New posts were in short supply last week with the extended holiday — there were a lot of Thanksgiving dinners to attend — but now things are back to normal. So let’s kick this week off with a caption contest, as is our custom.
This week’s photo is quite unusual. I really have no idea what’s going on here, except that a guy is standing in the middle of the road with his pants down and his shirt off. There are a lot of other people around, but at a distance. Since I have no context whatsoever for this picture, we’ll just have to make it up. That’s where you come in. Explain what could be going on here, whether realistically or not. Just make it funny, and keep it clean.
(To see the other caption contests, click on the “Say What?” category in the sidebar.)
This year, it seems people got into decorating for Halloween a lot more than normal. And as you’ve probably noticed, retail department stores are pushing the Christmas decor on us before Thanksgiving. It’s getting crazy. I like to keep the holidays separate — my rule is no Christmas music or Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. But stores seem to not be informed of my rule.
Before long, these holidays will all become merged by the unstoppable commercialization process. Figuring out how to market the holidays together might seem difficult, but fortunately someone has already figured all this out. In the article I’m about to link to, Chris Carlisle combines Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. For a mascot / symbol, he creates a “ninja robot Mecha Santa Claus”. If that’s not enough to get you to read the article, I don’t know what is… Plus it’s funny, and he has a good way of explaining all this.
Most of the caption contests here use pictures loaded with randomness, but this week I’m going to use a political photo, so we can try to make some political humor. This photo is of President Barack Obama relaxing, while his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is on the phone. I have no idea what the actual context of this picture is, but who needs context? We get to make it up, which is what makes it fun!
Just remember to keep the comments funny and clean. You can make political statements, but make them funny (whether laugh-out-loud or satire or irony). This isn’t the place for serious long-winded rants about why your preferred political party is great and/or the other party siphons. (Comments violating this rule may be deleted, per the site’s rules.) Of course you can reference current political events, or you can make up any context you want. Have fun with it!
(To see the other caption contests, click on the “Say What?” category in the sidebar.)
Baking a turkey has long been part of most Americans’ Thanksgiving tradition. But let’s face it — it’s kinda boring to watch a turkey bake. Plus turkey is healthy and not very fattening, which doesn’t fit in with our modern culture. So now more and more people are deep-frying their turkey, which makes it more unhealthy (along with more flavorful), and there’s also the danger of deep-frying it improperly, which is exciting for some people.
I’ve heard so many reports of deep-fried turkey disasters in recent years that it seems like it’s becoming a sport. There are probably countless videos on YouTube of this, but here’s a few highlights I’ve come across.
In the following video, note the lack of protective gear, and also notice the child in the background covering his eyes. Somehow he knew something was going to go wrong. And somehow this accident even inspired a dance from the man responsible for it.
This next video features firefighters showing the right and wrong way to deep-fry a turkey. First, they do it correctly, with it fully thawed and dry. Next they drop a partially thawed turkey in the deep-fryer. Then they put a mostly frozen turkey in the deep-fryer. Lastly, they show you what happens if you pour water on an oil fire. (The last part is quite impressive, because it’s not near my house.)
This next one is great. This “chef” uses the Archimedes Principle to properly deep-fry a turkey. (That’s a great line. I had never heard it used like that, and there may be a reason why.) Then at the end, he says, calmly, “We are now frying a turkey.” Perhaps, but he’s also burning a turkey… and his deep-fryer… and the house…
In this next video, we start with the fire already burning. Several people are yelling, “Use a fire extinguisher!” At least one person has the knowledge to say it should be one made for oil fires. (There are different kinds of fire extinguishers, if you didn’t know.) You might be able to guess whether this was the right kind or not. I like how at the end one guy says, “It’s fine”, after it’s been on-fire over a minute and they’ve sprayed it down with a fire extinguisher (which might not be good for food).
Think you’ve seen everything there is to see regarding turkey frying accidents? In the next video, some morning show radio DJs simulate the dangers of deep-frying a turkey (improperly) inside your living room. Somewhere, Fire Marshall Bill is smiling…
BTW, this may look cool, but you shouldn’t try this at home.
Buffet o' Blog 