Word: flashing
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Summoned by e-mails, random strangers have been gathering at specific times in predetermined places this summer to engage in miscellaneous collective action. If this sounds vague, that's because it is. Whether the phenomenon, referred to as a "flash mob," is a cure for the ennui of the wired generation or an incipient form of social protest may be open to debate. But what is clear is that flash mobbing is global, and it's spreading. One mob recently gathered in New York City's Central Park, mimicked bird calls and chanted "Nature, nature" for 20 seconds...
...Robinson said at 6:40 p.m. as the mob dispersed, also as instructed - anonymous e-mails summon these mobs to pubs where minions of the mob coordinator distribute further instructions on when and where to gather and when to leave. "I couldn't break the tradition." Inexplicable mobs, or flash mobs, as they've also been dubbed, have become the social trend of the summer. Echoing back to '60s-era "happenings" or '70s-era Situationist art projects - except shorter and with even less purpose - these pseudo-spontaneous gatherings began in June in New York City, and spread quickly across America...
...called Smart Mobs, thinks mobs are the newest form of social protest. "Smart mobs consist of people who are able to act in concert even if they don't know each other," writes Rheingold. Smart mobs have, he says, done things like help topple Philippine President Joseph Estrada. Do flash mobs have similar aspirations? Not according to Bill. "I'm a political person," he says. "I do engage in protests, and I don't see this as a substitute." So if it's not social protest, what is it? London mobsters' reasons varied from boredom ("I get to do something...
...wanting to try your hand at digital photography but don't want to buy pricey equipment, this camera may be for you. It's the world's first 100% digital disposable camera, and it goes on sale at Ritz Camera Centers this week. For $10.99 you get an automatic flash, metered exposure control, a self-timer and--because it's digital--the option to instantly delete any pictures that don't pan out. The camera comes out of Pure Digital Technologies in San Francisco. Ritz does digital photofinishing in an hour, or you can use your printer. Walt Disney World...
DIED. JOHN SCHLESINGER, 77, Oscar-winning British director with an acidulous touch; after weeks of deteriorating health; in Palm Springs, Calif. Schlesinger (above) helped define swinging London in all its flash and falseness in Darling, which made Julie Christie a star. His U.S. film debut, the 1969 Midnight Cowboy, was the only X-rated movie to win a Best Picture Oscar and the first of the gay director's several films dealing with homosexuality. His visual style often strained unduly to make editorial points, but he knew the fears that eat at smart people. This made him the right...