User talk:Thesmokingmonkey

subject: I Have Several Good Ideas

Dear Stongbad,

I think it would be funnier if you had a cartoon where
more funny things happened to the characters like if
once in a while you did it!

Crapfully yours,
The Smoking Monkey, DC

Free Country, USA

I really really really like the way "Free Country, USA" has shaped up. So much that I'm going to nominate it for featured article (which I think it already has been, but I'll second the nomination). I fixed up a few things here and there and added some info on the characters' jobs and whatnot. I left notes in the edit summaries where I was unsure of things. Again, good prize! — It's dot com 02:45, 8 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Yikes - I'm kind of stupified. I just left you a note conceding the article needed external revision. But a compliment? In real, non-digital life, I usually toe the ground, look away, and say "Uh, thanks, glad you liked it" if and when I get compliments. And I'll do that here, too. Glad you liked it. THE SMOKING MONKEY 02:55, 8 Sep 2005 (UTC)

P.S. I'm not the only one who thinks so. — It's dot com

Does anybody read this stuff?

A lot of people create user pages, and do a good job, but in the back of their mind they've gotta be wondering "Is anybody ever actually gonna read this?" I know I think that. Well, yours has been read, at least by one person, and I must say the line "though [not] I'm not suicidal, or teamed with a cagey old veteran cop nearing retirement, or short, or Australian" had me laughing hard. Sometime you must tell more of the story about the looter and your arresting him twice. — It's dot com 18:10, 14 Sep 2005 (UTC)

P.S. When I was proofing my post, I noticed an extra word there in what I quoted. I didn't see it the first time I read it, so nothing was taken away from the enjoyment of the humor. — It's dot com

Hey, It's dot com. Glad you found something funny in the content of my page - I agree completely that people have to wonder if anyone reads them. I read other user pages primarily to learn more about a user. The better constructed pages tend to reflect how serious the user is about being part of the community - a page that says "I don't know what to write here" or "hi" really doesn't give a window into what the person behind the IP address is really like. And though it's in the Wiki rules not to disclose too much about yourself, a little bit is fine. I think it's a neat way to give a persona to the linked signature.

Back when the page was perpetuating the notion that the Smoking Monkey was, in fact, a monkey and the Director of Primate Studies at The Louvre, it made me chuckle. It all started with the picture - a slightly bewildered, striped-suit wearing chimp holding a pipe and enjoying what seems to be mineral water at an open air cafe told a story that wrote itself. I made the "character" because I wasn't really sure what to expect here at the HRWiki, and I also wanted people to laugh a little should they stumble upon it. After a while, though, I seriously doubted anyone was stumbling on it, and I also noticed at least one anonymous user freaked out at me when I reverted their edit. So I thought, "why not just do a normal user page?" If someone was curious (or angry) at me, they could see I wasn't some jerk pretending to be a monkey.

But, me being me, I couldn't leave humor out of the equation. And, as long as there's one person out there who might get a kick out of it, I'll add some stuff from time to time.

And do you really want to hear the looter story? You know what happens when you ask soldiers to talk about war stories! They go on and on and on about them. But if you want to hear it, I'd be glad to tell. It is a pretty funny anecdote. — THE SMOKING MONKEY12:01, 16 Sep 2005 (UTC)

<.<

>.>

I read it too. Top rate userpage. ⇔Thunderbird⇔ 08:58, 26 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Geddy

Now, The Smoking Monkey, surely there is no real connection between the Geddup Noise and that guy Geddy. First of all, "Geddup Noise" is just a mutation of "get up noise." TBC had two real choices on the spelling, "Gettup" and "Geddup," and nobody except Martha Stewart and my annoying ex-girlfriend actually enunciates -tt-, so that leaves "Geddup." Furthermore, the shortening of "Geddup" to "Geddy" follows an expected pattern in English. You even see it all over the site: Marzipan→Marzy; King of Town→Kingy; Computer→Compy; Laptop→Lappy. And my last point is something you wrote yourself: "It could be a total coincidence." If it could be a total coincidence, and given the fact that there is no other corroborating evidence, don't you think that makes a bad fun fact? — It's dot com 06:10, 27 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Ben, sometimes the STUFF process is too harsh. STUFF, as far as I can see, is meant to seperate the wheat from the chaff. The first time I saw geddup noise, that is the first thing that popped into my head when Homestar said it. I did not, however, suggest it anywhere. I didn't think it was important. Then, someone did. Curiously, whoever this was didn't even vote for their own remark.

So, I bucked the trend and voted yes. I don't think my votes really carry more or less weight than anyone else (except anonymous voters), and the STUFF forum is a chance for voters to express the reasoning behind their opinion. So, I expressed mine: I inlcuded the caveat because everyone had already signed the death warrant for the fact.

I agree with you - it's a bad fun fact. But that still didn't stop me from believing it, however tacitly - every other "geddy" I've heard relates to the musician, and I believe (perhaps erroneously) that TBC know about Rush. One Geddy, as it were, begets another.

And, just for my sake, you're not cross with me, are you? I know you're very particular about STUFF stuff, and I always seem to be plugging in squares into circle holes there with my comments. It would be no trouble at all to keep my paws off of the comments sections. THE SMOKING MONKEY 10:32, 27 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Dave, I'm not cross with you... quite the contrary. The fact is, I respect your opinion very much, which hopefully you already know. I was ready to close out this item hours ago, but I wanted the chance to at least speak to you about it first. This item shot past the 20-vote threshhold rather quickly, and, due to the lopsided nature of the vote, I was concerned that anyone on the minority side would feel like they were being crushed by a ton of bricks (or a Heavy Lourde, if you prefer). Since you were in that minority, I felt I needed to keep it open until I could confer with you. Just lookin' out for my friend, is all. — It's dot com 14:14, 27 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for clearing that up, Ben. Geddy Lee's pretty lame, anyway. :) THE SMOKING MONKEY 15:30, 27 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Signature (Or, Span, Span, Span, Spannity SPAAAAN!)

What exactly are you trying to do? Username-talk 18:13, 5 Oct 2005 (UTC)

Oh, man. I noticed (or thought I noticed) Joshua had changed the green in his sig so that it now matched mine. So, I thought a little tweaking was in order. Then, I remembered I had really liked The Paper's sig, and this is what I came up with:

THE SMOKING MONKEY|^TALK

Your welcome. Have fun with dancing. Rogue Leader / (my talk) 03:29, 9 Oct 2005 (UTC)