The golden age Trump regrets ushering in
There's been a lot of weeping in this household lately. Tears have flowed freely, paroxysms have been exhausting.
It's not grief or sorrow causing the run on tissues, nor the cutting of onions. It's been laughter. Gales of it. Laughter so hard, it reddens the eyes and makes breathing difficult. And it's all down to Donald Trump and the new golden age he's ushered in.
American comedy is back, baby, and with a vengeance. In its sights, the most thin-skinned, thick-headed president in memory. The late-night chat show hosts are taking him apart, especially since CBS, owned by Paramount Global, committed the ultimate act of self-harm by cancelling Stephen Colbert.
Colbert, who will remain on air until next May, told his audience the gloves were now off. On live TV, he told Donald Trump, whose administration had to sign off on a planned merger with Skydance, to "Go f*** yourself."
It was delivered with the exquisite comic timing for which Colbert is famous. Responding to a gloating Trump post - "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings" - Colbert stared down the camera.
"How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? [Pause] Go f*** yourself."
His one-time co-host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show didn't hold back either. In an expletive-laden rant, he ripped into the cowardice of American corporations and institutions cowing to Trump's bullying.
But all that seems like ancient history. The late-night crew has been handed truckloads of material, all thanks to Trump's cack-handed and so far unsuccessful attempts to divert attention from the exhumed Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Newcomer to the rotating The Daily Show's lineup, Josh Johnson made a meal of the story that won't go away. He took aim at House of Reps Speaker Mike Johnson for dismissing the House early. "Do you understand that they cleared Congress out for the summer like they found a dookie in the pool?" No points for guessing what a "dookie" is.
As for Trump accusing Barack Obama of treason: "The problem with this distraction is that it's so old, Jeffrey Epstein wouldn't date it." Johnson's right, of course. Trump's been pathologically obsessed with Obama for decades.
Even the animated Millennial favourite South Park has joined the chorus of ridicule, infuriating the White House and its head honcho. The first episode of its 27th season featured a naked and clearly under-endowed Trump jumping into bed with Satan.
The president's vision of a new golden age didn't include comedy and satire, which has stepped into to fill an expanding void of commentary abandoned by the once powerful newspapers like The Washington Post.
Comics and cartoonists - Broelman and Pope, take a bow - speak more than truth to power, even if Jon Stewart insists the late-night comedians satirising the news only speak opinions to television cameras.
They have a way of speaking it to idiocy and hypocrisy as well.
We can expect an unconstrained Stephen Colbert to do that even more forcefully than he has been. We'll laugh, and the sleepless Donald Trump will rage and fume on Truth Social, providing the comedian with mountains of fresh material to work with.
HAVE YOUR SAY: How important is humour in politics? Who are your favourite comedians, cartoonists and satirists? Have your opinions on an issue ever been shaped by cartoons or comedy sketches? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Rural communities will have fewer banking services as Bendigo Bank moves to wind down its agency model and step up e-banking across regional Australia.
- Australia and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to AUKUS for the next half-century as US devotion to the trilateral security pact wavers.
- Workers could eventually be $14,000 a year better off if an upcoming roundtable is successful, Australia's productivity tsar says, as competing interests draw battle lines over the summit's priorities.
THEY SAID IT: "People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House." - Robin Williams
YOU SAID IT: Garry is mystified by a growing reluctance, especially among young Australians, to cook their own food.
"We still cook 90 per cent of the time," writes Lee. "However, when I find something easy that we like, I print off the recipe and put it in a folder so I can access it again easily. I have raised five boys (all millennials, three with partners). They do most of the cooking in their families. I started teaching them to cook meals when they turned 10, and by 12, they were required to cook a meal one night per week. And it had to have veggies. This strategy worked a treat."
Maria writes: "The 10 years or so between our ages must have created equal opportunity classes. In my day, girls were taught Home Ec, and boys did Woodwork! But as for me, it still didn't stir in me a love of cooking - in fact, you'll find my husband in the kitchen more often! And he learned from his mum, not at school."
"I've worked to nine to 10-hour days most of my life, so some days I really don't feel like cooking a meal when I get home, but I also try to eat healthily," writes Stephanie. "Many years ago, I started making big batches of pre-cooked meals based around a bolognese sauce. It costs around $3 a serve and is ready to eat in less than 10 minutes."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
There's been a lot of weeping in this household lately. Tears have flowed freely, paroxysms have been exhausting.
It's not grief or sorrow causing the run on tissues, nor the cutting of onions. It's been laughter. Gales of it. Laughter so hard, it reddens the eyes and makes breathing difficult. And it's all down to Donald Trump and the new golden age he's ushered in.
American comedy is back, baby, and with a vengeance. In its sights, the most thin-skinned, thick-headed president in memory. The late-night chat show hosts are taking him apart, especially since CBS, owned by Paramount Global, committed the ultimate act of self-harm by cancelling Stephen Colbert.
Colbert, who will remain on air until next May, told his audience the gloves were now off. On live TV, he told Donald Trump, whose administration had to sign off on a planned merger with Skydance, to "Go f*** yourself."
It was delivered with the exquisite comic timing for which Colbert is famous. Responding to a gloating Trump post - "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings" - Colbert stared down the camera.
"How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? [Pause] Go f*** yourself."
His one-time co-host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show didn't hold back either. In an expletive-laden rant, he ripped into the cowardice of American corporations and institutions cowing to Trump's bullying.
But all that seems like ancient history. The late-night crew has been handed truckloads of material, all thanks to Trump's cack-handed and so far unsuccessful attempts to divert attention from the exhumed Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Newcomer to the rotating The Daily Show's lineup, Josh Johnson made a meal of the story that won't go away. He took aim at House of Reps Speaker Mike Johnson for dismissing the House early. "Do you understand that they cleared Congress out for the summer like they found a dookie in the pool?" No points for guessing what a "dookie" is.
As for Trump accusing Barack Obama of treason: "The problem with this distraction is that it's so old, Jeffrey Epstein wouldn't date it." Johnson's right, of course. Trump's been pathologically obsessed with Obama for decades.
Even the animated Millennial favourite South Park has joined the chorus of ridicule, infuriating the White House and its head honcho. The first episode of its 27th season featured a naked and clearly under-endowed Trump jumping into bed with Satan.
The president's vision of a new golden age didn't include comedy and satire, which has stepped into to fill an expanding void of commentary abandoned by the once powerful newspapers like The Washington Post.
Comics and cartoonists - Broelman and Pope, take a bow - speak more than truth to power, even if Jon Stewart insists the late-night comedians satirising the news only speak opinions to television cameras.
They have a way of speaking it to idiocy and hypocrisy as well.
We can expect an unconstrained Stephen Colbert to do that even more forcefully than he has been. We'll laugh, and the sleepless Donald Trump will rage and fume on Truth Social, providing the comedian with mountains of fresh material to work with.
HAVE YOUR SAY: How important is humour in politics? Who are your favourite comedians, cartoonists and satirists? Have your opinions on an issue ever been shaped by cartoons or comedy sketches? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Rural communities will have fewer banking services as Bendigo Bank moves to wind down its agency model and step up e-banking across regional Australia.
- Australia and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to AUKUS for the next half-century as US devotion to the trilateral security pact wavers.
- Workers could eventually be $14,000 a year better off if an upcoming roundtable is successful, Australia's productivity tsar says, as competing interests draw battle lines over the summit's priorities.
THEY SAID IT: "People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House." - Robin Williams
YOU SAID IT: Garry is mystified by a growing reluctance, especially among young Australians, to cook their own food.
"We still cook 90 per cent of the time," writes Lee. "However, when I find something easy that we like, I print off the recipe and put it in a folder so I can access it again easily. I have raised five boys (all millennials, three with partners). They do most of the cooking in their families. I started teaching them to cook meals when they turned 10, and by 12, they were required to cook a meal one night per week. And it had to have veggies. This strategy worked a treat."
Maria writes: "The 10 years or so between our ages must have created equal opportunity classes. In my day, girls were taught Home Ec, and boys did Woodwork! But as for me, it still didn't stir in me a love of cooking - in fact, you'll find my husband in the kitchen more often! And he learned from his mum, not at school."
"I've worked to nine to 10-hour days most of my life, so some days I really don't feel like cooking a meal when I get home, but I also try to eat healthily," writes Stephanie. "Many years ago, I started making big batches of pre-cooked meals based around a bolognese sauce. It costs around $3 a serve and is ready to eat in less than 10 minutes."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
There's been a lot of weeping in this household lately. Tears have flowed freely, paroxysms have been exhausting.
It's not grief or sorrow causing the run on tissues, nor the cutting of onions. It's been laughter. Gales of it. Laughter so hard, it reddens the eyes and makes breathing difficult. And it's all down to Donald Trump and the new golden age he's ushered in.
American comedy is back, baby, and with a vengeance. In its sights, the most thin-skinned, thick-headed president in memory. The late-night chat show hosts are taking him apart, especially since CBS, owned by Paramount Global, committed the ultimate act of self-harm by cancelling Stephen Colbert.
Colbert, who will remain on air until next May, told his audience the gloves were now off. On live TV, he told Donald Trump, whose administration had to sign off on a planned merger with Skydance, to "Go f*** yourself."
It was delivered with the exquisite comic timing for which Colbert is famous. Responding to a gloating Trump post - "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings" - Colbert stared down the camera.
"How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? [Pause] Go f*** yourself."
His one-time co-host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show didn't hold back either. In an expletive-laden rant, he ripped into the cowardice of American corporations and institutions cowing to Trump's bullying.
But all that seems like ancient history. The late-night crew has been handed truckloads of material, all thanks to Trump's cack-handed and so far unsuccessful attempts to divert attention from the exhumed Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Newcomer to the rotating The Daily Show's lineup, Josh Johnson made a meal of the story that won't go away. He took aim at House of Reps Speaker Mike Johnson for dismissing the House early. "Do you understand that they cleared Congress out for the summer like they found a dookie in the pool?" No points for guessing what a "dookie" is.
As for Trump accusing Barack Obama of treason: "The problem with this distraction is that it's so old, Jeffrey Epstein wouldn't date it." Johnson's right, of course. Trump's been pathologically obsessed with Obama for decades.
Even the animated Millennial favourite South Park has joined the chorus of ridicule, infuriating the White House and its head honcho. The first episode of its 27th season featured a naked and clearly under-endowed Trump jumping into bed with Satan.
The president's vision of a new golden age didn't include comedy and satire, which has stepped into to fill an expanding void of commentary abandoned by the once powerful newspapers like The Washington Post.
Comics and cartoonists - Broelman and Pope, take a bow - speak more than truth to power, even if Jon Stewart insists the late-night comedians satirising the news only speak opinions to television cameras.
They have a way of speaking it to idiocy and hypocrisy as well.
We can expect an unconstrained Stephen Colbert to do that even more forcefully than he has been. We'll laugh, and the sleepless Donald Trump will rage and fume on Truth Social, providing the comedian with mountains of fresh material to work with.
HAVE YOUR SAY: How important is humour in politics? Who are your favourite comedians, cartoonists and satirists? Have your opinions on an issue ever been shaped by cartoons or comedy sketches? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Rural communities will have fewer banking services as Bendigo Bank moves to wind down its agency model and step up e-banking across regional Australia.
- Australia and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to AUKUS for the next half-century as US devotion to the trilateral security pact wavers.
- Workers could eventually be $14,000 a year better off if an upcoming roundtable is successful, Australia's productivity tsar says, as competing interests draw battle lines over the summit's priorities.
THEY SAID IT: "People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House." - Robin Williams
YOU SAID IT: Garry is mystified by a growing reluctance, especially among young Australians, to cook their own food.
"We still cook 90 per cent of the time," writes Lee. "However, when I find something easy that we like, I print off the recipe and put it in a folder so I can access it again easily. I have raised five boys (all millennials, three with partners). They do most of the cooking in their families. I started teaching them to cook meals when they turned 10, and by 12, they were required to cook a meal one night per week. And it had to have veggies. This strategy worked a treat."
Maria writes: "The 10 years or so between our ages must have created equal opportunity classes. In my day, girls were taught Home Ec, and boys did Woodwork! But as for me, it still didn't stir in me a love of cooking - in fact, you'll find my husband in the kitchen more often! And he learned from his mum, not at school."
