October 31, 2009

MUSEUM PERIOD ROOMS OF LITTLE SIGNIFICANCE

- Anne of Green Gables' Thanksgiving holiday spread

- cleanup efforts inside elementary school room #14 after catastrophic floods in Fargo, ND

- dimly-lit jazz club with Art Tatum's mustard-filled piano

- lion cub snuggle scene from The Lion King

- Bic Razor quality control room

- the seventh bedroom of any eight-bedroom Victorian mansion

- stone soup kitchen prep kitchen

- Boris Yeltsin's powder room

July 30, 2009

THIS OLD HOUSE TV SHOW SPIN-OFF'S

- This impenetrable Fortress


- This Old Shelf

- This Fixer-Upper

- This Here Hammer

- This Home Improvement

- This Timeless Classic

- This Comfy Pillow

- This Home Improvement

- This Tranquil Courtyard

- This Collaborative Template

- This Extraordinary Journey

- This Efficient Furnace

- This Expendable Resource

- This Time Machine

- This Time-Saving Observation

- This Incorrigible Chandelier

- This Lawnmower Race

- This Ain't Scripted, Folks

- This Gated Community

- This Japanese Garden

- This Outdated Zoning

- This New Liability

- This Steamed Cabbage

December 21, 2008

'IT' FOODS FOR THE YEAR 2010

- the $700 sandwich

- pizza rug

- drizzle

- bay leaves

- teriyaki-flavored toothpaste

- face of goat

- Tanya's signature ginger snap cookies

- marshmallow-shaped iceberg lettuce

- fat bubbles

- pan seared dandruff chips

May 7, 2008

INSULTS THAT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT AS, 'YOU'RE BEING A WET BLANKET'

- you're being a diaper marathon

- you're being a temperate thermometer

- you're being a cold turkey

- you're being a unwanted pregnancy

- you're being a traffic jam

- you're being a bit confused

- you're being a dangling participle

- you're being a sub-par

- you're being a bad weather

- you're being a hassle-and-a-half

April 29, 2008

WAYS TO INTELLECTUALIZE WHY YOU LOOK FAT IN THE MIRROR

- you're big, fat and ugly

- the pearls of wisdom are coming out of the giant Japanese oyster and messing with your self-image

- you're aging wider

- mirror's feng not in line with your shui

- retribution for ordering Chinese 50 days in a row

- perspective

- razor burn so bad it makes you look like you're wearing a suit made of jello

- transcendental reflections

- it's actually the mirror behind the mirror that makes you look fat

- you're profile appears a mosaic of chum buckets

SIGNS A THIRD-GRADER IS DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

- calls Rubik's cube 'boobix coob'

- answers every question, 'I know you are, but what am I?'

- was independently diagnosed by three leading child neuropsychologists as developmentally disabled to the extreme

- crashes legs into wall when things just aren't making sense

- when your child says to you, 'Dad, I need to talk and I need for you to listen. Now, I know my grades aren't the best and that you and Mom aren't exactly pleased when I throw my shoes at you when it's time for me to eat dinner. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my seemingly hostile behavior and frustratingly stunted verbal and communication skills might be explained by a syndrome or disease even,. I also want you to know that I am sympathetic to the marital strains you and Mom have because of me, and believe me when I say to you right here and now that from here on out I will make a valiant attempt not to hide your briefcase in the septic tank.'

- you start shopping at the Sharper Image in order to distract yourself

- he enjoys himself and/or doesn't care

January 3, 2008

PRODUCTS RECENTLY RECALLED FROM HOME DEPOT

- flesh puddy

- "MY HUSBAND'S A BRICK" bumper sticker

- automatic assault rifle modifying kit for allen wrench

- electric knuckle remover

- do-it-yourself hip replacement kit

- cement laisons

- soldering iron designed to join small intestine and nasal membrane

- practical joke kit that includes: gasoline-mister, snake urine, pink hammer made to appear rubber, regular staple with a pricetag attached reading $5,000

- employees' red smocks

December 24, 2007

MOST COMMON PHRASES SAID BY THE MODERN URBAN BEE KEEPER

- "well, if you consider getting stung more than 14,000 times, than yes, I suppose I am a living legend"

- "I am the glue that holds the mortar that binds the house that shelters the animals who enjoy the shelter and tend to the honeycomb that bees built"

- "vote 'yes' on Proposition 49, requiring all modes of public transportation run on honey by the year 2015"

- "hey wasps! stop gentrifying my comb, yo"

- "outcast is a relative term no matter how pertinent it is regarding my place in society"

- "I have to go out this afternoon, first to Old Navy and then make a quick stop at the drug store"

