Home
Artists
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register
Partychan Telegram Live Sex ThePornDude
Home Artists Posts Import Register

How we goin'?, and a little movement workshop for patrons in MAY. (Patreon)

Published:
2023-04-11 15:13:17
Imported:
2023-04

Content

Hello my loves.

Happy springing.

I'm checkin' in, and flash-announcing a yoga/movement/meditation afternoon workshop on May 4th (in Woodstock, see way below) with me, Coco, and Manta.

..........


Greetings from Bearsville, NY, where I float along in deeply confused ecstasy as usual.

How are you all ... really doing? 

How's the change of seasons feeling, how's the post-Covid vibe in your town, country, how's the inner weather?

It's been a while since I asked. 

I'd like to know.

I'll start.

I posted this little reflection on FaceBorg the other day, after my littel ramble about the chronogram piece (which I posted to the patreon, and FB):

“Are you okay?”

“Your posts seem very dark, are you in danger?”

“Have you been tested for Autism? You seem to often be saying that you’re overwhelmed, and…”

A sampling of comments after my post yesterday

I am now tempted to write a longer piece about this and make that piece my patreon offering for the month.

But of course, I’m overwhelmed; I may not write it, so allow me to just take 7 minutes and summarize what I imagine the takeaway would be:

Yes, I am okay.

And yes, I am overwhelmed.

And from the perch where I am sitting, this is not that odd.

Almost every parent of young children I have met since returning to America appears - to me - to be pretty overwhelmed.

I cannot speak for all. But I can speak for a handful of parents I know right now.

We parents - scared and confused ourselves - just carried our scared and confused kids through Covid-times while many of our childless counterparts dealt with the very different plagues of boredom and isolation.

We have all suffered with different flavors of overwhelm.

Or as my friend Jack once succinctly put it in 2021: we are all eating our own individual bowls of shit.

I currently know a half dozen people from both camps (with and without children) on the edge of mental health breakdowns so fierce they wonder if they should be hospitalized.

I do not remember things being like this three years ago, before Covid.

I’m also going through a divorce. I’m also going through culture shock having come back from New Zealand after three years accidentally abroad.

And I am also an Artist of the Feels: I am a memoirist who has spent the better part of the last 25 years talking about how I am really doing, and have never sugarcoated my struggles.

But as the Backstreet Boys once sagely said: I want it that way.

I have found strength, for decades, in being honest about what I feel and what I perceive going on around me in the Zeitgeist.

Yes - I am definitely having my own moments of reckoning. And I am a particular demographic: Self-employed white American mother of a seven-year-old living in Upstate New York.

But if I am reporting from the emotional front on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people who trust me with their feelings and comments and information, I can assure you:

People - especially parents - are feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.

If you are feeling overwhelmed in the face of everything that is happening on the planet, in America, with gun violence, with the climate crisis, the global slide towards facism, with the algorithms taking over the public forum, and with the seemingly endless poetry of mundane and catastrophic moments of This Modern Life:

You are not alone.

I am with you, and so are a lot of other people.

So if people come to you - as they come to me - with worried brow or helpful diagnoses when you express your overwhelm in the face of all of the above, just tell them what I will tell them:

Feeling overwhelmed seems like a pretty reasonable feeling nowadays.

If you’re not overwhelmed, maybe you’re not paying attention.

I love you all.

Can I get an amen??

-Written after a quick phone-scroll on the third floor of the Museum of Science, Boston, gazing at the giant Van Der Graff generator while Ash experiments with lying on a bed of nails several feet away.

....

I'll take the Amen over here, Hallelujah.

And really...tell me how you are.

.....

Meanwhile....

I've been with family for the past couple days, in my old hometown, and posting little snippets of life and piano to IG lately, and now I'm home and trying to just hunker and prevail as I juggle the next four days: I have to rehearse my two-hour solo set for Tacoma (and Poughkeepsie, and Boston), finish writing new songs, work on the new covers about which I am extremely passionate, get the house in order, pack for tour, try to figure out what I'm ding with my life for the next five years, and of course, try to Thing Something. Possibly riffing on the....

