Becky Clark's Blog, page 21
February 12, 2015
(4) Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
They’re still in Japan …
The country is so homogeneous, so unified in its history and culture, that most zingers don’t need set-ups at all. There’s no need for explanation or detailed backstories. Folks get right to the punch line. One common joke, about an Olympic gymnast whose leotard was too high, has apparently become so familiar that even the punch line isn’t necessary. All you have to do is gesture to your upper thigh.
I suppose we have a little bit of that, like when someone tells a story about some stupid incident. We might shorthand it and say, “Was this person blond?” Or perhaps quote a movie line that sums up a more detailed response. But my mother and my kids, for example, rarely see the same movies.
I can’t think of any other way a joke might work with all swaths of Americans. Can you?
Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
They’re still in Japan …
The country is so homogeneous, so unified in its history and culture, that most zingers don’t need set-ups at all. There’s no need for explanation or detailed backstories. Folks get right to the punch line. One common joke, about an Olympic gymnast whose leotard was too high, has apparently become so familiar that even the punch line isn’t necessary. All you have to do is gesture to your upper thigh.
I suppose we have a little bit of that, like when someone tells a story about some stupid incident. We might shorthand it and say, “Was this person blond?” Or perhaps quote a movie line that sums up a more detailed response. But my mother and my kids, for example, rarely see the same movies.
I can’t think of any other way a joke might work with all swaths of Americans. Can you?
February 11, 2015
(3) Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
They’re in Japan now.
Apparently, if you go up to strangers in Osaka and point your finger at them, they’ll pretend to be shot without missing a beat. (Later, we ask Reilly if we should try this. “No,” he says. “You might point your finger at a yakuza—a member of Japan’s mafia—”and they might freak the [heck] out.”) Osaka’s brimming with hilarity, says Inoue, because it’s long been “the belly of Japan,” the country’s trade and commercial hub, so the samurai left the city alone, realizing strict hierarchies and customs weren’t good for business. That left Osaka’s merchants free to haggle and barter and banter as much as they pleased—and a lot of jokes lubricated those transactions.
Now, I really, REALLY, want to go to Osaka.
Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
They’re in Japan now.
Apparently, if you go up to strangers in Osaka and point your finger at them, they’ll pretend to be shot without missing a beat. (Later, we ask Reilly if we should try this. “No,” he says. “You might point your finger at a yakuza—a member of Japan’s mafia—”and they might freak the [heck] out.”) Osaka’s brimming with hilarity, says Inoue, because it’s long been “the belly of Japan,” the country’s trade and commercial hub, so the samurai left the city alone, realizing strict hierarchies and customs weren’t good for business. That left Osaka’s merchants free to haggle and barter and banter as much as they pleased—and a lot of jokes lubricated those transactions.
Now, I really, REALLY, want to go to Osaka.
February 10, 2015
(2) Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
First, they posited, at a point sometime between 2 and 4 million years ago came Duchenne laughter, the kind triggered by something funny. An outgrowth of the breathy panting emitted by primates during play fighting, it likely appeared before the emergence of language. This sort of laughter was a signal that things at the moment were okay, that danger was low and basic needs were met, and now was as good a time as any to explore, to play, to start laying the social groundwork that would lead to civilization….”What the humor is indexing and the laughter is signaling is, ‘this is an opportunity for learning.’ It signals this is a non-serious novelty, and recruits others to play with and explore cognitively, emotionally, and socially the implications of this novelty.
This, to me, makes perfect sense because we always learn better when there’s even the teensiest smidge of humor in the teaching. Think for a moment about your favorite teacher or class and see if you agree.
Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
First, they posited, at a point sometime between 2 and 4 million years ago came Duchenne laughter, the kind triggered by something funny. An outgrowth of the breathy panting emitted by primates during play fighting, it likely appeared before the emergence of language. This sort of laughter was a signal that things at the moment were okay, that danger was low and basic needs were met, and now was as good a time as any to explore, to play, to start laying the social groundwork that would lead to civilization….”What the humor is indexing and the laughter is signaling is, ‘this is an opportunity for learning.’ It signals this is a non-serious novelty, and recruits others to play with and explore cognitively, emotionally, and socially the implications of this novelty.
This, to me, makes perfect sense because we always learn better when there’s even the teensiest smidge of humor in the teaching. Think for a moment about your favorite teacher or class and see if you agree.
February 9, 2015
Favorite Thing I Read Today—The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner
These guys traveled the world in search of what makes things funny.
It doesn’t help that the term “humor” has had all sorts of different connotations. It wasn’t until the early nineteenth century that humor became widely used in its modern sense, as a virtue. Before that, “humour,” from the Latin word for “fluid,” referred to bile, phlegm, and other bodily fluids believed to wreak havoc on people’s moods. A “humourist” was someone whose body fluids were so imbalanced they acted mentally ill. A “man of humour” was someone skilled at impersonating an insane person.
Their working theory is illustrated as a Venn diagram. One circle represents something benign (“Grandpa”), the other circle is a violation of some sort (“erection”), the intersection is the funny (“Grandpa’s erection”).
As a side note, they made reference to a website I’m happy to report is absolutely real, Animals Being Dicks, which makes the authors my new besties.
January 26, 2015
Favorite Thing I Read Today—Cinderella Screwed Me Over by Cindi Madsen
This was a fun read … cute without being cutesy. Main characters I want to hang out with, especially Jake [insert growling noises here].
Funny lines I liked:
• I survived the bridal shower, but only in the most literal sense of the word.
• If life hands you husbands who don’t work out, make millionaire-ade.
• And it [the couch] was hideous. The diamond-and-square, brown-and-orange print made me feel like I was having a seizure.
Check it out … and other stuff by Cindi Madsen.
January 24, 2015
Dear Frontier Airlines
Dear #FrontierAirlines … I’m breaking up with you. You used to be my favorite, my one true carrier, the love of my North American travel. But no more.
I used to brag to my friends how much you loved animals, even giving them silly names and voices. And you were SO into me. What happened? It’s true I’ve gotten older and have more baggage, but you’re not all that and a bag of peanuts yourself. You’ve always been capricious — late for our dates, losing things, changing the rules whenever you feel like it. Remember that time, without any warning, you moved to a different state? What was that all about? You probably shop at Whole Foods now.
I’ve overlooked it all, though, because you were fun, whimsical, middle-class like me. Hey, I get that you want to get ahead in the world and that’s great. But you’re doing it at the expense of your old friends. You’re like the doctor who divorces his wife immediately after she puts him through med school. He’s a dick too.
Some girls might sugarcoat it and say, “It’s me, not you, baby,” but I can’t lie. It’s you. All you.
I looked the other way when you did away with your easy-to-understand tiered pricing. I made excuses for you when you charged for bags, both checked and carry-on, telling my friends, “He’s never done this before. He’s really very sweet, boy-next-door. He’ll change.”
But your infatuation with that skanky new website was the last straw. Have you tried to buy tickets on your own website? No? Well, I have. Let’s just say even though dumping the old and familiar might have made your manhood swell, you’ve left me unfulfilled. Frustrated. Quivering with disappointment.
You’ve forced me to look elsewhere to consummate my travel plans. I will henceforth seek affection from your cousin, #SouthwestAirlines. He doesn’t seem to care about my baggage. In fact, he seems to welcome it.
Your hometown gal, forever heartbroken,
Becky
ps – We’re still sharing custody of Grizz, though, right?
January 23, 2015
Top Ten Reasons To Sign Up For My So-Seldom-It’s-Shameful Newsletter
Top Ten Reasons To Sign Up For My So Seldom It’s Shameful Newsletter
10. Every time I get 100 new subscribers, everyone on the list is entered to win a fabulous prize
9. The longer you’re a subscriber, the more chances you have to win — I’ll say it again — fabulous prizes
8. When MARSHMALLOW MAYHEM (the sequel to BANANA BAMBOOZLE) is released as an ebook, you’ll hear about it first
7. When the MARSHMALLOW MAYHEM ebook goes free (and it will), you’ll ONLY hear about it if you’re a subscriber
6. You’ll make my mom happy
5. Getting your friends to subscribe (hmm, perhaps by sharing this) gets you a higher place in heaven (and more opportunities to win, even though you don’t have a single selfish bone in your body and would never be anything other than altruistic)
4. I won’t guilt-haunt your dreams
3. Your email inbox wants something delightfully non-work-related for a change
2. Subscribing to my list is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
And the number one reason to sign up for my So Seldom It’s Shameful Newsletter …
1. You’ll get funny short stories to entertain you that will be not be published anywhere else. Consider it my gift to you as thanks for supporting my endeavors. Maybe backstory, like finding out what the heck happened to Dan and Cassidy in Las Vegas. Maybe part of a work-in-progress that doesn’t quite fit anymore. Maybe something that will change your life and leave you weeping in gratitude. Or perhaps an epic Homeric poem about scrambled eggs. Could be anything.
Do it. You know you want to. Clickedy click …. right here.
(Thanks. You’re the best.)
