Funeral for Analog TV

Funeral for Analog TV
"The problem with television is that … the average American hasn't got time for it."
- New York Times in regards to the prototype television shown at the 1939 worlds fair.

presented by

The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA),
Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM) and
The Long Now Foundation


Date: Tuesday February 17, 02009*
Time: 7pm to 10pm
Location: Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA 94720
Cost: free, bring cash and id for full bar courtesy of the RockStar Bartenders
Extras: donate your Analog TV for recycling! (one per person please)
Website: http://bcnm.berkeley.edu/tvfuneral

More About the Event:

On February 17th join author Bruce Sterling, technology pundit Paul Saffo, and other special guests at the Berkeley Art Museum to mourn the loss of our long time acquaintance, the Analog Television Signal. Born in the 01920's the signal has been an integral part of all our lives, bringing us news of the rich, the famous, the politicians, the wars, the Apollo landings, the thrills of victory, and the agonies of defeat. While Analog Television has not been a good friend to us all, it has been important to each and every one of us. Analog Television is survived by its wife Digital Television, and its second cousin Internet Television.

Please bring your Analog TV with antenna for display (and free recycling by ACCRC), as we will stack as many sets as we can in memoriam to our life long friend. At the ceremony Paul Saffo will spell out the sordid history of the Analog TV Signal's life, the group Author and Punisher will perform the funeral dirge, and just before the signal winks out for the last time, author Bruce Sterling will deliver the eulogy via pirate television broadcast supplied by Neighborhood Public Radio.

Note: Bruce Sterling will not be speaking live, this will be a televised appearance he has created specifically for this event.

Also note: Apropos of the soap-operatic life of TV, there is a chance that Congress may issue an 11th hour stay of the "do not resuscitate order" on the Analog TV Signal, however this event will go forward either way as February 17 marks the day they will begin going off air.

This event will be filmed, additional press coverage welcome.

Donated TV's will be responsibly reused or recycled by The Alameda County Computer Resource Center who will be on hand to help with TV collection. If you cant make it, but have a TV that needs to be recycled ACCRC will take it free!

Funeral Program:

7:00pm - Doors open (free admission) Durant Lobby - Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA, 94720 - add your working Analog TV and antenna to the recycling pile, cash bar
7:30pm - Museum Theater - Paul Saffo speaks, theater seats 230, overflow served by TV broadcast to lobby
8:00pm - Back to Durant Lobby for reminiscing
8:30pm - Bancroft Lobby, Art Museum - Funeral Dirge performance by Author and Punisher
9:00pm - Bancroft Lobby - Bruce Sterling delivers eulogy
9:30pm - Snowcrash of the Analog Television Signal begins
9:40pm - There is a rumor that the signal may be pirated by the NPR group
10:00pm - End of event
Midnight - Video of Bruce Sterling eulogy released on the Internet


Press contacts:

Richard Rinehart
Digital Media Director & Adjunct Curator
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
[email protected]
ph.510.642.5240
fx.510.642.5269

Danielle Engelman
Community Development Director
The Long Now Foundation
[email protected]
ph. 415.561.6582 x1
fx. 415.561.6297


*The Long Now Foundation uses five digit dates, the extra zero is to solve the deca-millennium bug which will come into effect in about 8,000 years.