After Thanksgiving feasting the Report took a few days off, but after Black Friday and Cyber Monday we're back for... Ruby Tuesday?
No, here at the Report we're holding How-To Tuesday, in which we clear
out a pair of items that have been backlogged in the Report item
archives for some time now.
First up, a compilation piece from the New York Times released several years ago called "How to Be Funny."
Not only are these pieces written by modern legends of the comedy
world, they're compiled by the brilliantly funny John Hodgman, whose
humbling work was featured in the September 11 Morning Report.
My two favorite pieces here fall comfortably in the middle: Garrison
Keillor's "How to Write Your First Hollywood Comedy" and Paul Rudd's
(appropriately titled) "How to Be Funny When You Are Incredibly Good
Looking." I'm wondering if part of the enjoyment I get from both of
those pieces comes from the fact that I read them in their writers'
inimitable voices.
Also offered from the backlogs, an article written for Esquire about how to compliment. Tom Chiarella's "The Perfect Compliment"
is more anecdotal essay than guide, but the how-to comes in Chiarella's
experiences. The trial and error of his quick, observational
compliments in the first section highlight some major flaws in
strategy. A quick line seems spooky, insincere, or a thinly veiled
insult. As he notes, " A true compliment is a complex expression of
unrequired appreciation — how could three words do the job?" But don't
force it: "Finding the perfect compliment isn't a riddle at all. It's
not as
though there's one for every person at every time. It's a matter of
finding the right moment rather than insisting on one." Still, the art
of the compliment is better observed through Chiarella's stories than
boiled down to talking points. Report Challenge: Compliment a stranger
today and let me know how it goes!
Finally, because it's been a while since we've had some animals in the Report, here are some dogs going down slides.
It's not Thanksgiving, but we can still celebrate a Thanksgiving Anniversary! On November 27 in 1924, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held!
From the Desk of the Morning Reporter: A guided tour of the Internet.
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Punctuation Day. Period.
After this weekend, autumn is officially upon us (it began on Saturday),
so prepare for lots of Fall-related Reports. Decorative Gourd's are
already popping-up in grocery stores, so it can only be a matter of
time...
But first, a disgruntled and impatient reader sent me an e-mail earlier this morning alerting me that today is National Punctuation Day. This reader had some choice uses for punctuation marks, which I won't repeat here for the sake of decency. But (and I'm sure this won't be good for keeping his ego at a reasonable level) he has influenced the Report for the day. I am, after all, a Technical Editor by trade. My missing Punctuation Day would be like an elf not celebrating Christmas.
To celebrate this glorious grammarian day, here are some useful and comical pointers on punctuation use. First up, some classics from The Oatmeal on "How To Use an Apostrophe" and "How To Use a Semicolon." The grammar lessons of middle school would have been so much more interesting with these examples. These, of course, are two mysterious pieces of punctuation that are often the subject of question, self-doubt, and second guessing. Another piece of punctuation, used in the last sentence, is a subject of much debate: The Oxford Comma (also known as the serial comma).
The Oxford Comma, most famous for its title role in a Vampire Weekend song, is a contentious piece of punctuation. In fact, the first question of my interview for my current position asked how I felt about the Oxford Comma. If it is unclear by my consistent use of it in the Report, I'm for it, just as the sandwich club is for frilly toothpicks. Others are opposed. The New York Times, for instance, doesn't use them. Some argue that maintaining use of the Oxford Comma is simply being a slave to historic grammatical convention, just like the type-writer imposed two spaces after a period that is not relevant in a computer-font world. This, as NPR's blogger Linda Holmes observes, is not the case. As you can see from this comic, the Oxford Comma is fundamentally important in reducing ambiguity. Please embrace it. Or respond with a compelling argument for the opposition.
Along with celebrating the Oxford Comma and other pieces of punctuation, there are numerous options for birthday celebrations of note. Readers could...
But first, a disgruntled and impatient reader sent me an e-mail earlier this morning alerting me that today is National Punctuation Day. This reader had some choice uses for punctuation marks, which I won't repeat here for the sake of decency. But (and I'm sure this won't be good for keeping his ego at a reasonable level) he has influenced the Report for the day. I am, after all, a Technical Editor by trade. My missing Punctuation Day would be like an elf not celebrating Christmas.
To celebrate this glorious grammarian day, here are some useful and comical pointers on punctuation use. First up, some classics from The Oatmeal on "How To Use an Apostrophe" and "How To Use a Semicolon." The grammar lessons of middle school would have been so much more interesting with these examples. These, of course, are two mysterious pieces of punctuation that are often the subject of question, self-doubt, and second guessing. Another piece of punctuation, used in the last sentence, is a subject of much debate: The Oxford Comma (also known as the serial comma).
The Oxford Comma, most famous for its title role in a Vampire Weekend song, is a contentious piece of punctuation. In fact, the first question of my interview for my current position asked how I felt about the Oxford Comma. If it is unclear by my consistent use of it in the Report, I'm for it, just as the sandwich club is for frilly toothpicks. Others are opposed. The New York Times, for instance, doesn't use them. Some argue that maintaining use of the Oxford Comma is simply being a slave to historic grammatical convention, just like the type-writer imposed two spaces after a period that is not relevant in a computer-font world. This, as NPR's blogger Linda Holmes observes, is not the case. As you can see from this comic, the Oxford Comma is fundamentally important in reducing ambiguity. Please embrace it. Or respond with a compelling argument for the opposition.
Along with celebrating the Oxford Comma and other pieces of punctuation, there are numerous options for birthday celebrations of note. Readers could...
- Have a Coke and a Smile for Mean Joe Greene;
- Play the music and light the lights for Jim Henson; or
- Believe in the green light for F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Views in the Sky, News on the Ground
Apologies for the brief hiatus, things have been busy at the FAA. The industry is abuzz as Rainn Wilson's In-Flight Magazine article created stirs last week. His idea of a Skymall only birthday party sounds like a great time, and his observation on airline movies is spot-on. (I never would have seen The Talented Mr. Ripley
if it hadn't been literally unavoidable, projected before me on the
screen immediately in front of me, years before I should ever have seen
someone bludgeoned to death. Sorry, Spoilers.) And I've been fielding
important calls from fashion designers all week to weigh-in on the
history of in-flight uniforms.
Troubling news yesterday morning from abroad on my phone-news, though, as an alarming kidnapping hits Poland and news of a sad death comes from Russia. First, I was informed that seven endangered monkeys were stolen from a Polish zoo. While the article is quick to suggest a motive (thanks, Krzysztof Kazanowski), it tragically lacks pictures... Perhaps because including images of these hilariously mustachioed monkeys would have diminished the levity of their kidnapping. We can only hope that some equally adorable tamarin-san launches a rescue of Monkey-Miyagi. Tail-sweep the leg!
In other tragic news, a man who forever changed the course of viral-video history passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke in early April. Eduard Khil, also known as Mr. Trololo, has, as the article regrettably puts it, sung his final note. The resurgence of his video made him an internet phenomenon, and led to some great parodies. My personal favorite came following the Oscars last year, and featured Best Supporting Actor winner Christoph Waltz reflecting on his early role in the cult classic experimental film "Der Humpink." (Toss some headphones on for that one if you're viewing at work, things get a little racy. Of course, your silly giggling may give you away.)
And let's give a big, invisible hand to economist Adam Smith, who turns 289 today. (And no coincidence, he shares a birthday with American financial wiz Suze Orman... Let's hope Suze does something nice for her big day. She can afford it.)
Like Rainn Wilson, I wish you well, dear reader, on your journey.
