This book presents a large collection of anecdotes and jokes from different periods of the twentieth century to provide an unusual perspective on Soviet and Russian history. Anecdotes and jokes were a hidden form of discursive communication in the Soviet era, lampooning official practices and acting as a confidential form of self-affirmation. They were not necessarily anti-Soviet, by their very nature both criticising existing reality and acting as a form of acquiescence. Above all they provide invaluable insights into everyday life, and the attitudes and concerns of ordinary people. The book also includes anecdotes and jokes from the post-Soviet period, when ordinary people in Russia continued to have to cope with rather grim reality, and the compiler provides extensive introductory and explanatory matter to set the anecdotes and jokes in context.

Includes two plays by Bruce Adam. In Mary Mary confusion reigns when Terry brings a (decidedly inebriated) new woman named Mary home to meet his mother -- also called Mary. And in When I Snap My Fingers Simon and Maria Moffat agree to undergo hypnosis as part of performer Sven Gali's act when a fire alarm sounds before Sven has had a chance to remove the effect of certain trigger words.3 women, 3 men

This book presents a large collection of anecdotes and jokes from different periods of the twentieth century to provide an unusual perspective on Soviet and Russian history. Anecdotes and jokes were a hidden form of discursive communication in the Soviet era, lampooning official practices and acting as a confidential form of self-affirmation. They were not necessarily anti-Soviet, by their very nature both criticising existing reality and acting as a form of acquiescence. Above all they provide invaluable insights into everyday life, and the attitudes and concerns of ordinary people. The book also includes anecdotes and jokes from the post-Soviet period, when ordinary people in Russia continued to have to cope with rather grim reality, and the compiler provides extensive introductory and explanatory matter to set the anecdotes and jokes in context.

In the 1990s, Chicago was at the center of indie rock, propelling bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair to the national stage. The musical ecosystem from which these bands emerged, though, was expansive and diverse. Grunge players comingled with the electronic, jazz, psychedelic, and ambient music communities, and an inventive, collaborative group of local labels-kranky, Drag City, and Thrill Jockey, among others-embraced the new, evolving sound of indie "rock." Bruce Adams, co-founder of kranky records, was there to bear witness. In You're with Stupid, Adams offers an insider's look at the role Chicago's underground music industry played in the transformation of indie rock. Chicago labels, as Adams explains, used the attention brought by national acts to launch bands that drew on influences outside the Nirvana-inspired sound then dominating pop. The bands themselves-Labradford, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Low-were not necessarily based in Chicago, but it was Chicago labels like kranky that had the ears and the infrastructure to do something with this new music. In this way, Chicago-shaped sounds reached the wider world, presaging the genre-blending music of the twenty-first century. From an author who helped create the scene and launched some of its best music, You're with Stupid is a fascinating and entertaining read.

Thought provoking, almost timeless subjects. Sprinkled with a dry Yankee wit. Laughter being the best medicine, you should be cured in the end. BACK ROAD COMMON SENSE FOR ALL AGES