- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; First Trade Paper Edition edition (Nov 27 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0738208051
- ISBN-13: 978-0738208053
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.1 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 327 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,254,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
With The Bombast Transcripts, Christopher Locke (a.k.a. RageBoy, that iconoclastic cybervoice of dissonance, disdain, and all things provocative) is leaping from your screen to your bookshelf. Look out. The scathing rants from the creator of Entropy Gradient Reversals--probably the most wittily outrageous, cryptically observant, and eagerly puzzled-over Web zine ever to pollute the airwaves--are explosive.
As a tag, screed is only partly accurate for the contents of this volatile collection; they're long harangues, all right, but by no means monotonous. Listen in as Locke lets his alter ego loose in friendly chat with IBM's Lou Gerstner (well, actually an exit interview with Lew Firstner, pompous and clueless chairman of the 666 Corporation). As he not-so-clearly illustrates what "getting it" means (by pondering T.S. Kuhn, voodoo ceremonies, and a sacred space you can't enter with your mind on, let alone your shoes). And as he gleefully admits that most of his readers "seem to enjoy abstruse and obfuscatory exegeses on themes that utterly elude them" but apparently "alleviates their anxiety about not knowing anything that wasn't covered by Geraldo." Don't be insulted; be alleviated. Locke may indeed be the Web's most acerbic gonzo journalist and techno-semiotic social critic, but he's also written for Forbes; worked for MCI, Ricoh, and the Japanese government's AI project; and been named one of the top 50 business thinkers in the world. If you missed out on this cyberpundit's irreverent rants the first time around, catch him now (if you can). As Locke himself reminds us, "Being totally insane is hard work. People don't realize that." They should now. --S. Ketchum --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
RageBoy, the cyber-handle of gonzo-journalist Locke, has collected here his online columns, mostly from his Web zine, Entropy Gradient Reversals. Entries range from the autobiographical (his LSD and drinking years, followed by his own weird version of sobriety) to mock-interview (his chats with TV horse Mr. Ed or "Moe Ron Hubbard, father of Diuretics and Sayonaralogy"). Favorite targets include corporate culture (which he'd consider an oxymoron) and academic posturing (his "Snack with Andr‚" imagines situationist philosopher Guy Debord as Port Authority panhandler DeMerde; his piece "deriding Derrida" exposes French postmodernists as so many "petty control freaks"). While his rants take potshots at a variety of cultural sacred cows (including a wicked analysis of America's fondness for the Weather Channel), it's Locke's own history as an early artificial intelligence/cyberspace pioneer that informs his most damning critique the co-optation of the Internet. In the early days, people who knew how the Internet worked "were mainly using it to fuck off We thought it was important to fuck off." They wanted the Internet to be different from all the other media, a place to "tell stories" about things that mattered, like "heaven, earth, man, woman." But it wasn't long before the "marketing boys" took over, reducing the Net to just another way to sell product. Resurrect William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski and Ken Kesey, add a dash of Dilbert and that's RageBoy. Though it's not for everyone, this "browser-free format" may bring in new audiences. (Feb.)Forecast: This work will be popular with college kids at places like Berkeley readers of Locke's earlier Gonzo Marketing may not get these rants.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond description,
By Paul Ritchie "chatrat" (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bombast Transcripts: Rants and Screeds Of Rage Boy (Paperback)
This is the crash course in understanding the fundamentals of the necessity of change as seen through the eyes of the author, Christopher Locke. Everything you previously thought was lore is turned on its head in riotous fashion in The Bombast Transcripts. Each chapter takes apart some standard you thought was a given, an immutable and constant attribute of practically every aspect of life in the western world. The best part is that Chris does it in so many different ways in one book. There's flat out ranting and there's cutting ridicule including interviews with himself, Rupert Murdoch and the famous one with Mr Ed. (Yes, the horse.) Using those cliched critic's terms of rollercoaster ride or rollicking good yarn don't do this volume any justice whatsoever. In fact, this book defies any label you might care to ascribe. In fact, I defy anyone to come up with a label for this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Genius at work. Chew on carpet while you wait.,
By Marek J (Planet Earth [The Rich Section]) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bombast Transcripts: Rants And Screeds Of Rageboy (Hardcover)
I only have one thing to say about this: "The Solution is Poetry". Excellent reading. Warning, you may not get it if you consider yourself too smart and significant.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious Poetic Nonsense,
By
This review is from: The Bombast Transcripts: Rants And Screeds Of Rageboy (Hardcover)
There are people who will swear by this book, there are people who will hate the book. There is no middle ground, i have checked and tried it out. Either you love it or you hate it. Poetic Nonsense in finesse and the finest form.This will cure your longing of the cluetrain manifisto stuffs. Beautifully written and meaningless at some point, but you goona love it i guess, you gonna crave for more, and then subscribe the newsletter. GO buy the book, and immerse yourself. I have read some part of the book more than 3 times. Amen.
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