A World Record Attempt, Kinda.

Folks, this is your chance to witness a Guinness World Record attempt here in Milwaukee! No joke. Okay, it’s kind of funny, but it’s actually a serious matter. Yesterday, at 7 p.m. in Future Green (2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), Michael Bootz began his attempt to stay awake while continuously speaking in an effort to raise awareness for the Wisconsin Campaign for Burma. 

Why on Earth would someone do this?
Bootz wants to educate the public about the happenings in Burma and how people can help. Bootz and his crew are trying to increase publicity by giving out buttons and stickers, yard signs, and banners for public display. Have you seen any of these? I haven’t, but I’d certainly take a sticker. 

Apparently the current world record stands at just over five days, but according to On Milwaukee, the Guinness Book of World Records no longer accepts or publishes records related to sleep deprivation due to possible health risks. Therefore, Bootz cannot win the world record, but will hopefully gain satisfaction in creating awareness. 

Does anyone else find this really strange?

Um, anybody?

What’s even more unusual is that Future Green will provide live music Friday and Saturday after midnight. At this time, guests are invited to jam along with other musicians. Drum thumps are loud enough to keep anyone (or everyone) from sleeping, so why not?

Also, members of the community are invited to act as official witnesses. This means you’re onsite to monitor Bootz’s health and/or time spent awake, which also means, no sleep for you! Everyone knows that not many people can stay up for five consecutive days; for that reason, Bootz and Future Green are also making this event a community slumber party! You and your friends are allowed to bring your own sleeping bags and pillows as you spend a day or two witnessing a world record, or not, I guess. 

Like last year, this unique event will be streamed live through the Wisconsin Campaign for Burma and Future Green websites. Thus, if you can’t catch this odd event in person, you are able to watch it from your PC. 

While I’m not planning on pitching a tent at Future Green, I might stop by to observe this bizarre event, and to see how a sleep deprived man looks after his fourth sleepless day.

Comments

[dan]

I don't really see a connection between talking without sleep and Burma. Am I missing something or is this pure nonsense? Like, I can see the theory behind those people that sleep outside for a week to raise awareness of homelessness. But this guy's idea might as well have been "Tequilla shots for peace" or "Not showering to combat gang violence" or "Polka jamboree against anorexia." It just doesn't make sense.

And what's he going to talk about? I hope it's baseball.

[Christi]

I'm seriously exhausted just thinking about it. I enjoy sleep entirely too much to even comprehend doing something like this.

[Andre]

You rock
Rock.
This rock just sits
And Is.
You show us how to just sit here
And that's what we need.

[KarenC]

Polka against anorexia. Nice. I agree that this is much like an art show to raise money for the blind. I’m glad I’m not the only person who doesn’t understand the relationship between sleep deprivation and Burma. Even though this event is for a good cause (with good intentions), it seems to be a bit pointless. Regardless, I’ve been following this story and will most likely pay a visit tonight or tomorrow, just to see.

[dan]

"You rock
Rock.
This rock just sits
And Is.
You show us how to just sit here
And that's what we need."

Whoa, pass the bong man.

[Andre Robitaille]

It's a poem from a movie. I think the idea was to poke fun at the absurdity of writing poetry to bring attention to environmental issues. Seemed to fit.

[KarenC]

It's a quote from one of my favorite movies, I Heart Huckabees. I thought it was funny.

[dan]

Ahhhh, I see. I have not seen that flick. I will put it on the netflix que ASAP since I like bad poetry about nature.

[Andre]

I'm sitting in my tree, talking to The Dixie Chicks, and they're making me *feel better*.

[bootz]

this is bootz the guy who did the record. Just to clarify, If I had done the record for sleep deprivasion for burma, that would, I agree make no sense what so ever.
Fortunately sleep dep. is not what the guinness world record was about. The record is the longest reading aloud marathon. The lack of sleep aspect is not even in the title and actually their rules allow two hours of sleep for every 24 hours so i wasn't doing anything that a collage students doesn't already do during exam week. Maybe a lot more reading instead of partying.

The connection to burma was that the materials read were from or about Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma torture treatment, Human rights poetry as well as things by chomsky and Roi. International declaration of human rights. Granted I must be honest we did do some non-political books ie dr.seuss for the little kids that stayed over and ray bradbury short stories for the big kids that stayed late.
We were promoting it as "giving a voice to the voiceless" So the connection was the reading material being mostly burma/human rights related.

hope that helps to make some sense of the matter

peace from within to you

bootz

[KarenC]

Michael,
Thank you for setting us straight. It seems I was misinformed about your event since a couple sites provided inaccurate information about the world record attempt; I apologize for the confusion. Still, I hope you don’t think we were poking fun at your efforts to support and raise awareness for a good cause. I promise you, that wasn’t the case. Actually, I found your story very interesting, which is why I wrote an entry about your unique event. I hope you had much success in “giving a voice to the voiceless.” Michael, we need more people like you in this world; people who care about matters such as human rights or places like Burma. For this reason, I congratulate your efforts.

Thank you for stopping by to help us better understand your mission. Don’t forget, there’s nothing wrong with a little “Cat in the Hat” now and again. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I appreciate it!

Best of luck!

[bootz]

no problem, I am actually the one who pokes fun at myself even with serious matters. Dan is also, to some extent correct that the event is to some degree a joke. I mean i am making rape and torture fun and accessable to the american pop culture, on one hand and on the other many people who stopped by learned about one of the most abhorrid issues going on in our human community. How they can stay informed and do what us measly little civilians can do. Which I believe is quite a bit.
Unforutnately, I come across the cynics who rationalize their complacency with saying the problem is too big and any effort is a waste of time etc... I have a whole litney of answers for them, but sufice it to say i'm not going to be silent. the sound of silence is exactly what the authoritarians and dictators around the world want and I refuse to be afraid of them. They are the weak ones to have to hide behinds guns.
I don't mean to turn your blog into my platform, but thanks for the kind words with many people telling me my time and effort are a waste of time and effort, it is nice to get a pat on the back every now and then.

bootz

[pawan kumar srivastava]

myself pawan kumar srivastava is also a world record holder.I have made many records in the field of memory.You can see my name in the future edition of Guinness World Records.