Or HitRecord posts on Facebook asking for "dramatic twist/cliffhanger scenarios for a male protagonist who may or may not be real" and suddenly peoples random ideas start manifesting through an army of jgl AI clones spread all over the world playing out the the various situations...while the real jgl is living in a new city built on the dark side of the moon
Note that we've never seen JGL and David in the same place (or film) at the same time. And they keep making 'excuses' for why it hasn't happened. Clark Kent wore glasses and appeared to be a mild-mannered reporter too. Just saying...
Ha! No offence to JGL, he's a talented and multi faceted creative Hollywood staple, but our mild-mannered reporter is far too charismatic, moral and intense to be anything other than David Farrier ;)
Charismatic, moral and intense - that sure sounds like Kal-El to me :-)
He does swear a f**king lot though and Superman never did that (as I recall). Hrmm...
If I had way too much spare time on my hands, I'd create and post a deepfake image of David's face morphing into JGLs and back, all trippy and Inception-like.
But that would be way too much effort for a dumb joke. Maybe.
Don't do it Paul, you're better than this, you have a Puppy now, think of Dakota.
Plus we know, when our handsome, swearing journalist removes his glasses and shirt it's to get naked and sit on his couch, fighting bad guys and gals with his wicked words.
Hahahaha bloody hell Paul, you are awesome. I promise, im as far far from an officer as you can get. David was the one who said he was naked on the couch. I have to stop now, I love it but I’m scared it’s getting out of hand and I can’t get chucked out for objectification, I’m trying to be a respectable lady…
Someone should post that deepfake prompt on HitRecord. If JGL can outsource free-labour creativity, we can too. After all, JGL started it by image-trolling David :-) And someone can make an NFT from it and then David can stick the QR code on his next T-shirt. Everybody wins!
“We are two soups simmering on a hot stove.” I mean, investigative journalism is great and all, but this sentence is wonderful. I hope JGL uses soup as a prompt soon as a final nod to this sweet saga.
'she'll be right' is the funniest thing, he has game ... Bless you for being reasonable , and i have enjoyed the JGL as a break from the crazy antivax, evil church pastors stuff, although important , we all need a little whimsy sometimes.
First, gotta get this outta the way: "I’d sort of forgotten about Joseph Gordon-Levitt." Not a chance, my friend. You don't just forget your nemeses. That could prove very dangerous indeed.
Now, this claim: "I know you know that loosely framing certain information can garner more likes, retweets, etc — but, they can also be extremely difficult to correct after the fact and damaging in the long term.” This really incensed me on your behalf because it is *demonstrably* false in literally all of your writing ever.
Anyway I'm really not certain I truly understand what this HitRecord was supposed to be, but it's giving me major FYRE Festival vibes.
Heh, yeah that did get a bit passive aggressive. For one thing - this newsletter isn't on some social media platform - it's not driven by algorithms in how it reaches you! And yeah, I correct stuff all the time! Thanks for catching this :)
This whole thing is completely baffling to me. I’ve been a fan of JGL since he was on Third Rock, and he always seemed like the kind of guy I wanted to be friends with, but it did feel weird that he was collecting people’s work and never paying them. I know that’s not really what it’s about, but it’s still a little strange to me. I do feel like he has good intentions, and maybe they started small and got big in a way that he didn’t anticipate? Or maybe he didn’t even think about it because you don’t really think about those things when you already have money and don’t need to worry about making more. I can also personally attest that being in Hollywood from a young age kinda warps your mind.
sometimes buds get excited about ideas with good intentions but growing pains of this way can be bumpy and difficult. i agree with you true buckaroo mara i think this is probably case of things starting small and growing in way that was unexpectedly difficult to wrangle like a wild crab at the bottom of the frozen lake
That sums it up perfectly I think - it’s a bit baffling and weird but he does seem like the kind of guy you’d like to be friends with. His intentions seem genuine. But still, pretty strange all the same.
Intentions are genuine, perhaps, but might they also have a touch of delusion? In my comment below, I alluded to the parallels between this JGL "project" and FYRE Festival, and we certainly know that the FYRE guy was full of delusions. Just a thought! Not a professional opinion.
