…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:
On Sunday, January 8th, 2017 tens of thousands of people took off their pants on subways in over 60 cities in over 25 countries around the world. In New York, our 16th Annual No Pants Subway Ride took place in windy 22F degree weather and was spread out over seven meeting points and eleven subway lines. Thanks to everyone who participated all around the globe! Enjoy the video!
Patrick Howell O’Neill reports from Def Con 2014 in Las Vegas, where he witnesses an odd sort of game: Social Engineering Capture the Flag.
Inside the Super Bowl of Lying
by Patrick Howell O’Neill
The Daily Dot
September 2, 2014
Nobody can find a seat, the room is so packed. The boisterous audience, undeterred, crowds against the walls and lies down on the floor at every edge of the room to catch the action. A line of people stretches out the front door.
This is the 2014 Def Con hacker conference at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. The people are in one of the tiniest rooms in the casino to see the Super Bowl of lying.
The Social Engineering Capture The Flag contest was launched by Christopher Hadnagy in 2009. This year, nine teams of two players each are given a long list of goals that can only be accomplished through skillful lying and manipulation. The contest has been going on for five years, but most of the crowd, listening in rapt attention, is experiencing it for the very first time.
Hadnagy has another name for social engineering: “The art of human hacking.” While almost all of Def Con is dedicated to the art of computer hacking, this event targeted the mind. Continue reading “The Art of Human Hacking”
From Marc Schiller: I hope you will join our Kickstarter campaign to help fund our new documentary, Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and Silk Road. This is not just a tech movie, but an examination of a significant moment in cultural history that will shape our future. Here’s an article from Mashable.com about it:
Deep Web Film Will Go Inside the World of Bitcoin, Silk Road and Beyond
by Fran Berkman
Mashable.com
November 20, 2013
There’s a shadowy corner of the Internet where real names give way to aliases, and “.com” is conspicuously scarce. In this space, privacy and anonymity are dogma, and government-imposed laws draw scoffs more than reverence.
The “deep web,” as it’s known, is where users ranging from do-gooders to cybercriminals employ cutting-edge technology to mask their identities and interact with others around the globe. As you might expect, not many camera crews are allowed meaningful inside access to this world. Despite these challenges, director and producer Alex Winter said he is shooting interviews for a feature-length documentary he plans to call Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and Silk Road.
“The film is about linking all of these people who exist unseen on the web, who are connected technologically and philosophically The film is about linking all of these people who exist unseen on the web, who are connected technologically and philosophically,” Winter told Mashable. “The movie is about, essentially, the cultural implications of having a massive global community online that’s doing good things, bad things and things in between, that’s out of reach of the law and is not public.”
Continue reading “Deep Web to Surface via Film Kickstarter Campaign”
From Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere:
The Matrix In Real Life – Movies In Real Life (Episode 4)
For our latest mission we sent Neo from the Matrix into Macy”™s in New York City to shop for a new “man dress.” As Neo talked to a confused sales associate in the mens suits department, over 30 “Agent Smith” clones suddenly appeared, pouring out of elevators and escalators surrounding the area. An entirely unauthorized slow motion battle ensued, similar to the famous fight scene in The Matrix Reloaded. It”™s the Matrix sequel you”™ve always wanted: Macy”™s Reloaded.
This project is part of our new series, Movies in Real Life. Every Tuesday, we”™re releasing a new video that brings an iconic movie moment to life in the real world.
Created and Directed by Charlie Todd / Produced by: Deverge / Music by Tyler Walker
‘Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical’ Geniuses Rhett & Link Talk Going Viral
by Kevin Fallon
The Daily Beast
August 11, 2013
Always wanted to see 11-year-old sing about cooking meth? Meet Rhett & Link, the viral video gurus who brought the dream to life.
We”™ve all had that awkward experience. You file into a suburban middle school”™s auditorium for your 11-year-old cousin”™s production of Grease, squirming uncomfortably as little Timmy sings about Greased Lightning being a “real pussy wagon” and the prepubescent tween girl playing Rizzo belts a ballad about teenage pregnancy and sexual regret.
Now imagine if those kids were singing about cooking meth. Or, excuse me, “rock candy.”
That precise idea””the cringe-comedy of children earnestly performing age-inappropriate theater material””is behind the hit viral video Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical. Created by viral video gurus Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal (better known as “Rhett & Link”), this is the latest in their original Middle School Musical series, which also includes Star Trek and Superman entries. Continue reading “Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical”