Marc Maron in conversation with Jason Segel: On discontent when things couldn't possibly be better

PODCAST: WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 623 - Jason Segel

Actor Jason Segel in conversation with Comedian Marc Maron discusses the persistent feeling of discontent even when things are going as good as they could be. Particularly poignant as Jason quietly battled alcoholism whilst seemingly hitting his stride in Hollywood. Similarly Marc Maron built a career as a comic's comic who never found mainstream success. The early episodes of his now seminal WTF podcast highlighting his struggle with having close "famous" friends, craving recognition whilst having a perpetually peripheral experience of success. Over 300+ episodes it has tracked Marc's conversion from frustrated marginal genius to arguably the Godfather of modern comedy, recently being the first to record a full podcast with a sitting American President.

Jason Segel describes the affinity he shared with author David Foster Wallace who he plays in his latest movie 'End of the Tour' (2015), as well as the interviewer he plays against David Lipsky as embodied by Jesse Eisenberg.

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 623 - Jason Segel
SEGEL: The themes of the movie really resonated with me. Its a lot about what we're talking about, outside the comedy about actually being the person. What happens when things are going as well as they possibly can and you still feel the same? This movie ['The End of the Tour'] takes place over the last 4 days, its about David Foster Wallace. Its the last 4 days of the 'Infinite Jest' book tour, its called the voice of a generation, it came out and did as well it could do. He didn't feel better...

VIDEO: 'The End of the Tour' trailer (2015)

On what we're looking for

JESSE EISENBERG: (1h 06m 25s) That was the lens I saw it through, a guy talking to himself on the beginning end of a tunnel. Lipsky is looking up at David Foster Wallace saying "God it must be great to be you? You must feel great? You must feel terrific? What's it like to be so famous?" and David Foster Wallace looking back at him saying "Kid, be careful what you wish for. If you get to where I am you're not going to feel better
MARC MARON: And that's sad
SEGEL: Yeah its sad but its very real and I actually think that one of the reasons David Foster Wallace resonates with people is that he's a man who had the vocabulary to express something that we all feel and maybe are too scared to talk about openly
MARON: Which is? The existential loneliness that persists
SEGEL: Yeeeeah, you're promised by our culture that if you achieve X, Y or Z of if you obtain X, Y or Z or watch this marathon of 'Real Housewives' that you're going to feel better and it turns out that its not true and people are really operating on that assumption and get to that destination and find out its vacant
MARON: But its rare that a person can investigate that loneliness like he did, sadly most people percolate along with a mild feeling of dissatisfaction and anxiety that they can't pinpoint but he decided to explore the underpinnings of existence in relation to these expectations and the onslaught of sensations available 

On Life imitating art

MARC MARON: (1h) ... This character, how close to your experience was it?
JASON SEGEL: At this point in my life, it felt like kismet... I had gotten sober 2 and a half years ago. I'm a year and a half sober at that point, my TV show was coming to an end and I was in a real moment of "What do I do now?". There's a line in the movie that is kinda verbatim from what David Foster Wallace said in this interview - "I have to face the reality now of being 34 years old alone in a room with a piece of paper" and that's what I felt at this point. My safety net was gone. The fact I had a financial safety net didn't really apply to what I felt.
MARON: It doesn't, does it?
SEGEL: No, of course not. Well not "of course not". I suppose from looking outside of it you would think "Of course it does".
MARON: It actually makes it [worse], for a lot of people "What are you complaining about?". But the truth of the matter is, the sad thing when you're in that position is that you do have that and you have these feelings and they're almost compounded. Then you're like "WTF is wrong with me? I can eat wherever I want and I can buy that car if I want to".
SEGEL: This is what the movie is to me, in my opinion. What the movie is, its basically a transcript of this interview that a guy called David Lipsky did with David Foster Wallace where 'Rolling Stone' sent him out to spend the last 4 days of the book tour with him.
MARON: What I noticed about this movie in retrospect is, who is this movie really about?...
SEGEL: I actually think its about a feeling that if you treat yourself (and listen to a speech that David Foster Wallace gave called 'This is Water', its a Kenyon Commencement Speech). It is addressing the exact thing we're talking about in this interview which is Where do you place your value and what is going to address this itch that we keep trying to scratch that's telling us we're not there? That we're not enough. If its success, you'll never be successful enough. If its money, you'll never have enough money. If its talent, you'll never be adored enough. You have to find something else and I just really related to that.

We all go through it no matter how big you are

SEGEL: (1h 17m 30s) No matter how well you're doing, you're going to have feelings about not being enough. You're going to have feelings of dissatisfaction and its tough to find people to talk about that with if, People are all the same if you basically sound like you're whining.
MARON: Or you're seen as the guy who should have everything. You have to have real friends is basically what it is.
SEGEL: Its codified in myth since the beginning of time, this is a Universal feeling. The King feels the same way
MARON: And who's going to feel bad for the king? F*ck that guy. He's the King!

A 'Memento Year' exhibition, Hamburg 2011

<< crossposted in the 'Loz in Transation' blog

You know the random things you collect in life that have no monetary value but worth the world in sentimental meaning? Scribbled notes, containers to things long depleted and tickets to events come and gone. When you're on the road you tend to collect more of those things.

I met a German artist at the start of my EuroTrip at a Gallery opening in Venice. Fast Forward 10 months later, I got to crash at his gallery over Christmas and decorate my bedroom. It was a tribute to the people and moments that defined my trip.

Memento Spotlight: Find out more about the Mementos featured
- UFC and WWE autographs in England
- Conversation doodles from Firenze, Italy

--------------------------------------------------

The Exhibition runs from December 22 to 27, 2011 at Elektrohaus Art Gallery in Hamburg, Germany.

'A Memento Year' title wall

Trigger Days:
- Trigger posts
- Trigger: Day 244 - 8 months in review
- Day 177 - My second camera's 100 Day anniversary
- Other milestone days of a Memento year: Day 200, Day 150, Day 100
- Hair, There and Everywhere: Haircut days in Europe

Collateral and Postcards collected

Art:
- Jacques Henri Lartigue: Why I'm getting a camera
- Your image as a construct - What to Wear (Barcelona)
- Art imitating life: "Neo - Ruin" by Hisahara Motoda
- Free Art Exhibitionism

Germans in attendance

CouchSurfing:
- Louis Theroux, Couchsurfing and Holland
- Social Sunday Sports, Basketball in London
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Living in the moment

Sleeping quarters

Live
- Live: Edinburgh Fringe comedy roundup
- Coolspotting: Nerding out in England - Comics, CosPlay, Video Games and Wrestling
- Road Music: Live. Forever.
- Road Music: Hipsters and Hardcore in Lisboa, Portugal
- The kids are alright: Subculture in the South of Spain
- Live sports results: Barcelona, March 2011

Trigger Music

Trigger: Germany Revisited, Impressions of Köln
- Runnin' (Jay Dee remix) by The Pharcyde
Trigger: Living Island Adventures in Estonia
- 'Born To Be Wild' by Steppenwolf
Trigger: "A moment in time" Panevėžys, Lithuania (2011 m. Rugsėjo 7)
- 'This is the moment' by David Hasselhoff (Jekyll & Hyde)
Trigger: Egotripping II - England, on the road again
- 'On the Road Again' by Canned Heat
Trigger: Crazy Times in Holland, Day 185 - Day 195
- 'Crazy Days Loca People (What the f**k)' by Sak Noel
Trigger: "One hell of a night" Rotterdam, Netherlands (Juli 26, 2011)
- 'Soundtrack 2 My Life' by KiD CuDi
- 'What a great night' by Hilltop Hoods
Trigger: "Qualidade de Vida" in Casa dos Gauchos, Porto
- 'Good Life' by Kanye West
Trigger: The impressions of Porto
- 'Bad Boys for life' by P Diddy
Trigger: Ego Tripping in Portugal - Sintra, Obidos, Ericeria, Coimbra
- 'Road Trippin' by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Trigger: A Memento year - The first 100 days
- 'Sonata for Viola da Gamba No. 1 in G' by Bach

Eurobasket 2011, Lithuania corner

Lithuania:
- 30HomeGames Blog
- Balancing Basketball and Travel in Lithuania - Part I
- Balancing Basketball and Travel in Lithuania - Part II
- Trash Talk: News and notes on Lithuania and EuroBasket2011

Portugal corner

Portugal:
- Trigger: "Qualidade de Vida" in 'Casa dos Gauchos', Porto
- Trigger: Ego Tripping in Portugal - Sintra, Obidos, Ericeria, Coimbra
- Sintra, Portugal: "O mundo gira" - The second chances we get in life and travel
- Portugal: Eat - Fine Food with Friends
- Portugal: Pray - Saints and Sinners
- Portugal: Love - Portugal sure is warm!
- Tudo Bom: The first 3 days in Portugal (1 of 3)
- Tudo Bom: The first 3 days in Portugal (2 of 3)
- Tudo Bom: The first 3 days in Portugal (3 of 3)

'Loz in Transit' Countries visited

Find the collection of quotables here:
- A question answered with a quote: German + Italian edition
- A question answered with a quote: Spain edition
- A question answered with a quote: Portugal edition
- A question answered with a quote: Holland Edition
- A question answered with a quote: UK Edition
- A question answered with a quote: Lithuania Edition
- A question answered with a quote: Latvia + Estonia edition
- A question answered with a quote: England edition
- A question answered with a quote: Germany Revisited edition

FIBA Basketball jersey, retired and presented

Comedian Pete Holmes on the "Cosmic Joke"

"They understand the cosmic joke which is the idea that everything is kind of funny. Like everything that happens is a little bit funny just by the virtue of it happening. And some people get that and some people are like ”No, The Cosby Show is on at 8:30”. You know what I mean, they just get it. They accept the world as it is."

- 'You Made it Weird' with Pete Holmes: Episode 177 - Tig Notaro

Comedians Jack Druce and Michael Hing talk about "Life as a movie"

As a movie buff and someone who revels in imagination, I'm an advocate for viewing life through the prism of Movies or Video Games. I've related travel feelings through Movie Tropes and have often used Cinema as a measuring stick for my life. Joseph Campbell articulated this best but its worth noting that we've been bombarded by more engrossing media since his time.

VIDEO: Joseph Campbell - Myth As the Mirror for the Ego

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Well the ego can't reflect upon itself unless it has a mirror against which to read itself and that mirror would be the Mythological schedule that lets it know where it is...

Australian Comedians Jack Druce and Michael Hing touch on the idea of 'Life as a Movie' and the issue of Reality Inversion.

The Druce and Hing Podcast: 54 - Wolf The Movie 3D!
MICHAEL HING: (1h 3m) Presumably a lot of screenwriters and stuff are themselves dorky writer nerds who are writing stories about themselves as we all would. And in the film of the life that they're writing of course they get the girl. And so you grow up thinking that people will find this thing charming... the thing is that's not how life works. Because if that was how life worked then that movie would be very boring and their would be no element of interest or intrigue to it.

