Before I could even talk about it, it's over. PBS just finished running a 6 hour series called The Circus that I became addicted to without realizing why. I'm not really a circus guy. If you said "let's go to the circus" I'd probably meh you to death. But I did do traveling theater for six months and do remember the life, and there are similarities. And when I saw this I immediately got caught up in it. I'm not going to go into a big explanation except to say it's a year in the life of the Big Apple Circus and there are six episodes but they played them in three two-hour segments which I disagreed with. It should have been six one-hours. There are some truly fantastic performers and somewhat complex but always accessible people that we look in on. It will really get you involved. If it ever comes back again, which it probably will, I highly recommend it. Highly. What was most amazing to me are the people who are EIGHTH and NINTH GENERATION circus performers. That's like - your family has been doing this since the 18th century. WTF??? I can't even imagine that. And I can't tell you how cool it would be to be a circus kid (click photo). Please don't "OMG I hate clowns" in the comments though, okay? I know. We all know. The three clowns in this circus are anything but scary.I know a lot of you have stopped listening and caring after this stupid election cycle already. But I can't help but notice how all this piss and vinegar about the Bold New Wave moving through Congress on the crest of Tea Party Patriot enthusiasm is now subtly changing into "well you know we have to be realistic about this" and "well I don't know we have to study the problem" and "we can't be too rash" and blah blah equivocating blah. What's more amazing are the loonycon numb nuts who thought that wasn't going to happen. All i can say is PAAAAAAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHA. Bunch of Farco Barnes idiots...I'm reading this book about the "roaring 20's" and it's pretty good. What strikes me is the relation between the 1920's Ku Klux Klan and the political mood here in the 2010's. In the 20's 40,000 Klan members marched en masse in DC and it had elements of Kiwanis but was still based on American exceptionalism and created echos that still exist today. You know, the usual "if the rest of the world did it our way the world would be so much better" crap. Need more space to draw closer parallels but it was eye-opening to me how the same sentiments that saw the rise of the Klans then are still fueling the right wing bullshit artists of today; all these damn ruinous immigrants, Protestant supremacy, virtue and values, the evil influence of the media, and so much more. But it isn't all that. the part about the flappers and Al Capone and Dorothy Parker are very cool too. I just keep thinking, reading it, that I'm reading about today as much as then. Proof we've learned nothing. I like the quote "nothing is more dangerous to democracy than the anger of the uninformed common man." The problem with bullet posts is that no matter how interesting the rest are, people only comment about the last bullet. I hate that.
4 comments:
Not me, I wanted to comment about the first bullet.
I hate that prescribed fear and loathing of clowns thing. People toss it about like it proves they're cool or something. My dad was a clown. His dad before him was a Vaudeville clown and performer from when he was a child on the Mid West circuit. The whole fear of clowns thing is just so Eighties.
I know a fantastic drummer who joined the circus, left, and ended up going back. Our mutual friend was SO mad (fellow bandmate), but I was like, "once a carny, always a carny", and I was joking, but it's true, I think!
Oh - and the drummer was/ is dating one of the extortionist girls. So, um - no brainer!
Totally gonna have to get that book - I love reading about the 20's, in general!
Just because you said something, I'm not gonna comment at all on the last bullet. So there. :P
I think the same thing happens politically whenever any group, conservative or liberal, is elected into office. While they are running they are all gung ho, then they get into office and it's more like ho hum. Gung ho hum. See what I did there?
And since you are forcing me to comment on the last bullet point by pointing out that people only comment on the last bullet and I usually never comment on the last bullet, here goes: The Klan...man, they are/were a bummer, eh?
"nothing is more dangerous to democracy than the anger of the uninformed common man."
The productions of which seems to be our fastest-growing industry.
If I can get through the Seattle winter* without slitting my wrists, I'll have convinced myself that emigrating to Canada might be tolerable.
*(I know there are much harsher winters to be had in the States, but not many that are more dark...)
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