19 Comments

On the subject of tiny books, I recently visited the special collections department at the Cleveland Public Library, which has a lot of interesting tiny books, including a copy of the world's smallest printed book. They also have some Babylonian cuneiform tablets, which I had always imagined to be large, but which are actually palm-sized, and that made total sense once I thought about it.

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Hey Austin, a very off topic request. Do you watch Anime? If so what is a good one to start with. My son is very much into character and plot development, and recommends I dive in. Given your amazing breathe of knowledge in areas of art and writing, do you have any tips for this genre?

Love your 10 things, as always, there are goodies to take away. Cheers Gail

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I'm mostly ignorant of anime. If I were asked without research, I would say AKIRA or GHOST IN THE SHELL come to mind... but I've never seen them. (Have you asked your son??)

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Yes,I did, he said there are 1,000s and his are a bit more violent. But I have come across Akira, and will look at Ghost in the shell. Ta!

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(Is this a test... about minding your own business? 😂)

I show new-anime-friends Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name”. It’s not for little kids. I like the exploration of what it’s like to wake up in someone else’s body and muddling through their life... *and* it being the body of the opposite sex in a rather gendered culture. I watch in Japanese with subtitles. The voice acting is excellent. The drawing & animation too.

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This sounds cool! Maybe I'll watch it! LOL

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Minding your own business along with your other gem "it’s not for me." Goes a long way to leading a drama free life.

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Is it a sin in the Church of M.O.O.B. to *covet* your card catalog?

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I mean, it's pretty cool

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I don’t have a church but I like the idea of yours!

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That sounds like my kind of church! I immediately thought of this song by Delta 5 - https://youtu.be/sUzdv3S7KTY?si=2oeX_SOlfZxvsIie

A few days ago at the park there was a dog running loose, running up to other dogs including mine. The owner was sitting at a picnic table looking at her phone, and made almost no effort to control the dog. I told her to put her dog on a leash as we walked by outside the fence, and she retorted that she couldn't find the leash and "mind your own business!" The minute your loose dog interacts with mine, it becomes my business! Grumble, I can see I'm still chuffed about it. I would much rather mind my own business! Please make it easy to do so.

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Love Delta 5... and Hank Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSeuDDzjIB8

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My late husband and I flirted with a blog post in the early 2000s called "church of the cynical sinner"...hubby wrote the "sermons" as a critique on society. Oh my, how he would have gone to town on those sermons now. But I agree that minding one's own business leads to more inner peace and productivity. I always ate lunch at my desk in my classroom for most of my teaching career - couldn't

stand the negativity of colleagues and the gossip about students. Too busy with life to get sucked into that.

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Agreed on Three Rocks! The ending was strangely poignant too. I also felt a bit of nostalgia myself since I was really into Griffith's Zippy in the '80s where I first encountered his fascination with Nancy and Bushmiller. Going to reread some of that plus I do want to get my hands on his memoir "Invisible Ink: My Mother’s Secret Love Affair with a Famous Cartoonist", alluded to in Three Rocks.

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I love this Chruch of Minding Your Own Business. It includes a permission slip not to mindlessly scroll on social media, not to get caught up in things we have no control over, and allows us to think for ourselves and get to know ourselves better. It also opens the door to conscious sharing of ourselves and our lives. Really thinking about what parts of you, you life, your art, your writing, to give out to the world and then what you do with the comments you may receive.

I think it also helps us hone what external business we put our attention on.

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I ‘m a member of that church! People are so nosy and don’t know boundaries. I’m very private about some health issues, but yet people think it’s OK to ask me ,’What was your last scan results or bloodwork”. None of their business!!!!!

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What a timely church 🫶

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I am seeing Smashing Pumpkins tonight in concert!

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I love that church. Thank you! And you might enjoy David Roche's "The Church of 80% Sincerity." And David Roche in general.

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