longer yours, and the point has been made with clarity. There are no guarantees.

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METANOIA MAGAZINE

IF YOU’RE SO SMART, WHY AREN’T YOU RICH? A REALISTIC ASSESSMENT OF MAKING MONEY IN THE STOCK MARKET

By Dr Jack Wadsworth

Continued from previous issue This psychological approach to stock evaluation has many advocates in both the financial and academic communities.

Shiller argues that the “mania” for internet and high-tech stocks in the late 1990's can only be explained in terms of mass psychology. At universities, so called behavioral theories of the stock market, stressing crowd psychology, gained favour during the early 2000's at leading economics departments and business schools across the developed world. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for his work in the field of “behavioural finance” for the development of the so called prospect theory. Earlier Oskar Morgenstern had argued that searching for intrinsic value in stocks is a futile activity. In an exchange economy—which is what the stock market is—the value of an asset depends only on an actual or prospective transaction which emphasizes that the following should be the fundamental creed of any investor or speculator: A thing is worth only what someone else will pay for it The essence of Shiller's argument that mass psychology explains how bubbles are initiated is to describe it as a form of positive feedback something like as follows: A bubble starts when any group of stocks, such as those associated with the excitement of the internet, begins to rise. This updraft encourages more people to buy the stocks, which causes more coverage and amplification by the media (the business channels on TV and the business sections of the printed media), which causes even more people to buy the stocks, which creates big profits for the earlier purchasers of the stock. These successful investors tell you at cocktail parties how easy it is to get rich, which causes the stock price to rise even further, which pulls in larger and larger groups of investors. The whole mechanism is a kind of pyramid scheme where more credulous investors must be found to buy the stock from the earlier investors. Eventually when the supply of purchasers runs out there is no one to buy the stock offered for sale. The pyramid then inverts itself and the pyramid mechanism operates in reverse—the bubble bursts.

It it is probably easy to rationalize, as above, on the mechanism of bubble inflation and deflation, but unless one has the perspicacity of a Baruch or a Keynes it appears to be difficult for the participant to realize that one is actually in a bubble. For instance during the 1920's (on the run up to the crash of 1929) there was a general feeling that one was entering a new and exciting economic and social era:

• The personal automobile was coming into common usage. In 1920 there were 8.1 million automobiles registered in the US and this number increased to 23.1 million by 1929.

The personal automobile brought with it a new sense of freedom and possibility, and a widespread feeling that these personal values could be attained through new technology.

• Electrification was extending beyond major cities and by 1929 twenty million homes had been electrified. Kerosene lamps were out; electric light bulbs were in. By 1929, nearly half of all the wired homes had vacuum cleaners, and a third had washing machines.

• Radio had developed into a mature national entertainment medium with stars and nationally popular shows creating a sense of national culture previously unknown. Also talkies had invaded the previously silent movie screens.

• Industries were expanding exponentially due to the fruits of mass production, large research departments, and the availability of capital.

• Mechanization of agriculture was taking place at the same ever increasing rate.

Rosy and positive pronouncements were coming from authoritative voices in the financial and economic community: “There is nothing now to be foreseen which can prevent the United States from enjoying an era of business prosperity which is entirely without precedent in the pages of trade history”. John Moody, head of Moody's Investment Services, a rating agency, said in an article about the stock market in 1928, “In fact, a new age is taking form throughout the entire civilized world; civilization is taking on new

aspects. We are only now beginning to realize, perhaps, that this modern, mechanistic civilization in which we now live is in the process of perfecting itself.” Perhaps culminating the voluming optimism, in August 1929, a month before the crash, Charles Amos Dice published his book “New Levels in the Stock Market” in which he gave many cogent reasons for the increase in stock prices to continue.

The above picture, of voluming optimism and a rationalization that one is now in a “new economic era” where former metrics for judging prices no longer apply, is all too characteristic of the majority of bubbles cited in this treatise.

There is a total air of comfort with all the upward moves of stock prices. In fact there is a blissful unawareness of being in a very dangerously overinflated bubble. Furthermore, there is often very little awareness that one has gone over the falls and is now in free fall—the bubble has burst and prices are doomed to go nowhere but down.

