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Humor Writing

Citizens Untied: Parody in the Age of Corporate Media

by | January 15th, 2013

For 20 years now I’ve been locked in a test of wills with corporate publishing, trying to produce books that are just as funny as TV and movies. That should be possible, right? One would think. Sometimes I win (international bestseller), sometimes they do (they commission books, then don’t pay me). I tell myself it’s David versus Goliath…but it’s probably just Joe Versus the Volcano.

Comedy being 90% confidence, there’s often a rough equivalence between a media’s swag, and the quality of comedy found in it. But weakness and decay can yield fruit as well — Garrison Keillor on the radio, for example, or The Onion rising from the ashes of [...]

Humor Writing

Don't Trip on Your Way to Reading This

by | March 13th, 2012

"Your foolishness – the foolishness that lead you to trip, on the sidewalk no less – is mythical. In the future, unexaggerated tales of your blunders will be thought the fabrications of a long forgotten and superstitious age." – A Person with Severe Social Anxiety Imagines What Will Happen If Seen Tripping on a Sidewalk, by our own Rebecca O'Neal. We would've quoted more of this article, but we fell down.

Humor Writing

Megan Amram Reviews 'America'

by | July 6th, 2012

In honor of its 236 seasons on air, Megan Amram reviewed the hit series America. As she writes: "It may not have the staying power of perennial favorites such as China or the credibility of indie darlings such as Finland, but America has proven that it can at least make some cultural impact. It’s not the best, but hey, they can’t all be Louie." She's right, they can't. Read the full review here.

Humor Writing

Presidential Metaphors For a Presidential Day

by | February 20th, 2012

“It’s like cartwheeling naked through a cactus field." – Grover Cleveland, "What It's Like Being President, Metaphorically Speaking" on McSweeney's. This President's Day, find out how your favorite Prez would describe his job, using metaphors.

Humor Writing

Wine List, by Gillian Weeks

by | March 19th, 2012

ROBERT-DENOGENT, Macon-Solutre, Chardonnay, '08 - 12/51.00 Approachable, fruit-forward, an instant favorite. Notes of peach and honeysuckle suggest easy drinking but ultimately blindside you with a vicious shot to the ego. Available by the glass.

DOMAINE ROLLIN, Cote d'or, Pinot Noir, '07 - 13/58.00 A very popular bottle that apparently every guy in flannel and a beard has already enjoyed. Though it expresses some beguiling tannins, you’ll like it less when you find out it’s served all over Park Slope and a lot of Astoria. Available by the hour, I mean, glass.

DOMAINE LE BRISEAU "PATAPON," Coteaux de Loir, Pineau D'aunis - 60.00 Complex and contradictory flavors. Dry and fruity. Sweet and acidic all at once. This [...]

Humor Writing

Rob Kutner's New Humor Kindle Single Is Impuse-Buy-Worthy at $1

by | July 20th, 2011

Conan writer Rob Kutner has just released a new Kindle single called The Future According To Me, a short book comprised of "35 tiny-to-moderate-length comic scenarios of what our future might look like — touching on everything from nanotechnology to swappable genitals to existentially self-aware Smart Toilets and the upcoming Chocolate Famine." It's only 99 cents! Perfect for sticking on your Kindle or smartphone via the Kindle app and reading when you've got a moment to spare. So go get it already.

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