1) Doing really well Myq. I used to perform with you in the early aughts at the Comedy Studio and Lizard Lounge, Middle East and Jimmy Tingles. You've always struck me as one of the hardest working /studying comics out there. That's why I follow you! (I no longer perform- I stuck to my day job sticking acupuncture needles in people!)
I loved this particular post today and the melange of Steven Wright and Thich Nhat Hanh. Two of my favorite figures! Steven has a saying that frequently comes to mind (especially when online shopping) and it goes (exactly) like this: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" (cue his wry smile) It's sort of a Zen Koan as far as I can tell.
2) What you didn't know about me 20 years ago is that I have been studying Buddhism for about 20 years. I think there's quite a lot of humor in Buddhism, not so much the strict Zen folk but the practitioners who ultimately don't take themselves too seriously. About ten years ago Louis CK was featured in a buddhist magazine for his perspective, curiosity and wonder. Despite his flaws I am still a huge fan of his, and re- listening to his comedy through a buddhist lens and perspective put a new twist on comedy writing for me. I thought it was spot on (especially his bit about flying ..."you're sitting in a chair in the sky!")
3) My feet are on the ground today. Not all days, but for sure today.
4) "You don't win friends with a salad"
5) I mean, right now, I'm happy to be sending you a message. Hope you're well and thriving. Keep up the questions and koans!
Claire! It is delightful to hear from you. I remember you well!
Thanks for reaching out and sharing here!
Like you, I also love Steven Wright's "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"
It is indeed very zen koan-like AND you just reminded me of another joke of his that is kind of like the yin to this one's yang, or the yang to this one's yin (your choice!):
"I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it."
So he DOES know where he would put everything!
Thank you again for sharing! Delighted to receive!
1) Pretty good! Back on track today and yesterday. Unusually grateful for not owning cows at the moment.
2) I like Buddhism more than cameras, but I’m at a sweet spot where learning more about Buddhism doesn’t just have diminishing returns, I think it might have negative returns? The core ideas are great. First two truths? Solid. Fourth truth? Ugh come on, that’s eight more things. Buddha not playing games? Cmon Buddha. Games are good.
Also, learning about how men have sometimes (often?) used Buddhist practice to be worshipped as gurus is icky. So I’m kind of happy with what I know and with the practice I have. I also [REDACTED], which is wonderful but on reflection might just mean I like being the one who is worshipped? 🤔
3) Feet are on the couch right now and head is indoors BUT it is exceptionally hazy today so my head was in the clouds while my feet were on the ground earlier!
4) No.
5) Always better after these!
ALSO: I was kind of surprised you didn’t even mention how camera technology during Steven Wright’s life to that point was all about simplifying things. No lens adjustments, auto focus, point and shoot. That’s how I took that joke on the surface level, which maybe was too simple and you were eager to get to the profundity that is also there?
I was listening to an old BBC4 Bill Bryson series from 1992 the other day, and he was talking about how George Eastman first marketed the Kodak (doesn’t mean anything, just a word he thought people would remember) camera. Film removal was too delicate a process to trust customers with, so they made the fact that you returned the whole camera and they took care of it for you a selling point of simplicity. So “so easy you don’t need to do anything” was part of consumer photography right from the start!
That “so easy you don’t need to do anything" was "part of consumer photography right from the start" is a delightful and perfect addition to this piece!
And one of the reasons I didn't talk that much about actual camera technology is that I don't know that much about it, so even more than being so easy I didn't need to do anything, my lack of knowledge made it almost impossible FOR me to do anything about it. Which brings to mind the potentially related "don't just do something; sit there!"
To your point, there definitely have been folks who have misinterpreted the teachings of the Buddha (which included directives to not worship him as a guru, I believe), and it is an unfortunate part of the cyclical suffering that so many of us have been trapped in for so long. Hopefully we can each do our best to decrease the suffering and increase the happiness for all, however possible.
Also, when you say Buddha is NOT playing games by having lists within lists within lists... could an argument not be mounted that he IS playing games? If games are what you want. Just playing!
Thank you as always for your thoughtful engagement, my friend!
1) feeling good that this week I did a lot to help my friends, family and co-workers. And realizing how working through my anxiety is helping me to help others
2) appreciate cameras and the memories they preserve. But also appreciating Buddhism more each week for what I can learn, to be appreciative but also to let go
3) head slightly in the clouds thanks to a lovely bottle of wine some expert French people made in 2014 - merci beaucoup!
4) Sideshow Bob singing Gilbert and Sullivan. Also The Bart, The
2) Very wise! I just read a Substack piece this week which referenced a John Denver lyric and its similar application: "Hold On Tightly, Let Go Lightly."
