If you didn’t read this week’s post “Will my next thought be my best thought” I will read it to you now, below, in dramatic fashion. 👇
Enjoy!
Notes from the Captain
Crew,
You look positively glorious. I am making heart eyes at you and looking for a surgeon. (Because I’m gonna need one to stitch my thumper back into the ol’ chest cavity. I swear, it’s about to beat its way out from pure, 100% adoration for you, my crew. Oh, how it swells—extra rations for everyone! Again. 🫡 )
I’ve been thinking a lot about you and if there’s any way to ease the burden of your week and leave you with a silly smile. I made this video to do just that. I would be THRILLED if you watched it. It’s a banger and will hit the relief spot. (If it doesn’t, it will harmlessly shoot somewhere off the starboard bow, and let’s not mention it again.) I never set out to take a lot of time making these videos, but I find myself loving the process so much I get carried away. This stupid little side project makes me so happy. I think I’ve found my reason.
Salutes all around, and watch your step on slippery boards. That’s a metaphor, but also just sound advice.
And in the spirit of Monday’s post just gone, my next thought is this: love what you love and I’ll see you out there, making stuff.
Your Captain, Janeen 🫡
Thangs from this episode…
👩✈️ The Thinker (Rodin’s version)
The OG. (Although there are a lot of them around the world. I say in the video that there were 8 (ish) cast in bronze during Rodin’s lifetime, and found a reference that said “fewer than ten”, so that might have been what I was remembering. ISH. (Just add -ish to the end of your misremembered facts and you’re golden. That’s my pro tip for the day.) Here’s a thinker explainer.
Fun fact: People get the pose wrong. A lot.
But either way, it’s still a worthy gag. Thanks, Auguste Rodin!
Weird Al even strikes the pose in a pinball game.
Google Doodles got in on the act for Rodin’s 172 birthday. Here’s the story behind the doodle.
👩✈️ Bombing at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Whether it was a political protest on the Vietnam War or an anti-government thing—who knows—but on March 24, 1970, a bomb exploded at the base of The Thinker outside the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Thinker was placed there in 1917, so he’d probably had some big ideas during that time. The blast power was equivalent to three sticks of dynamite and destroyed the base and lower legs. The whole thing came toppling to the ground. He looks so sad, but still thinking. That’s commitment!
The museum ummed and ahhed as to if they should repair it, but ended up leaving it “as is” and sticking it back outside. It stands as a reminder of turbulent times. I think (ha, get it?) it’s cooler that way. Some more from this Harper’s story on the bombing:
Whether or not it was the group best known as Weather Underground, the bombers left an indelible mark on The Thinker. Today it stands as one of the rare public monuments to the history of protest bombs in the 1970s. Sherman Lee, director of the CMA from 1958 to 1983, and his staff ensured that the bombers were not granted the last word on the prized Rodin.
No one was ever charged. Perhaps it was some statement on art, like the “Weeping Woman” story from a few episodes back.
Here’s the story from the Cleveland Museum of Art, where The Thinker is still thinking in the great outdoors.
👩✈️ The Thinker (Comicbook)
The version of The Thinker in the Suicide Squad is an all-new version. From Wikipedia:
The first incarnation, Clifford DeVoe, is an enemy of Jay Garrick. The second, Clifford Carmichael, is an enemy of Firestorm. The third, Desmond Carter, is an enemy of Batman. The fourth, an A.I. version of the Thinker, is an enemy of the Justice Society of America. An unidentified version of Thinker, introduced in the New 52, is an enemy of the Suicide Squad.
So, now you know.
👩✈️ The Thinker (Eckhart Tolle)
His two clout-bringer books are:
Celebs like to hang with Eckhart Tolle. Is the Dalai Lama regarded as a celeb?
I need to get to this ‘below thinking’ state, which I have achieved during my TM meditations before so I know it’s possible. But, by having the instinct to try to defend against the ‘next thought of being dumb’ in this exercise, I am possibly TOO alert as a cat, waiting at the mouse hole.
👩✈️ Misc Leftovers
Deep Thought is the computer in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It took a great many years to compute the meaning of life. The answer if you’re wondering, is:
The Mandella Effect explained. (It’s where people collectively remember something incorrectly.)
That’s all for this week. There was probably more I could add, but I ran out of time. Thanks for listening/watching and sharing. If I missed anything you were curious about from the post—or just in general—feel free to leave a comment for the Captain.
On that note, do something great this weekend. Do something great for your whole life if you can.
Do. Make. Be.
🫡
Shameless Podcast Plug
Listen to audio versions of early issues of The Stream on my podcast, Field of Streams, available on 👉 all major podcasting platforms 👈
Here’s Apple
Behind the Streams, Ep 24: "Next Thought"