The book The Edge of the World is Flat is the most hilarious modern satire I have read in awhile. It's about a world in which a non profit has achieved it's mission and is going to be disbanded, but is instead taken over by a billionaire who wants to convince everyone the world is flat. How the non profit convinces everyone is interesting, and the more I learn, a little but true to life. I didn't know what particular idea they were making fun of at first as there are so many, but it all fits together.
But also, as this column points out--comedy has gone from the left. This book shows satire on the right (or at least the gay author/heretic who believes people are born who they are). We all have long, eloquent, morally correct explanations for why we are politically homeless--but as a good heuristic I have to agree with Sasha, I'll go with the comedy. Any group that has lost the ability to laugh is seriously mental.
Ahhh... The 70's and the 80's and even 90's when comedy was funny. Bad News Bears, Blazing Saddles, SNL, etc... Richard Pryor. Rodney. Carson. As young kids we grasped the wry adult humor and sensed when things became tenuous. We learned. Kinison, classic. Eddie Murphy Raw. Eddie Murphy anything back then; Beverly Hills Cop. Onto Tim Allen, Seinfeld, Friends... and then Sex in the City ruined everything :-D.
Watch Gutfeld and the Five as they have been numero uno for a year now; even Mike Lindell just proved what a political stooge Kimmel is these days. To Bill Burr I go for some funnies these days and/or most conservative podcasters. Or, Rashida Tlaib in her ode to marriage-fraud Omar today in congress; Now THAT was funny.
The 70's and 80's were awesome. It's starting to feel to me like stand-up comedy is atarting to come back. I used to think that the funniest guy alive was Lewis Black - but he went hard off the left cliff after Bush was elected - and the last time I saw him live - I regretted it.. But lately, people like Dave Chappelle, Anthony Jeselnik, Bill Burr, Christina Pazsitzky (to name a few) are hilarious without whining about politics - and they don't seem to give a shit what the cancel creeps think. But I'm not sure if great comedic movies ever come back given the current Hollywood culture. Maybe it will take someone like the Coen Brothers (who are way past being cancelled) to break the ice. In the mean time, I'll continue to watch The Big Lebowski and the Blues Brothers.
I think that for the most part, after Seinfeld, comedy was largely no more.
Making conservatives the butt of jokes, parody, and satire began to increase as the "humour" went from largely good-natured ribbing to mean-spirited personal attacks.
The left was off-limits – SNL never even dared to mock the Kenyan Light Bringer, even mildly, but it was merciless to Bill Clinton when he was in office (no less a leftist than the Turd in the Punch Bowl, but because he was white, and from the south, he was fair game).
I am glad I am not the only one to use Lightbringer! Lol... Good points; the Left is loathe to even talk negatively about Biden even though every day he has some sort of gaffe or trip...
I picked it up from John Kass, who used it occasionally in his columns for what was once known as, The Paper (oka the Chicago Tribune), before he was driven out of the newsroom of that blood-stained tampon of a newspaper.
Gutfeld is only successful he is the only partisan comedian on the right nothing more. The left have 8+ shows while the right has Gutfeld kind of sad when they refuse to tap potential to avoid making people offended.
Agreed that Omar is the only one of ‘The Squad’ to speak out on her own. Not that she does it often, but every now and then, she surprises me. AOC is the biggest fraud to me. She is 100% backing the regime, while playing the It Girl on social media.
Both AOC and Omar love to go on about white people, white men and white supremacy. Yet both are married (Omar) or engaged (AOC) to the whitest men you can find. Blond, strawberry blond, blue-eyed Anglo men. Those white men are okay to demonize all day long, but they sure are good to marry!
Watching AOC preach on the House Floor made me think of how it’s Church for these people. They could have easily been shouting Amen and Hallelujah! It’s a joke, a clown show and shouldn’t be taken seriously by any rational person.
Thanks for addressing this, and doing so very well.
The weaponization of victimhood is to blame, I think. Everywhere you turn today, there's a Victim, who has his offense meter cranked up to eleven, and normal people have allowed themselves to be badgered into apologizing for enjoying nothing more than normal humor, which by its nature targets pretty much every group and every human characteristic. The ultimate purpose of humor, after all, is to make us laugh at ourselves and our foibles, as a way of acknowledging them and accepting them.
