Thursday, June 28, 2007

Funny Jokes - Funny Puns

THE ABILITY TO MAKE AND UNDERSTAND PUNS IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. Here are the 10 first place winners (according to someone) in the International Pun Contest:

1.) A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The flight attendant looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

2.) Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!

3.) Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it immediately sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

4.) Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron." The other says "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

5.) Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6.) A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in t he lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?", they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said," I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

7.) A woman has identical twins and is forced to give them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're identical twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

8.) A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to clo s e down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9.) Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

And finally,

10.) There was the person who sent ten different puns to friends with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

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Friday, June 1, 2007

Journal Jottings

Louisa May Alcott kept a journal, or diary, from the time she was old enough to express her thoughts on paper. Her parents kept extensive journals of their own and required the same of their daughters. Bronson's journal consisted of 61 volumes by the time he stopped writing at age 82. Abba frequently read Louisa's journal and left encouraging notes for Louisa about her writing and keeping her temper in check.

Try keeping your own journal for a month. Get a notebook and start writing about what is going on in your life and how you feel about it. Here are some tips for keeping a journal:

1. Write something every day. The more you write, the better you will get.
2. Try to set aside a special time to write each day. Early morning is a good time for some people. Others like to collect their thoughts just before bedtime.
3. A journal is a private book, so concentrate on recording your thoughts and ideas and do not worry about spelling and punctuation at first.
4. Do not throw anything away. A journal is a record of your growth. What you write today may look silly a few months later, but it was important at the time.

AND CONSIDER THIS…

* A journal can be a record of important occurrences: Big and small events may be happening in your life or in the world around you.

* A journal is a great place to write down dreams and nightmares. Putting them on paper may help you to understand yourself and the visions you have when you sleep. When Louisa was ill, she had some very strange dreams and frightening nightmares, which she recorded in her journal.

* A journal helps you analyze your beliefs and opinions. It is a private book, so you can make mistakes, freely express your feelings, and change your mind as often as you like.

* A journal is a storage space for story ideas. The next time your English teacher requests a story. or a poem, your journal can provide you with a month's worth of ideas. Louisa's most successful novels are about the people and things she knew best: Authors stick to subjects they know.

* A journal is an excellent way to get to know yourself better. When you reread it, you may be astonished at how much you have forgotten. Or, you may be impressed with how your ability to express yourself has changed over time!

By Mary Baldwin, Cobblestone

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