Yo,

I'm involved in a lot o' local, regional, and national activism here in the States, and have been for the last handful o' years. I'm part of a group that's organizing a Reclaim the Streets Party/People's Festival here in Kansas City (on November 16th). Reclaim the Streets Parties and People's Festivals are essentially protests, but ones that utilize tactics of civil disobedience. We're hopefully gonna have a few hundred (or more) people out, and the idea is to shut down a few blocks of street in a popular part o' town and have a spontaneous, celebratory festival. We'll have a couple gas generators, a couple P/A systems, and a couple stages. We'll have a couple bands play, people playin' drums, people cookin' food, and all sorts o' fun. If you're interested in more information on the Reclaim the Streets phenomena, check out:
http://rts.gn.apc.org/
http://reclaimthestreetsnyc.tao.ca/
http://www.reclaimthestreets.net/

Anyways, at KC Reclaim the Streets 2002, I'm gonna be performing magic shows. As such, I've been workin' out various ideas and routines that will fit the issues we wish to bring into the limelight.

I had a really good idea for a Torn and Restored Newspaper presentation that I thought some o' you more peace-lovin' folks might enjoy hearin' about. The routine is a kind of commentary of how we seem to be perpetually on the verge of war; perpetual war for perpetual peace.

I'm gonna start out talkin' about how I've been readin' the newspaper a lot lately, tryin' to keep up on everything going on in this crazy world, etc., etc. And how it seems I just get frustrated with all the ignorance and hatred spewed by the national, corporate media. I start talkin' with my right side to the audience, the back page o' the paper facing them. As I'm talkin' my talk, I'm flipping through the pages, back to front, while turning slowly to face them.

As I finish up talkin' and turning, I'm facing them and they can now see the front page of the newspaper. It reads in huge letters: "WORLD WAR III".

I start talkin' about how one can only sit on their arse reading this horrible drivel for so long. And the time came when I'd had enough. I tore up the paper, got off my arse, and went out into the world set on making a difference.

I talk a bit about how it was a lot o' work, and quite a struggle... But I believed I was fighting the good fight. The harder I worked, and as more people started gettin' out and doin' the same, the pieces of this disheveled world started to fall back into the place, and the world started to make a lot more sense. As I'm talkin' this talk, I'm doin' the tear and restore process.

Then I talk about how much better it is now, how much more proud I am of the world I live in, etc. As I'm sayin' this, the paper is now restored, and I'm flippin' through the pages again. As I turn so they can see the front page, it now reads in huge letters: "WORLD PEACE".

Very nice routine! I like it.

Sounds pretty spontaneous to me

I do like your routine. Who says we can't use magic to get a message across?