Humor, Situations
You dog lovers out there can appreciate the conundrum of having to answer the following question honestly: “If you had to live the rest of your life on deserted island, who would you take with you?” The idea behind this question is that you would have to make the tough choice of picking your favorite human being—the proverbial one and only one. Answering, “I would actually like to take Max, my lovely Chihuahua dog, onto the deserted island because he is the center of my emotional life,” is not going to win you brownie points with most interlocutors, your spouse, your partner, or even your mother if she happens to standing next to you. When I get asked this question (and I am alone), this is my favorite answer: “I would like to take a DVD with every single edition of the New Yorker since 1925 with me. ” With this answer I am sure to startle my interlocutors. Yes, I honestly believe one human being could never amount to the collective intelligence and humanity of the entire ensemble of writers for the New Yorkers since 1925. Today the New Yorker launched its iPad application. After seeing this introductory commercial with Jason Schwartzman, I decided to change my answer to the Robinson Crusoe question. Henceforth I shall say: “If Apple soon allows the New Yorker to put its entire archive on the Ipad, it will definitely be an iPad.”What I will take with me onto a deserted island
Humor, People
From Writer’s Almanac: Stoppard was a drama critic, and while watching a performance of Hamlet he began thinking about the minor characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are hired by King Claudius to spy on Hamlet.John Stoppard on the meaning of his early play
Stoppard decided to write a play that would tell Hamlet from the point of view of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In Stoppard’s version, they spend the play worrying that their lives have no meaning, and it’s only by participating in Hamlet’s story that they find any purpose. The play was called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967), and it made Stoppard the youngest playwright ever to have a play staged by the National Theatre in London. He was just 29 years old. When it had its premiere in New York, Stoppard was asked what the play was about. He said, “It’s about to make me rich.”
Humor, People
From Time.com: With his shaggy white hair, Frank joked that his mastery of the conference is simply a function of his inability to focus. “There’s one piece of advice I give young people—generally they don’t want us pontificating to ‘em—try to find a line of work where a central characteristic of your personality is an advantage rather than a disadvantage,” the Harvard Law School dropout told Politico last week. “For me, that’s a short attention span. A short attention span is a helluva handicap if you’re trying to write a Ph.D. thesis, but it is essential if you’re going to preside over a legislative conference with 17 issues coming up in a day.”Barney Frank’s Career Advice
© 2026 Peter Murmann. Powered by ExpressionEngine.
