Standing Up to Fatherhood

Jim Gaffigan profiled:

The Science of Laughing and the Brain

Can humor help us better understand the most complex and enigmatic organ in the human body?

From a story in the American Scholar...

Charles Darwin referred to humor as “a tickling of the mind.” We speak of being “tickled pink” at a funny joke, and tickling often leads to laughter, so the analogy is apt. At the physiological level, humor reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and is thought to enhance our immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems. Laughter also provides a workout for the muscles of the diaphragm, abdomen, and face. A joke can raise our spirits, or ease our tension. If we’re able to laugh during a stressful situation, we can put psychological distance between ourselves and the stress. Norman Cousins, editor of The Saturday Review for more than 30 years, chronicled in his 1979 bestselling book, Anatomy of an Illness, how he attempted to cure himself of a mysterious and rapidly progressive inflammatory illness of the spine by engaging in hours-long laughing sessions while watching Marx Brothers films and reruns of the then-popular Candid Camera. Though Cousins’s claims could not be scientifically confirmed, even the most skeptical researchers agree that humor provides an antidote to some emotions widely recognized to be associated with illness—for example, the feelings of rage and fear that can precipitate a heart attack.

Though I wouldn’t take a position on whether laughter has universally salutary benefits, many laughter associations and workshops around the world—common most notably in India and Sweden—do just that.

7 Essential Books about Comedy and Comedians

The list, care of the AV Club.

Jerry Seinfeld on How to Write a Joke

Colbert Takes on Denny's Hobbit Menu

Serious Jibber Jabber with Conan O'Brien

This time he talks with Judd Apatow:

What Happens When Hawkeye Runs Out of Arrows?

He told The Sunday Times: 'It was like being hit by a juggernaut. One minute, I was Simon Tolkien, a barrister from London. The next, I was JRR Tolkien's grandson. This might sound strange, but I began to lose sight of who I was. It was as if I — me, Simon — had disappeared. I felt suffocated.'
It was reported at the time that the family row  stemmed from Mr Tolkien's willingness to cooperate with director Peter Jackson despite opposition from the rest of the estate.
However this was later denied.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235098/Simon-Tolkien-Lord-Rings-films-like-juggernaut-tore-family-apart.html#ixzz2Cg7hwNQt
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

He told The Sunday Times: 'It was like being hit by a juggernaut. One minute, I was Simon Tolkien, a barrister from London. The next, I was JRR Tolkien's grandson. This might sound strange, but I began to lose sight of who I was. It was as if I — me, Simon — had disappeared. I felt suffocated.'
It was reported at the time that the family row  stemmed from Mr Tolkien's willingness to cooperate with director Peter Jackson despite opposition from the rest of the estate.
However this was later denied.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235098/Simon-Tolkien-Lord-Rings-films-like-juggernaut-tore-family-apart.html#ixzz2Cg7hwNQt
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

He told The Sunday Times: 'It was like being hit by a juggernaut. One minute, I was Simon Tolkien, a barrister from London. The next, I was JRR Tolkien's grandson. This might sound strange, but I began to lose sight of who I was. It was as if I — me, Simon — had disappeared. I felt suffocated.'
It was reported at the time that the family row  stemmed from Mr Tolkien's willingness to cooperate with director Peter Jackson despite opposition from the rest of the estate.
However this was later denied.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235098/Simon-Tolkien-Lord-Rings-films-like-juggernaut-tore-family-apart.html#ixzz2Cg7hwNQt
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

He said the success of the film's made him feel as if he had 'disappeared'.
He told The Sunday Times: 'It was like being hit by a juggernaut. One minute, I was Simon Tolkien, a barrister from London. The next, I was JRR Tolkien's grandson. This might sound strange, but I began to lose sight of who I was. It was as if I — me, Simon — had disappeared. I felt suffocated.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235098/Simon-Tolkien-Lord-Rings-films-like-juggernaut-tore-family-apart.html#ixzz2Cg7puU5r
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

City Lights

Brief aside - if you haven't watched this film yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it now...

The Hunger Games - A Bad Lip Reading

Slam Poem to Bacon

Jon Stewart on Literature

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Dramatic Readings of Obama Campaign Emails

But I Don't Like Superhero Movies

A Reading of "50 Shades of Grey"

Ricky Gervais Wants to Teach You English

Stay tuned.

Super Golden Friends

The Confusing Library

Colbert on Letterman to Promote His New Book

Colbert Talks Books

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Following Tina Fey, Comedians Churn Out Books

With the success of Fey's Bossypants, more comedians take to writing memoirs.

From a piece in the New York Times...

“Bossypants,” her 2011 memoir, isn’t just a commercial success or a critical darling. It’s a blockbuster, a staple of the New York Times best-seller list (27 weeks on the hardcover list; 19 and counting on the paperback one). But its impact can’t be measured solely in numbers.

Comedy has become a growing and diverse publishing genre. Published this week was "The Lowbroad Reader Reader” an excellent anthology of a 10-year-old comedy zine, and essays by the comedian Dave Hill called “Tasteful Nudes: ... And Other Misguided Attempts at Personal Growth and Validation.” The first week in June brings “I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me,” an encyclopedia of kvetches by Joan Rivers, with more punch lines per paragraph than any book I’ve read in years. 

But the most popular literary form in comedy is the memoir, perfectly suited for beach and bathroom reads. These are typically around 250 breezy pages that mix “Can you believe I’m writing a book?” jokes with shoptalk and self-deprecating confessions. The ambitions are somewhere between a long magazine piece and a talk show interview. 

What made “Bossypants” a book likely to be imitated is its seemingly effortless balance of genuine insight with candid personal vignettes. It’s light comedy without guilt, which is much harder to pull off than it looks.