Monthly Archive for February, 2006

February 25, 2006

Walked by NYU and in front of a building was one of those inflatable rats that they use when a strike is about to go down…
I’ll take a picture of it for you to see for yourself…

Rat

See how big and ugly it is? This sure looks like one dirty rat making a valid point to someone! I know: I get the point and I don’t even know what the upcoming strike is all about. The energy, though… BIG TIME anger in the air!!! You just know that there are a bunch of people who are unhappy with their current work situation and all hell is about to break loose any minute now with a band of brothers and sisters waving signs and blowing whistles, chiming, chanting and clanging in accord in the designated area. They’re probably putting the finishing touches on signs that read something like, “WE WANT MORE” and “LIFE ISN’T FAIR! WE DESERVE BETTER TREATMENT”.

It’s chilly outside and I bet the head organizers are passing out weather bulletins right and left to all the strikers warning them to “bundle up” and “gear up for a cold one out there”. The smell of permanent markers fills the air. It’s about time to raise some mother-friggin hell! Let’s move! Let’s MOVE!!!

I wonder what would happen if the people that make the rats decided to go on strike? They would not only have the capability to make a colony of these disgusting rats but they could actually make inflatable replicas of the people they are pissed at, making the boss or bosses into whatever they choose. Could you imagine being the owner of an inflatable rat company and your employees go on strike and put your face on a rat’s body? I would give them whatever they demanded if that happened to me.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on what transpires with the strike. I set up a chair and a little table across the street and brought with me some hot cocoa, some bananas, mixed nuts, playing cards, and a big bowl of hot oats, waiting for them to strike up the strike. Hope they win!

February 21, 2006

I got an e-mail yesterday from a girl named Jessica asking why the hell I’m slacking so much on my diarrheas and it hit me like a pound of foam bricks that I need to get on the ball and write more of them. Here is her sweet e-mail that was cut and pasted by my professional cut and paster specialist who works for me on Mondays.

bobby,
i have grown to become an avid reader of “dear diarrhea,” and i am sad to find that you have recently been diarrhea-ing less and less often. i, personally, very much look forward to your fresh diarrheas, and i don’t think i am alone when i say that i hope you begin to diarrhea more regularly. your fans need a consistent diarrhea they can count on.

keep up the great work!
-jessica

Thanks Jessica! I really have one answer for you. I’ve been very busy and really haven’t had the time to write them, but after receiving your plea I will try with all my might to write a diarrhea at least three times a week from here on out. You see, I am very critical about my writing and I don’t want to just throw a bunch of bullshit out for the web-world to read. Do you know how hard it is to be just “so-so” funny?…Hard! It rarely happens that I’m just “so-so” funny but when it does occur I end up getting super depressed and forget to feed my weekly staff and then all hell breaks loose after that. One time I wrote a so-so funny birthday card for my friend Carl and I couldn’t feed my staff for two weeks! The card went something like this…

On construction paper I sketched a bird sitting on a park bench with the caption reading “Sure wish someone could give me some fucking BIRD SEED for my, oh I don’t know… BIRTHDAY!” Then when he opened the card I used glue and bird seed to write “Happy Birthday, Carl!” and then under that I wrote in a standard no.2 pencil, “Have a wonderful birthday, Carl! I hope that all your dreams and aspirations come true and that you don’t get too many rotten teeth and extra weight gain from the cake that I labored over for FIVE MINUTES buying for you at the bakery!”

At Carl’s birthday party when he was reading my card out loud for everyone to hear, he fumbled on a couple of words and it came out sounding stupid and NO ONE laughed except for me and my staff! It was painful to hear him screw it up and in the end it turned out to be just “so-so” funny. The rest is history…

So now you can see, Jessica, why I don’t write my diarrheas everyday because if you can believe it, I’m not always super funny like everyone thinks I am. I can actually be just… well, so-so. Like this diarrhea for example.

By the way, and this is important, I always write my originally handcrafted birthday card notes in pencil just in case the card gets “misplaced” after a party and ends up in my knapsack for me to take home, erase and rewrite a message, and use for another one of my friends named Carl. (I have six friends named Carl, eight named Eddie, and two comrades named Randy. So be on the lookout Carl, Eddie, and Randy!!!)

That’s the scoop, Jessica. Once again, thanks for writing me and putting a fire under my butt hole. So-so or not, here come the diarrheas!

February 14, 2006

Now I have another cool thing to tell my kids about being in NYC to experience a new record in snow accumulation! Twenty-six inches!!!

