Pinko Magazine Hedonism + Activism

Have been a little under the weather and not able to blog much from this conference. I will have more tonight. Briefly, though … my favorite speaker and topic from the Green Festival program: 

5:15PM Caroline Casey
Scheherazade and the Green Man in Cahoots: The Arabian Nights of Nature-based Cultural Change. Caroline Casey is a Visionary Activist Astrologer, devoted to the principle that Imagination lays the tracks for the Reality Train to follow.

Any ideas what that could possibly mean, please light up the comments! Also yesterday at the festival I saw a gaggle of lefties dancing awkwardly to bad reggae, which I found oddly comforting.

French animal rights activists, apparently mistaking Lindsay Lohan and her fur stole for a pad of butter, attempted to make a roux by pelting her with flour as she tried to enter the VIP Room Theater in Paris.

Why flour? How else would you make a roux?

Alternately they may have been trying to keep her from sticking to a countertop.

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PINKO DAILY BRIEFS. So the guitarist Slash and his wife support gay marriage. How, then, could No on Prop 8 fail! We have been getting some interesting comments and reactions to this. It’s crazy “on the ground” here in California too, where the Chronicle yesterday ran a map of the zip codes in San Francisco that were for and against gay marriage. Basically it broke down to something overly simplistic: non-white people are religious. Religious people hate gays. Gays can’t get married. There is a lot more going on here than that; we’ll be blogging on the topic this weekend.

I’m headed in for day two of the Green Festival today, and if I can find the time I’m planning a special “gay marry it … or abort it” with products that are either doomed or genius. There is a lot of doomed schwag at the conference (omg I saw the wildest organic underwear!) but also some real innovation. Also today, Barack Obama is unveiling his first Youtube “Fireside Chat.” It’s wonky! It’s a little boring! We love it.

Lastly, sorry for fewer links than usual. The wireless in my hotel is like, not even wireless I think. There is a bellhop with a tin can and a string in my closet. I’ll add more later. The internet, after all, is a series of tubes. Oh! Ted Stevens is now down well over 1000 votes …

Shepard Fairey created his “Hope” poster by taking the same treatment he’s given Andre the Giant for the last several years and applying it to Barack Obama. By doing so, Fairley may have brought street art all the way to… the the National Portrait Gallery!

Wait, what?

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HuffPo is reporting that the Mayors of Phoenix, Philadelphia and Atlanta are requesting bailout money. I’m not opposed to this. Did we ever talk about urban policy or cities once in the campaign? A single debate? These cities are closing vital services left and right, which has dire consequences. Throw them some cash!

There were two intricate media pranks in the press this week. First: after months of preparation, 1.2 million copies of a fake New York Times featuring progressive wet dream headlines were distributed around the country in an elaborate scheme that reportedly involved thousands of volunteers. The prank was pulled off by the international imposture activist troupe The Yes Men.

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PINKO DAILY BRIEFS. Sorry for the sporadic blogging! I’m in San Francisco at a conference (do any of you drink mate? We need to have a talk about this shit. Also how do you put accents on mate on a mac? Guh. I know how to make an umlaut. Sëe?) So are you following what’s happening with the bailout? It’s completely fucked.  (more…)

The author of “The Green Collar Economy” (not to mention Ben’s old boss) lays out what his platform would be if he were president.

via Good:

In all seriousness, now that Al Gore has ruled out being Obama’s “Climate Czar”, is there any way we can score Van the job?

Jenn, you know Obama right? Can you put a word in?