SDMB Funniest Poster - A Contest

[Hamlet]

I was going to propose this earlier, but some concerns over the "SDMB awards" ideas gave me pause. However, I thought it was a good idea, to have a one-time (perhaps more) contest to see who is the funniest doper (of the month). The contest would be completely for fun, with no serious value attached. And it would create, hopefully, one damn funny thread. However, I think it should be a blind test with some sort of comparability between posts. With those things in mine, here's my plan:

Any Doper who wishes to participate would email me. After the deadline passes, we would open it up to other Dopers to get a topic for all participants to write about. I'm thinking the topic could be anything, but it might be best if it is just a two word phrase, with an adjective and a noun. Like "stinky cheese." All participants would then have 48 hours to write up a humorous post limited to, say 1,000 words or less, related to the topic. They would email the posts to me, and I would post them here. Then we open it up for voting among all Dopers as to which post was the most amusing.

Nobody would know which post belongs to which Doper, and I would hope all participants would avoid mentioning it. They would all have the same amount time, the same topic, and a limit on the words, so it would be fair. Think of it as an Iron Chef for humorous writing.

Now, I would love to see Fenris, Scylla, and Rue DeDay participate (if they have the cojones), but I'd also want anybody else to feel like they can participate too.

So, what do you think Dopers? Is this a good idea? Any suggestions to the rules? Any other ideas? Any nominations for participants for me to email?

[Yo La Tengo]

Sounds good to me. I'd be glad to judge, but would rather not be one of the nominees. There's just too much competition and I would be humiliated when I lost...

[The Mermaid]

Sounds good in theory but a contest like this will be difficult to pull off without somebody getting in a snit. Remember it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.


(you may consider this post my official submission in your "so subtle as to be almost nonexistant" category)

[dalovindj]

Sounds cool. I think you should wait till you have at least 10 participants before giving the first topic. May I reccomend topics that don't refer to bodily functions or foul odors - Improv in general (written improv in this case) is so much better when you don't go for the obvious toilet level topics.

Will it be the first person to get a certain amount of votes or whoever has the largeest percentage of votes within a certain time?

This could get fun with the blind aspect. People will probably try to figure out who is writing what, which allows the writers to try and spoof(e) each other to misdirect the voters.

What if the topic is in the form of the word that the piece has to begin with and the word it must end with. Like: "Elongated" must be the first word and "Beach" must be the last word. I think the initial words don't have to be very sensational for a good writer to make it really funny. Making ordinary things funny is the real trick.

I would also change the title from "Funniest Poster" to something a little more in reference to the particular contest. Such a title would have to take in a posters whole body of work on the boards, and this is a once a month thing. Maybe you could pick something unassuming like . . . the winner gets crowned "God of the Multiverse - Master of all that exists, has existed or ever will exist". Yeah, that's better.

Do you need belt sizes in the e-mail?

DaLovin' Dj

[Francesca]

To be honest, I'm not a fan of the idea.

The thing about judging a "funniness" contest is that you know they're trying really hard to make you laugh. That, for me, can make it less funny. You're actively seeking the humour, which means that subtle jokes don't work as well and obvious jokes smack you in the face.

And I imagine the pressure on the contestants would make humourous writing really hard. Imagine if you had someone pointing at you saying "make me laugh"... you'd find it hard to come up with anything. Or at least I would. I know the contestants would be volunteers, but I doubt these are the conditions under which they'd produce their best material.

Making the entries anonymous is a good idea, but I'm afraid some people have very distinctive writing styles. I (and a number of other people I can imagine) could spot a Rue post at 500 yards, for example. Anonymity out the window.

Also, I'd change it from "funniest poster" to "funniest comic piece" - that way it's less of a popularity contest.

Maybe I'm a fuddy-duddy. Best of luck.

[DAVEW0071]

I disagree with Francesca, at least in theory. I write a humor column (www.ravingsfromdave.com), and people read it expecting to laugh. I have a self-imposed weekly deadline, and I write it expecting to make people laugh. Sometimes I go for a little subtlety, sometimes for the broad laugh. It depends on how I want to treat my topic.

Any poster who doesn't think s/he is up to the challenge of either writing a humorous essay on a given topic or of not getting in a snit about not being chosen funniest shouldn't participate. Let's all be adult about this, okay? It's all for shits and giggles anyway.

The only thing I would change would be the 48 hour rule. A deadline is fine, but 48 hours seems rather rushed for a 1,000 word essay.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

I like the idea better with Fran's idea of making it "Funniest Comic Piece."

