Archive for June, 2009

Quick Hits

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, I just did a bunch of push-ups and boy are my arms tired…

madoff

Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail this week.  Madoff crunched the numbers and according to his projections, he should be free in 1987.

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In South Carolina, it’s still uncertain whether Mark Stanford will resign, but if he does, Lt. Governor Andre Bauer said he’s ready to step in. Bauer said he’s looking forward to fulfilling all the duties of the governorship, though he admitted there are a lot of holes to fill, and Argentinian women aren’t really his type.

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In Europe, they have developed a universal cell phone charger that will work on all standard-made cell phones.  Unbelievable, even the Europeans’ cell phone chargers are socialist.

Republicans immediately responded rejecting the idea of universal cell phone chargers saying Americans deserve a cell phone charging system that is uniquely American, meaning it should be expensive, hopelessly complicated, and exclude at least 47 million people.

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Obama has gotten some heat in recent weeks for advancing his anti-smoking legislation while he remains a smoker.  But as Obama pointed out, he doesn’t let his personal life interfere with public policy.  For example, in his personal life he’s apparently very open to homosexuals, but he’s been careful to make sure there’s no evidence of this in his actual policy.

funny-no-smoking-sign

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A man in Albany claims he found an image of Jesus  inside his coffee cup. The man says the discovery is shocking and has caused him to completely question whether or not his dishwasher actually works.

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I know everyone is reeling from the news about Michael Jackson’s passing, but there was another sad loss, particularly to those in the advertising business. Famous advertising pitchman Billy Mays has died. Billy was famous for pitching products like OxiClean and Mighty Mendit in Direct Response TV ads.  There will be a small ceremony honoring his life in Tampa, Florida later this week. A limited number of seats at the ceremony will be made available to the public, BUT YOU MUST CALL NOW! There’s never been a better time to GRIEVE FOR BILLY MAYS!  The first 100 BLOG READERS WHO E-MAIL will receive not only the official BILLY MAYS OXICLEAN cleaning products, but also for a limited time, a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COMMEMORATIVE PLATE. And THAT’S NOT ALL…

billy-mays

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This last weekend, the US Soccer team almost pulled a huge upset in the soccer world, losing to Brazil by the score of 3-2.  I’m not a huge soccer guy, but I watched the entire match. The American’s played admirably, though I have to think they would have done better had they not stuck to their questionable game plan of only using their feet.

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A man was arrested after he called 911 to complain about an Incorrect order at McDonald’s.  I know that sounds like a misuse of 911, but just look at how badly they screwed up the guy’s order:  He ordered a Big Mac Meal, no onions, light sauce, a super-sized French fry, and a Diet Coke without ice.  Instead, he got stabbed in the neck.  That’s pretty a bad screw-up.

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Iraqis pored into the streets to celebrate the departure of (uh, some) U.S. Troops from Iraq.  So there you have it, Cheney was right when he said we’d be greeted like liberators by the Iraqis. He just didn’t mention it would be when we liberated the Iraqi’s from us, not from Saddam…

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And now for a little Yiddish humor: Tsvey kelemer yidn ze’en zikh in gas. Zogt Yohen, “Moysheh, gut aikh tsu zen nokh aza langer tsait. Ober ir hot zikh zayer gebitn.” “Ober, ich bin…” zogt der tsveyter yid. “Es makht nit oys. Ir zet oys azoy andersh. Ich bedenk ikh vi a hoykher, a glaykher mit breiteh aksl. Itst tet ir oys azoy niderik. “Ikh viln aikh zogn,” entphert der tsveiter yid. “Ikh bin nit Moysheh.” “Oy, zet nor. Ayer nomen hot ir oykh gebitn!”

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Finally, a new study released by the Department of Human Sciences confirms a long believed hypothesis that 50% of all people are smarter than the other 50%.

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Thank you folks, I’ll be here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress.

Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail this week. Madoff crunched the numbers and according to his projections, he should be free in 1987.

Since Madoff is 72, it’s being reported that Madoff will most likely die in federal prison. Most likely? Wow, way to go out on a limb on that one.

In South Carolina, it’s still uncertain whether Mark Stanford will resign yet, but if he does, the Lt. Governor Andre Bauer could step in and be governor until there can be an election in 2010. Bauer said he’s looking forward to fulfilling all the duties of the office of the governor, though he admitted he’s not really that into Argentinean women.

