{"id":5750,"date":"2016-09-26T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=5750"},"modified":"2023-03-31T11:45:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T15:45:45","slug":"businessman-artiste-or-madman-we-live-in-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/businessman-artiste-or-madman-we-live-in-public\/","title":{"rendered":"Businessman, artiste, or madman? We Live in Public"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you dig the deeply cynical TV series Black Mirror<\/em>, you\u2019ll love this documentary profile of businessman\/artiste\/madman Josh Harris<\/a>. Love, hate, or pity him, Harris is undoubtedly a fascinating individual who succumbed to information-age and surveillance state delusion back during a time when we still used terms like \u201ccyber-surfing the information superhighway\u201d to describe the arriving networked world. Ondi Timoner’s documentary We Live in Public<\/em> argues the point that however mad and irresponsible Harris may have been, he was definitely a visionary who saw what was coming over the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of particular interest to me was the story of his venture Pseudo, where I worked for a few months<\/a> in 1999-2000. This was after Harris left the company and launched his underground hotel project, so the doc necessarily omits this interesting phase in the company\u2019s history. Going by this film alone, you\u2019d get the impression Pseudo continued operating as a non-stop orgy right up to the end. But in actual fact, it did receive a large investment, followed by a major effort to mainstream itself as a serious company. When Pseudo finally burned through this cash infusion and went out of business, it was considerably a more sober and normalized operation than the wild bacchanalia it may have been in its early period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a footnote, I found it amusing that a documentary about the destructive effects of technology on society and the individual psyche would ship on a DVD encoded with a form of DRM (Pixeltools) that prevented it from playing on my totally run-of-the-mill DVD player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you dig the deeply cynical TV series Black Mirror, you\u2019ll love this documentary profile of businessman\/artiste\/madman Josh Harris. Love, hate, or pity him, Harris is undoubtedly a fascinating individual who succumbed to information-age and surveillance state delusion back during a time when we still used terms like \u201ccyber-surfing the information superhighway\u201d to describe the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2,2177],"tags":[1485,27,1070,1960,1068],"class_list":["post-5750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","category-tech","tag-1485","tag-documentary","tag-josh-harris","tag-ondi-timoner","tag-pseudo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/we-live-in-public.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1uK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":911,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/get-a-real-job-or-thoughts-on-pseudo\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":0},"title":"Get a Real Job! or, Thoughts on Pseudo.com","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Bringing new meaning to the phrase \"get a real job,\" I now learn that my last full-time gig was for a \"fake company.\" Years after the fact of its demise, Pseudo.com founder Josh Harris has pronounced to Boing Boing that Pseudo Programs Inc. was in fact a massive performance art\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pseudo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/pseudo-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/pseudo-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/pseudo-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/pseudo-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/pseudo-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5436,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/vote-for-joe-biden-kamala-harris\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":1},"title":"Vote for Joe Biden & Kamala Harris","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"November 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I clearly remember the November day four years ago, waiting in a line stretching around the block to vote for what would\/should have been the first woman President of the United States. Very late that evening, we sat at home weeping in front of the television. I know it amuses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/voted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/voted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/voted.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/voted.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/voted.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1434,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":2},"title":"Daniel Lanois Maximizes the Room in Here Is What Is","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Daniel Lanois is a unique musician, as gifted a singer-songwriter in his own right as he is a collaborator and producer. I originally came to recognize his name after finding it listed in the credits of many key items in my music collection, including Peter Gabriel's So and Us, U2's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/daniel-lanois-here-is-what-is-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":642,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/gone-baby-gone\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":3},"title":"Ben Affleck’s pervasively grim Gone Baby Gone","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Good ol' Bahstuhn Cahtholick Ben Affleck is an all grown-up, big-boy director now, and lookit, he made himself a pretty decent movie. That said, Gone Baby Gone is a big plate of grim, with side order of depressing. Affleck makes excellent use of location footage and local color. And not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":981,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/harold-kumar-escape-from-guantanamo-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":4},"title":"H&K drop LSD with NPH in Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"On the way to a hoped-for idyll in their spiritual home Amsterdam, our two beloved stoners Harold and Kumar take unintended detours through Cuba (as collateral damage in the War on Terror), Florida (where they drop trou' for a \"bottomless\" party), Alabama (rudely interrupting a Klu Klux Klan klatsch), and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/harold-kumar-escape-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1253,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/recount-dvd-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":5750,"position":5},"title":"The plural of chad is chad in HBO’s Recount","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2008 HBO television movie Recount dramatizes the traumatic few weeks at the close of the 2000 Presidential election. That hectic time brings back three distinct feelings for this blogger: bewilderment at the founding fathers' purpose for the Electoral College (as everyone no doubt remembers, it was never in doubt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/recount-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/recount-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/recount-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/recount-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/recount-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5750"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7336,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750\/revisions\/7336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}