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Is Sub Sea Systems’ Aquaticar the Next Great Dark Ride Concept?

‘The submersible Aquaticar features seating for two guests, side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. Each seat is adjustable so that both riders’ shoulders are at the same height under a “breathing canopy,” that not only provides a continued supply of air to breathe, but also keeps guests dry from the chest up. This is accomplished using positive air pressure.

‘The Aquaticar is powered by a “Bubble Engine™” that guides the vehicles along a pre-existing track, approximately 9′ underwater. The track works in conjunction with the cars. As the car travels along the track, it triggers a mechanical air register, which releases air from beneath the track, underneath the car. The car is collecting the air. The air in the register serves two functions. Some of it goes to the Bubble Engine, and some of it goes to replenish air in the breathing canopy.

‘Sub Sea Systems is known for what de Bie referred to as “low volume throughput” attractions like the Sea Trek diving helmets and Clear Lounge, where they can only process a limited number of guests per hour. However, in a theme park or water park setting, where there are higher quantities of guests, Aquaticar will allow Sub Sea Systems to bring an underwater experience to a high-volume park environment. The theoretical capacity for the Aquaticar system is between 400-500 riders an hour.’ — Coaster101

 

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This under construction attraction at Fantawild Dreamland Zhengzhou in China is also worth mentionning… It is described as a part walk-through, part boat-ride and part SFX show like Disaster at Universal Studios. But not your regular boat ride… Boats here can hold up to 200 people.

 

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‘The map above details the rides, attractions, shops and restaurants around my proposed theme park Lava Field. Here we’ll focus and detail on the three anchor E-ticket rides / shows:

The Lava Field Geothermal Plant: Roller coaster ride
Lava Field Expedition: Scenic drive-through
The Vulcan Legend: multi-media performance.

‘The Lava Field Geothermal Plant is a thrilling rollercoaster ride that forms the centre piece of the Lava Field. The ride itself is spread across the entire Lava Field. The Geothermal Power Plant structure will serve as the main entrance and the attraction facade. Behind the structure is the queueing, ride loading & unloading, and maintenance building. There is a primary show building at the top right which houses the majority of the show scenes of the ride, and a smaller secondary show building, disguised behind rock-works, is located at the centre of the park.

‘Guests will board the Deep Earth Explorer to begin their tour of the geothermal power plant. The ride vehicle has quite a few special features. Firstly, it has a very distinctive steam-punk finishing that echoes the geothermal power plant itself. The drilling head at the front can actually spin. However, to reduce the weight of the vehicle, it is not powered by a motor. Instead, it is simply connected to one of the wheel axes so that it will spin when the vehicle moves. There will be a few exterior section of the ride where pedestrian will be able to see the vehicle. As such the spinning drilling head is more of a show effects for the spectators, not for the riders on-board. Furthering that, there is on-board smoke effects when the vehicle is in motion during exterior sections. As such, when the coaster swooshes by, bystanders will see a trail of smoke being left behind the vehicle. This, in general, adds another dimension of visual kinetism and energy to the overall Lava Field area.

‘The ride itself is a hybrid of dark ride and roller coaster. The ride layout, and thus the ride story, revolves heavily around the aforementioned track arches, where the vehicle is accelerated via an inductive motor before being shot up the arched track.

‘The Vulcan Legend is a multi-media performance in a dedicated theatre. It celebrates the ancient myths and legends that surround the volcano. The theatre sits at the far side of Lava Field. From the outside, guests will only see the tip of the volcano. Only when they enter the theatre will they realise the body of the volcano is actually made up of Pele, a Hawaiian Goddess of volcano, and the lava is actually her beautiful flowing hair.

‘The theatre has a curving shape, which echoes with the flowing lava. The overhead trusses keep the theatre’s theme cohesive with the more industrial looking geothermal power plant.

‘The theatre is open-air, which is partly inspired by the Roman Tarragona. The open-air nature of the theatre also allow pyrotechnic effects during the show. The seating area forms a ‘V’ shape, with three levels of seating area on each leg. The opening on the lower right hand corner of the show building is the queueing / waiting area for the performance. I have not thought through the exact performance yet, but I imagine it to be based loosely on the Hawaiian legend of Pele.

‘The last attraction in the Lava Field is the Lava Field Expedition. It is a ride that simulates a real scientific expedition on the Lava Field. The story for this attraction is simple. You have been invited to join an expedition to a remote Lava Field where geologists have recently discovered. You goal is to collect some rock samples and do some analysis on the area to determine whether it is suitable for the development of a geothermal power plant (which, of course, ties neatly into the Lava Field Geothermal Plant ride).After a short briefing of the mission, guests will then board the L.P.V (Lava Pioneer Vehicle).

‘The L.P.V. is very much a NASA inspired vehicle. It features a wide windscreen which can afford excellent panoramas during the ride. The ride vehicle sits four people in a row, all facing forward along the windscreen. Three will be just passengers, whilst the remaining one will be the driver! Consider the Lava Field Expedition as a twist to the classic Disneyland ride, Autopia.

‘The driver will have a small degree of control over the direction of the vehicle which is confined within a path, and have some control over the speed with the pedal. Note that the driver cannot stop the vehicle due to the pacing of the ride itself. However, he can control the speed, which will in turn determine the bumpiness of the ride (faster = more thrills). Though, the speed is tuned such that, even at the fastest speed, the L.P.V can never catch up the vehicle in front to prevent collision.’ — The Blue Armchair

 

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TRON Lightcycle Power Run Coming to Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort

‘Tron – our highest-rated attraction at Shanghai Disneyland – is coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in 2020! The TRON Lightcycle Power Run attraction at Shanghai Disneyland is a coaster-style attraction where riders board a train of two-wheeled Lightcycles. It offers access into the energy, lights and excitement of TRON’s high-tech universe and is one of the most thrilling adventures at any Disney park.’ — Disney Parks Blog

 

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Here’s what I think will be the Cedar Point 150th anniversary 2019-2020 coaster.

