Sulkin

Twitter serves Sulkin the way The New Yorker once served S. J. Perelman: as a venue in which to showcase his wares and develop celebrity caché outside of Hollywood proper.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

Twitter gives Sulkin another opportunity television doesn't, to aggressively cross lines of propriety: "Every time my Dad blows his nose, I kinda get why there was a holocaust."

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

Twitter allows Sulkin to show his comic range, one might even say mastery.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

So when Sulkin lets loose on Twitter, it's 100% him and almost 100% genius.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

When it comes to composing an individual tweet, that singularly repeatable text, Alec Sulkin is a modern master.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

But most notoriously, Sulkin's tweet comparing the Tōhoku earthquake's death toll to Pearl Harbor's caused furor and resulted in apology and removal.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

Like many great comedians, Sulkin plays up his Mel Brooksishness: "I'm a Jew genetically, emotionally and nose-aly"; and, "I'm already the kind of Jew who comes out of the men's room still buckling his belt."

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

"The Clean Water Act does not allow our streams to be turned into industrial sewers," says Barry Sulkin, the former Chief of Enforcement and Compliance for the Tennessee Division of Water Pollution Control and a director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Robert Greenwald: Exposing the Koch brothers' polluted response Robert Greenwald 2011

When it comes to composing an individual tweet, that singularly repeatable text, Alec Sulkin is a modern master.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011

Alec Sulkin has the privilege of working for a relatively great show with standards, but no matter where a writer ends up in Hollywood, his writing feeds into the entertainment biz sausage grinder.

Aaron Belz: Literary Twitter: @thesulk Aaron Belz 2011