May 9, 2001

5:41 AM

neo-neo psychedelic, manthe new new psychedlic art artists are creating with Flash is trippy. . It's like 1968 all over again, without the nasty side effects (nam, nixon). I'm quittin my job and moving to Frisco.
posted by brucec (35 comments total)

Crap, I knew I shouldn't have eaten the brown acid.
posted by Outlawyr at 5:57 AM on May 9, 2001

Groovy site, indeed. (But word to the wise: when I lived in the Bay Area, it was considered very bad form indeed to refer to San Francisco as "Frisco" -- it marks you as an outsider or an ignorant tourist. I was instructed by natives to call it either "San Francisco" or simply "The City." ) And let's not forget the worst of all the side effects of the 60s...the Beatles.
posted by davidmsc at 5:58 AM on May 9, 2001

Heh, the nineties were infinitely more psychedelic than the sixties. The acid, shrooms, weed were all stronger and ecstasy democratised psychedelia like never before. Not sure how this site fits in though.
posted by hmgovt at 6:11 AM on May 9, 2001

I don't know. When you call your site "mind-fucking multimedia", you're setting up some pretty big promises. Maybe I just don't get psychedelia, but I'm pretty sure it didn't fuck my mind. I just thought it was pretty, but that's it.
posted by starvingartist at 6:14 AM on May 9, 2001

I think it's just as ignorant to demand that your city be called "The City", or that people should say it a certain way or else be labelled ignorant themselves. I remember receiving a similar attitude during my stay in SF, and I must say, what's all the hoopla about? If I feel like saying "San Fran", then I'm allowed to. Ahh, the hypocrisy of "free love", "anti-conformist" San Francisco, where everyone has to pronounce the city name in the exact same way...
posted by Succa at 6:14 AM on May 9, 2001

and the zeros promise to be even more psychedlic...when else could you get your trip at work?


.
posted by brucec at 6:18 AM on May 9, 2001

San Francisco - I spent two weeks there in 1993. One of the worst places I've ever visited - haughty, pretentious, city centre streets thronging with violent criminals, awful weather, lukewarm clubs and bars. New York was a relative paradise in comparison.

Frisco, I diss you.
posted by hmgovt at 6:23 AM on May 9, 2001

'the city' means different things to different people. If you tell a driver in Northern New Jersey go to the city, he'll head to New York. If you tell a driver in Southern New Jersey ... he'll head to Philie. I heard an Idahoan say the city when they meant Seattle - an eight hour drive away! within new york city, people in Queens will tell you they are heading into the city when they go to Manhattan . They are in the city!!
posted by brucec at 6:24 AM on May 9, 2001

Boot up, log in, drop out man!
posted by davehat at 6:28 AM on May 9, 2001

> I just thought it was pretty, but that's it.

DANGER, INCOMING. Peter Max still lives, and I hear he just bought a copy of the Flash SDK.
posted by jfuller at 6:37 AM on May 9, 2001

I only looked for a second but it really looks like the old Dazzle to me. You can run this site on your browser in full screen mode and party like it's 1991!
posted by Dean_Paxton at 7:28 AM on May 9, 2001

the geometric concept is similar...but more flash is more smooth.

another site om, gets away from the Dazzle mode a bit and into something richer.
posted by brucec at 7:54 AM on May 9, 2001

I think it's just as ignorant to demand that your city be called "The City", or that people should say it a certain way or else be labelled ignorant themselves.

I agree Succa. I live in New York and people insist on pronouncing Houston Street "Hau stawn" Street, city of Texas be damned. Although after so many years, I eventually succumbed, I still feel like a conformist dork whenever I say those words.
posted by haqspan at 8:09 AM on May 9, 2001

It's psychedelia, but it's bad psychedelia. Nothing I saw was particularly well done, original, or made me think.

*Yawn*
posted by D.C. at 8:09 AM on May 9, 2001

I live in New York and people insist on pronouncing Houston Street "Hau stawn" Street, city of Texas be damned

When I lived in Austin, my neighbor from NYC insisted on calling our neighbor city "Hau stawn" . I never figured out if she was kidding or not.
posted by david hedge at 8:23 AM on May 9, 2001

I love how this has turned into a discussion of what to call where you live. To add my two cents - Boston is only called "Beantown" by people who don't actually live there - we usually said we were "going in to town." I learned when I moved to Washington, DC that it's usually referred to as "the District." I think every place has little quirks like that. I'm not going to argue that San Francisco isn't more pretentious and annoying about it than anywhere else (I've never been), but I think it's pretty standard for people who live in a city to differentiate themselves from those just visiting. It's a way of feeling like you belong. I felt like I really lived here after I understood some of the local idioms.

And about the website - blah. I have a screen saver from 5 years ago that looks pretty much the same.
posted by jennaratrix at 9:17 AM on May 9, 2001

If you speak French and go to New Orleans, you need to forget your rules of pronunciation when describing some of the streets and place names:

e.g. Chartres is charters.

