Results tagged “games” from Uncivil Society
Carrot Top holding a rabbit on the red carpet of a Las Vegas poker benefit--this quintessential icon of celebrity do-good culture comes from the camera of talented teen-age photographer Nick Leonard, who is using shots of scenes from his hometown to build a killer professional portfolio.
UPDATE: For more on poker & charity, check out Betting on Poker to Change the World.
Another charity-studded week for comics, which, like fashion, has become a significant presence in do-gooder fundraising. Via the Beat, news of two worlds colliding in last night's superhero fashion event at this year's Chocolate Show.
Trade shows fascinate me, because in the nonprofit & tax-exempt world they illustrate how identity design can lead us to see business as something distinct from business. The effect becomes even more interesting when you compare nonprofit trade shows to their for-profit counterparts. The Chocolate Show is run by a for-profit PR firm, but are the exhibitors there any more businesslike than drug vendors at an AMA convention, the publishers & resellers at the San Diego Comic Con or the industry promotion at the Oscars?
And then there's my favorite tax-exempt activity--the freak shows, rigged games and rides at agricultural fairs. You may think they're an ordinary profit-making enterprise, but as we tax-savvy do-gooders know, they're one of us!
No, that wasn't a response to people handing out tracts on the subway. It's a reference to the new Alternate Reality Gaming trend in Christian marketing. Above: Rob Bell's new Citizens of Virtue game, in which Christians are working together to rescue believers from a fundamentalist sect--a game that is itself a marketing tool for Rob Bell's latest book.
There's a bigger point to be made here about the relation between social enterprise and religion. Say what one will about how revolutionary it is to blend business and charity, the fact is that religious groups have been doing that in rather sophisticated ways for millennia.
Via Gothamist, bowlers lament the closure of Woodhaven Lanes due to increasing rents. Once again, the tension between money and community becomes the focus of attention, as if the bowling alley itself was not a profit-seeking business:
Owner Jim Santora tells NY1 the lanes will probably be divvied up into some sweet retail outlets:
We have a lot of places to shop, but we don't have places to entertain ourselves, have a good time, and to meet with family. That's what bowlers are, family. I had 80-year-old women and men crying on my shoulders when they found out about this, and I had 2 and 3-year-old children crying as well.Most devastated are the league bowlers for whom Woodhaven is a home away from home. Bowler Linda Raia lamented, "It's like the almighty dollar wins again. What about having a heart?"
A brilliant depiction of the meaning of the game:
