"3 Stardust Zens"

“3 Stardust Zens”

[Performed April 12, 2017]

(1)

“Trust Your Zen”

“Trust yourself,” my zen said to me.

“Huh?” I answered,

Being at the time

Distracted by the world

And the part I play within it.

“Trust yourself,” my zen repeated, adding,

“Everything you need 

Is right inside you

This very minute.”

“Everything?” I answered. 

“That sounds like a lot.

Are you sure?”

(You see, I was afraid of trusting 

Just myself alone.

For whom would I blame

 If I failed?)

“I’d rather trust you,” 

I said to my zen.

“Same thing, dummy,” 

It replied.

(2)

“Dinosaur Zen” 

I was watching TV last night.

It was a movie about prehistoric times.

Although, it being prehistoric, 

How would they know?

A young woman with big breasts 

In a little costume

Was fighting a dinosaur.

She had plenty of zen!

Her zen was in her bravery

As she fought the dinosaur.

And in her costume,

Which struggled to contain her.

Just in the nick of time a handsome 

Caveman with rippling muscles came along.

He quickly assessed the situation

And knew just what to do.

His zen 

Was the zen of valor!

He fought and slew the dinosaur.

Then he was kissed

By the young movie cavewoman 

With the big you-know-whats.

The camera made sure I saw

Them crushing against his manly chest,

Straining to break free from the tiny costume,

While the dinosaur

In the background writhed and bled.

For him the straining was over.

Then as the music swelled 

Up came the words,

The End.

Hmmm.

I wonder where 

That dinosaur is now?

He had the most zen of all.

(3)

“Zen in Outer Space”

Is there zen in outer space?

Or is it just the sound 

Of no hands clapping?

It appears mostly empty,

Yet is filled

With things we cannot see,

But can only, 

For the time being,

Guess at.

Yes, outer space is

Strange and mysterious.

Like zen is.

It’s been there since the beginning of time,

Rushing outward toward infinity.

Like zen has.

It patiently awaits 

Our further discovery.

Like zen does.

Yes, zen and outer space share many traits.

But, and here’s the big difference;

There is an endless supply 

Of zen in the universe…

While there is only so much space.

———

Thank you!

I’m the writer Rusty Pliers!

Goodnight!

“For A Minute There I Was Worried”

I found some zen in my garden today.

But that’s no trick.

I find some every time

I enter my garden.

It’s a beautiful place filled with love.

Summer or winter.

Dawn or dusk.

Empty and quiet,

Or loud and full of life!

My garden is loaded with good zen!

After all, 

Zen and love

Are the same thing.

Or perhaps two sides of the same thing.

So I use it extravagantly while I’m there,

Blowing it all on the good life!

Wasting it like it was money

Or something equally valueless.

And I take all I want

In a huge doggy bag 

When I leave, too.

Ha! Ha!

It’s like I was

A zen-dog millionaire!

Hmmm.

Now I’m worried.

Is this a sustainable practice? 

Should I be conserving my zen?

Am I possibly using too much?

How much is there?

Will it last?

Will there be enough zen to keep me

And comfort me in my old age?

Yikes!

At the rate I’m going, 

(Extravagant fool  

That I am!)

There won’t be enough 

To last me more than,

Let’s see… multiply by eight, carry the two,

Hmmmm,

About four trillion years!

Give or take a few hundred millions.

Phew!

For a minute there

(A very un-zen-like moment!)

I was worried.

But I’m okay now.

Four trillion years.

A four followed by twelve zeros.

Four thousand thousand thousand thousand.

4X10 to the power of 12.

Anyway one looks at it,

That’s a lot of time.

More time (by far) 

Than the universe has existed,

So they believe.

But just to make sure,

The way time flies around here

And the way I go through the stuff,

I’d better get to my zen garden again pretty soon.

And stock up now for later.

Hmmm. 

Now, where did I

Put that

Doggy bag?

Full Sail University Forum Synopsis- I Once Drew a Cartoon Rabbit THIS Big!

Full Sail University Forum.

(Lecture SYNOPSIS)

“I Once Drew A Cartoon Rabbit THIS Big!”

or

“What I Learned about Art and Life while Working for Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1989-2004.”

Part 1:

Roger Rabbit:

Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt… Then it’s funnier!

Sam Ewing Intro

Very brief explanation of Roger to set up showing…

Roller Coaster Rabbit (8 min)

Then talk. 

A little more of my history? Disney 1989. Cels. Ink and paint. Hand drawn. Production notes. Early computer animation, etc.

Show it again 1/2 speed (16 min)

Narrate as it runs.

Animation principles, remembrances, life lessons, etc.

Engages audience,

reminding them that if Sam can do it…

They can do it!

Part 2: 

Lecture;

My Five Things!

Make my five things your five things!

1) Work ethic!

Build good habits.

Work is love and without it nothing is accomplished.

Reliability and responsibility are vastly important.

Take ownership!

Commitment.

It’s there forever.

If not you, who?

What you don’t do doesn’t happen!