Relationship to cameras. I stopped taking photos after I was blacklisted from a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council that the professional Arts Council staff had recommended me for. I was doing photos and articles and more. Because I had asked St Ambrose University President Rogalski for information about the employee racial and ethnic demographic information....which they refused to give me though I know they had it easily available. His wife was on Iowa Arts Council Board if Directors.
According to professional staff (about 20 years ago) his wife...whose name I forget....was attending a routine board meeting where they approved every grant recommended by the professional staff but mine. They said that in years working there they had never seen another applicant Blacklisted by a board member.
She never mentioned it to me and I only found out because staff told me. She knew me because in my job working with adults with developmental and physical disabilities I had brought groups of people to concerts at the Galvin Fine Arts Center where she was always friendly and polite to my face.
I believe her husband was paid almost $50,000 per month plus a mansion to live in. Not sure if she was working but most people could survive on $50,000 a month.
I saw her after she blacklisted me and she never mentioned it.
So the wife of the college president abused her position to prevent me from getting a once in a lifetime chance to persue creative projects. Most grants disproportionately go to people with college degrees.
This wealthy woman (top 1% at the time I think) blacklisted someone who due entirely due to money (and the Solomon Amendment) was unable to attend and graduate from college.
Although I don't claim to be "Native American" I'm quite happy to be part European and part Native American.....the oldest relative I knew...born in 1900 told me how his Native American Father was shot in the back and murdered by a white man in Muncie Indiana in 1907. With Arts Grants also I think going disproportionately to white one race only people the rich white woman blacklisted some tiny amount of racial and ethnic and economic and educational diversity. And also violated the idea of freedom of speech and independent scholarship that St Ambrose is supposedly committed to as a University. Frankly I think St Ambrose University should have and still should face academic freedom sanctions for this racial and ethnic motivated blacklisting.
I tell that long story because after I was blacklisted I went unofficially but completely bankrupt and homeless and didn't take any photos for years.
After I was the victim of race hatred ethnic hatred and religious hatred Hate Crimes I began taking photos to document one of those crimes...using my phone....
I'm trying to get Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham to Prosecute some of the white supremacist criminals but the police Supervisors and Chief don't care about anyone not white and wealthy and have been worse than no
help...
So exclusively due to hate crimes o am once again taking some photos and have not figured out how to upload to Substack but I do have a print on demand website that has some photos and a couple paintings. Almost all my art and 1000s of dollars of paint primers brushes and other art and art supplies....including expensive antique Native American Religious Artwork in my yard and a beautiful antique ceramic art nativity scene on a picnic table that I had inherited from my friend David Whitaker when he died.
I hope you don't mind me telling this long story. Since all my gardens and art supplies and even my Clean laundry hanging out to dry and more were destroyed....I can't paint....can't garden .....but I can start a Substack and tell these stories...
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
If you want to see some photos you can click the link.
Thank you. I had intended to die in obscurity doing gardening landscaping fixing up my house and painting and doing some sculpture ….maybe write some books…..since vicious people who could have been police officers in 1930s Germany have destroyed my art and gardens and even the fences needed to keep border collies in …even their leashes and collars and brushes and toys and flea treatments….
Now this Luddite is online and determined to seek justice…. Coming lawsuits but I especially want criminal prosecutions…..from July 6 2023 til recently I unsuccessfully attempted to get merrick garland and Kristen Clark and the USA justice department to investigate this and the collapse of 324 main st davenport. Now I am appealing to county prosecutor to prosecute.
But as city building inspector Chris Haut and his superiors say..”we have different rules for lowlifes in lowlife neighborhoods and higher class citizens In higher class neighborhoods” . Will the county prosecutor care ? Time will tell….
1) Doing really well Myq. I used to perform with you in the early aughts at the Comedy Studio and Lizard Lounge, Middle East and Jimmy Tingles. You've always struck me as one of the hardest working /studying comics out there. That's why I follow you! (I no longer perform- I stuck to my day job sticking acupuncture needles in people!)
I loved this particular post today and the melange of Steven Wright and Thich Nhat Hanh. Two of my favorite figures! Steven has a saying that frequently comes to mind (especially when online shopping) and it goes (exactly) like this: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" (cue his wry smile) It's sort of a Zen Koan as far as I can tell.
2) What you didn't know about me 20 years ago is that I have been studying Buddhism for about 20 years. I think there's quite a lot of humor in Buddhism, not so much the strict Zen folk but the practitioners who ultimately don't take themselves too seriously. About ten years ago Louis CK was featured in a buddhist magazine for his perspective, curiosity and wonder. Despite his flaws I am still a huge fan of his, and re- listening to his comedy through a buddhist lens and perspective put a new twist on comedy writing for me. I thought it was spot on (especially his bit about flying ..."you're sitting in a chair in the sky!")