It'd just be like "Here's 90 minutes that have been directly captured from how things happen" as opposed to "This is an actual Million Dollar fantasy, not only could we not find this anywhere in the world. We had to hire actors and pay people to write this story where this series of events happened because it would never happen in real life. And now you will pay money to experience this because you know it would never happen as well"

Jack makes a great point that no matter how visceral an experience is delivered, we can never truly embody the feeling and thoughts of another person.

JACK DRUCE: (55m 50s) People in movies they're just doing stuff, you don't know what they're thinking. So when you're doing stuff you're thinking "this sucks I'm really bad at this". You don't know if people in movies are thinking like that or not. They could be. You don't know if that's in stories, you don't know whats in their heads at that time so you think you're doing it wrong. Because well I'm doing this thing and I'm in my head thinking it sucks and that's not how culture and stories have told me how people do stuff.

- Find the 'Druce and Hing Podcast' on iTunes or on Michael Hing's Libsyn page

Duncan Trussell and Natasha Leggero talk about "Knowing" and "feeling what others feel"

Episode 68: Natasha Leggero with Duncan Trussell

Former Romantic and Podcast partners Natasha Leggero and Duncan Trussell discuss empathy. Duncan has been through some trying times with a Cancer diagnosis and the passing of his mother in recent months.

Duncan Trussell Family Hour - Episode 68: Natasha Leggero
DUNCAN TRUSSELL: It makes you feel human that's for sure. Yeah it makes you feel like you're a part of something. Like it makes you feel real. That feels good. Feeling real feels good and then it makes you feel like everything you've said before it was stupid. Like ugghh what was I even talking about? You don't even know and then you feel all judgmental because now you're saying that anyone who's parents haven't died "They don't know". But in a way you don't. Its kinda the same thing people say about having a baby. They're like "You just don't know".
NATASHA LEGGERO: I would just like to know that feeling for two seconds. Is it really that great?
TRUSSELL: Having a baby?
LEGGERO: Yeah you know like when everyone's saying "You don't know". We'll I'd like to feel what you feel cuz I probably already feel that from doing my thing

Other posts on empathy and knowing
- Traveling, living the dream and remembering it - The nostalgia for Wonderland and Muscle memory
- Actor, Writer and Traveler Mike White speaks to Marc Maron about Adventure

When fireworks underwhelm: Returned Soldier Kyle Wilson and Comedian Pete Holmes "feel nothing"

A friend of mine was explaining the closing scenes of movie 'Blue Valentine' (2010) on the theme "Love ends". She described how the final shot was of the lead couple enjoying a fireworks display with a montage of the early stages of their relationship overlayed.
The friend she watched it with posed the question "Why do you think the filmmaker did that?". Stumped, he replied "Its a metaphor for love".
Cue awkward collar pulls.

aaaawkward 

Its part of the human experience for feelings to wane, guess the trick is not be defeated by it. Below are two pieces I've enjoyed in past weeks which touch on fireworks and passion.

'Hack' is a Current Affairs show on National Youth Broadcaster, Triple J. During ANZAC week they covered several stories on the human toll of War. Featured heavily was 22 year old Kyle Wilson, a returned soldier returning from the Afghan theatre. He explains to Alex Mann his feelings of ennui at home after so much adrenalin abroad.

Hack: Wednesday 24th April
KYLE WILSON: (6m 40s) When I got back people used to be like, let's go watch the fireworks but fireworks bore me to tell you the truth
ALEX MANN (voiceover): The common theme for all three guys is the intensity of the experience and the emotion they shared with their mates when serving. Kyle says that now he's home, nothing else seems to measure up
WILSON: I miss Afghanistan so much. I miss the mates I was with and I miss the fighting aspect of it. But it also comes with a lot of downers as well but I'll always miss that feeling. I'm sure every soldier who's been through that experience listening right now will be saying the exact same thing. They miss that Adrenalin rush.

I had the pleasure of trekking south to Melbourne to see Pete Holmes perform in Australia for the first time. I got to hear this joke live. In conversation with running mate Comedian Eddie Pepitone he explains the origin of the fireworks joke during a joint day at the zoo.

'You Made it Weird' with Pete Holmes: Episode 143 - Eddie Pepitone
HOLMES: (11m 30s) ... Sometimes you'll have the greatest day in the world and you'll just be like "But I just don't feel great"
PEPITONE: Its like what you said in Australia which I love. Pete did this thing in Australia where he went to see Koalas and he told the audience that night - "I saw Koalas, I felt nothing".
room laughs
and I found that the funniest thing because my wife was all over me - "You gotta see the Koalas, You gotta see the Koalas".
HOLMES: The actual line which you loved so much was, I do say "I felt nothing". But the opener was "You ever look at something and wish that it meant more". And that's how I feel when I look at fireworks
PEPITONE: Haha fireworks too
HOLMES: Fireworks are one of those things that when you look at the colors in the sky and you're like eerrrrrrr...
PEPITONE: Its just a great metaphor, its just a a great way to talk about what I'm talking about. I thought that success (not that I'm a major success), I thought success would be - End of all Problems! but that never ends...

Watch Pete deliver the observation at the 'Festival Club' for the Melbourne Comedy Festival

VIDEO: Pete Holmes - ABC2 Comedy Up Late

Find more posts on "losing a feeling":
- Read more about the "Hero's Journey" (aka The Monomyth)
- Coming Home from a year abroad. Reverse Culture shock and beating the travel Blues: The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Comedian Pete Holmes on adjacent experiences: Conversations relating to Travel, dreams and life
- Argentina observations: Do you really want to live forever young?

