For author Matt Ferrell, it's not always pixie dust and flying elephants as he tackles a month at a certain amusement park in Anaheim, California. In Thirty Days in the Kingdom, he relays his day-to-day experiences beginning on September 1, 2008, and continuing each day for the rest of the month. Following an inner urge to relive his childhood, Ferrell experiences the sights, sounds, rides, crowds, food, music, shows, characters, and more at this popular theme park. Sharing his observations and insights while surrounded by "guests" having fun, Thirty Days in the Kingdom provides a unique look at the culture, patrons, and "cast members" of this much-visited tourist attraction. Among oversized strollers and churro-hungry guests hurrying to wait in the next line, Ferrell finds his happy place, and he discovers that somewhere between childhood memories, Neverland, and middle-aged realities that his dreams just might possibly come true.
Satire & The State focuses on performance-based satire, most often seen in sketch comedy, from 1960 to the present, and explores how sketch comedy has shaped the way Americans view the president and themselves. Numerous sketch comedy portrayals of presidents that have seeped into the American consciousness – Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford, Dana Carvey’s George H.W. Bush, and Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush all worked to shape the actual politician’s public persona. The book analyzes these sketches and many others, illustrating how comedy is at the heart of the health and function of American democracy. At its best, satire aimed at the presidency can work as a populist check on executive power, becoming one of the most important weapons for everyday Americans against tyranny and political corruption. At its worst, satire can reflect and promote racism, misogyny, and homophobia in America. Written for students of Theatre, Performance, Political Science, and Media Studies courses, as well as readers with an interest in political comedy, Satire & The State offers a deeper understanding of the relationship between comedy and the presidency, and the ways in which satire becomes a window into the culture, principles, and beliefs of a country.
Satire and parody existed long before modern times. Readers will get an invaluable overview of how to identify satire and parody and how to think critically about current events.
One of the most gifted and entertaining journalists writing today, Matt Labash can extract comic humanity from even the most wary politicians, con artists, and rogues—while shedding wisdom about the rich corners of our American experience. Fly Fishing with Darth Vader pulls together the best of Labash’s feature writing and includes his masterful profiles of the outrageous characters who populate America’s periphery, his loving and lacerating portraits of New Orleans and Detroit, and his hilarious tirades on the health hazards of Facebook and the virtues of dodgeball. Among other must-read essays, Labash chronicles Al Sharpton’s eating habits, fishes the Snake River with Dick Cheney, and investigates the “great white waste of time” that is our neighbor to the north. Labash was born with a natural appreciation for the American scoundrel and a sense that life is one big chance for laughter. For those reasons, Fly Fishing with Darth Vader will be cherished and talked about for years.
Satire & The State focuses on performance-based satire, most often seen in sketch comedy, from 1960 to the present, and explores how sketch comedy has shaped the way Americans view the president and themselves. Numerous sketch comedy portrayals of presidents that have seeped into the American consciousness – Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford, Dana Carvey’s George H.W. Bush, and Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush all worked to shape the actual politician’s public persona. The book analyzes these sketches and many others, illustrating how comedy is at the heart of the health and function of American democracy. At its best, satire aimed at the presidency can work as a populist check on executive power, becoming one of the most important weapons for everyday Americans against tyranny and political corruption. At its worst, satire can reflect and promote racism, misogyny, and homophobia in America. Written for students of Theatre, Performance, Political Science, and Media Studies courses, as well as readers with an interest in political comedy, Satire & The State offers a deeper understanding of the relationship between comedy and the presidency, and the ways in which satire becomes a window into the culture, principles, and beliefs of a country.
Your future is...limited! Wait, we mean...limiting... No, hold on...limitless. Sometimes your first steps into the "real world" send you falling flat on your face. It's natural to be optimistic about new experiences, but most of us set ourselves up only to be let down every time. And disappointment hurts like a $%&*#. News flash: You don't have to be an Einstein to survive adult life. You don't even have to abandon your standards to get what you want. All you have to do is keep your expectations realistic. Don't worry—if you're not feeling 100 percent confident about your abilities to live like a grown-up, Robert Boesel and Matt Moore (a.k.a. your new best friends/big brothers) will guide you over the impending hurdles of adulthood, including: Your First Apartment—you can't have nice things Business Trips—if they were meant to be fun, they'd be called vacations Pets—you are in no position to keep a creature alive! Plants are iffy too... And much more! From constructing your first IKEA-filled apartment to trying to land your dream job (and landing at the bottom of the corporate ladder instead), Adult Stuff gives every aspiring grown-up a much-needed reality check on how to conquer life's challenges like a champ.
Funny, moving, and a guaranteed page-turner. Brilliant!" -Mike Gayle, author of Mr. Commitment "It's not me-it's you." After ten years, Jane's had enough of Edward Middleton. "You've let yourself go," she tells him. "So I'm letting you go too." Determined to get her back, Edward realizes he must learn how to make women want him again. But right now, he's the kind of man who puts the "ex" in "sexy." One thing is certain: if he's going to be Jane's Mr. Right, he needs to turn himself around. From Atkins to Waxing, Edward begins working his way through the makeover alphabet. But is a change in appearance what Jane really wants? Can cuddly Teddy really become sexy Eddie? Or is there more to the dating game than meets the eye? "[The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook] gives a real insight into the different ways men and women think." -Prima
Kenergy. The word on everybody's lips. But what actually is Kenergy? And how can you unlock your own Kenergy from within? Kenergy is main-side-kick-character energy. It's carrying someone's purse like your life depends on it. It's letting your girlfriend test out her makeup ideas on you first to check they look good. It's hiding in your girlfriend's suitcase to surprise her on vacation, then happily getting the 6 hour flight home alone when she says she doesn't want you there. Someone with Kenergy always takes care of his appearance, but only to make his girlfriend look even hotter - not that it's even possible. He's (somehow) always got a tan and his abs are so shredded you could grate cheese on them. And he polishes his motorcycle every morning just in case he learns to ride it one day. But Kenergy is not all smiles and sparkles. Sometimes he wants so badly to be admired and adored that he can barely carry on when he doesn't get the praise he craves so deeply. But he patiently waits for the crippling invasive thoughts to pass, then merrily resumes making his strawberry daiquiri. In a nutshell, Kenergy is joyful, whimsical and - above all - delights in the absurd. And with this book, you'll become an expert in identifying Kenergy, harnessing your Kenergy, embodying your Kenergy, and learning how to be the ultimate hype-man. *UNOFFICIAL AND UNAUTHORIZED*
Meet Dr.* Matt (*not a doctor), a pseudo-psychologist who goes where Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Dr. Melfi, Oprah, Maury and Montel don't dare. Spoofing more than two-dozen bestselling self-help books and their celebrated authors, Positive MEinforcement isn't just a parody ? it's a lifestyle. Dr.* Matt teaches his disciples how to lie to themselves, stalk success, sweat the ?small stuff, ? read minds, dodge death, faith heal and meditate to new levels of ecstasy. Spoon up some Matzoh Ball Soup for the Spirit, hug Delf the Self-Help Elf and let Dr.* Matt take all the thinking out of feeling. You?ll learn to shout ?Me first!? every day and make life all about YOU.
Band On The Run" is the over-the-top and highly entertaining tale of Mellowtron, an out-of-control rock band on its first tour of America, as told in memoir form by their uber-controlling manager, James Blank. The band sets out on a savage journey from Seattle to New York City in a customized Winnebago, recording songs on tour stops along the way with the intention of having a completed album when they reach the Big Apple. Their twisted escapades along the highways and backstages of America are chronicled in all their vulgar hilarity. Along the way, many of rock and roll's most diabolical events are recounted by author Matt Syverson. "Band On The Run" is a tale of sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, and more drugs, so read at your own risk.
You may have read books on relationships, but you haven't read a book like this one. When It Comes To Relationships serves up the unique, hilarious, and enlightening perspective of Internet icon Dr. Matt. There's no men from Mars, or women from Venus, but who needs planets to explore relationship differences when you have Dr. Matt and Midgie?Despite his assurance that this book won't be about himself or his partner Midgie, and his insistence that he "hates metaphors", Dr. Matt uses every tool in the tool shed to pull apart and piece together relationships, and possibly ends up learning something about his own in the process.With allegories of the story of Adam and Eve to plot points of The Matrix, When It Comes To Relationships shows us how we've all acted like idiots at one time or another.
As a young boy, Matt Sayman dreamed of playing pro basketball. His family believed in his vision, even agreeing to move to Texas when one of Matt’s favorite coaches left Pennsylvania for the Lone Star State. Matt eventually received a full athletic scholarship from Baylor University. He was only six-feet-four but what he lacked in height, he made up for in skill and positive attitude. Then the summer before his senior year, the bottom fell out of Matt’s world. A player went missing…and was found dead. A teammate was the murder suspect. A coach was accused of paying players under the table. Some players had received drug-free urine samples to pass off as their own. And through it all, Matt was supposed to be the glue who held the Baylor basketball team together. In The Leftovers: Baylor, Betrayal, and Beyond, Matt shares his personal story of dealing with the fallout after tragedy and trouble nearly sank Baylor’s program. Matt was senior co-captain, but with a short-manned team of leftover players, there was no way to have a winning season, no way some talent scout would take a chance on him. Matt’s hope and faith were shaken because of the scandals that summer. His post-Baylor years included a DWI, a difficult divorce, and broken relationships. Matt struggled to find peace. On his thirtieth birthday, just a few days after a deep conversation with his pastor, Matt said goodbye to alcohol and surrendered his life to God. This book tells the story of Matt’s personal redemption—but it is also a story of the redemption of Baylor University’s men’s basketball program. Matt’s team with a young new head coach forged the Baylor team that won the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball championship.
