Friday Funny: Word Crimes

Blogging makes me happy. (Surprise!) Seeing that the only post I've managed to publish in the past 30 days was for my book challenge makes me not so happy. (Not that I don't love my book challenge, but there is so much more I want to share with y'all!)

I have lots of ideas for posts I want to write soon, but while I ease back into the blogging groove, I'll admit I'm copping out today: I'm just sharing a hilarious video. I don't share videos often, so if I do you know it's going to be good. (Like this one.) Fellow grammar nerds enjoy:



So tell me: What's the funniest video you've seen lately?

Happy weekend!

Bookworm humor.

It's time to link up with Jessica at Sweet Green Tangerine for her weekly book chat! The theme this week is "funny book/character," and though I don't often read funny books (remember how hard it was for me to find a "book that makes me happy"?), I couldn't be happier with the timing of this book chat because there's a video I've been dying to share with you! I've tweeted about it and pinned it, but I really wanted to include it on my blog, and I was waiting for a day that wasn't taken up by a link-up. So, instead of writing about the funniest book I've ever read, I'm just going to include some of my favorite book-humor videos, pins, etc. from the world wide web. Enjoy!

This literary rap is the video I referenced in the opening paragraph. I discovered it through a Goodreads tweet (they were really excited about their shout-out at 0:50). My favorite line is "Checked in with a pseudonym, so I guess you can say I'm Mark Twaining," but there are plenty of other good ones in there. Which part is your favorite?

Source: Uploaded by user via Kari on Pinterest

I found this Hunger Games-inspired text message conversation on Pinterest, and I could. not. stop. laughing. (But now I've had the LMFAO song stuck in my head for days ... ugh!)

 

Source: mlkshk.com via Megan on Pinterest                     Source: smosh.com via Megan on Pinterest

Of course, I couldn't share a funny Hunger Games pin without giving some love to the wonderful world of Hogwarts. There's plenty more where these came from on my Harry Potter Pinterest board, if you're interested.

Things that make me go "hmm."

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Megan on Pinterest

My favorite pin of the week!

This is not a statement about the ethical issue of cloning one way or the other, but this cloned baby goat is adorable! See more pictures here. 

This cute and clever video from the New York Times explores the question of what makes a native species. (Spoiler alert: We European humans aren’t exactly native, if you were wondering.)  

I’d say these students could use some “cultural sensitivity” training. 

Funny longread: What happens when a 35-year-old man retakes the SAT? 

The 20 coolest bookstores in the world. (Oh, and the best ones are on my Pinterest already.)  

Having a long day at work and just need to “get outside” for a little while? This awesome trail view website can help. 

A drunk klepto with a conscience. 

Score one for endangered turtle species!  

TIME magazine announces the 140 best Twitter feeds of 2012.  

Absolutely crazy: This guy’s Reddit comments led to a movie deal!

Did you know we have eight new U.S. Historic Landmarks? Because we do!

I'm a socially awkward penguin.

You've seen memes, right? Those funny images with block lettering that have gone viral in the past few months? Well, my favorite has to be the socially awkward penguin meme, if only because I can totally relate to 97 percent of them. In fact, I only got to page three of these memes before I had to stop because I had found too many that describe my life to a "T." Here are some socially-awkward-penguin behaviors I exhibit on a regular basis. Enjoy!

The Don't List: Women on Bicycles

Source: triplemaxtons.com via Megan on Pinterest

I found a hilarious list of "don'ts" for women bicyclists published in 1895, and now that I'm a regular cyclist, I wanted to share it with you! I bought a bike a few weeks ago when the weather started warming up, and now I ride it whenever I can: to work, to Starbucks, to the library, down to the plaza to hang out at my favorite bookstore, to the grocery store, to the post office — basically anywhere within ten miles of my apartment! You can find the full list of "don'ts" here, but these are my personal favorites:

• Don't be a fright.
• Don't boast of your long rides.
• Don't wear loud hued leggings.
• Don't cultivate a "bicycle face."
• Don't imagine everybody is looking at you.
• Don't go to church in your bicycle costume.
• Don't chew gum. Exercise your jaws in private.
• Don't ask, "What do you think of my bloomers?"
• Don't let your golden hair be hanging down your back.
• Don't scream if you meet a cow. If she sees you first, she will run.

P.S. — How cool is this cyclist? He's like Spiderman on a bike!

P.P.S. — Don't forget to link up with me for Travel Tuesday tomorrow! I'll be talking about the destination I felt most unsafe in, but please feel free to write about anything travel-related if that prompt doesn't work for you.

Things that make me go "hmm."

Time for week two of my new series - "Things that make me go "hmm." Enjoy the little tidbits I've gathered from across the web over the past week! But first, this video:

 Don't feel like you have to watch the whole thing, but watch about the first minute or so and
then skip ahead to 2:15. You won't want to miss it!

  

A beautiful argument for the written word (and against book-banning).

Did you know: LeBron bikes to work "all the time"!

Looks like students aren't the only ones who obsess about higher SAT scores.

Your community doesn't have to be rich to have a good library system. Good to know!

This was quite funny to me, considering I read Jonathan Franzen's Freedom on my Kindle and hated it. But somehow, I don't think that had anything to do with the fact it was an e-book....

30 travel terms that don't exist but should.

And finally, the most relaxing song of all time. You're welcome.

Are you having a bad day?

I love Pinterest. As my friend Caroline likes to say, "All I do is pin, pin, pin no matter what...." One of my boards is called Just to See You Smile, and it mostly consists of cute baby animal pictures that I like to repin to save for a rainy day. If this is one of your rainy days, take a look below. I hope it makes your day a little better. :)

Source: thebedlamofbeefy.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Quidditch players wanted!

