So it Finally Happened...

...not the rain at Glastonbury - which doesn't seem so very unusual - but the silent concert. Many years ago, when Walkmen first came out, complete with radio, I said we could do a concert in the park without disturbing the neighbours, by transmitting from the stage, although the thought of 50,000 tinny "tss tss tssd tddtat asst" noises leaking out could perhaps drive someone without headphones quite mad!

This year at Glasters?

Some of the biggest names in the dance scene will be performing and there will be a "silent disco" in an effort to sidestep a noise curfew.

Instead of DJs blasting their sounds through speakers, thousands of revellers partying past midnight will be given wire-free headphones with volume controls that directly tune in to a stereo system.

Enjoy the Solstice

Longest day of the year up here in the Northern Hemisphere...and I find myself in work, rather than in a field. Hey ho.

I never really tuned into the Stonehenge thing...the only time I went to Stonehenge the man said they had closed at 6pm. "Closed!" I think we all have our own places, and countries, and seasons, etc. Everyone assumes that I'll link to Stonehenge, and I always say nah - maybe Glastonbury (or rather Pilton Festival, not the twee little occult-for-the-rich town) or Avebury will do fine. This picture comes from Avebury...

Only Maybe

Although you have to pay good money to join the Maybe Logic Academy forum (and how would you know if this bunch of crazies could turn out as like-minded friends?) - and the Maybe Quarterly magazine may not give you a real idea of what we get up to in real time - a few of us decided a blog might fit the bill. (We found ourselves chatting in the virtual bar at Vico's)

Just today I decided to kickstart one called Only Maybe and invite a few people over, to see what we can come up with.

Watch this space. (or that space).

NoFit State doing Immortal2

I just came back from seeing the new show - it really has gone several gears up from last year's show - which seemed pretty good. This year it excels. Catch it if it comes near you..

24th June - 3rd July Bradford Fest
8th -17th July Cambridge Fest
21st - 31st July Manchester
5th Aug - 29Th Aug Edinburgh
9th, 10th, 11th Sept Tarrega Festival, Spain
17th Sept - 2nd Oct London Thames Fest

I have had a little to do with this magical 'circus' group over the years, and it grew and grew.

Now we have the new generation of about 40 pierced and tatooed, partying but disciplined people doing a three-dimensional show (the audience move around inside it). And this year they have surpassed themselves. I feel so pleased they will go to Tarrega to showcase it (near Barcelona) after the Edinburgh Festival. In Tarrega all the bookers from Europe will arrive to see the unique and magical UFO tent, and a totally trippy 3-D interactive live show. These kids honed their skills doing stilt-walking aliens in clubland, and fire-juggling and black-light juggling, with wild costumes using modern materials, and hair-styles to die for.

I just wish I could fly you all in for a night in the tent. Damn, I found myself overselling it again.
(maybe I just fell in love with my new NoFit State sweatshirt).

These sort of shows have happened since Meyerhold and Mayakovsky in the 20s, the Dadaists and Surrealists, all the way up to happenings and 60s lightshows, and theatre getting rid of the boundaries between performer and audience (or patient and therapist). I don't know if this falls into the classification of art or magic, circus or theatre or performance art. (Nor does the Arts Council who spend all their money on opera, and Shakespeare)

I loved it. More soon. G'night.

Memo

This gets a lot less coverage in The States - the Downing Street Memo

The Foreign Secretary said he would discuss this with Colin Powell this week. It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force.
The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action.

Jabba Palace Reunion

I keep finding new bits from C3 - you can see the Jabba Palace crew acting out where we were, and what we were doing on the set - for one of the forums. I was told it was very amusing and informative.
As I am sitting (behind Warwick Davis) Dave B had to kneel - in real life he stood next to me. Sean behind us, Femi to our right, Tim smiling in the front (doing Salacious) Simon and Gerald behind him. Full story here. The only glaring error in that story - I didn't do the sock puppet with Dave Barclay - Tim Rose did - when Warwick approached unexpectedly, with the white socks, in front of a thousand people ( with my hangover) I swayed back and let the real puppeteers take over.