In Europe, they have developed a universal cell phone charger that will work on all standard-made cell phones. See, even the Europeans cell phone chargers are socialist.

Republicans immediately responded rejecting the idea of universal cell phone chargers saying Americans deserve a cell phone charging system that is uniquely American, meaning as confusing and wasteful as our health care system.

Obama has gotten some heat in recent weeks for advancing his anti-smoking legislation while he remains a smoker. But as Obama pointed out, he doesn’t let his personal life interfere with public policy. For example, in his personal life he’s apparently very open to homosexuals, but he’s been careful to make sure there’s no evidence of this in his actual policy.

A man in Albany claims he found an image of Jesus in his crown of thorns inside his coffee cup. The man says the discovery is shocking and has caused him to completely question whether or not his dishwasher actually works.

I know everyone is shocked about Michael Jackson’s passing, but there was another sad loss, particularly to those in the advertising business. Famous advertising pitchman Billy Mays has died. Billy was famous for pitching products like OxiClean and Mighty Mendit in Direct Response TV ads. There will be a small ceremony honoring his life in Tampa, Florida later this week. A limited number of seats at the ceremony will be made available to the public, BUT YOU MUST CALL NOW! There’s never been a better time to GRIEVE FOR BILLY MAYS! The first 100 BLOG READERS WHO E-MAIL will receive not only the official BILLY MAYS OXI CLEAN cleaning products, but also for a limited time, a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COMMEMORATIVE PLATE. And THAT’S NOT ALL…

This last weekend, the US Soccer team almost pulled a huge upset in the soccer world, losing to Brazil by the score of 3-2. I’m not a huge soccer guy, but I watched the entire match. The American’s played admirably, but I have to think they would have done better had they not stuck to their questionable game plan of only using their feet.

A man was arrested after he called 911 to complain about an Incorrect order at McDonald’s. I know that sounds like a misuse of 911, but just look at how badly they screwed up the guy’s order: He ordered a Big Mac Meal, no onions, light sauce, a super-sized French fry, and a Diet Coke without ice. Instead, he got stabbed in the neck. That’s a pretty big screw up…

Iraqis pored into the streets to celebrate the departure of U.S. Troops from Iraq. So there you have it, Cheney was right when he said we’d be greeted like liberators by the Iraqis. He just didn’t mention it would be when we liberated the Iraqi’s from us, not from Saddam…

And now for a little Yiddish humor: Tsvey kelemer yidn ze’en zikh in gas. Zogt Yohen, “Moysheh, gut aykh tsu zen nokh aza langer tsayt. Ober ir hot zikh zayer gebitn.” “Ober, ich bin…” zogt der tsveyter yid. “Es makht nit oys. Ir zet oys azoy andersh. Ich bedenk aykh vi a hoykher, a glaykher mit breiteh aksl. Itst tet ir oys azoy niderik. “Ikh viln aykh zogn,” entphert der tsveiter yid. “Ikh bin nit Moysheh.” “Oy, zet nor. Ayer nomen hot ir oykh gebitn!”

Finally, a new study released by the Department of Human Sciences confirms a long believed hypothesis that 50% of all people are smarter than the other 50%.

You’re Quick Summer Television Guide

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

We all know summer television can be a bit dreadful, but don’t let the summer repeats bum you out. There is plenty of original programming to get you though the dog days of July and August. Here’s your guide:nyc prep

NYC Prep (Bravo): 16-year-old uber-rich Highs School kids attempt to imitate the cast of Gossip Girls, but without a script they just end up looking douchie and awkward.

Real World 22 (MTV): Screaming drunk college-aged brats go crazy in the whitest city in the world—Cancun.

I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (NBC): People you never heard of are mean to other people you have never heard of. The SAT responds by reclassifying Celebrity as a synonym for That guy/girl looks vaguely familiar.

Big Brother 11 (11, really?) (CBS): This show is a glimpse into our simpler past, before we realized that good reality shows should include third-tier celebrities with personality disorders, alcoholics, or obnoxiously rich people because ordinary people are sooooooo boring.

Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo): This subversively convenient program was created to real_housewives_of_ochelp the Socialist Proletariat know who to go after first once the revolution happens.

Real Housewives of INSERT CITY HERE Reunion Show (Bravo): Hey, remember last week when we were on television? Yeah, that was awesome.  Cue the hysterical screaming and homophobic slurs.