 

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Amazon Drifter is a combination of immersive high-definition media, special effects and water. Currently under development, the company is in the midst of creating a layout with a potential rollout for 2019. The 12 passenger concept, themed around an Amazon River adventure, floats down a waterway in a trough. Below the boat will be a submerged conveyor belt with a motion base underneath it. Using this technology, the dark water ride will be able to bounce the boat up, roll it from side-to-side and even turn it 360 degrees. On- and off-board SFX elements such as wind, mist, scent, heat and cool air also add to the immersive experience.

 

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Universal Studios Super Nintendo World Plans Leaked

‘The image above reflects how Super Nintendo World would look in Universal Studios Florida. From all of my personal sources, the exact footprint of the land fits exactly with what I have heard since before this project was announced. Meaning the E.T. Adventure stays, but the Animal Actors Stage, Barney and Fievel’s Playland are going away. In addition, the land that was once occupied by the former Hard Rock Cafe will be utilized where you see the Super Mario attraction in the upper right.

‘If you notice the entry for the land would fall just outside of the Central Park area by the lagoon in Universal Studios Florida. Princess Peach’s Castle would serve as the weenie to enter Super Nintendo World and you’d enter through an entry portal of sorts complete with interactive attractions featuring Pokemon and other interactive gaming areas.

‘In the upper left you have a section of the land dedicated entirely to Zelda. However, it’s the yellow building towards the top that you should pay special attention to. Hyrule Castle Attraction may be the most unique thing coming to this land. A few months ago, we broke the story of Universal filing a patent for a puzzle theater here. Along with the layout of the land came this interesting piece of concept art.

‘Zelda would be the franchise that would use this one-of-a-kind puzzle theater attraction. If you’re unfamiliar, the seats of this theater could move up and down, side to side and even pass over one another. A concept that hasn’t even come close to being done before. Plus, if I understand this correctly, each show could be different based on how the audience interacts with Link. Meaning the theater could move in different directions based on game play.

‘The only thing that was confirmed to the press at the media announcement at the groundbreaking at Universal Studios Japan is there would be a Mario Kart attraction. Not a surprise to anyone in the industry and the above concept art might seem confusing. Assuming it’s real, this would probably mean the attraction would use virtual reality to make it appear you’re racing alongside Mario, Luigi and the gang.

‘The next piece of potential concept art that was released was this piece of a Donkey Kong roller coaster. Notice how the actual track is below the show track. An arm suspends the actual coaster train above the track that riders see as they move along the course. This would allow you to achieve those cartoon like sequences in the game that a real coaster could not possibly do safely in real life. Finally, based on what I know, these images aren’t entirely correct. If my sources are right, there is a Yoshi dark ride that has entered the mix since the layout above was made.’ — Josh Young

 

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Norway is trying to cement itself as a destination for all things Viking. Thor’s Rike (Thor’s Kingdom) in western Norway aims to not only be Norway’s largest theme park when it opens, it wants to become the “Viking capital of the world”.

The theme park which is scheduled to open in 2020 will feature an array of roller coasters and carousels, along with “infotainment” so guests can learn about the history of the Viking warriors. Visitors will be able to eat like Vikings and even barter like Vikings at shops around the park.

So far developers have revealed that the park will be broken up into several different sections, including a forest, a gigantic castle-fort, and a trip through the Norse underworld. Developers described Thor’s Rike as a “theme park in Viking costume.”

 

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Dollywood MASSIVE CLEARING for 2019/2020?? New Roller Coaster??

‘There is an enormous clearing behind Thunderhead and Mystery Mine in Dollywood. It has got to be at least 1/4 of the size of Dollywood. As of now, we know it will be the largest expansion in the parks history and will come in 2019. Basically what they have done is leveled a preexisting mountain. The smoke you see is because they are burning all the old trees back there because the wood isn’t good enough to sell. We do not know what will become of that space as of now.’ — Coaster Studios

 

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Holovis and S&S unveil world-first media-led rollercoaster concept

‘Media-based attraction company Holovis and thrill ride company S&S-Sansei Technologies have announced a design and patent for the world’s first Immersive Elevator MediaCoaster.

‘The Immersive Elevator MediaCoaster starts with a narrative. This will flow through a highly themed media and interactive preshow. Guests will then board what initially might look like a traditional dark ride. The ride vehicle will then enter a 360° dome. Rich media will then completely surround the guests, with no need for awkward VR headsets or 3D glasses.

‘Stuart Hetherington, CEO of Holovis said, “We have paralleled the key structure of narrative based entertainment and applied it to the physical coaster experience, something that has never been done before in this way. Coasters have long been the traditional form of physical and thrilling entertainment. However, typically the patterns of excitement peak at the highest point. This is usually towards the beginning, then drop as there is no connected narrative to continue the thrill.

‘“This scalable design extends the overall ride time. It also allows for complete customization of the guest experience in the elevator section before the guests realize they are about to drop back into the real world, thus heightening the thrill levels even more.”’ — blooloop

 

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Mystery River re-opens as Excalibur on 7th May at Movie Park Germany

‘The attraction will be completely re-themed throughout. King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and dark creatures and fairy tale characters will populate the attraction, and the famous sword from this mythical history makes its appearance: Excalibur.

‘Visitors will be sent by wizard Merlin on a risky search for the legendary sword Excalibur. This was stolen from the knights table and must be returned to the rightful owner, King Arthur, as soon as possible. The journey is only possible by making numerous dangerous maneuvers through enchanted forests and dark caves.

‘This ride is one of the oldest and most popular in our park, so now we want to do justice to this veteran from our park’s history and give it a dignified and fresh upgrade including the new name: Excalibur – Secrets of the Dark Forest.’ — Theme Parks-EU

 

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Animatronics get more animated

‘Garner Holt Productions, which manufactures many of the animatronic characters used in Disney’s attractions and other parks, has developed what it calls “Living Faces of History.”

‘The next-gen animatronics incorporate as many as 46 servo actuators in the face and 7 in the neck. They are capable of millions of combinations. The company had a Cockney character on display at the IAAPA expo that demonstrated remarkable expressiveness and fluidity. It could convey a variety of emotions such as wide-eyed wonder and immediately transition to disgust.