Other people's stories - Tales of: Living in the moment

<< crossposted on the '30HomeGames' blog

On my return to Germany, I had a thought-provoking stay CouchSurfing in Düsseldorf. My host, 'German P*' was an avid poker player and Philosophy student with an impressive collection of books. Some I owned and some I'd been reading. Most interesting was the literature he had on Zen, it informed his Poker play and extended to his approach to life. As I've been on a mission to have a basketball experience around Europe, I was naturally drawn to his copy of 'Sacred Hoops'. A book by basketball Living Legend and famed Zen Master Phil Jackson, best known for coaching two of the greatest competitors and champions in Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

When in motion I prefer not to use a map. I enjoy feeling my way through, come what may. On the occasion I've had a running mate, I've found myself annoyed when they've depended heavily on GPS navigation and maps even though I know its entirely well meaning. You could say its a pet peeve. I've often wondered why it aggravated me so, this passage from Jackson's book shed some light:

I find it amusing when people ask me where I get my ideas for motivating players. The answer is: in the moment. My approach to problem-solving is the same as my approach to the game. When a problem arises, I try to read the situation as accurately as possible and respond simultaneously to whatever's happening

I realised I enjoy being in the moment, to be tested by it. I learnt several things during my stay with P*. With his perspective as a poker player and student, we had many discussions on the subject of gambling, life and the way we think (human behaviour and personal beliefs). What I came to appreciate was the importance of "living in the moment", particularly poignant as the year closes and my journey wraps up. Not only to look back and reflect but to also feel "present" inspite of the complacency and distraction that can overwhelm during eventful times.

With that I present to you this edition of Other People's Stories - Tales of: living in the moment:

VIDEO: Marc Maron talks to Norm Macdonald about his gambling problem

This podcast conversation on gambling resonated with me when I heard it months ago. I shared it with P* as I felt it was relevant to our discussion

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 219 - Norm Macdonald
NORM MACDONALD: The only time I went to a psychiatrist was for gambling, cuz how do I get the f*ck out of this. He said "the reason you gamble is to avoid life". My thing was "Isn't that why you do anything in life? To f*cking avoid it"
MARC MARON: (agreeing) It's just too painful
MACDONALD: ...you just lose by uh, its just like any escape... When I watch a game and I've got a bunch of money on it then I can understand what's going on. There's nothing ambivalent about what's going...
MARON: (adding) and there's stakes
MACDONALD: and there's stakes. You know exactly the rules. You're completely involved. You're completely escaped from your life. The real, real fear...

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I devoured this book as soon as I found it on P*'s bookshelf. He suggested 'A New Earth' (Eckhart Tolle, 2007) was more relevant to me, I felt that with my 30HomeGames mission choosing the basketball book was a no-brainer

Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior
This is a book about a vision and a dream. When I was named head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989, my dream was not just to win championships, but to do it in a way that wove together my two greatest passions: basketball and spiritual exploration.

On the surface this may sound like a crazy idea, but intuitively I sensed that there was a link between spirit and sport. Besides, winning at any cost didn't interest me. From my years as a member of the championship New York Knicks, I'd already learned that winning is ephemeral. Yes, victory is sweet, but it doesn't necessarily make life easier the next season or even that day. After the cheering crowds disperse and the last bottle of champagne is drained, you have to return to the battlefield and start all over again.

In basketball as in life true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way. Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your full attention on what's happening right this moment
...
Life like, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game – and life – will take care of itself.

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This was a winning essay P* entered into a competition commissioned by a German Poker forum, It deconstructed the pscyhology of "tilt". When players let their emotions cloud their poker judgment, it is called going "on tilt".

In order to recognize tilt we need to be present. This is a matter of exercise and great results can be achieved long-term. The most intensive kind of exercise is meditation, which is pure presence...

A less intensive way of exercising is implementing small routines in daily life... "If you sweep the yard, sweep the yard. If you cut a carrot, cut a carrot" is a Zen saying which refers to this. Usually when we cut a carrot we are somewhere in the past or future, only when we cut our finger are we present. If we are fully present from the beginning we won`t cut our finger - you could say the same for tilt. If we are fully present we dont tilt

- Other people's stories - Tales of: Adventure
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Love
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Living the Dream
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Living in the moment

Find previous Maron podcast references here
- Marc Maron with Adam Carolla - On being sedentary
- Marc Maron with Doug Stanhope - On happiness
- Marc Maron with Norm MacDonald - On being in the moment
- Pete Holmes with Marc Maron - A question answered with a quote: Comedy Podcasts

Harmony Korine and James Franco in conversation with Marc Maron: Taste, performance art and playing a character

'Spring Breakers' Harmony Korine and James Franco
in conversation with Marc Maron on a live WTF in Austin

Marc Maron talks to renaissance man James Franco about how much of his projects are genuine. As someone who navigates the world of Blockbuster movies, Arthouse, Soap Operas, Tabloids and Art, Marc tries to understand where Franco's "performance" starts and ends:

WTF with Marc Maron: Episode 374 - James Franco, Harmony Korine, Nate Bargatze, Peter Sagal
MARC MARON: (1h 06m 30s) Why did you do the 'General Hospital' thing was that an experiment?
HARMONY KORINE: You just wanna ask why he does so much shit
MARC MARON: No no because after he hosted the Academy Awards, afterwards people were like "Is he f*cking around?" What was going on with that. You do the General Hospital thing and you make a documentary on that. Where does the goof end?
...
JAMES FRANCO: There's just different levels of engagement. There's no reason not to be able to do all different sides. When I go and act in a film like 'Oz'. I Play the Wizard of Oz and the goof ends. I wanna fit in that world. I'm not trying to wink at the audience and say hey its me the actor behind the character. I want that character to fit into that world. But as soon as I'm done with that project there's no reason why I have to stand behind the facades of these characters and be noone...
MARON: So when you were doing the General Hospital thing, was that funny to you?
FRANCO: I mean it started off like as you said an experiment. I was talking to an artist friend of mine and we were gonna do a movie where my character had formerly been in a Soap Opera. And that got us talking about "Hey what if you were really in a Soap Opera?". And I'd also been reading this book by this guy called Carl Wilson called something like 'Journey to the End of Taste'... the conclusion he gets is that different people get different things from art or culture...

It strikes me that Franco is embodying the privilege that Camus envisions of the Actor in 'Myth of Sisyphus', someone who truly embraces the absurdity of life. Marc in typical comedic fashion takes a shot at Franco for being too precious but to the Actor's credit Franco reiterates the importance of "staying in character".

JAMES FRANCO: (1h 11m) Before I went on, I thought "Oh am I going to have to act Soap Opera style?". And when I got there, a big lesson for me was how important context is and how context transforms a performance...
MARC MARON: And sometimes you just can't transcend the context
FRANCO: No it transforms you. You can never transcend the context to a certain extent and nor do you really want to. If you're trying to transcend the context then you're just making the movie about you and your performance. I see movies as a Director's medium, I always want to serve the Director and the film so I don't want to transcend the context, its just that sometimes the context is weird 

VIDEO: Marc Maron Talks Accidentally Offending James Franco During Live 'WTF' Podcast At SXSW

Find other Marc Maron posts below:
- AV Club's Nathan Rabin talks about Podcast Culture on Marc Maron's 300th episode of WTF
- Actor, Writer and Traveler Mike White speaks to Marc Maron about Adventure
- Dan Harmon talks Television with Marc Maron on GT4: "Hamburger" Art and living in a "concrete, Orwellian Honeycomb"
- Is Andrew W.K a persona that has been played by multiple actors? Marc Maron in conversation with Andrew W.K.

Comedians Pete Holmes and Eddie Pepitone on the phone as a "Life Companion"

Real truth in advertising: Samsung Galaxy S4 - Life Companion

'You Made it Weird' with Pete Holmes: Episode 143 - Eddie Pepitone
(1h 46m) EDDIE PEPITONE: Yesterday I found an hour to just go to the park at sunset. F*cking walk around the park leisurely for 45 minutes and sit under a tree and I meditated. Not the greatest meditation cuz I haven't meditated in a while. But after 15 minutes I open my eyes and just the gorgeous f*cking sunset in that park surrounded by green. That's spirituality for me. But it has to be sought after. I have to pull myself away. This might sound trite but the pull of Twitter and Facebook and emails
PETE HOLMES: I've stopped medititating because I'm like "I should check my @replies"
PEPITONE: One of the things I did after meditating, of course I had my phone in my pocket. What a great meditation, what a great sunset and I'm walking back to my house and I'm going for the phone (this is the constant struggle) "Eddie don't go for the phone right now". You really just got into a nice space You're probably feeling the best you've felt in a month. You know the sunset, the green...
HOLMES: Cuz Its taking you out of the moment
...
Its the sugar bowl. Its nutritionless, addictive, sweetness and the truth that you just touched on... The thing that breaks my heart is that wonder is everywhere. The park is wonderful. This room is wonderful. If you could have a waking dream appreciation of this existence, we would walk around and not be interested in our phones
...
I had this dream last night and I have it often, is that I fall into a body of water and I try to frantically turn it off which is what you're suppose to do [to preserve electronics]
...
But what's so sad is that its actually in my dream. I don't have children. The idea of losing my phone. This is a recurring dream
PEPITONE: That just gave me an idea for a guy who never has kids and his photo album are just different phones throughout his life and he's showing them to people. "This is my Samsung S2, it had some problems but we loved him anyway... We had to put him to sleep in a Sprint store"
HOLMES: We put him in a drawer here. You want to visit his grave

Watch Samsung's S4 phone trailer which includes these themes:

Convenience: Daily life is more convenient
Fun: Life becomes more fun
Relationship: Relationships grow closer
Care: Wellbeing is cared for 

VIDEO: Samsung Galaxy S4 - Life Companion Trailer HD

Find more Pete Holmes here:
- Comedian Pete Holmes on adjacent experiences: Conversations relating to Travel, dreams and life
- Comedian Louis C.K. on what Smartphones are taking away

Is Andrew W.K a persona that has been played by multiple actors? Marc Maron in conversation with Andrew W.K.

WTF with Marc Maron: Episode 313 - Andrew W.K.

I was once enthralled by an interesting conversation with Party Rocker Andrew W.K on Triple J radio, it struck me enough that I spent several days referencing it in conversations. During this time I was informed by someone who'd partied with the man that he was actually a persona that had been through several incarnations. He was merely a "mask", a legacy that could be donned by alternate actors. A motivational superhero, the proverbial masked wrestler except in plain sight.

As a wrestling fan and someone fascinated with identity this was an intriguing revelation. I wasn't even aware of such speculation, some cursory googling confirms there is credible baggage associated with Andrew W.K's identity. Personally it didn't change anything as I believe its "all real", if anything the hearsay only makes him more more compelling.

Interestingly an American artist I ran with in Barcelona offered the same theory for elusive artist 'Banksy' though I suspect his speculation came from a place of ignorance as he was mispronouncing his name as 'Banky'.

When Andrew W.K later appeared on Marc Maron's WTF podcast I listened to it through the prism that he was a Performance artist. In this light, I've pulled portions of the chat that allude to this likelihood. The episode is a largely typical WTF episode (existential, storytelling) but there was definitely some coded messaging going on. Either it was genuine or some playful improv to perpetuate a myth. Is the "Philosopher of Partying" a persona, judge for yourself.

Referencing "Soul" in relation to love and life

WTF with Marc Maron: Episode 313 - Andrew W.K.
MARC MARON: (22m 30s) I'm a true believer that the "One Soulmate" idea is bullshit
ANDREW W.K: For you?
MARON: For anybody
W.K: Geez Marc
MARON: What?
W.K: I wanna think that it exists
MARON: You're soul is so small it needs to limit itself?
W.K: Its extremely small, of course that's why I try to compensate for the other...
MARON: You're compensating for your tiny soul
laughter
W.K: I gave up my soul a looooong -- well not that long ago. About 12 years ago
MARON: To who?
W.K: When I moved to New York
MARON: You did not! You're full of soul. You're all about the soul
W.K: And that's the trick!
MARON: I get that. That IS the trick
W.K: You make them think it. Noooo there's no trickery going on. I'm having fun...

Maron crossing the line and breaking kayfabe

MARC MARON: (1h 04m 50s) Don't subvert your destiny
ANDREW W.K: You can
MARON: I think that what you're talking about is an example of being a creative person and realising your limitations and pursuing the best you can with your talent
W.K: I think you said it very well. I feel very limited so I was pleased to find one thing
MARON:  But you're not that limited. You've developed a theme, a tone and what appears to be a character for yourself
awkward air arises
W.K: Hey now!
MARON: What?
W.K: You see that sign? It says apple sauce. I'm just kidding it says "Applause". Will you flash that sign for me. You know what that is right?
Marc starts clapping and giggling
Remember the better you do, the better Larry does. Ok he's giving me a sign. He's giving me 5 seconds, its exciting isn't it? No no no...
the air normalises

Andrew W.K on his persona and being beholden to it

MARC MARON: (58m 40s) How do you get from this appreciation of the anarchists, the geniuses and the poets. How did you build yourself into what you became?
ANDREW W.K: I can't compete with them. They've already done it, they done a good job with all that they've done. That's just what I do for my own interests. My work that I do as Andrew W.K has nothing to do with my own tastes or hobbies or interests and things like that
MARON: Why is that?
W.K: Umm I guess its just with the agreements I made and the choices I made early on. It's not like its not a dream come true
MARON: What are those agreements though? You've probably talked about it before and I apologise
W.K: No no its the most trivial, unimportant stuff. Its just contracts and business things like that. What I'm saying is that when you know what you need to do and you signed up to do it and you know what it takes and what you've agreed to in order to achieve that. It not like I have a separate life. I don't look at it as a job, a 9 to 5 job
MARON: That is the business
W.K: I feel there's a time and place for it all. The Gods will continue to guide me and my managers, the people I work with in this version of reality will also guide me. I'm patient that's the thing
MARON: Do you have Gods? Do you have them for real or are you saying that?
W.K: Guardian angels, however you wanna put it.
MARON: Do you have them?
W.K: Everybody does. Well I do.
MARON: Well are you a spiritual cat?
W.K: No just pragmatic
MARON: Pragmatic and willing to mythologise
W.K: I can't discount these things with the life I've led. I feel it would be disrespectful to the forces beyond myself, to my mum and dad and my mentors. There are other things at work...

To be honest I was never much fussed on finding the absolute truth on whether Andrew W.K was a construct. I'm just delighted that the phenomenon exists. For those wondering if there's any larger meaning behind it all, Maron and W.K offer some clues in the beginning of their chat.

On art and life being esoteric and "making sense of it all"

ANDREW W.K: (16m) One of the most amazing things he [Professor] said, I don't just think it applies to esoteric thought It applies to maybe life, at least culture. "The fact you don't understand it is the point"
MARC MARON: Right! Cuz its constantly provocative
W.K: Its inspiring thought.
MARON: Exactly
W.K: Thank goodness cuz I felt like an idiot all these years that I didn't get it
MARON: That is very provocative... You spend your life trying to crack some sort of code thinking that, there's part of you that thinks like "I gotta make sense of it". How many times do you say to yourself "I just gotta figure it out
W.K: I wanna know!
MARON: I gotta figure it out. Someone knows!
W.K: Someday its all gonna make sense

Find other Marc Maron posts below:
- AV Club's Nathan Rabin talks about Podcast Culture on Marc Maron's 300th episode of WTF
- Actor, Writer and Traveler Mike White speaks to Marc Maron about Adventure
- Dan Harmon talks Television with Marc Maron on GT4: "Hamburger" Art and living in a "concrete, Orwellian Honeycomb"
- Is Andrew W.K a persona that has been played by multiple actors? Marc Maron in conversation with Andrew W.K.

