BRAIN FITNESS PROGRAM

Interesting show about the brain that I DVRd.

Learning is occurring all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. But what are the guiding principles that govern the plastic remodeling of the brain? What actually changes in the brain as you learn and remember? In order to drive positive change in the brain, there are seven tenets of plasticity that we must utilize.

Tenet #1
Change can occur only when the brain is in the mood.

Tenet #2
Change strengthens connection between neurons engaged at the same time.

Tenet #3
Neurons that fire together wire together.

Tenet #4
Initial changes are just temporary.

Tenet #5
Brain plasticity is a two-way street and we can either drive brain change positively or negatively.

Tenet #6
Memory is crucial for learning.

Tenet #7
Motivation is a key factor in brain plasticity.

Tips for optimal plasticity
You need your heart to be in decent shape.
Training should be incremental.
Training needs to be taxing and systematically improving.
It should be interesting to engage the motivation circuits in your brain.

ELI STONE

The non-union self-booking line has been quite empty lately probably because of the traditional holiday slowdown and the current WGA strike. Luckily, I got through to two shows (first one only had room for African Americans while the second booked me).

Eli Stone is a new drama that is in production but hasn't premiered. It was my first chance to work at the Disney Studios and I was glad that today was being shot inside a sound stage. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold inside and we all froze our asses off. On the other hand, we were fed by catering quite well and that's a great thing when lunch is a walk-off.

It was nice to see Maria who I had met on CSI NY. As usual, she pretty much ignored me, but it was a relief to hear that she too had not joined SAG and had not signed-up a calling service. It's always nice to know where you're at with your peers.

I met a lady from Australia who had been doing this over ten years and had yet to get that big gig. She was such a nice lady with great energy and I squirmed each time she asked me if I was trying to pursue a career in acting. I have trouble with such questions because I don't really quite know what the hell I'm going to do with myself right now. One thing I realized is that I have to figure out what I want. One new thought: find out more about film preservation jobs.

I saw a lot of actors on Eli Stone that I had seen on television or in the movies. Katey Sagal, Victor Garber and Jonny Lee Miller are the ones I recognized (although I didn't really recognize Jonny Lee Miller, but for some reason, he seemed familiar).

It was a very long day (about 12 hours) but it went by pretty quickly and it wasn't tiring because we were just sitting most of the time as courtroom observers.