Fool in April

puns… too many puns

I am conflicted. On one hand, I like the idea of an Fool in April post. Conversely, humor is very individualized. I see “jokes” on Quora or elsewhere that are unfunny, stupid, and/or outright offensive.

Here is a fast money segment from Family Feud in Botswana. What is mildly funny to me is Steve Harvey’s incredulity, rather than the responses. 

Also in the game show category, So Wrong It’s Right: Funniest Responses on JEOPARDY, which are hit or miss for me. 

Word Smarts highlights What makes a word funny. I didn’t really laugh at any of them. However, the fact that one of them, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, “has a humorously ironic meaning, as it refers to a fear of long words,” made it mildly amusing. 

This video someone I follow online you may find uproariously funny or problematic. I suppose I find it funnier now that the “caller” is American, and thus, if not believable, then at least within the realm of the possible. 

Conan O’Brien speaks on why FOTUS jokes aren’t funny, and I tend to agree. That didn’t keep him from making some quips during his opening monologue at the 2026 Oscars, which enraged 47.

I don’t remember jokes. More correctly, I don’t remember jokes other than the ones when I was 10 or 12, long, convoluted tales that end with groanworthy punchlines such as Island of Trids, immortal porpoises, and Mel Famey; the versions I learned differed in some details, as jokes are wont to do.

April Fools: The Roots of an International Tradition.

Puns

A guy I met online, who I subsequently met IRL sent these to me in June 2025. I threatened to post them today. He replied, “Cry UNCLE if these are too terrible.” Some of them are.

1. Two vultures board an airplane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The flight attendant looks at them and says, “I’m sorry, gentlemen, only one carrion allowed perpassenger.”
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says “Dam!”
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says “I’ve lost my electron.” The other says “Are you sure?” The first replies “Yes, I’m positive.”
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recenttournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. “But why?” they asked, as they moved off. “Because,” he said, “I can’t stand chess- nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
It gets worse
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him “Juan.” Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes shealso had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”
8. These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to “persuade” them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he’d be back if they didn’t close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him  a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did!

March rambling: Clean up the faux king mess on aisle 47

272-867-5309

Just a couple of the many signs seen at the No Kings rally on Saturday, March 28, at the New York State Capitol in Albany: “Clean up the faux king mess on aisle 47.” “So many wrongs – so little cardboard.”

 

War Becomes Spectacle in His Horrific Propaganda Promoting War in Iran

Volume in stock and oil futures surged minutes before his market-turning post. (If you can access Substack, read Paul Krugman’s Treason in the futures market.) 

Ever find yourself watching regime officials and thinking, “What’s wrong with these people?” Three writers offer their answers. “The transition to pathocracy begins when a disordered individual emerges as a leader figure. While some members of the ruling class are appalled by the brutality and irresponsibility of the leader and his acolytes, his disordered personality appeals to some psychologically normal individuals. They find him charismatic. His impulsiveness is mistaken for decisiveness; his narcissism for confidence; his recklessness for fearlessness.” – Steve Taylor, “The Problem of Pathocracy“

Robert Mueller: The former Marine overhauled – and, supporters say, helped save – the FBI after the 9/11 attacks. Then he took on FOTUS in the probe of a lifetime.

Sen. Whitehouse to uncover connections between FOTUS, Russia, and Epstein. (48:10)

What to do with the new FOTUS-signed paper currency

J.D. Vance and Police Stings: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Also

“Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record,” said the secretary-general of the United Nations after the release of the new UN climate report. “When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.”

An investigation by The New York Times found extensive evidence that
Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers co-founder and a civil rights icon, groomed and sexually abused girls who worked in the movement for years.

Understaffing as a form of ensh!ttification

Valerie Perrine, Oscar Nominee and Superman Actress, Dies at 82. I saw her in Superman I and II, The Electric Horseman, and Lenny.

Chuck Norris, Black-Belt Action Star of Movies and Television, Dies at 86. I never saw a Norris movie; it wasn’t my thing.

