Re: Yes

1

I'm put off that they label Barack Obama a dick, but you've got to give them credit for this line:

Personal Life
Barack Obama is married to Michelle Obama (nee Robinson), with whom he has five children: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:13 AM
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2

Funny in theory, but it'll all go to hell as soon as more than six or seven people are editing it.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:24 AM
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3

It's not an actual wiki.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:27 AM
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4

65% as funny as stuffwhitepeoplelike.


Posted by: Willy Voet | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:28 AM
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5

Dickipedia. aka People White People Like to Make Fun Of.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:28 AM
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Weiland is best known for his work with intravenous equipment. His career as a drug fiend began, as so many similar careers do, with the gateway drug marijuana

This is wiki is written by my sixth grade teacher?


Posted by: Michael | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:31 AM
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6: Kinda simul-pwned by Willy. But I'm not bitter, just another opportunity for self-reflection, I'm like Mickey Kaus and Camille Paglia that way.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:32 AM
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damn those is's. If you don't pull them out by the root, they spring right back up.


Posted by: Michael | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:32 AM
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9

7 6: 5: Fuck.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:33 AM
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10

If start exploring that site by clicking on people you're more or less view positively (i.e. lance armstrong), wondering why they're being called a dick, what comes to light is that the indisputable dick is the guy writing the site.


Posted by: Michael | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:37 AM
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11

Funnier than Stuff White People Like. Still, not so funny.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:42 AM
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12

It's not an actual wiki.

Then I have to reappraise it and judge it as Less Than Funny. I'd been giving it a funniness handicap, assuming it was a product of the Distributed Funniness of the Internet.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:43 AM
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11: Stuff White People Like isn't supposed to be funny, though. It's just supposed to amuse white people by giving them another way to imagine themselves as separate from all those other white people by laughing at them. Stuff white people like: Stuff White People Like.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:46 AM
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14

Between this and Stuff That One White Dude Should Shut Up About, I think ogged must just really miss calling the fat kid stupid at recess.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:46 AM
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Tweety, do you know that you're a hater?


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:48 AM
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15: and fat!


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:49 AM
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calling the sick fat kid stupid


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:49 AM
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Why you got to hate on the haters, ogged?


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:49 AM
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Wait... what's that in the corner? "Dickipedia is a production of 236.com."

Ogged, you've been suckered by the HuffPo-industrial complex.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:53 AM
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That's how I knew it wasn't a wiki, strasman. It's ok, this is a blog where everyone can go at their own pace.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:57 AM
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Surely someone has written an undergraduate thesis, if not a masters thesis, on the semiotics of anatomical names as insults: there are rich and varied shades of meaning conveyed by the choice of calling someone a dick, a prick, a pussy, a cunt, or an asshole.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 8:57 AM
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You have to give credit to the Pilgrims entry.

The Pilgrims had originally fled a volatile political environment in the East Midlands of England for the Netherlands. But once in the Netherlands, the Pilgrims' level of dickishness was such that they couldn't live even in the Netherlands. Many have asked, what kind of dick would find the Netherlands too intolerant or too constraining? The answer is the Pilgrims.

Funny.


Posted by: wrenae | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:04 AM
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20: It's ok, this is a blog where everyone can go at their own pace.

And still get a trophy at the end of the blog! (Except KR who was a complete tool in his pre-nup with Fleur.)


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:04 AM
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24

Seeing stras and Sifu earnestly attack something because it's not sufficiently funny is itself pretty funny.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:06 AM
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Humorless. You people are totally humorless.


Posted by: Sybil Vane | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:06 AM
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26

How can there not be an academic category?


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:07 AM
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27

The site is hilarious, and this is a blog of haters. From the David Brooks entry.

Brooks is very interested in anthropology, psychology and sociology, and likes to apply the language and tools of these fields to his analysis of politics and pop culture. He wishes to be taken very seriously by scholars in these fields, and would be, if only he hadn't been born extremely lazy.

...

Brooks has been able to surmount these obstacles with surprising success. At an early age, he resolved that he would overcome his disability through a combination of dishonesty and smiling.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:12 AM
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28

It doesn't really bother me, the way STFUWPD does; it just isn't very funny.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:14 AM
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29

If it were a real wiki that'd be pretty hilarious.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:14 AM
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30

Yea, I found the site pretty funny.


Posted by: Will | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:18 AM
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Seeing stras and Sifu earnestly attack something because it's not sufficiently funny is itself pretty funny.

Funniness is a serious business, Tim.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:18 AM
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28: "I was never really that into her, anyway."

At an early age, he resolved that he would overcome his disability through a combination of dishonesty and smiling.

That's kind of fantastic.


Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:19 AM
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33

The "Political Dicks" category calls to mind this Slate article on the overall shittiness of current political satire.


Posted by: DS | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:21 AM
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34

The Pilgrims one is pretty funny. All in all, too wordy.

I think that a lot of semi-funny people don't appreciate that "brevity is the soul of wit" is really, really true. Imitating the tone of Wikipedia in service of calling people dicks is only funny for about a paragraph. After that, you really, really need to produce the funny at a very high rate.

The McCain one, for instance, just drones on and fucking on. Every few sentences, the writer remembers to throw in some snark. Not enough.

