Monday, November 20, 2006

If we didn't laugh, we'd cry

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? A lot of comedians do, and they're venting their anger about it.

Check out this feature article from Reuters about the growth of comedy in New Orleans, especially the kind that mocks gvernment officials for failing the city's residents.

They also give a shout out to a new satirical newspaper, the New Orleans Levee (motto: "We don't hold anything back"), which they say is breaking even after just a couple of months.

This quote, however, sums up the larger picture of what's going on:

The number of amateur comics showing up at "open-mike" nights has grown from a handful to dozens, said Dane Faucheux, 27, a local professional comic.


"Before Katrina, people would think, 'I can't get up before an audience,'"
he said. "Now, who gives a crap? The storm made people start taking stock of
their lives, and they say, 'I need to do the things I always wanted to do.'"


God bless 'em.
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Friday, November 03, 2006

Another installment of "Yes, but is it satire?"

Everyone's in a tizzy about John Kerry's "botched joke." Haven't heard it yet? Here it is:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Supposedly, he dropped the word "us," as in, "...you get us stuck in Iraq." D'oh! So it was intended to be a blatant slam on President Bush, who responded by saying, "The members of the United States military are plenty smart and they are plenty brave."

Personally, I think both their speechwriters should be fired, but I digress. Kerry's remark was satirical in my opinion, though God bless him, it's painfully unfunny. What do you think?
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Satire pervades the web, seeping into mailboxes and mainstream news like a spilled cup of coffee. It stains and it won't go away.



The Bitter Cup is a collaborative blog for members of HumorFeed, a collaborative of satire and humor sites that has been making trouble since 2003.