Tag Archives: funny

The Phil Factor Grammy Awards!

I’ve never given Grammy Awards before, but when I saw that the Recording Academy of the United States would be awarding them next Sunday, I of course decided that I’d beat them to the punch.

When I hear the word Grammy, I don’t think of popular music, I think of my kids Grammy. Where would we be without Grammys? Who would watch the kids when we go out? Who picks them up from school when we can’t get out of that work meeting? And who buys our kids those presents that we would never get for them?

Picture from Adobe Stock images

Without further adieu, here are The Phil Factor Grammy nominees!

Grandmother Peggy Collinsworth of Arcadia, California saved her four year old grandson Matthew from a coughing fit when she swiftly pulled a hard butterscotch candy out of her bra and gave it to Matthew, soothing his sore throat.

Grammy Dot Cullen of  St. Paul, Minnesota is nominated for buying her grandson Ralphie an official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle for Christmas when his mom said no because “you’ll shoot your eye out!”

Grammy Judy Winkleman  of Secaucus, New Jersey is nominated for babysitting her twin granddaughters Rachel and Amy and letting them stay up way past their bedtime so they could watch the rest of the Wednesday series on Netflix, and master the Wednesday dance to impress their friends in school. Rachel and Amy didn’t get bed until their parents were just pulling into the driveway!

Great Grammy Miss Faye of Oakland, California is nominated for attacking a thief who grabbed her neighbors purse. She beat him with her cane until he dropped the purse and ran away. This one is a true story. I love stories like this one.

Our last nominee is  Grammy Nancy King of Scottsdale, Arizona who, after recently learning to use Facebook on her phone, liked and commented on every post from the last four years on each of her grandchildren’s pages.

Have a great Sunday and appreciate your Grammy! ~Phil

I Wear a Mask Because…

Guess what? I’m not wearing a mask because the “government” said I should. I’m not wearing a mask because I’m afraid of the virus. I’m not wearing a mask because my job makes me. And I’m not wearing a mask because it makes me look cool. But make no mistake, I do look cool as hell in a mask.

Here’s my deal: I have a great immune system. I just don’t get sick. The last time I remember having the flu was in 1986. I did take a sick day from work once about 5 years ago, but I wasn’t really sick. In addition to my incredible immune system, I am vaccinated A.F. In 2021 I have received three COVID shots, one flu shot and two shingles vaccinations. That’s six vaccinations! The chances of me getting COVID, the flu, or any other transmissible disease is almost nil. I’m not wearing a mask for me. So why do I wear a mask?

I wear a mask for you. Although I’m vaccinated A.F., I could still catch COVID and never know it, but still be transmitting it by breathing out. Someone who is unvaccinated or has a compromised immune system could catch it and end up dead. Wearing a mask is the right thing to do as a human being. If you’re not wearing a mask because you don’t like that your government said you should, you’re an idiot. (but please keep reading because I’m making a point here)

Regardless of what country you are reading this from, your government tells you to do things all the time and you have done them for your entire life. Seat belts in cars? We all wear them. The chances of us getting in a car accident is pretty slim, but if we do, it could kill us. The chances of us getting COVID are relatively slim, but if we do, it could kill us. Masks are like seat belts for our immune system.

Darth Vader making masks cool since 1976

By the way, Darth Vader didn’t die in the movie until he took his mask off.  Additionally, if you wear a mask and put on some medical scrubs that you can buy lots of places, people will think you’re a healthcare worker and occasionally give you free meals at restaurants. Also, tomorrow is Halloween! You’re not opposed to putting on a mask for free candy, but you won’t put one on to save your own life?!!? In summation, if you are opposed to masks, don’t read #ThePhilFactor.

Have a great weekend! ~Phil

The Streetside Mail Browsers (We hate you)

If you don’t know what a streetside mail browser is, then please, let me describe them for you. Also, streetside mail browsers don’t just ply their trade in the streets, some do it in their apartment building lobby. 

