tag:,2007-08-31:/2 2012-06-29T11:49:33Z Just like An American In Paris, but with writing instead of dancing. And London instead of Paris. But otherwise, exactly the same. Movable Type Pro 4.23-en tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.382 2012-06-29T11:45:34Z 2012-06-29T11:49:33Z

You might remember I went to Reddit and did an "AMA" -- "Ask Me Anything". It was a blast, but it wasn't exactly a hit. It got a total of 52 upvotes. Recently, a Redditor spotted How Not To Kill...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com "AMA" -- "Ask Me Anything". It was a blast, but it wasn't exactly a hit. It got a total of 52 upvotes. Recently, a Redditor spotted How Not To Kill Your Baby in the bookstore, took a photo of the cover, and posted it to Reddit. It got 7,735 upvotes. That's right. The cover of my book is officially more charismatic than I am. I'm going to view that as a good thing.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.381 2012-04-05T18:42:37Z 2012-04-05T19:10:38Z

I'm going to be hanging out on Reddit.com this afternoon. Stop on by and ask me anything!...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com Reddit.com this afternoon. Stop on by and ask me anything!]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.380 2012-03-22T11:44:34Z 2012-03-22T11:45:35Z

Over at the Huffington Post, I propose a simple modification to the United States legal system: put the toddlers in charge....

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com put the toddlers in charge.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.379 2012-02-22T11:27:50Z 2012-02-22T11:31:09Z

If you long for a copy of "How Not To Kill Your Baby" but you've blown all your money on luxuries like diapers and milk, then head on over to Goodreads where I'm giving away an autographed copy to one...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com Goodreads where I'm giving away an autographed copy to one lucky winner.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.378 2012-02-18T17:35:15Z 2012-02-18T17:37:07Z

As noted in the previous entry, I've mostly abandoned this blog. But in the next few weeks, I'm going to be trying an experiment. When you register as an author on Amazon or Goodreads, you can connect your author's page...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com As noted in the previous entry, I've mostly abandoned this blog. But in the next few weeks, I'm going to be trying an experiment. When you register as an author on Amazon or Goodreads, you can connect your author's page there to your home blog, and post updates to people on those sites who have bought your books. So that's what I'll be doing. As a result, expect the next few weeks of entries here to be a bit different in tone. Instead of general musings, I'll be fairly focused on self-promotion. tag:www.yankeefog.com,2012://2.377 2012-01-30T12:36:03Z 2012-01-30T12:40:32Z

You might have noticed I've mostly abandoned this blog. If you're looking for me, the best place to find me nowadays is on Twitter. However, if you are an old fashioned, early twenty-first century type who prefers blogs to Twitter,...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com on Twitter. However, if you are an old fashioned, early twenty-first century type who prefers blogs to Twitter, and you simply must know what I've been up to... My new book How Not To Kill Your Baby comes out next month. It's a parody of pregnancy and parenting books. And as of today, I'm a New Yorker author. Woohoo! You can read my piece here.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2010://2.376 2010-12-27T12:17:41Z 2010-12-27T12:41:11Z

Google has a cool new feature: you can search every book they've digitized for a specific word or phrase, and then chart how often it appeared by year. I'm sure this will be invaluable to language historians, but I've discovered...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com That's right: from the dawn of written language, up through the late 1970's, not a single human being in recorded history used the word "Internet"-- except a little flurry of people right around 1900. That clearly marks the chrononaut's first landing point in the time stream. Now, imagine you are history's first time traveler. You wish to summon more of your ilk, to enjoy the wonders of the early 20th century. How might you contact them? Why, with your iPhone. Here's a chart of how often the word "iPhone" appeared in printed documents: You'll notice a major spike in the mid 1940s, suggesting heavy time traveler presence during World War II. In fact, once you start searching, the evidence is astounding, from the use of Google during the Civil War through the appearance of both "www" and "http" in 1902. But I will leave all that as an exercise to the reader. ]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2010://2.375 2010-09-21T15:24:06Z 2010-09-21T15:26:56Z

My previous two Yankee Fog posts were a year apart. This one is a mere 10 months after the previous one. Why, it's practically instantaneous! Given that Yankee Fog has been more or less abandoned, I will forgive you if...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com Caught Dead In That, and it's nothing but funny photos of gravestones. That's right: funny photos of gravestones. I believe that officially uses up the last remaining unmined humor topic on the internet.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2009://2.374 2009-11-05T10:10:58Z 2010-08-02T14:41:04Z

Seeing as it's been precisely a year since my last post, you have no doubt deduced that I've abandoned all pretense of updating this blog regularly. But for anybody still following me, here are a few things I've been up...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com was published at Popcorn fiction. While you're there, check out the archives. There's some really brilliant stuff. My favorites include A Best Friend Named Rick and March 6th. I'd also recommend Unconditional, but I have to warn you that it's every parents' worst nightmare, so read with caution. I wrote a few episodes of a new animated series called Shelldon, which premiered last month on NBC. The first of my episodes is scheduled to air this Saturday, November 7. It looks like the second of my episodes will air November 28. I should note that, as usually happens with freelance TV writing, my scripts were rewritten pretty thoroughly after I handed them in, so I have no idea how much of my original script actually made it to the air. (Unless the episode turns out to be a staggering work of genius, in which case, I will insist they didn't change a word) Finally, last week, I was a guest on The David Feldman Comedy Podcast, where I discussed a topic about which I am widely recognized to be the world's greatest expert: the contents of my freezer. I don't mean to oversell it, but this is probably the single most important subject in the world at the moment, so I know you'll want to listen. ]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.373 2008-11-05T16:47:49Z 2010-07-05T08:21:32Z

