Tuesday, 3/14

You know what? I've noticed that myself.

I've had several people over the years make a comment regarding the way I present history (and other) programs onstage. They say that (in essence) I present more as a stand-up comedian than a staid historian. I, of course, can't argue with that; after all, a staid historian can, on occasion, bore the people to whom they're speaking.

I don't think I could do that even if I tried.

The reason I bring this up is that the latest person to mention it made a comment on how, when I speak, I have a tendency to stroll around, much like Chris Rock does when he's on stage. I don't know if the comparison is true; Rock more prowls the stage that he does roam over it, but I get it.

And I'm also a bit astonished that someone would compare me with Chris Rock because, as we all know, there is NO comparison between the two of us.  He's a great talent.  I'm, uhm, me.

I get the comparison, although I might say that while I've (apparently) subconsciously borrowed Chris Rock's stage style I've outright stolen George Carlin's delivery style. This is another thing I didn't mean to do, but over the years I've noticed that I've liberally lifted from one of (if not the) greatest comedians ever—everything from his disdain for pretension to his love of wordplay. In fact, that's something I've noticed every time I sit down to write one of my “Life in the 906's”--some words work, and some don't.

And the order in which you write them—the rhythm of the words—make a HUGE difference as to what's humorous and what's not. Sometimes, changing just one word can take a sentence from okay to knee-slappingly hilarious. I can't tell you why; I certainly can't diagram it. But change one word and it morphs into something that it wasn't before

Comedy, I guess, is a funny (and, apparently, punny) thing.

So if you're gonna steal, I guess you could steal from worse people than Chris Rock and George Carlin. And, as I discovered this weekend, there's another way in which I (almost) stole from George Carlin. The story about that tomorrow.

(jim@wmqt.com)