New York Art

Before I went into the event on Saturday I got the chance to bum it around New York's Chinatown. Right on the edge of Chinatown was a huge Italian festival... San Genera or something to that effect. To all my Italian friends please forgive me for not knowing which festival this was or how to spell it :)
Anyway, I was way too early for the event that was scheduled for 6pm but actually started at 8pm so I sat and looked at the people passing by me on the steps of a building that was under renovation. In reality, I avoided eye contact with everyone which lead me to discover the coolest little bit of graffiti. It was two bees (one black and the other white) with their stingers touching... Now this was ART and it was totally defacing someone else's property.Typical. All good art can't find its way into a museum so it ends up on the street for free. I'm not complaining, in fact, I enjoyed it so much that I took a pic of it and smiled. The smell of urine was strong with this one but the aesthetic was well worth it. I remember the news doing a story about these little tags a few years ago. Man, I love finding little treasures like this in NY! I hope you enjoy it too.

N8

SunflowerChildren.org and Gawad Kalinga Charity Event

I went to a charity event for the SunflowerChildren and Gawad Kalinga on Saturday. The head of SunflowerChildren showed a video of her work around the world. A girl named Jovy was having a birthday and in a charitable act painted several pictures that were auctioned that night. I have to thank Jovy's father, Bert. He was a true warm-hearted patriarch which made the event encompassing and a true social event. I owe you a drink, Big Guy!
If you would like to give to either one of these organization just click the link above or do a search on Google or Yahoo and you will find them.

Something strange and interesting happened on September 22, 2006 at about 11:15 in the A.M.

It maybe very hard for some of you to accept but I have always felt that there was a power greater than myself influencing my life. THREE TIMES in my life I have had a butterfly land on my finger. The first two times I was in a meditative state literally calling out to get a response. This third time was different.
I was sitting in my backyard drinking a beer and smoking a cigar. As the smoke from the cigar blew to my left I noticed a Monarch butterfly hesitating/fluttering around in it. I thought nothing of it because at the time I was preoccupied with thoughts of the future. Oddly, the butterfly followed the trail of smoke and landed on my right leg just below my knee and very close to where my cigar hand was resting. So I froze because I thought that insects were afraid of smoke. Then it hit me that this was one of those moments so I opened my left hand that was resting on my left thigh and it happened. The butterfly flew over and landed on my left hand. I was shocked because the other times that this had happened I was really calling out to the Spirit world for a sign and this time it just happened. I took my eyes off of it and thought maybe I should say a prayer and it flew up and into the smoke that was in front of my face. I quickly said 'thank you, God!' and it immediately flew in a straight line over the back of the neighbor's house and pass the trees.
HONESTLY, you do not have to believe this story BUT it did happen on September 22, 2006 at about 11:15 in the A.M.
This incident encouraged me to attend a charity event that I was not going to attend. The event was for Sunflowerchildren.org and Gawad Kalinga. I took a few photos and I will post those pics next week. Until then keep faith and love in your hearts.
ALWAYS BELIEVE

Nate

Mike Bales and the All Avenues NY Networking

I recently went to a networking to meet a classmate of mine from high school, Michael Bales. The gathering was sponsored by All Avenues NY and Mike seemed to be one of the stars of the event. He knew everybody and was very laid back and cool. I was shocked at the number of Asian women who seemed to be infatuated with the guy. I jokingly wrote to a friend that he seemed to be the creamy center of an Asian lemon cookie :D If you are reading this, Mike, I'm just kidding.
Some of the cool people I met ranged from doctors to real estate to producers. Sean, the Asian guy lounging on the couch, was so very chill. He is studying neurology and just like Mike is going for a PHD in his particular field. He invited us after the networking to hear some bands play at a local bar. The girls at the event were wonderful. Yuka and Yvonne were very nice and made the evening much more fun than just working the crowd. I admit that I drank a little too much and the drive home reminded me of my college days... Dangerous! DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, PEOPLE!!!!
Anyway, take it easy and much love to everyone I made a connection with at this networking.
N8

What's In A Name?

"MY EYES ARE OPEN."
About seven years ago I heard this phrase and I had an epiphany. My life needed change and the one factor that tied me to the past was my name. I was never pleased with my family name because my dad after the divorce completely rejected me and my mother. In fact, his entire side of the family cut communication and all ties to us. So what is in a name? Everything!!!
I was watching Fight Club for about the sixteenth time when I realize that change is an internal process that may take a second or sometimes many years to occur. For me it was in that one second that I didn't want to be the same anymore. Sapien just means wise. The correct use of the word in English is sapient which means wisdom. After my epiphany I went on the computer and began looking up names especially those dealing with comics. There was this strange bust of a character who had already been introduced into the comic Hellboy but no one had seen. His name was Abe Sapien. The toy manufacturer had a picture of a man with zebra-like stripes on his face and a speed dial type of device on his chest. I said to myself this looks neither like an Abe nor a Sapien. Then bingo! Nathan Abe? No. Nathan Abraham? No. Nathan Sapien? Ah-ha!!! So for several years I was just Nathan Sapien then the other part of the name came to me. A friend of mine got engaged and in a lot of the correspondence I kept telling her everything was Zen. Jokingly I said maybe I should add this to my name and she told me it was more of an aspiration than a name. I LOVED IT. There was a certain exotic and spiritual quality to it. In my mind there seem to also be a challenge of whether I could live up to the standards created by the name.
Anyway, that is how I got the name Nathan Zen-Sapien. Oddly enough when I checked the website for the picture of Abe Sapien the manufacture had made a mistake and posted the wrong pic. Apparently, Abe Sapien is a mer-man or half fish/half man creature. If I had known this I probably would not have pick Sapien as my pen and stage name. Nothing against fish people but lets face it the zebra/robot dude was just a little bit cooler.
Keep a peaceful state of mind and make sure that your eyes are open.
N8

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Words, words, words...
Sometimes even if you have the best of ideas there is the very large possibility that no one will understand or care if you have not presented them in the right way. No real deep quandaries here but food for thought to anyone writing, or acting or both. This is also relevant to all people in business because the masses, peers, and bosses all judge you based on what you put forth or those things that you have that they deem is of value. The most amazing thing is that the average performer ( or person for that matter ) doesn't realize that the key component of showbiz is business and success in business is the end product which is usually presented as some kind of show. Put up or shut up takes on new dimensions when viewed in this light.
Like I said earlier no real deep quandaries just food for thought :)

Semantics Or A Matter Of Truth

This initially was going to be another video post but I feared becoming one of those blogs that do nothing but post the video crap that other people place up on the web. So I decided to give an update on the progress so far. Besides contacting a ton of people that I don't know about the book and my other scripts I had an epiphany. Apparently, there is a difference between advertising and publicity. You can advertise your butt off but it means nothing if people aren't interested enough to even read the flyer or pamphlet or whatever piece of crap that you wasted your hard earned money on. On the other hand, all you need is one strategic or famous or connected person to start talking about what you've done and BINGO you got some good publicity!!! Now some may say this is just a matter of semantics and colloquial interpretation but let's face it there is some truth to the statement. The real question is HOW does a person get publicity? Maybe I should add luck to my previous equation for success although I believe (and Oprah agrees) that there is no such thing as luck just a lot of ingenuity and timing.

Yamakasi And The ART Of The Human Body In Motion

First let me say that I have always loved seeing the human body in motion. There is something about the natural (some would say divine) design of form and function that makes me enjoy watching athletics and dance.
In some facets of my art I try to show the effect of force and energy on objects especially those thing derived from the natural world around us. However, there is something to be said about the mind as a factor. The video that I am showing is more than athletics. This guy has trained himself to do that which the average person can't. He used his natural talent and mind in such a way that the inertia that would cause great injury to average person is negated by simple physics.
It is scary to watch and I recommend that NO ONE SHOULD TRY THIS STUNT!!!!!!! EVER!!!!!!! *******Life is too precious to try a stunt like this because one miscalculation or change in the external factors and YOU ARE DEAD! *******

DRIVEN And My Equation For Success

I have been communicating with a wide variety of people from around the world and here in the U.S. lately. I really think that I have made enough (although enough is never enough) celebrity, industry, reviewer contacts that the future books and promo should go smoothly. There are extraneous factors like locations and contracts to consider but I feel with the right production team all these components will be resolved.