Still, humor is so subjective, I can't imagine us reaching any sort of consensus. Some of the funniest things I've read here have been the sardonic one-line zingers, which are hard to duplicate in a contest.

If you go forward with this, I'd like to see lieu participate. He's damned funny. I know there are yet others who are hilarious but who don't put themselves out there are writers of comic pieces.

[Boyo Jim]

I would like to participate. I have a suggestion as to subject matter. We all be asked to respond to a genuine news article.

How do we choose which one? Choose 6 newspapers/magazines, roll a die to pick one, and have us respond to the lead story in the next. That way, even the person picking the magazine won't know what it will be.

Maybe start with a larger pool of sources, and throw in some more dice, to randomize it further.

Suggestions for the pool: Guns and Ammo, Modern Brides, Vogue, US News & World Reports, People, JAMA, Soldier of Fortune, Scientific American.

[Boyo Jim]

That should have read, "lead story in the next issue".

[greenlady]

I like! I like!

I'll norminate Miller and will second lieu's nomination.

[imthjckaz]

I'd participate, but that French judge concerns me.

[dalovindj]

Sounds good in theory but a contest like this will be difficult to pull off without somebody getting in a snit.

Why let people who would act petty ruin a fun time? I am a long time fan of something called "Games". "Games" usually have a "Winner". When I play a "Game" I ususally hope to "Win". And if I don't, I practice and play harder next time. Otherwise I can gain the title "Sore Loser". I picked all this stuff up in, oh, I think it was kindergarten. Let's not act like silly kids about this.

It's a very cool idea. It's not just a popularity contest, it's a game in which creativity and content decide whether you are the winner. It will take skill for sure, and some may fall short. An intelligent doper will only grow stronger from the experience. I've partaken in Poetry contests before as well as anagram and palindrome contests. The palindrome contest was for booze. Quite fitting. As a matter of fact, it brings up the issue of "What does the winner get?". Something creative. . . Whatever happened to those underwear that were traveling around the country?

Still, humor is so subjective, I can't imagine us reaching any sort of consensus. Some of the funniest things I've read here have been the sardonic one-line zingers, which are hard to duplicate in a contest.

Ahhh, but this is a good thing!!! It is 1000 words or less!!! Imagine 2 sentences being funnier than another's laborious 1000 word essay!!

Oh the drama!!!

The daring it would take to win with a few well chosen words while others get excessively verbose!!!

The shame that would come if such an attempt were to fail!!!

We definately need to figure out how the voting works though. Time limit? A week after they are posted maybe?

Making the entries anonymous is a good idea, but I'm afraid some people have very distinctive writing styles. I (and a number of other people I can imagine) could spot a Rue post at 500 yards, for example. Anonymity out the window.

You think? I think I may be able to trick someone into thinking I'm a poster I'm not. In the parody of these poster's style I gain another level of humor (of course it does me no good because it would not be revealed until after the vote - but I'm in it for the art not the win). I think we could have some side action bets on which essays belong to which doper! This is gonna be fun!

DaLovin' Dj

[Solomon7t]

I like this idea but I think humor is best when your not expecting it. I think the contest should be based on who has written the funniest posts in since the return of the board. That way people arent thinking 'Ok this is solomon7t's joke post, lets critique it like a mofo.' Dopers should nominate threads written by other dopers based on their merits in the field of teh funny. You all dont have to do this contest this way but its my opinion that this is the best way of finding teh funny mastar.

[dalovindj]

Deciding who is the funniest poster is a whole diffrent animal (requiring you to read the body of work of each potential poster) than a specific topic and 1 specific post per contestant. It is a hell of alot easier to judge and allows for multiple games or "rounds" which allows the title to change hands (monthly?).

I like it the way it is offered in the OP (with a title change). I just wonder how excactly the voting is going to work . . .

::taps foot impatiently::

DaLovin' Dj

[robgruver]

I would enjoy greatly writing an original comedic piece for a contest. Its a wonderful idea, and I would be happy to participate.

[Hamlet]

First, a huge thank you to dalovindj for first suggesting a change in title, and another thank you to Francesca for helping supply its new name:

Best Comic Piece (Until the Next One Comes Along).

I agree with sentiment that the subtle one-liner posts are sometimes the most funny things I've read on the board. But, as dj pointed out, that will be part of the interesting fun for the contestants. (Here's my two favorites: 1)"You think that's bad. My fun-sized twix knocked up my girlfriend and stole all the money out of my dresser drawer." and 2) "Jane Eyre: I did her.")
However, this contest is now for "Best Comic Piece (Until the Next One Comes Along)."

