Thanks to whoever submitted the lengthy rebuttal on SNL cast members. I didn't bother to do the same, but I completely agree with the sentiment.
I'm also a bit of an SNL-file. I haven't missed an episode in 50 years. No joke.
It's pretty much a universal sentiment that SNL isn't as funny as it was back in [insert my high school/college years here].
To those who say SNL isn't funny anymore, I always say you were wrong. SNL has never been funny. And it's always been funny. There's never been an episode that was 90 minutes of great comedy. Never.
I don't watch it as a comedy show. I watch it as a reality show. The insane tightrope that they walk to put on that thing live every week is a marvel to behold.
And as for the greats, your list was solid, but every cast had its greats and I'd struggle to come up with a Mount Rushmore. I think the earlier this century group with folks like Sudekis, Wigg, Armisen, Forte, Hammond, Samberg, Hader, Pedrad, and Thompson overlapping with folks like Rudolph and Parnell was pretty special.
I think Hader is underrated as a performer. No mention of Norm Macdonald? No mention of Martin Short? And no cast member has ever been as good a mimic as Darrell Hammond. His impressions of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Sean Connery, and Dan Rather have aged very well.
“They seem to be given parallelism in importance. So we see juxtapositions like this:
On the left of the page: ‘Italy invades Turkey; tens of thousands maimed or killed. Lives ruined, World War III Looms’ And next to it, on the right: ‘Ten best chalupa restaurants in New York!’l”
I wonder if there is a contest in this. Either locate funny juxtapositioning (or, jestapositioning, if you will) in real papers or a made one up which may too broad.
The two entries winning in the poll happen to be the two jokes “above the fold” that I got without the asterisk. If I am typical (and some days I think so) maybe that is affecting the polling?
Regarding resignations. I’ve resigned from jobs when I’ve lost faith in the upper management. I always had a place lined up to land first. I think I posted somewhere that in a movie, they’d publish anyway, then resign. Real life is way more complicated than that, with real obligations, and there are a lot of people (essentially, everybody below Will Lewis) caught in this ugly mess who don’t deserve to be there. Lewis should have pushed back, done his job and advised Bezos that such a policy change should only happen in the off-off-season. Sort of like the Purcell principle - although that just got crapped on, too.
Evidently Lewis did push back, but obviously not enough. I think it was a real misunderstanding of why people in the 21st century subscribe to newspapers: It's not that they want a commodity so much as supporting a cause.
So no longer the "Bronx Bombers" eh? More like the "Bronx Buckners"*
*This is a reference to a memorable miscue in another Fall Classic which you either remember or you can ignore completely (and still hold out hope for honorable mention ink in future).
I read the Wapo chats of Sietsema, Petri, Hax, and Food, which is the only reason I am still subscribed. Those people still need to earn a living. I am amazed that the censors printed all the "I have cancelled my subscription" comments in every live chat this week. Some of them were polite, but a lot of them were seriously hostile.
Truth of the matter is, I ‘canceled’, but all that really got canceled was the auto-renew that was going to kick in in a couple months. They are currently out no less money than they were before my act, since there are no refunds on digital subscriptions. My message (along with 250k others’) has been received, we shall see if I’m calm enough in a few months to reconsider.
Ah yes, what I call the "Bragging Rights" restaurant syndrome (also known in the trade as the "Kiss of Death."). Generally affects new, smaller establishments of excellence and is almost worldwide in nature. Critic reviews > hordes descend on it > restaurant finds it difficult to keep up and maintain quality > uncomplimentary reviews begin to show up > horde moves on to next rave review > restaurant closes. Repeat.
I find his opinion on tipping to be infuriating. In The World According to Sietsema, I should tip at least 20% even if the meal is excremen...errr....execrable.
It's not just the Post that is pushing the false equivalence. NPR is also doing it today by leading their newscasts with the latest update on the garbage "story. "
I'm guessing that we won't see the consequences of the no-endorsement decision reflected in the make-up of the Newsroom and the Columnists for 6-10 months. For those who have decided to leave, it will take time to find a position elsewhere. And some will have to wait for their contracts to expire. I hope no one has a No Compete clause in their contract.
I tried to cancel, but just couldn't pass up the just introduced "We Pay You!" WaPo retention promotion. Kinda like one of those farm subsidies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have to believe the abuse Bezos took (and is still taking) --- assuming billions in filthy lucre aren't enough to insulate his ego this time --- and the paper's continuing losses --- may be enough for him to finally offload the WaPo. I'd put Murdoch at the top of the possible buyer's list. But there are plenty of big bucks bros looking for a shiny object to provide a reflected glow of legitimacy and status, to say nothing of a media megaphone.
Thanks to whoever submitted the lengthy rebuttal on SNL cast members. I didn't bother to do the same, but I completely agree with the sentiment.
I'm also a bit of an SNL-file. I haven't missed an episode in 50 years. No joke.
It's pretty much a universal sentiment that SNL isn't as funny as it was back in [insert my high school/college years here].
To those who say SNL isn't funny anymore, I always say you were wrong. SNL has never been funny. And it's always been funny. There's never been an episode that was 90 minutes of great comedy. Never.
I don't watch it as a comedy show. I watch it as a reality show. The insane tightrope that they walk to put on that thing live every week is a marvel to behold.
