Hey, people! I ran across this doing a random “unicycle” search to find “interesting” stuff… scroll down to #6 for an outsider’s view. You don’t have to get mad, just feel sorry for the ignorant losers who build this “humorous” site. http://www.funnymail.com/features/tot.html
I think what makes me most irritated is the derogatory attitude towards clowns (I’m serious.) It takes a lot more skill and effort to be a clown or a unicyclist than it does to be a desk-jockey sniggerer. Oh, well…
Re: MUNIers, and clowns, get ready to be UNhappy…
> I think what makes me most irritated is the derogatory attitude towards
> clowns (I’m serious.) It takes -a lot- more skill and effort to be a
> clown or a unicyclist than it does to be a desk-jockey sniggerer. Oh,
> well…
Agree about clowning being skillful, but your reaction to this
“derogatory” attitude seems a tad extreme to me. Wasn’t
particularly amusing, either, it has to be said.
Does “vicious competitor” mean something different in the States
than in the UK - it seemed an odd choice of adjective (unless we all
come rampaging down the mountain pillaging picnics, beating up
bicyclists and so on).
Arnold the Aardvark
MUNIers, and clowns, get ready to be UNhappy…
No, but I think that “they” were aiming for a sarcastic nuance, which would put the contextual definition more along the lines with being synonomous with “wanker”. Hence, yes, it’s unfunny.
Does “irritated” mean something different in the States than in the UK? To me, it means a feeling that’s around the lowest level of pre-anger. Of course, I’m not a CAUTION! JOCULARITY AHEAD! testosterone-uber-loaded adrenaline-junkie Munier, either. {WINK! WINK! 
;)}
Or does does “a tad extreme” mean something different in the States than in the UK?
I suppose we all see things differently…would be a pretty boring world if everything was the same.
There are the questions then answers below. I see question #6 as a lead into a great answer. If anyone had any ideas that mountain unicyclists were a bunch of buffoons, I think the answer serves to set the record straight. I really like the part of the answer that says, “In fact, they’re a grimly determined bunch.” Sort of puts us on a higher, harder working plane than the tabloid folks who form opinions out of ignorance.
My 1½ cents.
Bruce
Re: MUNIers, and clowns, get ready to be UNhappy…
The answer pretty much says what the deal is with MUni. I think it’s OK; they
probably meant “vicious” to mean something like “fierce,” not exactly a synonym
but commonly used that way.
About #5 there… I happened to see a program on PBS not long ago about this
“noodling,” an extraordinary traditional fishing method little-known outside of
certain southern areas of the US. It sounds a bit silly on the webpage there,
but was amazing to watch. These guys catch freakin’ humungous monster catfish
using their own hands and forearms as bait, feeling around blindly in the snags
and under boulders and stuff (creeping around in the shallows or diving further
out) until a fish tries to eat them. Then the noodler has to wrestle the fish
out of its hole and up to the surface with his arm stuck in its mouth. It’s
actually rather dangerous, as they can get tangled up in things and drown, or
bitten by copperheads, or all of the other bad things that you can imagine
happening. Apparently rod-n-reel fisherfolk tend to look down on the noodlers
for some reason, though I myself am a bit in awe. Crikey!!
MUNIers, and clowns, get ready to be UNhappy…
http://www.visionteam.com/midi/thunder2.mid
That GLORIOUS sound!
I just want to say, before anybody gets started on that whole “We’re not clowns!” moan here, that the terms “vicious competitor” and “grimly determined”, like the above-linked compostion, rightfully belong to us gladiators, NOT to a bunch of, of, of,… circus clowns!
In fact, they’ve even co-opted the word “circus” from us! WE were the original performers of the CIRCUS MAXIMUS, and our chariots had 2 wheels, and were 4-horse powered!
Re: MUNIers, and clowns, get ready to be UNhappy…
> Or does does “a tad extreme” mean something different in the States than
> in the UK?
Blimey! I keep getting into trouble in the news lately (not here -
don’t ask) :-(. Suffice it to say I saw nothing at all to get irritated
about. I like ‘vicious’ == ‘fierce’.
Arnold the Aardvark
I come to uni from juggling, and you can imagine it’s “normal”, when I perform (or before performing, when sombody can only see our dresses ),that people sometimes call me or my friends “clowns”.
As a juggler, sometimes I felt irritated, but now I think the correct reaction is to convince people that we’re not clown, but “serious” unicyclists (are we Serious? I don’ like to define me serious).
A lot of people has never seen a munier, and it’s comprehensible that they think we are circus-people, because they’ve seen uni only in circus.
Muni is a new “activity”, and our duty is to teach to people what Muni is and what isn’t.
I am a munier:D 