I'm thinking of getting this started later this week, so I can get a few emails out to some of the nominees (or normanees if you like). One point that Yo La Tengo brought out, is that I would like this to be open for judgment by EVERYONE. One of the problems expressed in earlier threads, was who was going to be judging. My feeling is that we should have a submission deadline, AND a judging deadline. Whoever posts or emails a judgment gets counted, and at the end, plurality wins. I really hope this won't turn into a popularity contest, hence the blind posting.

Anyone interested in participating, please shoot me an email. I like the idea of getting 10 people, but that would be the upper limit, I think. Also, please continue to let me know of any new ideas, suggestions, or nominations you would like to make. I'm a little stuck on what to offer the winner, so any suggestions would be nice. Thanks Again.

[Hamlet]

I just sent out a round of emails to those who were nominated, either here, or to me in email. Hopefully we'll have some idea soon, but there are already a few interested. We may have to go over the 10, but who knows.

If anyone else wants to participate, wants to make a nomination, or has any suggestions (especially as to picking a topic or what the winner gets), please feel free to put it here. Thanks again.

[bouv]

I'd like to participate, but if it's too late and/or there's a large number of people already participating, I'll happily wait until next time...

[bouv]

Ooh! I have an idea!

First off, that one about the random article from a periodical is cool, I like that. But I think that a rotating theme would also be cool. Say, respond to an article for round 1, use a set of words for round 2, maybe just a general broad topic, like "shoes" for round 3. You get the idea. I'm not sure if it would work, I'd just thought I'd throw it out there.

Also, is we use the periodical idea. How would the participants get the articles? Not all periodicals have online versions of the articles, and having to type out the entire article is not only tedious, but in violation of copyright laws.

[JBERGES]

I know I'm way out of my league here with some of these SDMB comic geniuses...but i'd love to take part in this. Am I too late?

[Boyo Jim]

Originally posted by bouv
Ooh! I have an idea!

First off, that one about the random article from a periodical is cool, I like that. But I think that a rotating theme would also be cool. Say, respond to an article for round 1, use a set of words for round 2, maybe just a general broad topic, like "shoes" for round 3. You get the idea. I'm not sure if it would work, I'd just thought I'd throw it out there.

Also, is we use the periodical idea. How would the participants get the articles? Not all periodicals have online versions of the articles, and having to type out the entire article is not only tedious, but in violation of copyright laws.

Then limit it to online free periodicals. There's scads of them. I think responding to a brief phrase like "stinky cheese" is too limiting. As funny as many responses will be, I don't want to read 10,000 words about it. Responding to a larger journalistic text allows so much more fun. We could analyse the social content, question the motives of the the characters, assault the intelligence of the writer, etc. Or just react to the headline! It allows for many more completely different approaches by writers.

[Crunchy Frog]

Originally posted by The Mermaid
Sounds good in theory but a contest like this will be difficult to pull off without somebody getting in a snit.

I'm already in a snit just for not being mentioned in the following sentence of the OP:
"Now, I would love to see Fenris, Scylla, and Rue DeDay participate (if they have the cojones), but I'd also want anybody else to feel like they can participate too."

What the hell does a Frog have to do in this place?

[Hamlet]

Crunchy

It must be the new colors available. If you look really closely, it said:

"Now, I would love to see Fenris, Scylla, and Rue DeDay and Crunchy Frog participate . . . "

[Miller]

Originally posted by greenlady
I like! I like!

I'll norminate Miller and will second lieu's nomination.

Gosh! I've been norminated! In color, no less! I'm blushing like nobody's business, here.

I like the idea of picking a topic from a periodical. It gives a lot more material to play with than a short phrase. If the topic is only two words long, you increase the chance of terminal writer's block. A whole article, you can play off of the general topic, the headline, the particular opinions, or even just a few random lines that catch the contestant's fancy. Also, the idea sounds more "Straight Dope" that way. In other words, what yojimboguy said.

Incidentally, if this turns out to be an ongoing thing, winners ought to be exempt from later contests, at least for a little while. Otherwise, it's going to be the same group of people doing in every time, which will get stale and feel cliqueish. Maybe winners have to serve as judges for the next few rounds or something.

Or maybe this: Hamlet judges the first batch, and picks the top three. For the next batch, the top three judge and pick the best three who are judges for the next round, and so forth.

