Final Meeting with Harry

Harry and I met for our last time this Thursday, and with that, Harry seemed to be the most chatty with me today. He had a lot to say today and I'm sad to say that I wish every conversation had gone more smoothly and naturally like this one did.

To really kind of wrap up our 45 minute discussion, I'll just hit some of the high points. We talked a lot about internships and work again. I asked him what his plans were since he already knew about mine, and he said he would just like to have something that would pay him. Unfortunately, it's difficult for him to get an internship, much more a paid internship in the U.S. Not really sure why, but it seems like countries give priority to citizens and not international students or others that have obtained a working visa. I asked him if he could get an internship where would he get it, and he said he wasn't sure at all. He knows he wants to do business but, as of right now, he doesn't know what direction he would want to take his business degree.

Whatever Harry does though, it must involve a lot of money, he definitely made that clear. He has an obsession with luxury vehicles and plans on buying a Lamborghini sometime in his life. His parents own a Jaguar and Mercedes (which he clarified to me that imported cars like that cause more than double what we pay for them) so, allow your minds to wander freely as to what they do. Harry said his parents own their own companies and constantly working to branch their businesses out. Harry has discovered that, although he doesn't know what they particularly do (which I found a bit odd), we doesn't want to do anything that they do... confusing, but I guess makes sense when you really think about it.

While talking about business, he mentioned that the United States has ridiculously cheaper products than China. In China, they tax all luxury imports that are unique to China in order to encourage spending on domestic goods, another aspect of the country that Harry isn't too fond of. He has already purchased his own Mercedes while being here and was excited tell me that when graduates his father will give him 100,000 Chinese dollars to purchase whatever car he'd like... now that, my friends, is a kind father! He doesn't know what he'll buy just yet, but he's excited for the day.

After our long discussion about money and cars mixed with a bit of laughter, Harry and I gave our final goodbyes. I wished him a safe trip home and he wished me a happy break. I think we'll still stay in touch.. I still need the name of that software...

Meeting number 7 with Harry

*My original post was saved over by 8th meeting post, so I'm rewriting this*

Harry and I planned to meet at our usual Tuesday time slot of 2:00 at the Barnes and Noble. Unfortunately, for Harry he couldn't meet at 2 and moved our time slot to 5:00. That definitely changed my plans up for the day, since my days are usually so filled with meetings and lately, interviews for this and that.

I came into our meeting a bit late and flustered and sat down so out of breath. He knew that I was definitely struggling a bit and asked me what was going on. I explained to him that these past few weeks have been more than exhausted with projects, meetings and interviews for potential internships I'm just at a total peak as to how busy one can be and have plateaued since I've reached that spot. He felt for me but still didn't quite understand. He only is taking about 9 hours and had nothing but projects to deliver for his finals, which he even claimed were easy. Today, he had just given his final presentation for one of his English classes about himself and he was ready to head home.

I, once again, asked about home for him and today his response was more than enthusiastic about going home. He's really beginning to get excited about heading home to his friends and family, although he's still not thrilled about the traveling to Australia and he's decided not to fly to Denmark. What's really got him excited for home was the food. I absolutely felt for him there. Having studied abroad in London this past summer and being there for a month, I had left behind me fajitas, briscuit, refried beans and a variety of other tex-mex, San Antonio goodness behind in the United States. I came across numerous places that took their own twist on my culture's food or they obviously hadn't had authentic food native to South Texas and made the food into their idea of what it would taste like. Harry explained to me that in China the food is a bit fresher, and more focused on chicken instead of red meat. Here everything is deep friend, and while he's not against the food here, he really wants to get back to the food he has grown up with, and speaking of that, he scoffed at the idea of Chinese food here. It's nowhere near as good as it is in China, and he's only found one place that comes close to it here in Fort Worth, but the one thing he has found that he likes are chicken wings... I laughed and said that was interesting choice out of all foods he could like in America.

After a long discussion of foods, Harry got me thinking of food myself and realized I hadn't eaten that day. I told him I had a meeting to get to, so I could grab some lunch beforehand, and we left it off there. Until Thursday, Harry!

Meeting number 6 with Harry

We met for a short time today in the usual spot and thankfully we got the comfortable seats in Starbucks, our conversation felt much more natural than planned thanks to that addition.

We began conversation with how his week was looking, and boy does it feel like we both have it easy this semester. He has a few projects and presentations to make before he lives this Saturday and I only have two written finals. We both agreed that our lucky definitely won't last, especially discussing our classes for the coming semester. Harry will be diving deeper into his courses that are focused towards his business degree while taking more hours than just the twelve he's in currently enrolled and I'll be taking a whopping a 18 hours plus an internship (being a triple is such a joy sometimes). We both agreed that I would win in what schedule screams "death" the most contest.

After discussing that information I noticed that he was on that website that allowed him to download songs and movies for free. I was literally so in awe with it, we stayed studying that program for a good 15 minutes. He showed me how to browse, and let me tell you... working Chinese programs is not an easy task. From the layout to the language, it's all so complicated. He even says he struggles with a lot of Chinese made software. He searched for the movie Skyfall, and sure enough it was on there! High definition and all, and not a bootlegged copy. It absolutely blows my mind that this kind of software is available. Harry ended up giving me the information to download it myself, too bad I have no idea how to pronounce that program because the only way to identify it is through two Chinese symbols... Joy.

After our software discussion, Harry had to take to off. We planned to me Tuesday and chat again over coffee.

Meeting number 5 with Harry

Well, Harry and I have really discovered that our schedules really have not matched well this semester. We met this past Thursday and decided then and there that we would hammer out the rest of our meetings this coming week. I thought, "Oh, wow. What will have to talk about if our meetings are so close to one another." Surprisingly though, meeting so many times in a short amount of time really forced us to stray from the usual, "how was your week?" and "what are your plans for the day?" type of questions.

Harry and I met at our usual Starbucks spot inside and had a bit of an interesting conversation about our usual weekend activities. We talked heavily about what we do socially, our life outside of the academic world. We chatted about our usual routine and I briefly explained what event I was going to this coming, I think it was a mixer I was telling him. I had to explain to him how fraternity and sorority events pan out; We have to board buses and transport to a location that nobody knows the whereabouts of (to prevent drunk driving). He thought it was a really interesting that we plan events like this for just one night out. I laughed and told him that's not all we do, that sometimes I just stay in or go to a friends house to relax after a long week or rough day.

He began to tell me that one of the things he missed the most about China was the small amount of regulation there is when it comes to going to bars and alcohol. While he's 20, in China he has the ability to go to any bar or any type of establishment where alcohol is served which is one of the most appealing aspects of China that he finds to be better than the United States. Most of his weekends spent in China are spent gathering at a local bar and just chatting and drinking with his high school friends. In Fort Worth, he enjoys that he still gathers at friends' houses but he finds the social scene lacking a bit here due to the fact the legal drinking age is 21 and most bars are 21 and up. He can't wait to get home and finally have a large drink after this semester. We both started cracking up.

We wrapped up the conversation and said our good byes and went our separate ways.

My Fourth Meeting with Harry

I really enjoyed my meeting with Harry today. Our meetings having seemingly become much more authenticated lately. With just a few quick texts, we're able to meet up at any place we choose and it doesn't seem forced. We recognize each other's busy schedules and have kept up one of our own for our meetings. It's really exciting to see the connection that him and I are making and today we had a lot to catch each other up on since the break.

We began with the ever common, "How was your break?" question. His trip to Miami was a definite hit for him and his girlfriend. The weather was warm, yet still cool and the culture was fantastic, he said. The only con he could find there was the spanish language that was so fluent for most people in the city. He's still new to learning English, but when people are throwing in Spanish to the mix, Harry's caught really off-guard. He asked how my break went and I replied with how great of a time I had in Austin for the game and that I was able to spend my vacation with family towards the end.

Harry then asked what my plans were for Winter break. All I'm really doing is going home to be with my family and friends with maybe some side trips to Austin or Fort Worth in between. Well, Harry blew me absolutely away with his plans... He'll be going to China, then in a week be leaving for Australia to stay for a week, then he'll head back to China to get ready for a flight to Denmark. I told him how exhausting that sounded and he didn't sound too thrilled about the trips either. "Yeah, we have family over in those places but I can't handle how long the flights are," he said. I wouldn't blame him either. 10 hours to Australia, then who knows how long a flight to Denmark would be... He told me he plans on staying back in China for the trip to Denmark.

He also isn't too thrilled about seeing his parents either, but then again, who is really excited to have to be with their parents for an entire month? He wouldn't be spending an entire month with his parents though. Although he's said before that his parents aren't really very controlling and have supported with most decisions he's made in his life, he doesn't actually spend much quality time with them since they're constantly working on the growth of their businesses.

Finally, before Harry had to go prepare for a project of his, we chatted about the Chinese government and how controlling they are of the internet. I saw that he was using a chinese version of what looked like Facebook. He told me that it had all the functionality of our Facebook but it was more regulated. He didn't really understand why there was a need to have separate social media sites if both chinese and the actual Facebook site mirror each other, but the chinese Facebook is more catered to the chinese in both language and regulated content (which is regulated by the government). Also, he mentioned to me that the chinese are allowed to download any song and movie they want for free through an approved chinese computer application. This was just beyond me knowing that piracy is such a huge issue in America, I couldn't believe that things like entertainment were offered to China.

Well, until next time, Harry. Can't wait.

Harry and I Meet / Part 3

Harry and I met on Tuesday at around 1:00PM, which seems to be the only time the he and I don't have a conflicting moment in the day. We found ourselves sitting in out in front of the Barnes and Noble tables, once again. I was starving this day, so I suggested we move this conversation to Dutch's for a burger; He seemed happy to come along with me!

Of course, I'm the only who is actually ordering food. I find it quite awkward when I'm the only eating at any sort of event. So as I wait for my food we begin to chat about how are week has been. Harry he seems to constantly be busy with school, because for the 3rd time he's told me that he has multiple one-on-one meetings with his professor in the coming week. It seems that ESL students really have the opportunity to have personal meetings with their professors, but I'm just assuming that they're more like "check-ins" that provide them information as to how they're progressing through their requirements and what not, I'll ask him about it on our next meeting.

Once my burger arrived, we began discussion about what makes each other laugh. He didn't quite seem to know why I was asking this question, I told him about what our class was about centered around and he started to grasp the concept of what he thinks is funny. He's amused by many things: jokes, television and movies. All very general answers, so I decided to delve just a bit deeper and ask specifically what aspects of each of his answers made him laugh. He didn't really have an answer for jokes besides the fact that jokes are usually funny, we shared a bit of an awkward laugh about that. Entertainment media, however, definitely seemed have more depth behind it. I can't remember the name of his favorite actor, but he was quite obsessed with this certain comedian and he had a passion for various films that I had never heard of.

As conversation began to die down, I asked his plan for his Thanksgiving break. He was heading to Miami with his girlfriend and some friends. He laughed about no plans on seeing his family until much later into the winter. I asked him where is girlfriend went to school and she's in school a smaller liberal arts school in the Mid-West. I thought it was remarkable that he was able to keep connection and an emotional relationship with his girlfriend through the process of moving to America and attending different schools, I don't think I could even do that. However, they've been together for almost a year and he likes her quite a bit. I laughed a bit and told him I was pretty jealous of his love, and he scoffed right back at me and said I could a get girlfriend no problem. We both started laughing a bit and I said, it's a bit harder than you think to just get into a relationship, but he has quite a bit of confidence in me to get myself into a relationship.

It was at the end of our relationship talk that I had to end our conversation for a meeting I had early in the afternoon. I bid him farewell and told him we would meet again after Thanksgiving.

Tales of Juha p. 1 - 41

Splashed across about 33 pages of the reading were stories filled with this character called, Juha. An interesting character that takes the form of various emotions, entities and people. I, personally, was very absorbed into the short bits of comedic storytelling. This Juha character seems to be the center of Arabic humor taking advantage of every type of joke that seems possible to tell. From sarcasm to physical humor, Juha is seamlessly fits into each form of humor.

It's odd to me that Juha is such a present form of comedy for Arabs. Seems a bit to me like the "yo mama" jokes in America, focusing on one comedic aspect of somebody's mom and making a joke of them. I know, horrible example, but it seems to fit the mold of Juha, perhaps? Focusing on one element and putting that element in different situations, but Juha isn't just placed in various situations, Juha changes character again and again. It is said the Juha is rich and a pauper, old and young, hero and thief. Is Juha an actual character or is it just an idea? That what the text even questions to us. Juha is fictitious and reality, a representation of societal norms and strife? So many questions come from this Juha humor, but what I did recognize was that Juha was always found in perplexing situations that always ended with witty dialogue. Juha would find a way out of a situation or twist the words of others to manipulate the story into how Juha saw fit.

