This Week: The Men Who Stare at Goats movie review, Channel Kevin Blackwell, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza VIP Grand Opening, How to be Famous, and more…

The Men Who Stare at Goats. My husband, John B. Alexander, Ph.D., is figured prominently in the book The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson. In fact, many of our friends are “satirized” in the book. Jim Channon (creator of the First Earth Battalion warrior monks concept), hilariously portrayed by Jeff Bridges (as Bill Django) in the movie, was the film’s technical advisor. Jim told me that George Clooney is playing a character based on several people including John. (Pictured: John interviewed by producer Renee Smallwood for Overture’s THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS DVD special features.)

Yes, John does alter weather by cloud bursting. It certainly helped during our cruise to Antarctica! However, he never has killed a goat intentionally or unintentionally.

John was formerly with the U.S. Army Intelligence & Security Command (INSCOM) under Major General Albert Stubblebine. Bert is featured in Ronson’s book where he is described as attempting to walk through walls. Ronson wrote about Bert: “General Stubblebine passionately believes the First Earth Battalion doctrine that every human being alive was capable of performing supernatural miracles…” (The Men Who Stare at Goats p. 93).

In 1991, I traveled to the Soviet Union with Bert Stubblebine* and Rima Laibow, MD. (Pictured: In Russia with one of our “hosts” and at a TREAT Conference banquet.) We were in Russia on a private mission touring parapsychology labs (staying at a 4-star KGB hotel and squired around by KGB personnel).

In GOATS, the character based on Bert, General Hopgood (Stephen Lang, pictured), keeps running into walls without successfully going through them.

While not exactly a true story but based on true elements, GOATS begins with Midwest reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) interviewing a squirrelly man who claims to be a U.S. military trained remote viewer. He tells Wilton about the super-secret psychic spy program.

Ever wonder what happened to Barton Keyes’s “little man” from DOUBLE INDEMNITY? Wilton inherited him!

So, following the directive of his “Little Man.” Wilton gets a passport and goes off to Saudi Arabia searching for intel about psychic espionage. He “meets cute” the whispered about psychic spy Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Cassady confesses all the secrets about Bill Django’s (Jeff Bridges) New Earth Army and his “Warrior Monks.” Django trained his hand-picked men to develop and use their psychic powers. And there, at the U.S. Department of Silly Walks, is where all the remote viewing, sparkly eye technique, invisibility, running through solid walls, and goat killing were taught.

Clooney praised his goat co-star: Clooney has called his animal co-star in THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS “a great actor.” At the movie’s London Film Festival press conference Clooney said that the goat he acted with was a more reliable castmate than Ewan McGregor. “This goat was a particularly nice goat, we spent a lot of time together. He wanted to go over dying around me so we worked on that for a while. The funny thing is the goat was a great actor. He walked in and you went, ‘Stare at the camera,’ and he did it. If you could get Ewan to do that it would help!”

Cassady is a zealot following the spiritual path laid out by New Age devotee Django. It’s his life’s code of conduct. Taking Wilton with him into Iraq on a mission, they are quickly captured.

Every movie needs a villain. Soldier-psychic spy Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) is jealous of Cassady’s paranormal success in the program. After Django’s fall from grace and “encouraged” retirement, Hooper gets funding for his very own psychic-spy training program. Wilton and Cassady find Django, broken and aged, working for Hooper.

Clooney understands the character of Cassady. He is committed and completely invested in his beliefs. There is no other way. These are the kind of mesmerizing individuals that people follow without asking the tough questions. Except for the sparkly-eye technique, GOATS will be a boon to alternative ideologies it mocks.

Grant Heslov shows a gift for directing and a subtle hand juggling the material. According to IMDb.com, Heslov and Clooney founded a production company together. Screenwriter Peter Straughan had an interesting cast of real life characters and he has served them well. Except, we cannot identify Kevin Spacey’s underdeveloped Hooper.

What does Jim Channon think about GOATS? He told me:
“If I were writing a comedy I would have taken many of the same liberties with the truth that screenwriter Peter Straughan did. It’s a comedy. Of course, I never wore a ponytail with my uniform; what I did was never secret. But the movie’s hype certainly has a lot of people headed for the movie theatres.”

*Major General Albert “Bert” N. Stubblebine III was the commanding general of INSCOM from 1981 to 1984, when he retired from the army. Bert and Rima, a psychiatrist, founded the Natural Solutions Foundation (NSF), “a non-profit corporation devoted to protecting and promoting health freedom.” They claim to expose dangerous prescription drugs and vaccines promoted by large pharmaceutical companies, along with food contaminated by drugs.

