SPREAD THE NEWS: January freeze

Since our inception, our members have been badgering us to do a freeze like Improv Everywhere's Frozen Grand Central Station. Well, let this post go to show you that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We are doing a freeze at a central Austin location on Saturday, January 31st, 2009. This will be our first major mission in the new year.

We are announcing this so far in advance so that you are able to save the date, clear your schedule, spread the word, and invite absolutely everyone you know. We'd like to see close to 100 agents come out. We know this is possible because we once gathered 100 people together for a pillow fight and 881 people together to dance to Thriller.

There will be a REQUIRED briefing session at 11:00 a.m. on the morning of the mission. Bundle up because we'll be meeting at Republic Square Park (5th & San Antonio). This meeting is required in order to announce the location, sync watches, and to troubleshoot. We will then walk and/ or carpool to our freeze location from there.

At 12:30 p.m., there will be a wrap up meeting at the same spot to record agents' reactions, talk about how it went, etc. This wrap-up meeting is encouraged, but NOT required.

RSVP via Facebook and join our Urban Prankster forum.

HUGE SUCCESS: Santa Protest

Tonight we did our Santa protest. While we were a little disappointed with the Flash Mob Austin turn out, as it turns out we had the perfect amout of Flash Mobbers (between 10- 15). Any more than that and we would have stolen the show from the 300ish Santas that showed up.

A full report will come in the next few days, but in the meantime, here are some highlights:
Agent Adams:
At the first bar, there were only seven of us, but the minute we walked in to the bar, the photographers were all over us. Right before leaving, I overheard someone say, "Look, there's two of the kid protesters. I think there's like 20 of 'em here." Way to make an impact, kiddos!

Agent Ton0Fun:
overheard a group of Santas say "That's so cool they showed up. Kid protesters? Man! Who thinks of that? They just brought this whole thing to the next level!"

We didn't take a lot of photos, but the ones Agent Adams took are up on our Flickr.

December Mission: Santa Sit-In!

This month promises more than Christmas itself, but a rousing yuletide mission: Santa Sit-In. What is a Sit-In, you ask? Oh I'm so glad you did! Sit-In: any organized protest in which a group of people peacefully occupy and refuse to leave a premises. Please note the peaceful bit in that sentence, we're not there as an angry, shouting mob that gets out of control fast, we just want our voices to be heard and our rights as children upheld! This Saturday, December 13th is Santa Rampage downtown. It has been hailed by many as a time of "cheer and debauchery" and is regarded by some as a version of a Flash Mob in and of itself. What better gathering to Flash Mob?

Our plan is simple: we are kids, disillusioned with the Santa we thought we knew and are protesting his lack of satisfactory delivery. Perhaps you are protesting for
- "Equality for Naughty" (why should only the nice kids get presents?)
- "Honest Kids Against Santa!" (Santa doesn't exist!) or maybe
- "All I got for Christmas was junk!" (Santa didn't give you what you wanted, so you're bringing your list to him until he gets it right!).
All you have to do is...
. Dress like a kid
. Prepare a chant
. Make a Christmas list
. Bring picket signs with your protest written out
. Be prepared to stay in character for hours!

We will meet at Buffalo Billiards on 6th Street at 8:30pm, December 13th. Bring a friend (or 5!). This mission is open to all ages, but be prepared to stay outside (in the picket lines) if you're under 21. We will stay with the Santas until late into the night and have a ho ho ho jolly good time of it! SPREAD THE WORD LIKE BAD FRUITCAKE!!

IKEA Live-In wrap up/ Planning Meeting!

Hey friends and Flash Mobbers! If you were there for the IKEA Live-In 11/22 you know it was a blast and a success on multiple levels. Gosh, if only I could have been a shopper at IKEA that day...what a wonderful, curious surprise it must be to participate unknowingly in a Flash Mob. If you haven't read the wrap up report yet, you really should.

On another, yet equally exciting note this Saturday is our monthly Planning Meeting at Shipe Park! YES. So, if you are a regular like Metamucil or a newbie like $1.59/gal gas, make your way there at 2:30pm SHARP and we can all make plans to keep the creative juices flowing in Austin together. Wooot!