Forging an Art

This is hysterical.  Yes, you must have a certain sense of humor to appreciate what is in this book, and I’ll admit that it’s not the most socially acceptable sort of sense of humor, but with it, these comic strips are incomparably amusing.  Some of them take a few moments for the full effect to take over; it’s one of those “aha!” moments before I start snorting at an embarassing volume – read “loud” - that is uncontrollable once it begins.  This title is not for the squeamish or easily offended – in a way, it is like South Park.  You must be able to laugh at yourself as well as others, because there are certainly some pages that may speak to you personally, and not in a flattering way.  Suck it up and have a laugh with Nicholas Gurewitch, creator of the PBF.

Superfun new titles that I have come across very lately, and would be remiss if I did not share:

Brides Behaving Badly - those of us who love My Big Redneck Wedding can appreciate this one.  It is off-the-hook hysterical, a bit nasty, and moderately offensive. 

Some people have no pride, and yet, it must be nice to be comfortable with yourself, even when you look and act like these people do.  If you can’t understand Junior‘s drawl during the post-race interview, don’t bother picking this one up, but if you have ever been to a wedding where both the bride and groom held a cigarette and a beer for formal pictures, it’s all good. 

Appetite for Detention - oh-so-cute chicks pose for those oh-so-common high school moments when you wish your mom would have let you stay home in bed with the heating pad and a bottle of Pamprin.  Back in the day, I didn’t have to worry about my mom reading my Facebook page, like poor Edgar, but she did go through my desk drawers. 

 She’ll deny it forever, but really, there are some things she could not have known if she hadn’t, so I feel for Ed.  And should Caitlin suggest Botox because her mother doesn’t look as “fresh” as Madonna?  That would be a no.  While there was no Botox available to the masses back in the 80s, I did make some mistakes in suggesting anti-aging processes to my mother, who absolutely did not appreciate it.  Just say no, Cait!  Great for teens as well as us old folks.  The next one is, too.

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem – I love love love this book.  Where else can you get in-your-face brutal honesty that is socially acceptable from obnoxious teenagers but not from those of us who still kick and scream over stuff that other grown ups, well, think that we should just get over?  I am not a big Darwin fan (yeah, go ahead, I’m used to that), but in the Laurie Rosenwald world, I could totally sit beside him on a plane.  A must have. 

Don’t miss Dave in his Peruvian chullo hat (he is so bad!), excellent McCullers references, warnings about foreign dinner conversation, and advice to boys on eating soup.  Way cool and very informative.  This should be used as a textbook for, um, something or other.

This is so funny that I had to buy it instead of read it at Borders, because I was laughing and snorting so obnoxiously that I thought the other store patrons would run me out.  I was impressed that James had two shout outs during this amusing tirade against lemming-ness (my term, not Lander’s, thank you very much):
1. number four on the ‘white annotated bibliography:’ Henry James, all books. “If you send me to a desert island, just make sure I have a page of James’s delicate prose in my back pocket.  I promise you it can keep me entertained and thinking for months.”
2. under ‘liberal arts degrees,’ specifically as to how such a degree can help one sound smart at parties: it all begins by saying, “Reading Henry James was the most rewarding part of undergrad.”

I did find something utterly unbelievable within this fine text, again referring to higher education as a means to becoming the star of the party:  ”They can also impress their friends at parties by referencing Jacques Lacan or Slavoj Zizek in a conversation about American Idol.”  I would run screaming from anyone who mentioned these names outside of an academic context (and even then, I would be nervous) but then again, if the other partygoers have no idea that the one attempting to impress them is referring to frightening figures of French psychoanalysis/philosophy (emphasis on the ‘psycho’) and Slovenian philosophy/Marxism/Stalinism/psychoanalysis (once again, emphasis on the ‘psycho’) they might be impressed or merely annoyed, thinking that the speaker is making such names up.

(keep up on the stuff white people like a la email)