This sentence from the Rovi music review of Madonna’s first album contains a wonderful final phrase:
And that’s the hallmark of dance-pop: every element blends together into an intoxicating sound, where the hooks and rhythms are so hooky, the shallowness is something to celebrate.
And there it is. I tend to think that the shallowness we celebrate is the shallowness that offers us escape from who we currently are.
Russell Brand, in this heartfelt interview without comedy, destroys his own SuperMe. He also seems capable of becoming a cultural prophet. Really incredible.
Dear Gunny,
We’ve had a good lunch here at Bonefish Grill!
Things were totally awkward at first. But after some wine and Mussels Josephine, we warmed to each other. We’re wrapping up and thought we’d write you a letter.
Whoever anonymously organized this lunch: she never showed! Very, very strange. But the rest of us did. Early on, Niya took charge and asked: what are your best and worst memories of Gunny? We heard great memories: bedrooms filled with cotton ball snow and hidden gifts, walks around Sufi picnics, Monkeytown open late just for you, and magic at DiFara’s. There were also, however, stories of snooped emails, Xmas party arguments, and examples of your hyper-vigilance.
When all was said and done, we came up with some advice for you. Some of it is brutal. Here it is, take it or leave it, dude:
It’s been a fairly productive few weeks, both socially and with the art projects. Here are some highlights:
Dear Gunny,
Om mani padme hum.
What’s up, man. I’ve got this new personal art project where I use meditative telepathy to read the minds of buddhists, then write them letters in response. Pretty freaky, right!
First up, I owe you an apology. I wrote some stuff I’m not proud of on page 73 of a book on the eightfold path I published several years ago. Long story short, I basically said that homosexuality and premarital sex were improper. You know what I’m talking about. It threw you for a loop in high school. I can’t believe it went unnoticed! It would destroy my credibility with the liberal left! These days, I want you to know, I feel bad about it. It was just part of the Tibetan provincialism I grew up with. I just didn’t know any better. I mean, as Kanye says over and over on his last album, “What the hell was I supposed to do?” I mean, 30 years ago we Tibetans still were taught that the moon was a fucking star. Now science teaches us it’s reflecting light. Anyway, sorry for the anti-gay, anti-debaucherous-stuff-you-did-with-that-girl-in-Central-Park rhetoric. You’re good to go.
Second, let’s talk about your journal entry from years ago about Tibet’s stance on China. As you noted, people discuss non-violence in terms of ethics or efficacy. In reality, you’re right: it’s branding. The moment one Tibetan farmer picks up a rifle, we’re just like every other small ass country that’s getting stepped on. As long as we’re non-violent, we’re unique, and we’re championed by millions of people who project their own powerlessness or power guilt onto us. And that, someday, may prove to have been the single thing that preserved the insights of our culture and allowed them to spread into other cultures, beyond the artifacts and trappings of prayer wheels and goofy hats.
As for why your long-term girlfriends never ask you about your Buddhist practice, I think you know the answer to this. They’re just not that into you. Hahahahahahahah. Just kidding. They’re postmodernists who see spirituality as an archaic petitionary supernaturalism. They haven’t read Wilber! Trust the Dalai Lama on this one, bro.
Dude, I wrote this to you from my iphone and it autocorrected “Dalai Lama” into “Sakai Lama”. Who the fuck is that guy? I need to meet him. We can tour the lecture circuit together. Hehe.
Okay, let me get serious for my last point. You’ve long been driven by an impulse that I want to say is right on. My advice to you is to keep doing what you’re doing in your practice: decouple buddhism from everything. Decouple Buddhism from mandalas and mantras. Decouple buddhism from those bracelets people sell. Decouple buddhism from eco-friendliness, from activism, from music, from other buddhists, from Tibet. Most of all, decouple buddhism from me. Continue to find it in your own experience — not just in your small day-to-day self that irons your shirts or struggles through a bad relationship, but in the part of you that intersects infinity.
Okay, man. Gotta run. Keep it real! And tell Koo my favorite poem is “I Just Got Out of a Serious Relationship.”
Sincerely,
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama
Tags: dalai lama, letters
This has been another fantastic week.
There are several projects running right now. I’ve been really careful to design them in a way that I can keep current on all of them while still, you know, getting out a few times a week. Thank god for the books on personal organization I read last year.
As one dear friend recently opined,
“Keep this fucking thing up. Don’t be like blogging one minute and then dating some [example of the type of person I've mistakenly dated before] the next. This shit is too good to lag. You have a duty to America, bitch.”
So here’s the latest architecture of current projects:
That’s it for now. Thanks for tuning in and for all of your support in emails.
Sometimes I have this fantasy of receiving a letter from someone.
Not just a note or a card (those are lovely) but a real letter. There are so many wonderful things about receiving a letter, the most wonderful being that a thoughtful person has decided to dedicate an entire evening, if not more, to ruminating about you, the world, and how you and the world are intertwined. As Kenneth Koch once said, “There’s a pleasure in being the source of someone’s sublime thoughts.”
The problem is that, even when I’m the source of sublime thoughts, people rarely write me letters. Or even write me back after I’ve written them a long ruminating letter on the nature of their existence and the world. Carrin, Xan, Allison, Tracy, Maura, Jessica, you were the only ones who moved me with letters!
Why do others not write? Do they get so wrapped up in the vanity of receiving a letter that it never dawns on them to write one back? Perhaps they don’t like the letter, but don’t they have the courage to write back and disagree? Or are they afraid their letter won’t amount to much? Do they worry their letter might reveal the parts of themselves they’ve hidden? Do they prefer to leave their inner geography unmapped?
So I’m launching a new project in which I write letters I wish I’d have received. In the past week, I’ve worked on outlines or drafts of:
Enjoy.
Tags: letters, love, what the fuck is wrong with you egomaniacs
I’ve taken all of my writings on advertising and moved them to a new blog: SixFathoms.com. That blog, uninteresting to most of you, will explore my journey to produce advertising that stirs people.
That journey began back with my old agency, but accelerated last year when I got obsessed with CP+B. CP+B was the correction of everything I’d thought was wrong. Last year I’d sit in my apartment at night, 3am, watching Alex Bogusky videos on YouTube, drinking bourbon, eating lupini beans, and taking notes. The journey continues today with the digital agency where I work. Who knows where it will lead in the future.
As you may surmise, none of these projects are really independent of each other. The art projects and my philosophy of advertising are really two sides of the same drive toward exploring that gap of unspoken stirring.
Tags: advertising
On Friday, I launched an ad campaign for a project of mine to introduce it to the public. In less than 48 hours, the campaign has generated over 175,000 impressions, over 240 followers on Facebook (none of which are my friends yet), and some great comments. There’s an active discussion around the new brand that’s spirited, passionate, and with exactly the crowd I hoped for.
Thanks to everyone who made the first 48 hours so successful. It feels good to build something again.
I’m pleased to say that this week I was able to finish several exciting projects — and get a few others close to launch. Here’s a quick recap of the week:
I’d also like to thank all the people who made the week great: Koo & Anna for a night of jawdropping hilarity, Aristotle for tons of bourbon and conversation over Korean, Grza for his normal panache, Karen & Noah for the pizza and hospitality, the Polens for clearing the palate and reinstating the old tribe, and Miss Christina for a very feisty night at Beauty and Essex.
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