I often talk about killing my roommate. He's incredibly annoying, and I 
wouldn't exactly be said if he died. That said, when I joke about dripping so 
much acid on his eye in his sleep that he suffers brain damage and has to quit 
school so that his rich parents can hide his insanity from the world, it's just 
that, A JOKE.


	But WHY is that funny? I'm talking about ruining someone's life just 
because he looks over my shoulder when I'm on the computer. That's totally 
unacceptable behavior by just about any moral or ethical standard. So why is it 
funny? It has to do with the nature of Comedy. Most people think of Comedy as a 
fun and lively little thing. It's jokes about common foibles and unexpected 
zingers. That's only Comedy for the weak minded. Comedy is, more or less, an 
attack. It's an attack that is delivered and timed in such a way that instead of 
being upsetting to viewers, is delightful. Stand-up is an easy point of 
reference. They attack politicians, or prominent people in the news. They attack 
themselves, and often they attack common failings of society. Every joke has 
aggression, or it isn't a joke. Think "Family Circus".

	There are some stragglers. Absurdist humor is an attack on societal norms, 
as is it's fecally inclined cousin, toilet humor. Puns are an attack on both the 
English language, and of course the listener. Humor is a coping mechanism for 
dealing with tragedy. That we will now pay money to have these tragic flaws 
pointed out to us by people who professionally rework the Tragedy into Comedy is 
both remarkable, and comic in it's self.

	Also worth pointing out is that there is Tragedy inherent in just about 
all elements of our lives. I would go so far as to say everything has an element 
of Tragedy, and is therefor a viable target for Comedy. There is nothing I can't 
make fun of. Certain things have to be held at greater distance and kept 
intangible for the laughs to be found, but it's possible, with the right timing 
and delivery.

	Ok, so I think everything's funny. Then why can't I stand Real TV. Not 
that Real TV as a show is any better or worse than the whole fucking genre, but 
it has a story that goes with it. So here's me, Mr. "Eating-Babies-is-Funny". 
I'm at my mom's place, and there's a sizeable gathering of family. For some 
reason we've decided that the best way to share our time together is by watching 
UPN. Real TV comes on. I have to leave the room. There was actually a little 
more shouting and arguing than I'm letting on here, but the important thing is, 
my family decided that they'd rather watch a boat flip over than have me around.

	Oh Boo-Fucking-Hoo Ian. My real point of contention here, is with TV like 
that itself. What is it? Why is it entertaining? Aside from being the death of 
the narrative (no plot, not even a hackneyed story with bad actors, just "check 
this shit out!"), it's so fucking crude. There's no timing on it, there's no 
spin, there's no well handled delivery. It's just shit happening. And it's not 
theoretical shit happening to people we make up for stories that never happened. 
It's all real people suffering, and TV doesn't even have the decency any more to 
have Bob Saget in there doing lame voices. We've all stopped trying.

	Tragedy is compelling, no doubt. That's why every great story needs a 
conflict, and why all Humor is born of pain. Tragedy without context, especially 
to real people, is just sick, and worse than that, pointless. It's the fucking 
Coliseum.  People are so mentally dulled by the world that all they can do is 
see things happen and react. This is just one part of a giant problem where 
society trains people how to reason just well enough to complete the tasks they 
are assigned. It also trains them to consider this work, and to treat all 
thinking as work, and to leave the big decisions to Lawyers and Politicians who 
are just trying to make themselves richer.

	Read a book for Christ's sake people! THINK. When you're about to make any 
kind of decision ask yourself why. Then do it again. Try to see how often 
something is true because it makes sense, and you understand it, and it feels 
right to you, and how often something is true because you've allowed someone to 
explain it to you, and they have some position of authority that you see as 
being worthwhile.

	Tying this back into Comedy, is something funny because you heard the 
laugh track, or because it's actually funny? How often do you do you decide you 
like something simply because it fits comfortably alongside everything else you 
like? How often to artists use conventions like the last panel being the zinger 
in comic strips to avoid actually thinking themselves? Find Comedy in 
everything, because it's there. At the same time, don't mistake Tragedy for real 
entertainment (let alone worthwhile enrichment).