Messages

[Edited to add:]

Edited to add: I'm riffing on ideas and brainstorming - I don't mean to change your direction or anything.  Good to discuss this stuff.

No, this is great stuff. I hadn't thought of the one-issue implications of focusing on a particular aspect of the campaign. I like the poster that you made. However, off the top of my head, here's a change that could be made to the skeleton that would go with your proclivity for surrealism or culture jamming, sans the fancy graphics, since I suck at graphic software:

"Hope.
Education.
Leadership.
Learning.

Vote "Yes" this upcoming election.

Right and Wrong/The Only Options?

    McBamaforprez.com"

This way, the HELL acronym can come into play (who knows? maybe a political poster with 'HELL' on it would get posted to failblog.com or something, which would be free publicity) and the ambiguity is preserved. If there is anyone who knows how to set up a domain name and is ambitious enough, we could even set up a mock website to go along with it.

I'm not sure if my train of thought is derailing here or not, but a lot of ideas are having an orgy in my mind about playing on ambiguity. Maybe they'll form into something that's not a complete waste. Until that happens, I think I'll just borrow (read: blatantly rip off and steal) your poster and do a quick post around town. The Obama for President offices are right down the street from me, and I've been dying to put something up there . . .

My interest is generally in creating "new" ideas rather than adapting old ones. and personally, I'm more interested in surreal than political posters. But hey, culture jamming is good work - do you have any ideas?

I have the birth pangs of a few ideas, but nothing super-fleshed out yet. Whatever is done with it, I think that the messages that are GASM'd should be based on truth, and should be applied to both parties. For example, say Obama/McCain supports abortion (I don't know if they do, really, but just as a hypothetical), we could make posters with the tagline of something like, "Support the lesser evil. Vote for _____." Then in smaller print: "Sponsored by Citizens for the Promotion of Death." I think that one of the greatest unexplored facets of irony is simply the reversal of definitions. Instead of naming a hypothetical organization "Citizens for the Spread of the American Dream," an equally true yet ironic definition would be to call it "Citizens for the Destruction of Thought."

I'm thinking that the humor of any modern-day Project Eagle posters would HAVE to come from irony contained within the name of the "sponsoring organization." People are just too used to mud-slinging bumperstickers nowadays to be phased by them. When adding irony to the logos doesn't work, we have to screw with the ethos of the one using the logos.

-Weaknesses: Conceited; Does not know how to use any graphics software or image manipulation software beyond MS Paint;

you'll get along just fine!


Hey, do you think the current POSTERGASM wiki page could be organized better? I'd be interested in hearing what you think.

Also, if anybody is up for mucking around in wikicode (IT'S SO FREAKING EASY TO LEARN), there's definitely stuff that blackironprison.com needs.

I actually really like the setup of that Wiki page. The only things that I would change, if I had unlimited autocratic power, would be:

1) Make the "Mission" and "Objective" sections their own sub-headings, like the "Materials" Sub-heading. That way new users' eyes can be instantly drawn to the important sections they're looking for.

2) Transfer the "Why I put up posters" essay to a new sub-heading titled something like "PosterGASM in Action." Another good thing to put under this section would be to include links to people's flickr/photobucket pages, so that a new BIP visitor will see that people actually DO this stuff and don't just talk about it. The pics that are already on the page are a good start, but it would be neat to see a more fleshed-out archive link that went to some of the more notable posters, or links that go to individuals' pages.

3) A more long-term goal: a section which outlines the laws about where posters may be legally put up. I know a few Discordians-in-the-works who are a bit intimidated, thinking that they'll get carted off in a paddy wagon for putting a sign up on a telephone pole or something.

4) Even more long-term: a section which gives illegal places/ways to put stuff up, and how (hypothetically, of course ) one would go about doing it without getting caught. For example, I have tried (and on a few occasions, nearly been caught) carving the message into a less-than public place (not civilian property, mind you; that would be an asshole thing to do) so that my hard work wouldn't be torn down in an hour by a zealous cleaning crew. This section could expand into a whole new Wiki page, called "NinjaGASM," or something.

And that's it, really. Minor criticisms, because the page is pretty solid as it is right now.

~Happiness

Hey, folks,

Newbie question here, but I am a newbie so I'm gonna have at it:

Concerning PosterGASM, is there anyone working on formatting posters/messages to modernize the ideas set down in the original Project Eagle? You know, the whole "Burn the polls ye sons of freedom" crap. I was just thinking that it might be a prime opportunity to do our own political campaigning. It might even be helpful to form mock political support parties to advertise messages, instead of just posting random posters around.

Granted, I'm not too into politics, but the idea of putting up posters with small text that says "Sponsored by The Two-Man Con, Inc.", or other such nonsense, sounds like a lot of fun.

I'm sure that, given a day or two to ruminate, good puns on "Democrat," "Obama," "McCain," "Vote," "Polls," etc. are sure to arise.

Okay, I'm done. Dissect/discuss/flame/posit intellectual queries at your leisure.

Happiness,
Jacob,
a.k.a. M.O.,
a.k.a. DPR

Hey gang,

I was just writing to add myself as a volunteer for any particular GASM/project that anyone might have going on. I'm from the central Ohio, U.S.A. area, so if you need any coverage for that area, just ask and I'll be glad to help, just as long as what you need done is something clever and fun. If not then what's the point, right?

In the interests of user-friendliness, I'll outline my current projects and strengths. I'll also throw in some weaknesses for anyone to utilize/cleverly exploit.

-Current projects: PosterGASM (Dayton, OH); OMigami
-Strengths: Writing skills (humorous or otherwise; I suck at traditional rhythmic verse in pentameter or hexameter, but everything else is good to go); Literary Interpretation skills; Minor law knowledge; Research skills; Planning skills; Cooking skills (except souffle making; that crap is alchemical and impossible to bake well); Public speaking experience; Access to business contacts; Access to color printer/computer; Can type with toes at 26 wpm; Owns traditional Japanese kimono and martial arts gi; Has read "Ulysses," by James Joyce.
-Weaknesses: Conceited; Does not know how to use any graphics software or image manipulation software beyond MS Paint; Eats chocolate and cheese together; Does not understand the ideas of Thomas Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus," and cannot make sense of "Finnegan's Wake," by James Joyce; Suffers from a minor case of depression; Can't hold breath for more than forty seconds underwater.

Happiness,
Jacob,
a.k.a. M.O.,
a.k.a. DPR