The Brunching Shuttlecocks
Remember a while ago, when someone very erudite remarked in a highly respected and professional (hold snorting giggles) news magazine that "the age of irony" was over?
Well, it happened. And you'd probably recall the media blitz surrounding the pronouncement if you weren't so distracted by the subsequent attention lavished on Martha Stewart's new cookbook or the bewildering success of The Anna Nicole Show.
Quoth irony: "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated" (Mark Twain). And thank goodness for that, because where would we be in this crazy world without the cynical stylings of snarky cyber-groups like the Brunching Shuttlecocks?
All hail satirists! Never mind the odd appellation, just sit back and appreciate the laugh-out-loud insights this Web site serves up like a buffet for the modern cynic. One of the many 'zine-ish genre of pop-culture Web sites that populate the Internet these days (I'd list names, but then I wouldn't have a job anymore), The Brunching Shuttlecocks, led by front funnyman Lore Fitzgerald Sjoberg, features reviews, essays and ruminations on the inanity of modern life — all liberally sprinkled with Jedi-brand religion and other geek-cool standards.
The popular "Ratings" format allows BS to generate random lists of categories (Celestial Objects, Batman Villains, Deadly Sins, Remote Control Buttons) and pontificate on their usefulness, aesthetics or potential for humor in a way that is surprisingly entertaining, even after the 40th time its done (I never knew the state quarters could be so flippin' funny!). Apparently, they've compiled these columns into a soon-to-be-published book. Achtung, Barnes & Noble.
But though this is BS's most famous feature, the Self-Made Movie Critic; the droll, bald-headed, "Lore" comic strip; and the either/or quizzes are all decently clever ways to waste your time. (Actually, some of those either/ors probably deserve their own ISBN as well. "My Little Pony or Porn Star?" and "Perfume or Marvel Supervillain?" are especially tricky buggers to master.) And what Web site would be complete these days without database-driven generators? Learn Jedi Master Knowledge, write your own Alanis Morisette song or discover your "C.Y.B.O.R.G." name with the same amount of effort it used to take to complete an infinitely less amusing Mad Libs, back in the dark ages of "paper" and "pens."
You know, the age of irony.
—D.I.A.N.A. "Device Intended for Assassination and Nocturnal Analysis" Peterfreund
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2002.