Repurposing the Past at the Dawn of a New Year

As I mentioned in the preceding post, today is the start of a new fiscal year for many nonprofit organizations. The accountants are all hung over and sleeping under desks, their heads resting on curls of adding machine tape. The beginning of a new year seems like a good excuse to bring back the video dance mashup that premiered on the Culture Shock Channel exactly six months ago.

Long-time Culture Shock readers will have fond memories of the post in which I bade farewell to 2008 (“Get the hell out of here old man!”) and welcomed 2009 (“Look! It’s a baby wearing a top hat!”). Many of you have been clamoring to see my tribute video again, wanting to relive the moment. New readers are saying, “I wish we were around when Culture Shock was still new and fresh and all the cool kids were reading it.”

After my film (can I call it a film?) premiered, I had a dream in which one fan wrote, “I sure hope someone will post this video again in … say, six months.” I asked a palm reader whether I should post it again; she said, "All signs point to YES!"

This post is dedicated to all the arts organizations struggling to stay afloat in these troubled times. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to update the titles and remix the soundtrack to “Billie Jean.” For young readers, the funny man at the beginning of the film used to be the President of the United States.