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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Laughing with Laugh Tracks
Teaching American Humor: Laughing with Laugh Tracks My life would be better with a laugh track. My writing would be better, too. So would your reading... Read more
Posted on 13 April 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Stringbean: Me and My Old Crow and a Letter from Home
Last month, I wrote about David "Stringbean" Akeman's life and murder. Here's a clip of Stringbean in action picking a song and a doing one of his trademark... Read more
Posted on 07 April 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Hagiography
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Most great musicians develop their style by first imitating their musical heroes. This is especially true... Read more
Posted on 06 April 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Comedy Above All Else: On Directing The Last Cyclist
By Rachel E. Blackburn One of my all-time favorite Seinfeld episodes featured the dentist character Tim Watley, played by Bryan Cranston. Watley begins making... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Baseball is a Funny Game . . .
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first,... Read more
Posted on 24 March 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
When Archie Met Sammy
I recently stumbled across a very entertaining and thought provoking list of 100 jokes that shaped modern comedy. The article is a fun read, and if you take... Read more
Posted on 23 March 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Scarecrow: The Music and Murder of Stringbean Akeman
Wake up, wake up little Betty What makes you sleep so sound When the highway robbers are a-comin' They'll tear your playhouse down The little cabin in Ridgetop... Read more
Posted on 10 March 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Playing Drrrty Pool: A Few Reflections on Tim Miller’s Deadpool, Super-Humor, an...
In his 19 February review of Tim Miller's Deadpool, Entertainment Weekly critic, Chris Nashawaty likens Hollywood's current love affair with comic-book... Read more
Posted on 02 March 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Remembering A.R. Ammons
Fifteen years ago today, America lost one of its greatest modern poets. A. R. Ammons, a humble man from rural North Carolina, started writing poetry while... Read more
Posted on 25 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Americans and the Love of Romantic Comedy
I am a sucker for romantic comedies. I am not alone. Americans have loved romantic film comedies for just short of 100 years now with an unparalleled degree of... Read more
Posted on 16 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Well Trouble’s A Bubble: Dick Van Dyke at 90
Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 90 th birthday this past December 13, the way most nonagenarians do - by participating in a flash mob. Fitting for a man whose... Read more
Posted on 11 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Colonel Blimp
Colonel Blimp is a pompous character created by British cartoonist David Low. Entering the English language in 1937, by definition, a "Colonel Blimp" or just... Read more
Posted on 09 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The Comedy of the Black Republican
While I am currently working on political ideology on entertainment television in the 1970s, I do enjoy watching more contemporary television as well. Often,... Read more
Posted on 02 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
In the Archives: Mark Twain’s “A Presidential Candidate” (1879)
have pretty much rkde up my mind to run for president. What the country wants is a candidate who cannot be injured by investigation of his past history, so... Read more
Posted on 01 February 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
The Fall of Trump: A New Image of the Donald
Tracy Wuster In September, I collected a rang of images of Donald Trump in " The Summer of Trump: Clown, Gasbag, Monster, Anti-PC Hero, and Other Images of THE... Read more
Posted on 31 January 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Remembering Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan, best known for his novella, Trout Fishing in America. As a poet, he purportedly bridged the gap between the beatniks and the... Read more
Posted on 28 January 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Too “Raw” for the 2000s: Eddie Murphy and Cultural Change
Last April, Tracy Wuster posted the announcement of the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, which went to Eddie Murphy for 2015. He stated that Murphy's "brilliance as ... Read more
Posted on 26 January 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
David Bowie – If It Itches, Play It
David Bowie passed away Sunday, after an 18-month battle with cancer. This came as a shock to his fans throughout the world, unaware the icon was even ill. Bowi... Read more
Posted on 14 January 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Gertrude Stein’s Serious Play
Photographs of Gertrude Stein are typically humorless. Take this almost stern-looking image of her at work or this one with her Baltimore friends, Etta and... Read more
Posted on 12 January 2016 HUMOR, SOCIETY -
Regarding Rudolph
Thus begins Robert May's charming and lighthearted poem in anapestic tetrameter, (the same meter as " A Visit from St. Nicholas " --also known as "'Twas the... Read more
Posted on 17 December 2015 HUMOR, SOCIETY