In 1954, “Lucky Jim” was a new planet: When Kingsley Amis wrote it, English satirical fiction had been for a third of a century a decidedly mandarin and highbrow business. Unlike his predecessors, Amis depicts representatives of the lower orders and the previously inaccessible university world that is not so much a garden of philosophy [...]
(Tacoma, WA)—Bill Gleason is trying to figure out how to use the recent death of a sports star, to whom he previously paid little attention, to draw attention to himself on social media. "Of course, I'm simply going to start with an 'I'm devastated' post, so people know how much this is affecting ME," Mr. [...]
(WORLD) — Users across various social media platforms were shocked today to learn of the death of 89-year-old Manfred Krauss, the renowned German film director, whose credits include dozens of films, including 1958's The Leper, 1972's Peregrinations, and 1991's Oscar-nominated The Nursemaid's Lament. Krauss had been engaged in a well-publicized battle with lung cancer for [...]
Tupelo, Mississippi—In the wake of the controversy over the current Mississippi state flag, which includes the Confederate Battle Flag in its design, a group calling itself The Non-Binary Anti-Fascist People's Liberation Society for Climate Sanity has proposed a new, transparent flag to replace those state flags having what it deems to be "racist" designs. "This [...]
(USA) — Government officials in Washington DC and across the country are looking forward to ending the national lockdown soon and returning to normal times, when Americans are allowed to go about their business without government direction or interference. "This whole Coronavirus thing really forced us into a new role," said one high official at [...]
(Gary, IN)—Gregory W. O'Connell was stunned when he signed back into Facebook at 12:00am local time after a 40-day absence from social media to hear about the COVID-19 pandemic. "Just shocked, really. Good golly. Which of us who gave up social media for Lent could have known about this? I mean, it was really quiet [...]
(Providence, RI) — In the wake of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo's issuance today of an order to have New Yorkers in her state arrested in order to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, an instant poll by the Pew Research Company shows that 79% of Americans had already supported the concept of locking up [...]
(USA) — In recent days, Americans across the country have become worried about people they have never seen before walking through the streets of their towns. "It's frightening, really," says Joe Harkins of Dothan, Alabama. "They are sometimes walking in pairs, sometimes in groups with what appear to be their young offspring, even by themselves [...]
(Washington, DC)— Today President Trump announced that in an effort to make America free of dependence on China for products, the United States would begin manufacturing its own brand of COVID-19. "It's high time that we lessen our dependence on China," the president declared. "And one of the steps I am taking today is to [...]
(Los Angeles, CA)—Singer/model/actress Naomi Campbell was spotted yesterday at Tom Bradley International Airport wearing a full hazmat suit as she boarded a flight. Long known as a germophobe, Campbell's extreme measures in the face of the Coronavirus outbreak reassured her fellow passengers. "Thank God she is doing this," said Helen Ledbetter, who was trying to [...]
(Unknown location, USA)—In a videotaped statement released today by the secretive, radical group known as the Democratic National Committee, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), speaking under obvious duress from an undisclosed location, read a prepared statement endorsing onetime rival, Joe Biden, for president. "It's quite clear that she's under coercion and that she doesn't mean what [...]
(USA)—Bells rung out, people danced in the streets, and fireworks illuminated the skies late Tuesday night across America, as the election results from the Democratic primary contests rolled in, confirming that candidate Mike Bloomberg's only chance in 2020 is to become king of a separatist state in American Samoa. Americans everywhere quickly realized that this [...]
(Charleston, SC)—Democratic presidential frontrunner Bernie Sanders today announced that he would select the coronavirus as his running mate for the 2020 general election, if he indeed secures the presidential nomination. "First of all, I said I would pick a much younger candidate, and the virus is a lot younger than I am," Mr. Sanders said. [...]
(Menlo Park, CA)—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today issued a personal plea to lazy, do-nothing Christians worldwide to increase their posting as much as possible during Lent as many real Christians are heroically taking Facebook fasts. "We desperately need... quote-unquote 'Christians'... who really don't sacrifice at all during Lent, and who eat lots of chocolate and [...]