NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 30, 2017): Billboard Hot 100 Creative Challenge (cont.):
Q: It's a two-week creative challenge. The object is to mashup the titles of past No. 1 hits on the Billboard 100 pop chart to tell a story. For example: "I Shot The Sheriff" "The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia." "The Morning After" "I'll Be There" "Leaving On A Jet Plane."
Wikipedia has a list of the Billboard No. 1 singles from the Hot 100 era, 1958 to present, which you can use. Your story can include up to seven song titles. Entries will be judged on cleverness, naturalness of reading, memorableness of the songs and overall elegance. You can send up to three entries and the best one, based on Will's opinion, will play the puzzle on the air in two weeks.
Week two...
A: Winning entry: Thrift Shop! / What Goes Around Comes Around. / Rag Doll, / Good Luck Charm, / Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini, / It's All In The Game. / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For!
Runner up: Sugar, Sugar / I Heard It Through the Grapevine / (You're) Having My Baby / I Gotta Feeling / It Wasn't Me / The Stripper
Such a disappointment! This week's special guest is ... Drew Carey?
ReplyDeleteYes, that was quite lame. And, could the questions have been any easier?
DeleteSending my thoughts to NPR to no longer carry Carey or any celebrity guests in the merry marry month of May.
I requested "no more celebrity guests" and I thought Drew Carey was a pile of... awful offal.
DeleteWhen the celebrity guest is Donny Most, we can say the show has officially jumped the shark.
DeleteI just sent a message to NPR and told them to can so-called celebrities as part (or all) of the puzzle segment. I hope you do, too.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the puzzle was not just one week. Waste of time today listening to program.
ReplyDeleteWhat in the world was the intent of this show?
ReplyDeleteCombined with the current challenge, we are at the nadir of this enterprise and I think we deserve an explanation.
WS read one submission that was not the winner. Why read it?
Delete> ..."we are at the nadir of this enterprise"...
DeleteHmmm... "When Ralph got a job at Enterprise renting Corvairs, his career reached a _____ _____."
When I listened to this insult to the listeners, I just said, "Nay Dear!"
DeleteShortz shorts us all with this celebration of mediocrity.
DeleteSince I got Mother Nature's call just before the 7:42 airing, I returned to bed and turned the radio on just to learn who the "special" guest was. When I heard it was Drew Carey my first thought was who cares about Jim Carey? It was 55 minutes later when it finally dawned on me who Drew Carey is. I hadn't heard from him in many years and since I don't watch TV I doubt you will be surprised I did not know he was the host of The Price Is Right. I have heard of the show, but never have I seen it and do not know what its premise is. I imagine it is guests guessing the going rate for street walkers in major world cities. Or perhaps not.
DeleteAnyway it sure was interesting hearing our "special" guest imply we should all aspire to becoming TV game show hosts as it is so fulfilling. Eat your heart out Stephen Hawking, you loser.
And the questions were so difficult, why even I, barely awake lying in bed got all five answers right away! I wonder if others were edited out?????? My next thought was, I sure bet jan is pissed after the unfair questions he got.
So, the big puzzle is why did NPR do this outrageous insult to their audience? Why was it important to them to have this uninteresting person take up the regular spot? Who is making these decisions at NPR? Why has he not been offered a place on the Trump Team yet?
When I read, "The host of The Price Is Right is bringing in boxes from his car, but how many can _____ _____?", I thought, "Cullen cullen?" "Barker barker?"
DeleteCheapened the whole NPR puzzle program today.
DeleteSDB, you ask "why". Simple. It's rigged. Or maybe hacked. Or maybe Putin appointed Drew. Where's WikiLeaks when you need 'em?
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DeleteIt's Fake Puzzle!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteShe asked him if he listened to the puzzle and he replied "Yes."
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DeleteShe listed a lot of things besides "the puzzle" in the same sentence. Drew just answered "Yes".
DeleteIf you listen closely you will hear that he answers "Yes" three times. Each time it is in answer to a question from the host. The 3 yeses come close together because they are both motor mouths and it is clear to me he was answering each question individually. This is how he speaks.
