Best Memes of the Year: Part 1

There is no guarantee I will continue to do this...but about a year ago I began collecting memes....

Memes, for me, are a constant source of enjoyment. They are this age's most efficient (and compact) form of satire and socio-cultural critique. They can also simply be incredibly silly fun. 

Meme's are like a multi-layered single-panel comic. Take one of the pillars of meme culture, the Condescending Willy Wonka, as an example:

Quick Review: South Park Season 19 Ep. 1 & 2: Which is more insane: militant political correctness or Donald Trump's presidential candidacy?

Don't mess with the PC Bros brah!

Please realize that I fully realize South Park is not for the faint of heart. I fully admit it is a vulgar show and as each episode's pre-show disclaimer warns, it in actuality "should not be viewed by anyone." All that said, as far as I am concerned South Park contains the most visceral, scathing, impacting satire of our times—you will need to wade through all the vulgarity however, in order to see it. Actually, no. Let me say this: America is a vulgar place already and though I do not necessarily agree with their means, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the show's writer/creators/actors) use vulgarity to show us how vulgar our time and place and people truly are.

TV Review: The First Week of Late Show With Stephen Colbert

How did I do?

In my opinion there is not a smarter person on television than Stephen Colbert. Despite the comedic facade there also is not a more sincere person, a person who cares more about their craft, and about connecting with people through their craft. I am speaking in superlatives I know, but there does seem to be something about Colbert that differentiates him from all the others (and not just his late night competition) and there seems to be something different in how he is shaping the new Late Show.

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and the Tragedy of Satire

Or, Dear Future: We're Sorry You Won't Find The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, or Mystery Science Theater 3000 Funny

5 things I'm wondering about the new Steve Taylor album Goliath

Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil release their new album Goliath today (you can purchase it here on itunes and Amazon). I've very much been looking forward to this album since they announced their Kickstarter campaign last winter. But really I've been looking forward to this album for over 20 years. Taylor's released two songs ("Shortstop" from the Roaring Lambs album and "A Life Preserved" from the Blue Like Jazz soundtrack) since his last proper album Squint from 1993. This means us fans have been salivating unsatiated for years upon years, left perpetually mumbling to ourselves "When Steve, when?". I mean, Taylor even had the audacity to launch his own record label in the mid 90's (also called Squint) and did not even release one of his own records on it. The nerve.

Steve Taylor Helped Me Grow Up (and he used humor to do it)

Today the legendary Steve Taylor released his long-gestating new album Goliath with his something of a supergroup backing band The Perfect Foil (Peter Furler, Jimmy Abegg, and John Mark Painter) [you can purchase it here on itunes and Amazon]. Thus, it's obviously time to do some reflecting on Taylor's past work.

As a kid Rich Mullins taught me how to lose myself in the wonder of God but Steve Taylor forced me to grow into a mature Christian. And the funny thing is he usually did so by making me laugh.

Why It's OK When Satire Makes You Mad

Or Why Satire is True Even When It's Not True

An Onion article, "New Study Finds Link Between Breastfeeding, Always Knowing What's Right For Everyone" ,has been making it's way around my Facebook circles this week, one that hits pretty close to home for me. Basically, it's an article skewering a particular set of young moms, those who are undyingly committed to breast feeding and as result make it their goal to tell every other parent they come across how they are doing parenting wrong.