By Mal Vincent
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 15, 2011
Follow the money and you’ll get at the truth.

But wait a minute! Following the money is not that easy in a society that has been turned upside down by one of the biggest recessions of modern times. Add to the mix that it was all inspired by greed, and you look for a villain. Add to the confusion when you realize the villains are all around us. One target is Enron, the company whose double-dealing actually resulted in jail sentences.

“Delightfully Corrupt,” and “A Rolicking Evening of Theater!”
- Mal Vincent, Virginian-Pilot

Reserve Seats Now! 757-441-2160 for Tonight, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

You’d hardly think it a subject for a rollicking evening of theater. Think again. Check out the Generic Theater’s performances through Oct. 2 of “Enron.” The London hit and Broadway flop has been turned into an imaginative outing that is as double-dealing as its subject.

Here they are, future jailbirds who hide their losses (at least until they get caught). Here is a young conniver who plays the dirty game adeptly. Here is a powerful, cold woman who makes many of her deals stretched on top of office desks. Here is a cast deftly mixed and rehearsed to perfection by director Matthew Friedman.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE

Technically, the show is by far the most intricate, and eye-boggling, in the long history of the Generic Theater. Images flash on all sides above the playing area that serves as a stage. Local newscasters, such as Cathy Lewis and Barbara Ciara, mouth breathless mock news reports that show how the stock is turning. They add credibility to an incredible situation.

Kent Collins is both ruthless and boyish as Jeff Skilling, the wonder boy leader of Enron who, seemingly, turns a profit no matter the tactics. Ethan Marten is eerily conniving and sniveling as Andy Fastow, the rise-at-all-costs climber who, as pictured here, masterminds the hiding of losses. Marten is so convincing that you half expect him to take the stage twirling a dark moustache. Chris Kypros, known for his piano accompaniment of silent movies at the Naro Expanded Cinema, is both boisterous and naive as Ken Lay, the elder head of the company who seems oblivious to what his young whippersnappers are doing.

Deadliest of all is Jeannette Rainey as Claudia Roe, a dragon lady of high finance who pushes around the big boys and eventually falls victim to her own game. You can hardly believe she’s the same nice person who usually introduces plays at the Generic.

They are backed by a cast of almost 20 – both live and on film. For the intimate Generic playing area, that’s quite a horde.

THINKING DOG REVIEWS

The Good, the Bad, and the Boring in Theater and Other Creative Arts Around and About Hampton Roads, VA.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Ambition Opens 2011-12 Season at the Generic

Enron Exposes the Criminal Roots of Irrational Exuberance

Norfolk’s Generic Theater opened its 31st season Friday night (Sept. 9) with the Virginia debut of British playwright Lucy Prebble’s Enron, a seriously ambitious project…. Let’s hope, at least, they get an excess of love and appreciation from packed houses for bringing this important show to the stage way-down-under in Chrysler Hall….

Do you remember Enron? I barely did, after the mind-numbing procession of corporate malfeasance that followed, continuing, of course, to this day. Yet remembering the Enron scandal is instructional, for with hindsight it becomes apparent that the energy company’s collapse was a canary in a coal mine. It signaled the presence of the subtle poison of self-undoing which unregulated free market capitalism had injected into our social contract, especially when practiced by certain highly torqued alpha males whose natural habitat is Texas.

Not that Texas has a monopoly on toxic alpha males in this land of the free. Wherever brains and massive ego outweigh common sense and old-fashioned decency, you will find the Jeff Skillings and Andy Fastows of this world busy dreaming, scheming, and making deals—smart guys who vastly underestimate their capacity for human error or, in obsolete parlance, Biblical sin….

Ken Lay, the founder of Enron, likes to see himself as the benevolent patriarch of the corporation. As played by Chris Kypros, he comes across as an old-fashioned Chamber-of-Commerce type who believes business is America’s religion. He easily becomes enabler to the get-rich-quick schemes proposed by Skilling, played by Kent Collins, who himself is brought to a higher level of corruption by a numbers man, Andy Fastow, played by Ethan Marten.

