Whatcha reading?

[Sparky]

Great: a long arse Teddy Kennedy biography's second and final part is about to be shortly released. Come on now.

Classic and devastating comedy.

Can you imagine if a car maker ran an add like that today the backlash they'd receive?

[Dr. Medulla]

Great: a long arse Teddy Kennedy biography's second and final part is about to be shortly released. Come on now.

Classic and devastating comedy.

Can you imagine if a car maker ran an add like that today the backlash they'd receive?

That wasn't a Volkswagen ad; that was the National Lampoon.

[Sparky]

Great: a long arse Teddy Kennedy biography's second and final part is about to be shortly released. Come on now.

Classic and devastating comedy.

Can you imagine if a car maker ran an add like that today the backlash they'd receive?

That wasn't a Volkswagen ad; that was the National Lampoon.

Well, I must be gullible, thanks Doc.

[Dr. Medulla]

Great: a long arse Teddy Kennedy biography's second and final part is about to be shortly released. Come on now.

Classic and devastating comedy.

Can you imagine if a car maker ran an add like that today the backlash they'd receive?

That wasn't a Volkswagen ad; that was the National Lampoon.

Well, I must be gullible, thanks Doc.

It's a classic (some say infamous) Lampoon piece from its glory period. Seems to me Volkswagen sued, too, but didn't win because of laws protecting parody.

[Flex]

In fairness, it's a REALLY well done parody.

[Silent Majority]

133) Professional Idiot: A Memoir - Steve-O. 2011. Kindle. I've liked Steve-O since my stepdad continually watched his dark and depressing solo DVD Don't Try This at Home again and again in the early 2000s. "Yeah dude!" was the empty catchphrase thrown round the house in those days. He always seemed like the battered soul of Jackass, even as Johnny Knoxville was the charismatic face of the show. From a childhood in the shadow of a highflying businessman and an alcoholic mother, he had a lot of energy and a lot of new places to have to try and impress new people. Mostly he just liked partying which is a euphemism here for the seeking of self obliteration via drugs and bloody stunts. There's something weirdly, winningly likeable about the guy, even when he's at his suicidal nadir and treating people terribly. Glad he's doing well, wish him happiness and continued sobriety.

134) Histories of the Kings of Britain: King Arthur - Geoffrey of Monmouth. 1136. Audiobook. Just a little production from the longer piece, we have a story here mostly without magic. Immediate and comprehensible prose, which is probably helped by a modern translation from Latin. It's a kick to hear stories from a mind that perished so long ago without the issues around pace that usually interfere.

135) The Odd Couple - Neil Simon. Play, read on Kindle. 1964. Still hilarious with characters that still haven't yet staled into cliché despite 1000 knock offs in the intervening years. Mathau and Lennon's voices came through strongly in my head and the endlessly catchy theme needed to be played when I finished it, but the text is more than strong enough to stand completely alone. It's the a very similar story to Barefoot In the Park, I note.

136) Garth Marenghi's Terrortome - Matthew Holiness. Audiobook read by Garth Marenghi. 2022. I kept waiting for the gag to get old, but it never did. What does help is just how much understanding and affection Holness has for the world of d-grade pulp horror and the choices made in the plot that best show off the comic strengths of the Marenghi character. Several laugh out loud moments and, despite the intentionally bad writing (a very hard balance to find and maintain is to write poorly in a funny way) I still had to speed through to get to the conclusion! Hope we see more from this character, or at least the creator in a comedic context.

[Dr. Medulla]

Garth Marenghi's Terrortome - Matthew Holiness. Audiobook read by Garth Marenghi. 2022. I kept waiting for the gag to get old, but it never did. What does help is just how much understanding and affection Holness has for the world of d-grade pulp horror and the choices made in the plot that best show off the comic strengths of the Marenghi character. Several laugh out loud moments and, despite the intentionally bad writing (a very hard balance to find and maintain is to write poorly in a funny way) I still had to speed through to get to the conclusion! Hope we see more from this character, or at least the creator in a comedic context.

I'm about an hour in and one of the things that strikes me is how well Holness has developed his character and wears him like a second skin. The absurdity of the asides don't come off as forced but sensible expressions of Marenghi.

