Consolidation - The Magazine from Strike~Me~Gyllen

A Pocketful of Starlight, A Stocking Full of Dreams

2009-01-19T21:39:00.034+05:30

Our last post here was to the Keeper of Dreams. In my life, my mother "catchafallingstar," the better half, the winning half of all my ventures, is indeed that Keeper. In 2006 profound changes were occurring within her as she prepared for a transition to another life. And as she worked through her own, she was witness to the changes in me. I was daring to dream. And to share those dreams with her. I dreamed and she held the dreams in trust for me. And still does two years after her passing.

People have often asked me why she chose her user name as catchafallingstar. She had chosen it on an impulse, quoting from a John Donne poem, "Go and catch a falling star." Interestingly, not long after her account was set up on Strike~Me~Gyllen, then under construction and awaiting launch, she actually fell. It's an old story and many know it. From the apparent irony and sadness of it though, arose hope and new beginnings.

Reminding me of the popular song from the last century:

"Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away! Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket,
...
...
Just in case you feel you wanna’ hold her,
You’ll have a pocketful of starlight! "

Today it's been two years since the star fell and we caught her essence. I wrote this in my journal as I recalled how I've sustained myself through two difficult years just knowing I had the starlight in my pocket. Kim told me to share the post and here it is:

Caught, Falling ...

Put in several pockets, saved for several rainy days.
Risen again in many places, minds and hearts.

Indeed we fall so we may ascend, set so we may rise, depart so we may arrive and be welcomed.

As you fell, you brought down with you a shower of gifts. The best of those were faith, hope and love; of them, love the first among equals.

And then you were actually "fished out of pockets" around the globe. In London you emerged from under a carpet, in Texas you sang behind the curtain, in Toronto you hitched a ride on a shoulder and in plain old Kolkata you did what you always love - you took a walk and met up with a new friend like she was an old one! Needless to say, you ride on my heartbeat(or do I ride on yours?) 24x7.

Dear catchafallingstar - it's your day today. What can we say but "Rise and Shine" as we raise and cheer!

Those who haven't already can read catchafallingstar's Farewell Message dating back to February '06.

To Your Dreams ...

2008-12-19T20:23:00.005+05:30

Dear Jake

To Your Dreams ...

Happy Birthday With Love from Strike~Me~Gyllen and Consolidation!

Read our pre-birthday post on Jake Gyllenhaal as an artist

We welcome comments on all our posts!

Milestone Ahead ...

2008-12-18T16:17:00.006+05:30

What we experience through the years continues to "create" us as we go through life. Parts of this creation, parts of ourselves are often rearranged, sometimes effaced, for the integrity and growth of the whole.

As Jake Gyllenhaal (born 19th December 1980) crosses another milestone on the 19th, we who have been inspired by his work are watching that creation unfold.

The process of maturing as an artist is a partnership of discovery by both the artist and the audience. Art, especially the interpretation of characters on stage and screen, is communicative and the total experience is created by the giver and the recepients together. Jake Gyllenhaal has had a growing presence as an actor for over 10 years, a strong presence in his fans' minds and hearts.

Some have watched his artistic evolution in real time, whereas a large number of us took in the whole range of experience when Brokeback Mountain brought him face to face with us. It's through tapping into the subtleties, the shades, the uncharted areas within himself while exploring the ones without, that Jake Gyllenhaal has brought to life on screen, the incredible range of characters that he has "been" for us in his movies through the years. What makes his performances stand out is the mindfulness with which he absorbs the nuances of the character he informs, and reflects them back to his audience. He pays attention and he makes the viewer pay attention.

We haven't had a new release from Jake since Rendition and there are several in the pipeline covering an unexpected range. Kim in her comment on the "Consolidation Launched" post has spoken about the kind of movies he takes on, ones that "examine the subtleties of war, fear, and love, and point us toward doors which can open us up to the realization that there is an Ennis, an Anwar, a Douglas in all of us." There are many paths through which these subtleties can be examined and they can be the unexpected pathways through comedy, fantasy and sometimes movies that appear shallow but could be an invitation to the audience to explore new metaphors.

