tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94280762011-04-21T13:59:08.568-07:00Politics, Culture, and Other Soon-To-Be-Illegal Things.Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1119983029570050432005-06-28T11:22:00.000-07:002005-06-28T11:23:49.576-07:00

What difference has music made on politics recently? MFA user purplesea001 (not to be confused with Purple Ocean), raised this question a few days ago in the MFA forums. The question is a nonstarter in some sense - the answer obvious. Music has made a great deal of difference in the past year alone. Everyone has seen the stats on how voting rates increased among our generation. Everyone saw

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1115822614391350512005-05-11T07:41:00.000-07:002005-06-28T11:26:22.430-07:00

2004 was a record year for youth turnout. Everyone has seen the stats – despite efforts by the SCLM to deflate the amazing achievements in youth outreach ((by omissionand outright bad reporting) – but with all the misreporting done by the MSM, it bears repeating. Turnout was up to 51% (from 34%) nationwide, and turnout in swing states reached as high as 64%. It turned out that the Kids

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1112211503725462812005-03-30T11:37:00.000-08:002005-03-30T11:38:23.726-08:00

Bill Bradley lays it all out in a nice, consice piece in the NYT. Read it.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1110386452275950082005-03-09T08:39:00.000-08:002005-03-09T08:40:52.276-08:00

The site is going to be experiencing weirdness over the next couple of days (not that anyone really reads it, anyway. At least not at the rate I've been posting lately).I'm trying to figure out some HTML and get familiar with customizing the sidebar. So expect freak outs.If you happen to know a thing or two about HTML and can help me figure shit out, that'd be much appreciated.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1107897567091120292005-02-08T13:16:00.000-08:002005-02-08T14:43:43.983-08:00

Job recommendations would be nice - something involving politics, culture and/or writing. But I'm really looking for book recommendations. After my previous post, it occurred to me that some of y'all might have some good book recommendations. Right now I'm reading/have just finished these: What it Takes Public Opinion The Tipping Point The Emerging Democratic Majority Bowling Alone The

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1107894556690015902005-02-08T13:05:00.000-08:002005-02-08T13:21:20.803-08:00

From the bowels of the Hearst corporation, I recieve my second piece of hatemail ever. Read it here (I guess its not really hatemail, but it gets pretty down on a piece I did some reporting on). (My first piece ever was in response to an op-ed I wrote for MfA) People Hate Prank Monkey Also on today's menu: voice mail left with the head researcher here at PM calling all of our sources

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1106239122509437392005-01-20T08:29:00.000-08:002005-01-20T08:38:42.510-08:00

I'm speaking at a conference on Saturday - And So Forth: A Post Inaugural Assembly. The panel I'm on is called Politicizing Culture: The New Revolution in Music. This is not usually my bag. I'm nervous as all hell. Come watch me speak eloquently or make an ass out of mysely: Saturday, Jan 22nd, 3:40 pm at OfficeOps in Williamsburg, BKLYN. MfA will be there an apparently they need some

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1105476544742840332005-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:002005-02-08T12:46:19.650-08:00

Posting has been light since I've actually been off the dole and working a real job for the past three weeks. A friend of mine hooked me up with a freelance gig at a magazine, and the work schedule has been pretty intense. The downside of that is that I've posted next to nothing recently. The upside is that I got paid a shitload of money and I'm getting a byline on the March cover story. The

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1104272530704182902004-12-28T14:13:00.000-08:002004-12-28T14:24:13.290-08:00

Yeah, you heard me. I received my first unemployment check in the mail yesterday, and the government was kind enough to take back $56 of the $395 dollars they had previously determined that I was due based on my prior input of cash into the unemployment system and the dire straits of my financial situation. Does this strike anyone else as idiotic? Rube Goldbergesque? Wasteful . . . dare I

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1104271394611045052004-12-28T14:01:00.000-08:002004-12-28T14:06:11.263-08:00

Here's a stream of conscious writing on the two sections I left blank in the last posting. Again, be gentle. There has been no rewriting, editing or anything of this text. I basically spewed it out in a 15 minute sitting at my computer and haven't looked back yet. Massive rewriting and organizing and filling in the blank spots comes next. Inserting the Issues, Injecting Politics: Tying

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1103919322074341142004-12-24T13:12:00.000-08:002004-12-24T12:15:22.073-08:00

Via Boing Boing: Some Holiday laughs - an X-mas mashup of Pulp Fiction with those clay-mation puppet shows we used to watch back in the day. Pulp X-mas

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1103862669297879102004-12-23T20:28:00.000-08:002004-12-24T12:21:06.376-08:00

Meet the newest player in the Holiday/Religious freedom debate: Festivus. Anyone in Bartow Florida want to do their duty for Free Speech and claim this thing?

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1103668723792789592004-12-21T14:30:00.000-08:002004-12-21T14:38:43.793-08:00

This is a very, very rough draft of an essay I'm working on that I plan to post on some of the big community blogs in the next week. It deals with the current dust-up about the cultural (and political) irrelevance of the young/college dems. Leave your thoughts and let me know where you think I'm going astray or if I'm leaving things out. Be gentle - this is just a free-form piece at the moment

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1103315999285740222004-12-17T13:34:00.000-08:002004-12-17T12:39:59.286-08:00

There's a conversation going on over at MyDD.com about bloggifying the state parties. It's a great idea - the state parties could certainly use a ton of work, and getting involved in that area is an idea worth considering (though probably not my cup of tea in the long run). I'm trying to throw out the idea of getting the state parties wired up on Civic Space. I'm thinking maybe a CS site for

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1103219435224406982004-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:002004-12-16T09:50:35.223-08:00

I've been quiet for a week. Some things regarding my old job are really starting to sink in, and I've spent most of my time mulling that over, drinking with friends, and hunting for my next job. Oh yeah, I also filed my first unemployment claim, and should soon be getting $395 bones or clams, or whatever it is they're called these days in the mail. The Dostoevskian bureaucracy I'd imagined

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102610063560626212004-12-09T08:23:00.000-08:002004-12-09T08:43:59.113-08:00

The kids over at Downhill Battle have a new project (well, new to me, anyway) - Copyright Curriculum. The site is a response to the Recording and Moving Industry's (RIAA & MPAA) attempt to stop file sharing, remixing and other legitimate and new forms of culture by ramming an industry-biased copyright class down the throats of naive pre-frosh during freshman orientation. The site is a Wiki - a

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102524245264758092004-12-08T08:43:00.000-08:002004-12-08T08:45:11.333-08:00

E-Bay bows to the false God of bad copy-right law, while Apple falls deeper into the darkside.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102523490955923842004-12-08T08:18:00.000-08:002004-12-08T08:34:57.680-08:00

I'm sure you've all seen those wonderful ribbons on everyone's cars lately - Support Our Troops (and the nationalistic but only tangentially related God Bless America ribbons). Well, apparently Rummy, our civilian in chief over at the Pentagon, hasn't seen them yet, because during a surprisingly frank Q & A with the troops, he basically told the troops where they could stick their concerns

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102439504131512402004-12-07T09:04:00.000-08:002004-12-07T09:11:44.130-08:00

This is good. We need someone to finally get shit done in NY state and shake things up in what is probably the worst state legislature in the country. We need to drop the rock. We need billions more in our schools. Spitzer has a track record of getting shit done - he's taken on corrupt corporations, tabacco companies, and even the President over environmental issues. He'll be good for

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102438253391213492004-12-07T08:38:00.000-08:002004-12-07T08:51:38.146-08:00

I'm officially signed up for the dole. Now its a waiting game. Process, Process, Process. In three weeks I should get my first check - and then I'll be a certified welfare queen. I was actually really surprised at how easy it was to make my unemployment claim. Took about 15 minutes to do online. It's so nice, and so disapointing at the same time. I had grandiose visions of wading through a

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102383838675802442004-12-06T17:42:00.000-08:002004-12-06T17:44:18.180-08:00

For those looking for an easy way to see what's going on in the myriad sites that compose the Blogosphere, I've lately found The Daou Report to be an invaluable website.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102364607179386812004-12-06T13:22:00.000-08:002004-12-06T12:23:27.180-08:00

Outlandish Josh has some scary historical comparisons to my post about Fallujan Flair.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102353553947485682004-12-06T09:17:00.000-08:002004-12-06T09:35:16.020-08:00

Fox News and Clear Channelhave reached an agreement whereby Fox news will be the primary source of news on 100 CC news and talk stations.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102353250574706552004-12-06T09:10:00.000-08:002004-12-06T09:14:10.573-08:00

What day is it? Oh yeah, today is the day that I sign up for the Dole and begin my job hunt in earnest. My resume is revamped, and my suits are pressed. Most interesting prospects so far - I've applied for a job at The Nation (delivering unconventional wisdom since before Mark Twain was famous), and I may be starting up a new business with some of my old work colleagues. That's what is

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102352774390512792004-12-06T08:46:00.000-08:002004-12-06T09:08:32.693-08:00

The Pew Internet and American Life project just released a report that examines the music/file-sharing/peer-to-peer debate from the perspective of the artists. Here's what they found: •Only 3 percent of online artists said the internet has had a major negative effect on their ability to protect their creative works. • 52 percent of artists said it should be illegal for internet users to share

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102350864414015862004-12-06T08:17:00.000-08:002004-12-06T08:36:06.200-08:00

From today's Boston Globe via Steve Gilliard: Fallujahns now have something to celebrate - they're all getting their very own piece of US Government-issued Flair. Everybody loves flair, especially when it comes with mandaotry retinal scans and the latest in DNA fingerprinting. It's not just flair, its high-tech flair. Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102101245739708782004-12-03T10:19:00.000-08:002004-12-03T11:19:53.900-08:00

I've got my termination letter in front of me, and its pretty surreal. As of yesterday, I have been "involuntarily terminated due to a reduction in force/layoff." I'm unemployed (But not yet on the dole. I can't officially become a welfare queen until the 6th of December.): As you may know, (the "Organization") - yes, it actually says that, though I've left out the real name of the "

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102006401198272822004-12-02T08:51:00.000-08:002004-12-02T08:53:21.196-08:00

Dubya, the movie.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102004797912088662004-12-02T08:18:00.000-08:002004-12-02T08:26:46.226-08:00

If you're in college, getting ready to go to college, or just graduated, you should be reading the Village Voice's Generation Debt series. Here's the latest. You can find links to the rest of the series at the bottom of the article.

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9428076.post-1102003298745434402004-12-02T07:49:00.000-08:002004-12-06T10:37:41.493-08:00

Some of the reasons for starting this blog are ugly. Not because I'm a foul, horrible person. My spleen is just fine, thank you, and I'm not writing this in a basement, rather from the top floor of a Brooklyn Brownstone. Despite these facts, I'm still not ready to say that spite isn't one of many reasons for starting Prank Monkey. Maybe this will be just an exercise (or exorcism) of a month

Prank Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064767984394765065noreply@blogger.com2