THE BREE CHAT DISASTER [11.28.2006]

I posted this last night (now with some new edits and additions here) at Anchor Cove.

SO, you knew it was doomed from the start didn't you? Here's the basic facts:

In Bree's last video ( Ransacked!), posted 2am PST time Monday, she said she would be chatting at 6pm pacific "tomorrow" in the lonelygirl15 chatroom about what she should do. (Her hotel room had been trashed, presumably by the Order that is watching her. Her and Daniel's money was gone, save for $100. Apparently every cop and federal agency is infiltrated by this Order.) The phorum (i.e., the official lonelygirl15.com forum) admins clarified that Bree meant this chat would occur at Tuesday at 6pm PST, and that they hoped to have a new chat interface up by then.

OK, say it with me: Disaster foreshadowing!!!

5pm PST Tuesday. No new chat interface is up. The official phorum chat (userplane platform) is filling with people. 50+ and counting already, 60, 70, 80 . . . . The chat admins are posting every 30 seconds or so that the new link for the chat will be posted, and that the chat WILL NOT be on userplane, but in the new chatroom.

5.45 PST. it becomes clear to all that the new chat interface is not coming (like you couldn't have guessed this already)! The main chat room "Bree's House" has already exceeded 100 users, the claimed limit.

The other phorum chat rooms (normally titled Lobby and OpAphid, I believe) are renamed Bree's House 2, 3. A 4, 5, and 6 are created (though 5 and 6 later disappear) (One chat room is also labeled in-character chat for a short time, but that disappears). People are shunted from one to another without rhyme or reason, and people are frantically asking where Bree will be. Random posts are flying around. "Aaron Spelling: My penis hurts!" Casual fans are posting stuff like "Who is Jonas?" (FYI casual LG15 fans: Jonas is the newest LG15 character.)

SO, it turns out that Bree et al. will be in room 3. Or so we are told at about 5:58 PST, in whatever room I stumbled into, which was not golden Room 3. Interestingly, nikkibowerreport leaves room 1 and shows up in room 3 before anyone know where Bree will show up. (FYI casual LG15 fans: nikkibowerreport is an 'investigative report' that posts videos about bree - she seems to have an inside scoop, but is not proven to be lg15 'canon' yet.)

SO, Room 3 is immediateely filled with over 100 people (somehow) and keeps rising during the chat. There must be a backdoor - because it gets up to 320 users in there before the hour is over.

320 users who don't have to keep quiet. Picture a middle school auditorium filled with sugar-addled teens. Anybody can post in the room, and they do. It is madness (or so I am told). Admins try to relay some of bree, gemmas, and jonas posts to the other chat rooms, where some people are bitching big time about being shut out. One person I saw had been waiting 3 hours in chat to make sure to be included.

Daniel apparently doesn't show up at all for the chat because he though it was stupid? Or so said Bree. (And you question our love for daniel, Creators?)

Apparently Bree hems and haws about what to do. Jonas offers for Bree to come stay with him, or he can send her money. Jonas says he cannot be a cop, because, well, he's a skateboarder. Ah, instant cred! Posts from random people fly so far and fast on your screen no one can really tell what is happening.

Then Bree leaves. BYEE!!

OK. This fiasco could have been predicted. Oh yeah, i did predict it!! The amount of traffic should have been expected. I bet over 1,000 fans would have attended the chat if usable access was afforded. Everyone should have been silenced, except for bree, daniel, and gemma, and a few here and there through admin control to allow for some interaction.

A transcript is slowing appearing at the lgpedia, at this page. Be sure to look for witty commmentary from fans like "I poop in your mouth."

About 30 minutes after the chat concluded, TWJaniak (big lg15 fan and also head admin at the lg15 official forum now) posted the ultimate spin of the chat screwup at the phorum boards. You gotta hand it to TW, he should be a political speechwriter:

10:30pm 11/28 (EST):

The production team of lonelygirl15 is overwhelmed and excited by the turnout for the first ever LG15 live web chat. Tonight hundreds of you became part of a completely new form of entertainment, yet thousands of you could not participate.

We are beta testing a NEW entertainment experience and a NEW way of telling a story, and unfortunately we underestimated the volume of viewers who wanted to participate. Over 350,000 of you visited our site during the chat. Though we had a solution in place for handling a large number of participants, last minute technical difficulties forced us to resort to less than optimal methods. In the future (and their will be future chats) we will be ready for the load, and the conversations will be easier to follow.

Thank you for your support while we work out the kinks.

With greatest appreciation,

The Lonelygirl15 Production Team

Spinny spin spin!Um, chatrooms are not a brand new form of entertainment. I mean, Al Gore invented them looong ago! And 350,000 hits? Well, that is easily explainable. People were looking for the link to the new chat interface that was promised, and kept refreshing like crazy looking for it. Far less then 350,000 people had even viewed the Ransacked! video announcing the chat at that point.

Milowent are you a hater? No no no. Its just obvious this could have been handled so much better, it was completely predictable. Ok, maybe they didn't have a National Intelligence Estimate telling them everything that would happen, but you can't plan to debut a major new website feature with no testing, and then abandon your plans 15 minutes before tee time. Because the default userplane chat was completely inadequate. I really feel for the casual LG15 fan (who makes up the bulk of their youtube views) who wanted to participate and was completely stymied.

So what does upset you? The obvious conclusion that Danielbeast is being written into a minor role on the show, and Jonas is rising like the market-tested wife-beater-wearing O.C. character he is.

EDIT to add: 11/28/07: One year later, I think my snark may have been a bit over the top in places. But, then again, I was kinda pissed at the time that I and many others I knew couldn't get into the chat. The Creators were really flying by the seat of their pants during this period.

NoHoGirls EXPOSED! We're Going Indie90210, Dude!

YouTuberTerryfic has the photographic proof:


NoHoGirls EXPOSED! No, Cara Brimley has not gone topless. Yet. (Sob.) But YouTube's popular NoHoGirls series (I think of it as an indie beverley hills 90210) has been proven, as most knew or at least reasonably suspected, to be fiction. In fact, Anchor Cove member Smashing opined way back on Sept. 25 that director
Scott Zakarin was behind the NoHoGirls (and their subecequent spinoff, the WeHoGirls -- I'm not making that up. Go watch if you don't believe me.)

Now, Smashing has reported this breaking news, at 2:39am ET this morning at the Cove:

"So I thought I'd see if Scott Zakarin had a myspace. He does. http://www.myspace.com/scottzak
Cara Brimley's in his top friends. And more importantly the actor who plays Eddie is this guy: href="http://www.myspace.com/ajs1636
They commented on each other's pages.

These guys are so sloppy, but I still gotta pat myself on the back for guessing right back on day 4. [Zakarain] was doing the "Soup of the Day" internet miniseries before Lonelygirl came out. It had it's fair share of sexual content. The premise is a guy dating three women at the same time. It was more straight forward about it being fictional, and wasn't a viral marketing campaign for anything but itself (although they are making a movie version). I would guess NoHo's the same way. Also, one of the characters on Soup of the Day hosted a fictional internet show (just like Blue and now Daniella have mentioned in NoHo), but the show only existed with the Soup of the Day universe. I guess if we have any further questions about NoHo, we can ask Scott."

So there you have it! For the record, I always said that the NoHoGirls was a fictional series. In fact, I don't think the creators of the project were too worried about being outed, and this revelation (ZOMG!!!111) hopefully should not effect the ongoing series. So keep watching, IMS (Internet Mini Series) fans!

Lonelygirl15 was ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!

Or not. Yes, last night, 10-12-06, was THE CEREMONY(!!!), which Daniel faithfully reported from in true Blair Witch fashion. WATCH AT: Lonelygirl15.com or YouTube

And despite concerns that Bree would not post another video for awhile, IF EVER, she actually had time to report back this afternoon that SHE IS FINE, and the ceremony was BETTER THAN CATS. WATCH AT: Lonelygirl15.com or YouTube

Well, was it all worth it? Anchor Cove poster JayHenry provides this excellent summary of the past week:

I'm just hoping that something interesting happened. It's not ghoulish, but a desire for a decent plot. They've been building to this ceremony for 23 videos. If nothing happens it would be, how to say it, stupid.

But nevertheless a big week, Lonelygirl stood up for poverty, Daniel joined us in the forums, as did the benevolent Buka, we got to meet the WeHoGirls, Lonelygirl got her 50,000th subscriber, My Lazy Eye [LG15's most popular video], got it's 1,000,000th view, the U.S. got its 300,000,000th citizen, North Korea got its 1st nuclear bomb, and Bree finally completed/got pregant at/got brainwashed at the ceremony.

