Entries Tagged as ‘Rick Bayan’

August 11, 2009

Life in the Slow Lane

Summer has passed the halfway mark in these parts, and we’re in the midst of our first heat wave since mid-spring. (Is April the new August?)
I’m taking it slow, not that I have much choice in the matter. My son is at the shore this week with his mother, my soon-to-be former wife. (I haven’t [...]

December 16, 2008

Hoisting the Black Flag

I’m what used to be known as a “good egg.” I’ve played by the rules all my life. My fuse is absurdly long and slow to burn. Dogs, children and crazy people gravitate to me like groupies to young musicians with too much hair. I suffer fools gladly, probably because I belong to their tribe.
Lately I’ve [...]

June 24, 2008

Farewell to George Carlin, Professional Cynic

George Carlin died the other day, as any English-speaking person on the Western shores of the Atlantic knows by now. He died rather suddenly. Of course, all deaths are sudden; one moment you’re a member of our pulsating, overextended clan, and the next moment you’re a mere slab of meat. So let’s say his death was [...]

June 16, 2008

Humor Needs to Be Taken Seriously… Seriously!

I’ve been solemnly engaged in the business of writing humor for about fifteen years now. I’ve worked diligently at my trade. I’ve studied under some of the undisputed masters of the craft: Rabelais, Swift, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce and H. L. Mencken, to name just a few. Several of my readers, not all of them family members, have [...]

May 31, 2008

Introducing Positive Cynicism: an Upbeat Philosophy for Grumblers

Positive Cynicism? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Cynics are supposed to be sneering, carping, curmudgeonly critics, aren’t they?
Well, most of us cynics are chronic naysayers. And that’s the problem. Sure, we’re generally justified in our grumbling. But I’ve reached the conclusion that grumbling doesn’t make for a deeply satisfying or salubrious lifestyle. In fact, cynics are reputed to [...]

July 23, 2007

R.I.P. The Cynic’s Dictionary

It had to happen sooner or later. The Cynic’s Dictionary, my personal favorite of all my published and unpublished works, finally succumbed to a combination of old age and mass indifference. It was twelve years old. I bought the final four unsold copies from the current publisher on July 18, 2007, and that was that.
Twelve isn’t [...]

May 15, 2007

Authors Richard Bayan and Rick Bayan are the same person, Bayan reveals

Now my secret is out: I lead a double life as an author. As Richard Bayan, I’ve brought you the popular advertising thesaurus Words That Sell and its recent spawn, More Words That Sell. As Rick Bayan, I’ve created that dark-humored Biercean lexicon for our times, The Cynic’s Dictionary — along with my equally dark-humored website, The Cynic’s [...]