America’s Got Talent (NBC): The title of this show is a classic example of an over-promise.

The Goode Family (ABC): A super PC family finds out that sometimes it can be tough to do the right thing, especially when the right thing is getting good ratings.

The Bachelorette (ABC): In order to pursue the woman they plan to fall in love with, 25 hunky, racially homogeneous guys talk about their feelings, their emotional vulnerabilities, their desire to settle down and raise a family, their belief in true love. Yes, it doesn’t get much realer than that.

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox): I liked it better under its original title: So you So-you-think-you-can-dance-so-you-think-you-can-dance-357506_799_1049think you can do something of little to no social or cultural value better than other people who have also dedicated themselves to the same obscure artistic pursuit? Based on the strong ratings of this show, I’m eagerly awaiting the spin-offs, So You Think You Can Stand on One Foot for a Really, Really Long Time? and So You Think You can Consume Large Quantities of Ammonia Without Asphyxiating?

Hawthorne (TNT): If my newly created LINEAR THEOREM OF PROGRAMMING is correct, then the amount of enjoyment I get from this TV program can be calculated as being inversely  related to the number of billboards I see promoting said program while driving from West Los Angeles to Downtown. Per this analysis, one can safely conclude that this show sucks.

VH1’s I Love The 2008s (VH1): A nostalgic look at all the crazy things we used to do last year. Remember when Obama wasn’t even president yet because he was still running for office? Remember Mike Huckabee? Remember Thanksgiving?  And blue jeans? Oh man, good times. (DISCLOSURE: I MEANT THIS TO BE A GAG, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SUCH A SHOW MAY IN FACT EXIST).

Harper’s Island (CBS): N/A (it is not confirmed that anyone has actually watched this show).

Friday Links

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Just a handfull of links to get you through the weekend…

Latest Episode of 7th Floor West by Jimmy Fallon

(Having watched the Hills makes this funnier)

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A Sweet Message from Someecards

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Colbert: Even Gov. Stanford’s Scandals are Snoozers

(But hypocrisy is always a little interesting)

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Job Interview Tips for Job Applicants That Don’t Really Want Jobs

(a little old, but hey, it’s the season)

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Bird Attacks at Heavenspot?

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Another oldie but goodie: Rap, Graphically

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Oy! Molly Picon sings a Abi Gezunt

(not actually funny, but I can’t get the song out of my head)

Top 5 Can’t Miss Screenplay Ideas

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

screenplay

Too Much Calamari: A man eats too much calamari and gets sick.  Then, his memory comes back and he realizes he was a CIA hitman in a past life. He must assassinate the man who is going to kill the president. In the final scene, he meets the squid fisherman who caught the calamari he ate at the beginning of the film. They become good friends.

Five Days: A man who is divorced and misses his kids and also has a bad job, discovers a magic calendar that allows him to relive 5 days from his past. He can pick any day he wants to relive to try and change how his life came out.  He changes his life for the better, but then he wakes up and it was all a dream and he’s still a loser.

Unnecessary Force: Once, Chip Bullet was a tough LA street cop, battling gang leaders in some of the toughest neighborhoods in the city.  But when he gets transferred to a small, quaint town in eastern Oregon, he has to adjust to the quirky life of the town, where the worst crime is when someone steals a bicycle.  But when someone steals Chip Bullet’s bicycle, all rules are off.  Unfortunately for Chip, this bicycle thief turns out to be an alien and then it turns out everyone in the town is also an alien and they are plotting to kidnap the president. It’s up to Chip to stop them, but how can he do that without his lucky bicycle which his grandfather who was mysterious gave to him on his first day on the force?

It Takes One to Know One: A screenplay based on the proverb.

Love at First Bite: Two vampires living in Italy, discover the one thing they love more than sucking human blood—cooking! They start their own restaurant which quickly becomes the hit of Paris.  But when a rival restaurant owner discovers their secret, will he blow their chances of winning the Restaurant of the Year award? A romantic comedy set in the heart of the culinary capital of the world—San Francisco.

