I love to laugh, but I think I'm a better audience than teller. I gave a pretty important (for me) presentation on february 2nd, and I kept trying to think of a good groundhog joke to start off. Minutes before the presentation I just decided, screw it these people really want to hear about my research. My wife later called this an unusual moment of clarity.
Lists like this always make me wonder why I'm not so funny. Is it an intuitive grasp of story and surprise, or is it a developed skill? I've always gone in with the intuitive story, which makes me feel like thinking about it too much will make me even less funny.
Well good lord, cw - that's no kind of fair test. Does anybody know a funny groundhog joke? I remember something about Jesus emerging from the tomb after three days, seeing his shadow, and going back in for six more weeks of winter. That really isn't much about groundhogs, though, and blasphemy jokes kinda require a specific audience, y'know?
I know a funny, 100% true story about groundhogs, but, again, the funny part wasn't the groundhog so much as my 80-year-old landlord running across his back yard after it, naked with a shotgun. I should type that up and post it...
Actually, CW? The line about "an unsual moment of clarity" is funny! Let's see... it's self-deprecating in a humorous way, and also the idea of someone in a presentation situation desperately trying to think of a joke about a groundhog -- about which I agree with apostropher -- is itself very funny.
Apostropher, even written up like this, it's funny!
The joke to which apos. refers can also be made into a polish joke (the pope interviews candidates for cardinalship, all of whom are polish, and asks them why Christmas is so important; each gets it very wrong except the last who nails it, and goes on to explain that important as Christmas is, it's not a patch on Easter, the holiday which commemorates &c.)
Hmmm. It does seem like groundhogs ought to be funny, but they're not. I was asking lots of friends beforehand, too. My wife mentioned that mole-whacking game where they pop out and you smash them with a hammer, which given that this was a job talk was pretty funny but useless to me.
I would argue that Punxsutawney Phil was funny in Groundhog Day, but not in such a way as to generate any jokes.
In this post I alluded to a joke I made about Groundhog Day. It wasn't actually a funny joke, though. Nor is this post funny. I can't even think one of those jokes about jokes bombing that I usually do to salvage my jokes when I'm teaching. Ah well.
I was going to make a joke about terror bombing vs. strategic bombing but that's obviously going to fail. Matt, if you could share some of your bad-joke-salvaging material, I for one would be grateful.
The only way I have of salvaging a classroom joke that falls flat--usually, I maintain, because it's over their heads rather than that it's not funny, which is impossible--is to sort of pause for the laugh, and then say dryly, "that was a joke."
There is only one Groundhog joke, and it is really a gripe in the form of a joke: What do you get if an NFL Viking sees his shadow? Six more weeks of bad football.
I think once I may have tried to salvage a joke by citing the statistic that 53% of the jokes on Carson were about how the last joke had bombed. I can't remember any more right now.
(bw--Brian Weatherson made a joke about "take a shower day" coming more than once a year in comments to that post, but I had to delete it.)
I love to laugh, but I think I'm a better audience than teller. I gave a pretty important (for me) presentation on february 2nd, and I kept trying to think of a good groundhog joke to start off. Minutes before the presentation I just decided, screw it these people really want to hear about my research. My wife later called this an unusual moment of clarity.
Lists like this always make me wonder why I'm not so funny. Is it an intuitive grasp of story and surprise, or is it a developed skill? I've always gone in with the intuitive story, which makes me feel like thinking about it too much will make me even less funny.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 5:49 AM
I kept trying to think of a good groundhog joke
Well good lord, cw - that's no kind of fair test. Does anybody know a funny groundhog joke? I remember something about Jesus emerging from the tomb after three days, seeing his shadow, and going back in for six more weeks of winter. That really isn't much about groundhogs, though, and blasphemy jokes kinda require a specific audience, y'know?
I know a funny, 100% true story about groundhogs, but, again, the funny part wasn't the groundhog so much as my 80-year-old landlord running across his back yard after it, naked with a shotgun. I should type that up and post it...
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:20 AM
Actually, CW? The line about "an unsual moment of clarity" is funny! Let's see... it's self-deprecating in a humorous way, and also the idea of someone in a presentation situation desperately trying to think of a joke about a groundhog -- about which I agree with apostropher -- is itself very funny.
Apostropher, even written up like this, it's funny!
Posted by b. | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:52 AM
You know, I've been trying for half an hour to come up with a funny groundhog joke and yes, I have to just agree. Groundhogs = not funny.
But I agree with b.; trying to think of a groundhog joke as a lead-in for a talk that has nothing to do with groundhogs is fucking hilarious.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:13 AM
The joke to which apos. refers can also be made into a polish joke (the pope interviews candidates for cardinalship, all of whom are polish, and asks them why Christmas is so important; each gets it very wrong except the last who nails it, and goes on to explain that important as Christmas is, it's not a patch on Easter, the holiday which commemorates &c.)
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:27 AM
Hmmm. It does seem like groundhogs ought to be funny, but they're not. I was asking lots of friends beforehand, too. My wife mentioned that mole-whacking game where they pop out and you smash them with a hammer, which given that this was a job talk was pretty funny but useless to me.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:28 AM
I would argue that Punxsutawney Phil was funny in Groundhog Day, but not in such a way as to generate any jokes.
In this post I alluded to a joke I made about Groundhog Day. It wasn't actually a funny joke, though. Nor is this post funny. I can't even think one of those jokes about jokes bombing that I usually do to salvage my jokes when I'm teaching. Ah well.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:50 AM
Friday the 13th is a day that can occur more than once in the same year, even if you aren't Bill Murray.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:57 AM
jokes about jokes bombing
I was going to make a joke about terror bombing vs. strategic bombing but that's obviously going to fail. Matt, if you could share some of your bad-joke-salvaging material, I for one would be grateful.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 11:19 AM
You'd think someone would have collected Johnny Carson's bombed-joke jokes. He was a master.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 11:22 AM
b,
The "unusual moment of clarity" line is funny, but cw's wife came up with it. Which means cw's wife is funny rather than cw.
Posted by joe o | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 11:32 AM
The only way I have of salvaging a classroom joke that falls flat--usually, I maintain, because it's over their heads rather than that it's not funny, which is impossible--is to sort of pause for the laugh, and then say dryly, "that was a joke."
Which usually gets a chuckle.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 11:37 AM
There is only one Groundhog joke, and it is really a gripe in the form of a joke: What do you get if an NFL Viking sees his shadow? Six more weeks of bad football.
Posted by Tripp | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 2:50 PM
I think once I may have tried to salvage a joke by citing the statistic that 53% of the jokes on Carson were about how the last joke had bombed. I can't remember any more right now.
(bw--Brian Weatherson made a joke about "take a shower day" coming more than once a year in comments to that post, but I had to delete it.)
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:03 PM
ITYM "so I had to delete it.".
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:14 PM
Speaking of which, how do I start a movement to introduce AOTW for "as of this writing"?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:16 PM
Just start using it.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 8:34 PM
oh yes, what we need, more shorthand conventions for me to look up.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:10 PM
I'll look up your shorthand conventions any day, Mikey, IYKWIM (AITYD!).
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:31 PM
YBYSAIDBCOALUMSCAT
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 02-17-05 9:39 PM