Henry Alford is a very funny writer. I've been laughing at his writing since about 1990, when he erupted in Spy Magazine, with hilarious speculative pieces like, "What If The Pope Were A Dog?"
Not long ago, he was asked to review a collection by another funny writer, Garrison Keillor. He did it, keenly aware that many people who find him funny are the kinds of people who find Keillor tiresome. And, maybe a bigger problem, Keillor had written some columns about gays and atheists that riled up not just Alford's fans, but people he knows pretty well. So what's a critic to do? Alford actually admired some things about the book, and said so. There was pushback. We'll talk about that today on The Scramble.
Also on our agenda, a wealthy man who hides $250 around cash in big cities and then leads the less-wealthy on scavenger hunts using Twitter clues.
And, new services that essentially scalp restaurant reservations, and the new trend of college application essays that tell too much.
What do you think? Comment below, email Colin@wnpr.org, or tweet @wnprcolin.
GUEST:
- Henry Alford is a humorist and journalist who writes a monthly column for the New York Times. His most recent book is Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That: A Modern Guide to Manners