Experience + Drive + Resources (usually equals)= Success

Hopefully, this formula will work for me in the future and if it doesn't I will just have to rethink the process or enforce some other plan of action.

Jimmy Lee Phelan - Cinematography

I have been sort of out of the loop so I have to congratulate my buddy, Jimmy Lee Phelan. On 05/06 he got his MFA in Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. I met Jimmy (or Lee as he prefers to be called) on a commercial shoot. He had a lot of great ideas and after I saw his early reel I knew he had the talent to back up those concepts with action (click on the link above to see what I mean).
Lee if you read this I just want to say more power to you and thanks for showing me your willingness to work with all types of people. You have a bright future ahead of you.

Party Season Is Around The Corner

The buzz is in the air. So far I have had over four different requests to attend five different networking parties.
It is funny how people turn an event that only lasts for a few hours into a seasonal extravaganza! I guess that everybody likes to see each other and talk about the events that occurred since the last party. These upcoming gatherings should be really interesting seeing that several people actually had a pretty successful year. One of the parties involves a musician friend of mine that I haven't seen in 15 years. He has been playing in the NY area and I didn't know about it so clearly he is invited to any event I go to and hopefully vice-versa will be the case at his events.
Most of this stuff doesn't start until September so its all good in my mind. A lot of people have done what they promised and I feel that it is my turn to step to the plate. I admit that this Summer was unusual and sometimes stressful but overall I really didn't work the way I wanted to. I don't have any real hard feelings about this because you often can't control the circumstances that come your way in life. All I can do is live and learn.
As usual, I'd like to thank all my friends who helped me through the bad stuff and for all the love and support that was shared with my family.

TAKE CARE and KEEP A PEACEFUL STATE OF MIND :)

N8

Congrats and Happy B-Days

One of my associates, Edmar Flores, is having quite some success. He was a crew member of the movie DESCENT!!! I also have to shout out that the 30th is his B-Day. I haven't heard from him in a while because he has been busy but I know that it is all good! I would also like to wish Lisa G. a Happy B-day. Her special day was the 29th... thanks Lisa for your critique of my work and for giving me a job on the Verizon Shoot.

Take it Easy and keep it Lite!!!

Nate

No News is Good News... I guess

I still haven't heard from the "big boys" in the industry. At least they are looking! So until I hear from them here are some fun images including my headshot. I particularly like these images because they are all different examples of my work. The hand is just a digital image that I converted to black and white. The flowers I painted in college and the collage is my tribute to the power of women. It has a distinct Black power feel to it but I think any woman should be impressed. The only image of a man in that picture is Nelson Mandela (bottom left hand corner). As for the rest of the images I just think they are fun and free expressions of artistic creativity. Enjoy.

Developing Situations

I am feeling much better today. I got back into the routine and did a mailing yesterday to several producers and directors that I feel could make use of my scripts.
I haven't heard from too many of my associates of late but I understand that is the nature of the biz. When you are up everyone is your friend but true loyalty and friendship is seen in those low moments... who stuck with you and who simply disappeared.
On a high note, there has been some buzz about my TV script. Several lit. managers and agencies have been enquiring about the story and its selling points. I have a good feeling about this and I am willing to work for anyone who has better ideas or shares my views on the development of the script.

MKODI after one week

These are just some images that I took of Mkodi on Friday which is one week after it sprouted.
I have a good feeling that I will continue to write after I give myself a week or two to really heal. The plant has actually grown bigger than this so I will probably put it in a larger pot at the end of this month.

N8

MKODI and some more art

The tree that sprouted upon my brother's death has a new name, MKODI. I also like the name Geistblume. Mkodi means supernatural spirit in Swahili and Geistblume is the combination of the words spirit and flower in German. More than likely I will give both names to the plant. I also have a few more images of the art that I have been creating over the years. If you would like a signed print or poster just email me and I will see what I can do.
On a side note, NJ is a mess. My brother's funeral was yesterday and we still can't bury him because the government is closed and won't give out any death certificates. That means that everyone who passed away after the gov't closed must stay above ground until those certificates get to the funeral homes. This is horrific but I will and have remained spiritual throughout this whole experience. I grieve not only for my brother but for all the families that have to suffer through this. All I can say is that this physical world is the lie and the truth is the light in our eyes. When that light leaves all that is left is just the shell and not the soul that lived within it.
Remain strong.
N8