Sorry Tim! I don't know who to contact to get that corrected...

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New Welsh Review on NoFit State

The latest edition of New Welsh Review has an excellent article on NofitState and New Circus.

As this edition has just come out, I don't want to mess with online copyright issues, so will just plug it. If anyone lives too far away, or just wants to know the story (and this article covers the whole context of New Circus, from Cirque du Soleil - the "Macdonalds of circus", according to Pierre Bidon of Archaos - to NoFit State) then let me know - I can always send you a photocopy). It gives a great assessment of NoFit State and their place in the field, and even gives me a name check (relating to this review of their first warehouse show).

UFO Contactee

I very rarely mention updates to the website, as it has become such a labyrinth of connections.

Still, having been teasing the Prophet Yahweh for doing his Las Vegas UFO schtick recently (in the Maybe Logic forum, not here) I remembered the time I played a UFO contactee, and decided to add a page about The X Factor (Close Encounters of a Different Kind).
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Rebel Scum

I just heard that my promo for RebelScum.com turned up online here

Thanks people - spending a few days as a 'star' does wonders for your self-esteem, when you spend your ordinary everyday life in a small, steady job in a library on half the national average wage (not unhappy, I hasten to add, but hardly Hollywood!)

As a pirate, Jabba doesn't have to take sides, so I can remain 'friends' with anyone...HO HO HO....

See you at Milliways!

I felt delighted today to discover that I might finally get to meet up with my friend Mick again. He always claimed to have met two time travellers (and I believed him) but when he died (or at least left this plane) back in 1994 I missed him terribly...Especially as we had made no arrangements to meet up. Still, he and I seemed pretty good at synchronicity and serendipity, so finally I came across these space/time co-ordinates.

The Time Traveler Convention
May 7, 2005, 10:00pm EDT (08 May 2005 02:00:00 UTC)(events start at 8:00pm)
East Campus Courtyard, MIT3 Ames St. Cambridge, MA 02142
42:21:36.025°N, 71:05:16.332°W(42.360007,-071.087870 in decimal degrees)

Time Traveller Convention

Technically you would only need one time traveller convention

I know this says May 7th, but, strictly speaking, you haven't missed it. They would also ask that you publicise this for people who may yet become time travellers (the tenses get difficult here) - by getting the co-ordinates published, and the event into oral history...

Sue's Diary of C3

If you want to know what it was really like for people visiting Celebration 3, I can only recommend reading Sue Hooven's Diary - that'll give you an idea.

Hi Sue and Scott! Sorry we never got to have a cup of coffee or a little time together...

I just found the detailed pictures of the Origami Jabba process...that was real fun, and I am glad Dave and I squeezed in a moment to go do one fold! The main site is here, and the Jabba sequence is here.

Origami Jabba lorded it over the Saturday night party, but after Dave and I took our picture with him we retreated (I had lost my voice after the Thursday opening night show - shouting over the band while waiting backstage) - and then gone out with the 501s on Friday (and later with Jens and his buddy) and the combination of jetlag, no food, and too much wine meant I looked a bit rough on Saturday morning! By Saturday night I had turned professional again, and had a quiet night, ready for Sunday.

Return of Pink Five

I found this blog today, about Amy and Trey's visit to C3, it made me laugh...

"We're here to say hello to a couple of autograph signers that we happen to know. First stop is Dave Barclay, a fellow puppeteer I'd recently worked with on Team America. Back in the day he was a lead puppeteer on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi. I'm impressed by the number of folks who are willing to pay for the autograph of the guy who played the role of Jabba's left arm."

My role reminds me of Churchill's retort, when told some fellow politician was at least humble...

"He's got a lot to be humble about!"

