You and whose Armada, sirrah?

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Dale

It’s that time of year again when thou may’st behold All The Shakespeare!

You find the rules/info at https://goo.gl/sVh9Uj, and the application form at http://goo.gl/forms/8N66OCs2WD.

Who you gonna believe?

Posted on January 24, 2017May 10, 2025 by Dale

It’s not often you can escape the loop of he-said-she-said-nuh’UH when it comes to the evidence available to us these days. All those screaming memes on Facebook, convinced that Those People Did This THING, Can You Believe It??

Well, no, you can’t. I even have posited the Lyles Rule of Internet Fuppery, which I have to deploy so often that I have a macro to type it up for me. Watch: Remember the Lyles Rule of Internet Fuppery: If it’s too outrageous to be believed, don’t believe it.

Remember the Lyles Rule of Internet Fuppery: If it’s too outrageous to be believed, don’t believe it.

Enough of that.

However, this recent foofaraw over the attendance at the Current Occupant’s installation has given us a break out of the endless loop. Let’s recap.

Soon after the installation, this little image started popping up all over the intertubes:

Look, it said: on the left, Obama’s 2009 inauguration, and on the right, the Current Occupant’s.

That’s a pretty stark difference. Incredibly stark. Unbelievably stark (but I repeat myself).

Once again, boys and girls: Remember the Lyles Rule of Internet Fuppery: If it’s too outrageous to be believed, don’t believe it.

So my first inclination was to think, you know, I’m thinking that second photo must have been taken much earlier in the morning, before all the loyal Trumpsters found their way out of the Metro and into the daylight. Of course, the Capitol faces west, and we can already see that the second photo was at least taken… after noon? So maybe this is after the Trumpsters wandered off?

More research was required.

We will pause a moment here for a short lesson. That’s what you do, folks, when presented with evidence that makes you cock your head to one side. You go try to verify it.

But all the evidence confirmed that, sure enough, the man claiming to have swept the election in a “historic landslide”^[1] couldn’t even fill up the Mall.

Reaction was predictable. The photo was taken earlier/later in the day. (It wasn’t.) Trumpsters, being the respectable, god-bothering, horny-handed laborers that they are, had to work at their jobs (THEIR JOBS, KENNETH!) and therefore couldn’t attend the coronation. (Pffft.)

Still, there was no way of knowing, was there? Hold that thought, we’re going to come back to it in a big way.

Then, I accidentally found this:

And there you have it. The entire day, in time lapse video. VIDEO, KENNETH. No editing, no chicanery, no claiming that a 10:00 am photo was at the moment of actual inauguration. Even your racist aunt can see that the Mall never filled up.^[2]

The reaction by the Current Occupant was completely predictable. Obsessed with ratings, he went into a rage (which as late as yesterday had still not subsided) about the lying media out to get him blah blah blah. He sent out his poor press secretary to throw a tantrum in his stead, and Sean Spicer was immediately eaten alive by the world at large, including by people whose job it is to be on his side.

That was followed by the infamous Kellyanne Conway “alternative facts” appearance on Face the Nation, and off we went.^[3]

Is this important? The answer depends on the antecedent of “this.”

If “this” is “How many people were at the inauguration on Jan 20, 2017, as opposed to Jan 20, 2009?”, then no, it’s not important. Only insecure wannabe strongmen think that kind of thing is important.

However, if “this” is “What kind of relationship to the truth does the current administration have?”, then we have a real problem.

Let me preface this part of the post by saying that we should all keep in mind the principle of Trump’s Razor, i.e., the safest bet where Trump is concerned is the stupidest possible answer. It’s entirely possible that neither he nor his minions (or puppetmasters) are doing any of this on purpose.

It’s also entirely possible that doesn’t matter, because the damage is going to be the same.

First, the whole #AlternativeFacts thing is not a new phenomenon. All the way back in 2011 we had Sen. Jon Kyl (Guess which party–AZ) to kick around with his “not intended to be a factual statement” bullshit. And as I said at the time, what the hell was it intended to be, then?