[Miller]

Oops, my mistake: My name was only in color because my name turned up in a search. (It wasn't a vanity search, I swear! I was looking for an old thread I started. Honest!)

[plnnr]

Count me in. Used to write jokes for Nixon so this ought to be a breeze.

Say, did you hear the one about the jew, the homosexual, and the communist...?

[Mudshark]

I think I want to play too!

[saepiroth]

i would like to nominate CRorex.

truly, he has great powers of alcohol-fuled comedic genius that I would love to see applied to such a noble cause. truly, glory shall result.





'cuz he's FUNNY. a'hyuk.

[jazzmine]

Nostradamus is definitely a must in this.

[dalovindj]

I think responding to a brief phrase like "stinky cheese" is too limiting. As funny as many responses will be, I don't want to read 10,000 words about it. Responding to a larger journalistic text allows so much more fun. We could analyse the social content, question the motives of the the characters, assault the intelligence of the writer, etc. Or just react to the headline! It allows for many more completely different approaches by writers.

I would argue that the opposite is true. Once you have a full article to base what you write on, your possible subject matter narrows.

With just two words a writer can go anywhere - an original piece of fiction, a poem, a joke, commentary, parody, or anywhere else as long as he includes the subject matter in some way.

Once you introduce a specific article, you have changed the range of likely responses. The material would tend to become slanted torwards commentary on the article (and thoughts contained therein), and less on truly original material. It would be like a ton of other posts where somone points out an article and umpteen people make observations or cracks about the article. While I do this, and it is fun, I think this contest allows a much greater range.

Hmmmm. . . "stinky cheese":

One could write a story called "The stinkiest cheese". Or create and present a theory about the true origin of the moon. Or perhaps a haiku about the french. . . Scratch that last one. You could connect The Kennedy Assasination to cheesemakers trying to enslave the public. Or a commentary on situation comedies and their approach to comedy.

I think the less you give the better. What will make it so funny is seeing how totally different everyone responds to a small amount of info. Anything that would tend to make the writing of multiple people similar to each other (content wise) should be avoided.

Give the writers a seed, not a tree. That way we can have a happy and healthy forest with lots of biodiversity.

Or something.

DaLovin' Dj

[TwistofFate]

would I be an egotist to enter myself? Do I need a second? I'm sure I left a sock puppet lying around here somewhere......



(opening himself WAAAAAAYY up).......

[dalovindj]

I second all who nominate themselves. I'll read 20,000 words if I have to.

DaLovin' Dj

[Shirley Ujest]

Pardon my gaping ignorance, but have any women entered?

I'd like to nominate Collunsbury because of his work back in GQ a while ago about how he was in a limited partnership with the Devil or soemthing like that. Very clever. Also, he wears nice suits. Most comics seem to gravitate towards the Jimmy Buffett Hawaiian Shirt Collection or dress like Flood Victims.

I'd nominate myself, but my chronic steroid abuse and coffee habit would leave the rest of you in my wake and I fear your poor wittle egos couldn't handle such a bruising.

Then again, if nominated, I won't run. I'll skip.

Hell, your therapists need the cash, if we, the hack writer can pick the periodical of which above is proscribed to scribble our attempt to tickle the funny bone, then, count me in. But if assigned to a Gun & Ammo piece, I will raise a snit like you've never seen before, and frankly, I'm way to out of shape for any kind of weight lifting.

[Shirley Ujest]

[channeling the cowardly lion] Please don't let me be a thread killer, oh please oh please....[/ccl]

[robgruver]

Originally posted by Shirley Ujest
[b]I'd like to nominate Collunsbury <snip>

Seconded!

I'd nominate myself, but my chronic steroid abuse and coffee habit would leave the rest of you in my wake and I fear your poor wittle egos couldn't handle such a bruising.

Then again, if nominated, I won't run. I'll skip.

Then I'll nominate you! Ha! Skip baby!

_{and your not a thread killa... and I hope I'm not...}

[Enderw24]

What is this humor that you speak of?

[Scylla]

I used to travel the world competing in humor contests. Always I was the best, the funniest. My name was feared from the Dardanelles to Marakesh.

One day in Turkey as the crowd roared at their approval at my offering, and the Turkish champion's eyes bugged out in panic and disbelief that I had bested him on his home turf, something changed inside me.

I became so full of myself that my humor was no longer for humors sake, but for my own selfish self-aggrandizement. As I competed, it wasn't enough merely to win, I had to destroy my enemies utterly, reduce them to nothing.

Though my with was as sharp as ever, I had become vile and wretched.

Pretty soon competition itself wasn't enough for me anymore. It got to the point where I was telling jokes in bars, and looking for trouble in the dirty "knock knock" district of Bangkok.

Then one day in Argentina during the South American championships, I refined the Peruvian champions crude offering and through it back into his face.

I moved in for the kill, "So do you know how many Peruvian mice does it take to screw in a light bulb?" I asked slyly into his stunned face.

"No. No. Please!" he begged


"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" a small girl broke loose from the crowd and ran for her father

"Answer me!' I demanded of the bewildered man.

"I don't know. I just don't know."

"So I guess you'd have to turn on the light to check on them, wouldn't you?"

The little girl was hugging her father. They both stared at me fearfully, but there was no stopping.

"Please. I don't understand. Please don't."

"Which I guess why you Peruvian's favorite food is Peruvian Screw Fried Mice!" I shouted out the coup de grace.


"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" He screamed.


"Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" Screamed his little girl.



I fell to my knees. My God, what had I done?



To this day that little girl sits in a dirty Peruvian sanitariam rocking back and forth and repeating "I don't get. I just don't get it."


I swore I'd never compete again.

[SPOOFE]

People will probably try to figure out who is writing what, which allows the writers to try and spoof(e) each other to misdirect the voters.

That hurts.

[Nymysys]

What are you people? Warped of all sense of humour? I'm the funniest mofo I know! My mom agrees, too!






Damn. I confused myself with jarbabyj again. Somebody get that girl in here.

[dalovindj]

That hurts.

Nothin' like comedy . . .

[Stuffy]

Can I play too?

Do I need another to nominate me. I have bribe money.

[Hamlet]

I have good news and bad news. (insert funny joke here).

On the good news side, we have all the participants we need to start (11 as of right now). So the bad news is, I don't think we have any more spots. I'll email everyone who is participating, just to confirm that they are in, so check your boxes (and get your mind out of the gutter.)

I was debating posting the screennames of the people who will be participating, but, it seems to be agreed by all that blind posting will work best and to avoid this becoming a popularity contest.

Here's what I'm thinking:

1) Topic: When I first posted this idea, I thought along the lines of dalovindj (God help me!). I toyed with the idea of using newspaper/periodical stories as the topic, but I thought they would, in fact, be too limiting, for all the reasons dj gave. With two simple words to work off of, the world is your oyster. Anything goes. Creativity, which some say is the heart of comedy, runs rampant. I was afraid that with an article of somekind and 10 participants, there may be too much overlap between posts.

2) Judging: I want it open to all the Dopers who want to judge. I fear picking particular people to judge other posts, so I figured it would be best to open it to everyone. One Doper One Vote type of thing.

3) Shakes: I could really go for a Shamrock Shake right now, but dammit St. Patrick's day is over.

4) Contest/Time: 1,000 words or less. Bowing to Dave's idea, perhaps 4 days is best to give participants an opportunity if real life gets in the way.

Here's what I came up with:

On Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, I will post the two words that will be the topic. I will select these words completely at random, one chosen from one of my daughter's children's book, and one chosen, at random, from the dictionary. I reserve the right to veto any words (lest we have 10,000 words on "Maisy's pyralidid"). Participants, those who have the guts (cough cough), will then have until noon on Sunday to email me with their comic piece. NO POSTING DIRECTLY TO THIS THREAD!!!!. Starting at noon, I will post all entries in the order I received them. As soon as the last one is posted, judging begins, with whoever wants to judge just coming in and posting their vote/thoughts. On Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m., judging will be closed, we'll total the votes, and I'll post the winner of the first ever Best Comic Piece (Until the Next One Comes Along). I will also post, unless asked not to by the participant, which Doper posted which piece.

Whew. Now I know how Price Waterhouse feels.

I am, as always, completely available to reconsider these rules. Consider it a preliminary experiment. I expect there will be some fine tuning if we get to do a second round of it. So keep the suggestions coming.

Now, I'm off to email the participants. Good Luck all.

[Boyo Jim]

I'd like to voice some objections to a completely free-form subject matter.

I have at least one totally selfish reason -- it's not my forte. Personally, I'm more of a witty conversationalist than a standup comic. I can interact better than I can extemporize.

