The Fiddler of Bedlam
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fithelere's LiveJournal:
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| Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | | 10:10 am |
Second Hand Hypnosis and Collateral Catalepsy
So last Sunday, a couple of musicians I know--Mark and April, a recently-formed musical act called the Tulstin Troubadours--asked if I would film them playing for a digital audition, and I proposed that my office would be a good location. I also asked if they would reciprocate by helping me create the hypnosis clip that is posted here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGMYXyR0UuMThe only problem with recording at my office is that the window unit air conditioner is pretty loud, and we are in Texas in June after all. So after we were done filming and had moved to making audio recordings, April took off her top. No big deal--her bra covered more than most bikini tops, and we're all theater people anyway. But this detail will be important as the story unfolds . . . ( Read more... ) | | Saturday, March 21st, 2009 | | 12:29 pm |
Bedlam Bards Live Album Available
Barnyard Bedlam: A Cock and Bull Story is now available online! You can check out the cover, read the song list, and order your copy here: http://tinyurl.com/BarnyardBedlamThis is the album we recorded last May in the Black Boare Pub at OKRF. We took a three-day weekend's worth of bawdy pub shows and boiled them down to a 79 minute CD. I should say that this is the album your mother warned you about. These songs are dirty. No one should ever listen to songs like this, much less laugh while doing so. All but two are about sex, and half of those involve animals or clergy, or in some cases, animals and clergy. What can I say? Our fans are sick puppies. Please spread the word (about the album, not about our fans). | | Monday, March 2nd, 2009 | | 6:42 pm |
Life after Fire
Well, I've been weighing my options, trying to figure out whether I should be looking for a new office space. There are some other attractive options, which seem more attractive if I don't compare them to what I had at Alum Creek . . . Late in the day, I got two phone calls that have eased my mind quite a bit. One was from the accupuncturist who had the office across the way from me. (It burned to the ground. She had just moved a load of new equipment in.) She was calling to tell me that the Smithville Chamber of Commerce president had located a free space for us to use on Main Street. "Free as in available, you mean?" I asked. "Yes, but also free of charge until we can find permanent office space." Y'know, the theme of that possibly cheesy Chamber banquet I went to on Saturday night was "Why We Love Smithville." Suddenly that doesn't seem so cheesy anymore. It's such a relief to know that I don't have to make the decision right now. I have breathing space. People in big cities might look down on small-town provincialism, but where else would the president of the CoC be worrying about whether the new hypnotist in town could stay in business? The next call was from the owner of Alum Creek Center. I had been putting myself in his shoes all day, and I'd been getting more and more discouraged about the long-term prospects. Turns out, I had it all wrong. He was more fired up--pardon the pun--about rebuilding than I've ever heard him about anything. He's lined up a salvage company that will pay him for the privilege of cleaning up all the scrap metal. He has secured a bulldozer and a backhoe, and he's making progress on applying for disaster relief funds. Things are looking up, and my little Firefly-class office might just sail again. | | Sunday, March 1st, 2009 | | 12:22 pm |
Fire Spares Harmony Hypnosis
Yesterday, I had a fine chance to put into practice all of the stress release techniques I've been teaching. At 2 pm, I was happily staining the wood for a sign to go in front of my office, to replace the temporary sign I've been using. (It's one of my bandit signs, meant for putting on power poles around rural Bastrop County.) My wife stepped out onto the porch and shouted that there was a fire near my office, and we should get anything of value out of it. The owner of the bead store adjacent to my office had called the number on my temporary sign. (Note to self: Add phone number to new sign.) Joyce and I worked calmly and efficiently to unload my truck and get it ready. As we made the half-hour drive, I didn't even freak out when the people in front of me on that little two-lane road insisted on going ten miles under