They've their own rules for saying New Orleans. Not being from their, I can't go into it.
posted by Dick Paris at 9:26 AM on May 9, 2001

THE CITY where in 1906, an earthquake demolished THE CITY, and what did THE PEOPLE of THE CITY do? Why, they rebuilt THE CITY in THE SAME SPOT so that THE CITY would come tumbling down again THE NEXT TIME.
posted by crunchland at 9:29 AM on May 9, 2001

Dick Paris - I know what you mean. In Maryland there's a place called Havre de Grace. I took 4 years of French in school - I thought it was pronounced "av-re de gras". Uh-uh. Hav-er de (long e) grace (like what you say before dinner). Ugh.
posted by starvingartist at 9:48 AM on May 9, 2001

Is that when they they built THE CITY on Rock n' Roll, crunchland. [apologizes, ducks head in shame, scurries off to corner]
posted by kokogiak at 9:51 AM on May 9, 2001

I live in New York and people insist on pronouncing Houston Street "Hau stawn" Street, city of Texas be damned. Although after so many years, I eventually succumbed, I still feel like a conformist dork whenever I say those words.

My understanding is that it has less to do with pretension and more to do with the original pronunciations of the "Houston's" they were named after. I believe there are six different "correct" ways to pronounce Houston. I refuse to back this information up.
posted by buddha9090 at 9:54 AM on May 9, 2001

Around Seattle, if you want to spot an out-of-towner, pick up on how they pronounce "Puyallup", a nearby town that holds our State Fair. (Or the town of "Sequim")

[highlight text for 'correct' pronunciation - Puyallup = 'Pyoo-al-up' , Sequim = 'Skwim' ]
posted by kokogiak at 9:56 AM on May 9, 2001

What I was told about "Hau Stawn" street in NY was that back around the turn of the 20th century, the area was largely populated by recent immigrants who were just picking up English as a second language, and that "HOU", to them, looke dlike it should rhyme with "about", and not "pew".
posted by kokogiak at 9:58 AM on May 9, 2001

Sorry to those in Houston Texas

The street came before the city. Or at least, it wasn't named after what would have been a small trading post. Most of the streets in lower manhattan were there by the 1820's, when the grid system started. The street most likely pre-dates the city, the state of Texas, and maybe even Sam Houston himself. (I don't know about the immigrant stuff, sounds like Old Yankee pronunciation to me. )

so new yorkers are snotty, but justified. Hang your head, flag a cab and Repeat after me: ' Take me to How-ston street!"

PS: Your friend in Austin is taking it TOO far however, the rule is : When in rome...
posted by brucec at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2001

When in Rome, do the Romans!
posted by Succa at 10:04 AM on May 9, 2001

Succa, your first comment makes me think of a beer ad:

"And it's ZED! Not Z!"

But heck, I still get annoyed when people call it an IMAC are talk about buying an Apple.
posted by jragon at 10:12 AM on May 9, 2001

Do you know how many times I tried to speak elaborate french to a cab driver in New Orleans

cha-trees? Cha-trey? Cha-tris?

Before he looked at me and said. "Oh, you mean charters?"

Also: if you listen to the 'yats' - the people who were born and raised in New Orleans closely, you will hear an accent that sounds very much like Brooklyn. For an example of a yat, there's a guy who manages the Rock and Bowl bowling alley in New Orleans (believe its on Canal) or you can listen to the bartender at the Palace Cafe. Don't tell him I sent you there.
posted by brucec at 10:12 AM on May 9, 2001

Jragon: well, it IS "Zed" if I'm not mistaken...otherwise, you're speaking "American", not "English".

Which I suppose most of you are.

This doesn't need to devolve into language wars. I'm ending it right now before it even gets the chance.

- END OF DISCUSSION -
posted by Succa at 10:38 AM on May 9, 2001

Presque Isle State Park is near Erie, PA, and its pronunciation has always confused me. The name is obviously French, but it's not pronounced like it is - and it's not pronounced like it's English, either. The first word has a French pronunciation and the second an English one, and ends up being spoken something like presk aisle. Goofy.
posted by Aaaugh! at 1:58 PM on May 9, 2001

there's a town called Buena Vista in South Jersey. Now those who know Spanish know there's only one way to pronounce that.. the rules are strict in spanish. "bwen-ah vista." The locals call it "Be-yuna"

And as a demonstration of how powerful local culture is, a whole bunch of Hispanic families have recently joined the community, and how do they pronounce it? Be-yuna.
posted by brucec at 2:55 PM on May 9, 2001

who let the bold out better?
posted by brucec at 2:56 PM on May 9, 2001

Des Moines, IA? de moyn
Des Plaines, IL? dez playnz
Cairo, IL? kare-oh
Goethe St in Chicago? go-thee
Bourbonnais (town), IL? bur-boh-nus
Bourbonnais (county containing town), IL? boor-boh-nay
Elgin (English lord)? ell-ghin
Elgin (Illinois city)? ell-jin
Racine (French writer)? rah-seen
Racine (Wisconsin city)? ray-seen [I'm not entirely certain but this pronunciation apparently increased markedly over the last couple decades, edging out ruh-seen]

I kinda like the idea that local pronunciations persist. They act as a kind of marker, a shibboleth, to indicate whether you're from there or have at least been there a while. There are other kinds of things, like local slang or grammar.

Pittsburgh: the laundry needs done
Chicago: pick it up at the Jewel [semi-generic for grocery store, always with 'the']

Uh, this wasn't what the thread was supposed to be about, was it?
posted by dhartung at 3:13 PM on May 9, 2001

Spot the tourist in Boston: remarkably easy. Copley Square should be pronounced with a short o, not a long o, but tourists usually get it wrong. Cracks me up everytime.
posted by acridrabbit at 4:21 PM on May 9, 2001

Getting back to the "psychedelic" link -- it's like an early Fruitopia commercial, except without the Fruitopia and on a Web site.
posted by kindall at 4:53 PM on May 9, 2001