by jenks

“this above all else…

…to thine own self be true.”
– William Shakespeare as Polonius

YOU MUST READ THIS STORY FROM THE NEW YORKER:

Something in me had snapped, was broken beyond repair. My taste had been central to my identity. I’d cultivated it, kept it fed and watered like an exotic flowering plant. Now I realized that what I thought had been an expression of my innermost humanity was nothing but a cloud of life-style signals, available to anyone at the click of a mouse. How had this happened?

I couldn’t understand. There had to be something else. What was a personality if it wasn’t a drop-down menu, a collection of likes and dislikes? Who was I without my private pressings, my limited editions, my vintage one-offs? How could I signal to potential allies across the vast black reaches of interpersonal space?

…READ THE WHOLE STORY!

 

    



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by jenks

adore adore

heard a track on indie 103.1 a couple of weeks ago by a dude named yoav and really dug the sound, then i checked out the lyrics last night, and was completely sold. with songs about the nightlife underbelly (“club thing“) and celebrity culture (“adore adore“) it’s like social psychology insights on a guitar–with a beat that, ironically, you’ve got to dance to.

    



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by jenks

the glitch mob has a website!

i’m excited to announce that the glitch mob website, which i’ve been consulting on over the past few months, is finally launched! it’s still just a wee little weblet at the moment, but there are many plans to have it be slayin’ the bandwidth proper in no time.

http://social-creature.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/temp-image_1_3.png

theglitchmob.com

ps. i’m looking forward to every instance of getting to reclaim web 2.0’s “get connected” phrasing back for it’s original mafia meaning.

    



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by jenks

“Every day is another day starring you.”

“The idea that whoever appeared onstage would play not me but a character was central to imagining how to make the narrative: I would need to see myself from outside.”
~ Joan Didion

In the midst of the quicksand hazard posed by every single episode of Lost available online, and in high def, I saw an ad for Celebrity Cruise lines with a slogan at the end that i thought was fantastic:

according to a NYTimes article published last spring, “This Is Your Life (and How You Tell It),” research shows that the human brain apparently has a natural affinity for narrative construction, which not only explains why Lost is so amazingly addictive, but why but we are continually updating a treatment of our own life in our heads.

Short of offering “run from the paparazzi” adventure travel excursions and rehab amusement parks, the cruise line has taken a very resonant approach with the “every day is another day starring you” slogan. “Seeing oneself as acting in a movie or a play is not merely fantasy or indulgence;” according the the NYTimes, “it is fundamental to how people work out who it is they are, and may become.” In the era of TMZ, thinking about that personal narrative in the format of a celebrity tabloid seems only natural.

For further commentary on the subject, here’s Rolling Stone’s top celebrity for representing “America in Decline”:

    



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by jenks

reality imitating art

from realitytvmagazine.com:

As if Hollywood’s not a circus enough as it is, ABC and NBC are both getting in on the action. Roll out the big top, guys, the circus is coming to town.

NBC has announced its plan to air Celebrity Circus, based on an Endemol format that’s been a huge hit in Portugal and Argentina, as part of its All-American Summer lineup.

Celebrity Circus, a competition-based reality show that will have “real” circus performers judging celebs on Cirque du Soleil-style circus stunts, promises to be “just as loud and noisy” as NBC’s winter slam-dunk, American Gladiators.

ABC is hoping that a new Circus of the Stars will catch on the way Dancing with the Stars has, and is in an intense bidding war for the show. Going for Dancing with the Stars-style drama rather than Gladiators-style boisterousness, ABC hopes Circus of the Stars will satisfy both the big top bug and reality fever.

which is funny for many reasons, but what i want to know is why the “quotes” around the word “real” before circus performers? is realittytvmagazine under the impression that real cricus performers don’t exist, that ABC will only hire “fake” ones, or that if you’re a circus performer you aren’t actually real?

anyway, in other “real” circus news…. we just announced the lineup for LIB08 today:

The image “http://lightninginabottle.org/2008/images/lineup.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

ps. the music player on lightninginabottle.org is live now too. go check out some “real” music.

    



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