William Quincy Belle

A story from January 2020, before the pandemic.

I work out on a regular basis. I'm not a nut about it, but I'm doing my best to remain as fit as possible as anyone can at the age of 67. Use it or lose it.

Unlike some, I rarely talk with anybody at the gym. Why? I'm there to work out not socialise. But I'm not unfriendly. I've gotten to know a number of people by name and interacting with them at the gym ofttimes consists of nothing more than shaking hands, giving a wave, or doing a fist bump. They seem to be as focused as me.

I'm at the gym the other day, in the middle of my workout. Gino always does a long session with an elliptical bike facing out the window, his back to the room. But at some point, when he dismounts, he gives me a wave as I'm involved in some machine.

This time, he ends his routine and walks over to me. "I've got a joke."

Yes?

"The Higgs Boson walks into a Catholic church. Priest says, 'What are you doing here?' The Higgs Boson replies, 'You can't have mass without me.'"

We laughed, and I complimented him on his choice of joke. Not many people are into particle physics humour. And saying "particle physics" is a mouthful unto itself.

Since then, I've mulled over with a smile what transpired. Normally, when we interact with strangers or acquaintances, we tend to stick to topics of common interest, the weather, the headlines, or the latest cultural event, something in entertainment. If I walked down the street and randomly stopped a hundred people, how many would know what Higgs Boson is? It's an unusual subject. In order to "get" the humour, one has to know something. If you don't know anything about the topic, the humour doesn't make any sense. The humour isn't, well, funny.

my blog: Star Wars and all that jazz (à la Dave Brubeck) - 2019-05-11 Last year, I ran across this Internet meme about Star Wars, a riff on annual word play about May fourth, May The Force Be With You. I had never seen it before. It made me chuckle and so, I passed it around to family and friends. After getting a response of crickets, no response at all, it suddenly occurred to me, one had to have a certain level of knowledge to get the joke. Who's Dave Brubeck? What is the 1959 jazz hit Take Five? What is the 5/4 time signature in music? Without knowing these key pieces of information, the humour makes absolutely no sense. I made some inquiries and sure enough, I had picked the wrong audience for the material. I bombed.

Late-Night TV
I've noted that some, maybe much, of the humour of late-night talk shows involves current events and cultural references. I've never played the games Angry Birds or Candy Crush, but I know what they are and understand when a host makes mention of them. I've never listened to Justin Bieber, but I know who he is. I have a passing knowledge about the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and can sort of understand if it's brought up in a newspaper article. In other words, a person doesn't have to be an expert to get certain jokes, but person has to know something about the subject.

I refer back to Dave Brubeck. A person can listen to music without knowing anything technical about music. What's a key signature? What's the difference between F𝄰 and G♭? (F sharp and G flat. That's not a mistake. That's a joke. It's the same note, the same black key on a piano.)

As you can see, the more knowledge one has, the more one can "get it". Not everybody gets F𝄰 and G♭, but many have had piano lessons at one time or another, so a fair number do chuckle.

I think back on Higgs Boson and still chuckle at Gino telling me that joke. It turns out he's been a career math teacher with a minor in physics. When I say math, he added he teaches university calculus, a course I just barely squeaked through. I'm afraid I do not understand that level of abstract thought. That means I won't be laughing too much at calculus-based humour, if there is such a thing.

References Wikipedia: Higgs boson The Higgs boson is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics, produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. It is named after physicist Peter Higgs, who in 1964, along with five other scientists, proposed the Higgs mechanism to explain why particles have mass. This mechanism implies the existence of the Higgs boson. The boson's existence was confirmed in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations based on collisions in the LHC at CERN.

CNN - July 9, 2012
Higgs Boson humorists get mass following By Michael Schulder, CNN

Boing Boing - July 4, 2012
Gettin' Higgy With it: A Roundup of Higgs Boson Jokes on Twitter

Wikipedia: Geek Humor
Geek humor may refer to:
* Humor of or about geeks
* Computer humor
* Internet humor
* Mathematical joke

my blog: Press any key to continue - 2010-11-04
My story about somebody who couldn't find the "any" key.

my blog: What the @#$%^* do I know? - 2012-01-03
Not much, it turns out.

2020-06-08

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Published on Jan 3, 2013 by wasdoty
YouTube: Full video Raymond Suitcase Fork and Spoon (9:36)
I used this video in a talk to young moms to show them how they can damage not only their marriages but their own inner peace by holding a grudge. And the ending tells the whole moral of the story-I won't spoil it!

References

Wikipedia: Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning over nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Worldwide Pants, in association with HBO Independent Productions. The cast members are Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan. Most episodes of the nine season series were filmed in front of a live studio audience, with a few exceptions.

The Daily Mail - Aug 5, 2016
Men may have evolved BETTER 'making up' skills than women
Dr Joyce Beneson, head of Harvard study:
"We believe that human social structure resembles that of chimpanzees in which males cooperate in groups of unrelated same-sex peers and females cooperate more with family members and one or two good friends who act as family. Human males form large cooperative organizations that have changed the world. Females [traditionally] invest more in families to keep their children and other family members alive and thriving."

2020-05-18

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Published on Jul 15, 2015 by Monty Python the Flying Circus
YouTube: The Secret Life of Brian (48:04)
Documentary shown on Channel 4 in 2007 showing the controversy that was around during and after the filming of "Monty Python Life of Brian".


Some idle thoughts
"So funny, it was banned in Norway!" I remember seeing the film when it first came out and was amused, but I had no idea of the backstory. As with anything religious, there's controversy, and it would seem the stalwarts of Christianity took exception — Even umbrage! — to mocking our Lord. Then again, were they locking our Lord Himself or were they mocking our attempts to worship the Lord?

I found the documentary fascinating. While films of fiction can be entertaining, a documentary can be eye-catching since we're talking about real life.

In hearing about the controversy generated by the religious, I have to ask how many fought to have the movie banned but had not actually seen the film? If you can't take criticism, you can't laugh at yourself and your own beliefs, there's something wrong.

References

Rotten Tomatoes: Monty Python's Life of Brian: 95%
Critics Consensus: One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical.

Wikipedia: Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It was also directed by Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as—and next door to—Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

Following the withdrawal of funding by EMI Films just days before production was scheduled to begin, long-time Monty Python fan and former member of the Beatles, George Harrison, arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of his company HandMade Films.

The film contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy, and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the United Kingdom either imposed an outright ban, or imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film from being shown, since the distributors said it could not be shown unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate. Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, with a few of these bans lasting decades. The filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign, with posters in Sweden reading, "So funny, it was banned in Norway!"

The film was a box office success, the fourth-highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979, and highest grossing of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular, receiving positive reviews. The film was named "greatest comedy film of all time" by several magazines and television networks, and it would later receive a 97% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus, "One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical." In a 2006 Channel 4 poll, Life of Brian was ranked first on their list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films.

Wikipedia: Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) are a British surreal comedy group who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Regarded as enduring icons of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being “an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".

my blog: Monty Python: The Cheese Shop - July 26/2014
This sketch from the television show was included in the 1973 album, Matching Tie and Handkerchief.

my blog: Monty Python: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Feb 11/2012
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a comedy song written by Eric Idle that was originally featured in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals."

2019-07-30

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Published on Oct 10, 2011 by MovieClips
YouTube: Last night you were ... unhinged.




More Humor

my blog: Random Humor 2019-06-11 - June 11/2019

my blog: Clothes Dryers and Chaos Theory - May 29/2019

my blog: The Gunfighter - May 18/2019

my blog: White Jesus - Dec 30/2018

my blog: How To Masturbate - Apr 20/2015

2019-06-19

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More Humor

my blog: Clothes Dryers and Chaos Theory - May 29/2019

my blog: The Gunfighter - May 18/2019

my blog: White Jesus - Dec 30/2018

my blog: How To Masturbate - Apr 20/2015

2019-06-11

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Published on Nov 13/2013 by Eric Kissack
Vimeo: The Gunfighter (8:48)
Just another period western meta comedy short film.
Featuring the mellifluous voice of Nick Offerman.
Directed by Eric Kissack (erickissack.com)
Written by Kevin Tenglin (kevintenglin.com/)

References

Wikipedia: The Gunfighter (2014 film)
The Gunfighter is a 2014 short film directed by Eric Kissack. A twist on the Western genre, the film concerns a group of people in a saloon who, in an act of breaking the fourth wall, are able to hear the narrator of the film.

Production
The film was shot at the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio in Santa Clarita, California, and was partly inspired by the television series Deadwood. It was filmed over the course of a weekend, on a budget of under $25,000, much of which went towards costume design and props. The film's director, Eric Kissack, contacted comedic writer and filmmaker David Wain in order to help cast actor Nick Offerman as the unseen narrator.[1] The film was presented to Offerman with a different narrating voice to act as a placeholder until a superior narrator was acquired. Offerman enjoyed the film and his narration, which is present in the finished film, was subsequently recorded.

Reception and awards
The Gunfighter has received mostly positive reviews, holding a score of 8.1/10 on IMDb, based on 1,065 user ratings. The film won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival and was a "Best of Fest Selection" at the 2014 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. Film reviewer John Arkelian wrote that, in regards to the narration, "it’s an omniscient author getting in the way of his own characters. The result is quite amusing, if sometimes vulgar."



2019-05-18

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