Dissentertainment.
The wonders of life on Earth.
Why are the former Soviet republics so good at making theater?
Seriously. Derevo. Belarus Free Theatre. And this amazing version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest from Georgia. More of these companies should come to the U.S.
Posted by on May 24th, 2011 at 12:25 am
Category: Live Art, Video | Tags: georgia, shakespeare, soviet union, the tempest, theater | Comments
Life Is Flashing Before Your Eyes
A real gem of 1970s animation courtesy of inimitable psychedelic animator Vincent Collins. This piece was collected as part of Tony Vegas’ compilation Acidburn Flashback Tabu, which is sadly only available on VHS, though a good soul over at rhizome.org did the world a service by posting some great excerpts. Or you can go down the rabbithole and read Timothy Leary’s review for Entertainment Weekly.
Posted by on July 15th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Category: Video | Tags: 1970s, animation, psychedelia, Video, Vincent Collins | Comments
Dorkgasm: PIXELS by Patrick Jean
I have no words to describe how this short film “PIXELS” by French filmmaker Patrick Jean makes me feel inside. Via Paris-based effects studio One More Productions (who are also responsible for this strangely alluring ad for a perfume called Orgy featuring three girls and one roast chicken).
Posted by on April 16th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Category: Video | Tags: animation, film, Patrick Jean, Video, video games | Comments
Financial Advice from Henry Rollins
Need a little tax week pick-me-up? Here’s a great interview with Henry Rollins via Uncensored Interview. He’s full of good financial advice for musicians (eat oatmeal, save money after every show) and some thoughts on the Brooklyn Beatdown certain fat cats would receive if they walked down the same streets as the “folks” they claim to serve (watch your back, Bill O’Reilly).
Posted by on April 12th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Category: Music, Video | Tags: advice, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Henry Rollins, interview, money, Music, politics | Comments
Anatomy of a Hoax
Happy April, Fools. Since April 1st makes the Internet the most annoying place in the world, I have to decided to go on a media fast for the rest of the day (this IS Holy Week after all and the Internet IS my religion). That said, my wheels did get turning while skimming this year’s parade of yawn-inducing corporate April Fool’s “jokes” (OK, Wikipedia, the wife selling article did make me laugh.). Why do April Fool’s pranks seem so empty when compared to other hoaxes that have managed to have lasting cultural impact? Perhaps it is too hard to pull off an effective hoax on a day when everyone is expecting it. Or perhaps it’s because a typical April Fool’s prank simply has no point. Below are some more clever and successful hoaxes, along with the magic ingredients that made them work so well.
1. Orson Welles’ radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds”
Magic Ingredients: media savvy, vérité style
Though intended as nothing more than a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ famous novel, Welles’ broadcast cleverly tricked latecomers who missed the show intro by using a news bulletin format and by broadcasting without commercial breaks. The actual extent of the panic that ensued is still debated, but the stunt generated over 12,000 newspaper articles and created one of the first mega-memes of the 20th century (Hitler even cited the broadcast as evidence of decadence in democratic society).
Listen to Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast [Internet Archive]:
Posted by on April 1st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Category: Audio, Ideas, Video | Tags: april fools day, Black Like Me, Clifford Irving, Elmyr de Hory, hoax, Howard Hughes, John Howard Griffin, Orson Welles, The Yes Men, War of the Worlds | Comments
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