Insofar as it's intended seriously - it really has a lot of factual stuff on why McCain sucks, for example - it's probably an OK thing. But I doubt that it would be effective as, for instance, a link to send to an independent voter contemplating a McCain vote.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:21 AM
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27: Both of those excerpts are correct, dead-on critiques of David Brooks. Neither of them, however, is terribly funny. Jon Stewart said something once about how you know your joke's failed when it gets applause instead of laughter; most of this site consist of lines people would applaud at, but wouldn't get a laugh.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:22 AM
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36

Whereas

Hillary's most notable contribution as First Lady was the Clinton health care plan, which enjoyed unanimous Congressional support, effectively providing quality universal coverage to every single American regardless of age, race, or income.
just sitting as its own para works quite nicely.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:24 AM
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37

34 is very true. It's actually really, really hard to write something that both informs your audience and makes them laugh, which is why most political humor goes for either the empty personality jokes of late-night monologues, or ends up as blog snark.


Posted by: strasmangelo jones | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:26 AM
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38

Good grief, I agree completely with stras.

And I wrote this before I even saw 37


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:28 AM
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39

"smiling" is a good, funny word to end on. I'll dissect the rest of the frog chez Standpipe.


Posted by: Wrongshore | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:37 AM
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40

There are two ways one could approach a project like this. One would be to try to mimic wikipedia users and vary the styles and the quality of the entries. The other is to use only the form of wikipedia, but write every single entry in the same goddamn style with lots of paragraphs asking and answering the author's boring questions. Which style does the Dickipedia adopt? Answer: the latter.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:41 AM
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35: I think those lines merit a snicker.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:41 AM
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42

A murmur of appreciation rippled through the audience.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:46 AM
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43

The Stephanopoulos entry uses form to some good effect.


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:48 AM
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44

The awesome.

When you visit, don't miss the graphic.


Posted by: hangs to the left | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:50 AM
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I think it's funny. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but clever, chuckle-worthy, and tart and biting in a satisfactory way. Kind of like a Granny Smith apple.


Posted by: mrh | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:56 AM
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46

I wouldn't call any type of apple particularly chuckle-worthy.


Posted by: peter | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:59 AM
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47

I wouldn't call any type of apple particularly chuckle-worthy.

Humorless.


Posted by: mrh | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 9:59 AM
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35: I think those lines merit a snicker.

I smirked.


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:00 AM
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49

I dunno, I read half the Scott Weiland entry and then got bored. If you can't think of something funny to say about Scott Weiland, you have problems.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:02 AM
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I wouldn't call any type of apple particularly chuckle-worthy.

Think different, peter.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:03 AM
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51

Rich media personalities claim to be in touch with and to speak for "real America"? I never knew. How funny is it to have that pointed out at tedious length? Very funny. And now that that question has been answered, the answer should be taken as truth.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:05 AM
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The Weiland entry really is shit. "Faux-grunge"? Zing! Because there was so much authentic "grunge."


Posted by: DS | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:10 AM
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53

This thread would be a lot funnier if it were shorter.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:13 AM
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Rich media personalities claim to be in touch with and to speak for "real America"?

That's not the funny part.


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:15 AM
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I probably didn't read far enough to find it. Or I was just too overwhelmed by the dullness.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:18 AM
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The existence of the thing itself is funny.

Also, Lance Armstrong is kind of a dick, and I for one fully approve of the fact that the dicks in question are so labelled. The actual *entries* aren't funny, but hey; quibbling about details is dickish.

Also, the list is (obviously) far too short.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:24 AM
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(obviously) far too short.

B always says this about dicks.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:25 AM
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The funny part was using the form of Stephanopolous's own appalling defense of his appalling behavior as a way of critiquing Stephanopoulos. Admittedly, this joke has been done before, better and shorter.


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:27 AM
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And, appropriately enough, her next comment was on "It's Been Too Long".


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:29 AM
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B always says this about dicks.

That's right, apo, I say that to everyone. Don't you worry.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:37 AM
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The funny part was that someone in a cummerbund presumed to tell an ordinary american about what's funny.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:45 AM
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w-lfs-n, what do you know about ordinary Americans?


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:48 AM
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Who was the ordinary American in this exchange?


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:49 AM
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64

Only what I've learned from introspection.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:49 AM
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63: Whoever wasn't black or a college graduate.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:54 AM
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Introspection is a deeply flawed technique, w-lfs-n. You should know this. You should be out there interviewing ordinary Americans every day about what's funny.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:54 AM
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67

Which is to say, eb.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:55 AM
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Ah, but Sifu, I have developed a technique that allows me to introspect what others are thinking and feeling.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 10:58 AM
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68: He'll make millions!


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:00 AM
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"exospection" gets 51 google hits.

ben, you need to own this word. It can only get more popular.


Posted by: peter | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:02 AM
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I have developed a technique that allows me to introspect what others are thinking and feeling.

I see. Do you actually ever plan on using this technique? OR are you just going to publish a paper on it?


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:21 AM
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Oh, the stuff about the debate? Not particularly funny, no, and not definitely not original.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:27 AM
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one of those "not"s should have been deleted


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:28 AM
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Do you actually ever plan on using this technique?

I believe what you mean is, "Oh yeah? introspect this."


Posted by: slolernr | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:41 AM
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Yeah, that's what I meant. I'm not as funny as you, Slol.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 04-24-08 11:46 AM
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