Attempting to Humor the Humorless

There’s a long history of clowning for social justice. We need more of it. Thank you Felipe.


Send in the clowns: the new guard of activists combating the right, by Morgan Jerkins, The Guardian, September 16, 2026.

A growing cohort of performers ‘clown’ as a means to innovate traditional protest and create social change

On a humid morning on 15 July, Tillie the Clown, a Brooklyn-based drag performer whose real name is Taylor Horne, was waiting to be let inside a New York City council meeting. Horne had started getting into character at 5am, for a makeup and clown-costuming process that would take two hours. It would be another 10 hours before Horne was allowed to address the city council about the passing of Romanch’s Law, which would phase out and ultimately ban New York’s horse carriage industry.

Read whole article here.

Dispatch From Milan’s Coronavirus Outbreak [English and Italian]

We have many lessons to learn from Italians currently dealing with the brutal Coronavirus outbreak. h/t Andrea Marini


We’re not the only ones who don’t have access to masks!

Music for the heart

What to do with your left-over oil.

If you have Facebook, here’s some music (sort of) from the balcony… check out this video.

Save that last glove for yourself! (No Italian necessary)

And, finally… Quarantined Italians record messages to “themselves from 10 days ago”:

John Dingell RIP

Former Representative John Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress, passed away on February 7, 2019 at age 92. He dictated his last words to America to his wife Rep. Debbie Dingell on the day he died. He had a humble, profound sense of honor and justice, and a satirical sense of humor. His words are worth reading.


John Dingell’s Greatest Hits: Lawmaker Had An A+ Trolling Game On Twitter
by Ed Mazza
February 8, 2019

The retired lawmaker mastered the art of throwing shade, particularly at President Trump.

Former Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) is being remembered for his many achievements during his 59 years in Congress.

Dingell, who died on Thursday at the age of 92, played a role in passing some of the nation’s most important legislation, including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. But he’ll also be remembered for something else entirely: His solid Twitter game.

Dingell was known for his comedic takes on the news, cracks about himself and — more than anything else over the past couple of years — his constant trolling of President Donald Trump:

I fully support @realDonaldTrump’s interest in space travel to Mars, and I wish him the absolute best in his travels.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) December 11, 2017

Crooks like Trump will steal a hot stove and come back for the smoke. There’s no bar too low. https://t.co/6BjnNwbZp7
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 25, 2019

Continue reading “John Dingell RIP”

Celebrity Scammers Hiding In Plain Sight

In one of its trademark listicles, Cracked spotlights five famous frauds who have been pretty much forgiven by the public.


“5 Successful People Who Everyone Forgets are Exposed Frauds”
by Sammy Trujillo
Cracked.com
August 25, 2014

James O'Keefe
James O’Keefe (via Getty Images)

“Making a career out of ripping people off takes a special kind of asshole. But to make a career out of defrauding the general public, get exposed as a fraud, and then keep right on defrauding people as if nothing ever happened takes a special kind of asshole with balls of industrial steel. Either that, or a sociopathic lack of self-awareness. Here are five people who just can’t stop making shit up (and are inexplicably rewarded for it).”