June 9, in NYC's Central Park
I arrived in NYC after a four hour drive from the DC area. It was a lovely summer afternoon, perfect for an outdoor gathering. The internet post asked for all press to be at the west 72nd st. entrance to the park by 2:30. This is only a stones throw from Strawberry Fields, a beautiful section onto which John Lennon's ashes were cast. A big circular mosaic with the word IMAGINE lay in the center of it all. I took this as a good omen. Since I wanted to hobnob with the celebrities I made myself a "press pass" with "Island One", "Pope Electric Yeti" and my net address on it about 30 minutes before I left the house. Since the first part of this online zine was uploaded 2 days before I left for NY, I was only slightly stretching the truth. It worked better than I hoped.
A small group of colorfully dressed people were milling about talking and playing musical instruments. Seeing my badge, I was immediately handed a press packet by Catriona Morgan, a young British woman who asked about the magazine. I told her that it was an online zine on internet, and that it gotit's name from Aldous Huxley's last book. I talked to several other Brits and a couple of Americans on the Zippy tour. I also had some interesting conversations with some of the American photographers and video people, who immediately took me for one of their own. These people, all my age or younger (26) were seasoned veterans in the art of getting the shot, no matter what it took. One man told me of his experience with Boston crack houses, and how he had been put on call to get combat footage should the North Korean situation suddenly turn hot. This was to be a restful day for these adrenaline junkies.
After we had been given the packets, we followed the musicians to Sheeps Meadow, where we all assembled near a large rock. Fraser Clark, the spokesman for the tour, was waiting for us to arrive. Fraser is a 51 year old Scotsman, who is the founder of the magazines evolution^ and Encyclopedia Psychedelica. His appearance is that of a well seasoned hippy, with a glint in his eye that suggests both intelligence and friendliness. He spoke to a group fewer than 30 young men and women, whom were dressed in everything from tie dyes to renaissance garb to leather. I was if Lewis Carrol had held a picnic and all of his characters, including Alice, showed up. A beautiful little girl, a daughter of one of the Brits, flitted about and kept me and others smiling. What a strange and beautiful world she must live in I thought, to be one of the youngest Zippies.
The voice activation circuit on my tape recorder could not pick up his soft voice. so I will have to reconstruct his words from my rapidly scribbled notes. Forgive my errors in direct transcription, but I hope to get the substance of the conversation rather than just the soundbytes. I also put some of my own thoughts into this piece, so watch out <*);^) !
[Fraser Clark]
He started by welcoming us all to the first Zippy Press Conference and immediately explained that it was being held outdoors for a reason. He said that part of the reason that urban areas are such pressure cookers is that the people have lost touch with nature. How can you expect young people to preserve the environment when they have never even seen a cow? In England raves are held outdoors, in fields, whereas in the US they are more often held inside night clubs. Part of the "Zippy Cultural Invasion" meme is to get people back in harmony with nature, but this can only be done when people experience the beauty of nature in its totality. This will happen when we can give them a good reason to come out and see it. An outdoor rave, with music and dancing and fun for all is a way accomplishing this. It satifies the need for people to be happy, and another Zippy meme of "changing the most number of people in the shortest amount of time". They are sowing the seeds a "Summer of Love II", soon to come to a field near you!
He then addressed the problems that were to be over ècome such as commercialisation and political repression. Commercialization is going to be a problem no matter what we do, it is a consequence of living in a consumer driven culture. There are those who would trivialize or ignore the important ideas of the Zippies, in favor of a quick buck. The antidote to this is that *anybody* can call themselves a Zippy. Part of the meme is to drop your style and your cultural differences and change into a Zippy for a while. The self defense of the Zippy spirit lies in the fact that no one person is the leader, that the culture is amorphous and diverse and that we are handling our own promotion. Political repression is a more serious matter, in England legislation has passed that prohibits public assembly of more than ten people! This law is in violation of several international human rights laws.
[Pope]
We can expect similar laws in "land of the free". I have read that Maryland has a "rave squad", and that they have been busting people left and right. I recently attended a Rainbow Family march in DC that is fighting for our the rights to assemble on public lands without exhorbiant permit fees. Since the Zippies are planning to end their Pronoia tour with an enormous rave in the Grand Canyon, this is a serious problem. The solution lies not in knuckling under to petty authority, but in doing it anyway. Some of us are going to go to jail, but no jail is big enough to hold everyone. When the sons and daughters of America's middle class start winding up in the pokey, then you will see these laws erased off the books. Zippify everyone!
Pope Electric Yeti
popeyeti@access.digex.net
Editor of the fastest growing online zippie magazine on the net!
Hail Eris! Save Tibet!
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