I was poking around on Outside Online today, the online counterpart to the adventure/fitness monthly magazine Outside, and I found this great opportunity. If only I were going to be in New York on Oct. 29, I would definitely stop by Central Park and try to catch a Snitch in my mouth.

Photographer: Courtesy of Pioneer Library Stream

Without pasting the entire article, here's my favorite part:

If you're an athletic muggle, male or female, come show us your best. It will not be easy. You'll be asked to perform push-ups, run suicide sprints, and throw a medium-sized rubber ball into a trash can far away, all while holding a regulation broomstick between your legs. But the rewards could be immense. Top snitches will be offered the chance to bring glory to the OMPIQWCT at the 100-team World Cup finals on Randall's Island, November 12-13. 

Come. Be great!

Why is everyone getting married?

In the recent past, one of my peers made a comment somewhat like this:

"I'm at the age where it's no longer scandalous

when my friends get married or have children."

Well, it might no longer be scandalous, but I'm still often surprised. I'm only 21 years old! And I don't have a degree in hand yet! I understand every relationship is different, though, so I try not to make snap judgements. There are definitely young, engaged couples I know who I think will have a long and happy marriage. And besides, who needs my approval to get married anyway? No one. (Except maybe my little brother. He'll definitely need my permission.)

Anyway, this weekend was host to many engagements (apparently Mizzou Homecoming makes for a pretty unforgettable proposal), so I had marriage on my mind. Then I got on Pinterest and saw this photo on my home page, so I just had to share it with you:

Source: nickcannon.com via Caroline on Pinterest

What an adorable idea, right? (I'm guessing that's Lindsay in the front. She's probably upset her proposal photos won't be very flattering.) And that's pretty much all I had to say. Good luck and congratulations to everyone who got engaged this weekend!

It is what she said.

Sorry I am so far behind with my writing. But my goal is to catch up before August 1 because:

1) I head back to school on August 5 and then I know I’ll never catch up.

2) My journal (aka this blog) is due to my professor on August 1, so I don’t really have a choice.

3) I just spent an amazing three days in Kenya, and I want to tell you all about that, too!

So, to finish out my last week in Rwanda:

Tuesday, July 12

Today continued more discussions on religion and what specific groups did (or didn’t do) during the genocide. After a pretty statistic-heavy presentation about the Gacaca Court (Rwanda’s local way of dealing with perpetrators after the genocide, excluding organizers and perpetrators of sexual abuse, who are tried in the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda), we had a Muslim leader speak to us in the afternoon.

The speaker began by describing the historical relationship of Muslims and Rwandan leaders. Traditionally, relations between the colonial administration and Muslims were tense. Muslims could not be educated in Rwanda unless they adopted Christian names, so many Muslim parents were hesitant to enroll their kids because of fear of conversion. Muslim Rwandans, while not classified as either Hutu or Tutsi, traditionally sided with the Tutsi group because they both felt persecuted after the Hutu government took power in 1959. During the genocide, many Muslims hid Tutsis in their mosques. Whereas those who hid in the churches were usually massacred, Tutsis who hid in mosques were not attacked. Muslim leaders also preached against the genocide, reminding Rwandans not to murder their brothers and sisters.

However, this is not to say that Muslims were blameless in the genocide. While it is true that there were Muslims who hid Tutsis in their homes and saved them, there were also Muslims who participated as genocidaires. (Just as there were also Christians who helped Tutsis hide from their killers.) In fact, one person in the classroom testified that her family was murdered by a Muslim in 1994. The thing that surprised me the most was that the author of the "Hutu Ten Commandments" - a propaganda document from 1990 encouraging the Hutu to recognize their superiority over their Tutsi neighbors and destroy the Tutsi influence in Rwanda - was a Muslim. To be clear, I don't blame Islam as a religion or Muslims as a group for this document; it is the responsibility of the specific people who wrote and published it. However, I am a little disappointed that the general public is always so willing to criticize the Catholic Church and other Christian groups for their condemnable behavior during the genocide, but after months of studying this is the first time someone mentioned the author of the Hutu Ten Commandments - arguably the worst thing released in the media to instigate the genocide - was a Muslim. It makes me wonder why people are so quick to blame the Pope but ignore people of other religions who failed to step in or directly encouraged hatred and murder.

On a lighter note (of course), I wanted to include a picture of my roommates on the trip. For dinner on Tuesday, we went to a new restaurant (adorable, nice outdoor eating area, really yummy tortillas) and took some pictures outside.

The roomies: Lauren, me, Colbey, Kiela.

A lesson in American humor.

And finally, you might be wondering about the title of this post because nothing so far has been relevant. Well, we've been trying to teach our Rwandan friend Emmanuel some American humor, namely "That's what she said" and sarcasm. Unfortunately, we introduced him to both at the same time, which caused some confusion. Now, every time I say something that provokes a laugh, Emmanuel responds with, "It is what she said," even if the joke was not suggestive.

Likewise, any time someone tries to use sarcasm on Emmanuel, he doesn't sense it and gets offended. For example, one day he asked Kiela if he could sit by her at lunch, and she said no.

• Emmanuel: "Oh, I'm sorry, is someone already sitting here?"
• Kiela: "No, I just don't want you to sit here."
• Emmanuel: "Really?"
• Kiela: "I would rather have you sit somewhere else."

At this point, Emmanuel was looking rather distraught, so I jumped in from across the table to tell him: "Emmanuel! Sarcasm." He looked questioningly at Kiela and asked, "Really?" We all began laughing, and she told him that of course he could sit down. He was very relieved, saying, "Good. I was going to say, 'You really offended me.'"

He has gotten better at recognizing sarcasm, but he still confuses it with "That's what she said." Whenever he correctly identifies sarcasm, he follows up with, "It is what she said," which by now is almost as funny as the original intention of the joke anyway.