DeleteI know everyone is unhappy about this morning's broadcast, but it could have beeen far worse. At least they didn't invite a 'musician' like Justin Bieber or worse yet, a politician!!
ReplyDeleteWhy give two weeks to solve a puzzle?
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ReplyDeleteWell that is exactly the point. Why indeed? The answer, obviously, is because NPR didn't want an ordinary slob who has an ordinary job, not like hosting a lousy game show, to take away from a "special" person who happened by the studio, even though this "special" person did nothing to qualify to be there at all. Therefore NPR is demeaning their listeners and we should not accept this insult without complaining.
DeleteI bet it has something to do with trying to raise money due to pending budget cuts at NPR. My first guess is that Drew Carey appeals to a certain segment with some money. Maybe he even cuts across two types of people, retirees & college age people that might tend to watch "The Price Is Right" and the old "Drew Carey Show". It could be interesting to find out the ratings behind TPIR just to see who the target market is. NPR is going to need some big money if Trump and co. have their way.
DeleteHard to say for sure, but I think that is unlikely the reason because just over six minutes is not enough to make a difference. Also the government does not contribute a high percentage of the funding. I think it would be interesting to see if things would even improve without any government funding. NPR is also far too popular for it to collapse due to that funding going away. It would actually increase public contributions.
DeleteRESIST !! Yee Haa !!
ReplyDeleteIt could be that NPR thinks ratings would go up via Drew Carey et al. However, that does not make sense considering the cohort who listen to Sunday Puzzle.
ReplyDeleteCannot figure all this out.
The identity of the guest was not announced in advance. Therefore, curiosity was the only draw - not the guest. My theory is that the 2-week deal is to maximize entries. I suspect that "creative challenges" are examined to obtain clues as to the make-up of the listenership. For example: The time period from which song titles are most familiar is some indication of the age of the audience. Not definitive, of course, and only one example pertinent to this challenge; but broadcasters, like other enterprises, take all sorts of steps to determine the audience. An entry has a Zip Code and radio station identification. The number of entries probably extrapolates into some estimated number of listeners. "Let's see. 2200 hardcore Elites and one token Deplorable = . . ." Anyway, nothing like speculating into the Shortz mind on a Monday morning since there's no official Puzzle to mull on.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theory GB.I chose the songs by the words I needed not how familiar I was with the songs. Thus, not sure about your theory regarding indication of age of audience by songs they chose.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe construction you arrived at probably indicates your adeptness with words - possibly your education level. The theme might indicate some interest or inclination. A bit conspiratorial perhaps, but customer/audience analysis can be fairly sophisticated. Why else a "creative" Puzzle? Why else a 2-week time frame? And why Drew?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like NPR might have been saved from the budget axe for the next five months! At least, let's hope so!!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a tangled web!
ReplyDeleteActually, the yes answer the extra-special guest gave to the question about listening to the Puzzle more likely was about whether he was a fan of word challenges.
At least the PM stayed out of the how wonderful Carey and his game show are fluff.
A further blemish on this mess is that "which" and "witch" are NOT homophones.
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DeleteWhy do you say they are not homophones? They are on lists of homophones.
DeleteCan you still say homophones?
DeleteAll so-called homophones are Hoosierphones. We on the East Coast hear and say Mary, merry and marry with different vowel sounds. Will Shortz does not.
DeleteAh, yes. Who can decipher the mind of the enigmatologist?
ReplyDeleteThis is the only time I recall WS having a two week challenge that was not imposed because he was going to be out of the country making it difficult or impossible to follow the normal procedure. Also I think we may be overthinking why NPR decided to do this. I suspect they are just throwing crap on the wall and seeing where it sticks.
ReplyDeleteRe-accommodating the listener, as it were?
Delete???
DeleteWS said he was reading all the entries and would make the decision about the winner. It could be that he needs two weeks to read the entries since there may be thousands of entries (three allowed per listener). I still do not know why he read one loser entry. I am glad it was not mine. So thoughtless.
