Saturday, January 21, 2012
La Lune, les crabes et l'acteur
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lesson #3, Phonetic Puns, Homonyms, You Name It!
Probably the staple crop of all corny pun threads, all pun battles, is what I call the "phonetic" pun. Using a word's sound to form a second meaning.
For example the infamous chemistry thread that begins with "What do we do with dead chemists? Barium" The beauty of this kind of pun is its simplicity. You don't ever need the "meaning" of the actual word "barium," just its phonetic sound. My friend Kevin and I once battled for 30 minutes using puns of country names.
I use this technique consistently to make puns with people's names (which don't have definitions). Here's the breakdown of some basic techniques I've used.
1. Get the name, the word of interest, you want to use to make a pun.
2. Say it to yourself, ignoring the meaning, 5-10 times. (more if needed).
3. While saying it to yourself, try to jog your memory and think of words that sound like the name or may contain the sound of the name.
4. Weave a concise phrase around the second meaning that you just made. Using idioms helps bridge the understanding gap and ensure delivery of the pun.
I'll demonstrate with "Evan" (Who occasionally posts as Vincent O'Hara II on the blog).
-Evan..Evan...Evan..."Evan-ge." "If you slay me in a battle of wits, my dear friend will surely Evan-ge me!"
-Evan...Evan....Evan..."Heaven" "If you manage to slay my friend too, i'm sure he'll soon arrive at the gates of "Evan" because he's a firm believer in "Evangelicalism"
5. Now the longer the name, the more foreign the name (indian names omg), the harder the pun making becomes. Very frequently, you've got to cut the word up, usually in two pieces. The first half of the word will be the first word, or the END of the first word. The second half of the word will become the second word, or the BEGINNING of the second word. With my friend "Ashish," I cut his name into "Ash" and ish." Using "Ash," I thought of "Ash" "Cash" and "Bash." With "ish," I only thought of "issue." Combining the thought process I came up with "Cash Issue" = "C-Ashih-use." All that's left is to weave a phrase. Try cutting the word up differently if you're stuck. I could have cut it up into "A" and "shish" and made the pun "A shish-kebab."
That's it! Those are the basics of how to make puns with people's names. This used to be one of my trademark tricks, but now the secret is out!
Thanks for reading!
Louis Cai
~Related Warning~
I have heard every possible pun made with my name**. Don't even try.
**Probably the best one ever made was made by my friend Camille: "B-Louis Cai"
For example the infamous chemistry thread that begins with "What do we do with dead chemists? Barium" The beauty of this kind of pun is its simplicity. You don't ever need the "meaning" of the actual word "barium," just its phonetic sound. My friend Kevin and I once battled for 30 minutes using puns of country names.
I use this technique consistently to make puns with people's names (which don't have definitions). Here's the breakdown of some basic techniques I've used.
1. Get the name, the word of interest, you want to use to make a pun.
2. Say it to yourself, ignoring the meaning, 5-10 times. (more if needed).
3. While saying it to yourself, try to jog your memory and think of words that sound like the name or may contain the sound of the name.
4. Weave a concise phrase around the second meaning that you just made. Using idioms helps bridge the understanding gap and ensure delivery of the pun.
I'll demonstrate with "Evan" (Who occasionally posts as Vincent O'Hara II on the blog).
-Evan..Evan...Evan..."Evan-ge." "If you slay me in a battle of wits, my dear friend will surely Evan-ge me!"
-Evan...Evan....Evan..."Heaven" "If you manage to slay my friend too, i'm sure he'll soon arrive at the gates of "Evan" because he's a firm believer in "Evangelicalism"
5. Now the longer the name, the more foreign the name (indian names omg), the harder the pun making becomes. Very frequently, you've got to cut the word up, usually in two pieces. The first half of the word will be the first word, or the END of the first word. The second half of the word will become the second word, or the BEGINNING of the second word. With my friend "Ashish," I cut his name into "Ash" and ish." Using "Ash," I thought of "Ash" "Cash" and "Bash." With "ish," I only thought of "issue." Combining the thought process I came up with "Cash Issue" = "C-Ashih-use." All that's left is to weave a phrase. Try cutting the word up differently if you're stuck. I could have cut it up into "A" and "shish" and made the pun "A shish-kebab."
That's it! Those are the basics of how to make puns with people's names. This used to be one of my trademark tricks, but now the secret is out!
Thanks for reading!
Louis Cai
~Related Warning~
I have heard every possible pun made with my name**. Don't even try.
**Probably the best one ever made was made by my friend Camille: "B-Louis Cai"
Saturday, January 14, 2012
You gotta hand it to me for this one....
"Playing video games could be considered a form of ...digital exercise."
Today I learned that fingers don't even have muscles! Muscles in your hand actually pull the strings (tendons)! I've always bragged about how strong my finger muscles were from playing violin...but there was really nothing to brag about!
Today I learned that fingers don't even have muscles! Muscles in your hand actually pull the strings (tendons)! I've always bragged about how strong my finger muscles were from playing violin...but there was really nothing to brag about!
