It all started with this tweet:
Worst part of getting dumped is knowing that you will remember everything while trying to move on – 12:15am, April 7
I was a bit inebriated and soon descended into tearing paper hearts off the wall (from valentines day). Five days would pass and I’m still a wreck. The break-up hurts but something else is bugging me. I’m crying in bathrooms, taking showers to cry, not eating..
At a friends barbeque I’m cornered into a bet: a silence retreat for three days.
No talking/twitter/phone calls/texting.
Only communication needed to get through my day (which includes talking at work).
I was slightly interested in doing this but would have rather dealt with the ‘crying’ thing.
It was a tough time with Bear but it was something more. My parents had also come into town. That wasn’t it either. Something was definitely off.
It took all three days of silence for the puzzle to be solved. The end of which saw the Bear and I coming back together more intimate than before, and me beginning to heal some deep childhood issues. I feel taller and stronger now which is amazing.
Now, to the details of how it all happened:
Thoughts after day one
(the following is a diary entry written during the silence retreat and unedited, except for grammar)
1. I dont think before I speak. I like doing that too. I think it stems from when i was 4 or 5 and had a stutter. One day I was suddenly cured and went from years of held back speech to sudden freedom. I could talk all i want. You can say the next few decades were an onslaught of talking on all those around me. Now I see the value in not talking. Problem is I am stuck in a habit of word vomit (and I like it). Plenty of folks have complained about this over the years. I guess now may be the time to solve this issue. It will be a challenge for me since this is not just a habit but a hobby (i love talking). Hopefully, I will find some way to love not talking!
2. Communication is warm. Right now I feel very isolated. I am all around people but I can’t talk to them. If i were talking to them I wouldn’t notice the lack of warmth. Its just always there for most of us. I definitely feel it now and its like a cold shoulder. Even more, I am next to amy and I cant talk to her. It feels like a huge divide. I really like hearing about her day, her latest thoughts, and discussing the random topics that pop into our brains. I feel isolated, cold, and I miss the bear.
3. Deep eyes. Since i’m not talking I don’t really want to look at someone’s mouth or lips. I feel myself drawn to the eyes. I want to see what they say. I feel like through the eyes I can feel thoughts and emotions. It feels like richer insight into the person than conversing can give. I must try this when I am talking again. Watch the eyes for depth and listen the mouth for content.
Day two
(the following is a diary entry written during the silence retreat and unedited, except for grammar)
The silence is killing me. I spent the whole day tired and emotional. Amy kept asking me about my past and my emotions. Revealing some of my deepest insecurities. Things i had tried for years to run from, hide from, and pretend never existed. Work goes by in a flash. The right side of my brain takes over. I plan and execute. The silence disrupts my respite. Talking has always been my escape, now without out i feel helpless. Emotional.
I meet up with Bill a new friend. Friends. I don’t really have any. I mean I have people who like hanging out with me and me them. People who know about me and my life. Shared experiences. But, not friends. After my emotional morning and emails to Amy sunlight has peeked through the pain. I am scared to let people in. Haunted by the memories of abusive relationships, loss of innocence, and pain.
The sunlight is the moment I share with Bill. Instead of talking at him, I listen. Instead of having to say everything I engage in a conversation. Bill seems to enjoy it, me too, but the little voice inside of me was shouting, itching, screaming to say more/more/more.
Confused, scared, and learning. That’s where I am now. The emotions are close to overtaking me. I really just want to sleep get past the tiredness. But i know i need to let out the pain. It wants to come out and see the sunshine. In the light i may just grow. Today I make the commitment to listen.
Day 3
I never make it to the end of day three, right as time is about to expire I shout: “I’m breaking all the rules, Bear is beautiful, and I want to lose the bet” – “why” – “Because I want to take you on a hot air balloon” (my part of the bet).
I felt like a new man ready to listen and make friends. The very first thing to do was think about other people. Try to be genuine in the giving and do something for them. Bear had always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride and I would rather lose the bet to do something for her.
Two days later we take our long planned trip to Miami. The trip was once a point of contention, we broke up but should we still go. Instead we are sitting at the terminal together. Happy. A couple.
Well, that resolves the break-up problem. We are back together.
I’m not even sure we split up. We did have a huge fight. I was not happy, she was not happy, and something needed to change. The rest of the details don’t add much to this narrative but the outcome of this all does.
First, I’m staying in DC for a while. Maybe another dreaded winter. Maybe forever. I don’t know.
