Emily Perper is word-writing human for hire. She blogs about her favorite longreads at Diet Coker. During rough weeks, I tend to refer back to a good #longread over and over. Here are four of the funniest around. Bookmark them, read them to your best friend on the phone, or save them for a particularly […]
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Posted inGuest Pick, Nonfiction
The Short Life of Robert Earl Hughes, Who Weighed Half a Ton By His Late Twenties
Jane R. LeBlanc is a freelance journalist who writes for the Dallas Observer where she covers the local comedy scene and anything strange and interesting. She has written for Denton Live, Mayborn magazine, Spirit magazine and the Denton Record-Chronicle. She has a humor blog, Everyone Hates You, where she pontificates about everyday life. You can find her online. Inspired […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Regrettable
What happened when the author re-reported Bob Woodward’s book on John Belushi: “Of all the people I interviewed, SNL writer and current Sen. Al Franken, referencing his late comedy partner Tom Davis, offered the most apt description of Woodward’s one-sided approach to the drug use in Belushi’s story: ‘Tom Davis said the best thing about […]
Posted inUncategorized
Reading List: Where the Witty Things Are
Emily Perper is a freelance editor and reporter, currently completing a service year in Baltimore with the Episcopal Service Corps. 1. “This Wedding Season, Say Yes to Strangers: What I Learned From My Craigslist Date” and “A Brief Addendum to Our Craigslist Wedding Story.” (Lindsey Grad and Nick Hassell, The Hairpin, June 2013) When a bridezilla demanded that Grad find […]
Posted inUncategorized
Reading List: Identity
Emily Perper is a freelance editor and reporter, currently completing a service year in Baltimore with the Episcopal Service Corps. 1. “I Was A Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” (Laurie Penny, New Statesmen, June 2013) The difference between playing a leading role in your own life and playing a supporting role in everyone else’s. 2. “Promises […]
Posted inMember Pick, Nonfiction, Story
Alexander Woollcott and Harpo Marx: A Love Story
“Our friendship was a lifelong game of ‘Who Am I?’ It was frustrating, exasperating, and sometimes downright silly, but it was a good, rewarding game.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Comedian
[Fiction] On a life in stand-up: “One time on a talk show, before he made the change in his comedy, the comedian was asked why he started telling jokes. He took a sip from his mug and responded that he just wanted some attention. As a child he’d felt unseen. He was a handsome baby […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Django, the N-Word, and How We Talk About Race in 2013
A new year, and a change in the conversation about race in America: “As I left the theater after Django, it was interesting to see how diverse the crowd was, and, based on the conversations being had in the lobby, how they were all impacted in some way, whether it was by the violence or […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Players Club
A brief history of Shakespeare and alcohol: “Shakespeare didn’t just enjoy the interplay of drinking, fantasy, and theater at his favorite taverns, he also enacted this productive relationship onstage. Shakespeare began his popular comedy The Taming of the Shrew with a curious framing device, one that bears little relation to the famous barbs of the […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Random Roles: Mel Brooks on How to Play Hitler
The comedy legend revisits his most famous work—and the lessons he learned: “I would say, for me, that philosophical treatise about having black beginnings and wanting love to compensate for that, wanting audiences and wanting attention—I say, ‘Au contraire.’ Completely opposite. I want the continuation of my mother’s incredible love and attention to me. I […]