On being a Badass: Comedians Harland Williams and Pete Holmes featuring band 'Biting Elbows'

Two comedians imagining what its like to be a Badass

You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes #127 - Harland Williams
PETE HOLMES: (33m 50s) I think that might be one of the reasons why we love Bank robbers, they're just like "F*ck Everything". They're like these little viruses. It's one of those crimes that everyone seems to enjoy
HARLAND WILLIAMS: Yeah I've said many times over the years to girlfriends because I think it would be a complete rush. Like it would be a rush, let's rob a 7-Eleven but with fake guns. You know how you have these fantasies with women. I would love to do the Bonnie & Clyde thing and rob a 7-Eleven or whatever place with a fake gun, where nobody could get hurt except you. You might get shot doing it then jump in a car and ride... For about 2 or 3 days, you'd think "This is awesome!". Then you'd be over it and think this is the dumbest thing we've ever done. Just that one night. If I could go to Fantasy Island I think that would be it
...Pete Holmes starts makes a reference to 'Strange Days' (1995)
HOLMES: One of the weird truths is that we're aware of that and society is aware that there's probably no better feeling than what you just described. Doing something wrong. [Yet] society is the only thing provides those thrills... Rules and breaking rules is one of the great privileges we have. Chimpanzees don't have that, everything is allowed in the chimp society...

Now imagine yourself as this Badass

VIDEO: Biting Elbows – Bad Motherf*cker | Video (NSFW)

Other posts on "Life as a Video Game"
- Dan Harmon and Duncan Trussell: We are in a simulation echo. God was originally a mortal programmer who "sacrificed himself as a player"
- Exploring Worlds in life and in Video Games - The Indoor Kids #59: Why we Play, with Pete Holmes
- Onnit Blog: Self Improvement in Video Games VS the "Real World"
- Kumail Nanjiani and Pete Holmes talk about "affecting the world TODAY"
- Skateboarders GoPro Train Derailment aftermath - 'Strange Days' visceral experience
- On being a Badass: Comedians Harland Williams and Pete Holmes featuring band 'Biting Elbows'

Actor, writer and traveller Mike White speaks to Marc Maron about Adventure

WTF with Marc Maron: Ep #364 Mike White

Marc Maron's WTF conversation with Writer/Traveller/Actor Mike White is resonating with me at the moment - WTF with Marc Maron Podcast: Episode 364 Mike White.

Mike White is probably best known for writing and starring in 'School of Rock' and HBO's recently cancelled 'Enlightened', a series informed by an on-the-job meltdown Mike suffered which mirrors the show's premise. White famously competed with his father twice on the reality travel show 'The Amazing Race' when he was already well established in Hollywood.

Conversation and life Closing statements

MIKE WHITE: (1h 25m) ...If my parents died, its like at some point I could just walk into the ocean and maybe I will. Not because I'm suicidal, but its sort of I already know -- I feel like with my work I've already expressed myself, I've expressed myself in different forms. I've had my babies in a sense. I had a melanoma scare, it was one of those things where I had three surgeries and it was one of those things, this could be "IT". And I was like... at least I put it all out -- I ran the race. I ran the 'Amazing Race'.
MARON: I'm done
WHITE: I never won an Oscar but I was there. I won a prize, I've won prizes. I know what that's like. I know what its like to have a party and be the center of attention. I know what its like to be in a relationship. I know what its like to have great sex. I know what that's like. I also know what its like to be deprived of those things. And I don't know, what's left?
MARON: I don't know. What is?
WHITE: I don't know we'll figure it out.
MARON: Thanks Mike
WHITE: *coughing*
MARON: Are you alright?
WHITE: Yeah

Call to Adventure

MIKE WHITE: (29m mark) I'm kind of like a thrillseeker. I like a new adventure... and after a while even if you're doing exactly what you want to do, you're still driving to the set. It becomes a routine, it has a routine aspect to it and all making of things is painstaking, tedious - but when you're on the Amazing Race your adrenalin is pumping 24/7.

White on the tortured relationship of writing and living a reality

MARC MARON: (32m mark) Did you do anything when you were growing up to have that feeling?
MIKE WHITE: No! I don't like drudgery or routine. I mean I can do my homework but I like new experiences.
MARON: So what do you seek out?
WHITE: I dunno, just dark stuff (half joking)... I don't know, we all have different sides to ourselves. Its like I wanna be elsewhere, I wanna always be doing new things.
MARON: Its weird, when you have a computer and you're sitting at home, you have access to things. Part of you feels like you're doing new things and then eventually you realise I'm by myself and its gotten a little ridiculous
WHITE: Right, when you're a writer you spend a lot of time not living because you're putting your life, your thought and your effort into your writing so after a while you have a tortured relationship with the act of writing... there's this anger that builds up. Like I wanna live, me as an actor on the stage of life versus the writer...

On how short life is

MIKE WHITE: (34m 45s mark) The more you're in the zone where you're living it as you're writing it or in reverie. There's a rush to it. After a while you see yourself in a bird's eye view. How are you living your life? Its like you only have one life... I guess its a midlife crisis but after a while you start to see the finite amount of things that you're gonna be able to do and you just want to rage against it

And learning to let go

WHITE: (36m 20s mark) I've gone through this period where when I'm invited to do something random I just do it because I feel "I should do that". And after a while -- I recently read a book about fetishising, this thing we feel where we need to have experiences. Its a Buddhist-- at some point you can let go of "missing out on things". A healthy place. You don't need to have sex with every new person, you don't need to visit every corner of the universe

MARON: To be happy or feel like you've done something
WHITE: Which for many people, that doesn't even [register] but for some reason that's my [dilemma]...