10th ANNIVERSARY OF MY TED TALK

I feel a piece of writing coming on, I'm brimming with disconnected mental wires, and I'm pondering using those wires to thread together a piece about "The Art of Asking: 10 Years Later" to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of my TED talk, which is about to hit 20 million views across TED.com and YouTube. (WTFuck!?)

I delivered this talk almost exactly 10 years ago to the month; I'm about to return to TED for the first time in six years, and I have some new hot takes and reflections to share. If you've never seen it, it's only 13 minutes, and it still makes me cry a little when I watch it.

But oh, I feel like the girl on the box on that stage was a little naive. I love her, still.

But oh.

Certainly worth a revisit at the moment, given everything going on.


https://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking

If you feel like it, I'd love to hear a little about your own reflections on the TED talk - whether you saw it live, saw it 10 years ago, or just watched it today. Maybe a few thoughts on what you might want to know from insider my head ten years on, what other questions you may have...any thoughts...any reflections. Asking in a Post-Covid world. Asking Part Deux. I'll fold them into the piece if and when I write it....talka to me.

.....


AND:

ANNOUNCING a 

AFTERNOON-LONG MOVEMENT WORKSHOP in WOODSTOCK with Me, Coco, and Manta!

I am going to keep this invite to patrons and local friends only, just because it's so small, but that doesn't mean you can't share it with others. 

May 4th, 2023

Noon -4pm

$80

Limited to 20 people, so grab a spot... literally right now.

LOCATION: Very short walking distance from the central village in Woodstock, NY (which is accessible by bus from New York City via Kingston NY).

The number of spaces is very limited and will go fast. We'll be accepting reservations here, starting NOW:

https://bodywaytogo.weebly.com/

At the link above, you can also read more about who the facilitators are and what they do and stuff....

Ages 18+, no experience necessary. Wear comfy clothes, bring your own mat if you can, but we may not need it.

It'll be me (I'll lead a meditation and practice with the group), my wonderful friend (known to many of you), Shintaido Instructor David "Manta" Franklin, and my other wonderful friend, choreographer Coco Karol.  a day of gentle body movement, fun, easy and healthy exercise for all kinds of bodies, insight, contemplation and connection -- including, but not limited to, Shintaido and MUNZ Floor Work (which is a little like long, slow yin yoga, you just kinda lie on the floor and do slow spiral stretches...it's delicious). 

After you make a reservation, we'll send you a payment link (PayPal or other debit/credit cards). After we receive your payment, your registration is confirmed and we'll send you the location and other practical details.

Greatly looking forward to seeing, moving, and contemplating with you.

Amanda (and Coco, and Manta)

......


More soon.

Reading comments.


x

A


TOUR SEASON IS UPON US!!!!!!!!!!

***AFP SOLO***

Saturday, April 15th - Tacoma, WA - The Temple Theatre

Wednesday, April 19th - Vancouver, CA - Vogue Theatre NinjaTED - BENEFIT FOR GREATER VANCOUVER FOOD BANK

Friday, April 28th - Poughkeepsie, NY - Bardavon *ALMOST SOLD OUT*

Saturday, April 29th - Boston, MA - The Wilbur Theater *ALMOST SOLD OUT*

***THE DRESDEN DOLLS***

May 19th, 20th, & 21st - Denver, CO - Ophelia's Electric Soapbox *SOLD OUT*

May 26th, 27th, & 28th - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf *SOLD OUT*

June 16th, 17th, & 18th - Orlando, FL - The Social *SOLD OUT*

June 23rd, 24th, & 25th - New Orleans, LA - Toulouse Theatre *SOLD OUT*


All tickets at: https://amandapalmer.net/events/



———THE STUFF I PASTE AT THE END OF THE POST———

1. if you are a patron and new to my work, don’t forget your patronage allows you access to ALL of my patreon releases to date. HERE is the link to download my latest big solo record, “There Will Be No Intermission”, and HERE is a link to download the PDF of the art/essay book that goes with it.

2. if you’re a patron reading this post via an email notification, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol. that's always nice for me to see, so i know who's reading.

3. see All the Things (over 200 of them) i've made so far on patreon:

http://amandapalmer.net/things

4. JOIN THE SHADOWBOX COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/

5. are you new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/

6. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net

Files

Comments

Michele Peters

The sun is out and I am all for it. Also, I dreamt of you last week. It went something like this (from my rough/unedited journal entry): 4/7/2023 "Last night I dreamt about Amanda Palmer. I was fortunate to attend one of her patron/tribal/lighthouse gatherings in Woodstock, NY. (Keep in mind, I have never been there.) We were in small groups at a lovely, artsy, eclectic shop she took us to. Think herbal teas, original paintings, stones, incense, bells and sound drums, all good vibes. The group I was wandering with, some soul sisters per say, moved to another room to sit in the lovely chairs they provided and were approached by the sales person. This sales person was a little “extra” in the dream. They went a little off kilter and we found it a little too much, my small group, so we got up and moved to another room without saying much. It was a very rude, to be honest. Amanda saw it and made a point to head to that sales person to make sure that she knew she was loved. Amanda looked at us and we instantly knew we should have done better. She was disappointed but still loved us and wanted to show us a better way. She made that person smile, bought a homemade caramel from her and ate it all while looking at us, her people/her children. She showed love and we learned." Thanks for being such a good teacher, AFP! ♥

Anonymous

I’m struggling. My physical health issues are quite overwhelming. I’m glad warmth is coming so I can do things outside with people I love. I wear my mask indoors everywhere except my apartment - not conducive to get-together or shared meals- so the warm times are something I’ve been looking forward to very much. Wish I could make this event (but cannot), the workshop sounds really appealing and I’ve wanted to meet Coco since you first began mentioning her - she seems incredible.

EmVT

amen on the overwhelm, i don't know anyone who isn't feeling like something has to give. then it just never does, and on and on we roll as things continue to fall off the sides of the apple cart. it is almost two years since the first time I saw your TED talk, and i've listened to it many more times, and just watched it again. reflecting back, my first thought when it originally came up at the top of my 'Amanda Palmer' search was 'ah, ok'--because someone in the comments of your interview with Lucy Lawless (where I first encountered you) said something like 'Amanda Palmer is unrecognizable' and I could see how much your appearance had changed. the two things that stood out my first time watching it were, I was impressed with your insight about the education you got standing on the box, and secondly, your insight that certain people are going to stop while many others will ignore you. the second point resonated since I was in the middle of figuring out my creative process, and how it intersected with social media. whether people liking my stuff had anything to do with whether it was 'good' or not. I was also impressed that you spent so much time holding still on top of a box, that you could pull that off from an endurance standpoint! :) My only question about the TED talk 10 years on is, have the internet tools that allow the exchange become more sophisticated than they were when you gave the talk? If so, how? If not, what is still missing? ❤️

Len Tower Jr.
>>106169198

Good question! Both Amanda's body language and bone structure are much the same (evolved (matured?) a smidgen). Sometimes we concentrate too much on changes to skin, hair, etc. I noticed the art of her fine brush applied eyebrows. It was one of her simpler versions. (She said why she let them grow out again, online six or so year ago.) -Len

EmVT
>>106169198

hi Len! yes the things I noticed on the thumbnail of the TED video were superficial, Amanda's makeup and hair (hi Amanda, I know you're reading this too :) ). I love what you said, Amanda, about keeping your appearance kind of a moving target (I believe in your interview with Tanya Pearson), which makes me think of your theatre background too. also, in the LL video, Amanda was in full Grownup mode as the presenter and orchestrator of the video. maybe because I was probably watching in my carhartts and ball cap :) TED Amanda seemed slightly more relatable, even though I'm a few years older than her. in the Aotearoa video you seemed like exactly the same person, with even more life experience than TED Amanda. point being, I could see why the YouTube commenter might say 'Amanda is unrecognizable'.