The solution? We should resolutely take back normal humor, and when self-proclaimed Victims start screaming, we should make humor of that screaming. Harsh? Maybe, but the screamers need to grow up, and being mocked is a kind of boot camp for growing a pair.
Re Ilhan Omar: like you, I don't often agree with her, but her grilling of the evil Elliott Abrams in 2019 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88uC1_HXPLo ) was very satisfying to see, and took more guts than other members of the House could muster. She has earned a sliver of respect from me, which is more than I can say for pretty much everyone else in the House.
Great essay! Thank-you for creatively blending comedy, film, art, politics and humanity in to an uplifting message for those willing to listen, learn and laugh.
I'd be curious if people think the media are the junior partners in their relationship with the Democrats, or vice versa. Or is it unknowable due to being too much crossover and they're basically one in the same.
Ben, I think they are one in the same because I think most in media consider themselves liberal (even if they are the opposite of the real meaning if the word) and also stereotype that the Democratic Party is the party of liberals (even though now it embraces FBI, CIA, endless war, discrimination (of whites) and patronization (of blacks)).
Yeah I think it is a natural fusion at the end of the day, because the Democrats are the party of big government, so huge corporations that run the media want a good relationship with them because they are the ones who can do them harm, and regulate them hard if need be. So I think it's a natural thing to an extent.
Mel Brooks would of never made it today's world sour and dour people looking for any excuse to get offended. Its comedy not political drama. If you take comedy serious reevaluate your life choices. Also, if you base your show on being a political bias person you limited your audience in half make jokes on both sides all the time, they are easy targets.
Mel’s History of the World Part II premieres on 3/6 on Hulu. It’s an 8 episode series and the previews look pretty funny. Will be interesting to see what he can do in todays society.
Records, as in phonograph records? You can have this old Boomer man's collection: I've replaced them all with CD's or, when something lossless isn't available, mp3's. Never could figure out what the appeal is of that "vinyl roar" ever-present in the background. Or the joy of even the most carefully-handled record acquiring a scratch that makes the needle jump forward, or, everyone's favorite, get stuck in one place. Ah nostalgia: it's not what it used to be.
That muffled "roar" in the background is all but inaudible if the cartridge is of a high quality, and the vinyl disc is largely free of dust. I began to swap out my records with original masters as they became available – huge difference!
Cool. I'm curious if you prefer them to a format with virtually no noise at all (assuming digital processing all the way through). When I first acquired a pure digital CD in 1984, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, hearing pure music with no tape hiss or record roar. But I know my view isn't universal. If you prefer the record experience, is it because of the slight background sound providing a sense of presence or because of some other quality?
Truth be told, it is likely my luddite tendencies more than anything else. I always felt that the vinyl disc captured more of whatever organic elements were present during the recording. For example, many so-called purists hate hearing Keith Jarrett's vocalizing in both his live and studio albums. I happen to love it, that spontaneity, and it can't always be dubbed out of the track.
Her: "Baby, there's just something missing in our relationship..."
Him: "It wouldn't be the money, would it?"
If you ever met Sam, you'll never forget Sam. He was too special for this century. It's not about the vinyl. It's about the music. You can't play this tune any more. The world has to be a safer space now. Remember the "that's not funny" meme?
That's your life now. What I would give to explain all this to Sam today and listen to what he would have to say...
Sasha, why do you use Tik Tok? That is extremely stupid and careless. It makes you a dumb sensor like a Accurite weather sensor. Just a mere data point of data collection for the Chinese Communist Party apparatchiks.
You lost all credibility with me in this matter.
Go ahead, make your cat videos that are not funny. Post them on Tikki Tok. Zeig Heil. Show me zee papers….. where are the hebs, hiding in your home now? Corrie Ten Boom needs to know. So does Detrich Bonhoeffer.
She explained why she watches Tik Tok - she answered your question before you asked it, and she admitted to everything you say. But her answer as: Because she can't find anywhere else to unwind with laughter. She fully admitted to the ugly tradeoff.
I read a memoir of a man who survived a Soviet concentration camp. He said that he and all the other men went to great lengths to make fellow prisoners laugh. Once a man stopped laughing it was a matter of days before he would go insane. Laughter is important.
Tom, are you aware that you are playing the role of "straight man" with this post? The straight man doesn't get humor, and gets angry whenever others find humor, thus becoming the object of humor himself.
Two men, one well into his 60s, the other in his 30s, found themselves in the same club sitting at the bar, each waiting on their respective companions.
The younger one says to the older one, "Buy you a drink?" The older replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass. Tried a cocktail once, didn't care for the alcohol."
A few minutes passed, and the younger one says to the older one, "Shoot some billiards?" The older replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass – I played it once, and didn't care for it."
A few more minutes passed, and the younger one says to the older one, "Throw some darts?" The older one replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass – I threw darts once, years ago, and didn't care for it. But, my son should be here, shortly, perhaps he'll join you."
The younger one considered the older one's response for a moment, and then replied, "An only child, I presume?"
People forget that humor doesn't need to be based on current trends or politics. That's why people still can laugh at the works of Dickens and Jane Austen.
Agreed - it's also why I don't consider that which is at all political in nature to be comedy - why Patton Oswalt is considered by many to be funny is beyond me.
Oh please, PLEASE do not worry about offending your readers, if I am at all typical.
Being offended is a choice – if someone chooses to be offended, that's their business, not yours.
Please continue to be courageous in your writing. I think most of us can handle it.
The book The Edge of the World is Flat is the most hilarious modern satire I have read in awhile. It's about a world in which a non profit has achieved it's mission and is going to be disbanded, but is instead taken over by a billionaire who wants to convince everyone the world is flat. How the non profit convinces everyone is interesting, and the more I learn, a little but true to life. I didn't know what particular idea they were making fun of at first as there are so many, but it all fits together.
But also, as this column points out--comedy has gone from the left. This book shows satire on the right (or at least the gay author/heretic who believes people are born who they are). We all have long, eloquent, morally correct explanations for why we are politically homeless--but as a good heuristic I have to agree with Sasha, I'll go with the comedy. Any group that has lost the ability to laugh is seriously mental.
Ahhh... The 70's and the 80's and even 90's when comedy was funny. Bad News Bears, Blazing Saddles, SNL, etc... Richard Pryor. Rodney. Carson. As young kids we grasped the wry adult humor and sensed when things became tenuous. We learned. Kinison, classic. Eddie Murphy Raw. Eddie Murphy anything back then; Beverly Hills Cop. Onto Tim Allen, Seinfeld, Friends... and then Sex in the City ruined everything :-D.
Watch Gutfeld and the Five as they have been numero uno for a year now; even Mike Lindell just proved what a political stooge Kimmel is these days. To Bill Burr I go for some funnies these days and/or most conservative podcasters. Or, Rashida Tlaib in her ode to marriage-fraud Omar today in congress; Now THAT was funny.
The 70's and 80's were awesome. It's starting to feel to me like stand-up comedy is atarting to come back. I used to think that the funniest guy alive was Lewis Black - but he went hard off the left cliff after Bush was elected - and the last time I saw him live - I regretted it.. But lately, people like Dave Chappelle, Anthony Jeselnik, Bill Burr, Christina Pazsitzky (to name a few) are hilarious without whining about politics - and they don't seem to give a shit what the cancel creeps think. But I'm not sure if great comedic movies ever come back given the current Hollywood culture. Maybe it will take someone like the Coen Brothers (who are way past being cancelled) to break the ice. In the mean time, I'll continue to watch The Big Lebowski and the Blues Brothers.
I forgot the Blues Brothers!? Great points.
I think that for the most part, after Seinfeld, comedy was largely no more.
Making conservatives the butt of jokes, parody, and satire began to increase as the "humour" went from largely good-natured ribbing to mean-spirited personal attacks.
The left was off-limits – SNL never even dared to mock the Kenyan Light Bringer, even mildly, but it was merciless to Bill Clinton when he was in office (no less a leftist than the Turd in the Punch Bowl, but because he was white, and from the south, he was fair game).
I am glad I am not the only one to use Lightbringer! Lol... Good points; the Left is loathe to even talk negatively about Biden even though every day he has some sort of gaffe or trip...
I picked it up from John Kass, who used it occasionally in his columns for what was once known as, The Paper (oka the Chicago Tribune), before he was driven out of the newsroom of that blood-stained tampon of a newspaper.
