Best of the Oh God You're Scaring Me

December 20, 2011 11:24 AM

Sarah M. (or Stalker Sarah, as the internet knows her) is a bit infamous for one thing: taking thousands upon thousands of photos with a variety of celebrities.

What kind of celebrities? Anyone- be it Zach Braff, Ludacris, Katy Perry, Drake, MeFi's favorite Rebecca Black, Jared Leto... the list goes on and on, for about 227 pages. The Disney crowd is well represented, and there's plenty of repeat appearances.

She's even got her own "unofficial" FUCK YEAH tumblr. Let's not forget the animated GIFs either, shall we?

Some insist that it must be photoshopping, or that her father has connections with the entertainment business. However, neither appears to be true. No one really knows- let Sarah tell you herself (10 min. Interview).

posted by Askiba (86 comments total)

In the cult of personalities, this woman is clearly a goddess. Is it really possible to be famous for constantly standing next to the famous?
posted by crunchland at 11:28 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

I feel that I participate around here often enough to see the MeFi trends, so why do I have to Google "MeFi's Favorite" Rebecca Black?
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:29 AM on December 20, 2011

REBECCA--
YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY NAME.
--SIRIUS
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:30 AM on December 20, 2011 [14 favorites]

10th Regiment, if you had to google that then you don't have the internet.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:30 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

When thinking of Justin Beiber, I too have often thought "The best we could all hope for is that we all age this gracefully ;) "
posted by whir at 11:31 AM on December 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

10th Regiment, if you had to google that then you don't have the internet.

Maybe I just don't have that internet?
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:36 AM on December 20, 2011 [7 favorites]

You know, I see this, and I think maybe I actually don't understand anything in the world at all.
posted by davidjmcgee at 11:37 AM on December 20, 2011 [4 favorites]

Little known fact: she has a tattoo of the Mona Lisa covering the right side of her nose.
posted by idiopath at 11:38 AM on December 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

Why "Stalker Sarah"? Stalker implies obsession, or at least some kind of commitment.

This is more like "Ooooo! Shiny thing! Take my picture with it!"
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 11:40 AM on December 20, 2011

or that her father has connections with the entertainment business. However, neither appears to be true. --- So who is holding the camera for all of these photos?
posted by crunchland at 11:43 AM on December 20, 2011

or that her father has connections with the entertainment business. However, neither appears to be true. --- So who is holding the camera for all of these photos?

Obviously it is impossible to answer this question in any way other than "her father who has connections in the entertainment business."
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:45 AM on December 20, 2011 [11 favorites]

Maybe I just don't have that internet?

I know almost zero recent celebrities, but I still know Rebecca Black. I think she's been on every internet.

Why "Stalker Sarah"? Stalker implies obsession, or at least some kind of commitment.

Seriously, who hasn't run into 227 pages of celebrities here and there and taken pictures of them all and put them online? *yawn*
posted by DU at 11:46 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

She seems to say her father's not in the entertainment industry. Knowing nothing at all whatsoever about anything, I'm going to pretend all her connections and ins come from Scientology.
posted by redsparkler at 11:47 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I don't know where she lives. When I lived in LA, I could have put together a collection of photos like this in five months, but I really don't enjoy cornering famous people in bars and restaurants and demanding photos. That being said, here in Minneapolis, I probably have my photo with 100 or more people who are nationally famous, just from events and post-show parties and publicity tours and the likes.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:50 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I just typed out this long paragraph about culture, celebrity and how we've changed as a society. I made grandiose comments about what it means to be famous, to be in the public sphere. Then I thought. Who fucking cares. I hit delete and I'm posting this instead.
_{Goggles Nyan Cat}
posted by Fizz at 11:50 AM on December 20, 2011 [5 favorites]

Her mother must be in the entertainment industry then. Or else her entire life is devoted to figuring out how to get her picture taken in the exact same pose over and over with celebrities.
posted by idiopath at 11:51 AM on December 20, 2011

From the Flickr comments:

Who is the guy on the right?
posted by de void at 11:51 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure why she needs connections. Most of us don't run into celebrities because we don't make a point of being around celebrities. I'd bet if anyone of us set our minds to it and attended the right events we'd all find plenty of celebrities to take awkward pictures with.
posted by bondcliff at 11:55 AM on December 20, 2011

Just because someone is a celebrity doesn't mean they're worth taking your photo with them.
posted by LoudMusic at 11:58 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I just made a "GOOGLE REBECCA BLACK" t-shirt at Zazzle.
posted by mintcake! at 11:58 AM on December 20, 2011 [8 favorites]

She lives in Toluca Lake, a wealthy residential area immediately adjacent to Burbank (home of NBC, Disney and Warner Brothers Studios), Studio City (Universal) and a short drive from Hollywood et alibi.

Having grown up in Burbank, I can verify it's totally possible that some random teen from Toluca Lake could have the resources and inclination to do a weird thing like this.
posted by timshel at 11:58 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yeah, Toluca Lake is just a quick train or bus ride away from every nightlife scene in LA. 20 minutes by car to the Sunset Strip, maybe an hour by bus. If she just trawled the Strip, hitting up celebs outside rock clubs, a few nights a week, she could do this fast and easy.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:06 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Pfft. What counts is quality, not quantity.

Leonard Cohen, Irving Layton, Bernadette Peters, Sydney Pollack, Elie Wiesel, Andy Rourke, The Fonz, Peggy Atwood -- that's right, I call her Peggy.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:08 PM on December 20, 2011 [4 favorites]

Who in hell are all these people? I don't recognize 99 percent of them. BooBoo Stewart? WTF?

Getting photo'd with them isn't a big deal--recognizing them is.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 12:08 PM on December 20, 2011

I googled Rebecca Black and I still don't know who she is.
posted by joinks at 12:09 PM on December 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

Did I mention Jerry Orbach? George Takei?
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:11 PM on December 20, 2011

This is about as profound to me as trying to visit every Starbucks.
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:13 PM on December 20, 2011

Toluca Lake is just a quick train or bus ride away

Are you sure you lived in Los Angeles?
posted by timshel at 12:13 PM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

I was prepared to be disgusted, but walked away thinking "How cute."

I mean, who hasn't done the embarrassing fanboy thing? I read a certain author's blog, because her everyday writing is SO FUNNY, and when I showed up to her signing, I wanted to diiiiie, because I was the only person over 12 there, and after I read the actual book, I knew why.

She's probably going to be embarrassed by half of these photos in ten years, but in the meantime, it's fun, and I'm sure there are some she will treasure her entire life.
posted by thelastcamel at 12:14 PM on December 20, 2011

I do think we're in a period of devalued celebrity. Disney, in particular, is responsible for foisting hundreds of fairly nondescript performers upon us, and kids everywhere know them, and nobody else does. I don't expect these celebrities will, in general, have much longevity. But we can't all be Joan Collins.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:14 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Are you sure you lived in Los Angeles?

I am moving back there in three weeks. My new apartment is in Hollywood. My possessions are in Toluca Lake. It's never taken me more than an hour to get from one to the other.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:16 PM on December 20, 2011

Almost every picture seems to have her wearing t-shirts of bands from well before her birth and that I'm betting she doesn't listen to or know anything about (Van Halen, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, etc.)

She's like borderline a self-parody of hipsters-in-training.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 12:17 PM on December 20, 2011

Jon $%#'n Voight. Check THAT one off the list...
posted by obscurator at 12:18 PM on December 20, 2011

Chuck Close? Stompin' Tom?

I almost knocked over Connie Chung, once. Does that count?
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:19 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I almost knocked over Connie Chung, once. Does that count?

No, because "almost."
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:20 PM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

You can take your George Takei and Jon Voight and BooBoo Stewart and whoever-the-hell-else and wrap them in my Ron-Jeremy-signed underwear.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:24 PM on December 20, 2011

Her neck must hurt, she's spent half her life with it tilted to the right.
posted by tomswift at 12:28 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

MrMoonPie: If you insist. Are they clean, at least?
posted by idiopath at 12:32 PM on December 20, 2011

Whoa. I have not even thought of Connie Chung for, like, ten years. At least.