I have a couple of other more philosophical(?) objections:
1. "Free form" essay contests, IMHO, will be troubled by "apples to oranges" comparison issues. And the judging thread will be filled with rants about it (though I promise to limit myself to 1 I told you so post).
2. The temptation will be great for someone (not one of Us, of course, but someone down the line) to submit a little gem they've been struggling over for some time. How do we know that it's original and produced within the four days, unless some kind of subject matter is announced at the start of the 4 day period?

Here's what I suggest we do. Either in this thread, or a new one for little more marketing value , we put out an RFP for as many online, free, periodical links as people can suggest. You, Hamlet, pick one, and post your choice at a given time.

To give the writers some more wiggle room, let us respond to ANYTHING in the issue, including the ligitmacy of the periodical.

I will, grumpily, withdraw my objections if there is no further support for them. Hey, it's the 21st century, no one will ever be stoic again. There are FAR too many things to complain about, and EVERYBODY can complain to the whole friggin WORLD!

[DAVEW0071]

I have to take issue with you, yojimboguy. A free-form humorous essay is the only fair way to do it. This way, whatever form a participant is most comfortable with can be used, be it a straight essay, a humorous dialogue, or a satiric movie review. The field is wide open.

Thus, your point #1 (the entries being troubled by "apples to oranges" comparison issues) doesn't really hold water, IMHO. The contest isn't about comparisons in any regard except whether the author tickled the reader's funnybone. How that is accomplished (or by which literary devices) is inconsequential, except perhaps by how well the style enhances the comedy.

Point #2 is a matter of integrity. Besides, if Hamlet comes up with the words "marzipan" and "federalize", it hardly seems likely that someone will have been struggling over a piece with those two exact words for the past three months.

Your suggestion to have a reaction piece to an item in a periodical is limiting, I believe. The reasons for widening it with a two-word topic have been listed above.

[imthjckaz]

Originally posted by yojimboguy
I'd like to voice some objections to a completely free-form subject matter.

I have at least one totally selfish reason -- it's not my forte. Personally, I'm more of a witty conversationalist than a standup comic. I can interact better than I can extemporize.

Hey, it's not my forte either, it's not even my strong point.
But I will go by the rooles posted.

Originall posted by DAVEWOO71
Besides, if Hamlet comes up with the words "marzipan" and "federalize", it hardly seems likely that someone will have been struggling over a piece with those two exact words for the past three months.

Dammit!!

_{jckaz crosses off federalized marzipan bit}

[Boyo Jim]

Originally posted by Hamlet
...With two simple words to work off of, the world is your oyster. Anything goes. Creativity, which some say is the heart of comedy, runs rampant. I was afraid that with an article of somekind and 10 participants, there may be too much overlap between posts.

Hey, where'd the red-faced, embarrassed rainbow smiley go?

Somehow I skipped the first sentence in my first reading, and incorrectly interpreted your rules as "Anything goes, a thousand words or less".

I hereby completely withdraw my non-selfish objections to the rules.

My selfish objection will become an internalized, bitterly crushed-down inner angst, swirling into the black hole of my life's disappointments, invisible yet exerting an undeniable influence over all nearby bodies.

Wow, I better brighten up if I want to be funny by Thursday!

[DAVEW0071]

yojimboguy, I've found that the Emily Litella coding works very well in these situations.

[Emily Litella]Never mind![/Emily Litella]

Works every time.

It's a moot point now, but it had also occurred to me that random word choice as a writing spur is a creative writing exercise from way back.

Also, that, depending on the articles, some people might feel a little handcuffed. For instance, I never do political humor, and would find it really tough to put myself in that mode if I absolutely had to.

But it really doesn't matter anyway.

[Emily Litella]Never mind![/Emily Litella]

[dalovindj]

I thought along the lines of dalovindj (God help me!)

Embrace the dark side. I feel it growing in you. You are not alone. Others join me daily. Just give in! Together, we will rule the galaxy with an Iron Fist!

DaLovin' Dj

[Hamlet]

AM I the only one who pictures dalovindj doing finger stretching exercises and watching old Monty Python Flying Circus episodes to stretch his humor muscle? (and I don't mean that one muscle of your's that is funny on it's own, dj).

I got the emails out finally, so everyone who is in for this should have gotten one. I made a slight miscalculation, and we have about 15 participants rather than 10, but I'm not overly concerned. One last minute change in the topic selection: I'll be using the Thursday copy of the Chicago Sun Times for random word selection, rather than the dictionary. After a few dry runs, there is just too much room for poor word selection with the dictionary. Plus, it may open the door for some more topical humor.

See you Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Good Luck!

[Stuffy]

Just to be clear. You'll post the words to this thread or to a new one?