Philosophy
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Hockeypucks Everywhere,
Just to show the power of the Cosmic Comic, no sooner had I suggested Don Rickles' birthday as a holiday last week, did I realize that it was, in fact, Don Rickles' birthday. Timing is everything.
Rickles, the merchant of venom, is one of the gret insult comics. He started with a standard routine, working like so many others, strip clubs between regular gigs. Being a short Jewish guy with his clothes on, he would get heckled mercillously by the patrons who come to see something wholly other, and Don gave it right back. When the barbs were getting bigger laughs than the jokes, the path was obvious. His big break came when Sinatra saw his act. Spotting him in the audience, Rickles greeted him from the stage saying, "Make yourself at home Frank, hit someone." Sinatra loved it and the rest was history. Rickles always adored Sinatra and once said of him,
So great is Rickles that this is what Triumph the Comic Wonder Dog had to say in that holy on-line publication Shecky!
So, free shots today. What are your favorite put downs. If there's anyone you want to insult, let it fly. Happy birthaday Don Rickles.
- The Feast Of Saint David
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week we celebrated the feast day of Saint David. David Brenner is 73 years old. The son of a vaudeville performer, growing up in the tough parts of Philly, he became a pivotal figure in stand-up....
- Comic Marxists And Comic Platonists
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week was Groucho's birthday and it has led me to a place of Comedist meditation. I played an open mic at the Ragged Edge, a coffee house near campus, on Groucho's birthday Thursday...
- Passing The Plate: Mothers' Day Edition
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, It is that time again. Time to ask for donations and pass the donation plate. While most congregation ask for money, Comedists ask for something much more precious -- jokes. Lest you are worried...
- Funny Girl?
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, Sister Nathifa alerted me to this article, "Why Women Aren't Funny" from Vanity Fair. In it, Christopher Hitchens, discusses a recent study from the Stanford University School of Medicine...
- Polish Jokes, Rabbis, And The Nature Of Human Nature
If you are new to the playground, weekends are time for the week's Comedist sermon. If you are unfamiliar with the new religion Comedism, here is an introduction to Comedism, ; passages from The Comedist Manifesto, our holy book; Comedist support...
Philosophy
Hey Dummie: The Feast of Saint Rickles
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Hockeypucks Everywhere,
Just to show the power of the Cosmic Comic, no sooner had I suggested Don Rickles' birthday as a holiday last week, did I realize that it was, in fact, Don Rickles' birthday. Timing is everything.
Rickles, the merchant of venom, is one of the gret insult comics. He started with a standard routine, working like so many others, strip clubs between regular gigs. Being a short Jewish guy with his clothes on, he would get heckled mercillously by the patrons who come to see something wholly other, and Don gave it right back. When the barbs were getting bigger laughs than the jokes, the path was obvious. His big break came when Sinatra saw his act. Spotting him in the audience, Rickles greeted him from the stage saying, "Make yourself at home Frank, hit someone." Sinatra loved it and the rest was history. Rickles always adored Sinatra and once said of him,
"When you enter a room, you have to kiss his ring. I wouldn't mind so much, but he keeps it in his back pocket."Much of Rickles stuff could be seen as racist, playing on negative stereotypes. But, in a sense, Rickles was extendeing Jewish humor. Traditional eastern European Jewish humor plays on the notion of archetypes. Instead of having a unitary view of human nature, there is held to be a number of well-defined human natures, each with well-known sets of properties. Jokes then feature these archetypes. Businessmen are coniving, clever theives or gonifs, butchers are strong, but not smart, housewives are gossipping yentas, scholars are smart, but lacking common-sense twist simple things into logical pretzels, mothers-in-law, well, they were mothers-in-law... No matter who you are, you end up on the back end of a joke. Rickles did with racial stereotypes, what Eastern European Jews did with archetypes. Everyone gets it.
So great is Rickles that this is what Triumph the Comic Wonder Dog had to say in that holy on-line publication Shecky!
"Rickles is the king. I worship the ground Rickles poops on."
So, free shots today. What are your favorite put downs. If there's anyone you want to insult, let it fly. Happy birthaday Don Rickles.
- The Feast Of Saint David
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week we celebrated the feast day of Saint David. David Brenner is 73 years old. The son of a vaudeville performer, growing up in the tough parts of Philly, he became a pivotal figure in stand-up....
- Comic Marxists And Comic Platonists
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week was Groucho's birthday and it has led me to a place of Comedist meditation. I played an open mic at the Ragged Edge, a coffee house near campus, on Groucho's birthday Thursday...
- Passing The Plate: Mothers' Day Edition
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, It is that time again. Time to ask for donations and pass the donation plate. While most congregation ask for money, Comedists ask for something much more precious -- jokes. Lest you are worried...
- Funny Girl?
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, Sister Nathifa alerted me to this article, "Why Women Aren't Funny" from Vanity Fair. In it, Christopher Hitchens, discusses a recent study from the Stanford University School of Medicine...
- Polish Jokes, Rabbis, And The Nature Of Human Nature
If you are new to the playground, weekends are time for the week's Comedist sermon. If you are unfamiliar with the new religion Comedism, here is an introduction to Comedism, ; passages from The Comedist Manifesto, our holy book; Comedist support...