creative economies

so 200 years ago (back before these new-fangle moving pictures and such like), people used to make their own entertainment. a lot of it was probably rubbish. but some of it was good. and much of it was theirs.

as much as i love mass(produced) culture - i have aaliyah projecting from my speakers rather than my own wonderful baritone - i have a soft spot for people doing this stuff for themselves. be it poetry or bands.

as i get older, i have less and less desire to share a gig with 20,000 other people - no matter how great the performer. seeing a half-way decent band with 50 other people in club can be better, more magical, more immediate than the stones in a stadium. there's a dilution effect - at least for me.

there is some sorcery in getting up on stage in front of people. for me (doing conferences or poetry slams - and i've rocked and sucked at both), it's all about connection. you want to reach people with your ideas, emotions, words. you want to tell them what they already know (on some level of truth) in a way they've never heard before.

and i would suggest that everyone needs that feeling, sometime in their lives (whether they know it or not). and where are the opportunities for that these days?