When Shiller examined the significant printed media (the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune) very carefully around the last weekend of October 1929 when the crash had taken place he concluded “There is no way that the events of the stock market crash of 1929 can be considered a response to any real news stories. In fact this sequence of events appears to be fundamentally no different from those of other market debacles”. Indeed on the morning of the so called Black Monday (October 28, 1929) the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page editorial stating “everybody in responsible positions says that business conditions are sound”. It is difficult not to conclude that the important media (at the time) were blissfully ignorant of the actual mechanics of the stock market.

It is not widely appreciated that when the US stock market crashed on October 19, 1987 it set a new record one-day decline that nearly doubled that of either October 28 or 29, 1929 (to this day, it is the all-time record one-day price drop in percentage terms). This provided Shiller with the unique opportunity of being able to interview actual participants in the market rather than, as in the study of the 1929 crash, to have to rely upon media interpretations as to what the important news was on investors’ minds. Shiller’s conclusions, from this more recent study, were identical to his study of 1929.

There is no doubt that the 1987 event shook the USA, but also the crash spread quickly across the world—for instance stockmarkets in Australia lost 41.8%, Canada lost 22.5%, Hong Kong lost 45.8% and UK lost 26.4%. The crash also raised some mysticism since the main news or events had not predicted the catastrophe and visible reasons or the collapse were never identified. Doubt had been cast on the important assumptions of modern economics relating to the stockmarket, namely: the theory of the rational conduct of the human player, the theory of market equilibrium, and the hypothesis of market efficiency. To prevent the occurrence of such disastrous declines in the future the US stockmarkets introduced the concept of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker halts trading if the market declines a prescribed number of points, and discontinues trading for a prescribed amount of time.

What these two studies clearly display is a seeming disconnect between the actual processes occurring in the stock markets and the news media—the means whereby the investing public is informed of what is and what has actually happened to prices. It has to be appreciated that the financial process establishing prices in the stockmarkets is an auction. Each transaction represents a matching of willing sellers (expecting prices to fall) and willing buyers (expecting prices to rise). The majority of the transactions is not due to investors who usually only account for one transaction when they purchase and one transaction when they sell. The majority of the transactions taking place in the stockmarkets is due to traders on the floor or traders at their computers watching price changes by the minute. They are making literally split second decisions completing many buy/sell transactions for their own account. The information processing involved in a decision has to be minimal by the very nature of their chosen profession. It is therefore not too surprising that there is a seeming disconnect between what is really happening on the floor of the exchanges and the news media who have to put some spin upon the realities of price changes.

The spin that the media attaches to price changes such as attempting to fit the price changes to the many popular accounts of the psychology of investing is simply not credible. Investors are said to be euphoric or frenzied during booms or panic-stricken during market crashes. In both booms and crashes, investors are described as blindly following the herd like so many sheep with no minds of their own. Most investors are more sensible during financial episodes—albeit they must experience some elation in boom times and hand wringing in crashes. Usually they have been bolstered by their financial advisor who has emphasized buying for the “long term” and “lock them away” (the stocks, that is). Much of the above is confirmed in the following surprisingly pessimism expressed in the preface of Buffett’s biography--serving to illustrate what has been happening in the stockmarket during the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.

With each passing year, the noise level in the stockmarket rises. Television commentators, financial writers, analysts, and market strategists are all overtalking each other to get investors’ attention. At the same time individual investors, immersed in chat rooms and message boards, are exchanging questionable and often misleading tips. Yet, despite all this available information (data), investors find it increasingly difficult to profit. Stock prices skyrocket with little reason, then plummet just as quickly, and people who have turned to investing for their children’s education and their own retirement become frightened. Sometimes there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the market, only folly.

To be continued in the next issue of Metanoia

27

Becoming the new custodian of Gordon Smith’s 1938 LaSalle Sedan

By Peter Storen Becoming the new custodian of Gordon Smith’s majestic 1938 LaSalle Sedan in June marked a significant personal milestone in my world of wheels. I became a “car kid” very early in life. My grandfather, Frank Storen (1888 – 1975) drove a 1940 Chev all through the war until 1947, when he acquired a new Pontiac in line with his position as a senior rep with the Ralston-Purina Co. Rides in his cars were highlights in my formative years, and by the late 1950s, I had a burning desire to be a mechanic-I just had to know what made these amazing things tick. Sadly, this zeal was not approved of by my father, Alec (1919 – 1971), a “Canadian battler” who wanted his eldest child and only son to fare better in life than he had as a result of having suffered two bouts of rheumatic fever as a child and an unfinished high school education. Nevertheless, fate intervened, and in the summer of 1959 (aged 16 years), I began to work in a family-owned service station in St. Lambert, Quebec, a tidy, quiet suburb on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River which afforded spectacular views of the skyline of the island-city of Montreal. This vista is backed by the historic Mount Royal, purportedly climbed in 1534 by the French explorer Jacques Cartier on his first expedition to “New France” when he erected a large wooden crucifix atop the 600 foot mountain and claimed the land for France. A huge, illuminated steel cross, visible for miles, shines on to this day, reminding Quebecois of their cultural heritage.

