Neil Strauss

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Thursday, August 14, 2008 11:38 PM

I have to be brief, because I have less than thirty days left to
turn in my new book. The publisher told me that some of you have
already placed advance orders for it, which is an amazing leap of
faith, considering that you don’t even know what it’s about yet

That said, you will be the first to know. If possible, I will show
you, instead of telling you.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that, after reading the lists of
all your favorite non-fiction books of the last century, I’ve
selected the most popular and made it the next selection for our
VIP List Book Club. Oddly - and you all must be psychic - many of
the people I spent time with for the new book also listed this
novel as one of their favorites: the gargantuan Atlas Shrugged by
Ayn Rand.

We start the journey this Monday, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, and will
continue every week after until we’ve read the last didactic page.
If you are an Ayn Rand expert, we’d love you to get on the first
call to provide an introduction to her work and philosophy. And
obviously you’re all welcome to read with us.

So if you’re interested in reading the book together, send an email
to me at (sorry list is currently closed) but sign up at www.neilstrauss.com to get info on the next book club reading.
As soon as I meet my deadline for this book, I have some hopefully
useful hard-earned game and life advice to send your way. So thanks
for being patient.

Hope all’s well with you. And, to answer some of your questions in
advance: let her go - if she was the one, she wouldn’t be making
you feel like this right now.

Yours In Stuff,
Neil

P.S. For some crazy, mysterious reason known only to those at
Google, my own homepage, www.neilstrauss.com, has dropped from the
first page of the results for searches of my name to like the
hundredth page.

So if you’re inclined to help out with some “inbound links,” as
they call them in the biz, here’s the code to put up on your blog,
your website, or the front door of your house:

<a href=”http://www.neilstrauss.com/“>Neil Strauss - New York Times
best-selling author of The Game and The Dirt</a>

Thanks to Matt and Tim at SureSite Design for the code. Thanks to
you for knowing what to do with it. Feel free to substitute
something funnier or more interesting to describe the link.

P.P.S. Quote of the day:

“If a man will begin with certainty, he shall end in doubts; but
if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in
certainties.”

-Francis Bacon, Advancement of Learning, 1605

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Tags: Dirt, Neil Strauss, The Game

Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 
I’m writing because, today, I lost a good friend, Larry Harmon.
Larry passed away this morning at the age of 83. 

Larry was best known for having portrayed Bozo the Clown for 50
years, while franchising the character across the globe. We had
planned to publish a book on his life, The World According to Bozo,
to kick off a publishing company I recently started with two other
authors and Rolling Stone writers.
 
Like millions of other children, I’d grown up with Bozo the Clown.
Since his first appearance on TV in 1949, and for every decade
afterward, he has held a virtual media monopoly on clowndom.
Practically every famous clown since, from Ronald McDonald to
Krusty the Clown, would not exist without him. 

When I first sat down with Larry Harmon to talk about his book, I
expected to hear a tale of hardship and decadence. I thought this
would be a book about the frown behind the smile.

But I was wrong. Because Larry was Bozo. And Bozo was Larry.
There was not a frown behind the smile, but simply another smile.

For three hours over dinner, Larry regaled me with stories of
speaking with John F. Kennedy weeks before his assassination; of
running for president himself, during which two assassination
attempts were made on his life; of choreographing a dance routine
with Fred Astaire; of training for space flights at NASA; of
decorating Clark Gable’s house; of searching for the cannibals of
New Guinea who allegedly consumed Vice President Nelson
Rockefeller’s son; and even more incredible tales.

Just when I began to believe he was making some of these stories
up,Larry pulled out photographic evidence. And, sure enough, there
was Bozo in full clown makeup in New Guinea with a tribe of cannibals.

But what struck me about Larry wasn’t just the stories. It was who
he was as a human being.
 
As he spoke, Larry’s face was red with excitement, his energy
boundless, his smile unceasing, his patience superhuman, his
perspective on life bright and sunny. I’d never met a happier,
more energetic, more enthusiastic 83-year old. On my birthday,
he left a greeting on my answering machine in his Bozo voice,
because he knew it would thrill me. And this wasn’t unusual for
him: anyone who recognized him - and anyone who didn’t - was
treated to a full Bozo show. The waitresses stopped at our table
constantly that first night just to hear his stories, which Larry,
wearing a plastic Bozo watch, was only too happy to tell
again. 

As long as he was making someone smile, Larry was happy. And
I told myself, when I grow up, I want to be just like Bozo.
 
Why? Because if, like Larry, you always see the best in yourself,
the best in others, and the best in the world around you, you will
not only be much happier than those who hold the opposite view,
but you will radiate a warmth and charisma that will preserve your
youth and attract others more effectively than the priciest plastic
surgery. In Larry’s own words, the best way to live is to ‘just keep
laughing.’

Some believe fresh air, exercise, and a balanced diet is the
secret to a longer, healthier, happier life. Others believe in
botox and face lifts. I believe in Bozo.

Larry Harmon, thank you for making this world a better place.

‘As long as there’s sex, there are going to be kids. As long as
there are kids there’s going to be a world. As long as there’s a
world, there’s going to be a Bozo.’
 -Larry Harmon, 2008

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Tags: Bozo, Larry Harmon, Neil Strauss

This was from the Neil Strauss VIP list (which you can sign up
for here):

I feel like a giant weight has just been lifted off my chest.
Actually two weights.

I spent the last sixty days holed up finishing a two-book set.

It was rough going: I think I lost some people in my life I
really care about in the process. I need to switch to a more
social profession, like party promoter or department store
greeter.

One of the first things I wanted to do as soon as I emerged from
the deadline is wrute all of you. I have a bunch of new ideas to
share, so stay tuned over the next few posts.

Today’s update is all about…UPDATES.

If you’ve read The Game and have been keeping up with the various
projects and opportunities I’ve disclosed on this list only, then
there are some open loops I need to close.

Here they a few of them…

—MYSTERY—

Many who read The Game have written and asked how Mystery is doing.

The answer is…great.

Since The Game came out, Mystery broke up with Ania and left Las
Vegas. He now lives in - get this - Project Miami. I visited last
week, and walked in his door mid-afternoon to find him lying there
with two girls in his bed and a big smile on his face. He actually now
has his own reality show. It premieres on August 6th. I went to the
set to watch them film for a few days, and it looked very pro. I’ll
keep you updated.

—FINNEGANS WAKE—

Avid VIP List readers may recall that one of my resolutions for the
New Year was to read James Joyce’s incomprehensible monsterpiece,
Finnegans Wake. To help out with that, I started a book club composed
of members of this VIP list.

We are still going strong at page 500. I can’t say I recommend the book
(unless you’re looking for names for a band - in which case, turn to any
page).

Here’s one of the more nimble passages. Read it aloud to fully appreciate
it.

————————-
Question: “And how war yore maggies?” [Translation: And how do your
women war?]

“Answer: They war loving, they love laughing, they laugh weeping,
they weep smelling, they smell smiling, they smile hating, they
hate thinking, they think feeling, they feel tempting, they tempt
daring, they dare waiting, they wait taking, they take thanking,
they thank seeking, as born for lorn in lore of love to live and
wive by wile and rile by rule of ruse ‘reathed rose and hose hol’d
home, yeth cometh elope year, coach and four, Sweet
Peck-at-my-Heart picks one man more.”
—————————-

Uh, yeah.

So the next 2007 resolution on my list is a little less cerebral:
learning to KITESURF.

Any recommendations?

Kitesurfing club?

—STYLELIFE—-

I’m sure most of you know about Stylelife, because you get the
Weekly Wingman e-letter. But what you may not know is that I’m
having a little problem over at the Stylelife Academy.

Our students keep getting girlfriends and even getting married.
At this rate, there aren’t going to be any AFCs left to teach.

Here are the latest reports on their progress:

Report #1: FROM CAFE APPROACH TO ENGAGEMENT

http://www.stylelife.com/academy/SLAInvestigativeReport/

Report #2: 49-YEAR-OLD TEACHER GOES FROM NO SOCIAL LIFE TO PARTIES
AND MATRIMONY

http://www.stylelife.com/academy/SLAInvestigativeReport_2/

Report #3: PROUD COUPLE DISPLAY THE GAME AT THEIR WEDDING

http://www.stylelife.com/academy/SLAInvestigativeReport_3/

Yeah, the last one kind of cracks me up too.

You know what?

That’s a lot for one email. You got three special reports to read,
and some breaking news.

In the next email, I have a real important message to the women
on this list who’ve read The Game.

So stay tuned.

And keep reaching for…whatever you’re reaching for — the stars,
the women, the career, the peanut butter on the top shelf.

Talk Soon,
Neil Strauss

P.S. You knew I couldn’t just sign off without a P.S. or two.

P.P.S. Oh, one more update: A few of you wrote in asking for the
name of the heavy, heavy Japanese rock band I played on the radio
show with Dave Navarro. The band was Boris; the album was Pink.
Play it loud and scare the AMOGs.

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Tags: Dirt, Neil Strauss, New York Times best-selling author, The Game