Quality vs quantity.

If you think it’s crap, it IS crap!

Try your best all the time!

Dumb luck… is it really so dumb?

This is the tomorrow that was another day!

2) Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal! 

Learn from those that have gone before.

Surround yourself with quality.

Train yourself up!

Study the classics of Opera, Stage, Screen, Books, etc.

Study nature… human and animal.

Observe real life! It isn’t all on the internet!

3) Careful How You Treat People On the Way Up…

Be easy to work with.

What you do has consequences.

I was Kathy’s boss, then she was mine.

No such thing as little people.

4) It Ain’t Rocket Science, but it is Science.

100,000 bad drawings?

Sure, it ain’t easy, but it’s endlessly fascinating.

Keep learning!

Don’t worry about software… learn to see and draw.

Remain humble, limber, curious.

Who is successful? Be like them.

The success is in the doing!

Never give up.

5) It’s only a cartoon.

Have fun! It shows on the screen.

Life is short.

Nobody likes a sourpuss.

Part 3:

You Gotta Have Heart!

Show clips from Lilo and Stitch.

(Stitch’s escape and arrival on Earth. 

I’m Lost. 

Rescue.)

Storytelling, heart, warmth.

Give it your best! 

Courage, imagination, daring!

Art is more than logic.

A little piece of something bigger?

Life is like a cartoon too.

The zen of the artist.

Part 4:

My Sixth Fifth Thing!

6) Trust yourself!

What others have done, you can do.

You have everything you need inside yourself.

Your taste, judgement, style, etc.

The unique you.

Making it better, or just making it different?

Again; If not you, who?

Part 5;

That Didn’t Hurt A Bit!

Thank You!

Hope you enjoyed it.

I can be reached at 

samewing@cfl.rr.com 

I’m also the writer Rusty Pliers.

Read a poem; 

“My Zen Is Like Mickey Mouse.” 

That’s All Folks!

Show (if time) another 

Roger Rabbit Cartoon 

Show Trail Mix-Up just for fun while audience thinks of questions?

Questions Please! 

I like questions!

If I don’t know the answer, I will lie convincingly.

Greet and Photo Op!

I like photos too!

Don’t be shy.

Come on down!

Audience view curios, model sheets, Disney maquette and stuff set up on nearby table?

Rusty’s Media Checklist.

Please visit and like or follow.

http://rustyplierswriter.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/RustyTheWriter

https://www.facebook.com/rustyplierswriter

https://www.instagram.com/rustyplierswriter/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/106874164926606199623/about

Five Zen Friday

Zen in Outer Space

Is there zen in outer space?

Or is it just the sound of no hands clapping?

It appears empty out there.

Yet it is fuller than we know.

It is even filled with things we cannot see,

But can only, 

For the time being,

Guess at.

Yes, outer space is beautiful and mysterious.

Just like zen is.

And it patiently awaits our further discovery.

Just like zen does.

But, and here’s the difference,

Unlike outer space,

Zen is everywhere!

There is an endless supply of zen 

In the universe!

Blast off!

That’s my advice.

Leave this planet now and then.

There’s plenty of zen out there,

Beyond the confines of this earth.

Zen on the I-95

“Empty the pond to get to the fish!”

For many years I didn’t know 

What was meant by that remark.

It sounds very zen-like I thought,

And ought to be comprehended.

Then one day it struck me.

It wasn’t while I was fishing.

It wasn’t while I was idling in a canoe on a pond

(Although I’ve done both of those things).

No.

It was while I was driving along the I-95.

I was doing about seventy-five.

When it came to me about the fish and the pond.

Of course, zen being zen,

I realized,

There is no answer.

That’s the beauty of it!

That’s in Florida, by the way.

The I-95.

Not the pond.

I don’t know where that is.

My zen doesn’t bother with details like that.

Trust Your Zen

“Trust yourself,” my zen said to me.

“Everything you need for this life 

Is right inside you,” said my zen.

(I’m a big believer in zen,

You might have noticed.)

“I’d rather trust you,” I answered.

“Same thing, dummy,” replied my zen.

The Bravery of Zen

There was a storm last night.

Buckets of rain.

Bolts of lightning.

And many claps of thunder.

Very many.

Very loud.

Scary.

The cat hid under the couch,

And wouldn’t come out.

But my zen was there,

Standing right beside me,

Holding my hand.

Me and My Zen Will Be Long Gone 

You don’t have to bury me when I’m dead,

Or cremate me or float me down a river,

(As lovely as that sounds)

Or any ceremony else.

What will I care after I’m dead?

But I hope you’ll wait at least that long

Before disposing of the body.

Ha Ha.

That was a joke to lighten the situation,

Which was getting heavy with Death.

All joking aside,

I must ask again.

No funeral ceremony, please. 

Nothing like that for me when I die, thank you.

Unless you need it

For your own sake.

To help you deal with our friend Death,

Who’s always hanging around.

It’s no problem to me.

With strong zen like mine,

After I’m dead …

I’ll be long gone!

See you on the other side.