the speed limit. By the time we reached Alum Creek Center, where my office is located, the air was thick with smoke and ash; I asked a firefighter if I would be allowed to go to my office, and his reply was, "We're not stopping people yet, but I wouldn't advise it." Joyce and I decided to go in anyway. We ran into my office and immediately started grabbing the small electronic equipment that was there. I stepped up on the loveseat and pried upholstery tacks out of the wall with my bare hands--my tools were still sitting on the porch at home, next to my unfinished sign--so that I could save the antique Persian rug I had on my wall. Next I hefted the massage recliner into the back of the truck, turning it on its side so that I could get the antique loveseat in next to it. Joyce was grabbing anything of value she could reach in the meantime--my books, my certificate, my father's wood carving, my salt lamp, the brand-new water cooler I finished setting up a few days ago. We made one last sweep to get what we could and then hightailed it out of there. By then we could feel the heat of the approaching fire. Shortly after we left, the authorities closed the highway. We went to Bastrop and had a cup of coffee at the Green Chai Cafe, where someone commented that we smelled like smoke. After that, we went home, where I continued working on my sign while visualizing a protective barrier around my office. Joyce and I got showers and went to the Smithville Chamber of Commerce annual banquet, which ended with all of the attendees converting the banquet hall into a refugee center. Watching the news last night, I saw reports that all of Alum Creek Center (where my office is located) had burned to the ground. I went to bed kicking myself for not spending another ten minutes grabbing a few more things, and then reminding myself to focus on sending positive thoughts to those who had lost their homes. This morning, I got a phone call informing me that not all of Alum Creek burned--my building and two others were spared. You can see footage of it here: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/Massive_wildfire_threatens_BastropScroll down to the bottom of the page and watch the second video. You'll see my office and the bead store. I don't know what the long term plan is. I doubt that Alum Creek Center will be rebuilt, so for the moment, though my office stands, it has no electricity and no bathrooms. I don't know what kind of heat and smoke damage there might be. But all in all, it's a miracle. | | Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 | | 10:00 am |
This Makes Me Feel Good
One of my clients (who is remaining nameless for confidentiality purposes) gave me permission to quote the email she sent me after her fear-of-public-speaking session: "Hi James, I wanted to thank you for the session. I did pretty well in my Icebreaker speech at Toastmaster. Not only did I survive; I actually won the blue ribbon (Best Speaker) award." Moments like that make this job so worth it! | | Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | | 11:42 am |
Playing in Austin this Weekend
Hey, BedHeads, We're playing in Austin this weekend (Friday and Saturday nights) at Fiddler's Hearth on Barton Springs Road. It's an early show, which in Austin means we start at 9 pm. Come get your ren fix before being stuck with family for the holidays! www.fiddlershearth.com Please repost this everywhere you can. :-) Love ya, Cedric | | Thursday, September 4th, 2008 | | 11:11 am |
DragonCon 2008
After a summer of playing Serenity screenings and throwing myself full force into promoting my new hypnosis business, I found myself last week suddenly realizing that it was time to pack the truck and go to Dragon*Con. There was no time to get either excited or anxious about this year, so we rather matter-of-factly threw everything in the truck and started driving: one day to get to Keith and Dionne's in New Orleans, and a second day to get to Rob Kuhlmann's in Atlanta. ( Read more... ) | | Friday, August 8th, 2008 | | 12:51 pm |
My First Street Hypnosis Experience
