Friday Funnies

     People often ask me what I do when I'm not painting, or writing about painting, or sketching things that interest me.  Well, those that know me know that in my "off time", I like to eat, walk, watch movies, play Trivial Pursuit and shop.  Yes, you read that right, I LOVE shopping (ironic given the fact that I am well aware of and quite dislike the consumer culture we've created, but in defence of that, I only shop when I really need stuff, you know, clothes, shoes, home goods).

​     Recently, I've been turned on to a new pastime, something I never thought I'd enjoy.  In fact, it was something I actively disliked, or thought I disliked quite intensely, comedy, or rather the watching of it.  Over the years, people have shown me clips, had me listen to records of various comedians and honestly, I wasn't overly fussed.   Granted, I was quite a serious guy for a long time.  I liked Seinfeld, but that was more of a show than a comedy set and I enjoyed SNL back when it was good in the late 80's and early 90's, but other than that, not so much. 

​     Of course, the problem is when you dislike something and the person you live with really likes it, you're stuck seeing some of it and let's face it, Misty's a real chuckle bunny.  She's a big fan of stand up and loves to go to comedy clubs, she'll sit right in the front too. In any event, she's made me a real fan, at least of a select few.  Turns out, I didn't hate comedy, per se, what I hated was silly comedy, or gratuitous comedy.  There's a whole other type out there, intelligent comedy, you know the kind where some actual thought has gone into the jokes.  So lately, I've been laughing my butt of with the likes of Jon Pinette, Ralphie May, Dennis Miller and George Carlin.  Those guys could turn a simple observation about the world or people into a freakin' riot! 

​     The reason I thought to write about this is someone yesterday said something to me that was a bit odd.  They said, I was sort of like the George Carlin of painting.  That's  a weird thing to say, and I'm not sure exactly what they meant by it.  I'm assuming they meant is as a compliment, they were smiling when they said it, but of course in horror movies the killer smiles right before they kill their victims too, so who can tell?  In any case, I'm taking it as a compliment.  I choose to think they meant that I'm intelligent, thought provoking, no holds barred, raw, honest and without an ounce of pretence in my work.  If that's what they meant, thank you very much.  If not, well, thank you for your opinion.  And now that it's Friday, let's watch a funny:

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