The answer is that it was intended to manipulate the minds of listeners, and it still is.

And the manipulation it intends is to make you a) doubt whether anything is true; and b) not care one way or the other.

This post is too long as it is, and so to explain my point I’m going to send you off to read the following two articles:

Trump’s Lies vs. Your Brain, which describes how our brains shut down when confronted with a firehose of disinformation
Hannah Arendt Explains How Propaganda Uses Lies to Erode All Truth & Morality: An Incisive Quote from The Origins of Totalitarianism

Go. You have reading for homework.

—————

^[1] He didn’t.

^[2] Further evidence.

^[3] If nothing else, these events seem to have shaken our news media out of their stenographers‘ dreams.

Hi ho the glamorous life

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Dale

You know how it is, the endless performances and appearances that make life such a grind. This weekend, for example, I had two galas to attend, both on Saturday night.

Fortunately, they were right across the street from each other. Backstreet Arts, the dream of Kim Ramey, opens its doors next week, and started its gala at 7:00. Newnan Theatre Company, my old stomping grounds, started its gala at 8:00. So this was not a problem, despite the fact that as a performer I was supposed to be backstage at 6:30.

The purpose of the NTC gala was to announce the 2017–2018 season, i.e., the season that begins in August and runs through next year. I will be directing Rick Elice’s Peter & the Starcatcher, the dazzling, touching story of how a nameless orphan boy became Peter Pan. It auditions a year from now and opens March 8, 2018. Mark your calendars.

Here’s my intrepid cast, who performed the Prologue and a slightly modified Scene One:

Rich Aagesen, John Caldwell, JP VanSant, me, Molly McInturff, Chaz Ferguson, Kevin McInturff, puss.

We had a great time slamming it together in two rehearsals, and the audience seemed to love it. I’ll be blogging about my progress in preparing for the full production over at Lichtenbergianism.com, where I will be showing how the Precepts of Lichtenbergianism are used in practice.

I would offer to share with you the entire season, but for some reason involving schlepping back and forth between the two galas, I didn’t quite catch the whole thing.

Backstreet Arts was actually a two-parter. There was the gala on Saturday night, then an open house on Sunday afternoon. The following photos are from the open house.

The gala was swanky and elegant. The open house was casual and open to the public. Those of us who are going to instruct/assist/encourage anyone who walks in the door set up sign-up sheets for everyone. The space is large, clean, beautifully appointed.

And look at these cookies!

Here’s my little set-up:

I got five or six cards, and I’m sure that once Backstreet is fully open for business, we will slowly build a walk-in clientele from Bridging the Gap, the back of whose building we occupy.

And that’s what I did with my weekend.

Backstreet Writers

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Dale

One of my Lichtenbergian proposed efforts for this year is to develop a writing/writers program at Backstreet Arts.

As with any major project, I have a Waste Book:

I began it back in 2015, on a camping trip on a sweltering couple of days in July. Kim Ramey and I had been talking about her dream of establishing a free art studio for homeless/underserved populations, and several streams of thought had begun to merge in my life that led me to this goal.

The first was the realization that my life was no longer governed by cycles, e.g., the school year, the GHP cycle, the theatre season. I no longer knew where I would be and what I would be doing a year in advance. My life was now linear and it was up to me to plan it.

The second was an exhibit we saw in Asheville that featured the publications of Temporary Services, an organization in Chicago that publishes a broad range of work, from serious authors to folk/street/outsider writers. I began to think that I needed to be doing something similar here, although I am under no illusions that I am going to end up with a major operation like that.

So yesterday those of us who are going to offer classes/workshops at Backstreet had a meeting to begin shaping what our services were going to look like. I pulled this waste book out and looked over what I had written eighteen months ago. It was instructive.

Here are my Abortive Attempts:

It is my VISION to create a space where anyone in the community is comfortable enough to come and tell their story to the rest of the community in printed form.

It will be the MISSION of the Writing Project to produce printed material—books, booklets, pamphlets [et al.]—that reflect the history of members of the community, particularly those who have been marginalized by our society.

