Happy Spokesmodel Selection Day to one and all. I am certainly not the first to comment on the commodification of American politics in general and this race specifically, but a little more can be said before we’re on the next distraction tomorrow. This election has been primarily a contest between the values of experience and …
Category Archives: Research Blog
Mark Fiore's Subversive Cartoons
Mark Fiore is a political Flash cartoonist who cranks out a new short almost every week. He is clearly a liberal Democrat and his cartoons slant that way, but even when I find the ideas annoying or simplistic, or superficially critical, the cartoons are still funny. There are objectively funny moments (if such things can …
LIVERMORE / Anti-nuke activists lose out on bid to run weapons lab
A bid by Bay Area anti-nuclear weapons activists and the New College of California to take over Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been rejected by the U.S. nuclear weapons agency. Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) out of Livermore, New College in San Francisco and two allied groups filed the bid for the Livermore …
Continue reading “LIVERMORE / Anti-nuke activists lose out on bid to run weapons lab”
Wassup 2008
Funny, engaged in pop culture, arguably hard-hitting message… this is good.
Laugh at a Campaign Pitch? Sure. Visit the Grandparents? Not So Much. – NYTimes.com
MIAMI — When Sarah Silverman told young Jews to get their lazy rotund rear ends to Florida to persuade their grandparents to vote for Senator Barack Obama, one question loomed: Would they go? This weekend was the first big test, a kickoff for the so-called Great Schlep, and so far, momentum has been building with …
Larry Flynt Producing 'Palin porno' political parody
I think the key line here actually comes at the end. “Whatever you think of Larry Flynt, the man knows his First Amendment,” Kelly concluded. Seriously, that smut monger is a true champion of the First Ammendment, and we should all remember that the freedom of speech is the freedom to be offended. Now is …
Continue reading “Larry Flynt Producing 'Palin porno' political parody”
Aaron Gach & The Center for Tactical Magic
Aaron Gach is the founder of the Center for Tactical Magic and has a notable background. As part of his art training, he studied with a magician, a ninja, and a private investigator. Under the auspices of the Center for Tactical Magic he collaborates with a variety of artists, activists, and thinkers to produce projects …
Continue reading “Aaron Gach & The Center for Tactical Magic”
Design Won't Save The World
Yimmys Yayo
The Penguin "gets it"
YouTube – Pol-d
Seun Kuti
Seun Kuti was interviewed on PRI’s Sound of Young America a couple weeks ago. Choice excerpt typed below and you can listen to the whole program here: SK: Afrobeat is not pop. JT: Did you ever think that you would be – because afrobeat was certainly popular in Nigeria, it’s not *the* pop music of …
I’m Rubber, You’re Glue …
by Jonathan Alter Published Aug 23, 2008 From Newsweek magazine issue dated Sep 1, 2008 It’s hard to predict what will stick. ‘It’s the economy, stupid’ was a hand-scrawled sign hung in Little Rock. When NEWSWEEK reported earlier this summer that the McCain family owns at least seven houses, few outside the hothouse of politics …
Ogilvy: "speak their language"
“If you’re trying to persuade people into do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.” – David Ogilvy via The Hidden Persuader
GRL's James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet
“James is a unique voice in the world, who lives and breathes art and technology for the purpose of promoting and enabling freedom of expression for all,” said Nathan Dorjee, Director of Technology for Students for a Free Tibet. “His trip to Beijing, in support of the Tibetan people and all people around the world …
Continue reading “GRL's James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet”
The State: Free Market Store
For those not fortunate enough to remember watching The State, it was a brilliant comedy show often surreal or scatalogicaly political. This skit rolls with a black comedy to match the best Monty Python, and gets the viewer with a brujtally funny depiction of Eastern Europe after the Iron Curtain fell. No doubt, the Soviet …
Tropic Thunder – comedy is anarchy
…in comedy, context is everything. “Tropic Thunder”… doesn’t risk simply offending; at times the picture is almost appalling in its tastelessness — I watched parts of it agape. But Stiller and his ensemble… understand that comedy is anarchy. As much as we want our lives to be stable and manageable, comedy demands that we relinquish …
I met the Walrus
In 1970, a fourteen year old boy named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Montreal room during their “peace in.” The following animated short, I Met the Walrus, is based on a recording of their conversations. It was nominated for an Oscar for “best animated short” at the 2008 Academy Awards, and …
Natalie Jeremijenko
YouTube – Interview: Feedback Artist, Natalie Jeremijenko Also in the NYT today: “People are frustrated by their inability to cope with environmental problems in their apartments and their neighborhoods,” said George Thurston, a professor of environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Jeremijenko, he continued, “provides a service that’s needed, educating people …
Get Your War On: Terrorist Watch List
This is a new video from 23/6.com a political-ish comedy site. The video is about a serious issue, but treats it in a comical-ish way. Which is a fine strategy if done well, but I there’s just not quite enough substance here. All you really get from the video is that there’s a terrorist watch …
Kurt Vonnegut Interview Mashup
I read Timequake (one of Vonnegut’s last books) recently and was surprised to see how often it related to the How to Win project. The novel isn’t about any one theme, but ideas of art and affecting change are woven throughout. Vonnegut seems to be reflecting on how his literature has connected with his politics. …
E Waste
The winning entry for the environment category in this year’s Media that Matters Film Festival was a short animated film about the dangers of electronic waste. And what consumers can do to help the problem. I’m not sure if I find it effective or annoying. You decide.
You must be logged in to post a comment.