Life, 1928-03-01 · page 30 of 42
Life — March 1, 1928 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"A Couple of Well-Read Men Get Together"**: This satirizes intellectuals who name-drop obscure, likely fictional books and authors to appear cultured. The joke is their entire conversation consists of asking "Have you read?" about works with pretentious titles—none of which exist. They part ways having exchanged no actual ideas, only demonstrated their shared affectation. This mocks the performative nature of literary snobbery. **"The Plot Thickens"**: A humorous anecdote where the narrator claims to have discovered a Spanish-language menu at a Mexican restaurant and plans to sell it to newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst as an "authentic Mexican document," implying Hearst will publish anything for sensationalism or patriotic appeal. **The Teacher-Junior exchange** is a brief joke about a student solving a math problem incorrectly on his own, playing on parental expectations. All three pieces use satire to mock contemporary social pretense: intellectual posturing, media sensationalism, and educational anxiety.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Breathes there a man with soul so dead who never to his wife hath said—“SHUT UP!” A Couple of Well-Read Men Get Together “W ELL! I was just thinking of you. I was hoping we'd get together for a little exchange of ideas. What's that you've got there?” reen Ordeal.’ Have you read Have you seen the new one by Feepole? It’s simply marvelous. The man has e hing.” ve finished ‘The Turf Tearers’ —you know, that trilogy by that new Pole. Talk about sweep!” 8 Teacuer: Did your father help you with this problem? Junior: No, I got it wrong myself! “T’'ve been dipping into ‘Friday Afternoons Only,’ by that new young Englishman, He’s a comer.” “I suppose you've read ‘They All Sat Down,’ by that young American who's living in Paris. Talk about clean, hard, athletic prose!” “T don’t know when I’ve enjoyed anything so much as ‘A Woman and Four. Fingers,’ by—uh—I forget his name, but the man has everything— everything. Have you read it?” “No. I’ve been trying to get hold of ‘Breathing Thursday.’ I had a great time with her last work, ‘Pas- sion Weed’—it was really an expe- rience. Have you read it?” Have you come aero: collection of short stories by—? “No. Have you seen the poetry of—?” “No. Well, good-by. We must get together some time for a little ex- change of ideas.” “Right-o. Toodle-00.” . Tupper Greenwald. * that Fame “THEY'RE putting up a big memorial building in my home town.” “Really? to?” “Oh, I've forgotten that.” What's it a memorial The Plot Thickens ITHIN a few weeks I expect to take an axe, smash my type. writer to pieces and retire with a comfortable fortune. Last week I strolled into the “Mexico City Grill and Tamale Parlor” in our town. Imagine my surprise when on every table I found a sheet of paper, with these words and figures mimeographed on each sheet: COMIDA Chili Con Carne... Chili Con Carne C Patas de Cerdo Rinones Con Chil Cebollas Adobadas. . I don’t know what it m haven't time to verify the statements or figures. But I bribed Juan, the waiter, with a dime and he gave me one of those documents. The next time Mr. Hearst comes to town, I'm going to sell it to him for a couple of thousand bucks and suggest that he publish it in all his papers, as a patriotic duty. Even if it doesn’t mean much, it's an authentic Mexican document. Chet Johnson. A la Hollywood ONAH’S SHIPMATES: Come on, we're going to cast you into the sea. Jonan (registering anger): I'll see the casting director about this. “And do you enjoy getting a divorce?” “Oh, it’s all right the first couple of times, but after that it’s just routine.” comicbooks.com