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From the notes of Kris Saknussemm... Travel becomes Tourism. This Sacred - > Profane style degeneration is hardly an isolated phenomenon—in fact it might seem to be a Deep Algorithm. But I think the progenitors of the Tourism Age can to some extent be forgiven. It's fine to say now that they should've extrapolated—seen ahead to what large-scale, organized, budget-minded transportation of people around the world for the purposes of recreation or information, fulfillment of some kind—what that would mean. What impact. Think of Tahiti and Hawaii, Venice and Dubrovnik. Yellowstone National Park.) The problem is the Education has so much more to do with Tourism than with Travel—and has for several decades. Public Education tried to apply the values of Trade School (standardization, consistency, certification) to a Liberal Arts model…while wholesale abandoning the Trade School and apprenticeship streams. Meanwhile, Liberal Arts succumbed to customer service. Here's the concluding sentence of one of my students' analysis of the essay “The Loss of the Creature” by Walker Percy, which is as much about this theme / crisis as anything can be. “If you don't know the significance of William Faulkner, the story of Robinson Crusoe, the message within A Brave New World, or the man who discovered insulin, it may be very difficult to understand, and Percy's true message may never be revealed to a 21st century student.”
From the notes of Kris Saknussemm... We said last time that we were going to investigate further how the distinction b/w Travel and Tourism might help us understand what's happened to the project of national public Education in America. An odd proposition to some perhaps. But I think this is easily done, although it's also easy to be very hard on Tourism. Travel can take many forms, but it's never crass. Tourism can't escape that tinge, that odor. Looking deeper, Travel suggests an openness to experience, a willingness to take risks, and to confront unexpected situations, even illness, violence, natural calamity, or falling in love. Tourism is precisely focused on at least managing risk, streamlining possibilities, reducing the unexpected, and delivering a consistent experience. Experience as Product (right off the conveyer belt). This Sacred - > Profane style degeneration is hardly an isolated phenomenon—in fact it might seem to be a Deep Algorithm. But I think the progenitors of the Tourism Age can to some extent be forgiven. It's fine to say now that they should've extrapolated—seen ahead to what large-scale, organized, budget-minded transportation of people around the world for the purposes of recreation or information, fulfillment of some kind—what that would mean. What impact. But they had no precedent—nothing on the scale that would emerge. They weren't far or deep thinkers and didn't claim to be. But while there was a lot of greed and foolishness (and still is), there were good intentions too. I believe some early Tourism champions genuinely thought that exposing ever more middle class Westerners to beauty, culture, and wonders around the world would do them good—and wouldn't degrade the points of interest, destinations, and ports of call. (In addition to the interesting philosophical questions involved, there are very practical physical matters of traffic congestion, inflated prices, resentful locals, and clogged toilets. The list is long, but think of Tahiti and Hawaii, Venice and Dubrovnik. Yellowstone National Park.)
From the notes of Kris Saknussemm... Temporary tattoos and the latest Oscar's night—two more examples of why we've entered the Post-Civilization Age. People who say the Oscar's have been in “decline” for quite a while are the kind of folks who wouldn't draw much distinction between Ted Bundy returning to have sex with a corpse three days after the murder, or three weeks. I maintain there's a difference. Moving along, it's struck me of late that there's a relationship between Education (public school system) and Tourism, which often goes unnoticed. We know there's a connection between Education and Travel. Travel is how humanity has educated itself about the human globe (and all this means), the planet Earth, and the larger world / universe we've been able to comprehend. All good. Tourism? Hmm, not so good. Why? What is the difference between Travel and Tourism? Many interesting people have tried to speak to this issue, including well-traveled writers such as Mark Twain, D.H. Lawrence, Somerset Maugham, Tennessee Williams, and Jack Kerouac—hell, the list goes on and on. What a great list. But it doesn't go that far back in time…because “tourism” in anything like the sense we mean it today really only fired up after WWII. Up to then, “travel” frequently meant adventure—both intentional and inadvertent. Calamity. Discovery. Decadence. Plunder. Escape. To be sure, the English fascination for a Tour of the Continent (Europe) was fashionable curriculum for the upper classes. But generally, Travel was a more eccentric endeavor. Hoity-toity or rough and ready. It was selective. A curious club. I've recently had my students read Walker Percy's wonderful essay “The Loss of the Creature.” It has a lot to say about reclaiming personal experience and sovereignty—and not sacrificing validation to a shadowy priest caste of so-called experts. It deals directly in the connection between Education and Travel or Tourism? So, taking my view that Tourism arises as an industry (and as a system of social values) post-WWII…isn't this about when the commitment to a fully national public school system takes off? I think before then, any sort of structured public education program was very porous and unevenly distributed even within states. More an idea than a system or a network. Is there a connection? What can the difference between Travel and Tourism possibly tell us about how the public education experiment is faring? Kris's music piece at the end is titled "Recurring Dreams."
