Archive | Monkeys!

Thag blog funny

[Transcript begins.]

Professor QuippyProfessor Quippy:
Welcome to The Skwib’s first ever presentation of the Pre-Columbian Interpretive Dance Olympics, held here in sunny Southwestern Ontario, where the humidity is hovering somewhere near 90%, the air-quality index is “tubercular” and where I’m sharing the announcer duties with the lovely Dennis Travesty and her biographer and the last Dadaist, Toulouse Le Grandfig.

Dennis TravestyWelcome all. Now what can we expect to see today Dennis?

Dennis Travesty:
I’m hoping to see that hunky Cro-Magnon I saw hanging around the sausage vendor!

And then I’d like to see him dance. Oh, yes!

Professor Quippy:
Monsieur Le Grandfig, I’m told that you actually won this competition when it was held in Calakmul in 910 AD? Putting aside the issue of your longevity, what exactly will the competitors be feeling right now?

Toulouse Le GrandfigToulouse Le Grandfig:
It depends a little bit on where they have done their training.

Some of the artists will have been to the Abstract School in Schenectady New York, in which case they will be feeling a sense of confusion and intestinal cramping–

PQ:
Cramping?

TLG:
Yes, their food handling techniques are notoriously lax. If they’ve gone to the Camus School, then the dancers will no doubt be feeling a sense of ennui and their own futility–

DT:
I’m feeling ennui right now!

PQ:
You seem strangely excited by it. Ah, here comes the first dancers.

DT:
It’s the hunk! And some kind of overweight tourist…

PQ:
Yes, our first dancers are the cave man Thag and Dr. Maximillian Tundra, performing: “Thag blog funny.” Thag is wearing some kind of fur loincloth and Dr. Tundra is wearing a Hawaiian Shirt, greasy jean cut-off shorts, and what appears to be a tiny bowler hat.

Toulouse, do you know where have they done they’re training?

TLG:
Thag is self-taught. It is clear from the way he’s carrying himself to the performance area. Do you see the way he’s dragging his knuckles? That is a sure sign of an amateur. Dr. Tundra has been to the Timothy Leary School. Or he might be a science fiction writer who thought this was the way to the Con Suite.

PQ:
Well, whatever the case, he seems to be getting ready to dance by limbering up. Do you see him touching his toes? Oh, no, sorry … it’s probably a case of nerves. I know that I threw up before the Oral Defense of my thesis.

DT:
Me too!

TLG:
He said “thesis” Den.

DT:
They’ve started!

PQ:
Now, what would that mean? It seems as though Thag is opening his arms to the sky, and Dr. Tundra is lying down.

DT:
Look at his arms!

TLG:
Ah, I see what they’re going for here. The Classic pre-Columbian Duality Dance. Thag is the positive force, and Tundra the negative. Do you see how he’s hopping from one foot to the other? And how Tundra is now turning over, as though he awoke and then fell back asleep?

PQ:
And he’s rolled in his own vomit.

DT:
Ewwwwww!

TLG:
It means that a successful blogger writes something new every day. The lazy ones roll in their own filth. Or it could be something about soup.

PQ:
Soup?

TLG:
Yes, baby fricassee too.

DT:
Oh Toulouse, you’re too much.

PQ:
Now what are they doing?

DT:
Look at Thag’s calves. Yummy!

TLG:
Yes, he’s kicking Dr. Tundra, repeatedly, to show how a good blogger isn’t afraid of doing the same thing over and over. Now, do you see how he varied that kick, with the heel instead of the toe — he’s saying that even if you do the same thing, you need to make it new and interesting. Newts and bowling, by the way.

[Professor Quippy stares at Toulouse Le Grandfig]

DT:
Oh, Dr. Tundra is getting up! He’s covering his privates.


PQ:

So is he saying that a bad blogger hides his personal life?

DT:
No, Thag is kicking him there.

PQ:
I don’t think we should be airing this in prime time.

TLG:
No the kids should see this. Do you see how Dr. Tundra is now huddled next to the bleachers, hugging himself and crying? They’re saying that too much self-love is not funny. You have to make fun of yourself if you’re going to refer to yourself, that’s why Thag is beating him with the sturgeon?

