Mother Nature, You Are Hilarious

I took the Google Earth Day quiz yesterday and learned that I am a "Cuttlefish." Cuttlefish, by the way, look like this:

Actually that is a baby cuttlefish. But this is not what I wish to write about today.

Here is what I wish to write about: when I googled "cuttlefish" (well-played, Google, for getting me to do that with your quiz) I came across THIS LINK. I started watching and learning about my many similarities to the cuttlefish, and then I was like "wait, is this video for real?" because the guy narrating it was so bizarre.

And then I kept watching and I slowly realized that the video was real in that it taught me real facts about cuttlefish, but it was also a joke because this man is hilarious.

Long story short, there is a series of videos on YouTube called "True Facts About _________" by ZeFrank1, and they are the funniest things I have seen in a long time. I've watching almost all of them in a very short amount of time. I've learned so much about different animals.

So, if you like learning about animals, but also making fun of them behind their backs, you will love these videos. 

The MotherHOOD

I wish, wish wish wish, I could have written something this amazing about being a parent. Bravo, Similac.

Link: http://youtu.be/Me9yrREXOj4

Much love to my parenting homies,

- TLSU

What's Hot with the Kids These Days II

I know you all count on me to bring you the latest trends in teenybopper-land, so I wanted to share with you a recent discovery of mine. (The fact that it is a recent to me does not mean it is recent, of course. I usually pick up on things anywhere between 6-12 months after thirteen-year-olds pick up on them. That said, I pick up on them about a year before regular adults would, so this is still a valid service I'm providing.)

Here is what I've discovered: Miranda Sings.

That's her in the red sweatpants. You may notice she has her arm around THEE Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld is with-it.

I first learned of Miranda Sings on Halloween when one of my students dressed up as her (the basic look is bobby pins, sweat pants, and a lot of red lipstick). Then last week someone turned in a video assignment doing an impression of Miranda Sings, and everyone went crazy for it. So I investigated.

Miranda Sings is a character created by an actress named Colleen Ballinger. She started making YoutTube videos as "Miranda" where she sings pop songs poorly. People started following her, and now she makes tons of videos as Miranda doing all sorts of things, like this one: http://youtu.be/zTnXw0F_iYY.

I am drawn to Miranda for reasons I cannot explain, but what put me over the edge was her recent appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee hosted by comedy icon Jerry Seinfeld. Why would Seinfeld have her on, when other guests have included Larry David, Kevin Hart, and Sarah Silverman? Surely Miranda is not yet up to that level? Do you think he was just looking to cash in to the younger audience? (Most "MirFANda's are middle-schoolers). Or is he really a fan? Tell me!!!!

Also, why doesn't Jerry Seinfeld read this blog and ask me to be his friend?

So there you have it. Miranda Sings is a THING. It's a thing you should know about. And that's why I'm here. 

And Now For Something Completely Different

After writing about accidental orgies and fisting, I thought it might be nice to lighten the mood a bit with something innocent and nice. I am a sweet, lovely person, I promise!

So here is a YouTube video of toddlers arguing about whether it's raining or "sprinkling." And then one pokes the other "in the heart." That sounds weird, but it's adorable. Just watch it.

Link: http://youtu.be/3sKdDyyanGk

Happy Friday!

Horror Weds Hilarity and a Beautiful Child Is Born

Halloween is just around the corner.

Generally speaking, I like Halloween. I like seeing little kids in costumes, walking around with no idea how hilariously adorable they look. Is there anything better than a two-year-old walking around, holding his parent's hand, dressed up as Batman? Is there?

There is not.

But when it comes to scary things, like being scared, and scaring other people -- I am a strong "no thank you."

Some people love being scary, and feeling scared, and the sound of their hearts beating to the rhythm of the pee seeping into their pants -- but not me. I loathe being scared. I get angry when people try to scare me. If you pop out at me and yell "Gotcha!"--  my first instinct will be to never speak to you again. (My second instinct is to cry.)

