Fake Real

Years ago, Ada Louise Huxtable, venerable architecture critic for the NY Times, wrote a great book called Unreal America. In it, she made the distinction between things that are real, (or, "real real") things that are fake and don't pretend to be real - which she called "real fake" (like The Venetian in Las Vegas) and things that are fake, but pretend to be real, hence called "fake real," like The Hard Rock Cafe.

Real real is good. Real fake is fun. Fake real is sleazy.

Buzz Agent = Fake Real.

Stop it.

Comments

[Jon Husband]

For a whole range of shades of "real", check out this essay from about 2.5 years (April 2002) ago titled "The Numbing of The American Mind - Culture As Anaesthetic" by Thomas de Zengotita.

When I read it, it chilled me to the bone, and still haunts my thoughts many days. Don't quite know how to deal with it, nor collectively how we will come to terms with it, other than through sustained and disciplined afforts at "true talk".

[Tom Guarriello]

Thanks, Jon...I'll check out the Harper's piece.

Sustained, disciplined, rigorous efforts at TrueTalk seems like a dream; pockets of authentic connection as "proof of concept" is what we're engaged in today. We know the benefits and hope others will experience them as well.