jester of columbia

table of contents
2

ROPE

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12-13 14

Letters to the Editor Deaths Editaurus Bromenclature Treatise Sesame Street Interview Letter To/ From Gym Rope Rope List Noose Letter Son, Im Gonna Tell You Bout The Time I Were A Inventor! Holiday Greetings From The Whiplash Family! Lariat Center Spread: Knot Your Average Art Exhibit A Calf s Thoughts During The Calf-Roping Event At A Rodeo Disturbing Piece Pigs On Drugs Another Rope List FML As Rodeo Animals Give Me More Rope Autoerotic Asphyxiation Joan Of Arc Brand Roepers & Ropers Ropes Rope Plant All Tied Up

What? No one wrote a piece about Rope,my 1948 thriller? It used long, continuous takes. Well, I guess the fact that this issue is a continuous stream of crap could be a somewhat satirical allusion.

15 16 17 18 20 21 22

23 24

INSIDE BACK COVER In the Next Jester...

LETTERS
Dear Jester,

TO THE EDITOR

DEATHS
- Died Wednesday night after Bobby Huxtable tickled out his last adorable breath. DEBBY DOWNER, 43 - Died last Thursday of a phenobarbital overdose. For shame. THE TONIGHT SHOW, 56 - Finally succumbed to chin cancer after an arduous 18-year struggle. THE NOOSE, 2106 - After consuming 3000mg of Xanax, died quite content on Christmas Eve as it realized why it had been replaced by drugs as the weapon of suicidal choice. ANTONIO J. KATZ, 24, - Died during a routine medical procedure: while turning his head to cough, he was shot in the head by a lone gunman from a grassy knoll. ARTHUR B. NICKPIT, 76 - Was fucking dying for some Cheetos, though it was not the yearning that led to his demise, it was the gout, which spread to his nervous system, strickening him of life. HERBERT HARPER, 91 - See Helen Bard HANGMAN, 42 - Died Tuesday afternoon for the, like, bazillionth time after the players exhausted the vowels. The word was rhythm. MIKE, 65 - The only cockroach to survive the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, died instantly when Mr. Futiyoshi stepped on him. HELEN BARD, 86 - On her deathbed, Helen Bard wrote her own obituary, then killed herself. It was beautiful and touching, but we have chosen not to reprint it here as it is being used as evidence. Oh yeah, she strangled Herbert Harper.
TICKLE-ME-ELMO, 6

You spelled my last name wrong in the last issue. Come on. MANDELBAUM. And you spelled it wrong. MENDELBAUM? Who do you think I am, Mendele, father of Yiddish Literature? Famous German composer, Mendelssohn? The father of modern genetics, Mendel? The author of the periodic table, Mendeleev? No. I am Ryan Mandelbaum. I mean you at least could have confused my name with someone relevant or influential instead of a bunch of old, dead farts no ones heard of. What do you take me, Ryan Mandelbaum, for?! Oh please, Jester. Maybe next time you should do some goddamn research before you go and spell such a prominent name like mine incorrectly. Sincerely and Fuck you, -RYAN MANDELBAUM

Ryan: Dont forget the Mandelbrot set. Who could forget the Mandelbrot set? -Jester Dearest Humorous Jester, During my most recent excursion to New York City, I came across a copy of your magazine. Initially I was confused. Why is there an ostrich on the cover but no mention of ostriches in the issue? I muttered to myself. It was only after reading half of the issue that I realized the Jester intended to be a humorous magazine. This brings me to the point of my letter: I would like to extend an invitation to you, Jester, to appear on the second season of my show, Shaq Vs. I officially challenge you to a humorous duel, which is not to be confused with a humerus duel, in which we fight to the death with humeri, or, arm bones in Latin (I added the extra clause to prove to you that I am a humorous fellow). Before you accept, you should be aware that I did improvisational theatre in high school. Humorously,
-SHAQUILLE R. ONEAL

Dear Jester, I will have been with my boyfriend for 6 years next week. Since weve had such a wonderful time together, I cant help but expect that he will propose to me on our anniversary. However, I dont know if he feels the same way. I love him so much and I cant believe that he hasnt already proposed. Im starting to get frustrated. What should I do?
-CONFUSED IN CONCORD, NH

Dear Shaq, We accept your invitation on the one condition that if you lose, you must wear a pink speedo (and only a pink speedo) for the duration of your next professional basketball game. -J

Dear Confused, Theres only one explanation for this sort of behavior: your boyfriend is in a Village People cover band. As such, hes probably gay. So the obvious solution is for you to propose to him. -Jester

Jester of Columbia

JESTER
VOL. CDI NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2010
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ROPE-A-DOPE
DEAREST READER,

