Greg Swann speaks: An extended interview with me in Orlando from August of 2013.

Orlando, where you can almost always find a footing.

Orlando, where you can almost always find a footing.

In August of 2013, Anthony Johnson of The 21 Convention brought me to Orlando to do a video interview. I stayed for a month, for my own purposes, but the flights were on #T21C, and I am endlessly, boundlessly grateful for every bit of this: For the trip, for the interview, for the people I met and the things I saw, did and learned.

The ideas about art – the notions I have come to refer to as benedy and maledy – were spawned on that trip. Uncle Willie went to Las Vegas in July and lost his gamble, then to Orlando in August, where he shed himself of satire. I got my favorite guitar – Cherry Bomb – then, too. I had it shipped Amazon Prime to my hotel, so I first saw the third of my three princesses in Orlando.

“Hello, World! I’m your wild girl! Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb!”

“Hello, World! I’m your wild girl!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb!”

The Big-O is a busker town, so me and her saw a lot of sun, as you will note in the video. I am Phoenix brown year around, but Orlando got the best of me. I have never sweat or peed so much in my life, nor have I ever seen so much water on what is reputed to be dry land.

The interview was shot at Socrates’ house, which he himself designed, built and decorated. The space is breathtaking, but you see too little of it, alas. Even so, it was the prefect setting for this discussion.

Socrates himself, in the space he designed as his own private perfection.

Socrates himself, in the space he designed as his own private perfection. The photo is from a small get-together in his home, and I got to meet his wonderful wife-to-be, Mary-Frances, that night.

And ain’t I the proud one? Indeed I am. This is well done all the way around, with the visual style establishing the terms of debate. I was questioned by Anthony Johnson, Socrates and Marilee Johnson, but what you see are my answers, with the questions summarized on intro cards.

We cover a lot, a lot, a lot of stuff: The ideas discussed in Man Alive, where those stand in relation to other doctrines, my intellectual influences, etc. Many of the ideas I’ve been working on for the past two years are explored in their infancy, as well: DISC, love and marriage, etc. If you want to see the best of my ideas in video, with persistent nudging to keep me from spinning off on tangents, this is worth your time.

Except… It will be a lot of time. The video is 2.5 hours long. It may suit you to take it down in smaller bites.

But: Do give it a look. This is a fun and funny way to take in a lot of my thought in a beautiful setting.

This entry was posted in Splendor!. Bookmark the permalink.