Category Archives: humor

A Christmas blessing


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


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


“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


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


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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Happy Xmas — or is it Groundhog Day?


I run past Dan’s store on Passyunk Avenue, I see his Christmas trees for sale at curbside, breathe the scent of pine and hear “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” skipping from the speakers above his storefront. Each time … Continue reading →

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

‘Frank’s Wild Years’


Well Frank settled down in the Valley and hung his wild years on a nail that he drove through his wife’s forehead… … he sold used office furniture out there on San Fernando Road and assumed a $30,000 loan at … Continue reading →

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Bloomberg, the mayor who would be Caesar


Every time this guy opens his mouth, he proves he’s not only an arrogant plutocrat but also a dangerous creep: New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said the New York Police Department was like his own personal military force during … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, weasel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Howdy, stranger. Every man for himself.


Coo coo it’s cold outside. Coo coo it’s cold outside. Ooo coo coo. Don’t forget your mittens. Hey Pal! How do I get to town from here? And he said: Well just take a right where they’re going to build … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Gov. Brownback, you really do suck


Great story out of Kansas regarding attempts to intimidate Emma Sullivan, an 18-year-old girl who insulted wing-nut Gov. Sam Brownback in a message to her Twitter friends. The principal of the high school Emma attends ordered her to send the … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, humor, mainstream media, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments