If Lady Ga Ga is pop culture's answer to Google, then in order to hasten a reactionary paradigm shift and avoid an infinite regression into absurdism, the world needs PooPoo, a social network where people post videos of their favorite short experiences that are not really useful or meaningful: pet rocks, abstract art, trash, random patches of ground, cloud formations, noise, actual poopoos, etc. Competition would allow the most compelling abstract statements to "rise to the top". Algorithms and crowdsourcing would categorize "poos", give them semantic meaning and create interest groups. Users would benefit by developing an unbiased aesthetic sense. French toilets have in-bowl shelves for stool examination.-- JesusHChrist, Feb 21 2011 Radio Ga Ga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_GagaProphetic. [8th of 7, Feb 21 2011] Dada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada [hippo, Feb 21 2011] Youtube: Woodturning - a small simple vase http://www.youtube....watch?v=Ee5BkT3KBz4(144,365 hits at time of posting) why don't you turn off your tv set and watch something more interesting instead [zen_tom, Feb 22 2011] Youtube: pet rocks http://www.youtube....uery=pet+rocks&aq=f [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: Abstract art http://www.youtube....y=abstract+art&aq=f [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: Trash http://www.youtube....=Trash+rubbish&aq=fThis one was trickier! [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: random patches of ground http://www.youtube....+the+ground%22&aq=fHardest yet! You are teasing us now! [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: cloud formations http://www.youtube....oud+formations&aq=fToo easy [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: noise http://www.youtube....ound+deafening&aq=fAlmost beaten by this one! [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] Youtube: actual poopoo http://www.youtube....ery=poo+faeces&aq=fWell I dinn't like to try too hard on this one. [pocmloc, Feb 23 2011] That last sentence is important to the world. It needs to be conceptually condensed into a mind bomb somehow. My situationsim has been languishing from disuse, so all I can think of is to begin calling certain media french poop shelf.-- rcarty, Feb 21 2011 Actually this idea captures everything I want to say about contemporary society in one steaming load.
This is what the spectacle of the camera, and news reporting and all of electronic media does. It takes whatever, everything, a song someone sang, a party someone went to, some shit someone saw somewhere at some time and temporary slows it down from disappearing into the past.
I wonder how advanced our society would be if every little thing people did didn't sit on the french poop shelf until it dries stale and cold then flushed away only after it's been viewed by countelss eyes only to make room for another steaming pile not quite exactlly the same, but similar enough to the last one to ensure it's interesting.-- rcarty, Feb 21 2011 <Andy Warhol>
"In the future, everyone's shit will be world-famous for 15 minutes."
</Andy Warhol>-- 8th of 7, Feb 21 2011 Mmm? That anno? That one right there? Why are you concerned with that anno? Because it's there on the shit shelf?
I merely said it in passing.-- rcarty, Feb 21 2011 If you go out into the woods, your shit will be out in the open, for anyone (or anything) that passes, free to inspect.
Not sure, but I think that serves to further point out the limitations in this French-toilet=society/life analogy that we're exploring here.
Also, as a boy, the joke was that French toilets were simply holes in the ground - based on the most basic of campsite amenities. I'm not sure that helps either, but there you are.
Finally, if TV annoys you, watch less TV. Seriously - that's what I do, and I am a *lot* more comfortable these days. It actually took me much longer than I care to admit to properly figure out, despite the seeming simplicity of the suggestion, but there you are.
I'm currently considering woodworking as an alternative. I recently watched someone scraping out a vase entirely out of a single piece of wood, and would really like to be able to do that myself. Current televisions might set you back £400-£500 (up to £1500 if you want a really big one) and I've not yet looked it up, but I imagine a lathe might have a similar sort of price-tag in terms of initial outlay - far more restful than forcing yourself to watch things you hate - and, surprisingly perhaps, once you leave the TV alone, or at least begin treating it with the contempt it deserves, you begin to realise that it doesn't reflect actual society at all, what appears on there is all pretty much specific to TV-world (that is, the fluff, the News is more reasonable, at least it is here in the UK, can't comment on Partisan News in the US, except to say that it seems to be largely produced for the entertainment of one polarised political block, or the other, and hence, fairly worthless unless you are entertained by that kind of thing)-- zen_tom, Feb 21 2011 I think the point is that people constantly do the things we record -- thinking, singing, pooping, partying -- electronic media is absorbing it all now. This is basically the situationist argument that we become spectators to our own cultural production. I could have continued on in a long winded monologue soliloquy but because of the medium - online discussion board thing - the content was tailored to fit the medium -- so it can be looked at easily <--KEY POINT. I might have explained it all beautifully if I wrote a five thousand word essay, or if we were talking face to face I could have told you all the wonderful things that I know about this subject which I have studied quite a bit that I wont write here because I'm lazy... and the medium effect too.
