Sunday, January 6, 2008

Brilliance or Betrayal

I opened my email the other day to find a notice from Amazon.com. "Since you've ordered merchandise by Julia Cameron, we thought you'd be interested....." It seems Ms. Cameron has penned a weight-loss book. Huh?

It's that time of year, of course. The ads for weight-loss programs, diet pills and tonics, and exercise equipment have tripled since before the holidays. The gyms all know that getting people to sign up now means lots of money for them, especially if they can get those people to take a one or two year contract. Because the vast majority of those people will have to continue to pay month after month while only actually using the facilities for a month or two. Why do you think they make you pay in advance or sign a contract? No flies on them.

But Julia Cameron? Creativity guru? The blurbs on Amazon claim that she discovered that people who unlock their creativity using The Artist's Way tend to get in shape as well. It's been a while since I did the program, but I don't recall any great body change. Maybe I did it wrong. Wouldn't be the first time that I failed to experience what others have. But it sounds like so much hooey to me.

We had a discussion at a Pirate's meeting a month or so back about whether we can separate an actor's private life from their work, i.e. Tom Cruise. Does the appearance of his being a total whack job ruin his movies for us? I believe the majority said, "yes." However, when it came to Russell Crowe and the reported violence, no one seemed deterred. Why? Is it that we think he's been falsely accused or that he's a better actor? Hard to say.

So does Julia Cameron's apparent selling out erode the respect I have for The Artist's Way? Not so much. It worked for me. Morning Pages still work for me. I think that D.B. is doing the right thing by doing the program. But this weight-loss book does leave a bad taste in my mouth. And it's not just that book. She's seemed to be pushing the whole add-on to The Artist's Way for a while now. She must have six or seven books related to the first one. But this latest one does seem over the top.

I'm one fan who will not be queuing up for this one. If you get it, though, let me know if it works for you. ;-)

3 comments:

Ali said...

As far as Tom Cruise vs. Russell Crowe goes - I find Crowe infinitely more likable. I like what he says in the music he writes, and I find it easier to believe that his sporadic outbursts have been greatly exagerrated by the press. I've also seen him do interviews. All in all, he seems a little tempermental, but generally down to earth.

Cruise, on the other hand, is stark raving loony and blatantly so by his own behavior, no press bias involved.

The bottom line, though, is that it's always difficult to separate the person from what they create - despite the numerous instances where we would wish it otherwise.

Jenny Maloney said...

Yeah, what Ali said.

Plus Crowe is hotter, more talented, and his anger is a lot more understandable than Cruise's.

To answer the question on the blog though, I have to say that it seems strange to me about Cameron's weight loss book. I mean, if you walk the way she recommends in The Artist's Way and later in her other books, then yes, you'll lose some weight. But I think the point is that you have to change your thought process...really I don't think it's that big a jump, as long as she has real research from nutritionists and trainers and whatnots to back up what she says. But hers is probably a motivating book rather than real heavy on the advice. Make sense?

Minion GIR said...

Good points by all.

What you got in the post was my initial reaction. And while I'm still skeptical, I may at least look at the book to see what's going on. From the Amazon blurbs, there are no nutritionists or trainers involved, but that may just be an omission. We'll see.