Not exactly PC

Just got to interview the charming and thoughtful John Hodgman, author of the spanking new More Information Than You Require. We spoke for an upcoming piece in the Boston Phoenix; I'll post a link when that runs. But in brief, I will say he was a lovely, intelligent (for a Yalie) conversationalist. We ended up talking more about politics than about humor, and he cheered me up with his insight into why we may end up electing the Democratic ticket.

We did chat about humor some. To wit: "What amuses me, particularly when we’re talking about historical stuff, is using absurdity or exaggeration simply to remind us how absurd reality actually is – and was. The idea that Jimmy Carter actually went on television to tell us to turn down our thermostats and wear a sweater is so bizarre. It’s so removed from what we consider political reality today that it seems like it must have been a dream. One of those weird "I was eating peaches with Jimmy Carter and Ralph Waldo Emerson showed up and told us to get lost” sort of things.

And by the way? He uses a Mac.