Think you’d be allowed in?

Posted 16 Apr 2009

Places, Signs | 8 Comments 

So, are you good enough to gain entry to the Goodenough Club?

It’s Tax Day in the USA

Posted 15 Apr 2009

Blog, People | 8 Comments 

For those residents of the USA in our community, April 15 may not historically have brought a smile brimming to your face, but here at chickenmonkeydog we thought we’d try to do something about that.

To celebrate Tax Day in a way that we can all enjoy, we have the distinct pleasure of introducing a new author to our team. Hop on over to the editors page and see if you can figure out who the newest author is.

With three authors now at the helm, we assume you may be wondering … who is the chicken? Who is the monkey? And who is the dog? Honestly, no one knows.

chickenmonkeydog welcomes our new author and is happy that our community continues to grow! We’re very happy that you all read our posts – and that you contribute so fruitfully with comments and pictures submitted to our email!

Can we get a shout out of welcome to our newest writer?! Come on, people, let us hear you shout!

By the way, I call I get to be the monkey.

Learning nursery rhymes as an adult

Posted 14 Apr 2009

Daily Life, Language, Places | 9 Comments 

Having grown up in a different country from where I live now, I am finding myself having to learn new nursery rhymes all over again. The ones I learned to sing as a boy are nowhere to be heard on this little island called England.

Yet this is bringing a surprising joy. Is it wrong that I really do enjoy singing along with the nursery rhymes? As a special treat to our readers – and a first here on chickenmonkeydog – I have posted a version of my favourite English nursery rhyme below. I’ve also included the lyrics so that you can sing along!

The Grand Old Duke of York

The Grand Old Duke of York
Oh, the Grand Old Duke of York
He had 10,000 men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
and he marched them down again.

And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
And when they were only half way up,
they were neither up nor down.
(Repeat once)

So, what’s your favourite nursery rhyme? Send us an MP3 of you singing it and we’ll be sure to turn it into a future post.

The origins of Easter traditions

Posted 13 Apr 2009

Events, Food, Weird | 3 Comments 

As Christians recover from gorging on whatever it is they denied themselves during Lent, I find myself struggling to explain the meaning behind the popular icons of Easter: the Easter bunny and the Easter egg.

Over the weekend, I was asked by a child why a bunny brings us eggs to celebrate Jesus coming back to life. I thought for a moment, and then decided, ‘No, I am not going to make up an answer’. There was no way I could have convinced the child that I was telling the truth.

So, how did it come to be that a rabbit steals unhatched eggs from unsuspecting chickens to deliver them (rather surreptitiously) to human children, often hiding those eggs in baskets? And how did it develop that the humans would dye and decorate the eggs?

Free Falling

Posted 10 Apr 2009

Commuting, Signs | 12 Comments 

“Bird Rescue in Progress”

“Helping Migratory Birds Safely Navigate The Loop”

Wow, what does a bird rescue entail that forces the rescuers to park illegally?  Do that many birds slam into the window of a skyscraper, fall hundreds of feet to the ground, and still manage to survive?

And if a bird rescue is currently in progress (as the sign indicates), then I think we can assume the bird did not safely navigate the Loop and therefore the company needs to re-evaluate its strategy.