I can't really describe my true feelings towards this humor, but I was drawn to it, absolutely. The jokes were short, light, fun and sarcastic, at times. The humor dug into representations of real life struggles, slice-of-life type of settings but ended with a comedic twist due to the presence of Juha. Juha would step in, in some form and fashion, and would take these realistic trifles and manipulate them into whatever Juha wanted the outcome to be. Sometimes saving the poor, sometimes helping himself (in not so heroic ways).

To me, Juha wasn't laugh-out-loud type of funny, but I see where Juha has developed many other types of humor. From punchlines to the use of wit, Juha seems to be an older version of humor that has branched out to mesh or begin many types of comedic elements in humor. Because Juha is this omniscient character that has flexibility in form, it looks to see that this type of Arabic humor traveled the world through storytelling to help shape what humor we have today in a way unknown to the creators of Juha.

As I think through again and again about this idea of Juha, it seems that Juha itself is a variety of types of comedic elements. Juha is the epitome of humor. However, I may not find this to be the funniest form of humor, but I see where Juha has helped to develop the humor we recognize and use today. We've unknowingly used Juha to create our own humor, and in that, Juha still exists today. We laugh at our own humor because we've made Juha our own. 

Class Thoughts and Hokum Final Thoughts

Currently, I sit here in this class thinking about where I intellectually and emotionally stand in this class. Although I wasn't able to read the last of Hokum, I still feel that I have input on the subject without knowing what is precisely happening with such-and-such character or this or that time period. I get it, yet I still feel at a disadvantage in this class. From my mid-term essay, you can probably grasp that I'm enjoying the content of this class but sitting here, surrounded by my peers it's difficult for me to speak. Strange, coming from me, am I right? I am the funny guy (or I'd at least like to think so at times), but because of that I feel pressured to not talk about my opinion. When I don't, which is quite often, I feel subordinate to most in this room, as if I'm being judged for having a legitimately serious opinion. I've challenged myself by taking this course and being accepted into the honors college, because this a deterrent from my usual academic curriculum. This is a complete 180 degree change from my advertising and film production mind-set. It is a positive struggle, if you will.

As I feel this class is absolutely beneficial to the idea of thinking outside the box, I constantly find myself re-thinking of where I stand. What I've found is that I've been able to combine the technological aspect of my major in a way to express myself within this class. I am not dumb, nor subordinate to anyone in this class. I have to keep telling myself that. I may not always read before class begins, I still have an opinion on the matters that we discuss in class. I care very deeply about the history behind African-American humor, because I am, in short, a minority. When it comes to sharing my opinion about the various aspects about this humor and the various humor and subjects we discuss in class, I am thankful that I have social media to share my voice. I may not always be heard in class, and at times, I may look like a fool, but I know I'm not. I'm thankful that I have the ability to express myself through social media, because I have an actual outlet to speak my mind with a serious tone.

_______________________

Grazing the pages of Hokum,I kept finding myself lost within many of these stories and bits of humor, I was forced to do a re-evaluation of my previous thoughts of what is considered humor through the minds of African-Americans.

From the blatant use of racial slurs to the presentation of slavery and oppression shown, I found myself struggling to connect with how this could be humorous. But it was this struggling to connect that better abled to connect me to these various works. Humor is found in a variety of fashions. From sarcastic to the absurd, from the grotesque to the acceptable. It is how each individual makes it out to be, and while we've discussed that time and time again in class, it's very easy to lose sight of that when we're taken out of our comfort zones. As horrible it is to laugh at such oppressive stories, it's best to take these stories and dialogue into the context in which they were written. They were meant to be real, but relative. Relative to those that can relate. The various types of humor found in Hokum weren't meant to please every audience, it wasn't made to muster a chuckle from every individual who read through them. Each story had a background that could truly only by understood by those endearing the times of slavery, oppression and racism. 

Being a minority in various aspects, I was able to set realize that during these changing times that I, myself, am still struggling to be accepted in society. I find myself constantly in oppressive situations where harsh terms are flung around with no care as to what psychological and emotional harm they cause on the movement I'm trying so hard to be a part of. Oppression isn't something to make light of, but that is exactly how we, as minorities, fight against. We make a joke of it. Words can't hurt if we make them our own. Let's take a negative slur and turn it against our oppressors. It's with this realization that allowed me to place myself within the context many of the stories of Hokum were written in.

