This is just from my personal observation while using the Internet…did I hit the nail on the head?
Note: I don’t run my sites for any profit, and I realize sites that are designed for profit have to make money…but sometimes all the “attention-grabbing” text gets a little much for the average Internet user, you know? 🙂
As a person who usually fights sleep for hours before finally closing her eyes, I’m one of the world’s worst at actually understanding when I actually need to sleep. Thus, sometimes I end up saying and doing some pretty silly things in my super-tired state, which I like to refer to as “Tired Derps.” Here’s a few gems from my experiences:
Have You Ever Had a “Tired Derp?”
Do you have a funny “Tired Derp” experience? Share it in the comments!
When most of us think of sculpture, we think of cool, well-lit enclosed galleries, polished floors and glass cases where either a well-realized human form or some crazy angular abstract thing is on display. To the average human (aka me), sculpture is a weird, rather unapproachable art form for these reasons.
Thankfully, there are sculpture artists who think differently–who have literally thought outside the glass box and created amazingly weird (and funny) pieces of art that we can study, laugh at, and even interact with. In this way, they exemplify what it means to be creative: making stuff that no one else has attempted, just because no one else has done it and it sounds cool or funny. Here are some examples:
Looks like a pretty normal statue…except it’s hanging by one hand! How’d they do that?! (image source)
This sculpture just speaks to me–it says “STARBUCKS.” (Also, you might be addicted to coffee if your whole face is made out of it…image source)
Awesome way to both celebrate music and a musical instrument, with this neon-blue outdoor guitar sculpture. (image source
Aww, this is cute–sculpture can be small and sweet (and edible), yet still bring happiness! (image source)
These slender metal sculptures out in the middle of nature are what I like to call “Earth decorations.” (image source)
Stretch it, play with it (or prank somebody with it) and yet it retains its shape–nope, it’s not some sort of goop, it’s PAPER! (image source)
Not only is this a really neat-looking tree made out of pipes, it also makes sounds when the wind blows! (Video/audio of this “Singing Ringing Tree” available by the following link–it sounds SO creepy and cool. image source)
And sometimes, sculpture doesn’t need to make people think deeply–it just needs to give them a “What the–LOL!!” reaction. (image source)
This chart is about as accurate as I could muster! I’ve been told many things about my sense of humor (i.e., that it doesn’t exist, or that I don’t laugh at things that are “clearly funny”), but as you’ll see, the “funny” side is just as filled out as the “non-funny” side! Check out the things that will make me wrinkle my brow with disgust, as well as the things that will have me making uncontrollable squeaky laughs of belly destruction. 😀
(And yes, I am well aware that the non-funny side includes very popular comedy styles/shows, but hey, everyone’s got an opinion :D)
I didn’t realize I had any pet peeves about poetry until I took one of my high school English classes. One 6 weeks we were supposed to write a poem in the style of the literature we were studying, and we were required to read them aloud to the class. This was all fine, until a classmate of mine got up and introduced the “po-EEEEM” she was about to read.
Something about her pronunciation of the word “poem,” with the emphasis on the second syllable and a strange stressing of the “e” vowel, set my nerves on edge. And it wasn’t a simple misspeaking–she continued to call it her “po-EEEEEM” through her entire presentation. It was all at once nasally annoying and haughty, as if her “po-EEEEEEM” was the best “po-EEEEEEEEEEEEEM” that had ever been written.
Somehow I made it through that presentation without going off my rocker. But, since I’d never heard the word pronounced like that before, I chalked it up to a personal choice on the classmate’s part, and thought no more about it. It was so outlandish and silly-sounding, too overdone for normal life…surely no one else would pronounce it like that. After all, who could seriously pronounce “poems” as “po-EEEEEEEMS” without cracking up, right?
WRONG. Several of my classmates in poetry and literature classes throughout college apparently labored under the same delusion–that pronouncing “poem” as “po-EEEEEEM” instantly gave their opinions and works an otherwise unreachable touch of class, artistry, and intelligence. Never mind that I was sitting there with my hands clawed around the edge of my desk as if someone was raking their nails down the chalkboard at the front of the room. And usually, the people who pronounced “poem” like this were the most conceited English majors in the room, acting as if their subjective opinions on literature were mathematically provable facts. Either that, or they were convinced that they were the next “famous dead poet,” and the rest of us were all just wannabes.
