The President's Speech

Recently, Obama held the White House Correspondence Dinner.  His speech was covered by CSPAN and aired for the people to see.


Now, regardless of your position on Obama, for those who appreciate humor, this video is priceless.  I love that people can not only make fun of themselves to lighten the mood yet still address true issues at hand.  He even roasted Donald Trump for a bit, which, if you have been seriously out of the loop, is actually a potential GOP candidate.  Yikes.  But still, enjoy the video.  It should give you a good laugh.

Stuff Students Say

Sometimes, part of what makes my day and what makes my job awesome is the students.  Those days are fun because they make me laugh, and I love laughing.


Today's incident happened on the way out of school.  I was fixing my shoulder bag and the outside handle hung loosely off my shoulder.  I was walking through the doorway and the handle of the door caught my bad, yanking me back about two feet.  Obviously, I was startled.  I hadn't expected to be thrown backwards, and so I looked at the door in confusion and unhooked myself.  


I started walking forward again and I heard one of my students, who was walking behind me, say, "That would be a door, Ms. Caprini."


Aaaaah, the blossoming sarcasm of an eighth grader.  And it was my favorite type, very subtle and almost insulting if you didn't know better.  It was the perfect zinger, and I laughed when he said it.  Hey, I never said I was coordinated.

"Saying AYO, Yo No Puedo"

Okay, if that title makes any sense to you whatsoever, congratulations, you have not only heard of the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, but you are also familiar with the plethora of parody videos going viral on You Tube.  My students have particularly found a liking for the ones that quote the following, although you should probably know the real lyrics first.  


Real lyrics:  "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying AYO gotta let go"


Some of the top parodies as quoted by students:
"I throw my sandwich in the air sometimes, saying AYO, forgot the mayo"
"I throw my homework in the air sometimes, saying AYO I'll take the zero"
"I throw my xbox in the air sometimes, saying AYO, I'll play Nintendo"
"I throw my Call-4 in the air sometimes, saying AYO, I'll play Halo"
"I throw my Skittles in the air sometimes, saying AYO, taste the rainbow"


Love them!  Here is one video specifically that highlights the above phrases.  Is it the one my students are quoting?  Not per se, but it has the same lines.  


And hey, if they can come up with their own why can't we?  Ergo, my Spanish contribution:  "Tiro tarea en el aire yo digo AYO, yo no puedo".  

Adult Swim My Funny Bone

Age can be deceiving.  My age might say twenty-something, but some days I feel like I have the mentality of a teenager.  I find the stupidest and weirdest things funny.  Granted, I also feel like if you can't find things in life funny, then, well, life will be way too painfully serious.  My goal is to laugh at least once a day, although if my daily quota were only one, then I'd have some serious re-goaling to do.  Usually, I laugh plenty.


Weekends help.  Friends help.  Friends showing me funny videos on the weekends = double help.  This is why God invented Adult Swim - for all us "old folk" who still secretly love cartoons and stupid things just as much as we did when we were seven.  Whilst sifting through mountains of videos I have giddily narrowed it down to two:  The Giraffe in Quicksand and The Gummy Bear, which is also available in slow motion.  Warning:  F-word present....but then again, why wouldn't it be?  Adult humor.  Duh.  Still.  Very Funny.  (I now feel like TBS.  Dear TBS, I would like a job.  I can say "Very Funny" on your commercials. Thanks.)


Enjoy. Laugh out loud.  Watch them again . . . and again . . . and ...uhem... I mean, um, right.  Watch them.  Share with friends.  Make someone else's weekend.  :-)

Howie Mandel before he was famous

Hello!  Who loves comedy? I do!!  Who loves Howie Mandel?  I DO!!!!  I love that he is OCD, is a total germaphobe, and is still so funny and loveable!  And do you know why he is so funny?  His career started prior to Deal or No Deal.  He's been part of Sesame Street, Bobby's World, and then his own comedy sketch.  


Howie Mandel Stand Up <---- Watch me!!


And see a whole new side of Howie!  Congrats Howie.  Can I shake your hand???

Who misses "Who's Line"?

Late night TV.  It's a beautiful thing.  I found myself awake around 11pm, surfing the channels, and I also found on the Family channel (51 in the suburbs of Chicago) a show I haven't seen in years:  "Who's Line is it Anyways?"


Do you remember that show?  Wayne Brady and his lyrical genius, Drew Carey steering the direction of the show from behind his desk, and Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie forming the foundations for years of laughter.  Last night's episode included a weatherman's trip to Hell, Songs of the Teacher, an Ode to Howard (an audience member) in the style of the Village People, subtitles to a Vietnamese movie called "The Rice Paddy", and one-liners of "Things you can say about food that you can't say to your girlfriend".  Priceless.


I remember watching that show with my family growing up and laughing for the entire hour. I don't know how Wayne and Ryan and Colin can keep a straight face.  I took 2 improv classes at Second City and, aside from good comedic Improv being extremely hard, it is VERY hard to keep a straight face when the one liners that come back at you are really good.  I just wish the show was still on tv!  I would watch it over some of the reality shows on nowadays.  I think the world could use a lot more comedy!


So get your friends together, test out your own improv skills, and never tell your girlfriend "mm, the other one was better."  Happy laughing!!

Movie nights

Movie nights.  Middle of the week.  Spur of the moment because plans fall through.  These nights are the best because they come as a true treat, and allow you the privilege of enjoying your evening instead of running around trying to check every last thing off your to do list.

The best kind of movies?  Comedies.
Tonight's current channel?  HBO.
HBO movie?  Role Models.

Role Models is quite the new age cameo.  The king of the mystical realm in Role Models was also the gay asian man in The Hangover.  The owner of the Sturdy Wings Big/Little program has also been in 40 Year Old Virgin and Best in Show.  Stifler from American Pie came back to play one Wheeler, and Paul Rudd, who was in movies like I Love You, Man, 40 Year Old Virgin, and Anchorman, plays Danny.  This killer cast leaves you laughing at every turn because of awkward situations coupled with inappropriate scenarios and commentary . . . . like Wheeler waking up buck-naked in the woods, a 8 or 9  year old child saying "fuck" and "boobies" almost every other word . . . and the program director can never form a fully cohesive sentence.

Perfect Tuesday night movie.