The witty, irreverent and pun-filled West Seattle FunBlog has been up and running now for over a year and a half and still going strong. Operated by nine West Seattle professionals with “real jobs,” the website is their hobby, their sandbox. Its niche is lampooning other blogs, other news media, and life in West Seattle and beyond, using and abusing sarcasm, political incorrectness, and adult innuendo, including the frequent dropping of the f-bomb without mercy.

The Funbloggers invited the West Seattle Herald to interview them during their weekly meeting at Big Al Brewing in White Center. Problem is, getting factual quotes from this wacky crew seemed as challenging as interviewing Marcel Marceau with a sore throat. That’s not because they were the silent types, but because they chose anonymity and used pseudonyms, covered their faces when photographed, and, who are we kidding? They like to drink beer, which loosens their tongues. And their tongues can get very loose. Heavy editing of their remarks was involved.

Recent FunBlog headlines include “Hedonism II Claims Dirtier Beaches Than BP”, “I Thought Harass Was Two Words”, “Local Developer Removes Several Fir Trees, Oxygen Generating Vegetation, To Build Green Home”, and “Former Astronaut Aldrin Sues Jackson Estate Over Moonwalk.”

Their horoscope page tells Capricorns, (Dec 22-Jan 19)
”You didn’t pay attention all semester, because you were staring down that girl’s shirt. Cramming the night before isn’t going to help you pass the final. Go get hammered! You won’t mind asking ‘Do you want fries with that?’ for the rest of your life.”

Their sports page offers the headline, “The Return of Amateur Co-ed Wrestling!”

The West Seattle FunBlog runs free ads, but they do not consider themselves a not-for-profit business.

“It’s not non-profit, it’s actually a drain, an ‘un-profit,’” explained regular contributor Pete Seazle, which is not even close to his real name. “We provide free advertising to local businesses brave enough to advertise with us. We actually import more fun than we export. We are running a ‘fun-deficit.’”

Seazle added that their FunBlog and the Austin FunBlog in Texas are sort of cousins, play off each other and share friends on Facebook. Seazle grew up there.

“West Seattle is Seattle’s largest neighborhood, with the most fun per capita,” declared FunBlog alpha dog and ringmaster, Luigi Linguini. “We have the best local businesses and more beached harbor seals than any other neighborhood. You wouldn’t get one in Capitol Hill.”

The FunBlog is not all silliness, and takes its politics seriously, according to them, anyway.

“We have a social conscience, insisted Linguini. “The big thing we back is ‘Initiative Measure 100000002’ which is ‘West Seattle Citizens for Left side Driving.’ (A FunBlog construct.) There are three reasons to pass this initiative. First, it gives us our God-given sense of uniqueness that we need to have here.

“The second thing is safety,” he added. “In a post-911 world you can’t be too safe. And just like getting on and off your horse with your scabbard and sword dismount on the left side, it’s safer to drive your car on the left side. Also, one-way streets will just be reversed.

“Number three, Initiative 100000002 is a job creation measure. It will, however, mean a complete six-month shutdown of all traffic in West Seattle.”

“I actually considered that the initiative should include removing the pavement on the right side and making it all greenbelt, but they pointed out that once you drove into West Seattle you couldn’t drive out,” said Seazle. “I thought a row of Japanese Maples would be beautiful. I just didn’t think it through.”

The FunBlog is not just a good ‘ol adolescent boy’s club. Women contribute regularly, too, including Miss Demeanor.

“It was part of the terms of my parole,” she claimed of her involvement. “It’s a random, ridiculous, creative outlet. My favorite story I did was about the knitting needle exchange program in White Center funded by Martha Stewart. Also, the feature I wrote, about the need for helmet laws for kids who wear superhero Underoos and think they can fly.”

“Hyper-local news blogs should be fun,” said contributor Trensuela, adding with self-deprecation, “I am a software engineer and have no sense of humor.”

“I assist behind the scenes,” said Colby Perry, his real name. “I make the FunBlog happen. I also contribute photography. I help local bands and help them out with publicity, and I let bands use my photography. You’ll see bands like Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, Nathan Wade & the Dark Pioneers, Villains of Yesterday featured a lot on our blog. I cover them when they play at the Skylark, Shadowland, and in Ballard.”

Joking aside, the West Seattle FunBlog sponsors several food drives a year to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. They also participate annually in the Beer Church Turkey Bowl, an organization that has raised thousands of dollars and collected thousands of pounds of food for the West Seattle Food Bank, scheduled this year for Nov. 20.

So is it valid for a blog to focus on irreverent “fun-man-ship” ranging from the skanky to the sophisticated?

“Facts are not fun,” said Linguini. “They are things you can get anywhere on blogs, facts delivered to you with a bow on top because they want to be your friend. To present nonfactual information takes work.”