Marten’s Fastow—bordering on psychopathic—is a work of art, a stand-out performance. His accounting bargain with the devil, symbolized by three dancing reptilian figures he plays with like a lion trainer, is the show’s most pointed, poison-tipped dagger. Collin’s Skilling, on the other hand, is much less blind to the danger he’s in and so more vulnerable. His undoing is his ego-mania, his arrogant conviction that he’s smarter than anyone else. Collins is convincing as the confident Skilling but less emotionally certain of the ruined Skilling, who was ultimately convicted of nineteen counts of conspiracy and fraud and sentenced to 24 years in prison, a mighty fall for a proud elitist. Fastow, by cooperating with prosecutors, got off with two counts and six years, though he was the brains behind the creative accounting that led to a debt of $30 billion and, in 2002, bankruptcy of a company once considered the leading light of American business genius….

Enron continues at the Generic Thursday through Sunday until Oct. 2. All performances are at 8 except for Sunday matinees at 2:30. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors, military, and students, and $10 for groups of ten or more. For information and reservations, call 757-441-2160 or, on the web, go to Generic Theater

READ FULL REVIEW HERE!

Yes, Andy Fastow is coming to Norfolk, along with his one-time idol, Jefferey Skilling, Claudia Rowe, and even Ken Lay! They all will be seen onstage at the Generic Theater down under Chrysler Hall when the theatre company presents Enron by Lucy Prebble September 9 – October 2.

Enjoy music, dancing, light sabers, raptors, a barbershop quartet, and the most spectacular corporate collapse in history!

For tickets.

Say hello to Andy here:

Here’s your chance to put some spirituality into practice, and it takes so little effort. However, even the smallest acts of kindness can cause a ripple to be felt around the world. Just add your own greeting or act of kindness – whether you innitiated it or you witnessed it – and let it be felt around the the world. Bring it to our consciousness.

Thank you.

The Official WHITE BUFFALO An American Prophecy Website is live. Thank you to everyone who has worked so diligently to create a such a clean, user-friendly site.

Can you burn Midnight Oil at 3 a.m.? Apparently. Importing all day, and reviewing raw footage. Taking five at William Britt’s Midnight Sound Studios building a teaser for White Buffalo: An American Prophecy. Editing with Jason Parks, and Richard. Cookies – a life-saver. Hannah, here we come – with a rough cut!

Grammy Award Winning Artist Jonathan Goldman.

Tomorrow, on the road to N.J….Ah! Make that a few hours.

EFT Coach, David Childerley, who is based in the United Kingdom, has produced a video for his youtube channel to promote White Buffalo: An American Prophecy. Childerley teaches the EFT Tapping or emotional freedom technique & the Law of Attraction to help people move forward fast.

Childerley developed the first ‘EFT Video Tap-along’ on YouTube in 2006. This easy to use interactive video has now helped millions of people to transform their life quickly.

In 2006 he also created myGenie.tv which has now grown to become the internet’s most extensive EFT Tap-along video library featuring 1000 videos covering the A-Z of human emotions and health challenges.

myGenie.tv supports members from over 190 countries and invites you to join our growing online EFT community at http://www.myGenie.tv

by DAVID SCHECHTER
WFAA
Posted on June 3, 2011 at 9:17 AM

GREENVILLE, Texas – As legend goes, chances are one in 10 million that a white buffalo will ever enter this world.
So, what are the chances it would happen in North Texas on an Indian-owned ranch that has a symbolic white buffalo sculpture at the entrance gate? Well, it happened. The white buffalo was born two weeks ago during the intense power of a driving thunderstorm.

The white buffalo was born on Arby Little Soldier’s ranch in Hunt County. Little Soldier is part Mandan Indian, part Lakota; he says he is also a great grandson of Sitting Bull.

“I’m proud that he is here in Greenville,” he said.
While all the other buffaloes on Little Soldier’s ranch belong to him, he said the white one belongs to all people and nations. He believes, and custom dictates, that the animal’s existence is a powerful message, but its meaning is not yet known.

The white calf’s unknown prophecy will be interpreted by native elders, who are expected to convene at the ranch later this month. At that time, as is custom, they’ll also give the white calf a proper and fitting name.