‘”We’re trying to push the limits,” says GHP’s president and founder, Garner Holt. “We want to replicate the human face as closely as possible.”‘ — USA Today

 

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German manufacturer Maurer has created what it calls the Spike coaster, the world’s first interactive coaster. Passengers straddle the seats like a motorcycle and can control the speed of the cars by turning a throttle mounted on their handlebars.

 

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Alterface launches Erratic® Ride, the first non-linear, mixed-media, interactive ride

‘Benoit Cornet, CEO and Founder at Alterface, announced the company’s new Erratic(R) Ride this afternoon at EAS in Berlin. The new Erratic(R) Ride utilizes trackless ride vehicles to move guests in and out of a central dispatch zone into “dead ends” where interactive experiences can occur.

‘The design takes out the element of a singular loop or linear path. This can provide an opportunity for storytellers to rethink how they tell a story in an attraction and also gives designers a chance to create “moments of enjoyment” while transferring between the scenes. Cornet explains this as ways to speed up the cars, or spin them around for additional thrill. “We believe the dark ride is all about motion, and we are breaking away from slow, linear movement,” said Cornet.

‘Cornet said the magic will be in the non-predictability of the ride. The way scenes are organized and what happens in each scene can be different from ride to ride, so what one rider experiences will be different from what their friend does in a different car.

‘Alterface is partnering with ETF to use their Multi Mover six-passenger vehicle that will be controlled by the general show control system.’ — inpark

 

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The world’s largest indoor theme park prepares to open in Dubai

Visitors can spin in a gondola modelled on Thor’s hammer, wave to the Powerpuff girls in a colourful parade or get chased by ghouls and madmen when the world’s biggest indoor theme park opens in August 2019.

More than 20 rides and attractions at IMG Worlds of Adventure are in the final stages of testing and commissioning, with acrobats and dancers preparing for live performances since February.

The park – spread over an area equivalent to 28 football fields and high as a 10-storey building – promises hair-raising experiences such as the Haunted Hotel, whose visitors must be 15 or older to “check in”.

 

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Harry Potter expansion (Universal Orlando)

 

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All-Terrain Dark Ride From Dynamic Attractions

‘At first glance, the All-Terrain Dark Ride system may not seem that exciting. We already have ride systems that are trackless and self-driving cars are found on highways daily. We have seen rides like Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure have two vehicles racing side-by-side, but is there any real sense of danger since those cars are on a track with a slot in the middle? Over in Skull Island: Reign of Kong, a trackless vehicle can slowly take tight turns and even small inclines. However, that experience is with roughly 50 people. Hardly intimate and terrible sightlines if you’re in the middle or the front of that truck.

‘This new ride system from Dynamic Attractions accommodates smaller groups of six in two rows, meaning you’ve got a far more intimate experience with far better sightlines than a Kilimanjaro Safari or Skull Island vehicle could ever imagine. Most importantly, you really don’t know where this thing is going to go. Think about it. Any other ride system that is outdoors follows a clearly defined path. You know where that vehicle is headed at all times. The All-Terrain Dark Ride? You have no idea. Your vehicle could speed up and pass one ahead of your own. It could go under a waterfall. Maybe a hatch opens up in the middle of a field and all the vehicles enter a secret underground bunker!

‘The vehicles come with a fantastic onboard audio system. It also comes with sub-woofers so it has this nice deep, high-quality sound. In terms of other on-ride effects like scents or mists… we’re not gonna do that stuff,” said Walker. “The reason why is we aren’t simulating anything on this vehicle. It’s all about a real experience. So if you want to go through water and get splashed in the face, we are gonna put water there and you’re gonna get splashed in the face. We don’t have to fake anything!

‘Another interesting piece of trivia is the scope of an attraction like this is virtually unlimited. George Walker told me that this kind of system is only limited by your budget. Meaning, the distance to which these vehicles can be controlled is enormous. Imagine a Kilimanjaro Safari ride with these smaller self-guided vehicles. Granted, you couldn’t quite get that close to the animals with an open-air vehicle this low to the ground. On the other hand, could you build a Jurassic World attraction where you drive around in Jeeps dodging animatronic dinos? Yes, you absolutely could.’ — Josh Young

 

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DOF Robotics Dark Ride Flying Theater project final tests of synchronization

 

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Leading creator of media-based dynamic simulation attractions, Simworx, and Dutch ride manufacturer, Mondial, to launch the 360° Flying Theatre

‘The new 60-seater attraction promises to deliver a real sensation of flying as guests experience a movie on a huge domed screen, enhanced with new technologies and optional special effects. Simworx is supplying the Flying Theatre as a full turnkey solution, complete with show control, audio visual and effects hardware.

‘Simworx, known for its 4D effects cinemas and Immersive Tunnel, is an expert provider of media-based attractions worldwide, from full turnkey solutions, custom attractions, product development, manufacturing and service support, to film content and complete themed attractions. Clients can also access a vast film library with a range of subject content to suit a wide variety of venues and audiences.’ — blooloop

 

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A Studio Ghibli Theme Park Is CONFIRMED for 2020

‘A new theme park in Japan will bring to life the worlds created by Hayao Miyazaki, the renowned animator behind films including Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. Studio Ghibli, which aims to open the new attraction in 2022. The ambitious plans were announced by the regional government, which said the park would be built at the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park in Nagakute city, near Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture.

‘Featuring rides and forest trails inspired by Miyazaki’s many critically acclaimed animations, the 200-hectare park will be peppered with European-style brick towers that often appear in the master animator’s films.  There will also be spider and boar-shaped spirit installations evocative of Miyazaki’s work.

‘The main gate will be designed to conjure up the 19th-century structures in Howl’s Moving Castle, and there are plans to have a recreation of the antique shop from Whisper of the Heart. A Princess Mononoke Village is set to feature, as is Witch Valley, an area with Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service-themed rides and attractions. The Dondoko Forest area is already home to the house from My Neighbor Totoro, which was built for the 2005 World’s Fair. There will also be the Big Ghibli Warehouse, filled with Studio Ghibli themed play areas, exhibitions and cinemas.

