Don't want to nitpick because I admire immensely the people who put this together - their creativity, compassion and loving is not in question - but we were here five years ago. Humanity was a mess five years ago and I contend that it is humanity's addiction to dystopia that has helped get us here (or where this video thinks we might get to) in the first place. 'You create your own reality, resist not temptation, what you resist persists blah de blah.' And all that is driven by the big bad four letter word, fear. (I am not trying to be holier than thou here, I have sackloads of fears, I just try not to project them in any work I might present to the public.) I remember about thirty years back reading quite a lot about how we were heading for a massive shift and it was going to be a painful labour. There's many out there in the metaphysical world writing about this and when I first came to Substack over three years ago it was a far more positive place than it is now. Dystopia is more infectious then any virus that may or may not exist. But a lot of studies of a more esoteric nature will say we are right in the eye of the storm at the moment (some say this very month is crucial and represents the end of the Kali Yuga) and that, of course, we all chose to be here as part of the birth. It's so easy to fall back into the thought-world created by the media who represent the instruments that want to enslave you. They are losing. If by some miracle they win then we have let them win. 'Well how do we do that if resisting them means they persist?' some may ask. By creating our own reality, that better world. There's no room to get into this here, but it starts with service and to be of service we have to get rid of one of the biggest fears of all, the fear of lack. (I have it in abundance, excuse the pun, but not as much as I used to.) It is that particular fear which makes us greedy and selfish. If God is absolute and therefore all that is then nothing else can exist. As ACIM says: 'Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.' The forces arraigned against us have done a bloody good job of making us forget this over the centuries. Perhaps right now is the time of remembering.
Thanks Tonika for this at the end of your post: 'We have already started a new beginning. It seeded deep inside us and the transformation was internal and, therefore, hard to see. In 5 years, though, the external will catch up. I offer this not as a prayer but as an affirmation.' I concur.
It’s good to have dystopic reminders. Less we stop inventing exit ramps and creating new paradigms. It’s just that we can peddle doom every second of the day. Nihilistic mindsets will prevent progress (and please allow me to use the word in the way it’s meant, not the way it’s been used lately, I know you know what I’m talking about.)
Margaret and I have often brought up the Stockdale Paradox — acknowledge the worst case scenario while not losing sight of the best case. Perhaps this is where normies can be very useful too- sometimes the “ignorance is bliss” thing is good for morale. But it sure feels the best on the other side of the curve bell, the Apocoloptimist side where we know that as everything is going to shit, we’ll still be alright!
So powerful, so beautifully put together. Wow! Thank you both for this collaboration. I am always grateful for such words that provoke new thoughts in me. Great work.
Oh, dearest Tonika, my heart is bursting with gratitude and love for you and the beautiful gift of our friendship and collaborative creations! Thank you for being a rock for me throughout the darkest, roughest, and most painful Stoic challenges of my life. I admire your resilience, resourcefulness, creativity, and love-emanating being immensely 🤗💓🙌
rith now I am being sick with a rather severe respartory stuff other than covid (assumingly, as the fast test is to my knowledge unreliable). Blood values pending. My neck vertebrae unsortetd, hence, sight unclear. I admittedly stopped reading your post after line 15 or so, reading too difficult. Sorry! But I got an immedeate impulse to reply to the "the measures [as I call the covid-episode] changed my life, they were a kind of turning point, a cut at least". If they were so for me - I do not remember. I retracted to what was my private life, I registered as a hoof trimmer, in order to pass by/ i.e. get around the non-movement-rules, I shut down any tracking-options on my phone, in the beginning using an old, non-online phone, I met friends, as long as possibly I went dancing, took part in seminars, met in person whenever possible, took the train as long as possible, met a very much loved boy-friend who was equally critical but unfortunately much more paranoid and hence our relationship did not hold throughout the whole measure-time.... This is what I remember most of the past 5 years. Suffering from missing him and what an energetic hell followed as a consequence of him leaving - or maybe from someone else jumping into my life non-partnership-wise. Never thought about that. Maybe both? Who knows.
In the measure-times we checked all the options the rules left, we dismissed all recommendations as such and kept only to where we might have been sued or punished. Later, I used the car instead of public transport due to 2G-rules (ge-impft (vaccinated) or getestet (tested) - yet I am not sure actually, what 2G meant, honestly, I simply was not part of it, never had me tested until last year when I really was sick and wantedt to have an idea whether Paxlovid would be an option an I wanted to see a docter who would only give access with a non-validated test. If they wish so..... I simply did not what afforded any testing or more. Which had me not take part in a number of things. But strangely, as I preserved my inner freediom, I do not really remember it all. Really strange! Have not taken the time to think it through why it is that.
But for sure, society, values, interaction, all that has changed...
Thanks for sharing that Angela. I can imagine Germany was pretty strict and it’s nice to get your first hand experience.
I truly hope you mend quickly and recover fully. I have friends who have been sick with some low grade cold that is lasting more than a month. Could be viral. Some think it’s the geo engineering. Who freaking knows anymore!
IT [There was/ IT was - omg, a single letter missing making such a difference.. ;-§]
was a a customer who smoked. I am highly sensitised (?) on cigarette smoke. I first thought it was that. Then probably a virus got hold and finally some bacteria, too.
God, how embarassing.. "Measure" not "Measurement"!! ;)
I grew up on dystopian sci fi and this reminds me of the lessons we were taught.
Orwell wrote 1984 about his experiences at his time. The dystopia isn't in the future, it's today and it's in the past.
Those who think the past was better are nostalgia cultists.
Remember apartheid? Remember women's suffrage? Remember the industrial revolution and it's horrors?
Recently I've been rewatching Battlestar Galactica from the 2000s along with it's prequel series, Caprica.
It is so pertinent and shows that until humanity learns how to love self, it cannot love others and will forever be a slave to systems "above" it.
We are learning to not believe words but to judge based on actions. If the system claims it's for health, but they give us sickness and pain, why trust it?
There's a big connection to big religion here, which also expects us to believe in the myths of the past just because famous people told us.
Good observation. Thinking about it even further, it’s quite possible that outsourcing our reality is baked into the cake - it is of benefit to people in control to keep plebs in a veiled reality.
I did of course see this latest collab on MAA's and you guys are such a natural fit. SO well done. Of course. Enjoyed reading this Tonika and yes truly remarkable how when the Universe grinds us down, we manage to reassemble in better versions! Good to notice.
I'd like to copy and paste your last paragraph but I'll go with just these lines.
"We have already started a new beginning. It seeded deep inside us and the transformation was internal and, therefore, hard to see. In 5 years, though, the external will catch up."
I'll affirm that too and add in damnit for good measure.
Grateful for you and MAA and so many other wondrous wonders found in the SS universe.💕
SubStack Universe. 😂 I know, every time I write SS universe myself, I think to myself about its unfortunate correlation. Similar to when people respond “kk” in shorthand text form and why text “kk” when you could have just as easily texted “ok”… do we need to get one “k” short of “kkk?” 😂
fantastic "co-elaboration"; the dark palette an' "manga-like" imagery of sterile/robotized youth in that nebulous timeless space of cold-ugly-electronified pulsating future world is, of course, a globalist's wet dream, one chillingly rendered by Margaret's poem-prophetic, in timbre simultaneously emotionless an' matter-of-face, as if prophesy fulfilled! That makes yer warmer happier an' hopeful predictions an' retrospective optimistiK reflections all the more welcome in the balance! as ye know, I'm no fan of AI but used here ta depict the worst nightmare of the worst version of 2030 we might envision, I gotta say is "poifect." lookin' forward ta seein' more good stuff y'all do 2gether!
In the meantime, I'm reminded of the prophetic lyrics of Zager & Evans:
That song is a banger! I watched the video with the clips of “Metropolis” as the video (one of my all time favorite celluloid films) and it just works so damn well!
Thanks for seeing how the AI paired well with that particular writing, dear. I know you and Mary aren’t keen on it and I don’t blame ya at all! We theatre folk like flesh and blood and imperfections and messiness. I have my feet in both worlds. I respect the analogue and the real. No joke.
I know ;-)...keep the bigger foot in the real lol (ye know one foot's alwayz bigger), may we all stay messy, funky, error-prone an' free ta take our pratt-fall gracefully!
Ah, indeedy, Metropolis is lookin' a mite TOO MUCH like the present... an' it duz fit the song! (I sawr the Georgia Moroder disco version live back in the day...purdy cool even then!)