Lying in the foreground of this amazing scene sat a 1937 Cadillac Series 60 Sedan in good, original condition and, as it turned out, in running order. It sat for several weeks bearing a $25 FOR SALE sign and still, nothing happened. One Saturday afternoon on my way home , I spied the owner, one Bill Rosevear, checking the oil, and stopped to ask him about the

car. He said he’d been unable to sell it as “everybody says it’s only worth $10 because it uses so much gasoline.” Bill was stuck as his lease on the house was up, he had to move out and the car was now an obstacle to progress .And then came what must be the all-time, -toogood-to-refuse offer: “The car is yours if you want it.” I raced home to share this fantastic news with Dad but he was adamant that no ’37 Caddy was coming to our rented premises, even though the driveway was always empty. How could he be so unreasonable?

So I made the first executive decision of my young career. I had seen an ad for an unheated garage for five dollars a month on a local bulletin board , and went around to the place and did the deal. After dark, I cycled back to Bill’s loaded the pushie in the back seat, and fired my new baby up. What a sound!

What a thrill! My own wheels, and a Cadillac V-8 to boot.

The existence of this car was revealed to no one, until a year or so later. I had become an impoverished university student and fell behind with the garage rent. The old dear rang the parents asking when I’d be able to come up with the rent, and my cover was blown.

Needless to say, Dad was furious as this level of defiance had never been executed in the past. “Get rid of it, Boy – I don’t care how, just get rid of it or don’t bother coming home.” The garage guys came, and gave me a jump start. (The battery had been flat for ages, largely as a result of turning the lights on at night and drinking in the soft colours of the “park-city-countrypass” indicators at the bottom of the white, enamelled instrument cluster.)

Once again, the pushie was loaded into the back seat and off I drove to a scrap merchant where I received $25 for the car. I managed to salvage the pedal pads. It was noted in a local paper that a grown male on a pushbike was observed sobbing hysterically with

tears streaming down his face, and some speculation existed as to whether this person had committed a criminal act.

Well, yes, he had, sadly, and yet he managed to find forgiveness in his heart for his tragically misguided father. But that is another story.

In retrospect, I often wished I’d had the where-with-all and the resources to have kept the car and not gone home. I didn’t really enjoy being at university and resented the fact that I wasn’t allowed to make my own decisions in life. But, the universe unfolds as it should, we’re told, and Gordon’s LaSalle now fills a terrible void suffered since 1960.

The 1937 LaSalle featured a 5.3L Monobloc V8 engine as Cadillac attempted to re-establish the brand at the time.

The LaSalle line was manufactured and marketed by GM Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940

PRP Prolozone for Sports Injuries

A talk By Dr Caleb Ng Wednesday, April 1st, 7-8pm At Mountainview Wellness Centre • Regenerative solutions to optimize performance after sports injuries

Leave your injuries in the dust Mountainview WELLNESS CENTRE 3566 King George Blvd Please RSVP 604.538.8837 www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca

Repeat after me ...

“I AM LIMITLESS”

By Dr Caleb Ng

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”

Buddha

A movie made recently, had as its main character, an ordinary man, who suffered from being limited to all things that ordinary men suffer. By circumstance he is given a pill which enables his brain to process, understand and utilize information to such a high degree that he is able to make decisions and live his life such that it works well beyond the capabilities we have today.

our abilities to live a more meaningful life, and we have come to realize there are many ways to achieve it. But one way stands out, because it involves enhancing chemical pathways that are natural to the human experience. Natural, because the “drug” that enhances effective behavior is manufactured by the body itself and that substance is called amino acid.

Humans use over twenty different amino acids from dietary sources for the building blocks of protein synthesis, fuel for energy or the organic molecules of communication in the brain, neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters have become a pivotal area of neuroscience over the last century as we have learned that they are essential for thought, perception and feelings.

