Public Notice

Scraping the bottom of the bird cage or tuning in to the boob toob for the latest political convention poop? Well, don't count on Peter or Sam or Tom or Dan or their pals at the Times or Tribune or Herald or Post for that matter, to reveal too much in in the way of what's really happening up in Philly outside of the 2000 Republican National Convention. The state of our fourth estate these days is pretty content to lounge by the pool and have their soundbite grapes peeled and hand-fed into their eager, media-franchised lips by porky pundits and suck-up spinmeisters.

News??? Snooze!

Nobody wants to be bothered with that murky muck! Everybody wants to feel good about the schmoe candidates they support -- the schmucks who will control the fate of the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years. What does taste better as it's being crammed down your gullet? Pepsi or Coke? (Errr ... you tell us. Which one do you think is Coke?)

No, nobody wants to know about the teetering state of civil rights, the widening income caste, abortion rights, the state of the environment, or human rights, unless, of course, one of those threatened rights happens to be the one that, if not worshiped, might allow the big bad government to pry precious AK-47s from their cold dead fingers.

No, we are prosperous. Screw the trickled down to. Let 'em eat trickle! We'll take Coke! Or is that Pepsi? In national taste tests, 9 out of 10 can't tell the difference!

You could tell the media cush was setting in as early as last month, when the networks, papers, and dammit, even NPR, were falling all over themselves, beating each other to the feature scoop about how prepared the Philly cops were in anticipation of another WTO -- not that the cops in Seattle did anything wrong, mind you... Whatever. If you want to subsist on that fast food info pablum, that's your right as a Charleton Heston-fearin' American; don't let us stop you. But if you prefer the option of ... well, options in your news diet, if you want to peruse a variety of sources, and -- okay, hold tight to those knickers, kiddies, radical concept ahead: Decide for Yourself -- then consider these alternatives:

Tonight, Thursday, Aug. 3, 10pm-2am, Channel 16 ACAC presents unCONVENTION, four hours of live TV, coverage of the Republican party unlike anything you'll see on the majors.

If communal media mashing is more your style, check out Movements Gallery, 211 E. Sixth (upstairs) the next night, Friday, Aug. 4, 9pm, for an enlightening five-screen multimedia blitz of Footage From the unCONVENTION.

Additionally, you can check live coverage on the Internet, courtesy of Free Speech TV, Deep Dish TV, and Philly Independent Media Center. Chew slowly. www.indymedia.org or 476-3713. Feeling landlocked? We do. Coming from a coastal environment, living miles from the salty air makes this beach bunny transplant positively claustrophobic. Knowing that a clear horizon with nothing but one solitary straight line to distinguish the hues of blue, some sun, some surf, a coupla breakers, and a buoy light every now and again ... knowing that it is hours away is enough to make us itch. We try to sate it. We rent Beach Blanket Bingo, Lifeguard, Jaws, even reruns of Baywatch for godssake, slap on some Jan & Dean and hope it helps. Then we remember that Austin has lakes, rivers, and creeks to quell our urge for ocean surge. Ahhhhhhhhhh!

How about you? How long before you feel like a fish out of water? Fishing for something to do with the family this weekend? Tired of flopping around the same gamerooms and play parks Wanna get really wet and wild? Perhaps you are ready for a fishy adventure, a deep blue journey into the world of wawa. How does a nice "Mystery Fish Kill" sound? Or how about a swim down the runway of some "Fashion Fish?" Perhaps you feel a need to "Splash the Trash?" Come out to Austin's Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, 1156 Hargrave @ Rosewood, this Saturday, Aug. 5, 11am-4pm, for the Family Outdoor Adventure Days, hosted by Texas Parks & Wildlife, the Austin Nature & Science Center, Austin PARD, and more. Free outdoor fun will be had by you and your li'l guppies. See wild animals, climb a rock, meet the Buffalo Soldiers, fish, fish, fish, and much more! Did we mention that there will be a Clean-up of Boggy Creek? Well there's that, too. And the best thing? Sure, it'll be a fun day of eco-awareness and community togetherness -- but the best part is that it's free, free, free, free, free. www.tpwd.state.tx.us/adv/adv.htm or 472-6932.