God, the man just can't stop! Maybe our resident psych expert Paul Wilson has some insight on WHY a person would act like this again and again and again. I do know that he was financially compensated for the Hulu doco, which is ethically questionable both on his part and the filmmakers.
i very much enjoy this journey and also talk on what it means to come to end of story and find that something JUST IS and that is okay (but i will also say i am not so sure this is ending maybe just end for now). but i have enjoyed this way and it has answered curious questions of chuck as well thanks buckaroo
Dakota had her first puppy play date yesterday with another miniature schnauzer called Hazel. We had to coach her on the doggy handshake (hint: it doesn't involve hands) but she did us proud in the end (ahem!).
It’s surprising how many things in life ultimately end up having to be summed up as “just weird”. There’s no twist in the tale, no tie to normality to give that satisfying sense of closure. There’s weird shit everywhere.
Just this morning I read about a US man found naked inside the walls of a theatre after 2 days.
Inside the walls. Naked. Two whole days. They had to pull gib off to get him out. Now, there may well be a credible time line of events that emerges to show HOW it happened but the fact remains, in this moment it’s just weird and that’s good enough for me :)
Love stories of people found living in walls or roofs. Always creeps me out. And you're right: So much of life can be summed up with: "It's just weird". Occam's razor and that!
I feel (and not because I am disappointed, because I'm not - sort of relieved that he is not an ogre) that this is not the end, but the pseudo-end. There is more. Coz, well, JGL and your good self are still alive, breathing, and now circling eachother's existences. There. Will Be. More. (said with impressive loud reverb)
This was def closure with him apologising for the photo prompt teases! Cease fire now?
Wanting to please/'work' with/hoping for big break from a celebrity it could be SO exploitative. The stories about the trombone player and the 3day no sleep made me sad . They didn't want to let them down with those opportunities dangled, but boooo for the outcome. But they did their best. Champs in my opinion! Hope they got more secure work from it somehow.
Hoping they've now changed it since then so that if they're personally asked to do a particular piece they get paid (a bit more too) anyway if it's not used.
Creatives exploiting other creatives isn't a great look.
I'm still keeping my peeper out for joseph AI torture though.... Taking over NZ first.
Yeah, I'm sure JGL can totally identify with other struggling creatives/actors - since he was one once. But he isn't any more and monetising that power dynamic is potentially problematic.
I don't imagine his "oh we've changed it" take will feel great to those that were sucked into some very average situations when this started. And I am not quite sure he fully understands the power dynamic here. I mean, he calls himself "Ordinary Joe" on the site, and I think that is how he sees himself. But - he's not, and thus this dynamic exists as long as he's the one fronting it.
So we won't ever know if Minestrone and Clam Chowder share the same table, although we can be confident that they will never overnight in the same bowl.
Hahaha so good
I can wait till we get part 4 in 10 years time and find out you were talking to an advanced AI the whole time and JGL is actually cryogenicly frozen
Haha yes!! Or jgl is held captive somewhere. the real and unlikable villian comes out of the shadows and we all get closure.
"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
Apropos of nothing, I always thought Velma was way cooler than Daphne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velma_Dinkley
Or HitRecord posts on Facebook asking for "dramatic twist/cliffhanger scenarios for a male protagonist who may or may not be real" and suddenly peoples random ideas start manifesting through an army of jgl AI clones spread all over the world playing out the the various situations...while the real jgl is living in a new city built on the dark side of the moon
Whoa - it's like JGL is Christof and David is living inside his own darker version of the masterpiece that is the Truman Show!
I can dig it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/what-you-never-knew-about-the-truman-show/MXBV2DUBD5VHFJYCEZUJMTZYCU/
Yes! Brilliant 🤣
The hardest part for me to get my head around is how JGL keeps turning down your offers to go out...
OMG SAME!!!
Note that we've never seen JGL and David in the same place (or film) at the same time. And they keep making 'excuses' for why it hasn't happened. Clark Kent wore glasses and appeared to be a mild-mannered reporter too. Just saying...
Ha! No offence to JGL, he's a talented and multi faceted creative Hollywood staple, but our mild-mannered reporter is far too charismatic, moral and intense to be anything other than David Farrier ;)
Okay you can stay.
Charismatic, moral and intense - that sure sounds like Kal-El to me :-)
He does swear a f**king lot though and Superman never did that (as I recall). Hrmm...
If I had way too much spare time on my hands, I'd create and post a deepfake image of David's face morphing into JGLs and back, all trippy and Inception-like.