Thank you, Mary! I really do like the AI stuff more when it’s not attempting to be realistic. But my bestie doesn’t like the look either and I think it’s because we crave the art without the artifice. I appreciate you taking a look even if it might feel plasticky.
Cheers, Steve! Nice hearing from you. Whenever I see your comments on Kathleen’ posts I think of the comedian Steve Martin (who is hilarious, imo) but I’m always pleasantly surprised by your insights. Hello from Chicago!
Still have a vivid memory of visiting the Navy Pier about 20 years ago, though it was a cold winter day.
Though I was 10 years his junior, I was trying to come of age during undergrad when the real Steve Martin was just hitting his stride. Wasn't much help to my love life to meet a cute young thing and introduce myself as "Steve Martin" ... but wow, looking at his Wikipage, he sure didn't have any problems. Something we both have in common - philosophy school drop-outs.
Although I was able to go back and qualify for an undergrad in marine biology at UNC-W, it was at Chapel Hill in the philosophy department that I realized I was learning more about life while working the 3rd shift of a convenience store ... and promptly dropped out. A whole story in itself.
Though glad you resonate with what insights I might have, I can't help but to compare myself with my namesake and want to go hide in a corner. He is brilliant, and had more ambition in his pinky than I can even imagine. Even more than brilliance, I find myself wondering if some genetic component for ambition is the most distinguishing feature between humans in large-scale populations ... something I've always been sorely lacking in.
Just went back to the Wiki page of Steve Martin to reminisce, and I guess it was his SNL appearances that I most remember before moving to Japan. But then I recalled his musical talents ...
Ha! I didn't realize the backing band of King Tut (the 'Toot Uncommons' 😂) was part of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Now if I can only get a bit more motivated to muster up some ambition and inspiration to build on what you, Margaret, Kathleen, Mary, and so many others do so well. Much thanks for fighting the good fight with wit and style.
He may be funny and intelligent, but you’re a far better human being than him. He is exceedingly pompous and likely a narcissist as well as a womanizer. I remember someone who met him at a party telling me they were having a great conversation, but a few minutes into it, he asked her if she was going to sleep with him because he wasn’t going to waste his time on her if not. I’ve never been able to tolerate him since.
Robin Williams, I believe, is (was 😭) a true mensch with a tender heart, coruscating mind, and fragile soul whose dramatic performances in “Awakenings,” “Dead Poets’ Society,” and “The Fisher King” hint at the depth of his empathy and breadth of his genius.
He became dear friends with one of my favorite human beings, Oliver Sacks, after spending time with him while studying to portray Oliver in “Awakenings.” Oliver wrote about their friendship after Robin’s tragic suicide:
I think Robin was likely a profoundly sad person, and being an authentic human being in the cesspit of Hollywood must have taken a brutal toll. And it’s probable that his Parkinson’s diagnosis affected his brain and led to him make the worst decision of his life.
Goosebumps just remembering his movie roles. And though I get a giggle out of "Good Morning Vietnam" ... add "Good Will Hunting" to your great shortlist. Just looked at the wiki page of his list of movies ... most of which I haven't yet seen, and should.
I agree with that analysis in your final paragraph. Like a lot of jazz musicians and their heroin habit, I am guessing coke habit was also his anesthetic against a mad, mad world. Watching him interact with Koko or the dolphins ... you can't fake that kind of authenticity.
I remember when his suicide hit the news. I had never felt so gut-punched at the death of a celebrity.
Stunned by how easily you just propped me up by popping a bubble.
That is something that will never be printed on his Wiki page ... but psychologically rings true. I've long suspected that much (most?) worldly success correlates with a definition of 'social intelligence' that I do not admire ... the capacity and willingness to use, misuse, and discard people for unenlightened self-interest ... classic Cluster B behavior traits of pathological narcissism, machiavellian opportunism, medically defined psychopathy, and maybe a bit of sadism thrown in for seasoning.
As I am writing this, I recall a one-off event in my previous work place as a culmination of my research area, what I called an "Event-Driven Curriculum". At the end of the year, in lieu of standardized testing, I convinced my colleagues (two of whom were in on the research project) to have the students prepare an event, similar to a mini TED talk, but including student speeches, group performances pointing out cultural trends and social problems, and so on. Rather than competing for grades on a standardized test and answering questions the test-makers already know, they would be communicating something they cared about and across a real information gap for a live audience made up of everyone in the college, as well as members of the local community, exchange students, and representatives from NPOs and the city government. Talk about intrinsic motivation! Those students were nervous and prepping for weeks, begging for advice from the teachers.
