Humorinamerica
MY BLOGS
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Humor in America
http://humorinamerica.wordpress.com/
“Humor in America” (HA!) is a blog dedicated to the discussion of humor and humor studies in America. Authors retain copyright to their work as posted. *********************************************************** "The great virtue of humor is that it is philosophizing in action, a bright silver thread in the great duvet of existence. And one can easily engage in it for an hour or two every day." --Simon Critchley, On Humour
LATEST ARTICLES ( 325 )
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Maron Debuts on IFC
May may just be the month of Marc Maron. The stand-up comedian is not new to the scene, having begun his forays into show business alongside the likes of David... Read more
Posted on 14 May 2013 HUMOR -
Happy Mother’s Day, Anne Bradstreet!
Anne Bradstreet may have been America’s first poet. Born in England in 1612, she immigrated to colonial America in 1630, and quietly penned her verses while... Read more
Posted on 09 May 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Truthiness and American Humor
Stephen Colbert, in the inaugural episode of the Colbert Report (October 17, 2005) ,... Read more
Posted on 07 May 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Editor’s Chair: New News and Such…
Tracy WusterABE’s post from earlier this week highlighted the institution of the “editor’s chair,” which I have taken a seat in several times before to inform... Read more
Posted on 02 May 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
In the Archives: An Easy Chair in an Uneasy World (1920)
It may be heresy to admit on a website dedicated to American humor that I find great relief in the British variant. Since I first learned of knights who say Ni! Read more
Posted on 29 April 2013 SOCIETY -
Muddy Water: Boston You’re Our Home
The source of all humor is not laughter, but sorrow. ~ Mark TwainIt has not been a week of laughter. The terrorist bombings in Boston last week were a... Read more
Posted on 25 April 2013 ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, SOCIETY -
Is a (tired) Goat Like a (dead) Frog?; Or Some Thoughts on the Objections to...
Tracy WusterWhen computers learn how to make jokes, artists will be in serious trouble. –Donald Barthelme, “Not Knowing”Both Sharon McCoy and I have taken on... Read more
Posted on 22 April 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Standing Askew: If Tragedy Plus Time Equals Comedy, What Do You Call It When...
The idea of “comedy” carries with it a sense of lightness, easy laughter, or distance. It also carries with it the implication that the audience who is... Read more
Posted on 18 April 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The Mad Mad Mad Mad Comedy of Jonathan Winters
I’m generally not given to hagiography in the wake of celebrity death. Still, hearing about Jonathan Winters’ dying touched me. Read more
Posted on 15 April 2013 HUMOR -
Extended Metaphors and Empathetic Laughter
I glance at the kitchen clock. It’s past midnight and I’m alone, reminiscing about the old days when the hum and click-clack of my typewriter provided a bit of... Read more
Posted on 11 April 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
What is Not Funny: Using Surveys in Teaching Humor
Teaching American HumorIt’s just a joke. I was only joking. Can’t you take a joke?In an earlier post, I discussed how I have used opinion surveys as a way for... Read more
Posted on 08 April 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Is a Joke a Joke?
Back in January, local businessman Marty Jakosa thought that along with the honor of being chosen to MC the 45th the Turlock Chamber’s 45th annual “Best of... Read more
Posted on 04 April 2013 SOCIETY -
In the Archives: Washington Irving, “The Art of Book-Making” (1819)
Tracy WusterHaving recently emerged from a long-winter’s haze (which, here in Texas, involves lounging around in seventy-degree weather), I am now ready to... Read more
Posted on 03 April 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Roller Skating in a Buffalo Herd
He’s a nut. But he’s the most talented nut I’ve ever known. – Minnie Pearl Roger Miller had no off switch. In a career that took him from the dive bars of... Read more
Posted on 28 March 2013 HUMOR -
[Title to Follow]
I have a friend who takes Saint Patrick’s Day very seriously. His extended family gathers on the weekend nearest March 17 to trade sarcasms and drink alcohol. Read more
Posted on 25 March 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Teaching Humor with Multicultural Texts; Teaching Multiculturalism with Humor
Understanding humor is all about understanding context — often about understanding shifting contexts. The more you know about the different contexts in the tex... Read more
Posted on 21 March 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Hitchcock’s Humor and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Alfred Hitchcock may still reign as the master of suspense some thirty-three years after his death, but many of his most ominous moments and movies were... Read more
Posted on 18 March 2013 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES -
Happy Birthday, Max Shulman
1919 – 1988Ninety-four years ago today in the Jewish section of Saint Paul, Minnesota, writer and humorist Max Shulman was born. Read more
Posted on 13 March 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Happy Birthday Lawrence Welk!
Tracy WusterMy grandma, Louise, babysat for Lawrence Welk‘s kids when she was a girl. She lived across from Elitch Gardens, where my great-grandmother ran the... Read more
Posted on 11 March 2013 HUMOR -
In the Archives: “Yankeeana” from the London and Westminster Review (1838)
Tracy WusterMuch of the writing on the subject of “American humor” in the nineteenth century–when the idea of a distinctly American humor took shape–came from... Read more
Posted on 07 March 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY