THE DAILY TRAVESTY
pre-issue
brought to you by Bradley C. Phillips
December 31, 1999
Everything changes and nothing
changes
Centuries end
and all goes on
as if nothing ever ends...
...as new suits hurry to work
in swaying
skyscrapers
as newsboys still cry out
announcing the latest lunacy
And
laughter arises
on the distant sea
-- Lawrence Ferlingnetti,
from A
Far Rockaway of the Heart
"When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Turn Pro"
Are you ready for tonight? The universe (and some of
you, I'm sure) doesn't give a damn. Neither does the rest of human
society, We Who Constructed This Moment, We Who Have Given This Moment Meaning,
and We Who Shall See It Through no matter what. Such is the power of the
human imagination, and it would serve each and every one of us not to
forget that, especially when one of our own creations is breathing down our
necks this very instant. Is this a significant moment? Yes it is--
and no it isn't. It is because so many people in our western culture
believe that it is, and will celebrate it as such. It isn't because,
totally ignoring the philosophical arguments such as "time
doesn't exist," from a technical viewpoint the century and the millennium don't
really end until a year from today. Most people are now aware of this but
have decided not to care. I think this is mostly due to the
corporate-controlled media, who have already invested too much of their money
and reputation in the hype to back out now, and so on it goes, simultaneously
exciting and nauseating. If I hear that catchy phrase "Y2K" one more
time...
I don't have any plans yet. I will probably end up
sitting in my room engaged in a quiet moment. I was invited to a couple of
parties, but frankly I don't want to party, and for once, I don't want to get
drunk. I have decided I would rather "be serious" during this important
transition. No, it isn't important for any reason other than we've all
decided to make it important, but that, if anything, makes it even more
important, at least to me, because it marks tonight as a turning point
in the collective human psyche. Laugh if you want, but when we wake up
tomorrow morning (those of us who wake up), odds are something
will feel different, even if it is impossible to articulate, even if everything
appears exactly as it always has. Maybe this is just because we
now get to attach the number "2000" to everything, maybe it's something
more. Maybe it's general relief about surviving what could have been the
"apocalypse," (c'mon, even you were afraid for at least an second)
mixed with awe that we are now living in not only the 21st century (Oooo....)
but the 3rd official millennium, B.C. (another all-powerful designation of
questionable origin). Certainly it's a combination of pride, reverence,
and hopeful expectation. Pleasant feelings, to be sure. Instead of
getting inebriated, I've decided to pay attention and keep my faculties
open. It feels right to me, as one who likes to ride the waves. This
year I have a lot to be thankful for, but most of it is so personal that to
share it with anyone else would be sort of beside the point. So, I'll
keep my own company, and enjoy it, and when I come out of the haze next month,
(next century, next millennium...) I know, as sure as I know that spring follows
winter, they'll be a whole new world to embrace. That is, of course, just
my trip. I hope you enjoy your own. ++
O! Wanderers in the shadowed
land
despair not! For though dark they
stand,
all woods there be must end at
last,
and see the open sun go
past:
the setting sun, the rising
sun,
the day's end, or the day
begun.
For east or west all woods must
fail...
-J.R.R. Tolkien
More to come-- first issue January
3, 2000. Please pass this on to anyone you deem
receptive. You can email bcphillips@chesapeake.net with
questions or comments.
Thanks this issue to Eric Francis for providing me with the
Ferlingnetti quote, among other
things.