So, this morning before leaving for work, I hastily jotted down the following "joke":
At the time of my writing it, I thought it would be good for a chuckle or two, but I now realize it was too much of a niche joke (and not all that funny in hindsight). One of my friends believed it was true, but it didn't bring me too much joy to point out that it was my April Fool.I can't believe that they aren't going to allow on the course spectators at the Masters this year because Tiger didn't want people watching him. The guy is a diva. And the people running the Masters tournament are a bunch of wimps for caving into his demands.
So, the first lesson of the day: make sure to keep your audience in mind when concocting a prank.
When I got home for lunch, I decided to give it another try and came up with the following:
This joke still brings me much pleasure, because anyone who knows me or has been reading my blog knows that very little is going to convince me that ObamaCare is a good idea. I also liked that it was more personal than the first joke, which lent more credance to it's credibility. And, it is a controversial topic, so I figured it would chase out a few people who were happy for my conversion and others who would be pissed about it. I ended up getting one of each reply. I also recieved a challenge from my cousin JB for me to prove on my blog that it's a good idea. Another friend questioned whether it was an April Fool. And my Mom gave me a "Oh, that's rich" reply, which is exactly the reaction that makes me happy that she's my Mom.You know, the more I've read about it, the more ObamaCare sounds like a good idea.
Lesson number 2: personal pranks are better than celebrity news pranks, those of political nature need to be crafted by a master jokesmith to be effective (and I'm not a master political jokester, nor was my attempt very effective).
I decided to give it one more try, this time broadening the scope of the joke, and going for something a little more lighthearted. I came to this joke while walking to the bathroom at work (number 1), which is where I often get my best ideas. I decided to end my April Fool's Day with this "gem":
This update was probably the most successful one I had today. I received kind words from my friends, including:Ugg, someone broke into my car and stole my CD case filled with my Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, GLEE, and Celine Dion CD's. Luckily my Miley Cyrus CD was in the CD player because only "Party in the U.S.A." can lift my spirits at a time like this.
- L.G. -- "my 10 year old has all of these if you want to copy them". (I would never copy someone elses cds, because everyone knows piracy hurts us all)
- T.B. -- "I assume you had your mp3 player loaded with the Best of the Jonas Brothers and Hansen." (of course I did)
- C.R. -- "This prank fails because everyone assumes you have copies and b-sides on your hard drive." (again, guilty as charged)
- A.B. reminded me to just "nod your head like ya". (words to live by. also, a candidate for my next tattoo)
- D.R. -- "that's a devastating loss. Tell the wife to hide the rope and shower rods." (great advice. consider it done)
Lesson number 3: Putting Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber's names in a blog post should help pick up the page hits from the 10-15 year-old demographic.
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SONG: "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley
THINKING BACK ON: Seven years ago today was the first time I told my Wife that I loved her. We had been dating for about a month and a half and had been doing the "I really like you" tightrope walk up until that point. We were upstairs at my parent's house and were watching a movie. I finally psyched myself up enough to take the plunge. I turned to her and said, "Can I tell you something?" And, at that exact moment, I had this internal dialogue:
Oh, man, today is April Fool's Day. What if she thinks I'm pulling an April Fool's joke? What if she gets pissed off and storms out of here? What if she doesn't want to say it back? What if I'm moving too fast? Uh, oh, this is WAY too long of a pause. What if she thinks we're breaking up? Say something, stupid. SAY IT!!!I finally broke out of my trance and told her "I love you" for the first time. It was terrifying and exhilarating. And, thankfully, she reciprocated with an "I love you, too." The rest is, as they say, history.
(Bonus) THINKING BACK ON: The best April Fool's Day pranks that I fell for during my youth. The ones that have always stuck with me were both carried out by my favorite radio station, 98.1 KKFM. I don't recall which came first, but I remember that one year they were playing classic country music rather than the usual morning show. They would occasionally announce that the station had been bought by a country music station and that they were so thankful for the support they'd received in the past when they were a classic rock station. They also took phone calls and people were not pleased with the move, to say the least. Very funny.
The second prank came when the station announced that the Broncos had traded John Elway to Pittsburgh for Kordell Stewart (who had played QB at CU, so he was basically a local boy). This was before the internet was a huge phenomenon, so people couldn't hop online to double check the story. Instead, they called in to voice their support with the move (Elway was at the end of his career and Kordell was a great athlete) or their opposition to the trade (Elway IS the Broncos. Kordell is not half the QB of Elway). Again, very funny.
LINK: The Definitive List of April Fool's Shenanigans for 2010
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I am watching tnt basketball, and looking at the new environmental nba symbol promoting "green values". I am wishing it was a joke too.
ReplyDeleteGood song. I like the scene in Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia where Dennis is jamming to it in his car.
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