‘Projected costs for the project are yet to be disclosed.’ — parks-to-be

 

 

*

p.s. RIP Adam Parfrey, visionary publisher (Feral House) and singular countercultural force. ** David Ehrenstein, Awesome on the Baillie props. Yes, give Ira a shout. And obviously tell him I told you too, if you like. ** Steve Erickson, Hi. Yes, I think your recent call-out to ‘Castro Street’ is what put making a Baillie post in my head. I’m onto your reviews. Everyone, Two great ways to go from Mr. Erickson today. (1) Here’s his short take on Michel Hazanavicius’ ‘Godard Mon Amour’, and here’s his lengthier read on Coralie Fargeat’s bloody and much liked film ‘Revenge’. I’ll go hunt down the Benjamin LaMar Gay pronto. Sounds way eclectic. I’m actually a big admirer of ‘Flowers of Romance’, so I’ll try to find another way in. ** Jamie, Up, up, up, J-string! It seems entirely possible that that Baillie film has been here here in some form. Super good news about the Writing Gang’s positivity on your screenplay, even on your doubted opening. Great example of how one can not always know all the tentacles of one’s strengths. And you’re re-fired up! Best news of all! Well, re: the TV show, we’re in a development deal right now, so technically ARTE could decide they don’t want to produce it. Hopefully we’ll make it through to the locked-in phase. Hard to tell on when it would be shot. We’d like to shoot it early next year, but that’ll depend on how long it takes to get the script acceptable to them. I can’t imagine there’ll be any less than six months between acceptance and going into production. There’s a lot to arrange, especially with what will presumably be a giant, pro shoot like this series will require. So it’s a wait and see so far. Really need to get a title sorted before they start suggesting titles. Zac and I have a pretty solid working title for our next film now, which I don’t want to reveal until it’s 100% certain, but it’s a good one, I think. I have been up to little apart from work, honestly. Meandering about. I’m about to check and approve the layout/look of my new and very soon to-be-published gif fiction book, which isn’t really work. A couple of friends are coming into town. Going to a concert this weekend. Until then, just finishing the TV script. And you and today in combination? I hope your Friday is like a cruise liner in a champagne bottle. Hair shearing love, Dennis. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Well, it’s not finished yet. Our meeting with Gisele got delayed until this morning and reset on Skype because she’s away overseeing a performance of one of our theater works right now. After that we’ll make the changes she wants, and then … and then it might just be mission initially accomplished! Reading is the best. It’s really hard for me actually work in those settings too, but I find those situations good for resting my head back and letting my imagination try to write a rough draft of what my fingers will eventually enact. The great thing about the daydreaming part of writing is you don’t censor yourself or worry that you don’t know how to write down what you’re thinking. That does sound exhausting: yesterday, but that is really fascinating about the Brazilian woman. Yesterday I … hm, worked on blog posts, made plans to go to a concert, found out a couple of friends/collaborators will be in town this weekend to visit with, and otherwise I think I just smoked cigarettes and read a little and daydreamed about nonsense. How was Friday? It’s almost the weekend! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Oh, no, that’s terrible news. Jesus. I guess there’s no sense in waiting until he’s had a restorative nap and time off? And I guess finding another partner with whom to continue YnY is a bad idea? Well, endure the loss, I guess, and try to keep your fires about the future for it that you imagined roasting and mutating because there’s surely another route that, although reconfigured, will carry your energy and ideas through. I’m sorry, my friend. I can only imagine that disappointment, and after such a triumphant re-beginning. Love to you. ** JM, Ooh, I’m going to investigate that seemingly purposeful building of purposely empty buildings. What a gorgeous idea. How’s everything going? ** Right. I geeked out on one of my beloved areas of great interest today in hopes there’s at least a scatter of others out there who get similarly charged up at the current re-upping of what theme parks can accomplish. See you tomorrow.

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‘In his fascinating linked novellas The Garbage Times and White Ibis, Sam Pink exposes the absurdity hidden just below the surface of everyday life. In The Garbage Times, this takes the form of a deep dive into society’s underbelly to reveal the grime most people turn away from when walking down the street: homeless people defecating, rats scurrying, pigeons eating dirty food, drug addicts having illogical conversations. It is all there, and Pink won’t allow the reader to ignore it.

‘The Garbage Times is an homage to the randomness of life, the inevitability of shit, scum, and death, and the beauty that glimmers amid the filth. The story’s unnamed narrator is a man who deals with all manner of absurd behavior as he loads garbage, plunges toilets and sinks, and works as a bouncer at a bar. Despite the character’s peculiarities, readers will likely find his barrage of thoughts, explosive emotions, fantasies of violence, and bursts of tenderness easy to relate to. Most of us, Pink implies, are more like this “crazy” garbage man than we would like to admit as we “plunge” our way through life trying to get rid of the shit — pun intended.

The narrator is diligent in his job. Surrounded by rats and pigeons, he takes on each clog with vigor and an absence of fear or disgust, and this endless drive to clean up the messes of others — shit seems to be everywhere — takes on a hilarious cast. Throughout, Pink’s profanity-laced prose feels fitting, as it places the reader deep in the minds of characters choking on the so-called civilized world’s muck.

‘This is the beauty of Pink’s work — he shows the simple devastations of containment, of beings (in this case animals) living without dignity but still striving toward hope, over and over again, as we all do, wanting things to come out all right. This is the heart of his message, the essence of his book: we will never stop trying to keep moving no matter how confined we are. No matter how random life is, we press on toward something intangible in the distance with only the will to live fueling us.

