Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

  Blog \Blôg\, n. [Jrg, fr. Jrg. "Web-log".
     See {Blogger, BlogSpot, LiveJournal}.]
     A stream-of-consciousness Web journal, containing
     links, commentary, and pointless drivel.

On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

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BSD Mall

10/6/2003 -  10/8/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
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8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
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8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
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6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
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6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
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  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
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2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
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2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
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5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Wednesday, December 4, 2002
11:16 - Really Big Shoe	(top)
Jackie Mason was on "Forum" this morning; he was holding forth in what I'm sure has become the archetype for the comic Yiddish delivery, with his thick crunchy accent and rambling speculative inward kvetchings that have spawned so many homages throughout entertainment, from characters in Mel Brooks movies to Rabbi Krustovsky. Michael was asking brief questions about Jackie's career, and then sitting back and letting the master work. One story that he told, though, I found particularly revealing. Jackie talked about a recent occasion when he hired a young Palestinian comic (yes, apparently there was one) to be on his show. Mason then faced a torrent of media attention over whether he had any problem working with the guy because he was a Palestinian. I'm paraphrasing, but Jackie recounted his reaction as being, "Well, is he coming here throwing bombs, or is he coming here telling jokes? He's not in Israel killing people, he's here to make people laugh. I'm not so hateful as to blame him for the things some of his countrymen do. If we've learned nothing else as a people, it's that we have to be above that kind of nonsense." And then, the comic in question repaid him for this by publicly spewing vicious anti-Israel, anti-Sharon, anti-Jewish rhetoric, and Mason fired him. And the press again leaped all over him, taking up the comic's claim that he had been fired for being Palestinian. Said Mason: Did I hire him or what? I knew he was Palestinian when I hired him. Why would I fire him for that reason? The press completely ignored the real reason for kicking the comic off the show, and turned Mason into the bad guy. I don't know anything from any other source about this incident-- I'm just going by what he said on the air this morning. But it's an interesting case study anyway. Later Jackie explained why Jewish comedians are such a common thing. When you're persecuted throughout the world, and you have no power to fight back, you laugh at your predicament. When you're a studious and intellectual people, you engage in self-aware, self-effacing humor. Now, I'd like to know why the Palestinians haven't tried this? It's a much bigger and more effective form of passive resistance than Gandhi ever came up with: it's the ability to sow memes throughout a society, positive memes, that go through phases of derision and resentment-- but eventually become nostalgic, endearing, and treasured. Today, it can hardly be denied that the Jews are stronger as a people and as a pop-cultural influential force than they ever have been. And not one of them ever had to blow himself up on a schoolbus in order to achieve that. UPDATE: Oh, wait. Rabbi Krustovsky actually was played by Jackie Mason. I guess that would explain that.