Adam Nover

Patrick McGuire Michael Abraham Emma Rosenberg

MANAGING EDITOR ART EDITOR TREASURER

PUBLISHER

This issue of the Jester represents the crowning achievement in human history. The ways in which man adhered one object to another throughout history pale in comparison to the majestic feat of engineering that is the rope. For literally several years, man struggled to find something which could truly cleave one object to another. Glue was the first, but it was known to all to be but a passing measure, like John the Baptist merely a stand-in for the one that was to come. The surfaces of an object may be cold and aloof to the seductive entreaties of glue. For thousands of years, when a horse was to be attached to a plow, it could not merely be glued - no, that would be too easy. A horse would have to find out about the plow - who its friends were, whether it preferred to tear through clay or clover, and in the dead of night serenade it with the greatest love songs that the 80s had to offer, in the hopes that the two would become one in glue. Velcro fared little better, for it attached itself wherever it pleased, without regard to nature or consent. Too often the barbed hooks of love and the voluptuous fuzzy mat were not fated to meet, for ones mate would find its conjugal bliss with whatever happened to come along, be it a rival

velcro suitor or a rogue piece of lint with nothing left to lose. No, velcro was not the way: for although it could sometimes adhere one surface to another, in many situations it looks, in the words of the poet laureate Lil Kim, faggy. The zipper was naught but a glorified trap for careless phalluses; the magnet was but a cheap parlor trick; the tongue on the flagpole was nothing more than a fluke and has never, even to this day, been recreated under laboratory conditions. Our arms only reach 5-7 feet across. It is not of these that the way of the future was to be made. No, it was rope. Rope brought us from the dark ages into the light, and then tied the light down so it couldnt get away. Do not attempt to comprehend its greatness with your pathetic mind. Its powers are beyond your comprehension; such lies the way of madness. Do not intervene in its great and terrible plan, and perhaps you will be spared so that you may gaze in awe at its majesty.

Sadaf Shahid

BUSINESS MANAGER

James Rathmell Lena Dunn Jeff Stern

HEAD COPY EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR BLOGMASTERS GENERAL

Justin Chun Ryan Mandelbaum

Chris Crawford Kyle Davis Richard Deeping Max Goldberg Elana Gurevich Justine Hope Jack Jonathan Peter Hussein Schamp Anton Wheel
LAYOUT STAFF

EDITORIAL STAFF

Ellen Liu Dylan Lonergan Audry Padgett Samantha Siegel

Publisher

CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Barwick Augusto Corvalan Zak Dychtwald Edwin Elias Robert Frawley Henry Ring Carey Dunne Samantha Siegel
ART STAFF

THE JESTER OF COLUMBIA, ESTABLISHED 1901, IS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITYS ONLY HUMOR MAGAZINE.
Jester is published as many as four times a year and is distributed free of charge to the Columbia University community. Please limit one copy per person. Views, ideas, opinions, or unsavory epithets expressed in Jester do not necessarily reflect those of Columbia University, its student body, or even the wise-ass college students who wrote them. Any similarities to actual people, places, or events are either coincidental or satirical in nature. Direct submissions, advertising inquiries, and other correspondence to jester@columbia.edu.

Constance Castillo
DISTRIBUTORS

COVER DESIGN

Ross Johnson Keith Redwine

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.JESTEROFCOLUMBIA.COM.

3

February 2010, ROPE

Treatise on the Standardization and Formalization of Modern Bromenclature

Preface: The purpose of this treatise is to address the common problem of inaccurate, crude or incorrect bromenclature. Many people may use the common moniker Broseph, but beyond that, the line between proper and appalling can be hard to identify. This treatise hopes to address all possible issues that could arise in the act of re-naming existing persons and places. The author assumes no responsibility for poor results or legal consequences as a result of the users bromenclature. 1 Any word using the long O sound can be considered. The short O sound should be discouraged unless the humorous return will outweigh the potential pronunciation problems (this is known as BroConnors Ratio). e.g. Open = Bropen. Not onward = bronward 2 Any O followed by a complicating consonant (especially R) should be discouraged. e.g. Orson should not become Brorson, but odor can become brodor . 3 Substitutions for Irish sounding names (ONeill, ODooles) should be discouraged singularity is encouraged formal sounding names are excluded from this rule. See rule 8 e.g. Sandra Day BroConnor 5 Words containing br_ constructs (where _ is a, e, i, or u) can be considered for a vowel substitution. These are harder to justify but can be very successful. The word must remain recognizable and still simple to say, and no other letters may be changed. e.g. Britannica can become Brotannica, while British cannot become Brotish.

N TAN BRO

Sandra Day BroConnor!

ICA

4 The O can be preceded by any consonant that does not affect the pronunciation of the O and is not necessary for recognizing the word. e.g. Poseidon = Broseidon because the word is distinct enough and the P sound is replaced by the B sound. Likewise, Rosencrantz becomes Brozencrantz because the R sound remains strong. Dog cannot become brog.

6 In general, monosyllabic words are discouraged. However, they may be used with sufficient adjectival phrases. e.g. Brope could not be substituted for Pope unless preceded by an adjectival phrase: His Holiness, the Brope 7 In cases of exceptional ingenuity, total deviation from these rules is permitted. As long as it is reasonable and humorous, anything is legal. e.g. Lawrence of Brorabia has no roots in this system but is still an acceptable substitution. 8 Proclivity towards proper-sounding (or formal-sounding) names is encouraged. e.g. Where everyone will get a chuckle at Chad Brocho-Cinco, his crude character fits well into base bromenclature. A more humorous take is found in names like Edgar Allen Bro, or Arthur Bronan Doyle, which to most bros are names of frightful intellectual connotations.

Jester of Columbia

This year marks the 40th birthday of the beloved childrens show Sesame Street. To mark this historical occasion, the curator of the International Muppet Institute of America has graciously allowed access to one of the vaults greatest treasures: a transcript of the first Sesame Street pitch meeting between creator Jim Henson and an executive at PBS.
HENSON: Good day gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me. We dont have much time. EXECUTIVE: Oh, Im sorry, do you have another meeting to go to? HENSON: No, but theyll be here soon. They always come. They never stop. EXECUTIVE: UhOk. Well, why dont you have a seat, Mr. Henson and tell me what youve got. HENSON: Nah, man, Ive got such an energetic life force flowing around me right now I gotta stand to let it sink in Oh yeah, thats what Im talkin about. I dont know about you guys but I feel a little bit more alive and in-tune right now. EXECUTIVE: Right. So you had an idea for a childrens show? HENSON: A what? EXECUTIVE: You contacted us, Mr. Henson, because you claimed you had an amazing idea for a new show for kids. HENSON: Oh right, right. My puppets! EXECUTIVE: Puppets HENSON: Exactly! Kids, you know, they operate on a different frequency than us. EXECUTIVE: Very true. HENSON: I mean look what us grown ups done to mother earth. Weve gone and invaded Nam, elected a pig for president, and kept Gods good greens from being legal to the people. Mans become the man, man. EXECUTIVE: So you expect the children to relate to your puppets then. HENSON: Right on! EXECUTIVE: Alright, why dont you tell me about some of them? Who are they? What type of characters do you have that would relate so well to kids? Like a feisty Latina explorer or a puppy or something? HENSON: Two words. Giant. Pigeon. Thats right, you heard correctly. Big Bird. Ill give you some time to let the magic sink in. EXECUTIVE: Um, uh, yeah. What else do you have? HENSON: Ok, get your imaginations ready for this one, because I am about to blow your little conformist mind. What do kids love more than anything in the world. Monsters. I know, that was an easy question, but heres a quandary for you. What do kids love more than monsters, hmm? Their parents, teddy bears,
February 2010, ROPE

MDMA? No. Cookies! Thats why Ive got Cookie Monster. Out of cookies, he wreaks havoc on the street, endlessly rampaging on his sugarfueled mission. No person, no place, nay not even a thing can rest at ease until this blue devil has had his fix. All in all, I believe he speaks to both families and values. EXECUTIVE: Ok, sir, I am not at all sure where you are going with this. HENSON: Wait, just hang on man, youre leavin out my main brother Oscar. Hes a grouch. No, not grouchy like my uncle Jimmy after a few too many bourbons. I mean a grouch. A race of mutant cave-people turned green and furry from disposed nuclear waste. Theyre totally shunned by society, forced to live in trashcans just so that no one has to look at their radioactive disfiguration EXECUTIVE: Mr. Henson HENSON: And then we have Bert and Ernie, two grown guys who live together, and then theres a giant woolly mammoth named Aloysius Snuffleupagus. Oh, and dont let me forget this crazy little red guy named Elmo, whos a little slow in the head but very cute, so no one seems to mind. EXECUTIVE: Mr. Henson, this is ridiculous! I am sorry, but your show sounds absolutely absurd. There is no way a network like ours, dedicated to education and knowledge would ever put suchsuch filth on our programming lineup. Might I suggest you take your services elsewhere. Might I suggest Canadian Public Television. HENSON: Aw, come on man! I know this show can make it for you guys! EXECUTIVE: And how can it do that, Mr. Henson? We are looking for a childrens show, and what youve told me about iswell I cannot see any way in which children can relate to your characters, not ever in the slightest. HENSON: Oh wait! Thats cuz you havent licked any of my magic puppet stamps yet. I cant believe I forgot. Here, take like 4 or 7 or something.

And with that, Sesame Street was born, and childrens television and the world have not been the same since.
5

Jester of Columbia

Lesser Known Houdini Escapes Merideths ghastly speech at the yacht clubs inaugural ball
Responsibility His domineering wife Justice His paternity suit Tiger Atmosphere Paper bag Mimes box Digital Fortress The Rock Defenestration of Prague S-cape A Sunday blaze Arbys bathroom Fire escape Rehab His troubled past Inner city neighborhood Laws of gravity Monotony of modern life This mortal coil The morning after

A Tight Rope Walkers Last Words

Add another elephant. Oh shit; I just fell off. Keep your friends tight and your rope tighter. Those holes in the net are looking much larger than usual. To partner: Im leaving you. To wife & family: Ive always loved you. To partner: Im leaving you and taking half the rope. Im going to shoot myself now. Yo, man; this rope is so tight. Do you think Ive gained weight? This is some tight rope.

Slapbitch

Vince Shlomis other Slap Devices

Synonyms for Roget

Douchebag

orn Poon P s le of e p n m Jos & the Te Crew Babe a n ne ast na Jo the L IndiIa a i d n nes &
Jo iana In D

If the Beatles Were Metallurgists

Iron Ore Rigby Zinc For Yourself I Solder Standing There Alloy-Di Alloy-Da I Wanna Mold Your Hand in Bronze All My Lathing Oh! Sterling Chrome Together Shear, Tear and Every Wear Zinc with an Outer Coating of Copper Lane Revolution 55.845 g/mol I Steel Fine Helter Smelter Maxwells Silver Hammer Golden Slumbers (All produced by George Martensite)
February 2010, ROPE

Gordium after Alexander

Make a new, sword-proof knot Worlds Two Most Unsolvable Knots Open a casino Aesop World Steal the sword in the stone Wall Drug II Gordian Reimann Hypothesis
7

Dear Sam, Cant wait for our date tonight. I know youre nervous. Dont be. Weve been toying with the idea for weeks now and I know Ive left you hanging; I want you to know that Im ready to go all the way with you. Your parents are going to be out for the night and theyll never have to know about me. I love you more than anything in the world and whatever happens, its just going to be you and me. Are you excited? I am. Nothing turns me on more than the thought of you and me alone in your room. I cant wait for your hot, sweaty flesh to touch my curves, or to caress your soft neck. I dont want to scare you, but it might even get a little kinky; Sam, I want you to tie me up! Well do it on a chair! Oh, Sam, the anticipation is killing me and I know its gonna kill you! The absolute truth is, Sam, I love you. Tonight may be the last night I see you but I want it to be our best. Dont think about it too much, Sam. I dont want you backing out at the last minute or getting nervous, because Im absolutely prepared to do this. It wont take too long and youll be in heaven when its all over. I love you so much and Ill see you tonight. Sincerely, Noose
8 Jester of Columbia

Son, Im Gonna Tell You Bout the Time I Were a Inventor!

I know you been hearin things about your pa down at school son, probably some downright terrible things. But son, I been put here on Gods earth for a reason. I dont want people sayin your pas a no good layabout! Thats slanderous! Listen here n Imma tell you bout the time I was a inventor! So last weekend ol Bodean an me, were sittin in the hollow by his hooch still an were gettin lit up. I was so intoxicated there musta been seven Bodeans! Lor knows thats too many Bodeans! Well I keel over just sitting there on a account a gravity an all them Bodeans just start howling like a hyena! Aint even help me flounderin on the ground! We had a found a poking stick earlier that day. He just starts a poking me pretty as you please! Imagine! An I said Bodean! You acting the part of a horses ass! I dont take that from Bodean aint no one spose to! So I get up an well, I do some top notch stuff Im sure! Memory hits a fuzzy bit there. Next I know me n Bodean are pissin down a snake hole laughin!

I dont know why! So later I guess it were later Bodean stands up and declares he gonna swan dive off Ma Beacons falls. I say no sir you are not. It being we haint had drip a rain all month. Hes just intolerable stupid. He starts a walking toward Ma Beacons land. I get up an a log trip me over. I stand an a caught him by tha collar n all the sudden he just take off a runnin! So I tackle Bodean like a greased hog and things get real fuzzy then. Alls I know is I wake up and its morning. Im lying facedown, thunder an lightning in my head because Bodean dont know how to make liquor. Well I wake up and look over and ol Bodean is sitting tied up pretty as you please to his sitting log! Can you believe it? Dont you get it? We didnt have no rope out there! I invented it! On. The. Spot! We both decided it was a true miracle. Im gonna tell the Pope hisself. Hell see I saved Bodeans life and then well drink all the wine we can n heel make us saints! Saints! Ill of course be a more important saint than Bodean. Hell be the saint of making people invent stuff. Ill be the patron saint of inventing. You just member this son: your pas a saint!

February 2010, ROPE

iplash Fa h W e h t from Greetings

mily

Another challenges an year has flown by at th e Whiplash h d changes. ouse! Ours h After years w as been fruit ith Insidious ful, though fu kidnapping In c. Snidely has d businesses. S ll of ecided to qu o, if you or an into the dam it and private yone you kn sel kidnappin ly fr ow needs a d g business, le amsel tied to eelance and consult for t us know! As for the kid damsel a railroad or s, Greg grad is thinking ab u railroad con out getting ductor! Snid ated high school in May ely got so mad and to his night! And if fa th h th stand them an at werent enough, Dan e had steam shooting ou ers chagrin is beginn ing his progr iel still wants t his ears I d Sn id el y at am thin te to can see from the picture, th mpts to sell them into C join the Mounties! Kids! k he tied up six damse as a ls that an to grow thei W e ad k e id ia ve n s gi d lo o ve gg still envy thei n r own. r fathers mu ing slave labor every once up trying to understachio and in a while. B Of course, Sn are trying ve ut idely still has ry h ard (bless th as you include sellin h eir hearts!) g the Mounti is wild get-rich-quick sc h under the gu es ise of bear fu horses and replacing th emes, which hell pursue r to wh through Im em sure its all ve sell as beaver fur. He go with slower moose and ile freelancing. Future p lans es on and on bootlegging ry cunning. Sometimes ev ott ab I have had th en I cant kee out never resting until th er fur into Canada e luck of bei p up with th e Mounties ar ng involved arch nemes at man! full e is. claimed Snid The case involved Snid -time in our ongoing cou ely as an acco ely tricked D rt case (ugh!) m udley into b elieving Janu plice to homicide and k with Dudley Do-Right So Dudley d ary 14th was id id this and Sn Kidnap-and napping by Dudley. The Snidelys idely got char story. We all -T Mounties ie -N kn ge ell-To-A-Rai lroad Day. trial was toss ow that if Snidely wante d after the train pretty m ed out when d to kidnap u ch obliterate an Dudley attem the insanity defense. pted to have d bind a lady to a railroad d Nell. This is their side of his horse test ify as a surpri , hed do it himself. In an the Cant win em y se case, w itness altho all I guess. ugh he got o the ff on Warmest Ho liday Wishes , The Whiplash Family