Dating in the 21st Century has changed everything, with more and more people settling down later in life, and with one in three couples meeting online via dating apps. Author Matt Bird has been confounded by this new normal, and across his latest book attempts to find the answer to the question: Does online dating actually work? Across a hilarious journal of his struggles with online dating, of which he kept a detailed account of his countless disastrous dates as primary research into the possibilities of finding love, Matt tries (and mostly fails) to see what other people get out of such a strange social dynamic. Some dates went well, some ended without much fanfare but more often than not there was always a hilarious story to relay, and another mile clocked on the seemingly never ending pursuit of happiness in the dating world. Matt learns something from every date he goes on, but even from the beginning he knows he's completely out of his depth. He's just a normal bloke, but his online dating journey was anything but normal, as he was forced to traverse the weird and wonderful situations he was thrown in with increasing hilarity. He might not have found the love he was looking for, but he'll have stories that'll stay with him - and now you - for life...
I wrote this book with a friend's husband in mind. You know who you are. You truly are my inspiration for this book and I thank you for being such a douche bag albatross. What an asshole.
Welcome to my world. My name is Matt Shifley (a.k.a. Mr. Shife) and for the past eight years, I have been chronicling my odyssey from a really dumb newlywed in 2005 to an even more mindless, married, stay-at-home dad in 2013. This book is a collection of short, distinctive anecdotes from my blog, Confessions of a Dumb, White Guy. A lot has happened over those years. Some of it funny like discovering that pleated pants can make you look like a sex addict. Some of it heart-warming like becoming a dad and holding my child for the first time. Some of it painful like dealing with the unexpected death of my mother and the aftermath: trying to recover from the worst moment of my life. And through it all, I'm still learning, discovering, laughing, writing, and enjoying life in my little corner of the world. I'm proud to share these tales with you, even the one where you learn exactly why white thong underwear can be a weapon of mass embarrassment.
History is written by the winners. It's the faithful servants, the insiders, the ones who stick around, who can adapt to almost any condition that get to write the official histories. They publish the memoirs, park in the directors' spots, erect the statues, form the new governments, wipe out the pockets of resistance, recruit the new starters, set the agendas, talk on the documentaries and retrospectives. Yet theirs - the official version - is never the whole story. The quitter's tale offers a far more compelling, and often a more honest version of history. The Last Goodbye, Matt Potter collects the pithiest, angriest, most hilarious messages of resignation throughout history, including those whose exits were a springboard to eventual success, such as Steve Jobs, George Orwell and Charlie Sheen.It's full of self-deception, bloody knives, betrayal, honour, disgrace, disgust, thwarted ambition and shattered hopes, and sometimes a wicked sting in the tail . . .
Satire and parody existed long before modern times. Readers will get an invaluable overview of how to identify satire and parody and how to think critically about current events.
Youth is no longer an age—it's a commodity YouthNation is an indispensable brand roadmap to the youth-driven economy. Exploring the idea that youth is no longer an age—it's a commodity that's available to everyone—this book shows what it takes to stay connected, agile, authentic, and relevant in today's marketplace. Readers will learn the ins and outs of the new consumer, and the tools, methods, and techniques that ensure brand survival in the age of perpetual youth. Coverage includes marketing in a post-demographic world, crafting the story of the brand, building engaged communities, creating experiences that inspire loyalty and evangelism, and the cutting-edge tricks that help businesses large and small harness the enormous power of youth. The old marketing models are over, and the status quo is dead. Businesses today have to embody the ideals of youth culture in order to succeed, by tapping the new and rapidly evolving resources n business and in life. When everything is changing at the pace of a teenager's attention span, how do businesses future-fit for long-term success? This book provides a plan, and the thoughts, strategies, and brass tacks advice for putting it into action. Use New-Gen psychographics to target markets Build stronger evangelism with a compelling brand narrative Create loyal communities with immersive and engaging experiences Navigate the radically-changed landscape of the future marketplace In today's hyper-socialized, Facebook fanatic, selfie-obsessed world, youth is the primary driver of business and culture. Smart companies are looking to tap into the fountain of youth, and the others are sinking fast. YouthNation is a roadmap to brand relevancy in the new economy, giving businesses turn-by-turn direction to their market destination.
Vandalism and Anti-Social Behaviour forwards a new typology of vandalism. The authors argue that in order to fully understand vandalism and anti-social behaviour, a culturally criminological perspective should be fostered, which accounts for the emotional and experiential aspects of crime.
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