Frazz by Jef Mallett for September 18, 2015
September 17, 2015
September 19, 2015
Transcript:
Frazz: People would be happier if they worried less about money. Coach Hacker: Hoho! Give me yours! HA! Caulfield: 0.28 seconds. Frazz: Told you. Caulfield: That makes it the easiest joke in the world. We need a different metric for the lamest.
I do get what Jef was aiming for in today’s effort. But, it feels a little forced. Frazz’s sentiments are of course good ones (albeit difficult ones) to follow.Coach Hacker’s joke, while funny, does not fit really well as a reply to what Frazz said. So, it seems a bit stilted and forced.Caulfield’s “timing” of the interval from statement to joke is kind of funny too. Even though, the reality is that how soon a joke follows a statement is going to of course be about a lot of factors, including the personal comedic timing and delivery style of the jokester. Caulfield’s conclusion is therefore (of course) on shaky ground at best. I know that the conclusion is meant to be superfluous anyway, so that is ok. The rather sad aspect though is the idea that Frazz and Caulfield both seem to want to rate jokes on a “lameness” scale as well. “Lameness” as a concept is a rather negative, rather derogatory sort of term. Jokes are typically between friends and as such, it feels to me rather judgmental to try to have a lameness scale attached…. it seems sort of mean to me. I doubt Jef meant it in this way, but it does come across that way to me.Jokes occur in all manner of forms… sophisticated, corny, silly, wry, etc. They are meant to illicit a feeling of fun and/or camaraderie between friends.