10

Jester of Columbia

February 2010, ROPE

11

A Calfs Thoughts
DURING THE CALF-ROPING EVENT AT A RODEO
Where the hell am I? Some pen? What the fuck is all that sound? Where the Freedom! Sweet sweet freedom! Go just go and dont stop running until you cant run anymore I cant believe that gate just opened like that and what the hell is behind me oh my fucking God! Is that a fucking Clydesdale and a giant! What the fuck is going on where the fuck am I? Run and dont stop if you stop that giant fucker is gonna eat you and you know you taste so good so young and spry. Fuck me that goddamn horse is fast and no one is gonna do anything theyre all just watching! These goddamn yokels are just watching theres gonna be a fucking death and I hope thats OK to have on your conscious because JESUS FUCKING CHRIST a rope is around my neck! Where the Fu Whiplash oh God whiplash every goddamn muscle is torn and No no no no no! Cowboy go away! HELP ME YOU WORTHLESS FUCKERS! DONT JUST SIT! AAHG! Fucker just body-slammed me! Fucking abuse! Not the legs! Kick and dont stop kicking holy fuck hes strong! Must be a fucking man-beast! MY DEATH WILL BE ON YOUR CONSCIOUS YOU FUCKING MOUTH BREATHERS! No no no no! Must break free of hes gone! Just walked away! Oh my fucking god worst day ever.

14

Jester of Columbia

For years, the editors here at New York Magazine have had me review the hippest and most exclusive clubs in the city. In these sanctums of style, I always heard people mention a place called Club Void. Everyone knew about it, but nobody had actually been there. I guess I just assumed it to be a myth, and I didnt really think about it in earnest until my editors fatefully suggested that I try to visit. I first had to find the phone number. I searched for weeks, sifting through clues embedded in child porn videos until I had assembled the requisite numbers. I thought that maybe this was a scam since the number was over 40 digits long and my call was met with an intense metallic screech followed by silence. But sure enough, on my walk to the store the next day, I felt a sharp prick in my neck and the world went black around me. Coming to, I found myself in a part of the city I had never seen before. I tried to get a sense of what time it was but no shadows fell on the objects around me. Eventually I found a street sign reading Bowery: ZERO. All the storefronts were empty, and a strange blue fog seemed to be filtering through the area. I spotted a velvet rope on a sidewalk down the block and the sun immediately set. I waited patiently in line until I was ushered inside and then led to a small theater. The maitre d told me that this was to prepare me for the actual club experience, to test my mettle. All eyes were transfixed on a single large screen blasting high frequency pulses or black and white. Yet, within this strobing pattern, each man and woman - including me - could see the exact moment of his birth and the exact moment of his death, combined in a quantum superposition of life and unlife. Some learned that they are already dead. These unfortunate bodies promptly collapsed into their component elements, tissue, gristle, and organs sluicing through the floor for harvesting. Having passed the initial test, I moved on into the roar of the club. The proprietor slinked up next to me and began to explain to me his vision for the club. All the windows were painted back to keep the light in and the floors were wet and rotting due to mystical rhapsodies and urine. The only standing wall had a constant looping projection of a Jonestown suicide victim screaming as her organs shut down. All around us, a high pitch screeching seemed to be coming from the air itself. February 2010, ROPE

Club Void

disturbing piece

As I walked around, I began to notice the clientele: The darkness had atrophied everyones eyes, and they all stumbled around blindly in the dark. I saw some of the most beautiful women in the world gulping mossy green drinks with live goldfish inside them, all while eating iPods like they were crackers. Ashlee Simpson was having a grand mal seizure, her body twitching, clutching a leopard printed cell phone. We stepped over her. Further in the club, the air was thick. Everyone was blankly and emotionlessly picking mold spores out of their skin so they didnt get infected from the inside out. Teenage girls were reverse birthing dogs while they mashed molten glass into their skin. Holographic men in lab coats were pitching a new line of concealer made from the ashes of Bobby Jindal. A swarm of cicadas had formed a teeming ball and was rolling around like tumbleweed. A huge gun battle raged all around us, but somehow only beautiful Arab men were dying. Finally, I was brought into the VIP room. I will never forget the sights that I saw there. I share them with you now so that history will not forget the dark deeds that occurred: I came upon a writhing mass of human. Limbs were jamming gobs of rotting vegetable matter into sucking flesh wounds in the vain hope that it would act like a crude form of Penicillin. Individual people were no longer recognizable within the horrible Leviathan. All I could make out were a few distinct mouths, sewn shut with razor wire to stop the wailing. There it was, squirming in silence as the microorganisms feasted within. As I turned to leave, the whole building groaned and shuddered with despair. I later learned that the propietor was found dead, fully cocooned by weeds and mold. His body had been tapped dry and stripped clean. City officials demanded that news agencies not publish anything about it, calling it one of the darkest moments in the history of New York City. Families of victims extending three generations have been asked to leave the country. Bowery: ZERO was condemned, demolished, and erased from all maps. As for me: When I went into the theater and I foresaw my own death, it occurred at the exact moment I completed this article. I have to go now.
15

The first little pig built his house out of hemp rope. He was forced to resort to cannibalism because he was always hungry and pork rinds are the cheapest snacks at the bodega. One day, the big bad wolf came to the first little pigs house. He huffed and puffed upon the house. Suddenly, he didnt really feel like blowing it down. In fact, he just joined the first little pig on the couch.