The point is the medium interrupts by creating a long spectator period.-- rcarty, Feb 21 2011 Watson declares Toronto an American city.-- rcarty, Feb 22 2011 I gave a [-] because of what I think of this idea. But I'm sure you are going to be a Millionaire.-- pashute, Feb 22 2011 //once you leave the TV alone, or at least begin treating it with the contempt it deserves//
If this statement were a woman I would marry her.
//you begin to realise that it doesn't reflect actual society at all//
This, unfrtunately, is untrue. T.V. doesn't reflect a *functional* society. Society, however, bends over backwards to emmulate t.v.-- MikeD, Feb 22 2011 [+] kill your tv and vote for [JesusHChrist] for president!-- xandram, Feb 22 2011 [zen_tom], go on, get yourself a lathe. It is relaxing and exciting at the same time. It is easy to learn and not that expensive. Get secondhand stuff at first. Don't forget a good machine for sharpening!-- zeno, Feb 22 2011 Toronto Mississippi?-- RayfordSteele, Feb 22 2011 What was the answer?-- rcarty, Feb 23 2011 //a good machine for sharpening// I'm not sure I would classify an oilstone as a “machine”!-- pocmloc, Feb 23 2011 There must be some misunderstanding. I didn't mean for this to be a facetious proposal.-- JesusHChrist, Feb 23 2011 Sorry, no, your proposal was excellent and I am in total agreement with you that sharpness is essential. But rather than relying on a machine I was suggesting hand-sharpening was quicker, easier and better for the tools and for the work.
No, pedants, the hand itself is meant to remain blunt.-- pocmloc, Feb 23 2011 I think I prefer the old-school-ness of hand-sharpening, far more rewarding to be able to maintain an edge using only hand, eye and technique.
//I didn't mean for this to be a facetious proposal. // + //the world needs PooPoo// = paradox alert. Interestingly, I wonder whether there is a direct connection between the words facetious and faeces.
//a social network where people post videos of their favorite short experiences that are not really useful or meaningful// - so basically YouTube then - you know that thing where you can post anything you want, like //pet rocks, abstract art, trash, random patches of ground, cloud formations, noise, actual poopoos, etc*// or for example a video of you doing some woodturning perhaps?
* here's a challenge: Can anyone find YouTube video examples of each of these things?
I may put up some video of me sharpening things on YouTube, you're welcome to watch those as well if you want.
So I'd generally say this was widely known (and demonstrated) to exist i.e. YouTube.-- zen_tom, Feb 23 2011 Where are we in the conflict fray? Situationism X spectator = situationist-spectator. Spectator destroys technological medium. Production detourned into destruction.
Medium is conflict event. Debord action dialectic is ultimately to destroy technological medium.-- rcarty, Feb 23 2011 Not sure what a "situationist" is, but it sounds like some kind of sociological post-modernist stuff.
In what way does anyone *not* absorb their own cultural production? - sorry, I clearly don't understand - did Michaelangelo never look at his own ceilings?
//Medium is conflict event. Debord action dialectic is ultimately to destroy technological medium.//
What does this actually mean?-- zen_tom, Feb 23 2011 [zentom] see links-- pocmloc, Feb 23 2011 //...all I can think of is to begin calling certain media french poop shelf.//
The easy joke here is "I've been calling France that for years."
The even easier joke is "you watch too much American Idol."-- shapu, Feb 23 2011 Well everything is on a scale of book to poop.-- rcarty, Feb 23 2011 random, halfbakery