Latest Issue
Volume 33, Issue 1:
The HEURISTIC! Squelch

Ask Miss Methiquette

Dear Miss Methiquette,

No matter what I try, my common-law husband always takes more than his fair share of meth.  He says that because he’s bigger, he requires more to get high, but according to our police records we both weigh around 80 pounds.  I don’t want to lose this guy ( he’s a keeper!!) but I need my fix!  What can I do?

Shortchanged in Schenectady

 

Dear Shortchanged,

If a loved one is being greedy, cordially remind him that when it comes to crystal in a community setting, fair distribution and moderation are top priority.  If he persists, cutting his eye with a sharpened Venetian blind ought to remind him more effectively.

-Miss Methiquette


Dear Miss Methiquette,

What is the proper etiquette for furiously clawing at one’s forearms?  I often find myself with the urge to dig out the poison from underneath my skin, but don’t know if it would be rude to do so while, say, screaming at everyone who walks through the BART station.  Help!

-Abraded in Alameda

 

Dear Abraded,

Scratching one’s self in public should be avoided at all costs.  If you absolutely must, do it in someplace private, like the bathroom of a Quizno’s or in the home of someone who forgot to lock their window.

-Miss Methiquette

 


 

Dear Miss Methiquette,

I’m usually a neat freak, but recently my hospice has become something of a pig-sty, mostly due hours on end spent frantically dismantling appliances and government spy equipment in the dark. Any tips for making the most of my cluttered squalor?

-Sloppy in Stockton

 

Dear Sloppy,

An organized home is a happy one.  Set aside a workstation to take apart every broken cell phone, baby monitor, toaster, and mini-fridge that you find on the sidewalk.

-Miss Methiquette.

_

 

_


 

Dear Miss Methiquette

How much does one tip for an Abe of crank?  My friend and I have a gentleman’s wager.

-Vexed in Vallejo

 

Dear Vexed,

While tipping is always appreciated, it can sometimes be misinterpreted as flashy and nouveau-riche if you over-do it. Stick to oral.

-Miss Methiquette

 


 

Dear Miss Methiquette,

I just moved to a different city, and I’m looking to make a fresh start with a new dealer. How can I show my new friend and pusher that I am a collected, responsible client who won’t snitch?

-Restless in Riverside

 

Dear Restless,

It’s the little things that count. Keeping your fingernails neat and trim is a crucial part of daily hygiene and you should make time for cuticle upkeep every day.  Also, remember to feed your baby.

-Miss Methiquette

 


 

Dear Miss Methiquette,

My in-laws are coming to visit, and I don’t want them to think me a rube.  What goes well with ginger-glazed Mahi Mahi and organic spring greens?

-Frazzled in Fresno

 

Dear Frazzled,

Meth.

-Miss Methiquette

So You’re Going to Hell

Lead a life of debauchery?  Sinned against nature?  Rejected the legitimacy of your one/multiple true God/gods?  Use this handy reference to see just what you ought to expect.

 

Catholicism

What Your Hell is Like: Not as grandiose or visually striking as Vatican paintings imply.

Why You’re Here:  Did not purchase indulgence.

Company: Serial killers, rapists, sex ed teachers

Tormentor(s): Lee Harvey Oswald.

Way Out:  Knowing a guy.

Protestantism

What Your Hell is Like: Forcibly gay married to Richard Dawkins

Why You’re Here:  Too poor.

Company: People foolish enough to live before Christ

Tormentor(s): Creatures evolving just to spite you

Way Out: Besting Satan in Fiddle Hero

Islam

What Your Hell is Like: A searing pit where sinners and Shaitan alike suffer in flames that are 70 times hotter than those on Earth, away from the garden of delight that is Paradise

Why You’re Here: Disobeyed one of the five (if Sunni) or eight (if Shia) pillars of faith or performed the most grievous crime of hypocrisy by claiming to accept Allah and Mohammed but denouncing them in your heart

Company: Betrayers and usurers in a tiered system of punishment similar to – but distinct from – the Christian Dantean viewpoint

Tormentor(s): A horde of the most fiendish ifrits and djinns, nightmare creatures made of smokeless fire.

