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Sep. 21st, 2004 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_lotus13I just received an email from Hal Niedzviecki, who some of you might recognize from such places as "The Globe and Mail", "Broken Pencil magazine" and your local book store. A few years ago, I was a zine reviewer for "Broken Pencil". Every few months, I got a selection of books and zines in the mail. It was like Christmas for an independent culture junkie. Anyway, Hal will be touring to promote his new book, details of which are under the cut Hello, I'm Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity
by Hal Niedzviecki
For his thirtieth birthday, Hal Niedzviecki received what his parents thought was the perfect card for their rebellious son. On the front it depicted a crowd scene dour grey men in suits, hats, and overcoats. Inside it said: “Happy Birthday to a non-conformist.” Niedzviecki had a moment of crisis. “If I’m a rebel sanctioned by society, encouraged by my parents, and cheered on by Hallmark, what is left to rebel against?”
In Hello, I’m Special, the guru of indie culture offers up a barrage of facts, observations, and arguments that point to the extinction of the non-conformist and the rise of individuality as the new conformity. In chronicling his singular encounters as an editor and pop culture explorer, his meditations touch on everything from religion to karaoke, from declining birth rates to Celebrity Worship Syndrome, from Mississauga’s famed Backyard Wrestling Federation to Friday Night Sabbath in Atlanta, Georgia. He unearths the amateur underground zines, People cards, the Trampoline Hall Speaker’s Series and shines a spotlight on the self-help industry, Canadian Idol, Hollywood, and mainstream media. The result is a smart, witty, and impassioned argument that shatters the you-can-do-anything pop myth and exposes the paradox of individuality.
Hello, I’m Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity
By Hal Niedviecki
Published by Penguin Group (Canada)
Pub date: October 9th, 2004
$25.00; Original Trade Paperback; 272 pages
Do you want to be special? Enter the Most Special Person Ever contest and win!
www.helloimspecial.ca
Visit the site to order the book, enter the Most Special Person Ever contest, comment on the book and contest, and read excerpts.
Apparently he will be promoting the book in Vancouver at a place called "Our Town." Does anyone know where this is?
by Hal Niedzviecki
For his thirtieth birthday, Hal Niedzviecki received what his parents thought was the perfect card for their rebellious son. On the front it depicted a crowd scene dour grey men in suits, hats, and overcoats. Inside it said: “Happy Birthday to a non-conformist.” Niedzviecki had a moment of crisis. “If I’m a rebel sanctioned by society, encouraged by my parents, and cheered on by Hallmark, what is left to rebel against?”
In Hello, I’m Special, the guru of indie culture offers up a barrage of facts, observations, and arguments that point to the extinction of the non-conformist and the rise of individuality as the new conformity. In chronicling his singular encounters as an editor and pop culture explorer, his meditations touch on everything from religion to karaoke, from declining birth rates to Celebrity Worship Syndrome, from Mississauga’s famed Backyard Wrestling Federation to Friday Night Sabbath in Atlanta, Georgia. He unearths the amateur underground zines, People cards, the Trampoline Hall Speaker’s Series and shines a spotlight on the self-help industry, Canadian Idol, Hollywood, and mainstream media. The result is a smart, witty, and impassioned argument that shatters the you-can-do-anything pop myth and exposes the paradox of individuality.
Hello, I’m Special: How Individuality Became the New Conformity
By Hal Niedviecki
Published by Penguin Group (Canada)
Pub date: October 9th, 2004
$25.00; Original Trade Paperback; 272 pages
Do you want to be special? Enter the Most Special Person Ever contest and win!
www.helloimspecial.ca
Visit the site to order the book, enter the Most Special Person Ever contest, comment on the book and contest, and read excerpts.
Apparently he will be promoting the book in Vancouver at a place called "Our Town." Does anyone know where this is?