This is a streetside mail browser: It’s a beautiful, sunny day and you just got home from work. You wave to your neighbor as you stroll down to your mailbox. You pull the small stack of envelopes from the box. Oh! Look at that! A card from Aunt Viv! I wonder how she is. Ooh, is that a sales flyer for my favorite store? 20% off? Oh yeah! I can do some damage to my credit card bill at 20% off! 

What is wrong with you people? Who do you think you are? Could you be more arrogant and inconsiderate? What? Does it come a surprise that others find your behavior inconsiderate and rude? Let me give you the gift of seeing through another’s eyes: 

I’m driving down the street and I see you standing in the street in front of your mailbox. No big deal. I’ll swerve a little into the oncoming lane to get around you. Oh no! There’s a car coming from the other direction and you don’t see it because it’s behind you. So you just stand there browsing your mail like you own the fecking street. Are you kidding me? Where’s you’re awareness? You’re in the street. Oh my God you fecking idiot! Now I have to stop because you’re lost in dreamland reminiscing about Aunt Viv and that time her camp chair broke and she fell right on the ground. 

What? That doesn’t sound like you? What about when I take my dog out to pee and there you are reading all your mail in the street right across from my house and my dog ia going ape-shit because she thinks you’re going to come over and pet her. No, don’t wave and say hi. Just get the feck in your house. My dog can’t concentrate. I don’t want to be out here until you finish reading your mail you inconsiderate dolt. 

Or how about this? In the lobby of the apartment building, don’t stand there blocking ten other mailboxes. I just got in out of the rain and I have to stand there watching you look surprised that you already got a birthday card from your cousin Skeeter. Nobody cares. I’m not your friend and I don’t give a rat’s ass that Skeeter sent you a gift card for Hot Topic. Get your fecking mail and go to your apartment. You don’t own the whole world. 

This has been a public service announcement by The Phil Factor. Enjoy your day. The rest of us are glad there’s “no post on Sundays!”

Have a nice rest of your weekend! ~Phil

 

 

The Unemployment Diaries: The Final Installment

Hi everyone! I’m still out here and alive. I’ve actually been back to work for a little over three months but wasn’t blogging much due to the stress, time and travel of the new job. This is a video blog I made about four months ago about the idiocy and proliferation of podcasts but never posted it until now. If you love to hate podcasts, then this is right up your alley. Although, if you do have an alley, I’m kind of jealous. Anyway, enjoy! #ThePhilFactor

Do We Really Need All These Podcasts? 

Have a great Thursday and feel free to leave comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts on podcasts. ~Phil

We Are Quirky! Hear Us Roar!

I know that this may come as a surprise to you, but it has recently I have come to accept that I may be quirky. Although, in my head, I’m normal and everyone  else who goes about life doing normal things all the time is boring AF.

Not me. Andy Warhol, notorious quirkster

Guess what? You’re quirky too. We are quirky, not just because we are bloggers, but at least partly because we are bloggers. Yes, it is commonplace for just about anyone and everyone to use social media to express their thoughts and feelings, but we bloggers put time, thought and sometimes rough drafts into broadcasting what’s in our heads. We as a group think that our thoughts are so interesting or entertaining that many, many others would want to hear them. We are an arrogant bunch, aren’t we? We are either arrogant or narcissistic. It’s one or the other. Honestly, don’t you’re friends and family consider you a bit quirky because you’ve got a blog?

But, in addition to our blogs, I would be happy to wager a fair amount of money that many of us are quirky in other ways outside of our blogs. One of my ways that others find quirky is my tie collection. I have easily over 100 ties and a fair portion of them are novelty ties dedicated to superheroes, works of art, or holidays. Currently I’m in the midst of about 2 1/2 weeks of wearing a different Halloween tie each day through Halloween. Feel free to follow me on Instagram @thephilfactor.

