I think political comedy makes perfect sense, not exactly because most things are boring, but because politics is frustrating for many people. And humour is a way to cope with frustration.
I live in Wuhan.... There is actually counter intelligence at work, in this case the fact that General Tso's Chicken, and by association the Orange Chicken at Panda Express, does not exist in Chinese cuisine. It was created in America, by Americans, FOR AMERICANS! There is movement afoot to reverse the trend and insert our sweetened and artificially flavored chicken back into China, where it will harden the arteries and fatten the bellies of otherwise healthy Chinese.
But but but... KFC in China has been radically altered in many ways. One of the reasons for KFC's initial success is it allowed local franchisees to introduce their own stuff. Lots of fairly weird things not seen in the States. Buckets of chicken do not exist. The big seller is the chicken sandwich, universally called a burger or "Han Bao" the name being a sort of transliteration of "hamburger". Wings are big, but they're usually coupled with a burger.
Now, there's about 7-8 fried chicken sandwich chains that are all going at KFC's dominance, at approximately half the price. "中国汉堡“ （China Han Bao) is kicking ass. It's a good sandwich...er, burger.
I don't know about "radically" altered, but I take your point. It's the same in Malaysia, Thailand, etc., where you'll find regional options that you don't see in the states. Hell, you should've seen the look I got from an Australian KFC employee when I asked for baked beans!
That said, even the regional options have that same heavily processed, American fast food style of production. And I'd argue that the fact that they're copying us when the food there is already amazing only further proves my (entirely facetious) point 🤪
The "radically altered" part is correct, though. Some of the weird shit you see in China is radical. It's not so much like that in Bangkok and Singapore, but here they do stuff like squid or other strangely flavored fries, and strange multi colored options that I don't want to try.
Good job on avoiding the low-hanging MSG jokes. Nigel Ng has his hilarious "Uncle Roger" character making fun of bad Asian cooking on YouTube, and at one point people were complaining that he had become "Uncle MSG!"
For political comedy to work, the creator has to be out of the way. (I think this is related to the buy-in part). This is a principle of comedy and lawyering among other forms.
The histories and the old music are great. The politics is inherent and tacit, and you're at your funniest. Also things like the latest post mocking the Signal thing, hilarious.
But once your own opinion comes in, it becomes less funny. E.g. Your personal pose as a realistic Dad figure who sees the foolishness of youth. Please, I’m older than you, so give me a break on the wisdom thing. And, btw, you seem pretty sure that you're not wrong.
As to joke mechanics, I think it’s like introducing a bad premise. “Hey, what’s up with these traffic signals? Green, red? What is it, Christmas?”
Well, there’s a reason…
Mine goes thus: ”You and Noah Smith are both shallow. The secret cabal is just a bunch of traders, each with a portfolio of bets. The left-right model has nothing to do with what's going on. The evil algorithm is Revenue - Expenses = Net Profit. Etc."
So my “buy-in” is at its lowest, and appropriately, that’s the main reason I quit subscribing even though I still love your work.
I would subscribe to a Norm Abram onlyfans. Standing there in nothing but his safety glasses. He's very efficient with wood. I would pay to see him screw. Watch him nail a broad, sorry, a board.
I think political comedy makes perfect sense, not exactly because most things are boring, but because politics is frustrating for many people. And humour is a way to cope with frustration.
I live in Wuhan.... There is actually counter intelligence at work, in this case the fact that General Tso's Chicken, and by association the Orange Chicken at Panda Express, does not exist in Chinese cuisine. It was created in America, by Americans, FOR AMERICANS! There is movement afoot to reverse the trend and insert our sweetened and artificially flavored chicken back into China, where it will harden the arteries and fatten the bellies of otherwise healthy Chinese.
If anything, the massive propagation of KFC proves the culinary superiority of American cuisine!
A regional dog meat variant of the chicken sandwich called Bao-WOW!?
But but but... KFC in China has been radically altered in many ways. One of the reasons for KFC's initial success is it allowed local franchisees to introduce their own stuff. Lots of fairly weird things not seen in the States. Buckets of chicken do not exist. The big seller is the chicken sandwich, universally called a burger or "Han Bao" the name being a sort of transliteration of "hamburger". Wings are big, but they're usually coupled with a burger.
Now, there's about 7-8 fried chicken sandwich chains that are all going at KFC's dominance, at approximately half the price. "中国汉堡“ （China Han Bao) is kicking ass. It's a good sandwich...er, burger.
Just remember — General Tso outranks Colonel Sanders.
I don't know about "radically" altered, but I take your point. It's the same in Malaysia, Thailand, etc., where you'll find regional options that you don't see in the states. Hell, you should've seen the look I got from an Australian KFC employee when I asked for baked beans!
That said, even the regional options have that same heavily processed, American fast food style of production. And I'd argue that the fact that they're copying us when the food there is already amazing only further proves my (entirely facetious) point 🤪
Oh, you got that right.
The "radically altered" part is correct, though. Some of the weird shit you see in China is radical. It's not so much like that in Bangkok and Singapore, but here they do stuff like squid or other strangely flavored fries, and strange multi colored options that I don't want to try.
Thanks for all the kind words, Jeff! Really appreciate your analysis.
Excellent piece by Greg. "A strategic reserve of cheeseburgers" is one of my favorites. Also, just the word "chortle." It's a good one. Funny.
Good job on avoiding the low-hanging MSG jokes. Nigel Ng has his hilarious "Uncle Roger" character making fun of bad Asian cooking on YouTube, and at one point people were complaining that he had become "Uncle MSG!"
Jeff is smart.
For political comedy to work, the creator has to be out of the way. (I think this is related to the buy-in part). This is a principle of comedy and lawyering among other forms.
The histories and the old music are great. The politics is inherent and tacit, and you're at your funniest. Also things like the latest post mocking the Signal thing, hilarious.
But once your own opinion comes in, it becomes less funny. E.g. Your personal pose as a realistic Dad figure who sees the foolishness of youth. Please, I’m older than you, so give me a break on the wisdom thing. And, btw, you seem pretty sure that you're not wrong.
As to joke mechanics, I think it’s like introducing a bad premise. “Hey, what’s up with these traffic signals? Green, red? What is it, Christmas?”
Well, there’s a reason…
Mine goes thus: ”You and Noah Smith are both shallow. The secret cabal is just a bunch of traders, each with a portfolio of bets. The left-right model has nothing to do with what's going on. The evil algorithm is Revenue - Expenses = Net Profit. Etc."
So my “buy-in” is at its lowest, and appropriately, that’s the main reason I quit subscribing even though I still love your work.
I would subscribe to a Norm Abram onlyfans. Standing there in nothing but his safety glasses. He's very efficient with wood. I would pay to see him screw. Watch him nail a broad, sorry, a board.
... something with mortise and tenon joints?
What I'm trying to say is that carpentry is sexy. https://youtu.be/a0fkNdPiIL4?si=cLpJ1cuu_Dvhf18C