PQ:
Actually, I believe that’s a wiffle bat.

DT:
I love wiffles! With ice cream!

TLG:
Exactly, Den! They’re saying that puns can be humorous too!

PQ:
Now, why are there a troop of large apes entering the dance area?

DT:
Well, duh — monkeys are hilarious! And those are über-chimps.

PQ:
But why are they wearing tutus and fezzes? And why do they have tubas?

TLG:
Custard?

PQ:
Is that little one wearing a tiny Napoleon outfit? He’s adorable.

DT:
Wow, Thag is really laying into those über -chimps.

PQ:
Yes, the little one can’t seem to keep them in their ranks. He does a lot of shouting, doesn’t he.

Beware the Angry MonkeyTLG:
You see how Dr. Tundra is crawling away, hiding under the bleachers? And how Thag is wading in, knocking the über -chimps unconscious? That’s a metaphor.

PQ:
For what?

TLG:
Writing. The key to successful writing is never letting the critics get you down. Just wade into the crowd of monkeys and let fly. Only a failed writer will crawl away.

PQ:
I guess most of the crowd are failed writers too. They’re really emptying the bleachers quickly. Oh, look, some of the chimps —

DT:

Über -chimps!

PQ:
Über -chimps, are bringing the mouthpieces of their tubas to their lips. That can’t be good …

TLG:
Yes, yes, yes. This is great. Every pre-Columbian Interpretive Dance should end in some kind of catastrophic bloodshed. And onions.

[Catastrophic, Tympanic membrane-busting, sound. Transcript ends.]

The preceding was a dramatization; no actual tubas were hurt during its production, though Dr. Tundra did throw up. Its production was in answer to a “non-meme” created by the Menacing Brent Diggs, proprietor of the Ominous Comma, Lord of the Baleful Apostrophe, and Master of Threatening Punctuation. If you would like to participate in this “non-meme”, all you have to do is:

  1. Write a funny post that includes an actual and helpful technical blogging tip or educational material helpful to new bloggers.
  2. Challenge five other experienced bloggers of funniness.
  3. Post it.
  4. Link and badge up if you so desire.

I’m sure that most of the other funny blog writers at humor-blogs.com and alltop have seen this challenge, so I will “not-tag” the following bloggers: Mark, Archer,Ellison, Jon and Leslie. Now, if you have a humor-blogs account (or would like one), please express your joyous need for soup and tell everyone you loved this post.

But Harlan, the Web wants to be free

This classic Harlan Ellison rant comes courtesy of Steve Davey, a travel writer and photographer who has been asked for his share of freebies.

You may want to watch Harlan explain his philosophy on providing free content before you read the rest of the post. Or not. He’s talking specifically about the studios, but he raises an interesting point:

“They always want the writer to work for nothing. And the problem is, there’s so god-damned many writers who have no idea that they’re supposed to be paid every time they do something! They do it for nothing. [raises shoulders and flaps arms] Guh, guh, ghuh, look at me, I’m going to be noticed, huh, huh, huh-huh.”

So all you bloggers out there, according to Harlan, we’re all “assholes”.

I say guilty as charged. What do you think?

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Free content provided by YouTube. (Oh, the irony!) Link provided by Steve Davey. If you believe this is a funny blog — sorry about the lack of monkeys today — you should go to humor-blogs.com and vote. You can also find more humor at alltop.

Ask General Kang: Would you describe yourself as a fascist?

Ask General KangWhat kind of question is that? What kind of nut-job describes themselves as a fascist, even if they are? (I mean, apart from the original Fascists, who were definitely a few bananas short of a bunch.)

Actually, I would describe myself as a committed proponent of democracy — when I’m not in power, that is, heh, heh.

Seriously, if you want to take over and become the Supreme Ruling Chimp (and you don’t have an intergalactic war fleet brimming with angry gorilloids wearing high-impact body armor and fezzes) you need to be able to manipulate an election or two.

So you are a fascist.