But I was bewildered that a couple of the teachers, one my age and another some years older, saw this as an opportunity for themselves to take the stage and be the center of attention ... the older "sensei" singing and playing on his ukulele being the most bizarre. A Japanese version of a failed, more famous "Steve Martin"?
While I was perusing the other Martin's Wiki page, I came across one bit of information that particularly dismayed me. Among his many, many, many dating partners ... was Karen Carpenter. I guess I've had my share of love and loss, but I think you are one of only two people I've shared why I never managed to marry, and that connection with Karen Carpenter.
Thank you Margaret. You've made me a bit happier to be in my own skin rather than that imposter's. 🙃
Thank you, SF! And yes, I still have that ear worm in my head. So good! 😊 looking forward to it hitting the Substack world (whenever, no pressure from me!)
Don't want to nitpick because I admire immensely the people who put this together - their creativity, compassion and loving is not in question - but we were here five years ago. Humanity was a mess five years ago and I contend that it is humanity's addiction to dystopia that has helped get us here (or where this video thinks we might get to) in the first place. 'You create your own reality, resist not temptation, what you resist persists blah de blah.' And all that is driven by the big bad four letter word, fear. (I am not trying to be holier than thou here, I have sackloads of fears, I just try not to project them in any work I might present to the public.) I remember about thirty years back reading quite a lot about how we were heading for a massive shift and it was going to be a painful labour. There's many out there in the metaphysical world writing about this and when I first came to Substack over three years ago it was a far more positive place than it is now. Dystopia is more infectious then any virus that may or may not exist. But a lot of studies of a more esoteric nature will say we are right in the eye of the storm at the moment (some say this very month is crucial and represents the end of the Kali Yuga) and that, of course, we all chose to be here as part of the birth. It's so easy to fall back into the thought-world created by the media who represent the instruments that want to enslave you. They are losing. If by some miracle they win then we have let them win. 'Well how do we do that if resisting them means they persist?' some may ask. By creating our own reality, that better world. There's no room to get into this here, but it starts with service and to be of service we have to get rid of one of the biggest fears of all, the fear of lack. (I have it in abundance, excuse the pun, but not as much as I used to.) It is that particular fear which makes us greedy and selfish. If God is absolute and therefore all that is then nothing else can exist. As ACIM says: 'Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.' The forces arraigned against us have done a bloody good job of making us forget this over the centuries. Perhaps right now is the time of remembering.
Thanks Tonika for this at the end of your post: 'We have already started a new beginning. It seeded deep inside us and the transformation was internal and, therefore, hard to see. In 5 years, though, the external will catch up. I offer this not as a prayer but as an affirmation.' I concur.
It’s good to have dystopic reminders. Less we stop inventing exit ramps and creating new paradigms. It’s just that we can peddle doom every second of the day. Nihilistic mindsets will prevent progress (and please allow me to use the word in the way it’s meant, not the way it’s been used lately, I know you know what I’m talking about.)
Margaret and I have often brought up the Stockdale Paradox — acknowledge the worst case scenario while not losing sight of the best case. Perhaps this is where normies can be very useful too- sometimes the “ignorance is bliss” thing is good for morale. But it sure feels the best on the other side of the curve bell, the Apocoloptimist side where we know that as everything is going to shit, we’ll still be alright!
So powerful, so beautifully put together. Wow! Thank you both for this collaboration. I am always grateful for such words that provoke new thoughts in me. Great work.
Thanks, April! I snuck a haiku in your honor in there. Hope all has been well in your corner of the world.
I find it pretty funny the entire visual is AI generated.
In five years no one will remember how to draw or write.
Shot (video), chaser (haiku). The Pluto in Aquarius vibes were truly visceral
😜 you and April’s haiku game is strong so I tread lightly.
