So here we are in the year 2012 and the apocalypse is still happening. We saw the rise of Internet culture as the lines between the virtual and the physical were forever blurred. 2012 was the year that everything happened but it was also the year that nothing happened. We joined the masses in zombie flash mobs to compete for a shifting demographic: technoshamans turning into digital celebrities turning into social media coaches: insert something about storytelling: insert something about worldbuilding. Was it too late to stop the postmodern world from turning us all into Lolcats? Could we fight against the great mashup of nothing? Could the true geeks, freaks, thinkers, innovators, mutants, cyborgs, and future-gods unite for the final-harvest-of-whatever?

Of course my answer here is yes. 100% yes. I’m one of those super enthusiastic types who does not give up in the face of adversity. I decided to throw the second annual Extreme Futurist Festival  on December 21^st, 2012. If there is going to be an apocalypse I want us to be the designers of it. If we are opening up the gates for a new subculture that defines itself as a new species I want us to explore transhumanism in a way that makes us look like more than playground occultists and sci-fi fanatics. We should be ready to lead the DIY evolution. We should be ready to define this paradigm shift and give meaning to the fnording around us. Why not call Eris and tell her the golden apple has broken the spell of digital catatonia?

In the spirit of events like Autonomous Mutant Fest and websites like Acceler8or we want to showcase the most cutting edge projects and performances our tribe of cyborgs/mutants/future-gods has to offer. This isn’t just about finding the others but engaging with the others in a way that will give the Mayans a run for their money. We want to do the apocalypse right and prove that authentic culture is more-alive-than-ever in 2012.  Let us become friendly with the fnord once again and show reality how we truly feel about its weak limitations. Let us unite in the extreme future and be remembered for years to come as the makers of culture, evolution, and chaos. Hail Eris!

Extreme Futurist Festival 2012 Trailer from H+ Worldwide on Vimeo.

We just met our goal of 20K and are in the process of booking speakers and performers. If you would like to participate in Extreme Futurist Fest 2012 please email us at extremefuturistfest2012@gmail.com

We have entered a new era in which sincerity is a social handicap. Taking this to the extreme we can conclude that irony has replaced meaning and that substance has turned into a joke.

It is easy to blame Postmodernism but we must remember that Postmodernism evolved through Deconstructionism. It is actually the abuse of Postmodernism that has brought forth the collapse of the genuine.

One may argue that there is no longer anything genuine and state that zombie flash mobs are a reflection of modern day society. Bearing resemblance to an Onion article we are socialized into meta-commentary that is unaware of its own pop-irony and vapid attempt at subversion.

I like to call this phenomena “being stuck in a warhole” giving a nod to Andy Warhol and his social experiments. Warhol was a pioneer in the instigation of humans-as-art. People who do not realize that they are merely a piece in a puzzle of social art are stuck in the warhole of pop-irony. They are the grand entertainment and have not become aware of this.

Rather than viewing a club night as a club night people have come to view club nights as canvases that collectively paint themselves into a hilarious joke. It is reality television without the television show being official.

Nothing upsets me more than to see a passionate artist stuck in a warhole because they are so focused on their work that they don’t realize they are merely a subject for jaded intellectuals.

Let sincerity become the new irony. It is time to climb out of our collective warhole.