No, I’m an intergalactic conqueror and advice columnist. Some day, I may become a Great Leader who will save the frustrated middle class from a nebulous group of “others”, which is somehow inferior to us regular chimps and yet, powerful enough to control our society and oppress us. Yah, I am your bow-legged monkey savior!

Next time: I’ve just spilled really hot coffee in my lap — is this what they mean by “global warming”?

Humor-blogs.com and Alltop are two of the essential bananas in my bunch.

Ask General Kang: How do you deal with procrastination?

Ask General KangSeverely.

On Planet Neecknaw, the original lifespan of the average Neecknabian was similar to the average for your chimpanzees, 40-45 years or so.

Is that on a diet of bananas or not?

You make any more banana jokes and you’ll discover why Genteelia VI calls me The Merciless Kang, Pain-of-Ingrown-Toenail Giver.

Now, when you know that you’ve only got 40 years to get something accomplished, you tend to get on it. So, on all of the planets I’ve conquered — which is legion — I install a strict no-procrastination policy, enforced appropriately.

Appropriately?

You should sound worried. On Marceauvia XII, which is inhabited by a race multi-brachial mime people, we discovered that they were particularly fearful of tickling. So if a mime was found pretending to be in a box, or walking against a strong wind, I had one of my uber-chimps tickle them until they got back on task. (Usually building monuments to my greatness.)

So what should I do?

All you need to do is tell me what you fear most, and I will put an anti-procrastination regimen together for you.

No, that’s okay. I’m motivated now.

Works every time.

Next time: What is the best approach of making first contact with a race that thinks of your species as food?

Humor-blogs.com and Alltop both think of The Skwib as a light snack.

Ask General Kang: Do you own a typewriter? And do you have 999,999 co-workers?

Ask General KangI have neither, nor do I have an infinite amount of time, so don’t expect to see me write Hamlet anytime soon.

I do, however, have this gripping script about an intergalactic overlord who comes to Earth, starts writing an advice column, and finds himself forced to beat one of his letter writers senseless after he makes a joke about the overlord’s hirsute back, bow legs and penchant for banana cream pies.

But back to your impertinent question: can a million monkeys typing randomly create a work of Shakespeare? No, Shakespeare has already written his oeuvre, so the best they could do is make a copy. (Which would be silly, because it’s now all available on the Internet.)

Some people have done the math, and believe it is impossible, thus proving the existence of God. Others believe that it demonstrates how the universe has evolved. Personally, I’ve watched a few movies by Million Monkeys Studios (a subsidiary of Fox), and I have to side with the first group.

Not only does God exist, It has a cruel sense of humor. More vicious even than Kragnarok the Icky, whose favourite pastime was eating the deep-fried skin of his victims while he bathed them in lemon juice.

Next time: Is it true that putting you face near a quasar will clear up acne?

Humor-blogs.com and Alltop could never be written by a million monkeys. Apparently a few thousand is enough.

Professor Quippy: One step closer to the monkey singularity

Professor QuippyScientists had a major breakthrough in the quest to achieve the technological singularity last week, as researchers at the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated robotic-armed killer monkeys.

Actually, they were using the robotic arms to eat bits of banana and marshmallows (the monkeys, not the scientists). According to the New Scientist: “The feat marks the first time a brain-controlled prosthetic limb has been wielded to perform a practical task.”

The rhesus monkeys were trained to use the arms with a joystick, and then their arms were restrained and they had to use their brains to control the devices. One of the monkeys was successful 61 percent of the time, and would often reach for another treat while he was chewing on the one he just got. (And with a 39 percent failure rate, I can see why. Poor little bugger was probably starving — not to mention a complete lack of protein in his diet.)

Robotic Pirate MonkeyNo word yet on what happened on those occasions when the treat did not get into the mouth of the monkey, but Rufus, the less successful at using the arms, was seen wandering the University of Pittsburg campus with an eye patch.

Getting us closer to the pirate singularity. (Pictured at right.)

You can read the story at the New Scientist Tech blog. More things accomplished by monkeys can be found here and here. Details about the Technological Singularity [wiki] are best ignored. Video evidence to follow:

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