Buddhist performer gives the ‘scoop’ on the state of the world

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December 5, 2002
By WALLACE BAINE
Sentinel Entertainment writer

Wes “Scoop” Nisker has found a way to talk about science without
resorting to science-talk.
He refers to the secret-of-life molecule DNA, for instance, as Divine
Natural Abundance.
He can do the same thing with politics, environmentalism, spirituality
and religion. It’s his gift: to take on life’s heavy subjects and still
credibly call it entertainment.
Nisker comes to Santa Cruz this weekend with a monologue/stand-up
comedy routine titled “The Big Bang, the Buddha & the Baby Boom,” a
performance as vast in scope as its name suggests. In it, he jokes
and pokes, rhapsodizes and raps, all to underline our species’
precarious but still promising position on the planet.
Yes, raps.
As part of the monologue, Nisker breaks out a musical disc, over
which he raps what he calls “The Boomer Song.” In this humorous
verse on the spiritual torpor that affluence and high expectations can
breed, he chants, “You can be God, by God.”
“There’s been a kind of diminishing of the baby boomer generation in
recent years,” said Nisker, who turns 60 later this month, putting him
in the vanguard of the baby boomers.
“The generation that lived through the Depression and the war is
calling itself the Greatest Generation, and there’s been a stereotype
of our generation as spoiled whiners.
“A lot of what we went through was indulgent and silly. But a lot
more of it was honorable and really very brave. From this generation
came the environmental movement and the spiritual rebirth of
Western society, to name a couple.”
Nisker is known in the Bay Area for his occasional comedic
commentaries on KFOG-FM and for his books and teachings on
Buddhism, including “Essential Crazy Wisdom” and “Buddha’s Nature.”
His performance begins much like a contemporary stand-up comic,
with blistering asides directed at the Bush administration and the
corporate power behind it, a combination he calls the “oil-Qaeda
terrorist network.”
Then his theme leaps into the spiritual malaise at the root of
consumer culture, as he states, “We’re realizing that there’s no end
to desire.” He treads onto distinctly Buddhist ground with his
admonitions to “get off the wheel.”
“That goes to the core of Buddhist teaching,” he said. “It’s not the
struggle to fulfill our desires that keeps us in misery. It’s the desire
itself that keeps us in misery.
“The whole society is geared to this endless dissatisfaction, with the
underlying theme of the whole idea that we have to grow the
economy.”
The performance grew from Nisker’s long-time love of teaching about
Buddhist thought. Built around clever wordplay, humor and a touch of
stagecraft, the show evolved into something for general audiences
looking for laughs with their dose of wisdom.
“Humor opens us up, lowers our defensives,” said Nisker. “That’s
important when you’re talking about big issues like these.
“A lot of times you’ll hear some people on the lecture circuit, like
Helen Caldicott, and you’re almost immobilized by despair.
“I want to entertain. But I’m also interested in offering up some
truth.”
Nisker got the nickname Scoop back in the 1960s while working for
the notorious KSAN radio, where he produced on-the-spot interviews
and bulletins from the political underground. The man’s seen bleak
political times, but these days he’s determined not to give in to easy
nihilism.
“What we’re seeing now in the world and in this country is America
acting like an imperial power and doing classically what imperial
powers have done when they feel threatened.
“But we all need a little hope, and helping people see themselves as
part of a grand evolutionary process in deep time is very comforting
and very hopeful.”
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Contact Wallace Baine atwbaine (at) santa-cruz.com.
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If you go

WHAT: ‘The Big Bang, the Buddha and the Baby Boom,’ a
performance by Wes ‘Scoop’ Nisker.
WHERE: Cayuga Vault, 1100 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
TICKETS: $10 advance; $12 at the door.
DETAILS: 421-9471.