(Picture courtesy of "lazydictionary" from Reddit)
Friday, January 13, 2012
A pun for your amusement...
The construction worker representative passionately demanded compensation for the carnival's poor work conditions. The scene could be summarized as "one charged a fair."
~Related Optical Illusion~
Is this ferris wheel turning to the right or to the left?
~Related Optical Illusion~
Is this ferris wheel turning to the right or to the left?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Chemical Favoritism of the Full Stop
Lesson #2, Idioms and Clichés
Sometimes the best things in life are those simple pleasures. It came upon me today, as I thought about a few of my favorite puns of all time, that there was a striking semblance between them.
Let's see if you can figure out the thing that all these puns share. (you most likely have heard me tell them already; for that reason I've included a written laugh track)
A) "I was wondering why the baseball was getting bigger, and then it hit me."
......ha..ha..ha..hahahahahahahaha
B) "Did you hear about the guy who lost his entire left side in an accident? He's all right now"
...ho....ho...ho....hohohoho...hoho..ho..heehee
C) "Did you hear about the butcher who backed up into his meat grinder? He got a little behind in his work"
......hehe hohoho haha yodelayeeehoo..
Alright, did you figure it out? (hint: check the title of the post). As it turns out, in each of these cases, the punchline (phrase of interest) uses a common expression: "then it hit me," "all right," and "got a little behind." The power of these phrases is that people understand the first meaning naturally, so the double meaning can be a little more "out there," and people will still get it.
Making these puns are very straightforward.
1) Start with a phrase that's commonly used, or an idiom. An example might be "to touch one's heart" which means to emotionally move another.
2) Think of another meaning for the phrase. We'll use the literal meaning of touching one's heart. Not a very creative example, but it'll do the trick.
3) Lastly, weave a phrase that plays to both meanings.
"My surgeon's breathtaking performance really touched my heart...and my lungs."
That's it! Not too hard, and remember: the more you make, the more likely you'll stumble on a gem!
Thanks for reading!
Louis Cai
~Random Thought~
Today I realized the idiom "bark up the wrong tree" actually had a hidden pun in it!
Let's see if you can figure out the thing that all these puns share. (you most likely have heard me tell them already; for that reason I've included a written laugh track)
A) "I was wondering why the baseball was getting bigger, and then it hit me."
......ha..ha..ha..hahahahahahahaha
B) "Did you hear about the guy who lost his entire left side in an accident? He's all right now"
...ho....ho...ho....hohohoho...hoho..ho..heehee
C) "Did you hear about the butcher who backed up into his meat grinder? He got a little behind in his work"
......hehe hohoho haha yodelayeeehoo..
Alright, did you figure it out? (hint: check the title of the post). As it turns out, in each of these cases, the punchline (phrase of interest) uses a common expression: "then it hit me," "all right," and "got a little behind." The power of these phrases is that people understand the first meaning naturally, so the double meaning can be a little more "out there," and people will still get it.
Making these puns are very straightforward.
1) Start with a phrase that's commonly used, or an idiom. An example might be "to touch one's heart" which means to emotionally move another.
2) Think of another meaning for the phrase. We'll use the literal meaning of touching one's heart. Not a very creative example, but it'll do the trick.
3) Lastly, weave a phrase that plays to both meanings.
"My surgeon's breathtaking performance really touched my heart...and my lungs."
That's it! Not too hard, and remember: the more you make, the more likely you'll stumble on a gem!
Thanks for reading!
Louis Cai
~Random Thought~
Today I realized the idiom "bark up the wrong tree" actually had a hidden pun in it!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Why mightypensword.blogspot.com? What does that mean?
The name came from the saying "the pen is mightier than the sword," which you very well know implies the great power of words. The domain title has a dual meaning, many people see it differently believe it or not. It could be read as both "mighty pen sword" or "mighty pen's word." Just a slight paradigm shift can open up new perspectives, which is the goal of this blog.
Start thinking out of the box!** Maybe you've been seeing your life through only one perspective, when in reality, multiple ones exist....
Stay healthy and free your mind,
Louis Cai
**Actually there shouldn't be a box at all. As my friend Nick pointed out, if everyone is thinking outside the box....then they're actually thinking inside the box....imagine the implications that quote might..contain
~Random related thought~
My good friend Taylor once wisely told me: "When you find yourself with someone you can't stand, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you'll be a mile away from that person, and you'll have his shoes!
Start thinking out of the box!** Maybe you've been seeing your life through only one perspective, when in reality, multiple ones exist....
Stay healthy and free your mind,
Louis Cai
**Actually there shouldn't be a box at all. As my friend Nick pointed out, if everyone is thinking outside the box....then they're actually thinking inside the box....imagine the implications that quote might..contain
~Random related thought~
My good friend Taylor once wisely told me: "When you find yourself with someone you can't stand, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you'll be a mile away from that person, and you'll have his shoes!
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