IdeaJones

Tag: IdeaJones

  • A Dog’s Guide To Working With Humans

    A Dog’s Guide To Working With Humans

    Humans are both fascinating and confusing.

    If you want to work with humans, there are a few important things you need to know.  I’ve been working with these humans for a couple of months now, and I can already tell that working with humans isn’t as easy as working with dogs:

    • Humans talk about cooperating a lot more than they cooperate.  Sometimes this is because they really don’t want to cooperate.  I overheard someone saying “This shit has too many captains.”  He pronounced it “ship,” but I’m not going to make fun of him for a speech impediment.

    As you know, among dogs, we all sort out who does what and do what we do best.  I have the best sense of smell in our pack, but Reo is better at spotting squirrels in trees. I’m little and fast, but Moby is big and strong. Humans can use can openers. We all have our role to play.

    Humans have an “all or nothing” approach to control. They don’t want to give up any, or they pretend they gave up all of it.  And nobody listens to anybody just because she’s good at that particular thing. They think listening to someone who knows what she’s talking about means giving her some sort of power over them… How do humans get anything done? They overcomplicate things so much.

    • Humans have the awareness of rocks.  Okay, their senses are, to be kind about it, very limited.  They stare, baffled, at the tree you’re barking at, because they can’t hear or see the squirrel right over their heads. They step in things because they can’t smell them.

    This lack of awareness of who or what is around them causes them endless problems. When a pack works together, we pay attention to where the other members of the pack are and what they’re doing. If Moby flushes a rat, Reo and I need to be able to help him catch it. If we don’t pay attention to each other, the rat gets away. Which means we’ll probably have to chase that same rat another day — plus a bunch of baby rats.  If I flush a rat, I need Reo and Moby to help me, because I’m a baby and the rat is probably almost as big as I am. If they aren’t aware of me, the rat gets away, or I’m rat chow.

    Humans engage in things far more complicated than chasing rats, but usually they don’t seem to be aware of the other people involved. If Reo chases a rat and it runs my way, I have to chase it toward Moby so he can take care of it. Moby needs me to do my part, so he can do his. But humans take on projects where each person  has to chase his rat, so to speak, on time, so the next person can chase her rat.  But they ignore all of the other people waiting for them and do whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like it, so the next person waiting for the rat to come his way misses it, or gives up and goes home.

    No wonder there are so many rats in the world.

    The humans are interesting animals with many bizarre habits, and the ones I have adopted are very nice, even if they are, as all humans seem to be, somewhat limited.  My studies continue, and I will send more dispatches as I can.

  • Creating While Distracted

    Gingeroo and Moby, a puppy & her (adopted) dad.

    We have a new family member, Gingeroo, who joined us almost two months ago. She’s an adorable little girl and before anyone asks, she is 100% Pure Yorgess… “your guess is as good as ours!”  She’s a mixed breed, some sort of hound/terrier mix. We’re thinking she’s part Basenji, as Abby was (always miss you, Princess Hound!).  Gingeroo does a lot of things Abby did, from trying to climb on everything (including people –we’re working on it) to holding things with her paws like a raccoon. She even has the Basenji speaking voice, which sounds, so Mark’s mom used to say, like something from The Exorcist (think someone talking in a very raspy, growly voice).

    Moby loves his little baby (she’s almost five months old now). He lets her take tennis balls, roll in the grass with him, even cuddle up to his tummy.  And when she gets out of control, he gently but firmly corrects her. She’s a spitfire, lots of energy and focus, but once she settles down, very sweet and cuddly.

    We’re trying to work with a puppy in the house, and for other reasons, it’s been pretty stressful here.  There are a few things we’ve figured out:

    * When it’s not normal times, don’t try to pretend it is. Acknowledge whatever challenges there are and plan accordingly. You don’t have to let things stop you — but if there’s a hill in your path, it doesn’t help to pretend there isn’t. Make plans to climb the hill.

    * If a situation isn’t likely to resolve itself quickly, adjust your expectations. A friend said, “If it’s a marathon, not a sprint, train for a marathon.” She went on to say that you have to get your rest, drink plenty of water, exercise, eat a healthy diet, all that stuff, just as if you were going to run an actual marathon. This may be the smartest advice we’ve gotten in years.