‘In this quest for life and dignity is an equally powerful desire to succumb to death. Its inevitability curls underneath each page, hides in each scene. Morbid readers will really dig this book. As will lovers of the absurd, though the magic of Pink is that he turns the absurd to a purpose. The novellas are hilarious and unabashedly honest in showing how bizarre life is, how unpredictable people are, and yet how each person craves love, dignity, freedom — the fundamental needs we all share. In its surreality and sadness, The Garbage Times leaves readers with an impression of characters living in the grime of the world, amid constant violence and despair, yet striving to rise above and make sense of it all.’ — Taylor Larsen

 

Sam Pink @ Twitter
A Seventy-Minute Interview with Sam Pink on Gchat
Sam Pink on Writing and Living in Garbage Times
Sam Pink interviewed @ X-R-A-Y
Buy ‘The Garbage Times / White Ibis’

 

Sam Pink The Garbage Times / White Ibis
Soft Skull Press

‘From the freezing alleys of Chicago to the dew-blanketed bayou of Florida. From bouncing drunks and cleaning up puke to biking through the swamp laughing at peacocks. Freeze to thaw. Filth and broken glass and black water backed up in showers; lizards and Girl Scouts and themed birthday parties. A baby rat freed from the bottom of a Dumpster becomes a white ibis wandering the wet driveway after a storm. Goodbye, hello, goodbye. It was the garbage times; it was time for something else. A tale of two tales, connected by a mysterious sunlit portal.’ — Soft Skull Press

‘Sam Pink is the most important writer in America. This isn’t hyperbole. In a world of literary Bing Crosbys, Sam Pink is our Little Richard. The Garbage Times/White Ibis is the voice of the new writing underground.’ — Scott McClanahan

 

Excerpt

I had the next day off.

I didn’t want to be in my apartment so I went for a walk and ended up in my old neighborhood.

Saw this guy sleeping sitting up on a bus stop bench.

It was my guy Keith.

I used to drink and smoke weed with him when I didn’t have a job.

‘Crazy Keith.’

He had on big yellow plastic headphones that only played the radio.

He always wore a leather trench coat no matter what temperature it was, even like over a hundred.

Slicked-back gray hair and a boiled-looking face and that ‘Is he going to bite me’ presence.

He woke up and took off his headphones.

His eyes looked completely clear and he had a huge ring of orange dye around his mouth.

He smiled his tiny busted teeth.

‘No, but,’ he said, then laughed.

He grabbed a sports drink container he had next to him and poured some more of a brown-bagged tallboy of orange malt liquor into it.

He never remembered me.

‘No, but hey, nice to meet ya,’ he said, holding out his hand. ‘Thanks for stopping and talking to me. Sometimes I feel so alone out here.’

‘Yeah, man,’ I said.

‘Yeah because it’s like, there’s nothing. Nobody basically, ya know?’

He held his drink by his mouth and waited for me to respond, and when I said yeah, he nodded and took a sip.

Sweat dripped down the middle of his face.

He went to take another sip, then stopped the plastic bottle right before his orange lips and smiled and laughed.

He kept looking around, up and down the street.

‘No, but hey, wanna smoke this weed I got? Get your yayas out, ya know? But no. I was just about to head over to this garden over uh, just past Kedzie. Know where I’m talkin about?’

‘No.’

‘Here, come with. I’ll show you. It’s just across the street and down like, half a block. Here, it’s really—ya know it’s really trang-kwell.’

He smiled and laughed with his eyes wide.

‘Very trang-kwell there,’ he said. ‘Ya know, sometimes I go there and drink my liquor or smoke some pot, ya know. No because, it’s nice. Very trang-kwell.’ He laughed and opened his eyes real wide. ‘Get your yayas out, ya know?

Crazy Keith.

‘All right, Keith.’

On the walk there, he told me about his old lady.

He walked as though cross-country skiing, taking pulls off his liquor every few strides.

‘No because, my ol lady, man, oh she’s so sick. I go to see her but it’s sad, ya know?’

Said she was in the hospital dying of pancreatic cancer.

Said he took the train outside the city to visit her whenever he could.

‘Yeah she’s pretty much dying now though. There’s nothing that can stop it, no. They’re cutting her apart. There’s almost nothing left. I mean, ya keep taking parts and soon there’s no parts left, ya know? Come on. There’s like, nothing left of her anyways, ya know?’

‘Yeah. I’m sorry, Keith.’

Keith gestured forward with his plastic container of liquor.

‘No but like, it’s right up here. I think you’ll like it. Very trang-kwell.’

The garden was behind an apartment building.

There were benches, planters, some trees, bushes, things starting to grow, birds, vines and things.

Keith sat on a bench.

I sat on the woodchips.

He took out a half-cigarette from his trench coat pocket.

‘No but hey, thanks for the conversation,’ he said, lighting the cigarette. ‘I get lonely. There’s nothing to do. Sometimes I got work. But no, hey, listen, all day—there’s nothing all day. There’s basically nothing, ya know?

He kept offering me his drink.

‘I’m good,’ I said.

‘No because, ya know,’ he said, ‘it’s just weird drinking alone. But thanks for the company, I get sad and lonely all the time because, I mean, there’s basically nothing, ya know?’

‘Yeah, I know.’

He laughed.

He took out rolling papers and a piece of foil with some weed in it.

‘Here, go head, I’m too fucked up,’ he said, smiling.

I folded a paper and started breaking weed up into it.

Keith told me he had a lot of jobs but wouldn’t say what they were.

Every time I tried to talk to him about one, he’d say, ‘No no, like, it’s not something ya have to worry about, ya know. No because, just, don’t worry.’

At one point it seemed like he was suggesting he painted traffic cones on Lake Shore Drive.

‘You paint traffic cones on Lake Shore Drive?’ I said.

‘Yeah, seventy-five dollars an hour,’ he said. ‘Oh man, but ya gotta be honest. Except, no, if they catch ya stealing, ohhhhhhh man. No because, no, they’ll most definitely fuck ya up. Man, fucking cut your hands off. Paralyze ya by putting a thing in your spine, ya know? Make ya literally fucking retarded. No because, it’s bad news, I’m tellin ya.’

He laughed really hard and loud until he wheezed like heeng heeng.

When he calmed down, he said, ‘No but they’ll fuck ya up, yeah.’

I asked who ‘they’ were but he wouldn’t answer.

‘Wanna hear something weird?’ he said, leaning forward and smiling. ‘Do you think I’m weird? No, like, in your personal opinion, do you think I’m a weird guy?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, smiling.

