Fact or Fiction? - The Art of the Prank

December 19, 2025

Religious Iconography as Protest Art

Reminiscent of Joey Skaggs’ Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning, Central Park, 1968

“Zip-Tied Baby Jesus Guarded by ICE Agents in Illinois Church Nativity Scene,” by TMZ Staff, TMZ, December 4, 2025.

No Room at the Inn, or the Border!!! Baby Jesus Tied Up in Church Nativity Manger.

If Jesus comes to the U.S., he’d better have a valid visa … at least that’s the worry of an Illinois church that’s installed a controversial Nativity scene depicting the baby messiah zip-tied in a manger.

Lake Street Church of Evanston — just north of Chicago — reimagined the Nativity with masked centurions wearing green vests labeled “ICE” surrounding the Holy Family. Mother Mary and Joseph wear respirator masks to shield themselves from tear gas, according to the church. Read the whole article here.

December 19, 2025

Art That Mocks You

Fart art. Words don’t do it justice. The video in the article explains it…

“Wake Up, Beeple!,” by Valentina Di Liscia, Hyperallergic, December 4, 2025.

Crypto-backed artworks at Art Basel Miami Beach advance the wealth mechanisms they claim to subvert and make you, the viewer, a participant in the ploy.

A monstrous specimen of art as social commentary takes form when the work in question replicates the mechanisms the artist boasts about subverting, and at Art Basel Miami Beach, in a new section titled Zero 10 backed by the crypto marketplace OpenSea, Jack Butcher’s “Self Checkout” (2025) is its most shameless manifestation.

The installation consists of a checkout counter powered by Stripe terminals that beckon visitors to tap their cards and pay any amount, receiving a printed receipt whose length is proportional to their payment and comes with an “NFT companion.” A ticker above the counter tracks the lucre from an initial value of -$75,000, Butcher’s stated investment in the piece. Read the whole article here.

December 12, 2025

Truth Seekers Beware!

Emperor Trump only wants you to hear what he wants you to hear.

“State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing ‘censorship’,” by Shannon Bond, NPR, December 4, 2025.

The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers “censorship” of Americans’ speech.

The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.

“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible” for a visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to “foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.” Read the whole article here.

November 25, 2025December 12, 2025

Santa Claus is coming to town!

You better watch out…

“‘Most hated event on the planet’: New movie shows the rise of San Francisco’s SantaCon,” by Dan Gentile, SFGATE, October 31, 2025.

The trailer just dropped for ‘SANTACON,’ which premieres at the DOC NYC film festival on Nov. 13.

There are few San Francisco events as divisive as SantaCon. The yearly, debauchery-filled bar crawl features hundreds, if not thousands, of costumed Santas rampaging through cities across the country, leaving a trail of inebriated chaos in their wake. But it wasn’t always this way.

A new film is set to premiere on Nov. 13 at the DOC NYC film festival and is simply titled “SANTACON,” directed by Seth Porges, whose previous work includes “Class Action Park” and “How to Rob A Bank.” The first trailer, released on Friday, begins with footage of violent Santas and also shows Jimmy Fallon mentioning the New York Police Department’s understanding of the event as “the nightmare before Christmas.” Local news anchors declare that locals want the event to be canceled, and text appears on the screen proclaiming SantaCon the “most hated event on the planet.” Read the whole article here.

November 12, 2025

The Bush is Trying to Make a Comeback

Comes with dental floss in matching colors.

“Follicular Follies,” by Flora Gill, AirMail, November 1, 2025.

The Bush Is Back, Baby! But there’s a catch. Welcome to the wild world of “merkins”.

Before women leave the house for a night out, there’s a routine we all follow. We check that our makeup isn’t smudged. We add a dash of perfume to the nape of our necks. And … we carefully comb out the faux pubes on our underwear. No? Is that last bit not part of your evening checklist at present? Well, it might be, if Kim Kardashian gets her way.

Following her release of the viral “nipple bra” a few years ago, the reality-TV star turned business mogul has brought out yet another Internet-breaking item through her $4 billion intimates company, Skims. This time, it’s a “merkin.” Read the whole article here.