"One of the better, cheaper acts"

You could describe Magic as my first love. The fact that I have a love/hate relationship with it now doesn't really change things. You'll hardly ever get me to do a trick. I still spend quite a lot of money on books and gizmos. I just love the subtlety of the art. One of my favourite acts (seen live once, and also on tv) used the slogan "One of the better, cheaper acts" in his publicity - a self-deprecating phrase that could only fit a real Grand Master. Dean of the Society of American Magicians, Jay Marshall, died on May 10, 2005, at age 85. I saw him dominate a huge theatre using just a white glove on his left hand - Lefty - a wonderful variation on the usual Vent Act - and unusual in that the puppet's voice had a deeper tone than the performer's...I never stole the line for publicity purposes, but I used it as a throwaway line about my own act, occasionally. I hoped he'd forgive me. Watching him onstage made me want to do something, so apparently simple and effective, to brighten up people's lives.

One time, as the story goes, he asked a young fan what he wanted to do when he grew up, and the boy replied "Be a magician!" "Son," Jay replied, "you can't do both."

Unfortunately, I finally grew up.

Jay Marshall and Lefty

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I have always depended on the kindness of strangers

Here's a really nice story - just to show you the mutual affection that I felt from fans at Celebration 3 - money doesn't have to be the Focus of Fun.

Creature Cantina

This Creature Cantina diary may give you some idea of the kind of event I just attended. Go look at just one person's diary of the hectic days in Indy.

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T'Bone Rocks!

Among the faces I finally got to meet (having done an online interview in Spring 2004, entirely through emails) - here's T'Bone - you can easily find his Universe here at www.starwarz.com

I was only sorry we didn't get much time to really talk. That's kind of how it was all the time (probably for him, too) - and so, back to emails!

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Origami Jabba

I thought they were joking when they told me some people would be making a lifesize origami Jabba...

But Chris Alexander from Star Wars Origami made him real. I'd like to know how to fold him, so if anyone wants to help Chris publish his designs, contact him through his website. Oh, and I am glad to say that Jabba got auctioned to raise money for the Koret Family House.
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Meeting Elvis

I used to think "Who'd wannabe a storm trooper?" I figured them for clones, just designed to get shot by heroes. And then I met Elvis the StormTrooper. Here's his website.

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Back in One Piece

I have just returned from an adventure. Although I still work in the library, the Star Wars fans finally tracked me down, and talked me into attending Celebration 3 in Indianapolis. I met all sorts of great people (many in costume); I met Chris Alexander and his crew who made a life-size origami model of Jabba (!); I met up with Dave Barclay (the other half of Jabba, and chief puppeteer) which was delightful; I met up with Crissie Trigger (who drove over from Springfield) which was amazing; I put faces to several cyberspace friends (who had previously just been email buddies); when I have had time to look at the photos, and digest some of the stories, I will probably make a page up.

What a blast! And the tax man is gonna be happy with his cut, too.

I found a great book, but I didn't read it all yet. Below you will find a very brief glimpse found online at Eric Nehrlich's page

The Gift - Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, by Lewis Hyde

After reading Trickster Makes This World, I went back and picked up this earlier book by Hyde. Again, his mastery of mythology amazes me. I used to read myths and think they were pretty stupid stories. Hyde makes them come alive, expressing the philosophies and beliefs of their tellers.
In this case, he follows the culture of the gift, which will have its value disappear if not passed on. However, if given away freely, it will come back to reward the giver many times over. He brings in many myths to support this, such as the several where a poor peasant gives away their last bit of bread to someone in need, only to have it turn out that the recipient was a god or a king in disguise, who then rewards the peasant for their generosity.
Hyde studies this culture from the viewpoint of an artist trying to find his niche in the modern world, where everything has a price. In a ultra-capitalist economy, how does one value art? By exploring the gift economy, Hyde demonstrates that there are areas where the market economy does not apply, where the gift economy must take precedence. Again, he supports his viewpoint with several myths where the greedy merchant tries to buy something that must be given away, and ends up with rocks instead of gold.

And if that throwaway comment about his other book sounds intriguing, look at Margaret Atwood's Review of Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art, by Lewis Hyde