the buzz log

It ain’t easy being funny. Go for the safe laugh and audiences will call you lame and irrelevant. Come on too strongly, though, and the feedback involves hisses and op-ed columns from here to The Timbuktu Times. Here’s a look at the week’s jokes that left some people laughing and others bristling in the Buzz.

Satire Is in the Eye of the Beholder
The New Yorker is known for its wit. Normally, its jokes are met with a polite chuckle from readers who are pleased with themselves for understanding the magazine’s literate humor. That wasn’t the case this past week. The influential weekly ran a satirical cover that featured Barack and Michelle Obama as militant Muslims with a flag burning in the fireplace and a portrait of Osama bin Laden on the Oval Office’s wall.

Clearly an attempt at satire, but it left many outraged. The Obama campaign denounced the illustration, while just about every publication weighed in with opinions of their own. Meanwhile, searchers who were confused over the dustup looked up "define satire." The New York Times even asked if the backlash is a sign that people aren’t allowed to "mock Barack." Not making fun of a presidential candidate? That sounds downright un-American to us.

The John McCain Comedy Tour
Less publicized but still controversial was a remark made by Senator John McCain while talking to reporters. The presumptive Republican nominee made an off-the-cuff statement that the rising number of cigarette exports to Iran may be a good way of killing off the country’s citizens (cue the stunned silence).

Senator McCain quickly followed up his shocking statement with “just kidding.” Regardless, the remark set off a firestorm in the Buzz as outlets wondered what in the world he was thinking. CitizenSugar asked a bigger question—is McCain’s sense of humor, well-documented in the past, an asset or a liability during the election?

Other Items Buzzing:
• Former Vice President Al Gore issued a momentous call to action on the environment. The Nobel Prize Winner wants to see America produce all of its electricity from renewable energy and carbon-free sources within a decade. Some say "bravo," while others ask if he's nuts.
• The anticipation for "The Dark Knight" ran wild all week. There are too many articles to mention, but this piece on whether to pony up the extra cash for the "IMAX experience" is certainly worth a read. 
• Gas prices are high. Yeah, yeah, and the sky is blue. Here’s a list of petrol-related facts you probably didn’t know courtesy of the good folks at Trend Hunter. For example, gas price inspired jewelry is officially "in."