Forget Watson on Jeopardy, Show Me a Computer than Can do Stand-up

As this essay in The New Yorker says,

Prof. Richard Wiseman, explains that computers can be programmed to play with the meaning of words, but are not able to judge funniness. (Clearly not.) Wiseman suggests that, were a computer able to do this, it would be true proof of intelligence, the ultimate Turing test.

Boston Benchley Round-up April 9th

The Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society will gather on Saturday afternoon April 9th.

Program.

2:00 p.m. View the exhibit "Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey" at the Boston Athenaeum, 10-1/2 Beacon Street (free for Athenaeum member; $5.00 admission for non-members).

3:30 p.m. Walk around the corner to The Church on the Hill (140 Bowdoin Street) where we have arranged for a room with large screen TV to watch a Benchley movie followed by pot-luck dinner.

If you are interested in attending contact David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once)

The Athletic Benchley

"Once Wicked, Always Dead" a Novel by T. Marie Benchley To Become Silver Screen Feature Film.

Hollywood Veteran Jim Fitzpatrick To Write & Direct Edge-Of-Your-Seat-Thriller.

(Los Angeles CA, February 22, 2011) -- The film will begin principal photography following the adaptation of “Once Wicked, Always Dead,” by Jim Fitzpatrick and thriller-writer T. Marie Benchley, relative of Peter Benchley. Under the direction of Jim Fitzpatrick, the team will Write & Produce the project under the PacAtlantic Pictures banner. Fitzpatrick’s PacAtlantic has relationships with all of the top Studios in Hollywood and currently the helmer has three projects connected with several for distribution, including MGM which will release the feature film “A Fonder Heart,” starring Daryl Hannah, James Brolin and Stockard Channing, due out this fall of 2011.

Fitzpatrick stated during the interview that “Once Wicked, Always Dead,” will be a romantic suspense-filled-mystery, that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotion and will give you mental whiplash! The film will be great, because the book is filled with love, loss, betrayal and murder.”

For more information go to http://www.tmariebenchley.com/tbenchley-news.htm.

Register Now for Robert Benchley Society 8th International Annual Gathering and Avoid Price Increase Later

The Eighth Annual Gathering of the Robert Benchley Society will be Friday through Sunday, November 11-13, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

The main event will be the Saturday, November 12, 2011, Annual Humor Awards Dinner will be held at the University Club of Washington, D.C. At this event we'll be giving out two Robert Benchley Society Awards for Humor. Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn., will be presented with the 2010 Robert Benchley Award for Humor for his essay Story Time with the Children. At this ceremony we'll also honor the winner of the 2011 competion (which is ongoing with a submission deadline of May 1) Our 2011 celebrity judge of the competition Mark Russell is a member of the University Club where we'll hold the ceremony.

For more information and to register go to http://www.robertbenchley.org/AG2011/registration.htm.

Robert Benchley Society "Capital Idea" Eighth International Annual Gathering

Save the dates, Friday, November 11 through Sunday, November 13, for a "Capital Idea" the 8th International Annual Gathering of the Robert Benchley Society. Details to be announced.

The Robert Benchley Society on Twitter

The Robert Benchley Society now has a presence on Twitter. We have among our followers a plaid earth worm, 10 bunnies writing, but no partridges bearing pear trees. Please follow @BenchleySociety. You will be able to send and receive pithy comments in 140 characters or less. It's a good way to avoid writing.

Time to Renew Your Robert Benchley Society Membership

JOIN THE ROBERT BENCHLEY SOCIETY. The annual membership fee of US$ 10.00 may be paid through PayPal using the button below. Our membership year runs from April 1 through March 31. If you have not already paid for this membership year please do so by April 1st (no joke!)

Note, one US$ 10 fee is good for up to two persons at the same mailing address. If you are joining as a couple just send one payment; later you will have an opportunity to add the second name to the membership.

NOTE that your PayPal reciept will read "MARY4NAILS."

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once)

Groucho Marx - Lydia the Tattooed Lady

As suggested by Laurence J. Gillis, Associate Professor of Legal Studies, University of Maryland (University College, adjunct, on-line), Instructor in Legal Studies, University of Massachusetts-Lowell (adjunct, on-line).

Boston Benchley Round-up Saturday, April 9th

The Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society will gather on Saturday afternoon April 9th.

Program.

2:00 p.m. View the exhibit "Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey" at the Boston Athenaeum, 10-1/2 Beacon Street (free for Athenaeum member; $5.00 admission for non-members).