DeleteIt has nothing to do with him needing time to read the submissions. He always does what he calls a creative challenge instead of a puzzle when he, or NPR, wants a two week time between listener guests.
DeleteAlso: He did NOT read a loser entry. He simply repeated the example he used the previous week. He made it up himself.
Also, most of the submissions will have been submitted in the first 4 days.
DeleteI am not sure how you missed it, but I heard the PM read a "runner-up" submission from last week as an example.
DeleteWhoever prepared the transcript must have also heard it because it is quoted there.
I agree with Natasha that deciding an entry from the first half of the puzzle period doesn't make the grade and then reading it (with the name of the player) is reprehensible.
I would say that overall Will Shortz is having a very bad week.
And I know "which" and "witch" are often listed as homophones, but I feel sorry for people who can't tell them apart.
You are right! I did not listen to the entire broadcast a second time, just part of it. I made my mistake by looking at the web site posting which does not give the submitted entry. I agree with you that it is a bit odd that he would do that. I suspect he thinks he is doing the guy a favor, but I think it somewhat inappropriate. The whole thing NPR is doing with celebrity guests appearing with the drawn winner is also very inappropriate in my opinion and insulting.
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DeleteThank you MJ!
DeleteYou know - giving 'em the United Air Lines treatment. Cable company here wishes they'd have thought of it first.
ReplyDeleteThe future of electric cars.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/new-mercedes/3021121?snl=1
I believe Will just withDrew this time.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been okay if he Drew Drew's submission, but we don't even know if one was submitted by Drew to be drawn. I wonder how it was decided to have him as a guest. It clearly was recorded after some submissions had been looked at unless that was a spliced in portion of the broadcast. So, we are left wondering if NPR contacted Drew, or WS did, or if Drew contacted them, but why?
DeleteInteresting question,SDB. Why??? Perhaps a great scientist will be the guest next week.
DeleteWS might be trying to balance things a bit.
Dream on.
DeleteI am probably fighting a losing battle here, but I would like to submit that Archie Bunker would say: "Witch way you going?"
ReplyDeleteY was the Civil War fought anywhey?
DeleteFact is, just like now, Paul. States Rights, Central Government interference. It's interesting to see the New Confederacy grow up in NY, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and such. All those mayors saying: "DT, keep yo' Yankee troops out of our Sanctuaries." Same thing; different cast. Even talk about secession. Fascinating.
DeleteNo, GB, the Sanctuary Cities issue is about unfunded mandates, about Trump wanting local police to do the Feds' jobs for them without paying for it.
DeleteThe specific issues may not be precisely the same, but the parallels are striking. Besides the Local/States Rights aspect and the taxation issues, The Resistance has its own 21st Century version of the Klan as a terror/enforcement arm - this time in black masks and outfits. It is nice to see the New Confederates advocate local control; but history does repeat itself. This time the federalists are urbanites rather than rural agrarians.
ReplyDeleteThe actual fact is that the Southern States seceded for one reason and one reason only. It was not states' rights, tariffs, or taxes as is constantly argued. It was about the right to own slaves. This is the only reason given in the letters all but one of the Southern states gave for seceding. One state gave no reason in their letter of secession. Nothing was said in those letters about other reasons, such as States' Rights, or tariffs. I too was taught here, in Seattlel, all the alt-facts and the actual reason, slavery, was pushed to the side by the ignorant and racist teachers we had at the time. In reality the Civil War has never ended. Glossing over, and denying, the true reason for that war guarantees it going on and on.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the present reasoning and extent, it is encouraging to see many of the current mayors of urban areas adopt the premise of limited central government. Hopefully that will extend into many arenas. I know they're not exactly Jeffersonians, but the resistance to central control is a step in the right (even if it might be left) direction. Local control; local decisions; limited decision making in DC. That should sit well with freedom-of-choicers as well as laissez-fairites.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like spin to me.
DeleteNot at all - provided the cities are genuine in their desire for control at the local level and not at the central government level. I may not agree with everything a locality does, but I support the concept of locals making decisions for locals. If that's the goal, and if it remains consistent, that is a move toward traditional federalism. And, as I say, that should please the right-to-choose (on whatever issue) proponents as well as the small government advocates. I don't support the idea of the use of the black-masked Klan wannabes of today using terror tactics any more than I would support their white-sheeted cousins. But the concept of "keeping Yankee troops outta my business" is a worthy goal. If it's not in the Rule Book, the Feds shouldn't be involved in it. If a little local inspired BS can rein that in, so much the better, even if comes from Rahm or de Blasio.
ReplyDeleteMore spin.
DeleteIf it's simply resist DT, that's one thing. If it's resist DC, that's something else. Call 'em as you see 'em; but I, for one, hope the "Sanctuary" issue will cause more resist DC to develop - and outlive any administration. There is no "Federal Money"; there should never be an "unfunded" mandate; and there should be very few Federal Programs anyway. Leave the $$ with the locals. Don't give DC, whoever's in temporary charge, the opportunity to skim and launder it. The sovereign State of Washington can run itself. If that's different from any other state, no one should give a flying sardonic.
DeleteLibertarian nonsense!
DeleteI'll take that objection up at the Citizens Free Militia meeting.
DeleteI don't doubt that for a second.
DeleteGB: which state do you live in? Most red states receive more in federal money than they send in, so there would be a lot of losers. The big blue states (NY & CA) pay more than they receive, as do 12 other states. Washington state is about even.
DeleteComparing the 19th Century efforts of states wanting to continue slavery with today's cities not deporting immigrants is absurd at best and really offensive at worst. There is one comparison between the two that I would make: both institutions (slavery and immigration) are failures of an economic system that refuses to adequately compensate people for their work, and looks to find other means to get the cheapest labor and maximize profits for the owners.
While slaveholders used all sorts of justifications about why that horror was legitimate, the origins began with the speculators that financed Columbus' voyage. Columbus, finding only a little gold, enslaved the people of Hispaniola to extract more, so the financiers could reap their profits. Later on the cotton industry needed slaves (African, because the indigenous people had a bad habit of dying of European diseases) to compete with other fabrics. Economics is at the root, as it almost always is with human misery, including war. As SDB noted the Civil War was about slavery, but slavery was about profit.
Very long topic, of course, but I'll close by noting that when progressives ask for local control it's usually to provide more protection for individuals - GMO labeling of food, LGBT rights, marijuana use. When conservatives ask for states' rights it's usually to undo protections for individuals - discrimination, civil rights, worker protection, minimum wage, health and safety laws, and this week it's the nutrition standards for school lunches.
It's interesting that conservatives want states' rights to rule for restricting abortions, but want the fed's to stop state laws that would make abortion more available. Hypocrisy rules.
eco,
DeleteNot only that, but States' Rights has been used for a very long time to scapegoat as the reason for the Civil War, when the truth is that the Southern states argued against State's Rights. They were outraged that Northern States would not recognize their right to bring their enslaved servants to their states when they came North for a visit. Games people play.
eco,
DeleteI got to thinking about when you said, "...the Civil War was about slavery, but slavery was about profit." This is completely true, but it caused me to examine the words and how they apply and their power, both for good and bad. I think we are both in agreement that the Civil War was about slavery, but slavery was about profit. However if we substitute the word profit for slavery then it changes the understanding in my opinion. I am not arguing here, but just noticing how important our word choices are. It could also be said slavery was about racism, and there is truth to that, but it is usually forgotten or glossed over that African Negros were capturing other Negros and selling them to people to use as slaves or sell them into slavery. Also a few freed negro slaves here obtained plantations and had their own Negro slaves. Therefor it seems that there is a human need for people to have power over others they can both control and look down upon. Skin color was a convenient way to rationalize and justify what they must deep down have known to be wrong. There is so much to be learned from this kind of evil, about ourselves, but it won't really happen unless we openly discuss it. Then we can go further and discuss modern day workplace slavery most of us are involved in one way or another.
SDB, I probably oversimplified by saying the Civil War was about slavery. Like all enormous human adventures, the war had several causes. In 2003 people were trying to find the singular cause for W to invade Iraq - harboring terrorists, human rights, WMD, oil control, bringing democracy, Saddam Hussein's effort to make the Euro the currency for oil, show US force to intimidate other oil countries and Russia, daddy issues, etc. Doubtless it was a combination of several of these reasons. Similarly, the agrarian South resented the industrial North's control of finances, and there were other sub-causes for the Civil War.
DeleteI agree with what you write with one enhancement: Europeans had known of the dark-skinned people of Africa for centuries; in the Greek and Roman times, if not earlier. And while the Greeks and Romans had slaves in their societies, they were mostly "white", acquired through war, piracy, or banditry, or trade. But they generally did not enslave Africans (I think the Romans did grab some for use as gladiators, but that was relatively few, and may be something I saw in a bad 1950's movie).
My larger point is Greek, Roman, and western hemisphere slavery were all done to meet the economics of their times. Racism was used as a justification, and your noting that blacks would sell/ enslave other blacks only shows how powerful the economic impulse (aka greed) can be. The traders probably had long-term tribal disputes with their pillage; black-on-black wars happened then (and still do today) in Africa. Whites are no better, Europe has a "rich" history of intra-continental wars, the British and Irish only recently made peace. Hitler justified his invasion of Russia as cleansing the Slavic people, in Mein Kampf he wrote of the need to invade Russia for its material wealth in oil, minerals and food, the Lebensraum.
Slavery might be too strong a term for the modern day workplace, at least for the middle class in the US. I'd suggest indentured servitude is closer, where people have very limited control over their circumstances. The conditions for many immigrants is worse, and too often devolves into slave-like conditions.
If Trump really wants to stop immigration and undocumented work why is he not going after the employers? Easier to do, they don't hide, and there are fewer of them... Doing so would be an economic disaster for the US, as would getting rid of the immigrants. Alabama has shown us that.
eco,
DeleteYou did not oversimplify at all. There was no auxiliary reason for the Civil War. Had there been it would have been at least mentioned in the letters of secession. Also the standard reasons given such as tariffs and state's rights were not issues at that time at all. We are just fed that bogus lie in order to avoid dealing with the truth.
Also, as you apparently are also saying, slavery was not about racism. To put that statement in perspective just try to imagine one day some white people deciding to obtain Black people to employ as slaves because they were of a different race. It is ludicrous to say the least. Slavery has always been a power and greed issue with no regard for race. And I cannot agree with you that working for others is not slavery in this country. I can understand you having great difficulty understanding this when you don't work for someone as most here do. As to indentured servitude, it absolutely is slavery, although voluntary slavery at some level, such as was common with the Aztecs. The forced work in our prison system with no real pay is also slavery. I am not the first to point any of this out by the way. Yesterday I did a little aftermarket research on this and ran across this interesting piece I think you might enjoy:
Five myths about why the South seceded - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five...the...seceded/.../ABHr6jD_story.html
As to reasons for going to wars as you refer to above is basically meaningless. Governments and leaders lie in order to get their way. Who can really say what Hitler actually thought and believed? He certainly understood how to manipulate the populace by creating a weak scapegoat enemy in order to rally the people. Trump is now doing the same thing and it unfortunately works. People in general don't learn from history because they pay little or no attention to history. Could that also apply to science?
I mostly agree, but can't say work is slavery. I have worked for others, including high school stints working for wonderful multi-national fast food giants. Yes, they took advantage of us, sometimes to the point of abuse (>110° in the kitchen, having us work off the clock, 16 year olds working until 3 am) but we did have a choice to work elsewhere, which I did.
DeleteMy point about reasons for going to war is not about what the governments actually say, it is trying to surmise the underlying reasons. When one decides where to go on vacation, or even go out for dinner, there's rarely a single reason, it's a combination of considerations (cost, type of place, level of activity/ noise, ease of access, etc). Likely the same for war, though some reasons loom larger.
