What's So Funny?

Y'all know I am dark, mysterious and edgy, right? Some of you are even scared of me, yeah? No? Come on. Not even a little scared? You KNOW that is my goal in life! That and sexy and sleek... *nods*

My aspirations to be quirky and strange are... well... sort of the leftover result when I can't control myself? The result of not quite hitting that dark mysterious thing, so here I am, naked and awkward? But being me, I am practical and so thought, FINE. I will work with that. See... I don't MEAN to be funny. But the word is I am... And I guess if I can't be edgy and beautiful, funny is a pretty good alternative.

Today's blog is part of a Blog Carnival (which is like a festival, but you know... international) Christopher Allen is hosting it through the Language Place. The theme is really anything to do with humor. So I am analyzing my accidental humorousness and sharing a few places that make me laugh.


So back to the... I'm told I'm funny. And seriously, as suggested above, it wasn't really anything I tried for. Oh, sure. I suppose I'm easily amused... I do like to laugh. I particularly like to laugh WITH people... I love word play and innuendo.  Misattributing is even my superpower (you know... intentionally mishearing and responding to what you HEARD that is bizarre or funny, or IDEALLY, innuendo). Silliness in its purest form is good. (I even have a number of physical things I do that are funny, ranging from an egg drop off a diving board to my cartoon face).

But...

You know I am not a mainstream comedy fan for the most part. Sketch comedy often cracks me up, as do many comedians, but in the U.S. so much humor is based on either somebody being STUPID or somebody being MEAN. And I don't happen to think stupid or mean are funny. (except in the case of stupid people really proving smarter than the others—Phoebe from friends is a good example here, or in the case of mean people being seen by the AUDIENCE as shallow and low). I ALSO think much U.S. humor is very adolescent... I hate that (I would rather stick forks in my eyeballs than watch an Adam Sandler marathon). So why do I LOVE the French Taunters in Holy Grail waving their privates at people's aunties? Well now THAT is funny.

I guess maybe it comes down to the UNEXPECTED. And perhaps the British have a huge advantage there, because stiff upper lip and insane silliness fit so unexpectedly together, even your 427th time watching the Holy Grail.

But what I LOVE is understatement ['you keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.'] I love precious humor... think Dori in Finding Nemo... what is more precious than a fish friend and traveling companion with short-term memory issues (voiced by Ellen, no less). But yes, unexpected wins [“I bought it at a muggle store! I happen to like a little air about my privates!”--Archie from the Quiddich World Cup, Goblet of Fire]


So how does all this end up with ME being funny?

I don't actually try to be (though you might see redundancy is some sort of effort at it *shifty*). Most of the intentionally funny blogs I read are done by men. I have some blogs I LOVE: Cheeseboy's blog, or the Powdered Toast Man's. And they really are hysterical--intentional silliness. But I also have a number I read that I laugh at much of the time that are more sideways:

The Middle Ages: the FUNNY stuff is the overshare on life... the shared pain we do or WILL go through...
That's Why: the life difficulties... between unemployment, parenting, political climate...
Giraffability of Digressions: observations, both life and political...
The Quiddity of Delusions: okay, sometimes Mark is just plain bizarre, but man, oh man, I love him...
Guns and Giggles: a lot of life observations...
Procrastination Princess: Alright, Tara is a dose of straight silliness. But then she's a Taff...
Tartitude: My sister tart writes on life and writing... but in a falldown funny way.
I'm not Hannah: mostly about life, and the stuff that makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

[interesting. I just realized I would invite ALL of these people to stay in my home (not at the same time, my home is very small)--but shared humor is a very serious bond--I mean I have other blogger friends I would... But ALL the ones I rank as frequently funny?... I think for me it really helps me feel like I know someone well]

But notice MOST of this is just approach to normal life stuff. It is the things we all go through observed through a humorous slant... or even a shared pain slant. Whether it is the TMI thing I share with Deb, Barbara, Heather and Lisa, or the really sideways observations of Mari and Mary...

Most of it is stuff that would be HARD if we couldn't laugh about it.

I guess I think humor is an attitude. Or maybe even a decision. And it doesn't have to be mean-spirited, though I've been known to enjoy some sarcasm or snark if the target isn't really victimly...


I have guests who, when I suggest my readers are used to something a little bit funny, say... “Oh, I can't be funny.”

And maybe that's true. I don't know if some people just have such a solid hold on reality? Or maybe they listened too carefully to what is ladylike? But I think probably it is that the IDEA of 'funny' is intimidating. TRYING to be funny usually ends in awkward (and only a few of us really embrace awkward)... Erm... some people just have a serious approach to life. It's not bad... some of these more serious folks are quite helpful, and that is... you know, more helpful than I am. Most are very nice... in fact everyone I visit is SOME variation of pleasant. Or I wouldn't bother, yeh know?

But I guess for me, what I do well is play. And maybe playing is funny. It is certainly silly. I get the most laughs when I make fun of myself or what society perceives as proper, so there is that. I think the only trick I've ever applied to it is to turn off the filter. Anything can be deleted on revision, so writing whatever comes to mind OFTEN leads to a lot of nonsense. And sometimes that nonsense is funny. So there there you have it.