Oh, dearest Tonika, my heart is bursting with gratitude and love for you and the beautiful gift of our friendship and collaborative creations! Thank you for being a rock for me throughout the darkest, roughest, and most painful Stoic challenges of my life. I admire your resilience, resourcefulness, creativity, and love-emanating being immensely 🤗💓🙌
I really hope I get to see you again this year. 🤗
anti scence
gmohuman
Hi,
rith now I am being sick with a rather severe respartory stuff other than covid (assumingly, as the fast test is to my knowledge unreliable). Blood values pending. My neck vertebrae unsortetd, hence, sight unclear. I admittedly stopped reading your post after line 15 or so, reading too difficult. Sorry! But I got an immedeate impulse to reply to the "the measures [as I call the covid-episode] changed my life, they were a kind of turning point, a cut at least". If they were so for me - I do not remember. I retracted to what was my private life, I registered as a hoof trimmer, in order to pass by/ i.e. get around the non-movement-rules, I shut down any tracking-options on my phone, in the beginning using an old, non-online phone, I met friends, as long as possibly I went dancing, took part in seminars, met in person whenever possible, took the train as long as possible, met a very much loved boy-friend who was equally critical but unfortunately much more paranoid and hence our relationship did not hold throughout the whole measure-time.... This is what I remember most of the past 5 years. Suffering from missing him and what an energetic hell followed as a consequence of him leaving - or maybe from someone else jumping into my life non-partnership-wise. Never thought about that. Maybe both? Who knows.
In the measure-times we checked all the options the rules left, we dismissed all recommendations as such and kept only to where we might have been sued or punished. Later, I used the car instead of public transport due to 2G-rules (ge-impft (vaccinated) or getestet (tested) - yet I am not sure actually, what 2G meant, honestly, I simply was not part of it, never had me tested until last year when I really was sick and wantedt to have an idea whether Paxlovid would be an option an I wanted to see a docter who would only give access with a non-validated test. If they wish so..... I simply did not what afforded any testing or more. Which had me not take part in a number of things. But strangely, as I preserved my inner freediom, I do not really remember it all. Really strange! Have not taken the time to think it through why it is that.
But for sure, society, values, interaction, all that has changed...
Thanks for sharing that Angela. I can imagine Germany was pretty strict and it’s nice to get your first hand experience.
I truly hope you mend quickly and recover fully. I have friends who have been sick with some low grade cold that is lasting more than a month. Could be viral. Some think it’s the geo engineering. Who freaking knows anymore!
IT [There was/ IT was - omg, a single letter missing making such a difference.. ;-§]
was a a customer who smoked. I am highly sensitised (?) on cigarette smoke. I first thought it was that. Then probably a virus got hold and finally some bacteria, too.
God, how embarassing.. "Measure" not "Measurement"!! ;)
I gotto re-edit the text first..
No worries. Perhaps since English isn’t my first language either, I am able to decipher your meanings.
Awesome! A good wake up call.
I grew up on dystopian sci fi and this reminds me of the lessons we were taught.
Orwell wrote 1984 about his experiences at his time. The dystopia isn't in the future, it's today and it's in the past.
Those who think the past was better are nostalgia cultists.
Remember apartheid? Remember women's suffrage? Remember the industrial revolution and it's horrors?
Recently I've been rewatching Battlestar Galactica from the 2000s along with it's prequel series, Caprica.
It is so pertinent and shows that until humanity learns how to love self, it cannot love others and will forever be a slave to systems "above" it.
We are learning to not believe words but to judge based on actions. If the system claims it's for health, but they give us sickness and pain, why trust it?
There's a big connection to big religion here, which also expects us to believe in the myths of the past just because famous people told us.
https://robc137.substack.com/p/alphabet-vs-the-goddess
Good observation. Thinking about it even further, it’s quite possible that outsourcing our reality is baked into the cake - it is of benefit to people in control to keep plebs in a veiled reality.
I did of course see this latest collab on MAA's and you guys are such a natural fit. SO well done. Of course. Enjoyed reading this Tonika and yes truly remarkable how when the Universe grinds us down, we manage to reassemble in better versions! Good to notice.
I'd like to copy and paste your last paragraph but I'll go with just these lines.
"We have already started a new beginning. It seeded deep inside us and the transformation was internal and, therefore, hard to see. In 5 years, though, the external will catch up."
I'll affirm that too and add in damnit for good measure.
Grateful for you and MAA and so many other wondrous wonders found in the SS universe.💕
What means "SS universe"?
