I often get asked: "How do you come up with the funny?" Put another way, how do I come up with the funny and amusing things I write? The shortest -- and best -- answer is: life.
Life is funny. Most living things come into the world naked, thrashing, and screaming, and then are expected to conform to some basic universal laws -- you need to eat, and you need to avoid being eaten as long as you can. Failure to abide by these laws often holds unfortunate consequences, but it all amounts to: you get eaten. Whether by the lion or the worms, you still get eaten. It's just a question of when.
Here's the punchline to all this: life doesn't come with an instruction manual. You need to fend for yourself as best you can, and you don't have so much as a bulleted list of what to look out for.
Understand how huge this is. We live in a day and age where such mundane a thing as a toaster oven comes with an instruction manual the size of a phone book for a small town (and emblazoned everywhere with warning stickers, no less). Yet we're on our own when it comes to things so important as life and keeping alive.
Folks, if that ain't funny, I don't know what is.
But for now let's shift gears and look at things more from an everyday point of view. Below is a series of everyday objects I've photographed and captioned for your viewing pleasure. How many countless people walk past these mundane belongings and never give them a second thought? The fact is, the opportunity for humor abounds, if you'd just take a moment to notice it.
Laugh. It's good for you.
Life is funny. Most living things come into the world naked, thrashing, and screaming, and then are expected to conform to some basic universal laws -- you need to eat, and you need to avoid being eaten as long as you can. Failure to abide by these laws often holds unfortunate consequences, but it all amounts to: you get eaten. Whether by the lion or the worms, you still get eaten. It's just a question of when.
Here's the punchline to all this: life doesn't come with an instruction manual. You need to fend for yourself as best you can, and you don't have so much as a bulleted list of what to look out for.
Understand how huge this is. We live in a day and age where such mundane a thing as a toaster oven comes with an instruction manual the size of a phone book for a small town (and emblazoned everywhere with warning stickers, no less). Yet we're on our own when it comes to things so important as life and keeping alive.
Folks, if that ain't funny, I don't know what is.
But for now let's shift gears and look at things more from an everyday point of view. Below is a series of everyday objects I've photographed and captioned for your viewing pleasure. How many countless people walk past these mundane belongings and never give them a second thought? The fact is, the opportunity for humor abounds, if you'd just take a moment to notice it.
Laugh. It's good for you.
And last but not least, here's a picture of me acting silly in a bookstore. I'm holding a book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren entitled "How To Read A Book". The expression on my face makes it pretty apparent that I know something's wrong, but I just can't put my finger on what it might be...