Flickr has photos of today's headlines from the UK papers. I'm sure the next time the Brits go to the polls, we'll return the compliment with similarly dramatic coverage. My favorite headline is on the far right of the photo...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com photos of today's headlines from the UK papers. I'm sure the next time the Brits go to the polls, we'll return the compliment with similarly dramatic coverage. My favorite headline is on the far right of the photo above. It's from The Star, which considers Barak Obama significant, but not quite as significant as the attractive young woman it identifies as "Abbey Clancy in thigh-high boots." It might seem from The Star's headline that they're thanking us for our choice, but, on closer inspection, they seem to be thanking us merely for having an election: Unfortunately, I can't find the full article online, so it's not clear to me exactly how "American election fever save[d] a million British jobs," but once again, let me say: you're welcome.]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.372 2008-11-05T16:33:25Z 2010-06-07T08:30:30Z

I would like to congratulate my fellow Americans for making a historic choice. At long last, the greatest barrier in America has been broken. That's right: for the first time in history, the President of the United States will have...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com have a rabbi for a cousin. Mazal tov, Barak! Not surprisingly, the election has received considerable interest over here. Last night, I was out at a movie and the gentleman sitting next to me heard my accent. He asked where in the US I was from, and when I told him Washington, DC, he said, in the mildest, most polite tone imaginable, "Tell me, is that a region that tends to trend towards McCain or Obama?" I've lived here long enough to know that this is Britspeak for, "I'm dying to know who you voted for but it would be rude to come out and ask." So, by way of answer, I unbuttoned my shirt, revealing the Obama t-shirt underneath. The English reserve melted away. He got a big grin and clapped me on the shoulder. At that point, the movie started, so we didn't get the chance to talk further, but afterwards, he told me he was going home to watch the results on TV. So, random English guy who sat next to me at the movie, on behalf of America, let me say, "You're welcome." ]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.371 2008-10-02T08:35:50Z 2010-02-28T19:07:04Z

Probably the question I am asked most often about life in the UK is, "What is the official tartan of Scottish Jews?" In the past, I have been able to answer only with a sad sigh and a brushed-away tear....

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com the first official Jewish Tartan. Here it is, as modeled by Rabbi Jacobs: My only disappointment is that "Mendel Jacobs" is a sadly non-Scottish name for Scotland's only Scottish-born rabbi. Maybe it used to be Mendel MacJacob, and he changed it to sound less ethnic? ]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.370 2008-09-25T10:50:02Z 2010-06-04T15:26:07Z

Apparently, John McCain feels he is needed in Washington, DC, on Friday, and he therefore can't attend the scheduled debate. Senator Obama disagrees, and plans to attend. Fortunately for Senator McCain, there's an easy solution. He has already chosen the...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com Apparently, John McCain feels he is needed in Washington, DC, on Friday, and he therefore can't attend the scheduled debate. Senator Obama disagrees, and plans to attend. Fortunately for Senator McCain, there's an easy solution. He has already chosen the one person in America he considers most qualified to step in for him if he can't fulfil his duties: Sarah Palin. So why not send Governor Palin to debate Barack Obama? Surely if she's qualified to negotiate with foreign heads of state, she can handle a debate with one little US Senator. And while she's busy dazzling America with her extensive grasp of international affair, Senator McCain can... well, he can do whatever magic economy-fixing voodoo is so important that he has to do it Friday evening. It's a win-win! tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.368 2008-08-22T13:41:01Z 2010-06-22T08:30:00Z

I've been looking for some good Obama babywear, with no luck. The best I could find was a rather tacky looking outfit with the on-the-nose message "Babies for Obama." So I came up with a slightly more interesting slogan. And...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com rather tacky looking outfit with the on-the-nose message "Babies for Obama." So I came up with a slightly more interesting slogan. And thanks to the exceptional design talents of the folks at Hunt Smith Design, it's now available for purchase at Spreadshirt.com: ]]> tag:www.yankeefog.com,2008://2.367 2008-07-03T17:17:20Z 2010-02-04T12:13:54Z

Here's how my local pub is celebrating the 4th of July. (Apologies for the low-quality cameraphone image.) In case you're wondering, "Fancy Dress" is Brit-speak for "costume." But aside from that one Englishism, they've got everything spot-on. Ah, how many...

Jacob http://www.yankeefog.com
In case you're wondering, "Fancy Dress" is Brit-speak for "costume." But aside from that one Englishism, they've got everything spot-on. Ah, how many a 4th July did I spend in my youth, dressed up as George Washington and playing "Shot The Balloon!" To this day, a good game of Hoopla brings back the scent of apple pie and cowboy cocktails.

God save the President, my friends. God save the President.]]>