Gohlkus Maximus

Funny or not?

On September 12, 2007

I believe that I have a unique “sense” of “humor,” as do many people. (That sentence is true in both ways you can interpret it: Many people believe that they have a unique and beautiful sense of what’s funny; and many people believe that I have a unique outlook on phenomena which are humorous.)

So it occurs to me that I should document what I’m talking about. Nick at one time kept up a list of things that suck. In the exact opposite spirit, I will now start a list of things I think are funny. I’ll create a separate page for it at some point soon, but for now I’ll just use this blog entry.

For example, here’s one:

A tearaway business suit that reveals another, different business suit.

I think there’s real potential here for me to document what I think is funny.

Feel free, by the way, to suggest things in the comments section, and I will respond by telling you not whether I think they’re funny or not, since that is a lower bar than I mean to set here, but rather whether I think they exemplify my own unique brand of humor.

I don’t know how I missed this

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 28, 2007

In Amusing (if only to me)

About a year ago, Forbes said Milwaukee was the hardest-drinking city in America.

Hey, I didn’t need Forbes to tell me that about my hometown.

It makes me proud, really.

[I like the quote from “Lips” LaBelle, too. I can’t believe he’s still DJing on WKTI. I remember him from when I first started listening to the radio at age eight (that would be 24 years ago).]

The transit dilemma

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 24, 2007

In California, Life, Sports, Transit

Say you wanted to go from Oakland, California to Sacramento, California, a distance of 80 miles, to catch a Friday night Sacramento Rivercats game. (They’re a minor-league baseball team.) And you wanted to take public transit and come back the same night. That seems possible.

Phasing out “E-modified”

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 16, 2007

In Design

Clearview

“The Road to Clarity”, on nytimes.com, relates the story of the development of Clearview, the newish font system designed to improve the legibility of America’s highway signs.

Though it appears to me that adoption has been slow (have you seen this typeface on highway signs? Maybe I’m just hardly ever on the highway), it makes me happy that

someone competent is designing typefaces for highway signs, and
someone is writing about it in the New York Times.

A problem for the Democrats

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 16, 2007

In I Hate Politics

From Karl who? White House downplays Rove’s role in the LA Times:

“He controlled a great deal of the real estate and no matter how the White House spins his departure, the truth is that he leaves a gaping hole inside the White House,” said Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist who has forged a friendship with Rove despite years of combat.

Honestly, this is exactly the problem with Washington campaign consultants. They’re incestuous.

Brazile was Al Gore’s campaign manager in 2000. Gore 2000 was possibly the worst-run campaign for president in my lifetime, in which he ran away from the popular incumbent president and ran away from what he actually cared about (the environment and global warming, in which he was far ahead of his time). I don’t know what she’s won since then. And now she’s described in the media as a friend of Karl Rove? Yeesh.

The sooner we can get rid of this brand of Democratic consultant (see also James Carville and Mary Matalin), the better.

Another fan of death

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 14, 2007

In I Hate Politics

Well, well. Apparently some other bloodthirsty, self-promoting neocon thinks that we need another 9/11 to “save” America. Watch. Learn.

Chicago, that toddlin’ town

By Jason L. Gohlke

On August 14, 2007

In Life

As for me, I was in Chicago for 10 days recently… I went to Yearly Kos (soon to be renamed the “Netroots Nation” convention) and then spent 6 days doing very little except for enjoying blissful summer vacation fun.

I got to see Kim & Dave & young Eli (all of whom are going to be moving back to the Bay Area next month), Amber, and my mom. This after unexpectedly getting to hang out with other East Bay activist types at Yearly Kos, which was nice.

Lots of good pictures to follow at some point.

Spammers finally get it right

By Jason L. Gohlke

On July 27, 2007

In Amusing (if only to me), Rants, Spam

Look, they finally guessed right on a friend’s name:

But of course, I knew it was spam anyway because it was among many other pieces of spam constructed similarly (first name and middle initial).

[MoveOn, Friendster, and the Squid List… yep, all spam.]

Up, Down, Who Cares?

By Jason L. Gohlke

On July 26, 2007

In Amusing (if only to me), Life, Video

I’m a dork.

Oh, crap

By Jason L. Gohlke

On July 18, 2007

In Life

I just joined Facebook, after having joined MySpace within the last week.

Am I a clueless thirty-something hanger-on desperately reaching out for any connection I can find? That’s for you to decide. I don’t think so, though. I joined them for work and politics (despite my desire to divest myself of it), and I guess to keep in touch/get in touch with friends. But they’ll probably be pretty abandoned for the most part.