I am now so much better connected with understanding the humor of other cultures that lack a majority status. As previously stated, oppression is nothing to make light of, but when you're the one being oppressed it's sometimes the only way out.

Harry and I Meet ... Again! Oct. 12

Our second conversation took place outside of Starbucks. Very much passed our awkward greetings, we said "Hello!" enthusiastically to one another and began conversation very quickly. This week our topic seemed to linger on getting to understand more on a personal level and his perceptions of TCU and Fort Worth.

Harry personally loves Fort Worth and finds himself at home here. He's made quite a few friends while only being here for less than a year and being from a completely foreign country, at that. Not that it's surprising that he has friends, but that he has such a tight knit group of friendships that seem to have developed so quickly. He lives in an apartment down the road that he thoroughly loves because he has such great roommates and he has a place to call his own - which Harry seems to love his newfound freedom here.

Speaking of home, Harry defines Fort Worth as his new home. He thoroughly enjoys the fact that he is living in this new city and finds the culture so different from China. Apparently most food in China is made from chicken or white meat and is not nearly as deep fried as the food we have here. The taste of burgers and other food in Fort Worth is good, he says, but he prefers the taste of food from home. He implied that he prefers the lighter taste of the food from home.

His discussion of food from home got me thinking... What what his opinion on the chinese food in America? Harry laughed at my comment saying that it definitely does not compare to what he has back home. He's found only one restaurant that has decent chinese-style food.

I noticed he was reading a book, if only I could remember the title of the book, but it looked very strange for him to be reading such a book about American economics. I asked what he was reading and he looked at me with a bit of disgust. It was a book he had to read in order to complete his English as a second language course. He honestly had no idea why they had to read it, but he understand most of it, thankfully. I flipped through the novel a bit and saw he highlighted some lines that he didn't quite grasp and most were sarcastic lines of humor which, needless-to-say, I was surprised to find in a book about economics.

Well, as we finished our discussion about his economic book I noticed I had another meeting to get to. We said our farewells and promised we'd meet again soon.

Hokum p. 19 - 36

The short stories from Hokum definitely took me aback with its blatant play off social issues. Each story marked a different sort of social commentary in correspondence with what felt like witty/sarcastic dialogue. While I can definitely find and understand where the humor within each piece comes into play, I couldn't bring myself to laugh at the darkness that was attempted to be made light of. Now don't get me wrong, I was absolutely intrigued with each of the works, but when humor doesn't just allude to discrimination or social injustice and it blatantly portrays the struggle of a minority group trying to make light of oppression, it's really hard to find a connection between that and humor. Predominantly, On Being Crazy struck me the hardest with its glaring discrimination.

On Being Crazy's play on social equality used in a completely inappropriate context really found a place within me. I understand attempting to make light of living in oppression (especially with how many found humor during times of the Holocaust), but this is a direct reflection of somebody living freely, yet still struggling to live in normality. I shudder to think I use this type of humor to make fun of my own minority status. While the sarcasm is present within the piece, seeing the use of racial slurs really took me aback in that a person facing oppression would play off the term that defines one as subordinate to society.

Personally, I couldn't really find myself as a minority within On Being Crazy. I guess, coming from absolutely different backgrounds really plays a definite part of what would be defined as funny in a social context for an African-American and myself. With so many other problems occurring with social injustice during the time this piece was written there were much larger problems to deal with than that of a slur that denotes oppression.

Cat's Cradle

As we keep reading and reading through more forms and different dialects of humor, I'm beginning to keep a more open mind toward what various authors find to be humorous.

While many of these "texts" don't really have the ability to relate to me, I still cannot even begin to connect with them due to language and honestly, because of the date they were written. It's not that I cannot find the humor, I just downright cannot enjoy the reading, in general. Cat's Cradle, however, took me aback with its language and content. I found myself sucked into the reading in a way that hasn't really happened yet. While I, obviously, was very into Morreall because it directly picked apart all aspects of humor, the various interpretations of humor we've read through short stories have lacked any of the characteristics I find to be funny.

Cat's Cradle was, in itself, absolutely ridiculous. I found myself constantly having to re-read the text on the page to fully understand that what I was reading. From the ice-nine to Bokonon, I was thrown into a text that quite obviously didn't relate to myself with its general content, but was able to grab my attention because the content was so ridiculous.

The dark undertones of the novel dealing with greed, religion, etc. all hidden within a ridiculous take on the society is what really solidified my enjoyment of the novel. So much truth was masked by the ridiculousness of the fictional elements of the novel that seem to fake to reflect any portion of modern day society, but is truly set as a social commentary that critiques the various aspects of society in keeping an open mind and the reflection of fulfilling one's desires rather than improving the betterment of society.

From these two aspect of the nonsensical and the true, I wasn't absolutely connected to the novel through the aspect of humor, because I honestly didn't laugh once. It was the context, the setting, the downright oddity that had my interest piqued and connected to the odd personalities presented throughout the novel. It definitely appealed to the senses, just not my funny bone.

First Meeting with Harry / Sept. 17

Meeting with Harry for the first time was definitely an interesting experience to say the least. After numerous emails sent between us and scheduling conflicts we finally decided to meet in front of the Barnes and Noble at an outside table. I grabbed my lunch and headed on over and sat playing around on my laptop waiting for him.

After 20 minutes of sitting at an outdoor table by myself, I looked left and right to see that there were only a few others sitting outside. After 5 minutes of contemplating whether or not to impose on someone's thought, I decided to timidly ask the person looking as if they were waiting for someone, "Hey, are you Harry?" Thankfully, it was Harry, but I couldn't have felt anymore mortified.

He sat down across from me and we laughed about our awkward introduction. He shared with me numerous stories about his home life, and how excited he was to get away from China and be independent from his parents. Harry doesn't plan on leaving for home anytime soon, unless it is for a long break. He enjoys the freedom and different pace of life that he has here in Fort Worth. He currently isn't enrolled as a TCU student, but is in the midst of taking a variety of English speaking classes. He's very fluent, but he and I both realize there are some lapses in his interpretation of some American slang and phrases.

I asked Harry why he chose to go by his English name, when his real name is Rui. He explained to me that as students in China begin to prepare to leave for an international university they are given an English name that would help them better "fit in" with American culture. During one of his classes in China, they had watched Harry Potter and his teacher had claimed that because Harry wore glasses and so did Rui, that his Americanized name should be "Harry". We both laughed at how deep the meaning of his name was, a lot of history and thought behind it.

Conversation was surprisingly very easy for having been assigned this new friendship, instead of allowing it develop on its own. I really enjoyed getting to know Harry for the first time and our next few encounters are just as enjoyable!

Not much to laugh at

Reading "50 Funniest American Authors" compilation of short stories I have become more in tune with myself in what I define as "funny".

The humor within the short stories that were written pre-1950, involved quite a bit of depth, elaboration and detail. For something to be funny it has to appeal to the mind and the senses. Sadly, for me, I enjoy the simplicity of humor. What I've noticed with the readings within "50 Funniest American Authors" are as the stories become more and more modern and in tune with today's sense of comedy, I am more understanding.

What I really struggled with was the language of stories written prior to a time when I wasn't alive or society wasn't as progressive as I know it to be, if that makes sense. Going back to all the readings within the book, I was very emotionally involved and even let out a chuckle for the stories of today. Short segments about boyfriends and The Onion were both things I wouldn't necessarily say I relate to, but they relate to the culture I've grown up with and allow my mind to not over compensate the humor with over analysis. Authors such as Mark Twain, O. Henry, Parker and White were extremely difficult for me to laugh it, much less enjoy.

What I've noticed from the works of these "older" authors is that many of these stories are not frankly just in touch with what I find humorous. What I find humorous? Various things. These stories however established that I'm not very in tune with the various subject matters and screwball situations the characters in these author's stories got into.

I will say that I love wit and much of that could be found within the text and many times the language used by these authors, there is much wit embedded within the text but it seems so cluttered with how drawn out these stories are and the excessive detail used, as well. It's complicated and over done in my view and really takes away from the humorous substance because I feel as if I should be doing a rhetorical analysis of these short stories for my AP English class back in high school.

It seems like it's just me that feels this way though. Maybe I'm bitter towards these author's because I just honestly can't appreciate their works, or maybe I just feel that humor is much less substance and a lot more punch line. Like I said before, it's not that I don't want to enjoy these stories, I just in all honesty cannot.

I enjoy a good reading of Shakespeare, but when I know what this book is dedicated to funny authors and I'm looking to find the humor within it... and I can't, that's a bit of an issue for myself. As we read more into "50 Funniest American Authors" I will attempt to read these stories with more of an open mind, but seeing as how this is my second go-round, I'm not sure if that's possible.

Morreall's Most Important

There many points made my Morreall that I absolutely agree with, and some points that were clearly blown out of proportion. What really found me though was that humor is ambiguous, healthy and allows one to be open-minded. All very important that come together to help come closer in defining what humor means.

1) Humor is ambiguous
Humor cannot be defined as one set terminology. Yes, humor is the reason behind laughter, but those causes of laughter all come in different forms and ways that are interpreted differently by any individual. Humor is forever developing. Comparing the type of humor present over a century ago is incomparable to the way humor is interpreted now. We've moved away from the long and elusive short stories to the the short and simplistic that has the punch line thrown in our face. As culture moves in one direction humor goes right along with it, developing along side language, culture and technology.

2) Humor is healthy
I definitely stand by the many health benefits of laughing. The physiological benefits of increased blood circulation to the heart, being able to prevent high blood pressure and energizing the body. "Hearty laughter involves several areas of the brain and nervous system, and many muscle groups." Burning calories is also another fantastic benefit of laughing. One study shows that 15 minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories, further proving how beneficial and how much of a physical process laughter is. Humor is not limited to only physiological benefits though. The emotional aspects of laughing are great, as well. It feels to good to laugh and when with others, even better. Allowing one to be happier and more satisfied.

3) Humor allows for open-mindedness
This last takeaway from Morreall really struck me. While I've noticed humor really can't be defined by just a few terms because humor is interpreted by individuals in various ways that it unique to their own emotions and psychological state; it does involve having an open-mind. Having the ability to laugh at yourself, with others and about a variety of subjects really is important. Humor can many times cross boundaries, push limits and appeal to a variety emotions. Keeping an open mind when dealing with humor is one of the key aspects to having growth within oneself, allowing one to grow emotionally and being able to place oneself out of ones own personal comfort zone to understand someone or something else on another level.

Undefinable

Morreall's comments for, against and just general comments made towards humor within Comic Relief really took me aback with how unstable and how ridiculously out there some of his viewpoints are towards humor.

Many of his comments seem viable such as humor having negative effects on oneself and society, but many of his concrete reasons as to why humor is negative were met with an ending that stated that "not all humor reflects this" or a rebuttal from some great philosopher that apparently knows better than us all.

What the last three chapters really solidified for me is humor is something that really cannot be defined by the words of one man or through the analysis or examples expressed by the worlds greatest comedians, philosophers or psychologists. Humor is so dependent upon the person experiencing or expressing it, that it is impossible for humor to have a set of established rules that fit seamlessly within the bounds of every joke or reason behind laughter.

While I do agree humor is absolutely a cognitive shift that goes through a process that repeats itself every time laughter is created, the reasoning behind that laughter cannot be defined as offensive, violent or insincere every time laughter is created. What I feel Morreall has created a book that indirectly is something in comparison to a small bible for humor. A guide with quotes, ideas and stories one can pick and choose to help define what humor means to them and find their own reflection within this compilation of comments and analysis.

Chapter 8 is one that I truly appreciate. It reflects what this book is supposed to be, what it is and what it isn't. Lesson 10 really found itself within me emotionally. "Life is complicated and unpredictable. Whatever way you about something now, someone else has a different way, and in a minute you may too. The big picture - if there is one - is not at all clear. As Albert Einstein said, "Our situation on this earth seems strange. Everyone of us appears here, involuntarily and uninvited, for a short stay, without knowing the why and the wherefore." So expect to be surprised, and look for the fun in it."

Humor, as in life, is unpredictable. There are so many things that will be a mystery and leave numerous questions unanswered. Humor is just one of those things. You can't really define it in just a couple of words. New discoveries are made, feelings change, we become more intelligent. So as life is full of surprises, so is humor. Forever developing and growing, becoming more simplistic. More complicated. It is undefinable.