As seen online...

hoot hoot hooooooowwoaahhhh

The salvia and saltines were just throw in for grins and giggles, I'm sure. 

Tosh.0 is a show where Daniel Tosh shows clips from whatever, and then makes fun of people.  It's hilarious, and he's really funny.

I've had this argument with Zeno, so I don't really expect to get anywhere with people who are fans of this kind of humor.  But a lot of humor today seems to be kind of mean spirited making fun of people or pressuring people do things that are really physically very uncomfortable , maybe even dangerous.  We've gone from strange things happening to cartoon characters (aka Ren and Stimpy) to doing these kinds of things to real people.  Granted, there are a lot of dumb people out there, and sometimes they are funny when they desperately try for their '15 minutes of fame' by any means.

But some of it is so mean that it makes me cringe and feel pity (or just be grossed out) more than laugh a lot of the time.  Or if I laugh, it's the kind of glassy-eyed, hysterical laughter people sometimes have during disasters.  I guess you get it or you don't.

One thing we can all agree on, I guess, to quote from the Movie This is Spinal Tap, is "There is a fine line between being rather clever and being rather stupid."  But that line is definitely a moving target and rather subjective.

This comedy line you speak of has been overloaded so much that Comedy as had to change. The different types of comedy (Situational, Topical, Observational, Physical, etc) have been closing in on one another over the years. Comedy that one would call Situational quickly merged with Topical (as did Observationa), topical comedy was moved into a editorial spot to give it some OOMPH, so-on and so-forth. However... as time goes on I see more comedians trying to prove themselves as "the next big thing" and thus the melting pot of comedy has come about. You get an overload of comedy styles that leave that effect you speak of: the laughter, but not really sure why. Maybe this subterfuge of comedy style is meant to bridge the gap till comedy evolves again?

I've had this argument with Zeno, so I don't really expect to get anywhere with people who are fans of this kind of humor.  But a lot of humor today seems to be kind of mean spirited making fun of people or pressuring people do things that are really physically very uncomfortable , maybe even dangerous.  We've gone from strange things happening to cartoon characters (aka Ren and Stimpy) to doing these kinds of things to real people.  Granted, there are a lot of dumb people out there, and sometimes they are funny when they desperately try for their '15 minutes of fame' by any means.

This isn't anything new in human history.  Slapstick comedy was one of the first types of movies shown when the big screens were invented.  It revolves around the premise of people being hurt.  I don't see any difference between that kind of comedy from 100 years ago and the comedy of today.

It has more to do with the changing of socially acceptable norms, rather than a trend of comedy moving downward.  75 years ago it was considered pornographic for a woman to show her ankle.  Women weren't allowed to work outside of the kitchen.  Thankfully we don't live in that type of world today.

It just isn't funny to see someone stand up on stage and make funny sounds today.  50 years ago that may have been funny, but it isn't today.  People claim that comedians can only swear today to get a laugh, and that so much has changed since they were kids.  Bullshit.  George Carlin made his list of "Seven Things You Can't Say on Television" in 1972.  Obviously comedy hasn't changed much in 37 years.

100 years ago it was considered normal and proper for white people to paint their faces black to portray black people in plays, on stage, or where ever.  Today the production company doing that, without it being an obvious joke (eg Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder), would be sued into oblivion and the managers would be lynched themselves.

Before they're old enough to watch television, a child will laugh at their parent when the parent hurts themselves.  It isn't a reaction that has shifted or changed throughout the decades and centuries of our culture, it's a programmed response, hard wired into our brain, throughout thousands of years of evolution. 

It's funny to watch people get hurt.  I look back on my childhood and think about all the stupid things I did that caused me to get hurt, and I can't help but laugh.  It's a lot better than the alternative..

But some of it is so mean that it makes me cringe and feel pity (or just be grossed out) more than laugh a lot of the time.  Or if I laugh, it's the kind of glassy-eyed, hysterical laughter people sometimes have during disasters.  I guess you get it or you don't.

That might be how you think of yourself, but you're one of the first people on Vent to laugh out loud when someone else does something stupid. 

One thing we can all agree on, I guess, to quote from the Movie This is Spinal Tap, is "There is a fine line between being rather clever and being rather stupid."  But that line is definitely a moving target and rather subjective.

That's pretty ironic, actually, since the entire promotional stunt known as Spinal Tap is rather stupid, in my opinion.   Let's make a fake band, make some fake documentaries about them, and hopefully we'll be famous.  It worked, but that's only because their audience is as dumb as the concept.

[youtube=425,350]rXxVszw20Sc[/youtube]

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That's pretty ironic, actually, since the entire promotional stunt known as Spinal Tap is rather stupid, in my opinion.   Let's make a fake band, make some fake documentaries about them, and hopefully we'll be famous.  It worked, but that's only because their audience is as dumb as the concept.

Actually the actors in spinal tap were famous before they did it. It wasn't a promotional stunt to make a band famous, but a fake documentary to make fun of metal bands. Plus Harry Shearer is one of the band members. If it wasn't for him half of the characters in the Simpsons wouldn't exist.

Also, Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) made a similar movie, but with a Beatles like band called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. If you get a chance check it out. Although I would recommend that it helps to be familiar with a lot of Beatles trivia.

Best first page ever, or bestest first page ever?



Check out the book reviews after:

http://www.amazon.com/Moon-People-Dale-M-Courtney/dp/1436372135/

I loled but now I feel reeeeeeeaaallly old.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/01/BU2618GKE7.DTL&nopu=1

I like the way they liken the teen's experience with the walkman to an archeologist digging up ancient relics 

The earliest ones were as heavy as small bricks.  I wonder what future generations will think of iphones and ipods?  By then everyone will probably have little chips implanted in their bodies and all portable electronic devices will be obsolete.

Let's Get Sexy with Craig Robinson:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/5271e32247/let-s-get-sexy-with-craig-robinson

possibly nsfw audio

Ouch Tesk... Make me feel old why don't you =]

Of course this week one of my coworkers (who is 63) started talking to me about the watergate scandle and asked me if I remembered it.  He felt old when I told him I was born in 1974... the year it happened.

So I guess it is all relative. 

I wanted a Walkman really bad when I was a kid. Never got one though.

Actually the actors in spinal tap were famous before they did it. It wasn't a promotional stunt to make a band famous, but a fake documentary to make fun of metal bands. Plus Harry Shearer is one of the band members. If it wasn't for him half of the characters in the Simpsons wouldn't exist.

Also, Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) made a similar movie, but with a Beatles like band called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. If you get a chance check it out. Although I would recommend that it helps to be familiar with a lot of Beatles trivia.

The point here is still that there is a fine line between silly and stupid and everyone has their line.  I never much liked the old slapstick comedy like the 3 stooges either (OK now and again but not nearly as much as most of the guys I knew did).  I never got that guy who smashed watermelons either (Ghallagar?) either.  But a lot of people thought it was hilarious.  

But I loved Mad magazine, old Charles Addams cartoons, the Far Side, Steve Martin and Monty Python growing up.  Not everyone I know did.

I don't think the spinal tap movies were an attempt to create a real fake band to make money like the Monkees or whatever.  I think they were surprised that the film was as commercially successful as it was, as they were more into making cult films.  It was made to satirize the way the music industry was back then.   But appreciation of it requires some knowledge of/exposure to what is being satirized.  So a particular satire can become dated.  The music industry is way different now than it was in the late 70's and early 80's (when there were lots of "supergroups" in genteel decline that were having adoring "rockumentaries" made by pretentious directors), so the humor may not age well.

The people who made spinal tap also made a movie called Best in Show that was making fun of the nutty people in the conformation dog showing circuit and A Mighty Wind that made fun of the concept of folk band reunion concerts.  These movies were not as popular, because fewer people knew much about the venues that were being satirized.

So humor is very subjective.  And humor can help us survive in hard times.  On that we can all agree.  

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