Another 12 Days of Christmas Specials: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo

My uptight high school physics teacher made a point of telling all of us that he thought South Park was a terribly racist show that none of us should ever watch. His only exposure to the show was the first season episode, Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo. And while South Park has always mined tasteless and offensive material for laughs, there really isn't much that seperates Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo from your standard Christmas Special. Cherished characters come together during the festive season to sing catchy songs (I've had the Mr. Hankey song stuck in my head for three days) and learn important lessons about what the Holidays are really all about. Would anyone else have thought of doing all that with an anthropomorphic piece of shit? Probably not, but yuletide inspiration can come from just about anywhere.

Rating: Festive Toilet Seat Cover%

(Image from mmmmfood.onsugar.com)

Jackass 3D

If you're already familiar with the Jackass crew, I don't really need to tell you what Jackass 3D is about. It's exactly what you think it's going to be, except this time it's in 3D. To their credit, they actually use the 3D very well. Some of the best moments in the movie come when the stunts are shown in super slow motion. I could describe some of the movie's highlights for you, but the whole Jackass 3D experience is funnier (and more painful) if you go into it cold.

Rating: Ouch%

(Image from onlinemovieshut.com)

The Cantos

Modernist poetry tends to eschew ambiguity for particular obscurity. This can create an interesting aesthetic effect, like in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. It can also create 824 pages of unreadable diarrhea like the Cantos. Ezra Pound once said that bad art must have an efficient cause. It does: Ezra Pound.

RATING: 19%, or 80% if your name happens to be Mussolini ("Ma questo è divertente!")

(Image from veethree.files.wordpress.com.)

A Month of Boring Things - Day Twenty-Five: Jokes

Nobody tells jokes anymore. I don't know any jokes. I've never heard a good joke. Right after somebody has told me a joke, I'm apt to sort of smile or fake laugh. Inside, I'm thinking, "This person just told me a joke." And I lose a little bit of respect for them.





Rating: 15%

The Angry Video Game Nerd

The Angry Video Game Nerd, created by James Rolfe, is the main character in a series of popular online videos. Typically, an Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) video features the Nerd going on a scatologically profane tirade against a vintage video game he has chosen to review. The reviews center primarily around games for the original Nintendo system, but the Nerd has been known to focus his rage on other vintage gaming systems as well. AVGN videos are also notable for their use of slapstick and cheap special effects. Since beginning in 2004, Rolfe has made over eighty episodes for the AVGN series among other videos.

Rating: 91%

(Image from lukephillips.files.wordpress.com)