Huh.
posted by everichon at 12:33 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

She's certainly perfected her picture-taking pose. It looks much better than my usual rictus-of-agony grin and rigid posture.

Also, I have never met a celebrity, though I once saw Alan Thicke at the Atlanta airport. Does that count?
posted by orrnyereg at 12:33 PM on December 20, 2011

Wow it's freaky how she looks exactly the same in nearly every shot. What is wrong with this poor girl?
posted by ReeMonster at 12:35 PM on December 20, 2011

Also, I have never met a celebrity, though I once saw Alan Thicke at the Atlanta airport. Does that count?

Meeting his son counts, so just seeing Alan must count too. He wrote the Diff'rent Strokes theme song, after all.
posted by Gary at 12:37 PM on December 20, 2011

Disney, in particular, is responsible for foisting hundreds of fairly nondescript performers upon us, and kids everywhere know them, and nobody else does. I don't expect these celebrities will, in general, have much longevity. But we can't all be Joan Collins.

They did OK in the 90s:

Kids Incorporated: Fergie, Eric Balfour, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mario Lopez, Martika ("Toy Soliders")
Mickey Mouse Club: Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling.
posted by smackfu at 12:41 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Most of us don't run into celebrities because we don't make a point of being around celebrities.

It doesn't seem that a person can avoid celebrities these days, even if he or she wants to. MetaFilterians got hundreds and hundreds of such stories.

p.s. For some reason I never heard of Rebecca Black either, until a few days ago when Google said she was the most searched for person on the Internet in 2011.
posted by LeLiLo at 12:41 PM on December 20, 2011

ReeMonster: Wow it's freaky how she looks exactly the same in nearly every shot. What is wrong with this poor girl?

She poses in pictures a lot. If you do the same thing enough, you get into a pattern.


Why Google Rebecca Black, when you can check the RebeccaBlack tag on MetaFilter?

Yes, I was the first person to use it here. I am sorry. But Ark Music Factory was too interesting to pass up!
posted by filthy light thief at 12:47 PM on December 20, 2011

Well, using Warhol's Rule, that's literally THOUSANDS of HOURS of fame!
posted by Ron Thanagar at 12:48 PM on December 20, 2011

She poses in pictures a lot. If you do the same thing enough, you get into a pattern.

Especially since you only get one shot, so you want a predictable but decent post, over something spur of the moment.
posted by smackfu at 12:50 PM on December 20, 2011

Anyone who has their picture taken with Yeardley Smith is awesome in my book. (Warning: Crazy amounts of Yeardley Smith cleavage)
posted by ColdChef at 12:55 PM on December 20, 2011

This set of photos is begging for an animation, with her face as the anchor.
posted by maxwelton at 1:09 PM on December 20, 2011

(Warning: Crazy amounts of Yeardley Smith cleavage)

Of all times for Flickr to go down.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:11 PM on December 20, 2011

Mmm...I'm surprised that she hasn't met the Kardashians yet!
posted by AmyMh17 at 1:12 PM on December 20, 2011

I love to think that we'll learn she cares too much about the concept of celebrity to pose with a Kardashian.

But it's probably because she could never get in front of the cameras they have with them all the time.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:15 PM on December 20, 2011

All I hear in my head as I watch this is, "Call on MEEEEE! Call on me! Call on MEEEE! Call on me!"
posted by frecklefaerie at 1:15 PM on December 20, 2011

I had not seen Tila Tequila before so... Hmm.
posted by stinkycheese at 1:16 PM on December 20, 2011

ColdChef: "Anyone who has their picture taken with Yeardley Smith is awesome in my book. (Warning: Crazy amounts of Yeardley Smith cleavage)"

Crazy amount is right. Seeing Bart's sweater puppies is just SOOOOO wrong.
posted by Samizdata at 1:16 PM on December 20, 2011

So who is holding the camera for all of these photos?

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd hang with me all the time.
But I have noticed that during the most
awesomest times in my life,
when I was meeting celebrities,
you weren't in the pictures.
I don't understand why when
I was having such a rockin time you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of awesomeness,
when you don't see me in photos with the celebrities,
it was then that I snapped a picture you with my righteous Leica."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:23 PM on December 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

Crazy amount is right. Seeing Bart's sweater puppies is just SOOOOO wrong.