Most (all?) politicians present their version of reality, be it history or science. Trump has simply made this more apparent with his outrageous (and either wildly ignorant or manipulative) versions of the world. Unfortunately he is a cult leader, and those who believe him accept his "truth" unquestioningly. History shows us this rarely ends well.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away".
DeleteI don't believe that.
DeleteBut it's still here - must be true!
The distinction between work and slavery is not so clear cut. An economist I know was a source for a recent article about certain seasonal workers in the arctic.
Deleteeco,
DeleteYes, we mostly agree, but we don't agree about there usually being multiple reasons for going to war. I believe it is rare for there to be more than one reason for a war. However we are rarely told the true reason for a war and all the false reasons are presented because most people work off of their emotional side and not their intellect, if they even have one. (appropriate laughter is permitted here)
This is why it is useless to argue facts with Trump supporters. Did I mention frustrating?
An example is WWI. Wilson was adamantly against our entering that war, as were the people, but the bankers got to him and persuaded him that they would lose any chance of getting their loans paid back by Germany if we did not enter. That would have gone over like a fart in church if Wilson had presented it to the public as why we should die in that war. Just one example.
As to workplace slavery. You, in the example you gave, had the means of moving on, but most people do not have that choice available to them and it changes everything. Employers know this and it is a very powerful tool they use.
I too have had both good jobs where I did not at all feel abused or a slave, but when that changed with a few bad ones I woke up to reality.
jan,
DeleteGood piece you linked to. I didn't do more than skim over it to get the point, but I like it.
Makes me think of the female reindeer who perhaps have more freedom than the elves and male reindeer. It is well know that on Xmas eve when Santa makes his rounds the female reindeer go into town and blow a few bucks. But I am sure you knew that already.
"I Swear", "Lonely Boy"
ReplyDelete"So Emotional"
"Doesn't Really Matter"
"Have You Never Been Mellow"
I just a moment ago heard a phrase on NPR and realized it is an oxymoron that has now come into common usage: GOP MODERATE.
ReplyDeleteOK, I have my naturalness, cleverness and elegance meters all tuned up, warmed up and ready to go.
ReplyDeleteIs the fact that I never tried to come up with even one idea going to make me a better or worse judge?
Two minutes to go!
I don't really know, but it might make you the smartest one in the room.
DeleteThese are my three submissions:
ReplyDelete1. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” “I've Been Thinking About You” “Running Bear” “Again” “One of These Nights” “This Is the Night” “Whatcha Say”
2. “The Letter” “Makes Me Wonder” “How Will I Know” “It Wasn't Me” “Who's That Girl” “The Candy Man” “Can't Help Falling in Love”
3. “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” “Footloose” “Travelin' Man” “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” “Close to You” “All Night Long” “Save the Last Dance for Me”
Pathetic of WS & NPR to present us with this crap!
Here are my entries:
ReplyDelete"Beat It", "Leader of the Pack", "You're No Good".
"I'm Telling You Now", "Hit the Road Jack"
"Without You""I Will Survive"
"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car"
"Will It Go Round in Circles? "
"Turn! Turn! Turn! "
"End Of The Road "
"Hold On "
"Upside Down"
"Help!"
"I'm Henry VIII, I Am" "Addicted to Love"
"Hello, Goodbye" "Dancing Queen"
"Another One Bites the Dust"
"Alone Again (Naturally)"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"CANDLE IN THE WIND" "BURN" "ALL NIGHT LONG".
ReplyDelete"HOT IN HERE"! "SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES"!
("WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE"!)
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ReplyDeleteTrump just now was introduced in the Rose Garden as keeping his promise to make Amerika great again. I have to agree with that. It sure is grating to me. I am so proud to live in a country where the leaders are hell bent on killing off their constituents by taking away their health care.
ReplyDeleteSo disgusting! Cannot stand the news. Just going to ballets.
DeleteSo everyone is dancing around the issue.
DeleteA "great victory" is barely passing a bill in the House that you control...
DeleteThe only good thing is the Senate has said it will take them a while to deal with this, plenty of time for the CBO to run the numbers (which the Repub's required before even voting on Obamacare) and time for folks to figure out disastrous this will be.