And, lest we forget, I should add to Jay's list that YouTube sold out to Google for $1.65 billion! Someone wake me up? Have I been transported back to 1999? Or are we seeing the dawn of internet video ascendance? Maybe the aliens will tell us.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

ARIZONA? ABDUCTION? ALEISTER CROWLEY?

The Danielbeast is googling today. Yes, the LonelyGirl15 saga is approaching the BIG EVENT on 10-12-06!!!!! (well, maybe not big, maybe nothing at all, move along, move along, nothing to see here, the "Helper" Lucy is merely taping the school play since Daniel refused . . . .)

LonelyGirl15 Episode 48: Aleister Crowley

In other news, the Bukanator, of early LG15 fame and much mystery has been sighted on the interwebs. Coincidence?

NoHoGirls: The new Lonelygirl15?

So, there's a new Lonelygirl15 on the block over at YouTube. She just turned 21, lives in Hollywood with two roommates (three lonelygirls are better than one?), is an artist, and um, she's hot, of course.

It's the NoHoGirls. Coming to a computer near you.



It's not the same as LG15, as its a bit less scripted so far. The star, "Cara Brimley," doesn't come up on google other than for her new youtube and myspace appearances. But with the two videos up so far, you can tell its for your entertainment. It's not real. So let's not waste collective years of our lives debating whether its "real." It does interest me to know whether any of it is based on the truth or not, though.

I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later. NoHoGirls is the first target of the new
YouTube Fakerz Blog. Sort of a truth in advertising watchdog for youtube, I guess?

UPDATE: 10/18 10:30AM: GO TO THE MAIN PAGE - NOHOGIRLS EXPOSED!

BREAKING NEWS: LonelyGirl15 Gets First Kiss!

Ok. This is NOT breaking news in the real sense. The mystery of who LG15 is (Jessica Rose), and who is behind it (i.e, The Creators(tm): Mesh Flinders, Miles Beckett, Greg Goodfried), is all out there now. They've been on MTV, Leno, CNN, CBS, etc. Many major newspapers, and widely syndicated AP articles, have covered the outing story.

So, it's back to the real story. I mean the fake story. Umm . . . OK, the PLOT! And, in very likely response to viewer demand, Bree today (1) tells us about how Daniel clumsily tried to kiss her at a party, and (2) dubs her previously-unnamed stuffed bear "Thor":

View: My First Kiss at YouTube

View: My First Kiss at Revver.com

True to her vblogging roots, the actual KISS is NOT shown in the video. But it doesn't have to be, as Bree acts it out graphically:



Lastly, I should mention that the prominent unofficial LG15 forum has now been redubbed www.thechildrenofanchorcove.com, after the original name used for the LG15 project in auditions. I like it.

LonelyGirl15 Is Everywhere

She was on Jay Leno last night:



And MTV interviewed her yesterday:



Also, Yousef Abu Taleb is Daniel, reports PhatBoyG.
Here is his MTV interview from yesterday:



And, another interview with two of The Creators(TM) can be found here.

LonelyGirl15 Is . . . Jessica Rose

(c) Grant Stenfield aka Bukanator 2006

Heffernan.

Silicon Valley Watcher.

I really thought this girl was going to be off the grid -- and would be found only by an in person sighting. But apparently, myspace is all knowing. It just took Virginia Heffernan first, LA Times article 2nd, multiplying press articles, and enough eyes on Bree to find her. Fascinating.

UPDATE 9am ET 9/13:
For those not up to date, two pivotal articles hit the web last night (and hard copy this morning):

NY Times: Lonely Girl’ (and Friends) Just Wanted Movie Deal. (Free reg. required) "Just"? That's all? Ok, here you go!

Excerpt:

The masterminds of the “lonelygirl15” videos are Ramesh Flinders, a screenwriter and filmmaker from Marin County, Calif., and Miles Beckett, a doctor-turned-filmmaker. Many of the lonelygirl15 videos were shot in Mr. Flinders’s bedroom. Together with Grant Steinfeld, a software engineer in San Francisco, Mr. Flinders contrived to produce and distribute the videos so as to pique maximum curiosity about them.

