hal tweets ·11:28 AM
Ghostbuster zines from the Canzine Hollywood Piracy Zine Challenge are now online! http://t.co/RoAMEQTU
2008,
0:47 GMT
Hal's Life: Passover Survival Guide
Posted by: Hal
Okay so I’ve figured out how to survive Passover.
First off, have the inevitable fight with your parents a couple of days before they get into town so that when everyone’s in proximity it’s already make up and make nice time. (For the record it was W. who started the fight, I was an innocent bystander, as always.)
Second, have your heavy boozing uncle from Windsor come into town so that you have an excuse to drink heavily throughout the two day campaign, after all it would be rude to let him drink alone, right?
Third, give all your attention to the menu. In this case, taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I focused much of my energy on the cooking of an elaborate beef rib dish that was meant to take the place of the traditional brisket. The ribs involved 4 hours of slow cooking/smoking on my barbecue before a few more hours of simmering on the oven in a complicated mix of white wine, beef stock, and porcini mushrooms. So that took up plenty of my time, kept me near the rapidly emptying wine bottle and I could claim I was doing it for the family.
Finally fourth, and this comes highly recommended, get your parents’ rental car towed. Yes, I managed this amazing feat special for Passover. You see, I parked their car in the alley behind my house adjacent to my garage. I’ve done it many times before and there’s never been a problem as it doesn’t block anything or inconvenience anyone. This time some jackass decided to have the car ticketed and towed, probably because it had New York plates. Long story short, Saturday morning when me and dad and the kid went to go pick up a few things for the evening festivities, the car was gone. I figured dad would be freaking out but he was actually weirdly calm about the whole thing. I on the other hand flew into a rage, jumping up and down and sputtering on about how they’re still persecuting the Jews and how I wouldn’t put up with it and don’t they know it’s Passover and when I find out who towed the car I’m gonna brain ‘em with a matzoh ball and so on and so on. Well we got the car back and from then on, thanks to my boozy uncle and some over zealous Toronto parking guy, it was smooth sailing!
2008,
1:31 GMT
Guy Sells His Twitter Account on Ebay
Posted by: Hal
So here’s an interesting little tale. This guy Andrew Baron sold his Twitter account on Ebay a few days ago. I don’t know how much he got for it but a blog that reports on Twitter doings reported that at one point the bid was up to $1,125.00 USD. As Andrew Baron had 1,636 followers, the blog notes that each of his followers are worth 0.69 USD at the very least.
So I guess the question is: how much is a good account worth? I’ve got 500 Facebook friends, should I cash in? Deal or no deal? It’s sort of like buying a World of Warcraft character that’s already been built up to have tons of extra powers. Something like that. Anyway, from a peep perspective many interesting questions are raised, mostly around how much dedicated followers with a demonstrated ongoing interest in peeping your life are worth.
For the record, here’s what Andrew put up on Ebay about selling his account: “It would be silly to just delete this account I have here, especially if there is someone out there that had like interests and had something to say or wanted to get involved in some relevant conversations. In terms of monetary value, I have no expectations or needs at all so I decided not to put a minimum bid on this. Whatever will be, will be.”
2008,
1:15 GMT
My article in Walrus Magazine out now
Posted by: Hal
Hey my article on How We Learned to Love Surveillance, published in the Walrus Magazine, is now available on the newsstands. You can read it online here but please also consider picking up a copy or subscribing since we need to support Canadian magazines!
2008,
18:10 GMT
You Can't Ban Peep: France to outlaw promotion of thinness
Posted by: Hal
The news is reporting that the French government has called for "stiff penalties of up to three years jail and heavy fines against 'pro anorexia' websites and publications that encourage girls and young women to starve themselves."
This is a silly, largely symbolic law. These "pro-Ana" blogs, chats, and websites are everywhere and nowhere and largely consist of stories and personal testimonials. How can you tell if someone is promoting anorexia or just trying to talk about how they feel and what's going on in their life?
