Feeling Funny: Part 1

When people say, "I feel funny," it's never in a good way - it usually means they've been poisoned, are coming down with a major illness, or maybe they're just extremely oxygen deprived. Not so for me; I feel funny all the time. I crack myself up. It's an amazing feeling. It also helps when someone else gets a good laugh out of it.

It's not all shits and giggles tho. It is a RESPONSIBILTY. It comes to be expected, and then the pressure is on when I'm not feeling funny. Someone will say something stupid and everyone else looks at me expectantly, knowing I MUST have some clever and entertaining way to mock or degrade the original speaker, and I got nothin'... It happens sometimes!  The worst is the delayed comeback - sometimes my brain just takes a few seconds/minutes/hours to react, and then it's too late, and the effect is lost. It's not just the subtle sarcasm that's lost on the victim while apparent to the observer(s) that makes it funny, but another huge part of it is timing. These things are important. I need to be like a cobra. Or some kind of scorpion, but not a desert scorpion, cause it's too hot and my lips chap easily. Or maybe a jellyfish or some kind of feral beaver or something... I dunno, something that strikes fast then sits back and cackles at the result.

Vanity and pride is a huge part of good humor. You have to feel really good about yourself to crack wise about others and consistently pull it off. You can't just repeat the same insult back to somebody 5 minutes after they said it to you and feel good about yourself. Originality is key. Unless you're doing it to be ironic. Then it counts. Having a few extra IQ points over your opponent never hurts either.

Another important thing is to exploit all weaknesses. Don't be shy, everyone knows what's wrong with the person and why it's funny. Even if the person in question secretly cries about it when no one is looking. It's not against the rules if you get at least one laugh from the room and no one dies of shock. It's also helpful because consciousness of ones faults is the key to either correcting them (look! you helped someone!) or driving them deeper into the hole, which leads to potential quality comedy interactions later.

Mimicry is another big part of it. If you can make funny voices, listen for a friend's voice to crack, or for them to stumble over words while they tell a story, or mispronounce something, or just say something stupid that is completely not factual, then repeat it back to them with the same inflections and intonations, and wait for hilarity to ensue. Or tell them it sounds like they're choking on a bag of dicks when they talk. Or make fun of their wandering eye. Whatever feels cleverest at the moment...

I hope I have enlightened you and provided cannon fodder for your next opportunity to have a little fun at someone elses expense. I titled this Part 1, figuring I'll come up with some more gems to help improve your view of the term, "feeling funny."

kloveyabye! I can't come to the door right now because I'm shaving my cat.

~Frank