Is it fair to expect a comedian to be funny....all the time?  That's a loaded question, I realize.  More to the point.  I am reading the biography of a certain British comedian whom I want to love and continue to think is wonderful.  However, I have approximately 20 pages left of her biography written in the form of personalized letters and I haven't really laughed.  Okay, so there were two parts that made me giggle...

I guess this disappointment, well more of a let down, is due to the fact that I projected my expectations of this particular comedians previous performances and interviews (where she was always funny) and allowed myself to think that her whole, quite normal life would be a roller coaster of giggles to guttural, belly aching, painful smile - laughing.  But such is not the case.

I don't want to be rude, I mean she is amazing and interesting.  There really is no other way to say it - she's just so normal.

I did like the book.  I can appreciate her efforts to come out with emotional and trying times in ones life with brutal honesty and a 'glass is half full' attitude.  That is something to be admired.  She also has a good use of language.

So back to the original question.  My answer is yes, I do expect a comedian to be funny all the time.  Just like you expect your hairstylist to have good hair all the time!  So,who's bio did I read?  Well, it's called Dear Fatty.

tks

jennine

It's never a very thrilling introduction for a book to be described as  "a journal of a man in solitude, written in the form of short essays."  None the less, Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau is a mountain of a book to get through. ( I feel more inclined to say a vast field that goes on forever in no particular direction and 300 pages later you are back where you started.)  Some may suggest this is the work of a complete genius who required complete submersion in a life like 'test', others feel this could have been a desperate attempt to run from or confront homosexuality, and others yet feel this was just some guy writing a book that needed more attention in the editing department.

Having said that, I am coining Thoreau the most quotable man on earth.  Never have I dog-eared so many pages in a book I absolutely dreaded picking up every time.

A brief synopsis would have me say, this book is the deeply thorough thoughts of a man who chooses to live in isolation near a pond in the woods.  He was educated and social.  He visits town every other day, becomes very close to nature around him and has numerous guests coming and going.  As you read through the book, you'll find yourself wondering if this man is a complete hypocrite.  Read on, you may find Thoreau is onto something else.

And now to share some of those quotes which perhaps demonstrate that Thoreau was not only wise beyond his 20 and 9 years when he wrote this book but just how insightful one can become...alone in the bush.

"It is not all books that are as dull as their readers."

"Sha'll a man go and hang himself because he belongs to a race of pygmies, and not be the best pygmy that he can?"

"As he made no compromises with Time, Time kept out of his way..."

I have to admit, in hind sight, this book is truly impressive.  Proud to have read it, I only recommend it to those up for the challenge.  This book is not for the faint at heart and requires x amount of patience.

tks

jennine

I know, the title has got you asking "Ballycumbers.....What?" 

In response to my own blog entry, I have come to find a word which answers 'The Question'.  Taken from a favorite of mine, the quirky Author Douglas Adams(along with John Lloyd) wrote The Deeper Meaning of Liff.  A dictionary of things that there aren't any words for yet.

Hense I bring you...

Ballycumber:  One of the six half-read books lying somewhere in your bed.

I no longer will refer to the 'half-read book' as "A Failure"...

Now just for fun, some other definitions for your reading pleasure...

Ahenny: (adj) The way people stand when examining other people's bookshelves. 

Boothby Graffoe: (n) The man in the pub who slaps people on the back as if they were old friends, when in fact he has no friends, largely on account of this habit.

Falster:(n) A long-winded, dishonest and completely incredible excuse used when the truth would have been completely acceptable.

Kerry: (n) The small twist of skin which separates each sausage on  a string.

Rhymney:(n) That part of a song lyric which you suddenly discover you've been mishearing for years.

Salween: (n) A faint taste of washing -up liquid in a cup of tea.

Sigglesthorne:(n) Anything used in lieu of a toothpick.

And finally...

Yalardy:(n) An illness which you know you've got but which the thermometer refuses to acknowledge.

Ha ha HAAHHHAA   hahahah  HA aha  HA aha  Ah ah!

I hope you had a laugh.

tks

jennine

As a footnote:  None of the above definitions were recognised in my spellchecker!!!