MetaChat - Mad Lib experiment

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20 August 2011

Mad Lib experiment →[More:]

I googled a random funny quote generator cuz, you know, funny stuff usually has a formula. From that, I generated the following list.

field of study
book
adverb
verb (past tense)
institution
adverb
verb (past tense)

Now, person A posts their entry.

field of study
book
adverb - usually
verb (past tense)
institution
adverb
verb (past tense)

Here I posted 'usually' for an adverb. Now, person B comes along and chooses one. From here, anything goes.

(I should note that perhaps the originator could fill in one entry to give it some focus.)

Now in the case of ties, well, I haven't figured that out, but I'm open to suggestions.

Anyway, go ahead and fill out the list. I will be around for awhile, so if it fills quick, I will post the whole MadLib and the original quote tonight.

Then we can discuss what doesn't work.

post by: Ardiril at: 01:58 | 29 comments

Verb past tense: slumped

posted by rmless2 20 August | 02:00

field of study
book
adverb - usually
verb (past tense) - slumped
institution
adverb
verb (past tense)

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 02:02

You can choose which one you want.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 02:03

field of study - anthropology
book
adverb - usually
verb (past tense) - slumped
institution
adverb
verb (past tense)

posted by occhiblu 20 August | 02:05

OK, I have successfully communicated the concept. Yay!

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 02:08

field of study
book - Green Eggs and Ham
adverb
verb (past tense)
institution - AARP
adverb
verb (past tense)

posted by oneswellfoop 20 August | 02:20

Sidelight: Automeme is inspired by MadLibs and is well propogated to produce some funny stuff, based on new memes and old:

WE’VE SECRETLY REPLACED SUPERMAN’S JEDI WITH A CAT. LET’S SEE IF HE NOTICES…

SCIENTOLOGISTCAT IS A SCIENTOLOGIST

I, FOR ONE, WELCOME OUR NEW PANDA OVERLORDS

IM IN UR TECHNO WEENIE, PUNCHING UR MEGAHURTZ

YO DAWG, I HEARD YOU LIKE LAWYERS, SO WE PUT SOME LAWYERS IN YOUR LAWYERS SO YOU CAN BAIL OUT WHILE YOU BAIL OUT.

IN SOVIET RUSSIA, ANIME VIDEO FAPS TO YOU!

...or maybe I'm up too late.

posted by oneswellfoop 20 August | 02:29

and there is now a "Hipster-Flavored" AutoMeme...

I LIKE MY JEGGINGS LIKE I LIKE MY HOODIES: COVERED IN NECKBEARD

THERE IS A SKATEBOARD IN MY FOUR LOKO, YR ARGUMENT IS INVALID

...yep, definitely up too late. Nighties!

posted by oneswellfoop 20 August | 02:34

field of study - anthropology
book - Green Eggs & Ham
adverb - usually
verb (past tense) - slumped
institution
adverb
verb (past tense)

Just choose one, or Sister Mary Jane will get out her ruler.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 02:48

institution: The Society for Ethical Culture

posted by Obscure Reference 20 August | 08:47

adverb: slowly

posted by BoringPostcards 20 August | 09:23

field of study - anthropology
book - Green Eggs & Ham
adverb - usually
verb (past tense) - slumped
institution - The Society for Ethical Culture
adverb - slowly
verb (past tense)

Alright, somebody toss me a verb, and I can finish this part.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 11:02

Verb (past tense) smurfed

posted by Splunge 20 August | 11:30

Good one!

field of study - anthropology
book - Green Eggs & Ham
adverb - usually
verb (past tense) - slumped
institution - The Society for Ethical Culture
adverb - slowly
verb (past tense) - smurfed

His entire system of anthropology was comprised in Green Eggs & Ham, which he usually slumped, and The Society for Ethical Culture, which he slowly smurfed.

Original quote:

"His entire system of theology was comprised in the Bible, which he never read, and the Methodist Church, which he rarely attended." - from The Job by Sinclair Lewis

OK, that is the brute force method. Observations, anyone? Someone want to post another template?

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 11:42

Past tense verbs should be required to take an object.

posted by Obscure Reference 20 August | 12:36

In this case, they did, but the sentence structure hides them. I think the template order should be somewhat randomized to encourage strategic accidents and discourage tactical jokes. Also, a longer passage would make this more participatory.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 14:33

It could be fun. I think as a test this works, but MadLibs are usually a paragraph or two.

posted by Splunge 20 August | 15:50

Making a template is not easy and takes a bit of skill. The longer, the harder. We need ways to make this whole process fairly easy. Length is definitely a significant variable.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 15:54

Understood.

posted by Splunge 20 August | 15:58

I think I have an actual Mad Libs book around here somewhere, if that would help.

posted by youngergirl44 20 August | 21:58

Maybe you could give us some ideas from it.

posted by Ardiril 20 August | 22:31

Or you could go for another automated option...

posted by oneswellfoop 21 August | 03:38

I was trying to remember what made these fun besides being ~~high~~ young. I think the fun ones tended to tell stories?

For fun wrote a MadLib template, and I have no idea what to do with it. It's longer, 25 blanks. Should I post the .. blank categories... to see how it goes?

posted by fleacircus 21 August | 07:41

Of course!

posted by Obscure Reference 21 August | 15:07

All right. The blanks are (in alphabetical order)...

Adjective:
Adjective:
Adverb:
Animal, plural:
Brand:
Color:
Color:
Familial Relation:
Gerund:
Item of clothing:
Letter:
Name of pet:
Noun phrase:
Noun:
Noun:
Number:
Onomatopoeia:
Part of body:
Place:
Positive integer:
Profession:
Thing, plural:
Thing:
Transitive verb:
Transitive verb:

I've also put up the stuff on a Googledoc spreadsheet that might be easier to fill out than posting in the thread.

posted by fleacircus 21 August | 20:39

Profession: witch

How does the spreadsheet work? I can't enter anything.

posted by Ardiril 21 August | 22:08

It doesn't seem to be writable.

posted by Obscure Reference 22 August | 08:34

Crap! All right, it's writeable now. (I entered "witch".)

posted by fleacircus 22 August | 09:56

I contributed to the spreadsheet! I'll look for my Mad Libs book when I get home.

posted by youngergirl44 22 August | 12:33

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