The Three Little Pigs

The second little pig built his house out of crack rocks and rope. The hairs on his chinny-chin-chin grew into a lasso that he used for catching micro-piglets to pimp out. One day the big bad wolf came to the second little pigs house. He huffed and puffed and then snorted a bit. He cut himself on his sharp teeth while trying to rub parts of the house into his gums. The third little pig built his house out of bulletproof steel and set up a meth lab inside it. When the wolf came he could not huff and puff the bulletproof steel house, so he left. But the pigs meth lab exploded and killed him anyway. The third pig was pretty dead. The fourth little pig took acid. The fourth little green dinosaur ate most delirious candyflowers that

spoke to him with the voice of all the

fallen pig brethren running orange

chairs across the border into

Vietnam. YOU ARE THE CHO-

SEN ONE! they cried, and upon that day he knew

he was a woman now.

16 Jester of Columbia

Most made up countries

France Nauru USSR Chile Mascara Lesszambique Naziland (Swastikaland) Guinea Titzil Guacamole Atlantis Urgentina 4chanistan Wyoming Indoamnesia Ethoropia Chicken Twinewan Tibet Atlantic Ocean Hamsterdom Palestein Impalastine Sri Llama Trinimom & Toboggan Bob Sagestan For More, check out www.jesterofcolumbia.net

Mamamamamamamamamama
Blackjack Foot Canasta Spleen Go fish! Knee Whist Lips War Head Kings Pelvis Solitaire Thumb Rummy Tummy Klondike Dick Uno Secum Crazy Eights Jejunum Euchres Sphincter Spit Clit

Items at a Hipster Rodeo

Flannel Ironic rope Ironic bull Ironic cowboy Apathetic audience Vinyl clown Skinny boot-cut jeans Brooklyn

Productive Weather Phenomena

The Perfect Storm Miracle-Gro Floods False Clouds Snow Upward Rain Bubbles Candy Hail
17

New Typefaces
Fellatio Sanz
February 2010, ROPE

FML Rodeo
Now with more bullshit!
Tops FML Home Random FML FAQ Applications Teams Blog FML Store Submit Your FML

Your account
I was shoved in a pen and some guy got on me. I bucked him off and then these fucking clowns tried to distract me. I accidentally killed one and some blood squirted in my eye. Now its infected. FML.
#7644326 (66) I agree, your life sucks (546) you totally deserved it (4787) On 12/20/2009 at 7:26pm - United States (Arkansas)

Username

........

Login

Some kid threw me some peanuts. Everyone knows bulls hate peanuts, so I head butted him. He died. Now Im getting put down. FML.
#7643925 (29) I agree, your life sucks (2364) you totally deserved it (876) On 12/20/2009 at 5:14pm - United States (Oklahoma)

#7642082 (73) I agree, your life sucks (7645) you totally deserved it (6754) On 12/19/2009 at 2:47pm - Australia (Queensland)

I like rodeos because I get to dress up, use some lassos, and watch other horses prance around in their good leather. During the pre-rodeo parade I got so excited I popped a 3-foot boner. Now everyone knows Im a gay horse. FML.

I really wanted to go to the rodeo this year, but I ate some bad feed and got sick. So now all the other horses went and Im stuck here with a veterinarian whos elbow-deep in my ass. FML.
#7641681 (98) I agree, your life sucks (9844) you totally deserved it (293) On 12/18/2009 at 10:23am - United States (Texas)

My calf-roping event was early this morning. I didnt have time to take a morning shit. I ended taking a five-minute dump-a-thon in the middle of the arena. I was disqualified. FML.
#7633803 (10) I agree, your life sucks (4355) you totally deserved it (9844) On 12/18/2009 at 4:55pm - United States (California)

I was excited to go to my first rodeo. I knew I was on the younger side for most horses, but Ive been growing a lot. For a whole week I was stuck in the petting zoo. FML.
#7637205 (53) I agree, your life sucks (12738) you totally deserved it (751) On 12/17/2009 at 11:56am - United States (Nevada)

18

Jester of Columbia

February 2010, ROPE

19

Give More Rope

[A hole. One guy stands at the top with a coil of rope, and another is inside, doing something that requires rope.] A: Hey. B: Yo. A: Im gonna need some more rope. B: Got it. [Drops down 1 meter of rope.] A: A little more? B: [Lowers another meter.] A: Okay, great...oh, more please? Thanks. B: [Gives him another meter.] A: Thats it, perfect. [BEAT] Actually, Im gonna need some more rope. B: [Gives him a meter or two.] A: Keep it comin. I need a lot, haha. B: Sheesh, all right. [Gives him three meters of rope.] A: Um, yeah. More please...? B: More? [Another three meters.] A: B: Is that good? A: Yeah. Well, even more! Haha. B: (sighing) Geez! [Gives him two meters.] A: Okay, pft, more than that. Come on dude. B: [Drops five meters of rope.] A: Umm, okay. Lets see... Im wondering, do you have more rope? B: Yup... [Gives him eight meters of rope.] That enough? A: Yup yup. Keep it coming. B: [Rolls his eyes, drops five meters of rope.] A: Dont stop! B:

[Lowers ten meters of rope.] A: Dont st--here, Ill say when. B: [Slowly, 50 meters of rope.] A: I didnt say when... B: Okay, well. [Lowers 25 more.] A: Is this hard to understand? I will say when. B: All right! [He drops 800 meters of rope.] A: Okay, when! Oops, too much.

