| Cacophony Society |
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Information AboutCacophony Society |
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The Anarchic nature of the Society means that membership is left open-ended and anyone may sponsor an event, though not every idea pitched garners attendance by members. Cacophony events often involve costumes and pranks in public places and sometimes going into places that are generally off limits to the public. Cacophonists have been known to dress as Santa Claus and drink all weekend ( SantaCon ), or dress in animal suits and go bowling. Usually the events and participation criteria are such that it is easy to identify others who are participating, but perhaps difficult to identify them later in ordinary circumstances. The San Francisco Branch of the Cacophony Society was involved early on in the annual , the Zone Trip , the Chinese New Year ’s Treasure Hunt, the picnic on the Golden Gate Bridge , Pet Cemetary Bingo , The Crucifixion Of The Easter Bunny , the Brides Of March , Urban Iditarod , and the Sewer Tour . After a lull in activity in the late 1990s and the cease of publication of the San Franciso branch of the society’s newsletter '' Rough Draft '', a group of subscribers to the practically defunct society’s email discussion list became active under the Cacophony Society aegis following a mock Pigeon Roast in San Francisco’s Union Square in 2000 proposed by Drunken Consumptive Panda . This latter group is occasionally referred to by its members as Cacophony 2.0 and emphasize their chaotic, ebullient spirit with the motto “If you don’t live it, it won’t come out your {Link without Title} horn.” The Society’s newsletter was briefly revived under the name 2econd Draft . Cacophony could be described as an indirect outgrowth of the Dada movement. The Society has links to the Church Of The Subgenius and the annual Saint Stupid’s Day Parade held on April 1 in San Francisco , sponsored by Bishop Joey (AKA Ed Holmes ) and the now-defunct version of Whore Church that was sponsored by Chicken John . The Los Angeles branch of the society listed events in their monthly newsletter; "Tales from the Zone". After several years of mailing out monthly newsletters, they swiched to an on-line newsletter format. The events produced by the Los Angeles branch often pushed the boundaries of pranksterism with several historic events, including "Cement Cuddlers", an event where they filled a dozen teddy bears with cement and put them on toy store shelves, complete with bar-coded labels. The Los Angeles group splintered in late 2000 when longtime leader Reverend Al allegedly joined an Orthodox Christian community out of guilt over the deaths of two young Cacophonists who reportedly died in a drunken post-event car accident. (Though some believe this sequence of events to be yet another hoax perpetrated by the leader of this controversial lodge.) In 2005 Reverend Al resurfaced as Dr. A.P. Ridenour, leader of a safety consciousness organization, The Art Of Bleeding along with several members of the Orthodox faction of Los Angeles Cacophony. Flash Mob activities share some ideas with cacophonist theory, as well as groups like Improv Everywhere and movements like Discordianism . EXTERNAL LINKS
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