![]() |
Humor Information |
|
|
|
|
Don't you just love getting a little something extra? Sure you do. Everybody does. That's why Online marketers throw in 36 bonus ebooks with that little software item they are peddling.
But a little something extra is not always a good thing.
Flash back a few weeks. I was assembling a dresser for my daughter. One by one, I pulled the wood panels from the box. I pulled out a bag of bits and pieces, which was attached to another, which was attached to another, which was attached to another.
I held up the chain of bags to inspect. There were screws and bolts and dowels and nails and an assortment of metal and plastic bits for which no name exists.
I set about banging bits into boards, sliding bits into boards, screwing bits into boards, snapping bits into boards. By the time I reached step 439 of the instructions, I was finally ready to connect two panels (the bottom and one of the sides).
But wait. What's this semi-white plastic half-moon piece? And what about this black plastic tube no more than an inch long? Where do these mystery pieces go?
I reread the parts inventory - every chapter of it - in English, French and Spanish. I took a magnifying glass to every page of pictograms. But not a trace of either mystery piece. What should I do? I could not just throw them away. What if I discover next week that I really need them?
That's when I remembered the "Spare Parts Gremlins". These devious creatures gleefully toss spare parts in where they will most confuse us.
The Spare Parts Gremlins were there last Christmas when I was picking from a box of chocolates. I wondered what the big round one was? I looked at all the little drawings, but it just was not there.
I toyed with the idea of just tasting it. But what if it was coffee flavored? I don't like coffee. (Yes, I know. My mother dropped me on my head when I was young.) What if it was mint flavored? Sorry, but chocolate covered toothpaste just is not my thing. What if it was cheesecake flavored? Mmm. No, that would be just wishful thinking. "Ooh. I hate you Spare Parts Gremlins."
The Spare Parts Gremlins were there at the movie theatre. We were watching The Matrix Reloaded, a psychological action film, when all of a sudden a love-making scene popped out of nowhere. Neo and Trinity were expressing their friendship in a way that only a man and a woman can. The camera switched back and forth between the couple and a mass party of gyrating hips and earthy rhythmic music.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy gyrating hips as much as the next person, but the scene was out of context like a cowboy at a tea party in an English garden. The Spare Parts Gremlins strike again!
Gremlin One: Hey, I have a love-making scene here. It's sort of a primal Amazon thing. What should I do with it?
Gremlin Two: We have to find a totally unrelated film. What about The Matrix Reloaded?
Gremlin One: That's perfect!
You just never know what gremlin will show up. You have to be prepared. Take a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out. That's it. Stay calm. OK, continue with your life.
So here I stand with one dresser, two plastic parts that I don't dare throw away in case they actually are needed somewhere, and the fear that the Spare Parts Gremlins are lurking somewhere in my house, ready to force "a little something extra" on me again when I least suspect it.
About The Author
The author is David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy, author of Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness at http://TheHappyGuy.com/happiness-self-help-book.html and publisher of Your Daily Dose of Happiness at http://TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html.
Visit his web site at http://TheHappyGuy.com.
Light, Grace, and Humor Hartford Courant, United States - ... aka The Boys of Summer" (above), display his love of animals and quirky sense of humor. Opening Reception is from 5 - 8 pm on the first day. ... |
![]() Ottawa Citizen | REVIEW: Irreverent humor lightens 'Hamlet 2' The Desert Sun, CA - If you're familiar with "South Park's" irreverent wit and humor, you will enjoy "Hamlet 2." The heart of the movie belongs to UK comedian Steve Coogan. ... Anything goes in 'Hamlet 2' Steve Coogan on Hamlet 2 The American Experience |
'Rocker' has heart, as well as its share of metal-headed humor Boston Globe, United States - "The Rocker" is a grubby little redemption comedy that in every way feels like a consignment-shop Jack Black vehicle. It wears better on Rainn Wilson, ... Rhythm of Rainn lends humor to `The Rocker' The Rocker and Hamlet 2: Stage Plight Interview: Rainn Wilson |
![]() Gamasutra | Humor: 'Excerpts From Development Books That Never Were' Gamasutra, CA - [Veteran, possibly pseudonymous game developer Matthew Wasteland writes the 'Arrested Development' humor column for Game Developer magazine, and we're now ... |
Magician's Hand: How Humor And Misdirection Can Manipulate Levels ... Science Daily (press release) - The scientists have studied how magicians mix humor into their performances because a laughing audience is unable to pay attention to the magician's hand. ... |
Bay Area Author Documents Tragedies of Alcohol Abuse With Humor In ... PR Web (press release), WA - Bill Belew is an educator and journalist who writes and teaches what he knows. A husband and father of three children, Belew is author of the new book, ... |
Religion, politics and humor can be a tricky mix, but Ahmad Bahgat ... Egypt Today, Egypt - Never lacking in humor, he explores major social corruption and the typical Egyptian mindset with the simplest of words. Voices from peace activists on both ... |
Washington Post | The Family Filmgoer Washington Post, United States - The eye-popping visuals put the moviegoer in the thick of things, but the charmless, jumbled story lacks humor and poignancy. Kids won't get the Cold War ... Films opening this weekend |
2 GOP CONTENDERS WHOSE SIMILARITIES ARE MOSTLY SKIN-DEEP Volkskrant, Netherlands - Dole, as a candidate, reined in his humor and kept a protective wall around him, avoiding freewheeling sessions with voters or reporters, in deference to ... |
Web sites offer games, biting humor Battle Creek Enquirer, MI - It is this dichotomy of high- and low-brow humor that is present in its first video game offering, "Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of ... |
|
|