Mitch used to be my favorite comedian. He still is, but he used to too.
(Mitch Hedberg is directly responsible for me becoming a fan of yours, as your name turned up when I Googled "comedians like Mitch Hedberg" some 12 years ago.)
I went to a show, specifically, to see Lewis Black. Attell was the closer, but I wasn't familiar with the opening act. Mitch came out and completely rocked. Such a weird combo of comics on the bill, but it was a perfect show.
"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."
"I am against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."
Love Mitch Hedberg, adore Alan Watts, and of course delighted by you and your little ways! However, I've always had trouble with that Hedberg apple joke though, and I've also struggled to really appreciate the examples Watts uses in that point, so maybe I'm just having a literalism issue.
Yes the core comes at the end of the apple, but you don't have to eat it, whereas you do have to eat the hangover. I.e. you don't have to experience the negative part of the core but do have to experience the hangover.
And also, sometimes I do avoid eating apples because I don't want to deal with a sticky core I won't be able to throw away for awhile. Then again I usually don't drink bc I don't want the negative effects.
Then again still, I've often found the next day to be my favorite part of the alcohol experience. If I drink enough to be a little out of it the next day, that state can be one of my favorite. I mostly want to avoid the negative effects on my sleep and metabolism and the fact that usually drinking alcohol makes me tired.
In conclusions,
1: Is there any way for me to stop taking things so damn literally/overthinking them, or is that just how I'm wired?
2: The apple I've found to be most worth the sticky core is the Snow Mountain Apple, a type of Fuji that's harvested right after a winter snowfall. In the US I've so far only seen them for sale at 99 Ranch stores.
My friend, thank you for your kind words and thoughtful reply!
Regarding your point that you don't have to eat the core but you do have to eat the hangover, I agree with you that the parallel is not an EXACT one, but I think that you have accurately identified that "I don't want to deal with a sticky core" is also a negative consequence of eating an apple.
In response to your question, "Is there any way for me to stop taking things so damn literally/overthinking them, or is that just how I'm wired?" that is a great question and probably the best person to answer it is you and not me, and yet here I am, essentially taking your question literally as if it is something I CAN answer (because you asked it as a comment to something I wrote) and now I am overthinking it as well. For fun! So, I would say MAYBE you can stop doing those things as much, and maybe you can't. And whenever you can't, I hope you can ENJOY the overthinking. That's what I aim to do.
Sometimes it's fun to think a lot. And sometimes it's fun to remember that I don't have to. You can enjoy Mitch's joke for what it is OR you can stop thinking about it at some point OR both OR neither! You have a lot of options!
I appreciate your thoughts, and that you shared them!
I could say a lot more, and maybe I will, but not now!
Honeycrisp apples were developed by the University of Minnesota. I also was developed by the university of Minnesota! Honeycrisp apples have made good cider and good apple crisp and good salad toppings but they’re also great on their own. I have made good artworks and good puns and good math tests but I’m also great on my own!
Haha thank you! Quick question: does "I also was developed by the university of Minnesota" mean that you were born NEARBY to the university? Or something else? Or are you an apple?
Hahaha absolutely! Thank you for that reminder AND get ready for two thousand foods for thought coming your way over the next... two thousand weeks? Ish?
1) How are you doing? What is new and good? How are you feeling?
Myq, this is three questions.
I am currently doing really well. I am writing at a coffee shop and making good progress.
What’s new and good is the kids are back in school and I am 13,000 words into writing a novel I know I will finish.
I have a lot of data on how I am feeling. 40% of the time I feel positive and low energy. Positive/high energy and negative/low energy are each 27%. I am only negative/high energy 6% of the time. My most common feelings, in order, are “good,” “tired,” and “grateful.”
2) Any art or writing or music that has haunted you lately or ever?
I feel compelled by the novel I am writing. It is a school novel set in the future, for my daughter, but I think it might have appeal for others too. I mostly listen to Brian Eno’s “Discreet Music” while writing it.
3) Have YOU been a ghost creating haunting works? What are they?
Fuck I already answered this one didn’t I? Well that’s spooky kind of at least? 👻
4) Do you like apples? What kind? I like Honeycrisps!
No, I can never finish them, but I agree honeycrisps are CLEARLY the best. I want to like apples more than I do.
5) How are you doing NOW?
My last logged emotion before this was “thoughtful” but now I am “grateful” again. Grateful, moving up the charts! Look out “tired.”
I don’t know, I’ve never finished a novel before! It’s at least a ~fifth of the way done, at most ~3/8ths? It’s structured as a series so it sort of depends on how much I stuff it with for the first year plot, and then how much of that stuffing I subsequently cut in the edit. Let’s say 1/3rdish of the way done by word count maybe.
But I do sort of write 3000 words then edit away 1000 of those sometimes. So it goes how it goes I guess!
Just named a background character Myq, let’s hope that scene sticks!
this post resonated, thanks! in the middle of The Message and loving it. I'm going to try to make your Chicago show. also, thank you for introducing me to Mitch Hedberg.
AND super psyched to introduce you to Mitch Hedberg. He's got three standup albums you can listen to (including one that was released posthumously) and I hope you love them!
I miss Mitch all the time. Growing up, there was something sort of magical about the associations his mind could make, and the way he could curate them into these silly, little bits that felt as organic as if he had just thought of them.
I'm in Newark, DE tomorrow night! Pretty close to South Jersey! I'll do my best to get closer! Ask any local comedy venues to bring me and hopefully they will!
North Jersey! But just far enough from NYC that getting to shows in the city can be a real trek sometimes. But if you're ever around Morristown or Montclair, that will be my sweet spot!
Mitch used to be my favorite comedian. He still is, but he used to too.
(Mitch Hedberg is directly responsible for me becoming a fan of yours, as your name turned up when I Googled "comedians like Mitch Hedberg" some 12 years ago.)
Classic mitch joke:
https://youtu.be/M8NZqD_pJT8
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Love that you found me through him.
Much appreciated!
I went to a show, specifically, to see Lewis Black. Attell was the closer, but I wasn't familiar with the opening act. Mitch came out and completely rocked. Such a weird combo of comics on the bill, but it was a perfect show.
"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."
"I am against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."
Oh yes, Mitch was a wizard.
I also went to a show on that tour, where Hedberg was the opening act for Attell and Black. Fantastic comics, all.
Love Mitch Hedberg, adore Alan Watts, and of course delighted by you and your little ways! However, I've always had trouble with that Hedberg apple joke though, and I've also struggled to really appreciate the examples Watts uses in that point, so maybe I'm just having a literalism issue.
Yes the core comes at the end of the apple, but you don't have to eat it, whereas you do have to eat the hangover. I.e. you don't have to experience the negative part of the core but do have to experience the hangover.
And also, sometimes I do avoid eating apples because I don't want to deal with a sticky core I won't be able to throw away for awhile. Then again I usually don't drink bc I don't want the negative effects.
Then again still, I've often found the next day to be my favorite part of the alcohol experience. If I drink enough to be a little out of it the next day, that state can be one of my favorite. I mostly want to avoid the negative effects on my sleep and metabolism and the fact that usually drinking alcohol makes me tired.
In conclusions,
1: Is there any way for me to stop taking things so damn literally/overthinking them, or is that just how I'm wired?
2: The apple I've found to be most worth the sticky core is the Snow Mountain Apple, a type of Fuji that's harvested right after a winter snowfall. In the US I've so far only seen them for sale at 99 Ranch stores.
My friend, thank you for your kind words and thoughtful reply!
Regarding your point that you don't have to eat the core but you do have to eat the hangover, I agree with you that the parallel is not an EXACT one, but I think that you have accurately identified that "I don't want to deal with a sticky core" is also a negative consequence of eating an apple.
In response to your question, "Is there any way for me to stop taking things so damn literally/overthinking them, or is that just how I'm wired?" that is a great question and probably the best person to answer it is you and not me, and yet here I am, essentially taking your question literally as if it is something I CAN answer (because you asked it as a comment to something I wrote) and now I am overthinking it as well. For fun! So, I would say MAYBE you can stop doing those things as much, and maybe you can't. And whenever you can't, I hope you can ENJOY the overthinking. That's what I aim to do.
Sometimes it's fun to think a lot. And sometimes it's fun to remember that I don't have to. You can enjoy Mitch's joke for what it is OR you can stop thinking about it at some point OR both OR neither! You have a lot of options!
I appreciate your thoughts, and that you shared them!
I could say a lot more, and maybe I will, but not now!
Look at me, walking the walk.
Overthinking over*. And out!
* for now
I miss Mitch Hedberg so much.
Same!
I honestly just said something like this to my brother as we face my mother's death: Acts one and two were pretty solid.
love that!
i'm sorry to hear about act three but grateful for the rest!
Honeycrisp apples were developed by the University of Minnesota. I also was developed by the university of Minnesota! Honeycrisp apples have made good cider and good apple crisp and good salad toppings but they’re also great on their own. I have made good artworks and good puns and good math tests but I’m also great on my own!
Haha thank you! Quick question: does "I also was developed by the university of Minnesota" mean that you were born NEARBY to the university? Or something else? Or are you an apple?
Excellent food for thought! Which reminds me of the Mitch line about rice: when you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something!
Hahaha absolutely! Thank you for that reminder AND get ready for two thousand foods for thought coming your way over the next... two thousand weeks? Ish?
1) How are you doing? What is new and good? How are you feeling?
Myq, this is three questions.
I am currently doing really well. I am writing at a coffee shop and making good progress.
What’s new and good is the kids are back in school and I am 13,000 words into writing a novel I know I will finish.
I have a lot of data on how I am feeling. 40% of the time I feel positive and low energy. Positive/high energy and negative/low energy are each 27%. I am only negative/high energy 6% of the time. My most common feelings, in order, are “good,” “tired,” and “grateful.”
2) Any art or writing or music that has haunted you lately or ever?
I feel compelled by the novel I am writing. It is a school novel set in the future, for my daughter, but I think it might have appeal for others too. I mostly listen to Brian Eno’s “Discreet Music” while writing it.
3) Have YOU been a ghost creating haunting works? What are they?
Fuck I already answered this one didn’t I? Well that’s spooky kind of at least? 👻
4) Do you like apples? What kind? I like Honeycrisps!
No, I can never finish them, but I agree honeycrisps are CLEARLY the best. I want to like apples more than I do.
5) How are you doing NOW?
My last logged emotion before this was “thoughtful” but now I am “grateful” again. Grateful, moving up the charts! Look out “tired.”
1) Thank you for this detailed assessment! I really like it!
2) Congrats on writing the novel! 13,000 words is a lot! How many words do you think it will be when it's done?
3) It IS kind of spooky!
4) Fascinating! I'm glad you enjoy them as much as you do.
5) Look out, "tired" indeed! Love it! Thank you for sharing, my friend!
I don’t know, I’ve never finished a novel before! It’s at least a ~fifth of the way done, at most ~3/8ths? It’s structured as a series so it sort of depends on how much I stuff it with for the first year plot, and then how much of that stuffing I subsequently cut in the edit. Let’s say 1/3rdish of the way done by word count maybe.
But I do sort of write 3000 words then edit away 1000 of those sometimes. So it goes how it goes I guess!
Just named a background character Myq, let’s hope that scene sticks!
haha, an honor! thank you!
this post resonated, thanks! in the middle of The Message and loving it. I'm going to try to make your Chicago show. also, thank you for introducing me to Mitch Hedberg.
Incredible!
Would love to see you at that Chicago show.
AND super psyched to introduce you to Mitch Hedberg. He's got three standup albums you can listen to (including one that was released posthumously) and I hope you love them!
I miss Mitch all the time. Growing up, there was something sort of magical about the associations his mind could make, and the way he could curate them into these silly, little bits that felt as organic as if he had just thought of them.
Beautifully put, my friend. I agree! Thank you for sharing.
Happy to! You're one of my favorite folks out there doing it right now. I hope you'll swing through New Jersey some time!
Same. Come to south Jersey and I'll come by.
I'm in Newark, DE tomorrow night! Pretty close to South Jersey! I'll do my best to get closer! Ask any local comedy venues to bring me and hopefully they will!
Where in New Jersey? I'm FROM New Jersey! And I do swing through once in a while!
Driving through TOMORROW in fact (to do shows in Delaware).
North Jersey! But just far enough from NYC that getting to shows in the city can be a real trek sometimes. But if you're ever around Morristown or Montclair, that will be my sweet spot!
And have a good drive tomorrow!
Thank you! Really appreciate your support!