THE ZOCALO TODAY

Here is a special notice coming your way.

NEVER SURRENDER DREAMS

"Never Surrender Dreams" is a very important phrase to JMS. You can
hear him discuss why this has meant so much to him over the years at
http://www.NeverSurrenderDreams.com.

For the first time ever you can get a framed print PERSONALLY
autographed and inscribed by J. Michael Straczynski. The center
"Never Surrender Dreams" portion is printed on archival paper using
acid free ink. JMS then inscribes and autographs your print. AFTER he
signs it, it is then matted and framed.

You can order the framed print now through October 17 for $87. If you
have questions, go to NeverSurrenderDreams.com.

Ranger Jan sent me an excerpt from "The Foundation" that should be
required reading for everyone.

FROM "THE FOUNDATION"
We are born capable of greatness. It's when we allow ourselves to
become discouraged, to see ourselves as failures, when we fail to
recognize our inherent nobility, that we grow small, and diminish,
and ultimately sacrifice our dreams on the altar of more realistic
expectations of ourselves.

When that happens, we forget who we are, what we are here for, and
what we want to achieve, knowledge that is always within us...until
we choose not to remember it any longer because the memory pains us,
and because it is easier to settle for less than our dreams demand of
us.

Children sing and dance spontaneously, tell stories without fear,
reveal their thoughts without inhibition, and reach for what logic
tells us should be unattainable. That is who and what we are in our
most elemental form. We do, we explore, we ask questions; we pursue
our heart's desires, we dream of achieving greatness. But as time
passes, we learn fear, we learn to second-guess ourselves, and we
learn to suspect our abilities and our desires. We are told that some
people tell stories, some people dance, and some people sing, but
these things are not for everyone. When we try to express our
innermost thoughts, we are told to be quiet, that no one wants to
hear what it is we have to say, and that even if they did want to
hear it, what we say has no innate value. When we lose the spark of
spontaneity that was born inside us, which is our greatest gift, we
progressively eliminate the possibility of finding joy and purpose,
and inch by inch, our dreams slip away from us.

If we are to be who we are, and what we are; if we are to accomplish
great things, then we must learn the heart's most essential rule:
Never Surrender Dreams.

JMS UPDATE
Here is an update posted in the B5 moderated newsgroup on September
25:

For anybody working in the arts -- writer, director, actor, or any of
the other visual or musical arts -- it's always feast or famine. When
you're down, nobody wants you, when you're up, and can't take on any
other work, that's when everybody wants a piece of you. I've been
luckier than most because my slow periods are still pretty busy, but
there's still a visible arc.

Certainly the last 18 months have been not just busy, but insanely
busy...this is the most frantic period I've had work wise since the
end of B5 when we were finishing up one series, doing 4 TV movies and
launching Crusade and I was getting into the comics field, all at the
same time.

Changeling is less than three weeks from going into production,
offers to directors are going out on World War Z and as soon as
someone says yes it goes into production, Silver Surfer is two steps
away from being greenlit, I'm about two weeks shy of delivering the
first draft of They Marched into Sunlight to Paul Greengrass and Tom
Hanks, another production entity has stepped in to pick up Apocalypse
Al, there's all the comics work (Thor, Silver Surfer Requiem,
Spidey), the script books, the top-secret TV project I've been
working on...and waiting in the wings are at least two more movie
offers that I can take as soon as I finish what's now on my plate.
To some degree, the rest of the year is being complicated by the
coming WGA strike, but honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to
it...it'll be a chance for the first real vacation I've had since
1986/7.

Follow-up (10/3/07):
Yep, the strike authorization vote went out, sent mine back in today.
For those who want to know what's at stake and why there's going to
be a strike, check out http://wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2478.

That's about it for this special edition of The Zocalo Today.

Take care.
Sandy

Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net