Find other Marc Maron posts below:
- AV Club's Nathan Rabin talks about podcast culture on Marc Maron's 300th episode of WTF
- Actor, writer and traveller Mike White speaks to Marc Maron about adventure
- Dan Harmon talks Television with Marc Maron on GT4: "Hamburger" Art and living in a "concrete, Orwellian honeycomb"
- Is Andrew W.K a persona that has been played by multiple actors? Marc Maron in conversation with Andrew W.K.

Comedian Pete Holmes on adjacent experiences: Conversations relating to Travel, dreams and life

To commemorate the great news that Comedian and podcast inspiration Pete Holmes will be the new companion show for Conan O’Brien’s TBS show, I proudly present a crosspost from 'Loz in Translation'

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When people say "everyone should travel", I think they really mean "people should experience many things", further still "everyone should collect as many feelings". The reason people enjoy books and movies is that it allows them to experience other people's narratives, to identify with someone outside of themselves. That's what travels offers. Whilst we may never truly understand what its like to be on your first international Rock tour or live as a vagabond. We can experience feelings adjacent to it.

Ego tripping in Portugal, having a parallel experience

Comedian Pete Holmes has a very introspective personality which I identify with. I also find him hilarious and profound. The podcast format allows artists to share intimate details and find their true voice not unlike what's offered over dinner or on a blog. Below are posts featuring podcast excerpts of Pete Holmes ruminating on life, I relate it to my own experience and travels.

- Pete Holmes' official website
- Check out Pete Holmes' podcast: You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes

Zach Cregger: Being a kid again - Cave Clanning in La Perouse, Sydney

Matt Besser: Travel coincidences and Counting the serendipities

Duncan Trussell: Traveling, living the dream and remembering it

Kyle Kinane: Being excited everyday

The Sklar Brothers: Performing, possibly failing - That's living the dream

Marc Maron: A question answered with a quote

Pete Holmes on "getting into it" - People watching, connecting and conversations

New Yorker Cartoon by Bruce Erik Kaplan

Episode 77 - Pete Homes on 'Who Charted?' (Plant-Based Dick)
(1h 27m) PETE HOLMES: I love how they were making fun of this sort of... I've always been interested in how bad conversation is. It's so bad. Most people never talk, ever, never - You understand? Never have a real conversation. Its just transferring, passing this hockey puck back and forth of being like "So how are your kids? Well Tommy's..." Shut the f@ck up! What happens when we die?! Whatever or what are you afraid of?
...
HOWARD KREMER: Pete is speaking about something I think about often. I can't even pay attention to waiters when they're talking to me. Cuz I'm looking at the real guy, where does this guy live?
HOLMES: That's why I can't get into strip clubs. I can't just look at her as a body, I'm not even trying to impress women or be a feminist. Like "What kind of car does she have?", "What kind of breakfast is gyrating in front of me?"
KREMER: Its people watching

Find previous Pete Holmes podcast references below:
- Pete Holmes collection: Adjacent experiences
- Zach Cregger: Being a kid again and the power of "play"
- Matt Besser: Travel coincidences and Counting the serendipities
- Duncan Trussell: Traveling, living the dream and remembering it
- Kyle Kinane: Being excited everyday
- The Sklar Brothers: Performing, possibly failing - That's living the dream
- A question answered with a quote: Comedy Podcasts

'Loz in Transit' on the radio: Talking 'Waking Life' and existentialism

<< crossposted on the 'Loz in Translation' blog

I had the pleasure of being on community radio to discuss the Richard Linklater film 'Waking Life'. I was given the opportunity to curate the song playlist and touch on themes covered on this blog (travel, reality).

Find the radio chat here:
- Bernie Burke radio interviews (WOW FM 100.7)
- Download the file directly here, Music & Movie Madness: Dec 11, 2012 (51m 13s, no music)

PODCAST: 'Music & Movie Madness' WOW FM 100.7

VIDEO: 'Waking Life' (2001) trailer

Posts referenced in the radio interview
- Home Reading: 'Myth of Sisyphus' by Albert Camus - On the Writer, Actor and Traveler
- 'A Memento Year' exhibition
- Let's Get Real - Episode 5 preview: Black Holes
- Road Music: Friends, Laura and Monica

Let's Get Real - Episode 4 preview: Surrender to an idea

My 4th conversation is with an Artist and Graphic designer, we talked about the power of ideas and the journey in realising them. Interestingly his artistic process is freeform, he allows inspiration to guide his markmaking without preempting the outcome. This perspective informed our conversation and the stories he shared. We talked about art, love and travel.

I've realised my fascination with artists, comedians and filmmakers is their commitment to an idea. It takes a level of devotion, gumption and stubbornness to craft a fleeting thought for an audience of strangers or plunge millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours to share a story. There is nothing more inspiring than realising that everything man has made originally started as a thought in one's head.

Quote bookending Viral Video 'Kony 2012' by Invisible Children

Other Loz in Transit posts on "Ideas"
- Comedian Russell Brand, Futurist Jason Silva: The Power of Ideas
- Mixtape: 'Loz in Translation' Sampler II (Turkey)
- Jumping into other people's lives: Ego Tripping

Let's Get Real - Episode 3 preview: Love and discontent

Here is the first of a set of excerpts from my 3rd podcast conversation. It was an interesting chat with a charming lass on the topic of love and discontent. The sound quality is an improvement on previous recordings as it was done in an enclosed space. You'll have to forgive the coughs though :)

For those wondering about the comedian I mentioned who went through the Rumspringa, its Kurt Braunohler. He has recounted the story on several podcasts including Marc Maron and Pete Holmes' programs and 'This American Life'.

VIDEO: CNN - A comic's sexual rumspringa