Are you sure “My decision to spontaneously sing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ is always ONE whim away. " is correct? As I remember the song -- or at least how it sounded to me -- it should have been "a whim away." Not "one," but "a."
When my parents retired to the the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina (aka The Grand Strand) in 2000, I would use South of the Border (SOB, as noted on the water tower), as a way station and place to get gasoline for the remaining 100 or so miles. The gift shops are fascinating and became a source of a number of Loser prizes when I started donating stuff circa 2009. FWIW, I neve sw magazines of any type.
When I gained a new live in partner in 2010, I guess I kinda tested him one long arduous slog down 95 on a rainy Thanksgiving Eve. I didn't want to face 2 more hours (minimum good weather) along a two bit state highway thru cotton fields and dark dark dark. When I saw the light of the sombrero tower as we approached the state line, I figured that it was likely a place where Thanksgiving Eve reservations weren't and issue, so I pulled in. The motor lodge people were sweet as could be, the room was about $50 - clean, basic but just fine after spending 8 hours driving what should have been a 6 hour trip from NoVa. The diner (adjacent to a totally Loser worthy gift shop) had good food and the waitresses couldn't have been nicer. Totally a fan.
The next time we were driving south, I actually made reservations at SOB for the "honeymoon" suite, which basically meant it had a king size bed and a heart shaped plaque on the door. We spent 1.5 days having a blast at SOB. The arcade, at the bottom of the Sombrero Tower had air hockey AND skee ball. We also spent a very informative 3 hour guided tour of the Reptile Lagoon. That's when I knew my live in partner (we are still together) was a Loser at heart.
I recall seeing Barry at the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, campaigning for president with a box on his head. For days. It was then that I realized I was born to illustrate his Year in Review.
I'm stunned that Gene actually read the comments on any WaPo piece. That's always a bad choice. There's no subject that can't stir up 1,000 vitriolic comments.
That being said . . . I read the Larry David satire piece and cringed. It wasn't funny enough to make up for the bad taste. And I think all subscribers here have a high bar for what qualifies as cringe-worthy.
It wasn’t quite over the top enough. “I like to visit maternity wards, put a little ‘X’ on the ugly ones with a sharpie, and the doctors whisk them away. I was at the park the other day, and I helped a poor woman pushing her new burden along in a carriage; fortunately I’d brought my wood chipper along, as I always do, for just such occasions. She’ll get around to thanking me soon enough, once she realizes how much free time I returned to her.” Something along those lines.
Like Gene observed before, I've found people who initially grumble about jury service get caught up in the importance of the process and take it seriously. Unlike Gene, here in north Florida lawyers seem to prefer older jurors and also those without college degrees. I was in a courtroom as a spectator and not in the jury pool,for a dramatic example of someone who was not impressed with the process. It was a big dollar civil case in south Florida more than 30 years ago and the lawyers were asking routine questions of prospective jurors. They got to one smirking young guy and asked if he had formed any opinion of the case. He said he had and he thought the defense was liable and should pay big bucks to the plaintiff. The lawyers (or maybe it was the judge) asked him why and he replied he thought that answer would get him off jury duty. High marks for honesty, I guess, but not for smarts. The judge acted like nothing notable had occurred and called the lawyers to the bench. Then in almost bored tones he asked the prospective jurors to step out, except for the smirker. When they were gone, he lit into that kid. telling him he could have caused a restart of the jury selection process. The judge said he considered throwing him in jail for contempt but decided on another course. And that was the smirker would leave and report back to the jury assembly room and stay there for the rest of the day. And he would report there every day, all day for the remainder of jury selection, the trial, and jury deliberation. If he didn't show up or left early, deputies would cheerfully escort him to jail for whatever period the judge determined. The kid slunk out of the courtroom, the other prospective jurors came back and the case went on. I sometimes wonder what happened to that kid. And if he ever got on a jury....
While the Royal Couple has done its part over the last 30+ years with the Invitational, considering the state of humor among a large swath of the population, I again call for the establishment of a National Witless Protection Program. Sad. Forced to laugh at some guy in a bad suit and worse makeup saying "Kambala" and not knowing why...or caring. Very sad. Maybe even pathetic. Attention must be paid.
If we were to institutionalize all those lacking in humor or otherwise deficient in critical thinking skills, the we really would have to put up walls along our borders, to keep all those inmates contained.
Speaking of satire --- is it just me or does anyone else have the same sneaking suspicion that the goings-on in the party formerly known as Republican, including Robert "WTF" Kennedy, Jr. and his deceased menagerie, is really an undisclosed new project by Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing") or Armando Iannucci ("Veep")?
No one eligible for the draft in the Vietnam era wanted to go. The ones who did, enlisted. We CAN blame people for being wealthy and connected. Can’t blame people who had to go. I have an ongoing discussion with a brother, who enlisted, but didn’t serve in Vietnam. He blames protesters even today, but not for disrespecting him, but for protesting a war they thought should have been won. Lot of generational issues.
Back in 1974 I became a vegetarian and when people found out, they’d ask me how I was getting protein if I didn’t eat meat. The song “I Eat Kids” was my answer to that. A year later I began writing and performing for kids and used that song for the title of my first album, adding “and Other Songs for Rebellious Children” to the record title. Back then, most people got that it was a joke, but this new generation doesn’t seem to get satire. Someone on Tik Tok found the song and shared it there; the comments to his post left me shaking my head: https://www.tiktok.com/@gregnfoster/video/7159295036952251691
Are you sure “My decision to spontaneously sing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ is always ONE whim away. " is correct? As I remember the song -- or at least how it sounded to me -- it should have been "a whim away." Not "one," but "a."
When my parents retired to the the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina (aka The Grand Strand) in 2000, I would use South of the Border (SOB, as noted on the water tower), as a way station and place to get gasoline for the remaining 100 or so miles. The gift shops are fascinating and became a source of a number of Loser prizes when I started donating stuff circa 2009. FWIW, I neve sw magazines of any type.
When I gained a new live in partner in 2010, I guess I kinda tested him one long arduous slog down 95 on a rainy Thanksgiving Eve. I didn't want to face 2 more hours (minimum good weather) along a two bit state highway thru cotton fields and dark dark dark. When I saw the light of the sombrero tower as we approached the state line, I figured that it was likely a place where Thanksgiving Eve reservations weren't and issue, so I pulled in. The motor lodge people were sweet as could be, the room was about $50 - clean, basic but just fine after spending 8 hours driving what should have been a 6 hour trip from NoVa. The diner (adjacent to a totally Loser worthy gift shop) had good food and the waitresses couldn't have been nicer. Totally a fan.
The next time we were driving south, I actually made reservations at SOB for the "honeymoon" suite, which basically meant it had a king size bed and a heart shaped plaque on the door. We spent 1.5 days having a blast at SOB. The arcade, at the bottom of the Sombrero Tower had air hockey AND skee ball. We also spent a very informative 3 hour guided tour of the Reptile Lagoon. That's when I knew my live in partner (we are still together) was a Loser at heart.
Don’t think ill of comic writers who buy gags. Not everyone runs a contest where they can get them for free😉
Good point.
I recall seeing Barry at the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, campaigning for president with a box on his head. For days. It was then that I realized I was born to illustrate his Year in Review.
😂👏🏻 For all the wonderful pics.
I'm stunned that Gene actually read the comments on any WaPo piece. That's always a bad choice. There's no subject that can't stir up 1,000 vitriolic comments.
That being said . . . I read the Larry David satire piece and cringed. It wasn't funny enough to make up for the bad taste. And I think all subscribers here have a high bar for what qualifies as cringe-worthy.
It wasn’t quite over the top enough. “I like to visit maternity wards, put a little ‘X’ on the ugly ones with a sharpie, and the doctors whisk them away. I was at the park the other day, and I helped a poor woman pushing her new burden along in a carriage; fortunately I’d brought my wood chipper along, as I always do, for just such occasions. She’ll get around to thanking me soon enough, once she realizes how much free time I returned to her.” Something along those lines.
Like Gene observed before, I've found people who initially grumble about jury service get caught up in the importance of the process and take it seriously. Unlike Gene, here in north Florida lawyers seem to prefer older jurors and also those without college degrees. I was in a courtroom as a spectator and not in the jury pool,for a dramatic example of someone who was not impressed with the process. It was a big dollar civil case in south Florida more than 30 years ago and the lawyers were asking routine questions of prospective jurors. They got to one smirking young guy and asked if he had formed any opinion of the case. He said he had and he thought the defense was liable and should pay big bucks to the plaintiff. The lawyers (or maybe it was the judge) asked him why and he replied he thought that answer would get him off jury duty. High marks for honesty, I guess, but not for smarts. The judge acted like nothing notable had occurred and called the lawyers to the bench. Then in almost bored tones he asked the prospective jurors to step out, except for the smirker. When they were gone, he lit into that kid. telling him he could have caused a restart of the jury selection process. The judge said he considered throwing him in jail for contempt but decided on another course. And that was the smirker would leave and report back to the jury assembly room and stay there for the rest of the day. And he would report there every day, all day for the remainder of jury selection, the trial, and jury deliberation. If he didn't show up or left early, deputies would cheerfully escort him to jail for whatever period the judge determined. The kid slunk out of the courtroom, the other prospective jurors came back and the case went on. I sometimes wonder what happened to that kid. And if he ever got on a jury....
Perhaps he became one of Trump's lawyers.
The turtle joke is an old one. This tweet from 2021 is proof enough, but I know I heard it at least 15 years ago
https://x.com/BazzaCC/status/1420580401949511685
I enjoyed the jury story from the guy who got the date wrong!
While the Royal Couple has done its part over the last 30+ years with the Invitational, considering the state of humor among a large swath of the population, I again call for the establishment of a National Witless Protection Program. Sad. Forced to laugh at some guy in a bad suit and worse makeup saying "Kambala" and not knowing why...or caring. Very sad. Maybe even pathetic. Attention must be paid.
If we were to institutionalize all those lacking in humor or otherwise deficient in critical thinking skills, the we really would have to put up walls along our borders, to keep all those inmates contained.
Speaking of satire --- is it just me or does anyone else have the same sneaking suspicion that the goings-on in the party formerly known as Republican, including Robert "WTF" Kennedy, Jr. and his deceased menagerie, is really an undisclosed new project by Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing") or Armando Iannucci ("Veep")?
Is there any truth to the contention that they are planning a new show about the Trump White House, which will be called "The Worst Wing?"
Sponsored by Heinz Ketchup, with new and improved wall-clinging power!
I love Larry David, great choice here Czar. Shall we discuss Cheryl Hines? Maybe not. :)
Also, raucous applause for the sly mention of curry. Each one gives me great joy.
No one eligible for the draft in the Vietnam era wanted to go. The ones who did, enlisted. We CAN blame people for being wealthy and connected. Can’t blame people who had to go. I have an ongoing discussion with a brother, who enlisted, but didn’t serve in Vietnam. He blames protesters even today, but not for disrespecting him, but for protesting a war they thought should have been won. Lot of generational issues.
Back in 1974 I became a vegetarian and when people found out, they’d ask me how I was getting protein if I didn’t eat meat. The song “I Eat Kids” was my answer to that. A year later I began writing and performing for kids and used that song for the title of my first album, adding “and Other Songs for Rebellious Children” to the record title. Back then, most people got that it was a joke, but this new generation doesn’t seem to get satire. Someone on Tik Tok found the song and shared it there; the comments to his post left me shaking my head: https://www.tiktok.com/@gregnfoster/video/7159295036952251691
Years later I updated my original song as a Klezmer/Polka: https://open.spotify.com/track/6hBduo7HixPHKUYAXI33me
--Barry Louis Polisar