Tag Archives: Humor

Mary Poppins gets a spoonful of Google Translate!

22 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by in Humor, Movies, Music

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The Walt Disney classic film, Mary Poppins, has been translated into 20 languages. Now Google Translate makes for 21. Don’t get me wrong. Google Translate is an amazing tool! But the translation algorithms have somehow managed to develop a language all their own, that no one else quite understands.

Most everyone can recognize at least one of the Mary Poppins songs in the following medley. Many know the words by heart. But even if you’re not an MP aficionado, you’ll pick up on the oh-so unique (!) Google Translate interpretation of the lyrics.

Mary Poppins and Bert in Jolly Holiday

Compare the original lyrics to the songs (in the banner above the window) with the Google Translate version (in subtitles below), and have a jolly good time watching the brilliant video clip. In the words of Google Translate, “Oh, good night is blowing up!”

Sing it again Google Translate … or maybe not

Humor ~ the secret ingredient that keeps kids reading

16 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by in Humor, Writing

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Kids laughing and readingIf something is fun, we want to repeat the experience as much as possible. Reading is no different. It’s no surprise that for young readers, the key to keeping them reading is humor.

Marvin Terban, master of children’s wordplay and author of over 35 humorous books for young readers, explained the science of reading fun to a packed house at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Summer Conference in Los Angeles earlier this month.

Terban was a school teacher for decades, learning first-hand how to capture children’s interest 3 Latino children readingand keep them engaged. He was adamant:

“It’s no laughing matter if there’s no laughing matter.”

When children were asked what books they liked to read, this is what they said:

  • My favorite books are the ones I pick myself.
  • I like books make me laugh.

Recipes for laughter

“That’s great,” you say, “but what’s the secret to making children laugh?” You’re in luck! Terban shared a few of the ingredients from his recipe for humor:

  1. Use funny names, like Ralph Puken or Bob Booggensnot.
  2. Use funny words. Apparently the funniest words for young readers are: fart, poop, and underpants. In that order.
  3. Kids (and adults) laugh the hardest at the unexpected.
  4. The funniest scenes contain an element of sorrow.

Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler are also masters of writing comedy for young readers. Kids of all ages love their Hank Zipzer: World’s Greatest Underachiever series and Ghost Buddy series. At a past SCBWI conference, this awesome writing team shared a few of their secrets for writing comedy:

  1. Write what makes you laugh. If you think something is funny, someone else will think so too. Young readers know when humor is not authentic.
  2. Write from your own “most embarrassing” moments.
  3. You have to love the character you’re putting in comedic jeopardy, or else it comes off as being mean. You want your audience to laugh with the character, not at him.
  4. Specific details are almost always funnier than generalizations. For example: Principal Zumba has a mole. Or… Principal Zumba has a mole shaped like the statue of liberty that looks like it’s doing the hula whenever he talks.

Hank Zipzer and Ghost Buddy covers

“THE PLAYBOOK” of Positivity

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Author, Inspiration, Writing

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52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in this Game Called Life

Playbook coverYou gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own basketball rules to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? 

The Playbook by Kwame Alexander was inspired by his Newberry Medal-winning and New York Times best-selling novel The Crossover. The Playbook is filled with uplifting stories … from favorite sports figures … and 52 rules to follow both on and off the court. Kwame Alexander shares his own … stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games. All illustrated with stunning photographs by Thai Neave.

Say Yes! to life

I heard Kwame talk at Kepler’s Books, and can say straight up that The Playbook is a direct reflection Kwame. He’s a fountain of positivity. And it’s contagious. Kwame Alexander walks the talk. Throughout the evening, he shared lessons from his life on being open to possibility.

The most important rule I’ve learned is that when you are presented with an opportunity that may seem different or challenging or unknown, sometimes you’ve got to summon the courage to trust yourself and SAY YES!

That’s exactly what Kwame did when he was asked to teach students how to professionally publish a (print) book of their poetry … in one day!

Kwame Alexander reading from The CrossoverHe initially designed a two-week workshop. During that time the kids would learn how to design, edit, and layout a book. Then, negotiate with printers, define a marketing plan, and arrange for distribution. As life would have it, the school’s schedule shrunk to a one day window. One day! A seemingly impossible task, especially considering the ages of the children he’d be working with.

