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The Surrealist Evolutionary Epic
Makaha, January 3 – 8, 2008
Authored by Everyone / Remixed by Paul A. Harris
 
Note from Cheryl:
     I received this "The Surrealist Evolutionary Epic" from Paul Harris.  My apologies to Paul and to all the conference participants for allowing the posting of this delightful bit of humor to slip down on my to-do list. I am sure some of the connections will be lost by now but hopefully all who read will still enjoy. 

Note from Paul:

    I'm attaching the Surrealist Evolutionary Epic which can be forwarded to the whole bunch, if you'd like.  Here is a blurb just to contextualize the conference for those who weren't there at the end: the "Surrealist Evolutionary Epic" is meant to serve as a playful 'summary' of the conference, and a mnemonic device that evokes people's talks.  It is composed of one sentence quoted verbatim from each speaker, remixed into suggestive juxtapositions, following a surrealist method of assembling poems out of found material. Again, the quotes from people don't represent their talks, and I hope it is all taken in good humor--it is done in a spirit of celebratory joy, with a light heart as well.  Paul

 

In our voice are all the sounds ever made. (Pauline Le Bel)
This is something the earth itself is doing, and when people let the voice come through, it does. (Linda Gibler)
We are in the midst of a transformation from being driven by fear and survival to becoming self-created and able to pursue our own aspirations. (Les Ihara)

I asked everyone on the ferry, “Hey, do you want to be in my play?” (Pauline Le Bel)
We are the place where the great dance can be felt. (Brian Swimme)
We need a picture of the universe that explains our role at this pivotal moment. (Nancy Abrams)
My film is a history of 2,500 years of shamanism. (Rod Mann)
 

Which of these four futures would you prefer? Chimp paradise, boom and bust, planetary superorganism, or star trek? (Russ Genet)
I think the best way to think about this is, it’s the star trek vision—from HELL! (Fernando Castillon)
We’re members of a species that is interested in colossal failure. (Henry Corning)
Everyone else got a million to three million years, and I only got ten thousand. (Paul Wason)
I was counting on being surprised by that five-minute warning, if that makes any sense. (Trileigh Tucker)

You’re all a bunch of oxymorons. (Paul Harris)
They don’t like to flake as an individual; they like to flake as a group. (Nick Toth)
We are afraid of looking ridiculous, and there are many dimensions to this. (Cynthia Brown)
The more you don’t know about what’s going on, the bigger the entropy. (John Irwin)
God is experiencing déjà vu. (Drew Dillinger)

Water is a truly multicultural metaphor for a new science. (John Wilkinson)
Diversity is divine. (Chris Corbally)
I heard that there was homosexuality in the animal kingdom and I was like, really? (Jacqueline Miller)
Astronomy talks are best done in the dark. (Todd Duncan)
Some lucky undergraduate got to count how many times baby rats were licked by their mothers every day. (Katie Carrin)
This is challenging, this mouse. (Craig Benjamin)
When NASA showed this to Congress, Jesse Helms said “I will not be a party to the pandering of pornography in space.” (Bruce Latimer)
The thread was, do I hate homosexual acts as much as I should as a Catholic? (Peter Hess)

I’m going to take you on a trip east. (Sheri Ritchlin)
I don’t have a romantic view of this culture, and they don’t either—so I’ll just tell you right away, they are big-time head-hunters. (Jerome Feldman)
If you want a souvenir of your favorite gladiator, there it is. (Steve Sass)
They taught me really useful things for a little girl to know, like how to make rockets out of gunpowder. (Cheryl Genet)
We’re all trained as demolition experts. (Alan Wood)
The question then is, where is the crater? (Walter Alvarez)

Just a few words of clarification so we are on the same page. (Dwight Collins)
I want to say a few words about my title because it’s a mouthful, and it’s a mouthful because it sort of says it all. (Rob Duisberg)
We talk this way even when we know better. (Gregory Mengel)
My student evaluations say that I wander a lot. (Alan Almquist)
This is your brain on meditation. (Jack and Linda Palmer)
This is Nick’s brain on stone tools. (Kathy Schick)

Angus was an East Indian West Indian Canadian. (Jane Bramadat)
If you look behind you very, very quickly, you’ll see all your ancestors. (Eric Enos)
Recent evidence suggests that Neanderthals were red-haired. (Rebecca Cann)
The history of food is the history of life, if you think about it. (Carlos Camargo)
Hawaii’s food supply would last the islands one to three days. (Kina Mahi)

Everything you’re going to see is totally invisible. (Joel Primack)
In the ordinary case, I form a belief that I see a hand in front of my face because I put a hand in front of my face. (Michael Murray)
There was a time when the universe had no eyes. (Winslow Myers)
Experience, however, means the presence of mind. (Josephina Burgos)
Gaze into the light and you’ll see only light
Gaze into the light and you’ll be only light. (Jeff Jenkins)
Deep mystery balanced with practical knowledge—which makes people treat one another differently. (Louis Herman)

I’m going to have to leave out the justifications. (Dick Coren)
I think he stacked his data. (Bill Irons)
We end up with an elite chap’s view of the past. (David Christian)

I get to have the last word, and it’s a plea for silence. (Leilani Madison)
My answer is a very cautious yes. (John Mears)
 


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