Tree decor

Lets discuss for a moment the problem of plastic bags stuck in trees. It’s been a pet peeve of mine for a while. I began noticing it about 4 years ago, when I first started attending Marquette. Walking to class one day I heard a plastic-y rustling sound overhead, and when I looked up there it was, a white plastic bag stuck by its two handles to the branch of a tree. Perched 30 feet above and permanently out of reach, the bag whiffled around happily. Suddenly it irritated me no end.

Once I began spotting bags, I became aware of all the other stuff that gets stuck in trees…

Runaway balloons

One lucky day on my way to class I looked up and instead of a bag I saw a huge cluster of balloons stuck in a tree on Wisconsin Ave. It was beautiful. Who knew balloons could accent a tree so nicely? For me, it was a good break from seeing garbage dangling from the branches. After a while though, I felt bad for getting so much pleasure out of admiring the balloons because I knew elsewhere someone had to be smacking themselves for letting them get away.

Spooky

On October 30, I was standing in the checkout line at Blockbuster when a lady in front of me stepped up to the register and placed a red cooler on the counter. The cooler read: Not Organs.

Creepy

Now, giving her the benefit of the doubt it was Halloween weekend, but in the spirit of spookiness shouldn’t it have read: Organs?  It was the strangest thing. The lady didn’t seem like she was in the Halloween spirit.  It seemed as if she was making her usual Friday night Blockbuster stop… with her “Not Organs” cooler.

My biggest question was: If organs aren’t in there, what is?

It’s all about the Benjamins

Standing in line at the grocery store off National Avenue in Milwaukee, I could not take my eyes off this woman’s chest.  No, it wasn’t like that… This woman had a 100 dollar bill taped to her sweatshirt. Curious why she would do such a thing I came up with some assumptions:

- Subtle hint that money’s the only way to her heart

There it is, taped right to her chest

- Didn’t want to lose her lunch money

- She had holes in her pockets

- She wanted to be touched (figured someone would try to steal it)

- She looks good in green

- She taped the $100 on to make the sweatshirt look expense

- It’s her savings account, she didn’t want to lose track of her savings (somebody needs to tell her to put that in the bank so she can make interest off it)

- Lost her wallet

- Reminder of how rich she is

- It’s her bling

- Showing off the 100 dollar tip she earned

- Wanted to be ready for anyone asking, “Show me your money.”

- The only thing lying around to patch up the hole in her sweatshirt

- Gang symbol

- Conversation starter

- Censoring her sweatshirt to cover an inappropriate slogan

You’ve got a baby, in a bar…

Oh, did I have a “Sweet Home Alabama” moment at AJ Bombers, a bar/pub in downtown Milwaukee… Before a Marquette basketball game my friends and I stopped at AJ Bombers for a quick bite to eat and drink. As I’m sitting at the bar, a man walked in with his son in his arms (less than one year old). He grabbed a chair at the corner of the bar and placed his oversized diaper bag on the seat.  From the bag he pulled out a portable “hook on table chair.”  With his son in one arm he managed to securely set up the “hook on chair” to the bar.  Then, he placed his son in the seat, gave him some Cheerios, sat down, and ordered a beer and a burger.  I was speechless, I had never seen such a thing.  The dad seemed like a dependable put together human, but I still was shocked to see a baby bellied up to the bar. Nothing like starting the kid off on the right foot…

Milwaukee style father/son outing

Setting up shop

Laughing – No Joke – Burns Calories.

A study done by the European Congress on Obesity in Athens found that laughing raises energy expenditure and increases heart rate 10-20%. Ten to 15 minutes of laughter could increase energy expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day, translating into about four pounds a year.

Apparently, you can’t eat at McDonald’s then expect to ‘eat your way out of lunch,’ but laughing for 15 minutes could burn off two Heresy’s Kisses. Hey, every calorie counts, right?

Anyhow, welcome to A Laugh and a Half.  Since my first camera phone, (my Motorola Razor – which unfortunately fell from my 12th story window in McCormick Hall my freshman year and broke in two… great story, ask me sometime) I continuously capture candid photos of humorous objects, people, and situations.  No matter where I am, what I’m doing or who I’m with I’m not afraid to whip out my iPhone (a definite upgrade from my Razor) and snap a photo.  So, have a laugh and hopefully I’ll help you burn a few kcal’s!

Poop Bandit

No, I’m not in a high school bathroom. This was drawn on a stall in the MU Rec Center. Apparently, restroom visitors should be aware of their surroundings, especially down below.