Lifestyle

Isolde Charim-Ist Narzissmus eine Ideologie? | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur

Narcissism is the dominant ideology of this time, the driving force of the competitive society. This is what the Austrian philosopher Isolde Charim claims. Yves Bossart talks to her about the dance around the self, about the dangers of self-exploitation and about complacent moralizers.


Fac 1, Factory Communications 1979-1992

Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.

The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy DivisionNew OrderA Certain Ratiothe Durutti ColumnHappy MondaysNorthside, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Factory also ran The Haçienda nightclub, in partnership with New Order.

Factory Records used a creative team (most notably record producer Martin Hannett and graphic designer Peter Saville) which gave the label and the artists recording for it a particular sound and image. The label employed a unique cataloguing system that gave a number not just to its musical releases, but also to various other related miscellany, including artwork, films, living beings, and even Wilson’s own casket and tombstone.

Two short clips about Factory artefacts

“I am not a piece of hash. I’m in charge of Factory Records. I think.”

Tony Wilson


Fac 51, The Hacienda or How Not To Run A Club by Peter Hook - #update

The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club by Peter Hook 

The Haçienda was, as Hook says, in many ways the perfect example of how not to run a club – if you view a nightclub as a money-making business. But if, like the baggy trousered philanthropists Factory, you see it as an altruistic gift to your hometown and a breeding ground for the next generation of youth culture, it was, accidentally, purposefully, shambolically, anarchically, thrillingly, scarily, inspirationally, perfect.

All at The Guardian

See him talk about it.

See this short documentary about The Hacienda.


Hans Schnitzler - We Nihilists

Wij Nihilisten

An elite of tech entrepreneurs has succeeded in dominating people and society in a very short time. Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, services such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat or the cloud have become indispensable. In fifteen years, a collective digital conversion has taken place that has radically changed our lives.
In Wij nihilisten, Hans Schnitzler poses a question that is hardly ever asked: how did this virtual class manage to do this? Inspired by, among other things, Friedrich Nietzsche’s writings on nihilism, he goes in search of the cultural roots of this success. His quest immerses the reader in the wonderful world of the archetype of the internet age: the nerd. At the same time, he presents a mirror to us: in fact we are all nerds.
The data revolution threatens to eat its own children. With this book, Schnitzler urges us to face our own part in this. Because only when we are aware of this change is possible.

You can buy the book here (Dutch only):

https://www.debezigebij.nl/boek/wij-nihilisten/

 

'The one who sees it all, sees nothing'

C.S. Lewis

Videos about the book and discussions about the presented issues:

All rights belong to the owners of the works presented.


Alessandro Baricco - The Game

Alessandro Baricco presents a theory to the world why we live in the world we live in today.

He calls it The Game

Fascinating on many different levels.

Buy The Game(Italian)


Alessandro Baricco born January 25, 1958 is an Italian writer, director and performer.

His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages. He currently lives in Rome.


Johnny Marr - Guitar Genius

Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher; 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer, best known as the guitarist and – with Morrissey – co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987.

All on Wikipedia

Some appetizers on this page, but you should read the biography to hear it all
from the man himself, no ghostwriters involved.
Johnny Marr: Set the Boy Free: The Autobiography

Buy biography: 

'Try to be the master of your craft'

Johnny Marr

See him talk about it…and many other subjects

On writing his biography:

“I didn’t want to use a ghostwriter, I was there, I had to write it, so I learned how to write and be good at it.”


Hooked - Why we can't stop using some apps

Nir Eyal makes it clear why we are hooked to some apps.

Behavior Can Be Designed

Nir Eyal: ‘Whether you are designing the behavior change of your consumers or your own habits, you’ll benefit from understanding research I share from behavioral economics, neuroscience, and consumer psychology.’

Addictive Behaviors – Nir Eyal | Inside Quest #28

What makes some technology so habit-forming? | Nir Eyal | TED Institute

How to Build Habit-Forming Products | Nir Eyal @ Startup Grind Global 2017


Jan Böhmermann 'recipe' for a corporate pop hit

Jan Böhmermann shows us how it’s done in Germany. A hit written in 30 minutes and a clip using some original footage of Jim Pandzko (an alter ego of Jan Böhmermann) and a lot of stock images and video. The lyrics have been selected by chimps and are derived from calendars, tweets and other ‘found footage”. It also contains (fake) product placements. The hit is called Menschen, Leben, Tanzen, Welt. (People, Life, Dancing, World)

Why Jan did it is here (German only)


Posh pawn - Great TV - Great business model

https://www.prestigepawnbrokers.co.uk/posh-pawn-tv-show-channel-4/


Nathan Barley - In 2005 light years ahead

Nathan Barley is a British Channel 4 television sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Claire Keelan, Richard Ayoade, Ben Whishaw, Rhys Thomas and Charlie Condou. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4.

 

"I'm a self-facilitating media node"

Nathan Barley

According to Digital Spy, Nathan Barley was “a flop when it originally aired, but a cult hit on DVD”. It pulled in 700,000 viewers and a 3% share.[4]

The series features a (nowadays) famous cast such as:

Nathan Barley, played by Nicholas Burns, is a webmaster, guerrilla filmmaker, screenwriter, DJ and in his own words, a “self-facilitating media node”. Whilst desperate to convince himself and others that he is the epitome of urban cool, Nathan is secretly terrified he might not be, which is why he reads Sugar Ape magazine, his bible of cool. 

The website (trashbat.co.ck) consists of stupid pranks caught on camera, photos of him with attractive women and famous figures (some of them digitally edited to insert himself), and photos of him standing on street corners in major cities around the world.

The humour derives from the rapid rise of both the Internet and digital media, and the assumption by publishers and broadcasters that almost any such work is worthy of attention. Barley and his peers are often hired ahead of actual journalists and talented writers trying to make intelligent points, such as the earnest documentary film maker Claire Ashcroft, and her brother Dan Ashcroft, a jaded, opinionated and apathetic hack who, having written an article for Sugar Ape entitled “The Rise of the Idiots”, is appalled to find that “the idiots” in question – Nathan and his contemporaries – have adopted him as their spiritual leader, failing to see that they are the very people he was criticising.