"I've worked to nine to 10-hour days most of my life, so some days I really don't feel like cooking a meal when I get home, but I also try to eat healthily," writes Stephanie. "Many years ago, I started making big batches of pre-cooked meals based around a bolognese sauce. It costs around $3 a serve and is ready to eat in less than 10 minutes."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
There's been a lot of weeping in this household lately. Tears have flowed freely, paroxysms have been exhausting.
It's not grief or sorrow causing the run on tissues, nor the cutting of onions. It's been laughter. Gales of it. Laughter so hard, it reddens the eyes and makes breathing difficult. And it's all down to Donald Trump and the new golden age he's ushered in.
American comedy is back, baby, and with a vengeance. In its sights, the most thin-skinned, thick-headed president in memory. The late-night chat show hosts are taking him apart, especially since CBS, owned by Paramount Global, committed the ultimate act of self-harm by cancelling Stephen Colbert.
Colbert, who will remain on air until next May, told his audience the gloves were now off. On live TV, he told Donald Trump, whose administration had to sign off on a planned merger with Skydance, to "Go f*** yourself."
It was delivered with the exquisite comic timing for which Colbert is famous. Responding to a gloating Trump post - "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings" - Colbert stared down the camera.
"How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? [Pause] Go f*** yourself."
His one-time co-host Jon Stewart of The Daily Show didn't hold back either. In an expletive-laden rant, he ripped into the cowardice of American corporations and institutions cowing to Trump's bullying.
But all that seems like ancient history. The late-night crew has been handed truckloads of material, all thanks to Trump's cack-handed and so far unsuccessful attempts to divert attention from the exhumed Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Newcomer to the rotating The Daily Show's lineup, Josh Johnson made a meal of the story that won't go away. He took aim at House of Reps Speaker Mike Johnson for dismissing the House early. "Do you understand that they cleared Congress out for the summer like they found a dookie in the pool?" No points for guessing what a "dookie" is.
As for Trump accusing Barack Obama of treason: "The problem with this distraction is that it's so old, Jeffrey Epstein wouldn't date it." Johnson's right, of course. Trump's been pathologically obsessed with Obama for decades.
Even the animated Millennial favourite South Park has joined the chorus of ridicule, infuriating the White House and its head honcho. The first episode of its 27th season featured a naked and clearly under-endowed Trump jumping into bed with Satan.
The president's vision of a new golden age didn't include comedy and satire, which has stepped into to fill an expanding void of commentary abandoned by the once powerful newspapers like The Washington Post.
Comics and cartoonists - Broelman and Pope, take a bow - speak more than truth to power, even if Jon Stewart insists the late-night comedians satirising the news only speak opinions to television cameras.
They have a way of speaking it to idiocy and hypocrisy as well.
We can expect an unconstrained Stephen Colbert to do that even more forcefully than he has been. We'll laugh, and the sleepless Donald Trump will rage and fume on Truth Social, providing the comedian with mountains of fresh material to work with.
HAVE YOUR SAY: How important is humour in politics? Who are your favourite comedians, cartoonists and satirists? Have your opinions on an issue ever been shaped by cartoons or comedy sketches? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Rural communities will have fewer banking services as Bendigo Bank moves to wind down its agency model and step up e-banking across regional Australia.
- Australia and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to AUKUS for the next half-century as US devotion to the trilateral security pact wavers.
- Workers could eventually be $14,000 a year better off if an upcoming roundtable is successful, Australia's productivity tsar says, as competing interests draw battle lines over the summit's priorities.
THEY SAID IT: "People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House." - Robin Williams
YOU SAID IT: Garry is mystified by a growing reluctance, especially among young Australians, to cook their own food.
"We still cook 90 per cent of the time," writes Lee. "However, when I find something easy that we like, I print off the recipe and put it in a folder so I can access it again easily. I have raised five boys (all millennials, three with partners). They do most of the cooking in their families. I started teaching them to cook meals when they turned 10, and by 12, they were required to cook a meal one night per week. And it had to have veggies. This strategy worked a treat."
Maria writes: "The 10 years or so between our ages must have created equal opportunity classes. In my day, girls were taught Home Ec, and boys did Woodwork! But as for me, it still didn't stir in me a love of cooking - in fact, you'll find my husband in the kitchen more often! And he learned from his mum, not at school."
"I've worked to nine to 10-hour days most of my life, so some days I really don't feel like cooking a meal when I get home, but I also try to eat healthily," writes Stephanie. "Many years ago, I started making big batches of pre-cooked meals based around a bolognese sauce. It costs around $3 a serve and is ready to eat in less than 10 minutes."
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- Sydney Morning Herald
It's about time someone said it: paparazzi are artists and heroes
They've probably been popping up on your feed all week, glorious street-side shots of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep and, uh, Stanley Tucci in an endless array of fancy outfits from the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2. It feels as though the film was announced barely weeks ago, but already we're getting endless peeks into the Millennial equivalent of The Godfather Part II, and it's all due to one maligned group: paparazzi. Paparazzi are heroes, essential workers on the front lines of pop culture. Of course, no one ever thinks of them this way. Instead, they just get blamed for things like Britney Spears' nervous breakdown and killing Princess Diana. Paparazzi didn't kill Princess Diana, you did. Sure, not you specifically, but you in the collective sense. The value for the work paparazzi do only exists because the demand does. It's like blaming the employee at the tobacco shop for the vaping epidemic. Paparazzi don't even get credit for their iconic contributions to pop culture. Tell me who shot influential works of art like the famous 'Bimbo Summit' photo of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in the back of a car, or that picture of Kirsten Dunst eating salad while Jake Gyllenhaal looks on, disgusted. No one knows! The credit usually just goes to some vague agency with a name like Backgrid or X17. Meanwhile, 'Bimbo Summit' is on t-shirts and the photographer doesn't even see a cut. In fact, they're probably still in hiding from all the people who yell 'Princess Di killer' at them. And this is at a time when paparazzi aesthetics have become shorthand for internet cool. For their recent album I Quit, pop band Haim did an entire series of singles covers recreating famous paparazzi shots: Nicole Kidman, arms outstretched post-divorce from Tom Cruise; Scarlett Johansson and Jared Leto mid lip-lock; Keira Knightley and Jamie Dornan in boot cut jeans and scarves. All across Instagram, the selfie is dead but the pap pic – generally involving celebrities walking, on yachts, or frolicking on beaches – thrives. No one wants to praise a paparazzo, but everyone wants to jack their style. Paparazzi are ingenious like cartoon coyotes. Songwriter Benny Blanco once told me that, when he was recording Circus with Britney Spears, paparazzi took shifts hiding in the bushes outside the studio waiting for the pop star to pop up. In Jeff Weiss' entertaining new book Waiting For Britney, a gonzo memoir told from inside the bowels of mid-'00s tabloid culture, he recalls the time he and his photographer dressed like security bouncers and managed to sneak backstage at Britney's infamous MTV VMAs meltdown. When he describes his attempts at securing the first pics of Angelina Jolie sunbaking at Brad Pitt's cliffside mansion following Pitt's split from Jennifer Aniston, you'll finally understand what it means to be dedicated to one's work. The paparazzi have also often inspired their targets to create their best work, like Britney Spears' Piece of Me, Taylor Swift's Reputation and Lady Gaga's Paparazzi (obviously). Just last month, they rejuvenated the career of Justin Bieber, who slagged off some cameraman who was following him at the beach by yelling the now iconic phrase 'It's not clocking to you that I'm standing on business?', a tirade that reignited Bieber's muse and became the basis of his successful comeback album, Swag. Considering her increasingly contentious relationship with photographers, it's clear Chappell Roan 's next album is going to be the greatest masterpiece ever recorded. Even those with the barest understanding of celebrity culture understand the mutually beneficial relationship between paparazzi and publicity machines, that one hand feeds the other with that most significant currency of our era: attention. Paparazzi are the only attention-seekers I can get behind. Even their singular noun is cool: paparazzo, stemming from the Italian words 'papa' meaning 'dad' and 'razzo' meaning 'rocket'. Dad rocket. If this sounds wrong, just know my grandmother was Sicilian. Unlike Stanley Tucci, whose family is Calabrian. Look, I only ended on this weird fact so I could somehow tie this all back to The Devil Wears Prada 2, which I think I just did.