I finished rolling the smoke.

Keith picked up a rock and held it between his thumb and forefinger. ‘Hey no, but don’t take nothing for granite.’

‘Yeah.’

‘No, look, this is granite,’ he said, looking at the rock.

Neither of us said anything for a little bit.

Keith stood up. ‘No but, let me show ya over here. There was some lightning that hit, right over here.’

I followed him to a corner of the garden.

He pulled back part of a bush.

He pointed to an area where he said lightning had hit.

It looked completely un-lightninged.

‘Yeah, man, ya know. I came here just to get my yayas out and I’m sittin here and this lightning hits. Wow, huh? Left a big four-foot crater over here. See?’ He pulled back a few parts of a bush and pointed behind it and said, ‘See, it’s right here.’

Then he turned and yelled, ‘Boo!’—his hands up, mouth open, busted teeth bared, laughing like herg herg, holding his stomach.

I laughed. ‘Fuck you, Keith.’

‘No, but, I’m just fuckin with ya.’

He picked a few leaves off a bush.

‘This stuff, I think it’s sage. Here, have some. You’ll like this. Tastes like licorice.’

He gave me a leaf.

We chewed the leaves.

I sat down on the woodchips again.

I lit the weed with Keith’s matches and took a big pull and passed it.

We sat there smoking.

I picked up stones and threw them into the bushes . . . to be among the yayas of old.

Keith started looking really extra fucked up.

He was staring straight forward and making sounds like newwwmmmm or gerrrrnk, then laughing until his eyes watered and he lost his breath.

‘Hey but no, we gotta leave I think,’ he said. ‘Should probably go in case they show up.’

He poured the last of his tallboy into the plastic container and threw the can behind a bush.

‘All right, Keith,’ I said.

I knocked off the smoke’s cherry on a large stone.

 

Sam Pink CLASH Books Reading AWP 2018

“Rontel” by Sam Pink — A Single Sentence Animation from Electric Literature

Sam Pink reading at the Knockbox

 

 

________________

 

Meagan Day: First off, what is Animal Shelter?

Hedi el Kholti:Well, there are always several narratives that somewhat conflict.

The first answer would be that sometime in 2007 there was a moment when I was working at Semiotext(e) and I felt frustrated with distribution. Contractually, we can’t sell our books on our own website, but I wanted to do something we could sell directly. A lot of publishers rely on direct sales. It was a test. I thought we’d do something and try to sell it on the website — a little journal.

Semiotext(e) also operates under strict rules about when we can announce and publish our books. There’s a delay of almost two years for any project, between the moment we acquire it, to when it’s announced, to when it’s published. We wanted to do things in a more spontaneous way, and so around that same time we decided to start The Intervention Series. Animal Shelter came out in November ’08, and The Coming Insurrection by The Invisible Committee came out under The Intervention Series in early ’09. At first, The Intervention Series was only going to be sold online. Animal Shelter was kind of a test to see how the logistics would work — going to the post office, etc. Thankfully I gave up that idea for The Intervention Series, because The Coming Insurrection ended up being such a big hit that it would have killed me to ship all those copies myself.

So that would be one answer.

But the second has to do with the fact that I’m the one who filters all the e-mail that comes to Semiotext(e). We get a lot of proposals. But then also, I deal with people who write about our books and become friends, and our translators and interns, who are all writers in their own right. And so I thought we could mix some of these people who have great writing that’s not being published elsewhere with interviews we generated that we couldn’t place anywhere, and with whatever other interesting things were floating around. I thought it would be nice to create a little snapshot of who’s in our life and document the direction the press is headed at different moments. That’s really what I wanted to do – to take a snapshot of what the scene around us is now and try to make it really coherent.

But also, the magazine comes from my love of print culture. In the Internet age, there’s really no shortage of interesting things to read. It’s a little bit antiquated to start a magazine. But I like the physical aspect of it. I like an object with a date on it, a material archive. So, I thought of Animal Shelter as a gift for our audience — a sort of bonus track. I also really love music labels . . . Sarah Records, Rough Trade, Creation. Those labels always had these nicely priced compilations — Creation Soup, Doing it for the Kids, etc. I always thought they were great. If you were into one of the musicians in those labels, it gave you an opportunity to discover other things.

 

Hedi el Kholti Interviewed @ Full Stop
Semiotext(e)
Animal Shelter 3 reviewed @ Bookslut
ANIMAL SHELTER: FOOD, WATER, REPRODUCTION, AND READING
Buy ‘Animal Shelter’

 

Hedi El Kholti, Chris Kraus, and Janique Vigier, Editors Animal Shelter 5
Semiotext(e)

Semiotext(e) is pleased to announce a new issue of Animal Shelter. Conceived as the journal’s final issue, Animal Shelter 5 closes a decade of publication and hovers, fittingly, around issues of mortality, loss, and trauma—charting existential drift, but also finding new eddies of belonging, homecoming, and hospitality. As Chris Kraus reflects, “Things have to move elsewhere. So I think this issue is like smoke, or signal blocking.” In Issue 5: BRUCE HAINLEY on Hervé Guibert; MASHA TUPITSYN on Ingmar Bergman; War diaries by MICHEL LEIRIS; NATASHA STAGG is lost in the supermarket; A story by COLM TÓIBÍN; JEAN LOUIS SCHEFER on Vertigo; Poems by ARIANA REINES

Other contributors include: Nikki Darling, Guillaume Dustan, Charlie Fox, Hervé Guibert, Raquel Gutiérrez, Jeff Jackson, Bernard-Marie Koltès, Chris Kraus, Clara López Menéndez, Nicole Miller, Julietta Singh, Natasha Soobramanien & Luke Williams, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, McKenzie Wark, Abdellah Taïa, and Janique Vigier.

Art by: Soufiane Ababri, Jean-Luc Blanc, Nicole Chambers, Hedi El Kholti, Matt Fishbeck, Kathryn Garcia, Herve Guibert, Jessica Dean Harrison, Galen Johnson, Krisjanis Kaktins-Gorsline, Alan Kleinberg, Patrick Kwon, Michael Oblowitz, Evan Sabourin, Valerie Schultz, Elaine Stocki, and Torbjorn Vejvi.