3:30 p.m. Walk around the corner to The Church on the Hill (140 Bowdoin Street) where we have arranged for a room with large screen TV to watch a Benchley movie followed by pot-luck dinner.

If you are interested in attending contact David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org

Ready, Set, Write -- Robert Benchley Society 2011 Award for Humor Competition is Underway

The Robert Benchley Society is proud to welcome national humorist and entertainer MARK RUSSELL who has agreed to serve as finalist judge for our 2011 Robert Benchley Society Award For Humor Writing competition.

Mark Russell's topical and political humor and music parodies, have pleased us all for more than three decades in personal performances, television shows, and radio broadcasts.

The deadline to enter the 2011 Robert Benchley Society Annual Award for Humor Writing Competition is May 1, 2011. For more details visit our website http://www.robertbenchley.org/2011_competition/announcement.htm.

Sunday Sudoku

Complete the grid so that each row, column, and 3-by-3 framed block contains the letters P A R K B E N C H (only once)

Lost Locomotive Chapter Meets for Cocktails at the Army and Navy Club

Bill and Norma Hyder of the Washington "Lost Locomotive" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society hosted an intimate cocktail hour last evening at the Army and Navy Club's Daiquiri Lounge. Present to join the Hyders in toasting Mr. Benchley were David and Mary Trumbull of Boston, and Washington, D.C.-area Benchley fans Jean S. Keleher, Philip Terzian, and Marshall A. Newman who brought a friend to bring the total for the evening's festivities to eight.
Jean displayed her copy of Benchley's My Ten Years in a Quandary and How They Grew with original dust jacket and conversation ranged through Mr. Benchley, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and other writers of the Benchley era. In addition to toasting the memory of Mr. Benchley, the group toasted Ken Carson, Mattel's Ken doll, who turned 50 years old on March 11, 2011.

For more information about the Lost Locotomive Chapter of the RBS contact Bill Hyder at shawgas29@verizon.net or (410) 997-9114.

Enter NOW! Robert Benchley Society Annual Humor Writing Award Competition is Open

The Robert Benchley Society is proud to welcome national humorist and entertainer MARK RUSSELL who has agreed to serve as finalist judge for our 2011 Robert Benchley Society Award For Humor Writing competition.

Mark Russell's topical and political humor and music parodies, have pleased us all for more than three decades in personal performances, television shows, and radio broadcasts.

The deadline to enter the 2011 Robert Benchley Society Annual Award for Humor Writing Competition is May 1, 2011. For more details visit our website http://www.robertbenchley.org/2011_competition/announcement.htm.

Chicken Piccata / Chicken Picasso

Kerry Ashwin Publishes Humorous Novel

This is my new novel Literary Licence.
A trendsetter in humour.
you can download or buy a paperback and it won't break the bank.
A laugh out loud read ~




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Save the Date for Boston Benchley Round-up

The Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society is planning a Saturday afternoon event on Beacon Hill for April 9th. Save the date and watch this blog for details.

A Washington, D.C. Benchley Round-up March 11th

Bill Hyder, president of the Washington, D.C. "Lost Locomotive" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society and Society chairman David Trumbull invite Washington, D.C.-area Benchley fans to meet them for a drink after work on Friday, March 11th, at 6:30. For more information contact David at david@robertbenchley.org.

Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s

Now, through July 10, 2011 at the National Buidling Museum in Washington, D.C. "Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s" (http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/worlds-fairs.html).

Between 1933 and 1940 tens of millions of Americans visited world's fairs in cities across the nation. Designing Tomorrow explores the modernist spectacles of architecture and design they witnessed -- visions of a brighter future during the worst economic crisis the United States had known. The fairs popularized modern design for the American public and promoted the idea of science and consumerism as salvation from the Great Depression.

A first-of-its-kind exhibition, Designing Tomorrow features nearly 200 never-before-assembled artifacts including building models, architectural remnants, drawings, paintings, prints, furniture, an original RCA TRK-12 television, Elektro the Moto-Man robot, and period film footage. The artifacts are drawn from the featured expositions: Chicago, IL—A Century of Progress International Exposition (1933–34); San Diego, CA—California Pacific International Exposition (1935-36); Dallas, TX—Texas Centennial Exposition (1936); Cleveland, OH—Great Lakes Exposition (1936-37); San Francisco, CA—Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-40); and New York, NY—New York World's Fair (1939-40).

The Crossword Craze of the 1920s

We thank Kevin Fitzpatrick for these images from issues of the New York Times of September 1924.Kevin is president of the New York "Fascinating Crimes" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society as well as president of the Dorothy Parker Society. More information on the DPS is available on their website http://dorothyparker.com/

 

Let's Get out of These Wet Clothes and into a Dry Martini. pt 1 of 3

"Reeling and writhing and fainting in coils."

I'm a retired member of the publishing industry for many years and a lifelong portrait painter. Recently, because of my long admiration for the writings and screen persona of Robert Benchley, I completed a portrait of him (shown at right), which I'm sharing with your society. Please feel free to use it for your website or in any other appropriate regard.

Sincerely,
Jim Lether
Salt Lake City

THANK YOU MR. LETHER!

National Society of Newspaper Columnists Mentions RBS Awards

In its March 2011 eColumnist newsletter, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) had this to say:

Mitchell, Valenta Among Finalists for Benchley Award

Two NSNC members, Rose Valenta of Chalfont, Pa., and Eileen Mitchell of Palatine, Ill., made the list of the top ten semi-finalists in the 2010 Robert Benchley Society Humor Writing Competition.

Valenta's entry, "How Government Plans to Achieve Potty Parity", and Mitchell's "The Sex Life of the Spineless Jellyfish" didn't make it to the finish line, but being in the top ten is quite an achievement.

The 2010 winner, announced unusually late this time around, was Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn., author of "Story Time with the Children."

This national contest seeks to find writing that best reflects the humor and style of Benchley, an American humorist of the 1900's best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. He was a member of the famous Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and actors who met regularly at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.

The Society has announced that Washington-based humorist Mark Russell has agreed to be the final celebrity judge in the 2011 competition. More information may be found at www.robertbenchley.org/competition.

Mitchell, who is the "Film Hound" blogger at the Seattle Post, also is a contributing writer to a scholarly film book published by McFarland coming out this spring. The title is In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater: 3000 Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing.

Valenta participated in an Authors On Tour Facebook Party on February 25 when writers were invited to "Pump Up Your Book." The author of "Sitting On Cold Porcelain" also promoted her book in an interview on BlogTalkRadio. She also reports that the syndicated service "Senior Wire" has picked up another one of her columns under "Aging Gracefully."

"What's the news this morning, Mr. MacGregor?"

Shortly after the Robert Benchley Society was founded in 2003 this inquiry came in:

I happened by this site while trying to track down my genealogy. My grandfather was the Mr. MacGregor in this quote [used as the title of this post]. His name was Charles MacGregor and used to work for Mr. Benchley. They were good friends as well and stayed in contact with my grandmother and mother after my grandfather's death.

My mother pulled out a box of letters written from him today. He was a very funny man. And also a good friend to my family. In one letter he told my grandmother that my mother should get some of the money for "No News is Good News" since he got the idea from her based on a newspaper that she and her friend created. My mother and her friend were 10 at a time and wanted to play newspaper but didn't actually want to produce one. That was their motto. She also has letters from Ernest Hemmingway written to my grandfather and grandmother. Those were also very humorous.

Anyway, I don't really know what the point of this is. I guess I am just interested in finding more information about my grandfather. He died when my mother was 10 years old and we don't have a lot of information about other family members. I was wondering if perhaps you are aware of any references to Charles.

RBS chairman, David Trumbull, responded:

Thank you for contacting the Robert Benchley Society.

The Benchley essays in which Mr. MacGregor makes an appearance are among my favorites. So much so that for the essay index that the RBS is working on [since completed and available free on our website] I choose, as one of the keywords, "Mr. MacGregor."

There are several references to your grandfather in Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley, by Billy Altman and in Mr. B, Or Comforting Thoughts About the Bison, by Wes Gehring.

If I find anything else relating to your grandfather, I'll be sure to contact you.

"You wait here and I'll bring the etchings down."

A few years ago, in 2004 to be precise, we were in Miami Beach, Florida, for Christmas and visit the "Miami Modern" exhibition of the Miami Design Preservation League. Among the many artifacts of the Art Deco Era on display were three framed magazine illustrations each titled: AMERICAN PLAYGROUNDS and bearing the following subtitles:

• "Public Beach, Miami Beach" (1/7/50)
  
• "Venetian Waterway, Miami Beach" (3/29/52)
  
• "Waterfront, Miami" (2/24/51).

They were in the manner of Gluyas Willams, the titles were in the font used by the New Yorker, and the dates correspond to New Yorker publication dates. Furthermore, William did a series of AMERICA'S PLAYGROUNDS for the New Yorker. However, when I looked at the CD that accompanied the big book of The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker, I cannot find those three illustrations.