or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
•
"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
April 08, 2005
Happy Birthday To Seymour Hersh
Matthew Sullivan points out that today is Seymour Hersh's 68th birthday.
His office is listed in the phone book. If by 10 pm ET today ten people say in the comments here that you think I should, I will call him and leave a message wishing him a happy birthday from me and whoever comments. Or if anyone else wants to do it, feel free to volunteer.
UPDATE @ 9:47 pm ET: Voting has been extended to 11 pm ET, for two reasons. First, there is not yet a clear decision, with 6 yes votes, 1 no, 2 ruined ballots and 1 where the intent of the voter could not be discerned. Second, if I do call I want to wait until it's pretty certain he's gone.
UPDATE @ 11:09 pm ET: VOTING IS CLOSED. The race was extremely close (9 votes to call), but due to the arbitrary-but-completely-binding rules I set up, there will be no call to Mr. Hersh.
Butâ€â€all is not lost. If I remember, I'll do this again next year on his 69th birthday.
Posted at April 8, 2005 03:16 PM | TrackBackI say you should call him. Just make sure he knows you're not crazy. Based on my experience, the best way to do this is to repeat "I just want you to know I'm not crazy" over and over again.
Posted by: trix at April 8, 2005 03:34 PMWhy not?
Posted by: at April 8, 2005 03:46 PMSorry, that was me.
Posted by: Jim at April 8, 2005 03:48 PMI bet if you send him a cake he won't think you're nuts.
Posted by: Sam Mc at April 8, 2005 04:15 PMYes! Also, be sure to tell him that you wish you could be him (on my behalf). If he would send you a lock of his hair, even better.
Posted by: saurabh at April 8, 2005 04:27 PMJust to be clear: If he does send you a lock of his hair, please forward it to me.
Posted by: saurabh at April 8, 2005 04:27 PMWish him a Happy Birthday! And please, let him know that as a 68-year old it's time for him to stop working for the public good and start sitting on a porch covered with a plaid blanket, complaining about his health.
He can safely leave investigative journalism to those who are really carrying the torch so well nowadays, like "Jeff Gannon".
Posted by: Ted at April 8, 2005 05:36 PMLeave the poor guy alone! He's a national treasure. He's also grumpy and will bite your head off.
Posted by: Harry at April 8, 2005 05:51 PMPut me in the Call him! Call him! category. Grumpy or not, a sincere thank you is never a bad thing. And if he bites your head off - which is infinitely more likely than a Hallmark Moment - at least you'll have a swell story to tell about one of the last remaining mavericks of journalism.
Posted by: Arvin Hill at April 8, 2005 06:49 PMCall him, I say.
Posted by: Meg at April 8, 2005 08:37 PMSecond, if I do call I want to wait until it's pretty certain he's gone.
That changes my vote to "Aye". I should never have doubted your wisdom.
Posted by: Harry at April 8, 2005 08:52 PMCall him! Call him!
Posted by: Bourbon at April 8, 2005 08:53 PMYou'd never be sorry if you called him. Call him next year. I wish Helen Thomas happy birthday every year and it seems to make her happy.
Posted by: Maezeppa at April 8, 2005 11:43 PMPS. HT's birthday is Aug. 4th and so is Barack Obama's, so how about a contest in four more months where you don't with them a happy birthday, too?
