Do You Know Anyone Who Has No Sense Of Humor At All, And Realizes It? Also, Which Type Of Office Comedian Do You Like The Least?

I find George Stephanopoulos to be mildly fascinating because I don’t believe he has a sense of humor. I mean… I don’t know him, obviously. I’m just basing this on what I’ve seen. And I’ve seen no evidence whatsoever that his brain is serving up witticisms on a regular basis. However, and this is the fascinating part, he’s reasonably good at faking it. He knows where to laugh — even though I don’t believe he understands why he’s laughing — and has a few pre-programmed “funny” comments that he interjects whenever the opportunity arises. Like a three-legged dog, I think he’s figured out a way to work around his handicap (no sense of humor at all) and live a normal life.

I could be completely wrong, but don’t think so. I’ve studied the man at least two or three times during my life, for upwards of four minutes per session. So I think I know what I’m talking about. But, at least he seems to realize he’s not very funny. It’s worse when somebody is wit-free but believes they’re goddamn hilarious. This man right here, from the same line of work as George, jumps immediately to mind:

He too is fairly good at faking it but doesn’t seem to know he’s not funny. He adopts a jocular good-natured ball-busting pose, as his instinctual three-leg workaround. But it’s never very clever or biting or anything interesting. Hey, whatever. I shouldn’t mock the handicapped (no sense of humor at all). And I’m not. I just find it interesting the way people, especially super-successful TV personalities, deal with a catastrophic whimsy deficit. Or a drollery shortfall, or whatever you choose to call it.

And since we’re on the subject of people who mistakenly believe they’re funny… here’s one I find to be fairly aggravating: the giant nerd “comedian.” This guy, Karl (apparently), really and truly believes he’s funny. Right? And I have no doubt his co-workers go along with it and allow the charade to continue. They’re enablers! I don’t know who this person is, but I know what his voice sounds like. And I know the way he speaks: the cadence, the self-satisfaction, the curmudgeonly pose. Karls are not exactly rare creatures. And I’m sure this one means no harm, but it annoys me that people like him are considered to be funny. That’s the part that irritates me. That shit’s not funny, it’s just nerd stuff. Nerds are almost never funny, and should not be encouraged. Also, I find the state of his workspace to be offputting.

But the worst three-legged dogs are the ones that attempt to compensate by yelling. If you can’t be funny, be loud! They seem to believe that the shouting of something not-at-all-clever miraculously transforms it into comedy gold. It’s amazing how many people seem to subscribe to this theory. Just be real obnoxious and noisy and maybe people won’t notice that there’s a smoldering hole where your sense of humor is supposed to be.

Do you know anyone who has no sense of humor at all, and realizes it? I believe it’s fairly rare. Maybe a grim school administrator? I don’t know. I suspect that even they secretly believe they’re funny, but their line of work does not allow for such things. What other workarounds have you noticed other than the ones I mentioned? How do people compensate for their whimsy deficit? And like Karl, what brand of office comedian do you like the least? Please use the comments link to share your thoughts.

And I’m going to work now. Just four more days and Vacation #1 begins. Oh yeah.

Have a great week, my friends!

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