"Yes Men" feature documentary: See it now.

It also gets described as a left-wing, political jackass. Dear God.

Do you disagree with my point about irony?

Alba, Home Movie is a really understated and funny doc about people who live in unusual homes: a house made to accomodate dozens of cats, a tree house, a boat house, etc. American Job is a fictional movie based on an unpublished novel that collected real stories about shitty jobs all over the country.

I linked the store where you can buy both films...

I tried to explain why irony can be shorthand for a way of living your life, but I probably failed. I think all of the following are examples of ways people have, by taking certain ideals literally, behaved ironically:

--Blacks sitting at whites-only lunch counters
--Gays getting married
--William Upski Wimsatt touring "the bad parts" of every city to show how safe they are
--Kids treating adults as equals
--Chileans suing Henry Kissinger for murder

...Where pranks come in, is they dramatize the ironies that are otherwise hard to get at: like the banality of free-trade evil.

I'll second Home Movie as a decent follow-up to American Movie, but it lurks in the shadow of AM, which was blessed with the best real life casting pretty much ever invented. The stories in Home Movie are smaller and quirkier, and they don't inspire that NEED to constantly replay the movie over and over. But it's a good movie.

American Job is good for a viewing or two, even though we bought it on VHS. It's a very "static" movie that really drives home the point of the nowhere jobs the protagonist works. Personally, I could relate.

Did anyone get their "NY Times" today?

SPECIAL TIMES EDITION BLANKETS U.S. CITIES, PROCLAIMS END TO WAR
* PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
* For video updates: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
* Contact: mailto:writ✧✧✧@nytimes✧✧✧.c✧✧

Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hadcome to an end. If, that is, they happened to read a "special edition" of today's New York Times. In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street. Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporatelobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the war.

Wow.

Obv, I posted the first link up there back when I thought blog links would be forever. But the second one still works, or has begun working again.

http://lnylnylny.com/.w.l.o.g./

for some pictures of this. would really like to see one properly, if they're floating around/pdf accessible.

new film coming in October:

http://theyesmen.org/theyesmenfixtheworld

yah i saw this in Feb--the suit gag was pretty hilariousity

trailer doesn't do much for me, but I do love these guys

I assume there's a print edition of this on the streets today.

http://nypost-se.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcJo5iOeJuU

u have no idea how happy this makes me

felix charlebois is an awesome name

This is available now on streaming netflix btw

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbz89k_davos-annual-meeting-2010-adm-ceo-p_news

Hello Yes people in NYC and environs,

Many are called, but few are chosen. We need dozens of Yes people to help us expose a great big fraud this Sunday, to lead a stubborn horse to water, or away from water, or something like that. Anyway, all will be revealed at 7:30am on Sunday April 18th! That is all we can tell you at the moment. Don't let the early hour scare you -- you are doing God's work, as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein might say.

Mandatory Dress Code: Office attire. Suit and tie for gents. Pant suits or similar for ladies. And to be perfectly age-ist, the more volunteers 30 and over, the better. But we need well groomed, clean cut young folk too .. actually we need you all!

Meeting Point: The statue at the corner of 9th Street and Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, NY. (Two blocks from the F train stop at 7th avenue).

Rendezvous Time: 7:30am.

There you will be met by mysterious Yes Woman "Whitney Black," and a rakish Yes Man known as "Rocco Ferrer," who will give you further instructions. Please don't be late, Whitney and Rocco hate to be kept waiting, and will disappear in to thin air at 8am sharp.

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) Announces "Coal Cares™" Initiative, New Nationwide Campaign Against Stigma of Childhood Asthma

ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2011 / PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Peabody Energy today announced the creation of an innovative new public health initiative designed to combat the stigma of asthma among American children ages 0-18. With Coal Cares™ (www.coalcares.org), Peabody will offer free, custom-branded inhaler actuators to children living within 200 miles of a coal plant, along with coupons worth $10 towards the purchase of the asthma medication itself.