Anonymous

Once again, I am struck by the question: "How are you really?" Lately i've been getting more frustrated at receiving the questioen in it's ever so common empty form. Even tho I've been avoiding really answering it to my self, I know that the usual "I'm good" isn't right. I know it because I almost get angry every time I am put in a situation where it feels like the only correct answer. Still, I feel unjustified in saying that I'm not that good. It's been consistently getting better, lately. I'm probably also more ignorant then overwealmed these days. Maybe for once taking the chance and answering this question, or at least trying to, will help me to dare put myself in overwealming positions again and get on with the things I've been pushing aside for so long. Thank you for starting, for sharing. Thank you for being there and making me think and do things. All the best <3

Anonymous

How am I doing? On Easter, I lost a dear, dear friend. A beautiful person, an artist. Coincidentally, she had a piece of art in *The Virginia Companion*, which I only just learned yesterday while perusing her professional portfolio. She was a true original, as another friend called her "the polar opposite of basic", and her death was sudden, cruel, and after she fought hard to be here in the face of doctors trying to deny her the reality of her body because why would someone in a female body know herself??? I'm angry today on her behalf, because she had access to some of the best care available in the US right now and that care still missed the thing that was not-so-slowly killing her. I'm coming to Camp Amandaland this summer and I'd like to take a few minutes to show you her art in person if I could. I'll share her here, too, but my heart isn't ready yet.

Anonymous
>>106193642

PS: I am also a mother of a seven-year-old (and a four year old) living in Upstate NY, and my God it all just feels like too much even here where things are relatiely good. I'm afraid for them daily.

