unheeded advice

Here's a coupla ideas:
Bong!) Take your overhead projector, open it up and put a little DVD player inside playing a loop of goof - maybe tilt the player so that its plane is not perpendicular to the projector’s glass so that the focus is slightly different from side to side of the image > make sure it shows in the top glass > unfocus the projector head so that the image playing is not recognizable. Never tried this - just an idea…
Bong!) Rent an orthographic projector which lets you blow up images laid on its table. Put your DVD player down there > project onto stage. This method has limited size and brightness, but if you put it on the stage it might work. Plus most of these beasts look hulking > cool. Never tried this either...
Bong!) Borrow a 16mm projector and the oldest films you can find – maybe steal them from an elementary school or your public library > smear vaseline on the lens - or unscrew the lens to defocus the lens for mysteriousness > wind the films backwards onto the spools (tip: throwing the film up over power lines will give you plenty of clearance to keep the film off the ground and clean while you rewind it inside out) > project films onto stage and whatever they happen to hit. You might have a friend help with this one. This I have done using 1000 foot reels and several projectors (and several friends). Old science films and cartoons etc can go abstract really cool! Not having paid for them makes them look even better! The clacking of the projectors is also a very cool rhythmic sound that you can work with – and with several, you get polyrhythms!
Bong!) Save the best for last. Mix giant batch of Sangria (red wine with fruit slices) – like 5 gallons > mix in about 200 hits of acid > Serve to every guest - miss no one! (Seconds are OK if everyone has had at least one cup.) Turn off all the lights except for tiny worklights and play show. Guaranteed memorable evening.

Speaking of geeks:
one of my favorite palindromes is this: "Satan oscillate my metallic sonatas". This was coined by Brad Stevens, roommate of Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil in Seattle circa 1987. We used the palindrome in a film we made for Lollapalooza in 1994 featuring Thayil burning an American flag, it also included original music by Steve Fisk and Negativland. Timothy Leary loved it and watched it repeatedly in the "Media Tent" which was the geek sideshow in which he was impanelled that year. A small sachet of cultural history to perfume our daily lives and lessen the stench of pillage and advertising all around...

…don't know how old you are - the early nineties may seem like ancient history to you. And after all we as individuals, and us as a society, and us as a subculture have come so far since then! I'm so proud to note our evolution and the improved circumstances of the world since the dark ages of the early 90s!
When discussing etymology however, the qualifier "recent" can mean anytime within the previous 10, 20,30 generations or so - or it can mean any time after an event shifted common useage from an archaic to a contemporary strain like our Western calendar has done repeatedly.
The Jargon File did not invent the term “geek” but it does help us understand "recent" useage and maybe each other a little…
Doesn't matter how you pronounce it, as long as when you do use the word you are pointing to the right place or thing.
A “geek” is a person who swallows live animals, bugs, etc., as a form of entertainment at fairs etc. This often included biting off the heads of chickens (iggy pop - chicken, ozzy osbourne - rock dove – both classical geeks). The Geek would usually perform in a "geek pit" (rock show). This probably comes from the Scottish geck, meaning 'fool', in turn from Low German. ( 19th century.)
Geek has always had negative connotations within society at large, where being described as a geek tends to be an insult. The term has recently become less condescending, or even a badge of honor, within particular fields and subcultures; this is particularly evident in the technical disciplines, where the term is now more of a compliment denoting extraordinary skill (like de capo).
 sans tete

-- "Z Moser" wrote:
“Hi. I just moved up to Portland from Texas.

Where should I go for good music?

What groups should I affiliate myself with?

Zach”

Well, since you hadda ask:

Portland is the doorstep to Seattle, which is the doorstep to Vancouver, BC, which is the doorstep to San Francisco, which is the doorstep to... etc. In other words, yawn. Its a nice town fer yer Gramma, but...

About the music… uh, good luck! Some notable indy/emo rock like uh... er..., um... Mountain Goats? Plus Steve Miller lives not too far from there (if he's still alive) (cool, huh? He's got a big farm! With cows!)

Extra good news: It rains a lot. And, the days are short in the winter, so its dark and wet for about four months. Just like Seattle only there are less wet people in Portland.

The best good thing is that there are free "magic mushrooms" (Psilocybin) growing all over the place! Probably even in your yard, or your local park if you look. (Psilocybin (also known as psilocybine), is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family. It is present in many species of fungi, including those of the genus Psilocybe, such as Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe semilanceata, but also reportedly isolated from a dozen or so other genera. Psilocybin-containing mushrooms are commonly called magic mushrooms or simply "shrooms". Effects of psilocybin are comparable to LSD, but last for a shorter time, although intensity and duration vary depending on dosage, individual physiology, and set and setting.)

My advice to you if you must be there, is to get some good raingear, freeze-dry the shrooms (to kill the bugs), drink lots of coffee to stay alert, buy a full-spectrum lamp for the vitamin D deficiency you’ll soon have, and be a good lad and just forget the music. Don't go to Apotheke/City Centre Offices – they are way too cool to comprehend a southern accent as a genuine human spoken language – they will take what you say for insane gibberish and call the police. You would do well to get to know the police first hand anyway and this might be a good way to get introduced. If you want to assimilate, affiliate yourself with the best group in Portland - the police... Besides, the police are your best connection - they know where all the drugs are!

Good luck, Tex!


--simon wrote:
> “Hello i'm making a report about new innovations in Bars, Clubs and Hotels...
>
> anyone seen anything with WOW factor?
>
> Like these:
>
> http://www.enviu.org/cm/cm_index_site.html
> (the world's first sustainabole dance club)
>
> http://www.i-bar.ch/info/
> (interactive 'intelligent' bar surface)”

--fwitcher wrote:
This calls to mind what I said when I encountered the Hooters and Best Western partnership: they call it "Breast Western". I said "WOW!"

-- "Ed Hoc" wrote:
“tight sweaters and big boobs are undeniably soaked in WOW factor,
imho. you should look into boobs.”

--Fwitcher wrote:
Let me know if you “uncover” anything promising in some of these cutting edge bars. I’d like photos names and phone numbers…



"...Please submit your top 10 ambient releases from 2000 to present...."

That is simply all that is necessary: Your ten personal favorite ambient records released from 2000 to present. Not “the ten greatest all time ambient records from then”, or what one thinks is the "Best Of.." - just the ones you like the best. Simple.

What do you find yourself returning to repeatedly? Maybe its not necessarily the most highly regarded music, perhaps its even a 'guilty pleasure'. Maybe its from a bigger label and not the most fashionable boutique label - it doesn't matter! Surely everyone has ten records released since 2000 that they listen to the most often? What matters is sharing what you like most in this limited, formal, and manageable manner.

Your favorite music will no doubt differ from mine and probably from everyone else's, and you will have contributed just an oonce to the broadening of the world of aesthetics. If you don't let everyone know what your favorites are, well, I guess it can remain your little secret and that's OK. We'll play on, regardless. But it would be fun to have as comprehensive and diverse a tally as possible.

I propose that in the future we call these lists or polls "Favorite Ambient Records Tally" or F. A. R. T. s for short. We can refer to them as "old FARTs and new FARTs, etc. It is what it is: the smelly by-product of caloric conversion to create and release energy.

Please contribute. Its simple, clean, fun and painless (unless you want it to hurt) and everyone can be happy. Its all about sharing! These are all good things as we all (should have) learned in Kindergarten.

Unrockun



--Joe King wrote:
My CD player doesn't play CDRs in Louisiana. What should I do?

Have you eliminated humidity in the player as a possible cause of probs? Lasers do fog in damp.

Here's a couple of possible remedies:

1) Move out of the bayou and go to Iceland - its so cold there that hardly anything works right anyway - have you heard Bjork sing? Now you've got bigger problems and your CD player will cease to be a big deal.

2) Open up the case, put in about five of those little silica bags that come with new shoes inside the player/recorder - does it still skip? Do you find high-end freqs a little more crisp? Do you get thirsty now when you play music? Good signs.

3) Buy a banjo and then buy a house with a porch (screened from bugs if need be). Sit on the porch nightly and learn to play the thing over the years. F____ the CDs! (jah, in a rocking chair. [or maybe an un-rocking chair]. Remember with enough mint juleps you soon won't care about stupid ole CDRs or the heat…)

Yerz
Henry of Hanging Swamp