Category Archives: humor

‘Australia’ (Happy Boxing Day)

Posted on December 26, 2011 by oddmanout215

We’ll surf like they do in the USA We’ll fly down to Sydney for a holiday On sunny Christmas Day… I’m standing in line yesterday at a drugstore, one of those chain stores that turn wall-to-wall red a month before … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, Obama, Philadelphia, Politics, pop music, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘There ain’t no Sanity Clause!’

Posted on December 26, 2011 by oddmanout215

Chico tells Groucho he won’t be fooled in A Night at the Opera:

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Happy Third Day After the Solstice

Posted on December 25, 2011 by oddmanout215

Bernini’s St. Theresa in Ecstasy is in the Cornaro Chapel (Santa Maria Vittoria). Which means nothing to me, but the act of writing down the address for future reference seems constructive, especially with all the thinking I’m doing about Rome, … Continue reading →

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Rejoice, fellow pagans

Posted on December 22, 2011 by oddmanout215

The winter solstice is here, marking for me the crossroads of dread and hope. Dread because it’s the shortest day of the year, when you can’t walk down the street without being reminded of consumerism’s holy of holies, Christmas Day. … Continue reading →

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The personal liberties lie

Posted on December 19, 2011 by oddmanout215

Columnist George Will is rarely at a loss for words, but he could only respond with cliches yesterday when Barney Frank asked him to square his alleged libertarian leanings with his authoritarian views on personal liberties. Another guest on the … Continue reading →

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A Christmas blessing

Posted on December 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

So I’m biking to pick up medicine in South Philly a few nights ago, and I find myself behind a slow-moving flatbed truck, tall and wide and crammed with Christmas trees, and spewing vile fumes. And there are cars parked … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, livable cities, movies, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Onion exclusive: Tom Joad goes to Mars

Posted on December 14, 2011 by oddmanout215

I sometimes kid the Onion for taking a lame approach to political satire — for shooting at battleships with a BB gun. However, its social satire is often right on the money: RUMSON, NJ—After more than a year of writing … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, pop music | Tagged | 1 Comment

Coddled senator: No minimum wage hike

Posted on December 14, 2011 by oddmanout215

“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime,” is the Anglicized version of a Balzac aphorism. I would add that behind most Republicans in Congress is a great unearned fortune and a defective sense of irony. Here’s an example from … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Newt to Mitt: It takes one to know one

Posted on December 12, 2011 by oddmanout215

Does it take a thief to know a thief? If so, it’s no accident that the two most ruthlessly dishonest people vying for the Republican presidential nomination are accusing each other of corruption: 2012 GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has … Continue reading →

Posted in campaign finance reform, humor, liar, mainstream media, Mitt Romney, Politics, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘The Piano Has Been Drinking,’ not me

Posted on December 12, 2011 by oddmanout215

Tom Waits performs, then jokes with Martin Mull and Fred Willard on Fernwood Tonight. The mock-talk show ran for a few months in 1977, and was re-formatted and telecast as America 2-Night for a few months in 1978. I had … Continue reading →

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