"...blood-stained tampon of a newspaper" HAHA!
Remember, Michelle-My-Belle just released her book: "The Light We Carry"!?!
Want a laugh or two? Watch Freedom Toons next time you're on YT.
They're made by a conservative Millennial who's Libertarian. Seamus O'Coughlin.
Gutfeld is only successful he is the only partisan comedian on the right nothing more. The left have 8+ shows while the right has Gutfeld kind of sad when they refuse to tap potential to avoid making people offended.
His show employs many more every night; the left has eight shows only mask wearers watch.
There shouldn't be a left or right in comedy, but the right didn't restrict speech...
Agreed that Omar is the only one of ‘The Squad’ to speak out on her own. Not that she does it often, but every now and then, she surprises me. AOC is the biggest fraud to me. She is 100% backing the regime, while playing the It Girl on social media.
Both AOC and Omar love to go on about white people, white men and white supremacy. Yet both are married (Omar) or engaged (AOC) to the whitest men you can find. Blond, strawberry blond, blue-eyed Anglo men. Those white men are okay to demonize all day long, but they sure are good to marry!
Watching AOC preach on the House Floor made me think of how it’s Church for these people. They could have easily been shouting Amen and Hallelujah! It’s a joke, a clown show and shouldn’t be taken seriously by any rational person.
Comedy blockers:
Taking yourself too seriously, no sense of proportion, catastrophism, and moral binary when viewing humanity.
Sasha
You rock!
Thanks for bringing our comedy back
Usually the videos auto play while listening but not this time
Then again, there's this:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/kamala-harris-impersonator-cackles-newfound-fame-havent-run-out-content-yet
She’s fantastic.
Thanks for addressing this, and doing so very well.
The weaponization of victimhood is to blame, I think. Everywhere you turn today, there's a Victim, who has his offense meter cranked up to eleven, and normal people have allowed themselves to be badgered into apologizing for enjoying nothing more than normal humor, which by its nature targets pretty much every group and every human characteristic. The ultimate purpose of humor, after all, is to make us laugh at ourselves and our foibles, as a way of acknowledging them and accepting them.
The solution? We should resolutely take back normal humor, and when self-proclaimed Victims start screaming, we should make humor of that screaming. Harsh? Maybe, but the screamers need to grow up, and being mocked is a kind of boot camp for growing a pair.
Re Ilhan Omar: like you, I don't often agree with her, but her grilling of the evil Elliott Abrams in 2019 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88uC1_HXPLo ) was very satisfying to see, and took more guts than other members of the House could muster. She has earned a sliver of respect from me, which is more than I can say for pretty much everyone else in the House.
Btw I suffer from “six2” affliction. That sporadic uncontrollable desire to writte six letter words with two vowels.
Great essay! Thank-you for creatively blending comedy, film, art, politics and humanity in to an uplifting message for those willing to listen, learn and laugh.
This drop was just great, Sasha. Thanks for all you are and all you do
I'd be curious if people think the media are the junior partners in their relationship with the Democrats, or vice versa. Or is it unknowable due to being too much crossover and they're basically one in the same.
Ben, I think they are one in the same because I think most in media consider themselves liberal (even if they are the opposite of the real meaning if the word) and also stereotype that the Democratic Party is the party of liberals (even though now it embraces FBI, CIA, endless war, discrimination (of whites) and patronization (of blacks)).
Yeah I think it is a natural fusion at the end of the day, because the Democrats are the party of big government, so huge corporations that run the media want a good relationship with them because they are the ones who can do them harm, and regulate them hard if need be. So I think it's a natural thing to an extent.
...and yet another anomaly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VaXlMvAvk
I’m gonna pray on this, Tex.
Mel Brooks would of never made it today's world sour and dour people looking for any excuse to get offended. Its comedy not political drama. If you take comedy serious reevaluate your life choices. Also, if you base your show on being a political bias person you limited your audience in half make jokes on both sides all the time, they are easy targets.
Mel’s History of the World Part II premieres on 3/6 on Hulu. It’s an 8 episode series and the previews look pretty funny. Will be interesting to see what he can do in todays society.
Why are old Boomer men so angry?
We just want our records back. IYKYK.
