> You see someone you've never met before and they know your name, birthday, etc. while you know nothing about them
This made me think of what it must be like to be a celebrity. To have people fawn over you, whilst you can barely recall a fan's face for having seen so many.
I remember looking at John Cusack's Twitter feed around when he was setting up the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and it was a bit disturbing to see the number of strangers constantly propositioning him for sex, proposing marriage to him, asking him for money, or asking him to comment on their unusual ideas. I thought that that aspect of fame must not be that much fun for him or other people in his position.
I'm a musician in my area, and my dad comes in contact with a lot of people. It's not nearly on a "celebrity" scale, but about 2 or 3 times a week I get called out by name in public by a stranger. It's a really weird feeling. I'm pretty sure I would hate it if it happened constantly
Many years ago, I traveled to another city to see a Joe Satriani concert. I was really hyped to finally see him in concert, and hoped that I'd run into him and get a CD autographed.
So when I did run into him in the local community space, I had a thought: I could be another fawning fanboy, interrupting his shopping and day in general, or I could just think to myself "Hey, that's Satch!" and not bother him at all.
So I didn't bother him. I've long wondered if I made a good choice or not, now I think I made the right one.
One time in the 80s I took a date to a sushi place in Santa Monica. We ate, talked, had a nice time. When I went to pay, David Byrne was sitting right by the cash register. I'm sure he saw that I recognized him when we locked eyes very briefly, but I didn't bother him, just paid and left. (My date didn't recognize him -- so no second date.)
My theory is, why bother people just because they're famous? Unless they're looking for it, which is why I had a nice conversation with Moon Unit Zappa on Broadway in Seattle at the 76 station, where she was camped out promoting her movie The Spirit of '76.
I was in college in the LA area in the mid-1980s and worked for a valet company contracted by Los Angeles-area clients throwing birthday parties, gala events, awards ceremonies, etc. Though we were near Hollywood, we didn't often work for celebrities.
Except this once.
Meg Ryan was throwing a birthday party for her then-boyfriend, Dennis Quaid, and actors, musicians, and celebrities came to have their cars parked. Most of the valets were gushing and wowing over this or that celebrity or actor, but I tend not to care too much about star sightings and don't really go for celebrity worship.
A gray, older Citroen rolls up and it's my turn to park. Citroen are pretty low to the ground, only a little bit taller than Porsche roadsters, so even though I'm medium height I stood high above the car's roof with a good view into the driver's side.
The window rolled down and there he is, David Bryne, looking up at me and handing me his keys. His eyes seemed really big from that angle and I don't even remember him getting out of the car. I do remember that I had a feeling of awe and admiration (The Talking Heads had broken out on the Stop Making Sense tour and Byrne was known to be an engaged and consummate artist.)
Though our interaction was brief, Byrne's look suggested he understood I'd recognize him (I did!) and he looked at me directly and treated me as a fellow human providing him a service. No haste, no self-absorption, just a courteous exchange of pleasantries for service.
Or maybe I'm simply susceptible to being star struck by artists whose work I admire.
Not a good analogy. Being a celebrity brings features that are not available to non-celebrities (money, special treatment, etc.). Plus, celebrities often sell info. The Kardashians are a prominent example: The drink/food/whatever Kim Kardashian displays on TV might be very different from the drink/food/whatever she'd prefer on a flight. While facebook/google/apple might have access to that info, we only get to know whatever she decides to share (or sell).
> The drink/food/whatever Kim Kardashian displays on TV might be very different from the drink/food/whatever she'd prefer on a flight.
That doesn't strike me as so odd. There's lots of stuff I might read or watch in the comfort of my home that I might be embarrassed to read or watch on a plane where people will use their own preconceptions to judge me, accurately or not. For example, some Anime (and nothing all that weird, it's just the preconception that cartoons are for kids). I can't even get my wife not to judge me for that, so I might forego watching it on a plane just so I don't feel self conscious. I'm projecting an image of a responsible adult, Kim Kardashian is projecting and image of someone who likes X, Y or Z.
> For example, some Anime (and nothing all that weird, it's just the preconception that cartoons are for kids).
At this point it's not the age issue. I think most people get that there are animated shows for every demo at this point.
It's the fact that you had to preface with "nothing all that weird".
And the fact that I've heard that so often on the internet only to find out that "well, except for that, but she's not as young as she looks, she's actually a 5000 year old dragon. But they're all flirting with her because of her magic powers, not because she looks 8." Oookay...
> It's the fact that you had to preface with "nothing all that weird".
Yeah, but given the market it comes from and how prevalent it is there, that qualifier is really only used because some people don't realize saying "I watch anime" is sort of like saying "I watch a category that's a significant subset of Japanese mainstream television" when all people know is that the Japanese have some eclectic television by U.S. standards.
> And the fact that I've heard that so often on the internet only to find out that "well, except for that, but she's not as young as she looks, she's actually a 5000 year old dragon. But they're all flirting with her because of her magic powers, not because she looks 8." Oookay...
I hear you, and agree. That said, it's sort of like 5 years ago mentioning you use Reddit. Some subset of the public might only have heard about it through news reports/articles about some of the more problematic subreddits.
For what it's worth, my own tastes go more for the stylish and interesting stories that are harder to do when using live acting. There's some excellent (in style, story, or both) Science Fiction and fantasy that comes out as Anime (Steins;Gate, some of the Netflix series that have come out). Also, there's some really accessible ones I can watch with my son, such as Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (which we just finished watching together, and is excellent).
> Yeah, but given the market it comes from and how prevalent it is there, that qualifier is really only used because some people don't realize saying "I watch anime" is sort of like saying "I watch a category that's a significant subset of Japanese mainstream television" when all people know is that the Japanese have some eclectic television by U.S. standards.
Such as mainstream Studio Ghibli anime "Pom Poko" which includes many songs and sight gags about testicles.[0] Or the Penis Festival.[1]
And this is another reason why privacy is a good thing. Even if you have "nothing to hide," how often do you want to be on display, with the change in behavior that implies?
This made me think of what it must be like to be a celebrity. To have people fawn over you, whilst you can barely recall a fan's face for having seen so many.