The art of writing is a political act.
Storytelling is innately human.
[blank]

I CONFESS THAT

In my privilege, I have no idea who the writers may be, nor what their stories are, and therefore
I have as much to learn as anyone who comes to me.
I have no idea what the needs of our writers may be.
The quality of our publications may or may not be “worth” reading, but
Every work we publish creates a new center of influence, the ripples of which may affect a reader or potential writer in ways we cannot foretell, and
The more circles of influence we can establish, the more likely it is that we will produce works of real value.

Now that I actually have to Do The Thing, I find that these scribbled notes are still valid. I have no idea of who is going to be coming to work with me. They may be nearly illiterate; they may already be polished writers. They may write drivel; they may have a compelling story to tell. They may be eager learners; they may be obnoxious know-it-alls.

In other words, it will be just like teaching writing in my classroom.

At the moment, pending further reality, I am thinking we may shoot for some kind of quarterly journal kind of thing, perhaps a 16-page booklet, that we can put out at the coffee shops, waiting rooms, etc., to create those ripples. Having a deadline and a venue for publication [AUDIENCE] is also a great motivator for anyone.

Whatever my plans are, of course, they all have to wait until I actually have writers. I’ll keep you posted.

Writing, art, and galas galore

Posted on January 16, 2017January 17, 2017 by Dale

You should do these things.

NTC Season Gala

This Sat, Jan 21, at 8:00, the Newnan Theatre Company will announce its 2017–18 season. I will be directing the big spring show, [redacted]. No, the name of the show is not [redacted]. The name of the show is literally redacted, since it hasn’t been announced yet. But I am directing it next year and will be directing a scene from it for the Gala. (I will also be appearing in it, since apparently there are not eleven males who could give up four nights in their total life to do this scene. I’m not bitter or anything. Yet.)

Backstreet Arts Gala

Backstreet Community Arts (full name) is ready to open its doors, and to celebrate they too are having a gala. And how convenient is this? It’s across the street and about the same time as NTC’s! (Both were trying to avoid competing with Newnan’s Burns Supper on the next weekend, and so they ran headlong into each other.) That’s Sat, Jan 21, at 7:00—so you could start at Backstreet and end up at NTC. I understand there will be a signature cocktail, which I did not create.

Backstreet Arts Open House

Then on Sun, Jan 22, 2:00–4:00, Backstreet will have an open house so you can come and meet the artists who will be offering classes/workshops for the target population. At both events you can give money to help support this group’s mission, which is to provide space, supplies, and instruction for those in our community who would not otherwise have the opportunity to express themselves through art.

I will be there because I will be starting the Backstreet Writers. Inspired by some of the work of Temporary Services in Chicago, I want to see if I can provide a venue for people to tell their story. That’s all I have at the moment; since I don’t know who will be interested enough to attend any seminars, nor their skill level, nor anything; all I can do is say that I’m doing this thing, welcome anyone who shows up, and then meet their needs however I can.

You will recall that this project is actually one of my Lichtenbergian Proposed Efforts. I will write in more detail about my thinking about this tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a photo of me that Kim Ramey took up against her angel wall:

You see why you want to be there.

Another new day

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Dale

You may recall that one of my goals this year was to establish a daily work schedule so that I have more structure to force myself into working.

There was no point in trying to do this until this week because reasons, but now I’m on day three of said schedule and I believe it’s working.

Step one: clear the desk — again — so that a) I have a clear view of my desktop calendar; and b) I have an actual work surface for one of my major projects.

What desktop calendar is that, you ask? This desktop calendar:

Here it is in situ:

You may be astonished that I am using a paper and pencil scheduling device, but I can explain. This is the desktop calendar I used to use at Newnan Crossing and at the Department of Education to do my planning, and it was very efficient. Yes, I still put things on my phone or my computer, but this was a handy way to jot down meetings, phone calls, etc. Mostly it kept me on track.

I used to buy these in pads from Levenger, but they stopped making them, and so I designed my own, if by “design” you mean “recreate exactly.” I still have a couple in storage, and truly I don’t know why I had this one on my desk here in the study, since I don’t really have a lot to schedule these days.

Until now. Like all good ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS, it’s a start. I have created out of nothing a list of things that I want/need to get done, and I’ve faked a schedule: blog here and at Lichtenbergianism.com; work on Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy; eat lunch and do the crossword puzzle; walk the labyrinth; plan for [redacted] and William Blake’s Inn.^[1]

That schedule will change, of course, but so far it’s driven me to work without too much procrastination. I’m writing this blog post, in fact, because the schedule says I must. Running a little late, but I can whack this out and then get back to work on the chapter on SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION.

With assistance^[2,] of course.

—————

^[1] No, there’s not a production in the offing. I’m just working on it.

^[2] For differing values of “assistance.”

Really, spammers?

Posted on December 20, 2016December 20, 2016 by Dale

This was the entirety of a spam comment today:

zfuznaoefhilrofsqmmbgtzlcntcztpaqounyhlxjefmnnzoemjvapqeuvo

It’s like they’re not even trying.

Much like my elected officials.

Lichtenbergian Goals, 2017

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Dale

First, a clarification. These are technically not “Lichtenbergian goals.” In our official ritual/agenda, they are “Proposed Efforts.” A subtle difference, and a valid distinction: if we don’t get around to doing one of them, we haven’t missed a goal. We just didn’t get around to it.

With that in mind, here are next year’s Proposed Efforts.

Lichtenbergianism

I’m carrying forward my 2016 goal to finish Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy and find a publisher for it. It’s just sheer laziness that prevented me from achieving that this past year. As I move forward, I will continue posting chapters to this website (although see below about Lichtenbergianism.com) and about my efforts to implement the strategies outlined in The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published [EGGYBP].

I will also continue building Lichtenbergianism.com, both through the blog and the introductory material.

One of the strategies in EGGYBP is to establish yourself as a speaker/workshop leader, both of which I am extremely qualified to do. I’ve already started putting out feelers and hope to start this aspect of the project soon.

Backstreet Arts writing project

Another carryover: work with Kim Ramey at Backstreet Arts on establishing a writers’ group for her audience. Basic journaling, story posters, whole books, compilations of stories—I’ll start wherever I can and go from there.

SUN TRUE FIRE

Not really a carryover, but if I’m going to compose at all, it might as well be this piece.

[REDACTED] at Newnan Theatre Company

Since it has not been officially announced, I won’t name the play I’m directing for the 2017-18 season at Newnan Theatre Company. Suffice it to say that with auditions in Jan 2018, I will spend most of 2017 preparing for the show.

For this production I am going to pull what we used to call a “full Dale” and which everywhere else is called “standard operating procedure,” i.e., full designs for costumes, sets, and lights, with individuals who are not me in charge of production. Production meetings; crew recruitment; maybe even classes to teach people how to do these things. Reach out to sewing fanatics via Jo-Ann perhaps; reach out to the artists at Backstreet; find people who aren’t involved and drag them into it.

3 Old Men

I want to continue to lead 3 Old Men, of course, but now we have another goal for the year. Burning Man’s theme for 2017 (Aug 24–Sep 4) is Radical Ritual—how can we not at least attempt to plan to go? So there’s that.

I also want to continue as Placement Lead for Alchemy and Euphoria, now that I’ve had greatness thrust upon me. Especially if we move to new land again: I want the opportunity to design a burn that becomes a home for years.

Unsilent Night

This one just developed last week when I was trying to explain the music I had used in the labyrinth for the Tour of Homes, Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night. Years ago I had tried to get in touch with Mr. Kline to see if he’d allow us to do an Unsilent Night parade in Newnan, but never heard from him. When I looked the music up to show people, I was super pleased to see that Unsilent Night now has its own webpage, and that indeed they were encouraging parades all over.

I’ve already made contact and started a Facebook group to begin planning for the event next December.