    * “If the straight path is blocked, get creative about going where you need to go. Other paths may still get you there.” Great advice from another friend. Right now, my schedule revolves around little Gingeroo, who is learning to go outside to potty, but has to go outside about every other hour. Plus, I don’t want her to think if she goes, that’s it, back in the house, fun’s over, so after she goes, we play for a while. This is seriously cutting into my productivity, but will pay off in the future. So I take her out to play, bring her in, get her settled with a toy, and get some work done until we do it all again in 90 minutes. Which means that if I’m not as productive as I’d like, at least I’m productive, so I don’t lose patience with her, and she’s getting really good about housetraining, since it’s a positive experience.

    We’ve had other times when life was challenging, sometimes very challenging, and it was frustrating, on top of what was going on, not to be getting anywhere creatively. Fortunately, now we know how to navigate the rough patches in the road until they smooth out, which brings me to the other best advice I ever got:

    “The universe doesn’t recognize stasis. Things can grow or decay quickly or slowly, but they can’t stay the same.” This was our doctor and once we really understood it, we realized it meant that change is part of the system. Enjoy the good and survive the bad knowing it won’t last forever.

    “Better is always coming. The trick is to hang on until it gets there.”  Mom, who lived through The Great Depression, told me that.

    Hope your good stretches are longer than your bad.

    Gingeroo and Moby enjoy the summer.
  • On Dust, Mirror Neurons, And Discrimination

    On Dust, Mirror Neurons, And Discrimination

    We’re discriminating against ourselves.

    When I started “Where It Starts,” I was fascinated by a science book by Judith Horstman. In it, she mentioned “mirror neurons.”  I did some reading on the subject and fell in love with the idea. Mirror neurons are neurons in the brain that fire up sympathetically. Let’s say you watch someone fall. As he topples over, he sticks his hands out to break his fall. When his hands hit the sidewalk, your own hands twitch in response. You may even flinch. You didn’t fall — so why do you have that reaction?

    Mirror neurons allow you to place yourself in someone else’s shoes for a moment. Other things can make them twitch, too. A story can get their attention. If I tell you about my trip through the mountains, about how it was night and snow started to fall, and my car skidded into a snow bank and the engine died and wouldn’t come back, but I saw the lights of a gas station so I got out and walked, slipping and skidding, the snow soaking my tennis shoes so that my feet were wet and numb… Neurons fire in your brain in areas that would fire up if you were actually having that experience with me. The more vivid the story, the more you feel it.

    As I worked on this sculpture, I heard another bit of information that seemed to relate — the composition of dust. Of course, there are different kinds of dust, but in general, everything is shedding and flaking off tiny bits, and those tiny bits become dust, which swirls all over the world on the wind. This includes shed cells from other people. Many of these bits are too small to see with the naked eye, but we’re all breathing them in. So what?

    So we are all taking in minuscule pieces of each other constantly. The closer you are to someone physically, of course, the more you take in, but the school bully and his victim are literally part of each other. People from all over the world are walking around inside of you right now, and that’s not touchy-feely new age philosophy… it’s scientific fact.  Plus, that dust is deposited everywhere, including the soil where our food grows. The guy who thinks he’s better than everyone else? He IS everyone else.

    Those people who say “we are all one?”  They’re right.

    The first time this sculpture was shown, I saw a woman and her daughter contemplating it. They noticed me and asked about it. When I explained it, the woman laughed and told her daughter, “You’d better be careful who you breathe around!” Then I explained that we are all part of each other, even the people we don’t like. She said, “It would be hard for anyone to bully anyone else if they understood that.” Her daughter shared that she had been bullied in school, and wished the person who had bullied her had understood that they were part of each other.”

    Everyone walking around carries a part of the rest of the world within him. The people in this sculpture are talking, sharing their experiences, breathing each other in. Both will leave changed whether they realize it or not.

  • Writer’s Gold

    Writer’s Gold

    That’s what I call it, “writer’s gold,” when you meet someone who enjoys your writing. Writing is such a solitary art. It’s ceremonial. Writers have their traditions, habits and rituals. For me, it’s turning the lights low, getting a cup of tea, putting on some soft, quiet music, turning off the ringer on my phone, and surrendering to the gravitational force of the story. It pulls me in and I’m there, with those characters, seeing, hearing, smelling and experiencing what they do.  Mark says that you could light fire to my chair when I’m writing and I wouldn’t notice — and he’s not far off.