But that would be way too much effort for a dumb joke. Maybe.
Don't do it Paul, you're better than this, you have a Puppy now, think of Dakota.
Plus we know, when our handsome, swearing journalist removes his glasses and shirt it's to get naked and sit on his couch, fighting bad guys and gals with his wicked words.
Sorry David, I will leave behind Paul.
OK, Officer Jo. I've put down the ImageMajick software and I'm backing away from the keyboard with my hands up.
Wait, David is naked on the couch and he's started talking dirty?
I'm sure Netflix said this show was rated PG when I clicked on it, honest.
Hahahaha bloody hell Paul, you are awesome. I promise, im as far far from an officer as you can get. David was the one who said he was naked on the couch. I have to stop now, I love it but I’m scared it’s getting out of hand and I can’t get chucked out for objectification, I’m trying to be a respectable lady…
Someone should post that deepfake prompt on HitRecord. If JGL can outsource free-labour creativity, we can too. After all, JGL started it by image-trolling David :-) And someone can make an NFT from it and then David can stick the QR code on his next T-shirt. Everybody wins!
OK - I'll show myself out now.
“We are two soups simmering on a hot stove.” I mean, investigative journalism is great and all, but this sentence is wonderful. I hope JGL uses soup as a prompt soon as a final nod to this sweet saga.
I liked the image. Glad you did too!
'she'll be right' is the funniest thing, he has game ... Bless you for being reasonable , and i have enjoyed the JGL as a break from the crazy antivax, evil church pastors stuff, although important , we all need a little whimsy sometimes.
Yeah he got me there, that bastard!
First, gotta get this outta the way: "I’d sort of forgotten about Joseph Gordon-Levitt." Not a chance, my friend. You don't just forget your nemeses. That could prove very dangerous indeed.
Now, this claim: "I know you know that loosely framing certain information can garner more likes, retweets, etc — but, they can also be extremely difficult to correct after the fact and damaging in the long term.” This really incensed me on your behalf because it is *demonstrably* false in literally all of your writing ever.
Anyway I'm really not certain I truly understand what this HitRecord was supposed to be, but it's giving me major FYRE Festival vibes.
Heh, yeah that did get a bit passive aggressive. For one thing - this newsletter isn't on some social media platform - it's not driven by algorithms in how it reaches you! And yeah, I correct stuff all the time! Thanks for catching this :)
Oh, damn, I'm the first comment. It's like being the first one at a party. Wasn't paying attention I guess.
This whole thing is completely baffling to me. I’ve been a fan of JGL since he was on Third Rock, and he always seemed like the kind of guy I wanted to be friends with, but it did feel weird that he was collecting people’s work and never paying them. I know that’s not really what it’s about, but it’s still a little strange to me. I do feel like he has good intentions, and maybe they started small and got big in a way that he didn’t anticipate? Or maybe he didn’t even think about it because you don’t really think about those things when you already have money and don’t need to worry about making more. I can also personally attest that being in Hollywood from a young age kinda warps your mind.
As for that video, he also did do a good cover of Bad Romance: https://youtu.be/x6zMwGkY7z4
sometimes buds get excited about ideas with good intentions but growing pains of this way can be bumpy and difficult. i agree with you true buckaroo mara i think this is probably case of things starting small and growing in way that was unexpectedly difficult to wrangle like a wild crab at the bottom of the frozen lake
But that just asks the question, why are we really trying to wrangle this wild crab, at the bottom of the frozen lake? What's it all for, ya know?
Well, you only get mild frostbite (its turned black but it hasn’t dropped off yet) and the crab likes it.
That sums it up perfectly I think - it’s a bit baffling and weird but he does seem like the kind of guy you’d like to be friends with. His intentions seem genuine. But still, pretty strange all the same.
Intentions are genuine, perhaps, but might they also have a touch of delusion? In my comment below, I alluded to the parallels between this JGL "project" and FYRE Festival, and we certainly know that the FYRE guy was full of delusions. Just a thought! Not a professional opinion.
Yeah quite possibly. I think you can have good intentions at the same time as maybe being a bit off about something
Absolutely, I think the FYRE guy (Billy something?) was completely convinced he was crafting something important and spectacular.
