acting in ways

Shaming doesn't work very well anymore. Our societies and communities have changed. We live in an anonymous society of single-family dwellings, lonely car commutes to work, and tenuous social connections that we have to work harder and harder to maintain. And we are transient - we move from place to place quickly and easily, shedding identities and pasts, endlessly reinventing ourselves. We cannot be shamed because there is no single inescapable community that knows us, gossips about us, and watches us for signs that we are acting in ways contrary to the accepted standards of society.

-- The Peep Diaries by Hal Niedzviecki

out loud, how embarrassing

"There are moments," casting producer Tamra Barcinas tells me, "where it's like 'I can't believe you would say that out loud, how embarrassing.' But they'll have a screening party back home with their friends and family, and they're so thrilled that they actually got to be on TV. That was their moment."

-- The Peep Diaries by Hal Niedzviecki

love watching ourselves

We're all learning to love watching ourselves and our neighbors. Peep's power is that it is widespread and elusive. It's a whispered, hypnotic idea: You need to know. You need to be known. In Peep we feel the cathartic release of confession, the allure and danger of gossip, and the timeless comfort of ritual. When we peer in on each other, we experience the thrill of performance, the purge of the talking cure, the erotic frisson of forbidden sex. Peep culture takes from all those things, but isn't any of them.

-- The Peep Diaries by Hal Niedzviecki

The myth

Witness Elimination Program
The myth is that witness relocation exists, whereas people who "enter the program" are simply shot.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: Courage, Dana

On April 12, 2011, (just over five months ago) I was at Brentwood Town Centre in Burnaby, B.C., and I had with me a few books primed for release. There is a children's play area there, and I left the children's book Courage, Dana near the shoe rack at the play area's entrance/exit. The next day, a journal entry - written by a new member! - arrived in my inbox:

Just wanted to let you know that I picked up the book today. I plan to read it and make an entry. I never knew this existed! What a fun find!

mean to vanquish nature

Unchecked
"Unchecked, science and monotheism both mean to vanquish nature" - a lovely quote from Christopher Potter in You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

the events of 9/11

Ninetenicillin
A pill that makes one feel as if the events of 9/11 had never occurred. A variation of Millennial Tristesse, a longing for the twentieth century.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

instant itness

Itness
The ability of one agent to create the perception of an object, person, or event as possessing "it" - for example, not wanting to be "it" in a game of tag - or even the ability of a dog owner to create instant itness when choosing a stick to be thrown for retrieval.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

a "me day."

The Future of Labour
The fact that there is no word in the Chinese language for a "me day."

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

ego by plastering

Deselfing
Willingly diluting one's sense of self and ego by plastering the Internet with as much information as possible.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: The Best of Eric Nicol

A long, long time ago (January 27, 2011), in a town far, far away (Vancouver, B.C.), I released The Best of Eric Nicol inside a Westender newspaper box. It was mere days later that a journal entry catch was made.

The catch:

I was walking home from work one night at around 1:00am when I saw that a friend of mine was on the cover of the Westender. When I went to pick up a copy out of the newspaper box, I also found this book!!
I was delighted. I have not read it yet, but will do so and pass it on.
=)

unlike one's dog

Chronocanine Envy
Sadness experienced when one realizes that, unlike one's dog, one cannot live only in the present tense. As Kierkegaard said, "Life must be lived forward."

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

if cats were double their usual size

Rachel's father says that if cats were double their usual size, they'd probably be illegal and you'd have to shoot them, but even if dogs were three times as big, they'd still be good friends to people. Rachel sees that as a good way of comparing the two species.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: Lonesome Dove

I released Lonesome Dove at Metrotown mall just before Christmas, an hour before releasing the also-already-caught Riding the Iron Rooster. The catch from an anonymous finder came on January 13, 2011:

Found this book on the bench while last minute Christmas shopping...