Hump Day recs

Read: The Comedians, by Graham Greene. More than half a century later, what would Graham Greene say about today’s warlord-driven political chaos in Haiti? He’d probably say little has changed, though the comic edge of his 1966 tragicomic novel might now be lost to history. The joke’s no longer funny, if it ever really was. – Willis

Watch: weird, sexy, amazing ads by … the EU? What happens when Neon and Hydrogen meet at a dance party? Absolutely nothing until Carbon shows up in a leather hat and dipped sunglasses ready to play. This amazingly weird video is one of a series of superb ads made by EU institutions over the years, which are gathered in this thread. There’s the 8-bit video game explainer of trade policy enforcement, the totally dystopian “single spoon” ad for the common phone charger, and just wait till you see what happens to that male model on the beach in this EU health insurance spot. Yikes! – Alex

Laugh: Rex Navarrete. Jo Koy may be the first Filipino-American comedian to make it big, but I find this guy way funnier. Don't miss classics like Maritess vs. the Superfriends or SBC Packers. Wanna watch him live? He's currently on tour. — Carlos

Listen: Jorge Ben’s pan-African funk. Brazil experienced incredible musical growth in the 1970s, absorbing influences from around the world. Jorge Ben — whose famous mas que nada contributed to making the bossa nova genre popular in the US — drifted from his classic acoustic tunes to incorporate funk, rock, and Afro-rock into the mix. Check out his albums, Negro é lindo and Solta o pavão, to rediscover some of this worldly music. – Bea