BS: British man bored to death by a gull????

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 12:20 PM

One of the funniest moments on recent TV was the dive down the elevator shaft taken on LA Law by the super bitchy female lawyer who had to be written out of the script.

If the Bull Run took place in NYC, some lawyer would be in there with the grieving widow sueing the city for millions for allowing Grandpa to be so stupid. They would win their case too. That would be funny.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Nick
Date: 12 Jul 09 - 03:54 PM

Thank heaven for little gulls.

It's why I, and many others, find humour (as well as hope) in the Darwin Awards.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: robomatic
Date: 12 Jul 09 - 01:50 PM

There was a television show on European Community standards for cosmetics which restrict or eliminate many American products for the dangerous additives. An American reporter was asking some enthusiastic young Europeans about the utility of these rules and they were assuring him that yes, the American products were dangerous and needed to be limited, meanwhile, they are all smoking!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 12 Jul 09 - 02:34 AM

"Now THAT is FUNNY!"

Yup. Love it!

"But I'm not at all on the same page as anyone finding hilarious the story of Grandpa having died in an act of stupidity"

Me neither, Ebbie. It seems very odd that this huge, overpaid, excessively powerful political machine we have called The European Community' sets out very strict regulations about safety in the workplace and in public places in order to protect us from ourselves, and even takes it upon itself to issue strict rules about how much curvature is allowed in a banana (I kid you not!), yet it allows events like the Bull-Running to go ahead, despite the obvious threat to life and limb - not only of the human participants but also the bulls themselves!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 01:22 PM

Now THAT is FUNNY!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 12:29 PM

I got some of it right!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 12:23 PM

The Phantom Car-Parking Attendant Of Bristol Zoo

Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car-park where hundreds of cars and dozens of coaches park on a daily basis. Until recently there was a very genial fellow with an official looking hat, yellow waistcoat and a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5 for the privilege.
This parking attendant worked there for about 25 years, through wind, rain and scorching Bristol summers, eight hours a day, six days a week (and Bank Holidays). He was an industrious worker with an exemplary sickness record.
One day he didn't turn up for work. "Oh dear" say Bristol Zoo management as chaos descends on the car park, "we'd better phone up Bristol City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant."
"Err...no" say the Council, "that car park is your responsibility."
"But" say the Zoo, "he was employed by you, wasn't he?"
"Not us", say the council.
Sitting in his villa in Spain is a very genial fellow who had been taking the car park takings for Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years...

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 11:38 AM

I had an e from Leadfingers a while back about an attendent in England at a hospital car park. He didn't show up for work... first time in nearly 30 years. Nobody knew where he was so they called the city and the city said they didn't operate the car park, they thought the hospital did.

Dunno if those details are anywhere near correct, but you get the gist of it.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 05:25 AM

I knew a Car Park attendant!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 05:14 AM

I knew a car park attendant with a nice pair of Bristols.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: greensue
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 04:33 AM

A car park attendant in Bristol was chased daily by a gull, but I dont think ther were any bulls around.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Kampervan
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 04:29 AM

It wasn't the man's fault. Apparently the bull hadn't read the rules and he turned and ran the WRONG WAY; so taking the man entirely by surprise.
One obviously can't trust the Spanish bulls to play fair.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Jul 09 - 01:01 AM

I'm not saying the guy wasn't an idiot and, yes, he took his chances. I just don't see anything humorous in it. And, I think Micca and a few other UK people could vouchsafe for my *getting* Brit humour. None of you could hold a candle to my uncles and their very British humour, even though they were Americans. (My granddad was New England, very proper.:-) Believe me, we get it. And, I did read the title correctly.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 11:54 PM

Running 'with' the bulls like seeing a thunderstorm and running to find a tree in a puddle of water. You 'may' get away with it.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 11:46 PM

Mel is correct!

Along those same lines are the ideas that:

A recession is when your neighbor is out of work!

A depression is when YOU are!

That's, also, what Mel Brooks is saying.

Einstein said it too. These things are relative. Just another example of his theory of relativity.

Art

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: meself
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 10:14 PM

And ... we're supposed to take Mel Brooks seriously?

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: heric
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 09:41 PM

and now I read more carefully. sorry robo.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: heric
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 09:39 PM

Mel Brooks said something along the lines of: Tragedy is when I skin my knee; Comedy is when someone else is crushed by a boulder falling from the sky.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: frogprince
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 07:50 PM

Anyone here who hasn't seen the online video of the bullfighter getting both pants and drawers ripped off by the bull? He had to be a lucky dude to get away with just the embareassment of it.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 06:02 PM

Tragedy is what life is.

Comedy is relief from the tragedy.

That's why we say comic relief.

Alas!

Art

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 05:54 PM

Backwoodsman, I admit I too would find the arse-ripping incident funny.
Imagine the story told a generation later explaining Grandpa's wound!

But I'm not at all on the same page as anyone finding hilarious the story of Grandpa having died in an act of stupidity, whether involving a bull or'Russian Roulette' (What do Russians call it?).

Being gored by a bull is a B A D way to die. I have a dairyman acquaintance who was brutalized by his own Jersey bull, of all things. Luckily, the bull was hornless but my friend spent a good two years coming back to health.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 05:52 PM

Anybody read the title of this thread properly?

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 05:28 PM

There's a big difference between high-risk sports like skydiving and bull running. The difference is that a skydiver spends many hours learning about and training for his chosen activity so as to minimize the risk. There's no training or education that goes along with bull running. It's basically just a bunch of drunks doing something none of them really know how to do well. I wouldn't compare it with skydiving at all. I'd compare it with Russian Roulette.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: meself
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 05:18 PM

I guess I have no sense of humour; I find nothing remotely amusing about this man's death.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 04:52 PM

And sorry for the underlining - I meant to underline the word 'fighting' but I forgot to switch it off.

