The Program ❀

[EvaLane]

In a sea of exhilarating discussions, I remain steadily searching for a thread that’s just right for my brand of intellectual nonsense. I have very serious thoughts on Project Pan, the meme-ificafion of sexism, and is a kink really still a kink if it’s alone in the woods with no one around to hear it?

and about a million-ga’jillion other things.

So! Welcome to The Program! Nothing is scheduled, everything is breaking news, and discussion is not only welcome, but required!

I’ll pop in with my own questions, answers, and mini-dissertations. The floor is always open for my fellow wackjob intellectuals to ask related questions, comments, and responses

Please refrain from senseless pandering and complimentary fluff - save that for the DMs! It’s strict around these parts, partners!

‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.
The Program Podcast​

Ep 1: The Most Intimate Book Ever Published

 

[EvaLane]

So, what exactly is so interesting about a phone book?


It turns out, quite a lot. What started as a single page in 1878 became this odd little snippet of ordinary life - addresses, names, business advertisements, and of course, phone numbers.

We dive right into the stacked up history - all of the stalking and harassment, the psychic hotlines and escort services, and a few stranger-than-strange stories hiding behind those not-so-innocent pages.

The Most Intimate Book Ever Published (26:18)

Let’s talk about it!

When and why did being findable stop being normal and start feeling a little scary?

Have we become more connected or are we simply easier to reach?

And when you can search for almost anything, anyone, at any time… what happens to the fun of not knowing?

sources are available upon request

 

[F3x0r]

This could well be my Freedom Walk listen!! If not I will listen later tonight

 

[SalaciousMonkey22]

So, what exactly is so interesting about a phone book?
View attachment 2671059

It turns out, quite a lot. What started as a single page in 1878 became this odd little snippet of ordinary life - addresses, names, business advertisements, and of course, phone numbers.

We dive right into the stacked up history - all of the stalking and harassment, the psychic hotlines and escort services, and a few stranger-than-strange stories hiding behind those not-so-innocent pages.

The Most Intimate Book Ever Published (26:18)

The psychic friends network was awesome. I never called. But the advertisements alone were brilliant.

And the LA Xxxpress was the most fascinating phone book of the 80’s
https://soundgasm.net/u/EvaLane/The-Most-Intimate-Book-Ever-Published

Let’s talk about it!

When and why did being findable stop being normal and start feeling a little scary?

I think being discoverable was always a little scary. But the scale of it has magnified it danger. Being found by the one creepy old man in your small town is bad. Being found by all the creepy men in the entire world? Way way scarier!.

And that’s before we add in targeted advertising!

Have we become more connected or are we simply easier to reach?

Connection take time . And focus. And attention. Things the internet is built to drain from us. Which is connected to below.

And when you can search for almost anything, anyone, at any time… what happens to the fun of not knowing?

it’s not just fun not knowing, it’s important to do the work required to learn something. It builds a framework for context and understanding that is what leads to wisdom.

I dread the idiocracy future of AI where people just parrot back what AI tells them with no ability to contextualize it and even sniff test it.

But more directly relevant to your post. I have a very clear memory of the first time my future wife gave me her phone number. What a gift that was. There’s definitely all kinds of different value in not knowing and learning.

 

[*Twisted*]

I do have to admit I miss having that Rolodex of phone numbers in my head.

 

[Lord Pmann]

Well done. I used to amuse myself with the phone book when I was younger.

I would look up all the names that might be fun to laugh at. There was a lady in my city whose last name was Dickgrabber. I used to imagine how people had last names that represented occupations- Baker, Smith, Taylor, etc. I liked to think that she came from a long line of hardworking dick grabbers.

My friend and I used to call the escort services to ask questions. Fun fact… the guy answering was just a pimp.

 

[EvaLane]

My friend and I used to call the escort services to ask questions. Fun fact… the guy answering was just a pimp.

See, I didn’t want to glamorize anything, but also didn’t want to talk over the reported incidents that stated work was work - which to some, sure, but to others, oof.

