Alicia Dattner

Hey 2009, You're Looking Mighty Fine...

Dear Fellow Humans from the year 2009,

As 2008 passes like a gall stone, I'm laid up for the first day of the new year, high on early episodes of The West Wing and the belief that the inauguration of our new president will rescue this country from free-fall. It's been an endlessly interesting year for us all. Electing our first black president, losing 40% of the capital in the stock market, seeing Tina Fey look so much like Sarah Palin, I can't tell who's who.

Personally, I've had an interesting year as well. It began with a ten-day silent meditation course in India. You all followed my travels throughout India, Thailand, and Cambodia for three months starting last February. I gathered parts and memories of myself scattered in many lifetimes during that trip. 

I also joined a year-long training course for life coaching and workshop leading in August, and began coaching people in creativity and spontaneity. After doing standup, working and playing with others to break through to what is most true for them is my favorite thing to do. And after almost two months of work on my solo show, "The Punchline," I played to sold out houses at the Fringe Festival. It was an honor to win Best Female Solo at the Festival and be selected for the Solo Show Festival in Marin in February (the 24th.)

I'm sending out this new year's wish to you because I want to reach out and connect with you. I've been very affected by the intensity and fear of the world's events--the end of easy oil, the reluctance of auto companies to completely re-invent themselves in order to protect the environment, the blindness and greed of the mortgage industry, and the sense of scarcity the downturn in the economy has had on us. And the message I want to convey is that it's time to open our eyes to what's really happening in the world. And to take a stand. To speak what we believe, and to align our actions with our values and our words. But I also want to say that there is so much more to life than the what's in the news. Our own thoughts and actions are what truly build the fabric of reality, moment by moment. And together, we have the power to focus our thoughts to send an asteroid crashing into Bernard Madoff's living room. (But read some of my beloved Krishnamurti and you'll realize we are all Bernard Madoff.) 

So stay tuned for info about my gigs, laughter yoga classes, and workshops in the coming year. I'll be premiering the full version of Eat Pray Laugh! at some point, and I'm also putting together a down and dirty old-school standup set for the clubs.

To 2009, may all beings be happy.

-Alicia

http://www.aliciadattner.com http://www.creativeheartcoaching.com http://www.monkpunk.org http://www.examiner.com/x-453-SF-Comedy-Examiner http://www.youtube.com/AliciaDattner

The Rising

We were driving in the car yesterday listening to NPR.  They were playing Obama's top ten favorite songs according to Blender magazine.  Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" was on his list, and I thought, "God, Barack is so hot."  And then I just burst into tears.  It's been so bad for so long, that the idea of this country getting on track again is hard to open up to.  It's feels like having been in an abusive relationship for the last eight years, and now there's this new guy, and he's not only saying all the right things, he's doing some of them.  You want to let the love in, you want to let it work you out and heal you, but there are wounds.  There's mercury in the fish, the FDA and the FCC are in the hands of profiteers, the unholy, unspoken union between the food industry and the healthcare industry are consipiring to bankrupt us of our health and our money. This fancy talkin' new President sure sounds sweet, but the truth is he won't meet our expectations.  He's here to lead us and shows us back to the path to take responsibility back into our own hands and to fulfill our expectations ourselves through perseverance and right action.