Newsweek: Humor Finds its own Level

Newsweek is becoming my favorite source of portable entertainment. I enjoy the "Perspectives" page bubbling over with quotes that say it all, say it well, and say it short.

Here you get gems like, "It's the only novel we've ever bet on," attributed to Rupert Adams of the British bookmaker William Hill, on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows mania.

There's this on the effect of terror in the free world from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talking about a steam-pipe explosion: "There is no reason to believe whatsoever that this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure." Go away and think about that one for a while.

When you come back, get a load of the full-page ad for Abilify bipolar medication: "Treating Bipolar Disorder Takes Understanding," the headline blares. You need help stabilizing those ups and downs. You want a meaningful life. Cool. So take Abilify and you'll be as peaceful as the lady in the picture here.

The next subhead promises to further your understanding of your condition and the med. This is precious: "Abilify may [my emphasis] work by adjusting dopamine activity instead of completely blocking it and by adjusting serotonin activity. However, the exact way any medicine for bipolar disorder works is unknown."

Wow: "We don't know how our product works, but we're going to sell it to you anyway."

Imagine playing weatherman on another human being's stormy mind. I went away to think about that one and haven't quite come back. Like so many things that are funny, it's darn scary.

P.S. Newsweek and the Washington Post have an excellent blog called On Faith. It's worth looking at.