3) My feet are on the ground today. Not all days, but for sure today.
4) "You don't win friends with a salad"
5) I mean, right now, I'm happy to be sending you a message. Hope you're well and thriving. Keep up the questions and koans!
Claire! It is delightful to hear from you. I remember you well!
Thanks for reaching out and sharing here!
Like you, I also love Steven Wright's "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"
It is indeed very zen koan-like AND you just reminded me of another joke of his that is kind of like the yin to this one's yang, or the yang to this one's yin (your choice!):
"I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it."
So he DOES know where he would put everything!
Thank you again for sharing! Delighted to receive!
Much love,
Myq
I remember that seashell joke- but had forgotten the final "Perhaps you've seen it."!!! Boom. It seals the joke!
Thank you Myq! Love right back to ya!
1) Pretty good! Back on track today and yesterday. Unusually grateful for not owning cows at the moment.
2) I like Buddhism more than cameras, but I’m at a sweet spot where learning more about Buddhism doesn’t just have diminishing returns, I think it might have negative returns? The core ideas are great. First two truths? Solid. Fourth truth? Ugh come on, that’s eight more things. Buddha not playing games? Cmon Buddha. Games are good.
Also, learning about how men have sometimes (often?) used Buddhist practice to be worshipped as gurus is icky. So I’m kind of happy with what I know and with the practice I have. I also [REDACTED], which is wonderful but on reflection might just mean I like being the one who is worshipped? 🤔
3) Feet are on the couch right now and head is indoors BUT it is exceptionally hazy today so my head was in the clouds while my feet were on the ground earlier!
4) No.
5) Always better after these!
ALSO: I was kind of surprised you didn’t even mention how camera technology during Steven Wright’s life to that point was all about simplifying things. No lens adjustments, auto focus, point and shoot. That’s how I took that joke on the surface level, which maybe was too simple and you were eager to get to the profundity that is also there?
I was listening to an old BBC4 Bill Bryson series from 1992 the other day, and he was talking about how George Eastman first marketed the Kodak (doesn’t mean anything, just a word he thought people would remember) camera. Film removal was too delicate a process to trust customers with, so they made the fact that you returned the whole camera and they took care of it for you a selling point of simplicity. So “so easy you don’t need to do anything” was part of consumer photography right from the start!
I love that! Thanks, Tom!
That “so easy you don’t need to do anything" was "part of consumer photography right from the start" is a delightful and perfect addition to this piece!
And one of the reasons I didn't talk that much about actual camera technology is that I don't know that much about it, so even more than being so easy I didn't need to do anything, my lack of knowledge made it almost impossible FOR me to do anything about it. Which brings to mind the potentially related "don't just do something; sit there!"
To your point, there definitely have been folks who have misinterpreted the teachings of the Buddha (which included directives to not worship him as a guru, I believe), and it is an unfortunate part of the cyclical suffering that so many of us have been trapped in for so long. Hopefully we can each do our best to decrease the suffering and increase the happiness for all, however possible.
Also, when you say Buddha is NOT playing games by having lists within lists within lists... could an argument not be mounted that he IS playing games? If games are what you want. Just playing!
Thank you as always for your thoughtful engagement, my friend!
Much love!
He loved playing games with lists so much he made a list of games he would not play!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_that_Buddha_would_not_play
i adore mitch hedberg. he was an incredible human being.
re: surviving - i’m not a huge fan and would
love to stop doing it. thanks for acknowledging that some of us have no interest in survival. 🧡
Thank you for sharing!
There's a joke I heard a long time ago from a comedian whose name I don't remember. It went something like this:
"My friend told me he wished chocolate cake tasted like shit. I said why?
He said because it's so unhealthy but tastes so good, so if it tasted like shit I wouldn't be tempted by it as much, and I wouldn't be as unhealthy.
And I said to him, why don't you just wish for chocolate cake to be HEALTHY then?"
And I love it.
So, with regard to your not being a huge fan of survival, I hear you!
AND
I hope that there are things about it that you find delicious/healthy and that you get to experience those things when you can.
For example, like Mitch Hedberg. He is a delicious part of life to me!
Thank you again for sharing!
1) feeling good that this week I did a lot to help my friends, family and co-workers. And realizing how working through my anxiety is helping me to help others
2) appreciate cameras and the memories they preserve. But also appreciating Buddhism more each week for what I can learn, to be appreciative but also to let go
3) head slightly in the clouds thanks to a lovely bottle of wine some expert French people made in 2014 - merci beaucoup!
