reviewed by Kimberly Villalba Wright

Published in Issue No. 16 ~ September, 1998

The Onion is the kind of weekly ezine you don’t take home to Momma. Its irreverent stories spoofing modern life, which is its mainstay and claim to fame, will have you laughing so hard at the computer desk that your family will wonder if the Internet hasn’t driven you around the bend. Even though it’s just as current-events oriented, “Politically Incorrect” has never been this funny. This magazine is not meant for children under 18, so please, keep the children away from your computer screen when you’re reading “Intensive Five-Year Study Finds Five Years a Long-Ass Time” or some of the more politically incorrect spoofs, the titles of which I cannot mention here. For more laughs, readers can peruse the extensive archives listing the very best of The Onion‘s zany news articles.

Besides comedy, The Onion also boasts interviews with famous (and not-so famous) people, cinema, music, video, and book reviews, “Pathetic Geek Stories”, and their own line of merchandise, which includes caps, mugs, bumper stickers, and humorous CDs or tapes.

“Pathetic Geek Stories” are stories submitted to them by readers which catches the individual at a pathetic geeky moment in their life. These stories are told via comic strip, adding to the humor of the true story being told.

The list of movies and artists they review are eclectic, and since I live in a small town where there’s only a one-screen cinema and no music retailer besides Wal-Mart, the chances of me actually seeing some of the movies and listening to some of the music they review are remote. I cannot, therefore, judge the veracity of their reviews. However, the articles are witty and well written.

The Onion entertains and enlightens. It is one of my favorite satirical/popular culture ezines. I recommend it to all adults with a healthy sense of humor.

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Kimberly Villalba Wright was born in Hollywood, Florida, and has spent most of her life in Mobile, Alabama. She earned a BA in English at the University of South Alabama in 1997. Her poetry has appeared in the Epiphany, Arrowsmith, Doggerel, Dicat Libre, El Locofoco, as well as Poetry Café. This fall, Wright will begin working toward an MFA in creative Writing at the University of Memphis. Wright currently resides in Kennett, Missouri.