SubStack Universe. 😂 I know, every time I write SS universe myself, I think to myself about its unfortunate correlation. Similar to when people respond “kk” in shorthand text form and why text “kk” when you could have just as easily texted “ok”… do we need to get one “k” short of “kkk?” 😂
Damn it! 👊 thanks, Kathleen! And I’m grateful for you, you consciousness expanding wonder!
fantastic "co-elaboration"; the dark palette an' "manga-like" imagery of sterile/robotized youth in that nebulous timeless space of cold-ugly-electronified pulsating future world is, of course, a globalist's wet dream, one chillingly rendered by Margaret's poem-prophetic, in timbre simultaneously emotionless an' matter-of-face, as if prophesy fulfilled! That makes yer warmer happier an' hopeful predictions an' retrospective optimistiK reflections all the more welcome in the balance! as ye know, I'm no fan of AI but used here ta depict the worst nightmare of the worst version of 2030 we might envision, I gotta say is "poifect." lookin' forward ta seein' more good stuff y'all do 2gether!
In the meantime, I'm reminded of the prophetic lyrics of Zager & Evans:
https://genius.com/Zager-and-evans-in-the-year-2525-lyrics
(song's a good'un too ;-)
That song is a banger! I watched the video with the clips of “Metropolis” as the video (one of my all time favorite celluloid films) and it just works so damn well!
Thanks for seeing how the AI paired well with that particular writing, dear. I know you and Mary aren’t keen on it and I don’t blame ya at all! We theatre folk like flesh and blood and imperfections and messiness. I have my feet in both worlds. I respect the analogue and the real. No joke.
I know ;-)...keep the bigger foot in the real lol (ye know one foot's alwayz bigger), may we all stay messy, funky, error-prone an' free ta take our pratt-fall gracefully!
Ah, indeedy, Metropolis is lookin' a mite TOO MUCH like the present... an' it duz fit the song! (I sawr the Georgia Moroder disco version live back in the day...purdy cool even then!)
I second everything that Daisy said! 100%! Particularly your affirmation, Tonika. Tremendous work from both of you... xox
Thank you, Mary! I really do like the AI stuff more when it’s not attempting to be realistic. But my bestie doesn’t like the look either and I think it’s because we crave the art without the artifice. I appreciate you taking a look even if it might feel plasticky.
Of course! I like it better that way, too. It's more... honest...🤔😂
A dose of Apocaloptimist is welcome! After years and years and decades of things going wrong, it's nice to see a few things going right.
Amen, brother!
Great combo!
Come to think of it, "Visceral Adventure" would be a great name for a rock group. 😃
Cheers from Japan, VA!
Cheers, Steve! Nice hearing from you. Whenever I see your comments on Kathleen’ posts I think of the comedian Steve Martin (who is hilarious, imo) but I’m always pleasantly surprised by your insights. Hello from Chicago!
Hi Visceral Adventure!
Chicago?
Still have a vivid memory of visiting the Navy Pier about 20 years ago, though it was a cold winter day.
Though I was 10 years his junior, I was trying to come of age during undergrad when the real Steve Martin was just hitting his stride. Wasn't much help to my love life to meet a cute young thing and introduce myself as "Steve Martin" ... but wow, looking at his Wikipage, he sure didn't have any problems. Something we both have in common - philosophy school drop-outs.
Although I was able to go back and qualify for an undergrad in marine biology at UNC-W, it was at Chapel Hill in the philosophy department that I realized I was learning more about life while working the 3rd shift of a convenience store ... and promptly dropped out. A whole story in itself.
Though glad you resonate with what insights I might have, I can't help but to compare myself with my namesake and want to go hide in a corner. He is brilliant, and had more ambition in his pinky than I can even imagine. Even more than brilliance, I find myself wondering if some genetic component for ambition is the most distinguishing feature between humans in large-scale populations ... something I've always been sorely lacking in.
Just went back to the Wiki page of Steve Martin to reminisce, and I guess it was his SNL appearances that I most remember before moving to Japan. But then I recalled his musical talents ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoWom0CCRKM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYbavuReVF4
Ha! I didn't realize the backing band of King Tut (the 'Toot Uncommons' 😂) was part of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Now if I can only get a bit more motivated to muster up some ambition and inspiration to build on what you, Margaret, Kathleen, Mary, and so many others do so well. Much thanks for fighting the good fight with wit and style.
Cheers V.A.!