Such a magic drug has yet to be discovered – but if it were one feature would be to enhance the nerve’s ability to transmit electrons to jump the gap, that is known as the synapse. Although the movie does not make it clear how the pill functions, we do know enough about the brain and the nervous system – that both operate optimally when the neurons Since the discovery of the first antiare undamaged, that the synapse area depressant 60 years ago the pharmaceutical between neurons is able to efficiently and effectively transmit electrical impulses industry has invested considerable effort into discovering and developing from one nerve to the next. medications to increase the firing of Human beings are limited, but each of neurons to facilitate functionality in those us, in our own unique way try to expand suffering from mental health disorders. In

essence, the medications increased the exposure time of the neurosynapse to neurotransmitters in hopes of increasing the ability of neurons to propagate their signal from one neuron to the next.

Inevitably, by altering normal function drugs have come with side-effects with an astonishingly high incidence rate. In fact, prescribers are taught to use the side effect profile of a drug to treat patient concerns if possible; so treating a patient with depression and insomnia with an anti-depressant that has a common sideeffect of drowsiness would be considered prescribing a “two-fer”.

Although prescription medication is considered more humane and an advent for people suffering with mental health issues, it has been used perhaps too frequently creating an overmedicated society walking around in a numbed emotionless stupor. It has become part of our society and so commonplace that we accept the satire of being medicated for almost any discomfort.

Amino acids may offer a better alternative to altering normal function (aka“drugs”) through correcting relative nutritional deficiencies.

Conditions that were previously only treatable with medication can now be treated effectively by using nutrients to enrich neurons

have the ability to make ourselves more functional.

NOT ALL MIND EXPANDING SUBSTANCES ARE ILLEGAL for optimal communication based on each individual’s requirements. By having the flexibility of tailoring the direct precursors to our most important neurotransmitters we can achieve greater relief of symptoms and do so in a manner that does not affect normal metabolism and kinetics of our neurosynapses, but enhances our interneuronal connections. In effect, we

We now have the evidence that taking specific amino acids like 5-hydroxytryptophan and l-dopa in certain ratios can alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety with virtually no sideeffects. This therapy also has the ability to improve many other conditions related to a deficiency in neurotransmission.

The questions that we are attempting to answer now is can we create better versions of ourselves using the same approach. If so, perhaps we have uncovered a real-life NZT that allows us to access more than the 10% of our brains we have come to accept.

To learn more about amino acid therapy at Mountainview Wellness Centre, call the office to speak with one of or doctors.

“Conditions that were previously only treatable with medication can now be treated effectively by using nutrients to enrich neurons for optimal communication based on each individual’s requirements.”

31

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The Dan Walker Chronicles Shenyang & North Korea Dan Walker is an adventurer, a businessman, and raconteur. He has visited every country in the world. His trusty Rolls Royce has taken him across many continents. He includes his grandchildren in some of his travels allowing them to select the destination. Originally, he hails from Victoria, British Columbia, but now resides in Costa Rica. At our request he has honoured us by writing a journal of his most recent trip to China. We are pleased to present the Dan Walker Chronicles.

Saturday, June 16, 2012 Shenyang has 34 minority groups, including Muslims. Each area seems very proud of the number of ethnic groups. Shenyang was the capital of the Qing Dynasty.

We visited Beiling Park in the morning. Inside are castle like walls enclosing buildings and the Zhaoling Tomb from the Qing Dynasty. There is a moat around it the width of a good size river where boats are paddled in summer and people skate in the winter.

It is a large, beautiful park although we saw it in pouring rain.

The next stop was the Imperial Palace, built in 1621 for the Qing emperors. It covers 60.000 m2 (14.84 sq. ft) & includes 114 buildings.

After hiking through the palace ground we had a great lunch with Adi, Brooklyn & the driver. We were surprised to find that little rice is consumed, and they don't drink tea in this part of China.

At the airport after some last minute gate changes we boarded the Koyo Airlines Russian built Il 62 for the flight to Pyongyang. Even though the flight was almost full the stewardess managed to get us a row with an empty seat for my legs. The overhead bins are tiny, but the seats lift up to put large luggage under them so I sat above

Marilynn's suitcase with my legs in front of the empty seat between us.

On the plane were a large group of students from the International University in Hong Kong, all speaking English. The fellow across the aisle surprised me when he said the university language is English, and that the second language is Cantonese, not Mandarin.

Pongyang is a city of 3 million people.

There are no privately owned cars, all are used by government officials or appointees, so there is little traffic.

