The Hoopla Over Steve Martin's Appearance and Interview at the 92nd Street Y: "This is only a test."

NYT:

That night, a conversation between Steve Martin, the writer and actor, and Deborah Solomon, who writes a weekly interview column for The New York Times Magazine, resulted in the Y’s sending out a next-day apology, along with a promise of a refund.

You've got to check this out. They're the reader/user comments to an NY Times article, "Comedian Conversation Falls Flat at 92nd Street Y". If we're to go by the Google News airwaves, and what those media outlets are saying about the incident, Martin's being a really good sport about it. Maybe. He's quoted by NYT as saying, "“As for the Y’s standard of excellence, it can’t be that high because this is the second time I’ve appeared there.”" Read the NYT piece here. Steve Martin's other books: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Late for School, Shopgirl: A Novella, The Pleasure of My Company: A Novella, The Underpants, The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo.

In response to the 92nd Street Y uproar, Lee Siegel out of The New York Observer, was, well, "excited."

The people watching on closed-circuit began sending emails imploring the staff at the 92nd Street Y to intercede and press Ms. Solomon to ask snappier questions. Not questions about kvelling over Rembrandt, but about what it was like to work with Goldie Hawn. Back in New York, the members of the audience began to murmur their disapproval. After a few minutes, someone from the Y stepped out onto the stage and passed an index card to Ms. Solomon. It was a note demanding that she talk to Mr. Martin about his career. This defiant message will be remembered the way Americans remember the first shot fired at Concord. Ms. Solomon promptly began accepting questions from the floor. As a result of the general disappointment, the Y decided to give refunds to everyone in the audience. Messrs. Solomon and Martin, welcome to the age of the Internet! Welcome to the new participatory culture, where the paying audience determines the content of its cultural experience, not elitist gatekeepers and their flunkies. The passive discontent of the spectator has given way to the active control of the consumer. Aux armes, customers! I read an account of the Solomon/Martin imbroglio and excitedly banged out an email to Alan. According to the receipt, my share of lunch was $38.62. With tip, the whole thing came to $46. Make it a money order, I wrote, just to be on the safe side. That night, I slept like a baby. Thanks to the heroes of the 92nd Street Y, I had discovered IIR. Immediate Interactive Response.

The op-ed wasn't so enthusiastic, as you can tell; titled, "Apocalypse Now!" "IIR," got it (you old bag of whatever). "This is a test. This is a test of the immediate interactive response system, otherwise known as: you do something, something happens; such as picking up a phone, and calling somebody, or sending a sweaty singing telegram halfway across the world. You do; you get. This is only a test." Read the full piece here. And so, in response, there was this post, out of the The Economist blog, "Prospero":

Aren't we so crass—we the customers—for our Tweeting, bleating ways? And have you noticed what consumer control has done to the news media? Oh dear! This is where the exclamation point shines: a scenario in which everyone is meant to feel a bit shamed. Like sarcasm, a well-deployed exclamation mark holds a mirror up to our ideas so that we can see how dumb we really are. It bears mentioning that the Observer was wise to give Mr Siegel some weekly space this year for his gruff rants about the precarious state of American politics/the Great American Novel/the American man/America's media, etc. He's a wizard of macho outrage with a dash of wryness (and a gulp of rye). Now all that op-ed page needs is some readers.

Well, both of them need readers. The lowly Blogger.com blogger over here, has more readers than they do, according to their Facebook shares and Tweets: this post has one. And it automatically goes out when the article's published. Their posts? At this time, 0. I'll vote for both of them right now. Wow. Welcome to the "age" of the OCIASSAFAA system"!" The Opinions Come in All Shapes, Sizes and from All Angles system. This is only a test.