Last night, my wife set up a booth to sell her adorable craft goods (www.gypsyharte.etsy.com) at a street fair in Austin, Texas. Since I was going along to do the heavy lifting anyway, I printed out a couple of signs that read "Free Hypnosis Today," laminated them, and posted them around her booth. Wearing my "Hamony Hypnosis" gimme cap guaranteed that everyone knew who the hypnotist was. I had several volunteers early in the evening. The first was a pink-haired girl who had confessed that she only had twenty bucks to spend that night, so I'd told her the hypnosis was free. I didn't really think about the fact that this was the first time I did a rapid induction with a stranger who wasn't selected from a big crowd by a bunch of tests to pick out the natural somnambulists. Good thing, too; it might have blown my concentration. Anyway, her mini-session went well, with sticky 'nosis working. (She didn't go for the drunk finger, but she seemed to have fun anyway.) Next, I noticed a woman with whom I'm already acquainted reading one of my flyers. After answering a few questions about weight loss hypnosis, I asked if she'd like a brief demo. It went all right, with arm catalepsy, despite the fact that I had to more or less yell into her hearing aid to get past the drum jam going on in the street. (Welcome to Austin . . . ) She commented that she was amazed I could make it work at all, considering the distractions. Next, her husband volunteered, at her urging and a little warily. (What is it about us men that we don't want to be hypnotized? I'd say it's machismo, but this guy was wearing a skirt, eyeliner, and mascara. Welcome to Austin . . . ) Anyway, the arm yank on him didn't quite put him down, but I kept going with some deepeners, and before we were done, he achieved a wonderfully pleasant state. He left the chair with kind of a blissed-out expression. Once they were both done, I sat back and wondered whether I'd have any other takers. Then I realized it was really dumb to wonder, and instead I sent out a silent call for the Universe to bring me people who needed to experience hypnosis and people who needed my help. Having done that, I could relax and enjoy the evening, secure in the knowledge that the outcome would be exactly what was best for everyone. Eventually, the sun went down, and the crowds came out. At that point, parts of the evening become a blur. I don't remember who my next volunteer was, but I do know that I was much more in tune with my intuition regarding which inductions, deepeners, phenomena, and suggestions to use for the rest of the evening. Pretty much as soon as I had one person in the trancing chair, I had a crowd gathered and no shortage of people eager for a taste. (When the friend I had invited to come be a back-up volunteer arrived, I was so busy that I didn't need her to trance.) With some, I did arm catalepsy and sticky stuff, with others I gave helpful suggestions based on things they'd said before we started. Once I focused on helping people, the night went great, and I knew what to do for each one. I got to use a number of different inductions, including the handshake interrupt, which I'd never actually done before. That choice must have been pure intuition, because it worked like a charm. At one point, I had two girls who asked if they could trance at the same time, so I said, "Sure!" while my mind quickly replayed a video of Richard Nongard doing two clients at once. (That came out wrong, didn't it?) When I took a break and went into the store that was hosting us (White Crane, on South Congress--great store), a couple came over to me, asked a bunch of questions, and then demanded a card. I'd actually left all my cards at the booth, but the couple sought me out there later to get a card and ask more questions. I'm sure they'll be calling for private sessions. :-) Was it all perfect? No. Did every person I worked with respond perfectly to every suggestion? No. But what needed to happen, happened. I learned a lot about trusting my intuition and reading my trance partners. (I also learned to bring a chair for myself!) And when I stopped and realized it was my first street hypnosis experience, I was very pleased with the results. | | Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 | | 8:22 pm |
My Hypnosis Website
My certification with the International Hypnosis Federation became official today, so to celebrate I put my website online. I still haven't ironed out the details for office space, so for the moment it looks like I'm an itinerant hypnotist, delivering trances-to-go. (I wonder if I could make extra money by delivering pizzas at the same time: "You're getting sleepy, and yes, you do love anchovies . . . ") Anyway, my site is www.harmonyhypnosis.net . It's the first I ever designed, so please be gentle in your criticisms. Many thousand thanks, btw, to April for helping me with the backgrounds and logo. Any good qualities are because of her, and all flaws are mine. | | Monday, April 21st, 2008 | | 12:04 pm |
I have the best luck with student-teacher ratios!
