The FrINgeSIDER 08/02/2010 12:37pm

Editorial
To tease out the hidden themes in this year's Fringe Festival, I have painstakingly copied the descriptions of all 169 shows into one super-mega-ultra description. That text was then scientifically squished into the Internet to produce this "word cloud." I think the message is pretty clear. wordcloud2010.jpg What do we see? "Show love, dance story." And "One life world musical." Obviously, the word cloud is telling us that the world is a terrible place. When times are good, we have the strength to examine our flaws, search our souls and impeach the president. When times are tough, we want "comedy, music, family stories." You have to look long and hard at this year's word cloud before finding the word "dark" lurking at the edge. Where's "war?" Where's "recession?" Where's "BP," or "finacial regulatory reform," or "Lohan?" These are rotten times and our collective self-preservation instinct has kicked in. We will take ten days to enjoy a "together-based, funny experience." I'm looking forward to it.