How to get your art into MoMAJust put it up yourself, it turns out.

Dressed as a British pensioner, over the last few days Banksy entered each of the galleries and attached one of his own works, complete with authorative name plaque and explanation.

He says - "This historic occasion has less to do with finally being embraced by the fine art establishment and is more about the judicious use of a fake beard and some high strength glue." Banksy continues -"They're good enough to be in there, so I don't see why I should wait"

Staff at the New York Met discovered and removed their new aquisition early Sunday morning while Banksy's discount soup can print took pride of place in the MoMA for over three days before being torn down.

As of now, the other two pieces currently remain firmly in place...

Be sure to click through and check out the artworks too - they're pretty good (no wonder they're taking a while to come down), particularly the 'Withus Oraganistius' he's put up at the Museum of Natural History - it's a nasty looking bug with small jet fighter wings adorned with the Stars and Stripes and bombs. And Banksy's homepage.

[via kottke]
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Daily Show - NZ style?From Hard News...

Word emerging of a local take on the Daily Show (it had to happen), with Te Radar fronting.

Radar? A satirical news show? Anyone remember Newsflash? No, I thought not...

For the real deal, go here...

[via Three Point Turn]
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BlogsittingOne of my favourite UK bloggers - JonnyB - is headed off on holiday, and has got American comedienne Jill Twiss in to 'blogsit' for him while he's away. Jill has a few reservations about being handed the keys to the blog...

I'm a little fearful that I'll be the kind of irresponsible sitter who has a drunken party in the house while the parents are away.

A drunken party where someone will, assuredly, urinate off the balcony and vomit in the fish-bowl.

All very plausible, actually. Although, from previous experience, when Jimmy Supergood took a break from his blog, and allowed a few blogsitters to run free on the site, most people were very well behaved.

Anyway, if you haven't already discovered JonnyB's private secret diary, I highly recommend him, whether he's being blogsitted or not.
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Cheap non-DRM mp3s, from Russia with loveIf you're trying to find some cheap commercial mp3 files, and are happy to flick your credit card number to a Russian-based internet company, then AllOfMP3.com is for you!

Boingboing initially reported on the Russian company making a massive collection of mp3 files available online (including many non-iTunes available tracks), for the cost of about US$0.20 a pop (as opposed to iTunes standard price of US$0.99 a track), and without any digital-rights management palaver that might stymie any future enjoyment of the tracks you've downloaded. Basically, it's a download-and-it's-yours-to-do-with-what-you-will service. Sounds great! Except for the Russian bit, I suppose. Can't say I'll be sending them my credit card details in a hurry.

Anyway, this sort of shady digital entrepreneurialism was obviously going to catch the eye of various copyright bodies, and indeed, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (IFPI) urged Russian authorities to take action against AllofMP3.com. But, the BBC (relaying info from the Tass Agency) reports that...

Moscow prosecutors will not take legal action because Russian copyright laws do not cover digital media.

The IFPI said it would fight the ruling if the Tass report was correct.

In a posting on its website AllofMP3 said the service was legal and that it was licensed to sell the MP3 tracks by the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society.

But the IFPI said the site was "unlicensed to distribute our members' repertoire inside Russia and in all major markets".

According to Tass, prosecutors had decided not to pursue with legal action because Russian copyright laws only cover physical media such as CDs or DVDs and not digital files such as MP3s.

"We have received no confirmation of any decision and we do not expect it for some time," a spokeswoman for the IFPI said.

"However if it is true that the prosecutor has not taken the case this would be very disappointing considering the blatant and large-scale infringement that continues to take place.

"If these reports are confirmed we will take the case further."

All I can say is good luck to them! You've got to laugh: "Russian copyright laws do not cover digital media." Their copyright laws are even more outmoded than New Zealand's!
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Phil FuemanaIt was good to read Simon Grigg's testimonial to the recently departed Phil Fuemana. I had nagging doubts as to some of the claims being made about his musical career, but didn't have the resources to find out whether they were true or not. Simon, who is more closely involved in the scene up that way, sets things straight. As Simon points out...

Phil was a good man, and his legacy is going to be felt for generations. His legacy is probably best seen in the Dawn Raid setup and the success of Dei Hamo.

But the way the press, especially the NZ Herald & NZPA, kept on bringing up the Proud compilation (which featured two Phil associated tracks and was essentially the brainchild of Alan Jansson and Tim Mahon, although Phil toured the record for Alan) and OMC’s "How Bizarre" (which Phil had nothing to do with, and was the creation of brother Pauly and Alan Jansson) is disgraceful and, as Phil never claimed those records as his own, disrespectful to his memory.

It makes you wonder how much is factually correct in other Herald stories when every one you are privy to, is factually incorrect.

It does indeed.
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