Here's something you might be interested in.
Why do so many people not get humor? And, I don't want to hear "It's subjective." It really isn't. I mean, okay, sometimes it is. I know people that love Monty Python movies. For me, they're hit and miss. Some people think the cheerleader sketches on Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell were stupid. I loved them. Others love Ferrell movies. I'm burned out on them (although I hate to admit, I laughed hard at Step Brothers).
Here's what I'm talking about, though.
David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Conan O'Brien are the late night guys I enjoy. Often times, they'll be setting up a joke. And, people are laughing before they've heard the punchline. This is annoying. It sometimes messes up the timing and momentum.
An example: Dick Cheney could've been rushed to the hospital with a minor heart attack. Letterman will say, "So, at the White House today, Dick Cheney was going to see the President...
And you'll hear people in the crowd laugh. Well, nothing funny happened yet. Anticipating funny, shouldn't elicit laughter.
I see the same thing at comedy clubs. People anticipate jokes. Or, they hear jokes that aren't funny, and they laugh. They recognize a punchline and they know they're supposed to laugh, so they laugh. Although, when I saw Wanda Sykes in Las Vegas recently, I was in the front row. She surprised me by not being funny. And I didn't want to look like a jerk, so a few times I gave polite laughs, or smiled at her punchlines.
A perfect example is Craig Ferguson. His bits, and opening, are never funny. Yet the crowd is laughing. Sure, they have the flashing lights that say "applause" and "laugh," but still.
He is pretty sharp and witty during his interviews. But how this guy has a show is beyond me.
I had a friend that didn't talk to me for a week, because we got on the subject of our all-time favorite TV shows. When it was comedies, I said I loved Taxi. And, the usual great shows came up: Seinfeld, Honeymooners, Carol Burnett, etc.
I said, "I had a roommate in my early 20s, that loved Three's Company and Married With Children. If you like those shows, you have an IQ below 100." This friend said he and his mom loved those shows.
Well, certain shows, unless you're 10 years old, I just don't understand watching. Sure, we all watched Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island as kids. And if we watch them as adults, it's usually for the memories. Kind of like how you don't switch the radio station when there's that annoying song on that you know will be stuck in your head, but you kind of like (Dancing Queen, anyone?).
I read somewhere that this couple finds out if people like The Big Lebowski before they become friends with them. I thought that was a great philosophy.
Sometimes you meet people, that love Christopher Guest movies. But, A Mighty Wind was kind of weak. And "For Your Consideration," was just awful. Maybe Guest has lost it.
I have friends send me humorous emails. And, it annoys me when they're jokes that are 25 years old. I often respond, "This joke is 25 years old." And, they get pissed at me, like I'm the joke nazi. My point is...how did they get thru 40 years of life, without hearing that old joke? And, how did they think that forwarding a lame email joke to everyone in their mailbox, was productive to anyone that received it? I'm all for getting a funny email. But it better be good. Each person, at the moment they receive a funny email, get to turn into judge and jury. An editor. They get to decide if it makes the cut, and gets forwarded to their friends.
If you aren't sure, don't send it.
My girlfriend sent one the other day that showed a cow talking to a bottle of milk. It was saying "Milk, I am your father."
I thought that was cute. Her friend was surprised I didn't respond with "This is stupid, because cows cannot talk."
That just showed how stupid that person is. I've never broken down a cartoon like that. Aside from my girlfriend loving Star Wars, and that being a take on that...it was a cute drawing (which adds a lot), and a cute line. I had no problem with Gary Larson (The Far Side) having animals talk. My problem with him was, only 1 out of 4 were ever funny. Yet, people would put them on their freezers, or on their cubicle walls. You'd read it and wonder what possessed them to post it. You'd have to ask, "Oh, are you a cat lover?" They would respond with, "No, but it was just so funny. Isn't it hysterical?" You read it again. It shows a ball of yarn chasing after a cat saying "How do you like it?" I can't even muster a smile as I say "Uh, no. It's not really funny." And they're mad.
Come on, people. You are the reason that newspapers carried a lame comic strip like Nancy for 35 years!
Why do so many people not get humor? And, I don't want to hear "It's subjective." It really isn't. I mean, okay, sometimes it is. I know people that love Monty Python movies. For me, they're hit and miss. Some people think the cheerleader sketches on Saturday Night Live with Will Ferrell were stupid. I loved them. Others love Ferrell movies. I'm burned out on them (although I hate to admit, I laughed hard at Step Brothers).
Here's what I'm talking about, though.
David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Conan O'Brien are the late night guys I enjoy. Often times, they'll be setting up a joke. And, people are laughing before they've heard the punchline. This is annoying. It sometimes messes up the timing and momentum.
An example: Dick Cheney could've been rushed to the hospital with a minor heart attack. Letterman will say, "So, at the White House today, Dick Cheney was going to see the President...
And you'll hear people in the crowd laugh. Well, nothing funny happened yet. Anticipating funny, shouldn't elicit laughter.
I see the same thing at comedy clubs. People anticipate jokes. Or, they hear jokes that aren't funny, and they laugh. They recognize a punchline and they know they're supposed to laugh, so they laugh. Although, when I saw Wanda Sykes in Las Vegas recently, I was in the front row. She surprised me by not being funny. And I didn't want to look like a jerk, so a few times I gave polite laughs, or smiled at her punchlines.
A perfect example is Craig Ferguson. His bits, and opening, are never funny. Yet the crowd is laughing. Sure, they have the flashing lights that say "applause" and "laugh," but still.
He is pretty sharp and witty during his interviews. But how this guy has a show is beyond me.
I had a friend that didn't talk to me for a week, because we got on the subject of our all-time favorite TV shows. When it was comedies, I said I loved Taxi. And, the usual great shows came up: Seinfeld, Honeymooners, Carol Burnett, etc.
I said, "I had a roommate in my early 20s, that loved Three's Company and Married With Children. If you like those shows, you have an IQ below 100." This friend said he and his mom loved those shows.
Well, certain shows, unless you're 10 years old, I just don't understand watching. Sure, we all watched Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island as kids. And if we watch them as adults, it's usually for the memories. Kind of like how you don't switch the radio station when there's that annoying song on that you know will be stuck in your head, but you kind of like (Dancing Queen, anyone?).
I read somewhere that this couple finds out if people like The Big Lebowski before they become friends with them. I thought that was a great philosophy.
Sometimes you meet people, that love Christopher Guest movies. But, A Mighty Wind was kind of weak. And "For Your Consideration," was just awful. Maybe Guest has lost it.
I have friends send me humorous emails. And, it annoys me when they're jokes that are 25 years old. I often respond, "This joke is 25 years old." And, they get pissed at me, like I'm the joke nazi. My point is...how did they get thru 40 years of life, without hearing that old joke? And, how did they think that forwarding a lame email joke to everyone in their mailbox, was productive to anyone that received it? I'm all for getting a funny email. But it better be good. Each person, at the moment they receive a funny email, get to turn into judge and jury. An editor. They get to decide if it makes the cut, and gets forwarded to their friends.
If you aren't sure, don't send it.
My girlfriend sent one the other day that showed a cow talking to a bottle of milk. It was saying "Milk, I am your father."
I thought that was cute. Her friend was surprised I didn't respond with "This is stupid, because cows cannot talk."
That just showed how stupid that person is. I've never broken down a cartoon like that. Aside from my girlfriend loving Star Wars, and that being a take on that...it was a cute drawing (which adds a lot), and a cute line. I had no problem with Gary Larson (The Far Side) having animals talk. My problem with him was, only 1 out of 4 were ever funny. Yet, people would put them on their freezers, or on their cubicle walls. You'd read it and wonder what possessed them to post it. You'd have to ask, "Oh, are you a cat lover?" They would respond with, "No, but it was just so funny. Isn't it hysterical?" You read it again. It shows a ball of yarn chasing after a cat saying "How do you like it?" I can't even muster a smile as I say "Uh, no. It's not really funny." And they're mad.
Come on, people. You are the reason that newspapers carried a lame comic strip like Nancy for 35 years!