The Gypsy Jack Boggle Show: May 2012

SHARE YOUR PASSION

Introduction:

I want you to share your cultural passion with your fellow citizens. In order for you to do this you need to know the “where”, “why”, “how”, “preparation” and “when”.

Where:

Your information will be broadcast on the “Passions” programme broadcast on Horsham’s Community Radio 3H, 96.5 FM. in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. A copy of the recording will be kept in the public archive at Wimmera Library.

Now that I have worked out how to do it, I will also post a copy to be accessible through the Gypsy Jack Boggle Show’s Blog and probably a new “Passions” blog on the internet. If it is deemed suitable, a copy will also be lodged with the National Archives in Canberra.

Please note that until I have thirty recordings in the vault, I will not give the programme a trial broadcast. It is up to you as to whether you the world to know what the people of this area are made of. Silence says a lot of things.

Why:

This initiative has many purposes -

To create a record of the cultural pursuits of the people of our area.
To inform all of the myriad forms of culture available to each individual as a practitioner, potential practitioner or audience-consumer.
To detail some of the methodology of that pursuit.
To identify the reason for each individual’s desires, satisfactions and inspiration for their passion.
To create an harmonious radio programme of interest to all listeners irrespective of age, education, intelligence, religion, origin or gender.
To advance the well-being of our citizenry.
Not only to enable individual citizens to promote and share their passion and even obtain recompense as well as mental gain from it but also to create a source of inspiration or role model for others. Alternatively to create the opportunity for the development of new partnerships or cultural genres.

I recall here a young man who became an expert in the art of origami. He claimed that because of the time that he had spent practicing the art and the skill that he had developed he had also coincidentally trained part of his brain to enable him to fluently speak english backwards.

Similarly I know a housewife who developed instant fluidity of left handed writing after losing her right arm in an accident. As my father used to say “You’ll never know unless you have a serious go”.

In terms of new or novel combinations the examples of Gilbert & Sullivan and Abbott & Costello are two that spring to mind.

How:

Either come into the studio in Horsham and be part of the programme live to air, record your piece in our learning studio or prepare your own recording at home for submission to Rjn for inclusion in a programme. Note if you are doing your own recording it will have to be of at least 12,000 Hz 16 bit recording quality in .wav or MP3 format and not exceed fifteen minutes duration. Suitable recorders include MP3 player/recorders, computers with Audacity, Zoom recorders, mobile phones, et cetera.

Furthermore your recording cannot contain incitement to violence or racial & gender hatred, slanderous, blasphemous and seditious commentary.

If yours is an aural passion that can be shared over the airwaves a sample recording or performance to commence or conclude your piece inestimably increases the interest of your contribution. I suggest that visual & kinaesthetic artists include sound-bites of appreciative audience remarks - “Ooh, isn’t that tree painting realistic”, “Wow, how does he swallow that sword?”, “That acrobat’s balance is fantastic!”, “Look at those colour combos they remind me of Picasso’s blue period”. In other words “Include verbal exclamations of passion evoked in others when they see the result of your passion.” If you can also include internet link references in your declamation as well as including them for the blog, listeners will be able to see if your audience’s commentary is shared!

Preparation:

Do you want to sound like a tongue tied dork who does not know their passion or a passionate expert person who loves their cultural pursuit with a burning desire to have the rest of the world also join in and become accomplished masters? Preparation has a great deal to do with it. A few other preferred traits include knowledge of subject (my old biology teacher, Bill Roe always used to say that everyone knows enough about something to write a book.... even if it is only how to roll a cigarette, smoke it and develop chronic lung disease!), a willingness to share and overcome shyness or modesty, a belief in your validity (see the page in the blog on Agenda 21 if you have any problems on that score), a desire to empower others with your knowledge or simply have your ten minutes of fame. If after all this you still have a real problem in front of the microphone we have a number of presenters and others who will be willing to “impersonate” you and share your passion with the people.

I have laid out a few questions and considerations to start you on your path to successfully preparing yourself to accomplish a successful, interesting and entertaining exposé to everyone of your passion:

Why do I want to do this – some acceptable reasons:

I want others to learn of the satisfaction gained from....
I want others to know how to accomplish my passion
I want to develop a coterie of like minded people to share my passion
I wish to be a role model for others in our community, particularly the younger members of our community
I wish to validate my contribution to humanity
I wish to stroke my ego

Some unacceptable reasons include but are not limited to:

I wish to slander Mr X & Ms Y....
I have nothing to say, no knowledge and have done no preparation but I like the sound of my own voice and my mother/father has connections....
I wish to deny someone their human rights....
I wish to bully someone on air....
I wish to demean other passions (cultural practices) or worse someone else’s expression of their passion....
I wish to sell the mechanical widget that I have just made for $10,000.... Sorry you cannot do this. At best you can direct people to your selling agents eg. My CD’s including my current release are obtainable through my website xyz.com.au with no actual price mentioned or “costing between $5 and $30” at a reasonable price or best of all “mention that you came through “Passions” and I will donate $1 from every sale to Community Radio HHH. Or contact me through my email xyz@email.com.au.

The radio programme “Passions” will only work if a strict policy of safeguarding each participant’s belief, knowledge or opinion from irresponsible and puerile commentary or behaviour is enforced. In other words if you try to slag off someone else or misbehave you will not go to air.

A Few More Hints & Considerations on How to Put It Together.

Ask yourself and honestly answer the following questions:

How did my passion start for me?
- A role model I emulate? My education? An innate skill? A family occupation? A desire to achieve the beauty I had seen from my cultural heros?
Is my cultural passion undertaken as a participant or an audience/spectator?
What cultural category does my passion fall into?
- Spiritual?
  - Philosophy, psychology, astrology, phrenology, palmistry, viscera divination, religion.
    - Taste?
  - Cooking & drink making, tobacco consumption.
What gives you inspiration to enable you to make your passion’s creation?
Are you a practitioner, an educator or both?
What are your rewards?
How do you accomplish your passion?
- Give intimate and minute detail if possible eg. “I paint in acrylics, often with a palette knife. I love applying thick layers of paint and enjoy the smooth but squishy feel when my knife “sculpts” that paint into amorphous swirls”.
How I believe my passion adds to the treasury of existing culture rather than merely being a plagiarised inferior example.
Does my passion represent a homage to the work of previous exponents?
- Are you looking to build on their work or simply introduce new audiences to past genius and maintain an interest in that past artist so their work does not die from memory?

When:

Telephone or send an SMS to Richard on 042 756 3929 with your phone number or send an email to - thegypsyjackboggleshow@gmail.com giving your number and best time to be contacted.

What you need to have ready:

An outline of what you want to say.
If your passion is aural, a short recording to include within your segment on the programme taking it up to a maximum time of fifteen minutes (talk plus recording).
A completed authority to broadcast, place a copy of the recording of your presentation in the public library system and authority for the recording to be put on the blog for the benefit of the Wimmera, the Australian and World community.
A data sheet containing your contact detail (website, email address, PO Box or telephone number) if you are wishing your passion to be promoted for your benefit. Links to permanent samples of your work on the world wide web eg. Photographs of visual arts, sound bites of aural works, film of kinaesthetic performance such as dance, et cetera.

My Authority to Horsham & District Community FM Radio Inc.

ABN: 60 456 790 933 Assoc No: A00310006G

re the programme “Passions”.

I …............................................................................................

of …............................................................................................

….............................................................................................

hereby give permission for Horsham & District Community Radio Inc. to broadcast my contribution to the “Passions” programme.

 I wish this contribution to be live to air ….... or
 as per my enclosed recorded presentation........

Alternatively ~

 I wish you to provide someone to read my enclosed signed prepared presentation........

Furthermore I give authority for the record and broadcast to be permanently stored by Wimmera Regional Library in its public archives, the Australian National Archives if they wish it and for a copy with links to be made public on the internet world wide web.

( please delete the inappropriate statements)

Your contact details or links that you wish to be made public are:

name:......................................................................................

email: .....................................................................................

website: ..................................................................................

telephone number: ...............................................................................

Postal Address: .................................................................................

The archival tags that I want used are:..........................................................................................

................................................................................................

eg. A vaudeville performer’s tags may be ~ tap dancer, singer, actor, comedian, storyteller, banjo player, saxophonist

Please email photographs, films, mp3 material to the email address together with details of the copyright holder and their authority to publish the material by internet, broadcast and podcast.

….....................................................

….......................................

Your Signature & Date

E&OE

Update The radio station management approved the programme and allocated a time slot of 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm on Sundays.

My thanks are given to Jillian Pearce and Paula Clark for their valuable advice and input.

It now merely requires you to do your stuff. When I have thirty recordings in the vault we will give the programme a trial. Rjn