Joe Potts – Author, Blogger, Humor-For-Hire.

You're traveling through a wondrous dimension of humor and shadow, of imagination and mist. Welcome to my website! Wander around a bit and see what’s up. If the mists get too thick, well, some things look better in the fog anyway. So come back often to The Joe Zone – and bring your friends. That way, if you get lost, or marooned here, at least you’re together. Not that people get marooned here. Very often. For very long. Signpost up ahead, your next stop – The Joe Zone!

Joe-Pourri, Weekend Bouquet Edition

We’ve caught just enough time between naps to allow the Joe Zone’s newest and most unacquired taste, Joe-Pourri, to once again rise out of the mosquito-infested marsh and take to the runway for another attempt at takeoff. If you’re among the readers/hackers/spammers who have been with us for all five Joe-Pourri sojourns, then that might actually make some sense. So close your eyes and hold your breath and your stomach, here we go with the all new weekend edition:

 

  • The New Horizons space probe whizzed past Pluto this week at over 30,000 miles per hour, frenetically snapping pictures. Tourists everywhere can relate to that. Pluto evidently has a heart-shaped formation on its surface. Here at the JZ, we suspect the Plutonians made it just for us, to show that there are no hard feelings over its dwarf status. Perhaps in reciprocation, New Horizon mission specialists have thrown Pluto a bone, now referring to it as “The King of the Kuiper Belt.” New Ho, as we like to call it, then headed to its next destination, the Outer Limits of the huge rock and dust-filled area beyond the traditional “solar system” known as the Kuiper Belt.
  • Economic turmoil continues in Greece, as leaders struggle to deal with debt of Olympic proportions. Lawmakers voted to accept stringent austerity measures in exchange for a bailout from European nations. Really, one would think the popularity of Greek yogurt alone would be sufficient to provide ample income.
  • Scientists are predicting that the sun’s output will be reduced by up to 60% within 15 to 20 years, leading to significantly lower temperatures on planet Earth. The JZ has long held that global warming may be the only thing to save us from the coming ice age. However, given the conflicting forces at work, it’s tough to know whether to invest in furnaces or air conditioners.
  • In the meteorological realm, the whether men are predicting a variable chance of flooding downpours or clearing skies by the end of the weekend or later. Here’s your Joe-to-Go, from the JZ Take-Out Window: On the bright side, the sun is not expected to go nova this week.
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Joe-Pourri, Late-Breaking Friday Edition

Joe-Pourri gets you ready for the weekend, with all the up-to-the-minute news, so you can impress your friends with what a know-it-all you are.

• The New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street Journal, and United Airlines all ground to a halt Wednesday, victims of computer outages. Frantic calls to IT help lines were answered with, “try shutting it down and restarting.” I’m just glad that, as a nation, we haven’t come to rely on unreliable devices for anything really important, like financial institutions, transportation, communications, electric power, defense…

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Joe-Pourri, Lighting Up Your Monday

Joe-Pourri is back, in spite of popular demand. Here’s the lowdown on the hijinks that are lighting up our iPhones and tablets, and causing them to run slower than before, if possible:

• Rockets hauling supplies to the International Space Station are blowing up pretty regularly lately. If I were an ISS astronaut, I’d be wishing I’d packed a few peanut butter sandwiches. (Luckily, there’s plenty of oxygen in space, so – never mind.) And if I were an astronaut waiting to be blasted to the station atop a rocket, I’d be wishing I worked at a peanut butter factory.
• The political scene took a bizarre turn over the weekend. Yes, I know that’s redundant. Campaign aides for Hillary “All You Need to Know is I’m a Woman, so Vote for Me” Clinton corralled journalists with a rope during an Independence Day parade attended by Ms. Clinton in New Hampshire. The reporters were described as being “somewhat dragged,” in order to keep them away from the candidate, who evidently wanted to be independent of the media. I find that somewhat of a drag. The former senator, secretary of state, and co-emperor describes herself as being the “most transparent” candidate. Perhaps she means “most pale.” In any event, no reporters were actually hogtied or branded, perhaps because apparently none were from Fox News.
• MLB All-Star voting is in full swing, and here in the Joe Zone, we hope it strikes out. Fan voting never made much sense to me. It’s popular with the fans, of course, but it can lead to weird results. Well-known 38 year old players batting .190 can be chosen over 25 year old phenoms batting .360. Voting is often a popularity contest rather than based on merit. Ballot box stuffing is common. Many fans know little or nothing about whom they’re voting for. It makes no more sense than having the general populace voting in a presidential election. Wait a minute…
• A bird flu virus this spring has resulted in an egg shortage, causing higher egg prices and reduced availability. Why this has not also resulted in a chicken shortage has experts baffled.