So, that’s one of my non-blogging quirks. In the comments, please confess one of your non-blogging quirks.

Have a great Sunday! ~Phil

TBT! I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost!

There’s two things I’m not sure if I believe in, ghosts and death. Well, I’m sure I don’t believe in my own death, and if by chance it does happen, I plan to overcome it by becoming a ghost. I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself What a weirdo! Hey, relax on the judgement there. I’m contractually bound to comeback after death, if I have one, a death that is.

Contractually bound? Yup. Nothing I can do about it now. It was many years ago in college. One night myself and two friends were drinking some adult beverages. You know how when you’re young, like 20 or so and you think you’re really deep even though you’re really idiots who don’t know anything? We had imbibed a few and got to talking about death and the afterlife.

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We all were curious to know if there really was life after death, so right then and there we Googled and then re-enacted a centuries old Druid ceremony complete with a circle of salt, candles under a full moon and signing a pact with our own blood, which was flowing easily because of the alcohol we had been drinking. Ok, no we didn’t, but I had you going there for a second, didn’t I? There was no blood signed contract, and there was also no Google when I was in college, but we did make a promise to each other that whichever one of us died first would come back and haunt the other two so we would know that there’s life after death.

I don’t know where those two college friends are now and don’t even remember ones last name. Hopefully, because of our vow, some sort of afterlife mojo will help us find each other to keep our promise. As far as I know, none of us has ever shown up to haunt the others. With Halloween in the air I got to thinking of this and what else I might do if I were to be a ghost.

Stars DEMI MOORE and PATRICK SWAYZE. Licenced by Channel 5 Broacasting. Contact Five Stills: 0207 550 5583/5509/5544. Free for editorial press and listings use in connection with the current broadcast of Channel 5 programmes only. This. image may only be reproduced with the prior written consent of Channel 5. All rights reserved. Not for any form of advertising, internet use or in connection with the sale of any product.

I know this may be hard for you to believe, but in my life I’ve been a bit of a practical joker at times. I’m pretty sure that if I ever come back  as a ghost I’m not going to take off my shirt and help anyone with pottery. Jeez, what a waste of an afterlife. I’ll probably be what we all know as a poltergeist. I’ll move a lot of peoples car keys just before they have to leave for work. During live televised events I’ll show up invisibly and give the President or the Pope a wet willie. I’ll be on the field at all my favorite live sporting events, helping out a little to ensure my favorite teams win. You know that feeling you get when you feel like someone’s behind you but you turn around and no one’s there? That’ll be me.  Who knows? Ghost Phil may even zip into the internet and follow the connection to your computer and cause embarrassing typos when you’re posting pictures.

So do you believe in life after death? Do you think there are real ghosts? Have you ever had an experience with what you think was a ghost? What would you do if you were a ghost?

Have a great Thursday, and no, you don’t have enough Halloween decorations up yet! ~Phil

Reasons Why I Hate You on The Flight

1. You brought an unnecessary “service animal.” I get it. You’re anxious. Flying can be nerve wracking if you don’t do it a lot. If you’ve got a legit dog that can notify others if you’re having a seizure, I’m not talking to you. You’re good. If you have an emotional support animal, well that’s different. If you think that you’re anxious on a flight, imagine how your pet feels. You at least know what it is. They have no idea what’s going on and are probably terrified the whole time. Leave Fluffy home, get a xanax or two from your doc, order a glass of wine and go to sleep.

2. You need both arm rests: For some reason known only to airlines, unless you’re in first class, the seats are so close together that there are shared arm rests. Listen, I don’t care who you are, if I don’t know you, I don’t want my skin touching your skin for the next three hours. Don’t assume that both armrests are your domain. You’re not that fecking important.

3. Keep your shoes on: Hey Zen master, it’s nice that you like to make yourself at home on the plane, but keep your shoes on asshat. Bare feet are for the beach, not the 6:10 flight to Newark. You may love your foot stink in a small confined space with recycled air, but I don’t.