Wisdom of the Rebbes

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

satmarab

Rebbe Moyshe was known throughout the village of Villna for his knowledge in the matters of the heart.  A pupil of the Rebbe once complained to his teacher, “I have no luck with women. Whenever I see a beautiful young woman, I feel compelled to speak with her, but the result is always heartbreak. What can be done?”  The Rebbe contemplated the young pupil’s problem for several days, until one night he awoke with a loud “Aha!”  He summoned the pupil right away.  “Rebbe,” the excited pupil cried, “Have you found a solution?”  “Yes, yes,” said the Rebbe, “I think I have,” and with that he kicked the man in the balls.

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Rebbe Moyshe, it is said, once grew his beard down to his toes in a single week. How he did this is unknown.  Some claim he asked God to give him wisdom beyond his years. Others say he prayed each night with such intensity that the hairs around his mouth grew to the floor as a sign of respect for his prayers.  Though most agree, he probably was just wearing the fake beard he kept in his closet as it was his idea of a good joke to put on a fake beard and startle his wife.

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The Rebbe, it is written, was renowned for his insightful interpretations of Talmudic Law (most famously, THE PEOPLE VS. GLICKMAN’S BAKERY and the CAN SOMETHING THAT TASTES THIS BAD STILL BE FORBIDDEN TO EAT ON PASSOVER case).  Once, when pouring through an obscure passage of the Talmud, Rebbe Moyshe found a loophole that allowed a man to eat pork on the Sabbath so long as he not covet his neighbor’s tenderloin.  This was a revelation, though later it was discovered the passage was not authentic Talmud per se, but rather a take-out menu from a popular rib joint, which he had been using as a bookmark.

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The Rebbe was known for the many miracles he performed, including but not limited to, the Levitating Woman, Any Card/Any Number, The Coin Fold,  andThe Needle through the Thumb trick.  In one of his greatest Miracles ever, the Rebbe was able to regularly have his oil changed without being sold unnecessary air filter replacements.

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One Purim, the Rebbe having consumed too much grape wine, was rumored to have spent the night with a woman that was not his wife.  This worried the people of his village for many a long week, until one man was elected to confront the Rebbe on this grave sin. The man returned to the worried villagers with a smile on his face.  “So, is it not true then? About the Rebbe and this other woman?” the villagers asked.  “No,” said the man. “It is as we thought. The Rebbe has been with a woman that is not his wife.”  “So why the happy face? This is a terrible sin!” cried the villagers.  “Ah, but note the wisdom of the Rebbe.  The woman was not Jewish.”  The villagers were confused, until one at last asked, “But what difference does that make? To be with a non-Jewish woman is also grave sin.”  “Ah!” said the man, “But you see how clever our Rebbe is–he knows that two negatives make a positive.”  And thus the matter was rightly resolved for it is written in the Torah, One can sleep around and still keep ones day job provided one is also good at math.

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There is a saying Rebbe Moyshe was fond of repeating: It takes a wise man to learn Talmud, but even a fool can kick another man in the balls.

Back Up and Running

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Now with 78% fewer viruses.

Tecnhical Difficulties

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Due in part to higher than anticipated demand, part to web administrator tech-deficiencies, part to an ongoing sturggle with Google over whether this site is or is not a destination for distributing hard-core pornography, the blog will be innactive for the next week. Resolution is on the way. Hopefully.

Friday Links

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Your one-stop-source for things on the internet I find funny at the moment…

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Yes, Kobe Can Win a World Championship w/ Luke Walton

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But Can They Rap like The Old Lakers?

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Meanwhile, Another Tough Year for the Washington Generals

(ur…make that the Washington Colonels)

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Iran’s Rigged Election=True Love

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So That’s What the P in PC Stands For

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Book Club Cliff Note

(May work on 100 Level Lit Courses Too)

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Who Says Automated War Machines Can’t Be Fun?

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It’s Amateur Hour (again)

What Inanimate Object Are You?

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s now time for one of this blog’s most popular reoccurring features, back by popular demand (yes, I do read those e-mail requests), Whatisfunny is proud to present another edition of: MATCHING FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH THE INANIMATE OBJECTS THEY SORT-OF REMIND ME OF.

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To begin, Angelina Jolie….

angelina-jolie-pregnant

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…is an Electric Knife Sharpener.

shun-electric-knife-sharpener-kershaw

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Anderson Cooper is…

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…a Stapler.

Stapler_STABOS-B44BG

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Rush Limbaugh is…

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…a Water Heater.

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Spencer Pratt…

spencer-pratt-the-hollywood-gossip

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…is an Eggplant.