November 28, 2007

BEVERAGES THAT LEAVE UNPLEASANT AFTERTASTE WHEN CONSUMED IMMEDIATELY AFTER BRUSHING TEETH

- orange juice

- gasoline

- bile

- poultry frappe

- sloose

- crushed lipid juice

- underachievement

- pink'ish greasy fluid

- generous serving of cholesterol

- hamster juice

- essence of Helen

November 26, 2007

RESULTS OF DEFORESTATION

- motorcycles will no longer be built out of wood

- toucans will be forced to find shelter in old newspapers

- the word 'sapling' will be erased from dictionaries and collective consciousness

- decline in property value, rise in dirt and chicken wire fencing

- the disappearance of forests will encourage using non-wood material in manufacturing, such as recycled cell phones and Dijon mustard

- tree huggers will adopt frowning campaign

- thicket becomes the new forest

- log cabins will be stripped of aesthetic

- rise in demand for wooden clogs will see violins turn into shoes

- denial

- 'earth therapy' will establish itself as a legitimate service covered by most insurance plans

- bread will no longer be made using wood pulp

- there will be a consensus among most reasonable people that human beings have an impact on the natural world

- Hannukah will be shortened to seven days

- entire line of 1958 1/2" Norwegian multi-board laminate condensers will become obsolete

November 13, 2007

A JACKET IS NOT JUST A JACKET IF

- able to order an enchilada all by itself

- recently underwent cartilage and ligament surgery

- close personal friends with Tom Brokaw

- utilizes moisture-repellent technology

- has an endoskeleton

- shields you not only from the elements but from passive aggressive comments

- co-authored book, "My Friend Cardigan"

- comes with a Saddle

- comes with a full battery of condiments

- knows you well enough to sense that you're tense and then whisper in your ear, "loosen up those shoulder muscles and just relax"

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF ___________

- unconventional wisdom

- hollandaise sauce

- a means to an end

- secrets

- solution to the sub-prime mortgage lending fall-out

- jurisprudence

- the Afikomen

- intelligent re-design

- one's superego

- Beethoven's wooden flute

- Flonaise

October 8, 2007

SITUATIONS WHERE IT IS POPULAR TO COMPROMISE YOUR OWN SAFETY

- when egged-on by your classmates at a third grade field trip to the zoo, you impersonate a muskrat in its natural habitat, underwater for ten minutes

- at annual Feast of Nations celebration, hold a demonstration called, Famine of Nations, which you dedicate to sub-Saharan Africa

- on an Irish fraternity trip to the Motherland, attempt to steal the Blarney Stone for use in initiating practices

- when competing in a Scrabble tournament held in front of an audience that hates the game, and against a very dangerous opponent, rearrange the letters so that they line the perimeter of the board so that they don't spell real words

- freshmen year of college: alcohol poisoning

- you are the chair and founding member of the 'Free and/or Highly Subsidized Plastic Surgery Club', and need to demonstrate various methods of achieving your club goal. throw yourself in front of a speeding train so that the nose job you've always wanted costs $500, your insurance plan's deductible for facial reconstructive surgery.

NYC DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM CAMPAIGNS AND SLOGANS AT LOCAL POPULATION'S EXPENSE

- racial stereotypes promoted to bolster tourism spending in 'ethnic' neighborhoods

- public awareness billboard saying, 'Hold a hand. Hold a homeless person.'

- all New Yorker's required to wear T-shirts that say 'I Heart Boston'

- NYC people, AKA sewer people.

- all museum tours now include dinner with your guide's family

- pamphlets distributed to tourists notifying them that Chinatown is not actually China, deterring millions of dollars in potential business

- native population forced to take humiliating classes on proper hygeine

- dine free of charge at any NYC restaurant fri/sat night only

- city assumes defecit in public opinion by running campaign with the slogan, 'New Yorker's Are People Too'

September 10, 2007

EXAMPLES OF SELF-PUNISHMENT INVOLVING BBQ RIBS

- rub two cleaned and bleached ribs together so fast that they generate enough heat to burn your hands

- in an effort to prove your rib-eating acumen in a competition setting, you announce that corn on the cob, beans and gravy, cornbread, baked potato, and a 2ltr. bottle of diet coke are compulsory in your self-prescribed competition platform

- eat bowl of rib fingerlings, ex. mud skipper, baby colobus monkey, vole

- create BBQ rib equivalent of the burning coal walk, using ribs cooked at extremely hot temperatures and slathered with super-spicy sauce

September 5, 2007

THE MOST GULLIBLE PERSON IN THE WORLD

- does not have a keen intuition

- believes the moon is made of cheese

- is probably nice, but a flaming idiot

- gave himself the nickname 'Captain Gullible'

- rivals a goat in terms of logical reasoning and intellect

- has been living under the assumption that ice is made of 'frozen'

- exemplifies every single stereotype

- has stared at the ceiling for the past two weeks

- lists 'gullibility' under strengths/weaknesses (both) on job applications

- Skippy

- enjoys the phrase, 'there is no 'I' in Team'

August 30, 2007

ONLINE DATING SITE FEATURES THAT NEVER CAME TO FRUITION

* * * * * List By: Beppie Q. Huidekoper * * * * *

- web-cam activated sensor device that tracks the number of times you pick your nose per hour and displays this figure on your profile in picks per hour (pph)

- 'your friend got laid' notifier that sends you a message with the lucky friend's name and any pertinent details, while you shift back and forth between your profile page to a number of erotic websites

- feature that searches a database for lewd words or phrases that rhyme with your first or last name--for example, words that rhyme with Jerry Genus or Judith Bartz

- automatic music stream that plays randomized excerpts exclusively from 'Romantic Moments: Classical Music for Lovers' and 'The Nutcracker Suite (trombone, pennywhistle and synthesizer version)'

- 'my-flower' video feed that links the top 5 youtube live flower coverage videos posted that day to your profile

- 'rate-my-toes' survey that asks your friends to rate a close-up photo of your toes from 1-10, 1 being the ugliest and 10 being the prettiest, and displays your average on your profile next to your birthplace

- aptitude test and figure displayed in profile, after which you may only request friendship from others at or below your 'intelligence range'

- feature that displays a new Yiddish word and definition every time you log in, along with the leading culinary sites' top-ranking recipes for noodle kugel, latkes, or gefilte fish

August 27, 2007

METHODS OF CULINARY RELAXATION

- invite General Tsao to repeat soothing mantras while you cook his famous aromatic chicken dish

- click carrots together and repeat, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home"

- make double batch (!) of meat popsicles

- soothe the mind and numb the senses by freebasing a Vidalia onion

- while preparing dinner play audio tape of the book, "The Tranquil Baster: A Collection of Short Memoirs"

- boost morale by wearing red sequined evening gown as an apron

- convert rice cooker into foot bath by filling basin with warm water and lavender-scented sea salt

- pretend kitchen faucet is a waterfall and frolic about in its cool mist

- during the Christmas season, replace the sand in your rock garden with confectioners sugar, and rocks with gingerbread cookie chunks

August 21, 2007

CONSOLATION PRIZES AWARDED AT 1895 WORLD'S FAIR

- wooden nickel

- early model Samsung VHS player

- firm handshake and hefty pat on the back from Nashville's Mayor Kirby

- coupon redeemable for a cowboys and Indians-themed family Christmas card, using an 'image capturing module'

- comforter made by the newest and most desired fabric in the world - polyester

- all-inclusive vacation package for two to the 'New World' - Eerie, PA

- jar of molasses

- a trigon (three-wheeled wagon)

- gun powder horn filled with sweet strawberries and melon hard candies

- one gallon of Hagen Das frozen yolk cream and animal fat swirl

- your unincorporated township will become incorporated and named after your forward-thinking but untimely pharmacological invention - Ambien

August 14, 2007

DIORAMAS KEPT IN STORAGE AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

- scene representing the urgency following a transgression

- 'Hall of Mirrors' diorama

- a concept diorama displaying the actual tools used to make

- 'That There Good Ol', Down Home, Darn Tootin Diorama' removed because it started to become ironic

- scene representing an amalgam of every wool blanket scene from every cholera movie

- 'The Tie Dye Experiment' put in storage until a new plexiglas case replaces the old one, which had too many burns from joints and cigarettes

- the 'Loose Underwear' diorama, depicting man looking in a mirror while pulling elastic waistband away from his body

- contents from the old 'Larry and Edna Great Hall', because there grandchildren want nothing to do with inheriting a collection of dioramas depicting Mickey and Minnie mouse in various romantic settings

- the so-called, 'Scratch 'n Sniff' diorama, showing a giant nose with a finger inside of it up to its second knuckle

- ward number six from Chekhov's "Ward Number Six"

- Larry the Nighttime Janitor's favorite diorama that had to be removed because it was distracting him from his job

- Santa and Mrs. Claus's little toy factory removed because it includes a fleet of elf workers with prominent dwarf features, which is no considered politically incorrect

- American dust bowl scene that uses glitter as dust

- THE 'Matrushka Diorama' - a diorama inside a diorama, inside a diorama, inside a diorama, inside a diorama, given to the museum as a gift by the Russian Federation