Good at HTML I am not.

[Fixed- you just got the u and the / in the wrong order]]

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 04:51 PM

Ebbie, I'm more concerned about the welfare of the bulls (who were forced by people to participate) than I am about the very foolish (or very brave, depending on where you're coming from) people who put themselves in the bulls' path. I think the bull-running event is a most uncivilised and unedifying spectacle, little better than bull-fighting or bear-baiting.

And to answer your question, I'm sad for the friends and relatives of anyone who's killed in the bull-running event, but I'd find someone who'd merely had his arse ripped by a bull's horn very funny indeed! :-) :-)

Sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: robomatic
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 04:09 PM

"Tragedy is- if I have a hangnail, and it hurtz, and maybe it'll bleed a little, and it won't come out and maybe I have to see a doctor about it and all. . .


Comedy is- if you should walk into an open sewer and die!"

Mel Brooks as the 2000 and thirteen year old man

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 04:08 PM

Sheesh If everyone refrained from engaging in risky activities whether in skydiving or in driving a car we wouldn't be doing much. I don't personally see the charm in running from a pack of bulls but if adrenalin pumping is the desired and anticipated reaction then I suppose that bullrunning makes as much sense as a lot of other things.

Sinsull, that explains a lot! And frankly, I'm not surprised. Something has to account for your dabbles. :)

By the way, I would love to hear more about your experiences in such a dramatic difference. What is it like to be dropped among physically and emotionally - but not mentally - older youngsters? Is it something you would put your own child through? At what point did you 'catch up'? (Kind of like - when I was a kid, I was MUCH younger than my sisters, but 50 years later we're basically the same age.)

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Paul Burke
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:59 PM

Think Darwin.

But I've been nearly bored to death by wood pigeons.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:54 PM

But, to me, it is funny! Everything is humorous if we see it that way.

Art

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:51 PM

Friends, it's up to that guy. He wanted to do it, so he did do it.
He had a life and he lived it as he saw fit. It does not matter what I or you think about it.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:25 PM

Well... it's not really "funny", but every time the gene pool loses an idiot, it's for the better. Only downside is, some idiot might not run next time. One step forward....

As the old joke goes, some days, the bull wins.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:23 PM

The man was a fool, participating in a foolish activity. Fools are worthy of ridicule. Dead fools are no exception.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:09 PM

I must be in great danger with the bulls going after all those punning men! After I'm dead it will so quiet you could hear a pun drop!

Art

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:07 PM

I probably shouldn't admit this but... I was very young - 12 - when I started high school. Being painfully bright and at least a year younger than my peers I was lonely. Every morning I got to the train station early - around 6AM. It was always deserted except for a one legged sea gull. That bird and I chatted every morning. One of the more intelligent beings I have known. At least he and I understood each other.

As for the bulls, I wonder - what if they gave a bull run and no one came?

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 03:00 PM

Ebbie, I must admit to finding perfectly Ironic humour of the Seven Levels kind in the scenario you have depicted... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 02:52 PM

I am a thorough man, when I throw rocks at seabirds, I leave no tern unstoned.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 02:40 PM

Ha, I say. British humour is not that different from American humor.

For instance, would anyone agree with me that had the running man been gored in the seat of his pants so that he will have to eat standing up for six weeks it would be funnier than that the running man was KILLED?

The Saints presarve us.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: robomatic
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 02:38 PM

GS I guess I thought you were better than that.
I ain't perfect, but ...really...

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Rifleman (inactive)
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:48 PM

"The average gull is a very poor conversationalist. Repetitive, tedious, won't let you get a word in edgewise."

now this sounds VERY familiar!

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:42 PM

And of course, gulls are better known as 'Shitehawks' or 'Flying Rats' here.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:41 PM

"GS has the occasional strange, to me, response to things."

It's called a British Sense Of Humour, Ebbie (or do I mean 'Humor'?). A good few of us are like that! (He's actually a very nice guy with a great sense of humor/humour). LOL.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:34 PM

LHawk, you're at the wrong seaside resort man! Just get to S.E. England, where you can huzz your leftover chips into the air and watch them wheel and catch them up straight outa the air to nosh on, just like dogs! Cute, unless they shit on you, which is also a danger.

Of course there's also the option of local night clubs, and a few Whiskey and Cokes or Vodka Pops, if the previous efforts suggested fail to woo your lovelies..

But then, you still have to be careful of bowel control issues.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: MMario
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:14 PM

LH you must be chatting up the wrong gulls. I find them to be attentive, good listeners and remarkably adept at conveying their thoughts. Granted - they tend to have less thoughts then a stereotypical "Valley girl" but those they have they convey well.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 01:11 PM

I am sure as everyone else has Ebbie... I have strange responses to certain things in life.... I guess people who put themselves in danger in some effort to show bravery to my mind are misguided to say the least..... maybe I see them as a source of humour... what I don't like is humour which singles out race/religion or serious misfortunes which befall people who don't go looking for it.
To you that might be strange.. to others maybe not.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Little Hawk
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 12:40 PM

The average gull is a very poor conversationalist. Repetitive, tedious, won't let you get a word in edgewise.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 12:36 PM

GS has the occasional strange, to me, response to things.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 12:36 PM

I don't find it too disturbing, because participants are voluntary.

At least it makes a change from the usual village animal fun.. Fattest man on a donkey, shooting migrating birds, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 12:31 PM

And this is a source of humour?

Subject: RE: BS: British man bored to death by a gull????
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Jul 09 - 08:42 AM

Actually, he was from near Madrid.