20

Jester of Columbia

Act One, Scene One

Ext. Doorstep, Midday, Autumn A police officer is on the doorstep looking concerned. [Police Officer knocks on the door] [There is no answer, but after a second knock, the door creeps open.] There is a distant sound of television in the background - QVC, to be specific. OFFICER: Excuse me, sir? VO VOICE: MMMMMMMMMMM???!!! OFFICER: Sir, weve received a call from your mother. She claims VO VOICE: MMMMMPH PHMMMMPH. OFFICER [continuing]: that you may be hurting yourself in there. VO Voice: MMMM. [there is a spitting noise followed by a deep gasp] VO VOICE: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. GASP GASP. AHHHHHH. OFFICER: Sir? VO VOICE: What do you want? OFFICER: May I come in? VO VOICE: NO! Im a bit tied up in here. [The television shuts off] VO SHRILL FEMALE VOICE: Quiet, Danny! Officer Jacobs, please come in. See to my son. VO DANNY: MOM! Int. Dannys room - Doorway The officer walks up the stairs and opens Dannys door. Danny lies supine, fully nude. Various ropes entangle his body. A large rope lies slack across Dannys face. A smaller one tethers his neck. A shoelace clenches his throbbing testicles, gripping them like a young bird might on a hot December night. OFFICER: Jesus motherfucking DANNY: GET OUT! Leave me to my deeds! OFFICER: Danny, we need to talk. Autoerotic asphyxiation is a disease, spreading through suburbia like meth-loaded minivans. It DANNY: Officer OFFICER: No, Danny. You may think you are getting more wank for less bank, but in fact you DANNY: Officer OFFICER: You are hurting yourself! DANNY: Officer! Im not practicing autoerotic asphyxiation. Im just making love. OFFICER: Huh? DANNY: I just love rope. Twine, Thread, line you name it. I am in love. OFFICER: Love? DANNY: Yes, love. Passionate, undying love. This is what I feel. I feel it in my heart, in my glands, and tightly around my testicles. OFFICER: Daniel, thats not love. VO MOTHER: YOU HEAR THAT, DANNY?! NOT LOVE. DANNY: SHUT UP, WOMAN! No, you dont understand. Love doesnt have to be between a man and a woman or a man and a man or a woman and a woman. Sometimes a mans most sensual partner is a ball of yarn or a strand of silk. OFFICER: Danny, you are lying in a pile of rope, masturbating. DANNY: Am I? Am I? Or am I just sharing the pleasures of youth with an old fiber? OFFICER: You can stop stroking your penis now. DANNY: Were like Adam and Eve. OFFICER: So you admit it! DANNY: I said ADAM AND EVE, not JERK OFF AND NOT BREATHE! OFFICER: Hmm... DANNY: Were going to tie the knot. [Lifts a piece of twine from the pile] I WILL WED THIS ONE! THIS ONE, I SAY. WE WILL MAKE RAGGEDY ANNS and RAGGEDY ANDYS. [Danny reaches for his pride and joy - an old sea rope. He lifts the great rope above his head. The smell of sea salt and barnacles fills the air. He places the rope around his throat and throws the anchor out the nearby window.] OFFICER: Daniel! Dont do it! [Danny reaches for his manly unit, but before he can, the anchor hits the end of the rope. Dannys face turns blue as his eyeballs jerk forward. He lives no longer.] OFFICER: Oh no. Oh no. He was just so confused. [Dannys Mother Enters] MOTHER: What the hell is this? Officer Jacobs, all I wanted you to do was talk to him about abusing Robitussin. OFFICER: Oh.
February 2010, ROPE 21

