Browsing All posts tagged under »humor«

Chinglish Library

December 4, 2011

17

I wish this photo were a little better but it was hard to get any contrast while zooming in on this sign behind the cash register at our local export supermarket. It reads: Cigarette, Wine, library can not be discounted.  Wouldn’t kids be much more interested in hanging out at the library if it also […]

Saturday Salad Bar

December 3, 2011

25

My ten-year-old son, Optimist Prime, felt a little left out when the interview with The Fonz was featured yesterday so I promised him his own interview would come before long.  OP is also pretty funny but The Fonz is featured more often on this blog because he literally speaks ten sentences for every one sentence […]

An Interview with Apollo Fonzarelli

December 2, 2011

52

My seven-year-old son, Apollo Fonzarelli, nicknamed The Fonz, has been sick the last few days.  The kid is normally a high-energy, bundle of nerves, but his illness-induced lethargy gave me the rare opportunity to keep him in one place long enough to have a conversation.  I took the opportunity to sit next to his bed […]

Christmas Shopping Days are Numbered…and Named

December 1, 2011

32

Retailers know money is tight for shoppers this Christmas season and they hope some creative marketing will convince customers to spend money they don’t have.  You’ve heard of Black Friday, the first official shopping day of the holiday season.  You’ve heard of Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving when online retailers offer their best sales.  […]

Dear Good Greatsby: Greatsby’s Homemade Gift Ideas

November 30, 2011

45

Today’s seasonal question comes from She’s a Maineiac, who seeks suggestions for Christmas on a budget. Dear Good Greatsby, Money is tight this holiday season, yet my kids are still expecting lots of expensive gifts. I’ve been out exhaustively hunting for great deals, but I’m fresh out of pepper spray. How can I convice them […]

Reasons I Was Late to the Party

November 29, 2011

40

I have writing projects I work on each day and sometimes when I achieve a high level of concentration and get in a good writing rhythm and spend hours and hours alone, it can be hard to transition to normal human conversation when my wife enters my office and tells me we’re late for one […]

Economists Predict 2.8% More Christmas Cheer

November 28, 2011

53

The Christmas shopping season kicked off last Friday in America, a day known as Black Friday, either because it signals the day many retailers are first “in the black” and become profitable for the year, or because of all the black eyes and bruises as shoppers elbow and trample each other, racing to claim the […]

Chinglish Logo

November 27, 2011

37

I saw this sign at a little logo design shop near our home here in Shanghai.  Wouldn’t you expect a logo design company to have at least one good logo on its billboard? My wife took this picture at a convenience store on the street outside our house. We didn’t buy “slices the cake” so […]

Amish Shave and a Haircut–Two Years to Life

November 24, 2011

48

Seven members of a breakaway Amish cult have been charged with a hate crime after forcibly shaving the beards and cutting the hair of individuals who wouldn’t support an extremist leader.  The most intriguing part of the story is the name of the cult leader who ordered the haircuts: Samuel Mullet. Never, ever take hair […]

Turning Thanksgiving into Thanksreceiving

November 23, 2011

204

When your friends and family gather for Thanksgiving and list their blessings, make sure and remind everyone they should be especially thankful for you. Are You too Impressive? If you’re anything like me, you’re a tremendously impressive person, and part of what makes you impressive is your deep humility preventing you from bringing your accomplishments […]

Gobble, Gobble

November 22, 2011

52

For any international readers not familiar with American Thanksgiving, the simplest explanation is to think of it as a day when family gathers from far and wide to celebrate the great American tradition of overeating. Thanksgiving is a special day when hearts swell with gratitude…also with the symptoms of heart disease. Swelling of the stomach […]

Chinglish Continues to Fascinate

November 20, 2011

29

The company in charge of selling advertising space in the Shanghai metro has a name that seems to attract my eye even more than the actual advertisement. It’s hard to appreciate the value of any product brought to you by “STD.” One of my favorite places in Shanghai is my local imported grocery store and […]