The only way for me to tolerate something scary is if it is mixed with my favorite thing: comedy. Comedy and horror are wonderful together. For example, the "Scream" movies with Neve Campbell -- those were pretty good. Because even though I was scared, I was laughing as much as I was urinating. Sometimes I wasn't sure if the urine was induced by the fear or the laughter, and that's a great sign.

Another hilarious scary movie was "Cabin in the Woods" in 2012. That movie was incredibly funny, but also a little scary, and in the end, I -- the scardiest-scaredy-cat in all of Scaresville -- was fine. Success.

And now, I am very excited to announce that I have found a book that, despite being in many ways a horror story, was the funniest book I've read in a long time. I loved it.

That is a picture of the amazing book to which I refer.

It is also a picture of my sock!

All Animals Versus All Humans is a delightful mix of grisly death and hilarious satire. (Yes, such a mix exists!) I really liked it. I laughed a lot when I read it. It was very dark, and weird, and smart. Just like me -- minus the dark part. And the smart part.

Anyway, go buy this book on Amazon, and prepare to be horrified -- in a good way.

Link here.

Adults and Tiaras

Remember when I posted about the amazing hilarious web series Teachers? Well, I am now obsessed with the female improv/sketch writing team who helped create it: The Katydids. I just watched like five of their videos. I really should be doing something else . . . but then again it's Friday.

Anyway, here is a favorite:

Link: http://youtu.be/FC-jafOj_Y4

Have a lovely weekend.

xoxoxoxox
-TLSU

What's Going On?

Since I have not been writing much, I thought you might be interested in what I have been doing. Here is a recap:

1. I've been looking out of windows like these:

That is SNOW. Piled up that high. You can't even see and I am on the SECOND FLOOR.

(I'm on the first floor, but still.)



2. I've been reading THIS:

A book of hilarious essays by B.J. Novak -- my new writing hero. You have to check it out. It is so much better than this blog, I'd almost be sad except I'm too busy laughing at the book.


3. I've been watching THIS.

I know, I know -- we're a little behind at my house. But what's weird is that I've had four different people tell me how much I have to watch this show, because apparently I remind them of Lena Dunham (main character). And that is a weird premise under which to watch a show. It's like that time I worked in a department store and everyone kept saying I looked "exactly like Tammy." And then Tammy came back from maternity leave and I was like "You guys are mean."

Anyway. That's what's been up with me. How about you?

Can you see out your windows?

Poopie Birthday

A few years ago, my son had a bad fever and was up all night in hysterical delirium. (It was pretty great.) He didn't have many words yet, but the one phrase we could make out was "poopie birthday." He just kept saying 'poopie birthday.' I don't know why; I'm guessing his dreams were something along the lines of the following stories.

As promised, here are some sad birthday stories to make us all laugh and feel better about ourselves. Thank you to my lovely readers for submitting! You guys are so much cooler than those other readers who didn't.

1. "Green Thumb, Blue Birthday"

I was a physical therapist in south central Indiana in 2000, working on a masters degree, and feeling like I should get a second job. It would have been smart to get a job as a P.T., as I would earn welllll over minimum wage, but instead chose a minimum wage job at a garden center. I was scheduled to work on my b-day, and since I had no other plans (insert sympathetic sigh), I worked. For 12 hours, I potted baby Ajuga- buggle weed- it is a purplish green ground cover you could easily mistake for a weed. 

I was in Ajuga Hell.

To this day, I hate Ajuga. It is horrendous. And there was a very annoying know-it-all kid working with me that kept taking breaks. I was so mad when I  got home, I just cried.

-- Becky M.

2.  "Can I get this cake in an IV?"

It was December 5, 2009, the night before my 29th birthday.  My then-boyfriend, now-husband took me out for dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street from my apartment where we enjoyed a delicious three-course meal.

Here's the thing about delicious, rich meals though: with increasing frequency as I approached my 29th birthday, I was throwing them up.  Not because I wanted to, mind you.  I just couldn't keep them down.  I talked to my doctor about it, who gave me some heartburn medication, which didn't really help at all.  I'd almost gotten used to it: eat something rich and creamy, throw up in the middle of the night, go back to normal the next day.  So, somewhat predictably, I woke up in the middle of the night on December 5, the day before my 29th birthday, and threw up.  And threw up.  And threw up.  And curled up in a miserable ball on the bathroom floor and cried until finally my then-boyfriend now-husband made me get in the car and go to the emergency room at 4:00 am (now officially my 29th birthday).  Do you know how many times you have to give your date of birth at the hospital?  Awkward.  Anyway, I spent my 29th birthday having my gallbladder removed, which was a real blast.  

At least when people asked me what I thought about turning 30, I could tell that story and be like, "Well, it can't be worse than turning 29."

-- Mary B. F. 



Finally, this one was sent to me via text, so I turned it into a dramatic poem. It's called:

3. "Your Muscles Do Not Impress Me, Sir"

21st Birthday
During finals
Very sick
(Strep throat I think)
Dead sober
South Bend Stripper

-- Brigid B.

 
So, the next time you're feeling disappointed because your co-workers got you a cheap cake rather than a sweet one from Costco, remember these tales of woe. Then just laugh, laugh, laugh.

 

Christmas Classics

Ho ho ho! Guess what? Today is the last day of school and then it's Christmas break! I'm supposed to call it "Winter Break," but whatever. Everybody just relax.

I'm pretty psyched about tomorrow night's episode of Saturday Night Live: Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake? Can you imagine the musical comedy that is in store? Eeeeeeeeeee!

I wonder if it will top my all-time favorite SNL Christmas musical skit, the Sweeney Sisters:

Or this -- a a very close second:

What are your favorite SNL Christmas (holiday) moments?

Halloween

I meant to post this yesterday, but in all of the craziness it slipped my mind.

It is my favorite tribute to Halloween ever.

Link HERE.

A couple random thoughts on Halloween:

1) Why are preschoolers so obsessed with being the one to ring the doorbell? Why????? If it weren't for doorbells, I would have had a better Halloween. Just saying.

2) How can this candy be so good on the first bite and then make me want to vomit so much? And why do I keep eating it despite it making me want to barf? What is in there?

Okay bye I'm going to go eat more of that now.

Still thinking.

Some of the suggestions I received when petitioning for topics were 1) inappropriate Halloween costumes, and 2) things about your own children that annoy you.

Of course, I have plenty to say about both of these hot-button issues; but then I found some other people on the internet who were already doing it better than me. So check these out while I think of something original to say.

Costumes that are terrible.
http://suburbanturmoil.com/hoochieween/2013/10/14/

A dad who is mean but funny.
http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/dad-lip-syncs-his-daughters-temper-tantrum/

Help please.

Sometimes I forget I have a blog.

I'm serious. I get caught up in other, less-important activities like laundry, grocery shopping, and eating, and suddenly I think "oh crap! I started a blog six months ago!" and then I try to think of something really funny to write about.

Which brings me to now. Does anyone have anything funny they'd like me to write about? What about the way I keep ending sentence in prepositions? Anything on that there?

I think it would be super-awesome-amazing-cool if everyone posted a general topic in the comments section of something I could potentially write about. I mean it. Giraffes, chicken pox, Beyoncé . . . you name it! Because I am looking for inspiration. And -- you inspire me.

http://youtu.be/c9ZMDPf9hZw

In the meantime, I'm gonna saddle-up on the 'ol comedy high horse and act like a television reviewer. What did you think of the Saturday Night Live premiere? My future best friend Tina Fey was wonderful, as always, and overall I enjoyed the episode. Here are some highlights and lowlights:

1. Highlight: Keenan Thompson yelling at the new cast members in the game-show sketch "New Cast Member or Member of Arcade Fire?" Great delivery. Also, that sketch had a strong ending: rare.

2. Highlight: Drunk Uncle.

I usually get sick of characters who are on Weekend Update all the time, but for some reason Drunk Uncle makes me laugh every time. 

3. Highlight: The taxodermy sketch. I mean it was clearly stupid, but in a way I appreciated.

4. Lowlight: The ex-porn star sketch. I'm over it; anyone else? I think Vanessa Bayer and Cecily Strong are funny, but it's too similar every time. And it's long. Why so long??

So yes. Overall good. Next week is host/musical guess Miley Cyrus . . . I am just hoping she performs that song "Wrecking Ball" and licks a sledge hammer a bunch of times. You?

And of course I would weigh-in on the much-discussed series finale of Breaking Bad, but the thing is I only watched the first season like five years ago so I'm a little behind. Don't tell me what happens though. I'm assuming Walt changes his ways and goes back to teaching and ends up winning Teacher of the Year and writing inspiring children's books. That seems like where it was heading.



Comment with some topic ideas, please!  Right down there.

Blog Envy

Guys, I'm feeling inadequate.

No, not sexually. (Why does your mind always go there, weirdo?)

I'm feeling inadequate when it comes to blogging. In the last week I've read two amazing posts from blogs that are, let's just say it, about a billion times better than this one.

I'm going to share these posts with you because 1) they are funny, 2) they have good pictures, and 3) it would be selfish not to. But please, don't leave me for these bloggers. Stay with me. I'll be so good to you, baby. I'll make you dinner every night.

Now I'm being a weirdo. You're definitely going to leave me after that.

I'll be normal; I promise. Just read these:


1) The one that someone posted on Facebook the other day, and I can't stop thinking about it:

http://www.waitbutwhy.com/2013/07/7-ways-to-be-insufferable-on-facebook.html

2) The one that is not necessarily insightful as much and just random and funny:

http://thebloggess.com/2013/09/i-doesnt-take-much-to-make-me-happy/


And I will try to be better.

3 Reasons You Should Watch This One Show I Like

Last night I watched the first two episodes of the new season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and it made me so very happy. Why am I watching it three weeks late? I have children, they've had strep … and as the title of this blog suggests, I am lazy.

But I laughed, out loud, like childless well-rested person. If you are not a fan of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, that's fine; but you are wrong and here is why:

1. It's like Seinfeld.

EVERYONE liked Seinfeld. Well, maybe not everyone (my mom didn't get it), but it's one of the most highly rated TV comedies of all time. One reason for Seinfeld's popularity was that the characters weren't like any we'd seen before; because they weren't good people. They didn't have softer side, like Archie Bunker or Homer Simpson, they were actually selfish and delusional all the way down to the core -- and we loved it. We loved it when George pushed past all the little children to evacuate during a fire drill. We loved it when Jerry dates the masseuse just to get free massages. It was funny.

So where Seinfeld opened the door to unlikeable characters, "It's Always Sunny" walked through that door and then sat down on the couch and was like "bring me a sandwich now." These characters are TERRIBLE -- all-caps necessary. In one episode they find a baby and, instead of bringing it to the proper authorities, try to get it in television commercials to make money. When a casting agent tells them white babies aren't "in," they paint the baby's face brown.

I'm telling you it's bad.

But it's also great because that episode had a point. It was about exploiting children for fame and money, like Honey Boo Boo, or something. I mean I assume it was. I mean that's what I got out of it. Which brings me to my second point:


2. It's smart.

The episode I watched last night was about gun control, and it was probably one of the more thoughtful arguments about gun control that I've seen in a while. Even though many of the jokes were politically incorrect (middle schoolers attacking each other with pencils, compasses, and piano wire), after I watched it, I actually felt a little bit smarter. Absurd satire is my learning style.