“I look out there as I’m mowing or fixing a fence and I look at him and he’s just playing like a young child and I say, ‘My four-legged brother, some day you’ll be speaking to us and you’re words are strong,” Little Soldier said.
But for now, he is small and Little Soldier says the older buffalo are quick to circle the white calf when a stranger comes near.
“They’re protecting him,” he said.

It’s something they don’t do for the calf’s half-brother, “Curly,” born just two days earlier.
Like the older buffalo, Little Soldier does not take lightly his responsibility to care for the white buffalo until it reaches maturity at age two.

“He was sent here for a reason,” Little Soldier said. “I guess, spiritually, I was ready.”

Some memories are as clear as others are foggy. Why can something leave such an impression decades later while others are dusty and buried one week later? At eight-years, I was being read to sleep by multiple people. Mom would come into my bedroom, and read A. A. Milne; his stories about Edward R. Bear or Winnie the Pooh as he is popularly known. My brothers Jonathan and Seth would discuss baseball, and social justice. Richard would read me stories of Atlantis, Heinrich Schleiman’s search for Troy, and Edgar Cayce.

My nighttime slumbers were tangible, lucid, and illuminated with the most vivid dreams. One such dream had me back-to-back-to-back-to-back with my three older brothers. Each of us, like a compass point, was facing a cardinal direction. I was facing South, Richard the North. Seth was facing West, and Jonathan was facing East. The voice I heard was familiar, but not my own; “When the four brothers come together for this singular purpose it will happen.” What will happen? The next thing I saw was strange geometrical patterns. There was a circle. Within the circle was an x that touched all the sides. In the open spaces between each of the crossed bars were three diamonds by the circle’s edge. Then I saw the brothers sitting on a mountain top somewhere in what I perceived as Virginia. This I heard was a New Jerusalem….

Okay…what does an eight-year-old do with that? I felt strongly throughout my life that I wanted that closeness with all of my siblings. Of course we have a strong bond. Though, sometimes we have been on various terms of speaking or not. I have always wanted to bring everyone together. Not an unreasonable hope – but time, distance, childhood hurts sometimes made that difficult. So, we spread out. Seth went to the West, Jonathan to the Northeast, Richard and myself to the South…

It did not make sense until many years later as Richard and I started discussing Native American wisdom, the birth of Miracle, The Sacred White Buffalo in Janesville, Wisconsin, and the movie that is now 17 years in the making. Now, after having come back from filming in Sedona, Arizona with my three brothers – our purpose seems clear. We have come together from the four directions seeking healing, the wisdom of elders, and to share that with those who care to listen.

Two days ago, in a call with Lakota Spiritual Leader Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand, we confirmed our July visit to Pine Ridge in South Dakota. Floyd invited us to participate in ceremony, and confirmed we will discuss what he feels “it is time for the World to hear”; meet with Chief Arvol Looking Horse; and visit sacred sites, including those where the Spiritual Leader says White Buffalo Calf Woman came to the Lakota. We will hear unfiltered, from the mouths of these Lakota elders, the Prophecy, handed down in an oral tradition dating back nineteen generations, and present it to you honestly.

My daughter texted me the news. I had come out of meetings, and a friendly gathering. My hibernation from “hard news” complete enough so as not to know of the event that would rattle radios, televisions, blogs, social networks, and tweets around the world. There it was. He was dead, and his body captured. Obama appeared. His speech – sober and direct.

This is a time for reflection; for what we were; what we believed before 9-11-01, what we became, and what we are becoming as a nation. What do we want for ourselves, our children, our future? What do we want to project onto the world? Watching the celebrations, and demonstrations that all but have his severed head being paraded in the streets (and one rather disturbing image of the Statue of Liberty holding up his severed head) it has become difficult to distinguish the the one’s who are celebrating Bin Laden’s death from the one’s who celebrated his architecture.

Within minutes of hearing the news – Osama Bin Laden’s death became as troubling as the deaths he had orchestrated. I am not mourning this one individual – though all life is sacred – the sadness comes from remembering much of the innocence lost that September 11. The rest from the displays being shown now. We are being reached at our base levels; a reptilian part of our DNA – that fight or flight, fear-based level.