My Brother's Passing

My brother passed away on June 30, 2006. He had been suffering for several years from many ailments so his passing to some place better than this is a time for joy and not pain or anguish. I truly believe that we are more than our physical bodies so his transition from the material world to the spiritual one is a blessing because in this world he suffered so much. A wonderful incident occurred about the same time that he left us at 12:06 PM. I had spent the majority of night at the hospital so when I came home and finally fell asleep in the morning I didn't wake until 12:30 PM that is when I noticed that the acorn that I had transferred to a pot two days earlier had sprouted. I consider this a small miracle because I had tried to transfer the acorns that had roots in our family's backyard before to no avail but that Friday was different.
I don't know how long I will keep the plant or what it's fate will be but every time I look at it I am reminded of the life cycles that exists in this physical world and then I realize that there spiritually is so much more. To all who read this do not let your soul feel sad because there is so much more and from what I can tell it is good .

Peace,
Nathan Zen-Sapien

The Summer of Schmooze

Wednesday was the first day of Summer and I kicked it off by attending a networking. It was very fulfilling because I met people from all over NJ. Sadly, I received an invite to a networking in NY that very evening and I really wanted to attend that one as well but I had a prior engagement.
I am starting to get the hang of all this 'shmoozing' and unlike other artist I am not feeling any conflict of interests. It seems to come with the territory... how are people going to find out about you or your product if you don't get out there and advertise what ya' got? I think that the businessman in me is the real person who regrets missing the NY function. It would have been great to meet the theatre crowd that were slated to be there that night and give them my business card.
At the event that I did attend there was a representative from Warmspirit.com (GREAT smelling skin care products), a beautiful singer, and also a Public Relations/Mass Media Writer by the name of LeGina Adams. These three women were fun and interesting contacts to make because they reminded me of the people that you usually meet in the arts. They had strong personalities and were very creative.
I guess in the end, the networking that I was suppose to attend was the one that I went to anyway. In life it seems that when you force an issue that is when you meet the most resistance but when you go with the flow that is where you gain the most ground. I am pretty sure that there are going to be a lot more of these events this Summer and for some reason the businessman in me is ecstatic!

Father's Day

Just a brief note on this special day to every man and woman who has filled the role as father/guardian/provider of their family. Your efforts are not done in vain. Coming from a single family household I truly appreciate the aspect of having a strong father figure. My physical dad was never there for me and in the later days of his life he disowned me but spiritually I never gave up on the idea of a strong Fatherly presence within me. I know this maybe a difficult concept for some of you to understand but I do believe that within all of us is both is a Mother and Father presence that transcends our physical understanding. All we have to do is acknowledge this presence and it is already there. So I never feel lost or alone during these holidays and neither should you.
May you have a peaceful and joyous holiday!

N8

Tara, Family Misunderstandings, And An Equery

I saw a cool statue on eBay of the goddess Tara. As usual, I did some investigating to find out who Tara was/is and what she means to the people that follow her. Personally, I believe that there is only one God and we insignificant minded specks of star dust are not capable of comprehending the totality of God's being. That aside I was intrigued to find out that there are 21 variations of this deity. I automatically thought of Baskin Robbins 21 flavors and giggled because I do believe that are many aspects of the human personality that are reflected in the things that we worship or admire. I do not want to offend the followers of Tara so I apologize if I am being culturally ignorant. I still believe as an artist that the statue that I saw on eBay was beautiful.

So my very religious mother walks pass me looking at the statue on the family computer and the sparks flew. I spent the next two days defending my artistic interest in the images of which she thought was idolatry. This incident spun into another incident when I told my sister what a therapist friend of mine said was the real cause of my family's over observant behavior of me. Needless-to-say for the pass few days the old cycle of male bashing behavior that my almost all female family kicked in and now I have become a verbal pincushion at home. I HATE OLD CYCLES OF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR! So to do something new I racked my brain to find a positive means of contradicting this behavior and I remembered the success I had doing Equeries for my scripts. Whenever I solicit new buyers for my scripts my family's attitude changes for the better. I guess it is difficult to smash a man's will when you think that he may make enough money to buy you a new house.

So far I have received several positive responses but nothing really beats having a little peace of mind when you are over your relative's house