Richard Scaramelli

[From Gus] I made up this puzzle after visiting a Temple in Bali where numerous monkeys were stealing objects from the visitors: glasses, hats, flip-flops, cameras - anything they could get their hands on. The question I posed was: What motivates the monkeys to steal the visitors' possessions?



Gus, Methinks the issue is mere transactionalism, or more academically, operant conditioning: the original monkey was "rewarded" for his discovery/thievery by a guide's "bribe" -- a banana, a mango, a shiny bauble, etc.  This handy life lesson was then picked up the community of monkeys, who added further refinements, such as a purloined cell phone being "worth" more bananas than a wide brim straw hat. ("Scratch my back, and I'll scratch your Bali")
To see what this thievery looks like, watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4X7o8yGQ9E

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Contest #2.  Write a clerihew (Edmund Clerihew Bentley, 1875-1956) about a well-known person (e.g., Presidential Candidate or High School teacher/Principal).

WINNER #1 (Presidential Candidate):  Richard Scaramelli

  We went to sea for Poseidon,
 But all we found was Joe Biden,
 When asked, "Where's the God?"
 He replied, "Speak to Garland, Blinken and Nod."