Recognized as a comic genius equal to Chaplin, Keaton had a style that assembled as much mechanical grace and Rube Goldberg gags as the Tramp's, but without the sentimentality or didacticism. His final visual pun in "The General" -- kissing his sweetheart while they use the horizontal wheel-joints of

Classic hollywood, Funny, Illusive, In-your-face, Kinetic, Trippy, Wise assy

Italian playwright, performer, and 1997 Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo is known for his subversive political savvy and ludicrous farces. Fo has often been called the true heir of Aristophanes for his gift of outrageous political satire and slander. Fo's humble beginnings as a mime inform his comedies wi

Cartoonish, Commedia dell'arte, Feminist, Political, Political theater, Wise assy

It is the rare novelist who can elicit a contract for his death, but Salman Rushdie managed to do precisely that with a Postmodern, playful rumination on religion and politics that made Islamic literalists gnash their teeth and ready their Kalashnikovs. Born on the eve of India's declaration of indep

Dense, Epic, Excessive, Expansive, Magical realism, Playful, Political, Post-colonial literature, Postmodern fiction, Profane, Round, Sprawling, Wise assy

A portrait of Tibor Kalman's middle-aged face almost passes as commonplace: a receding hairline, squinting eyes, and a toothy, sincere smile. Kalman's design career, however, has questioned all boundaries and expectations set by the ordinary. Born in Budapest in 1949, Kalman was educated in journa

Huge, In-your-face, Overflowing, Playful, Postmodernism, Rebel, Wise assy