I see unfunny people

They don't know they're unfunny. They just walk around like regular people.

I recently watched a TV show that purported to list the "top ten most amazing comedy teams". When they reached number seven in the count-down and failed to mention even one of the true best comedy teams, I wondered if a) they were only listing people who were still alive, and or b) were saving the best for the top honours. But then they mentioned Jack Lemon and Walter Mathau (both deceased). I squirmed uneasily and continued watching.

They mentioned two or three people whom I had never heard of as one half of several teams and when they chose Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the number one team, I almost had a heart attack. I wish I had had one before they assaulted my senses with their ridiculous list.

With all due respect to some of their choices, how can anyone who has a modicum of understanding and exposure to comedy exclude ALL of the following comedy teams?

Abbot and Costello
Laurel and Hardy
The Three Stooges
The Marx Brothers
The Smothers Brothers
Martin and Lewis

The kicker to this sick story is that in describing one of the teams, the narrator compared them to "a modern-day Laurel and Hardy". If such a comparison is so flattering, how do you justify not having Laurel and Hardy in the list??? Do you realize how many people are involved in putting together a TV show? Hundreds. And this is the best all those comedy geniuses could come up with? Puhlease.

If you haven't seen this, there's still time to win the "grand" prize. Submit your guess, today!

Dumber and dumberer

I spotted this ad on my screen one night. Apparently, the six years spent in university didn't do much for the person who composed this ad. Nor anyone else associated with it. It should read "smarter than", not "smarter then". Nothing like making a fool of oneself whilst explaining how stupid someone else is.

And while we're on this topic, I was flipping through my newly arrived CAA magazine yesterday, and I came across this page. Minutes after I spotted the "glaring" error, I thought to myself "My god, I am so anal". But I swear to you, I don't go looking for this stuff. It jumps right out at me like someone is shining a halogen spotlight on these errors. Click on it to enlarge. Do you see what I'm talking about?

If your spotlight isn't working, or more likely you have better things to do with your time, in the coupon on the right it says "From Feb 1st to April 30st, 2009." Technically, maybe legally, you could hold them to this offer indefinitely since April "30st" never arrives, hence the sale never ends. Oddly enough, the coupon on the left reads "From Feb 1 to April 30, 2009"

Super Duper Fantastic Big Prize Giveaway Contest!

Last night, from the carcass of the unfortunate chicken I had roasted two days prior, I made a soup that was simply delizioso. I thought it would be fun if all my loyal reader guessed what kind of pasta I put in it. Now, what's a contest without a prize? To the first person who correctly identifies the style of pasta that graced my soup, I'll send out $3.87--U.S., of course. Only one guess per e-mail address, please. Multiples will be disregarded. Send your guess to "videosbyvinny@hotmail.com" or click on my profile. You must have a PayPal account to receive your prize. You can register here for free and it's free to use (for personal use). I'll announce the winner as soon as we have one...or a lack of one, four days from the publish time of this posting--the official closing of the contest. Good luck to all three of you!

Cry me a river

It's been an awful drought--much longer than a player of my skill level should have to weather (get it? drought/weather?), but finally the cards went my way and I won a poker tourney today. I swear the number of times I am ahead in a hand only to be called outrageously by players with nothing but hope, only to lose it on the river is statistically impossible...exponentially, statistically impossible. There is something else at play. After months of pain-staking investigation, intense scrutiny, thorough examination, in-depth computer analysis, and losing tens of dollars, it turns out there's a simple explanation:

Chat during an online poker tournament...

VinnyTheHack said, "Congratulations. We just made 51 cents profit for 2 hours work. (25.5 cents/hour)"
VinnyTheHack: folds
MitraImaging said, "woo hoo"
robfest2: folds
johwen: folds
MitraImaging said, "hey, in my day......"
VinnyTheHack said, "My first full-time job paid $1.65 per hour"
VinnyTheHack said, "It was tapping out tablets."
jarrett515: folds
AZMel: folds
MitraImaging said, "I used to be the guy that put the stones in the cavemen's axe handles"
VinnyTheHack said, "Ah, a hardware guy."
VinnyTheHack said, "Were you working for CAVE DEPOT?"