Michael Clark

I find it strange writing to you here. It feels like writing a message in a bottle. If you knew it would be received, would you write something different? I remember someone once saying artists were meant to be “connectors and openers, not untouchable stars.” Well you really nailed the ampersand with that one Amanda. Somehow in so many ways it feels like you’re both. And that is so human and so allowed. Not that it’s always my favorite. Dancing on the outskirts of your community, and doing my own thing and loving your people. Your presence has been so ridiculously connecting and opening. Inwardly with music and words and perspectives and as inspiration, and outwardly with friendships made and deepening, new possibilities percolating. So many stories. Can I tell you some? Will the bottle reach you? Well, I’ll pretend that it will. I did a thing one week ago. At a poetry open mic, I gave a piece and it scared some people into thinking I might be a psycho killer. I felt a bad afterward, but it wasn’t my only feeling. Mostly I felt like I made some awesome fucking art. But I did feel bad. I want people to feel safe. But feelings aren’t always safe. And grief isn’t. They weren’t ready for that art. I’m learning to show up differently depending on the container and being more patient. The weirdo and the trickster inside me want to come out and play, and I can also wait and do my own thing and wait until it’s safe. Because I know that touching people’s pain isn’t always safe. And I wouldn’t want to trigger something truly terrible because of a poem. *** As for the Art of Asking, I’ve talked about it a lot. At open mics. To people in planes who later became at least short-term friends. I remember them anyway. I’ve shown it to family and friends. Do you know who introduced me to you by the way? I’ve written this story, probably to you in some comment or internet message bottle. Gathering on the seashores of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram no doubt. I walked on The Great March for Climate Action. It didn’t work obviously. Climate still fucked. ;-) But afterward, and after lots of life, I felt alive again after a long depression. And I was pondering about my favorite pornstar and realized (what an epiphany to have), “hey they are a real person who makes great stuff. I wonder what they are like?” So I checked out Stoya’s Twitter. She tweeted something. I replied and she laughed. After that, it’s all gravy right? I remember what it was too, more or less. She tweeted: What word hasn’t been usurped, tainted, or destroyed by the patriarchy? To which I relied: The word “Stoya” still looks pretty shiny and clean to me. And she gave me a “Hah!” back. That may or may not have happened before she introduced me to you. But she didn’t know she was doing it, nor did you, such is the weird that is Twitter. She retweeted something about “Spaces in the internet where it’s safe to hate women.” Sounded like a bombshell of an article being recommended by a favorite artist. I clicked. It was about you. It was about “the most hated woman on the internet.” I was so fucking curious. I knew I would love this person. Hated by the internet. By the people who lurk in dark spaces and get together to hate on women. I knew I would love this person. I didn’t even know your name. Just your reputation. It truly does precede you Amanda. So I glance at the article and it’s about “Amanda Palmer.” “Who the fuck is Amanda Palmer?” I think to myself. Never heard of her. How is this person the most hated woman? I scan. Amanda Palmer. Dresden Dolls. Okay, I’d heard of the band. Didn’t have the curiosity to look into your group. Some indy alternative band. No idea where I even heard the name. But it was in there. The woman writing the article had hated you to. But she was writing an apology. How goddamn fucking refreshing. If she was going to hate you properly, she needed to read your book and she only had the audiobook on hand. She listened to you deliver your book. And she softened and melted, like the ice cream you were no longer selling, on a warm day, in the shadow of an eight foot bride. She fell in love a little bit. I did too and I still didn’t have any clue why you were hated or why you were loved. Person wrote a book. That is what I knew. Person is a musician apparently. Author of article pointed out you had a TED. Person has a TED. At last, let us see this person. *………* Holy fuck. She just breathed for like five seconds and looked at people. Celebrities don’t do that. Most people don’t do that. Holy fuck. She’s kicking a milk crate and has some veil and clearly isn’t lacking self-confidence. All the things. The shirt, the beads, the hand wraps, the deep red black brown hair, the eyebrows were probably the most subtle and most signature. You breathed and looked and I fell in love, a lot. As you started to talk I was over the moon. And when you got to “nobody ever sees me, thank you,” I knew that you were my people whether you knew it or not. I was bawling and laughing and overwhelmed. I couldn’t go on. So apparently she’s a musician too? This reputation making human statue makes music. I check YouTube and the first song I see or click is the TRAM Session “Ukulele Anthem.” ding ding ding “…Amanda Palmer with Tram Sessions.” And your voice: “This is my final song ladies and gentlemen, thank you for indulging our experiment.” Your final song. My first. A palindromist’s dream. Wow. I listen. I’m floored. All the things. Yes. I will play my favorite cover song. I love that idea. So I’ve played that, without a ukulele (because I don’t know how to play) many many times. I think it’s hilarious sung a capella, by the way. But another of my favorite cover songs is your TED. I’m memorizing it. If you want a deeply … I have no idea experience… I have a recording of me just reading it on YouTube. It’s real weird. And I hope lovely. But yeah it’s coming along. I’m playing the whole thing. Making art for the slides. Getting the look down. I got some crates and hats and gossamer veil things and no lacking self-confidence so it should be good and weird. And no, I’m not just stalking you. Im also learning Neil’s “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury.” I’ve already got pretty well Saul Williams’ “Children of the Night.” That was first on the list. Why he signed Fox in Socks. I love his “song” so much. I sang “Party Hard” for the first time at Karaoke a week ago too. After the poem. And after some death metal. I want to learn to play it. I’m working on getting better at piano. Work in progress. Anyway. Another strange note in another strange bottle. I hope it finds you well. I hope it isn’t overwhelming. I hope if anything, it smells of the ocean spray and sunlight and seaweed. I hope to see you again on May 4, barring any cataclysm. I hope. Amanda: Did this motherfucker just steal the end of The Shawshank Redemption? Me: you’re goddamn right I did! Another favorite cover song! Hah!* *And that’s another palindrome. Cheers Amanda. So glad you are real. So glad for your community and your art and your support and for all the live you pour out into the world. I think it matters a lot. I feel it. I see it. Thank you. *hands Amanda a flower made out of trash*

Anonymous

TEN years! Wow. Your Ted Talk has meant so much to me over the years. The book and the talk helped me ask and connect with folks when I first came out of the closet and moved to Northern California without knowing anyone. It taught me to trust other’s generosity towards me, and to trust my own generous spirit towards others. I still use that talk as a grounding technique for when someone has hurt my feelings, or I’ve just read about a particularly saddening world event…those moments when the world seems like too mean of a place to want carry on existing in. Thank you for all the things. Thanks for continuing to thing. See you in Tacoma. :-) LT

Anonymous
>>106246151

And how I am doing? I am feeling…hopeful these days. <3

Anonymous
>>106235795

This is lovely, and I'm pretty sure Amanda reads everything here that she humanly can, so yes, the bottle will reach her.