And as for the greats, your list was solid, but every cast had its greats and I'd struggle to come up with a Mount Rushmore. I think the earlier this century group with folks like Sudekis, Wigg, Armisen, Forte, Hammond, Samberg, Hader, Pedrad, and Thompson overlapping with folks like Rudolph and Parnell was pretty special.
I think Hader is underrated as a performer. No mention of Norm Macdonald? No mention of Martin Short? And no cast member has ever been as good a mimic as Darrell Hammond. His impressions of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Sean Connery, and Dan Rather have aged very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLoRJFAN3r0
One of my favorite skits from any show was on SCTV with Martin Short and John Candy doing “Whatever Happened to Baby Ed.”
Very funny, I must say.
I liked Rich Hall, too.
The egghead jokes are some of my favorite contest results ever! Both hilarious and educational.
Thank you, Chris. Please contact The Gene Pool to obtain your big wet kiss on the cheek from each of us.
unsubscribe UNSUBSCRIBE UNSUBSCRIIIIIIIIIIIIIII *smack* *smack*
“They seem to be given parallelism in importance. So we see juxtapositions like this:
On the left of the page: ‘Italy invades Turkey; tens of thousands maimed or killed. Lives ruined, World War III Looms’ And next to it, on the right: ‘Ten best chalupa restaurants in New York!’l”
I wonder if there is a contest in this. Either locate funny juxtapositioning (or, jestapositioning, if you will) in real papers or a made one up which may too broad.
The two entries winning in the poll happen to be the two jokes “above the fold” that I got without the asterisk. If I am typical (and some days I think so) maybe that is affecting the polling?
I "got" the one about noh, but still think it's the funniest because if the word play.
Regarding resignations. I’ve resigned from jobs when I’ve lost faith in the upper management. I always had a place lined up to land first. I think I posted somewhere that in a movie, they’d publish anyway, then resign. Real life is way more complicated than that, with real obligations, and there are a lot of people (essentially, everybody below Will Lewis) caught in this ugly mess who don’t deserve to be there. Lewis should have pushed back, done his job and advised Bezos that such a policy change should only happen in the off-off-season. Sort of like the Purcell principle - although that just got crapped on, too.
Evidently Lewis did push back, but obviously not enough. I think it was a real misunderstanding of why people in the 21st century subscribe to newspapers: It's not that they want a commodity so much as supporting a cause.
So no longer the "Bronx Bombers" eh? More like the "Bronx Buckners"*
*This is a reference to a memorable miscue in another Fall Classic which you either remember or you can ignore completely (and still hold out hope for honorable mention ink in future).
You mean from the Mt Rushmore of Bosox disappointments: Bucky F-ing Dent, Bill F-ing Buckner, Grady F-ing Little and Aaron F-ing Boone?
Right you are sir!
I read the Wapo chats of Sietsema, Petri, Hax, and Food, which is the only reason I am still subscribed. Those people still need to earn a living. I am amazed that the censors printed all the "I have cancelled my subscription" comments in every live chat this week. Some of them were polite, but a lot of them were seriously hostile.
I think people are angry. I understand the anger.
Truth of the matter is, I ‘canceled’, but all that really got canceled was the auto-renew that was going to kick in in a couple months. They are currently out no less money than they were before my act, since there are no refunds on digital subscriptions. My message (along with 250k others’) has been received, we shall see if I’m calm enough in a few months to reconsider.
I asked for, and received, a refund of the remainder of my subscription--over $100.
Same. Message sent. I'll renew I'm sure.
I still subscribe, but if I do cancel, I won't miss Sietsema.
He’s very good reading if you want to find a place where you won’t be able to get a table because he wrote them up.
Ah yes, what I call the "Bragging Rights" restaurant syndrome (also known in the trade as the "Kiss of Death."). Generally affects new, smaller establishments of excellence and is almost worldwide in nature. Critic reviews > hordes descend on it > restaurant finds it difficult to keep up and maintain quality > uncomplimentary reviews begin to show up > horde moves on to next rave review > restaurant closes. Repeat.
I find his opinion on tipping to be infuriating. In The World According to Sietsema, I should tip at least 20% even if the meal is excremen...errr....execrable.
It's not just the Post that is pushing the false equivalence. NPR is also doing it today by leading their newscasts with the latest update on the garbage "story. "
That does it. I’m not voting for Biden.
Someone should recommend to the Harris Campaign that the band Garbage should perform at their next campaign rally.
I'm guessing that we won't see the consequences of the no-endorsement decision reflected in the make-up of the Newsroom and the Columnists for 6-10 months. For those who have decided to leave, it will take time to find a position elsewhere. And some will have to wait for their contracts to expire. I hope no one has a No Compete clause in their contract.
I tried to cancel, but just couldn't pass up the just introduced "We Pay You!" WaPo retention promotion. Kinda like one of those farm subsidies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have to believe the abuse Bezos took (and is still taking) --- assuming billions in filthy lucre aren't enough to insulate his ego this time --- and the paper's continuing losses --- may be enough for him to finally offload the WaPo. I'd put Murdoch at the top of the possible buyer's list. But there are plenty of big bucks bros looking for a shiny object to provide a reflected glow of legitimacy and status, to say nothing of a media megaphone.