Saturday, January 19, 2002

WHO'S REALLY RESPONSIBLE for the Enron debacle? According to one commentator, we all are.

posted by clark 3:22 PM

SOME LOYAL READERS have reported problems sending email to clark@speakeasy.org lately. We're working on it. Keep trying. Thanks for your support.

PLANNING FOR THE BIG THE BIG MISCparty, meanwhile, continues apace. We've got a scrumptous live band and two sizzling fun-pop DJs, plus odd snacks, wacky video footage, and much much more. It's Sat., Jan. 26, 6-11 p.m. at the lovely Second Avenue Pizza, 2nd near Virginia in downtown Seattle.

AND A PERSONAL SIDE PROJECT of mine, the second incarnation of the gorgeous photo exhibition "Signifying Nothing," premieres Thurs., Feb. 7, 6 pm-whenever, at the Zeitgeist coffeehouse, 2nd Ave. S. and S. Jackson St. in the heart of historic Pioneer Square. Be there or be trapezoidal.

posted by clark 10:41 AM

Friday, January 18, 2002

THERE ARE ODD TV COMMERCIALS, then there are the truly, utterly strange, quasi-surreal spots that make you wonder what the ad agency people were drinking; or, in this next case, eating.

The spot I describe aired on various network daytime shows in early January. It opens with a business-suited yes man addressing "Governor Kempthorne." The scene opens up to reveal a replica of the Idaho governor's office, with the real governor seated at the desk. The aide continues, "Good news. There's only one person more popular than you--Spuddy Buddy."

A poorly drawn cartoon potato suddenly pops up on screen. He dances and sings the praises of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries, and assorted other ways you can devour his tuber brethern. The half-minute closes with the governor telling the potato toon, "I hope you're not running for office anytime soon."

The Spuddy Buddy character was created by the state's potato commission two or three years back, at least partly as an icon for children's merchandising. A major PR agency spent untold bucks and person-hours researching ways to get consumers to demand Idaho spuds instead of whatever's cheapest, and apparently decided a lovable spokescritter would be a great teach-'em-while-they're-young concept.

The cartoon spud, however awkward looking, does have enough fans to generate at least one fan-fiction story of a sort, to be mentioned as a prop in other net-fiction, and the subject of speculators' attempts to create a new Beanie Baby-style collecting fad.

But the figure has a different meaning for me. He reminds me of my lonely-college-boy days in the UW School of Communications. The advertising majors loved to scoff at us editorial-journalism majors, boasting that they were sure to get high-paying careers and we weren't.

Then, one day in a Communications Building classroom, I saw the image that made me decide once and for all to follow my dream and avoid the suckup world of bigtime corporate advertising. As you might be guessing, it was a storyboard for a mock TV commercial featuring a singing, dancing cartoon potato.

I'm thinking I ought to send out for the Spuddy Buddy plush doll, as a reminder of the ol' road-not-taken thang.

posted by clark 5:57 PM

BENJAMIN BARBER SEZ the post-Taliban era's a great opportunity to revive the idea of real democracy (rather than mere capitalism).

posted by clark 1:31 PM

THERE'VE BEEN WACKY and dubious "investment opportunities" on the web before (aguably, the whole civilian Internet has been one big wacky and dubious "investment opportunity"). But this just might be the prize of the bunch. Someone's trying to line up investors to start a chain of hetero anonymous-sex clubs. You'd be steered into a totally-darkened bedroom and be met by an opposite-gender patron you'd never met before and might never meet again. Left unanswered by the entrepreneur-wannabe: If this is a non-prostitution enterprise (i.e., one in which everyone pays at least something to participate), how is it going to attract paying female patrons? (Found by Memepool.)

posted by clark 12:01 PM

THIS PROJECT is bound to be just the cutest li'l thing--an in-the-works Chris Ballew tribute album! I'd love to record a version of "Volcano," if they'll use it.

posted by clark 1:36 AM

Thursday, January 17, 2002

IT HAD TO HAPPEN SOMEDAY: Pagan tracts, completely sincere yet still bearing the potential to annoy your Fundamentalist neighbors. (Found by Blogatelle.)

posted by clark 11:05 AM

HERE'S THE FIRST consistently entertaining thing the Spumco animation studio has produced in years (yes, that includes the new Fox cartoon The Ripping Friends, which I promise to review here soon). Even odder, it's hosted on the site of the essentially on-hiatus local label C/Z Records. (Found by Captain Rooba's Riposte.)

posted by clark 10:53 AM

IT'S ANOTHER SAD DAY for our fave dishwater-blonde goddess.

posted by clark 10:45 AM

IF YOU EAT SNACK FOODS, you're in cahoots with GW Bush's assailant!

posted by clark 10:26 AM

ARCHIVES:

• Past weblog entries.
• 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, and 1986-94 columns.
• Reviews of literature & art, nonfiction & culture criticism, movies & videos, and music & noise.
• Longer articles and essays.
• Some slightly weird little fiction pieces.
• X-Word crossword puzzles, now with on-screen solving.
• Cyber Stuff, links to cool and/or useful sites.
• A listing of many Things I Like (and a few things I hate).
• The origin and future of MISCmedia.