 

Excerpts

 

Otis MFA Graphic Design Lecture: Hedi el Kholti

Chris Kraus Interview: Changing Lives

Semiotext(e) at the Whitney Biennial

 

________________

 

‘Poet Dorothea Lasky has published five books of poetry and several chapbooks, including a new one called Snakes, and describes how she works from one poem to many, and from there into a collection on a theme.

‘”Each time, after I finish a book, I tend to keep writing poems at random, with no real focus. I put very little pressure on this work and just write for fun or need or from whatever drive writing poems comes from,” she told Spine. Central to her process: quiet and time. “I am a firm believer that if you give a person time to completely manage a day as they so choose, they will create new things,” she said.

‘Ideally, Lasky finds her time first thing. She pairs her quiet with coffee and “looks at things” on a walk, at a museum, in her home studying objects she’s collected, like tiny elephant figures or a bunch of fabrics doused in fall colors. Ideally is not lately, as Lasky balances writing with family and teaching. Quiet time at present looks like coffee and computer and a PowerBar … and no talking!

“Once I have to speak to anyone in person, with my actual speaking voice, the poems turn into other things. In complete contradiction of this image, however, I will say that I write, or I should say start, lots of poems in a rush, at all times throughout the day, again very randomly.”

As she writes poems and writes poems, a central concept emerges. “It usually has to do with a certain preoccupation, or should we say obsession, that I am feeling at the time, whether it be for a person or an idea, and usually both,” she said.’ — Susanna Baird, Spine

 

Dorothy Lasky Website
‘Milk’ reviewed @ NPR
Dorothea Lasky @ Twitter
THE POET’S PRACTICE: DOROTHEA LASKY
Buy ‘Milk’

 

Dorothea Lasky Milk
Wave Books

‘In her latest collection, Dorothea Lasky brings her signature style—a deeply felt and uncanny word-music—to all matters of creativity, from poetry and the invention of new language to motherhood and the production of new life. As much a personal document as it is an occult text, Milk investigates overused paradigms of what it means to be a creator and encapsulates its horrors and joys—setting fire to the enigma that drives the vital force that enables poems, love, and life to happen.’ — Wave

 

Excerpts

 

Poetry and the Metaphysical “I”: A Lecture by Dorothea Lasky

The Beast: How Poetry Makes Us Human

Dorothea Lasky, “I Like Weird Ass Hippies”

 

 

________________

 

‘I was initially terrified of this, believing it to be written by a person who had infantilised themselves to such an extent as to have chosen Stupid Baby as a name; and the back cover blurb seemed vaguely suggestive of grown men happily shitting their adult nappies in anticipation of a sexy spanking; and it’s published by Amphetamine Sulphate who don’t look as though they’re going to be reigning it in any time soon. Research revealed that I was thankfully mistaken on a few counts, and that New Juche is a photographer of Scottish heritage and also author of this, a novel called Mountainhead, and a CD called Bangkok Fanny-Rat, amongst other things. He lives in one of the more poverty stricken ghettos of Thailand and very much enjoys having sex with prostitutes.

‘There will inevitably be certain associations which have attached themselves to that last sentence even before we’re done with the paragraph. To tackle the likely questions one at a time, Juche is a Korean word amounting to self-reliance or independence. It also refers to a political ideology described by Wikipedia as follows:

The Juche idea means, in a nutshell, that the masters of the revolution and construction are the masses of the people and that they are also the motive force of the revolution and construction.

‘The name – which the author admits is slightly facetious – seems fitting given that his writing is essentially anthropological but for the inclusion of the observer as very much part of the texture, in other words his testimony is divorced of the clinicality and detachment of anthropology, and facilitates a more thorough understanding of the subject because he’s living it. It’s a little like a more sympathetic Céline.

As to what he’s actually living, the term sex tourist probably comes to mind; but surprisingly that’s exactly what New Juche isn’t, at least not by any usual understanding of the word. His position is succinctly summarised in the question by which his PDF book The Mollusc is promoted on his website:

‘What do you feel and do and why, when you experience the expression of distress by the poor, especially when you’re paying them for sex?

‘New Juche expands on this in an interview on Hoover Hog:

I’m heavily put off by writers who contrive to smear themselves into broader conversations, whether it’s intended to demonstrate piety or cynicism. But – and this is what I’m talking about with this heavy vendetta I have against conversation – I perceive some piety in precisely what I’ve just said. There’s a BBC documentary in which a collection of lazy English middle-class twenty-somethings are chaperoned around Patpong, and have delivered to them a stage-managed encounter with a young ‘prostitute’ in a pole-dancing outfit who relates the usual sob story through an interpreter and then weeps as she takes questions from the group. This all occurs in the heart of it, with tourists and bar girls all around and loud music. Worked up into a pious rage, one of the English females gets into a wild verbal fight with a passing American tourist, who tells her she is a ‘phony’ who doesn’t understand that ‘prostitution’ empowers these girls, and that they all want to be there, etc. Not unlike a Houllebecq character. They both present as obnoxiously ignorant to me, but their platitudes are clearly born out of the respectively limited vantage and degree of their insight. This is demonstrative of how the flimsy insipid social politics of dim-bulbs can rarely come down to rest on the actual ground, especially in places like this. And again why conversation is undesirable. I’ve heard endless nights of rationalisations, justifications, and disgusted condemnations. In the end, prostitution is a country in which I’ve lived for most of my life, and it is as irreducible as any other country.

‘So there you have it. If you’re after an insight into life at the foot of the trash heap in the far east – and you should be simply because it’s interesting and enlightening – then Stupid Baby paints a particularly vivid picture, not only finding the humanity in such places, but revealing that it’s mostly humanity, even if lacking romance in the traditional sense, or even the sense of an Escort letters pages.

‘I was expecting something harrowing and absolutely alien, but I had it all wrong, and if Stupid Baby isn’t exactly pretty, there’s a kind of beauty here and certainly a tenderness regarding its subject. I haven’t bothered to address any potential moral issues concerning prostitution in this review, because the book does it far better than I could and from a position of greater authority, which is possibly part of the reason for it having been written.’ — Lawrence Burton

 

NEW JUCHE SITE
“Prostitution Is a Country” – An Interview with New Juche
New Juche @ goodreads
New Juche Whores Of Leith
Buy ‘Stupid Baby’

 

New Juche Stupid Baby
Amphetamine Sulphate

‘I’ve only looked after old faring, fifty sixty years old. But they all fucked me over, every one, after three or four yeas. They stole everything and escaped. All are the same. Farang like this are evil fucking scum. But I’ve never looked after a baby like you. I want to try. Interested? I’m over fifty, alright? You’ll be taken care of all your life. You don’t have to work. Only fuck me every single day. Interested?’ — New Juche

 

Excerpts

 

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** DC, Oh, hi. ** _Black_Acrylic, Glad you dug it, B-ster. I saw a few pix of the Seattle show somewhere, on FB (?), and it looks marvellous. Congratulations! Really look forward to getting the post and launching it universe-ward. Thanks! ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. That’s certainly my philosophy. Yes, yes, about the spitting out. My actor buddy Christian B. is a model example of a survivor. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Me too about the blog, whew. We didn’t meet/work yesterday because very sadly Zac’s grandmother died the night before last. It was not unexpected, but still, and he is now very occupied dealing with that and helping organise what has to happen. We might work today depending on where is in that and how he feels. I love Charity Kase, and not only for her awesome name. She’s so versatile and shapeshifting. Very impressive, thank you for the introduction. Did your waist make it through your demanding day and rouse itself afresh today? Because the work session got cancelled, I got to meet up with pals/artists/d.l.s Michael ‘Kiddiepunk’ Salerno and O.B. DeAlessi and their little kiddo and future pal/artist/d.l. Milo on the Left Bank for some book shopping and coffee and hanging. Bought two poetry books I know but don’t have actual copies of: John Ashbery’s ‘Quick Question’ and Ron Padgett’s ‘Alone and Not Alone’. And then I went home ands reread them. They’re bliss. Otherwise, I worked on blog stuff and did emails and not too much really. I hope you made it through your long day and psychologist tete-a-tete in perfect shape? How is everything? ** Steve Erickson, Hi. Yeah, the malware attack was bad enough that basically every function had to be restored individually, and reopening the comments was the last (I hope) piece of the puzzle. I read your thing about ‘I Remember the Crows’ on FB, and I’m very curious to see it if that becomes possible. I forgot Rudolf directed ‘Breakfast of Champions’. I’ve meant to watch that for forever. Partly because it has one of the rare biggish Lukas Haas performances I haven’t seen. ** Nik, Hi, Nik! The blog seems to be okay. I hope the new firewall I forked out for will fend off any future attacks. The TV script is just about ready to be submitted to ARTE. This week. The film script has to sadly wait until the TV script is submitted, but it’s very close to finished, and I hope we can totally finish it in the next week or so. Yeah, she’s one of the very few artists working seriously with the gif as a medium. It’s fascinating. Thanks about ‘The Marbled Swarm’. Yeah, it’s not a coincidence that writing it led me into wanting to make fiction with gifs more than with written language. Well, finals are a good excuse. Well, maybe not good, but I mean understandable. Procrastination is so strange, isn’t it? I never procrastinate about writing but I often procrastinate about real world stuff. Really strange effect or state or whatever it is. Well, best case scenario, writing fiction about things you don’t care about will inadvertently teach you some new writing tricks. That can happen when writing becomes a task. So I’ll hope for that. What kind of internship do you hope for? ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff. Yeah, that was spooky, especially after the google thing, and also especially because, just like last time, my new gif book is stored here, and Kiddiepunk hadn’t downloaded its materials yet — which he rushed to do yesterday, I hope — so I had a super fear of losing years’ worth of work and my next book. I haven’t seen ‘Counting’, just the trailer. So sorry to hear your pet’s health is still an area of confusion. That must be so worrying and stressful. ‘Sculptural assemblages’, ooh, say more? Yes, I’m an admirer of Sarah Charlesworth’s work, and I do know and love her ‘Stills’ series. Yeah, it’s different in a sense from her best known work, but the formal connection is strong as well. It’s certainly more emotive. I knew her work early on as I was living in NYC when the ‘Picture Generation’ artists were first showing. It’s very interesting to see her work now outside that context, which really defined how her and other PGs’ work like Louise Lawler, a.o. were understood. There’s a deep haunting-ness to her work that was kind of obscured at that time. Anyway, yeah. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris!!! So happy you found the Jem Cohen post inspiring. I think it was Jeff Jackson who originally suggested it. And obvs glad you dig Dina Kelberman’s work. You’re so kind and generous about the blog, man. But, yeah, thank fucking god it got through that in one piece. I don’t know, and probably never will, if some actually targeted my blog, but it’s weird to think someone would have. Buddy, you rock so hard, and today is going to go all shakey around you like the earth re: the falling of Thor’s hammer, if you ask me, and I predict. Love, DC. ** MANCY, Hi, pal! Yeah, thanks, that was scary, I must say. Cool cool, of course I was thinking about you and your possible interest when I put together that post. Sweet stuff, right? Simple but voluminous. Take care, S. ** JM, Thanks a bunch. Yeah, let’s just say that fucking firewall better do its job. I can only imagine, or try to, how hard it must be to learn ‘Leaves Of Grass’, which, to be perfectly honest, I’ve never liked. Too much declaiming and me-me and positivity for me. Not a Whitman fan. But my Dad says Whitman changed his life, and he’s hardly alone. Man, good luck with that. So, probably impossible to answer, but how are you staging that? Is it presentationally poetic, in an expected or unexpected way? I’m guessing the latter? Great day to you whatever wends its way out of yours. ** Okay. 4 books I loved. Well, one of them is not technically a book, I guess, but who’s counting? See if anything up there intrigues. See you tomorrow.