Join us next time, when we hear Joe say, “Is Joe-Pourri ahead of 60 Minutes in the ratings yet?”

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Joe-Pourri, Back Again

Evidently antibiotics don’t work on Joe-Pourri, so it’s back again. Here’s the latest Joe-stew of various happenings, goings-on, and shenanigans. If you’re trying to lose weight, then consider it a salad instead.

• The St. Louis Cardinals are being investigated by the FBI for possible cheating. The storied ballclub allegedly hacked into the Houston Astros’ computer network and stole information on players, possible trades, and bat corking techniques. If true, one might wonder why they would pick such a target. Perhaps the Cardinals’ spring training exercises might be expanded to include risk/reward analysis. At least we now understand why the redbirds depicted on the Cardinal uniforms are wearing masks.
• In related news, a recent study, performed in my head, found that the only sports team in America that is not cheating is a pre-school girls soccer team in Provo, Utah. And they are currently performing a risk/reward analysis.
• A recent study not performed in my head, but by the Indiana University Bloomington, found that watching cat videos is good for you. The study found that people who watch cat videos are more positive afterward, with fewer negative emotions. So go ahead, America, watch those cat videos guilt-free. And if you’re a cat owner, get the same calming effect by watching your cats as they shred your furniture and spew juicy furballs on your rugs.
• Here’s your Joe-to-Go, from the JZ Take-Out window: The lowlight for the day on the Western PA medical front is that spokesmen for both Highmark Insurance and UPMC have denied that their battle is to the death. “No,” said a clandestine figure representing UPMC. “Death will not end this.” “That’s one point we agree on,” said a Highmark furtive figure, on condition of anonymity. “We intend to continue this battle into the afterlife.”
Join us next time for an even more fragrant serving of Joe-Pourri, exclusively in the Joe Zone.

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Joe-Pourri, Part Deux

Unexpectedly, Joe-Pourri is back for another gallop down the runway. Let’s see what’s happening today:

• Internet historians are playing Sherlock to discover the day that the phrase “going viral” went viral. In related developments, Joe-Pourri appears to be number 23,345,765 in the “waiting to go viral” queue. Thinking of switching to the “catching a virus” line, which is much shorter.
• Are you aware that June is Brain Awareness month? Unfortunately, since I found out, I’ve been obsessively aware of my brain. I became aware that it itched a little, and I can’t reach it to scratch. Also, I don’t think my brain fits quite right in my skull. The right side seems to bump into my head bone, and the left side is too loose. Well, I’m sure next month, when it isn’t Brain Awareness month, I’ll forget all about it.
• Word from Capitol Hill is that Congress is considering opening a chic new breakfast bistro in the Capitol Rotunda, serving hot, fresh waffles. A final vote is expected by the end of the decade.
• Yesterday was the longest day of the year. Thank heaven that’s over. Of course, “longest day” means the most daylight hours. Vampires really hate that day, as it leave so little time for skulking and such.
Join us next time, when Joe-Pourri takes another ramble through the woods of the latest global happenings.

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Joe-Pourri Takes Flight

Today the Joe Zone is proud to present the maiden flight of a new feature: Joe-Pourri.
Those of you who are still reading may ask, “What the heck is Joe-Pourri?” It’s new, I tell you! It’s improved! (Wait – if it’s new, how can it be improved? I don’t know, but trust me, it is.) Joe-Pourri is a collection of bits of unrelated items, previously scattered about, that I’ve gathered in one place.
Hold on, you say. We already have a word for that: trash. Well, that’s true. But this is good trash. Cool trash. Interesting trash. Fragrant trash. In the grand tradition of the Joe Zone being an unacquired taste, Joe-Pourri will rumble down the runway, gain speed, tilt up its nose, and crash into a mosquito-infested marsh.
We’re hoping a lot of JZ fans live in that marsh.

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Choosing Mates vs Choosing Friends

How do we choose our friends? How do we choose a mate?

Recently, I heard someone express surprise that there was four-way compatibility with them and their spouse and another married couple. Friendships often do not mix well with spouses, they espoused. Does that say something bad about the way they chose a mate, they wondered.

In the Joe Zone, we’re all about delving into and resolving such issues. By which I mean, issues that are nebulous, incomprehensible, and unsolvable. Therefore, we immediately activated the JZ Bureau of Arcane Areas Ridiculously Diverse and Vaguely Aromatically Repugnant like Kerosene (AARDVARK), located in the fourth sub-basement of the JZ Intergalactic headquarters. The AARDVARKs are always happy to be unchained, and let loose on an innocent world, so while they’re out running amuck, I’ll tell you what I think about it, which carries all the weight of the feather that astronaut David Scott dropped onto the lunar surface.

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Going Batty for Baseball

The 2015 baseball season is off and running, as today we have the Boston Beaneaters taking on the St. Louis Maroons, and later the Worcester Ruby Legs try to derail the Brooklyn Superbas.

At least, that’s the scenario that could have taken place in the 1800’s, when team names were apparently much more imaginative. Those are actual names of professional ball teams of yore. St. Louis also had the Perfectos. Imagine a contest between the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the Philadelphia Quakers. And what more deserving name can there be for a Cleveland team than the Spiders? I wonder if the Spider uniform had hairy legs. Or a venom sac.

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What’s Your Favorite Word?

While watching a vocabulary-building cartoon show with my grandson, I was fascinated by a segment where they asked kids for their favorite word. (These were real children, not the cartoon variety.) They all instantly fired back a favorite word. No hesitation. Ah, to be young, and live in an uncomplicated world, and not over-think everything.

Do you have a favorite word? Or is that like trying to pick a favorite child? I can’t choose a favorite word, any more than I can choose a favorite song or book or movie. There is a word, though, that I love, and quite a forlorn little vagabond it is. It mostly sits abandoned in a seldom-trod corner of the dictionary, where respectable people no longer wander. I’m taking this word by the hand now, dusting it off, scrubbing its face, putting fresh clothes on it, and presenting it to you for your edification and consideration. Submitted for your approval and adoption: rebuke.

I’m not sure why this word has fallen into disuse, though I have some theories. It’s not because there isn’t an abundant supply of idiots who desperately need a good rebuking. I know quite a collection of them myself; I’m sure you do, too. Right off the top of my head, I can think of 535 of them that go by the collective name of Congress. Why aren’t we rebuking those ne’er-do-wells, who so abundantly deserve it?

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Putting the “Awe” in Colonoscopy

Getting a colonoscopy is a simple way to head off colon cancer at the pass, or possibly at the bend before the pass. Why aren’t they more popular, then? Why do people hesitate? I suppose colonoscopies have a bad reputation, but is that reputation worse than colon cancer’s?

I recently decided to forego a vacation to a soothing warm climate, and have a colonoscopy instead. Seemed like a no-brainer. A cost/benefit analysis revealed the truth: a colonoscopy’s potential benefits are much greater, and it’s a lot cheaper than a vacation, if you have medical insurance, and possibly if you don’t. Some may argue that it’s not as much fun. I say it depends on the vacation. I have had some miserable vacations that I gladly would have traded for a colonoscopy.

It would be interesting to ask the people on one of the recent “revolting stomach virus” cruises if, in retrospect, they would take what’s behind door number two instead. And I have no doubt that the Costa Concordia passengers would prefer many medical procedures to their ship hitting a reef, capsizing, and sinking.

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