3. The people who created the show also star in it and write the episodes.

Isn't that cool? I think you can tell the difference between this and other shows. The actors are more in-sync or something, and more hilarious. I don't know much about TV bureaucracy (I also don't know much about using the word bureaucracy in a sentence) but I'm guessing this show is less subjected to corporate . . . stuff. For example I have never seen any of the characters stop and have a conversation about Jenni-O turkey products.

It's basically my own personal fantasy world to have my funny friends and I write and star in our own successful TV show, so maybe that is the real reason I love It's Always Sunny. But really, it's good. If you are looking for some episodes to get you started, might I recommend:

Season 2: The Gang Exploits A Miracle
Season 3: The Gang Gets Invincible
Season 4: The Nightman Cometh ***

Current episodes are on FXX (different from FX) on Thursday night. I think many of you could like this show, but definitely not if you are my mom. And if you know my mom, and you feel like you have a lot in common with my mom, you should probably pass as well.

Everyone else, enjoy!


***My all-time favorite as it involves musical theater

The New Crew

Today is my baby's 1st birthday, so I don't feel like my usual clever self. Instead I feel weepy and nostalgic and sappy. I just want to write about my cutie wittle baby booshi booshi boo-boo and his itty bitty wittle toesies.

But I will respect you as my audience and keep it together.

So what's up with bananas, am I right? It's like, just be yellow already.


Sorry I can't do it. I'm just thinking about his little laugh.

How about some current events instead? Did you hear they've hired six new people for this season of SNL, and that I'm not one of them? What is that about? I don't understand.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/16/snl-new-cast-members/

Any thoughts on the new crew? A lot of internet sensations here, and of course the guy from the phone commercials . . . these modern times, I tell you. I just hope that one day they look for cast members in their thirties who write small blogs in the Midwest.

One day.

The Stranger Who Shamed Me: Vol II

The second installment is here! Thank you once again to all my contributors . . . I'm always happy to publish your humiliating experiences.

Road Rage

 

A few years ago I was driving along a bustling suburban street.  The lane I was in was merging into another lane.  Like the distracted driver I am, I didn't give the other driver the right of way and cut him off.  He probably had to hit his brakes to keep from hitting me.  I admit it.  It was my fault.  I should have been paying more attention and yielded to him.  I can admit it.

 

Of course, he started honking, waving, probably giving me the bird.  I don't remember that part.  The part I remember was pulling into a nearby parking lot, him following me in there, parking me into a parking spot, getting out of his car, coming to my window, and screaming at me.  I mean screaming.  The only thing that made me feel better was all the people around the parking lot who were staring at him with horror.  I like to think they were on my side.

 

-- Liz B.

Parking Patrol

A few winters ago when I was about six months pregnant, I decided to go to the gym after work. It was around 6 PM, already dark outside, and I was circling the lot looking for a parking spot. The car in front of me seemed to be doing the same thing, but I was pleasantly surprised when a spot opened up and he drove right passed it. He must be on his way out, I thought, and happily pulled into the spot. 

I was surprised to see the car had stopped in the middle of the lot, not far from where I'd parked, and I started to get nervous. I didn't know what was happening, so I got out of my car and started to walk to the gym. 

Upon seeing me, the man gets out of his car -- still running in the middle of the parking lot -- and approaches me. I thought I was going to throw up. He had this awful, patronizing smirk on his face, and he goes "You know, I always wanted to talk to somebody like you."

I looked at him: I'm sorry, what?

"Did you not see I was going to park there?"

"Oh, no, sorry. I thought when you drove past it, that meant you were not parking."

"I was going to back in."

"I'm sorry, would you like me to move my car?"

"No, I just always wanted to ask someone like you exactly what was going through your mind when you did something like that."

"Oh. Well I didn't think you wanted the spot."

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS CONVERSATION? This actually happened to me. I was sweating and nauseous and debating whether or not to run. I wanted to point out that, in that very crowded parking lot, not ONE car was backed-in. Backing-in is not a common thing to expect! But I was too overwhelmed with terror and shame to defend myself.

And this is how the shaming ended:

[Horrible Man]: Can I ask you just one more thing?

[Me]: Okay.

[Horrible Man]: Are you from Minnesota?

[Me]: ...Yeah.

[Horrible Man]: Yep. Figures.

What is that??? What does that even mean??? I don't understand. Are Minnesotans notorious space-stealers or something? Explain yourself, man!

 

Needless to say, my workout was ruined; especially when I saw him come in later and it turns out he WORKS AT THE GYM. 

 

LITERALLY.

 

That was a lot of question marks and capital letters, but I hope you see that they were all very necessary. I still don't walk through that gym without nervously looking for him, and I never wear that winter jacket anymore in hopes that he won't recognize me. Ugh.

It's just one more reason not to work out.

 

--The Lazy Stand-Up

The Stranger Who Shamed Me: Vol 1

Thank you to those who submitted a story! I fully understand it is difficult to talk about these things, especially when you have successfully managed to block them from your memory. 

Here are a few great ones to start the healing process. I will write another entry with my own incident at a later date. If you'd like to share an incident of your own, please email it to me at thelazystandup@gmail.com.

Now, let's get through this together.   

 

Produce Police

 "I was at the grocery store grabbing some sugar snap peas from the produce bin.  I like the big fat ones, so I was hand-picking them and putting them in the plastic bag.  A woman creeped up on me and said, "There is a utensil there for a reason." 

I was confused by her statement, so I politely said, "What was that?" and she repeated, but now in a more hostile tone, 

"There are utensils there for a reason.  You're using your hands and now I don't want them anymore.  I was going to get some peas, and now I don't."  

The word "utensil" was what threw me off, but I quickly realized she was referring to the plastic tongs on the shelf near the other veggies.  

Something seemed off about her to me; maybe it was partly because I couldn't see her eyes because she was wearing sunglasses in a grocery store.  It was clear in just that 30 second interaction that she was a very bitter woman, but logic was out the window because she somehow managed to make me feel awful.  She may have been right, I probably should have been using the plastic tongs, but her approach was so unpleasant and off-putting.  I've seen her around a couple times since the grocery store and I'm tempted to shout out, "Hey crazy lady, see you in the produce section!"

-- Mary B.

Keep Off the Grass

"My husband Tom and I totally got bitched out by strangers once, and it still makes my cheeks flush with hot embarrassment to this day.

We were taking our engagement pictures in Lincoln Park in Chicago, and were trying to play along with our photographer who was being "creative."  At one point, he wanted us to lay in this grassy area near the lagoon with the Chicago skyline in the background.  We really did NOT want to do it, but were nearing the end of our time and thought, this picture could turn out to be hilarious. So not only did we lay in the grass, but Tom got on his stomach and I got on my stomach . . on his back.

So, we (30 year old adults) are laying stacked on each other at 11:00 am in the middle of a public park when these two older women start SCREAMING at us to get off the grass.  At first, we didn't even realize they were yelling at us, we thought they were just yelling (old people are crazy).  And our photographer (Habib) starts to shoo them away and keeps taking pictures of us, grinning like mental patients while mumbling to each other "are they yelling at us?"

Apparently, there were small signs right near the path that said they were trying to grow these natural grasses in the prairie landscape, and to kindly keep of the grass, and here we are throwing easily 300 plus pounds of engaged bliss on top of the seedlings so we can get a "creative" picture.  It was HORRIBLE. 

The worst part was these women followed us for the last 20 minutes of the photo shoot yelling at us about how horrible we were to abuse the park that was there for everyone and how irresponsible our photographer was.  Ugh.  I still want to die."

-- Molly A.

Pretty Blue Car

"In high school, I drove a little blue car. It was a breeze to parallel park, and I was kind of a pro at getting street parking even in busy areas.

