via Artnet:

OH YES THEY DID!

The stunt involved a great number of people, including an art professor at Hunter College, a couple of actual (disgruntled?) staffers of the Times itself, the Williamsburg collective Not An Alternative and the activist art team known as the Yes Men (a.k.a. Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, who go by many other aliases).

The fake paper itself is an impressive piece of work. Sharply written and stylistically acute, the 14-page special issue breathes a sense of defiant idealism that is largely missing from the fake news industry these days. Though shaped as a parody, the meticulous Times clone actually sets out quite reasonable policy goals for a progressive administration.

It is dated July 4, 2009, and meant as a sort of missive from a more hopeful future. Though reportedly six months in the making, the publication very much captures the "Obama moment" -- a profound sense of possibility, mixed with a broad rejection of the politics of the last eight years and a sense of urgency about the present.

While headlines about the war and the economy catch the eye, it is the below-the-fold feature, "Popular Pressure Ushers Recent Progressive Tilt," that sets the tone. Here’s the lede: "The spate of reform initiatives undertaken by the Administration and both houses of Congress can be attributed directly to grassroots advocacy, according to a comprehensive study due out this month." The point of the project overall, the organizers say, is "to help jump-start our imaginations" about what is possible right now, if people are willing to fight for it, a theme that is repeated over and over throughout.

Here are some other highlights: [read on]

Swing state, originally uploaded by Joy Garnett (archive).

Documentary/Indie film director Daryl Wein and actress/writer/producer Zoe Lister-Jones keeping their eye on the ball in New York on Halloween... Remember to VOTE on Tuesday.

via

listen to the interview here.

Related News:

Quebec pair prank Palin with faux-Sarkozy phone call
CTV.ca -

via Southernist, 10/30/08:

ART/SCENE: Prospect.1 New Orleans opens 11/1

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Bill Jones & Ben Neill perform at Monkeytown., originally uploaded by Joy Garnett (archive).

Here are some pics and a video from last night's performance at Monkeytown...

Bill Jones + Ben Neill @ Monkeytown from joy garnett on Vimeo.

via email:

Hello!
Please be advised of the inaugural smudging of The Greater New York Smudge Cleanse this Saturday in Greenpoint! We will be meeting at the corner of Apollo St. and Norman Ave at 1 pm and processioning down to McGolrick Park (please see the map link below w/ all details or the event website)

It is supposed to be a sunny day, but in case of any threatening clouds or if you want more information on the project, please check the website:
www.nycsmudge.com

Greenpoint map; if you can't come this weekend, don't worry - there are three more events...

via nycsmudge :

The Greater New York Smudge Cleanse, a public art project by Jeanine Oleson, will waft through the streets of New York City. Witness the world's largest sage smudge stick ritualistically cleansing negativity from New York City at four different sites in October and November. This traveling public art project applies the ancient practice of smoking out dormant bad energies to contemporary challenges including environmental pollution in Greenpoint and Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn; gentrification driving queer communities out of Manhattan's West Village; and pre-election anxiety/U.S. economic imperialism on the steps of Federal Hall. Each event will include a procession followed by a gathering with food and community organizations, activists, researchers and performers including the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, Newtown Creek Alliance, and a tea party at the Stonewall Inn.

Smudging is an ancient practice of cleansing space with smoke from bundled and burned herbs, generally sage. The burning of herbs for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification is common practice among many religious, healing, and spiritual groups. It is thought that the sage smoke attaches to bad energies and releases it into another space where it will be regenerated into positive energy. The world's largest sage smudge stick was built in New Mexico, where sage grows plentifully. It is 10 feet long—"Supersized" to combat negativity in contemporary times. Oleson's project seeks to cleanse New York and it's residents of eco-destruction, election anxiety, gentrification, heterosexism, U.S. imperialism, classism, racism and greed.

Saturday, October 11, 1 pm

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Site of perhaps the largest oil spill in American history, Greenpoint sits on top of the 17-30 million gallons constituting the ExxonMobil oil spill, with no clear plan of how it will be removed and little attention paid to the health and welfare of those in the neighborhood.

Meet at the corner of Norman Ave. and Apollo St. and proceed to McGolrick Park, near the Nassau Ave and Monitor St. entrance. Nearest train is the Nassau Ave. stop of the G train.

Saturday, October 18, 1:30 pm

Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn

Gowanus Canal is a very polluted waterway known to contain STDs/PCPs, kill whales, and possibly hold the key to new strains of antibiotics! This smudge is part of Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Oktoberfest celebration so there will be canoe rides in the Canal, demonstrations, and food.

Meet at 2nd St. and Bond St. near the Carroll St. stop on the F/G trains.

Saturday, October 25, 1 pm

West Village, Manhattan

A procession starting at Pier 45 and traveling across Christopher Street, home to generations of queer history, ending at the Stonewall Inn, a site of gay resistance. A party/discussion will occur upstairs.

Meet at Pier 45, east picnic benches then proceed across Christopher Street to the Stonewall Inn. Take PATH or 1 trains to Christopher St. station and walk west.

Monday, November 3, 1 pm

Federal Hall, Manhattan

The site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President, Federal Hall is a symbol of the United State's political history. This smudging is happening the day before the 2008 presidential election, an event that has stirred strong emotions/anxieties about the nation's future. Federal Hall is also located on Wall Street, the symbol of international economic control. This event also seeks to smudge away the bad energy associated with U.S. economic imperialism and current financial anxieties. Since it is impossible to actually burn on site, a series of dances, performances and talks are planned with the remainder of the smudge stick being given to individuals to burn where they deem necessary!

Meet on the front steps, 26 Wall St. (at Broad St.) Take the 2/3 or 4/5 to Wall Street, 1 or R/W to Rector Street, or A/C to Fulton Street.

Contact: Jeanine Oleson
nycsmudge@gmail.com

via Rhizome News, Oct 6, 2008:

Questions, Comments, Reactions?
By Marisa Olson on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 12:01 pm.

When the cinematic masterpiece Wayne's World was released in 1992, their tag line was, "You'll Laugh, You'll Cry...You'll Hurl!" Who among us couldn't say the same about the media blunders we've seen recently, in connection with the U.S. presidential elections? Brooklyn-based artistic duo MTAA dramatize this sort of overwhelming desire to emote in their newest project, Our Political Work, which they describe as Beckett-like. The "Waiting For Godot" playwright might well approve of their creation, which features 141 clips of the artists screaming, laughing, and yelling as they wait in vain for something to change. The clips are randomly strung together using generative software, not unlike the clips in their One Year Performance Video, thus locking them in a state of perpetual indignity. The longer one watches, though, the more they are called upon to consider the roles of the artists and the very nature of their "political work." Are they political agents or spectators? Are their blurts and indiscretions responses to the behavior of political actors, or are they themselves enacting politics? Take a look for yourself, online [also here]. The piece is hosted by Lisboa 20 Arte Contemporânea, whose LX 2.0 Project commissioned the work. - Marisa Olson

Image: MTAA, Our Political Work, 2008 (Screenshot)

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Palin Flow, originally uploaded by Joy Garnett (archive).

thanks Ardele!