I am going to throw some ideas out there, I just want to write them down and see what sticks. As readers, I really need your hep. Please comment.  These are subjects I already write about, but I want to give this site some direction. Or maybe these are other sites altogether.  This is in some ways about branding myself as a writer. What I am looking for a way to write about something other than myself . I want to create something greater than me.  

I have already eliminated any kind of nerdy site, while those things interest me greatly. There are much more committed fans of comics, video games, RPGs, gadgets and tall things media out there that are doing fine work.  I am not interested in competing in that field. 

I am also open to doing some sort of group blogging, a collective if you will like Boing Boing. So if you are reading this, and you are also writing, lets talk and make some magic. 

Spaceman: Urban Philosopher. The quest for the Philosopher’s Stone.  Giving a modern philisophical bent towards the blog, writing about the courses I’ve taken, the books I read, the magic and alchemy I practice.  This is a aspect of myself that is very important and that I am passionate about, but that I somewhat pass over when I write now.  Everything from Crowley to Landmark, from Harry Potter to Tim Leary, from Sex Magick to Echart Tolle and Oprah. I always wanted to call myself a philosopher.  

The Crasher’s Guide.  I am really seeing that we are on the cusp of some serious and challenging time. I shudder to say that we are in the midst of a total economic crash. I fear that there is no way out. This blog would be about the ways to deal with the hard times. Money saving ideas, gardening tips, basic survival, and how to have fun at the end of the world.  My thought is that whatever is going to happen with the economy is what is going to happen. The trick will be to stay afloat, stay light, bob, weave, have fun.  But, I don’t want to be a doom prophesier.  Ultimately, I want to foster the coming of a new kind of economy, one that works for everyone. 

The New Networker I know a lot of people. I like to think of myself as a natural networker of people. I have been looking at ways to help everyone in these times. So many of my friends have amazing skills, companies, things for sale, etc. I am thinking a site kind of like Craig’s List, only on a smaller scale, specific to my community here in LA. Film people, event people, performers, entrepreneurs, programmers, teachers, builders, photographers, writers, artists, coordinators…and on and on!  I want to bring all of us together to support each other. A micro social network. Again, I want to create a new kind of economic way. 

 The View From Space Already, I have named my blog this. This would be a fictional account, inspired by reality, of the world from a point of view of a dimensional traveller trapped her on our earth. It would be a view of the planet and our culture from the point of view of Spaceman, who is an outsider.  I know this could be really fun. Though, there wouldn’t be much of this “ten things I love about my life” stuff. Instead it would be more of a “why can’t you people see how messed up your world is, and here’s what you can do to fix it.”  Spaceman is an aspect of my self, my muse if you will, my genius, my daemon. It might be very very valuable to channel him.

Mini Sagas  Mini sagas only. This is the least likely. I love the mini sagas, and I intend to continue them for the year, But I want to distinguish them from these ideas. No matter what, they will probably end up somewhere else.  It is a great exercise in creativity and I look forward to collecting them.  

So those are the ideas I have now. All of them, except the networker site are also possible ways to release a book as small chunks to be collected later. Please give me some input, friends.

I noticed a few things when I was visiting Micky’s Kingdom the other day.  I have always been a big fan of Walt and his creation. There is no denying that it is a magical creation, one that has inspired millions and millions of people. His little mouse drawing is one of the most recognizable images in the world, probably the most recognizable! 

I noticed some interesting things about Disneyland culture though when I went there. These are never intended outcomes of Walt’s Dream (we think, some say he is frozen beneath Main Street, perhaps feeding marketing execs brilliant messages). I’m going to go ahead and collect them here. 

 I noticed a lot of little princesses at Disneyland. They were wearing licensed princess costumes. Two things, they get special treatment from Disney Cast Members and the give the little ones an experience of being the myth. They are royalty and can have anything they want. The one little boy I saw experiencing this magic was wielding a storm trooper rifle. I approved.  It should also be noted that adults cannot dress up as Disney characters and go to Disneyland.

I figured out a new classification. Disigoths. Like Visigoths, but more emo and with Jack Skellington tattoos. 

I kept noticing these kids with lanyards holding their season passes studded with little pins. Apparently there is this whole culture of pin trading going on at Disneyland.  They go up to any cast member and the cast member MUST trade with them whatever pin they want. There are whole books about the process. It’s insane. It defines a sort of Disney Elite User. Amazing. 
I find the Disney elites fascinating. There is this whole deep culture there. There are so many season pass holders who just go to the Theme Park to unwind after a hard day once the crowds have gone home. 

I noticed a few other things, but they are coming as mini sagas. 

So I came across this term in a Wired Jargon Watch yesterday.

Dark marketing n. Discreetly sponsored online and real-world entertainment intended to reach hipster audiences that would ordinarily shun corporate shilling. McDonald’s is the latest mega-brand to adopt this paradoxical promotional tool, with an alternate-reality game called The Lost Ring, nearly devoid of golden arches.

Another example of this would be the Camel “underground” party at the Mayan a few weeks back with the Mutaytor at the Mayan. They gave out free smokes, airbrush hats and shirts (I got a trucker hat that said “Spaceman” on it) and really lame furry hats (I used mine as a punishment hat, like if you said something lame, you had to wear it).

I am no enemy of marketing. I like marketing. I also find it very interesting, this new breed. Marketing is like a virus, right? We, as media savvy consumers have built up pretty strong immunities to most types of marketing. We generally don’t watch TV or fast forward through commercials. We choose brands based on “objective” reports on the internets. We shop for clothes that specifically do not advertise. We know music because our friends play it or give it to us. We are the hip, elusive market they are looking for.

This viral dark marketing is a way to circumvent all that. It’s a way for our participation in the marketing to invest us into it. We can get mad at the corporations for trying to sell to us, or we can just learn to stop worrying and love the man. They even gave it a cool, secret name. Makes me think of black magic or something. And in a way, advertising is like that. It’s a dark art.

The thing is, the way that these companies are going to reach us is through us. We are both the medium and the target.  How do we practice dark consuming, i wonder?  How do we use their financing to entertain ourselves and our friends?  Its already happening all around us. Why should we resist?

By the way, this post was written on a macbook.