April 29, 2004

From Beirut to [Place Name]

McSweeney's has a very funny piece up right now by Michael Ward:

Create Your Own Thomas Friedman Op-Ed Column:
Disorder and Dreams in [Country of the Week]

Ward tells you how you can create your own Thomas Friedman column, using the Mad-Lib style of fill in the blanks. Here's my favorite paragraph:

Speaking with a local farmer on the last day of my recent visit, I asked him if there was any message that he wanted me to carry back home with me. He pondered for a second, and then smiled and said, "[Short phrase in indigenous language]," which is a local saying that means roughly, "[Every branch of the tree casts its own shadow/That tea is sweetest whose herbs have dried longest/A child knows his parents before the parents know their child]."

Read the rest here.

Posted by sheila
Comments

Funny, but how do you parody Friedman without making fun of his metaphors?

Posted by: Stephen Silver at April 29, 2004 02:26 PM

But they do lampoon his extended metaphors.

One, people don't behave like [computer programs/billiard balls/migratory birds], so attempts to treat them as such inevitably look foolish. [Computer programs/Billiard balls/Migratory birds] never suddenly [blow themselves up/shift their course in order to fit with a predetermined set of beliefs/set up a black market for Western DVDs].

Posted by: red at April 29, 2004 02:32 PM