[Silent Majority]

Garth Marenghi's Terrortome - Matthew Holiness. Audiobook read by Garth Marenghi. 2022. I kept waiting for the gag to get old, but it never did. What does help is just how much understanding and affection Holness has for the world of d-grade pulp horror and the choices made in the plot that best show off the comic strengths of the Marenghi character. Several laugh out loud moments and, despite the intentionally bad writing (a very hard balance to find and maintain is to write poorly in a funny way) I still had to speed through to get to the conclusion! Hope we see more from this character, or at least the creator in a comedic context.

I'm about an hour in and one of the things that strikes me is how well Holness has developed his character and wears him like a second skin. The absurdity of the asides don't come off as forced but sensible expressions of Marenghi.

At its heart it isn't a satire on horror (though I had to put down Christine by Stephen King while listening, because I kept reading the attacks in that nasal, self important voice) but an extended and satisfying riff on one exaggerated but plausible character.

[Dr. Medulla]

Garth Marenghi's Terrortome - Matthew Holiness. Audiobook read by Garth Marenghi. 2022. I kept waiting for the gag to get old, but it never did. What does help is just how much understanding and affection Holness has for the world of d-grade pulp horror and the choices made in the plot that best show off the comic strengths of the Marenghi character. Several laugh out loud moments and, despite the intentionally bad writing (a very hard balance to find and maintain is to write poorly in a funny way) I still had to speed through to get to the conclusion! Hope we see more from this character, or at least the creator in a comedic context.

I'm about an hour in and one of the things that strikes me is how well Holness has developed his character and wears him like a second skin. The absurdity of the asides don't come off as forced but sensible expressions of Marenghi.

At its heart it isn't a satire on horror (though I had to put down Christine by Stephen King while listening, because I kept reading the attacks in that nasal, self important voice) but an extended and satisfying riff on one exaggerated but plausible character.

Right—you can tell that Holness loves that schlocky, clumsy horror from the 80s. There's pleasure in stuff so clumsy, and he just takes it to the next level (or five). It's like the Venture Bros in that you know those guys love superheroes and villains and all the ridiculous premises that go with the genre, and their skewering is from that love, not contempt. Only a serious-ass fan can mimic and deconstruct so well.

[Silent Majority]

Couple o' recommendations requests:

Great short story collections
Novel writers similar to Richard Brautigan

[Dr. Medulla]

Couple o' recommendations requests:

Great short story collections
Novel writers similar to Richard Brautigan

Charles Beaumont was a superb short story writer. I have a collection called The Howling Man but there are a number of others. Tho it’s been some time since I’ve read any of them, I was fond of Fitzgerald’s short fiction (even as his novels were always a chore).

[revbob]

This seems interesting, anyone read it?

https://www.thisiswhatitsoundslike.com/

Ive dipped my toe into the audio book pool and have started with this as a freebee.

Cool - will be interested in your take

Still haven't finished yet. I usually listen when driving mostly to/from work. It is interesting at times but my big complaint is she refers to songs but they aren't included in the audio. So its like "notice the beat in song X by artist Y, see how it blah blah blahs". And im fucking driving so no I cant do that and I dont know song X much less artist Y, or maybe I do know about Y but fuck if I know the song you're referring to.

[Kory]

Couple o' recommendations requests:

Great short story collections
Novel writers similar to Richard Brautigan

Charles Beaumont was a superb short story writer. I have a collection called The Howling Man but there are a number of others. Tho it’s been some time since I’ve read any of them, I was fond of Fitzgerald’s short fiction (even as his novels were always a chore).

I just read Tender is the Night. It wasn't too bad although it did sag in the 3rd quarter a bit.

[Flex]

Was quite excited to learn this morning that PM Press is going to be publishing a history of Anti-Racist Action and have a Kickstarter for it here:


I imagine I'm not the only one who got involved in left activism through ARA - and that it was a crucial, genuine nexus between politics and music. I suspect this will be a must-read.

They've already met their goal but have a stretch goal going for the next few days to get more copies of the book printed.

[Silent Majority]

Couple o' recommendations requests:

Great short story collections
Novel writers similar to Richard Brautigan

Charles Beaumont was a superb short story writer. I have a collection called The Howling Man but there are a number of others. Tho it’s been some time since I’ve read any of them, I was fond of Fitzgerald’s short fiction (even as his novels were always a chore).

Nice one, I'm just in the mood for some Beaumont.