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
•
"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
October 19, 2006
Review Re-Reviewed
Yesterday Mike gave his unhappy reaction to Virginia Heffernan's New York Times review of Josh Karp's new biography of Doug Kenney. Today Dennis Perrinâ€â€Âeven unhappierâ€â€Âweighs in:
Heffernan's ignorance[,] coupled with her tone-deaf approach to comedy, is remarkable to witness. It's so unbelievably bad that it's almost beautiful.
You may read it all.
Posted at October 19, 2006 11:44 AM | TrackBackTaibbi's article just stunned me. I know HOW these criminals and morons got to congress, but WHY? Why did people vote for them? Why don't they recall them?
Hey, what about Rick Santorum (R.-Pa.)? Geez, he's a god freak, too, but I guess just an everyday, run-of-the-mill idiot, so he didn't make the top ten.
I have been reading Dennis Perrin's blog since you linked to it for which I am very grateful. Everything he writes about strikes a chord inside no matter what the topic is. I just bought one of his books Mr. Mike and I am really enjoying it. I used to watch Saturday Night Live in its early years and never missed an episode if I could as it was easily one of the best and funniest shows ever broadcast, right up there with Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers. I do not watch TV any longer which I think is due to culture shock, getting old I guess.
I am sure it is tough to make it as an author, making a living in the arts is next to impossible as many have found out. It can reach the point of where it is a matter of eating or not eating one of those fundamental musts in life. Anyone who has tried, if it be painting, music, dance, what ever, will know what I am talking about. I recall earning 25 bucks a night playing in big bands so I used to do things like eat peanut butter sandwiches for dinner and water down my only jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce to make it last longer.
One night we were hired by Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco who was shot and killed, for his wife's birthday party. Moscone seemed like a nice guy and complimented the band but I still only got 25 bucks that night. But all was not lost for I had watered down my Ragu and was able to eat the next night. At any rate I think very few people appreciate how hard it is to make a living pursuing your dreams.
