The weirdest day I've ever had. Also the one that I laughed the most as far as I can recall. (A good sign: my jaw hurts and my eyes are red from crying)
I feel I need to share this with you and I promise it is going to be funny.

For writers it is very hard to convey comedy. What makes people laugh anyway?
I can't be sure, but from today I would say spontaneity and improvisation are key aspects. Something personal as well.

There were three funny events for me today. One is being myself. (That always works for me.) The second is a story about a crocodile. The third is the Leicester Comedy Festival, of which you can see a video below.

Myself:
I always knew I'm clumsy. The problem is when you don't notice it. I drove to Uni today on my motorbike (first time), came late, quickly sat down and took off my backpack. Oh wait ... where was my bag? Definitely not on my back. I couldn't believe it and tried looking for it, kept checking under my desk. No, it was at home. Stupid me.
For one day this should have been enough stupidity, but it got worse ...

Crocodile:
For class, we were supposed to bring in a newspaper article as inspiration for a story. Now I found the most hilarious happening from last week in a Leicestershire (England) area: a crocodile had swallowed a mobile phone. Now write a story about that! In the middle of writing I just burst out laughing. It was too funny. I couldn't deal with it. Too comical to believe.
In my story, the ranger asked why they knew the crocodile escaped. (That's when I broke off and hid my face, too embarrassed with dripping tears. A friend asked, are you alright? I laughed even more and everyone joined in.)
So this is how it goes on in the end:
"Well, we rang it ..."
"You rang it?"
"Yes, but it didn't ring." (And here I started laughing all over again.)
It took me 20 minutes to write these lines, because I kept laughing so badly. My thoughts always went back to the ringing crocodile, which it apparently really did. Just imagine it having a Britney Spears ringtone "Oops!... I Did It Again".
Couldn't stop laughing. No way. And all the others laughed at me. That just made it worse. I think my sweater is still wet from wiping my eyes.

Comedy Festival
Over two weeks, there are copious acts all around Leicester for the festival. I went to my first comedy gig ever today. Front row (always a bad sign), only male at the front, accompanied by two girls (very bad sign), no one else on our side (very, very bad sign).
My friend's golden silk scarf was the running gag of the evening. The host put it practically everywhere. When he put it on that naked guy (completely naked) to congratulate him on the act, everyone burst out. Not laughing actually. I'm not sure if my friend is happy to have it back.
I was the second running gag. It came out that I'm German, the only foreign in the audience (why did I put up my hand?). So he kept explaining the British ways to me (yes, they do live in houses and apparently their kids can't resist hitting balloons when they see one). I'm good at making a fool out of myself.
The next comedian tried to explain to us what masculinity really means. First he made comments about my two diamond earrings (they are not diamond in any way) and said I should put on my motorbike helmet to hide them. For whatever reason, he then still wanted me to be his role model for his argument. ME! A role model for masculinity? My two friends and me, we started laughing really loud. For everyone who didn't know, I'm gay. The guy didn't get why we laughed, but it was definitely funny.

Now, the next act did something amazing that I want to share with you. Watch the video and tell me what you think of comedy. What makes you happy? How do you put it in words?

16 Comments:

  1. DEZMOND said...
    I think that readers like to read ironic remarks, and that they love characters and writers which are ready to critically view themselves in a humorous way, people who can joke about their own mistakes and flaws :)
    Amy Saia said...
    You made me laugh about the crocodile! I was speaking to someone the other day about the line of satire/seriousness many authors use in their writing, and they said it's a great talent to be able to do that. So keep it up!
    Susan Gourley/Kelley said...
    I was sitting here all alone at my writing desk and I read about you laughing out loud during your writing exercise and I started to laugh too. Your instructor must have loved it.
    Tabitha Bird said...
    LOL the ringing crocodile!
    Elizabeth Mueller said...
    Nahno, how right you are about the unexpected. I feel that understatements make things funny, too.

    Have you read Tristi Pinkston's writing? Google her and see what books she writes. They are Christian works, but she's so wonderful with humor, I find myself bursting out laughing every time I read her stuff.

    ♥.•*¨ Elizabeth ¨*•.♥
    Zee Monodee said...
    The ringing crocodile with the Britney song cracked me up!
    Loved your voice in this post, so light and yes, funny. I think comedy is not 'act' itself - it's how it's conveyed that makes the difference.

    Will be dropping by your blog - sounds good to know what a German in the UK thinks of the life there. :)
    Unknown said...
    Dezmond - you're right. Things are much easier and less destructive with a little bit of humor on the way.

    Amy - I will take your advice. Maybe I'm not that bad with comedy after all.

    Susan - haha, thinking about you on your desk made me laugh all over again. I'm glad this post is so much fun for you and for me.

    Elizabeth - I had a look. Secret Sisters sounds great. I might have a look at it. (I'm starting a book list now)

    Zee - you're welcome any time on hear. I'll watch what you do as well. Liked your blog.
    Arlee Bird said...
    Comedy can be so subjective and writing it even moreso. I don't do well with it although I do think I have a pretty good sense of humor. Usually I come off at my funniest when I really wasn't intending to be so.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out and the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011
    Talli Roland said...
    Hahaha!

    My comedy always comes out as snark. While some people find this funny, it seems it's irritating to others! :) Ah well, I have fun writing it!
    Unknown said...
    Nothing like a good belly laugh! Comedy doesn't always translate, but one thing's for sure -- everyone loves a good laugh!

    Thanks for the follow! I look forward to reading more from you. I love love your blog template!
    Unknown said...
    I hope I get older now, laughing supposedly furthers life span.

    Arlee - I think nobody knows if their comedy will work until they tried it on readers

    Talli - unintended comedy can sometimes be the best. As long as some are on the same wavelength as you are - fine, right?

    Nicole - thanks, the template is brand new on here. True, I know about comedy in different languages from film studies and some don't work. I'm glad I found your blog.
    Alex J. Cavanaugh said...
    Liked the crocodile story!
    MuddassirShah said...
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    M Pax said...
    I love your ode. Happy poems are so rare. I would pick licorice, or coffee, or chocolate ... or my favorites chocolate covered licorice. Happy Valentines! :D
    LEONID GUREVICH said...
    What a deliscious mozarella post that is. I LOVE mozarella! I had an italian store near my place -they made best mozarella - closed :(( but your awesome post reminded me of that.

    Thanks!

    Leon

    P.s. And i LOVE that painting, same on you did. That's why i placed it first

    :)
    Abby Minard said...
    haha, so cute. Wow those mozzerella balls look so...cheesy. I used to love to eat fresh mozzerella. It was all squishy and yummy.

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