(Updated below)
As has been said by many, I don't care what the newspapers say about me, as long as they spell my name right.
Now that Ashley Alexandra Dupré has made it to page one of the NYT, and received a sympathetic write-up which included a link to her MySpace page (300,000 additional page views, just in the time it took me to compose this post*), the first questions that comes to mind is: How much do you suppose her hourly rates will rise?
* Upon further review, it doesn't seem like the Profile Views counter is accurate. It's now down to 1.2 million, from 1.4 million. Or maybe it already went around once?
Update
2008-03-15 20:53
The NYT seems to have removed Ashley's MySpace link from their story, but I think she deserves (in a good way) to have it kept readily accessible. FWIW, the count of page views is now up to 8,464,450.
7 comments:
She'll make far more from the book/movie rights. You 'misunderestimate' the perversity of American life.
Pretty much the same gig, it seems to me. ;^)
Note also that her day job is as an R&B singer. I expect a record deal is already in the works.
And no ... if there's one thing I don't have any illusions left about, it's what the American public will pay for.
Well, that's a much more interesting subject, anyway. What illusions are left to you? Which are you hoarding? Patriotism? Love? Self-worth? Wealth?
Me? I treasure decent broadband. Damn the price.
Your question could provoke a real navel-gazing essay, Don. I don't have any ready answers.
Superficial reactions to your suggestions:
Patriotism has never meant much to me, given that my conscious life has been bookended by my friends' older brothers being shipped off to Vietnam on one end, and freedom fries, flag lapel pins, and SUVs festooned with "Support Our Troops" magnetic ribbons on the other.
Love? I guess. I mean, I believe it exists and sometimes even lives up to its reputation, but … well, I believe the current term of art says it well enough: it's complicated.
Self-worth is something I've been all over the map on. Currently, I am of the impression that few have the right amount of it; some people don't appear to have much of a sense of it at all, and way too many have way too much.
Wealth? Never saw much good in this area, especially once one gets past the point of having not nearly enough.
I do agree that broadband has fast moved from being a luxury to being a necessity, although this makes it another place I'd quibble. I don't say "damn the price." I think we ought to start thinking about Internet access as infrastructure to be maintained and provided for the common good. While waiting around for the telcos to release their stranglehold on Congress, though, I will concede a personal demand curve that is somewhat inflexible.
Now that I think about it, I guess I do have one at least one ideal I still cling to (and hence, do not (yet) consider an illusion): the founding principles of America.
Well, you had to know that would happen: as soon as I clicked "Publish," a few more came to mind.
With the same disclaimer that since I still believe in these things, and so would not consider them illusions, I still believe in: the ability of art, especially music, to inspire. The beauty of human curiosity, especially scientific. The innate goodness of most people. The belief that hope can make a difference.
I find myself wishing Steve Gilliard was still alive. Not a new feeling, but this is soooooo up his alley.
JJ:
I never heard of SG until after he died, and still don't know much about him. What would have made this up his alley? The NY angle? The fall from grace?
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