"Living in a fishbowl" ... when I was recently in Manhattan I had a number of conversations about the prevalence of the new glass houses, transparent skyscrapers, people live without curtains and put their entire selves on display... It doesn't matter if you stare into my living room, it's all designer showcase anyhow ... Maybe TV reality shows have inured people to being on display... as no-one remembers the next day what they were looking at, they are on to the next ant-farm.
Michael Bloomberg complaining that NYC was "behind London" in that there were "ONLY" 11,000 video cameras taking surveillance photos on the streets versus London's 400,000... poor things how can you ever leave the house without make-up, not that most of us would anyhow.
and now this
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/fashion/18celebrity.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Everyone getting into the paparazzi act, and actors or other famous types who once could count on New York cool to maintain anonymity in Manhattan now have to deal with the amateur hour.
"...the paparazzi crowd is the reason celebrities like Brad Pitt, Renée Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett have cited for moving, and Ms. Berk and some publicists say the exodus continues. Some actors have chosen the Santa Barbara area, others have gone as far Utah and Montana. For most, though, the only other choice, for work-related reasons, is New York, where traffic and crowds make the chase more daunting for photographers. Yet it may not offer much of a respite.
" 'New York unfortunately is becoming more difficult,' said Natalie Portman, who lives in Manhattan, at the premiere of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. 'I know people hate hearing us complain about it, but New York isn't what it used to be for anonymity, unfortunately.' "
I guess the town can eventually hope to attract the voyeurist/exhibitionist element in society... and the shy ones can repair to Montana or Tesuque.