From the category archives:

Internet

Opera Virtuoso Hasn’t Yet Recovered from Schroom Trip

by Paddy Johnson on November 3, 2017
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The only thing online opera star (and AFC benefit host) Joseph Keckler needs to complete his persona is a massive following of rabid internet followers he can manipulate for his own evil ends. Today, he came one step closer to achieving AFC’s goal for the performer by releasing a sequel to “Shroom Aria” called “Strangers from the Internet“. In it, he regals his earlier reckless behavior on schrooms, where he invited online strangers into his home but no one came. Several years later, still reeling from the trip, he imagines a scenario in which these same strangers try to break into his house.


Keckler casts himself as an out-of-touch lord living in an opulent Victorian mansion who refuses to accept the presence of the rabble—youtube commenters, twitter trolls, etc—to his own great peril. Eventually, reality breaks down the doors. Performer Sheila Plummer (who bears a striking resemblance to Louise Fletcher), and a rag tag group of internet misfits find their way into the mansion and threaten attack.
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Trump Family’s Bizarre Goth Visit to Vatican Sparks Meme Wave

by Michael Anthony Farley on May 25, 2017
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Donald, Melania, and Ivanka Trump paid an extremely awkward visit to the Pope this week, and the only ones who seemed to enjoy themselves were everyone on the internet. This is the latest in a string of GIF-able, meme-able moments from a Mediterranean-spanning trip plagued by bad optics.

Of particular note were the bizarre goth ensembles donned by Ivana and Melania, adding to the somber vibe. Apparently it’s some Catholic custom (that seems out of the Dark Ages) for women to cover up when meeting the Pope. The Trump ladies took this as an opportunity to dress like Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice. We wish we had these outfits for our Goth Opera party!

One irony in this, of course, is that the conservative internet went wild praising Melania for not wearing a headscarf when visiting Saudi Arabia. The biggest irony? Trump criticized Michelle Obama when she decided to forgo a headscarf when visiting Saudi Arabia as First Lady.

The hypocrisy never ends, but at least the human trainwreck that is the First Family provides us all with plenty of LOLs to distract from the fact that they’re destroying civilization as we know it.

Below, some of my favorite memes from the Vatican trip—drawing comparisons to everything from the camp classic Death Becomes Her to Hot Topic employees.

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In Celebration of International Women’s Day: A Series of Men’s Tweets

by Molly Rhinestones on March 8, 2017
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Today is International Women’s Day and men all over the world are coming together to celebrate by whining over Twitter about the supposed lack of International Men’s Day. The holiday couldn’t have come soon enough, with white men reeling after Black History Month ended– they could no longer bemoan the question “When is White History Month?”

Not on Twitter? Don’t worry. I am your messenger. I scoured the underbelly of “Men’s Rights” twitter to find the best tweets by “activists” wailing about International Men’s Day and the “War on Bros.”

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The Best of the Web, 2015

by The AFC Staff on December 23, 2015
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Millions of years from now, aliens and artificial intelligence will be confounded by the follies, foibles and idiosyncrasies of the human race. Henceforth, the 2015.

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Sanitizing the Web: Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update

by Corinna Kirsch on April 22, 2015
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Crappy websites, art websites, old websites—Google is pushing you out. This is gentrification on the web.

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Speculate, Replicate, Eradicate: The 3D Additivist Manifesto

by Corinna Kirsch on March 20, 2015
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Artistic speculations on matter and its digital destiny.

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Hipster Runoff Goes to Auction

by Corinna Kirsch on January 21, 2015
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The once wildly famous blog Hipster Runoff is FOR SALE.

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Jayson Musson’s New Web Series: No Art, Just Hip-Hop and Comedy

by Corinna Kirsch on January 20, 2015

What up, Internet?

Jayson Musson is back on YouTube, but not with his well-known “Art Thoughtz” web-series featuring Hennessy Youngman. Instead, we get “The Adventures of Jamel: The Time Traveling B-Boy,” created and written by the artist and directed and edited by Scott Ross. It’s flashy, and has more in common with Chappelle’s Show than Hennessy’s old show. Straight up, it’s a hip-hop comedy with sci-fi and social commentary thrown in the mix. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a pilot in the works for any premium cable channel.

Without giving away any spoilers, in the first episode, we’re introduced to:

  • An Iraqi baby skull filled with Merlot
  • The Illuminati
  • A time-traveling janitor
  • Mention of anal sex with goats
  • Breaking the bonds of slavery with the power of hip-hop

Are we playing Cards Against Humanity? No. This is just Jayson Musson’s new web-world, a world without art. So very populist of you, Musson.

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Holding “ART WHORE” Up to Its Peers

by Whitney Kimball on November 12, 2014
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Thanks to submissions from twitter, Facebook, and our comment thread, here are nine outsourced artworks to contextualize Ryder Ripps’s “ART WHORE”.

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