"let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to strawberry fields. nothing is real…"

We have crossed the Rubicon on this sort of thing, methinks. Now that we’ve all seen the thousands of FlashMob videos that proliferate YouTube, for me, something like this can never really be spontaneous, organic, or genuine ever again. It all just feels so forced, contrived, and self-conscious, you know? So turned inside-out on itself — and that’s a pity. We are far too aware of ourselves now — we are SELF-CONSCIOUS in a whole new way…and there is no going back. Ever.

Want proof? Notice that a large majority of the people gathered round this guitar-playing musician aren’t necessarily participating in his feelgood sing-a-long — but they ARE taking photos and videos with iphones and cameras, twittering wildly, and updating the status on their Facebook pages to spread the word about and the images of this damned charming, sing-songy lovefest…where, in fact, some people are singing, yes — but many more are just documenting the event with an eye towards later posting and uploading…a picture or video…of other people…taking pictures and videos…of others.

Christ, how many new fathers have experienced their child’s first birthday party or very birth, for that matter…from behind the lens of a camera — so as to CAPTURE THE MOMENT…as opposed to just being present in it in the first goddamned place.

Ah, fuck it. We’re done. I’m done.

Josh Wilson, Newark Passengers Sing “Hey Jude” While Stuck in Airport

About muffybolding

Muffy Bolding is a mother/writer/actor/knitter/feminist/withered debutante who likes the smell of asparagus pee, and remains obsessed with the bathroom hygiene of her three children -- despite the fact that they are 23, 19, and 16. She is blissfully married to a cute Jewish boy who looks like Willie Wonka, but remains tragically in love with the dead poet, Ted Hughes. She has the mouth of a Teamster, and her patron saint is Rocco (pestilence relief.) Ms. Bolding lives in Southern California, where she enjoys typing words, making movies, and plucking the rings from the fingers of the dead. She was the co-creator and Editor-in-Chief of the award winning satire zine, Fresno Lampoon, and in between writing screenplays, carnival barking, and savagely threatening her trio of darling larvae with a wooden spoon, she currently publishes the zine, "Withered Debutante." More of her work can also be found in the anthology, "Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts", the compilation zine, "Mamaphiles III: Coming Home", as well as in The Cortland Review and hipmama.com. She is currently writing and producing for film and television, and working on a book of essays entitled, "Inside A Chinese Dragon." She has slept around, but not nearly as much as she would have liked.

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