As my daughter texted back and forth with me while awaiting the President’s appearance, I began to realize – half her life has been influenced by “the hunt” for this one man – the boogie man who attacked America, and filled millions with fear. This very young girl was yanked from school, and scared beyond belief. So many were. The news reports enhanced feelings that explosions could be erupting at any time, anywhere; that people could run into their school and drop bombs. We were doing as much to terrify ourselves and our children as Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden was a very real, and very personal threat to a young adolescent mind as well as a nation. The constant bombardment of fear being dished out across from the television, radio, newspaper, and our own government was equally terrorizing. I wondered just how she and people of her generation were affected, and would continue to be affected by not only the news or the legitimate concerns, but the heightened fear mongering. Now we see celebrations across America, and while I recognize some relief, and some feelings of justice, I also recognized blood lust.

We forget, the very people who celebrated the bombings of our innocent civilians, men, women and children – they, too felt justified. They felt a blow had been dealt to a terrible oppressor – The United States. How misguided, yes? As we are celebrating the death of Bin Laden – remember – people across the Middle East, innocent civilians, men, women, children were lost in the search for this man. Their families are watching how we behave. What we portray. Their loss is no less significant to a Creator of all that is living.

Bin Laden brought about his own demise, and I will not miss him. Nor will I focus my attention on him. We have an chance to end a cycle of being victims, and victimizers here with some sober thinking and an open heart. I pray that we take a step back, and seize that opportunity.

As part of the White Buffalo: An American Prophecy experience, the filmmakers are being exposed to many interesting phenomena. One of the film’s purposes is to both be exposed to and demonstrate methods, techniques, and practical, hands-on experiences bringing healing modalities to the consciousness of those watching the movie.

Maybe, through the journey of the four brothers – people might also be inspired to take their own journey. The brothers are both literal and allegorical reference points for the family of beings on this globe. If, as the White Buffalo Prophecy maintains, we are going to have that mending of the hoop – the bringing together of all the races, and the family of man and woman – it makes sense to show the healing of one small family. Yes, we are seeking ancient wisom from the Indigenous Peoples. We are also seeking self-help methods to bring about the healing of the Earth – one being, and one family at a time. Our White Buffalo Website, which will be uploaded soon, will have hyperlinks to the interview subjects, and people who are coming into our path for that purpose.

We wish for all who desire it, and maybe to inspire some who as of yet do not, to take their own spiritual journeys, and perhaps, to live a life more in tune with “Grandfather”, Nature, and Mother Earth. As Floyd Looks for Buffalo Hand asked, to live in the right brain – the creative, from the heart side of the brain.

This last week, we attended a Vortex Healing Circle led by Frank Kerestesy, and Claudia Aristizabal-Gutierrez. The evening was quite extraordinary in how quickly it passed. It was the quickest four hours I’ve experienced in a while. Lots of meditation, and Vortex energy being directed by Frank and Claudia, both of whom are engineers. Claudia then introduced us to Ric Weinman, Founder of Vortex Healing.

Frank has developed and is beginning to market Frank’s Long Life Spice. His combination of organic spices are said to have great healing qualities. He freely tells people what is in them, and encourages people to find them, and incorporate them into their diets. However, for convenience, he purchases, bottles, and then sells the best organic combination of these ingredients for your convenience. The one spice not labeled here is SAGE.

Next morning, awoke early enough to see the moonset, and sunrise. Took a walk on the beach, and met my brother, Richard, with his thirteen-year-old dog, Chloe. Even Chloe, who attended the Vortex group and was worked on, was more spry than she had been in years. Running, jumping, and playfully wrestling during the walk. Normally, she just slowly walks beside us, and a little behind. Don’t know if she possibly got into Frank’s spices.

Later that day, our brother, Jonathan (just down from New Jersey) joined us at The Mediterranean Cafe. We’re doing our best Three Stooges, here:

Still later, Jon’s wife, Tanya visits with Matriarch and Author Jacqueline Marten. Both receive blessings through the staff on loan for the journey from one of our spiritual guides, and mentor.

Before the end of the evening, three of the four brothers were gathered, and key personnel were assembled for the Sedona journey. Bill Britt was confirmed on Sound; Jason Parks, DP; Tanya Marten, AD; Pamela Good, Production Coordinator; Brandon Cordon, Second Camera; and Bill Cashman of Cavern Studios in Tuscon.

