The “Lost World” of Technology:

Three Examples

Today:

• CB Radio

• Eight-Track Audio Tape

• Pixelvision Video

CB Radio:

“The Ancestor Technology”

The CB as Internet Ancestor

ten-four, pron.  means "OK"/ "YES"ten-twenty, pron.  locationten-thirty three, pron.  emergencyten-thirty six, pron.  call for correct timeparking lot, n.  a truck that is used to transport several

cars "piggy back"pickemup truck, n.  a pick up truckpicklestop, n.  Rest Area ( can also mean to take a break).plain wrapper, n.  term for an unmarked police car....can also use color of car, ie. "blue wrapper" (see also bear).preeshaydit, adj.  thank you very muchqueen city, n.  Charlotte, NC

Concerns About CB RadioThere is very much a dark side to CB. When used as a directed

communication tool between family members or friends in a caravan or park setting you are generally safe. Unfortunately CB has attracted some very strange users. You will hear grown men singing, shouting, making weird noises, and using off color humor. You will hear sexual innuendo, and maybe even drug dealers and prostitutes at truck stops. It sounds just like visiting a big city in person and walking through the down town. Keep that in mind as you cruise the highway with your CB. Anyone can buy a CB and put it it on the air. To a degree you should be guarded but don't be paranoid. Don't talk to strangers that make you feel uncomfortable. CB will only remain a wasteland if we allow the morons, flakes, jerks, perverts, and creeps to keep it. While I am on the road I will hear things that make you wonder about life itself. It is tragic that people behave the way they do.

(from “Radio for the Family Minded Communicator”)

The Trucker-as-Cowboy Myth

CB Mythology in Song

“Teddy Bear”

by Red Sovine

#1 U.S. Country Hit in 1976

Teddy Bear I• I was on the outskirts of a little southern town

Tryin' to reach my destination before the sun went downThe old CB was blarin' away on channel 1-9!When there came a little boy's voice on the radio line

And he said: "Breaker 1-9! Is anyone there?Come on back, truckers and talk to Teddy Bear!"Well, I keyed the mike and said: "You got it, Teddy Bear!"And a little boy's voice came back on the air

"'Preciate the break, Who we got on that end?"I told him my handle, and, then he began:"Now, I'm not supposed to bother you fellows out thereMom says you're busy and for me to stay off the air

But you see, I get lonely and it helps to talk'Cause that's about all I can do, I'm crippled, and, I can't walk!"I came back and told him to fire up that mikeAnd I'd talk to 'im, as long as he liked

Teddy Bear II• This was my dad's radio", the little boy said

"But I guess it's mine and mom's now, 'cause my daddy's dead!""Dad had a wreck about a month agoHe was trying to get home in a blindin' snow

Mom has to work now, to make ends meetAnd I'm not much help, with my two crippled feet!""She says not to worry that we'll make it alrightBut, I hear her crying, sometimes late at night

You know there's just one thing I want more than anything else to seeAw, I know you guys are too busy to bother with me!""But, you see, my dad used to take me for rides when he was homeBut, I guess that's all over now, since my daddy's gone

Not one breaker came on the old CBAs that little crippled boy talked with meI tried hard to swallow a lump that just wouldn't stay downAs I thought about my boy back in Greenville Town

Teddy Bear III• Dad was going to take mom and me with him later on this year, Why,

l remember 'im saying: 'Someday this old truck will be yours, Teddy Bear!'But, I know I'll never get to ride an 18-wheeler againBut, this old base will keep me in touch with all my trucker friends!"

"Teddy Bear's gonna back on out now and leave you alone'Cause it's about time for mom to come homeBut, you give me a shout when you're passin' throughAnd I'll sure be happy to come back to you!"

Well, I came back and I said: uh! "Before you go 10-10What's your home 20, little CB friend?"Well, he gave me his address and I didn't once hesitate'Cause this hot load of freight was just gonna have to wait

I turned that truck around on a dimeAnd headed straight for Jackson Street, 229And as I rounded the corner, oh, I got one heck of a shockl8 wheelers were lined up for three city blocks!

Teddy Bear IV• Why, I guess every driver for miles around had caught Teddy Bear's

callAnd that little crippled boy was having a ballFor as fast as one driver would carry him inAnother would carry him to his truck and take off again

Well, you better believe I took my turn at riding Teddy BearAnd then I carried him back in and put him down in his chairAnd buddy if I never live to see happiness againI want you to know I saw it that day, in the face of that little man

We took up a collection for him before his mama got homeAnd each driver said goodbye and then they all were goneHe shook my hand with a mile-long grinAnd said: "So long, trucker I'll catch ya again!"

Teddy Bear V

• Well, I hit the Interstate with tears in my eyesI turned on the radio and I got another surprise"Breaker 1-9!" Came a voice on the air"Just one word of thanks from Mama Teddy Bear!"

"We wish each and every one, a special prayer for you'Cause, You just made my little boy's dream come trueI'll sign off now, before, I start to cryMay God ride with you, 10-4, and goodbye."

Turning Carey Upside Down:“Communication With Transportation”

“Red Headed Step-Technology”:

The 8-Track Audio Tape

8-Track Pornography

“Communication With Transportation” II

(Controversial) “The Betamax of Audio”?

Now, a Popular Collector’s Item & Emblem of Cultural Opposition

Why 8-Tracks?

• Eight-track collectors are the archivists of a unique and glorious technology. We embrace a machine that has ceased to exist in the present, one which Madison Avenue has, arbitrarily, made synonymous with "last year's model," obsolescence and backwardness (they scream, "You don't have a cellular phone yet? You probably still listen to 8-tracks..."). We are a group that refuses to believe it when corporate America insists that the new technology sounds better; a group whose members understand implicitly the relevance of looking back in history in order to see forward.

• (cont….)

• When you say yes to 8-track you're generally saying no to the accepted wisdom of our hallowed consumer culture, decrying this religion of consumption as the worship of hollow, deceptive idols. The format is not so important as the information within it, so the plan of corporations to make you re-buy the same music over and over again on different formats is, as one tracker puts it, "backwards thinking." Commit an act of consumer disobedience with us and reject the unjust laws of a marketplace ruled by greed. Follow the way of the 8-track and reap the spiritual rewards that come with renewing and recycling instead of stepping in line with the cattle so captivated with the consumerist culture that ultimately benefits only landfill brokers.

CLIP

“So Wrong They’re Right”

Directed by Russ Forster (1998)

The “Misused” Technology:

Pixelvision Video

Like 8-Track Movement, A Rejection of “Newer is Better” and Consumer

Society

Part of a Tradition of Low-Fidelity and Primitive Technique in Art

Intended Use Does Not Always Determine Actual Use

FUTURE LOCALES IN THE LOST WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

The Jukebox

Mini-Tel

The Piano Roll

Magnavox Odyssey

Lessons From The Lost World

--History repeats itself

--the use of technology is unpredictable

--your favorite tech today may end up tomorrow’s bad joke

EMAIL:

Steve Bailey

bailey@yorku.ca