I miss California and need it to be a bigger part of my life. This summer I will head home for a few weeks or month. Probably do the same in December.
I’m not sure if this will quench my desire to be ‘home’ but its a start. I mean who can complain about spending a month surfing on the beach.
The second outcome is my personal growth. I learned how important friends are and more importantly why I was keeping myself isolated. It will take some time but I think I can solve this.
Third, twitter is losing its appeal. Very slowly it is fading into a mass communication device devoid of real people and feelings. Too many share links and interesting whatnots and leave real life out of it.
When I shared my break-up and a feeling that my life was falling apart I received support and love from close friends/family. Yet those same people say I “cried wolf” or “share too much”. A strange position for me. I share and get amazing support but am told that I shouldn’t have done so.
The twitter culture (or our culture) is establishing a Victorian etiquette that covers what is appropriate and inappropriate, and I don’t like it.
I want to share more and use social networks to strengthen relationships. Instead I feel them becoming shallow vague representations of our lives.
I recently attended a fascinating seminar on emerging technology in energy. Here are some of my notes and thoughts on the next generation of energy:
Energy Harvesting
My favorite new term. It refers to using existing energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, thermo) and turning them into electricity to feed the grid. Pretty much covers all the new energy sources. Excludes coal, nuclear, etc.
Smart Grid
Apparently, its just a dream.
Obama is pushing it and so is Energy Secretary, Steven Chu. All reasonable folk expect this is to be the foundation of our energy future. Without a modern grid we have no hope of utilizing the latest innovations. It would be like giving jet fuel to a horse drawn carriage.
Future, hah!, says the wizened gentleman behind me. He begins to explain his reaction after telling me he left the business and is only attending this seminar for nostalgia purposes. Suspect. He relates that the grid is already smart on a macro level. Utilities know how to share power, monitor, and get it to needed locations. What we are talking about is the micro level and involves pushing that technology to every city, home, and building. An expensive feat that will probably never result from government or utility spending.
More to be explained on that in following section.
What is a big deal then? Energy storage on the grid. If we are over-producing solar power in hot deserts and wind power at night, where will at all go. Our current infrastructure does not have an ability to use/transport/store this energy supply. If we can figure out a way to get the energy to high population areas then our grid will be smart.
Smart Metering
This is where the real change is happening. Power outlets with remote controls. Home appliances with timers. Motion sensors. Sleep modes for computers.
All of these involve the new energy monitoring lifestyle. They give us an opportunity to take control of our energy use. A lot of us want more and this where smart metering comes into play. Hook up all those devices to a software package and you get data heaven. Charts, graphs, recommendations. This seems to be where the juice is (pardon the pun).
Google is offering a software package, called Power Meter, and partnering with Energy, Inc. Their product, the TED5000, has been flying off the shelves for over a year now. It appears that this version of the smart grid, one that is decentralized and at the individual level will be driving the market for years to come.
PV – Photo Voltaic
The process of converting solar energy into electricity. We all know about this and see it on many roofs. For many years the market has been stuck growing at a snails pace. New investments were needed to make this energy type economical. Now we are starting to see that and many seem to be surprised that the former ceiling of 20% (solar energy to electrical energy conversion) is being broken. Wikipedia tells us (with sourcing) that:
Photovoltaic production has been doubling every 2 years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. At the end of 2008, the cumulative global PV installations reached 15,200 megawatts.
Second Generation PV
As the investments ramp up the technological innovation is booming. Folks with pent up projects are finally getting dollars (or more likely Yuan) to operationalize their theories. A big group of these innovations are centered around ultra-thin, low cost solar arrays. Instead of the bulky flat panels we will get complex micro solar panels with interesting features like: solar tracking (panels follow the sun), economies of scale (driving down cost), and mirrors (increasing efficiency through reflecting). Our presenter mentioned that these second generation panels have the capability to drive down costs to match that of nuclear and coal power.
Third Generation PV
This one feels more like a laboratory study than a real consumer product. Still their are companies releasing this on the market and our presenter even said that it is in calculators now. This grouping of PV focuses on the materials used to create solar panels. Searching for organic, nano, and molecular replacements for the raw materials (silicon, cadmium, lithium) that we use now. Definitely a major need since many of the raw materials used for solar panels are rare and sometimes for rogue states.