The global nonprofit organization Cancer Support Community (CSC) is taking over one of music’s most unforgettable phone numbers. Anyone impacted by cancer can call CSC-867-5309 (272-867-5309) to receive immediate support, trusted information, and personalized guidance from trained specialists.

What’s the hardest MLB outfield to play in?

‘I’m Dead. Don’t Send Me Any More Mail.’ My relationship with my landlord was among the most reliable of my life. I miss her.
Dick Van Dyke – A Century On Screen

The Conspiracy That Led to the End of the World and The Day It Rained Blobs of Goo and The Man Who Made the Front Page Twice and When an Olive Garden Review Became Internet Famous and How Ignoring Orders Gave Us an Idiom and Because Not Everyone Can Be a Burger King

MUSIC
Heavy Foot – Mon Rovîa
Perspective – human/puppet duo of Sammy J and Randy Feltface
Days We Left Behind – Paul McCartney
Bein’ Alive – Melissa Etheridge
Irish Rhapsodies by Charles Villiers Stanford. 4: The Fishermen of Lough Neagh

Louella  – Marcia Ball

Tales: A Folklore Symphony  by Carlos Simon, “a four-movement piece for orchestra that explores African American folklore as well as Afrofuturist stories.”

Company (Broadway show) Tiny Desk Concert

I Believe – Andrew Rannells and the Broadway Company of The Book of Mormon (LIVE on The Late Show)
Little Green  – Joni Mitchell
Coverville 1573: The 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees and 1574: The Wilson Pickett Cover Story II
Green Onions -Booker T. & The MGs
Comedy Tonight from  A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – Jason Alexander
The Albums of My Life: The WHEN HARRY MET SALLY Soundtrack, which I had never heard until now
I Got Rhythm from the musical Crazy for You
 Green River – Creedence Clearwater Revival
K-Chuck Radio: Many Rainy Nights in Soho
These Dreams – Heart
September again and again
True Love – Tobias Jesso Jr.
Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas
Sondheim/Webber medley – Will Anderson and Rachael Joyce
Rick Beato reacts to the experimental math rock band from Quebec: Angine de Poitrine
Loving You – Minnie Riperton
Start a Band, Even if You’re Terrible

Impossible/It’s Possible

Lesley Ann Warren

Back on March 8th, one of my pastors gave a sermon about the loaves and fishes. After reading Mark 6:32-44, the pastor referred to the actions that seemed impossible. How could five loaves of bread and two fish feed 5000 men, not to mention women and children, with plenty left over? I’ve heard dozens of sermons on the topic, but this was a good one, truly.

Nevertheless, what sneaked into my mind was the song “Impossible/It’s Possible” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein television production of Cinderella. You may or may not know that there is a live 1957 version of Cinderella, starring Julie Andrews. I finally saw it on DVD, probably sometime in the early 2010s.  

 The one I remember, though, is from 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren. There’s a scene in which Cinderella daydreams about going to the ball.  Her fairy godmother (Celeste Holm), eventually joined by the title character,  sang Impossible/It’s Possible. I saw that production broadcast so many times that the darn lyrics are stuck in my brain.

But the world is full of zanies and fools
Who don’t believe in sensible rules
And won’t believe what sensible people say,
And because these daft and dewy- eyed dopes
Keep building up impossible hopes,
Impossible things are happ’ning every day!

Incontrovertibly true

So I told the pastor, who is a big fan of musical theater, that I was thinking about that song during the sermon, and then I shared the lyrics. A friend who was nearby said, “You have a LOT of stuff stuck in that brain of yours!” This is incontrovertibly true, and denying it would be foolish.

I remember this in part because I had a big crush on Lesley Ann Warren at the time. But Impossible/It’s Possible is not even my favorite song in the show. That would be In My Own Little Corner:

In my own little corner,
In my own little chair,
I can be whatever I want to be.
On the wing of my fancy
I can fly anywhere
And the world will open its arms to me.

The 1997 adaptation, starring Brandy and featuring Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother, was impressive. But it’s often the first version of a musical or song that sticks in the brain and/or the heart.

