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Comedy: September 06, 2006 Issue [#1254]

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Comedy


 This week:
  Edited by: Holly Jahangiri Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humour.

- Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (act I)

Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.

- Brendan Gill

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

- George Bernard Shaw, The Doctor's Dilemma




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Letter from the editor

Leave the Corny Humor to Your Podiatrist
Did you hear about the two podiatrists who were arch rivals?

Main Entry: corny
Pronunciation: 'kor-nE
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): corn•i•er; -est
1 : archaic : tasting strongly of malt
2 : of or relating to corn
3 : mawkishly old-fashioned : tiresomely simple and sentimental <told corny jokes>
- corn•i•ly /'kor-n&-lE/ adverb
- corn•i•ness /'kor-nE-n&s/ noun

Ouch. Despite the harsh denunciation of “corny jokes,” they never seem to lose their popularity. There’s something comforting and familiar about corny jokes. Perhaps that’s because they inevitably call to mind our fathers and grandfathers, and give us a sense of continuity as they slip from our lips to our children’s ears as easily as old wives’ tales.

And puns may be the “lowest form of humor” in some circles (notably, among those who don’t immediately “get” the play on words and end up feeling dim-witted), but despite the moaning and groaning over a bad pun, they remain popular, as well.

Puns are little "plays on words" that a certain breed of person loves to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of the first day even if they have plenty of food and water. -- Dave Barry, Why Humor Is Funny

Then again, if you are an obsessive-compulsive punster, perhaps you ought to have your head examined:

In his book, The Act of Creation (1964), Arthur Koestler reported on the phenomenon of compulsive punning, known as Forster’s syndrome, after the German surgeon who first observed it. In 1929, Forster was operating on a patient suffering from a tumour in the third ventricle – a small cavity deep down in the phylogenetically ancient regions of the mid-brain, adjacent to structures intimately concerned with the arousal of emotions. When the surgeon began to manipulate the tumor, affecting those sensitive structures, the (conscious) patient burst into a manic flight of puns. He exhibited typical sound associations, and with every word of the operator broke into a flight of ideas. The sound of one word swiftly echoed in the sound of the next, and all of the words had something to do with knives and butchery. This gruesome humour, Koestler noted, all came "from a man tied facedown to the operating table with his skull open."*


* "Forster's Syndrome." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Mar 2006, 00:36 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 Sep 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forster%27s_Syndrome&oldid=45492016>.


Forced to Be Funny

If you’ve ever studied a foreign language, you know that agonizing moment that occurs when a friend says “Oh, really? Say something in…” French, English, Japanese, Bahasa Indonesia - I’m sure it works the same way in any language. You may have reached the point where you could pass for a native speaker, but you are suddenly struck dumb.

“What do you want me to say?” You know it doesn’t matter; you’re simply stalling for time. You know, and dread, the answer:

“Oh, anything you like.”

Who, here, finds it easy to be funny on command? “Say, Bob, you’re a funny guy. How about you do a little comedy to warm up the audience tomorrow night before we introduce the new CEO?” Nothing kills the funny bone faster.

I am sitting here watching Jay Leno. I try to imagine what it must be like, working as a writer for his opening monologue. I envision a room full of guys standing in front of a firing squad…

I’m sure they love what they do. And the one thing that makes it tolerable is that Jay has faith enough to stand up there in front of millions of viewers and deliver those lines - and make them sound good. Every now and then, though, even Leno flops. Can’t you just hear the gunshot from the back room, where they keep the writers?

Damn, there goes another one… “Next!”

** Image ID #953193 Unavailable **

Among the tips I’ve read lately for comedy writers, one stands out in my mind: Be vulnerable. Isn’t that the way to make a connection - between speaker and listener, or writer and reader - no matter whether it’s comedy or a eulogy or a presentation to the stockholders? Okay…bad analogy. Stockholders are a bunch of sharks. With teeth. No vulnerability at the annual board meeting. But really, if the audience can relate to you - without going so far as to squirm with vicarious humiliation and pity for you - it’ll work.




Editor's Picks

What issue on puns would be complete without some exemplary stories from the master of the form?

 Pulp Friction Open in new Window. (13+)
"Number" One on the charts!
#906999 by Robert Waltz Author IconMail Icon

 The Wish Open in new Window. (13+)
You can't always get what you want.
#899144 by Robert Waltz Author IconMail Icon

Here’s a fitting tribute to Writing.Com’s 6th Birthday. Who here can’t relate to the subtle lure and ultimate addiction? And hey, it’s all about…improving your writing skills, right? Sneaky…

 
STATIC
Happy Birthday, Writing.Com Open in new Window. (13+)
And another victim is claimed....
#1152024 by iKïyå§ama Author IconMail Icon

And it’s a great place to let your fertile imagination run wild (and talk to squirrels, without anyone saying “You’re nuts, you know that?”)

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1151955 by Not Available.

“My neighbor was drunk when I asked for the car…” The neighbor was drunk??

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1151987 by Not Available.

Feeling stressed? It just doesn’t pay to take the end of the world too seriously, some days…

 Global Warming. Open in new Window. (ASR)
Climate Change, Butterflies and Radioactive Penguins.
#1152861 by John W Drake Author IconMail Icon

Okay, this next one is probably not what I needed to read at the end of my daughter’s first week away at college. And I’m sure the author could have expanded on this, adding more than the obvious “things I’ve learned at college but probably shouldn’t have,” but mercifully - no.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1152352 by Not Available.

On the other hand, with my daughter off at college, I can laugh - wholeheartedly, not in that sick, “Yeah, lemme go check MY kitchen and compare notes with ya” sort of way - over this one:

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1151357 by Not Available.

Although, come to think of it, my father in law will put ketchup or sour cream on salad before he’ll open a new bottle of salad dressing…

We all love to laugh at others’ embarrassing moments… and it never hurts to invite others’ to laugh at ours! The next time you’re feeling humiliated over doing something really stupid, just think how popular those “TV Bloopers” shows are. It’s nice to know that the rich and famous can be goofballs, just like the rest of us. It’s all part of being human. Now, here’s your chance to be a star:

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1122660 by Not Available.



 
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