[sizzling spiral hot dogs]
This is George. And Frank.
And you're watching ashow. With Ze Frank.
Let's not focus on where you're going to die.
Let's focus on how you're going to live.
A friend of mine in high school used to say that there's
no geographical solutions to psychological problems.
Maybe that's true, but what if you're living
inside of a volcano or in Somalia?
But Albany, New York is no Somalia
unless perhaps you've been kidnapped by Ennui.
But who knows?
Daniel Kahneman's research on happiness said that by all available measures
Midwesterners were just as happy as Californians
with the caveat being that both Midwesterners and Californians
thought that Californians were happier.
For me, Albany felt like it was built
for the very young and the very old—
people that can appreciate the subtleties of their surroundings,
first by the laser-focused attention of boredom and curiosity
and later by the mellow ecstasy that some people
might mistake with resignation.
My stepfather hikes and re-hikes the Plotter Kill Nature Reserve,
mapping every inch of it in photographs
like a bespectacled Hermann Hesse's Siddartha,
who, after chasing a material life, eventually finds
his way back to a comfortable seat by the river—the same river.
It's beautiful there—the surroundings—
but by the time I was 18 I could no longer concentrate on any of that.
I couldn't concentrate on what was there anymore,
because I was so preoccupied by what wasn't.
Maybe that's where you are right now.
Maybe it's a sucker's game. I don't know.
I didn't stick around to find out.
And maybe there are some lessons that there aren't any shortcuts to.
Leaving isn't so complicated, you know.
I'm sure you've gone places before.
Leaving is just the going without the coming back.
It might not be easy, but that doesn't mean that it's not simple.
You know, I've caught myself in situations where I forgot that I could leave.
Maybe I didn't want to think about it,
because thinking about it reminds me that other people can leave.
Like if I pretend that it's impossible,
other people might think that it's impossible too.
Or maybe I was scared that I wouldn't be able
to handle the emotional part of leaving,
that my brain would render me a useless blob of depression and regret,
so scared that I wouldn't even allow myself
to consider it a possibility.
But it is possible.
People move away.
Employees leave jobs.
Boyfriends leave girlfriends.
Wives leave husbands.
And sometimes it makes some things better.
And sometimes it just swaps a Circle K for a Loaf 'N Jug or a Wawa.
But almost always there will be pain and loss
and hurt and regret and loose ends loosened,
but almost always you'll be able to handle that—in time.
I think it is important to remember that it is an option.
If I don't remember it, then I'm not free.
Then I haven't really thought it through and made a choice.
And if I'm not here by choice, then I can't own
or take pride in all the struggles of staying.
Exciting news. I'll let Mr. Normal tell you.
Hello. Mr. Normal here, giving you The Song.
It is done. Thank you all so much for participating throughout the whole process—
sounds, loops, melodies, and vocals—
that have contributed to the awesomeness of the whole project and Song.
That's why it took me so long. I tried to squeeze all of the awesome in there all at once.
Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy.
I can't wait to see what you guys do for the video.
You can listen to Mr. Norman's final version of the track at atshow.zefrank.com.
I've added a link in the description.
Huge thanks to Mr. Norman on this,
combining thousands of beats and loops and sounds and vocals
that you submitted into an amazing soundscape song fantastalabbage.
So, now we have to make a video. I have an idea.
It involves layering lots and lots of footage, so many of us can take part.
But in order to test this out, I need you.
If you'd like to help, go to ashow.zefrank.com and find the LayerFace mission.
Follow the instructions incredibly carefully.
I tried it here with three layers, and this is what it looks like.
♫ I think it's time we stole the show, and it's also time I let you know ♫
♫ that I punched a hole through the thickest wall of sound ♫
Creepy and beautiful—just right.
Now I want to see what it looks like with 100 layers,
and if that works, we'll start choreographing the rest.
Also, congratulations to show member idkwtflol for figuring out
that there was a phone number hidden in the background
of last Wednesday's episode.
Because he was the first person to call in, he won a poster.
Keep your eyes peeled!
♫ Bye-bye Song ♫