Way Out: Please don’t have our funding taken away

Buddhism

What Your Hell is Like: Forced to own massive amount of property

Why You’re Here: Misinterpreted vague poem about lotus flower or bee or whatever.

Company: Bully who picked on Buddha in 4th grade

Tormentor(s): Monks embarrassingly more serene than you

Way Out: Ask politely

Judaism

What Your Hell is Like: Since you don’t believe in Hell, you’re actually stuck in the really shitty part of Heaven

Why You’re Here: You couldn’t have called ahead for reservations maybe?

Company: Those awful, noisy Pakowiczes next door, on my worst enemy’s dog I wouldn’t wish this kind of treatment.

Tormentors: Overbearing mothers.

Way Out: Go to med school, why don’t you.

Hinduism

What Your Hell is Like: Trapped in chasm, only allowed 4 sexual positions.

Why You’re Here: Reincarnated as another dead guy.

Company: Whatever the opposite of a cow is.

Tormentors: The studio that brought you The Love Guru.

Way Out: Die (again.)

Scientology

What Your Hell is Like: Simultaneously receiving psychiatric care and not enough attention.

Why You’re Here: Insufficiently crazed proselytizing

Company: Ghost aliens. No, seriously. Ghost aliens.

Tormentors: L. Ron Hubbard laughing at you atop a boat made of money

Way Out: Give him more money

The Carnie Life

Every now and then I find myself thinking, “Max, what if carnies were real people? Where would they go? What would they do?” As it turns out, this summer I had the distinct displeasure of working at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk as a ride operator. My experiences there changed me into one of them forever.

 

These are the untold stories of Carnie life.

_

 

_

_Work

_

Child: I can’t get my seatbelt on. Can you help me?

Me: Yeah whatever, no one helped me in life. You can figure it out like I did.

Child: Doesn’t this ride go upside down?

Me: Maybe. I stop paying attention after I start the ride. Here we go!

-One minute later-

Prostitute: So, are we gonna do this or do you want to wait till the ride’s finished?

Me: Baby, I didn’t wake up at ten fuckin’ thirty for any of your fancy city talk. I did it to start drinking. Anyway, let’s have sex.

Prostitute: Oh yeah, let’s– OH MY GOD! Some kid just fell off that ride!  I think he’s dead.

Me: Don’t look at me. I told him to put his fucking seatbelt on.

_

 

_

_Basic Necessities

_

Grocery Store Clerk: You’re purchasing how many bottles of tequila?

Me: Just 10. I’m not very thirsty today. Oh, and I need a lime.

Clerk: If you don’t mind me asking sir, what do you eat?

Me: That’s what the lime is for, dumbass. That and scurvy.

Clerk: Okay. That brings your total to 214 dollars and 62 cents. How will you be paying today?

Me: With the green paper stuff. What’s it called?

Clerk: Cash?

Me: Yeah, that’s it.

  [Hands over green paper stuff]

Clerk: Sir, this isn’t money. This is just green construction paper that you scribbled numbers all over. Even then, it still only adds up to fifty cents.

Me: Read the back.

Clerk: “WYL U IZ REEDING THIS I IZ TAKING BOOZ AND RUNING.” God dammit, not again!

_

 

_

_Dating

_

Me: So the point of my story is if you’re not careful you can end up with herpes in BOTH your eyes!

Woman: That…that’s disgusting.

Me: Hey don’t judge until you’ve tried it.

Woman: Okay yeah, I’m definitely leaving now.

Me: Just like my wife on my eleventh birthday last year? Women! You’re all the same. You’re more immature than my 3 year old son. Or his three year old, for that matter!

Woman: Did you say eleven? You told me you were Gary Busey! That’s the only reason I’m here!

Me: Naw, that’s my daddy.

Woman: I thought you said your daddy was Robert Downey Jr.?

Me: Naw, that’s my other daddy. Maw was pretty drunk. That’s why I got me a speech impediment.

 

_Safety Training

_

Boss:   So we don’t really know what this button does, or why it’s here, but legend is that it was pressing this button what gave Frank polio.  So don’t press this button.

Me:****   Right.

Boss:  Next up, this piece of equipment is really dangerous and shouldn’t be operated if you’ve been drinking.

Me:  But how am I supposed to get through the day without tequila?

Boss:****   Pssh.  Okay, if you’ve been drinking pussy shit like tequila, that’s fine, princess.  I meant _really _drinkin’.

Me:****   There’s a lot of sparks comin’ out of this wire.  What should I do about that?

Boss:****   Shit, we need more gum. 

_

 

_

_Hanging Out With Co-Workers

_

Jeb:   Damn, sometimes it’s just good to hang out outside of the workplace.  Specifically, in the parking lot.

Charley:   You gonna eat that cigarette?

Jeb:   Hell yes, the filter is where all the vitamins are.

Me:   You guys ever see that ghost that walks around the Fried Beer stand?

Charley:   Aw, you mean ol’ Carnie McGee?  He’s somethin’ of a legend around these parts.

Jeb:****   According to myth, he was president of the carnies, until he disbanded our union in exchange for half of a Meat-Lover’s pizza.  Some say he was struck by lightning while hosing off vomit.  Some contend he died of a broken heart after his wife left him for her other nephew.  Charley says he saw him get hit by a motorcycle.

Charley:   And he’s been haunting the park ever since, for a whole week.

The GRE As Written by The Internet

**Reading Comprehension

**

After reading the following passages, choose the best answer for each question.

1.

Which of the following best summarizes the main point the author is trying to make?

A)“Zippers are a menace.”

B)“Proper pubic hair maintenance is important”

C)“kawaii ~*(^o_0^)#~~!!!!”

D)“I wish I had something to do besides make these.”

E)“This cat has Palsy.”

2.

Goku never thought he would feel this way about Vegeta, especially not after they both had been transformed into pregnant dragons. It was only when Vegetasaur’s tongue found its way to Gokudon’s taint that it dawned on him just how much he cared for him.Soon, Gokudon’s scaly nipples hardened like diamonds, and a glow began to take over him.

“It’s happening, Vegeta!”Gokudon shrieked.

“Do it.Give birth on me, Kakarot.”Vegetasaur cooed.

Little did either of them know that Captain Picard watched in the darkness.Except he was an adult baby.

The two lovers’ lack of knowledge of Picard’s gaze is known as:

A)Laissez Faire

B)Foreshadowing

C)Incredibly hot

D)Dramatic irony

E)Perestroika

**Sentence Completion

**

Choose the word or set of words for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

The Master Chief’s whole body shook. “I’m _________ inside of you!” he screamed. “I love you, _________!”

A)Orgasming, Hermione

B)Defecating, Xena Warior Princess

C)Copulating, The Cast of Cheers

D)Obfuscating, Jurisprudence

E)Twitterpating, Thumper

**Analogy

**

Choose the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that in the original pair.

Ubuntu : Vista ::

A)Helvetica : Arial

B)Resplendency : Groin Pain

C)Open Source : Apartheid South Africa

D)The way talking dogs are cute : The way talking cats are terrifying

E)LOL : ROFL, I WANT STEVE JOBS’S BABY INSIDE ME

**Analytical Writing

**

**Present your perspective one of the issues below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to support your views.

**

1.“Critics of the environmentalist movement claim that industrial regulation hurts the economy more than it helps the planet.Respond to this claim using only actions surrounded in asterisks.”

  1. “Your W0man Will Be Stupefied By Your ErectionSuperViagra $2.27 vqh 6h0y”

3.“Just as a purging fire is sometimes necessary to maintain the health of a forest, perhaps it’s not such an injustice that I’m no longer a Wikipedia admin.”

  1. “Tolerance and progress, taken to extremes, are incompatible.With this in mind, troll the Neopets message boards.”

Volume 17, Issue 5: Wizard of Oswald

Dialectician CyberSex

EnglishIsExcellent: Good evening miss.

HotSexBabe396: hey there mister

EnglishIsExcellent: What is your age, sex, and location?

HotSexBabe396: 18 f sf

EnglishIsExcellent: Would you like to put that into a complete sentence? It would make it a lot sexier.

HotSexBabe396: not really

EnglishIsExcellent: All right, never mind. Describe to me your physical appearance.

HotSexBabe396: im skinny with big tits and i only got on a pair of really tight jeans

EnglishIsExcellent: edit: “I have on only a pair of really tight jeans.”

HotSexBabe396: huh?

EnglishIsExcellent: Your placement of the word “only” was incorrect. If you only have on something then you do nothing but have it. You do not eat, sleep, breathe, etc. If you have on only something, then you are wearing only that something.

HotSexBabe396: ….

HotSexBabe396: o…..k…i have on only a pair of jeans.

EnglishIsExcellent: By Jove, that’s hot!!! May I help you out of your trousers and knickers?

HotSexBabe396: wtf are trosers

EnglishIsExcellent: My hand is reaching down the front of your jeans as I am gently kissing you on the neck.

**HotSexBabe396: ** i breathe slow as you undo my pants and i grab a hold of your joystick

EnglishIsExcellent: Slowly, you breathe slowly.Slow is not an adverb.

HotSexBabe396: u always talk like this?

EnglishIsExcellent: It turns me on. Can you just repeat it correctly?

HotSexBabe396: im breathing slowly

EnglishIsExcellent: You’re making me so hard! Your pants are off and I’m touching you all over.

HotSexBabe396: im laying down on the bed now

HotSexBabe396: come here i want you

EnglishIsExcellent: What are you laying?

HotSexBabe396: im laying on the bed

EnglishIsExcellent: No, I mean lay is a transitive verb.You didn’t have an object.Did you mean that you are lying on the bed?

HotSexBabe396: OH MY FUCKING GOD! You are ruining everything!! im ignoring you

EnglishIsExcellent: Wait a minute. That’s the last time. I won’t do it anymore.

HotSexBabe396: fine

HotSexBabe396: im getting off the bed and putting my face in front of your crotch

EnglishIsExcellent: Yeah come on baby!

HotSexBabe396: i didnt tell you earlier but im a midget

HotSexBabe396: so i dont have to kneel down

EnglishIsExcellent: Yes yes!

**HotSexBabe396: ** like if i was a normal size person

EnglishIsExcellent: WHAT! Stop right now! Bad usage, punctuation, and capitalisation is one thing, but when you shit on the subjunctive mood you have gone too far. Go learn to conjugate some verbs, you plebian whore!

HotSexBabe396: so you dont want me to cyber-suck your cock?

EnglishIsExcellent signed off

Guide to Theme Bars

Past Imperfect

Desired clientele: English teachers

Undesired clientele: The passive voice

Décor: Flowery, yet subtly evocative of customers’ inner thoughts

On the TV behind the counter: _Masterpiece Theater

_

Signature cocktail: The Dylan Tonic

 

Stalag 17

Desired clientele: WWII vets

Undesired clientele: The Krauts!

Décor: Mostly Betty Grable pinups

On the TV behind the counter: Tom Hanks reading a Bible out loud.

Signature cocktail: Sgt. Schnapps

 

The Alcoholodeck

Desired clientele: Trekkies

Undesired clientele: Evil alternate-universe selves

Décor: Futuristic, but with no apparent restrooms

On the TV behind the counter: Gee, what do you think?

Signature cocktail: Synthohol

 

The Lair

Desired clientele: Supervillains

Undesired clientele: Infernal do-gooders, frat boys

Décor: Volcano/Arctic/Desert/Jungle theme

On the TV behind the counter: Lifetime

Signature cocktail: They just call it “the serum”

 

The Opiate of the Masses

Desired clientele: Marxists

Undesired clientele: People with jobs

Décor: Functional

On the TV behind the counter: CNBC ironically

Signature cocktail: Molotov

 

Bar

Desired clientele: Drunks

Undesired clientele: AA sponsors

Décor: Blurry

On the TV behind the counter: somethinurrrghleemelone

Signature cocktail: Rubbing alcohol and tears

Pokemon: Morally Grey

For all you trainers who have conquered Pokémon: Emerald Green _and _Pokémon: Ruby Red, a brand new challenge has arrived: Pokémon: Morally Grey ! Journey to where no Pokémon trainer has ventured before: the world of underground dog fighting!

Fizzlypoof is a malnourished-Rottweiler-type Pokémon. You can tell Fizzlypoof’s attack power by counting the number of unbroken ribs visible through its emaciated frame! Charge up Fizzlypoof’s attacks by keeping him “housed” in the fenced-off front lawn of his inner-city “pokéball” without “pokéfood.”

Dweedle is a maladjusted-pit-bull-type Pokémon. Be sure to train your Dweedle from an early age to be enraged by large crowds, other dogs, cars, people with sticks in their hand, people without sticks in their hand, and sounds.

Raybee is a special foamy-mouthtype Pokémon, who, after too many impromptu battles with neighborhood children, will evolve into Sleepee, a Pokémon wielding a special syringe in his neck.

Charmikin is technically a wildly deformed pig, though it passes for a fugly-dog-type Pokémon. While lazy, stubborn, and severely limited in brain function, this Pokémon shines when down-on-their-luck trainers are forced to roast their most delicious Pokémon for sustenance.

Olliwag is a three-legtype Pokémon who is part German Shepherd, part wolf, and part cancer. What this tripedal trooper lacks in balance, lifeexpectancy, and number of legs, it makes up for with its spirit, tenacity, and wait… no…Olliwag is dead.

Protesters Plan Tree-Sitter Sit

In an effort to challenge the University’s strict response to tree-sitters, protesters have recently announced plans to start a tree-sitter sit.

“First the University wanted to remove trees, so we had to protest by sitting in trees. Now the University wants to remove tree-sitters, so we have to protest by sitting on the tree-sitters already in the trees. It’s the next logical progression,” said Save The Oaks organizer Robert Larson, struggling to balance atop a fat man.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of these stupid, stupid protestors,” stated Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. He then sighed and quit his job.

Legal expert Sheila Maloney offered an analysis of the change in tactics. “According to this poli sci course that I am currently taking, the University only owns the trees. It doesn’t own the tree-sitters in those trees. As long as the tree-sitter sitters only sit on tree-sitters, there doesn’t appear to be anything the University can do.”

“Trees trees trees,” she added.

MTV Cribs For Pregnant Women

(Camera pans stylishly over the façade of a modest two-bedroom house in suburbia. Cue theme music, which is either Kanye West’s “Stronger” or Kanye West’s “Stronger (Remix).” The door opens to reveal a pregnant woman wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt and sandals. She smiles and waves.)
Woman : What’s up MTV! This is Sara Eckhart, and this is my crib. Come on in! Let me show you around.

(camera follows woman into the bathroom)
Sara : All my pregnant homies tell me, you ain’t a player unless you’ve got a solid gold toilet into which you can throw up each morning.

(goes into bedroom, playfully sprawls across bed, teasingly traces finger along pillow)
Sara : Aww yeah, MTV. This is where the magic happens. And by magic I mean my husband no longer finds me attractive.


**

Sara (opens refrigerator)**: Let me show you something real interesting: the foods I have. (Jump cuts over foods in fridge) This fridge is tricked out, yo! I got everything from pickles to ice cream to additional pickles—I got the hookup, man! It is never enough.


**

Sara (pointing to sink)**: This is where we’re gonna bathe my kid. We got one of those baths that tells you the temperature. It cost us a damn C-note, but that’s just how we roll. Scalding babies is for scrubs. So is making them cold. I can’t remember which is worse. I gotta read my b-b-b-baby books, son!


**

Sara**: This is where my little baby’s gonna go! (gives crib a quick jiggle, laughs) Chekkitycheck this shabby chic dust ruffle–we collaborated with an interior designer to create a gender nonspecific space for our unborn child, yo.
Husband : (whispering desperately at wife’s uterus) Boyboyboyboyboy…


**

Sara**: (opens closet) I got tons of clothes up in here, none of which fit because I’m so phat.
Husband : I think you want “fat,” honey.
Sara : . . . yes.


**

Sara**: So you’ve seen my baby stuff. Why don’t I show you my other baby: my mo’fuckin’ 2001 PT Cruiser.

(about a dozen seizure-inducing jump cuts of a purple PT Cruiser)
Sara : Yeah, I’ve got crazy stories about me and my bitches rollin’ through the city, hitting up clubs and dancing like it wuddin’ nothing. (sigh) But that was then. (more jump cuts fill the awkward silence)