22

Jester of Columbia

A Scene From A Rope Factory

Mr. Grubermeyer: Larry, get in here! Larry (Runs into room): What is it Mr. G? Mr. Grubermeyer: There have been a lot of accidents around the plant recently. Larry: Mr. Grubermeyer: I mean, a lot. Weve had three people dead this morning alone, and its barely 10:30. Larry, I dont mean to speechify, but this is not the strong American industrial spirit that Spool & Stevens is renowned for. This is why Hitashi Ropes is moving in our goddamn market. Larry: Well, weve all seen the safety training video, so Im not sure-Mr. Grubermeyer: Sure, Dont Get Hung Up: Rope Safety 101. Its a masterful piece, and thats why I dont mind showing it to you guys so often. I think the problem is, you all might not be taking it too seriously. Larry: I think someone recorded over the last five minutes of that video with footage of Greg hanging himself. Mr. Grubermeyer: What? Who in the hell did that? Larry: I think it was Greg. He talks a lot about how he hated to work here. The constant grinding noises, strobing fluorescent lights, minimum wage- also the rope burns, the Indian burial ground in the basement, the guy with the whip, the lead in the water pipes, you know, what anyone complains about at their job. But he said the safety video was the worst part. Oh yeah, he also said to tell his wife and kids he loves them very much. Mr. Grubermeyer: Well, that reminds me: see that Gregs life insurance policy is halved. I wont have employees complaining and tampering with company property. Am I right or am I right, Larry? Larry: I dont know if thats completely lega-Reginald (Bursting in): Mr. Grubermeyer, sir? Im sorry to just run in here, but Freddy just hung himself from the rafters. Mr. Grubermeyer: The big stick is in the closet. Get him down. Where was I? Oh, right. I wanted to call you in here, Larry, because I think I know how to reduce these accidents. Larry: I think theyre more like suicMr. Grubermeyer: The idea is, Larry, is that we have entirely too much rope on our hands. Larry: We are a rope manufacturing warehouse, sir. Mr. Grubermeyer: Dont interrupt me, Larry, it doesnt become you. Larry: Im sorry, sir. Mr. Grubermeyer: Very well. As I was saying, We have entirely too much rope. And, as the old adage goes Larry: Give someone too much rope and theyll hang themselves? Mr. Grubermeyer: Well, thats rather cavalier of you, Larry. No, I was thinking more along the lines of When in Rome. Larry: Mr. Grubermeyer: You see, Larry, were entering a digital age. You can pay for anything online using your credit card. You can even buy books online and read them electronically! Why, yesterday, I went down to the pornographic video store to pick up a few DVDs, and I saw a surprisingly stark collection. Their big ole booty collection was an atrocity. Not one big ole booty. I was so enraged, I marched right to the back, and right there, behind his dimly-lit countertop, I confronted the manager of the store. When he finally broke free of my choke-hold, he told me that I could find my usual titles online, streaming, as it were, from a variety of pornographic websites that I could find for myself online. Well, I marched right out of that store, went home, and masturbated for two and a half hours straight in front of my computer. I propose that we do the same thing with rope. Larry: Uh Ma Uh Sell it from a third-party vendor instead of dealing with the customers ourselves? Mr. Grubermeyer: Larry, where is your usual can-do attitude? Where is your Spool & Stevens spirit? No, I am suggesting something much grander that will also reduce accidents here, in the plant. Care to give it one more guess, Larry? Larry: Honestly, sir, I have no idea what youre talking about. Mr. Grubermeyer: We are going to stream rope! We are going to stream rope from this plant to every computer on the planet! Everyone will have access for a small monthly fee, and well be rich! Therell be no more hardcopy rope to stranlge anyone, itll all be entirely digital! Think of what well save on manufacturing! On shipping! On accidents and healthcare! Once we establish our own site, we wont even have to try to sell rope in stores anymore! A digital revolution is upon us, Larry, and I want you to be by my side on the burning threshold of a brand new age! Larry! Take my hand! (Mr. Grubermeyer stands up, offering his hand to Larry) Larry: Youre crazy, sir, but Im with you. (Larry takes his hand) Is this the hand you masturbated with? Mr. Grubermeyer: No questions!

February 2010, ROPE

23

All Tied Up

TELLING YOUR GIRLFRIEND, HEY BABE, I GOT YOU A BALLGAG

Weve all been there. Youve been dating this girl for a while now, two or three weeks probably. You guys had sex on the first date because, duh, its the 21st century. Youve been having pretty standard sex: wearing two condoms, pacing to Bohemian Rhapsody, and inevitably finishing on your roommates pillow. By all measures, things are going smoothly. However, you both know these are just the preliminaries. After a couple weeks of normal sex, your actual wants and desires need to be fulfilled. At this crucial nexus in the relationship, youve reached what has the potential to be a really annoying conversation filled with the ol NoNo! and the more than typical I dont even know you anymore! But be true to yourself. Introduce the ballgag.

Instructions: 1.

Difficulty: Damn Hard

First thing is first: strategize! If Freddy Mercury is in the middle of explaining how, Momma, I just killed a man, and you try to cuff your beloved to the bedposts, then you too may one day have as many broken fingers as I do. In this situation, I think it is best to take a page out of Socratess book: Do you want to know about my method? Make sure you are using the most recent publication: the one with the foreward by Method Man and Redman. Employ that Socratic Method. Set the groundwork. Hey babe. I really like you. I think Im ready to take this to the next level. Blah blah gush blah blah too!

2. Lay the bait, something she cannot under any circumstances disagree with.
I think the most important part of any relationship is honesty. I mean real honesty. Really. Dont you? Shell agree. Follow up by asking if she thinks trust is important, and she will. If she doesnt, thats cool too. Cheat on her. Assuming though that she answers in the affirmative, you are now faced with the decision of how to bring up your torturous toy. Do you frame it as a fantasy of yours? Do you couch your inquiry on your masculine need for dominance? Do you explain that its due to your parents abusing you as a child? For this last one, youll definitely earn extra sympathy points though it is morally questionable if youre lying, and I cant fully support anything of questionable morality.

Results
So youve asked your girlfriend if you can lodge a rubber ball in her mouth fastened securely behind her head while you have rough sexual intercourse. Congratulations! If she says no, just remember that there are plenty of other sexually confused or experimental fish in the sea, and, at the end of the day, youve still been finishing on your roommates bed for a couple weeks. If that doesnt console you, I dont know what will.

Tips & Warnings

Oh, and if the whole parent abuse thing is true, Im sorry. You really need to start using this to your advantage.

24

Jester of Columbia