Light at the End of the Reality Tunnel

Here’s my new Arthur magazine column. I wrote it as the money was pouring in for Robert Anton Wilson.

As for Bob, he is somewhat stabilized – which would ordinarily be a good thing, except for the fact that it means he lost his access to hospice care, which requires you to be getting measurably worse. So it’s back to friends taking care of him unless and until something bad happens.

He and his daughter send their love to everybody, though.

“The Light at the End of the Reality Tunnel” by Douglas Rushkoff,
(Originally published in Arthur No. 25/Winter 02006)

This has been a very bizarre couple of weeks for me. I changed literary agents, did a bookstore discussion/debate with former Arthur columnist Daniel Pinchbeck, learned of Robert Anton Wilson’s dire end-of-life financial predicament, and then left my wife and 21-month-old daughter to fly to Germany (where I am right now, stuck in an airport thanks to a canceled flight) to give a talk to a big magazine conglomerate about what makes their publications relevant in a mediaspace fast migrating online.

And I’ve found myself alternatively inspired and unnerved, about each and every one of these events. I feel their connection on an emotional level — as if the microcosm in which I’m participating reflects a greater theme. Like an archipelago, this seemingly disconnected string of islands is all connected beneath the surface. And that connection is about how we make value — for ourselves and one another.

more…

Thou Shalt Realize the Bible Kicketh Ass

At least that’s how 10 Zen Monkeys webzine creator RU Sirius has decided to frame an interview he just did with me about my comic, Testament. Of course, any chance to interact with RU Sirius is a mind-expanding treat. He was one of the main reasons I got into this game to begin with.

Here’s a taste from the beginning:

What if The Bible were happening right now? That’s the question Douglas Rushkoff has been trying to grapple with in Testament, a series of graphic novels that transpose Biblical stories into contemporary narratives. The series, created in collaboration with artist Liam Sharp flashes back and forth between contemporary and Biblical times, portraying struggles between total control freaks and revolutionaries. Various gods and goddesses form a sort of Greek Chorus — philosophizing and commenting on the action. The “Testament” series is a startling attempt to bring Biblical mythology back to life.

The first five editions of Testament were gathered together in a paperback edition titled Testament: Akedah. A second paperback edition, Testament Vol. 2: West of Eden, is scheduled for release in January, 2007.

I interviewed Rushkoff by email.

RU SIRIUS: Let’s start off talking about the medium itself, the graphic novel. It seems like the graphic novel became a repository for stories with mythic resonances and heroism in the Joseph Campbell sense, since that kind of storytelling was marginalized by the modern and then the post-modern novel. Would you agree? And who in this genre has inspired you?

DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF: I think novels lost a bit of their dimension as readers demanded narrators they could “trust” and perspectives with which they could identify. In some ways, the novel — and most textual narrative — became awfully realistic. The post-modernist experiments were mostly being conducted in other forms, like poetry, and only “kids” novels or series attempted fantasy or mythology in any real way.

more…

Give the Gift of Rushkoff

…and a gift to the Rushkoffs at the same time, by considering a book that might wake up your loved ones instead of lulling them to sleep.

For a gentler prod into reality than Dawkins’ brilliant bestseller, The God Delusion, try my Nothing Sacred – which makes the argument that Judaism was intended as a method for releasing people from the bonds of religion, even if more recent incarnations of this tradition look more like a faith than an anti-faith.

For the graphic novel fan (or could-be fan) in your brood, check out Testament

– the first graphic novel collection my comic book series. It was the sole comic on Rolling Stone’s prestigious “Hot List” this year, and is suitable for any “mature” reader.

For the entrepreneur in your family – or anyone looking to understand why business in America got so screwed up and what to do about – pick up Get Back in the Box, which makes the controversial assertion that competency is key to success. (Something our current administration could stand to learn, as well.)

Finally, for the parent or student considering the challenges of growing up in an interactive mediaspace, consider the new updated version of ‘Playing the Future,’ now called ScreenAgers.

And if you really want to give a fun gift, check out my wife’s Jewish Holiday Fun…For You! – a set of arch and artfully construed deconstructions of Jewish holidays, all in the apparently innocuous form of a kids’ holiday book. It’s a great stealth counterculture gift for a kid, that from the cover will look to clueless parents like it’s a “good thing.”

So that’s my official holiday self-plug. I don’t encourage holiday buying. And I don’t buy gifts for people on the holidays – except for the people in our lives who do relatively thankless tasks. We buy cookies for the people who work in the park where our daughter plays, and for the workers at Barnes and Noble, where she plays when it’s too cold or wet outside. And we gave money to our doormen (back in the days when we lived in a doorman building).

Still, if I were the holiday giving type, I’d want to give people stuff that opened their eyes a bit rather than just filled space or got re-gifted later. At least they’ll have something to do while waiting in the airport for their flight home.

More soon from me. It’s going to be an exciting year – much to announce, but I’ll do that in good time. Talks, a new book, a new comic, a new non-NYU course, and maybe even a documentary. The baby is two this month, so it’s time to get back to work.

See you soon, and eat plenty of greasy foods.

Oh – almost forgot. I’m on CNN all week – some kind of spot about about the future, aired intermittently. Check it out.

Four Days of Links

I’ve been busy with Testament, my Discover column, a bit of travel, and a new book proposal. In the meantime, here’s a taste of what’s been coming back at me from the Internet:

The Big Mashup from Sun

By John Musser

Featuring a diverse group of people involved including Andrew Baron and Joanne Colan from Rocketboom, author Douglas Rushkoff, DJ Spooky and Sun’s CTO Web 2.0 and Chief Gaming Officer Chris Melissinos. More at Sun blogs from Paul Lamere…

Fascists Took My Gun, Blog & Hamburger

Susie Bright, Douglas Rushkoff, Norman Solomon and Tikkun’s Michael Lerner are among the smart folk who contributed. Christopher Hitchens, Noam Chomsky and Maureen Dowd were among those who refused to participate, because they hate …

Bad News for Old News

MediaPost Publications – New York,USA

… Douglas Rushkoff, author of several books on new media, including Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out (excerpted in this issue), is one of the…

Get Back in the Box

MediaPost Publications – New York,USA

by Douglas Rushkoff, December 2006 issue. Like a pot of water brought to a boil, it all looks pretty messy and bubbly right before…

Has American Become a Fascist State?

By WH

Douglas Rushkoff Media theorist; author; host of Frontline documentaries “The Merchants of Cool” and “The Persuaders.” Yeah, for sure we do. I’m actually just starting a book on this subject. The weirdest part, though, is that it’s not …

Konur skal taka aftan frá.

By Sölvinn(Sölvinn)

Douglas Rushkoff, höfundurinn, kennir miðlafræði við New York háskóla, er stofnandi Open’>http://www.opensourcejudaism.com/” … The idea of Nothing Sacred [fræðibók eftir Rushkoff] was that the Bible—and religion—are not set in stone. …

Testament # 12 – Review

By JP

Testament # 12 Writer: Douglas Rushkoff; Art: Peter Gross, Gary Erskine; Not going to write much about this issue, other than to say that the Babylonian god Marduk is summoned by the other gods. Originally he assumed a place as head god …

Not a media revolution

By seamusmccauley

But the digital revolution isn’t a media revolution: as Doug Rushkoff argues and Terry Heaton paraphrases, “the web is a social phenomenon, not a media phenomenon or a technological phenomenon”. Aside from Google (which is admittedly an …

Virtual Economics – virtualeconomics.typepad.com/virtualeconomics/

/>

Follow for Now: Interviews with Friends and Heroes

The collection includes stellar discussions with the key cultural luminaries, blogerati, and intellectuals of our time, from Douglas Rushkoff and Bruce Sterling to Doug Stanhope and Howard Bloom. Read the Table of Contents and you’ll …

why I read arthur

SO THAT I CAN READ ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE WRITTEN BY DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF!

zwarte poes .23 – MySpace Blog – blog.myspace.com/23even_steven

/>

Top 50 P2P Podcasts by Topic

By noemail {at} noemail(.)org (Michel Bauwens)

Danah Boyd and Douglas Rushkoff on MySpace; David Sifry on Technorati; Douglas Rushkoff on the New Digital Rennaissance; Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia; Lawrence Lessig Podcasts on Free Culture; Pat Kane on the Play Ethic …

P2P Foundation – blog.p2pfoundation.net

/>

Mob rule? Not so fast.

By Terry

Doug Rushkoff writes of a fascinating incident that’s sure to spark debate as we continue to evolve to a truly informed citizenry. Here’s the story: A bicycling blogger had an incident with an SUV in New York. The blogger was upset that …

Root Causes

By Doogie(Doogie)

Douglas Rushkoff opines the same message in the Dec. …Rushkoff then goes on to suggest what I feel is a bit of a stretch: what we call terrorism is the uncivilized world’s dynamic response to what they feel is an injustice. …

Atuuschaaw: Our Dumbing Down

Douglas Rushkoff has some interesting ideas concerning open source democracy and communities. It’s the communities we see growing now with … As Rushkoff claims in his paper Open Source Democracy,. Political structures need to change. …