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And finally, Kim-Jong Il…

NORTH KOREA HAIR WAR*

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…is Eggplant Salad.

eggplant_salad

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Finally, I’ve been thinking a lot about the flack David Letterman has been taking over his jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter. Regardless of who has come out ahead in the fight, it’s a tricky issue. In comedy, the line between what is acceptable and not acceptable is never as clear as perhaps it should be. My loyal readers will remember I learned this the hard way back in 2003 when I wrote a graphically, explicit S&M sex fantasy involving Dick Cheney’s wife, which at the time I thought was satirical and subversive, but ended up being just sexist and odd (Woops! Now I can’t get on an airplane without being savagely beaten by airport security! LOL!!!).  On the other hand, I was sure my ongoing bit EATING DISORDER OR SYPHILIS? would have gotten me in a lot of trouble, but I still get warm, glowing letters from Lindsay Lohan about the bit to this day. So you never know.

The real issue here is Palin is absolutely right when she says family should be off-limits in political discourse. Unless you’re trying to run for president from an obscure, remote state and you’re in danger of slipping out of the national conversation. In that case, I think anyone would agree that it’s absolutely appropriate to use them as a vehicle for inspiring faux outrage and publicity.

 

Twilight: Oh my God, why is that mime trying to bite me?

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Three thoughts after watching Twilight for the first time the other night.

1.  Okay, I get that suspension of disbelief is important in a vampire movie, and that there’s a long tradition of pale-faced vampires, and that this does take place in the sun-deprived northwest, but for the love of God, will someone get these vampires some spray-on tanner?  I mean, doesn’t anyone notice that the town’s head doctor looks like Bob Dylan in the Rolling Thunder Review?  Or that the “dreamy” mysterious high school boy everyone wishes they could talk to just stepped off stage at a Cure concert, 1985? I guess if you aren’t suspicious about a family that moves into town, lives in a weird house off on their own where the like-aged kids date each other, and misses every single sunny day at school, you aren’t going to be thrown off by the fact that they look like fu@king mimes too.

75rolling

2.  The level of exasperation in the dialog is just, uh, jeez–exasperating. How angsty are these teenagers? Even the most simple conversations are peppered with exasperated exhales, sighs, stutters, and perplexed intonation. A conversation about the weather takes on the anxiety levels of a conversation about wanting to borrow someone’s kidney.  A typical scene goes something like this:

Dreamy Kid who Looks Like a Mime (DKLLM):  So, uh, what do you think about the, uh, weather here?

Angsty Teenage Girl (ATA): You (exasperated exhale) are asking me (perplexed accent on me), about the, uh, (perplexed stutter), weather? (exasperated facial contortion).

DKLLM: I (nervous laugh), uh, guess I (nervous exhale), am (sulky moody stare off into space).

ATA: (exasperated exhale) So, like, uh (more perplexed facial tics), you missed class yesterday? (strangely inflected as if this were a question).

DKLLM: Yeah (angst filled fist clench, matched by ATA exasperated exhale and then a disgusted snort).

The above exchange takes 45 minutes to complete.

twilight

3.  On a personal note, teaching a college freshman composition class, I had a student write about this movie.  The student’s thesis was something like:  This is a super awesome movie about true love. Trying to get some more depth out of the analysis, I asked this student, who had written in their paper that the main character must abstain from his lust for his girlfriend’s blood which he craves like a drug, if there wasn’t perhaps a secondary moral message here. After all, two hot-blooded teenage lovers, one with an insatiable craving for the others blood, but he must abstain from this unbearable temptation and continue with their almost completely non-physical relationship.  The student looked at me as if I had just suggested Santa Clause was a child molester, insisting that the most critical analysis one could make is that Twilight is a  really awesome movie about true love and also vampires and oh man is it so awesome.  But having seen the movie now, it couldn’t be more about teenage abstinence if the Jonas Brothers came out at the end and said, “And the best part about it was, they waited.”  I mean, the ATG is on the verge of letting the DKLLM take her blood on PROM NIGHT, of all things, when at the last minute they agree to wait.  Come-on! It’s not like I’m the only one who sees this connection either. If only there was such thing as a retroactive C-.

purity ring

ADDED SIDE NOTE: This also reminds me, for no particular reason, that in the midst of so many abstinence/give your baby up for adoption teenage stories, we are still waiting for the definitive coming-of-age, romantic teenage comedy about abortion.