I’ve been a little down in the dumps lately – probably because I haven’t had any time to write. It’s amazing how radically that can affect my mood. Because of it, though, I thought I’d share some of my “go-to” sites for when I really need a laugh.
Candyboots’ Weight Watchers Cards from 1974 and James Lileks’ Gallery of Regrettable Food have a similar theme. They take old recipes, cookbooks or other food-related images and add biting, sarcastic and highly amusing commentary. For Candyboots, I recommend ‘taking the tour’ (one of my favourite stops is the Fluffy Mackerel Pudding) and for the Gallery, there’s several options but generally the ones that involve meat are the most hilarious, IMO. If you manage to make your way through the Gallery without actually dying of laughter, James Lileks also has the Institute of Official Cheer, where his commentary expands beyond food-related images into topics such as advertising and interior design.
Now, if I’m feeling like I need to pretend I’m working, but still need a pick-me-up, Evil Editor can always be relied on for a laugh. People submit the first two hundred words of their stories and readers of Evil Editor’s blog will ‘continue’ the submission, probably not in the way the author intended at all. Also, people submit query letters for books they’re trying to sell, which Evil Editor will critique. He’s very up-front about the fact the site is designed for entertainment first, and he succeeds admirably in providing consistent amusement. Regardless, I’ve actually learned a lot about query letters (and what doesn’t work) while laughing so hard, I’ve cried. Like just now – I got totally sidetracked while writing this. It’s addictive stuff. And it’s a blog, so it has new additions all the time.
Yay! I’m already in a better mood than I was an hour ago. Worked again!