LA Times: Lonelygirl15 Is Brainchild of 3 Filmmakers
Excerpt:

It turns out the people behind the wildly popular website lonelygirl15 are not studio executives, Internet moguls or, as some suspected, Satanists. Instead, they are aspiring filmmakers who met at a mutual friend's birthday party in April: Miles Beckett, 28, a Web-obsessed medical school dropout; Mesh Flinders, 26, a screenwriter; and Greg Goodfried, a 27-year-old lawyer.
...
"Our goal was to tell a very realistic fictional story in this medium," Beckett said. He dreamed of using the various technologies of the Web, from comment boards to social networking sites, to both build a rich identity for a character and to let fans influence the story's direction.
...
"Our hats are off to the really impressive investigators," said Goodfried, who found himself on the hot seat when the news swept the Internet that an application for a trademark on the lonelygirl15 name had been filed by his father, Kenneth Goodfried, an Encino lawyer. "We really didn't know what to do," Greg Goodfried said.
...
As for the efforts to conceal the actress' identity, the team said they took precautions such as removing pictures of the actress from MySpace and the Internet. But throughout the furor, they said, she has been living openly in Los Angeles.

Well, apparently they didn't take enough precautions.
In hindsight, if they took a few extra steps, they may have prolonged the mystery:

• They registered the lonelygirl15.com fansite on May 12, a month before the videoblogs started. This first piqued people's interest, thinking they could find her using the internet.
  
• They filmed the both outdoor videos (but key here for the timeline, the 1st) in areas identifiable by botanists as likely central california.
  
• They didn't protect their IP addresses, allowing the Phorum 3 to make the CAA connection.
  
• They didn't really erase all of Jess Rose's internet pictures. Is Google cache unstoppable or what?
  

LonelyGirl15: Climbing To The Top Of The YouTube

If I had more time to write, I could probably write a book about the LG15 phenomenon. Which no one would read probably.

So, LG15 is not real. We always knew that, or, if not always, we came to realize it once we paid attention. She stands out from most of YouTube's product. If the LG15-machine can figure out a way to make money from this, we may see YouTube develop into something totally different that what I expected. It could become a mix of professional and amateur work, the former generating revenue (ad based?) and supporting and pushing eyes to the amateurs, a true entertainment destination of its own, a 24 hour pay-per-view (though hopefully free) on demand. It could rival a cable TV network one year from now. Good! Can I substitute it for Lifetime Movie Network?

Despite her "outing" (and she's not really outed is she? Who is the girl!!!), the amazing popularity of LG15 is steamrolling even faster ahead. LonelyGirl15 has passed Geriatric1927 to become the #1 most subscribed channel (i.e., highest number of dedicated watchers) on Youtube.

LG15 is also currently the #6 most viewed channel of all time on Youtube. She should slide into the #5 spot by tomorrow, I predict, and probably will make it to #3 by the end of month if she keep this up.

The best source of in-depth information and brotherhood on lg15 is at Alissa's LG15 board (Free registration required). There are at least 4 other discussion forums out there (including the official form at LonelyGirl15.com, but they don't have the same critical mass of intelligent posters.

One very suspicious board is lg15.com. The admin claims he is a dentist who determined Bree was fake by seeing her wisdom teeth in one of her videos (which you wouldn't yet in a 16-year old girl).

(Full disclosure: I am a moderator at Alissa's board, but I really don't care where you go; I'm just telling you the truth.)

And finally, as far as the MSM goes, you should also remember to check Virginia Heffernan's NY Times Screens Blog daily.

See all the LG15 links you need in my sidebar.

LonelyGirl15 Comes Clean? (Breaking News)

UPDATE 11:19pm ET: The LA Times breaks the story -- obviously the reason The Creators were coming out tonight. Read it here.

original post:


A Message From The Creators

To Our Incredible Fans,

Thank you so much for enjoying our show so far. We are amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response to our videos; it has exceeded our wildest expectations. With your help we believe we are witnessing the birth of a new art form. Our intention from the outset has been to tell a story-- A story that could only be told using the medium of video blogs and the distribution power of the internet. A story that is interactive and constantly evolving with the audience.

Right now, the biggest mystery of Lonelygirl15 is "who is she?" We think this is an oversimplification. Lonelygirl15 is a reflection of everyone. She is no more real or fictitious than the portions of our personalities that we choose to show (or hide) when we interact with the people around us. Regardless, there are deeper mysteries buried within the plot, dialogue, and background of the Lonelygirl15 videos, and many of our tireless and dedicated fans have unearthed some of these. There are many more to come.

