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Mirth & State

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Like many habitually shy babooners I am cowed by crowds. In a gathering of two or more people I will tend to move to the periphery, which is no easy task if there is only one other person in the room. My party personality falls far short of “gregarious” and doesn’t quite make it to “lively”, landing much closer to “quiet” and “thoughtful” and sometimes, “a houseplant”. Were I inexplicably attending a massive public event on the National Mall like today’s “Rally to Restore Sanity”, led by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, I think I would be most comfortable experiencing it from somewhere around Alexandria, Virginia.

Still, I hope Comedy Central’s stars and their fans have a beautiful and memorable day. Sanity is worth rallying around. Moderation and respect are good goals for the national conversation. Getting people whipped into a state of frenzy over reasonable discussion and principled compromise is an appropriately ironic mission for this mammoth gathering on the eve of the midterm elections.

I’m not surprised to see that a phony “debate” has sprung up over whether it is fitting for comedians to be so politically prominent, as if humor was somehow separate and distinct from other forms of human communication. Making a joke of it is how we deal with things. All things. Laughter is a way to gain perspective. And there’s nothing at all in the Constitution about any kind of “separation of mirth and state”. Take a look. The phrase doesn’t appear. I rest my case.

Stewart and Colbert are good, and I’m a fan. But when I think of great comedy duos, another pair comes to mind first. Over the past few days I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a new 4 CD set of the collected works of the legendary radio comedy duo “Bob and Ray”. These guys were absolutely the best at drawing a laugh with an absurd situation, a line, a phrase, an inflection, or a sound. Were they political? Their portrayal of the imperious Commissioner Carstairs, tyrant of the zoning board of the city of Skunkhaven, was a dead ringer for the red baiting Senator Joseph McCarthy. But alongside their uncanny grasp of human nature and their casual ability to skewer the occasional politician, Bob and Ray excelled at exposing the inanities of media – a mission they share with Stewart and Colbert.

Here are Bob and Ray on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Who makes you laugh?

71 thoughts on “Mirth & State”

    1. I was going to tell Nancy the truth about you, that you really are Roy Orbison’s niece but that Steve just Photoshops in the goats, that no one as smart and lovely as you would go near a goat.

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  2. Got up this a.m. and could not find the will to bike ride. I went to Panera instead.
    Bob and Ray were the best, had a 5 minute radio show in my pre-TV childhood that was so funny. Their humor was not unlike yours, Dale. For instance, they were sponsored by a company with a very very long name, who made the little tiny feathers you see in men’s hats. Chris Eliot always seems to be trying to have his father’s humor and never quite pulls it off. But much of the current humor misses me, or maybe I am too grumpy and stressed. My trip to Panera was funny, but they did not mean it to be.
    Oh, maybe I will go bike ride now. Maybe. I COULD pretend I am going to feed the goats.

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    1. Zubursk, love your Halloween costume from yesterday. You must have worked on that for ages to get it just right, nice craftsmanship.

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  3. It’s Saturday, so I have to say the crew of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! and of course I second barb in blackhoof’s nomination of all present company.

    Welcome Crystalbay! As Clyde pointed out, we don’t all use our real names-I can tell you for a fact that “barb in blackhoof” is just her name around other baboons. Her alien goat name translates to “goatmom”, but I don’t know enough formatting on WordPress to us the correct alien goat characters-phonetically it is something like, MAAAaaaaahh!

    Jacque (or whoever now has it), I would like to be on the list to borrow Little Heathens, it does sound good. My reading time is currently slim, so am trying to get For Whom on disk to listen to while sitting at the knitting machine-hope that is not cheating for book club.

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  4. Humor is exceptionally difficult to explain. It has to do with shattered expectations, but that statement doesn’t take us very far. And people sure differ in what they find funny.

    I love deadpan, ironic, sly wit. Dale has a way of making the absurd sound reasonable and of pointing out the absurd in daily life.

    I’ve always been fond of humor that has a basis in twisted logic. This is best explained with an example:

    A man is riding a city bus while repeatedly snapping his fingers. Finally one of the passengers loses patience and challenges this guy. Why is he snapping his fingers like that?

    “I’m terrified of rhinoceroses.” (snap, snap, snap) “But if I keep snapping my fingers, they keep their distance.”

    “You idiot! There isn’t a loose rhino within five thousand miles of here!”

    “Yeah!” (snap, snap, snap) “It really works, doesn’t it?”

    Have a wonderful weekend, dear baboons. Happy Halloween!

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    1. Boy did you get that joke wrong. It’s about elephants and the man throwing peanuts off the bus.
      I will now go bike ride. Really.

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      1. Them are fighting words, Zubursk! My dear lamented dead father told me rhinos and snapping, and I’ll fight for his honor ’cause he never lied! When you return from the bike ride put yer dukes up and get ready for a walloping.

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      3. Steve–considering our ages and the distance between us, I think we should fight with language–in the subjunctive mood–with verbals. First one to land a good gerund wins.

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  5. I am also a fan of John Stewart and Steve Colbert. I am too young to know Bob and Ray. Many things make me laugh, especially all of you. I agree Zubursk, your costume from yesterday sounds wonderfully authentic. I tried to make my own this year, but ran out of time. I had to buy it 😦 oh well, another year perhaps.

    As for comedians, I don’t really have a favorite. Listening to PHC and the Morning Show were my comedic highlights 🙂

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    1. i think we should all adopt zorbusks costume as the baboon costume of 2010. when people ask us what we are we can say zorbusk, hes on my blog. that should be a conversation starter.

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  6. thanks, MIG, for the excellent translation. but lately my name would translate to “goat pimp”
    and Zubursk – Uncle Roy is smiling down at you. but the Caput di Capra, Alba (hey i never took Latin) is not pleased. she says that ONLY smart, lovely people can touch goats.

    (by the way, in writing this i got a belly laugh – i googled “goat in latin” and came upon “oatga” with someone’s comment following: “that’s PIG LATIN, you idiot!!” 🙂

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  7. Rise and Shine Babooners:

    This morning I took my husband to breakfast for his 40th birthday. That is correct — I robbed the cradle and married a mere babe in arms. This is the 28th time he has celebrated his 40th birthday so he is getting very accomplished at being 40 years old.
    Meanwhile, after I logged on this morning he and I were mesmerized and half asleep in front of the computer screen watching Bob and Ray with Johnny. What a fun way to begin my weekend.

    Mark Twain and Will Rogers were also sly wits drolly commenting on politics, power, and human nature from the very public sidelines. Old soundtracks of Will Rogers really crack me up. They would have loved the Stewart/Colbert style I think. And Abraham Lincoln had his snarky comments directly from the trenches of the political world. Meanwhile, the already mentioned Wait, Wait.. and others are also great fun.

    I just heard from my son via text message, saying that the Mall is filling up, but not much going on yet. I will be planting my bulbs today, thinking of Spring, ensuring a beautiful Spring to come.

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      1. HE is there now! I’m texting just a little though. No self-respecting 29 yo man wants to be bugged by his mother. I’ll watch on TV once it is televised.

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  8. Good Morning, Ha, Ha, Ha,

    I also appreciate the way Dale sets a good humored tone for this blog. I tend to be a little too serious. Bob and Ray are also one of my favorites and I like Steward and Colbert. I think Colbert was orginally going to have a competing rally about something like staying insane. I think that would have been better considering the times in which we are living.

    When I was involved in organizing sustainable agriculture meeting with Dick Thompson as the lead speaker, Dick told me to tell jokes to get the meetings off to a good start. I did manage to do this which suprised me. Dick had a joke about planting by the moon. He said to find out if it was time to plant, he mooned the ground by pulling down his pants and sitting on the ground.

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  9. Cloris Leachman, Martin Short, Madeline Kahn, Ricky Gervais and so many others. Bob Newhart may be my favorite. Garrison’s great. The Morning Show was superb. Dale – I remember a bit you guys did in the fall of your last year. Jim Ed was trying to talk to people on the street about who they were voting for, but it was early early in the morning and still dark outside and he was scaring them away. Seems like he was leaping out of the bushes as he spotted passersby, if I remember correctly. That was golden!

    All ya’ll make me laugh till my guts spill out! (That’s Halloween humor for you novices.)

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  10. Cleistogamic flowers is all I can find when I google zubursk.

    I still find myself telling folks about Dale’s and Jim Ed’s “sponsors”… the Intimida Sherpa, Dr. Larry Kyle… and I probably laugh out loud here on the blog more than anywhere else. Other favorites have been Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, and my college friend Jo.

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    1. Let’s not forget Bill Cosby and Bob Newhart. At Thanksgiving time I always giggle at Arlo Guthrie’s classic Alice’s Restaurant. At his best, nobody can beat David Sedaris. Bill Bryson writes funny, funny books.

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  12. steven wright, steve martin, bill cosby bill cosby once on the tonight show high as a kite was explaining to the audience that to be funny you do not tell a funny punchline you simply observe life and how funny it is and tell eople about it, they recognize it and thats where the humor comes from. i love bill. i always got a kick out of henny youngman with his take my wife….please type of schtick. many laughs form john stewart my wife recently started turning on saturday night live and that is still a hoot. this blog, when writhing about hanging with jesus yesterday i was reminded tyhat there is a book called lamb written by this guy who hung with jesus that i need to finish by chris he is a riot, but i got distracted had to take the bookk back to the library and have since biught it at a garage sale and have it sitting on my bedside table to get to one f these days. nancy crystalbay welcome, newbies are welcome. congrats on beating the big c and dance will be a new topic to plug into our conversation. oh laurel and hardy woody allen the marx brothers candid camera monty python. it makes you smile just ot think about it. there was a movie by scorsecsi with time in the title that is a riot of blackness and i saw tim mne the other day with richard dryfus, danny davito and barbara hershey. see it a gem . keep smiling.

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    1. geeze i need to proof read this stuff.
      tin men is the movie with richard dryfus and danny divito.
      i will look up the scorcesi movie and the lamb author and get back
      lamb the gospel according to biff by christopher moore and after hours is the scorsesi film a hoot just to see the trailer ( icouldn’t tag it and bring it over) now off to watch the 4th graders pom squad performance (sjhould be a smile) paint the house, rake the leaves and see the senior play the state championship football game round one (hopefully of 5) nice day to be out in it.

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      2. “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff” is hilarious. If you haven’t read “Fool” yet, I recommend that one as well. Though you may find yourself using the phrase “f*&kstockings” more than may be seemly after you read it. (It’s a good word, and one used by the title character quite a bit.)

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  13. Someone stop me! I am getting the urge to clean closets and drawers, and if I start I won’t be able to stop before it’s completely finished. I’m afraid I’m in the throes of a Dutch fit.

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    1. Wish I could help…. I’m having the same urge about my winter turtlenecks and sweaters, which are put away in the attice!

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      1. It’s ok. I decided to bake bread instead. Whew, that was a close one. I might have finished off my day scrubbing and then painting the garage floor!

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  14. Afternoon all… spent the morning organizing coat delivery at church and am just now getting online.

    I remember laughing like crazy the first time I heard Elayne Boosler talk about how silly it is that containers of Haagen Daz say “feeds four”. Like others here I also like the dry, deadpan humor. Louie Anderson is a favorite as well. And I am very fond of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” which starts in just a couple of minutes!

    And, of course, you guys!

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  15. …oh, and Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray…

    And then there are the funny papers! Gary Trudeau, the Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes guy), Jimmy Johnson (Arlo & Janis), Lynne Johnston (For Better or For Worse), and of course Charles Schulz.

    I just finished with Wait Wait, and didn’t hear a word about the Rally to Restore Sanity. Did I miss something?

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  16. Hey Ho —

    You all definitely make me laugh… And I’ll add my welcome to CrystalBay. And, again, thank you all for being civil and such interesting company!

    So many things make me laugh; My wife first and foremost; we make each other laugh often. Usually ‘with’ rather than ‘at’… but there was that one time… we were having a little tiff about something and we’re both grumpy. It’s late at night; she’s in the kitchen working on something, I’m standing on a step stool putting varnish on a window trim and I lost my balance; brush in one hand, can of varnish in the other… did the one legged wobble for a minute wondering where I’m going to land and what I’m going to hurt when I do.
    Plopped on my butt with my arms, T-shirt and a heater covered with varnish. I’m mumbling to myself and my wife starts to snicker… finally manages to ask — between guffaws– if I’m OK… and then we both started to laugh…. don’t know what we were mad about… doesn’t matter…

    Craig Ferguson is a favorite. Kevin Kling. So many of my friends make me laugh…
    Life– you just gotta laugh with it…

    Our college show, ‘Leading Ladies’ by Ken Ludwig opened Thursday night. Got a very good review in the local paper and has gotten standing ovations as well. A very funny comedy in the vein of ‘Some Like it Hot’ with a very talented cast and wonderful Costumes. It makes me laugh. And a large two story set w/ 16′ walls. Back in 1986 I did a set with 16′ walls… so won’t have to do that again until 2034 I figure. I took a nap Friday morning and slept late this morning and have been playing with my daughter for the last 2+ hours. Ahhhhh, nice. Show runs next weekend yet and then we’ll take it all down Saturday night.

    Catching up on what I’ve missed the last few days:
    -I got 8-tracks through Columbia House and bought a walkman cassette player for a trip to Florida. Don’t have an iPod nor an iPad nor an eyePoke….
    -Great picture Steve- Congrats. I love old hand tools.
    -Thanks for the Sherpa ad Dale!

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    1. Ben as part of our downsizing I need to get rid of some old hand tools. Should I try to get them over to you?

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    2. I love Craig Ferguson too.

      Ben, where is the venue of your play located — what town/college? I’m sure you’ve told us, but…

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  18. I’m late today – Daughter was invited to two birthday parties and in between I was trying to get work done on the playhouse I am constructing for her (or rather adding creating as an add-on to the swing set already in the back yard).

    Humor? I’m in. Sedaris, Steve Martin, Carol Burnett (when I was a kid I wanted to be on her show when I grew up), the old Gong Show, the crazy cast from Match Game back in the 70s, Kevin Kling, Monty Python, Christopher Moore, Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry as Jeeves, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the list goes on. I do, however, draw the line at potty humor. The occasional poop joke can get me giggling, but mostly I’m just not a potty humor kinda gal.

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    1. Oh, and like everyone else, y’all make me snort on a regular basis (which is slightly harder to explain than when I laugh out loud at the Wait, Wait folks on podcast when I’m at the Y).

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    2. The Gong Show! That was insanely funny — I loved Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine and The Unknown Comic wearing the paper bag. One time he introduced his grandpa, who was wearing a very wrinkled paper bag — hysterical.

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  19. Greetings! There are so many funny people, shows, movies, etc. The one that made me laugh the hardest was “What’s My Line” with Drew Carey, Wayne Brady, Colin, Drew, etc. Improvisational comedy is so very hard to do, but they were amazing. When they were “on a roll” and totally brilliant I would laugh ’til I cried for 5-10 minutes straight. They’re even funny when they’re not clicking together. Loved Carol Burnet, All in The Family, PHC, Anger Management (think Adam Sandler & Jack Nicholson singing “I Feel Pretty” in middle of bridge traffic), and on and on.

    I took a class in college precisely about what makes something funny. It boiled down to 10 basic things that cover practically all comedy, humor or things that make us laugh. Don’t remember all of them, but it was a fun class. Reading jokes, listening to comedians, watching scenes from funny shows — it was a fairly easy 5 credits. A couple basics I remember: a) speed or great skill = Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s on First”, b) people getting hurt = slapstick, c) transposing = “why there’s Dolly Parton — oops, sorry — just two bald men next to each other”, etc. Sometimes it’s subtle or a couple different things together that makes it work. Quite fascinating actually.

    Do not know Bob and Ray, but I love Stewart and Colbert. I miss their show.

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    1. I would give anything if I could still muster up a hearty, full-bodied laugh!! I can still laugh with little sound and I can still laugh in my brain, but radical surgery for esophageal cancer put an end to this important human function. I’m still unsure how. Perhaps it was the long incision splitting my diaphragm or my newly-fashioned stomach having been pulled up into my throat. Whatever caused a near-complete inability to really laugh out loud, I miss it more than my words can say. If others also miss it, they’re kind enough not to mention it.
      Yawning & sneezing were also collateral damage, but oh the laughing…….

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      1. Oh Nancy, I’m so sorry. I know someone who lost the ability to cry after she had a brain aneurysm. She misses it more than she would have thought possible. The things we take for granted…

        Your smile is beautiful and infectious.

