February 20, 2022

I scrolled through TikTok (so you don't have to), and I've selected exactly 3 items.

1. A little boy is dressed in a miniature version of the outfit his father wears every week and the father reacts. Possibly a set up, but how about we say it's not?

2. A dramatic reading of an obituary written by a bot (actually it's a page from the book "I Forced a Bot to Write This Book: A.I. Meets B.S.," written by the humorist Keaton Patti). 

3. A man explains how "uncut gems" — which is about the way one actress pronounced 2 words — went viral and got oversaturated within a week, and he goes from distanced and rational to hopelessly infected within the space of 3 minutes.

25 comments:

rrsafety said...

The Rural Juror (30 Rock) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kZBJs527-k

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Well, I didn’t hear about Uncle Jim’s until today. And I’m absurdly, smugly, pleased about that. The range of things where ignorance is a virtue has absolutely exploded since the ‘90’s.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Howard said...

Uncut Gems was a very good movie. Joe Bob says check it out.

Joe Bar said...

I am intrigued by the first video. What does that father do that allows him to work from the couch like that everyday, yet afford such a wonderful house?

tim maguire said...

It’s hard to believe it’s not a set-up as the outfit isn’t very distinctive. Far from rolling on the ground, most dads wouldn’t even notice. I know I wouldn’t. On the other hand, if it were a set up, the outfit would probably be somehow embarrassing. So maybe it’s real and the dad is just a ham. He knew his son would be excited so he played his role well just to hear the kid laugh.

John henry said...

Thank you.

Your tiktok should be a regular feature.

I especially loved the first one with the kid dressed like dad.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

madAsHell said...

Why do all the videos look contrived?

I fail to see any redeeming value in tic-tok relative to youtube?

Quaestor said...

RE: TikTok 1
Assuming the vid is not a put-on, which person connected with its production is more shamefully foolish, the man who dresses like a toddler or the woman who married him? In fact, the circumstances are reversed -- the man is dressed in imitation of his son, a case of "reverse cuteness" that only serves to discountenance everyone involved, or should. Unfortunately, the baby won't realize this until he's about thirteen.

Little children, particularly boys, have been subjected to this sort of nonsense for a long time, and it's usually the mother's idea. According to some theories of human evolution, the human nuclear family arose indirectly from our greatly enlarged brains. Our noodles are much larger than any of those belonging to our most closely related primates, about 1400cc versus 400 to 500 cubic centimeters among the great apes. At some point in the history of its growth, Louis S. B. Leakey estimated that to be around 700cc adult brain size, the fetal brain became too large for the female pelvic outlet to permit the birth of a typically-developed hominin neonate, thus necessitating the early birth of extremely "premature" babies needing years of intense maternal care. Consequently, human females required the material support of a male to successfully reproduce, whereas chimpanzee and gorilla mothers handle birth and child-rearing mostly solo with the occasional assist of an older daughter. (Orangutang females don't even get that minor support.)

Keeping the putative sire interested long enough for a successful child-rearing required the assurance that said presumptive father is, in fact, the father and not just a cuckold -- something often not obviously evident. Consequently, we have the chip off the old block syndrome. Dressing the toddler son like daddy is just one example of this. This is usually harmless and cute in predictably bourgeoise sort of way, however, it can get out of hand.

Quaestor said...

RE: TikTok #2

It's comforting to know those infinite monkeys chained to typewriters can still earn a living.

Quaestor said...

RE: TikTok #3

Austin Archer may have a future -- if and only if he loses the beanie.

The Tim Poole look isn't working for him, rahlee it isn't.

AZ Bob said...

I like it when others follow Tik Tok so I don't have to.

wildswan said...

Nice
The Categories of Tik Tok:
Happy Tik Tok
Interesting Tik Tok
Tik Tok Analyzed by Tik Tok

Rosalyn C. said...

I feel like the last guy re: the uncut gems. But then I don’t follow tiktok so I’ll cut myself a break. Better late than never?

farmgirl said...

Idk. I watched 2- not the middle one.
Why do I feel guilty? It is fun.
I suppose I’d feel way worse if I was on tictok.
It’s the height of frivolity. There. I said it.

I go on Pinterest.
Another peak. Same height, I suppose.

Saint Croix said...

1. Cute

2. Robots are not ready to drive

3. Funny

MB said...

I enjoyed the obit because I related to that woman - I also collect dust.

MadisonMan said...

One thing I don't like about TikTok is the voice used in narration. It's especially grating in the first video.

Eleanor said...

I still think Tic-Tok is a giant time sink with little value. They remind me of the "videos" 8th graders turn in.

Fandor said...

Thank you, Ann.

MountainMan said...

I refuse to use TikTok.

Bender said...

Thanks for aiding and abetting Communist China.

Or, just say NO.

Readering said...

None of these did anything for me. But then I swiped on one and got a video of a bird of prey in a park trying to pluck a toddler off the grass. Swiped again and got Alec Guiness telling how he met James Dean with his new car and begged him not to drive it or he would be dead in a week--which he was. Tik Tok.

Temujin said...

So glad I decided to check back in. I love these TikTok posts. And again, thanks for doing the dirty work.

1) The kid dressed like Dad was hilarious. A real Mini-Me. And what's with Dad's desire to blend in with his couch?

2) Sounds about right for robot talk. Siri has yet to offer up anything even remotely related to any question I've ever asked her. I tend to not use Siri because I consider it a prank dumped on us by teenaged computer code writers.

3) Uncuhjahmmzz was pretty funny. Now find someone like her saying the word "Progressive" (prahgrahsahv). By the way, should I know who Julia Fox is? Was?

farmgirl said...

I wondered about the fabulous house and very young couple, too.

Uncut Gems. I started it about 3different times, from where I’d left off. Way too raw for me. I couldn’t finish it. Sorry, Joe Bob.