Listen to:

Impossible/It’s Possible

In My Own Little Corner

 

Sunday Stealing – Random Revelations

SCRABBLE or bowling?

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week’s meme was inspired by a post at My Random Randomness. That gentleman shared random thoughts about himself. His revelations have been turned into questions.

Random Revelations

1. Is your phone Apple or Android? What about your laptop?

My last two phones were Apple. Previously, I avoided them for philosophical reasons, not the least of which is some incompatibility when new products come out. But it seems to interact better with other Apple phones. I’ve only had non-Apple computers and don’t see myself changing. 

2. Can you say “thank you” in more than one language?

Only in French, German, and Spanish. I took French in high school, and I used to watch Hogan’s Heroes on TV when I was a teenager. 

3. What do you draw when you doodle?

Random geometric shapes, because my skills as an artist are nil.

4. Which do you enjoy more, Scrabble or bowling?

I have done both a LOT in the past, but haven’t done either in quite a while. I’ve written more about bowling because it’s tied to my mom. But I played SCRABBLE a lot as a kid and much later. My college roommate painted me a SCRABBLE board, which I still have. It’s a toss-up.

5. Can you juggle?

I assume juggling two items isn’t REALLY juggling! No.

6. Have you ever worn pajamas in public?

Only to bring in the garbage cans from the curb early in the morning, and only a handful of times.

School daze

7. Was your best subject in school the one you enjoyed the most?

My BEST subject was probably spelling, but I didn’t love it. I was good at social studies/history, and I enjoyed it. The topic I most enjoyed was probably mathematics because Math Is Everywhere .

8. When you’re offered the senior discount before you ask for it, are you offended or grateful?

It never bothered me. I like a bargain.

9. Do you agree that with age comes wisdom?

I can think of certain people – one in particular -who are clearly more stupid every day. That said, for those people who learn not to sweat the small stuff as they get older, then sure.

10. Do you consider Sunday the first day of the week or the last day of the weekend? 

I’m pretty catholic about it. My calendar growing up in the US was Sunday to Saturday. When I took high school French, I discovered the week ran from lundi to dimanche. (Shrug)

 
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Lenten music; Barber’s Adagio

‘full of pathos and cathartic passion’

There are rituals I must follow regarding Lenten music. Early on, I play an album of Barber’s Adagio, specifically THIS album.

As I noted here:

From This Day in History:

Adagio for Strings had begun not as a freestanding piece, but as one movement of Barber’s 1936 String Quartet No. 1, Opus 11. When that movement provoked a mid-composition standing ovation at its premiere performance, Barber decided to create the orchestral adaptation that he would soon send to Toscanini.

In later years, the piece would be played at the state funerals of both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, taking its place as what one observer has called “the semi-official music of mourning.”

“It is an adaptable piece, which has been arranged for solo organ, clarinet choir, woodwind band, and, as Agnus Dei, for chorus with optional organ or piano accompaniment, among others.”

From Wikipedia: “Alexander J. Morin, author of Classical Music: The Listener’s Companion (2001), said that the piece was ‘full of pathos and cathartic passion’ and that it ‘rarely leaves a dry eye.’… As part of a musical retrospective in 2000, NPR named Adagio for Strings one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century.” Listening to eight versions leaves me a bit a puddle.

Listen:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Galway

Canadian Brass

The Choir Of Trinity College, Cambridge (Agnus Dei)

Kalman Opperman Clarinet Choir, Richard Stoltzman, clarinet

Tokyo String Quartet 

David Pizarro, organ

Smithsonian Chamber Players Kenneth Slowik, conductor

You might assume that it might feel a bit repetitive, but not really. Still, I have a particular affection for the organ version and the Agnus Dei. My least favorite is the Galway, a sentiment echoed by a couple of Amazon reviewers, but I don’t hate it.

Some time after I have played the whole thing, I will listen to a bunch of requiems, especially by Fauré, Rutter, and, of course,  Mozart. 

Ramblin' with Roger
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial