So far, Occupy Wall Street has been getting all the celebrity visits. (You heard, didn’t you, that Russell Brand and his wife, what’s-her-name, visited Zuccotti Park with Russell Simmons over the weekend?) But did you know that, over a week ago, the guy who inspired The Dude from The Big Lebowski made a trip to Occupy Los Angeles over a week ago? As Slate reports, Jeff Dowd seemed to be enjoying himself there, and had a lot to say about America’s shift from a “production-based” to a “financially based” economy. He also found time to praise the late Steve Jobs, because “what the guy stood for was making things.” (Never mind that many of these things ended up being made in China.) Watch the dude preach for a solid 11 minutes after the jump.
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We just came across a video of John Waters describing the moment he knew he was gay over on Boing Boing, and as today just happens to be National Coming Out Day, we thought that we’d share it with you. In the clip, the cult filmmaker also candidly describes his thoughts about the term “coming out,” wonders if gay people sometimes lose their sense of humor by being too politically correct (something he certainly can never be accused of),reveals that people have rarely asked him about his sexuality, and lets us know that gay is not enough — but it’s a good start. If we could all be as comfortable with ourselves as he is, the world would be a better, happier place. Watch John Waters being John Waters past the break.
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Amongst the attendees at Occupy Wall Street over the last week or so, there’s been at least one… well, we don’t like to use the word “celebrity”, but if you follow Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo on Twitter, you’ll know he’s been an enthusiastic supporter and documenter of the ongoing protests in Zuccotti Square in New York City. He was there again yesterday as the protest moved to Washington Square, and spent most of the day uploading candid shots of protesters to Instagram. Ranaldo’s a man we admire for many reasons — apart from his enduringly innovative guitar work, he’s a poet, visual artist, and genuinely lovely guy. It turns out he’s also a dab hand with the camera on his smartphone — check out some of his photos from yesterday after the jump.
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Yesterday, thousands of people fed-up with government budget cuts, swelling unemployment rates, tax breaks for the rich, and generally all things miserable about this country right now marched from New York City’s Zuccotti Park to Foley Square and back again. According to one report, nearly 30 people were arrested in this otherwise peaceful Occupy Wall Street demonstration, which lasted from around 3pm until nightfall. Amongst the students, protestors, union members, community organizers and thrill-seekers present, there was a mixture of messages yearning to be heard. In case you couldn’t make it to the rally, here’s a snippet of what you missed. One notable sign not shown below that perhaps best captured the spirit of the afternoon: “Let’s be better to each other.”
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Political pranksters The Yes Men want to be the people’s media. They also want you to contribute to their new Kickstarter campaign for the creation of their own media outlet. First on the agenda is the Occupy Wall Street Journal. It’s a newspaper for you, the people, that will delve into the ideas behind the Wall Street protests — a reaction to the banks creating and profiting off the economic crisis. The project offers to explain ” … the issues involved and how the general assembly process operates at Liberty Plaza. It will also offer resources and ways to join. The emphasis will be on quality content, design, photography and artwork that uses incisive humor to make it a lively read.” They won’t be making any personal profit off of the journal, but need your help to reach their $12,000 intended goal. Check out an interview that Michael Hayne recently conducted with The Yes Men about the Wall Street events after the jump.
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Not all librarians wear tightly coiled hair buns and fondle the card catalog like it’s going out of style (wait … ). Library professionals come in all flavors, and the Men of the Stacks project is aiming to change your preconceived notions. They’ve made a classy cheesecake calendar with 12 tasty librarians, because “there is an entire population of professional librarians out there who disagree with the way the library profession is perceived in contemporary media outlets and in the historical consciousness of the American mind.” All proceeds from calendar sales are being donated to the It Gets Better Project, which was created to show ” … young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach — if they can just get through their teen years.” Please take a moment to indulge in a little eye candy, which supports a very serious and positive message, below.
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Meet Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius. Sick of people illegally parking in the bike lanes of the Lithuanian capital, he decided to take matters into his own hands. “I’ve had enough of these drivers parking their luxury cars on bike lanes and pedestrian crossings,” he said. “This tank is a good tool to solve the problem of parking in the wrong place.” We might add that it also looks like he’s having a lot of fun while “problem solving.” Can you imagine what would happen if Mayor Bloomberg pulled stunt like this? [Photo credit: Telegraph via GOOD]
We live a corporate world, and the evidence flashes in front of our eyes 5,000 times a day. Though there isn’t anything inherently wrong with this kind of business, and it can be used to further laudable common goals, our current corporatism, and the laws that enable it, have had disastrous results for our economy, government, environment, and bodies. The relaxing of anti-trust laws and the establishment of corporate personhood are largely responsible for the domination of our society by these inhuman giants. Thankfully, this trend in its many facets is well documented. A significant percentage of popular documentary films take big business as their subject matter, as do many popular nonfiction books, television shows and radio programs. These works are crucial in educating us and providing a view of the forest that can be hard to see from within our consumerist trees. We’ve rounded up a few of the most important and well done documentaries about our corporate society. They range from satirical to heartbreaking, but at their core they are all deadly serious.
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As the holiday season approaches, you might find yourself with some free time on your hands. In the spirit of giving, consider putting your creative talents to good use at one of these deserving volunteer organizations. Some of these organizations provide opportunities to volunteer all over the country, while others are based in specific cities. Let the latter serve as inspiration for your own search for worthy organizations closer to you (Idealist.org is a great place to start). And if you know a worthy cause that artists can lend their talents to please feel free to add it in the comments below.
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We, along with about 250,000 like-minded folk, were in Washington DC on Saturday for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear. And while the special guests were incredible (OK, we could have done without Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock, but the Roots backing up the O’Jays and Cat freakin’ Stevens? Amazing.), what really made the event was, of course, the crowd — and its creative signage. Check out a gallery of our faves after the jump.
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