One day, I returned to my car, which I had parked on a residential street in Uptown, Minneapolis, to find an angry note on the windshield.

It began: “To the owner of the pretty blue car…”.

It went on to describe how the author had stood in his house and watched me hit his car while parallel parking (for the record: no damage whatsoever to my car or the surrounding ones). He had taken my license plate number and would probably be calling the police.

He went on to berate suburban teen girls for coming to his neighborhood and selfishly taking up all of the parking.

As a rule-following kind of girl, I was disturbed. I stood by the car and started to cry. Eventually, he saw me crying and came out of the house… not to console me, but to reiterate in person my laundry list of parking wrongdoings.

Upsetting, yes. But in the end - I like to think because of the crying - my police record did remain clean."

-- Emily H.

 

"Ack!" - Cathy

Omg, you guys. Omg. I've made my first blog blunder.

Below is the entry I wrote Sunday and thought I posted. I've now come to find that it never published, which explains why no one read it. Those tears were for nothing.

At this point it's a little out of context, but it has some valuable information so I'm posting it. It's like we're traveling back in time, and where we're going, we don't need roads.



SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2013:

Last night I got home from a 10-day vacation and I walked through five cobwebs in my house. Really, spiders? You guys don't waste a minute. I will kill you all.

I'd love to tell you that my vacation left me rested and relaxed and full of ideas for this blog, but in reality I am exhausted and shell-shocked after living in a house with six children under five for a solid week.

I might owe this woman an apology.

Even now, sitting alone in my dining room, I'm half expecting to hear a child screaming over a missing toy, or to feel a baby throw up on my feet. But then I remember: vacation is over.

I have received a few submissions for --> "The Stranger Who Shamed Me" post, <-- but I'd like to get a couple more. So, if you are on the fence, let me set a deadline: THURSDAY AUGUST 22ND by MIDNIGHT CENTRAL STANDARD TIME. Email me your story at thelazystandup@gmail.com by then, and we're in business.

Until then, I do have one comedy review for you. I was able to find some free time while I was away to watch the Comedy Central version of "Drunk History." I'd watched it online previously, but had yet to catch the new show. 

In the long history of comedy, it's been well-established that drunk people are funny. I'm guessing the first comedy performance ever was just a cave man who drank too much and fell over on a dinosaur.

I mean probably.

Being drunk is comedy gold, but the problem is that not many people are convincing at playing drunk. So with "Drunk History," Derek Waters solves the problem by using narrators who are actually very drunk.

Maybe I should be concerned for this people (I've heard they keep a paramedic on set just in case), but I like the show. I especially liked the one about John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin Booth, partly because I love Adam Scott and partly because I learned something new (clip here).

So if you haven't already, check it out.

Your Homework Assignment:

I'm going on vacation tomorrow, and I'm not bringing my laptop. I might bring it if I didn't already have two enormous suitcases full of floaties and diapers and towels, but sadly this is not the case. So what I'm saying is: there may not be many posts for the next ten days.

In my absence, you have two assignments.

1) Read the above article in this week's Entertainment Weekly magazine. It's all about one of my favorite comediens, Mindy Kahling, and the business of writing comedy.

2) Submit your story for the upcoming "Strangers Who Shamed Me" post. Really! Do it! I know who reads this blog and I know you have some good ones, so stop holding out on me.  To further entice you, I'm going to illustrate each story. It's going to be great.

3) Eat a s'more.


That's all. Don't miss me too much while I'm away. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Something to watch during your next lunch break.

Typically when you watch a video online, you're shooting for something in the two/three minute range, but if you have 20 minutes to spare, and you are a comedy nerd, then you should check out this Ted Talk by Bob Mankoff.

He draws and edits cartoons for The New Yorker. It is really fascinating and it will make you want to become a cartoonist. I think.

http://www.ted.com/talks/bob_mankoff_anatomy_of_a_new_yorker_cartoon.html

Thank you Rick D. for sending it my way!