    But you walk forward, struggling to capture the vision in your mind and describe it, not knowing if anyone will understand what you’re trying to say, or enjoy what you’re creating. It goes out and (hopefully) people read it, but you don’t sit there with them while they do (and good thing — when a writer watches someone read his work, it’s uncomfortable for both parties. The writer is hyper-focused on the reader and trying not to ask “What? Where are you?” at each sigh, laugh, gasp or facial expression, which is annoying for the reader and I’ve been there, but trust me, it’s almost impossible to resist).

    So for the most part, a writer works in solitude, builds his paper boat, launches it onto the pond, and retreats to build another boat. That’s why it’s so great when someone has read something you wrote and really enjoyed it. I talked with someone the other day who read the opening of “Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story,” and told me she enjoyed it a lot, it made her laugh, she recognized moments in it as moments like ones she’s had… She went on to talk about the scene with the cake and said she could see it in her mind and feel what was going on, laughing as she recounted it back to me… She also said that she was frustrated because she couldn’t keep reading and wants to buy the book!

    What I hope is that the book will give the reader a bit of an escape. Life can be stressful and when it is, books have been my refuge. This person has a stressful job, and the idea that for a moment she left it behind while laughing over our book makes me happy. Hearing her enjoyment gives me heart to build more paper boats and launch them.

  • Of Love Beads and Novels

    Of Love Beads and Novels

    Hi! This month has been even busier than usual. Endings, beginnings, recuperation, it’s all been part of this month. There’s a tradition that says you should start the year as you mean to go on. Eat the foods you love, do the things you love, be with the people you love to show the new year what you want from it. If it’s true, this is going to be an interesting year.

    Excerpt on Kindle Scout — free to read!

    The beginning… our book, Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story, was selected for Amazon’s Kindle Scout program! This means an excerpt is available on the Kindle Scout website, and you can vote for it to be published. It’s free to participate, and if the books you vote for are selected, you get a free online copy!  You do need to sign up for an Amazon account (free) if you don’t already have one, then you can log in and become a Kindle Scout, helping new authors and getting free book! The link is: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2ZS8M8QUBB0QC

    The ending… the Love Bead Safe Harbor Pin Project is now officially over (for us — anyone can make pins and give them away). For the project, we made and gave away 2,000 hand-beaded Safe Harbor pins, promoting the idea that all human beings deserve to be treated with basic dignity and respect. In three cities, we talked to people from many countries, economic levels and cultural backgrounds about that idea. One thousand people stood up in a public place and confirmed their belief in that principle. We got to talk to so many great people, parents who used the pins to talk about respect with their kids, friends and families who chatted with us, often told us their personal stories.  In every distribution, at least one person would hug me. Some cried as they talked about the challenges they deal with.  There are stories on the website and on our Facebook page. Here are some from the Women’s March in Sacramento, CA:

    * The little boy who, after his mom accepted a set of pins, said he wanted a set as well and asked about the meanings of the various color patterns. When he saw the green “environment supporter” pin with a gear on it (for science), he got excited and shouted, “That’s it! That’s my pin!”  Later, as his family passed me, he looked back and said, “Thank you for the pins!”

    * The young women from a Feminism Club (I didn’t catch which school), who accepted pins with big smiles and talked about their Women’s Studies class.

    * The parents from Arkansas who traveled to California to march with their daughter and her family.

    * The young woman who accepted the last set of pins and received a set of three additional pins, including a set of crystal rainbow LGBTQI pins, who smiled like the rising sun and was still beaming when I looked back.

    Other people stand out from the course of the project, the tourists from France who asked wonderful questions and really engaged with the project as art; the young man who told me about how his gay friends were getting harassed and threatened and felt alone – but he would tell them there were people they didn’t even know who wished them well and believed in them; the young woman with dreadlocks who hugged me and got teary, saying, “You don’t know how bad it is out there — I was having a really bad day. It’s nice to know there are people who care;” the group of skaters under the tree in Mission Dolores Park who got excited about the project and even told other people who joined us about it, including the young man who yelled, “Fuck yeah! I’m for respect for everyone!”  So many people, so many memories, and we’re so grateful to all of you. May you be blessed.

    We also were in two art shows that ended this month. Now it’s time to regroup and create.

    The recuperation has been from a bout of flu (yes, we got the shot, and it did seem to keep the flu from being as bad as it’s been before).

    We’re spending time with friends, working on other books, and letting ourselves pause now and then to experience and enjoy the gratitude we feel towards everyone who’s voted for our book, or talked to us at a pin distribution. Thank you! May the new year to come treat us all as friends.