Comments on: Monkeys

Monkeys

bobbyelliott — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:28:56 -0800

The meaning of life.

By: Malor

Malor — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:36:09 -0800

[this is good]

By: deadfather

deadfather — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:36:34 -0800

Call me Ishmael.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:45:42 -0800

That was beautiful, and not just because that "slide advance" noise brought back the joys of filmstrip day in elementary school.

By: Colloquial Collision

Colloquial Collision — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:46:25 -0800

So...Life is meaningless...for monkeys?

By: redteam

redteam — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:27:50 -0800

Some monkey ate mushrooms for the first time.

By: robot

robot — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:28:35 -0800

Dance monkeys! Dance!

By: lorbus

lorbus — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:33:18 -0800

I feel more monkey now.

By: MetaMonkey

MetaMonkey — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:45:39 -0800

Not enough dancing.

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:46:12 -0800

"The monkeys have so much potential if only they would apply themselves." Amen. Excellent post. From one monkey to another, thanks for sharing, bobbyelliott.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 02:56:21 -0800

This monkey approves. And surely this is via?

By: Davenhill

Davenhill — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 03:00:45 -0800

Wait a second... that movie was MADE by monkeys! Monkeys are funny. Like when they wear clothes, wash a cat in the sink, or launch cruise missiles from the Oval Office.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 03:50:33 -0800

By: arialblack

arialblack — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:01:23 -0800

the monkeys are made of meat.

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:03:10 -0800

Why does the monkey do what the monkey does ?

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:10:40 -0800

Is that Carey Grant to thr lrft of the screen?

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:10:55 -0800

left.

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:24:15 -0800

Do you remember film strips?

By: terrymiles

terrymiles — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:27:38 -0800

OOK!

By: Zombie Dreams

Zombie Dreams — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:59:20 -0800

Too bad there wasn't a real climax... it kept getting better and better, but then it got repetitive.

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 05:15:08 -0800

I liked it well enough, but why does every one one of these little spiels assume that all us monkeys are lonely and unhappy.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 05:15:18 -0800

So someone took the "stuff is funny if you include monkeys in it" and ran with it, did they?

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 05:35:05 -0800

That was great. As I sit here eating a banana..

By: loquacious

loquacious — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 05:36:48 -0800

Keep banging those rocks together, guys.

By: magodesky

magodesky — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 05:39:02 -0800

The monkeys make internet movies wherein they use the word "monkey" way too many times.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:02:39 -0800

I know I did.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:02:41 -0800

moonbiter: Agree strongly. I'm neither lonely nor unhappy. Aggervated sometimes, and I'll admit to not being content all the time, but the world would be awfully boring if the only thing you could feel was happy or content. Big brains mean we aren't happy all the time because we've got that inconvenient self awareness thing going for us, as well as the whole "looking to the future" ability. I don't see it as being a problem, just a consiquence of what we are. Dogs are happy all the time because they're too stupid to be anything else. Not that I've got anything against dogs, they're cool, but I don't particularly envy them for their mindless happyness. I'll take the human condition over the canine condition any day.

By: Falconetti

Falconetti — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:06:50 -0800

Wow, that taught me a boring lesson.

By: It ain't over yet

It ain't over yet — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:12:23 -0800

Would have benefited from a different narrator. Maybe the foreign legion guy.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:20:50 -0800

Monkey see, monkey do. Monkey do, monkey do-do

By: Sijeka

Sijeka — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:31:38 -0800

yeah, the narrator's voiced ruined it.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:32:42 -0800

Monkey see, monkey click.

By: Stauf

Stauf — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:39:17 -0800

Well, I liked it. btw, was anyone reminded of that part in Being John Malkovich? Craig Schwartz: You don't know how lucky you are being a monkey. Because consciousness is a terrible curse. I think. I feel. I suffer. And all I ask in return is the opportunity to do my work. And they won't allow it... because I raise issues.

By: any major dude

any major dude — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:39:19 -0800

The monkeys would be just fine if they just stopped listening to other monkeys and started trusting themselves...

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:44:39 -0800

the "monkeys" have a peculiar need to denegrate themselves by calling themselves monkeys ... at best, it gives them relief through cynical laugher ... at worst, it makes them feel as if they can't really be held responsible

By: Stauf

Stauf — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:45:05 -0800

The monkeys will never be just fine. Does that make me a cynic?

By: UseyurBrain

UseyurBrain — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:49:16 -0800

I, myself, am a Potato Washing Monkey.

By: fungible

fungible — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:53:49 -0800

Well, at first the monkeys worry about everything, then by the end, the monkeys think everything's going to be fine. Well, which is it? Personally, I fancy myself as a salamander.

By: Mocata

Mocata — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:58:06 -0800

The guy's accent was too annoying.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:01:15 -0800

war with newts

By: driveler

driveler — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:12:13 -0800

*applauds* But this was a lot like Inside the Monkeysphere, except not as funny.

By: quite unimportant

quite unimportant — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:14:08 -0800

What do I care? This guy isn't anywhere near inside my Monkeysphere.

By: quite unimportant

quite unimportant — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:14:20 -0800

DAMN! TWO MINUTES.

By: PlusDistance

PlusDistance — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:26:10 -0800

Code monkey get up, get coffee. Code monkey go to job. Code monkey have boring meeting With boring manager Rob...

By: mosk

mosk — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:30:45 -0800

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy. Enjoyed that quite a bit

By: allen.spaulding

allen.spaulding — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:35:13 -0800

I ain't no monkey's uncle

By: 6am

6am — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:38:34 -0800

Monkeys with insurance.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:42:38 -0800

Some monkeys like to by snarky. Other monkeys think cynicism is a trap.

By: signal

signal — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:49:57 -0800

Post monkey, post!

By: BillyElmore

BillyElmore — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:51:08 -0800

I have been wondering about that--the meaning of life. Meaning is found in facing the fact that we are really just smart monkeys? Better was the post of the one-act monkeys-are-meat play. That monkeys are thinking, dancing, singing meat helps put it all in my sector of reality. But still, this falls short of the meaning my meat seeks. My cockatiel says, "I'm such a pretty bird!" over and over as I ponder this and his tiny meat brain. At least I know I'm not alone. Some meaning is indeed found in the post about monkeys washing potatoes. That rang true in my meathead. When the hundredth monkey learns to wash the sand from thrown potatoes, wonder happens. All monkeys everywhere get it through unseen group consciousness. The web of life kicks in, and suddenly we all learn to wash sand from potatoes cast before us. Quick! All monkeys stop hating, killing and destroying the planet, I can’t wait to see if this works. I'm such a pretty bird.

By: nola

nola — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:52:36 -0800

"misery makes the monkey eat red pepper." nice post.

By: quarsan

quarsan — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:54:09 -0800

monkeyfilter

By: jmgorman

jmgorman — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:56:13 -0800

I prefer his airwolf performance.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:07:20 -0800

There's something very wrong about this superior tone coming from a narrator who can't pronounce 'Nietzsche'

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:14:35 -0800

I found that unsurprisingly void of meaning.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:18:42 -0800

There's something very wrong about this superior tone coming from a narrator who can't pronounce 'Nietzsche' There's something very wrong about this superior tone coming from a MeFite who thinks whatever way he happens to pronounce 'Nietzsche' is the pronunciation, and everyone who says it some other way is an idiot. Hint: produce an audio file of you saying "Nietzsche" and I guarantee I'll be able to find something "wrong" with it.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:27:22 -0800

blue_beetle: yeah, that too. The promised meaning of life was never delivered.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:30:57 -0800

"Take your stinkin paws off me, you damn dirty ape"

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:35:19 -0800

not to fling poo or anything, but that flimstrip advance noise always meant you had to push a button or lever, like a good trained monkey--but no one was at the machine, or holding a wired remote to it...and why would a group of monkeys watch a filmstrip on monkeys telling them stuff they already knew? and in such a tone of derision? /cranky monkey

By: jewzilla

jewzilla — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:35:42 -0800

Does this explain why I can't help flinging poo? <fling>

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:36:00 -0800

The promised meaning of life was never delivered. The author insinuates it with his reference to how animals can just "be." There is no meaning to life, because meaning is an artifact of the way our peculiar monkey-brains work.

By: Cedric

Cedric — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:44:47 -0800

I give it a mischievous tails up. Sidequestion: didn't a real monkey, instead of the human one make it to space first?

By: kindall

kindall — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:49:28 -0800

The original performance MP3 is much better. It's all in the delivery and the delivery here is flat.

By: Krrrlson

Krrrlson — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:50:06 -0800

I love the smell of pomposity in the morning. Well, at least it was rather well done.

By: killdevil

killdevil — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:50:58 -0800

that was good.

By: Krrrlson

Krrrlson — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:51:00 -0800

Sidequestion: didn't a real monkey, instead of the human one make it to space first? Not before a dog.

By: kindall

kindall — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:53:26 -0800

Actually, much to my dismay, Ernie seems to have swapped out his original MP3 of his monkeys piece with a later recording. The later recording has better sound quality but is not as good a performance.

By: Slarty Bartfast

Slarty Bartfast — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 08:59:12 -0800

I really liked it, so suck it hater-monkeys. Seriously, 99% of us with high speed internet access on a Sunday morning "get" what this is saying. But how foreign and radical this must sound to much of the world, even in 2006. Some monkey ate mushrooms for the first time. Heh.

By: isopraxis

isopraxis — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:14:53 -0800

monkey washing a cat

By: banished

banished — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:18:24 -0800

There's something very wrong about this superior tone coming from a narrator who can't pronounce 'Nietzsche' Ever hear the President say "nuclear"? This kid may have a bigger future than you think.

By: longdaysjourney

longdaysjourney — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:21:18 -0800

There's something very wrong about this superior tone coming from a MeFite who thinks whatever way he happens to pronounce 'Nietzsche' is the pronunciation, and everyone who says it some other way is an idiot. Hint: produce an audio file of you saying "Nietzsche" and I guarantee I'll be able to find something "wrong" with it. Pompomtom never made a claim that he himself could pronounce Nietzsche correctly, just that the narrator was failing to pronounce the name correctly. Assuming that pompomtom was referring to this, he is of course, correct. :-)

By: growabrain

growabrain — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:31:57 -0800

Monkey brain

By: empath

empath — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:37:45 -0800

it goes off the rails when it gets to the beatles, but before that, it was fantastic.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:55:15 -0800

not to fling poo or anything, but that flimstrip advance noise always meant you had to push a button or lever, like a good trained monkey--but no one was at the machine, or holding a wired remote to it In fact, I've watched plenty of film strips on machines that were designed to wait for the "boop" noise and advance all by themselves.

By: Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III

Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:12:58 -0800

How dare he tell me my Religion is just a fear-fueled fantasy crutch. I hate him! I want to kill him with my poo! And it smells very badly too.

By: MarkO

MarkO — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:14:18 -0800

I'll take the human condition over the canine condition any day. Spoken like a true monkey.

By: vertriebskonzept

vertriebskonzept — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:22:55 -0800

the "monkeys" have a peculiar need to denegrate themselves by calling themselves monkeys ... at best, it gives them relief through cynical laugher @pyramide termite, please rethink this, because there are tremendous implications. We need to understand where we come from, if we want to improve the human condition. @no one in particular: the danger comes, when monkeys, realizing what they are, start to derive monkeyish consequences from that. Nontheless, we must try, is there another hope?

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:30:23 -0800

really odin? i never heard of such a smart filmstrip machine. It's always been in my experience that the noise on the soundtrack was a specific cue for an actual person to advance it.

By: forforf

forforf — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:39:38 -0800

what does it take to "not" be a monkey. Saying man is "just monkeys" is fine and all ... I'm just not sure what the point is, but then I can be dense like that.

By: kindall

kindall — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:45:27 -0800

i never heard of such a smart filmstrip machine. That is because you went to cheap-ass schools. I believe the cue tone for automatic-advance filmstrip players is actually on a separate channel from the main audio. I remember some tapes having two sides, one with audible cue tones and the other without.

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:46:41 -0800

Slam poem.

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:48:07 -0800

Longdaysjourney - you deserve some sort of award for that.

By: shnoz-gobblin

shnoz-gobblin — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:57:40 -0800

Needs more monkey-bell.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 11:12:40 -0800

@pyramide termite, please rethink this, because there are tremendous implications. there's a world of difference between saying we are monkeys and saying we evolved from them ... i'm fine with the latter statement ... the former statement isn't going to help us with anything

By: lekvar

lekvar — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:15:12 -0800

[pedant] Monkeys have tails. Not having tails, we are apes, as are the chimps and orangutangs shown during the rant. [/pedant] I enjoyed that.

By: lalochezia

lalochezia — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:18:54 -0800

Pah. You say monkey, i say lizaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard.

By: magodesky

magodesky — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:38:10 -0800

Technically, we're not monkeys. We're apes.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:52:50 -0800

He went on to become the Austin Slam Champion in 1998 and again in 2001... Like it means something. The monkeys have so much potential if only they apply themselves. Why? We're just a bunch of monkeys. He also wrote this, which has been e-mailed to me at least five times by the same person. His mastery of the obvious and ability to contradict himself while maintaining a smug, damn-that-makes-me-want-to-punch-myself-in-the-face-as-a-proxy-for-him tone is impressive, though.

By: muppetboy

muppetboy — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:56:30 -0800

Clearly created by a monkey.

By: arialblack

arialblack — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:27:42 -0800

boop!

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:32:20 -0800

That is because you went to cheap-ass schools. I believe the cue tone for automatic-advance filmstrip players is actually on a separate channel from the main audio. I remember some tapes having two sides, one with audible cue tones and the other without. of course i did : P maybe those came later? post early-mid 70s?

By: vertriebskonzept

vertriebskonzept — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:34:17 -0800

what does it take to "not" be a monkey. Not blindly doing what feels good or right, because you know now where feelings come from. Trying to rationally find the ethical thing. I know this sounds not fun. But it is the only way to bring long term happiness, justice, etc. to the greatest number. Emotions have certainly their place and time. But they should not be the top decision makers.

By: quin

quin — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 14:00:02 -0800

Technically, we're not monkeys. We're apes. i think that's what he meant when when he commented that we delineate between Homo-erectus and Australopithecus. From an unbiased observers perspective, we are picking nits and 'monkey' is as good a term as any. Still, i liked it. i would have preferred if he made a stonger closing on his point of 'just being', but on the whole it was pretty solid.

By: jne1813

jne1813 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 14:14:05 -0800

the monkeys like to listen to music...by the monkeys

By: RufusW

RufusW — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:07:09 -0800

Better to be Socrates dissatisfied, than a fool satisfied... or something along those lines...

By: dopeypanda

dopeypanda — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:30:53 -0800

Pedantic monkeys.

Pedantic apes.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 16:27:50 -0800

is it any wonder, that the monkeys confused?

By: the jam

the jam — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 18:54:41 -0800

Anyone who liked the ideas here should check out Alan Watts' The Wisdom of Insecurity. Same line of thought with better metaphors and without the smugness.

By: Football Bat

Football Bat — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 21:39:36 -0800

Uhh... yeah, I agree. Good until the Beatles. Then it manages to be both self-righteous yet say nothing new. Oh, and languagehat's right. Nobody knows how to say Nietzsche's name. I've seen philosophy classes grind to a lovely stop because of professor-embarassment. That's one of the little gifts he left us. That and his hatred.

By: zouhair

zouhair — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 21:44:52 -0800

Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï Kaï

By: fake

fake — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:36:05 -0800

I believe the cue tone for automatic-advance filmstrip players is actually on a separate channel from the main audio. I remember some tapes having two sides, one with audible cue tones and the other without. Close- there were often two sides to the cassettes, (audible and inaudible) but there were not two channels of sound on each side. They actually work with a very low-frequency bump, something like 20-30hz. It's just a sound that's so low that the little speaker on the thing can't reproduce it. But it's mixed in with the audio you hear, it's not a separate channel.

By: Phanx

Phanx — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 04:01:59 -0800

The correct pronunciation of "Nietzsche" is "Wanker".

By: Danf

Danf — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 11:06:54 -0800

It featured showed Micky Donlenz but not Ringo Starr. . .I am affronted.

By: MiltonRandKalman

MiltonRandKalman — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:34:25 -0800

I like the live version better. Still that was pretty Airwolf.