Posted on: February 5, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

British comedic writers Steve Lowe and Brendan McArthur have made a career of sorts bitching about ‘modern conveniences’ through a collection of books. The best bits have been sandwiched into Is It Me or Is Everything Shit? with additional observations added in by Daily Show writer/American Brendan Hay. For the most, the book has some pretty hilarious, astute observations. Like their straight to the point take on Hare Krishnas: “Hare, hare Krishna/Hare hare/hare Bullshit/Bullshit/Bullshit Krishna/Hare bullshit/Bullshit hare/(Repeat).”

The book does slant predictable British with some entries that will have you scratching your head if you’re not anglophile with regular access to the BBC, but the addition of Hay helps. Cataloged alphabetically (from “Abstinence Programs” to “Z-List celebrities Saving the Planet”) the book serves as a cynic’s encyclopedia. There are a handful of truly laugh-out loud entries (“PowerPoint: The Microsoft tool that encourages people to think and talk like fuckheads.”) and the rest generate a chuckle at the very least. Though be warned, after finishing the book, you’re likely to be left with the uneasy feeling that you’ve been conned into buying, using, obsessing over a boatload of useless modern contraptions that do little more than make you look, act and feel like a tool (“Blackberries: What exactly the fuck do you think you’re doing to yourselves?”).

Is It Just Me or Is Everything Shit?: Insanely Annoying Modern Things/ 2008 Grand Central Publishing / 272 Pages / http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780446197885.htm

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