Technically Proficient Tattoo Still Objectively Bad Idea

ORLEANS, Mass. — Local tattoo enthusiast Danny Lipinski’s latest tattoo depicting the cast of “Friends” engaged in a pansexual orgy is being described as “an artist triumph,” but also a terribly embarrassing idea, confirmed sources tired of being shown the tattoo.

“Right in the foreground, we have Chandler spreading his bare butt while Ross and Monica go nuts on his hog,” said Lipinski while displaying the fresh tattoo. “The vein work in all the penises is top-notch. It’s like you’re looking at a photo of all of them completely naked with that monkey Marcel sucking his own dick in the corner. And the best part of the tattoo is that it’s all happening in a church because I didn’t want this to be some random orgy, I wanted it to have meaning. It only took a handful of six hour sessions because my tattoo artist really wanted to take the time to get the huge nipples and insane amount of pubic hair just right.”

Lipinski’s tattoo artist, TJ Morris, was happy with how the tattoo came out, but admits he won’t be putting it in his portfolio.

“I know I did my job well here. One look at it and you can see the character of Joey eating a pile of shit off of a dinner plate with a fork and knife while Phoebe pukes on his neck,” said Morris. “I spent a lot of time getting all the details just right because the client kept saying he wanted this to be ‘accurate.’ I’m not sure if this was a scene from a nightmare he had, but as soon as his credit card was processed I made the decision to never work with him again. This is a tattoo that will haunt me.”

Tattoo historians such as Rosie Powell believe that “joke” tattoos like this are only going to become more popular.

“So-called ‘traditional’ tattoos are no longer in vogue with the younger, more eclectic crowd of tattoo collectors,” said Powell. “15 years ago an eagle perched on top of an upside cross was considered pretty badass, but that’s tame compared to a photo realistic tattoo of Machine Gun Kelly eating a pussy four times his size. I never thought I’d get to the point where I’d say ‘you will regret that,’ but here we are.”

An Instagram post displaying Lipinski’s new tattoo was immediately removed, got him banned from the platform, fired from his job, and immediately caused his family to file paperwork to legally change their name.

Missed Your Girlfriend’s Birthday? Here’s 10 Ways To Make It Way, Way Worse

Girlfriends are always trying to fix you. Eat healthy. Get your GED. Don’t forget my birthday. At a certain point, you have to start living the way you want. And if that means celebrating your girlfriend’s birthday panicked and a week late, you’ve got to be you. Still, your girlfriend will be expecting some sort of explanation. That’s why we’ve collected this list of 10 ways to make it way, way worse.

Each of these verbal flagellations is guaranteed to get her mind off her birthday and onto why she’s with you in the first place. Let’s make this a birthday she’ll unfortunately never forget!

1. Convince Her You Had the Dates Mixed Up with Your Ex’s Birthday
Wait, wait. It’s not that you forgot. You just thought it was coming up later because you were thinking of your ex’s birthday. No, not thinking of your ex! Thinking of her birthday! This is coming out wrong. It’s just that it’s hard for you to forget your ex’s birthday since you always did something fun for her, ya know?

2. Tell Her You Don’t Believe in Birthdays, Like Ideologically
What even is a birthday? Why should society and Hallmark get to dictate what you celebrate? She’s entitled to her own beliefs, so it’s fine that she makes you feel special on your birthday, but you shouldn’t be forced into traditions you don’t want to follow. It’s a matter of principle. First you’re buying birthday cards and then it’s Flag Day cards and Columbus Day cards—it’s a slippery slope to you celebrating the father of colonialism in the Americas. Is that what she wants?!

3. Blame It on the Supply Chain
Listen, a lot of things are getting caught up at the ports right now. With mass employee shortages and shipping challenges, she can’t just expect every single “Happy Birthday” to show up on time. It’s not like you can wish her a happy birthday with your gift hypothetically stuck in Tuscaloosa. Your new gaming chair is stuck in shipping, but are you complaining? Everyone is struggling. How she can even think about celebrating during these grim times…

4. Give Her a Stack of Cute, Handmade I-O-Us Like a Child
You know what women love? Bespoke non-gifts. Why offer a single disappointing gift when you can spread a series of sad reveals out over a long time? A 5-minute back rub, breakfast in bed, a day at the spa that’s really just you putting cucumbers over her eyes and playing the pan flute — there are endless ways to avoid putting any real effort into this.

5. Tell Her You’ve Been Out of Whack Since the Mayan Calendar Ended

Oh no, did it happen again? Ever since the Mayan calendar ran out in December of 2012, your date book has been a complete mess. Not one to conform to the white man’s Gregorian calendar, you rely on pre-Columbian Mesoamerican time measurements. But as you’ve been largely making it up for the past 9 years, you must have miscalculated. See, you thought her birthday was on Chicchan but actually it was on Cib! This is really embarrassing, but that’s what happens when people refuse to adopt the 18-month calendar.

6. Forget Again
You already forgot once… so what’s to say you can’t forget again? Just keep going on with your life acting like everything’s normal. Sure, she may hyperventilate from all the pointed sighing, but as long as you don’t ask what’s wrong and she bottles it up into a silent, simmering rage, you’re in the clear until next year!

7. Offer to Do Some of the Chores You Usually Make Her Do
Let her kick up her feet and enjoy a day of sumptuous relaxation as you make an unmissable 4-hour show of doing all, or at least some, of the chores she does on a daily basis. Naturally you’ll need to do them wrong, so as to be deemed incapable of carrying this out regularly, but not having to lug the trash down three flights of stairs for once will be like a tropical vacation for her. Just don’t get used to it, Miss Queen-for-a-Day!

8. Gently Suggest It’s on Her for Not Reminding You

Not to point fingers, because really no one’s at fault here, but if one were prone to blame, there might be an argument to be made that she’s the reason you forgot in the first place. If she had reminded you a couple times a day for the past two months, you almost certainly wouldn’t have missed it. And not to lay it on too thick, but she also forgot to remind you about your mom’s birthday this year. So this is the second time her not reminding you has gotten you in hot water. But you’re big enough to not make her feel bad about it, so let’s just move on.

9. Feign Dementia and Really Commit
For this to work, you’re going to need to start sprinkling in the symptoms. Leave a burner on. Forget your best friend’s name. Wander around the neighborhood and wind up in someone’s backyard. Eventually she’ll put together that something is horribly wrong and attribute that to why you forgot her special day. Then all you have to do is keep up the ruse for the rest of your life.

10. Break Up

How better to get her off your back about the birthday thing than to shift her focus toward a breakup? It’s the perfect deflection. Now her missed birthday will be the least of her concerns. Plus, you don’t technically have to deal with any of it, since you’re taking some time to really get to know yourself—with other people. It’s a win-win!

Man Makes Sure Roommates Aren’t Home Before Playing Masturbatory Guitar Solo

MESA, Ariz. — Over-indulgent guitarist Marky Pritchard was careful to make sure none of his roommates were home before he churned out some truly masturbatory guitar solos, second-hand embarrassed sources claimed.

“Since I don’t have anyone to play with, sometimes I really like to treat myself when I’m cranking juicy riffs, if you know what I mean,” said a suspiciously relaxed Pritchard. “But as my mom taught me when I was 12 years old, soloing is something you should always do in private. Sure, if I’m really jonesing to noodle my fretboard, I might sneak off to the bathroom and pluck away. But usually I wait until my roommates are away to do it. Maybe it’s not polite to admit I do it at all, but soloing just feels so good.”

Despite his careful planning, however, roommate Anisha Francis unfortunately walked in on Pritchard “giving himself aural pleasure.”

“I left work because of a cold, and all I wanted was to crash on the couch. Well, Marky must have thought he had the place to himself, because there he, was squeezing his guitar neck and blasting thick, hot licks all over my futon,” said Francis. “He denies it to this day by saying he was just tuning up. But I can’t get the image of him soloing in the middle of the living room out of my head. It was disgusting. I would’ve so much rather have caught him jerking off.”

While this seems like an isolated incident, local guitar store employee Tom Estes insisted there is an epidemic of young, hormonal guitarists soloing every chance they get.

“Oh yeah, I see it all the time. We’ve got a real problem with creeps who get off on soloing in public. I blame it on the internet, these kids have access to all sorts of tabs and they become addicted to playing by themselves,” said Estes. “It’s basically a daily occurrence. Some trench coat-clad creep wanders in off the streets with no intention of buying anything. Then they’ll just whip out ‘Eruption’ or pretty much anything by Dragonforce until I chase them out with a broom. It’s like, dude, there are kids in this store. Have some decency.”

At press time, Pritchard is considering seeing a therapist to help with his chronic soloing.

Quiz: Which “Succession” Character Are You, You Horribly Irredeemable Monster?

“Succession,” Jesse Armstrong’s captivating drama about a Rupert Murdoch-esque tycoon and his backstabbing family, is arguably HBO’s most widely watched and respected show since The Sopranos. Despite every character being as two-faced and ruthless as the trashiest reality show star, the show consistently executes a razor sharp and highly relevant satirical wit.

So, you wanna know which character on the show represents you? Really? You do? Well, you must be a real piece of shit.

Okay here’s how we’re going to do this. Go on Google and look up a basic assessment test for personality disorders. Fill it out, forward that to a psychiatrist, and schedule yourself an appointment with them. Meanwhile, we’re doing this bullshit by birth month.

Oh, does that not seem fair, having your “Succession” character assigned to you by circumstances of birth? Well, that’s how wealth works too, so fuck off.

January
You are Logan Roy:

You’re a shameless, megalomaniacle manipulative control freak who loves nothing more than emotionally eviscerating the people closest to you just to watch them limp back into your circle because they need you. Fuck off.

February: 
You are Roman Roy:

You’re a spoiled, verbally abusive sexual deviant. You lash your mommy and daddy issues out on anyone who crosses your path, and you’re so numbed out from hyper-excess enduced boredom you can’t even remmeber who or what you like to fuck anymore. Fuck off.

March:
You are Kendall Roy 

You are just a fucking mess dude. You’re a manic depressive narcissist with a Christ complex. You have an on-again off-again relationship with hard drugs but that doesn’t matter because you’re high on your own bullshit 24/7. Plus, you sort of killed a guy, and if you have kids you’re bad at it. Fuck off.

April:
You are Shiv Roy:

You were great on the high school debate team, so why shouldn’t you run the world? You are the absolute worst sort of opportunistic fair-weather liberal. The only thing more transparent than your flavor of the week moral convictions is your sham relationships, which are always with someone you view as a disposable underling incapable of hurting you emotionally. Fuck off.

May: 
You are Connor Roy

You are a lazy, worthless, absurd constitutionalist weirdo and the only thing close to a redeeming quality you possess is the plausible deniability of true wrongdoing afforded by the fact that you are clearly an idiot. Fuck off.

June: 
You are Stewey Hosseini 

You’re a high functioning cocaine addict whose favorite pastime is taking deep breaths and pausing dramatically before telling people “No.” Fuck off.

July:
You are Lady Caroline Collingwood

You’re a shameless gossip and expert victim-player who truth be told just isn’t very good with people, especially if they are people you have given birth to. Fuck off.

August: 
You are Marcia Roy

You are an opportunistic, vindictive, shadowy power hoarder who makes Melania Trump look like Florence Nightingale and scares the shit out of everyone. Fuck off.

September
You are Tom Wambsgans 

You’re an insecure rank and file company man. There is no end to the amount of shit you’ll swallow from your career or your spouse, and you overcompensate by being an unfunny agro tool to anyone you have the slightest flex over. Fuck off.

October: 
You are Greg Hirsch 

You are naive and constantly getting in over your head, and while this is tempered with a generally sweet disposition and good intentions, there is no low you won’t stoop to if it gets you out of trouble. Fuck off.

November: 
You are Ewan Roy

You’re a mean, self-righteous hypocrite. You own a word-a-day calendar and everyone who has the misfortune of speaking to you will know it. You might do something good like give all your money away, but only for the wrong reasons and only after you’re dead. Fuck off.

December: 
You are any other character on the show
That’s right, if you were born in December you are any character on “Succession” not previously mentioned on this list. It doesn’t matter, just pick a name. You could be Gerri. You’re not Gerri, but you could be Gerri. Fuck off.

“Oh What’s This?!” Exclaims Mom Reaching into Cooler Who Knows Damned Well it’s Hard Seltzer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Local mother Meredith Ashby displayed a performative expression of surprise and intrigue at a neighborhood cookout yesterday afternoon after reaching into the adult beverage cooler and pulling out a VII by CANarchy hard seltzer, a beverage her family confirms she has been drinking for at least five years.

“Yeah, Mom was on her bullshit again at the cookout yesterday,” confirmed Nathan Ashby, Meredith’s 24-year-old son. “She was all ‘Oooh, what’s this?!’ as if she hasn’t been getting loaded on hard seltzers at every cookout, and before and after them, for like half a decade. I don’t know if it’s denial or she just gets so hammered every time she actually forgets they exist. Either way, it’s fucked up, and I’m out of responses to feign.”

According to witnesses, Ashby spent the rest of the afternoon consuming can after can in rapid succession while asking anyone in earshot if they’ve heard of this “new stuff” and exclaiming “so refreshing!” every five minutes or so.

“She does this every time, every goddamn time! And before that it was Twisted Tea,” said Ashby’s daughter, Meghan, expressing frustration at the situation. “I have watched that woman say ‘I guess I’ll have one just to try it’ before getting so smashed she makes lewd gestures with pool noodles literally my entire life. Then if we try to call her out for having a problem it’s ‘What are you crazy? All I had was tea!’ or ‘It’s just seltzer!’ Just non-stop passive aggressive gaslight bullshit.”

Ashby’s husband, Carl, seemed to be the only person in attendance that didn’t find his wife’s claims to be suspicious.

“Have you tried these new alcoholic energy drinks they have now?” asked Mr. Ashby, while holding up a can and spinning it 360 degrees and looking upon it with amazement, fooling no one. “I tried them at a barbeque yesterday. I can’t believe I never heard of these before.”

At press time, Mrs. Ashby was overheard asking for the 23rd time if anyone knew why her “headache pills” were making her lightheaded and happy.

Help! It’s Well Into December and I Forgot How to Nut!

Look, I’m desperate and I don’t care how embarrassing this is anymore. This year I decided to participate in the No Nut November internet challenge. I thought it was for charity or something and by the time I found out it was some alt-right bullshit I was more than halfway through so I stuck with it anyway. Well, it turns out not everything is like riding a bike.

It was November 30th, and I was all set to start Destroy Dick December at the stroke of midnight. The clock bells rang, I unzipped my pants, and in a moment of intense panic realized in 30 days time, I completely forgot how to nut!

Okay make fun of me all you want, fine, but for the love of God HELP!

I’m really starting to freak out here, man. What if I never nut again? I tried playing one of those video games that promise you won’t be able to play it for two minutes without busting and I beat the fucking thing without a single nut! Now I’m just a guy who doesn’t know how to nut who’s really horny from sex games, which is worse!

I swear I’ve tried everything, I even went to the library! An entire building full of books and would you believe they did not have a single text dedicated to nutting. Four copies of “Windows 98 for Dummies” and not a single book that shows you how to bust a nut? Hey library, my thing is a little more important than navigating the CTRL + ALT + DELETE menu!

I even asked the lady behind the desk for help and now I’m not even allowed at that library anymore! Apparently, I’m not the first “weirdo” to ask her for help with that and they have some zero tolerance policy. I’m just looking for information!

I’m already beginning to forget small details of what busting is like. I remember I used to do it a lot. I remember that bustin’ makes me feel good. Or did I just hear that in a song? I’m so confused!

Younger Sister Wearing Hand-Me-Downs Guesses She’s Goth Too Now

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Local teenager Valerie Booth reluctantly made the choice to be goth after reviewing her wardrobe consisting entirely of black hand-me-down clothes from her older sister, disappointed sources confirmed.

“I never really planned on being goth, but my body and soul were crushed under the weight of countless second-hand shirts that are as black as the night,” said Booth, clearing closet space for another pair of platform boots. “With my current wardrobe, and the shitload of fishnet stockings I’m gonna inherit in a year or two, there isn’t any wiggle room. I’ll definitely have to quit the tennis team and stop listening to popular music, but I think I can make this work. I’ve already got teen angst and naturally dark hair – I just need to start shoplifting makeup and getting used to hanging out in the graveyard with a ferret or something.”

Despite the lack of choice, Linda Booth, Valerie’s mother, is optimistic about her daughter’s future as a goth.

“This family has spent a lot of money on goth clothes, and unfortunately we just don’t have the financial flexibility for Val to explore other personalities. But I think this will go well for her. She’ll be able to bond with her sister as they talk about death and loiter outside Hot Topic, and she won’t have to worry about staining her shirts ever again,” said the single mother. “And I’m hoping Val’s teenage years aren’t as challenging as her sister, but everyone I’ve spoken with says that raising your second goth is much easier than raising the first.”

Michael Lugo, an anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, says that the situation in the Booth family is actually quite common.

“Most youth subcultures are kept alive by older siblings passing clothes and accessories down to younger ones,” said Lugo while wearing a sweater vest handed down from his older brother who is a professor at an Ivy League school. “When a teen puts on the physical items, they are absorbed into the subculture through no choice of their own, which is likely why goths, punks, and skaters are still around today. In fact, the reason that subcultures like disco, greasers, and mods are no longer relevant is primarily due to the short lifespan of twentieth-century fabrics.”

At press time, Linda Booth and her husband agreed that they would have to do whatever it takes to prevent their youngest son from inheriting his older brother’s Detroit Lions gear.

This Email Could Have Been a Genuine Human Interaction

In today’s fast-paced world time is precious, and my generation is fond of pointing out how many time-draining in-person interactions could easily be reduced to an email. While I agree with that sentiment when it comes to work meetings and voting I gotta say, I keep re-reading this email my buddy TJ sent me, and I think this email could have been, like, a really valuable face-to-face interaction.

TJ was my best friend in High School, and between the hecticness of each other’s lives and the pandemic, we haven’t seen each other in over three years. All of a sudden I read one email and I’m all caught up? That’s like, fucked up.

He knows I’m going to be visiting home in like three weeks. Why the hell did he burn through all this shit via email? I don’t know what the fuck we’re even going to talk about IRL now!

Dude has a fucking kid now, and he described him with so much detail and included so many photos that I’m already bored with the little fucker and its mother, who seems like an absolute catch and a wonderful person. That boredom should have happened in person!

Teej really opens up in this thing, shedding light on past turmoils I was unaware of and daily struggles I had no idea he wrestles with, as well as a detailed account of the rock bottom moment that inspired him to turn it all around, go to therapy, and start living his best life. It’s a story that totally would have been worth two hours at a coffee shop and that’s just the first few paragraphs!

And it’s not just all the deep personal shit either! He added his complete media diet, every movie he’s seen, every show he’s binged, and every book he’s read in the last 3 years, complete with his opinions on each.

