Subject: Re: Mermaid Militia - sit rep Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 15:28:53 -0400 To: , From: Bob Armstrong Gary Snyder pointed out that the Mermaid Parade is more a Metro= NYC event than strictly Manhattan , so I am cc:ing the Activists= list which strikes me as the logical place to promulgate this= activity . Jim , what a trooper you are . Great that we'll have Bonnie's= SUV . But my general feeling , Jim , is - lighten up a little . Save= the "platoons" for the Halloween Parade . I say this from the= perspective of having marched in formation on average twice a day for 5 of= my most formative years . You can't get astro-merpersons to march in= uniformed lock step any more than you could the minute men . They wore= what they they wore but were distinct from the Red Coats . I'm not going to buy some green pants . I don't even know that= I'll wear pants . ( Be smoking my cigar tho , if I can keep it lit .= ) I think there should be just 1 identifying item unifying the= Libertarian Astro-Atlanteans . The idea occurred Wednesday that even large bath/beach towels would do - dyed a distinctive= peace-thru-freedom shade - with an LP logo or whatever . They could be worn as a= sarong or toga or cape or whatever one thought of . But perhaps the most realistic notion is simply a computer= generated T-shirt transfer . A Lady Liberty crown on a sea horse sounds= great . ( Incidentally , yesterday I happened to meet the guy who did= the windows in the statue's crown . ) I would strongly recommend the t-shirts be a distinctive color -= not white - to supply the needed group cohesion . If these could be done for a cost of , say $10 , I think= participants could all afford it , and end up with a memento of their= participation which will last thru at least a few wash cycles . Jim , I'll plan to get together with you and Bonnie tomorrow= afternoon as you suggest . Bob A -- On Thu, 12 Jun 2003 22:07:08 -0700, James Lesczynski wrote: >=A0So far, I count the following people as more or less committed= to our "Mermaid Militia" stunt for the Coney Island Mermaid= Parade: >=A0Jim Lesczynski >=A0Bob Armstrong >=A0Bonnie Scott >=A0Dawn Fox >=A0Nic Leobold >=A0Joseph Dobrian >=A0Thomas Ruks >=A0Catherine Ruks >=A0Craig Milem >=A0Craig's friend? >=A0Rosemary Rossi >=A0Gary Snyder (yes?) > >=A0If know of anyone who would like to participate but isn't on= the list above, please let me know. Likewise, if you are on the= list above but do not intend to participate, please let me know.= We're going to try to keep this project fairly low maintenance,= but it's going to involve a little bit of planning and= coordination to make it successful. Please bear with me, and= please read this email to the end, because I'm going to be= asking for at least a little bit of help from each of you. > >=A0To reiterate, the idea is to do some fun outreach and political= theater at the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Our specific= idea is to march together as "the Mermaid Militia". And what= sort of weapons do the Mermaid Militia carry? Water guns, of= course. :-) (Imagine the headlines: "Libertarians announce Guns= For Tots 2: The Mermaid Militia".) Bonnie also suggests water= balloon grenades, along with our mermaid costumes. We'll also= have pro-freedom marching cadences, as well as some sort of fun= outreach material. > >=A0The hardest part to coordinate is going to be our costumes. We= want to keep it fairly simple so the costumes aren't a burden in= dollars or time. At the same time, everybody else in the parade= is going to have very creative costumes, and we don't want to= look lame. Our costumes also need to be "uniform" because we are= supposed to look like a platoon of mermaids. > >=A0Bonnie is the costume coordinator, and she can fill us in the= details. If I understand it correctly, we are going to look like= para-military mermaids. For now, what we need is for everyone to= get themselves a white tee shirt and a pair of green pants.= Bonnie will add ruffled material to the bottom of your pants to= make it look like a mermaid tail. She is also making a decal to= attach to the front of each of our tee shirts. (I think it's a= sea horse with a statue-of-liberty head.) > >=A0Probably the biggest burden for all of you is going to be= acquiring the green pair of pants. (The rest of the project will= be lots of _fun_, I promise, especially the parade itself.)= DON'T spend a lot of money; just go to the cheapest discount= store near you. We aren't going to be picky about the shade of= green. They can even be sweat pants, but you probably want to= get something lightweight, since it will probably be hot that= day and we'll be. If anyone comes across a good bargain, let the= rest of us know.. > >=A0I also want to get some more squirt guns, even though we have a= lot remaining from Guns For Tots I. I hope to get each of us a= long rifle-like Super Soaker to shoulder. The rest of our toy= guns we can give away to the kids in the crowd. I'll try to get= them cheap, and I'll pick up the tab, but if any of you wanted= to contribute a couple bucks to defray the cost, I would= appreciate it. Bonnie will also need to be reimbursed for her= costume materials; she can tell you how much, but I think it= will only be a few dollars each. > >=A0We need somebody to buy the water balloons (grenades). Who can= take care of that? > >=A0We need somebody to write and photocopy some simple propaganda= about who we are, the proposed toy gun ban, etc. Who can take= care of that? Maybe Thomas or Joseph? > >=A0I will write a press release, no later than this weekend, and= issue it on Monday. The Manhattan LP will pay for that cost out= of its treasury. > >=A0I will also register us for the parade tonight. The cost is= $50. ($30 for 3-15 marchers, plus $20 for Bonnie's jeep, which= we're going to decorate and ride on/march behind.) I was going= to ask the MLP for reimbursement for that, but I think I will= pay for it as an in-kind donation to the chapter. > >=A0Bonnie is going to be in the city on Saturday afternoon to= preview the costume accessories. Bob, can you stop by my= apartment on Saturday to take a look and finalize the ideas? The= rest of you are also welcome to attend, but don't feel= obligated. > >=A0On the big day, we will need to get to Coney Island _early_. We= are to assemble on West 16th Street between Surf and Mermaid= Avenues. They would like all participants to arrive no earlier= than 10 AM and no later than 12 NOON. It's going to be a huge= mob of people and challenging to find each other, so PLEASE= let's avoid Standard Libertarian Time and be prompt. I think the= subways to Coney Island are currently messed up due to= construction, so we'll need to account for that too. > >=A0Did I forget anything? If you have any questions, comments, or= criticisms, please send them along. > >=A0This will be FUN, FUN, FUN! Everybody who isn't participating= is going to really miss out. > >=A0http://www.coneyisland.com/mermaid.shtml > >=A0Jim Lesczynski > >=A0P.S. If anyone has Craig Milem's email address, please forward= this. --=A0 =A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864 Newsletter : http://cosy.com/K/CoSy/NL200305.htm =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A02003/06/13 2:16:22 PM