Tag: bicycle

finding humor around you

Normally I write something that is (hopefully) amusing to you, but if I may, today I’ll write about finding amusement around you.

This morning I was riding my bicycle and drove through a pile of leaves that had fallen from a tree. It’s autumn here, so this is happening a lot. I enjoyed the sound of the leaves crunching under my tires. Made me feel like a kid again. I also enjoy seeing leaves scatter around the road after I drive through them with my truck. And it’s neat to see leaves falling from the trees. And I enjoy the fall colors.

That’s a lot of talk about leaves, but this isn’t about leaves. Rather, I found amusement in my surroundings. This is something I try to do every day. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with enjoying content created for YouTube or funny/silly videos promoted by the algorithms on social media (like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.), I don’t want to lose the ability to enjoy everyday life in the natural.

That may sound absurd to think it’s even possible, but it could happen. I’ve noticed kids cry out “I’m bored!” instantly when denied time with a screen on an electronic device. That should not be! I’m certainly not against enjoying videos or video games, but if my amusement requires content to be spoon-fed to me by some algorithm, that’s not acceptable.

It’s also easy to pick on kids regarding screen time, but adults are susceptible to it, too. (And it doesn’t help that social media algorithms are using psychology to entice you to stay on their site so they can make more money showing you ads.) Notice how often you pick up your phone when you have a few minutes to wait. Many (if not most) adults now instinctively grab their phone when there’s a moment free that they can. You can see it at traffic lights (or even while they’re driving), at a restaurant with their friends, at a sports game, etc.

Again, it’s not wrong to enjoy online content. But are you missing out on your actual life? Are you enjoying your actual life, or mostly being entertained by social media? Do you regularly see the humor and joy in your family and friends and life in general? It’s worth thinking about what matters most to you.

Sorry for the serious rant there… at least it’s about humor, so not totally off-topic.

You may now return to your regularly-scheduled life. Try to enjoy it!

antelope tackling bicycle rider & bread helmet man

Apparently the viral video of the day is a bicycle rider getting knocked down by an antelope during a race in Africa.  It is quite unusual and unexpected. It was also unexpected to see it on TV twice already in one day.  But since it’s so popular, I’ll post it here for you, so you can tell all your friends and co-workers that you saw it and they should watch it too.  After all, this is what’s popular.  Maybe it’s even the cat’s pajamas…

Now don’t you feel cooler?  You are now in the know.  Although, by the time you’re reading this, this video might be old news.  There’s probably another video already gone viral that everyone is talking about.

Sometimes you can’t predict what will be viral next.  For example, someone can just show up to a protest with bread taped to their head and become an Internet meme.  He was just trying to “protect” himself against makeshift projectiles, so some protesters made makeshift “armor”.  Now this guy is known as Bread Helmet Man, and he’s appeared in “photographs” all around teh internets…  A few examples…

I wonder if he has any idea of his 15 megabytes of fame…

FYI, I already know the Bread Helmet Man meme is old (in Internet years, anyway).  But it was never referenced here, and it certainly is random, and the post just needed something else…  Was it worth your time?  Wait, don’t answer that.  Keeping up with viral videos and memes often isn’t worth your time, which is why they aren’t closely followed here…  And my rambling about wasting your time might not be worth your time, so I’ll stop typing now.

caption contest, bicycle stunt to impress the ladies

Welcome to our next weekly caption contest!  The game is real, and the prizes are imaginary!  Well, except that you can feel good if you write something funny — there might be thousands of people read it and be amused.

This week’s photo features a man who appears to be doing a stunt on a bicycle (or about to wreck it).  Is he trying to impress the ladies?  Or do they have something to do with it?  You get to write the context.  Have fun with it.  Just make it funny and keep it clean.

(To see our other caption contests, click on the “Say What?” category in the sidebar.)

caption contest, bicycle rider kicking someone in crowd

This week’s caption contest features a bicycle rider kicking someone in the crowd.  Well, that’s what it appears like.  He could be doing a number of other things.  It’s up to you to decide what is going on here.  So get creative — whether with a joke, a pun (if you must), a funny story, whatever.  Remember you can write from anyone’s point-of-view.  Just keep it clean and funny — that’s the only rules.  Have fun!

(To see our other caption contests, click on the “Say What?” category in the sidebar.)