Our minders are two single young ladies ages 26 and 30 named Kim & Lee, who took us to the 47 story Yanggakdo International Hotel. The 17th floor room was basic but OK - of the three classes of room we are in the lowest. Dinner was so bad we didn't eat it; we chose peanuts and beer in the 47th floor revolving restaurant instead.

Yanggakdo Internation Hotel in Ponyang

Propaganda for the military and Kim Yong Un played continually in the restaurant on a large screen TV. The advertised revolving restaurant revolved about 6 feet, shut down, slid back to where it was then revolve 6 feet again. Not quite the expected 360 degree view!

2 large beer & 2 bowls of peanuts cost $US 5. Everything in the hotel must be paid cash when purchased in $US, Euros or RMB (Yuan). Bottled water in the shop was 3 for $1. Maintenance isn't high on the agenda. We have lights out in our room, the toilet doesn't flush and carpets in the room and hallways are filthy. The beds are comfortable, though. and the room has most basic items including a fridge, but there are no pictures on the walls or ornaments, just a large calendar with photos of North Korean scenery.

“

Madness can be a medicine for the modern world.

You take it in moderation and it’s beneficial.

You overdose and it can have unfortunate side effects.

Those side effects can be temporary; they can be a boost to our psychological immune system to help fight the existential crisis of normal life.

”

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DONALD BOUDREAUX

By Dr. Allison Patton & Salme Leis After years of Metanoia Magazine’s “connection” to Donald Boudreaux it was a pleasure to finally meet with him and talk to him personally. The subject of his talk at the luncheon on Jan 30th 2015 was “The Mythical collapse of the Middle Class.”

Dr. Boudreaux is an intellectual who writes on free market capitalism at the Mercatus Center. He is also a professor of economics at George Mason University. Boudreaux is most obviously not a good standing member of the middle class he writes about. He is a student of human nature, not necessarily a participant. He appears not to be on the middle class treadmill to compete with the classical Jones family. When listening to his speeches he is matter of fact, not a showman, not slick and certainly not suave. He is dedicated, passionate, thinks quickly on his feet and has his facts ready for detractors. All evidence suggests that he is a man of the mind, a thinker and not a traditional consumer.

What follows is a reprint of his discussion.

Donald Boudreaux and Mark Perry: The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 32% today.

By DONALD J. BOUDREAUX AND MARK J. PERRY Updated Jan. 23, 2013 8:00 p.m. ET A favorite “progressive” trope is that America’s middle class has stagnated economically since the 1970s. One version of this claim, made by Robert Reich, President Clinton’s labor secretary, is typical: “After three decades of flat wages during which almost all the gains of growth have gone to the very top,” he wrote in 2010, “the middle class no longer has the buying power to keep the economy going.”

This trope is spectacularly wrong.

It is true enough that, when adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the average hourly wage of nonsupervisory workers in America has remained about the same. But not just for three decades. The average hourly wage in real dollars has remained largely unchanged from at least 1964—when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started reporting it.

Moreover, there are several problems with this measurement of wages. First, the CPI overestimates inflation by underestimating the value of improvements in product quality and variety. Would you prefer 1980 medical care at 1980 prices, or 2013 care at 2013 prices? Most of us wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.

Second, this wage figure ignores the rise over the past few decades in the portion of worker pay taken as (nontaxable) fringe benefits.

This is no small matter—health benefits, pensions, paid leave and the rest now amount to an average of almost 31% of total compensation for all civilian workers according to the BLS. Third and most important, the average hourly wage is held down by the great increase of women and immigrants into the workforce over the past three decades. Precisely because the U.S. economy was flexible and strong, it created millions of jobs for the influx of many often lesser-skilled workers who sought employment during these years.

Since almost all lesser-skilled workers entering the workforce in any given year are paid wages lower than the average, the measured

statistic, “average hourly wage,” remained stagnant over the years— even while the real wages of actual flesh-and-blood workers employed in any given year rose over time as they gained more experience and skills.

These three factors tell us that flat average wages over time don’t necessarily support a narrative of middle-class stagnation. Still, pessimists reject these arguments. Rather than debate esoteric matters such as how to properly adjust for inflation, however, let’s examine some other measures of middle-class living standards.

