So you've not heard from me in a couple of months. I always feel bad when I begin to write a post after so long. Truth is however, this is probably how it is going to be, as regular posting seems not to be a strong point of mine even if I wish it were.  Not all is lost however, and if you are interested in regular postings albeit 140 characters only hit me up on twitter. So what's my news then? Well, I'm off to shoot a bunch of promo video's for Thanyapura in Thailand this Friday and return to Australia in the third week of November. Yes indeedy that is 4 weeks in the tropical island that...

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Today we have a lesson in history. Or perhaps I should say some personal history that contains a lesson. As I am naturally loquacious however I will give away the ending upfront just in case you miss it embedded in my rambling. Ok, here it is: be true to yourself. I know, I know...it's cliche to even point out that it's a cliche. So, perhaps a smarter way of saying this is, know who you are, know what you do best, and then do that! I have made this point previously—most recently in the article the impact positive childhood memories can have on adulthood. I wrote that article as we often...

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As a fan of the band Hammock and having recently purchased several albums I wanted to shoot something for one of their amazing soulful numbers. I chose, "How Can I Make You Remember Me?" from the album, "Chasing After Shadows...Living with Ghosts." See here: hammockmusic.com/​chasing The piece came about because I was heading into town (Melbourne, Australia) and had to take public transport for a meeting. So I took my 60d and a lens—my 50mm 1,4 just in case something came up. As I took the train to the meeting I listening to Hammock on my iPhone, and shooting whatever looked interesting...

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Note: for those of you reading this via email, here is the link to the article on my website. Lessons For Life Much has been written on the subject of movies as todays moral compass ((By "morals" I do not mean right and wrong from a legal point of view...that would be the domain of ethics. Rather, I am talking about the do's and dont's that lead oneself and others to or away from genuine flourishing. )). So I will not bore you with my thoughts on the matter other than to say I agree. As such, film is the medium by which many people learn life lessons. Do you remember the scene from...

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Introduction 13th Beach a Postpositive is a little video I made while staying with family after returning home from a long Indian field trip for my Ph.D (I write about the circumstances of creating the video in more detail in the BTS section below). For now, some prefatory remarks if I may. I am slightly reticent to say too much about the ideas to follow before you have a chance to watch the short-film. That being said, I would like to make a small comment about the use of the grammatical term "postpositive." First, its important to know I am using this term as a bit of a play on words rather...

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I woke this morning to remember I had made the same mistake as the last time I published an article with a video. And that is, I did not tell people reading the article via email there was a video in the post and to click on the link to watch it. I must be getting old...sorry! So, if you are wondering what yesterdays post was all about here is the link to the short film, The Writer. http://clarkescott.org/the-writer-a-short-film/ And I might add the shortfilm is not about me, nor writing. The title "the writer" is simply a vehicle for the story.  

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1. The Words What does it mean to be a writer? When does one get to call himself a "writer." Could it be that a writer is someone who is paid to write? Or perhaps a writer is someone who simply puts pen to paper? Maybe its simply a state of mind, or even just a label we use to make it easy for others to understand what it is we do. For me, a writer, at least in one sense, is all of the above and yet in another it is none of them. For writing is communication. Of course, it's not the only kind of communication but, at its heart, is the flow of an idea from one human to another....

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As part of the new design and focus I plan to regularly update the blog with three kinds of posts. (1) The first will be shorter news stuff. (2) And then there will be the film/video with BTS, a short commentary (depending on the shoot) and sometime an accompanying article; and finally (3) longer posts about stuff—Buddhism, philosophy, etc. Below is an example of the first kind: Sitting here in the lounge of Likir House, a guest house in Delhi owned by a monastery in Ladakh, tonight is my last night in India. It been almost six month now! Wow, really? Yep. Can't believe it myself. It has been...

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Australia is calling. Yep, I am returning home in six days. While there are things I will miss about India I am looking forward to getting home. After all there is no place like it. It has been a wonderful five months though, I must say. As profound as the last, and life changing too, however, this trip has been a lot more enjoyable. And more importantly the past five months have afforded me some distance from my normal surroundings and thus the opportunity to reflect on the past few years without distraction. This, of course, is reflected in the new website design and the inclusion of filmmaking...

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Last Sunday (20th March 2001) I went to Gyuto monastery to shoot a narrative film with two young monks. On my way home I stopped by Norbulingka Institute. Although the gardens at Norbulingka are quite beautiful, and worthy of their own piece, I ended up shooting just the main temple as I was short on time. Technical Canon 60d 28mm f1.8 USM II Thoughts A fundamental theory of Buddhist philosophy related particularly to Buddhist soteriology is the notion that every living being has the potential to become enlightened—"Buddha potential." This potential is a naturally occurring and innate...

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