Weddings of the Times: A Parody (Kasper Hauser Comedy Group) [Paperback]

Dan Klein (Author), Robert Baedeker (Author), John Reichmuth (Author), James Reichmuth (Author), Kasper Hauser (Author), John Hodgman (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Kasper Hauser Comedy Group | Publication Date: June 9, 2009

You are cordially invited to celebrate

 

A Parody of

The New York Times

Wedding Announcements

by

Kasper Hauser

 

 

Along with fully illustrated guides to:

Wedding-night sex,

Honeymoon hot spots,

Formalwear malfunctions,

and much, much more.

 

At four o’clock in the Afternoon.

Or is it three o’clock?

Didn’t you bring the invitation?

Huh? Where the hell is the turnoff?

Back there. I think I saw a paper plate and some balloons.

What's wrong?

I just need to eat something. I'm fine.

Remind me how we know these people?

 

“In this collection, Kasper Hauser reminds us that a wedding announcement is a window into the most goofball daydream a couple can have about itself.... These are not parodies, but little human stories, full of want and hope, even when they involve falconry.”

---from the foreword by John Hodgman

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Sky Maul:
“Reading this blurb is a form of inefficiency, because to know that this book is madly funny, full of wild invention, and definitively satirizes one of the most banal and loathsome of all American institutions, all you have to do is skip this blurb and open the book to any page.  But if you’ve made it this far, it’s too late. Sorry for wasting your time. OPEN THE BOOK.”—George Saunders, author of CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Pastoralia
 
“You will laugh yourself sad at this fake catalog, lovingly crafted from the finest comedy by a couple of brilliant, funny douchebags.”—Patton Oswalt
 

“The D.U.I. Mask really works!”—David Foster Wallace

 “Not since the days of Not the New York Times and The Journal of Irreproducible Results has the sly, surprising parody of otherwise ignored cultural detritus seemed so sharp and overdue; not since the days of the actual feral child named Kasper Hauser has humor writing been so nimble, hungry, wiry, and covered with a fine, catlike fur.”—John Hodgman, author of Areas of My Expertise and contributor to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
 
“SkyMaul provides great reading on a plane, particularly on those long flights, because I usually forget to bring a book. I was disappointed that some of the items were on back order and, I’m informed, may not be available at all. But the fact that the catalog is available means that THE TERRORISTS HAVE NOT WON!”—Fred Willard      
 
“This is the funniest catalog I’ve ever read. And they didn’t even go with the old lady holding the giant ‘massager.’ Funny and classy.”—Joel Stein, LA Times
 
“This is the catalog that SHOULD be on every plane! A perfect absurdist comment on just how odd sky shopping truly is! I wish I’d had it on my last flight. Instead, I had to watch The Ice Princess.”—Nicole Parker, MADtv

About the Author

The KASPER HAUSER COMEDY GROUP is Rob Baedeker, Dan Klein, James Reichmuth, and John Reichmuth. In addition to performing live shows in the U.S. and Europe, the group’s members have appeared on Comedy Central and on Public Radio International. The Kasper Hauser podcast, produced by The Sound of Young America, was selected as an iTunes Best Podcast in 2006, nominated for a 2008 Rooftop Award for Best Comedy Podcast, and chosen as “Podcast of the Week” by the Times of London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312380917
• ISBN-13: 978-0312380915
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #951,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riotously Funny!!, June 9, 2009

By 

J. A Magill (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Weddings of the Times: A Parody (Kasper Hauser Comedy Group) (Paperback)

Did you ever hear about a book with a great idea and think why didn't I think of that? Than you pick it up and realize that it was so brilliantly executed that you could never have nearly that clever so just sit back and laugh your head off? That is pretty much how you'll feel if you pick up "Weddings of the Times."

The idea of satire based on NY Times wedding announcements sounds so simple and you might wonder how it could be done for laughs page after page. These clever authors are way ahead of you. Using the premise as a launching off point they poke fun at every target at hand. The obvious like social climbing and bragging? Please. Move onto porn, Nigerian email scams, religious zealotry, and strange hobbies. I could quote you examples, but that would deprive you of a chance to laugh, not to mention I couldn't capture the excellent photographs which are included.

What can I say? What are waiting for, buy the book already!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wedding Humor, July 4, 2009

By 

Joanne E. Grainger "JEG" (Centennial, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Weddings of the Times: A Parody (Kasper Hauser Comedy Group) (Paperback)

My husband and I were driving home from work, in separate cars. As soon as we reached home, the first thing we talked about was the NPR review and interview on "Weddings of the Times". I ordered a copy to give to him for Father's Day. We're still laughing, as is my 88 year old father in law, 31 year old son-in law and anyone else who comes to our house and picks the book up. I highly recommend this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reading the real thing is much funnier!!, January 20, 2010

By 

Freida (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weddings of the Times: A Parody (Kasper Hauser Comedy Group) (Paperback)

The parodies are way too zany and silly to be a good spoof of the NYTimes wedding section. The reason that the wedding announcements are so hilarious is because they are filled with the vanities, superficiality and incredible cheesiness that we love to mock in others. They are also the reasons why reality shows are so addicting. Take a look at an excerpt from a real announcement below. It's not the funniest I've come across, but it's pretty good considering it's was the first one I randomly picked from this week's announcements:

AS a reporter and weekend anchor in New York for WNBC-TV, Erika Tarantal goes to bed every Friday and Saturday night at 7 and wakes up at 2:40 a.m. She sleeps in a roomful of alarm clocks, surrounding her like mousetraps.
Friends describe her as gorgeous and grounded, someone who rarely loses her cool, or her to-do list. One friend, Sophia Demas, called her "an even-keeled ship of loveliness." Growing up in Elkins Park, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb of historic stone houses and artistic families, she learned the art of composure. She often posed for her parents, Stephen M. Tarantal, a painter and the dean of the College of Art and Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and her mother, a sculptor and a professor at the university who is known professionally as Elsa Johnson. "We don't have photographs of me in the house, we have sculptures," said Ms. Tarantal, 30. Every Sunday, the family attended Quaker meetings, which involved more sitting in silence.

SOOOO cheesy!! LOL! I would be utterly embarrassed if I had friends sycophantically compliment me like that! An even-keeled ship of loveliness??! Are you kidding me? HAH! And she doesn't have photos but only sculptures of herself in her home because her mom's a sculptor?? This is way more entertaining than the parodies because they are REAL!

So save yourself some money and just go read the real thing...