Gar in his comment, regrets that heroes like Douglas Freeman are fictional and speaks of the courage and humanity that Douglas found deep inside himself. Douglas, through that discovery destroyed parts of himself to create himself anew. That process of change was a focal theme of our Rendition feature. Kim has hoped that the doors to realization will open up faster, in us and in all of our cultures, than those which threaten to close because of prejudice, suspicion, and misunderstanding. On the eve of Jake's birthday let's raise a toast to the birth, the rebirth of courage and humanity around the globe.

Incognita

Consolidation Launched!

2008-12-05T19:51:00.021+05:30

On 19th November 2008 at 9:15 pm IST, we launched Consolidation - The Magazine from Strike~Me~Gyllen!

Strike~Me~Gyllen (SMG for short) - the forum, while catalysed by the Gyllenhaals, a Hollywood film family (consisting of siblings, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and their parents Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner) was created not as a fansite but primarily out of a sense of constructive activism. SMG, started in February 2007 by Incognita, an Indian in Kolkata, ventures to explore beyond the Gyllenhaals and their contribution to the arts, into the related issues of media veracity, human sexuality and social justice in a broader context. Through threads exploring themes in the arts and society east and west, Strike~Me~Gyllen has built a cyber family of contributors, a team of writers with global perspectives and experience.

In spirit SMG is meant to be a place where something is generated beyond the personal transformation of the people who post. That global transforming effect is part of what we call Activism Through the Arts, something that cannot happen without Activism For the Arts.

Consolidation the magazine, has its roots in these themes and initiatives. Our special pre launch edition (December 2007,) focussed on readers familiar with the work of the Gyllenhaals and had a special feature on Jake Gyllenhaal to mark his birthday; but this first full-fledged edition of the magazine reaches for a broader audience, moving beyond the cyber-fandom to activists in the arts both east and west.

Read below about the magazine's focus and the features we bring you in this edition. You can see screenshots of a few pages from the magazine. Click on image to view full size

Cover of the launch edition:

You'll see in the picture alongside a list of features we hope to bring you on a regular basis. We are starting this time with only a few. You'll notice a feature "Sands of Time" with details under it. Here is the background on how sand - yes plain beach sand - triggered the process that culminated in Consolidation.

Stephen Gyllenhaal creating sandcastles on the beach got a whole group of us discussing the role of sand in the history of civilization and how we have ended up harnessing the power of its vital element, silicon, the second most plentiful element in the earth's crust.

We quote from Prof. Jim Turley, an independent analyst, columnist, and speaker specializing in microprocessors and semiconductor intellectual property who was past editor of Microprocessor Report and Embedded Processor Watch: "Silicon chips all start out with, well, silicon. It's one of Earth's basic immutable chemical elements (element 14 in the periodic table, for those keeping score at home) and is basically purified beach sand. We're not likely to run out of this resource anytime soon."

Cyberspace, a phenomenon that exploded around the silcon chip has effectively connected all civilization into an integrated virtual web that we can think of as the "Silicon Universe." In our feature "Sands of Time" we'll explore this element in its physical and metaphysical aspects.

You can see a snapshot of our contents page.

On "The Slippery Slope" the topic is Gavin Hood's Rendition (2007) a movie on the theme of illegal detention and torture of foreign nationals in America suspected of involvement in terrorism. This important film on human rights has not received the attention it deserves but we hope that the changes in America will enable it to gain a wider audience. The recent shocking terrorist attacks in India too, will hopefully bring together people who are striving to non- violently contain violence worldwide.

You'll see features on the late actor Heath Ledger, honoring his life and work. Heath will be remembered gratefully by numerous admirers worldwide, for his contribution to human rights through his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, "a heartbreaking tale of impossible love." It's a film that has made the world sit up and think, and we hope work towards equal rights for all, irrespective of sexual preference, or of whom they chose to love.

A notable step in this direction has been the creation of the BBM Foundation - Friends of Brokeback Mountain - whose progress will be covered on every edition of Consolidation.
The Sacred Mountain feature we've planned, also inspired by the same film but not restricted to its theme, is for telling our own personal stories of tragedy and triumph, in our struggles to surmount obstacles in our lives.

If you'd like to read Consolidation you can write to consolidation.launch@gmail.com and we'll email the pdf to you. We look forward to your feedback which you can post as comments here. SMG members can post their feedback about the magazine as well as join the discussion about the Rendition feature on the forum.
Incognita and Kim
Editors