Yet, Kwame said Yes!

The workshop started at 7:30 in the morning, and by 4:30 that afternoon the kids had their book of poetry on the way to the printer. Kwame’s wife suggested that he take the program to other schools, and he did. He traveled around the country teaching children how to professionally publish a book of their poetry.

Don’t let other people’s NOs define you

Just as important as saying YES to possibility is not listening to other people’s NOs!. Again, Kwame is proof of the wisdom behind these words. The Crossover is a shining example.

The Crossover is the story about 12 year-old twins who are Kwane Alexander reading from The Playbookawesome on the basketball court, and how they come to realize that breaking the rules comes with serious stakes. Kwame’s game is poetry, and The Crossover is entirely in verse.

Poetry…for middle grade readers, targeted for boys no less.

The Crossover was rejected by the first publisher Kwame submitted it to. So he went back and revised the manuscript, only to get rejections from subsequent submissions to other publishers. He kept at it, revising and submitting. After five years, he’d accumulated 20 rejections.

Most people would’ve given up after the first two or three rejections. Not Kwame, because he knew the power poetry had in changing lives. In the poems he wrote to his mother and daughter, and the “alternative school” students in which poetry inspired a lifetime love of reading. Kwame believed in his work. He didn’t listen to other people’s NOs. Thank goodness.

One publisher finally said YES! The rest is history for the Newberry Award winning, New York Times best-selling novel, The Crossover.

Write Word, Wrong Place ~ The Struggle is Reel!

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in English, Humor, Writing

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three laughing childrenLet’s take a break, for a moment, from the writer’s obsession with finding just the right words to convey voice, tone, emotion, character, pacing and the like.

Yes, we writers obsess over our words. It’s part of the job description. Ernest Hemingway admitted to rewriting the ending of a A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times! When asked what the problem was, he replied, “Getting the words right.”

But let’s ditch the obsessing—for a little while—and go back to the time when we were still trying to wrap our heads around the complexities of language, and indulge in some innocent language levity. [PC: morguefile]

Language Levity

I don’t know about you, but when I was in grade school I’d use a word because it sounded right. Back then, there were only paper dictionaries (yes, paper!), and if a dictionary wasn’t handy I’d go with what sounded right.

My “sounds right” guessing was probably as hilarious as some of the following excerpts taken from actual student science exams in the 1990s:

  • The dodo is a bird that is almost decent by now.
  • The Earth makes one resolution every 24 hours.
  • To collect fumes of sulfur, hold a deacon over a flame in a test tube.
  • The process of turning steam back into water again is called conversation.
  • The three kinds of blood vessels are arteries, vanes, and caterpillars.
  • English sparrows and starlings eat the farmers grain and soil his corpse.
  • Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the organ of the species.
  • A magnet is something you find crawling over a dead cat.
  • A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene angle.
  • For head colds, use an agonizer to spray the nose.
  • For snakebites, bleek the wound and rap the victim in a blanket for shock.
  • To prevent conception, the male wears a condominium.
  • Use a turnpike on an arm or leg if there’s a bad cut to stop the bleeding.
  • Living Death is an oximormon that’s like being dead when you’re really alive.

Shocking! Similes Gone Wrong, Very Wrong

14 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in English, Humor, Writing

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A simile is a literary device used to make a comparison by showing the similarities Surprised boyof two different things. A simile draws a resemblance, in most cases using the words like or as, to create a direct comparison.

  • She swam as gracefully as a swan.
  • Confidence radiated off him like he owned the place, even though he was just a waiter.
  • Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. — William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

When used correctly, similes are a powerful descriptive tool that engages readers, encouraging the imagination. Misused, similes can be nothing short of hilarious, maybe even shocking.

High School Hilarity

laughing catIn the process of cleaning out a file cabinet, I found a folder full of “funny stuff” that floated around the Internet back in the 90’s. I wish I could take credit for compiling this list of high school’s most hilarious similes, but I can’t. I don’t even know the originator, or I’d give them credit.

Each of the following similes was taken from an actual high school essay or short story, punctuation and all. What makes them so hilarious is their innocence, not their ignorance. Enjoy!

  • The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.
  • She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.
  • The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
  • McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
  • The politician was gone  but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.
  • Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
  • John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
  • Her vocabulary was as bad as, whatever.
  • The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
  • Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie, this guy would be buried in the credits as something like “second tall man”.
  • Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers race across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
  • His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

[PC: morguefile.com]

Operation #OccupyTree

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Cats, Holiday Irreverence, Humor

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The Cat-agious Movement Sweeping the World!

Orange cat in Christmas treeYou thought your cats were just cute kitties–sweet and fluffy. Dumb animals that can’t grasp the concepts of an organized movement to reshape society. That they couldn’t instigate their own potent paradigm of social action based on contagious memes.

That there was no way they could comprehend the construct of a global revolution that evolved as a result of the Occupy Wall Street protest. That they weren’t paying attention.

Cat-agorically WRONG. You have no idea.

While protesters occupied Wall Street and you were glued to the TV, arguing with neighbors and Gray cat toppling over Christmas treecoworkers, and perhaps organizing an Occupy protest in your community…

A fatally feline hairball of increasingly sophisticated and dynamic change was purrr-posely set in motion.

Cats around the world were plotting their own protest to end hunger for felines around the world.

A collaboration of such magnitude that it would transform the existing social order for the benefit of all cat-kind. Forever. Stealth and cunning, they waited for the perfect cat-a-clysmic moment to pounce…

CatXmasTree1

The Brazen Brains Behind #OccupyTree

Evidence of the claw-dacious overthrow is flooding in. Grinch, move over! Cats everywhere are commandeering Christmas, demanding food and adequate shelter for everyone in their feline family around the globe.

“WHO is responsible for this ferocious feline movement?” authorities are asking.

  • Sources report that the cat-tankerous Twitter sensation @CatFoodBreath has shamelessly tweeted about #OccupyTree since 2011, and is thought to be the mastermind behind the entire movement.
  • Christmas Trees at the Happiest Place on Earth isn’t even safe. @DisneylandCats unabashedly tweets up their #OccupyTree victories throughout the Magic Kingdom.
  • And then there is Grumpy Cat. She’s used her fame to fan the flame of the feline revolt with her @RealGrumpyCat tweets to #EndWetFoodHunger.

Four Paws in Favor of Ending Feline Famine

As I’m sure you’ve realized, this post is pure parody. However, feline famine is very real. In the spirit of the holidays, here’s what you can bring much-needed comfort to a few furry forgotten souls:

  • Buy extra cat food next time you’re at the store, and drop it off at your local animal shelter.
  • If there is someone in your community who cares for feral cats, buy extra cat food and give it to them. Your donation is a tremendous benefit to the caregiver as well as the cats under their care.
  • Donate to a local animal rescue organization. The animal shelter in your area can provide you with a list of rescue organizations and how to get in touch with them.

As Charles Chaplin once said:

Who feeds a hungry animal feeds his own soul

 

REAL Cat Burglars Steal Dogs’ Beds

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Animals, Cats, Dogs, Funny Videos, Humor

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Cats that Steal Dogs’ Beds

Last week I ranted did a post about the unfairness of the “scary cat” stereotype society has heaped on felines. Basically accusing cats of being villains. Or worse, pure evil.

Well … cough, cough … it appears this stereotype may– in some part — have been earned, much as I hate to admit it.

The following documentary is harsh, if not heartless. These felines shamelessly steal dogs’ beds, and then brazenly flaunt the stolen entitlement. But true to the Underdog characters we love, some canines fight back. It’s hilarious to see the lengths that some dogs go to to reclaim their prized cushions of comfort.

Cats stealing dogs' beds

“Comedy Comes From the Heart” & Other Tips From the Fabulously Funny

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Fiction, Humor, SCBWI, Writing

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A Workshop with Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

This year’s SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles (August 1-5) was the ultimate blend of inspiration, guidance, and professional advice for children’s authors and illustrators. All the workshops were amazing, but one was particularly memorable for its advice and inspiration: Comedy Comes from the Heart, with Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver.

  • Henry Winkler is an actor, producer and director, who is best known for his role as “the Fonz” in the 1970’s television series “Happy Days”. Though he is quick to tell you that he’s most proud of writing books for young readers.
  • Lin Oliver is the co-founder of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, a long-time television writer, and a well published children’s author.

LinOliver_HenryWinkler_LA13SCBWI

Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver are two of the funniest people on the planet. Put them together in the same room and it’s no wonder things spiral virally into the hilarious.

This dynamic duo teamed up to write 17 books in the Hank Zipzer: World’s Greatest Underachiever series, and have completed four books in the Ghost Buddy series. They are both are hilarious, and they know how to translate that humor onto the written page. You can read my review of Ghost Buddy ~ Zero to Hero here.
Hank Zipzer and Ghost Buddy covers

The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Comedy

Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver earned their Fabulously Funny street creds on the page as well as the screen. They know what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to comedy. Here are some of the comedic secrets they shared with us:

  1. Write what makes you laugh. If you think something is funny, someone else will think so too.
  2. Write what you know is true. Don’t try to write what you think will be funny for a particular audience. Young readers know when humor is not authentic.
  3. There are different types of humor, such as character humor, physical humor, observational humor. Write the type of humor that works for you, what you think is funny.
  4. What makes you laugh the most, also makes you cry the most. Good comedy always has a cringe-worthy (pathos) moment.
  5. Write from your own experience. Mine your own life for “most embarrassing” moments.
  6. You have to love the character you’re putting in comedic jeopardy, or else it comes off as being mean. You want your audience to laugh with the character, not at him.
  7. Good comedy must have tension, just like good drama.
  8. Specific details are almost always funnier than generalizations. For example: Principal Zumba has a mole. Or… Principal Zumba has a mole shaped like the statue of liberty that looks like it’s doing the hula whenever he talks.
  9. Don’t edit yourself on the first draft. Go with your first impulses. Craft the humor afterward.
  10. Use improv to get into the character’s voice. Henry Winkler showed us how a slouch and a tilt of the head, brought out “the Fonz” in his voice.
  11. Titles are very important to young readers. Take the time to craft a terrific title.
  12. “Trying” to be funny is a formula for death. Write down 25 things that made you laugh, then analyze each instance for the elements that made it funny.

Henry Winkler embellishes an explanation for the audience [photos by moi]…

Henry Winkler acts out advice to writers

The following advice from Henry Winkler was particularly inspiring:

There’s many ways to do things. You have to be courageous enough to do things your way.

For information on some of the other amazing workshops at the LA13 SCBWI Summer Conference, you can read the official SCBWI blog.

6th YAppiest Giveaway! “The Infects” by Sean Beaudoin

30 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Book Reviews, Humor, monsters, YAppiest, Young Adult, Zombies

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17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

YAppiest Day on Earth icon

If you couldn’t make The YAppiest Day on Earth, never fear! The YAppiness keeps rolling with epic read giveaways by each of the 17 authors.

This is the 6th YAppiest Giveaway! For a chance to win, see “Here’s How”. For a complete list of upcoming giveaways, go here.

“The Infects” by Sean Beaudoin

The Infects, by Sean BeaudoinThe Zombie Apocalypse is here. Just ask Nero…

Life’s been rough on seventeen-year-old Nero. His mother left him and his younger sister with his unemployed father, who insists that Nero pay rent. Hence his night job at the chicken factory, while trying to finish high school during the day. Then there’s the direct-dialog feed from The Rock (yes, that Rock) in his head, which doesn’t help his self-esteem. No wonder he can’t bring himself to ask Petal–the girl of his dreams–out.

Things can’t get much worse, or so Nero thinks, until a freak accident at the factory lands him on an Inward Trek wilderness outing with a bus load of other juvenile delinquents. Nero sinks even lower when he sees Petal on the girls’ juvy bus heading for the same patch of wilderness, because he knows it’s because of what he did. Nero’s nightmare turns into the real deal on their first night at camp, when his counselors turn into the flesh-eating walking-dead, and a few of his fellow inmates become late night snacks.

Zombies. Sure, Nero’s seen all the movies. But it takes witnessing the gory carnage up close to process the reality. Blood spurts and flesh flies as the survivors run into the woods, with a horde of not-so-shambling monsters on their tails.

Nero quickly realizes that these zombies are faster than the ones in the old movies, and can reason too. Thinking zombies are never a good thing. Drawing from their horror-flick savvy, Nero and his fellow survivors develop a list of Zombie Rules. Unfortunately, it takes more than zombattitude to keep ahead of the baddass biters.

Bloody Funny, with an Ending You Won’t See Coming

I was never a big zombie fan until NOW! The Infects won me over, with its quirky, irreverent characters slinging wickedly funny dialog as fast as the furious plot turns. In addition to the clever tongue-in-cheek dark humor, The Infects delivers characters we can’t help but care about and root for.

My problem with the old-school zombies is that they’re dumb as dirt, slow as slime, and about as cohesive. Oh, and they lack that certain je ne sais quois the other classic monsters have. Old-school zombies are all moaning and groaning rotting flesh, no smart surprises or witty repartee.

The Infects changes all that, taking a traditional horror story, turning it on its head, then spinning it around just for kicks. As with any horror story worth its claim to the genre, there’s plenty of blood and gore. But The Infects dishes it up with such over-the-top style, that you half expect Quentin Tarantino to step into the picture. Similar to Tarantino’s filmatic style, The Infects succeeds in morphing a standard genre to create a new one. Hollywood, are you listening?

The Rock’s unsolicited commentary in Nero’s head is another genre-bender example that is flat-out hilarious. Better still …  there’s an honest payoff for The Rock in the end. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say without risking a serious spoiler. And you would hate me if I ruined the ending for you. It’s that good.

You’ll have to settle for this snippet from Goodreads:

…a savvy tale that’s a delight to read—whether you’re a rabid zombie fan or freshly bitten.

I’m the second one. Freshly bitten, and hungry for more. The jury’s still out on whether there will be a sequel, but I’m hoping so.

Want to win an Author Signed Copy?

For this riotously awesome book, I have a special treat for one lucky winner… An author signed copy of The Infects!

Sean Beaudoin autograph "The Infects"

Here’s how to win…

NOTE: The FREE giveaway of a copy of this book is open to residents of the United States and Canada only, due to shipping costs. My sincere apologies.

  1. Leave a comment on this blog by midnight, July 7th (1 entry).
  2. Tweet about this giveaway, including #yappiest in your tweet (1 entry).

I’ll tally the entries and choose a winner at random, then announce it on this blog on Wednesday July 10th. Good luck!

Stay tuned for more YAppiests Giveaways!

Book Covers for Giveaways

“I Love Lucy” and the Social Media Treadmill

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Humor, Social Media

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Remembering the “ME” in Social MEdia

If you blog long enough and are active on Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, and insert-social-media-platforms-here, while still trying to meet your own writing goals, and balance the demands of a full-time job, family, or both… You’re bound to reach a point when the more you do seems to accomplish less and less. Watch for it, because it’s sneaky. And it’s a sure sign of impending burnout.

Burnout can happen to the best. But only if we let it.

Elizabeth S. Craig, wrote a wonderful post (on her Mystery Writing is Murder blog)  titled, Doing What We Can. In another post she offers 7 Tips for Controlling Social Media Time.

Lucy and the Chocolate FactoryI’ve found another way to keep the social media craziness in perspective, though. Laugh about it. Nothing provides a better reality check than finding the humor in a stressful situation.

The old adage, “laughter is the best medicine” is true. It worked for Norman Cousins (as described in his book, Anatomy of an Illness) and I’ve found that it works for me too.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve done my share of stressing over “doing more” on social media. But the other week I finally realized the frame of mind all that stressing put me in, and it looked a lot like Lucy in the chocolate factory … except without the calories or the silly hats!

So today I invite you to sit back and laugh, chortle, giggle, snicker, and outright guffaw with me at the absurdity of stressing over the social media treadmill by watching the following clip…

Lucy and the Chocolate Factory

What helps you to cope with social media overload?

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