Michael Clark
>>106235795

I appreciate you reading my bottlemessage. Glad it reached someone. I think she tries to as well. But sometimes life intervenes, or the gremlins in the internet work their magic. But I hope so. And I wouldn’t have written it if I didn’t enjoy the process, so it’s all good. :- )

Anonymous

I hadn't seen this TED Talk and it left me sobbing. It was like a spotlight into the dark corners of my viscera. The thing I am most desperately searching for. Connection. Real meaningful connection to real human flesh and blood people. Its never been easy for me, and I feel its absence like a person crossing the desert craves water. I find droplets and swallows of it in digital communities. Enough to keep me alive; to leave me desperate for a gulp. I don't know where these thought go from here, only that I needed to release them. To thank you for the feels and the clarity.

Debra Doggett

Overwhelmed is a good word for what I and most of those I know are feeling. Usually when I feel this way though, I can step back, sort of retreat into my own cave. But these days that's not only much harder but feels more selfish.

Gaba Kulka

Amen. This is how I am: I am at a stage of overwhelm where I seem to struggle and despair against it significantly less than before. I know there is only so much I can personally fit into a day, a week, a brain, a heart. But it does come with a big chunk of sadness. It feels like I will never be able to fit back all of the things that I thought were important. It is all already bursting at the seams, and I honestly can't imagine doing anything more that I'm already doing. I realize that letting go of some things helped me keep my sanity. Often it feels trivial, and cliche and predictable. But it's also something I observe with curiousity, like an investigation into my own ways and beliefs. Thank you (and I mean it) for asking.

Gaba Kulka
>>106328417

1. Oh, and please say hello to David from me! I really loved his workshop in Prague and it was such a pleasure bumping into him a number of times after your shows! 2. Here's a stupid thought: "The Art of Asking, the sequel: Thanks For Asking". ;)

Linda

May 4th is my birthday! I will be there in spirit for sure! I'm doing half okay but leaning more on the good half when possible so I don't spiral. And your Ted talk is still a breath of fresh air for the mind and makes me want to art more I still struggle with asking sometimes but I've done it time and time again for my mental health and actually fought for help when no one was listening. I've been in a good place for 5 years in a row and I'm also in therapy and have good support and keep my eyes open for the helpers/help when I am able Much love

D. Franklin
>>106328417

HI! You have said hi to me yourself now,! What you wrote there about feeling overwhelmed resonates with me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. But also "...it's also something I observe with curiosity, like an investigation into my own ways and beliefs." Story: there are examinations in Shintaido, though they hardly resemble examinations in any other discipline, certainly not in the "martial arts" (which are, relative to Shintaido, a mere historical footnote anyway - these "exams" are more like auditions, combining technical competency and expressive capacity). After one exam, during which I thought I had done quite adequately or even well, the exam committee knocked me down a notch during the post-exam feedback session. In 1990 I took a very physically and emotionally challenging Shintaido instructors' exam, and thought I had done terribly. Afterwards, it really felt like a black cloud was floating directly above my head, while everyone else seemed happy and smiley in the California sun (it was during a workshop in Santa Clara). I wrote a letter to the exam committee resigning before even getting the results, sure that in the unlikely event that I were to pass, I would feel like a fake, an imposter, a poser. Turns out I did well. I still have imposter syndrome often, but moral of the story: community helps us, and reflects to help us know if we (as artists) are "producing value," even when we feel all yucky and overwhelmed.

EvilElitest

I live in and grew up in upstate so its weird to see those trees and be like "I know that area"