He told me he loved me. We’ve never said that. It was always there, but we never said it. That’s a moment! That shit should not be dropped in my inbox!

He burned up all the talking points! We’re going to spend the whole time awkwardly re-hashing this email! No, fuck that. My only option is to reply “TLDR” and pretend like I don’t know any of this shit.

Loyal Rat Refuses to Leave Fallen Punk’s Grave

SEAFORD, Del. — Townspeople have taken notice of a feral rat who is now on day seven grieving a transient punk who recently passed away due to “unknown but seemingly natural” causes, emotional onlookers confirmed.

“We’re good Christian folk here with traditional values. Gratitude, bravery, love for thy neighbor — so you understand why it really touched us to see that disgusting piece of homeless shit mourned by one of God’s beautiful creatures,” said town mayor Margaret Billings gesturing to the sleeping rodent. “That little furry angel really encapsulates the compassionate nature of everyone that lives here.”

Patrick Gunderson, posthumously renamed “Rat Guy” by town denizens who had instantly forgotten his name, was largely shunned for his struggles with crack cocaine and his busker lifestyle that was at odds with Seaford’s puritan culture.

“That dirty punk junkie was a stain on this town,” resident Josh Burton stated. “Did he generally stay out of everyone’s way and only offer a smile now and then to people desperately avoiding him while they went into Target? Sure. But those shitty Against Me banjo covers cancel all that right out. I’m glad he’s gone but now we’ve got a god damn rodent problem no one’s willing to address or even consider on account of how adorable the whole thing is, and how she appears to be in some sort of love withdrawal.”

While baffled residents attributed the humanlike grieving to the power of God’s love, Officer Roy McGillicuddy disagreed with the sentiments of the town.

“What we’re witnessing here is a symbiotic relationship that has been disturbed — nothing more. A little bit of everything that went near Rat Guy’s mouth ended up in his beard too, so the rat got beard-goodies and in return provided Rat Guy with the closest thing to a grooming he’s ever had,” he explained. “Now that Rat Guy is gone, so is the supply of rat treats. Same goes for those dogs you see laying on their late owner’s graves, they’re just waiting to be taken for their daily walk, and are too stupid to realize they’re already outside.”

At press time, the wide-eyed sweaty rat was seen maniacally clawing at the gravesite’s soil along with McGillicuddy’s drug-sniffing dogs.

Why Becoming a Roomba Mother Convinced Me of the Need for Paid Family Leave

I never understood paid family leave. If people want time off to relax and sit around then they shouldn’t have made a resource-sucking clone of themselves in the first place. But after becoming a mother myself, I see things a bit differently. Being a new Roomba mother taught me a lot of things. Mostly that my work should give me a few weeks off.

Caring for a new member of the family is hard work. Particularly when that new member is a Roomba. Between helping it set a schedule, teaching it the ins and outs of your house, and integrating it with the pets (who I used to think were as difficult to raise as Roombas but oh how naive I was), raising this thing is more work than my actual job!

Heck, sometimes my Roomba gets stuck and starts beeping in the middle of a meeting, and I have to turn my Zoom camera off and check on him and flip him over. Sometimes he gets stuck under the bed. That little goofball. When that happens I have to crawl under and get him. If we had paid family leave, then my little “Ba” could get the time and affection he so desperately needs.

Paid family leave would also make me a more productive worker. Last night my Roomba was low on charge and started beeping. I had to wake up and make sure he found his charging portal in the kitchen. The next day I was exhausted and could barely focus on my meetings and my Roomba spent the day just spinning in circles near the couch. Family leave isn’t just for the mother. We both deserve the time off!

Paid family leave is so important! You mean you’re gonna tell me I’m not allowed to take a puppy from its mother until it’s eight weeks old, but we’re just making new Roomba parents go back to work right after it exits the box? Seems like a mess, and not one my new Roomba© s3+ is gonna clean up.