Smile Politely. Speak Directly. Champaign-Urbana's Alternative Daily

August has been described as wearing a “golden crown,” has been said to “rush by like desert rainfall” and “create as she slumbers.” Superstition holds that if the first week of the month is a scorcher, the winter will be long and cold. On a personal note, my father used to refer to the month as “a blistering ballbreaker.” For the eighth month of the year 2008, I would describe it as the funniest month of the year, at least as far as movies are concerned. Having been entertained (bludgeoned) by the big budget Hollywood blockbusters, a series of sidesplitting comedies have been released in the past three weeks that have proven to be a welcome respite.