Interview Dr. Garry wants to talk to you about emotisfaction

On Tuesday, Nov. 16, GiveMN hopes to have 40,000 philanthropic Minnesotans participate in Give To The Max Day, a 24-hour multi-charity fundraising event that includes dollar-matching, hourly bonus donations made on behalf of randomly selected donors, and prize grants for the nonprofits that convince the most people to open their hearts and wallets. A noble undertaking, certainly, but when it comes to talking people into doing something to benefit humanity it never hurts to have a charismatic spokesperson. Give To The Max Day has “Dr. Finlös Garry,” a New Age-y television host who entices YouTube viewers to give with promises of warm, fuzzy brain feelings. (Any resemblance to MN Original web producer Chuck Olsen is purely coincidental.) The esteemed doctor recently spoke to The A.V. Club about his Nordic roots, his time in Hollywood, and that tingly feeling one gets from giving.

The A.V. Club: The “Power Of Giving” video was many people’s introduction to Dr. Garry, so I was hoping you could start by talking about your qualifications. What are you a doctor of?

Dr. Finlös Garry: If we have to get into those details, I’m not really licensed in any state, but I do hold a degree in therapeutic analysis in Bermuda. That tends to scare people away, so I don’t like to talk about it. I’m more of an adviser or friend on the journey of life—in strictly non-clinical terms, of course.

AVC: I’m not familiar with the name “Finlös.” Are you from around here?

FG: My father was Icelandic, my mother was Norwegian. I think you probably will find Finlös family folk in more Nordic Minnesota towns. But it’s also a delicious beverage in the town my parents come from. No longer in existence, I’m afraid. It’s kind of like Orbitz. I’ve got some classic bottles of Finlös on my mantle that I like to look at, but it’s spoiled now so you can’t really drink it anymore.

AVC: That’s a shame. It sounds refreshing.

FG: Eh, not really. But I think if you have it in your blood, it’s more of a nostalgia thing.

AVC: You seem very comfortable on camera. Do you have much television experience?

FG: I’ve consulted in Hollywood. You may have heard of the film Mazes And Monsters, starring Thomas Hanks, about the dangers of role-playing and going with the mind. Well, I didn’t work on that show, but there was a similar program called Labyrinths And Lasers that I did consult on, warning the youth against the dangers of getting too deep into fantasy, falling too deep into the nether regions of the mind. And also showing actors how to shoot lasers properly, and things like that, so it looks convincing. But that work dried up in about 1982, 1983.

AVC: How did you get involved with GiveMN?

FG: Dana Nelson, the director of GiveMN, reached out to me. She was familiar with my book Mind Of Fire, Beard Of Dreams and found it inspirational. She thought my message could help Minnesotans find the power of giving. I think people are looking for emotisfaction; people are still learning about it, learning about how they can get it, and this is a single day when 40,000 will be giving. And let me tell you, there will be rainbows pouring out of Minnesota that day. The emotisfaction will be so powerful, I imagine you could see it from space.

AVC: I look forward to seeing the Google Earth images. That sounds spectacular.

FG: Well, I’m sure someone could Photoshop it. Am I saying that right? We’ll Photoshop it.

AVC: For those unfamiliar with the term, could you define “emotisfaction”?

FG: Emotisfaction is the tingling one feels in the brainstem when you’re contributing to the evolution of the human race. Giving is one of the most powerful ways—a direct line into that tingly brainstem feeling. Because if we’re not generous to our fellow man, or wo-man, we’re not going to be around. So it’s kind of evolution’s way of saying, “Hey, let’s make this feel good, and then people will keep doing it,” and then we’ll have a generous society that we all want to live in.

That’s the mental aspect. There’s also—people don’t know this, but your heart is covered in feathers, a feathery substance. Well, perhaps I won’t go there, but it will also cause these feathers to tingle in your heart. You will feel love.

AVC: Is there any correlation between emotisfaction and one’s health and well-being?

FG: Oh, I sure hope so. My dear old granddad lived to be about 105, and he knew how to have a good time. He knew the direct path to emotisfaction. That’s the only evidence I have. There are these Blue Zones around the planet. It would be an interesting study to correlate emotisfaction with the Blue Zones. I think once researchers catch on...

AVC: Why wait? That sounds like research you could do yourself.

FG: Hmm, do you know any good grant writers? Because I’m not very good at that sort of thing. But yes, I could probably do that research.

AVC: Does emotisfaction increase with the amount being given?

FG: Frequency, amount, intent, impact—it all helps.

AVC: How will you be spending Give To The Max Day?

FG: There’s going to be a live telethon of sorts. You remember telethons? Public television used to do telethons back in my day, but they’ll be doing it on the Internet now with The Uptake. There will be a live give-athon all day on Give To The Max Day, Nov. 16, right here in Lowertown St. Paul. And I believe I will be on air, making an appearance. I will be up there pressing the flesh and making friends with the camera.

AVC: That’s good news, because in the video you said you’d be teaching people about emotisfaction “over the next few weeks,” but then there was no follow-up.

FG: Where have I been? Where have I been? So much to do. And I’ve got—ohhh, I’ve got problems. No, we’ve got plans. There will be another video. There’s so much I want to teach!