Archive for the 'Society' category

In Search Of Humor: The Top 5 Funniest Republicans/Conservatives

Aug 04 2010 Published by Turk under Conservatism, Humor, Libertarians, Politics, Society

A friend pointed me to recent comments by Keith Olbermann that there are no funny conservatives.  As a big fan of both conservatism (at least the fiscal kind) and comedy/stand up, I have to take issue with that.  There are a lot of funny conservatives/libertarians.  (Please note, I really couldn’t find any funny social conservatives, but I didn’t look that hard either.)

#5 Drew Carey – One of America’s jolly fat men, Drew Carey had a huge smash with The Drew Carey Show, but like most got his start doing stand up.  While he sold out to take Bob Barker’s place hosting The Price is Right, he’s still funny.  If you don’t believe me, visit Showtime on Demand and watch the episode of The Green Room with Carey.

#4 Adam Sandler – America’s favorite egg-shaped head also leans right.  Like many Republicans in Hollywood, he’s not overt about the lean, but he’s still funny (Little Nicki aside).

#3 Owen Wilson – Wilson, like our number two funny man Vince Vaughn, is unquestionably funny.  If you don’t buy that, rent Wedding Crashers or Zoolander again.  Wilson and Vaughn reportedly crashed a Texas Young Republicans event while in DC filming Wedding Crashers.

#2 Vince Vaughn – Arguably, Vaughn should be number one on this list.  Most people would probably put him there.  While I have been a big Vaughn fan since Swingers came out, if we’re talking political humor, I have to give the top spot to someone who covers it a lot.

#1 Doug Stanhope -  Stanhope probably isn’t everybody’s first choice, but he’s definitely mine.  This riff on the pledge of allegiance is a classic example.  As he says, good products sell themselves… So here’s my argument for Doug.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Robert Downey Jr. has said his personal challenges forced a change of political views and he’s now a Republican.
  • Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy – I’m not a fan of redneck humor, but they make a lot of people laugh.
  • The Rock – Tooth Fairy was unintentionally one of the funniest movies ever. (It still counts)

I could go on… John Ratzenberger, Larry Miller, Penn & Teller etc.

Olbermann hasn’t been funny since he left Sports Center, so I’m guessing he didn’t take his writers with him.  For him to make ridiculous blanket assertions is really kind of weak, as this list demonstrates.

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The Decline of Satan as a Political Force

Mar 11 2010 Published by Turk under Miscellany, Religion, Society

It occurred to me today that you really don’t hear much about Beelzebub in a political context anymore. I was thinking about my childhood (and gaming in particular – and by gaming I don’t mean video) and remembered all of the dire warnings hurled at me regarding the dark lord.

Dungeons & Dragons was a tool of Satan. Heavy metal music was a tool of Satan. Alcohol was the Devil’s elixir. It seemed like just about everything you might enjoy doing was a tool of corruption placed on Earth by Satan.

You just don’t get that much anymore. I mean, in some pockets, I’m sure those charges are still leveled. They just don’t enter the mainstream consciousness the way they used to. Video games are allegedly bad, but not because they’re a tool of Lucifer, they’re bad for much more concrete reasons. People rage against video games because they claim they rot the minds of our youth or they lead to school shootings, or they’re a gateway drug to heroine. They are no longer simply written off as a tool of the dark arts.

In some ways, that makes me kind of sad. Satan is no longer the guilty party in any activity today’s youth engage in. I actually miss a world where every issue was discussed and debated in terms of Satan’s presence. Even if you partook of the devil’s playthings, there was a certain comfort in knowing it was all part of a great cosmic Yin & Yang. Now we have scientific studies of kids who go on to commit crimes and whether too many hours spent playing Sonic the Hedgehog was to blame. It has become all too sterile, and it’s just not the same.