I am DEEPLY SCEPTICAL about Billy and how he is trying to position himself! https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-nyt-billy-mcfarland-fyre-festival-prison-20201027-ad47lzp6tzbkhow4xtdlhph3wy-story.html
God, the man just can't stop! Maybe our resident psych expert Paul Wilson has some insight on WHY a person would act like this again and again and again. I do know that he was financially compensated for the Hulu doco, which is ethically questionable both on his part and the filmmakers.
Oh, they do pay - if used etc - but it's that process to payment that buzzes people out a bit. And the work that can go in, but then not lead to much.
In summary: I still don't fucking understand it!
i very much enjoy this journey and also talk on what it means to come to end of story and find that something JUST IS and that is okay (but i will also say i am not so sure this is ending maybe just end for now). but i have enjoyed this way and it has answered curious questions of chuck as well thanks buckaroo
Thanks Chuck, I figured this story would be up your alley. And yeah - sometimes things just ARE. And that's okay.
Creativity is often about ambiguous prompts and apophenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia and this whole HitRECORD JGL saga is definitely that. You can see him as an earnest fellow creative encouraging others and someone exploiting parasocial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interaction power differences at the same time.
Hope things are going well with the puppy Paul :)
Dakota had her first puppy play date yesterday with another miniature schnauzer called Hazel. We had to coach her on the doggy handshake (hint: it doesn't involve hands) but she did us proud in the end (ahem!).
:)
Yes! It was kind of nice to just follow the journey, the fact that there was no "satisfying conclusion" doesn't bother me 😅
Had never heard that term apophenia - fascinating. And yes - that is it alright
It’s surprising how many things in life ultimately end up having to be summed up as “just weird”. There’s no twist in the tale, no tie to normality to give that satisfying sense of closure. There’s weird shit everywhere.
Just this morning I read about a US man found naked inside the walls of a theatre after 2 days.
Inside the walls. Naked. Two whole days. They had to pull gib off to get him out. Now, there may well be a credible time line of events that emerges to show HOW it happened but the fact remains, in this moment it’s just weird and that’s good enough for me :)
Love stories of people found living in walls or roofs. Always creeps me out. And you're right: So much of life can be summed up with: "It's just weird". Occam's razor and that!
I dunno, life is full of unsatisfactory endings and in a way that made this ending feel more real.
It was definitely real. Real DEPRESSING! (no, I've recovered from the rejection by now. I think)
It's so sweet to see you and JGL bonding over here.
JGL is the kind of villain that you root for anyway. He's flawed, but in that humanizing kind of way. He wants to do better.
I am waiting for him to pop up in these comments...
Why does all this just make me like JGL more tho 😂
Look, each to their own!
I feel (and not because I am disappointed, because I'm not - sort of relieved that he is not an ogre) that this is not the end, but the pseudo-end. There is more. Coz, well, JGL and your good self are still alive, breathing, and now circling eachother's existences. There. Will Be. More. (said with impressive loud reverb)
Hahah - look, if I end up getting that dinner, I will let you know. Put it that way.
This was def closure with him apologising for the photo prompt teases! Cease fire now?
Wanting to please/'work' with/hoping for big break from a celebrity it could be SO exploitative. The stories about the trombone player and the 3day no sleep made me sad . They didn't want to let them down with those opportunities dangled, but boooo for the outcome. But they did their best. Champs in my opinion! Hope they got more secure work from it somehow.
Hoping they've now changed it since then so that if they're personally asked to do a particular piece they get paid (a bit more too) anyway if it's not used.
Creatives exploiting other creatives isn't a great look.
I'm still keeping my peeper out for joseph AI torture though.... Taking over NZ first.
Yeah, I'm sure JGL can totally identify with other struggling creatives/actors - since he was one once. But he isn't any more and monetising that power dynamic is potentially problematic.
The thing with him is - I don't think he did struggle - he was that rare child star that kicked ass and kept kicking ass!
I don't imagine his "oh we've changed it" take will feel great to those that were sucked into some very average situations when this started. And I am not quite sure he fully understands the power dynamic here. I mean, he calls himself "Ordinary Joe" on the site, and I think that is how he sees himself. But - he's not, and thus this dynamic exists as long as he's the one fronting it.
So we won't ever know if Minestrone and Clam Chowder share the same table, although we can be confident that they will never overnight in the same bowl.
Well, what a journey...