Yes, I know this is the 3rd post in one day, but it’s been snowing. What else was I supposed to do?
The Video
It was only my second Monday Monkey video, but it still remains to be one of my favorites.
“There’s a Monkey at the Wheel” was my first music video, but I was not the one singing. As a matter of fact, I got a former American Idol contestant to do the vocals!
If you haven’t seen it, have fun watching it for the first time…or the second, or third, or fourth 😉
The Voice
Lauren Huckabee, Mr. Monkey, and Me
The voice behind this video was a young lady named Lauren Huckabee. The reason I bring this up now is because Lauren is singing with a group that is rising rapidly up the gospel charts, Rhonda Frye and Riverside.
On top of that, Lauren has published her first blog post. In it she shares her past, one full of drugs, alcohol, and danger. But more than that, she gives glory to God for sparing her life and giving her hope.
Please read Lauren’s story and pray for her. And, if you get a chance, listen to the real music she’s doing. I’m sure you will like it just as much, if not more, than any parody I’ve done.
Surely you have seen it…the heroes of a movie walking slowly toward the screen.
Remember The Right Stuff? Remember how the astronauts, wearing their space suits, walked slowly through the steam?
Remember the scene in the 2005 movie Kicking and Screaming where Will Ferrell and his young soccer team, covered in blood after a day at the butcher shop, walked onto the field? They walked slowly, of course, and scared the other team into forfeiting.
Whenever want to make an on-screen impression that says, “I’m bad and I mean business,” walk toward the camera in slow motion. It never fails.
Oh! I almost forgot! You’ve also got to have some cool music with some punch and a good bass riff as a background track. Fortunately for me, iMovie had one I could use 😉
That’s why today’s Monday Monkey, the 1st one of 2014, kicks “beehind” (Baptist dirty word) and takes names.
Have you ever had a song that you couldn’t get out of your head? Sometimes they’re so bad you’d think Myley Cyrus had written them just to give you bad dreams.
Then there are songs that are so bad they’re CRAZY GOOD, like THIS one!
If you keep repeating it in your head, over and over, it will drown out the Miley Cyrus nightmares.
It’s been a while since I first posted this video, but I think it’s time for a repeat.
A lot of you are new to this blog. You may not be aware that I periodically post videos on Mondays with a puppet monkey, just for fun. This video, however, is one of my favorites, and for good reason: it’s about the story I love to tell.
Benny Berry sang at our church one Sunday. That afternoon I asked if he felt like he could sing for a monkey. He raised an eyebrow, but agreed. The result was genuinely beautiful.
There is no music, only the natural sounds of water crashing on the shore, a monkey yelling, etc.
This was Mr. Monkey’s first and last time to the beach. The Atlantic was not kind to his 30+ year-old, non-replenishing fur. He survived a washing machine this time, but I’m not willing to take any more chances.
Vacation is over. Maybe we can rescue the rest of our lives.
This is a very special episode of Monday (yes, I know it’s Tuesday) Monkey. Mr. Monkey (a.k.a. Buddy) had an accident while jumping on the bed. He fell off and bumped his head.
Actually, I had to take my wife to the emergency room this morning (for real). Being a good steward of God’s money (what He let’s me have of it), I figured I would take advantage of having thousands of dollars of medical equipment at my disposal, at least when the doctors weren’t looking.
Do you have any idea how much it would have cost to do this video if I had wanted to use an actual hospital? Oh, wait…it is costing a lot.
Here are three life lessons to learn from this episode of Monday Monkey…
When your momma tells you to stop jumping on the bed, do it. If you don’t, you might fall off and bump your head.
Doctors can think of thousands of reasons for conducting tests that have nothing to do with your actual complaint.
Always carry a monkey with you wherever you go. Life can be the best movie set.
Yes, according to our school calender, summer is here, and so are all the network television reruns.
For some reason, and I don’t know why, actors and other Hollywood folk have never been able to work year-round. They always take the summer months off, then start a “new season” in the fall. Why? Are we all enrolled in the same educational program? Yes. It’s called the College of Brainwashing, Indoctrination, and Cultural Manipulation (CBICM).
Sicker Stuff Coming
And speaking of cultural manipulation, have you heard about a new show that MTV tried to start, but cancelled? It was to be called “Losing It.” Literally, the folks at CBICM planned to start a new “course” in the fall that would document 18+ year-olds losing their virginity! Last year, FOX’s “Glee” celebrated straight and gay teen couples’ “First Time,” so I guess MTV had to test the depths of the gutter…
“Do you want to take things to the next level? Like, are you ready to hand over your V card? Or do you have a friend who is ready to lose it? Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts,” read the casting notice. “Now MTV is looking to frankly capture that journey in a new series called My First. We’re looking for adults who are ready to go all the way. Let MTV come along on your journey… as you try to lose your virginity!”
Remember Twin Beds?
Do you remember when Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds? Do you remember when no one cursed on screen? Do you remember when cartoons were full of simple violence (Bugs Bunny), instead of New Age mysticism and earth worship?
Sadly, most anything still decent to watch is old stuff in reruns (if they’re being shown at all). Every once in a while one can stumble upon an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, but now most reruns are just as bad as the new stuff. Now, instead of seeing a happy couple in separate beds, we are shown multiple couples in the same bed.
A Safe Rerun
Well, not all summer reruns have to be sick or disturbing. Some can be funny without being dirty; exciting without being violent. Some reruns even feature a monkey.
Since some of you are new to The Recovering Legalist, you may have missed early episodes of Monday Monkey. So, I hope you enjoy a couple of my favorites while the production team revamps and renews. In a few weeks Monday Monkey will be back with some new episodes worthy of the wait.
My daughter showed me one video on YouTube [Click Here] of a girl who had her wisdom teeth removed. That led to another video, and another, and another. They were so funny (and sad) that I felt Mr. Monkey needed to have surgery.
There’s no deep, hyper-spiritual message to this episode of Monday Monkey. It’s just funny.
However, my wife did ask me, “So, what Bible verse will you use for this?” All I could think of was 1Corinthians 14:27 – If any man speak in an [unknown] tongue, [let it be] by two, or at the most [by] three, and [that] by course; and let one interpret.
With that said, don’t get more than 3 cotton-stuffed monkeys in the same room – we Baptists might get nervous (smile).
The Recovering Legalist 