Will they try to eliminate the filibuster for legislation?
SDB: You are tu tu smart!
DeleteNatasha: What's your pointe?
Deleteeco:
DeleteWasn't it a magnificent day! Look at what Trump, Ryan and Miss McConnell are doing for us, the Amerikan peeple. Our premiums are now going to go down. Our copays are going to go down. Our Social Security benefits will be increased. We will have more money to spend on weapons. I am so excited! NOT!
Did you watch on YouTube, or wherever, What Stephen Colbert said on his show Monday about Trumps mouth? Priceless!
eco, and others too,
DeleteYou really must watch this short YouTube video of John Cleese re: Trump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UueGetlwpw
The irony is it doesn't really matter any more. The outrageous things he says, the lies, the fake news, the corruption, the criminality and the absolutely horrid legislation. Can you keep up?
Delete"Shock and Awe" comes home.
You might like this article. At least the Congress critters acknowledge their hypocrisy.
DeleteI did not submit an entry this week because it just didn't do anything for me. "Good job" to anyone who did, though.
DeleteI've been kind of down the last couple of days with all of the crumby news regarding Washington DC. ECO: You pretty well summed it up for me! SDB: That clip of John Cleese was right on target!
The only thing that keeps me feeling optimistic is the thought that many of the congress men & women, have just committed political suicide. Here's hoping that they will be voted out in the next election.
Oh really? And just who will be voting this time?
DeleteYeah, eco, interesting article. I prefer the articles of impeachment though. But then again we don't want our legislators just sitting back there doing nothing when they can at least pass bad legislation.
DeleteSpeaking of 'critters', I am happy to watch a little of the 1954 movie "Creature From The Black Lagoon" that is on cable tonight. At least the creature in that movie can't hurt me like the republicans can!!
DeleteSDB: I think the people John Cleese was talking about are going to soon find out, through their pocketbook, what a big mistake they've made.
DeleteThey've got to notice the pot is starting to boil!!
Yes, I agree, they are going to find out. Just like the passengers who didn't want to get in the lifeboats because they bought the hype about the Titanic being unsinkable. Only it was too late by the time they caught on. HeHeHe.
DeleteI guess they didn't see The Unsinkable Molly Brown prior to sailing.
Stupid people. Reminds me of Robin Williams calling Thanksgiving, the Rapture for turkeys. And the ones who are left feeling left out.
DeleteSDB- Speaking of John Cleese, I just keep thinking of Monty Python's song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
DeleteYes, between global warming and nuclear Armageddon it should get pretty bright alright.
DeleteKind of like having your skydiving instructor say "Well folks, I've got to let you know your parachutes won't work, but at least we're no longer in that airplane."
DeleteOr like after entering the "shower" at Auschwitz and noticing there are no drains in the floor and realizing there is no point in looking for the missing soap.
DeleteWell, maybe not quite like all of that!
DeleteAn ensemble of cross dressers.
Delete68Charger - I agree, Holocaust humor should be used sparingly. But no one objects to jokes about skydivers!
DeleteAnd who knew Australia has universal health care paid by taxes?
Meanwhile, if you didn't hear it, Terry Gross' interview yesterday on DT's mental health was interesting and disturbing.
I can't find any 68Charger, or other, comment saying anything about Holocaust humor. Where is it?
DeleteAnyway I don't think anything should be off limits for humor. That includes skydiver jokes too, and I have made some great ones and some outrageously funny ad libs when a skydiver has died during a jump.
There was a great hour and a half PBS program earlier this week defending holocaust humor. Mel Brooks was the main participant.
I wish someone had an answer for dealing with this dictatorship.
DeleteMy response from early this morning just meant that I didn't want to go down that road regarding The Holocaust. I can take a good joke but just didn't want to go that direction today. No offense taken!!
DeleteMy main point was that DT and the AHCA still irks me, but I can't let it get to me. I need to always look for a silver lining and, more importantly, I need to get more politically involved.
ECO - That Terry Gross interview was a good one. It was kind of lengthy so I just did a kind of quick read. (Uh oh,that sounds a little like DT) The main problem with impeaching DT is that we'd be stuck with Mike Pence...
Delete68 Charger:
DeleteI sure wish someone would give the exact day and time of the "holocaust" post you made. I cannot locate one anywhere. I am the only one who even mentioned the holocaust, and it was not a joke. But I refuse to buy into the trope that we cannot joke about the holocaust. I also refuse to respect criticism from people who cry PC when a joke is made regarding a group or something they consider off limits. I tend to find their objections disingenuous and designed to show the world that they are somehow better than anyone who would joke about whatever it happens to be. Humor is a powerful way of dealing with difficult and unpleasant issues. I am not arguing that humor cannot be used in harmful ways either. It can, and it frequently is. The Republicans are particularly adept at this.
I made the comment at 1:51 am today when I commented about "maybe not quite like all of that!". I was originally trying to look at the bright side of current politics and then the posts started getting kind of 'too dark' for me. I just wanted to keep things more focused on DT. I also wasn't sure if everyone was familiar with Monty Python's "Life Of Brian".
DeleteThat link and post have nothing to do with the holocaust.
Delete"Billboard Hot 100 Years"
ReplyDelete"Eve of Destruction": "A Whole New World". "I'm Sorry" "The Tide Is High". "It's Now Or Never", "I Can See Clearly Now" "It's Too Late".
I was tempted to use "The Tide Is High", "I'm Sorry" "Another One Bites the Dust". Not sure the nod to Stephen Foster would have been noticed.
"Tonight's The Night" "Lightnin' Strikes" "The One That You Love". "We Didn't Start The Fire". "Coming Out Of The Dark" "The Morning After", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".
"American Pie": "One Bad Apple", "Brandy", "Brown Sugar", "Crimson And Clover". "I Can Help" "Make It With You".
Jeff Sessions' Department of Injustice is on the warpath big time now in order to keep us safe from transgender folk invading our space. I understand he has now been appointed head of the Anti-Defecation League.
ReplyDeleteOn the Theme of ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE:
ReplyDeleteAre you lonesome tonight? We can work it out, walk right in, it's now or never, I'm a believer, light my fire, all you need is love...
I submitted the following:
ReplyDelete1. Hey Jude, Our Day Will Come. Someday We'll Be Together, In the Year 2525.
2. The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Alone Again (naturally)
3. One of these Nights, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), Lost in Emotion. I think we're alone now; Let's Dance, One Dance, Angie Baby
I like your #3!
DeleteMy entry:
ReplyDeleteJohnny Angel, are you lonesome tonight? I’m sorry; breaking up is hard to do. Everybody loves somebody, where did our love go? Our day will come.
The tide is high in the year 2525. I will survive on my own, sailing.
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteThis is a winner!
DeleteSKB: Did not mean to ruffle your feathers!
ReplyDeleteSDB: Just thought message deserved an applause.
ReplyDeleteNatasha, What message are you referring to? I have no idea what your two posts above are referencing.
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DeleteOkay. That was just silly word play.
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DeleteYes...silly
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DeleteWhat's your pointe?..message...
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ReplyDeleteSdb: not sure why my messages keep duplicating. Had to delete.
ReplyDeleteNatasha: I used to have that texting problem and could never figure out the solution. I haven't had the problem for a while but I always assume a duplication will occur. When it doesn't, it's always a relief!
Delete68Charger..thanks. I think it is due to using cell phone. No sure why.
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ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Warren Bergmann of Brownsville, Wis. Name a familiar medical procedure in nine letters. You can rearrange these letters to name two people who might get this procedure. The answer consists of informal names for these people. Who are they?
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ReplyDeleteThe answer my friends, is blowin' in the wind. And, it's also somewhere in this alphabetical list: http://www.medicinenet.com/procedures_and_tests/alpha_a.htm
ReplyDeleteYoko & Captain Hook?
ReplyDeleteDid I hear right? No more celebrities? A small victory for the members of this blog.
ReplyDeleteI just know the answer is on the tip of my tongue.
ReplyDelete