8 Comments

1. Chris Lloyd

   July 25, 2008

   It is really tough when you have to laugh and you cant.

   About 30 years ago my mum and I were attending a concert by the singer Dietrich Fisher-Diskau. Unfortunately he was not singing Schubert but some very modern avant garde music. The announcer breathlessly told us that we were fortunate that the singer was to be accompanied by the composer himself on piano. The composer looked like a homeless person, but was also very twitchy, like he was on speed. Dietrich was drenching the hall in his honey baritone, totally unrelated to the atonal nonsense that the accompanist was playing. Mum and I started getting the giggles. The more people glared at us for disrespecting the great man, the funnier it became.

   The final straw was that the decrepit old accompanist stood up during the song and started knocking the wood en panels inside the piano with his knuckles, with a pained look of concentration on his face while Dietrich still sang an unrelated melody. We had to leave the auditorium in disgrace, holding our guts and each other as was sprinted down the aisle.

2. Dataceptionist

   July 25, 2008

   I can't remember the joke?

3. SJ

   July 25, 2008

   The longer (proper) version is here.

   The explanation is here.

   In De Gloria was a Flemish (Belgian) sketch show by Jan Eelen that ran on the Canvas television station in the period 2000-2001. The show featured fictitious television reports presented as if they were real. In De Gloria was a satire on reality television and human interest programs featuring ordinary people, portrayed by the cast. The title translates to "in the glory".

4. NPOV

   July 25, 2008

   "Id never seen it when I came across it"

   Is it just me, or sounds this sound vaguely tautologous?

5. SJ

   July 25, 2008

   Is it just me, or sounds this sound vaguely tautologous

   No, it should be "sounds this sounds vaguely tautomological"

6. Joshua Gans

   July 25, 2008

   I couldn't keep a straight face when a student called Grocock introduced himself to the class. And, on another occasion, one called Hardik (quite a common Indian first name, I think). I consoled myself that they must be used to it, but it was pretty embarrassing all the same.

7. Nicholas Gruen

   July 25, 2008

   A kid at my high school was called Richard Head - poor sod. He was a nice guy and I think he'd found this particular name character building in the way that the protagonist in 'A Boy Named Sue' did.

8. Laura

   July 26, 2008

   This one is lovely too - and authentic, as far as I know:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwANJEwkWB0&eurl=http://whythatsdelightful.wordpress.com/page/2/