Records, as in phonograph records? You can have this old Boomer man's collection: I've replaced them all with CD's or, when something lossless isn't available, mp3's. Never could figure out what the appeal is of that "vinyl roar" ever-present in the background. Or the joy of even the most carefully-handled record acquiring a scratch that makes the needle jump forward, or, everyone's favorite, get stuck in one place. Ah nostalgia: it's not what it used to be.
That muffled "roar" in the background is all but inaudible if the cartridge is of a high quality, and the vinyl disc is largely free of dust. I began to swap out my records with original masters as they became available – huge difference!
Cool. I'm curious if you prefer them to a format with virtually no noise at all (assuming digital processing all the way through). When I first acquired a pure digital CD in 1984, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, hearing pure music with no tape hiss or record roar. But I know my view isn't universal. If you prefer the record experience, is it because of the slight background sound providing a sense of presence or because of some other quality?
Truth be told, it is likely my luddite tendencies more than anything else. I always felt that the vinyl disc captured more of whatever organic elements were present during the recording. For example, many so-called purists hate hearing Keith Jarrett's vocalizing in both his live and studio albums. I happen to love it, that spontaneity, and it can't always be dubbed out of the track.
Her: "Baby, there's just something missing in our relationship..."
Him: "It wouldn't be the money, would it?"
If you ever met Sam, you'll never forget Sam. He was too special for this century. It's not about the vinyl. It's about the music. You can't play this tune any more. The world has to be a safer space now. Remember the "that's not funny" meme?
That's your life now. What I would give to explain all this to Sam today and listen to what he would have to say...
The best.
Sasha, why do you use Tik Tok? That is extremely stupid and careless. It makes you a dumb sensor like a Accurite weather sensor. Just a mere data point of data collection for the Chinese Communist Party apparatchiks.
You lost all credibility with me in this matter.
Go ahead, make your cat videos that are not funny. Post them on Tikki Tok. Zeig Heil. Show me zee papers….. where are the hebs, hiding in your home now? Corrie Ten Boom needs to know. So does Detrich Bonhoeffer.
This is not a game. This is real life. Wake up.
TOM! I wrote in this piece that I know this. But that there isn't anything anywhere that is funny anymore!
She explained why she watches Tik Tok - she answered your question before you asked it, and she admitted to everything you say. But her answer as: Because she can't find anywhere else to unwind with laughter. She fully admitted to the ugly tradeoff.
Ha. I hang my head in shame.
I read a memoir of a man who survived a Soviet concentration camp. He said that he and all the other men went to great lengths to make fellow prisoners laugh. Once a man stopped laughing it was a matter of days before he would go insane. Laughter is important.
Think her point was akin to: if all the food avail is rotten except Taco Bell, then Taco Bell it is. Apocalyptic? You bet. Here we are, folks.
Side note: Bari Weiss and Helen Lewis? Blech. Thats the Olive Garden and Chipotle trying to pull off 'home cooking'...
Tom, are you aware that you are playing the role of "straight man" with this post? The straight man doesn't get humor, and gets angry whenever others find humor, thus becoming the object of humor himself.
Please lighten up, Mr. Potts.
Me thinks Mr. Potts post was satire, at least that’s how I read it
You are most likely correct - it is a shame that it is difficult to detect in text.
What does the CCP know that the Feds don’t?
A LOT!
“Extremely stupid and careless”?! So is sex the first time and I’m guessing that’s why you still haven’t tried it.
Two men, one well into his 60s, the other in his 30s, found themselves in the same club sitting at the bar, each waiting on their respective companions.
The younger one says to the older one, "Buy you a drink?" The older replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass. Tried a cocktail once, didn't care for the alcohol."
A few minutes passed, and the younger one says to the older one, "Shoot some billiards?" The older replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass – I played it once, and didn't care for it."
A few more minutes passed, and the younger one says to the older one, "Throw some darts?" The older one replied, "Thanks, but I'll pass – I threw darts once, years ago, and didn't care for it. But, my son should be here, shortly, perhaps he'll join you."
The younger one considered the older one's response for a moment, and then replied, "An only child, I presume?"
Lol.
People forget that humor doesn't need to be based on current trends or politics. That's why people still can laugh at the works of Dickens and Jane Austen.
Agreed - it's also why I don't consider that which is at all political in nature to be comedy - why Patton Oswalt is considered by many to be funny is beyond me.