To enhance the community experience of Lonelygirl15, which you have already helped to create, we are in the process of building a website centered around video and interactivity. This website will allow everyone to enjoy the full potential of this new medium. Unfortunately, we aren't programmers. We are filmmakers. We are working furiously to complete the website, and hope to have it up and running shortly.

So, sit tight. You are the only reason for our success, and we appreciate your devotion. We want you to know that we aren't a big corporation. We are just like you. A few people who love good stories. We hope that you will join us in the continuing story of Lonelygirl15, and help us usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between "fan" and "star" has been removed, and dedicated fans like yourselves are paid for their efforts. This is an incredible time for the creator inside all of us.

Thank you.

Edit 8:12pm EST: Major discussion of this development is sure to occur at alissa's lg15 discussion forum (free registration required, but worth it for all lg15 fans). The current view, 20 minutes into this: it's probably true. This was posted by someone with admin powers at the official lg15 forum.

Essential Daily LonelyGirl15 Reading

Journeys of Jack Tripper Blog. He's really on top of things. I try to keep up, but bloggin' is hard, man!

MSM? Meet LG15.

The LA Times. Good article. Relying on random people on the internet to advance the plot is just about right for this whole thing. Curious Botanist, meet Curious Reporter.

Business Week. The Strange Case of LonelyGirl15. Always an entertainment heavy publication, my dear Watson. The dogs didn't bark!

And from the blogosphere:

Du Jour notes some of the absurdity of all this:

They have petty fights and silly arguments, but, of course, everything always turns out alright. How do I know this? Because LONELYGIRL POSTS EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING IN THEIR FRIENDSHIP ONLINE!

Oh, but Du Jour, so many people WANT TO BELIEVE!!!

LonelyGirl15: It's Not So Lonely In The Bay Area

Jessica at the lonelygirl15.com forum has posted an astute analysis and commentary on the LG15 phenomenon.

She also has information which points to LG15 being located in the San Mateo/Mountain View, California area. I think the information on which it is based is legitimate enough to make this conclusion, even it later turns out to be wrong. Time for the local press to look into this. San Mateo is also the HQ for Youtube, but I cannot conclude youtube is behind this at this point.

There is a new LG15 video up today, called Swimming!!! It's the second LG15 installment to include outdoor scenes -- I think the california premise I mentioned in my last post is getting much stronger with this new infomation.

The video itself is well done. A lot of romantic/sexual tension, juxtaposed with bree in a safe one piece swimsuit. You don't need bare skin to tell the story, its refreshing. And a new story arc is being introduced, involving "Cassie." Time for Bree to get jealous?

Jessica's post:

All Roads [Don't] Lead to Rome
Posted by: jessica (IP Logged)
Date: August 30, 2006 07:52AM


Up until 10 or so days ago, YouTube was a place I had visited on few occasions. My motivation for visiting the site 10 or so days ago was simple enough--I wanted to see whether I could catch a missed episode of "America's Got Talent," where a local Philadelphia phenom, 11-year old vocalist, Bianca Ryan, wooed America and took home the show's $1 million prize. I was also motivated to catch a heartwarming video of an autistic, high school basketball manager/waterboy who was said to have scored 20 points in less than 4 minutes when the team's coach allowed him to suit up for a game after four years of committed service to the team.

After finding and enjoying both videos, I noticed that YouTube had categorized material as "Most Viewed", "Top Rated", "Most Discussed" etc. and figured I may be able to find further entertainment by scanning through the "Most Viewed" videos. Upon doing so, one thing stood out--most of the videos fell into the predictable sub-categories of "Poking Fun at our President", "Exploding Car", and "Guy Gets Knocked out by Spinning Sidekick to the Head." However, there was one exception.

One video seemed to be of a pretty, college-aged girl, who was speaking about some topic that apparently moved quite a few people. At that point, I clicked and entered the world of "Lonelygirl15" a/k/a "Bree"–a self-proclaimed 16 year-old homeschooler with strict parents. I was immediately skeptical because from my view she appeared more likely than not to be a 21-year old senior majoring in Theatre and Performance at U.S.C.

The exact video that I first watched is long lost on me. She now has twenty-four, the majority of which are purportedly filmed in her bedroom, door closed, with and without her friend, Daniel--and in spite of her strict parents. We also see them on two outdoor day trips. I was intrigued enough by her skillful use of intelligence, humor and wit to go back and catch her videos from the beginning. By the time I had finished watching her offerings, I was left asking was this real, a put on, or something in between. As I began reading other people's comments, I quickly realized I was hardly alone.

It became abundantly clear to me, of course, that this girl, "Bree", and her friend, "Daniel", had become "pop-cult(ure) figures" among YouTubers. My mental label of "cult figures", however, took on more meaning when I read comments to her video, "What Did Daniel and Dad Talk About?" In that video, as we all know, is a segment that pans in on a candleabra and picture of Aleister Crowley, the one-time leader of a group called Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) whose tenets are most prominently laid out in "The Book of the Law." Over the years, people have variously labeled Crowley as a hedonist, a sex fiend, a drug addict, Satanist, magician, sorceror, genius and any other number of things depending on perspectives. Crowley, however, actually gained much of his recognition from pop-culture enthusiasts when his home and many of his belongings were later purchased by guitarist, Jimmy Page, of the legendary rock group, Led Zeppelin. In the video, "What Did Daniel and Dad Talk About?",Bree vigorously objects when Daniel tries to light the candleabra which forms part of an in-your-face shrine to Crowley.

The image of a shrine to Crowley didn't square with my earlier impressions of Bree that she was a Christian Fundamentalist who seemed to rail against and poke fun at Secular Humanism in her "Proving Science Wrong" videos. She mentioned in one of her early videos that she had lived in a New Zealand commune and, prior to the Crowley sighting, I had calculated that her family members were Christian missionaries. It was at this point that a smirk came across my face and I quickly concluded that all of the viewers, me included, were being put on.

The more salient question to me, however, was: "Who is putting us on?" I began reading various blogs, watched parody videos by other talented and not so talented YouTubers, and even noticed that the "New York Times" and "Business Week" had caught the bug and pontificated. I then joined this fan site and began actively consuming the various theories being offered by the members, and I proffered my own theories and debunks where I felt I had knowledge.

The record is now voluminous. There are macro theories, micro theories, and variations of variations, that form a Decision Tree that branches out in more directions that one can readily count. To me, through it all, there are only two theories that hold interest: (1) Is this solely the creative genius of a couple of precocious teens or twenty-somethings with a script, video camera, and behind-the-scenes editor, no matter their motive or end game; or (2) A more insidious form of viral marketing/advertising. “Viral marketing” is typically defined as “marketing techniques that seek to exploit pre-existing social networks to produce exponential increases in brand awareness, through viral processes similar to the spread of an epidemic. It can often be word-of-mouth delivered and enhanced online; it can harness the network effect of the Internet and can be very useful in researching a large number of people rapidly.” [en.wikipedia.org]

Selfishly, perhaps, I barely care if Bree and Daniel fit into the “real” category. I’m marginally interested in knowing who they are so that I can proclaim Bree, in particular, to be a super-talent and bless her Hollywood career. I am interested, however, in debunking any attempt by some self-important marketing guru to include you, and me, in some twisted and protracted viral marketing campaign.

Now, clearly it does not require any great insight to conclude that this saga isn’t going to end in Proctor & Gamble introducing some new consumer staples product. No old guard company is going to associate themselves with anything connected with images of Aleister Crowley. The risk- reward equation–well, enough said in that regard. However, once you move toward the entertainment industry, the risk-reward skew is much different.

With this as background, there were many very smart and talented people who helped me to draw various conclusions in sidebar discussions beyond this forum. Of course, they know who they are and their identities will be revealed, if at all, by their own pronouncements during later posts to this thread and others. What's important to me, above all, is that I can now call them friends.

So, I proffer the following. I have reason to believe that the indoor structure in which the videos are being shot is located in the IMMEDIATE San Mateo/Mountain View, California area. Similarly, I have reason to believe that the outdoor footage is being filmed in Northern California as well. The corporate headquarters of YouTube, in the company’s words, “is located in sunny San Mateo, California.”

Original drama? You judge for yourself. In my judgment, it's fairly clear that "All Roads [Don't] Lead to Rome", but YouTube?--I guess so.

Now We're Getting Somewhere LG15! (Except We're Not)

Well, LG15 and danielbeast retain their cover as of this writing. The lonelygirl15.com forum has gone from a lonely town a week ago to a very Crowded House -- posts like crazy.

Except, no ones is closer to finding her yet. But go to the forum i just linked and you'll see lots of thinkers.

