Well, That was Fun

Just finished up the reading, and let me tell you, my arms are tired. Wait, that doesn't really work there, does it? Anyway, this was some heady stuff, breaking down the thing that pretty much comes to people as easy as breathing. And who knew that it had anything to do with my pancreas?

My two favorites were Hobbs, and Bergson, with Bergson being by far the most interesting for me. Hobbs use of the Superiority theory really made sense in my head, putting a hearty guffaw together with his understanding of power being the ultimate goal just clicked. To belittle someone by mockery truly does put you on a higher level, and bringing in the mockery of the society does keep the fringe elements in line, but in that last part we are getting more in with Bergson.

Speaking of ole' Henri, his observation that humor is of the intellegence, and, in a way, the opposite of emotion, made me put down my reheated Day-Old Bread from Jimmy John's, and the following exchange took place:
It is enough for us to stop our ears to the sound of music in a room, where dancing is going on, for the dancers at
once to appear ridiculous. ~Henri
Nailed it! Well done sir! ~John
It fits so well with the other theories, Freud's example of the man at the gallows comes to mind, and how many times have I heard about some comedian who overdosed, and his friends say that he was just hiding his emotions behind the jokes? So, already I am on Henri's side, even though he had to win back a lot of points after I read about his ridiculous "elan vital" idea, man that sounds dumb. Then, the guy goes on to predict the laugh track!
"You would hardly appreciate the comic if you felt yourself isolated from others. Laughter appears in need of an
echo."
I know it is uncool to appreciate the laugh track, but sometimes when I am watching "Two and a Half Men" alone (and lets be serious, who would watch it with me?) it's nice to know that a prerecorded group of diverse laughs also think Charlie Sheen's antics are just such a darned crackup.

Finally, Henri sneaks up and drops one more little nugget just when you thought he was done. The use of laughter as a "social gesture" which keeps the fringe elements, or eccentrics, from gaining the respect, and therefore the following of any members of society seems not only to make theoretical sense, but pretty much nails what I have seen in life right on the head. Laughter then develops as a way for a society to protect itself from those who do not share the same values, morals and goals.

Ok, thats enough for me, but as I said in class, I love little kid jokes, so I am going to create a segment right here where I share some of those with you guys, and it's my blog, so you can't stop me.

John's Little Kid Joke of the Week:

How can you tell if there is a duck in your shower?
You look, duh.
How can you tell if there is an Elephant in your shower?
You ask the duck