4. The “I can’t wait to get off the plane people.” The second the wheels touch the ground these impatient dolts spring from their seats, get their idiotically oversized bag out of the overhead compartment, hit at least two people as they get the bag to the floor, and then they stake their claim to a spot in the aisle right next to you and then stand there with their ass right next to your head for the next 15 minutes. Calm down Speedy, guess what? You’re not going anywhere until the twenty rows ahead of you get out of the plane.

That is all. Safe travels. So what people do you hate when you travel?

Have a great Sunday!~Phil

Throwback Thursday! The Man With The Scorpion Tattoo

(July 2, 2011) No, this is not a male version of the popular novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is much better than that. It’s my blog where I make fun of stuff. I’m pretty sure nobody had very many laughs reading that dragon tattoo book. The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo also is not a fictional character. The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo is a guy I see at my Starbuck’s almost every morning. To be fair, it’s not really my Starbucks. I am neither owner nor manager, but The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo still shows up there regularly regardless of my lack of affiliation with the place.

The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo is bald. Not old man, male pattern baldness bald, but “I shaved my head so I can look like a bad ass bald.”  The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo also has a giant scorpion tattooed on his bald head. A scorpion tattoo that is much larger than any real scorpion. The tattoo stretches from the top of his head, wrapping around the back and down to the top of the neck. Each morning I wonder, what exactly is he trying to tell the world about himself?

Evil. I think having a giant scorpion tattooed on a menacing bald head kind of screams evil. My shamrock tattoo says I’m Irish. His scorpion tattoo says evil. In fact after observing The Man with the Scorpion Tattoo daily for awhile now, I’m pretty sure he is actually Satan. Yup, the real one. Apparently, just like you and me, Satan stops for his Starbucks fix on his way to work every day. Coffee black of course. None of those frou frou girly drinks with whipped cream.  He keeps to himself and goes about his business quietly while at Starbucks, but just the same, I’m pretty sure he’s Satan. He makes small talk with the baristas so as not to arouse any suspicion. He tips, but never too much or too little. He always sits alone at the table by the window.

mug15oz-whi-z1-t-drink-coffee-hail-satan

I suppose it’s possible right? I mean, Satan has a job to do every day doesn’t he? If he didn’t show up for work each day encouraging evil, imagine all the police officers, military, and jail staff that would be out of work. Without evil our economy suffers. So like the rest of us, Satans day begins when his alarm goes off. Because he’s evil, he hits snooze. Twice. Then I imagine Satan walking his dog clad in pajama pants and a Motley Crue reunion tour t-shirt. Obviously, he doesn’t pick up the poop in a little bag because of his inherent evil nature. Unlike me,  Satan never bothers to iron his shirt for work either. Before leaving for work he grabs his bagged lunch, grumbling over the low carb kick his wife is on, and gives Mrs. Satan a little kiss and let’s her know if he’ll be home late because there’s a need for a little extra unrest in the middle east. Then he hops in the Satan mobile (you would think a red car, but he thinks that’s too flashy and goes with black. Tinted windows of course. Maybe a Mustang.) Then he stops at Starbuck’s to have his coffee and go over his schedule, all the while making a mental note that when he gets some extra time he’ll have to perpetrate some evil on that guy in the suit who stares at him every morning.

Remember the 1995 Joan Osborne song, “What if God Were One of Us?”  If God could be one of us, so could Satan. And if Satan had a name, I imagine it wouldn’t be any of those fancy biblical names like Beezlebub or Lucifer. Seriously, how much of a give away would that be? He’d be constantantly hounded by fans and papparazzi. No, I’m pretty sure that if Satan has a name it’s something like Ed. And yes Ms. Osborne, I would call him Ed to his face. I wonder if Ed has a blog…If he does, I’m pretty sure he gets more reads than I got last week because his friends go back to their Facebook page and click on the “Share” button. C’mon people, we can’t let evil win!

