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Abel Raises Cain
Filler Inc.
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So there's this guy, Alan Abel, who is probably one of the most interesting people I've ever heard of. He has spent his life creating hoaxes and drawing media attention to them.
He started with a campaign to fight the indecency of nude animals;
Over the years he's concocted stories and events to draw the attention of the media, to fool them into humility.
His work could be viewed as irresponsible, childish or even malicious, but you'd be slighting the service he's provided to us over the years. He is a sort of balance for the run amoc media, who often find themselves more interested in the dazzle and shine of outlandish, too good to be true stories. So blinded by the sparkle that they would run them with little fact checking.
He's a performance artist of sorts, his canvas is the American media, his paint is the controversy and scandal we surround ourselves with and his brush is the gullibility of newscasters and pundits looking to make a name for themselves.
His feats of extraordinary splendor have amazing and entertained us for years, but have done for us a far greater service then spread a sly smile across our faces; they've acted as an advocate for integrity when it comes to reporting.
Still, now you may believe it to be impossible for a man of such notoriety to perpetrate any of his outlandish stories. That now we have possibly reached a point where it would be harder to fool the media then ever, but you'd be wrong.
Alan Abel is many things to many people, to some his is the face of the crow; a trickster with a devilish smile. To others, he is a defender of the people, an advocate for media responsibility. To me, he's one of the most interesting people I've ever heard of.
If you're interested in learning more about him, there's a great documentary on Hulu about him. You won't regret spending the hour and twenty-two minutes it takes to watch it all, I swear.
Cain Raises Abel
Warning: There is nudity in the movie
He started with a campaign to fight the indecency of nude animals;
Beginning May 27, 1959 with a story on the Today Show, the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA), was Abel's most elaborate hoax. SINA's mission was to clothe naked animals throughout the world. They are best known today for their tagline: "A nude horse is a rude horse". As spokesman for the group, Buck Henry appeared on television and radio several times, including the CBS Evening News on August 21, 1962. The hoax began as a satire of media censorship but took on a life of its own with sympathizers offering unsolicited contributions (always returned), citizen summonses for walking naked dogs, and sewing patterns for pet clothes.
Over the years he's concocted stories and events to draw the attention of the media, to fool them into humility.
Following the Watergate scandal, Abel hired an actor to pose as Deep Throat for a press conference in New York City before 150 reporters. Literary agent Scott Meredith offered $100,000 to buy the rights to his story. At the news conference the Deep Throat impostor quarreled with his purported wife, then fainted and was whisked away in a waiting ambulance.
His work could be viewed as irresponsible, childish or even malicious, but you'd be slighting the service he's provided to us over the years. He is a sort of balance for the run amoc media, who often find themselves more interested in the dazzle and shine of outlandish, too good to be true stories. So blinded by the sparkle that they would run them with little fact checking.
In 1979 Abel staged his own death from a heart attack near the Sundance Ski Lodge. A fake funeral director collected his belongings and a woman posing as his widow notified the New York Times. The Times published an obituary January 2, 1980[1] (a rare example of a premature obituary). On January 3, 1980, Abel held a news conference to announce that the "reports of my demise have been grossly exaggerated".
He's a performance artist of sorts, his canvas is the American media, his paint is the controversy and scandal we surround ourselves with and his brush is the gullibility of newscasters and pundits looking to make a name for themselves.
Omar's School for Beggars was a fictional school for professional panhandlers. As Omar, Abel was invited to numerous television talk shows including the Tomorrow Show hosted by Tom Snyder, as well as Morton Downey, Jr., Sally Jessy Raphael, Mike Douglas and Sonya Friedman, who was especially upset because Omar ate his lunch on camera. The hoax was a satirical commentary on the rise of unemployment and homelessness in America. Omar's TV appearances spanned the period from 1975 to 1988, even though he had been exposed several times.
His feats of extraordinary splendor have amazing and entertained us for years, but have done for us a far greater service then spread a sly smile across our faces; they've acted as an advocate for integrity when it comes to reporting.
Abel was behind one of the most talked-about incidents in The Phil Donahue Show's history - on January 21, 1985, soon after the show's well-publicized move of its operations from Chicago to WNBC New York.
On that day's program, seven members of the audience appeared to faint during the broadcast, which was seen live in New York. Donahue feared the fainting was caused by both anxiety at being on television and an overheated studio on a morning that was cold and snowy outside. He eventually cleared the studio of audience members and then resumed the show.
It turned out the fainting "spell" was cooked up by Abel in what he said was a protest against poor-quality television.
Still, now you may believe it to be impossible for a man of such notoriety to perpetrate any of his outlandish stories. That now we have possibly reached a point where it would be harder to fool the media then ever, but you'd be wrong.
At the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Abel introduced a campaign to ban all breastfeeding because "it is an incestuous relationship between mother and baby that manifests an oral addiction leading youngsters to smoke, drink and even becoming a homosexual." After two hundred interviews over two years, Abel confessed the hoax in U.S. News & World Report.
Alan Abel is many things to many people, to some his is the face of the crow; a trickster with a devilish smile. To others, he is a defender of the people, an advocate for media responsibility. To me, he's one of the most interesting people I've ever heard of.
If you're interested in learning more about him, there's a great documentary on Hulu about him. You won't regret spending the hour and twenty-two minutes it takes to watch it all, I swear.
Cain Raises Abel
Warning: There is nudity in the movie
Filler Inc. on
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It really is, the guy has done some amazing things in his life.
Yeah, I wasn't sure what the right phrase was
Thanks dru!
thank you for bringing him to my attention
its cool, not one you see used frequently
you also use the phrase "man of his notary" up there
might wanna fix it, if you care
its notoriety
Shit, thanks!
I should have reread it better than I did.
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Yes, but you wouldn't have been able to read my spelling mistakes and half assed explanation of his life.
you could have also not replied like a smarmy prick, but that didn't stop you, did it
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Hahahaha yes
Rane you are a treasure.
well isn't that just bloody fucking brilliant
I put a link to the google video version which hopefully will work for you and other nonUS residents.
edit: no i didn't. shit.
this is wonderful
how had i not heard of this guy before
He's like Sacha Baron Cohen with a touch of class.
Cohen's a cheap clown compared to this dude.
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
Suppose his acts could be seen as malicious, but a protest aganist Naked Animals?
If you're gonna put money towards something like THAT, you shouldn't get that money back.
"No. No, go away! This is our money now. You don't get this money back. Tell you what, we are going to use your money to give a duck some underpants and its all thanks to you!"
And they're right.
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