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  20. Thank you Clyde & Donna – you’re so kind to this newbie. Until recently, my only posting experience has been on Huff Po, the Strib letters board, and an esophageal cancer survivors discussion group. I pulled out of the latter after realizing that it’s pretty depressing to hang out with EC folks who are having significant, ongoing problems following their surgeries & treatment. At this point (my surgery was in May), I want more than anything to get as far away from any focus on this ordeal as is humanly possible. I think your (TB’s posters) group is far above my pay grade in terms of intelligence and ability to nuance cleverly, but I’ll hang in with you anyway because you seem to be wonderfully liberal, rational, and positive 🙂

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    1. Glad to see you back! We’re not all English majors, psychologists, costume designers, goat herders or writers here, and some of us are dealing with challenging curve balls thrown into our life as well. We’re just interesting folks who enjoy interesting conversation together without vulgarity, judgment or negative attitude. Come along with us and enjoy the ride.

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    2. Nancy, I avoid support group for my chronic illness for the same reason. You will eventually see most of us carry a burden or two, as Joanne hints about herself and others.

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  21. I would appreciate knowing the kinds of things/conditions others on this site are dealing with. Probably none of this is my business, but I’d appreciate having some awareness of what others are dealing with (yes, I’m aware that I’m not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition but I do it anyway). I am so heartened by the 320+ thousand folks who showed up at the Sanity rally!!! I’m thinking that, for every individual attending, there were likely 20 who’d have loved to have been there. We are
    not a minority. We are a civil, ever-present majority. By the way, is there no reading from Dale on Sundays?

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    1. This is the first Sunday he has ever posted. You are a day behind. If you make your bookmark for this
      http://daleconnelly.com/
      you will always go to the most current page. Try it now and you will see today’s blog.
      And sometimes we have guest blogs by members of the group, which are fun; we have some coming up very soon. I have fibromyalgia and rather severe arthritis, including some back surgery. My wife has very advance lupus. I will let others tell you. Nobody, except maybe, me really dwells in their issues very much, just now and then as relevant to the discussion.

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    2. Hey Cb! (Can I call you ‘Cb’?)

      We also talk about our kids a lot… a couple of us have kids w/ special needs… my daughter has Down Syndrome… Clyde nails it with his explanation.

      Welcome!

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  22. Thank you, Ben. I maybe should caution all of you that I tend to bring dialogues into
    the feeling realm, not only because of my profession but just because that’s who I am.
    Earlier today, for instance, I did a piece on Huff Po analyzing the arrested development of too many politicians in Washington. I explained their behavior based on human developmental theory rather than the usual talking points both sides seem to engage in.
    I really enjoy offering a different perspective, I guess?

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    2. It seems to be a simple word processing program — just allow the sentences to automatically word wrap within the box while you’re typing. Only hit Enter when you’re really starting a new paragraph.

      As for me, I also have a special needs 13-yr old son with autism, who does well overall. Our family has also been through the financial wringer this past year — job loss, bankruptcy and foreclosure. We just moved into a different house and both my husband and I are almost working full-time again, so things are looking up for us.

      It is very sad that someone as young and vivacious as you look has had to deal with EC and such long-lasting effects. Was it by chance a side effect of taking a drug like Fosamax? I hope you find the joy and comfort in your life that you so richly deserve.

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      1. My EC was a result of “silent GERD” (lower esophageal bathing in too much acid). Pretty scary stuff. Stats for survival are dreadful but I’m convincing myself that someone has to be in the 10% of those who survive after the daunted five-year mark, so why not ME?! The only symptom I had was trouble swallowing pills once in a while. I of course ignored this for over a year. Big regret.

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  24. Crystal – It is Monday eve and I just caught up on reading from Friday and Saturday’s entries, so I’ll add my 2 bits. I’m pretty ok phyisically (well, for a 62 year old), but am learning to accept the loss 3 years ago of our 26 year old son (alcohol related accident is the short version).

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  25. Barbara – I can think of no greater loss in life than a child of any age. I am so very sorry that you have to endure this pain. My cancer is, by its nature, a very self-absorbed kind of loss of a sense of permanence but to lose a child is by far the worst thing possible. I’ve sometimes wondered if I could even live if anything happened to one of my three adult children. I am so sorry.

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    1. Thanks you, Cb, all I can say is that time really does heal, and I’ll wish that it is true for your situation as well.

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