Matt Of All Trades

A Christmas fright from Karens!  Just for laughs and giggles, I've decided now, after the gardening season ended, that I have time to devote to this blog thingy, so I'm reviving it. At least for awhile.  This blog has mostly been on hiatus since spring, since I didn't have time to deal with it. But let's go for broke.  Since it's the Christmas season, let's start with the holiday spirit, if you will. With Karens, since they've been all the rage - literally - this year. Jimmy Kimmel recently had a fantastic holiday Karen segment that you have to watch.  It starts pretty frighteningly, with a woman doing an anti-vax version of Mariah Carey's Christmas classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You."   Sweet Mariah can sing this lovely song. Anti-vax Karen.......cannot. Anti-Vax Karen, "performing" at a San Diego county board meeting, reworked the lyrics into extreme nonsense. Worse, her singing voice is about as good as the tragic sound of ...

Randy Rain   Randy Rainbow is gracing our YouTube viewing again today with yet another video.   This time he takes to task all those GOPers in Congress who still are in the cult of Donald Trump by doing a takeoff on the " The Trolley Song" from the 1944 musical "Meet Me In St. Louis," starring Judy Garland.    This new version stars an ensemble cast consisting of Randy Rainbow, Randy Rainbow, Randy Rainbow, and others including the treasured Randy Rainbow.  You'll see what I mean when you watch the video.  As usual, Rainbow starts the festivities with a "news interview, in which our interviewer notes that Josh Hawley is "the most famous fist in the Senate if you don't count Lindsay Graham, but that's another story." Then we get into the musical, and Rainbow gleefully skewers the GOP throughout his tuneful trip to St. Louis.  Here's the vid. As always, click on the YouTube logo for best viewing. 

Ben Shapiro, proud of his, um, wood, outside a  Home Depot in his mocked viral video.   Ben Shapiro bought a little piece of wood at Home Depot.   This sounds like a who cares sentence, but leave it to Shapiro to make this into another farce.  Shapiro, for those who don't know him, is a young, hapless conservative pundit who is expert at self-owns and non-sensical, "helpful" suggestions.  A classic example: He once gave this simple, elegant solution to people who will eventually have their homes flooded by rising sea levels brought on by climate change.  Shapiro sees this as no problem at all.  The flooded homeowners can just sell their property and move.  Sell to who? Aquaman? Anyway, Shapiro is pissed off these days because several large Georgia-based corporations, like Delta and Coca Cola, object to Georgia's new voter suppression laws. Everybody knows the laws are meant to get rid of black voters to keep the GOP in various offices. (It n...

This burglar would soon meet his match  Viral home surveillance video is out showing a break-in at a Pasadena, California house, but two Good Samaritans thwarted the would-be thief.   The video, which you can see below, shows the burglar stopping at a fountain around an outdoor patio before entering the house to start sniffing around.  That didn't last long as two security agents chased the suspect from the house.  These aren't all the usual suspects and heroes, however. Here's the vid:

An image from a very simple, but also very effective PSA from Google encouraging us to get Covid vaccines. A lot of public outreach is going on now to encourage everyone to get their Covid vaccines to defeat this horrible pandemic once and for all.  A big part of the effort are public service advertisements, designed to convince us all to get our vaccines.  The more we overcome the hesitancy among some people to get the shot, the closer we get to herd immunity and end the pandemic.  Spoiler: In my case, they're preaching to the choir.  I am SO looking forward to getting my first Covid shot this coming Wednesday. One ad that came out about a week ago is from Google. You can see it at the bottom of this post, and it's totally worth the watch.  If you watch the ad, a warning: If you're anything like me, you might need a Kleenex, because the one minute PSA packs a surprising emotional punch.  At least for me, it did. I don't know why I reacted to the ad as I di...

Just a bartender helping a customer in this viral video that will surely improve your mood immensely  OK, you HAVE to watch the video on the links in this post!  Just click on this link, it'll bring you to a YouTube video, and sit back and relax.  Not a lot of drama in the video.   Just a very good bartender, a customer who seems like they're doing OK, and the customer's big companion nursing some Jack Daniels. And some perfect background music.  The video came out in June, but has recently gone viral on Twitter and Instagram.  It's my favorite feel-good video since last spring, when those t wo guys did a little clip performing "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. According to Happilynews.com, the bartender is Sany Facsi, 36 at his home in Dubai, while he serves his son Sasha, age 2.  Says Facsi of his son and the video: "The choice of this particular scenario was easy and obvious to me as I have been a bartender for over 15 years, so I am ...

Meet Stephanie Denaro, my nominee for worst  person in New York.  A vile woman named Stephanie Denaro won viral fame this week after she unleashed some racist words at the Davidovich Bakery in Manhattan's lower East Side.   She did so as she was getting kicked out of the bakery for the usual reason: She refused to wear a mask, against store policy and health department recommendations.  Typical Karen.  Denaro turns out to be a Super Karen, though.   A whole bunch of other videos of this um, thing showed up on the Reddit's r/PublicFreakout page on Wednesday. She really is a piece of work, even more so than all the others I've seen. You might wonder why I waste my time on garbage like Denaro, but I think one of the most effective ways to combat these idiots is to mock them mercilessly.   I doubt this will change them much.  Denaro, for instance is steadfastly unapologetic about all her racists, obnoxious moments.  But I like to...

Video still of an idiot who took a 2 year old into an elephant enclosure at San Diego Zoo and they both almost got  smushed by said elephant  Invasion of the stupid people continues unabated.  The latest idiot, carrying his two-year-old daughter, went into an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, because apparently, taking selfies with an innocent child in an extremely dangerous situation is a thing.  People want selfies under any circumstance, I guess.  Needless to say, the elephant in question was not happy with the intruder. They like their space. The elephant trumpeted and stormed toward our idiot, says ABC7 in Los Angeles. "The flustered dad raced to slip back out of the enclosure, but dropped his daughter on the way out.....He grabbed her again and they both managed to escape as the crowed screamed and yelled "Watch out!" I hope he managed a good selfie with the kid, because it's going to be pricey! Jose Manuel Navarrete, 25 was charged with child endan...

One of my favorite songs from the 1970s was " Killer Queen" by Queen.  I'm often, but not always happy when  some of my faves are turned into something else for parody. In this case, I'm happy.   Anybody who knows me understands I'm a real Covid-19 vaccine enthusiast, and I can't wait for my turn to get inoculated. (The state of V ermont Health Department says starting March 29 I can start trying to get an appointment for my shot, so yay!!)   By turn, I'm frustrated by ant-maskers and anti-vaxxers, so any PSA, no matter how biting and comical, gets my Seal of Approval.  Which leads me to the video below, from Meidas touch and Heather Gardner doing a parody of "Killer Queen" urging us get vaccinated and ignore the (mostly Republican) naysayers.  Gardner has done other great parody videos, too, like a takeoff on George Michael's "Faith"   this time pointing a finger at bad faith lies from Fox News.   Seems like Randy Rainbow has ...

Andy Popescu, right, gives his friend in the green shirt a ride in his Lamborghini. A rather moving video results  A viral video is out of just two guys out for a ride in a Lamborghini.   The driver, Andy Popescu, is a stud muffin type of young man. The passenger is a chatty young man with physical disabilities. He says that people often avoid him because of this.  The video, released four months ago but now becoming viral, shows the two in the car.  The passenger is thrilled as Popescu races through town.  In the short version of the video, it almost looks like Popescu is ignoring his passenger. But not really.  As the Lamborghini accelerates, the man in the passenger seat says, "Please don't act scared of me. I act like a child when I'm happy." It turns out Popescu wasn't ignoring his passenger. He was trying to hold in his emotions over the cruelty some people have toward his friend. It turns into a very moving video.   I've been watching ...

This woman in New York found an entire apartment hidden behind her bathroom mirror in a New York City building.  When I bought my house 14 years ago, I was a bit mystified because there either isn't an attic or no access to it.    There has to be at least a crawlspace above the ceilings, but no way to get there. I've occasionally been tempted to cut a hole in the ceiling, maybe inside a closet, and take a peek, but so far I haven't had the guts. Maybe because there was so many other mysteries here. Some of them scary. Each room has multiple electrical outlets. Probably a legacy of a pot growing business back in the day.   Meanwhile, in the basement, you can still see the marks on the floor joists where a guy who was renting a room here used a bicycle lock cord to hang himself.  A cop told me the man who committed suicide had been kicked out of his own house because he cheated on his wife.   He moved in here, became despondent because his wife woul...

This is Peter Kwok, a transit cop in British Columbia. He takes honors as most chill cop in the world as he took abuse from the most obnoxious anti-mask Karen in the world.   For the past year, we've seen so many anti-maskers causing scenes and filming themselves that it's a cliche.   It's almost like there's some kind of competition to see which one is the most obnoxious. And.....We have a winner!  Last December 5, a woman in British Columbia, Canada, riding the Canada Line, refused to wear a mask, and boy did it escalate! While we're handing out awards, we're going to concur with the website Vancouverisawesome.com and award the transit cop involved, Peter Kwok, in this mess the prize for being the most composed cop in Canada, if not the world.  Go i nto this link to watch the whole, drawn out 11-minute video. It really is something. To set it up, the transit cops were doing mask compliance checks because of a British Columbia rule issued in November tha...

Randy Rainbow begs President Biden for a Covid vaccine in his latest, terrific parody video.  In his first video taken on President Biden, our hero Randy Rainbow has given us a new gift to brighten our week.   This time, it's "Mr. Biden (Bring My Vaccine)" done to the tune of " Mr Sandman" made popular in 1954 by the Chordettes. We have the usual format here. Rainbow starts with an interview with President Joe Biden, which lacks the shall we say, whimsical style of The Former Guy, Donald Trump, which until recently was a fixture in Rainbow videos. Then, of course Rainbow launches into song, in which he beseeches Biden to get us Covid vaccines. "Inoculate me, so I can get laid. "   Rainbow is pretty creative with the "bum bum bum bum" barbershop quartet character of the song. The treat is the lyrics, of course. Sample: "Gimme that double dose                                    ...

