August 23, 2004

Monkey! Monkey! Monkey! 'A while back I read an interview with a birthday clown -- you know, one of those guys who gets hired to entertain a bunch of yard apes at a seven year-old's shindig? And the interviewer asked, like, "What if you're dying out there? What if the kids are hating it?" And the subject, the interviewee-guy (I honestly have no recollection who this clown was or why I was reading this interview) said, in a pinch, he could always resort to a Funny Word. When pressed for clarification, the clown revealed a fascinating (to me) trick of the birthday clown trade: apparently every year there are two or three Funny Words, which invariably crack kids up, and when things are going sour you can just blurt one out and bring the house down. But you gotta keep up-to-date, because the Funny Words mysteriously change over time, so while "booger" might have killed in 1998, 2004 demands nothing less than a "monkey."'
posted by Zed 20 years ago
  • Obvious, but: the perfect slogan. "Monkeyfilter: because 2004 demands nothing less than a monkey."
  • So, but, what's the funny words of the moment? Or is this saying that it actually is "monkey" - cos that aint ticklin' me too much right now - and I'm usually up there with the latest kid stuff (being a childish aspie & all).
  • Zed -- consider the use of the awesome "more inside" technology. Long wordy fpps push other shit off the front page, ja? *winky wink winks*
  • As the Superior Person's Book of Words states, the word "Knickers" has the power to reduce any British male to uncontrollable fits of giggles.
  • As does the name Raoul. Well, for me it does.
  • Perhaps I'm stuck in the past but, "booger" still cracks me up.
  • (being a childish aspie & all). I always read that as Ass Pie, and wonder what it means...
  • Knickers... *giggles uncontrollably*
  • I have a friend who does improv and he revealed that the three words Cheesy Monkey Pants when said together hold a lot of power. If the clown broke out that trifecta, well, I 'spect he'd be splitting the kids like that guy in Dune splitting that rock...
  • I've always enjoyed "bladder." "Pants" amuses me to no end. Pants. Pants. Pantspantspantspantspantspantspants. So does "grundle," which I'm not certain is a word..
  • GUACAMOLE!
  • Many bobans died to bring us these pants.
  • Dogburp just became my new best friend. I find your lack of pants disturbing.
  • When it comes to comedy gold, there's just no unseating "booty." Especially when used in unintentionally ambiguous or culturally different settings. My wife and I still giggle about the passage from A. S. Byatt's Possession wherein the professor has snatched a rare book or pages thereof from a library research room. Loosely quoted from memory: "Randolph bounded up the stairs, clutching his booty." Teehheee....it's still funny. :)
  • Oz: [In a French accent] I taunt you with my monkey pants.             Willow: The monkey is French?   Oz: All monkeys are French.
  • What about the mysterious and wily bulbous bouffant?
  • Birthday clown? What are these parents smoking?! None of my kids ever wanted to get within fifty feet of a clown (or any of those giant animal mascot things). I still recall the misery of a drive home after a schoolmate's birthday party -- five crying six year olds who'd been traumatized by Bubbles or Mongo or whoever the hell he was. Any adult wearing a costume to disguise his or her identity is not to be trusted, with children, your car or your jar of spare change. And (not to rain on the parade without reason), it makes no sense at all to teach young children to like and want to associate with an adult that creepy, particularly one whose face they could never identify. "Want some candy? Hey, I've got a new kitty at home! Climb in the van and we'll go see her!" shudders.
  • Clowns scare me. But I like the words "bodacious tatas" and "nincompoop". Taught my three year old granddaughter to say them, to the disgust of her mother. he he My grandchildren are my revenge for her adolescence.
  • Here's the article he wrote from that blog entry. And when doing botanical work in South America, steer clear of the monkeys: They will throw sticks at you with surprising accuracy.
  • fascinating article! It makes me really regret that I don't have any tricks to contribute. (Unless it's the trick my friend/fellow history student told me about - you can amuse yourself in archives by watching to see who else is falling asleep).
  • ...this seems apposite.