Friday, June 28, 2024

Almost the News XXIX

 

Real Headlines. Fake News.

Cardinal Convicted of Embezzlement
"It took quite a while to get to federal crime status, considering how little cash at a time that bird could carry in its beak."

Three Injured in Paris Train Station Attack
WHY they attacked, we may never know, but their ability to attack, despite the injuries they received in a Paris train station, is noteworthy.

Natural Disasters Taking Toll on Insurers
Local State Farm agent Phil Coffers was refused entrance onto the Lincoln Bridge unless he paid $4 to Hurricane Lulu.

Hurricane Taking Tolls

Deaths Reported After Butt Lift Surgery
Statistician Ittle Addup says, "Well, of course people die after having that surgery! No one performs a surgery after the patient dies."

Proposals on Youth Crime Have a Familiar Ring
""Sweetheart, I stole this from your mother. Will you marry me?"

Senator Pushing for Financial Transparency
In a recent press release, Senator John Marty said, "Just think how cool it would be if we could see through a ten-dollar bill!"

Local Athletes Can Call Themselves NCAA Champs
It doesn't make it so, but they can still call themselves champs.

Meaningful Conversation
Kind of sad this is newsworthy, eh?

Housing Officials Offer Homelessness Plan
"You want to become homeless and we can help."


Friday, June 21, 2024

#MakeABandNameLame

 

I know there's a risk of some folks not knowing the original artist names on some of these. Consider it a word puzzle for the musically-challenged.

  • Aluminum Foil Zeppelin
  • Freddie Pluto & Scullery Maid
  • Gray Sabbath


  • Jim Morrison & the Accordion Panels
  • Mildly Spicy Chili Peppers
  • Neil Zirconium
  • Peter, Paul, and Maybe
  • The Beatless
  • The Rolling Stoned
  • The Who Cares
  • Tom Petty and the Toestubbers
  • Two Dog Night
  • Wasyonce
  • Water pistols ‘N Dandelions 
  • Whine Against the Machine
  • YY Bottom


Friday, June 14, 2024

If R. Kelly Wrote for Elmer Instead of Michael: 406th Greatest Song of All Time

 

Having been asked by Michael Jordon if he wanted to write a song for his movie (i.e., Space Jam), R. Kelly took on the task and ended up winning a couple Grammys for "I Believe I Can Fly."

But what if Elmer Fudd had posed the question instead of Air Jordan?


I've been hunting wabbits in the forest so wide
With my twusty shotgun by my side.
I tiptoe thwough the bushes so very sly
With a twinkle in my eye, I bewieve I can fwy

I bewieve I can fwy
I bewieve I can touch the sky
I think about it every day, as I hunt wabbits all the way
I bewieve I can soar, I'm an expert on the lore
I bewieve I can 
fwy, I bewieve I can fwy

I'll sneak up on that wabbit, oh so quiet
With my carrot bait, I'll ignite the wiot
With Elmer Fudd's skills, I'm the king of the sky
In pursuit of wabbits, I bewieve I can 
fwy.

I'll build a giant twap to catch Bugs in my wap
With a chuckle and a gwin, it's the wabbit's final spin
Thwough the air I'll glide on my hunting spwee so wide
With Elmer Fudd's gwace, I bewieve I can 
fwy

(Thanks, ChatGPT.)



Friday, June 7, 2024

The Secret to a 45-Year Marriage

 

Beloved and I are two days away from our 45th wedding anniversary and I am at a loss for a significant-yet-affordable way to celebrate the milestone.

Last year, we vacationed in Hawaii. It was a trip we "won" in a fund-raising auction and the timing just kind of worked out for it to be anniversary-esque.


But NOW what?

The WorldWideWackfest tells me the traditional gift for a 45th anniversary is sapphire:

Some believe the deep blue color represents the deep love you share after all these years. The sapphire is also considered a stone of royalty which makes it the ideal gemstone to honor 45 years of marriage. In the same way that a sapphire shines, your 45 years of marriage stands as a gleaming example of longevity for others.

I'm not really sure what being "a stone of royalty" has to do with it...other than if you don't treat your wife like a queen you'll never make it to 45 years.

I'm not even all that sure Beloved shares a "deep love" for me. Maybe she just can't stand the thought of breaking in a new husband. It's not that she's devoted to me, she's just trying to be energy-efficient.

She's learned how to ignore my warped sense of humor and total lack of handyman skills...why let all that self-training she's done go to waste?

Better the devil you know, right?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Happy Anniversary, Beloved! Here's to several more years of being resignedly tolerant.


Friday, May 31, 2024

#PutAnAnimalInAnEightiesSongTitle

 

Ah, the 1980s...slap bracelets, Reading Rainbow, video rentals, and singing about the animal kingdom.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Another Elephant Bites the Dust  -  Freddie Mercury at his PETA best

Manatee in the Mirror  -  ♫♪ "I'm starting with the manatee in the mirror. I'm asking it to swim this way." ♪♫

The Tiger Is High  -  Blondie sings about a big cat violating the controlled substance act

Mickey Mouse  -  ♫♪ " Hey, Mickey, you're so fun. Steamboat Willie's number one!" ♪♫


I Can't Go for Bat (No Can D0)  -  Hall & Oates refuse to make a trip to the exotic pet store

Jackrabbit and Diane  -  ♫♪ "Here's a little ditty about a bunny and a girl..." ♪♫

We Are the Squirrel  -  An all-star choir sing their support of rats with bushy tails

That's What Frogs Are For  -  ♫♪ "Keep hopping. Keep croaking. Knowing you can always count on me..." ♪♫

Snake On Me  -  A-ha's big hit that was used for the end title sequence of the 2006 horror film, Snakes on a Plane

Every Bear You Take  -  ♫♪ "Every bear you take, every fish you fake, every duck you drake, every cow you steak, I'll be watching you." ♪♫


Friday, May 24, 2024

#PutAnAnimalInASeventiesSongTitle Two

 

Another batch of animal-centric hits from the 70s...because those years had the best songs...ever. (#OkayBoomer)

Gypsies, Chimps, and Thieves  -  ♫♪ "...You meet 'em in the jungles of Eastern Europe." ♪♫

We're an American Banded Gecko  -  When Grand Funk Railroad helps you party it down, you may need an insurance quote.

We're an American Banded Gecko

Flea and Mrs. Jones  -  ♫♪ "...They got an itch goin' on...scratch till it's gone..." ♪♫

Killing Me Softly With His Swan  -  Roberta Flack took this true crime tune to the top of the charts for five weeks.

You Are the Sunshine of My Giraffe  -  A song of thanks from Stevie Wonder to the keeper of his personal menagerie.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown Trout  -  ♫♪ "Well the south side of the spillway never brought nobody joy, and if you go down there you better just beware of a brown trout named Leroy." ♪♫

A Pelican Pie  -  Ode to an unusual dessert by Don McLean

Lizard in the Rain  -  ♫♪ "Oooooh, there's a lizard in the rain, just making muddy prints on the sidewalk there." ♪♫

Rhinestone Cow  -  Glen Campbell's hit about a showbiz bovine

That's the Ray (I Like It)  -  ♫♪ "When we're swimming off the coast, and I see a big dark thing, and you ask me what it is, then I feel that pleasure sting. Ohhhhhh that's the ray (uh-huh, uh-huh) I like it (uh-huh, uh-huh)..." ♪♫


Friday, May 17, 2024

Blooming Idiots: The 407th Greatest Song of All Time

 

Writing these pieces on the songs that Rolling Stone called "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" has been very educational.

Take today's topic, for instance, the 1991 song, "In Bloom," which repeats the words:

He's the one who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along and he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means
Don't know what it means, and I say, "Yeah"

I know, I know...some of you are asking, "What's so all-fire educational about THAT?!!?"

Well...

By watching the music video for this song and reading the rest of the lyrics, I learned something very important and encouraging:

Absenting myself from the popular music of the 1990s was one of the wisest moves I've ever made.