Jim Channon’s final words: “The military folk who call themselves warrior monks are only too happy to be roasted by Hollywood’s Jedi warriors…nothing could be more honoring. Notice that by the end of the film the sacred cows lie dormant on the battlefield. The righteous, the New Agers, the Fundamentalists all were down and the human beings stood up and saved the day. We need a very creative army to find a better game plan than Shock and Awe. Good GOD, it’s the twenty-first century!!!!” (Photo of Jim in his 1st Earth Battalion t-shirt)

Channeler Kevin Blackwell. My good friend John L. Petersen, Founder and President of The Arlington Institute, www.arlingtoninstitute.org and author of A Vision for 2012: Planning for Extraordinary Change, introduced me to Kevin Blackwell. Kevin, currently living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, had an extraordinary spiritual experience and it left him able to channel anybody who ever lived, including Jesus, Einstein, JFK, Tesla, Lindbergh, etc. You can learn more about Kevin by watching some of Kevin’s YouTude videos including: The Story of My Awakening (1 of 3) (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW3L1-lyQl0), and My encounters with Moses, Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha (www.youtube.com/watch?v=orfXTAn_Yv4).

I have plenty of questions for Moses and, since I just finished another book on Jack the Ripper, I’m hoping Kevin can ask JTR his name and exactly how many victims he had. Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation: A Top Murder Squad Detective Reveals the Ripper's Identity at Last! by Trevor Marriott.

For Moses, perhaps we could find out (a) Where is Mount Sinai? (there is a dispute over the exact location), (b) What happened to the Ark of the Covenant? And (c) Where is his body buried?

Send your questions for deceased relatives or famous people to me for Kevin.

Kevin Blackwell is a New Age practitioner with over 25 years of experience in a variety of areas. In 1979, as a 16-year-old freshman in college, Kevin experienced a “spiritual awakening.” His study recently culminated in September, 2007 with a profound and continual experience of enlightenment. One major component of his study has been ongoing conversations with spiritual teachers of the past.

Today Kevin is an inspirational and motivational teacher who gives lectures, workshops, seminars and classes. He can communicate with angels, spirit guides, and distant and deceased loved ones. He is clairvoyant and clairaudient and is capable of analyzing auras and helping clients develop their own psychic gifts.

Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. Pizza Well Done! On Wednesday evening we had the pleasure of going to the newest Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza restaurant, its 18th location, in Las Vegas. ACFP is located at 6569 Las Vegas Blvd. in Town Square Las Vegas. The managers, staff, and owners were gracious and generously served 3 courses of authentic Italian dishes.

Founder Anthony Bruno makes meatballs just like my mother did! (With a side of ricotta, of course!)

Anthony was greeting guests and so was partner/NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino. I interrupted Dan eating pizza and talking with guests at the bar. Dan is known for being friendly and approachable. He was indeed!

ACFP uses 800-degree anthracite coal-burning ovens and the highest quality fresh ingredients. Anthracite is known to be the ‘cleanest’ of coals, burning smoke free with extremely high heat.

Preferred Public Relations sent all the VIP guests a big piece of anthracite with the invitation. My newest paper weight!

Our meal started with an Italian salad with fresh mozzarella, then the aforesaid huge meatballs, stuffed eggplant, and coal-oven-roasted chicken wings topped with grilled onions and sausage, and finally, the show-stopper, a divine pizza! So visit Anthony’s! www.anthonyscoalfiredpizza.com.

Reality Stars Spell it Out. “How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture” by Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. If, like me, you have no idea why chubby, talentless Jon Gosselin is a tabloid sensation, or why people on reality shows believe they are famous, then you should read “How to be Famous.” It is “supposedly” written by reality superstars Heidi Montag and her Svengali-like husband Spencer Pratt. Spencer is a reality star villain—a role he has manufactured for himself. Heidi is a Jesus-freak who recently posed for Playboy magazine (showing none of her naughty parts).

These two dominate the tabloids through the sheer will of Spencer. Hitler would have been impressed. And that is why their book is a must-read. What reality show winners do you remember? Who was the second Bachelor? What happened to the Third Season winner of “The Biggest Loser”?

Does Kate and Jon Gosselin know they have no talent except having children? And, even that, they needed medical help. Who wrote Kate’s book for her?

Why do women want to sleep with balding, tubby Jon?

Spencer has brilliantly kept him and Heidi—jointly called “Speidi”—from Reality Show Purgatory. This quick read spells out exactly how much hard work and determination it takes to stay in the tabloids without having a sex tape. Speidi counsels that becoming wildly famous requires hard work and a no-fail blueprint for success. They even have a ten-step plan that took them from nobodies to notorious. With this guide, you too can learn how to become a villain and how to mesmerize the media with outrageous behavior.

At least Speidi knows they have no talent. We are soon to be strangled with the onslaught of Octomom when her reality show hits the air. Octomom thinks Jon is cute and wants to stage-date Jon.