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| Spy Vs. Spy (found here) |
"… Washington, D.C., is rocked by leaked documents showing that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting massive amounts of data on the phone calls, emails and other electronic activities of millions of American citizens. An NSA spokesperson insists that this program is vital to the fight against terrorism, and that Americans “have absolutely no reason to fear that their privacy is being invaded, or that there are tiny government video cameras concealed in every low-flow toilet in America.” The spokesperson adds that “as a totally unrelated side note, you people need to increase your dietary fiber.”
- 2013 - Dave Barry's Year in Review via The Miami Herald*
Ah well, the year is winding down... but, for many of us, not soon enough. Traditionally, the old year is "rung" out, but, as for 2013 - affectionately known in some circles as the Chinese Lunar Year of the Cockroach** - perhaps, extermination is in order. Hmmm... but, how (I pondered)?
And then, what to my wondering mind's eye should appear (or, maybe it was Mac, preternaturally ad libbing), but "Spy vs, Spy", that dialogue-free, darkly humorous cartoon which first appeared in Mad Magazine in the 1960's. Now, there's a cure!
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| A Plague Doctor via Wiki |
Looking like a cartoon version of twin Plague Doctors, the Black Spy and the White Spy - originally drawn and conceived of by Cuban exile, Antonio Prohías - supposedly represented a metaphor for Cold War espionage. Of course, these days the espionage is even colder, and perpetrated by the NSA against American citizens, but, why go there? In the last analysis, the strip is a creative exercise in innovation: inventing a seemingly endless array of unique (and hilarious) methods of annihilation!
So, below is a compilation of Spy Vs. Spy shorts... a sure cure for the end-of the year blues.
Cheer up... 2013 (via The Independent, and, more humorously, JibJab, and, more Fortean: Red Pills of the Year)*** is about to become history!
* Synchronicity alert: Dana Tonnies has just informed me (12/29/13) via email, that, while going though Mac's books, she and Bob found an autographed book by the one and only Dave Barry! (I hadn't known he was a fan.)
** Here's a proposal: La Cucaracha as the official dance-tune for 2013 New Year's Eve festivities. Get those feet stomping!
*** In the event that you, the reader, have yet to laugh at any point in this post, you are, indeed a tough nut to crack. But, not so tough that boingboing's David Pescovitz can't crack you! Re: Best News Bloopers 2013
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DISCLAIMER(!): Any references or allusions to "explosives" in this post are intended to be (blackly) humorous existentialist metaphors, and are not intended to inspire actual acts of terrorism.
I always loved Spy VS Spy in Mad Magazine -- the less than stellar efforts of both sides so intelligently and sardonically depicted.
ReplyDeleteOur own government's activities would be amusing if they're weren't trying so hard to be serious.
Personally, I have no idea what any government is trying to do... officials should be required to take lie detector tests on a monthly basis. If they fail, we scrap them.
ReplyDelete