From Rufus

Here's a quote from Rufus Wainwright's myspace page where he discusses his original ideas for Blackoutsabbath.

"I LOVED THE NEW YORK POWER OUTAGE!!!!! I found it incredibly invigorating, spiritual and practical at the same time: we all had to pay attention to each other! Not to mention that Manhattan in total darkness was oddly enough a beautiful sight to behold.

I propose this: on a Saturday around the summer solstice (June 21st) for a 12 hour period (noon to midnight) wherever you are, let's all turn off the power at the same time, ie: lights, TV, phones, fridges, etc... Anything you possibly can do without for FOR 12 HOURS. This time could be spent contemplating alone or with friends on the coming year and what personally one can do to save the planet. And at the end of the day, as darkness rolls in, a candle is lit and a list is made of all the things we can do that year to help the environment. The list could look like this:

*recycle
*dry my clothes on a line
*buy a hybrid
*go vegan
*etc...

It could be anything you feel capable of doing on a personal level. When the list is completed, get a magnet and put it on the fridge for the whole year. Then during the next summer solstice, repeat the 12 hour "black out sabbath," thus reviewing the list and making a new one for the coming year. The eventual goal in my mind is for New York (or any other town) to have a full voluntary black out one day for the shear beauty of it."