Category Archives: humor

From dystopia to reality, via NYPD


At what point does the near-future depicted in a novel stop seeming dystopian and become more-or-less realistic? This is from Super Sad True Love Story, the bestseller by Gary Shteyngart, who read Wednesday at Rutgers-Camden: An armored personnel carrier bearing … Continue reading

Posted in arts, Camden, economic collapse, fiction, globalization, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Anarchy in Occupy Philly!


Daniel Denvir in The Naked City, regarding a rumor Philadelphia Daily News helped spread yesterday with its cover story (sub-head: “How the homeless hijacked Occupy Philly”): I received a call nearly two weeks ago touting the same conspiracy theory: anarchists … Continue reading

Posted in City Hall, City Paper, economic collapse, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The weasel David Brooks satirizes inequality


Never let it be said that NYT columnist David Brooks, the Earnest Weasel, doesn’t have a sense of humor, even though his attempts at social satire are about as amusing as a buyout by Mitt Romney’s private equity firm. Here’s … Continue reading

Posted in David Brooks, economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, liar, mainstream media, Mitt Romney, New York Times, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, weasel | 1 Comment

Thanks for the memory, Rick


I hope this tough-talking, carefully coiffed hombre keeps better track of his guns and ammo than he does of his talking points during debates: Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry says he will eliminate three federal agencies if elected president, but … Continue reading

Posted in enviromentalism, humor, mainstream media, Politics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Marx Brothers, still in their prime


How cool that one of the greatest comedic movie scenes can be downloaded and watched with the click of a mouse. A few minutes of screwball perfection, more than 75 years old, as fresh as any skit you could name. … Continue reading

Posted in arts, humor, movies | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Music to haunt you on Halloween


There are at least three varieties of scary songs — novelty numbers, done for laughs; songs that have dark lyrics but aren’t all that scary; and songs (“compositions” is a better word) that actually sound scary and give you the … Continue reading

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

Back in the saddle. Bike thief still at large.


I forgot to mention weeks ago that I finally found an affordable used bicycle to replace my Iron Horse, the theft of which left me in a funk not unlike Jimmy Stewart’s in Vertigo after he failed to save his … Continue reading

Posted in arts, bicycling, humor, movies, The New Depression | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Romney lies faster than I can type


Yesterday I wrote, “The pious Mr. Mitt has been telling a new lie each day concerning where he stands on workers’ bargaining rights.” This was in response to a story out of Ohio. I filed my blog entry and went … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, economic collapse, environmentalism, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Occupy newsrooms. Use all those empty desks.


For as long as I can remember Gannett was known as an outfit that skimped on news coverage by using skeleton crews of reporters and editors, for no other reason than to further enrich the owners of the Gannett company. … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, New York Times, Occupy Wall Street, Philadelphia, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ain’t nothin’ I wouldn’t do, sugar…


The perfect Saturday night song if you’re looking to sit at a bar and drown your lust for someone, or to start a fight if you can’t drink enough to drown it. I don’t sit at bars anymore, but I … Continue reading

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