Humor in the Headlines
26/05/19 05:32
I know that I have a quirky sense of humor. Some things that don’t amuse others cause me to laugh. I see humor where others do not. And some jokes that others love to tell aren’t all that amusing to me. It is just one of the ways in which we humans aren’t all the same and all of our differences are which make life interesting.
I know I couldn’t make it as a comedian. My sense of humor is just too quirky. All the same, I think that it must be fun to earn a living by making jokes about what is going on in the world. The news headlines alone provide me with quite a bit of entertainment most days. Some of the entertainment and the humor I find in the news comes from the fact that I don’t really understand all of the details of a particular situation. If I were to go public with the things that strike me as funny, I’d probably open myself to criticism for my lack of research.
I don’t know if it struck anyone else as funny, but a series of serious cyber crimes have been committed by those who stole a National Security Agency tool. In the first place, there is something comical about those who are hired to protect you from crime by developing security networks, being vulnerable to crime because their network doesn’t work. The crimes are genuinely serious. The city of Baltimore, near where the agency is headquartered has suffered an attack. The use of EternalBlue is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage worldwide. So I know you’re waiting for the punchline. According to the New York Times, the N.S.A. will say nothing.
If you don’t think that’s funny, don’ worry, I told you my sense of humor is quirky.
I giggled openly when I read that the owner of Noah’s Ark theme park in Kentucky is suing their insurance company over their refusal to cover rain damage. I’m pretty sure that every home owner in the United States has been told that homeowner’s insurance does not cover damage caused by flooding. You have to buy flood insurance from the U.S. Government, the only source for that kind of insurance. And the theme park owners are trying to make a point to guests about their own interpretation of the Bible and their belief that the great flood was a historical event. If you believe that God uses a flood to teach humans a moral lesson, what lesson might there be in torrential rains causing slope to slide and a retaining wall to fail. I checked, and no it did not rain for 40 days and 40 nights to cause the damage.
Having traveled in Japan last summer, I know that some Japanese people are not very impressed with President Trump. Nonetheless, I know they will be polite and host him graciously during his visit. The press is making a big deal about his visit to a sumo match and presenting the trophy to the winner. To our president, it is a “very big event.” It doesn’t take that much memory to recall that 20 years ago Jacques Chirac, who was president of France at the time attended a sumo match and presented the trophy in much the same manner as President Trump. Chirac, however, was able to sit on the traditional mattresses. They had to bring in a chair for President Trump. And Chirac was so taken with the sport that he named his dog Sumo. It probably won’t happen for our country, or we’d already have a white house dog named Golf.
Although the United States has never had an emperor, it has been common folklore that he famous dish Caesar salad originated in our country. It is said to have been invented by an Italian Immigrant, Cesare Cardini, who opened a restaurant in Sacramento and later one in San Diego. The story is that he was experimenting with leftovers: a bit of romaine lettuce, raw egg yolk, Parmesan cheese and a few other ingredients. What he ended up with is a surprisingly delicious meal and one offered on menus around the world. The pice of the story that isn’t often reported is that Cardini didn’t develop and first serve the salad in the United States. He left San Diego and established a restaurant in Mexico during the 1920’s in order to escape Prohibition and the famous Caesar Salad really originated in Mexico. It just goes to show that it is hard to own a recipe. And the whole thing strikes me as hilarious. If it is any consolation, Taco salad did originate in the U.S.
I know that it is no laughing matter and that laughing at the misfortune of another is schadenfreude and not one of the most appealing qualities of humans. But somehow it strikes me as amusing that the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a safety warning about improperly set up beach umbrellas. A sudden gust of wind can turn the temporary shade into a violent weapon, hurtling it at high speeds and when it hits someone, it can be a real hazard. According to the CPSC more than 31,000 people were treated in hospitals for umbrella-related injuries between 2008 and 2017. It amuses me that there is such a category as umbrella-related injury.
Because mountain climbers can go on and on about the beauty of wilderness and getting out to areas where there are no other people, I am amused by the crowded conditions on the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. Apparently it has become so crowded that they have to schedule climbs and it is difficult to get a picture of yourself at the top without having another climber in the background.
In the end, quirky sense of humor or not, I find it to be a blessing that I can laugh at the news. If I didn’t, I’d probably be crying.
I know I couldn’t make it as a comedian. My sense of humor is just too quirky. All the same, I think that it must be fun to earn a living by making jokes about what is going on in the world. The news headlines alone provide me with quite a bit of entertainment most days. Some of the entertainment and the humor I find in the news comes from the fact that I don’t really understand all of the details of a particular situation. If I were to go public with the things that strike me as funny, I’d probably open myself to criticism for my lack of research.
I don’t know if it struck anyone else as funny, but a series of serious cyber crimes have been committed by those who stole a National Security Agency tool. In the first place, there is something comical about those who are hired to protect you from crime by developing security networks, being vulnerable to crime because their network doesn’t work. The crimes are genuinely serious. The city of Baltimore, near where the agency is headquartered has suffered an attack. The use of EternalBlue is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage worldwide. So I know you’re waiting for the punchline. According to the New York Times, the N.S.A. will say nothing.
If you don’t think that’s funny, don’ worry, I told you my sense of humor is quirky.
I giggled openly when I read that the owner of Noah’s Ark theme park in Kentucky is suing their insurance company over their refusal to cover rain damage. I’m pretty sure that every home owner in the United States has been told that homeowner’s insurance does not cover damage caused by flooding. You have to buy flood insurance from the U.S. Government, the only source for that kind of insurance. And the theme park owners are trying to make a point to guests about their own interpretation of the Bible and their belief that the great flood was a historical event. If you believe that God uses a flood to teach humans a moral lesson, what lesson might there be in torrential rains causing slope to slide and a retaining wall to fail. I checked, and no it did not rain for 40 days and 40 nights to cause the damage.
Having traveled in Japan last summer, I know that some Japanese people are not very impressed with President Trump. Nonetheless, I know they will be polite and host him graciously during his visit. The press is making a big deal about his visit to a sumo match and presenting the trophy to the winner. To our president, it is a “very big event.” It doesn’t take that much memory to recall that 20 years ago Jacques Chirac, who was president of France at the time attended a sumo match and presented the trophy in much the same manner as President Trump. Chirac, however, was able to sit on the traditional mattresses. They had to bring in a chair for President Trump. And Chirac was so taken with the sport that he named his dog Sumo. It probably won’t happen for our country, or we’d already have a white house dog named Golf.
Although the United States has never had an emperor, it has been common folklore that he famous dish Caesar salad originated in our country. It is said to have been invented by an Italian Immigrant, Cesare Cardini, who opened a restaurant in Sacramento and later one in San Diego. The story is that he was experimenting with leftovers: a bit of romaine lettuce, raw egg yolk, Parmesan cheese and a few other ingredients. What he ended up with is a surprisingly delicious meal and one offered on menus around the world. The pice of the story that isn’t often reported is that Cardini didn’t develop and first serve the salad in the United States. He left San Diego and established a restaurant in Mexico during the 1920’s in order to escape Prohibition and the famous Caesar Salad really originated in Mexico. It just goes to show that it is hard to own a recipe. And the whole thing strikes me as hilarious. If it is any consolation, Taco salad did originate in the U.S.
I know that it is no laughing matter and that laughing at the misfortune of another is schadenfreude and not one of the most appealing qualities of humans. But somehow it strikes me as amusing that the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a safety warning about improperly set up beach umbrellas. A sudden gust of wind can turn the temporary shade into a violent weapon, hurtling it at high speeds and when it hits someone, it can be a real hazard. According to the CPSC more than 31,000 people were treated in hospitals for umbrella-related injuries between 2008 and 2017. It amuses me that there is such a category as umbrella-related injury.
Because mountain climbers can go on and on about the beauty of wilderness and getting out to areas where there are no other people, I am amused by the crowded conditions on the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. Apparently it has become so crowded that they have to schedule climbs and it is difficult to get a picture of yourself at the top without having another climber in the background.
In the end, quirky sense of humor or not, I find it to be a blessing that I can laugh at the news. If I didn’t, I’d probably be crying.