Have a laugh

Two NYTimes articles tickled my funny bone this past Sunday...maybe they'll tickle yours as well.

Mary Roach, author of the macabe, but weirdly fun and fascinating book Stiff, writes a droll review of a new book called Traffic. A subject ripe with comic potential, and Mary Roach totally makes hay with it, exploiting many of the book's fun facts to hilarious effect.

Slow-Moving Vehicle

Traffic jams are not, by and large, caused by flaws in road design but by flaws in human nature. While this is bad news for drivers — there’s not much to be done about human nature — it is good news for readers of Tom Vanderbilt’s new book. “Traffic” is not a dry examination of highway engineering; it’s a surprising, enlightening look at the psychology of human beings behind the steering wheels. An alternate title for the book might be “Idiots.” (Link to article.)

The second article that gave me a chuckle explores the disease gout and its literary connections. The last paragraph is priceless.

My Literary Malady
So, it has come to this. It’s official. My doctor has confirmed what I had suspected for some time, that despite some “nonstandard presentation” and my solid belief that this sort of thing happens only to other people, I have gout. I am a member of that shadowy, shameful group, the “gout community.” (Link to article.)