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Two of the Internet’s most popular celebrity satire blogs, GalleryoftheAbsurd.com and HolyCandy.com, today announced the merger of their sites into a new entertainment Website called CircusHour.com. Lampooning celebrity antics and pop culture’s obsession with them, the site features original, satirical artwork, a regular online comedy news show and pop culture-inspired parodies, along with daily news updates and humorous insights.
Founded by a critically acclaimed artist who calls herself 14, based in San Francisco, and a former television writer, Candy Kirby, who lives in Los Angeles, Circus Hour offers wry commentary on everything from the daily celebrity gossip to the fashion and beauty industries to the news media – and in a variety of formats, ranging from circus sideshow paintings starring Tom Cruise to videos that parody pop-culture phenomenon.
“Circus Hour allows me to expand my work at Gallery of the Absurd toward more challenging subject matter and direction," said Circus Hour Media co-founder and creative director, 14. "Coupling my illustrations with Candy's writing style has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities, including plans for animation.”
Co-founder and editorial director, Candy, added that, “I couldn’t be more excited to officially join forces with 14 and, hopefully, make others laugh as much as we’ve already laughed while working together. In fact, we plan to make the site community as interactive as possible, with many opportunities for reader-generated input and content.”
14’s work at Gallery of the Absurd, often referred to as “portraits of shame,” has tackled everything from celebrity-inspired satire to media criticism, and has been featured in the New York Times, Newsday, The New York Post, International Herald Tribune, The Sun, and the Washington Post, which nominated Gallery of the Absurd as “Best Celebrity Blog” last year, among other media outlets. New York Times critic Caryn James called Gallery of the Absurd “the best of many sites that skewer celebrity culture,” and noted that 14’s artwork features “the qualities that make celebrity satire work” and is “consistently funny.” Unlike many celebrity observers, who focus on whether Britney Spears is wearing underwear that particular day, 14 is more intrigued by the public’s response to celebrities’ actions. Borrowing participant observation techniques from the field of cultural anthropology, 14 immerses herself in the world of celebrity gossip and then records what she sees.
Prior to founding Holy Candy, which attracted 100,000 unique readers per month after just one year on the Web, Candy was a staff writer for the CBS daytime drama, “The Bold and the Beautiful,” where she penned many scripts featuring prolonged heated stares and countless "Who's the Daddy?" story lines. However, nothing on television could rival the juicy real-life drama in Hollywood, so Candy decided to publish her own Web site, Holy Candy, and video blog following the celebrity world. At Circus Hour, she lends her own brand of humor with columns such as “Who Wore It Best: Paris Hilton or My Neighbor’s Cockapoo?” and “What I Think Joan van Ark’s Breath Smells Like,” as well as hosting a twice-weekly comedy news show, which has garnered as many as 120,000 views on YouTube. Formerly called “The Gossip Gospel,” the show will be re-launched with a new format and title, “Sideshow Candy.”
About Circus Hour
Circus Hour (circushour.com) is an online entertainment destination lampooning celebrity antics and pop culture’s obsession with them. The site offers wry commentary and satirical art covering everything from the daily celebrity news to the fashion industry to tabloids – and in a variety of unique formats, from original paintings to an online comedy news show to parody magazine articles. Circus Hour has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and was founded by two women, an artist and former television writer, who are overjoyed they have managed to forge a career out of making Chinese David Beckham condom ads and Lohan family holiday cards.
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press[.]circushour.com 