20% Problem
Touched on this a bit before. It boils down to a maximum reached by first generation solar panels. For many years their maximum solar to electrical conversion was 20%, with 80% lost/wasted. In comparison to coal and nuclear, which are 60-70%, this makes solar 3x as expensive and require 3x as many panels/turbines/etc.
The 2/3rd generation technologies mentioned above easily breach the 20% ceiling. One already at 35% through stacking panels, utilizing off band (UV) rays, and mirrors. I expect it wont be long until that number is doubled.
NIMBY
Not in my backyard. This is representing a real problem. In the coming years we will ‘plant’ thousands of solar panels and wind turbines. Few are happy to have them muddy up their roof or beautiful view.
Even worse this backlash is fostering more support for nuclear power plants. They don’t have to go in your backyard!
I just wish somebody would think long term on this. Nuclear Waste. Nuclear Countries. Nuclear Weapon. Not sure we need more nuclear in our lives, especially if the alternative is just a solar panel.
ARPA-E
Maybe you have heard of DARPA, an uber-advanced military research group that created the internet, builds robots, and many other amazing innovations. the Department of Energy has created ARPA-E which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. A place to conceptualize and test the advanced energy projects of the future.
Wireless Sensors
Wireless sensors presents a massive new industry of tiny sensors that require little energy. They serve a simple function which is to turn on, send data, and shut down. They only turn on when activated and gather a specific amount of data to transmit. After transmission they shut back down.
This allows them to be placed nearly anywhere and even form a mesh network. Activate one sensor that passes data and/or activation signal to the next one. In a few minutes you can have data from thousands of sensors. My brother wrote a dissertation on this using planes as an example. Place a sensor on all critical plane equipment. When the plane lands activate the sensors and get a status report on the plane.
Wireless Electricity
Wireless charging is coming. At the recent CES it was the rage. Consumer products are on the market. An MIT startup, Witricity, has several patents and deals with government, industry, and consumables. Hooray for the day when we are free from our cable jungles.
Graphene
A new material created in the lab with amazingly sophisticated microscopes that can be manipulated into a ridiculous array of uses. The presenter showed it as rope, tires, and even circuits. He passed around prints, stickers, rope, and cardboard made out of graphene. It appears to be the next gore-tex, or material than can be turned into anything. Cheap and moldable. It will be fun to see how this material is used.
Oddly enough I did it. I found a way that Green IT relates to Gov 2.0.
The bond too seems pretty strong on both sides. Almost as if one would be inherently weaker without the other. Read on…
—-
My proposal to speak at Gov 2.0 Expo in May:
5-minute rapid fire presentation
Title:
Green IT for Gov 2.0
Description (400 chars):
Green IT is building momentum as our new Executive Order 13514 from President Obama calls for increased sustainability at every Federal Agency. This presentation provides an overview of the impact of this sustainability initiative, how it supports and builds upon Gov 2.0, and the best practices being employed in the government and commercial sectors.
Abstract:
On October 5, 2009 President Obama signed into action a broad forward leaning Executive Order focused on the environment, energy, and economic performance. The driving force behind this is not only climate change but a need to lower costs.
Strangely, this push is leading us directly into the cloud and on virtualized machines. These changes represent the latest in industry standards and extremely cost effective options for Federal agencies. Add in that it meets the requirements of the Executive Order and protects the environment, and it may just be an unstoppable force.
Parallel to these efforts, the Gov 2.0 movement is gaining momentum and is a surprising ally. The drive towards citizen engagement, transparency, and web applications rely deeply on this technology. It also presents a unique sandwich for success with IT driving the push towards cost savings and users/public clamoring for more openness.
Join me as I briefly touch on the major topics of this intersection of two fields presenting a broad overview, touchpoints between the two, and best practices to keep us going forward.
**If requested, I can pull together a panel discussion with relevant members of the commercial and federal sectors.
Many of you know that I am now deeply involved in Federal Green IT. Add that in with my personal nonprofit work on Food/Obesity/Recycling and I’m all ears for video conferencing.
Which is why I’m a bit wry in these thoughts scrambled on sheets during my first VTC:
Sitting in two separate rooms. Two different groups. A Turing test – feeding voice info through the mic to the other group. Like Turing would think, if the message is delivered and a smart reply ensues, we have an intelligent VTC.
The atmoshpherics of the VTC are such that any delay in transmission can fail the whole operation. The faces on the screen are cold, flat, and the size of a penny on a screen far away on the wall. Wait! There is a third interloper, a single person, in a dark room. Is that big brother? Did he see me writing these notes and now going to take me to secret prison number 72?
