Philosophy
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere,
This weekend we talk about found comedy, those chuckles that one gets by tripping over something undeniably and unintentionally funny, specifically ones you find on advertising signs.
As a child, there was a local strip mall called "The Square" with a notoriously small parking lot. To keep those with business elsewhere from taking up needed slots, they posted a large sign that said "Parking for Square customers only." It caused me great distress as a child to know that as a family, we were not so hip as to be forced to find parking elsewhere.
Often the humor comes from malfunction. Burned out lights allow signs to say something completely different, such as the flea bag motel on the edge of Frederick that for the longest time had parts of its neon "M" burned out so it actually advertised itself as a "notel."
But my favorite was a grocery store, Foodarama, who simultaneously had a burned out d, r, and m, making the sign read Foo-a-a-a.
And then there are the signs that advertise businesses that are named in such a fashion that you cannot help but marvel. The greatest name of any business I've every come across is near Lexington Market in Baltimore, Horney's Hardware. The ads just write themselves, don't they?
So, funniest signs you've ever come across?
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
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My Fellow Comedists, Some speculative comedist sociology this weekend. Are you more likely to be funny if you come from a funny family? Is the funny something biological that some folks have and others don't? Is it something we get from our environment?...
- Making Fun Of Vs. Joking Reference
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This weekend we consider another moral question in comedy. There is no doubt that humor can be used as a weapon. Indeed, our own Comedist security squad, the Fast Action Response Team whose motto...
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Philosophy
If There is a Comic God, Show Me a Sign
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere,
This weekend we talk about found comedy, those chuckles that one gets by tripping over something undeniably and unintentionally funny, specifically ones you find on advertising signs.
As a child, there was a local strip mall called "The Square" with a notoriously small parking lot. To keep those with business elsewhere from taking up needed slots, they posted a large sign that said "Parking for Square customers only." It caused me great distress as a child to know that as a family, we were not so hip as to be forced to find parking elsewhere.
Often the humor comes from malfunction. Burned out lights allow signs to say something completely different, such as the flea bag motel on the edge of Frederick that for the longest time had parts of its neon "M" burned out so it actually advertised itself as a "notel."
But my favorite was a grocery store, Foodarama, who simultaneously had a burned out d, r, and m, making the sign read Foo-a-a-a.
And then there are the signs that advertise businesses that are named in such a fashion that you cannot help but marvel. The greatest name of any business I've every come across is near Lexington Market in Baltimore, Horney's Hardware. The ads just write themselves, don't they?
So, funniest signs you've ever come across?
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
- Do We Pass The Funny Down To Our Kids?
My Fellow Comedists, Some speculative comedist sociology this weekend. Are you more likely to be funny if you come from a funny family? Is the funny something biological that some folks have and others don't? Is it something we get from our environment?...
- Making Fun Of Vs. Joking Reference
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This weekend we consider another moral question in comedy. There is no doubt that humor can be used as a weapon. Indeed, our own Comedist security squad, the Fast Action Response Team whose motto...
- Damn It Jim, I'm A Doctor Not A Comedian
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, Yesterday would have been Gene Roddenberry's 87th birthday. Trekkies have born the brunt of many a joke, so this weekend let's turn the table and open it up to your favorite Star Trek...
- Jokes For The Overeducated
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, Further reflection upon my stand-up experience has led me to the realization that there is a certain segment of the humorous world that tends to be underserved by contemporary comedy -- the overeducated....
- Commercial Comedy And The Problem Of Seriousness
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week a couple of deep philosophico-theological Comedist questions were raised by good brother Hanno -- well, brother Hanno, anyway. So let's consider them both. Brother Hanno asked, How...