Canada Has a Day?

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends out there. For those of you wondering, Canada Day is a celebration of the founding of Tim Hortons. Or it might also be a celebration of the enactment of the Canadian constitution which united the three colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada into a single entity still owned by Britain.

As an American, I feel like I have to point out that it seem’s like Canada is trying to steal our thunder by placing their holiday just before ours. And they weren’t even declaring independence. They are just celebrating that someone erased and drew some new lines on the map. They we’re still the British empires b#@ch. And they were happy about it. Or should I say aboot it?

Now our celebration, Independence Day, is a reason to celebrate. WE broke away from the British Empire to form our own country. That’s something to be proud of. Canada, I think you were just creating a holiday so you get an extra day off in the summer. But, through blogging, I have virtually met many Canadians and they could not be nicer. As a Canada Day gift to my to Canadian friends, and everyone else, the following links are to my favorite Canada posts over the last 13 years of #ThePhilFactor:

Oh Canada!  May 1, 2006

Oh Canada! I’m Lovin’ It  January 9, 2007

Beware The Canadian Twitter Invasion May 11, 2013

Canada: Elaborate Winter Them Park of Dangerous Adversary? Oct. 18, 2014

Canada’s Secret Foot Fetish June 24, 2017

So there you have it. All of those an ode to my love of Canada. Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends and as it is with St. Patrick’s Day, we are all a little Canadian today, aren’t we? Think of all the great things Canada has given us: Justin Bieber, Alex Trebek, and hockey in Las Vegas. Have a great Sunday!  ~Phil

 

Throwback Thursday! Two People I Hate

(June 21, 2014) Typically I’m all about suffering fools gladly because I am so wise. Today, not so much. Well, not so much the suffering fools part I mean. Of course I’m still wise. That’s why you read my blog right? The Phil Factor: Where Wisdom Gets Drunk and Let’s Its Hair Down. Here are two people that I hate with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns:

No ice guy: Hey, everyone who goes to a fast food joint or restaurant and orders your beverage with “No ice please”, what is wrong with you? If you’re at a fast food restaurant a drink is so large that it could douse the sun. Do you really need the extra three ounces of sugar water that saying “No ice please!” gives you? If you’re doing it to save money so you don’t have to buy another beverage when you finish that one then you probably shouldn’t be eating out in the first place. Others may site some mythical internet rumor stating that restaurant ice is full of germs. Hey guess what? The whole world is full of germs! If you hide from germs your body won’t develop an immunity to them and when you do get exposed you’ll get sick.  Don’t fear germs, embrace them!

picture credit: justalittlenutty.com

picture credit: justalittlenutty.com

Supermarket check writer: This mostly applies to old people who haven’t learned about these new fangled debit and credit cards everyone’s been raving about for thirty years. You know what? I don’t care if you use a check. What is a big deal is when the person in line in front of me is using a check but seems to have no idea that the cashier is going to ask for payment. Look, using a check is a pre-meditated act. If you know you’re going to a store and you’re going to write a check, fill in the name of the store, today’s date, and oh..I don’t know, maybe your own freakin’ name! And for the sake of all that is good in this world do not stand at the register entering the amount in your Little House on the Prairie check register as meticulously as if God had come down from the heavens and given you the amount to inscribe on a stone tablet. You only get so much time on this Earth. Is writing checks how you want to spend it? If it’s just your own time you’re wasting, I don’t care. Write a hundred checks! If I’m in line behind you, you’re now wasting my time. This is why it’s not a good idea to have guns and ammunition available as “impulse buy” items at the check out. Hell, I’d probably have time to register the gun and pass the background check while someone is filling out a check.

So who, or what gets under your skin?As always, if you enjoyed my little rant feel free to comment and share by the Facebook, Twitter, or re-blog button below. Have a great weekend! ~ Phil