Yeardley Smith voices Lisa. Bart is Nancy Cartwright.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:24 PM on December 20, 2011

Seeing Bart's sweater puppies is just SOOOOO wrong.

/Comic Book Guy Voice: Eehhhh, I think you mean "Lisa's sweater puppies."
posted by Demogorgon at 1:25 PM on December 20, 2011

Zach Braff looks thrilled. Thrilled, I tell you.
posted by blucevalo at 1:26 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

I find lately that the word "celebrity" is used more and more often to refer to people I've never heard of.
posted by rocket88 at 1:30 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Maxwelton: Done, and linked in my post, but I'll shove it here again anyway.
posted by Askiba at 1:31 PM on December 20, 2011

Mmm...I'm surprised that she hasn't met the Kardashians yet!

I love to think that we'll learn she cares too much about the concept of celebrity to pose with a Kardashian.

I've closed the tab so no link, but there are definitely pictures of her with any number of Kardashians and Kardashian-hangers-on, like the Jenner sisters.
posted by Copronymus at 1:34 PM on December 20, 2011

So who is holding the camera for all of these photos?

A lot of them are clearly being held by Sarah herself, but it's not hard to imagine she has a friend along with her when she goes to parties.

Also, this makes me feel old, since I don't recognize most of the people she's posing with. It's sort of how I feel if Access Hollywood or one of those shows comes on. I ask myself what all these people are famous for and I get the impression that they're mainly famous for... being famous.
posted by aught at 1:35 PM on December 20, 2011

I'm intrigued and want to follow her adventures. Does anyone know if this girl has a twitter account?
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:37 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Just think of all the great anecdotes she must have!
posted by mysterpigg at 2:15 PM on December 20, 2011

I am moving back there in three weeks. My new apartment is in Hollywood. My possessions are in Toluca Lake. It's never taken me more than an hour to get from one to the other.

It was the "quick train ride away" bit that threw me off.
posted by timshel at 2:27 PM on December 20, 2011

This is awesome. Drake looks thrilled to be in that pic.
posted by sweetkid at 2:28 PM on December 20, 2011

Didn't manage to get Lady Gaga.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:29 PM on December 20, 2011

I ask myself what all these people are famous for and I get the impression that they're mainly famous for... being famous.

That's pretty much the working definition of a celebrity. I have been reading about the subject quite a lot lately, and, while fame and celebrity are linked phenomenons, they are not identical. Fame is pretty much just a measure of how many people know who you are. Celebrity is more of a measure of how curious they are about you are a person. So, for instance, Frank Rich is relatively famous, having been a NY Times columnist for two decades, but only a few dedicated cultists have any particular interest in his private life.

In the meanwhile, Paris Hilton has very little by way of identifiable accomplishments, but a sort of tabloid-friendly private life. And so she's a celebrity, with enormous curiosity about her everyday world, but, except on the part of a few dedicated cultists, very little interest in her creative undertakings. And it's possible to be a celebrity, in a small way, without being especially famous. High school football team members often have a great deal of local celebrity, especially in their high school, where they are the subjects of intense scrutiny. But they're pretty much unknown elsewhere.

Fame is the mass media wing of accomplishment, whereas celebrity is the mass media wing of gossip. And both can be quite useful -- for instance, if you're an artist, it can be helpful to cultivate a degree of celebrity, as it can cause audiences to follow you from project to project. Both can be terrible traps as well. In the case of fame, you may be too associated with one accomplishment, and so people have very little interest in anything else you do; in the meanwhile, because is so associated with accomplishment, people who have interest in you as a celebrity may want to see you fall.

Most of these people are manufactured celebrities, which is easier done now more than ever. The tools of the creation of celebrity have become widespread and inexpensive, thanks to the web and digital media, and celebrity is big business, and so we get all these new celebs pumped out as us to see who will stick, from Disney to reality teevee. But the truth is that few of them will produce either the accomplishment or the private life to be in the limelight for very long.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 2:34 PM on December 20, 2011 [5 favorites]

It was the "quick train ride away" bit that threw me off.

