I met writer and media ethicist Doug Rushkoff on some European punditrips, back when there was more money around to pay folks (me at least) to give speeches about digital culture. We had a good time in two Scandinavian cities and stayed in touch thereafter. Organized religion, media manipulation, professional ethics, and the search for companions.When I heard that he'd found one companion in particular, everlasting, I wanted to see him wed. Jane had been stimulated by him and agreed; I found a good deal on tickets and we travelled to New York for two nights August 31 - September 2 2002.
 "Hey Jane, look, it's Jane Street!" Uh-huh. Do you see a cab? "Hold on! Go stand under that sign and I'll take your picture!" That's the conversation leading up to this photograph. |
 At Penn Station, we ran into Elly, who has been away from the Bay Area all summer at the Omega Institute. Contrary to appearances on her web site, she was updating somewhere with tales of a stinky questing laborer at an enlightenment distributorship. |
 We stayed with my friend from college, sculptor/banker Ethan at his place up on 186th street. That's like nearly Canada? No, "Washington Heights" where they had a very spacious, welcoming apartment they were nice enough to share with us (and they loaned us a very useful but perhaps inappropriate Not For Tourists booklet). This is Jane and me on the ride uptown the first night. |
For the during of our visit, Jane and I had Andrew W.K.'s song "I love New York City" in our heads, between our lips, interjecting (Jane bought his album after some conversation with her friend Chris). That "I Love New York City" anthem seemed appropriate, so appropriate, we figured that it would be blasting from loudspeakers all over the city. As yet, it is not. | ||
 On the eve of his wedding reception, Doug gestures with a bowl of borscht at the Veselka diner in the East Village. |
 I was curious about the ceremony, since Doug is writing a book about modern Judaism (Nothing Sacred) and Barbara edited the 'zine Plotz. As Doug described it, the ceremony was perhaps more similar to a pre-modern Jewish ceremony, except women and men were not split up. Some mix of modern and old world. This was what we saw at the reception - an English-language translation of their Katuba, a Hebrew vows document (I first saw at Ellen and Jon's wedding), some candles, a picture of the event, and a book for us to inscribe our sense of the moment. |
 Barbara and Doug, as the official collective salutations began. She was very nice, smiling friendly with flowers in her hair. I was only able to meet her very briefly and then she was inundated with well-wishers. Nice thing about a friend marrying someone you want to meet, you should have a chance to meet them again. |
 Craig and Rebecca pictured here. Craig I also met on the speaking circuit, years of meeting in Stockholm and nowhere else. Here he's shown with one of his hand-tailored suits from the days when living digital was a paying profession. "I didn't [get involved in the Internet] to get rich," Craig reminds me, "If I had been in it for the money, I would have sold my stock before I left [Razorfish]." He gestures the low point at which he ended up bailing out, when he quit being Chief Scientist. Rebecca helped start the site Gurl.com and played in the band Love Child. Soon they're both headed to Italy for a few weeks, maybe travel. "This is the time to be an artist" they both agreed, since few other folks are getting ahead in business. |
 Two Homies figures decorated a wedding cupcake. |
 Jane and I pictured in the bathroom mirror - the wedding was held at a studio used for fashion photography in the neighborhood Jane referred to as the "MePa" the meat packing district. It was a large white-walled space facing the Hudson river, tall windows open to a summer sky and breezes, while inside some curtains separated us eating middle eastern food from the fur-covered bed and granite lined bathroom with a toilet raised up as though it were a proper throne. |
 Jane was looking at some necklaces and I was looking at Jane. It looks like New Orleans perhaps, but it's a bangles, baubles and beads shop in SoHo. |
 Ethan took us to a artfully recreated speakeasy in the West Village, seemingly hidden behind a back door in a Japanese pub restaurant. The drinks at this joint seemed expertly crafted, holding thick flavor and smooth pleasure in each sweet or sour sip. Above the bar, this lovely mural that turned odd if you stared at it long enough; a red-ringed cute but horned Asian demon sat clothed and dejected as mostly-nude Caucasian cherubs surrounded him at a distance staring at him shocked. The folks working in the bar and the guys playing guitar and bass jazz were Asian, Japanese I believe. |
 Our hosts Ethan and Alexis hold a light source to alleviate the dim bar mood for this snapshot. Alexis just returned from, amongst other things, walking across the top of Spain. Yes, walking. Ethan just inherited an old hotel in Nantucket. With Alexis he hosted Jane and I right nice and proper, but he says he's not interested in making that his business. |
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