I want to make a new series of T-shirts that take the typical “I Survived” concept one step further. For instance, I want to make a t- shirt that says, “I Survived The Blizzard of 2006!” and then under that I’ll have this written in a much smaller font…

“Because I went to the store and bought lots and lots of water, bread, canned foods, candles, six flashlights WITH extra batteries for each one, waterproof spray for my dungarees and boots, rock salt, whole peppercorns, (Just kidding about the pepper corns! I used the rock salt for my driveway!) two warm pairs of long Johnathons, hand warmers, a set of chains for my tires, emergency flares, a snow shovel, diet Mountain Dew, a fifth of Jamesons, a box of tissues, a few “A Few Good Men” DVDs for myself and my two neighbors, construction paper, crayons, wax pencils, sparklers, shampoo for dry skin, (a blizzard tends to dry the skin) monopoly money, two six-foot wool scarves that I sewed together to make into a twelve-footer for extra warmth and protection, raw spaghetti noodles, apples, the soundtrack to “She’s Having A Baby”, ear muffs, a power generator, gloves, goggles, grapes, cold and flu tablets, chapstick, two novels on adopting kids with ADD and other head cases, frozen clam chowder and a sketch pad. I also survived the blizzard of 2006 because I was a boy scout for many years and had lots of training in snow removal and igloo building, not to mention an overall grasp on CPR and other lifesaving skills. All in all I survived the blizzard of 2006 because I was VERY prepared and I followed all the helpful advice from my friends at Fox News. That and a little LUCK!!!!”

You get the point…

Some of my t-shirts will have less of an explanation than others.
Here are a few examples…

I SURVIVED HURRICANE HUGO!….

Because I wasn’t near the area. Unfortunately there were a handful of people that didn’t survive the massive storm and here is a list of their names in alphabetical order… (Add names here)

I SURVIVED THE HENDENBURG!….

Because, oh, I don’t know…. WASN’T BORN YET!

I SURVIVED HEART BURN!….

Because I took an antacid and immediately jumped into the lotus position just like my chiropractor told me to do and it WORKED!!! Bye- bye heart burn! Hello relief!!!

Just a few of the many creations that I have in store for the coming year. Don’t even think about stealing this idea!!! Come on….. don’t take it from me, it was MY idea.

Anyway, sorry so short. It’s better to have a short Diarrhea than a long one from time to time to change the pace!

February 3, 2006

I went to a cool party last night and there was free food and drinks all night long. I like parties like that more than the ones where you have to pay to attend and bring your own food and drinks… That seems like a no-brainer right? Well you are correct!

I want to open up a fancy club and call it Bouncers and it will be the most unique club in the city. It’s more of a place that you go to once and then tell a friend to go to it just to experience what you experienced. Here is what you get when you go to Bouncers…. Here, I’ll put this experience into a scene for you…

We open on a young couple, Alex and Allison, walking up 9th avenue towards 18th street where Bouncers Bar and Grille is. They both look sharp as a nail- dressed in their respected club outfits. Allison’s heels are tapping to the hip and confident beat that the two exude as they stroll towards a couple of large spotlights cutting through the crisp night air. There is something BIG going down tonight at Bouncers and now everyone within five miles can follow the lights to what the reviews are calling “The most interesting club experience in decades!”

ALEX- I wonder how much electricity is wasted on those spot lights?
Seems like a huge waste of resources if you ask me.

ALLISON- We’re not talking about stuff like that tonight, remember?
We are just gonna let loose tonight and not worry about a thing. (she playfully slaps his butt) Come on! Let’s hurry, I have to pee like a mad woman!

They hurry ahead toward the spotlights, laughing and giggling like a couple of school girls.

Just as they get to the corner of 18th and 9th Ave, they are stopped by a beefy looking guy dressed in black, wearing a headset and a flashlight around his neck.

GUY- Excuse me guys? Are you looking for Bouncers?

ALEX- Yes?… Why?

The guy uses his flashlight and points toward the middle of the block.

GUY- It’s about half a block thataway. Just follow the velvet rope and when you see two massive spotlights, you’ll see Bouncers across the street from them. See those spots in the air?

No shit? You mean the spotlights that you can see from Georgia?
Allison is a little too nice to say that.

ALLISON- Ummm, yeah… We can see the lights, thanks.

They smile and giggle off toward Bouncers following a velvet rope that’s almost a block long.

ALEX- Good God, how long do they expect the line to go? Haven’t seen a velvet rope this long since James Frey came to Borders to re-promote his new fiction, “Forty-five Pieces”…

ALLISON- (laughing) Good one, honey… You should write that one down.

ALEX- Oh, I did already…

A very large man is standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He, too is wearing all black with headset and flashlight get-up as the earlier fellow. He holds his hand out to stop Alex and Allison.

MAN- Whoa whoa whoaaaaa… Slow down, guys.

He pulls on his flashlight and it snaps off into his hand. You can tell that this is his favorite thing to do and he does it with flare like a well oiled drill sergeant.

MAN CONT- Are you guys going to Bouncers?

ALEX- Yes.

MAN- (pointing with his flashlight) Just follow the same path as you were before. Head towards those two spotlights over there-

ALEX- And it’s across the street from the lights.

MAN- Don’t put words in my mouth!

Both are shocked at his reaction

ALLISON- Thanks… we’ll just go to the club now…

They slowly slide past the man as if at any minute he would grab one of them and snap their neck.

ALEX- Have a good evening…

The man just stares at them stone faced. As they walk away they whisper to each other and squeeze each others hands really tight.

ALEX- Oh my God, that was the weirdest thing-

MAN- (shouting) I heard that!

Finally they get to Bouncers. There are four huge bouncers at the door, all looking exactly like the first two. There is no one waiting in line.

Bouncer 1- (holding out a flashlight over his right shoulder) Need to see some I.DEEEEEEE’S…

A & A pull out their ID’s

BOUNCER 1- What do we have heeeeeeerrrrrre…(to another bouncer) Ted. Get a load of this.

He hands Ted Allison’s ID. Ted pulls his flashlight out and holds it over his right shoulder and examines the ID for a few long beats.

ALEX- What seems to be the problem?

BOUNCER 1- Ohhhhh, nothing… HAZEL EYES! Ha haaaaa….

TED- Yeah right! (points flashlight into Alex’s eyes) Don’t look hazel to me.

ALEX- (rubbing his temporarily blind eyes) No shit… My girlfriend has the hazel eyes!

BOUNCER 1- (forced calmness) Don’t raise your voice to us, sir. I don’t think that’s a very good idea.

TED- Yeah. Not a good idea. Isn’t that right, Rich!?

Rich, another beefy bouncer, chimes in.

RICH- Not a good idea, folks… I’d keep your voices down if I were you. Isn’t that right, Doug!?

Doug… well you get it. Same thing.

DOUG- Yeah, not a good idea to raise your voice…. Clay!

Alex and Allison look for another bouncer to pop out from somewhere.
Who was he talking too?

DOUG- (yelling into his headset) Clay!

ALLISON- Is this some sort of joke or something? I’m the one with hazel eyes… (leans in to Bouncer 1)… see?

Bouncer 1 holds his hand out to push Allison away.

BOUNCER 1- Keep your eyes out of this. We’re dealing with something else now. Something that your little friend here needs to understand.
(into his headset) Can we get CLAY, PLEASE?!

All of a sudden, the door flies open and another beefy bouncer runs up to Doug and hands him a glob of modeling clay and then runs back inside.

DOUG- Let me just give you a little example of what happens to people that like to raise their voice to us.

Doug uses his mouth and rips the clay in half. He throws one half to Bouncer 1. They both rhythmically kneed the clay in their hands, staring directly into A&A’s eyes.

BOUNCER 1- Who do you want? Hazel eyes or loud mouth here?

DOUG- I got loudmouth… You’re better with women.

ALEX- (nervous) I think we should just leave now. I’m sorry that I raised my voice…

Grabs Allison’s hand and tries to walk away but is stopped by Rich’s big paws.

RICH- Not so fast, pal. You have a lesson coming your way first. Just stand where you are and be calm.

A&A are really nervous now and don’t want to do anything to harm themselves. They stand and cooperate with the bouncers.

DOUG- Need a couple of lights!

Rich and Ted each hold their flashlights and adjust the beams to put a good wash of light on A&A’s full bodies.

BOUNCER 1- Stay perfectly still guys. Don’t you even THINK about moving or making a sound until we’re done.

Bouncer 1 and Doug quickly make little clay figures of A&A like two very skilled clowns making balloon animals for a child.

Allison starts to shake her legs from side to side. She raises her hand to ask a question.

BOUNCER 1- (surprisingly nice and understanding. Mainly proud of his
work) Yes?

ALLISON- I have to pee like crazy.

BOUNCER 1- We’re almost done and then you can go use the restroom.

ALLISON- Please hurry…

Doug rips the tip of the nail on his pointer finger and uses it to detail his figurine. Brilliant idea and he knows it… He starts to lighten up and is proud of his work too.

DOUG- I’m done, how ‘bout you boss?

BOUNCER 1- I got lucky with the hair… Here, whatcha think?

They both hold out their clay models into the light. They look amazing with perfect detail.

DOUG- Niiiiiiiice… Nice work! (into his headset) Need a Doug and a Bill figurine!

Right after he clicks off his headset, a completely different bouncer comes barreling down the road with his flashlight on. He comes up to Doug hands him a bag and runs off just as fast.

Doug pulls out two figurines, one of himself and one of Bouncer 1 (or Bill)

DOUG- Wait right there guys. (to the other two bouncers) Let’s do this!

He hands them the Bill and Doug clay figurines and they all walk across the street to the huge spotlights.

BILL- Watch and learn, people!

Bill and Doug hold their characters over the light, making the biggest shadow puppet scene in history off the clouds above. Ted and Rich use A&A’s characters and they all do a complete reenactment of A&A coming up to them, raising their voices and whatnot. Finally, after what seems to be a ten minute play in the sky, Doug ends the scene.

DOUG- (shaking his figurine like a puppet as he talks) And THAT’s all you had to say. Now, if you’d like to go inside and pee, just keep your voices down and enjoy the club.

ALLISON- (shaking and screaming from across the street) Does that mean I can go use the restroom now!

DOUG- Yes! (into headset) Let ‘em in!

The doors open. A&A take two steps toward the door and stop. Allison screams.

You see a very long corridor filled with a line of bouncers, spaced about ten feet apart for as far as the eye can see.

The first bouncer at the door raises his flashlight high and cockily over his right shoulder.

BOUNCER- Need to see some I. DEEEEEEEEE’S please.

THE END

I need to make this into a short film! See you guys on the set!