Papers are everywhere. We have video screens of each other and a million printouts. Separate notes being taken on each. Lots of writing. Redundant. Scattered. Back to their individual desk and then…lost.
Why not a single note taker – entering notes digitally – on the scene = available instantly back at my desk for free!
Is the whole point of a video conference saving time and money, with lowered stress? Appears to work but still seem so awkward. How to improve? Does the new meeting format ask corporate servants to learn new meeting skills – like muting the box, waiting for the delay to pass, squinting at the screen to see their faces?
Maybe its just me and Im now old. Used to my physical “warm” meetings…or maybe im not using the top of the line technology…what is that like?
Can I just sit at my desk and play/enter Second Life and sit at virtual desk?
**this is cross-posted from the Navstar blog, announcing my new position**
It’s the beginning of my new life at Navstar and I am asked, “What do you hope to do?”
A simple question but it completely floors me. I’m so used to the opposite and its stifling restrictions and requirements. I just can’t fathom the answer.
Then day two rolls around and I’m still floored. I decide to ask our VP, Corinne Combeau, what do you think? She proceeds to paint a beautiful picture for me. Complete with flowing creativity, ambitious goals, and even a prop. A sheet of paper that she turns into a metaphor with one side representing the Navstar way with a sky is the limit, blank slate approach and the other side representing ‘others’ with a job description that forces you into a box.
Again, I’m floored.
I keep thinking to myself…is this what it mean to be working for a top 25 technology company in DC (pdf)?
——–
This all means that I am officially an employee of Navstar. They have offered me an incredible opportunity to join their team where I will be helping their Green IT and Enterprise 2.0 programs.
Our broad vision for Green IT is to help turn our Federal government in a mean green machine. Transform it one of the most sustainable and efficient operations in the world. Over the coming weeks we will be putting out more details of our program and services. The main focus of which will be providing sound solutions to federal agencies that reflect the modern environmental movement, where going green means cost savings, increased capabilities, improved efficiency, and much more.
In Enterprise 2.0, Navstar is already a leader in the space having caught the wave very early. Now, over 4 years later, the program is a defined leader in the space thanks to the work of Andrea Baker, the Director of Enterprise 2.0 for Navstar. I am excited to join her team and help grow the program (and this blog!). More details on my involvement to come.
This is an exciting time for me since I have a deep passion in both areas. In the field of green I am a passionate change advocate for food and waste. I created the non-profit, A Clean Life, to allow for greater impact and change. I spend my days and weeks helping DC turn into a zero waste city and its citizens discover the joys and health benefits of real food.
In the online world I am non-stop. Since my earliest days I have developed an alter-ego, starting as a Senior Game Master at Blizzard. In that role I learned the new language of the nets as our success on World of Warcraft went through the roof, defining a whole new genre in gaming (massive multiplayer). With that new language I quickly progressed to teaching others about it in the Intelligence Community, helping scores of Intelligence Officers understand what a wiki is and soon blogs, tags, and more. After that I joined the World Intelligence Review helping spearhead their Agile Product Development and Project Management programs, watching as it became the most successful online enterprise in Intelligence.
Now, I am poised for success again as I join forces with Navstar to grow their Green IT program and contribute mightily to their Enterprise 2.0 work.
Still…I am left pondering the question…”what do you hope to do?”
I want to do it all 
Meme – An idea or pattern of thought that “replicates” like a virus by being passed along from one thinker to another
As an idea or pattern of thought government 2.0 (gov 2.0) is still being defined and debated. To some it is merely an extension of Web 2.0, to others it is the serious work of transparency and greater citizen involvement through open data.
Let’s dig into this meme…
Gov 2.0 Summit and Expo
Wow, what an event this was. Tim O’Reilly and his leadership team put on quite a show. I was in attendance on a press badge and was fortunate enough to view the events in the crowd and on the inside.
The event signaled a shock to the Washington DC government crowd. For a long time these beltway folks had been toiling away under the radar before an unsupportive administration. Now, they are in position to make some major moves in the federal sphere.
On the same level of shock, Silicon Valley and the O’Reilly team faced some hard facts about the beltway. Their can-do attitude and forceful energy stepped on one too many toes. And, I think it safe to say turned many off because of the government inefficiencies and roadblocks in the way of innovation and reform.
