Election 2016: The Laughter Has Died

It may be paying their bills, but the writers for The Onion are just as sick of this dumpster-fire election as the rest of us. Thanks to Scott Beale for the link.


“How To Satirize This Election? Even The Onion Is Having Trouble”
by Sarah Lyall
The New York Times
November 4, 2016

05onion-1-superjumboNow that it”s almost over and we”re all thoroughly miserable, is there anything funny left to say about this dreadful election? Even the writers at the satirical website The Onion were struggling the other morning to come up with fresh avenues of amusement.

Lounging around the writers” room, they listened to the editor in chief, Cole Bolton, read from a list of potential headlines they had submitted for consideration. Some of them were pretty funny – “Trump Tells Supporters Next Stop in Movement Is Buying Luxury Condos,” for instance, and “Clinton Vows Complete Transparency for Remaining 6 Days of Campaign” “” but by the end of the meeting, only three out of 48 had been selected as worthy of turning into an item for the site. A kind of comic fatigue seemed to be setting in.

“We feel like we”ve passed every single stage of despair, hopelessness and rage,” Mr. Bolton said. “This last week is just us strafing to find new angles, to put into words how horrible this experience has been.”

It”s not that The Onion, which began as a campus humor magazine at the University of Wisconsin in 1988 and went all-digital at the end of 2013, has not faced dismaying events before. Its specialty is finding satire even in topics seemingly impossible to satirize. “God Angrily Clarifies “˜Don”t Kill” Rule” was its headline for a post-9/11 article in which a despairing God rails at the moronic nature of his creation. Keep reading.

Celebrate New York’s 30th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade!

NYC April Fools' Day Parade jesterWe”re 30 and proud of it! New York”s spectacular April Fools” Day Parade kicks into its fourth decade of hilarious irreverence, poking fun at the past year”s public displays of hype, hypocrisy, deceit, bigotry, and downright foolishness. Nothing and no one is sacred. Our satire knows no bounds. In honor of our 30th year, we”ll be giving 30 lucky revelers free cartoon interpretations of their favorite taboo religious icons, picked at random at the end of the parade in Washington Square Park.


New York, New York — The 30th Annual April Fools” Day Parade will begin at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at 12 noon, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Rain or shine, the parade will march down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park for the climactic selection of the King of Fools from the costumed marching look-alikes.

NYC Annual April Fools' Day ParadeThe theme for this year”s parade is “Hands Up, Don”t Shoot“. The Grand Marshall will be Mayor Bill de Blasio wearing an “I Can”t Breathe” T-shirt. He will lead the NYPD Marching Band playing Smokey Robinson”s “You Really Got a Hold on Me”, however, they will be marching backwards in a continuing show of disrespect for the Mayor. Special guests will include Ebola-infected volunteers recently returned from West Africa who have ignored their quarantines. Color commentary will be provided by NBC”s Brian Williams making it up as it happens.

The first float will be a Mobile Carnival Shooting Gallery where police officers are firing at young minority targets. Then comes a Three-Story Glass Elevator float featuring President Obama on the 3rd floor with armed civilians; Beyoncé”s sister Solange ferociously assaulting Jay-Z on the 2nd floor; and NFL star Ray Rice dragging out his unconscious fiancée on the ground floor. Next are 2016 Presidential Hopeful Clowns riding in a hot-air balloon inflated by their own boasts and flatulence. They will be tethered to a voracious media circus. This will be followed by the Sarah Palin Bar Brawl float, packed with family members slugging it out with bar patrons. Next are several cattle trucks filled with the first wave of 11 million illegal immigrants en route to deportation, followed by a brigade of Russian soldiers en route to the Lower East Side”s Ukrainian neighborhood in order to annex it. Bringing up the rear will be an International Search and Rescue float looking for missing Malaysian flight 370. All floats will be powered by recalled GM vehicles. Parade organizers are not responsible for any injuries or deaths. Continue reading “Celebrate New York’s 30th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade!”

Announcing New York’s 30th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade!

New York April Fools' Day Parade jesterNew York”s spectacular April Fools” Day Parade kicks into its fourth decade of hilarious irreverence, poking fun at the past year”s public displays of hype, hypocrisy, deceit, bigotry, and downright foolishness.

In honor of this 30th anniversary, 30 lucky revelers, picked at random from the crowd at the end of the parade in Washington Square Park, will receive free cartoon interpretations of their favorite taboo religious icons.
 
 
Details of this year’s planned floats and celebrity look-alikes are here or here.

See 30 years of annual press releases here.

Join the fun! Check back for updates.


Stephen Barnwell’s Capital Offenses

From Antarctica Arts:


Capital-Offenses-200Capital Offenses is a new fine art monograph by Stephen Barnwell. Barnwell’s work often blurs the lines between political activism, humor, and observation. This first edition is a ten-year retrospective of his unique satirical prints.

As an artist, Barnwell considers no subject off-limits. He feels that political correctness and political extremism are destroying our national discourse. Using satire to explore controversial ideas and forbidden subjects, he subverts the language of power to criticize power.

stephenbarnwellart-425

Capital Offenses, published by Antarctica Arts, has a publication date of May 1, 2014.

Special Pre-release Offer:
The first 50 books of this first print run will be signed and hand-numbered by the artist.

Related links:

  • Artist Stephen Barnwell Designs Official OWS Protest Currency
  • Stephen Barnwell”s Bailout for America