4) Sideshow Bob singing Gilbert and Sullivan. Also The Bart, The
5) very very grateful
Thank you for all of this, my friend!
1) That's wonderful!
2) Very wise! I just read a Substack piece this week which referenced a John Denver lyric and its similar application: "Hold On Tightly, Let Go Lightly."
3) De rien!
4) Delightful!
5) Ha, thank you so much!
I got this new app, it’s great it doesn’t even want me
haha fun!
Here's a great rendition of the song Where is My Mind? ("With my feet in the air and my head on the ground...")
https://youtu.be/v4yBRsKGubk?si=CiEC2t8GL-OXwQ-7
thank you so much for sharing!
Relationship to cameras. I stopped taking photos after I was blacklisted from a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council that the professional Arts Council staff had recommended me for. I was doing photos and articles and more. Because I had asked St Ambrose University President Rogalski for information about the employee racial and ethnic demographic information....which they refused to give me though I know they had it easily available. His wife was on Iowa Arts Council Board if Directors.
According to professional staff (about 20 years ago) his wife...whose name I forget....was attending a routine board meeting where they approved every grant recommended by the professional staff but mine. They said that in years working there they had never seen another applicant Blacklisted by a board member.
She never mentioned it to me and I only found out because staff told me. She knew me because in my job working with adults with developmental and physical disabilities I had brought groups of people to concerts at the Galvin Fine Arts Center where she was always friendly and polite to my face.
I believe her husband was paid almost $50,000 per month plus a mansion to live in. Not sure if she was working but most people could survive on $50,000 a month.
I saw her after she blacklisted me and she never mentioned it.
So the wife of the college president abused her position to prevent me from getting a once in a lifetime chance to persue creative projects. Most grants disproportionately go to people with college degrees.
This wealthy woman (top 1% at the time I think) blacklisted someone who due entirely due to money (and the Solomon Amendment) was unable to attend and graduate from college.
Although I don't claim to be "Native American" I'm quite happy to be part European and part Native American.....the oldest relative I knew...born in 1900 told me how his Native American Father was shot in the back and murdered by a white man in Muncie Indiana in 1907. With Arts Grants also I think going disproportionately to white one race only people the rich white woman blacklisted some tiny amount of racial and ethnic and economic and educational diversity. And also violated the idea of freedom of speech and independent scholarship that St Ambrose is supposedly committed to as a University. Frankly I think St Ambrose University should have and still should face academic freedom sanctions for this racial and ethnic motivated blacklisting.
I tell that long story because after I was blacklisted I went unofficially but completely bankrupt and homeless and didn't take any photos for years.
After I was the victim of race hatred ethnic hatred and religious hatred Hate Crimes I began taking photos to document one of those crimes...using my phone....
I'm trying to get Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham to Prosecute some of the white supremacist criminals but the police Supervisors and Chief don't care about anyone not white and wealthy and have been worse than no
help...
So exclusively due to hate crimes o am once again taking some photos and have not figured out how to upload to Substack but I do have a print on demand website that has some photos and a couple paintings. Almost all my art and 1000s of dollars of paint primers brushes and other art and art supplies....including expensive antique Native American Religious Artwork in my yard and a beautiful antique ceramic art nativity scene on a picnic table that I had inherited from my friend David Whitaker when he died.
I hope you don't mind me telling this long story. Since all my gardens and art supplies and even my Clean laundry hanging out to dry and more were destroyed....I can't paint....can't garden .....but I can start a Substack and tell these stories...
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
If you want to see some photos you can click the link.
Dodobbird.pixels.com
Or my creative arts and journalism and survival GoFundMe campaign called MY PUPPY WANTS A CHEESEBURGER
https://www.gofundme.com/f/my-puppy-wants-a-cheeseburger
Thank you for sharing your story.
I'm sorry to hear about all the challenges you've faced, and I'm glad you are continuing to make art, my friend.
Much love and take care!
Thank you. I had intended to die in obscurity doing gardening landscaping fixing up my house and painting and doing some sculpture ….maybe write some books…..since vicious people who could have been police officers in 1930s Germany have destroyed my art and gardens and even the fences needed to keep border collies in …even their leashes and collars and brushes and toys and flea treatments….
Now this Luddite is online and determined to seek justice…. Coming lawsuits but I especially want criminal prosecutions…..from July 6 2023 til recently I unsuccessfully attempted to get merrick garland and Kristen Clark and the USA justice department to investigate this and the collapse of 324 main st davenport. Now I am appealing to county prosecutor to prosecute.
But as city building inspector Chris Haut and his superiors say..”we have different rules for lowlifes in lowlife neighborhoods and higher class citizens In higher class neighborhoods” . Will the county prosecutor care ? Time will tell….