This Month At Dontmindme.com - May 2002

Game of the Month: There are many different types of games. This month's game is a web based game called Googlewhack. The goal is to search on Google for two words and come up with only one result. The words have to be real words, and the search term can't be in quotes, that would be too easy. It's not easy to find a googlewhack, but it isn't impossible, I was able to find five in about half an hour of trying. And I'm going to put the word coelacanth on this page so this will be a potential googlewhack when the site next gets crawled by Google.

Fun Link of the Month: Online animation has become one of the most interesting creative mediums. It's not difficult to make, it's highly versatile, and the potential audience is unparalleled. One highly amusing example is HomeStarRunner. It's silly, slightly twisted, and once you get into it, downright hilarious. Thanks to Brian for the recommendation.

Joke of the Month: A man with a German Shepherd dog goes into a bar and sits down at the counter. The bartender says, "You can't bring that dog in here." Man says, "But this is a Seeing Eye dog." Bartender says "Well, Okay, then I guess it can stay."

After a while, the man and the German Shepherd get up to leave. As they're going out the door, another man with a Chihuahua is coming in. First man says, "The bartender won't like you bringing that dog in here, but just tell him it's a Seeing Eye dog and then it'll be Okay." Second man looks dubiously at his tiny Chihuahua, thinks a few seconds, then thanks the first man and goes on in.

Bartender says, "Hey, you can't bring that Chihuahua in here." Man stares straight ahead and exclaims "What! They sold me a Chihuahua?!"

Rumour of the Month: A few days ago a rumour surfaced that Bill Clinton would be replacing Bryant Gumbel on CBS's Early Show. CBS has since denied this, but there's enough talk of him doing a talk show that it can't be dismissed. I, for one, don't see him doing a daily show, but perhaps something weekly, ala Dennis Miller.

Useful Link of the Month: Ever notice that when you search for something on Google, usually the words you looked for appear underlined in the blue bar. If you click on the underlined words, you get taken to Dictionary.com for a definition. Dictionary.com also has thesaurus capabilities, and the design is nice and clean and it loads quickly. It's rapidly becoming my online dictionary of choice.

Word of the Month: You've probably never heard of it, but the word this month is Kakistocracy. What does it mean, you ask? Kakistocracy is government by the worst members of society. Think of Rome under Caligula or Nero, Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines (although that is perhaps better described as a kleptocracy, aka government of thieves) or possibly the Clinton administration.

Acronym of the Month: AD. Anno Domini, which is Latin for "In the Year of Our Lord. This is AD 2002, *not* 2002 AD. I see this misused all the time, even by people who should know better (such as by the writers on Jeopardy).

Quote of the Month: "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!" — Dennis in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Fun Fact of the Month: In the original version of the script for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur and his knights end up finding the Grail in Harrod's, a famous London department store.

Prank of the Month: This is a fun one that requires a camcorder. If you don't have one, borrow one for an afternoon, or even for an hour, and shoot about five minutes of tape from the a corner of your bathroom ceiling. Dub the tape unto a standard VHS tape and you won't need the camera any more. Wait until you have a good crowd in watching TV, and wait for you victim to go to the bathroom. Pop in the tape and once you hear the toilet flush, start playing the tape and get everyone to start laughing (you'll have to clue them in on the joke before the vic gets back). When the victim returns, make a big deal out of turning off the TV, but make sure they actually see what was on the screen so they'll assume you have a hidden camera in the washroom. This can get some interesting responses.

DVD of the Month: On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place. Of course, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, pretty much everywhere is a silly place, from Camelot to the Bridge of Death to the Castle Anthrax. This is easily the funniest of the Monty Python movies, which is to say it's really very funny. It's also a very fun take on the King Arthur legend. As funny as the movie is, though, that's not the primary reason to buy the special edition DVD set. That's right, I said set. Two discs. The first one has the movie with a beautiful new remastered transfer, commentary by the surviving Pythons, subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, and subtitles for people who don't like the movie (taken from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II), and a Follow the Killer Rabbit feature. Disc two has all manner of absurdities like location scouting, a Japanese version with English subtitles, a lego version, an educational film on how to use your coconuts, and lots of other stuff. I can't recommend this DVD set enough.