…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
The highly controversial Russian news network RT (f/k/a and a/k/a Russia Today) pokes a little fun on its own ruble. Clever, but all propaganda none-the-less… as always.
RT exposed in leaked video:
Watch how evil ‘Kremlin propaganda bullhorn’ REALLY works
Just in time, comedy veteran Phil Rosenthal presents a Halachically charged version of the holiday classic Die Hard via Funny or Die.
Click here to watch the video.
From Huffington Post:
‘Orcs Of New York’ Is The ‘HONY’ Parody Even Sauron Would Adore
by Kimberly Yam
The Huffington Post
September 11, 2015
LOTR fans, rejoice! We’ve found your new favorite Facebook page.
Imagine seeing one of these guys at your subway stop.
“Orcs of New York,” based off of the popular “Humans of New York” blog, regularly posts photos of the brutish beings in different Big Apple scenes along with their hilariously relatable “stories.”
The page, which was created less than two weeks ago, is already generating attention across the Interwebs with more than 13,000 likes. But seriously — once you read the orcs’ quotes, you’ll see why the page has captured the hearts of people, hobbits and Ents alike.
See more here.
From W.J. Elvin: Not that it’s too difficult to find bizarre humor in politics today but here’s an interesting sidelight from former colleague Glenn Garvin.
Scamsters, jokers: this PAC”s for you
by Glenn Garvin
Miami Herald
September 5, 2015
Finally it”s arrived: High-rolling fat-cat campaign finance for the rest of us! The days when it took Donald Trump”s bank account and a battalion of lawyers to buy and sell political candidates like bags of potatoes are behind us. Now anybody with access to a computer, 20 minutes to spare and a low boredom threshold can set up a political action committee to funnel unlimited campaign contributions to the issue or candidate of his choice, no matter how weird, prankish or “” let”s be honest here “”stupid.
Seriously “” well, “seriously” is probably not exactly the right word, but you get it “” nothing is too bizarre, too arcane or too ridiculous to have its own super PAC. If you”re sick of American politicians who badmouth Darth Vader, you can give money to The Empire Strikes PAC, which helps candidates who favor “the construction of a safer, more x-wing resistant Death Star.”
And if you grieve that we haven”t had a bewhiskered president in the 122 years since Benjamin Harrison left the White House, send all the money you want to Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy (that”s right, BEARD PAC), which imperiously decrees that “the time is now to bring facial hair back into politics.”
And yes, there”s even a PAC for the uncounted hordes who believe Virginia psychologist Anna Hornberger”s cat Xavier would make a good president: the My Cat Xavier for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow PAC. (Even you dog people have to admit that a president who comes with a full-time shrink attached is an idea whose time may have arrived.)
When the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for Super PACS in 2010 with a pair of decisions “” Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission and SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Elections Commission “” that established the rights of Americans to make unlimited campaign contributions as long as they go to independent committees and not directly to candidates or political parties, some political scientists predicted disastrous corruption. Others foresaw a robust expansion of the First Amendment.
What nobody expected is that creating super PACS would turn into a sort of performance art that, depending on your perspective, either joyously celebrates or cynically mocks the American political system.
Read the rest of this article here.
Inside “˜Dismaland”: Banksy”s Sinister Disney-Trolling Theme Park Reportedly Opening This Weekend
The Daily Beast
August 17, 2015
The shadowy street artist has allegedly been constructing a massive pop-up theme park under the guise of filming a Hollywood movie, and it”s rumored to open August 21 in the UK.
This past weekend at their annual D23 Expo, a veritable Comic-Con devoted to all things Mouse House, Disney unveiled plans for Star Wars Land””a pair of elaborate theme parks that will transport visitors to the land(s) of Star Wars, replete with a Millennium Falcon simulator, a plethora of cosplaying characters, and””yes””a full-service Cantina.
But if getting wasted on intergalactic booze, starting static with a costumed Greedo, and throwing your hard-earning money at a corporate giant isn”t your thing, then perhaps Dismaland is the place for you.
Dismaland is the name of Banksy”s gloriously subversive theme park that is heavily rumored to be opening this weekend””that is Friday, August 21″”in the UK. Pictures of its mysterious construction in the seaside resort town of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England, began surfacing online late last week.
Read the whole article here.