No single measure of well-being is more informative or important than life expectancy. Happily, an American born today can expect to live approximately 79 years—a full five years longer than in 1980 and more than a decade longer than in 1950. These longer life spans aren’t just enjoyed by “privileged” Americans. As the New York Times reported this past June 7, “The gap in life expectancy between whites and blacks in America has narrowed, reaching the lowest point ever recorded.” This necessarily means that life expectancy for blacks has risen even more impressively than it has for whites.

Americans are also much better able to enjoy their longer lives.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, spending by households on many of modern life’s “basics”—food at home, automobiles, clothing and footwear, household furnishings and equipment, and housing and utilities—fell from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 44% in 1970 to 32% today.

One underappreciated result of the dramatic fall in the cost (and rise in the quality) of modern “basics” is that, while income inequality might be rising when measured in dollars, it is falling when reckoned in what’s most important—our ability to consume.

Before airlines were deregulated, for example, commercial jet travel was a luxury that ordinary Americans seldom enjoyed. Today, air travel for many Americans is as routine as bus travel was during the disco era, thanks to a 50% decline in the real price of airfares since 1980.

Bill Gates in his private jet flies with more personal space than does Joe Six-Pack when making a similar trip on a commercial jetliner. But unlike his 1970s counterpart, Joe routinely travels the same great distances in roughly the same time as do the world’s wealthiest tycoons.

What’s true for long-distance travel is also true for food, cars, entertainment, electronics, communications and many other aspects of “consumability.” Today, the quantities and qualities of what ordinary Americans consume are closer to that of rich Americans than they were in decades past. Consider the electronic products that every middle-class teenager can now afford—iPhones, iPads, iPods and laptop computers. They aren’t much inferior to the electronic gadgets now used by the top 1% of American income earners, and often they are exactly the same.

Even though the inflation-adjusted hourly wage hasn’t changed much in 50 years, it is unlikely that an average American would trade his wages and benefits in 2013—along with access to the most affordable food, appliances, clothing and cars in history, plus today’s cornucopia of modern electronic goods—for the same real wages but with much lower fringe benefits in the 1950s or 1970s, along with those era’s higher prices, more limited selection, and inferior products.

Despite assertions by progressives who complain about stagnant wages, inequality and the (always) disappearing middle class, middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before.

They live longer lives and have much greater access to the services and consumer products bought by billionaires.

Mr. Boudreaux is professor of economics at George Mason University and chair for the study of free market capitalism at the Mercatus Center. Mr. Perry is a professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

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MISSIVES FROM DONALD J BOUDREAUX 11 December 2014 Editor, Slate Dear Editor: Reviewing Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton, Eric Herschthal argues, apparently in line with Beckert, that “slavery was not a hidebound institution that capitalism destroyed, but an integral one that made capitalism possible” (“The Fabric of Our Lives,” Dec. 2). Herschthal's evidence for this argument is that much of the cotton used in 18th- and 19th-century British and American textile mills was grown on plantations manned by slaves.

Although it’s true that before the U.S. civil war textile mills on both shores of the Atlantic got most of their cotton from slave plantations in the American south, Herschthal's argument is built on triply dubious reasoning.

First, as Herschthal himself notes about the mid-19th-century, the percent of its raw cotton that Russia got from America’s slave plantations was higher than was the percent of its cotton that Great Britain got from these plantations. If slave-grown cotton were a key spur to capitalism, it’s difficult to understand why a booming capitalist revolution never occurred in Russia.

Second, after slavery ended in the U.S. capitalist industrialization in the U.S. accelerated, and in Britain it continued nearly apace, for the rest of the 19th century. And in the 20th century, both countries - especially the U.S. - continued to witness magnificent capitalist innovations and rates of growth of industrial outputs.

Third and most fundamentally, by the time of the industrial revolution slavery had been around for many millennia without coming close to creating capitalism. So clearly something else had to occur to spark the emergence of capitalism; slavery wasn’t sufficient. But was slavery, as Mr. Herschthal asserts, necessary? Doubtful. Slavery did, again, produce some inputs used in early capitalist factories. Yet this fact no more shows that capitalism required slavery than does the fact that Christianity was then the dominant religion of factory owners (and of slaves) show that capitalism required Christianity.

A far more compelling account of the origins of modern capitalism is offered by the economic historian Deirdre McCloskey, who - in addition to debunking the “slavery-made-capitalism possible” assertion - argues that the key change that created capitalism was the growing social admiration of bourgeois pursuits and an increasing toleration of the changes wrought by open, competitive, entrepreneurial markets.* Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics and Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030

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