Archive for the ‘humor’ category

Soupy Sales Gone…

October 24, 2009

Soupy Sales— I can’t take the loss of many more of my childhood icons; Captain Kangaroo has passed on, and now also Soupy Sales at age 83.   Soupy in my opinion has never gotten the credit or recognition that he deserved; a comedian of television, radio, and film born Milton Supman, Soupy drew heavily from slapstick and also used word play and improvisation. His comedy wasn’t always sophisticated, but it could be clever and was always funny; taking a pie in the face was a stock in trade, and Soupy estimated that he and his visitors took 20,000 pies in the course of his career.  Soupy was big at the time in the New York area where I grew up in to the extent that kids would imitate him and do his routines.

Soupy had furry elements; two of the visitors to his shows were dogs called White Fang and Black Tooth, who appeared at his door as giant shaggy paws with felt triangular claws.  White Fang spoke with unintelligible growls and grunts which Soupy repeated back to his audience in English; Black Tooth was also unintelligible, but was into giving loud and sloppy kisses to Soupy off-camera.   Then there was Pookie the Lion, a hip character prone to appearing in Soupy’s window who you could understand. – -Soupy even had a novelty dance record and song called The Mouse which was wildly popular in the mid-1960’s!- –Hey!–Do the Mouse, Yeah! I last saw Soupy on game shows, those last retreats of celebrities past their popularity prime.  Even then, he was funny, using his improv talents to transcend the medium and material that he had to work with.

As Soupy was influenced by the Marx Brothers, so he also influenced other comedians including Andy Kaufman and Paul Reubens; if you twist and press Soupy’s persona, you get Pee-wee Herman!   Soupy was an earlier prototype of the cheerfully demented childrens’ TV show host, filled with manic energy.   All of these comics realized that much comic inspiration can be drawn from childhood, which can be darker and more twisted  than many realize…

Thank you, Soupy, for all the laughter and the furry undertones!   To quote lyrics from The Mouse, “every cat in the neighborhood will be in shock.”

Cats, you see, loved Soupy Sales, and will miss him as will I…


My Wish List…

October 11, 2009

monarch– – I’d  really like to have a costumed arch-nemesis; no plain-clothes nemesis for me, thank you very much…those with a costumed arch-nemesis tend to be memorable, like Batman.  People remember the Joker or the Riddler, but almost certainly wouldn’t remember the Freemason or the Certified Public Accountant. An arch-nemesis has a history with you, in many cases arching you for years; it’s a love/hate thing, really.  A arch-nemesis should be colorful but not competent; you don’t want them to actually do you in (for further exploration of the complex relationship one may have with a costumed arch-nemesis, catch the Venture Brothers on Adult Swim, the Cartoon Network).

What about henchmen?–If you have henchmen, they’ll have to go through them to get to you, and maybe your enemy will wear themselves out.  Henchmen give you extra time to get away, bargain, plea, or just work up to a good cry.  Plus if you have henchmen, you’re giving others work in this depressed economy.

Could I possibly get a sidekick?–Batman, Aquaman, and the Green Arrow have one.  I don’t think Marvel superheroes have sidekicks as much; Wolverine would probably kill his. – – Cancel the sidekick; I’d probably be arrested, especially if it was some teenaged guy in tights.   Maybe the sidekick would write a tell-all book, and we’d split the profits and get rich.  Money isn’t everything, but it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place.

I’d also like to have minions, followers who hang on your every word and do your bidding.  No one’s done my bidding to this point in my life, so I figure I’m overdue.  In this category, I’d like to have a cat’s-paw, which should not be confused with a rabbit’s foot; some of my best friends are cats, and I’m not into the amputation of bodily parts.  A cat’s-paw is kinda like a chief minion or tool that acts in your behalf.–Wouldn’t that be cool?

…and why don’t we have manservants anymore?–If you want something, a manservant is there to get it for you, and wait on you hand and foot.  I’d like to have someone wait on my feet, and a manservant sounds classy; kind of like a gentleman’s gentleman.  You’ve gotta love the redundancy of that!

So I’m gonna ask Santa for these things; I’d be satisfied to get any of them.  If that doesn’t work, maybe I could get some of that federal stimulus money, ’cause these things would be stimulatin’ to me, woo!    😉

The Crasher Squirrel…

August 22, 2009

crasher squirrel—  He’s furry, he’s fun, and he’s…everywhere!–The crasher squirrel, that is!

It all started out when some people were taking a family photo in Alberta, Canada’s Banff National Park…ho hum!   A ground squirrel then decided to check out what was going on, perhaps intrigued by the novelty of the camera or the sounds being made, and stepped right into the foreground of the photo, taking it over and casting the intended subjects into the background!–What could be more appropriate?–This little guy brightens up any photo, and looks like he belongs!

The rest, as they say, is internet history.  Photos of the little guy have appeared in a variety of settings, both past,  present, and future.   He has been seen with people famous and unknown, the former including Lincoln and his generals as well as contemporary leaders.  The crew of the Enterprise-D would certainly have benefited from a furry crew member, even if he is out of uniform…

There’s no reason why you can’t join in the fun as well.  Just go to http://www.lutralutra.co.uk/squirrelizer to invite the little guy to step into your favorite action!

Two paws up for the crasher squirrel, easily the furry of the week!

Foxes in Detroit!

July 21, 2009

Detroit–My people are moving on in…to Detroit, that is.  That’s right, the Motor City!  ‘Ya see, Detroit had a population of 1.8 million hyoomans in 1950, and it’s down to 900,000 now.  With the big economic meltdown and GM goin’ belly-up, Detroit has an unemployment rate of 23%.  Bad for hyoomans, good for us foxies; we’re movin’ in, ‘ya see.  We figure we just might be able to do somethin’ wid da place…

…you can find my people now in untended lots, houses, and buildings.  Seek us in your weed-filled lots and in the shadows of long-abandoned factories.  The riverfront is good for us.  We kinda like it here, and plan on stayin’ indefinitely if the hunting is good and we can raise our young.

…of course, we just might re-tool your factories a bit to grind out lots and lots of Volkswagen Foxes, making improvements on the old design as we go.  The combination of German engineering and vulpine  stealth and cleverness just might make us ready to move into your other cities, too…the liberation just might be at hand, perhaps in 2012…Ahahahahaha!

Rubber Dinosaurs…

July 12, 2009

rubber dinosaurs–When I was a kid, I had a big collection of hard rubber dinosaurs which I regarded with love and veneration. They were solid and well-detailed, not like the junk dinos often sold today.  Some of the suckers were big, too, especially the one of what was then called Brontosaurus.  My mother, of course, made me keep them all in a large box, mothers being well-known for their obsessive-compulsive tendencies.  But every chance I had, I’d get my rubber dinosaurs out, and lovingly go over the fine details of each one. Then it was time to pit them against one another in elaborate battles to the death that occurred only in my head.–Ahh, the memories!  I don’t think that kids play with rubber dinosaurs as much these days…that’s a pity!   My early love for dinosaurs led me to a life-long interest in science, biology in particular.

My rubber dinosaur collection was one of my prize possessions.  I knew right where they were until one day, probably when I was in college, my mother threw them out…

…and I’ve never forgiven her!

“Agent P” Rocks!

July 2, 2009

Perry the PlatypusDisney stuff is usually too mainstream and white breadish for me, but I have to love Perry the Platypus, pet of the title characters in the Disney Channel show, Phineas and Ferb. Unknown to his owners, Perry (aka “Agent P”) lives a parallel life as a secret agent for The Agency, a government organization of animal spies.  Pretending to be a mindless house pet, Perry is secretly a fedora-wearing secret agent who enjoys romance soap operas and potato chips.

While Perry’s exploits are secondary plots to those involving the human owners, it’s worth tuning in to see Perry thwart his evil nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz.  This is usually fairly easy for Perry to do as his archenemy doesn’t even recognize the platypus unless he is wearing his trademark fedora; another stereotypic scientist portrayed as lacking rudimentary common sense <sighs>.

How many other platypus ‘toon characters can you name? — And perhaps the notion of leading a parallel life is all too familiar to those of us who are furry…

…I wonder if The Agency is hiring?

The Barrel Monster!

June 17, 2009

090616-barrel-monster-hmed-.widec– -Hehe! –Maybe MonsterQuest should cover the Barrel Monster!

It’s an arresting sight…or at least it got its creator arrested!  Standing ten feet tall, the Barrel Monster was the creation of Raleigh, NC history major Joseph Carnevale, who chopped up three stolen orange and white traffic barrels from a construction site to create this 10′ sculpture of a roadside monster thumbing a ride.

The police, natch, seized the monster and will probably charge its creator.–Is it art, vandalism, or both?–You decide, but I think it’s cool, as do a lot of other folks who’ve rallied to the artist’s defense!

Next, the street artist and college student may be attempting a barrel sculpture of a T-rex!  And by the way, his 1997 VW Jetta is covered with hot-glued beer bottle caps!–Bravo!!!

Kia Hamsters!

May 5, 2009

kia-hamsters–<sigh>–The daily grind…in a treadmill going nowhere, just like the legion of other hamsters spinning in their circular treadmills on the roadway…how futile…how meaningless…how very existential!

But wait!–Along comes a Kia Soul, with two very cool hamsters in the front seats, tapping their paws, wearing shades, and grooving to some very cool tracks!–Tedium is broken!–They’re lookin’ good, cute as the dickens, and they’re furry!


Madison Avenue has long recognized that furry types make good spokesmen, and you can see us in an increasing number of commercials!

Evil Blooms…

April 27, 2009

talking-flowers–Being a twisted piece of work, I like the idea of verbal, insulting flowers, and there hasn’t been vegetation this bad since the 1962 movie, Day of the Triffids or the musical, Little Shop of Horrors. If you wish to see nasty flowers of a more recent vintage, check out the recent Teleflora commercial featuring blooms delivered in a box which rear up out of the same to insult and offend the recipient! The flowers (some tulips) move their pedals convincingly as they speak in deep male voices.  (Nice flowers, apparently, come in tasteful vases, not boxes!)

The evil flowers were first featured in a Super Bowl XLIII commercial when they brilliantly taunted their office recipient like Hannibal Lecter vegetation, telling her that she should “…get home to her romance novels and her fat, smelly cat!” A final barb flung by a bloom was that “…no one wanted to see (her) naked!”

Tragically, the flowers are forced down a disposal in the most recent commercial…but if someone ever sent me such evil, talking blooms, I would nurture and cherish them forever! – – Imagine your house surrounded by a garden of insulting, sentient flowers…you’d never suffer unwelcome visitors again!

“Tundra” a Winner!

February 3, 2009

tundra–Chad Carpenter’s comic strip Tundra has been around since late 1991, but has just recently found publication in newspapers in my area.  The comic usually deals with wildlife, nature, and outdoor life, and was named best newpaper panel of 2007 by the National Cartoonists Society, also receiving the Reuben Award in 2008.

One of the fastest growing comic strips on the planet, Tundra is written and drawn by Carpenter, who hails from Wasilla, Alaska.  Wolves,  bears, caribou, and snowmen may be seen in the strip, which has grown from publication in seven newspapers to around 200.  The strip’s humor is universal rather than specifically Alaskan, and its creator actually encourages readers to send in ideas, crediting them if the idea is used.

Check out Tundra if you haven’t already done so; you’ll be hooked!