In the last 48 hours, the board birthed a crazy theory that Dennis Flemming was behind all this, which Virginia Heffernan at the NY Times Screen blog posted about, eventually causing Dennis to come out and categorically deny any involvement. Even silly rumors must be debunked on the internet.

But we do know you can buy your own P. Monkey at Target here!, or perhaps you'd like a nice 2006 kittens calendar, just like Brees! - the august picture is clearly visible in the What Did Dad And Daniel Talk About video. (Credit due to Step5150 for that excellent find)

www.calendars.com/xq/asp/TID.{2E739C06-1B19-414D-BBC6-EF58A8B18BD6}/MGID.-1/IID.22430/TTID.10/qx/display_other_product_views.htm

[can't get link to work right, just cut on paste the url into your browser]

[UPDATE 1:51AM ET 8/29/06]:
Rick just posted a very interesting comment on this blog:

Milo,

A botanist looked at the "hiking" video. She said she can't say for certain-- just is not clear enough picture, but says, if you put all these pieces together it seems to have been shot in the Sierra mountains of California- mid to southern California- nothing in stone mind you. The pink flower is believed to be a California Wild Rose, there is a Big Leaf Maple, and a Kennedy-Mariposa Lilly. She says, for the lack of clarity, the flowers could just as well be petunias bought from a store, but she's not inclined to settle on that because the brush, the trees, the igneous rock, one shot of sedimentary rock, the "inland oak" ecosystem and the types of grasses indicate mid to southern Sierra Mountains- west side of the range. Says that the best picture for her to absolutely check on was a branch with thistles from .17 to .19 seconds. She says she will definitively identify that to a gnats ass. Revelation coming soon I guess as to relative locale...
Rick Graves | 08.29.06 - 1:32 am |

Why Can't You Understand That Daniel's A LonelyGirl15 Man

The lonelygir15 drama continues, with a new video posted by danielbeast. He's going to the play!!! Isn't that sweet! No, this isn't scripted! No, could't be. Its just: To Hell With's Bree's Dad (yeah!!!!!!!)

Meanwhile, on the rest of the 'net:

Jack Tripper ruminates on the NY times coverage, excerpts a Chicago Tribune article on LG 15, and joins in those with who have debunked the music-promotion hypothesis for her existence.

Fred Bloggs makes an interesting comparison of LG15 to William H. Gibson's Pattern Recognition novel.

And On the youtube, gohepcat issues a $53 dollar challenge if you can prove she's fake. Where's that 1995 H.S. yearbook photo, anyone?



And no one has yet commented on my 80s rock band themed post titles (sigh).

FURTHER UPDATE 12:27PM EST 8/25/06: As Tim of the Jack Tripper blog points out in the comments to this thread, Virginia Heffernan at the NY Time Screen Blog unearths evidence that Bree is NOT Christian!

UPDATE 9:30AM EST 8/25/06: Hyemew posts the following good insights on Daniel's most recent video at the lonelygirl15.com forum:

*moooooooaaan* That latest Danielbeast video just oozed teenage heroics- doing it for love! If that wasn't the fakest piece of regular old teenage love rubbish I don't know what is!

1. I found it hilarious that they had "Daniel" put on a half-done tie to make it look like he was IN THE PROCESS OF TYING IT when he was struck with the sudden need to put up a blog for us all- something which in his last appearance he mentioned hating ("why is that camera on?!"). But seriously, tying a tie should only take a short amount of time, there was no real reason to put it on and then suddenly decide to film this blog- except to give the apperance you were in the middle of getting ready for something.

2. Bree said, when pressed on "why is your camp just started in mid-August?!" that it had actually started in June or whenever and that the play was on the last night. At first I was like, last day of camp on a Thursday?! All the camps I've ever gone to or heard of always seem to end on a weekend, a time when parents are able to come and get then. Then again, its not impossible for it to end on a Friday, especially if its a M-F day camp, explaining why Bree can still be online and post videos (but not so much why she can do it during the day, I don't buy explanation like she probably has to come home during the middle of the day to study, etc. A camp is a camp, no parent should be crazy enough to actually make their kid come home daily to study, esp. if she does come home every night anyway.) Then again, the fact it "ends" on a Thursday is still a bit suspicious, because presumably all the parents would come to this and then take their kids home afterwards, so that indeed would mean it ends on a Thursday. A real camp would tend not to do that, well unless it only catered to the local community, because they'd have to work and stuff and some would not be able to travel on a Thursday to get them. Anything's possible, but I just think the timing's weird. At least the time they put the video jives with a Pacific DT reality and shows they are on to us, if they had put it up at 3am Eastern like most of Bree's videos we'd know it was fake right there.

