McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Plato's Allegory of the Cave, as Explained by Popeye to Bluto.
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POPEYE: I'm gonna explain ta yer that we's is either dumb or not so dumb, accordin' ta how ya figger out this allergorter. See, there's fellers livin' in a cave and they canst sees nobody or nothin'. They's been there since they were little infinks and they's got their arms and legs all locked up. An' they canst move their necks, neither. So all they can sees is some shadders of gentlesmen what's comin' from a fire behind their backs. Garshk, it's like bein' in a puppet-show circus.
BLUTO: Argerghirrnama!
POPEYE: And the shadders looks like they're carryin' animules an' all kinds a' veskels an' implemenks ...
BLUTO: Whaddyagarghhhhh!
POPEYE: An' they're talking about these shadders and hearing the hollerin' that the gentlesmen are makin' an' they're givin' names to all these differn't apparatusks.
BLUTO: Whodayathinkyawadawagha?
POPEYE: If'n one o' these here fellers gets loose 'n' turns his neck, he gets a sharp pain an' the light makes him squink. He's gonner think the shadders are real and the fellers what are makin' the shadders are imposkers.
BLUTO: Why I oughta hmemhmhmhm ...
POPEYE: The loose feller wants ta know the genuine arcticle, an' he's gonner get himself outter these chains an' he's gonner look straight up in the sun, an' he's gonner be as blind as a mouske. But when he gets accustomated to the sun an' starts ta see things like they really is he's gonner get inter lots o' troubles wit' his old mates, what are still in the cave.
BLUTO: Oh? Sosezaweegahumnum ...
POPEYE: Aye—it's like when you sees a shape that's looks nice, like Olive Oyl's head, an' you thinks it's a perfeck circle, but it ain't, coz it's got things like ears and noses and buns stickin' out the sides; you kinz only sees a perfeck circle if you sees the forms o' things. An' ya sees the forms o' things wit yer mind's eye, instead of yer regler one eye.
BLUTO: Icosahedronsrrrrrrrrrrrrrr?
POPEYE: So when this enlightened-up feller comes back to the dark, he's gonner try to tell 'em others about the things he saw that ain't shadders an they's gonner take him for a looney. An' if'n he takes one o' his mates from the cave and brings him up to the light, the rest of 'em are gonner sees that they both comes back loonified.
BLUTO: You don't say?
POPEYE: So they's gonner end up murderizin' 'em. That's why the smarter fellers are gonna have a hard time wit' the eleckshuns. This here's a political allergorter.
BLUTO: Ara!
5:45 AM | Labels: humor, mcsweeneys | 0 Comments
McSweeney's: Lit 101 Class in Three Lines or Less
BY BEN JOSEPH
1984
WINSTON: Don't tell the Party, but sex is way better than totalitarianism.
EVERYONE: Surprise! We're the Party.
WINSTON: Oh, rats.
The Lion, the Witchand the Wardrobe
C.S. LEWIS: Finally, a utopia ruled by children and populated by talking animals.
THE WITCH: Hi, I'm a sexually mature woman of power and confidence.
C.S. LEWIS: Ah! Kill it, lion Jesus!
Paradise Lost
ADAM: Paradise has arbitrary dietary restrictions?
DEVIL: They're really more like guidelines.
GOD: Incorrect.
Moby-Dick
ISHMAEL: I'm existential.
AHAB: Really? Try vengeance.
ISHMAEL: I dig this dynamic. Can we drag it out for 600 pages?
The Great Gatsby
NICK: I love being rich and white.
GATSBY: Me, too, but I'd kill for the love of a woman.
DAISY: We can work with that.
Oliver Twist
OLIVER: Poverty ain't so bad, what with all the Cockney accents and charming musical interludes.
ME: Thanks to movies, no books were read in the passing of this class.
PROFESSOR WATERMAN: You're half right.
10:11 AM | Labels: humor, literature, mcsweeneys | 0 Comments
McSweeney's: Amazon.com's Recommendation Algorithm Applied to Life Events
BY MARIBETH MOONEY
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Customers who just got fired also had this happen:
The commencement of a vigorous job search
An abundance of time to travel
An unappreciated talent for heavy drinking and sleeping until noon
The stealing of condiments and toilet paper from the neighborhood diner
What do customers ultimately do after this experience?
Make appointments with headhunters
Renew their passports
Get out of their pajamas before 9 p.m.
Community service due to incriminating surveillance footage
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Customers who had just broken up with their boyfriends also had this happen:
A discovery of newfound freedom
An appreciation for having loved and lost
An intense desire for ice cream, vodka, and revenge
A charge of stalking and a subsequent warrant for their arrest
What do customers ultimately do after this experience?
Go out and have fun with girlfriends
Take up a new hobby
A series of 12-step programs
One to three with good behavior
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Customers who had just been asked to be bridesmaids for the ninth time also had this happen:
A deepening of their friendship bond
A belief that a soulmate really does exist for all
A sudden fear of harming oneself and others
An overnight stay for psychiatric evaluation
What do customers ultimately do after this experience?
Excitedly plan a shower and a bachelorette party
Try on dresses and shoes
Two milligrams of Xanax twice a day
Shun sharp objects, line-dancing, and calligraphers
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11:22 AM | Labels: humor, mcsweeneys | 0 Comments
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: None of My Science Pinatas Are Appropriate For Children
Hydrochloric-Acid-Filled Piñatas
Good: Have the sturdy construction required to ensure no unintended leakage of contents.
Bad: Possible severe burning. Brings the party down.
2.
Endangered-Animal Piñatas
Good: Kids love animals. High potential for very cute-looking piñatas, like baby seals, for instance.
Bad: Beating with a stick sort of sends the wrong message.
3.
Particle-Accelerator Piñatas
Good: Built full-scale and often several miles in dimension. Therefore, young children find them easy to hit.
Bad: Each one worth several billion dollars. Parents generally not keen on damaging them.
4.
Smallpox (Variola major) Piñatas
Good: Cool virus shape.
Bad: Highly contagious and high mortality rate. Would also bring party down—as well as everyone else within a 100-mile radius.
5.
Infinity-Symbol Piñatas
Good: Possibly a way to address the often reported decline of mathematics education.
Bad: Thinking about infinity makes my head hurt. Now imagine having to explain it to a child over and over again.
6.
Piñatas in the Shape of the USA and Filled
Good: Sort of work as a metaphor for the United States' role in the global-warming crisis.
Bad: Unfortunately, the irony would be totally wasted on a 5-year-old.
2:20 PM | Labels: humor, mcsweeneys | 0 Comments
Prometheus Keeps A Diary
Day 1What an awful day. Chained to a rock, my liver ripped out and eaten by an eagle, and I just bit my tongue! That's gonna be a canker sore for sure. But I know I did the right thing. Those poor people needed fire in the worst way. Besides, how long can Zeus hold a grudge?
read more digg story
6:34 PM | Labels: mcsweeneys, snicker | 0 Comments
The OFFICIAL Dilbert Widget
- dogs
- rescue
- pets
- NYT
- humor
- snicker
- books
- poodles
- reading
- NPR
- animals
- UTube
- horse racing
- poetry
- puppy mills
- video
- Mutts
- cruelty
- mcsweeneys
- Garrison Keillor
- abuse
- discovery channel
- horses
- philosophy
- vick
- candidates
- cars
- cats
- depression
- discovery news
- eight belles
- minnesota vikings
- photos
- television
- wikihow
- writer's almanac
- National Geographic
- Robert Frost
- The Old Scout
- Unitarians
- baby
- best friends
- coffee
- cute
- domestic abuse
- english
- grammar
- jesse bering
- kenechi udeze
- memory
- morality
- obesity
- pit bulls
- politics
- quirky little things
- rent
- sydney morning herald
- the onion
- women
- AFV
- Conditions and Diseases
- Dog
- John Grat
- Michael Smerconish
- Minnesota
- PETA
- Pain Management
- Poodle
- Rescues and Shelters
- Toy Poodle
- Valentine's Day
- Virtual reality
- accident
- aging
- anger
- animal rights activists
- animal testing
- animal welfare groups
- ayn rand
- ball state university
- barbaro
- bats
- best friend
- bird
- birds
- blogger
- blogs
- bulwer lytton
- campaign
- camping
- cancer
- canine horizons
- cartoon
- cat people
- cell phones
- child
- clock
- clowns
- communication
- companionship
- deer
- digital
- dip
- dog fighting
- dog people
- duluth news tribune
- editing
- edmonton sun
- election
- elephants
- employees
- employers
- euthanasia
- exploitation
- extinct
- fiction contest
- football
- friends
- gadgets
- games
- gastric bypass
- global warming
- grooming
- huh?
- humane nation
- ikramuddin
- insurance
- intelligence
- iris dement
- jay leeming
- jim nayder
- lancaster online
- laura erickson
- library
- literature
- loneliness
- lost
- michael vick
- miss bea
- morning
- nbc news
- npr music
- old age
- pandas
- people
- petfinder
- philadelphia enquirer
- photo contests
- photography
- photoshop
- picket fence poodle rescue
- pogue's posts
- polar bear
- ponydoodles
- protection
- puppies
- radio
- relationships
- romance
- romantic
- rosalie
- safety
- save
- seattle post-intelligencer
- seinfeld
- slate.com
- sleep
- soldier
- soul
- speaking
- spelling
- sport
- squirrels
- steampunk
- stephen king
- surgery
- technology
- think
- transplants
- trauma
- veterinarians
- virtual pets
- voting
- warnings
- wayne pacelle
- weight loss
- wind turbines
- work