Oh, I see. I see an hour on a train as a relative quick ride. In Minneapolis, it takes me an hour and two buses to get Uptown from the University of Minnesota, which are far closer than Hollywood and North Hollywood, and don't have the second largest public park in Los Angeles between them.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 2:35 PM on December 20, 2011

"Johnny Ramone. Super sweet guy - and big thanks to him for not mentioning I stole his hairstyle."
posted by davebush at 2:48 PM on December 20, 2011

Oh, I see. I see an hour on a train as a relative quick ride.

What trains are you talking about?
posted by timshel at 2:55 PM on December 20, 2011

When did the subject of this thread turn into my use of public transportation in Los Angeles?
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 3:00 PM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Askiba, thanks, and sorry I missed it!
posted by maxwelton at 3:01 PM on December 20, 2011

What trains are you talking about?

Yeah, I thought the joke here was no one in LA gets around in anyway except by car.
posted by mrnutty at 3:09 PM on December 20, 2011

I'd like to see scanned receipts, Bunny Ultramod.
posted by Meatbomb at 3:10 PM on December 20, 2011

bands from well before her birth and that I'm betting she doesn't listen to or know anything about (Van Halen, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, etc.

As a guitar teacher, I can assure you that a surprising number of kids her age and younger have heard of those bands and want to learn to play songs by them. I usually blame Guitar Hero.
posted by straight at 3:18 PM on December 20, 2011

maxwelton: This set of photos is begging for an animation, with her face as the anchor

Well, I guess we know someone didn't both to read the "more inside" portion of this post!
posted by hincandenza at 3:22 PM on December 20, 2011

When did the subject of this thread turn into my use of public transportation in Los Angeles?


I thought it was interesting that, in describing the ways in which one can get around LA, you used "train" as your first example. I've spent most of my life in LA and have never heard that. I have no idea what trains you are talking about, unless you're referring to Amtrak or the cadaverous LA Metro.

Good luck with your move and new apartment in Hollywood.
posted by timshel at 3:26 PM on December 20, 2011

The Red Line will sometimes get me to Toluca Lake in a half hour, counting whatever bus transfer I end up doing. I call subways trains. I also call the light rail in Minneapolis a train. They seem trainlike to me. But, then, I'm a rambling hobo.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:05 PM on December 20, 2011

This person's real talent is a great memory for names and faces! (And not being afraid to ask anyone and everyone for a picture.) I think many non-household-name actors and musicians are happy to be recognized, actually, especially when they are at a movie premiere or some other public event, and not doing personal business on personal time.

To recognize a minor celebrity in the parking lot of a Home Depot is a true skill. I wonder if she gets a lot of "false positives"?

Single minded obsession seems vaguely autistic to me, but in a cute way. To be able to talk so many people into a picture, she must be pretty smart, or maybe her reputation proceeds her.
posted by subdee at 5:20 PM on December 20, 2011

I watched some of that video, and I thought to myself "OK, that's a weird hobby of the sort that almost all teenagers come up with at some point."

Hopefully she is under 25. Any older, and it starts to look a little crazy...
posted by gjc at 6:52 PM on December 20, 2011

My SO is like a mini-this. It seems like every time she comes back from a trip she's all "guess who I sat next to on the plane?" Last time it was Garrett Wang. She usually gets pics and always impresses upon them the necessity of spaying and neutering. I think she's trying to create more Bob Barkers.
posted by wierdo at 8:56 PM on December 20, 2011

It's a whole different thing to enjoy accidental brushes with celebrity-- I flew to Baltimore with John "Gomez" Astin in 1997-- but it is a whole 'nother thing to seek it out.

To recognize a minor celebrity in the parking lot of a Home Depot is a true skill. I wonder if she gets a lot of "false positives"?

I swear I saw Anne Heche at Woodfield Mall this one time.
posted by gjc at 5:00 AM on December 21, 2011

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE SHE'S POSING WITH??
posted by VicNebulous at 7:42 AM on December 21, 2011

Today I learned there is (was) a band called Kropp Circle.
posted by everichon at 11:17 AM on December 21, 2011