Yesterday was a full day of ironing out itinerary, and the production schedule for May 8 – 18. Airports, Rentals, Hotels, Shooting Schedules, Locations, etc.

Today is another full day of finalizing the itinerary, and Production Schedule, but first, a family gathering for brunch. Mom’s 88th birthday is on the 3rd, and Sedona begins on Mother’s Day – the 8th. Countdown begins.

Wednesday: Arrive back home in time to see Sun rise over the ocean front. The day is spent in and out of consciousness. Dreaming about the events of Monday and Tuesday. After recovering somewhat from the surreal, amazing, traumatic, and uplifting events – was joined by Pam to go see Hannah. Joyful reunion. It’s these close calls which continue to make us mindful of how fleeting all things can be. A reminder, and not so gentle as far as Hannah is concerned, to be in the moment.

Thursday: We shared cups of morning coffee, and conversation. Coffee hasn’t been that pleasant or tasty in a long while, (and I make a mean cup of cafe con leche). We called our Cousin Steve back in Texas, and filled him in on Hannah’s well-being, and were off again, back on the road, after many hugs. How grateful to be able to enjoy those hugs. Bye-bye Richmond. Hello Virginia Beach.

Back at the Beach in time for meetings with Richard, and Nanette Crist; an Intuitive and Visionary who expresses her insights through spiritual art and teaching metaphysics. Nanette has counseled many heads of spiritual organizations as well as political leaders, and has already been shot for the project. More counsel, more insights.

Friday: While preparing for an evening Healing Circle hosted by K. C. Johnson “for any and all Beings interested in gathering for the sake of creative transformation in a fun and playful format that varies in theme and tone;”

Richard and I head for the ocean front. We are going to visit with Charlotte Lott, and go over details for her interview, and scheduling a Three Circle Dance ceremony that we can both participate in, and record. As Charlotte has explained, this is an ancient ceremony that dates back tens of thousands of years.

We join Charlotte on this brisk, but sunny afternoon at the ARE – the Association for Research and Enlightenment – founded by Edgar Cayce.

Charlotte is a healer in the Native American old ways. The blood of five Nations runs in her veins: Cherokee; Tuscarora; Arapaho; Mik’Maque; and Mohawk, and she has active past life memories of many others. She drums, and sings with an elemental water gift known as the Voice of the Healing Waters.

“It is a gift the Father empowers for use with groups” she says. For the past 12 years, Charlotte has been moving among the Native Peoples and other communities, giving away healings to all willing to receive. After the dances, she shares with those who wish to know, how to move from the human level of energy into the Father’s level and how to open the spiritual channels to the gifts that only the Father enpowers. “His level of energy” Charlotte says, “is the place where miracles can and do happen when the time is right.”

Three Circle Dance is an ancient healing ceremony intended to help people with healing and clearing of illness and negative energies of all kinds, on all levels of the body. Charlotte explains, the Father puts His energy through the singing voice and the central stones of each of the circles, making it a wholistic form of healing for body, mind, and spirit. The Dance is mainly used at the mid-point (26,000) and end of the 52,000-year cycle (the Mayan Long Count Calendar). These mark the end of the feminine energy teachings and the end of the masculine energy teachings, and are particularly challenging times when major earth changes occur.

“The last time,” Charlotte says, “the Mother was helping Her Light Workers get ready for the spiritual work they had volunteered to perform at the end of Atlantis. This time, it is the Father helping His Light Workers prepare for the work we volunteered to do.” In addition to the healing of illness and disease, and clearing negative energies, questions may be asked. Would you like to know, Why I am I here in the flesh at this time? What is my life plan for this time period? Did I volunteer to do something, and, if so what? – or any other question about which you may wish to enquire. “There is a way to know,” Charlotte says, “move through the circles praying for an answer to your question. This will bring the healing and clearing of your spiritual communication channels.” It may take several dances, she says, but the Father intends for us to be able to communicate with our guides. Once we are aware of our intended plan, Three Circle Dance may help us to do that which we came to do. And the Dance is free style. All begin walking slowly. In time, most begin to dance as their bodies direct in order to release what needs to be released. For whatever reason, you may come to Three Circle Dance, it is free of charge, as the Father is giving gifts to His children – and they do stand up to laboratory tests. All are invited to come and receive.