"Too many young Americans face daily schoolyard taunting and bullying because of a condition over which they have no control," said Gregory H. Boyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Peabody Energy. "By re-branding the inhaler as a cool, individualized, must-have accessory, Coal Cares™ will empower children to tell bullies: ‘suck it up.’" Children can choose from a variety of youth-themed inhaler cases, from tween faves like "the Bieber" and "My Little Pony," to the "Emo" and "Diamond" inhalers for older, style-conscious youth. There’s even "My First Inhaler," for tots.

Coal Cares™ launches today in commemoration of Asthma Awareness Month, the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to call attention to rising asthma rates, especially among children. Coal Cares™ and its Puff-Puff™ line of inhalers is the first, and most ambitious, market-friendly public health initiative of this scope of any privately-owned American company, and testifies to the energy industry’s commitment to the well-being of all citizens, including the youngest.

"Our actions are guided by a singular mission: to be a leading worldwide producer and supplier of balanced energy solutions, which power economic prosperity and well-being," said Boyce. "Coal Cares™ brings this mission to life, empowering children everywhere to take control of their destinies, beginning with their own lungs."

"Coal Cares™ is emblematic of the return to self-reliance that healthy entrepreneurship demands," said James Miasmus, Vice President of Government Affairs at Peabody USA. "Costly ‘scrubbing’ technology, on the other hand, is an untested and heavy-handed intrusion into our still-vulnerable economy. At Peabody, we're thinking globally but acting locally, and locating preventive action at the point of consumption, where it belongs."

"Coal Cares™ isn’t just the name of a campaign," said Kevin Briesslau, Vice President of Communications at Peabody Coal. "It’s a philosophy, a way of doing business in harmony with the community we are a part of. After all, coal is the fastest-growing fuel in the world. We're part of America’s heritage, and we’re here to stay."

To learn more about Peabody's Coal Cares™ initiative, visit: www.coalcares.org.

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in clean coal solutions. With 2010 sales of 246 million tons and nearly $7 billion in revenues, Peabody fuels 10 percent of U.S. power and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

CONTACT:
Vic Ganey
Phone (314) 472-5539

SOURCE Peabody Energy

The YM have a bunch of things going on with their Yes Lab, including a lecture this week that ends with a trip to Occupy Wall Street:

http://www.yeslab.org/cat

http://www.yeslab.org/threestrikes-pr

http://www.yeslab.org/tpp

The activists disrupted the gala to protest the hijacking of trade negotiations by an extreme pro-corporate agenda. "The public and the media are locked out of these meetings," said Kristi Lara from Occupy Dallas, one of the infiltrators. "We can't let U.S. trade officials get away with secretly limiting Internet freedoms, restricting financial regulation, extending medicine patents, and giving corporations other a whole host of other powers allowing them to quash the rights of people and democracies, for example by offshoring jobs in ever new ways. Trade officials know the public won't stand for this, which is why they try to keep their work secret—and that's why we had to crash their party."

There is mounting criticism of the U.S. role in pushing the negotiations forward in secrecy, despite the public's overwhelming disagreement with TPP goals. ("Buy American" procurement preferences are supported by over 85% of Americans, but U.S. trade negotiators are preparing to accept a ban on such preferences. Two weeks ago, 69 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama asking him not to accept that ban.)

Many are calling the Obama administration duplicitous: while the administration publicly hypes a plan to revitalize American manufacturing and create jobs in the U.S., U.S. trade officials push for new "investor rights" that would make it easier for American companies to lay off domestic workers and open plants overseas.

new film opens in NY, and on VOD in 2 weeks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsbrBnLgllM&feature=youtu.be

not that surprising to see Adam McKay get involved given the end-credits white collar crime stat reel in The Other Guys

Now running in NYC... apparently we learn their real names in this one! Also, the YMILF is queer.

https://grist.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/the-yes-men-bolivia-screengrab.jpg

this one's pretty good, re OWS and Sandy... for the lolz, bubblesuits bouncing down the Capitol steps, and the DHS/BIA dance finale.

I enjoyed it, though I can't say that the attempt to have a hopeful message at the end was terribly effective. Didn't help that the next day Shell's Arctic explorer left the port of Seattle at 4AM while activists in kayaks were arrested.

well, people prefer not to pay $14 to hear it's hopeless.

Excellent clip of SECRETARY CLINTON lauding drilling opportunities in the Arctic.