When I signed up to start my hypnosis training last fall, it turned out that I had only one classmate. I remember thinking to myself, "Two-to-one, what a great student-teacher ratio!" When my classmate dropped out after one week of training, I was sad to see him go, as he was a very talented student, but I cheered myself up by thinking, "One-to-one, that's an even better student-teacher ratio!" Well, I thought it couldn't get much better than that, but it did. I just spent the last four days at a regional hypnosis conference--but as Fate would have it, I was the only student who showed up. Now, the guest-of-honor, the world-famous Shelley Stockwell, PhD, expert hypnotist with decades of experience, author of a dozen books on hypnosis, and founding president of the International Hypnosis Federation, could have said, "This is rotten! Only one person showed up to see me!" Instead, she said, "This is going to be exactly what each of us needs." So, for the last four days, I've essentially been in class with Kathy Moore (my instructor), Dr. Stockwell (one of the world's top hypnotists), and Donna Tully (Dr. Stockwell's personal assistant, and an expert hypnotherapist herself). One-to-three student-teacher ratio! I win! So there I was, a brand-new hypnotist whose just completed his certification hours, getting individual coaching from three amazing teachers . . . getting weight loss hypnosis from the person who wrote the book. (Literally--I have a copy of it.) I am one lucky son-of-a-gun! It was like grad school but better. My brain is still reeling from all the things I learned, and it may take me a week to write it all down. | | Thursday, April 10th, 2008 | | 11:04 am |
Adventures in Canada
The Bedlam Bards are now officially international performers, as this last weekend we played in Toronto, Ontario, in an operation that has come to be known as "Bards Without Borders." ( Read more... ) | | Monday, March 31st, 2008 | | 12:19 am |
| | Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 | | 12:30 am |
Charity Auction Reaches a Triumphant End
This is too bizarre for me to even explain. You just have to see it for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/26qxtsIn other news, I had a lot of fun at NTIF, even if I wasn't playing there officially. Got to see lots of long lost friends, in addition to hearing Tullamore, Ed Miller (and company), Battlefield Band, and Altan. Wow. | | Monday, February 25th, 2008 | | 9:58 am |
| | 9:57 am |
Ni-Howdy, Browncoats, Would you like to have Cedric from the Bedlam Bards perform at your local Can't Stop the Serenity screening? Well, here's how: In order to raise both funds and awareness for Equality Now, I am auctioning myself on eBay. Well, technically, I'm auctioning a performance at the Can't Stop the Serenity screening of your choice. Even better, the profits from the auction go to the CSTS screening of your choice, so it's a double whammy, but in a good way! But wait, that's not all! You also get steak knives. Steak knives? To heck with the gorram steak knives, you get something a lot shinier than that. A number of Browncoat artisans and celebrities have come forward to donate these prizes which the auction winner GETS TO KEEP: -Autographed Poster* {from Quantum Mechanix} -Autographed Bedlam Bards CDs -Autographed Done The Impossible DVD and Soundtrack CD {from Brian Wiser} -Autographed Browncoat Cruise Souvenir Book {from Brian Wiser} -Independent Flag {from Firefly Cargo Bay} -Jayne Hat {from Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe www.geocities.com/fadingendlessly} -Mal's Holster and Ammo Belt** {from www.browncoatfashions.com} -Plus a built-up Mal Pistol***, Jayne Pistol, grenade, PAL Communicator and a Zoe 'Mare's Leg' Winchester {from Wilco models} *Poster autographed by: Fillion, Tudyk, Minear, Fairman, Edmonson, Woodward, Sonny Rhodes, Nectar Rose, Adam Levermore-Rich (who did the art for the poster), and the Bedlam Bards. A similar poster fetched over $150 at auction **Holster and Ammo Belt - The "standard" gun belt size will fit people with hips in the range of 40 to 50 inches. The winner should specify their actual hip measurement if they need a gun belt larger or smaller in size. The holster and gun belt come with an ammo pouch suitable for carrying an extra set of clips, a cell phone, or an iPod. It's like the one Mal wore in Serenity. This item typically sells for $160 + S&H *** The Wilco Models replica of Mal's Pistol fits in the Browncoat Fashions holster. Wow, if I weren't ineligible, I'd be bidding just to win that stuff! So here's the info on the auction: Item number: 120225274158 http://cgi.ebay.com/Cedric-of-the-Bedlam-Bards-Your-CSTS-Screening_W0QQitemZ120225274158QQihZ002QQcategoryZ45208QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemThis listing lasts only 10 days, so bid early and bid often! I'll see you at your screening, Cedric www.BedlamBards.com P.S. Please feel free to spread the word and post this message everywhere you can. Let the whole gorram 'verse know what we Browncoats are doing! | | Thursday, February 21st, 2008 | | 12:22 pm |
Observations on my Hypnosis Work
Since I started studying hypnosis, I've been so busy doing hypnosis for other people that I really haven't had much chance to do it for myself. But two weeks ago, I scripted and then recorded a session for myself, which I have used consistently, at least five days a week, since then. The session focuses on eating smaller portions of food by encouraging me to be very calm while eating, to savor my food, and feel full and satisfied with small to normal portions, rather than the huge amounts I used to eat. The recording even includes seeing myself ordering a meal in a restaurant and asking for a to-go box at the same time; half the meal is to go in the box. Sooo, my results? ( Read more... ) | | Sunday, January 27th, 2008 | | 3:12 pm |
A Little Hypnosis Bragging
About two weeks ago, my hypnosis teacher called me to see if I wanted to practice my pain management--she'd been contacted by a nurse who was in so much pain from a work injury that she could no longer work, and therefore had no money to pay for a hypnosis session. When I talked to the nurse, I learned that she'd been on prescription pain killers, including methadone, for some time. Since her injury several years ago, she'd spent over $30000 on medical pain management alone. Some people even accused her of being a junkie, but I could tell she really wanted to be off her pills and well enough to work a full shift. She was a little dubious about hypnosis, though she admitted she'd seen the placebo effect at work in the hospital. Ultimately, she was desperate enough to try anything. Just to get to my teacher's hypnosis office, she'd had to take the last of the pain pills she could scrape together. Even so, she rated her pain at a 6 out of 10 before we started, and that was on medication. When we were done with the session, she rated her pain at a 1 out of 10. One out of ten! She commented that her pain pills really should have worn off by the time we were done, so normally she would have been curled up in agony at that point. Okay, maybe it's wrong to brag, but I'm really thrilled to have had a success like that, especially since it involved helping someone who really needed it. | | 11:48 am |
Ground Hog Day Bedlam Bards Show
Well, we've decided to come out of hibernation for a brief performance in Austin this coming Saturday. The 2008 12th Street/East End International Heritage Festival will take place from 10am to 4pm Saturday, February 2 at Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1801 Pennsylvania Ave., Austin, featuring music, vendors, food, fun & games, entertainment, and community awards. Please note that if we see our shadows during that gig, there will be another six weeks of winter. :-) See you there! | | Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 | | 8:42 am |
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
So last year, when our entire neighborhood was caught up in the throes of the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, I decided to throw a holiday party for Joyce and invite some of our friends over. The turkey I made for it (using Alton Brown's recipe) was such a big hit that this year, when my friends decided to throw a neighborhood party on Christmas day, they asked me to bring the turkey. Of course, last night, Joyce had the Christmas Eve shift at the 'dillo. She gets this shift because we have no children and therefore, one presumes, no desire to be at home on Christmas Eve. So after packing up the stock and getting out of there at about midnight, we stopped for food at the Waffle Ho (only place open, pretty much), and drove the hour plus it takes to get to our home in the forest. Then I had to turn the turkey and add the secret ingredients to the brine. Add to that some heated discussions Joyce and I were having, and it was pretty frakking late by the time I got to bed. And the alarm went off way too early so that I could start cooking that monster bird that it'll take to feed the whole neighborhood. So here I am, sitting at my computer before the crack of nine on Christmas, reflecting on the fact that I didn't get most of my gift-shopping done, thanking chance that booth tear-down at the Armadillo has been moved to the 26th--it used to always be on Christmas--and wondering where the hell my coffee is. | | Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 | | 4:55 pm |
Browncoat Cruise and Mutant Enemy Strike Day
Well, I posted briefly right before the Browncoat Cruise, so I'll try to pick up the story from there. First, the Cruise . . . ( Read more... )And then there was dinner with Greg Edmonson . . . ( Read more... )And finally, the strike! ( Read more... )So, the next afternoon we rolled into the Goathead Salloon for a charity concert with the Whiskey Bards, a kick-ass acapella group, and the Bedouin Tribe, who put on one of the best bellydance shows I've ever seen. There are MP3s of the concert at http://hosted.filefront.com/manosdvd/ (Thanks, Dave!) And two days later, we finally made it back to Pine Valley Estates. We had some great adventures in our three weeks on the road, but we're glad to finally be home. |
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