Introducing the Jedemi Gang

Introducing the Jedemi Gang
“Any world is a valid world if it’s alive.
The thing to do is to bring life to it,
and the only way to do that
is to find in your own case
where the life is
and become alive yourself.”

Jedemi (May 2017): Page 2
In a world where nothing
seems to connect to anything...

Where folks are rushing about,
day-to-day,
getting there and back,
making things happen...

While deep down feeling
that there must be more to life
than this...

There arrived in a cafe,
spirits from the past on a mission...

To provide context, clues & connections that
help re-kindle & inspire the creative spirit.

 Spirits of people who lived in the same general
period of time.
 It is possible that they knew of each other or were
exposed to the same influences.

 They are…
 Heroes** with characteristics worth emulating
 Empathic listeners
 Excellent storytellers
**A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something
bigger than oneself.

 Spirits of people who lived in the same general period of time
 It is possible that they knew of each other or were exposed to the same influences

 Frankie - Frank Capra (filmmaker)
 Joey - Joseph Campbell (teacher/storyteller)
 Frannie - Frances Marion (screenwriter)
 Doc - Ed Ricketts (Marine biologist & philosopher)
 X - Antoine Saint Exupery (writer & pilot)
 Tommie - Thomas Edison (inventor & resident techie)
These are the ones who were the first to take up residency
at the Jedemi Café.

Introducing Frankie
Frankie – Filmmaker Frank Capra
[b1897 May 18 -- d1991]
 Capra was an Academy Award-winning director whose movies were suffused with
affectionate portrayals of the common man and the strengths and foibles of American
democracy.
 He was the first to win three directorial Oscars -- for "It Happened One Night"
(1934), "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936) and "You Can't Take It With You"
(1938).
 Most know him for "It's a Wonderful Life."
 He is also noted for his “one-man, one film” approach – complete control from
concept to delivery.
Notable Quotables
 "A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something."
 "There are no rules in filmmaking, only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness."
 "What interests people most is people."

Introducing Joey
Joey – Mythologist/Teacher Joseph Campbell
[b1904 Mar 26 – d1987]
 Campbell was an American professor, writer, and orator best known for his work in the
fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion.
 "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949) is one of his best-known books. It
discusses the monomyth cycle of the hero's journey, a pattern found in many
cultures.
 George Lucas has said he based Star Wars on ideas from 'Hero.'
 The PBS Series, "The Power of Myth" with Bill Moyers (first broadcast in 1988)
catapulted Campbell's visibility.
Notable Quotables include:
 "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."
 "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only
walls."
 "Never get into a rut. Never do work that does not help you achieve an ambition
worthy of your talents. Keep physically and mentally alive."

Introducing Frannie
Frannie – Scriptwriter/Artist Frances Marion
[b1888 Nov 18 – d1973]
 Marion was an American motion picture screenwriter whose 25-year career spanned the
silent and sound eras.
 Credited with writing 325 scripts --every conceivable genre.
 Won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1930 for the film “The Big
House” (first female to win).
 Received the Academy Award for Best Story for “The Champ” in 1932.
 She scripted vehicles for Mary Pickford and Marion Davies plus directed and
produced half a dozen films.
 Was the first Allied woman to cross the Rhine in WWI
 She painted, sculpted, spoke several languages fluently, and played concert caliber
piano.
Notable Quotables
 "The friendliness that existed among the studio personnel always amazed people on the
outside; it was because there was no such thing as an easy job and each individual
respected the problems and hard work of the other fellow."

Introducing StX
StX – Pilot / Writer Antoine de St. Exupery
[b1900 Jun 29– d1944]
 de Saint-Exupéry was a French aviator and the author of the children's fable The
Little Prince (1943).
 He also wrote novels. Southern Mail (1929), Night Flight (1931) and Wind,
Sand and Stars (1939) brought him critical and popular success.
 A veteran of France's air service (1921-23), he spent most of his working life in
commercial aviation.
 He flew postal routes across Spain into Africa
 "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible
to the eye."
 "True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating
things new."
 "A goal without a plan is just a wish."

Introducing Doc
Doc – Marine Biologist / Philosopher Ed Ricketts
[b1897 May 14– d1948]
 Ricketts was a pioneer in ecology and the inspiration for countless marine biologists.
 Known for Between Pacific Tides (1939), he’s probably the only scientist in history to have 15
animal species and a nightclub named after him.
 He was a mentor to Joseph Campbell and muse to John Steinbeck, who used Ed as the
model for some of his most memorable characters.
 The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951) was a collaboration with Steinbeck.
 Per Steinbeck: "Everyone near him was influenced by him, deeply and permanently. Some he
taught how to think, others how to hear. He taught everyone without seeming to."
• "Happy, happy people work rapidly, efficiently and integratedly – no conflict outer or
inner…”
• "No one can make a deeper contribution to life than by having fun, if in dancing, or
writing, or going places, or making a good relation…"

Introducing Tommie
Tommie – Inventor / Businessman Thomas Edison
[b1847 Feb 11– d1931]
 Edison was the most prolific inventor in American history –having developed many
devices that greatly influenced life around the world: the first commercial light bulb, a
universal stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder, electrical power, recorded music,
motion pictures, and more.
 He amassed a record 1,093 patents covering key innovations and minor improvements in
wide range of fields, including telecommunications, electric power, sound recording, motion
pictures, primary and storage batteries, and mining and cement technology.
 "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
 "If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves."
 "To do much clear thinking a person must arrange for regular periods of
solitude when they can concentrate and indulge the imagination without
distraction."

Introducing Dossie
Dossie – Writer/Scholar/Ad Copywriter Dorothy Sayers
[b1883 Jun 13 – d1957]
 Sayers, a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and
Christian humanist.
 She worked for several years as a copywriter for the London advertising firm Bensons (brands
included Guinness, Coleman’s mustard)
 She created Lord Peter Wimsey an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth who appeared in a
series of detective novels.
 Later on in her life, shifted her attention to pursue her other interests which included writing
essays and books (“Mind of the Maker) and an English translation of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Notable Quotable
 “The business of the creator is not to escape from his material medium or to bully it,
but to serve it; but to serve it he must love it. If he does so, he will realize that its
service is perfect freedom. This is true, not only of all literary art but of all creative
art...”
Note: Dossie joined the gang after reading about the Enchanted Jukebox. She visited and decided to stay. Helped
with “The Taming of the Suit.”

You can learn more about The Gang at www.Jedemi.com
and through
The Jedemi Chronicles

Introducing the Jedemi Gang

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