More Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary HumorMore seriously funny writing from American's most trusted humor anthology Witty, wise, and just plain wonderful, the inaugural volume of this biennial, Mirth of a Nation, ensured a place for the best contemporary humor writing in the country. And with this second treasury, Michael J. Rosen has once again assembled a triumphant salute to one of America's greatest assets: its sense of humor. More than five dozen acclaimed authors showcase their hilariously inventive works, including Paul Rudnick, Henry Alford, Susan McCarthy, Media Person Lewis Grossberger, Ian Frazier, Richard Bausch, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Nell Scovell, Andy Borowitz, and Ben Greenman -- just to mention a handful so that the other contributors can justify their feelings that the world slights them. But there's more! More Mirth of a Nation includes scads of Unnatural Histories from Randy Cohen, Will Durst's "Top Top-100 Lists" (including the top 100 colors, foods, and body parts), and three unabridged (albeit rather short) chapbooks: David Bader's "How to Meditate Faster" (Enlightenment for those who keep asking, "Are we done yet?") Matt Neuman's "49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth" (for instance, "Make your own honey" and "Share your shower.") Francis Heaney's "Holy Tango of Poetry" (which answers the question, "What if poets wrote poems whose titles were anagrams of their names, i.e., 'Toilets,' by T. S. Eliot?") And there's still more: "The Periodic Table of Rejected Elements," meaningless fables, Van Gogh's Etch A Sketch drawings, a Zagat's survey of existence, an international baby-naming encyclopedia, Aristotle's long-lost treatise "On Baseball," and an unhealthy selection of letters from Dr. Science's mailbag. And that's just for starters! Just remember, as one reviewer wrote of the first volume, "Don't drink milk while reading." |
From inside the book
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... course . So , seriously , what does Enlightenment really feel like ? " Enlightenment is sometimes described as " No - Self " —the absence of any separation between the Self and other phenom- ena . ( This is not to be confused with ...
... course , is not related to former President Jimmy Carter , and claims not to have heard of him , but the confusion alone has given her a considerable bounce in the polls . The acclaimed actress , whose political philosophy is called ...
... course , a metropolitan area - was formerly known as Barbara Seagull , when the spirit of that bird passed into her body . It was the sixties . Before that , she was Barbara Hershey , creating a pleasing feeling of symmetry . Under its ...
... course , just set them off again . Looking closely at Alan from the wings , I could see him slump a little . It was clear that , ten cities into a twelve - city tour , the grind was getting to be a bit much . What's more , this wasn't ...
... course , " he said , trying to convince himself as much as anyone else . Prudent it may have been , but at this point , I couldn't help but wonder if it had been worth it . Not that I had much time to ponder the question : I had to set ...
Contents
Because Yahoo Maps Arent for Everybody | 249 |
Our New Password Policies | 253 |
La Bamba Hot Line | 256 |
All Shook Up | 260 |
Terms of Office | 263 |
The Greatest Hastlly Written Short Notes of the Twentieth Century | 267 |
Anchors Weigh In | 272 |
Who Wants to Keep His Job? | 276 |
30 | |
34 | |
37 | |
41 | |
44 | |
48 | |
52 | |
AhChoo A Guide to the New Hankie Code | 57 |
My Wife Liz | 63 |
The Final Frontier | 68 |
RealLife Survivor | 72 |
Sixteen Magazine Rates the Presidents | 77 |
Your Y2K Checklist | 80 |
Your Public Radio Station | 84 |
Double DiamondHighest Difficulty | 87 |
Decision 04 | 89 |
The Periodic Table of Rejected Elements | 91 |
Happy Holidays from Maria Callas | 93 |
Three Tries at Mocking IKEA | 96 |
Letter to Ken Burns | 98 |
Five Columns from Media Person | 104 |
Carpool Tunnel Syndrome | 117 |
You Fill Out My Census | 124 |
Clarifications | 127 |
Audiobooks for the Deaf | 132 |
If Poets Wrote Poems Whose Titles Were Anagrams of Their Names | 135 |
Drawing Inky | 148 |
For Whom the Tale Blows or The Curtain Also Rises | 155 |
Amenities | 159 |
Vincent at the Knobs | 164 |
A Brush with Greatness | 172 |
Hall of NearFame | 176 |
NearDeathbed Requests | 180 |
The Breakfast Table | 183 |
From The RealLife WorstCaseScenario Survival Handbook | 190 |
A Short Historical Inquiry into Time | 194 |
An Open Letter to the Firefighters of Engine Company 54 Ladder 4 Battalion 9 in the Glass Booth on the Corner of Eighth Avenue and Fortyeighth ... | 199 |
A Fish Story | 203 |
RealLife Giant Construction Equipment for Kids | 212 |
Bubba in Paradise | 217 |
The Deal Memo of Independence | 222 |
Monks Among the Capri Pants | 229 |
Full Disclosure | 233 |
Preface to My Autobiography | 237 |
Studies in the New Causality | 240 |
Disgruntled Former Lexicographer | 243 |
New Roller Coasters Opening This Season | 247 |
You May Already Be a Winner | 279 |
Costuming the Homeless | 284 |
The NanoPet Epoch | 287 |
Subvarsity Smackdown | 290 |
Adventures with Rod and Gumshoe | 296 |
WELLNESS911 | 299 |
Bottleneck Realism from Americas Finest Microbrews | 304 |
A Guide to the LesserKnown Movie Ratings | 307 |
Looking for a Supporting Role Willing to Play Vice President | 312 |
The Busmans Portfolio | 315 |
New York Confidential | 319 |
Internet Stocks Too Hot to Ignore | 322 |
49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth | 325 |
How Im Doing | 335 |
Virtual Friends | 338 |
Ripoff | 341 |
What Happened to My Money? | 344 |
State Dates | 348 |
Your Neighborhood Laundraclean | 351 |
Three Christmas Candies | 354 |
Womenu | 359 |
Alfred Hitchcocks Hamlet | 363 |
Aristotles On Baseball | 370 |
The First Book of Mailer Called Genesis | 376 |
The Granddaddy of Baseball Operas to Make Its Presence Felt | 379 |
Death of the Blues | 383 |
Blues for Beginners | 385 |
Totally Amazing Grace | 388 |
Teen Times | 391 |
Fun with Names | 394 |
Jupiter | 396 |
In the Spirit of Full Disclosure | 398 |
The Solomon Bar Mitzvah | 402 |
Questions Answered and Unanswered | 410 |
Three Meaningless Fables | 420 |
Critique | 430 |
Zagats Surveys Existence | 444 |
In Brief | 448 |
The Party Problem | 454 |
Dismembering Mr Shawns New Yorker | 457 |
International Name Encyclopedia | 460 |
Supplement to the Basic Course Catalog University of Kansas | 465 |
Excerpts from Mens Self | 470 |
The EndoftheWorld Bake Sale | 476 |
Submission Guidance | 478 |
Questions for Reading Groups | 490 |