For me, then, the “po-EEEEEEEM” pronunciation has become shorthand for “I’m a huge snowball of arrogance barreling straight toward your brain and nothing can stop me!” It stands as an instant signal that this person thinks very highly of themselves, their opinions, and their art, and that everyone else is just a little bit less important. (You know, sometimes I really hate that the fine arts often attract this type of personality, because it gives the rest of us artists a bad image. We’re not all high-and-mighty nose-in-the-air types, after all!)
So if you ever see me cringing at a poetry reading, remember this post, and you’ll probably understand why. Just remember to duck the snowball of arrogance!
(All info gathered from personal experience…LOL)
OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, is something we joke about in modern society. We use it as shorthand for being excessively picky about things, for instance, or for being overly bothered. Things like fixing crooked pictures and not letting foods touch on our plates are almost part of our culture now.
But for those of us who either are diagnosed with OCD or are pretty certain we have it, it’s a reality, however strange and funny it may seem to others (and to ourselves). I even have to laugh at myself when I realize how many things in my life are regulated with OCD’s little rules! Such rules make perfect sense to me, so I rarely think about them–that is, until I started brainstorming for this post. 😛
To demonstrate, here’s a few of the standout ways OCD runs my life:
If you definitely have OCD (or are pretty sure you do), what are some of the weird and funny rules you live by? Tell me in the comments! 😀
Music is not just about melodies, rhythms, and harmonies, nor it is only about songs that sound “pretty.” Sometimes, you just have to push the boundaries of what most folks think of as “good music” to develop something wildly original.
That’s what experimental music is all about–using standard musical techniques in the pursuit of comedy, combining music and visuals together for a new experience, remixing songs or melodies together to create new melodies, and even arranging random “non-music” sounds into music. Take heart: if the music you make fits into this category, you’re in great company! Here are a few examples, gathered from around the Internet:
Videos
This whimsical remix of songs from the Disney film Mary Poppins is oddly catchy!
Experimental choral madness, indeed! How can random sounds be music? When they are arranged like this!
John Cage, arguably the 20th century master of experimental music, offers this musical experience, recombining, rearranging, and composing this piece out of many different types of harmonies from other songs.
HILARIOUSLY weird video (and really addictive little dance tune), featuring comedian Ken Shimura’s character “Baka Tono-Sama.” “Ai~n” translates loosely to “Did I Do That?!” (1990s Steve Urkel, anyone?)
2:15 of strange electronic music and even stranger bovine visuals.
SILLY He-Man music video…must be seen to be believed. (If this isn’t experimental music applied in a comedic audiovisual way, I don’t know what is!)
Haunting and ethereal–“weird” in the best way!
Non-Video Sound Clips
Pop Danthology (SoundCloud)
Cool mashup of all sorts of pop songs from 2012–revisioning music in a really cool way!
Mythic Morning: Choral Works II
Collection of Danish composer Per Norgard’s avant-garde, post-modern choral music.
Malaysian Composers: Leong Yoon Pin
As of this writing (October 2013), this online radio showcases Leong Yoon Pin’s experimental instrumental music.
More Weird Music Resources
John Cage on Experimental Music
Experimental Music: Wikipedia Article
FreeMusicArchive: Experimental Music
Weird Music History (because today’s music is yesterday’s experimental sounds!)
Since I’ve been attending Zumba classes since June 2011, I’ve learned quite a bit about how much I think I can do versus how much I can actually do; I can actually do much more than I ever expected! Day by day I conquer the ailments in my feet and legs long enough to dance and have fun, and that’s the wonderful, inspirational, freeing side of Zumba.
…But Zumba would not be complete without hilarious fails and passing thoughts, either–humor makes Zumba fun, even as you wildly contemplate how long you can keep up with the instructor. Going along with the “S–t People Say” meme, here’s my take on what we Zumba dancers sometimes think while we’re moving:
Whether we’re console gamers, PC gamers, or tabletop gamers, I think this little chart applies quite well… 😛