Light Age Films, and Star Circle Pictures will be filming a Three Circle Dance ceremony this Friday morning in Virginia Beach at the oceanfront. Those wishing to participate can tune into this blog, Light Age Films or White Buffalo: An American Prophecy for further details.

Who knew that within 32 hours of leaving Virginia Beach to meet a Taino Spiritual Leader & Keeper of the Mayan Calendar, and a visiting Mayan Spiritual Leader in Pittsburgh, our film crew would experience 88 degree heat, torrential rains, heavy winds, snow, and Hawk – the Shawnee Human Pet of Thunder and Lightning – Sacred Black and White Buffalos living at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania?

My Brother, Richard, and I were joined by Crew Members Brandon Cordon, Colin Heath, and Tony Holobyte to interview Taino Spiritual Leader Miguel Sague, and Antonio Telesforo. The purpose was to gain insights into the ancient secrets of the Mayan calendar. Our interview was far-ranging, and specific. Sague explained many things regarding the calendar, its cycles, and prophecies. Telesforo told stories from his traditional community while Sague translated the Guatamalan Maya tongue. Both had gentle, yet powerful messages of respect, intended for people of North America and the World.

Before wrapping, our crew was honored with a traditional fire ceremony lead by these authentic bearers of the millennial prophecy at a former U.S. military surface-to-air missile base – now Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center in PA.

The night before, I had received a call from my daughter while she was lying on a Houston street. “Dad, I’ve been hit by a car.” My heart stopped. I had gone from a feeling of great joy to my darkest fear. Over the course of the next couple of hours, my cousin, Steve, and his fiance, Leslie (God bless them, they happened to live there, and beat the ambulance to the hospital), took care of their cousin, and made sure she was all right. Hannah ended up perfectly fine with only minor injuries. This was doubly amazing, because in Hannah’s 21 years – she could not even remember the one time she met her cousin at a family function when she was a baby, and had just reacquainted less than 24 hours earlier.

And so, with this wild night behind me, our wild ride of yesterday began. Before it would end, with a shooting star punctuating a spoken prayer, “Hantu Yo Toca Hey” (clear a way in a holy way) at 4:41 a.m. this morning on I-295 just outside of Richmond, we had come face-to-face with Lightning and Thunder. These are not the weather anomalies we experienced on the way North and West – though we certainly experienced them on the way – these are the two sacred white and black buffalos in Farmington.

We left the Pittsburgh hotel yesterday morning, and picked our Ambassadors of Mayan culture and heritage at a McDonald’s; “Hey,” noted Sague, “they have free wi-fi.”

Miguel, with an interesting blend of casual, by-the-way, and an animated you should know this, began placing a call to his friend to arrange for a meeting. By the time our interviews, and fire ceremonies were completed in the snow – it became a race with the remaining daylight to meet Hawk, gain wisdom, and experience the sacred. Along this 130-mile trek back South and West the weather broke, the clouds dispersed, and we were treated to a sunset introduction to Hawk, S’unka (the superdog), and an unblemished, genetically pure white buffalo.

Meeting the gaze, and ooking into the dark eyes of these beautiful beings was beyond moving. The only prayers I could think to offer at this time were of gratitude and thanks – for this sacred gift, the gift of my daughter’s safety and well-being, and for the gift of people I love both near and far.

They have five acres to roam in protection said their Guardian, Keeper, and “Human Pet,” Hawk, of Shawnee and Doogh Hit’an origin. As we approached the Eastern side of their hill, he continued, “They will let you know if they wish to see you or yank your chain (playfully) and run to the Western Side. As we rounded the slope – there they stood – peacefully, and with a simple majesty. There was protective double-fencing; more to keep people at a safe distance rather than to pen them in.

The evening ended with a straight-talking, and sometimes hillarious impromptu interview with Hawk, over coffee, cookies and another most sacred gift.

So time to get some rest, and meditate on the last 44 hours. Time to reflect on experiencing fear and joy, fire, ice, water, wind, Earth, North, East, West and South – Thunder and Lightning.