Category: Culture

Existential Radio Theater

If you’d like to, listen to this interview from NPR’s Fresh Air which aired yesterday.

During that interview with David Guarascio, Moses Port and Sameer Gardezi linked above, they got to talking about how they worked together on a radio show while in college, although the radio station wasn’t actually accessible anywhere off campus. That, along with a crappy timeslot, gave them very few listeners. They described it as “existential radio theater” where they would keep trying to get people to call in, and give them some indication that someone was listening.

First of all, that’s an incredible phrase. Secondly, I got to thinking about it, and that’s largely what people do on the internet. Blogs are great examples (this one less so than others, but still). For the most part, blogs don’t get read, and even when they are, you can usually count the amount of readers on your hand. So why do we do it? Why do we keep creating even when we know no one will see it?

I saw a video of Larry Lessig’s talk from this year’s TED today, and in it he suggests that is just what our generation does. Granted, he expresses this idea far more eloquent than I have (next to Steve Jobs, Larry Lessig is my favourite person to watch speak) but the point is still the same. Our generation plays a much more active role in culture – blogs are just an extention of this.

…

…Right?

Union Maid

Times Like These by Jack Johnson
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/jj2005-08-05.at931.shnf/jj2005-08-05d2t05_64kb.mp3]

So I saw Bee Movie tonight, and it is mostly entertaining. Definitely weird at times, but still, overall I came away with a good feeling. The only thing I found a little weird was the underlying capitalist propaganda, which may not have been intentional, but still jumped out at me. In the beginning, the bee stands out, and breaks the norm, challenging authority. And he wins, but we’re only halfway into the movie. Suddenly, everything goes to shit, and it turns out that change is bad, and ruining the way everyone lives. So they go back, and everything is well again. Moral? Be a cog.

Otherwise, this got us talking about the impending strike of the Writer’s Guild of America. As we walked down the corridor of the movie theater, we couldn’t see another movie out in theaters or any other movie advertised on the walls (soon to be released) worth seeing. And the strike hasn’t even begun yet. If it does turn out to be a longer strike than everyone would like it to be, we’ll be looking at a long winter, with even less worthwhile movies than normal.

Although obviously this has less of an effect on independent movies. The problem of course is that they can never quite make the jump to widespread release. At this point Eric brought up an idea I hadn’t considered: theaters could start showing independent movies in an attempt to draw audiences in. That would be a massive leap forward for independent film makers (and their fans). It would also be one more step towards the decentralization of media, simillar to what is happening in music right now. Less dependence on the big three (or is it four?) production studios, and more emphasis on the content. I would personally love to see something like this happen. It has been nothing but benificial for music so far (at least from the consumer’s perspective, the labels aren’t so happy).

So go on writers – strike!

Rhythm and Roots

Circus of Dreams by Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
[audio:http://www.slambovia.com/mp3s/07_Bootleg_Middle_Earth_3-11-06/Circus_of_Dreams.mp3]

Went to Rhythm and Roots today (just for the day). Probably the last festival of the year, but I saw a lot of friends there (R&R is the sister festival of Grey Fox) including Jim, who didn’t make it to Grey Fox this year.

Jim is a very cool guy. He is the person who taught me to cook fries that first year I manned the deep fryer. He’s nearly 80 years old, never married, has no kids. He used to teach art, and is incredibly interesting to talk to. I was a bit worried after he didn’t show up at Grey Fox that his health may have deteriorated, but he’s still as good as ever.

Good bands all around this year (including the band at the top of this post), but the highlight was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I’ve only seen them once or twice before, and they put on a really cool show. Fantastic artists.

Also, sometime this afternoon I fell asleep in the sun and my face melted. In case you see me, I’m not really embarrassed, its just burnt.

Burning Man Burned Early

If you haven’t heard yet, the man was torched early this year. I had pretty mixed feelings about this, but was more or less indifferent. People take the event far too seriously. In any case, I hadn’t planned on posting anything about this until I read this letter from the dude who *allegedly* did it:

Hi, folks. This is the *alleged* arsonist/douchebag/attention whore himself, writing you from Fernley, NV, where I have been chilling out for a couple of days.

Having read your various comments, a few things should be addressed. First, this operation was extensively planned well in advance, and the number one thing to Black Rock Intelligence was that NO ONE be hurt. If you people actually knew us, you’d know that we have an extensive background in doing things exactly like this. In fact, we were on the ground for some thirty minutes before ascent, scoping the scene and clearing people in order to minimize any possiblity of injury to others. We were aided by several people who were recruited on the playa the night of this burn (BRI has no idea who they are, so don’t bother asking).

Second, the operation was planned in conjunction with the lunar eclipse because Black Rock Intelligence knew that another event at the trash fence would draw the bulk of lunatics to it, rather than to the Man. In fact, one of our peripheral operatives aided in getting as many people to the fence event as possible to help BRI achieve its goal of zero injuries.

Third, word went out across the playa days in advance that Black Rock Intelligence was pulling this op. This word continued to go out right up to the moment that our chief operator began the arduous climb up the guide wire. As you can all see from the results, BRI performed flawlessly in this regard.

We could give a fuck less what you all think of us for doing this. Most of you are newbies who have been drawn in by the semi-religious nature of the event, or maybe just the easy drugs and easier sex. You have nothing to offer the event other than your fucking money and obedience. You spend the rest of your lives in mortal fear of everything that insurance companies tell you to fear, and pretend that you’re free and clear because you spend four days at a desert bacchanal where spinelessness is not only encouraged but genetically replicated for implementation in successive generations. In short, you are the swine of which Thompson spoke. Get over yourselves.

Some of us live quite well without fear. Doing so requires the ultimate in what Burning Man used to represent: personal responsibility and individual liberty. That’s all been lost in the last decade of Burning Man’s history. Consider this operation a history lesson that was desperately needed.

One final note: Black Rock Intelligence has been permanently disbanded. All other operatives have made the ultimate sacrifice by swallowing their L-pills to avoid being captured alive. I am the sole surviving member of BRI and ask that you respect my mourning period for those who gave their lives so that this operation was a complete success.

Paul D. Addis
Fernley, NV

Rock on, Paul D. Addis.

Airplane!

As you may know, AIRPLANE! is actually a scene-for-scene remake of the 1957 film ZERO HOUR (just released on DVD), with the original plot and much of the original dialogue played for laughs. Here is a comparison of some bits from the original and their equivalents in AIRPLANE! (this is only a partial selection, of course).

I didn’t know that.