This, of course, is the problem with a peep culture in which we derive our inspiration and knowledge from our peers and our uber-peers (in this case stick thin models and their movie star counterparts). Who cares what the French government says? The way to stardom is to make myself throw up. There are a million ways you can spread the word about lying to parents and doctors, making it look like you're eating when you're really not, etc. etc. Is the French government going to have special constables in charge of reading the chats, emails, uploads and instant messages of every teen girl in their country?
At least part of the appeal of being anorexic is that it makes you feel special, part of a community of outlaws pursuing your own agenda. By banning it, you actually make it more appealing, heightening the transgressive element and the sense of it being a case of shared values and ideals that society just doesn't understand. Wow, that's amazing, tell me how long it's been since you ate again?
You can't ban peep.
2008,
1:11 GMT
More on the 'Mean' and Some Current Events in Hal's Life
Posted by: Hal
Okay, so it's true - my first mean comment wasn't that mean. I wasn't, like, staying up all night shattered or anything, don't get the wrong idea. My able readers have put me in my place pointing out that I need to get a thicker skin (okay, okay, I was exaggerating my pain) and otherwise contributing to the discussion. There are two comments I want to address here of the 6 I received (a record!) plus a few more on my facebook page.
First from Mark, the original 'mean' comment creator. He writes: "So, what did I mean by personal risk? It seems to me that if we are going to explore this “new realm” of socializing, we cannot just sit back and watch, but actually participate as well. If that means allowing the unseen, unwashed masses, a long stare into what makes Hal Niedzviecki tick, isn't that worth it? And ultimately, wouldn't that produce a better book (not one to collect dust like so many coffee table tomes)?"
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. I want to experience this "new realm" and I'm doing my best to get into it even though much of it goes against my nature. Unlike Mark, a writer and a publisher I remember from the days when I used to write zine reviews for Broken Pencil, I rarely write in the first person and in my stories and novels no one ever confuses my characters with me. To be completely honest, I think that's one of the reasons those books haven't exactly broken any records at the box office if you know what I mean (or maybe they just weren't that good). At any rate, in the peep age we want to connect directly to the person behind the persona and don't seem to have any patience for stories that don't have the ring of truth, the aura of authentic autobiography. So Mark, I say go with it: if people want to confuse you with your character, it's to your advantage to play along. And as for me, I'm going to keep trying to give the readers of this blog "the long stare" and hopefully come out the other end both a better writer and someone better able to write about what makes not just Hal tick but our entire peep culture.
The other comment I wanted to quote verbatim here is from Nancymarie, whose blog is a really excellent example of someone who is really sharing the intimate details of her life to all who care to read. She writes: "It’s always hard to open up in a blog because you open yourself up to criticism, and who wants to be taken to task by complete strangers?" This is true. Maybe it's something that's holding me back more than I realize. Maybe I actually am worried about what people will think of me as opposed to my work and ideas. I don't know. I'm going to think about that one. In the meantime, Nancymarie is writing about her dad going into a coma and being put into a rest home, which makes my petty problems seem..well..petty. Nancymarie, who lives in Iowa I think, also writes about her weight, her periods, and a former friend stalking her gaming blog. That's the level of revelation I want to get to. I'm nowhere there yet. Not even close.
So I'll end with a few other snippets. As I type this W. is fighting with my mom on the phone. It's Passover this weekend and my parents are coming into town and the combination of holidays and parental units always leads to stress and conflict, as I'm sure most of you know. No big deal and it will all blow over. But it still sucks. Luckily the stress of this fight is somewhat alleviated by the fact that my friend from across the street came over for dinner with his daughter (who goes to the same daycare as E.) and I barbecued steaks and we all ate meat washed down with beer and juice (I'll let you figure out who drank what beverage). There's nothing like steak and beer to cheer up Hal. So that's all for now. Talk to ya soon.
The Bloggist
Hey, I’m Hal Niedzviecki. I’m a writer/thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my wife and daughter. Up till now I’ve always considered myself a private person. But at the same time I’m fascinated by people who effortlessly open themselves up to the whole world. So I’ve… more...
Ghostbuster zines from the Canzine Hollywood Piracy Zine Challenge are now online! http://t.co/RoAMEQTU
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