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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Shirtless Mark Twain: The Subversion of a Hairy Chest Meme
Mark Twain was a hairy dude. We have always known this. His unruly shock of hair balanced by the tire brush of a mustache gave us all the information we needed... Read more
Posted on 04 March 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to America: The Wit of The Beatles
Bodie Plecas The Beatles were a real good thing for music, because they were funny at the same time – Randy NewmanA hard and rough port town, which offered... Read more
Posted on 28 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
In the Archives: Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Diversion (1862)
“So a priest, a rabbi, and a Zulu walk into a bar…”All history is a reconstruction. “Strictly speaking,” to quote Oxford, “a history is a work in which each... Read more
Posted on 21 February 2013 SOCIETY -
The “New Normal”: The Funny Thing About Cancer Continues . . .
So I had a PET-scan recently. It was almost pleasant. Really.These are tests I have to have periodically, an irritating necessity, just something I have to... Read more
Posted on 18 February 2013 SELF EXPRESSION -
Happy Birthday Hal Holbrook!
Reblogged from Humor in America: Tracy Wuster Today marks the 87th birthday of Hal Holbrook. Hal has performed the character of Mark Twain longer than... Read more
Posted on 17 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Cupid!
Valentines Day is alive, well and like most American traditions, eclectic and commercialized.Florists, chocolatiers, lingerie merchants and jewelers are... Read more
Posted on 14 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Meta-Racist Airplane Jokes: The Foolish Audience and Didactic Humor
What do you call a black man flying an airplane? A pilot, you racist.It is not complicated, but this meta-joke activates a complex meaning-making process. Read more
Posted on 11 February 2013 SOCIETY -
Editor’s Chair: Let’s Destroy the Sun
Tracy Wuster A friend of mine–and one of my favorite pessimists–has said that she cures writer’s block by placing one simple sentence at the top of her page... Read more
Posted on 07 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
What is Funny: Using Surveys in Teaching Humor
Teaching American Humor:What is funny?I begin all courses on humor by polling students on their tastes. What do they find funny and why? Read more
Posted on 04 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Happy Mark Twain Name Day!
Tracy Wuster Today marks the 150th anniversary of “Mark Twain.” The name. Other reasons to celebrate or otherwise gather should be secondary. By... Read more
Posted on 03 February 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Shrewd and Knavish Sprite: Will the Real Andy Kaufman Please Stand Up?
What we professional liars hope to serve is truth. I’m afraid the pompous word for that is “art.” – Orson Welles Art is a lie. Read more
Posted on 31 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Princess Ivona Brings Absurdist Comedy to San Francisco
Many people assess humor and the funny using the same litmus test employed by Justice Potter Stewart in the 1964 obscenity case “Jacobellis v. Ohio. Read more
Posted on 28 January 2013 HUMOR -
Editor’s Chair: 7th International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies
Mark Twain’s study on the campus of Elmira College. Photo by Tracy Wuster.Every four years, the Center for Mark Twain Studies in Elmira, New York sponsors a... Read more
Posted on 27 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
It Takes All Kinds
You can tell it’s the flu season. DayQuil is flying off the shelves like it has wings, and suddenly people are acting with this incredible generosity —... Read more
Posted on 24 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali!
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942, American legend Muhammad Ali turns 71 today.Whether or not this trash talking boxing champion the father of... Read more
Posted on 17 January 2013 SPORTS -
A Revelation: WTF with Marc Maron
If these eyes could talk…Thank God for the mouth below them.Patton Oswalt: Yeah, we had in our garage we had a treadmill, and [laughs] then we had a dent-free... Read more
Posted on 14 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Editor’s Chair: Busy Month for Humor Studies
Tracy WusterHello dear readers. We at “Humor in America” hope you had jolly holidays and festive new year’s and such. Last year, we said goodbye to a great... Read more
Posted on 13 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
In the Archives: Ambrose Bierce, “Wit and Humor” (1911)
Tracy WusterWhile Ambrose Bierce was considered, during his lifetime (and since), as an American humorists, he has been hard to fit into a general schema of... Read more
Posted on 10 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The BCS of American College Football Humor
College football has always been funny. From the inherent cartoonish comedy of young men dressed in animal costumes roaming the sidelines (to be clear, I mean... Read more
Posted on 07 January 2013 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Hello, I Must Be Going: The Musicianship of the Marx Brothers
Few artists create something so wholly original that they themselves become their own genre. This is certainly true of the Marx Brothers. Read more
Posted on 03 January 2013 HUMOR