I saw a little east coast, west coast rivalry pop-up. Fortunately, the show went on and many from around the country attended the event, had a blast, and completely missed out on the kerfuffles.
For an interesting review on the event check out Amy Senger’s ‘The Gov 2.0 Showdown‘
Celebrity Status
Gov 2.0 has yet to make it big. A google news search shows that only 222 articles mention the term. Few large media outlets are talking about the movement. It has yet to penetrate the consciousness of the average person and more importantly the middle manager.
A google blog search reveals over 40,000 hits. Apparently there is some viral conversations taking place with many thinkers opining on the topic.
The Definition
Is it about personal brands, twitter, and facebook. Or, as Tim O’Reilly says its about government as a platform. Maybe, its about Enterprise 2.0 as Professor Andy McAfee and Andrea Baker have been talking about.
We have yet to come to a solid agreement about the definition. In fact, much of the discussion revolves around each blogger stating their own definition or throwing stones at another’s.
It does appear that gov 2.0 is infiltrating every level of government. With each office incorporating social media, cloud computing, and open API’s into their job buckets. Which leaves some remaining tough questions about openness, transparency, and the role of government in all of this.
Leadership
In an age of personal brands it appears that everyone is a leader in the space of government 2.0. Everyone has done everything and is an expert in all. Just a few years of experience and a blog post published on a prominent website, make you a star.
Sarcasm aside government 2.0 is hard work. It takes community building, relationships, coding, networking, promotion, and more. The most striking leaders in this space are those performing nearly all of those roles. Which means they are often hidden from popular view but deeply influential in their spheres of work.
This hidden work combined with the lack of celebrity status has left a clear opening for profiteers. Many are hoping to be the first to break the story and claim success. A challenge to ethical underpinnings of this new community.
Community
In my opinion the single largest effect of Tim O’Reilly’s move into the gov 2.0 world is to bring all of this hard work to a broader audience. Personally, I feel like I am now connected to every state government, city government, regional federal office, all in addition to the existing Washington DC offices, which are legion.
Beyond that are hundreds of NGO’s on both sides of the aisle and in the middle are pushing agendas, uncovering scandals, and playing with data.
The community encompasses so many folks that it is going to be tough to wrangle all of them together.
The Future
Is very bright. We appear to have at least three more years of enlightened tech policy coming out of the white house. Which filters down to every level of public and private work. Big contracts and big corporations are starting to take notice and follow the money.
The recession too is providing an opportunity for gov 2.0. The realization of improved efficiency and cost savings are helping to overcome transient cultural barriers. I’ve even seen stimulus dollars used for gov 2.0 work (blackberries for Baltimore PD).
Behind the scenes the back channels and ego battles are just as interesting. Players are being challenged, camps are forming, and feelings are being hurt. The traditional way of doing business is being challenged with women asserting their rights in tech. Average folks who normally have no voice are able to trumpet their issues across new communication mediums to make their voice heard and responded too.
I look forward to more rapid growth, another gov 2.0 event, and ever more kerfuffles. I hope the progress and reform continues. I hope the west coast can help break the stranglehold the major defense companies have on government work. I hope that our community overcomes its own ego and looks to the common good.
This piece comes as a follow on to Andrew McAfee’s, Enterprise 2.0: The State of the Meme, written over 3 years ago in June 2006
I am very excited about this week. The new fall weather is heralding my return to the government world. I had been on exodus exploring personal interests in environmentalism. I loved the time away and even used it to create A Clean Life, find utlimate personal health, and become an evangelist for a better world.
As I ease back into this I am excited to re-join the ranks of Gov 2.0. The Gov 2.0 Expo and Summit are the perfect events to jumpstart all of this. They provide the perfect opportunity to network, reconnect with old friends, and catch up on the latest in government tech innovation.
The event is reaffirming my zeal for innovation. I really did miss the technology and rapidly changing environment. It has made me look back into my past and reassess my experiences. Their are so many fond memories on my resume and a lot of years starting to build:
- 5 yrs – community manager
- 6.5 years – trainer/teacher
- 8 years – social media
- 7 years – customer service
- 1.5 years – project management
- 15 years – computer software/hardware/online
- 3 years – post-baccalaureate
As you can see I have a wide range of experience with a strong focus in computers, community management, and teaching. I hope to see my new focus move into more social media and project management. Two areas that I am already deeply involved in and would like to explore more.
Now, off to chat up some old friends in Gov 2.0
Hey Everyone – voting opened today for SXSW 2010 panels. The SXSW panel committee will use our votes to help determine what kind of conference SXSW ends up being.
So, please vote for my panels and my friends. All the words below are clickable
From me, Steven Mandzik:
Local Food: Creating an Online Community of Local Eaters
How a Zero Waste Lifestyle Can Save Your Life
From Friends
Dating 2.0: How Social Media Gets You Dates – by Amy Senger
Innovating Bureaucracy: Getting Government To Share – Andrea Baker
What Does Corporate America Think of Web 2.0? – by Andrew McAfee
Developer from Mars Takes on Designer from Venus – by Chris Bucchere
“Velvet Goldmine” is a movie made up of beginnings, endings and fresh starts. There isn’t enough in between. It wants to be a movie in search of a truth, but it’s more like a movie in search of itself. Not everyone who leaves the theater will be able to pass a quiz on exactly what happens.
Set in the 1970s, it’s the story of the life, death and resurrection of a glam-rock idol named Brian Slade, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and probably inspired by David Bowie. After headlining a brief but dazzling era of glitter rock, he fakes his own death onstage. When the hoax is revealed, his cocaine use increases, his sales plummet, and he disappears from view. A decade later, in the fraught year of 1984, a journalist named Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is assigned to find out what really happened to Brian Slade.
Do we care? Not much. Slade is not made into a convincing character in “Velvet Goldmine,” although his stage appearances are entertaining enough. But a better reason for our disinterest is that the film bogs down in the apparatus of the search for Slade. Clumsily borrowing moments from “Citizen Kane,” it has its journalist interview Slade’s ex-wife and business associates, and there is even a sequence of shots that specifically mirror “Kane”–the first interview with the mogul’s former wife, Susan.
“Citizen Kane” may just have been voted the greatest of all American films (which it is), but how many people watching “Velvet Goldmine” will appreciate a scene where a former Slade partner is seen in a wheelchair, just like Joseph Cotten? Many of them will still be puzzling out the opening of the film, which begins in Dublin with the birth of Oscar Wilde, who says at an early age, “I want to be a pop idol.” I guess this prologue is intended to establish a link between Wilde and the Bowie generation of crossdressing performance artists who teased audiences with their apparent bisexuality. Brian Slade, in the movie, is married to an American catwoman named Mandy (Toni Collette) but has an affair with a rising rock star named Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), who looks like Kurt Cobain, is heedless like Oscar Wilde and is so original onstage that he upstages Slade, who complains, “I just wish it had been me. I wish I’d thought of it.” (His wife, as wise as all the wives of brilliant men, tells him, “You will.”) The film evokes snatches of the 1970s rock scene (and another of its opening moments evokes early shots from the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night”). But it doesn’t settle for long enough on any one approach to become very interesting. It’s not a career film, or a rags-to-riches film, or an expose, or an attack, or a dirge, or a musical, but a little of all of those, chopped up and run through a confusing assortment of flashbacks and memories.
The lesson seems to be that Brian Slade was an ambitious, semi-talented poseur who cheated his audience once too often, and then fooled them again in a way only the movie and its inquiring reporter fully understand. In the wreckage of his first incarnation are left his wife, lovers, managers and fans. It is a little disconcerting that the last 20 minutes, if not more, consist of a series of scenes that all feel as if they could be the last scene in the movie: “Velvet Goldmine” keeps promising to quit, but doesn’t make good.
David Bowie (if Slade is indeed meant to be Bowie) deserves better than this. He was more talented and smarter than Slade, reinvented himself in full view, and in the long run can only be said to have triumphed (if being married to Iman, pioneering a multimedia art project and being the richest of all non-Beatle British rock stars is a triumph, and I submit that it is). Bowie is also more interesting than his fictional alter ego in “Velvet Goldmine,” and if glam rock was not great music, at least it inaugurated the era of concerts as theatrical spectacles and inspired its audiences to dress in something other than the hippie uniform.
Todd Haynes, the director and writer, is an American whose first two films (“Poison” and “Safe”) were tightly focused, spare and bleak. “Safe” starred Julianne Moore as a woman allergic to very nearly everything–or was she only allergic to herself? These films were perceptive character studies. In “Velvet Goldmine,” there is the sense that the film’s arms were spread too wide, gathered in all of the possible approaches to the material and couldn’t decide on just one.
ROGER EBERT / 6 November 1998
lol, how could u not love bread