I’ve never talked to a pimp normally, nowadays it’s all 22 year old top percenters on OF that barely show bare-nip that recruit the newbies into the “lifestyle” AKA “you’d-be-lucky-to-make-$150-per-month-after-Alisyias-Snow-Hunnies-Incorperated-management-fee”.

So maybe I have talked to a pimp, just new age?

 

[Lord Pmann]

See, I didn’t want to glamorize anything, but also didn’t want to talk over the reported incidents that stated work was work - which to some, sure, but to others, oof.

I’ve never talked to a pimp normally, nowadays it’s all 22 year old top percenters on OF that barely show bare-nip that recruit the newbies into the “lifestyle” AKA “you’d-be-lucky-to-make-$150-per-month-after-Alisyias-Snow-Hunnies-Incorperated-management-fee”.

So maybe I have talked to a pimp, just new age?
View attachment 2671198

This guy was a pimp, for sure. I remember him saying, “What do you want? I’ve got a blonde, an Asian, big boobs, big ass… whatever you want, I’ve got.”

I was only like 15 or 16 and obviously had no intention of following through. I mean, I had no money. But I remember being so uncomfortable with the discussion.

 

[ScarletDaisy]

Well done. I used to amuse myself with the phone book when I was younger.

I would look up all the names that might be fun to laugh at. There was a lady in my city whose last name was Dickgrabber. I used to imagine how people had last names that represented occupations- Baker, Smith, Taylor, etc. I liked to think that she came from a long line of hardworking dick grabbers.

My friend and I used to call the escort services to ask questions. Fun fact… the guy answering was just a pimp.

I miss prank calling. As a kid, that was so much fun. Caller ID ruined it.

The phone book was like the keys to the castle. Who are we going to call today? Flip the pages and see who wins...

My last prank call was made at a red light 25ish years ago. He'd been driving like a jerk, cut me off... We're stopped at a light, his phone number was on his truck. I picked up my phone, dialed it, watched him pick up his phone and he said hello. I snapped my startac phone shut with satisfaction. #GenX

 

[Lord Pmann]

I miss prank calling. As a kid, that was so much fun. Caller ID ruined it.

The phone book was like the keys to the castle. Who are we going to call today? Flip the pages and see who wins...

My last prank call was made at a red light 25ish years ago. He'd been driving like a jerk, cut me off... We're stopped at a light, his phone number was on his truck. I picked up my phone, dialed it, watched him pick up his phone and he said hello. I snapped my startac phone shut with satisfaction. #GenX

And that call cost you $3.50.

 

[ScarletDaisy]

And that call cost you $3.50.

It was before 7pm.

 

[Qky75]

I miss prank calling. As a kid, that was so much fun. Caller ID ruined it.

The phone book was like the keys to the castle. Who are we going to call today? Flip the pages and see who wins...

My last prank call was made at a red light 25ish years ago. He'd been driving like a jerk, cut me off... We're stopped at a light, his phone number was on his truck. I picked up my phone, dialed it, watched him pick up his phone and he said hello. I snapped my startac phone shut with satisfaction. #GenX

I called the operator and asked for Buckingham Palace. I still remember the really nice English lady who answered and politely told me when I asked to speak with the queen that Her Majesty was unfortunately occupied with important business but she would pass along my well wishes. It was so awesome at age 10..... until my dad opened the phone bill.

 

[flickerfly]

When and why did being findable stop being normal and start feeling a little scary?

I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. Thinking back to when we first all had cell phones in the mid-90s, those numbers were not listed anywhere - you had to give them to people. Yeah, your parents could be found in a phone book, but no one knew your cell phone number except for your closest friends because 1) the information wasn't widely available and 2) that shit was expensive (see Lord Pmann and Daisy's exchange, above). But by the mid 00's, I would venture to guess that most of our cell numbers were findable online, and most of us were beginning to receive telemarketing calls on those lines. I think that initial privacy and then the loss of that sense of privacy is when things started feeling creepy for me.

On the other hand, my one and only stalker randomly found my parents' number in the phone book, made a prank call one night, and then kept calling back incessantly for a couple of weeks. Yes, it escalated quickly. And yes, she got a visit from the sheriff, which stopped further calls. But the point is, maybe the sense of privacy was all a ruse to begin with?