Dolly Parton literally getting a dose of her own medicine Tuesday. Her $1 million donation helped lead to the  development of the Moderna Covid vaccine. A doctor administered a dose to her Tuesday.  America's Most Loved Person, Dolly Parton took to her Twitter page Tuesday to publically receive her first dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine.   Back in April, Parton donated around $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Covid-19 research.   That donation helped lead to the Moderna vaccine.   Tuesday, Vanderbilt returned the favor by giving her a hot of the Moderna vaccine. Which means she wasn't kidding when she said she was getting a dose of her own medicine. Couldn't happen to a better person.  Parton, in her Twitter post , warmly and humorously encouraged all of us to get our vaccines. She even changed the lyrics to her iconic song "Jolene."  Sample lyric: "Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine/I'm begging of you please don't hesitate....

The host of a televised game show for high school students looking not very pleased as a contestant on the losing team performs an epic tantrum.   People you see on game shows tend to put on a brave face for the cameras when they lose, because, it just looks tacky to throw a fit.   Plus, if you have a glass half full kind of attitude, at least you qualified to be on the show. That's something. You lost, but essentially you were a finalist. Not bad! This attitude did not hold sway very well for one person at a televised game show for high school students in Iceland.  You don't understand the language, but you sure as hell can tell what's going on.  The show is called Gettu Betur  Our hero was one of three people on the blue team, and there was a like number of people on the red team. The video, which you can see at the bottom of this post, appears to be near the end of the show.  Someone on the red team just provided a correct answer and our friend...

Strange televangelist Kenneth Copeland is actually  much better when is rants are set to music Yes, yes, I know, grifter televangelists tend to impoverish the gullible, get filthy rich off that gullibility and are by no means nearly as Christian as they'd want everyone to believe.   Still, I'm fascinated by them.  Many are certainly larger than life, and have a knack of looking hilariously ridiculous to those of us outside the televangelist world.  You know the type. Remember Tammy Fae Bakker (who later became Tammy Fay Messner when she married a second televangelist) - she of the dripping mascara and impossibly long false eye lashes. My current favorite is Kenneth Copeland.  He's just so creepy looking. And he acts creepier.  Who can forget C opeland's really weird spooky laugh back in November when he just couldn't believe Joe Biden won the election instead of his equally strange hero Donald Trump.  Or that time Inside Edition's Lisa Guerrero co...

The Holderness Family really helps us understand ADHD! Scrolling aimlessly through YouTube this morning, as my wandering attention leads me to do, I stumbled upon one video that made me stop.   As many of you know, I have ADHD, which often drives me, my husband and everybody else around me absolutely nuts.  The video I found was by the Holderness Family, which has a fun, super active channel on YouTube. They crank out videos faster than I can eat a package of Lorna Doons (i.e., the speed of light). The parody I found was a takeoff of the song " Under The Sea" from "The Little Mermaid" performed as "ADHD" by, I guess Mr. Holderness, with help from his long-suffering wife. (The video can be viewed at the bottom of this post). Apparently, Mr Holderness, like me, has ADHD. The video is beyond silly, like most Holderness Family videos, but gosh, he really nails it.  Mr. Holderness is a big, loud, exuberant kind of guy, one of the hallmarks of ADHD.  The song ...

Just some of an elaborate Rube Goldberg set up some guy made to swish a basketball. It has 70 steps.  The video in this post was made in May, when pandemic lockdowns had been in force for nearly two months.  All it is is swishing a basketball shot through 70 steps.  Glad the dude had enough room on his property to do this.  It looks like he made most of this contraption out of stuff that had been cluttering up his house and garage.  The video was shot all in one take, which is pretty remarkable.  Proves what lengths people will go to so that they can relieve boredom. Or something.  Here's the video. As always, click on the YouTube logo to make the video bigger and easier to see

Satan and the year 2020 were a match.com made in (not) heaven  The year 2020 was like a bad relationship. (2021 isn't off to a great start either, but that's another story). But veterans of romances that did not work out still know there's somebody for everyone.   Match.com knows this, too, and in a fantastic recent commercial, proves it.  In the ad, Satan is on his lair in hell when his cellphone buzzes.  It's Match.com announcing "You're a match!" with a prospective dating partner.  Satan goes for it, and decides to meet this person in a rainy park.  The woman turns out to be the year 2020. You can see both are immediately smitten and a conversation, awkward at first, begins 2020: "So ,where are you from" Satan: "Hell.' 2020: "Me too." Proving that Match.com really works Satan and 2020 really hit it off. They generate electricity with each other when they first meet in that park (via scary lightning bolts).The pair enjoy a pi...

I haven't posted too many Randy Rainbow videos of late, as I've long come off as too much of a fan boy.  But it's the Christmas season, and Rainbow has season's greetings in the air, sort of.  What's in the air actually smells like a fart, and you'll understand why when you watch his latest video. As always, click on the YouTube logo to make the video bigger and easier to see.