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Other #SwineFluSymptoms To Watch Out For

Oct 23 2009 Published by Turk under Disease, Humor, Pop Culture, Society

I’ve had some version of what my dad used to call “The Dread Mahocus” for several days know. Given the mass hysteria over H1N1 Swine Flu, I figured I’d take a look at the symptoms just to see what they are. Here’s what the CDC says:

You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

  • fever *
  • cough
  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • body aches
  • headache
  • chills
  • fatigue
  • sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Very helpful. If you sometimes get fever, but not always, and you sometimes get diarrhea and vomiting, but not always, that leaves:

  • cough
  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • body aches
  • headache
  • chills
  • fatigue

In other words, the Swine Flu could look just like any other non-specific illness. That’s not terribly helpful at all. Maybe the CDC should provide more of a narrative description:

On Day One, you will notice giant red spots on your forehead. Those will grow into huge sweaty red welts. The coughing will be uncontrollable, and you’ll wish you were dead. Then the real fun will start….

At least then I’d know what to look out for. Instead, I have non-specific symptoms and no real way of knowing whether I have the Swine Flu without a tedious trip to the doctor.

So I did a little digging and found some more useful information. I dug through blog post after blog post and compiled these actual, specific symptoms from first hand accounts. If you have any of these, seek medical attention immediately

Swine Flu Symptoms

  • An urge to watch Babe and Charlotte’s Web over and over again.
  • An overwhelming sense of cannibalism from eating bacon.
  • Smelling like Des Moines, IA.
  • Random snort and oinking sounds (separate and distinct from your normal Tourette’s).
  • Developing a random stutter.
  • Falling in love with frogs (or general inter-species romance).
  • A tendency toward Stalinism.

So there you have it. An actual, helpful list of warning signs. Now you can consider yourself prepared.

P.S. (For those who missed them, the stutter joke is a reference to Porky Pig and the Stalinism crack is a reference to Animal Farm.)

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Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

Oct 21 2009 Published by Turk under Humor, Society, Zombie Apocalypse

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend an event at the Las Vegas library featuring Max Brooks, author of World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide. He spoke for about an hour on tips and tactics for surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. Fortunately, since I have a fair number of friends who are also zombie aficionados, I was able to record the event. So without further adieu.

Apologies to friends on Facebook and Twitter who have already seen a link to this. If you are reading this on Facebook, and can’t see/play the video, you can visit http://www.kungfuquip.com/surviving-the-zombie-apocalypse.

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The Facebook Questionnaire I’d Like To See

Sep 21 2009 Published by Turk under Diversions, Society, Technology, The Internet

After the lastest round of the “25 things” style questionnaire (in this case called, Don’t You Dare Lie), I decided to create the Facebook questionnaire I’d like to see. You see, I really don’t care what the last thing you ate was, and frankly I have zero interest in knowing what song is stuck in your head. The song that my 4 year old has permanently wedged in my brain is bad enough. I also have a problem with the fact that many of these questions don’t also include the obvious follow up.

So without further ado, I’ll throw out the 26 questions I’d really like to ask, but would be unlikely to actually answer myself.

  1. Have you ever been arrested?
  2. Were you guilty or innocent and what were the charges?
  3. Will you ever drink that much again?
  4. How much do you hate your job?
  5. How many times per day do you pray for an earthquake just to break up the boredom?
  6. How many times per day to you hope for the sweet release that only death will bring?
  7. Where did you lose your virginity?
  8. How much did it suck?
  9. If you could go back in time and give that person pointers, would you?
  10. If you could go back in time and not be such a whore (or manwhore), would you?
  11. Speaking of sex, how many kids do you have?
  12. How many did you have on purpose?
  13. How many times have you wished you had that vasectomy you joked about in college?
  14. If you could have any celebrity killed, which would it be?
  15. Would you make it painful or quick and easy?
  16. Would anyone miss Lindsay Lohan?
  17. Have you ever done drugs?
  18. Are you still in contact with the person who sold/gave them to you?
  19. Can I have their number?
  20. Do you like Internet porn?
  21. Ya, me either. How many times per day do you look at some just to make sure you still don’t?
  22. Really? That’s a lot! You’re very thorough in your “research” aren’t you?
  23. How many drinks does it take before you make really bad decisions?
  24. Want to go out tonight for drinks?
  25. How much time have you spent answering Facebook questionnaires/quizzes in a desperate attempt to regain some semblance of a connection with another human being?
  26. How’s that working out for you?

Answer these questions then send this to or tag 20 of your closest friends then prepare for them to be terrified by your answers. Be sure to tag me so I’ll be able to keep track of the implosion of your career for my own twisted pleasure.

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