Have we become more connected or are we simply easier to reach?

I think we are just easier to reach. If anything, we seem more disconnected than ever.

And when you can search for almost anything, anyone, at any time… what happens to the fun of not knowing?

sources are available upon request

I think it's taken the interpersonal out of learning about one another. Instead of talking to someone to find out who they are and what interests them, we do a deep a dive on socials and the Internet, find out what we find out, form some sort of opinion, and then interact with one another. Which, frankly, sucks. And even something as simple as going out to eat at a new restaurant has lost its sense of mystery. My wife reviews the menu in detail and walks in knowing exactly what she wants, which is great for her (she hates surprises). I on the other hand, like to enjoy a cocktail while I consider the menu and make my choice. To each their own, I guess. But I prefer not to know what is around every corner at every second of every day.

 

[hotwords229_A]

And when you can search for almost anything, anyone, at any time… what happens to the fun of not knowing?

You have to make your own fun.

My last prank call was made at a red light 25ish years ago. He'd been driving like a jerk, cut me off... We're stopped at a light, his phone number was on his truck. I picked up my phone, dialed it, watched him pick up his phone and he said hello. I snapped my startac phone shut with satisfaction. #GenX

Have you not seen the movie Joy Ride? That could have been Rusty Nail!
You dodged a bullet.

 

[Lord Pmann]

You have to make your own fun.

Have you not seen the movie Joy Ride? That could have been Rusty Nail!
You dodged a bullet.

Caaaandy Caaaaane

I did remember going through the phone book and making random prank calls as a kid. It was moderately annoying, I am sure. But, what if I did call some psycho? What if he (or she, if I can fantasize) tracked me down and stuck things in my holes? It seems so harmless, but I could have pissed off the wrong person.

Not too dissimilar a prank, my friends and I went around knocking on people's doors at night, in the middle of the night and then running away. Except one time, a guy came out with a shotgun and just fired into the abyss. It scared me shitless and that was the last time we ever did that. Prank calls were a little less dangerous. But still. Not so smart.

 

[daydreamer206]

What started as a single page in 1878

I’m really impressed by your work on this, Eva!

I enjoyed the snippets of old timey history, at least until confronting the fact that my kids would consider your segments on the 1980s every bit as ancient as the invention of the telephone

psychic hotlines

this is sort of a tangent but your bit on the New Age Phone Book took me back to growing up in a late 80s/early 90s church world steeped in Satanic Panic, where “New Age” was assuredly just a front for demons (or worse, liberals!)

I was reminiscing recently with a fellow escapee from evangelicalism, about this truly unhinged novel from that era that captures my childhood understanding of what New Age meant

When and why did being findable stop being normal and start feeling a little scary?

around the time I started my first lit account?

Have we become more connected or are we simply easier to reach?

Meh, a bit of both? Sometimes the connectivity of our brave new world fosters connections that I would have lost or never discovered otherwise, and sometimes it’s just a lot of empty noise. We probably all use the internet with greater or lesser degrees of health and wisdom from one day to the next, right? Maybe one of these days I’ll grasp how to tilt the scale in more positive directions on purpose.

And when you can search for almost anything, anyone, at any time… what happens to the fun of not knowing?

I do miss trying to remember things with my brain, sometimes.

Thanks again for making this, Eva! I look forward to seeing what you have in store next…

 

[hotwords229_A]

But, what if I did call some psycho? What if he (or she, if I can fantasize) tracked me down and stuck things in my holes?

I mean, it’s kind of a compliment, no?

 

[Lord Pmann]

I mean, it’s kind of a compliment, no?

I mean... I suppose I would kind of feel like the belle of the ball.

 

[hotwords229_A]

I mean... I suppose I would kind of feel like fhe belle of the ball.

Just one ball?

 

[EvaLane]

I mean, it’s kind of a compliment, no?

 

[Lord Pmann]

Just one ball?

I'm not a weirdo. I have the three.

View attachment 2671446

What lovely art.