New York’s irreverent April Fools’ Day Parade, poking fun at the past year’s displays of hype, hypocrisy, deceit, bigotry, and downright foolishness, is not cancelled! The theme this year is “WITCH HUNT!”

But for the first time in the 35-year history, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the parade will be conceptual. Imagine it on Wednesday, April 1, 12 Noon to 3 PM starting at 5th Ave. & 59th St. and marching down to Washington Square Park.

Stay home, stay healthy, flatten the curve and survive! And join us between now and Wednesday, April 1 by virtually designing your own floats and voting for the King of Fools (your choice from countless fools). Post on FB, Twitter or Instagram using #aprilfoolsdayparade and tag us at Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

FACEBOOK EVENT
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A very important public service announcement from Pluto Living…

Mal Sharpe, comedic pioneer and a very funny man, has left us. In 2007 the Art of the Prank blog published access to 20 of his early Imposter Podcasts, which are recordings of his street sketches (more like comedic ambushes) with his comedy partner Jim Coyle, who passed away in 1993. These recordings had been re-purposed and released by Jesse Thorn of the Maximum Fun site, where all 100 episodes reside:

In the early 1960s, James P. Coyle and Mal Sharpe roamed the streets of San Francisco, microphone in hand, roping strangers into bizarre schemes and surreal stunts. These original recordings are from the Sharpe family archive, which is tended by Mal’s daughter, Jennifer Sharpe.

We extend condolences to the family. Here’s his obit from The New York Times:

Mal Sharpe, Groundbreaker in Street-Level Pranking, Dies at 83
by Neil Genzlinger
The New York Times
March 19, 2020

Long before late-night talk show hosts began doing it, he conducted absurd interviews with gullible passersby with his comedic partner, Jim Coyle.

Two strangers approach a man named George on the streets of San Francisco.

“George,” one of them says, “would you yourself participate in a program of inter-protoplasm flow?”

George doesn’t hesitate. “If I needed it, I guess I would,” he says.

One of the strangers, earnestly impressing on George the seriousness of that commitment, elaborates: (more…)

Danielle Baskin (@djbaskin) and Max Hawkins are busy!

QuarantineChat, An Encrypted Phone Service That Connects Quarantined People With Each Other
by Lori Dorn
LaughingSquid
March 16, 2020

Artists Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins of Dialup, have created QuarantineChat, a voice-chat service that seeks to help people continue to have social interactions despite quarantines and cancellations due to the threat of Coronavirus. Read more here.

‘Culture Jamming’: US Woman Replaces Signs Of Sold Out Items With ‘Magical’ Ones
by Bhavya Sukheja
Republic TV
March 5, 2020

A woman based out of San Fransisco recently replaced the signs of all sold out items at a local Costco store with signs for magical items. Danielle Baskin recently took to Twitter to share the images of the things that she had put as the ‘sold out’ magical items. She replaced the signs of items, including toilet paper and bottled water with signs for magical items like ‘health potions’ and ‘tarot decks’. Read more here.

The New York April Fools’ Committee Is Proud to Announce:
NEW YORK CITY’S 35th ANNUAL APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PARADE

“WITCH HUNT!”

New York’s irreverent April Fools’ Day Parade, poking fun at the past year’s displays of outrageous hype, hypocrisy, deceit, bigotry, and downright foolishness, returns! For the 35th year, the public is invited to create outrageous floats and dress up as look-alikes in colorful costumes to reflect the folly of the nuttiest politicians, crooked corporate leaders, silly celebrities, and whoever else has proved to be a total fool in the past year.

The theme of the parade this year is “WITCH HUNT!”. It will begin at Fifth Ave and 59th Street at 12 Noon, Wednesday, April 1, 2020, rain or shine. The procession will march down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park for the climactic crowning of the King of Fools.

The parade’s Grand Marshall is again President Donald Trump, who this year will be wearing a witch’s cape and hat, and will be riding a witch’s broom. On his tail will be the “Whistleblowers’ Marching Band” playing “Season of the Witch” by Donovan. Dueling color commentary will be provided by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, and her husband, Attorney George T. Conway.

Chased by the mob of whistleblowers, Trump will be screaming “Witch Hunt!!!” as he attempts to outrun the crowd. Senator Rand Paul will be in hot pursuit attempting to out the identity of each whistleblower. The public is invited to bring their own whistles and join the stampede…

Says organizer Joey Skaggs, “With this parade, we are starting a Whistleblowers Campaign. Blow your whistle at every Trump encounter! Let’s vote for change in 2020. We need new fools to make fun of.”

READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE

For parade information contact:
Joey Skaggs, Committee Chair, 212-254-7878
info@joeyskaggs.com, http://aprilfoolsdayparade.com
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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Buck Henry passed away January 8, 2020 at age 89. He was a prolific screenwriter (“The Graduate”, “What’s Up Doc?”, “Catch-22”), show creator (“Get Smart” with Mel Brooks), director (“Heaven Can Wait” with Warren Beatty), actor (he appeared in more than 40 films and TV shows), SNL Host (10 times), and hoaxer…

From his Wikipedia page:

From 1959 to 1962, as part of an elaborate hoax by comedian Alan Abel, he made public appearances as G. Clifford Prout, the quietly outraged president of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals,[8] who presented his point of view on talk shows.[9] The character of Prout, who wished to clothe all animals in order to prevent their ‘indecency’, was often presented as an eccentric but was otherwise taken seriously by the broadcasters who interviewed him.

A great satirical wit, Buck Henry will be missed.
New York Times Obituary
New York Post Obituary

image: worldofwonder.net/

From Matt Benedetto, creator of @UnnecessaryInventions on Instagram…

h/t Yanko Design

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

As in years past, there are No Pants Subway Rides happening in dozens of cities around the world on January 12, the same day as our annual event in New York. Check our website for a list of participating cities with links to Facebook events.

Cities participating in the global No Pants Subway Ride so far: Berlin, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Melbourne, Montreal, New York, Phoenix, Porto, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington DC

On November 21, 2019, in accepting the Anti Defamation League’s (ADL) International Leadership Award, Sacha Baron Cohen shamed social media networks that, under the guise of freedom of speech, allow hate and lies to propagate world wide with dire consequences. Highly worth watching.

Sacha Baron Cohen gave the greatest speech on why social networks need to be kept in check
by Catalin Cimpanu
ZDNet
November 22, 2019

Actor says six US billionaires more focused on their share prices shouldn’t be allowed to dictate what is acceptable online.

Watch the video:

For an actor who made a career by playing silly characters, actor Sacha Baron Cohen gave yesterday one of the most eloquent and convincing speeches ever given in support of cracking down on large social media networks to prevent the spread of lies and hate speech that these platforms allow.

While accepting his award, Cohen touched on the role companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have played in spreading lies and hate speech online, calling the sites “the greatest propaganda machine in history.”

Read the full transcript here.

Extinction Rebellion floats “Sinking House” on the Thames.

Extinction Rebellion Sends a Sinking Home Along the River Thames, Warning of Climate Disaster
by Sarah Rose Sharp
Hyperallergic
November 13, 2019

Climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion staged a public protest over the weekend, in the form of a floating structure that created the illusion of a suburban house sinking into the River Thames in London. Titled “The Sinking House,” the intervention took place in the early hours on Sunday, November 10, and is intended as a public appeal to politicians to make a more stringent and immediate response to regulate the effects of human industry and waste on the environment. (more…)

Donald Trump and family inspire artists and activists all over the world. Here are a couple of the latest examples:

Berliners Tried to Send Trump a Piece of the Berlin Wall to Suggest Walls Don’t Work
A German nonprofit inscribed a message to the United States President, sending it to Washington on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

image from Quartz

Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, known as The Good Liars: “We changed the cover of Don Jr’s book to make it a little more honest and put them up in Barnes and Noble. You’re welcome, Junior!”

Artist Phil Gable floats a Trump effigy in the toxic water of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York.

‘He has become the swamp’ Artist behind Gowanus Trump float speaks out
by Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
October 30, 2019

Photo by Kevin Duggan

This artist is putting Trump’s impeachment scandal into context!

The Park Slope artist behind a mocking seaborne sculpture of Donald Trump claims he dumped the president’s effigy in the Gowanus Canal out a desire to see the reality star in his natural environment.

“I felt like that was really the natural place where he should be — in a canal of toxic water,” said Phil Gable. “He wanted to drain the swamp when in fact he has become the swamp.”

Gable — who first invited Brooklyn canines to pee on the president by installing miniature “Trump Stumps” in 2018 — decided to float another effigy to the man in the White House that would decompose in the canal’s noxious waters as the impeachment inquiry against him proceeds.

Read the whole article here »

Nothing like a good laugh when you’re grieving!

Funeral cracks up as dead man screams ‘Let me out!’ of coffin
By Hannah Sparks
New York Post
October 14, 2019

He got the last laugh.

Loved ones at an Irish funeral for Defense Forces veteran Shay Bradley were shocked — then delighted — when they heard the voice of their late friend calling out from his coffin.

“Hello, hello — let me out!,” they heard on Saturday at Bradley’s funeral in Kilmanagh, Leinster, as his casket was lowered into the ground.

The pre-recorded message continued, “Where the f?-?-?k am I? Let me out, let me out. It’s f?-?-?king dark in here. Is that the priest I can hear? This is Shay, I’m in the box. No, in f?-?-?king front of you. I’m dead.”

A video of the posthumous prank, posted to Twitter Sunday, shows mourners laughing and crying as Bradley’s voice began to sing, “Hello again, hello. Hello, I just called to say goodbye.”

Watch the video:

Read the rest of the story here »

Senator Lindsey Graham was caught by Russian pranksters a few months ago saying the exact opposite of what he just said publicly against Turkey’s aggressions in Syria yesterday. How much more convoluted can our foreign policy get?

Lindsey Graham dishes on Trump in hoax calls with Russians
By Natasha Bertrand
Politico
10/10/2019

Graham thought he was speaking with Turkey’s minister of defense. Instead, it was a pair of Russian pranksters.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has in the last year become something of a congressional point man for President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Turkey, leading discussions on everything from Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile system over the summer to their more recent incursion into northern Syria.

So when he received a call from a man he thought was Turkey’s minister of defense earlier in August, it didn’t strike him as unusual. “Thank you so much for calling me, Mr. Minister,” Graham said. “I want to make this a win-win, if we can.”

But it wasn’t the Turkish defense minister at all. Instead, it was Alexey Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian pranksters with suspected ties to the country’s intelligence services who go by “Lexus and Vovan.” The duo have become notorious in recent years for their cold calls to unwitting, high-profile Western politicians, including Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, leading some to suspect that they’ve had help from the Kremlin, according to The Guardian. (A Schiff spokesman said at the time that the House Intelligence Committee “informed appropriate law enforcement and security personnel of the conversation.”)

Hear a snippet of the call:

Read the whole story here.

Reminding us about the good old days, artist Joseph Reginella just placed statues around New York commemorating Mayor Ed Koch’s (1978-1989) strategy for ridding the city of taggers by releasing wild wolves in the subway yards. According to Joseph, they’ve since multiplied and are roaming the city’s nether regions. H/T Felipe.

Sculptures of wolves mauling tourist appear in New York City parks
by Rusty Blazenhoff
BoingBoing
October 10, 2019

This is weird.

A series of identical monuments depicting a tourist being mauled by a pack of wolves have surreptitiously been installed in different New York City parks with plaques that read:

Dedicated to the many tourists that go missing every year in New York City.

And a reminder as to why the parks close at dusk.

Erected by the Ed Koch Wolf Foundation and the NYC Fellowship.

A brilliant prankster with mad sculpting skills is taking credit.

Watch the video:

Here’s Mayor Koch pontificating on his brilliant idea:

Read the full story here.