3. Just an observation- how many of you think that this "Bree has no idea I'm going, actually you guys know before Bree does" is going to totally blow up in Daniel's face? For some reason I just have that feeling, though based on her last video I guess Bree will be happy to see him. Most likely though her dad already found someone else to tape the play since Daniel's been out of the picture, but maybe this means we'll actually get to see some of it, which would really give us a lot to think about if it shows real kids on stage at a camp. Oh and who else finds the title of this latest Danielbeast video dripping with irony- "To hell with Bree's dad"? I mean, considering he very well might be from there and all...

If Only You Were LonelyGirl15

Has LonelyGirl15 brought down YouTube? It seems to be crashed at the moment. Remember when TV stations used to go out at random times and they put a test patten up? It wasn't often (though I held long grudges if there were any disturbances to my cartoon watching), but I've haven't seen that in years. YouTube should bring it back.

Anyhow, Sterogum strains to make a music connection as an excuse to post about his fascination with Bree. Those folks, in turn, direct us to a NY Magazine article with some insights into how LG15 is the bastard child of Wikipedia and video -- because everyone can help make the movie, everyone can be a spinoff!

How many more days will LonelyGirl remain a secret?

UPDATE 9:40 AM EST 8/24/06: New posts about LG15 on Virginia Heffernan's NY Times Screens Blog:

1. We Don't Stalk - With credit to youtuber terryfic, who has posted one of the best LG 15 parodies on Youtube.

2. A Pause For Some Words From Bree With a long email from Bree. Heffernan wants to dream, she wants to believe.

2nd UPDATE 5:11pm EST 8/24/06: It's official! Virginia Heffernan at the NY Times is now obssessed with Bree. She also probably still believes in Tooth Fairy, but that's ok. This is not the first time she's been duped by a youtuber . . . this month.

Don't Wanna Know If You Are LonelyGirl15

So, there's this person called lonelygirl15 posting videos of herself at Youtube.com. She's supposed to be 16 years old, homeschooled, and with a single friend (not boyfriend) known as Daniel who occassionally presents his dorky self. She's very intelligent, pretty, and talks about various subjects including a series of humorous posts on "proving science wrong." Here's an excellent blog entry by a bloke called Dennis Flemming about the whole deal with some novel insights. See also her "fansite" & forum at www.lonelygirl15.com.

But that's not all. There's also a theme in her video posts about her strict parents and her devotion to her religion, which causes a little tiff with Danielbeast. Big deal. Except the religion apparently is about worshipping Satan, if you pay close attention.

But that's not all! The whole thing is a big fake, but its really entertaining all the same. Makes the Blair Witch hoax look like movies before sound. A guilty pleasure. Get on before the ride is over.

UPDATE 3AM EST 8/22/06: Hmm . .. So I posted links to this blog entry and the excellent Dennis Flemming entry linked above at the lonelygirl15.com forum in a new thread earlier tonight, copying Dennis' title "lonelygirl15 jumps the shark". That thread has now disappeared.

The Middle East's Grade Inflation of "Victory"

Hezbollah won?
Not. With major parts of Lebanon smashed to bits? When Israeli forces were running all over Lebanon and Hezbollah was simply fighting to survive? If that's how they define victory, I'd hate to see the definition of defeat -- nothing less than 100% annihilation?

One Photoshop War, With Freedom Fries, Please

I have no idea why only the "righty" blogs are covering this right now, but there is a rathergate/gannongate/jason blair level scandal developing regarding Reuters' photos coming out of lebanon.

yes, people are dying in lebanon, and in isreal, and this is more important overall. but at least one photographer (adnan hajj) in lebanon has been doctoring photos to make things look worse, and stir public opinion against Isreal. And there is even some evidence of staging in the Qana massacre.

Try eureferendum.blogspot.com, which broke the story first.

The Ex-Girlfriend Project

You know Douglas Copeland is full of crap. If you want to really experience the very moving dating history of a U.S. male from 1988 to the present, you really should burn some time reading the The Ex-Girlfriend Project

ETA: She's Just My Ex? JayHank Examines The Phenomenon of The Ex-Girlfriend Project (Jan 2007)