"Benign Violation Theory"
Discovered courtesy of my friend Lucas, here's the quote from the website about what this is:
In collaboration with Caleb Warren, McGraw has been developing and testing a general theory of humor called the benign violation theory. The theory builds on work by a linguist, Tom Veatch, and integrates existing humor theories to propose that humor occurs when and only when three conditions are satisfied: (1) a situation is a violation, (2) the situation is benign, and (3) both perceptions occur simultaneously. For example, play fighting and tickling, which produce laughter in humans (and other primates), are benign violations because they are physically threatening but harmless attacks.
A strength of the theory is that it also explains when things are not funny: a situation can fail to be funny because it depicts a violation that does not simultaneously seem benign, or because it depicts a benign situation that has no violation. For example, play fighting and tickling cease to elicit laughter either when the attack stops (strictly benign) or becomes too aggressive (malign violation). Jokes similarly fail to be funny when either they are too tame or too risqué.
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Colbert is brilliant
I really enjoy this interview and Colbert has a lot of great nuggets in it.
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In & Out (1997) - 3 out of 5 Teacher of the Year Awards
I saw this movie back when it first came out with my dad and sister. He didn't, I don't think, do much research and we went because it was a comedy starring Kevin Klein and Joan Cusack. Little did he know what it was.
It's a cute movie and though it definitely feels dated in its portrayal and handling of homosexuality in a small midwest town, it still made me laugh a number of times.
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They're Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson
"They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"Meat. They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in that sector and they're made out of meat."
"Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"
"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads, like the weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
"No brain?"
"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"So … what does the thinking?"
"You're not understanding, are you? You're refusing to deal with what I'm telling you. The brain does the thinking. The meat."
"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you beginning to get the picture or do I have to start all over?"
"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
"Thank you. Finally. Yes. They are indeed made out of meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
"Omigod. So what does this meat have in mind?"
"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the Universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas and information. The usual."
"We're supposed to talk to meat."
"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there. Anybody home.' That sort of thing."
"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?"
"Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."
"I thought you just told me they used radio."
"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
"Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe, without prejudice, fear or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."
"I was hoping you would say that."
"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say? 'Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"
"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they can only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."
"So we just pretend there's no one home in the Universe."
"That's it."
"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you probed? You're sure they won't remember?"
"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."
"And we marked the entire sector unoccupied."
"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"
"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again."
"They always come around."
"And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the Universe would be if one were all alone …"
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Kevin Hart wins the Mark Twain Prize
Katie and I always watch the broadcast of this, but I saw NPR posted that Hart had received it this year.
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An Interview with Sam Reich About the Success of DropOut
Dropout is one of my more watched streaming options these days. From their Dimension20 Live Play series with Brennan Lee Mulligan (who is, for my money, the best GM playing TTRPGs these days, closely followed by Aabriah Iyengar.) To also a growing love of Game Changers (which I binged) and now I am eagerly awaiting the next season in February.
I also admire Dropout and what it has become. Earlier this year it came out that when the company had unexpected success this season, they paid out bonuses to their lower-end production team which is often overlooked in Hollywood.
Also, as a fun side note, Sam Reich, is the son of Robert Reich who served under Presidents Carter, Ford, and Clinton.
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Ahren Belisle on AGT
I had seen this video the other day but didn't watch it at the time. Came back across it this morning and was definitely impressed. We'll see how far he goes, but regardless, I think this will launch his full comedy career.
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The McDonalds MacBeth
Game Changers is quality content and their clips on social media are almost always hilarious. This one is no different. Notably (and thanks to Kottke.org for this tidbit) Ross, the performer, is a member of "The Improvised Shakespeare Company."
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Jon Stewart on Colbert discussing Kanye, Kyrie, Chapelle, Antisemitism, Censorship and Comedy
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Weird: The Al Yankovich Story (2022)
I'm spending some time with family this morning, and rooming with my older brother Adam. We had planned to watch this together during the weekend and last night we made good on those plans.
I cannot recommend watching this movie enough. It might be the pinnacle of absurdist comedies, and I am not sure it will ever be beaten. It is silly and wild and features endless cameos in very unexpected roles.
Do not read or watch anything more about the movie, I urge you to go into it blind beyond the premise and just buckle in for the ride.
To speak to my particular scenario for watching it, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Crash with your brother in a divey hotel, get a bottle of champagne, and put the movie on a projector on the room's wall. Then drink champagne and laugh your ass off together. Highly recommend this experience if you're able to recreate it.
Core memory locked.
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Highlights of Jon Stewart's Mark Twain Award Ceremony
Some truly amazingly funny segments here. And an amazing celebration of one of the most impactful comedians of my lifetime.
Edit: Also, I feel the need to call out, The Daily Show (the Book): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests is also fantastic. I really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes insights and hearing stories about the making of the show.
The Daily Show (The Book) by
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A man ran 120 excuses people use to not pay artists online through an AI to generate web comics and it's as amazing as you think
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I was listening to Alfred Hitchcock's interview on Dick Cavett back in the 70s and I was struck by how funny he was. I had known this before, but to be honest Hitchcock is not an individual I think about very often. I recall watching his TV show with my mother, reruns on Nickelodeon or AMC or somewhere like that. The show was suspenseful but didn't leave me scared, plus I enjoyed it as something I could do with my mother.
In any case, as I was thinking about his humor it made me think about Jordan Peele's current run of great horror films after cutting his chops in comedy. I would love to pick his brain about Hitchcock, comedy, and horror.
I'm available for bookings to do this interview if anyone is interested.
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Whoopi Goldberg, Dick Gregory and other black comedians impact told in 'Right To Offend'
This looks interesting, will definitely be planning to check it out.
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Jon Stewart interviews George Carlin
I have begun falling down the rabbit hole of old interviews on YouTube, hearing from great minds from over the years. This conversation is no exception.
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George Carlin on the Bill of Rights
To whom it may concern:
Unfortunately, the above document will be obsolete within one hundred years. It will be considered a quaint artifact. Americans simply don't care enough to protect it. They'd rather have a blender. Sorry, I cannot lie to you.
- George Carlin
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