A Comedy of Pretzels

When tradition twists with popular culture and lands on “people’s oral humor,” idealistic Reuben Lamberth finds himself in a mess. He is a young, progressive, inspired scholar teaching at a prestigious northeastern university, but his other unique self has another foot planted secretly in the world of standup comedy as Josh Sandburg. His stage name is a composite of ‘joshing’ and the renowned American poet Carl Sandburg. Neither his fully tenured professor wife Byrra who is enmeshed in a cabal of women’s faculty; his tough minor gangster-hood father Solly; his staid sociology chairperson and conventional colleagues; nor his tyrannical University President Jeremiah Brittle have any idea that he performs in comedy clubs as Josh Sandburg. Should he be outed, there is considerable doubt that he will be upgraded to the coveted position of tenure, and his marriage may suffer as well. Reuben wonders, Is it worth giving up academia and taking a flyer in the world of comedy culture? The finale in this novel reveals tantalizing internecine connections that land squarely the realm of people’s oral humor.

Chip Clementine and the October Surprise

When middle-aged, office accountant Chip Clementine is told he has breast cancer, his controlled life goes off-orbit as he gets to grips with his new normal. Ever the opportunist, Chip processes his shock and grief the only way he knows how – taking advice from those he trusts, finding new friends in the most unusual of places, having a little bit more fun at the office, pulling overnighters at work, brokering deals for those less confident, making money off of his mini-refrigerator, and, of course, signing up for a flash mob dance at his local mall. Laugh, cry and cheer with Chip as he navigates the spectrum of human emotion and drama at work with his cubicle colleagues on the 4th floor. Learn about Chip’s past before he entered the corporate scene. Be inspired by his personal but unconventional fitness program. Take heart when he confronts the IT guy with no social filters. Empathize when Chip’s eye twitch takes on a life of its own. Silently cheer with Chip when he finds the courage to connect with the lab technician in a moment of panic during a routine MRI scan that goes pear-shaped. Even a cancer diagnosis won’t stop Chip from giving you a little lift as he pays his dues and gets through his day, one annoying/embarrassing human interaction at a time.

Yes, Doctor, We Have Sixteen Dogs

Just how honest was Abe Lincoln? Why should porn stars never be allowed to decide a case? And how did Adam know when Eve was mad at him? The answer to these, and many other questions that you may have never considered lie within.

Yes, Doctor, We Have Sixteen Dogs is off-center, off-kilter (often resulting in a naked Scotsman), and hot off a full court press.

It’s filled with jollity, frivolity, jokes, the most pungent of puns, and the pith and prattle of Northeast Wisconsin.

There are knock knock jokes, obscure observations, obfuscation, and perorations. It’s bawdy but not X-rated, a bit crass perhaps but never cruel.

There are poems, and more than a few groans, but this is, after, the heart of corn country.

There are definitions of things you may have thought were already well defined. Silly you! So come inside and view the world from a mind that was shaped by living with and loving sixteen dogs.

Trashedies

“ORIGINAL TALENT MYSTIFIES AND ENRAGES ONE BIG PILE OF TRASHEDIES”

Award-winning Actress and Writer Laura La Sottile certifies that the alchemy of life’s tragic stages often take form of Comedies known as Trashedies.

Trashedies is a woman’s journey in five funny feminist flash auto-fiction stories mixed with humor, irreverence, worldliness, and poetry. With a re-occurring intersectional seat at a bar called The Fumetti Cafe in the Texas desert. Each story is a new land, a growing perspective, and a clear understanding that you are responsible for your own empowerment.

An incremental acceptance that you bought the ticket to your own shit show. Regardless of the state of cultural issues of the times, no time to whine for it waits for no one.

The Zeta Factor

Over lunch, Dr Jack Broccoli learns from Dr Larry Faber, a friend from medical school, about an amazing drug he has developed called Ambrotine. It seems that it reverses aging and cures almost any disease. Larry needs experimental subjects, so Jack volunteers some of his own nursing home patients and the results are positive beyond all expectations. There are however, a few unexpected side effects.

Jack finds himself in trouble with his licensing authority and on the run from Pharmex, a ruthless drug company interested in the enormous financial promise of the drug. He also has problems caused by his generous desire to be of service to womankind. He falls in love with Karen but has to flee with her to an undisclosed location as a craze for Ambrotine sweeps the world…

The Ah-Ha Moment

Jokes are intellectual can-openers offering surprisingly powerful insights into not only how our minds work – but into how the world around us works too.

Why? Well, when you think about it, a good joke requires, demands, a very special kind of deep thinking – a kind of world-upturning, no-holds-barred problem solving. It’s the same skill that produces the great insights of art and commerce, the insight that sees solutions and creates opportunities. And yes, such skills can be approached through exercises and study, but there’s no good reason to think such sensible methods work any better than having a sense of humour.

So why not, at least for a moment, throw all conventional thinking to the wind, and start re-examining the world through the very special, very beautiful prism of jokes and riddles?

“With wit and irony, Martin Cohen explains the basic concepts of philosophy and incidentally introduces the most famous thinkers in history.” – Der Spiegel.

Subway Rat

"I've often heard that there's a mysterious light at the end of a tunnel.
We are all in the tunnel together.
We move forward, not backward, thru places that cause us to stop and observe, feel and participate in what can help us travel to this light.
Random acts of kindness, a job we enjoy and trying to keep our mind, body, and spirit healthy are necessary to be on the right track in the tunnel.
The right track invites change.
Stop, take a look around.
See if this stop works for you. Enjoy its moments, take advantage of its opportunities or run from its dangers.
This subway rat sees this light, taking in this journey.
A subway is an unknowing place that challenges the imagination.
For this rat, the tunnel is the light."
                                             –Doug Hanulak

On the Road to Exile and Other Short Stories

This book contains seven of the most unusual short stories ever written.

In On the Road to Exile, a woman travels a thousand miles on her donkey, returning to the family she left a year earlier to find the only thing that has changed is her.

In The Accidental Transvestite, a man wants only to get in his ex-girlfriend’s pants but once he has them on, he soon realizes he would do anything to get them off.

In How Much Further to Insanity?, a woman boards a train that takes her to the edge of madness, confronted by the strangest circumstances that begin with the insults of an Amish passenger and ends with the deprivations of a simeopath.

In She Fell to Sleep, a man ruminates over the question of whether his girlfriend fell asleep or faked it.

In Six Kittens, Six Victims, a man and his two children stand outside a grocery store, trying to find homes for their kittens.

In This is Your Life, a man’s perfect life turns complicated when his girlfriend finds him sharing a joint with two fatties, who were at his house due to unexplainable reasons.

In Ode to a Shitonion, a man wakes from a coma and recalls the circumstances that led to him being charged with “...exhibiting a flagrant disregard for the sanctity of life while satisfying unnatural sexual impulses...” and the brief courtroom drama that follows.

Laughing Out of Context

Mia, mother of her six-year-old son, Cody, strives to balance care and volunteering at Cody’s school the only way she knows how: by recuperating nightly in what she calls her escape room. Meditation and a little bit of solitude at night can fix some hectic mothering days, but sometimes a glass of wine is just what is needed for those extra challenging kids-tell-all no-filter moments.

With the family Dalmatian, Caesar, right by Cody’s side in mischief, Mia works overtime to dodge embarrassing public incidents, hoping her imaginary hats will finally work in making her invisible at just the right time. By getting weekly advice from her mom’s group, Mia realizes she’s not alone in this crazy, funny, and loving motherhood journey.

The struggle is real, and finding a better motherhood routine is right at the top of her list of things to do, before she tips over to the other side of the sanity line.