Troubling news yesterday morning from abroad on my phone-news, though, as an alarming kidnapping hits Poland and news of a sad death comes from Russia. First, I was informed that seven endangered monkeys were stolen from a Polish zoo. While the article is quick to suggest a motive (thanks, Krzysztof Kazanowski), it tragically lacks pictures... Perhaps because including images of these hilariously mustachioed monkeys would have diminished the levity of their kidnapping. We can only hope that some equally adorable tamarin-san launches a rescue of Monkey-Miyagi. Tail-sweep the leg!
In other tragic news, a man who forever changed the course of viral-video history passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke in early April. Eduard Khil, also known as Mr. Trololo, has, as the article regrettably puts it, sung his final note. The resurgence of his video made him an internet phenomenon, and led to some great parodies. My personal favorite came following the Oscars last year, and featured Best Supporting Actor winner Christoph Waltz reflecting on his early role in the cult classic experimental film "Der Humpink." (Toss some headphones on for that one if you're viewing at work, things get a little racy. Of course, your silly giggling may give you away.)
And let's give a big, invisible hand to economist Adam Smith, who turns 289 today. (And no coincidence, he shares a birthday with American financial wiz Suze Orman... Let's hope Suze does something nice for her big day. She can afford it.)
Like Rainn Wilson, I wish you well, dear reader, on your journey.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Remote Ctrl-Alt-Del
Today in the report, we commemorate the recent passing of Eugene Polley,
the engineer for Zenith Electronics who is best known for inventing the
first wireless remote control for television. Polley's work, then, may
be seen as tangentially responsible for decreasing viewer attention
spans, with quick channel changing serving as a preview for the rapid
YouTube clicking and tab-changing during Hulu commercials characteristic
of contemporary content consumers. (How's that for alliteration?!) It
is also sort of his fault that a bunch of people went to have a good,
mindless time watching Adam Sandler be mindless and left theaters crying like babies, contemplating mortality, and carpe-ing their diems as if they'd just seen Robin Williams climb on a desk.
Perhaps humans could learn something from the more focused television viewing habits of the animal TV enthusiasts of the world. Even seated next to the remote, the bulldog resists the urge to change away from Family Guy. And that turtle is incredibly focused... Or maybe it's just taking him a while to process the signed interpretation being provided in the foreground. Perhaps this turtle would make more use of the remote... Or just argue with itself about what it wants to watch.
And finally, one of my greatest television-related finds of all time. IFC put together this list of the top 50 comedy sketches of all time. Of course, the list is a few years old... Otherwise I think we might see a clip from SNL's Lawrence Welk show or travel tips from Steffon. But that list is still full of gems, and starts off strong. Gerald Ford is Dead Today will always be a personal favorite.
So thank you, Mr. Polley, for making us shift around innatentively. By allowing us easy access to different channels, you paved the way for more channels, which paved the way for us to click through so-many-things-but-nothing-to-
Things like that show where the points don't matter. That's right, the points are just like Drew Carey on "Whose Line Is It Anyway." (And a very Happy Birthday to Drew...)
Enjoy the rest of World Turtle Day!
Perhaps humans could learn something from the more focused television viewing habits of the animal TV enthusiasts of the world. Even seated next to the remote, the bulldog resists the urge to change away from Family Guy. And that turtle is incredibly focused... Or maybe it's just taking him a while to process the signed interpretation being provided in the foreground. Perhaps this turtle would make more use of the remote... Or just argue with itself about what it wants to watch.
And finally, one of my greatest television-related finds of all time. IFC put together this list of the top 50 comedy sketches of all time. Of course, the list is a few years old... Otherwise I think we might see a clip from SNL's Lawrence Welk show or travel tips from Steffon. But that list is still full of gems, and starts off strong. Gerald Ford is Dead Today will always be a personal favorite.
So thank you, Mr. Polley, for making us shift around innatentively. By allowing us easy access to different channels, you paved the way for more channels, which paved the way for us to click through so-many-things-but-nothing-to-
Things like that show where the points don't matter. That's right, the points are just like Drew Carey on "Whose Line Is It Anyway." (And a very Happy Birthday to Drew...)
Enjoy the rest of World Turtle Day!
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