NET OF GEMS

Listen to Josh Get Interviewed by The Enlightened Millionaire Institute

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:58:48 PDT

I am a protege in the Enlightened Millionaire Institute and this call was actually a class that no one else but me showed up for. So, the instructor and I had a frank and moving conversation about personal success, online marketing and the creation of great content that people will salivate to purchase.

Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen have changed my life and their new book Cracking the Millionaire Codeand The One-Minute Millionairewill change your life forever also.

If you're interested in EMI,there is a contact link at their site (linked at the top). You can learn stock options trading, real estate investing, information entrepreneuring and internet marketing. I, being the ambitious young lad that I am, took all four and I am using them to build up my Multiple Streams of Income. There is an initial investment here to take the courses, but you get a full year's access and you are learning from millionaires who are actually making money in the field you are studying.

1 hr 30 minutes

Josh Reads Krishnamurti's Landmark 1929 "Truth is a Pathless Land" Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 06:10:53 PDT

Today, I've been getting a lot of run off traffic from a controversial post I made yesterday related to Shane Nickerson, Wil Wheaton, and Tony Pierce; so I thought it might be prudent to republish this reading of perhaps the most important speech that few ever heard in the 20th Century.

It's about 30 minutes long but well worth your time. Enjoy Jiddu Krishnamurti at his fireball finest.

This podcast was orginally published on May 04, 2005.

Newborn Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:52:37 PDT

Josh sings his acoustic version of the Seal song "Newborn Friend" from Seal's 1994 self-titled album.

Wish You Were Here and Redemption Song Medley

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:53:00 PDT

Josh sings a medley of "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd and "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley--two songs that fit perfectly together in terms of key and chord structure.

Performing this song is always a rocking emotional experience and I am often completely drained by the end.

Hyacinth House

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:53:20 PDT

This is an acoustic arrangement of "Hyacinth House" by The Doors. This is my favorite Doors song and the acoustic version on the boxed set knocked my socks off. This song is in that vein.

These are Some of the Best T-Shirts of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 12:32:58 PDT

ThreadPit.com: funny shirts, tshirts, t-shirts, funny t-shirts

I like the one that says "NAKED" on it.

The Christian Version 2

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:53:38 PDT

Josh sings another version of "The Christian" by Jimmy Buffett, circa 1971.

3 minutes, 59 seconds

The Christian Version 1

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:53:59 PDT

Josh sings his acoustic rendition of the 1971 Jimmy Buffett song "The Christian," and dedicates it to his boy Tommy C.

(04:23)

Which Way Are You Going (Vocal Only)

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:55:15 PDT

Josh sings the song Which Way Are You Going? by the Prophet Jim Croce.

There is no instrument besides Josh's untrained and sometimes out of key voice. But he feels it is the emotion and sentiment that matters when it comes to his music.

Dance Hall Days

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 05:55:33 PDT

Josh Sings His Acoustic Arrangmenet of the 80s Pop Tune Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung.
5 minutes 26 seconds

Success Thought #1 by Joshua Minton

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 06:24:00 PDT

Love the people you've been blessed with on your path of self discovery because turning your relationships with them into works of art is the one sure way of getting out of life a happy and spiritually fulfilled human being.

--Joshua Minton-- 06/20/2005

Why I'm Glad I'm Not a Minority Writer

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 08:11:53 PDT

I'll admit that I used to be jealous of my compadres who were minorities in my BFA Creative Writing program. (there may have been like three and Tran is the only one I keep up with). The rest of us were just crusty white kids with no rhythm. (I do have rhythm when I'm playing guitar but have no chance in hell of winning any dance contest).

So, I used to be a little jealous of the amount of anger material these minority writers had access to. I mean, Tran was Vietnamese, the child of (I believe) first generation Americans. So, Tran had the Vietnam war to use as a world-event that affected his life without his choice.

There is a lot of inspiration in one's cultural identity but if that inspiration doesn't allow the artist to create works that break past the illusory bonds of time and space to that oneness that unites us all then the art won't last and won't have quite the impact the artist hopes it will. In fact, here is a definition of good art you can copy paste into your brilliant quotes file. This one comes from yours' truly, Uncle Josh:

"Art (with a capital A) is all about using the contemporary forms of time and
space (people, objects and their relationships) to blow apart the phenomenal
differences that keep us each locked into what appears to be an inescapable
prison (our own egos which are composed of our experience and emotional and
intellectual reactions to the present moment, from which we project the
future)."

But it is in this projection of the future where humanity's greatest certain unalienable right exists--the right of the choice about how to act this moment.

It is freedom of choice about how to act in the moment (in other words, creating their reality in the moment through sheer will) that allowed people overcome atrocities like The Holocaust where every bit of security involved in associating through one's cultural identity was removed completely and the individual was reduced to a scrounging animal. This is the point where survival of the fittest and preservation of self becomes king and the social morays simply drop away like burning paper mache.

I have studied The Holocaust passionately now for sixteen years. I completed course upon course in college and have read book upon book about those twenty years in Germany that saw Hitler's rise to power and a decimation of a culture almost as old as humanity's recorded existence.

