Dissentertainment.

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]:

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In a year that has seen both a Broadway musical celebrating the late king of Afrobeat Fela Kuti and the reissue of Fela’s entire collection, it seems appropriate to see more and more African musicians staking their claim as the most interesting artists on the planet. Whether it’s the laid-back stylings of Burkina Faso’s Hermas Zopoula, the transatlantic benga jams of Extra Golden, the joyous dance party-inducing pop gems of Esau Mwamwaya’s The Very Best, or the hip-hop/R&B hybrid of Nigerian chanteuse Nneka, Africa has a warm heart indeed (and if you don’t believe me, check out the amazing dance party that capped off The Very Best’s set at Emo’s during SXSW 2010).

The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa | Buy on Amazon

Nneka – Showin’ Love | Buy on Amazon

Extra Golden – OK Oyot System | Buy on Amazon

Hermas Zopoula – Alpha et Omega | Buy on Amazon

Another quick post on the wonders of slowness. For some reason the topic of slowness makes me blog faster. Enjoy these dogs doing what they do best, but at a snail’s pace.

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I often worry about the pace at which I blog and tweet. Internet culture has always been about speed, and while I am encouraged by my gadgety peers to keep up with the electronic Joneses, I do feel that I am reaching the point where the exponential growth in computing speed described by Moore’s Law is beginning to clash with the linear capacity of my very human brain. I can still taste, smell, feel and flirt better than a computer (seeing and hearing are tossups), but I know I am fighting a losing battle when it comes to keeping up with the sheer volume of new information created and disseminated each day. And so I slow down. I monotask. I ignore the invites to join the next big social media craze and pay attention instead to honing my voice in those places where I am already present. And apparently I am not alone. The slow media movement is in full effect. [Continue reading...]

So I have a new favorite designer. I sincerely hope that these schlong-johns from Isabel Mastache are all the rage in Spain in the fall and winter of 2010.

[via guanabee.com]