This week's Observations
Rock off with socks off – or, is it “out”? Well, something.
1. Last night, my housemate and I stayed up drinking coffee and then went to The Earl to see my friend’s band, the Selmanaires. It was extreme fun. If you’re in the Atlanta area and are looking for a source of Gang of Four + Talking Heads + um, The Selmanaires, go see this band, I say.
Inquiring Minds.
2. Sometimes as part of my job at Small Publication, I get the chance to attend that Ultimate Thrill of events, the press conference. Which, as you know, is that occasion in which a representative from Thing X talks about some new development –or answers questions about some controversy. (Apologies for any intentional vagueness that follows. You get the gist.)
The conference I went to this week was the former. Let’s call it a Rah-Rah Conference, for the sake of pithiness.
Rah-Rah Conferences are promoted as some wonderful outgrowth of democracy itself – a chance for The People to get the truth straight from the source. For the laymen in the crowd, I’ll edify: First, a press release is emailed or faxed. And no matter how it’s actually written, what it really says is:
"Here’s this wonderful new thing that folks across the metro area are celebrating! And-! At 11:00 o’clock today, they will get to hear all about it!!
!!!!"
It’s written as if whole throngs of citizenry will be there. And marching bands.
Only it’s always more press than People who actually show. Because the press were the only ones who got the release.
At the conference earlier this week, that was so much the case that the podium was set up in this little room facing the gang o’ press, who went on about their merry camera-rolling, photo-snapping business. And took up all the space, so that the actual attendees (a few madly clapping city officials) were shoved off, into a side room. In effect, providing the necessary sound effects for that night’s news-spots.
And in other words, the ultimate in Anthropology.
Thought for the day:
“Space music”- Is this a genre, now? Have I missed something?
Rock off with socks off – or, is it “out”? Well, something.
1. Last night, my housemate and I stayed up drinking coffee and then went to The Earl to see my friend’s band, the Selmanaires. It was extreme fun. If you’re in the Atlanta area and are looking for a source of Gang of Four + Talking Heads + um, The Selmanaires, go see this band, I say.
Inquiring Minds.
2. Sometimes as part of my job at Small Publication, I get the chance to attend that Ultimate Thrill of events, the press conference. Which, as you know, is that occasion in which a representative from Thing X talks about some new development –or answers questions about some controversy. (Apologies for any intentional vagueness that follows. You get the gist.)
The conference I went to this week was the former. Let’s call it a Rah-Rah Conference, for the sake of pithiness.
Rah-Rah Conferences are promoted as some wonderful outgrowth of democracy itself – a chance for The People to get the truth straight from the source. For the laymen in the crowd, I’ll edify: First, a press release is emailed or faxed. And no matter how it’s actually written, what it really says is:
"Here’s this wonderful new thing that folks across the metro area are celebrating! And-! At 11:00 o’clock today, they will get to hear all about it!!
!!!!"
It’s written as if whole throngs of citizenry will be there. And marching bands.
Only it’s always more press than People who actually show. Because the press were the only ones who got the release.
At the conference earlier this week, that was so much the case that the podium was set up in this little room facing the gang o’ press, who went on about their merry camera-rolling, photo-snapping business. And took up all the space, so that the actual attendees (a few madly clapping city officials) were shoved off, into a side room. In effect, providing the necessary sound effects for that night’s news-spots.
And in other words, the ultimate in Anthropology.
Thought for the day:
“Space music”- Is this a genre, now? Have I missed something?
posted by Alice at 11:17 AM
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