being a realist here (and not a pessimist or an optimist), but this the two biggest things about the year 2000--#1 the Y2K bug and #2 the "entering of the third millenium/biggest party the world has ever seen/threats of terrorist attacks/etc/etc/etc"--turned out to be nothing but scare tactics and way-way-over-the-top hype. Those making a fortune off scaring people over the "dreaded Y2K bug" and those who used the 1990 to 2000 year change as an excuse to charge way above normal NYE prices for anything Y2K related show that as our society moves into the year 2000, the big bug ain't the Y2K bug, it's the affect the mighty $/pound/fill-in-yer-currency-of-choice has in leading people by the nose. All of the euphoria (and it is truly euphoria, as any psychiatrist will tell ya; SAD--those for whom the darkness of the Winter means sinking to the depths of despair until the Sun comes back full force in the Spring, and the fact that right after the holidays is the worst time for those with depression and other mental difficulties, plus the highest time of the year for suicides; these things attest to the fact that what goes up must come down) of the Holiday season (Christmas/New Years/etc/etc) is good if we use it to benefit: as a *refresher* before starting a new year, as a *catalyst* to look back at what we've done wrong in the past and try to do better. But putting so much faith and/or focus on numbers-- "00"; is that 1900 or 2000 or 191000 (as some computers ended up doing)? is essentially what the "dreaded Y2K bug" comes down to in computer terms; how people deal with that is what determines just how "buggy" the Y2K changeover from 1999 to 2000 is; the year 2000, is this the end of the world? will terrorists use the festivities as a time to come together and take over? etc. etc. etc.--shows how us in the industrialized world *really* show too much concern for some things and not enough for others. If you've got a Mac, you don't have to worry about the year change (and we should be vigilant about terrorism and other threats at *all times*, not just certain ones). That leaves those with other-than- Mac computers to find out if there's a problem and then *deal with it* (Action *not* talk; 1999 seemed to be a year of nothing but "Y2K talk"). And terrorists and those who want to cause harm can do so *at any time*, is that a revelation for those in the government and policial fields? Did those in the recently-ended hijacking in Afghanistan plan their hijacking because of all the Y2K hoopla? Of course not! As a writer myself, I'm appalled at the laziness of the media who took advantage of the fact that the year 2000 was on its way and chose to rewrite those two stories--the Y2K bug and the "new millenium" hoopla--over and over and over again in 1999. Yes, there were media who chose to *reflect* on the past century, or the years 1900-1999 (to digress a moment, the new millenium *really* starts jan 1, *2001*; not to be anal and raise a not-needed thread on this, but a. c. clarke called it "2001: a space..." for a particular reason :), but i'm not poo-pooing any of the Y2K BS for that, so please don't misread this post) and used the start of the year 2000 for good: we *must* try to learn from our history or we are condemned to repeat it--too *much* focus on the future without also looking back at the past ain't gonna solve a damn thing. We've got to live in the present, look to the future, and *learn* from our past. Thinking that just because it's Jan 1, 2000 is gonna make everything all right and living with that sort of rose-glasses mentality is fine for our NYE celebrations, (we have to live high at certain times, that's just the way things are, but we've also got to live level, too) but we've got to buckle down and work on improving our society. People wrongfully imprisoned likely don't give an ess-ehh-eye-tee if it's the "year 2000/dawning of a new millenium/etc/etc" or if perhaps some computers are not Y2K compliant, ditto for those who are homeless, those who don't have access to reasonable health care, those being abused, etc, etc. We are so high and mighty in our industrialized societies to think that it's such a big deal that it's Jan 2000/etc, but there are many in the 2nd and 3rd world who go about their day to day life in a struggle *just to get by*. After ranting on here (damn, you know how that duke character can get deep into the "verbal" diarrhea (sp):)), I realize this is way off topic and I apologize for that, but I just had to let off some steam on the subject and realize that there is much much intelligence on this list and probably many (i hope :)) who might feel the same way. I'm not meaning to start a thread on this. And Nathan, please don't take any disrespect from the fact that I'm replying to your email and this is what happened! A "Happy New Year" wish is a good thing, and I'm not knocking that, I'm just reacting to the *bad* I see about Y2K. Blame it on just getting home from work and having spent the day there dealing with people who, just last night were cheery and had no troubles because of Y2K, but now are, at least subconsciously, coming to the realization that Jan 1 is just another day in the year and it's not numbers or dates that matter, it's actions and deeds. More: the homeless people I saw on the way to work first thing this morning that our city turns a blind eye to whilst it spends thousands on Y2K celebrations and the fact that the press are already sensationalizing the stabbing of George Harrison (and something similar here in Halifax) as the work of yet another person with a "mental history" (geez, Harrison's attacker obviously needed
help; if he developed an obsession with the Beatles because he listened to the Beatles 24/7 on a Walkman to try to "drown out the voices in his head" it's very possible that he has shizophrenia; had he been given the care he obviously needed, neither Harrison nor his attacker would likely have ended up in the state they are now in). Again, my apologies, I'll refrain from any more textual "yapping" now and sign off. A sincere Happy New Year to everyone on the list, let's make the year 2000 a year of realism balanced with optimism and leave the negativism out of it (or at least try). Perhaps instead of compiling best-of 1999 lists (albums, singles, etc, etc), we should come up with "313 related events/..." (heck, now I'm *on* topic :)) "...people/things/etc" that we should reflect on: the 313 gathering in Detroit of recent; live performances from the Transmat crew, 430 West/Direct Beat crew, Theorem, Brinkmann, Berliners, etc, etc, who showed us we have to keep fighting for a balance between live PAs *and* DJs to help stave off the continued rise of, to quote Alan Oldham, "DJ-as-rock-star" culture that is exponentially increasing to the detriment of the artists whose worked gets copied, played, bootlegged etc, but, too often, gets not the *proper* credit; the destruction of culture and edifices in Detroit in the name of "progress", things of that nature. It's one thing to list easy lists of what's at hand crate wise, it's easy if you're a trainspotter to let a few choice "secrets" slip, but it's another to delve deep into what it means to be a devotee of the 313 and just what that means to you. OK, OK, I'm stoppin' now. :) Andrew Duke Nathan wrote: > hi 313ers > > hope everyone on the list has a happy new year, and manages to not to > get gobbled up by that damn pesky millenium bug, i managed to escape > without a scratch :) > > also, does anyone know of any good record stores in japan, a friend is > going in feb and i want her to pick up some rekkids for me. > > btw, just bought the drexciya cd - awesome stuff! > > peace > > nathan > > np - it's time - model 500 -- Cognition/Andrew Duke's In The Mix mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://techno.ca/cognition 1096 Queen St #123 Halifax NS Canada B3H 2R9