I have long asked why when thinking about the Holocaust. This is a very hard question because you are essentially asking for a sum value of millions of peoples' lives in terms of a historical lesson (and what historical lesson could be worth the lives of over 150 million who died in a World War which was the direct result of one man and his dream team of terror?).

But here is my why from The Holocaust--individual freedom emerged intact despite the fact that untold masses of individuals were murdered and had their most sacred identities taken away--their cultural or group identification.

There is enormous associative power in group identification--that is why we are constantly being told to choose, in the moment, which social group we define ourselves as--black, white, gay, christian, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, etc.

There is a certain amount of creative inspiration to be derived from one's social group, but if you examine this inspiration closely you will see that the majority of art that comes from this source is usually so infused with the anger that comes from the tallying of group suffering that it has no breakthrough into the transcendent mystery which lies beyond time, space and our petty egos (which only last as long as we draw breath; the spirit is eternal and therefore incorruptible or haven't you got that memo yet?).

So, while minorities may have a lot of inspiration to draw from that produces some great Saturday Night Live and Dave Chappelle skits, most of these are without any true breakthrough; they are improper art using the artistic aesthetics put forth by James Joyce in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

In-group anger can only take an artist as far as they are willing to ultimately let it go completely. Only by willingly letting go of our social identify and, ultimately, our individual identities in the moment, can we touch the true source of inspiration which lies inside each of us like a platinum encased diamond nugget at the centers of our being.

In fact, this is the exact message that I wrote about in my short story Pyrite.

I spent a lot of my late teens and early twenties being angry for other groups of people because my group identity (middle class white kid in a sea of other middle class white kids) was the system of oppression and the source of much of their anger. But I'm through being angry and I'm through defining myself with abstract concepts; I'll leave that to the hacks and has-beens. I'm going to do my best to teach this concept of artistic aesthetics to other talented artists so that they too may find that thorny and weeded path inside themselves that will take them to the platinum crusted diamond that waits for them within.

Check Out Chris Schmidt's Website Artistic Wit

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 15:45:17 PDT

ARTISTIC WIT dot COM

Chris is a fantastic artist that I am very pleased to be working with for a design concept for my book Flipping the Temple which will be coming out soon.

A Review of My Buddy Marc Sumerak's New Marvel Comic "The Avengers"

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Mon, 30 May 2005 19:09:37 PDT

Rourke Reviews: REVIEW: Power Pack v3 #2

Find Marc here.

The Cla-Zel Stops Showing Movies!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Mon, 30 May 2005 18:41:55 PDT

The BG News - The Cla-Zel stops showing movies

This theatre is where I took my wife on an early date to see Titanic. I even wrote an opinion column in the BG News about it.

I think I'll buy this theatre one day soon and make sure it shows nothing but great old movies from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Just keepin' Tradish.

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Fri, 20 May 2005 13:31:44 PDT

Jones Invasion!!!

The Joshua Minton Podcast STAR WARS EPISODE III EDITION for May 20, 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Fri, 20 May 2005 07:35:43 PDT

Josh goes in-depth on the meaning of the new trilogy and discusses his nearly completed project proposal for a new trilogy based on the birth of the Jedi.

Josh also discusses some current events, his love for Larry David's comedy and begs Chapelle to start smoking weed again and get back to creating great television that brings the races together to laugh at themselves.

(15:45)

The Joshua Minton Podcast for May 18, 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Wed, 18 May 2005 12:39:36 PDT

Josh reads the poem What Is Greatness? by William Makepeace Thackery, a poem he found by chance with his new "Read something different every day" pact he's made with himself.

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Thu, 05 May 2005 19:58:33 PDT

Good Times with Great Friends

Chappelle's Show Gets Shut Down. Dave Goes AWOL, Beeatch!

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Wed, 04 May 2005 18:20:50 PDT

"Chappelle's Show" Shut Down - May 04, 2005 - E! Online News

This sucks.

Hat tip to Fark.

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Wed, 04 May 2005 17:06:05 PDT

Josh reads Krishnamurti's earth shattering speech when he dissolved a religious order of thousands of people who all believed he was the next Messiah. Josh then discusses the significance of this act in terms of Krishnamurti's ultimate filfillment of actually becoming a "World Teacher" who would free mankind from all barriers, prisons and systems of thought. (30:13)

MP3 File

The JMPC 05/05/2005 Special Edition!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Sun, 01 May 2005 09:34:03 PDT

On this special edition of the Joshua Minton Pod Cast, Josh reads from his new masterpiece of polemic Common Sense 2005 (When Republicans & Democrats Both Become the A$$holes!)

(12:00)

MP3 File

Why Christians and Jews Still Cry by Joshua Minton

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 08:11:54 PDT

Josh reads his short story "Why Christians and Jews Still Cry," which earned him a little controversy when he read it during his public BFA Senior Thesis reading. (16:16)

MP3 File

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 08:10:59 PDT

Josh is just noodling around on the guitar, talking about his method of writing songs and how much he sucks at it compared to PROFESSIONAL musicians.

He also gives a shameless pitch for his own book and website.

MP3 File

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Minton) — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 07:59:47 PDT

This is a rough demo of War Pigs acoustic. I wanted to slow it down and make it a little bit sweeter but still have all the juice. I have a short preface about why I chose to sing this song even though I am in support of the current global War on Terror. (5:47)

MP3 File