He may be funny and intelligent, but you’re a far better human being than him. He is exceedingly pompous and likely a narcissist as well as a womanizer. I remember someone who met him at a party telling me they were having a great conversation, but a few minutes into it, he asked her if she was going to sleep with him because he wasn’t going to waste his time on her if not. I’ve never been able to tolerate him since.
And come to think of it ... for my money, Robin Williams is the modern GOAT.
Robin Williams, I believe, is (was 😭) a true mensch with a tender heart, coruscating mind, and fragile soul whose dramatic performances in “Awakenings,” “Dead Poets’ Society,” and “The Fisher King” hint at the depth of his empathy and breadth of his genius.
He became dear friends with one of my favorite human beings, Oliver Sacks, after spending time with him while studying to portray Oliver in “Awakenings.” Oliver wrote about their friendship after Robin’s tragic suicide:
• https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/man-anyone
More on their friendship here:
• https://uproxx.com/movies/oliver-sacks-robin-williams-friendship/
I shared my favorite photo of them together in this piece:
• https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/letter-to-us-legislators-defundthethoughtpolice
I think Robin was likely a profoundly sad person, and being an authentic human being in the cesspit of Hollywood must have taken a brutal toll. And it’s probable that his Parkinson’s diagnosis affected his brain and led to him make the worst decision of his life.
Hilarious find ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHQtjWvQRA0
Hi again Margaret.
Goosebumps just remembering his movie roles. And though I get a giggle out of "Good Morning Vietnam" ... add "Good Will Hunting" to your great shortlist. Just looked at the wiki page of his list of movies ... most of which I haven't yet seen, and should.
I agree with that analysis in your final paragraph. Like a lot of jazz musicians and their heroin habit, I am guessing coke habit was also his anesthetic against a mad, mad world. Watching him interact with Koko or the dolphins ... you can't fake that kind of authenticity.
I remember when his suicide hit the news. I had never felt so gut-punched at the death of a celebrity.
Wow!
Hi Margaret.
Stunned by how easily you just propped me up by popping a bubble.
That is something that will never be printed on his Wiki page ... but psychologically rings true. I've long suspected that much (most?) worldly success correlates with a definition of 'social intelligence' that I do not admire ... the capacity and willingness to use, misuse, and discard people for unenlightened self-interest ... classic Cluster B behavior traits of pathological narcissism, machiavellian opportunism, medically defined psychopathy, and maybe a bit of sadism thrown in for seasoning.
As I am writing this, I recall a one-off event in my previous work place as a culmination of my research area, what I called an "Event-Driven Curriculum". At the end of the year, in lieu of standardized testing, I convinced my colleagues (two of whom were in on the research project) to have the students prepare an event, similar to a mini TED talk, but including student speeches, group performances pointing out cultural trends and social problems, and so on. Rather than competing for grades on a standardized test and answering questions the test-makers already know, they would be communicating something they cared about and across a real information gap for a live audience made up of everyone in the college, as well as members of the local community, exchange students, and representatives from NPOs and the city government. Talk about intrinsic motivation! Those students were nervous and prepping for weeks, begging for advice from the teachers.
But I was bewildered that a couple of the teachers, one my age and another some years older, saw this as an opportunity for themselves to take the stage and be the center of attention ... the older "sensei" singing and playing on his ukulele being the most bizarre. A Japanese version of a failed, more famous "Steve Martin"?
While I was perusing the other Martin's Wiki page, I came across one bit of information that particularly dismayed me. Among his many, many, many dating partners ... was Karen Carpenter. I guess I've had my share of love and loss, but I think you are one of only two people I've shared why I never managed to marry, and that connection with Karen Carpenter.
Thank you Margaret. You've made me a bit happier to be in my own skin rather than that imposter's. 🙃
“classic Cluster B behavior traits”
🎯🎯🎯
“singing and playing on his ukulele being the most bizarre. A Japanese version of a failed, more famous ‘Steve Martin’?”
🤣😲🤦♀️
“that connection with Karen Carpenter”
😭💔💕
LOL
Sometimes a picture, or emoji, IS worth a thousand words.
🥰
So beautiful what you wrote, including and especially the haiku. 2030, bring it on… all the good stuff.
And I watched the video yesterday on MAA’s page. Excellent work. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 looking forward to sharing ours soon. 💕
Thank you, SF! And yes, I still have that ear worm in my head. So good! 😊 looking forward to it hitting the Substack world (whenever, no pressure from me!)