Kris Saknussemm is the author of A Guide To Creative Writing and The Imagination. Join me for an 8-week novel writing workshop on Monday nights at 6pm Pacific on Zoom. […]
Experience.Computer is a slow radio show about high tech. Exploring perception, experience and expression. IN THIS EPISODE Jay Springett leads author and podcaster J David Osborne through a series of imaginative exercises. Then they discuss: The concept of sensory and perceptual experiences The sensation of visualising numbers and mathematical operations The feeling of the sacred Chat app UX, and social media The shape of stories Using different software for writing and more QUOTES “A hyper real crunch. The crunch. The ultimate crunch, the ur crunch - right?” “Every thought that I have are more vocal. It's more voice oriented. So I'm talking to myself in my brain. Other thoughts are feelings. As a matter of fact, you having me do this exercise is interesting because it makes me realise how few times I do focus on the images in my head like that.” “The only way that I can describe it is that it just feels right. It just feels correct. Something happens, and you think, and I learned over time to listen to that instead of worry too much about plot because sometimes I'd get an idea that felt correct. And then I would think, well, my character wouldn't do that.” ABOUT THE GUEST J. David Osborne is co-founder of Broken River Books, a collective of five aspiring full-time writers. He is the author of the Wonderland-Award-winning novel By the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends, the surreal noir Low Down Death Right Easy, and the cyberpunk novel series God$ Fare No Better. He is the co-host of Agitator Podcast with Kelby Losack, and Lost Xplorers with Kris Saknussemm, and lives in Oklahoma with his wife and son. IN YOUR MIND Has this interview sparked any thoughts or questions about your own mind's eye, creative process, or inner experience? I'd love to hear your insights! Share your reflections in the comments below or on social media! LINKS: Agitator on Spotify Agitator Patreon Lost Xplorers on Spotify Gods Fare No Better series on Amazon.com Broken River on Substack Subscribe to Experience.Computer Substack Apple Podcasts Spotify Pocketcasts ABOUT THE SHOW In 2022 writer and host Jay Springett discovered he had aphantasia - the inability to voluntarily create mental images in one's mind. For 36 years he thought 'picture this' was a metaphor. Experience.Computer is slow radio about high tech. An interview show exploring perception, experience and expression. The show examines how people perceive the world, and how they work with the creative tools they use to make their work with. ABOUT THE HOST Jay Springett is a strategist and writer. His work focuses on the design, administration and flourishing of worlds of all kinds He has hosted the 301 second long essay podcast Permanently Moved since 2018, and Experience.Computer since 2023. Jay is currently working on his first book ‘The Web Was a Side Quest‘ and writes online at thejaymo.net
Writer, editor, gym rat, and real-ass homie J. David Osborne joins me in kicking off the new year with a no-fucks-given all-timer of an episode. We discuss language policing and the dangers of making words taboo, how to have a nuanced conversation that actually goes somewhere, spiritual disdain for the rich, having skin in the game, realizing the mortal immortal, remembering Isaac Kirkman, events vs time stamps, real astrology, what "New Year" means, fatherhood, crackhead brain, advice for young artists, "are we cyberpunk yet?," conspiracy corner, book and music recommendations, New Year Tarot readings, and the energy we're bringing into 2021. // Follow JDO's blog at brokenriverbooks.com, subscribe to his and Kris Saknussemm's podcast No Country, and check out his many surreal grime novellas such as Black Gum, A Minor Storm, and By the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends. // Keep up with Kelby and buy his books at kelbylosack.wordpress.com.
Hey everyone, JDO here. Welcome to my brand new podcast NO COUNTRY, which I cohost with cult writer, nature photographer, and "failed anthropologist" Kris Saknussemm. NO COUNTRY is about Magic (from Jungian/Western occult/indigenous perspectives), how to revive books and literature, and why we love America, even though we both feel like strangers here most of the time. This is a podcast that exists because it's a small niche that I hadn't seen filled quite yet: the intersection of magic, books, and dudes being dudes. Kris is an excellent storyteller, and we swap stories back and forth about how to understand place, encounters with shamans and street people, and how tornadoes are gods. If you like the music, that was done by Ous/Li. Check out his music here.
Hey everyone, JDO here. Welcome to my brand new podcast NO COUNTRY, which I cohost with cult writer, nature photographer, and "failed anthropologist" Kris Saknussemm. NO COUNTRY is about Magic (from Jungian/Western occult/indigenous perspectives), how to revive books and literature, and why we love America, even though we both feel like strangers here most of the time. This is a podcast that exists because it's a small niche that I hadn't seen filled quite yet: the intersection of magic, books, and dudes being dudes. Kris is an excellent storyteller, and we swap stories back and forth about how to understand place, encounters with shamans and street people, and how tornadoes are gods. I'm restarting the "interview" style JDO Show as well, so eventually NO COUNTRY will have its own home. I figured I'd use this platform initially to show as many people as possible. This one is professionally mixed, too. So it sounds great. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you tune in for more episodes in the future. If you like the music, that was done by Ous/Li. Check out his music here.
In this episode, fiction writer and multimedia artist Kris Saknussemm reads, and presents corresponding video excerpts, from his novel Reverend America. Tenor saxophonist Eric Wyatt joins Saknussemm during the event, which was held March 13, 2012 in the UNLV Greenspun Hall Auditorium in Las Vegas, NV.
Kris Saknussemm is the guest. His latest novel, Reverend America, is now available from Dark Coast Press. And the soundtrack to the book is now available at iTunes. From Booklist: Once upon a time, Mathias Gaspenny was a child preacher ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kris Saknussemm and Clamon
In this episode, novelist and media artist Kris Saknussemm discusses his life and work on the March 6, 2012 edition of KNPR's "State of Nevada." BMI's 2011-12 Gallagher Fellow, Saknussemm stages a mixed media performance on Tuesday, March 13 in the Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV.