Amidst a sea of red flasks with red culture medium, my red "The 50 Funniest American Writers" clearly didn't stand out for me to read it with great fervor.
To be honest, as a child, my favorite thing in my house was a 'Diwan'. A Diwan is a cushion that is famously used in Indian living rooms because it makes sitting on the floor for family talks easy. It however was my favorite because I could ride 'horsy' on it and compete against my brother who did the same thing on another Diwan. We had our own derby and the winner (totally don't know how we figured which one of us it was) gets an extra piece of candy. The first short story by Thompson actually tarnished my expectation and excitement towards horse racing. It wasn't funny in the sense that it was firstly too vulgar and pretty gross at that. I didn't mind the plot including Playboy. What I did have a problem reading, and comprehending with all dignity, was the description the photographer gave about how he perceived the crowd to be in the fields the next day. It was a little awkward to picturize all of what he said. He said, " That whole thing will be jammed with people; fifty thousand or so, and most of them staggering drunk. It's a fantastic scene - thousands of people fainting, crying, copulating, trampling each other and fighting with broken whisky bottles. We'll have to spend some time out there, but it's hard to move around, too many bodies." COPULATING? Really? Did it have another meaning in the past that I'm not aware of? Or am I thinking differently because I'm a Biology major?
Another place that totally struck to me as disgusting was when he described the scene in the box. He said, " The aisles will be sick with vomit; people falling down and grabbing at your legs to keep from being stomped. Drunks pissing on themselves in the betting lines....". It was funny if you wanted to look at it from modern humor's perspective, but I don't know how funny it would have been back in 1970.
The second short story by Woody Allen on the contrary was quite funny. It was funny in that it gave a commoner's tone to an organized crime group. Just imagining them sharing space with the Fred Persky Dance Studio for their headquarters which houses three rooms and one secretary who does all the typing came out as really funny to me. The mob structure defined at the very end was pretty funny too. The punishment described by "Failure to do so means instant death." carries a lot more humor in context than it seems out of context because who they're referring to here is the capo di tutti capo, or the boss of all bosses. It almost shows how mindless these groups are to kill their boss if he doesn't provide them with cold cuts and ice cubes. Lastly, when the author mentioned about the initiation process of an organized crime group, I was hoping for something more serious; something that involves the recruit doing some crime Oceans 11 style. Apparently, according to the author, all it takes to become a part of this organized crime group is to say "Good. I like oats on my head" when they put oats on your head and hop around saying "Toodles! Toodles!". Again, as an Indian, I don't get why there is so much hate towards chutneys.
The last work by Thurber on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was my favorite reading. It shows how life goes a full circle. Some of those things that Mitty imagined doing are what I would have imagined when I was a kid; playing the captain of a military jet, operating on a patient and rallying for my case in a court. It shows in a funny way how old people might go through the same feelings a small child might and how they keep themeselves happy. It was rather funny when his old wife thought he was sick when he told her what he thought. Another thing that is really funny now more than ever is when Mitty, says to the sargeant " We only live once, Sargeant!". What we're seeing here is the prototype of the today's YOLO! This goes on to show that Humor is timeless and self-propogating.
These readings were funny and I enjoyed each of them in different ways. The first reading wasn't funny in any dignity but being a college kid, I had a smile or two when random abuses were thrown around for no reason as I experience it every Saturday night walking by the GrandMarc Apartments. The second reading was especially funny to me because it was obnoxious humor like Monty Python, The Onion or The Annoying Orange. They are funny because they are irritating and that's as simple as it can get. The last reading was more relatable than funny because at different points in my life, I've seen elderly people entertaining themselves and this story made a lot of sense in both, looking back at my childhood and in expectance of my elder self.
To be honest, as a child, my favorite thing in my house was a 'Diwan'. A Diwan is a cushion that is famously used in Indian living rooms because it makes sitting on the floor for family talks easy. It however was my favorite because I could ride 'horsy' on it and compete against my brother who did the same thing on another Diwan. We had our own derby and the winner (totally don't know how we figured which one of us it was) gets an extra piece of candy. The first short story by Thompson actually tarnished my expectation and excitement towards horse racing. It wasn't funny in the sense that it was firstly too vulgar and pretty gross at that. I didn't mind the plot including Playboy. What I did have a problem reading, and comprehending with all dignity, was the description the photographer gave about how he perceived the crowd to be in the fields the next day. It was a little awkward to picturize all of what he said. He said, " That whole thing will be jammed with people; fifty thousand or so, and most of them staggering drunk. It's a fantastic scene - thousands of people fainting, crying, copulating, trampling each other and fighting with broken whisky bottles. We'll have to spend some time out there, but it's hard to move around, too many bodies." COPULATING? Really? Did it have another meaning in the past that I'm not aware of? Or am I thinking differently because I'm a Biology major?
Another place that totally struck to me as disgusting was when he described the scene in the box. He said, " The aisles will be sick with vomit; people falling down and grabbing at your legs to keep from being stomped. Drunks pissing on themselves in the betting lines....". It was funny if you wanted to look at it from modern humor's perspective, but I don't know how funny it would have been back in 1970.
The second short story by Woody Allen on the contrary was quite funny. It was funny in that it gave a commoner's tone to an organized crime group. Just imagining them sharing space with the Fred Persky Dance Studio for their headquarters which houses three rooms and one secretary who does all the typing came out as really funny to me. The mob structure defined at the very end was pretty funny too. The punishment described by "Failure to do so means instant death." carries a lot more humor in context than it seems out of context because who they're referring to here is the capo di tutti capo, or the boss of all bosses. It almost shows how mindless these groups are to kill their boss if he doesn't provide them with cold cuts and ice cubes. Lastly, when the author mentioned about the initiation process of an organized crime group, I was hoping for something more serious; something that involves the recruit doing some crime Oceans 11 style. Apparently, according to the author, all it takes to become a part of this organized crime group is to say "Good. I like oats on my head" when they put oats on your head and hop around saying "Toodles! Toodles!". Again, as an Indian, I don't get why there is so much hate towards chutneys.
The last work by Thurber on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was my favorite reading. It shows how life goes a full circle. Some of those things that Mitty imagined doing are what I would have imagined when I was a kid; playing the captain of a military jet, operating on a patient and rallying for my case in a court. It shows in a funny way how old people might go through the same feelings a small child might and how they keep themeselves happy. It was rather funny when his old wife thought he was sick when he told her what he thought. Another thing that is really funny now more than ever is when Mitty, says to the sargeant " We only live once, Sargeant!". What we're seeing here is the prototype of the today's YOLO! This goes on to show that Humor is timeless and self-propogating.
These readings were funny and I enjoyed each of them in different ways. The first reading wasn't funny in any dignity but being a college kid, I had a smile or two when random abuses were thrown around for no reason as I experience it every Saturday night walking by the GrandMarc Apartments. The second reading was especially funny to me because it was obnoxious humor like Monty Python, The Onion or The Annoying Orange. They are funny because they are irritating and that's as simple as it can get. The last reading was more relatable than funny because at different points in my life, I've seen elderly people entertaining themselves and this story made a lot of sense in both, looking back at my childhood and in expectance of my elder self.
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