Ha-Ha

I was planning on writing something really serious today, like about how economists won the nobel peace prize last week, or how much I liked the movie "The Queen" that just came out and the deep thoughts that overcame me as I left the theater (the meaning of monarchy, the tyranny of the elite, etc...)

I could also write about the hellscape that is my apartment right now. Electrical fire on Saturday, followed by black-out, followed by reduction of usable outlets to three, no heat, loss of hot water last night (seems to have returned), and the on-going disturbance coming from upstairs of footfall and a crying toddler. But I'm going to focus on something more positive. Humor.

I laugh now a lot more than I used to. I was dour for a least half a decade and for some reason, though my life as an adult is more difficult and filled when bigger challanges, I have lightened up and allow for a few laughs once in a while. Perhaps it's evidence of the correlation between stress and hardship and the need to cut up now and again, a respite from the bullshit.

My husband makes me laugh. Hard. He has at times a dry wit but at other times he's a guy's guy, a take-no-hostages locker room comic. This comedy keeps our marriage well-oiled. (yes, we do have our gloomy moments too, who doesn't?) Powell's taste is slightly different than mine, but somehow we meet in the middle. He gets a kick out of most Will Farrell material - like clips of Saturday Night Live (the Blue Oyster Cult cow-bell skit comes to mind) or the movies Anchorman or Talledega Nights. I admit, I think that stuff is pretty funny too. I give other things a shot - the Jackass movies are just not my cup of tea, I've never gotten into the Man Show, and I don't really like Larry the Cable Guy - but we're not always going to have the same taste of funny. I got him to watch Notting Hill with me, one of my favorite movies, and he loved Rhys Ifans as Spike. Like I said, we meet in the middle.

Anyway, I have decided to list some things that really get me going, that make me laugh many times over, time immemorial. These are in no particular order.

1)This is Spinal Tap
This movie is so frickin' funny. I love it when Nigel goes through airport security with foil wrapped cucumber in his pants.

2)Bumper Cars
I don't know what about bumper cars that crack me up, but I'm telling you, I laugh so hard I cry when I get into a bumper car and start riding around crashing into other people.

3)Karaoke
So wonderfully absurd.

4)Friends
My secret addiction for several years was watching reruns of the TV show Friends, usually on the local network the half hour before I went to bed. I hated the last couple of years of Friends, but there was a time when the show hit a sweet spot - mid-way through its run - and the writing was hilarious. There are so many episodes I loved but one of the funny ones was the episode in which Monica and Rachel try to get their apartment back from Chandler and Joey by winning a round of Trivial Pursuit that Ross facitates based on their personal information.

5)Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I never get sick of this movie. I love it when the knights are trolloping through the forest in their imaginary horses and get attacked by the rabbit.

6)Extras
This is a new show on HBO written and created by Ricky Gervais, the guy who starred in the British version of The Office. Only six episodes have aired and I'm not sure if HBO has planned to continue the show, but it is very funny. Gervais plays the character of Andy, a British actor trying to make it but continually being cast as an extra. On that note, The Office is very funny too. It's on DVD.

7)Live comedy
In general, I have a great time watching live comedy. I've only been a half dozen times in my entire life, but the shows I've seen were entertaining. I have been lucky enough not to attend a bad comedy review, although I admit some of the comedians were just slightly mediocre.

8)Kathy Griffith's My Life on the D-List
Sure that tiny redhead is obnoxious but she's an extremely talented jokester. It's so rare that a petite albeit big mouthed woman makes it in that world and she really delivers on stage and seemingly, in her real life. I couldn't stand her when she co-starred with Brooke Shields in Suddenly Susan, but now I adore her.

9)The Three Stooges
I didn't realize until recently that Three Stooges are simply riotous. I was just flipping channels and got caught on one of their films. The physical comedy - the slapping, the spitting, the kicking - is so fundamentally absurd that I can't help but double over in laughter. I can't watch it a lot or for long sittings but for a few minutes it's great.

10)Sasha Baron Cohen
What a funny guy. I love him as Ali G, doing his British Hip Hop interviews, but I think his Borat character, the Kazakhstani tourist/TV personality,is even funnier. And ballsy. Check it out.