Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Importance of Laughter


Uptight people who rarely or never laugh can be a huge drain and buzz kill at any social function.

Have you ever have to deal with a person or group of people who seem to have the proverbial "stick up their ass"? Whether it's a friend, family member, co-worker or whoever, their absence of an ability or willingness to laugh can reveal how closed-minded, stoic, anal retentive or overly sensitive they really are.

Now take this picture, for example and the caption below it:













This is where all the cybersex takes place...

Bet you love it long time

Now if that picture and caption didn't, at the very least, put a grin on your face, chances are that YOU may have the undesirable "Stick Up The Ass Syndrome". This syndrome may be cured by several different means.

Cure #1- Watch humorous movies that feature either bodily functions (such as farting), sarcasm, clever rarely used puns or all of the above that tickles your fancy. By the way, if your fancy hasn't been tickled enough, lately, that could be why you are unable to find the humor in anything.

Cure #2- Read a humorous story or a series of humorous stories. I suggest reading anything by Kurt Vonnegut, George Carlin or Dave Barry. Open your mind to different comedic viewpoints. You may be surprised at the results. You may even shit your pants from laughing so hard. That's a good thing, unless you're on an elevator that gets stuck with a whole lot of people inside there with you for hours and hours for whatever reason. In that situation, there will likely be some profuse vomiting involved by the group. The stench will be nauseating. Guaranteed, no one will be laughing then.

But I might, if I should see a video clip of that scenario.

If neither of these cures work for you, then feel free to try Cure#3- This involves asking a friend (if you have one) to hit you upside the head with an aluminum baseball bat.

Clang!

You may wind up being knocked out cold and/or receive a concussion from this one but think of the laughter it will bring forth from your friend because you asked them to do that to you.

Finally, here are some facts that we know about laughter:

Laughter is good for your health.

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter can also be used to ease or completely erase tensions between two hostile parties to avoid possible hostile actions.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Questions?

If you have any questions pertaining to this or any other subject, I would be elated, filled with utmost joy and become consumed by overwhelming glee to the point of dancing if you were to ask me the question. Heck, I might even get a boner. A big one -if you allow me to crack your skull open with a baseball bat.

Now that was an example of sarcasm and perverted comedy, in case you didn't catch that.

12 comments:

  1. First!!! :)

    I hope you dont have any such issue or feel free to ask me to hit you upside the head with an aluminum baseball bat. I will be more than happy to that :)

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  2. Ah, the art of giving laughter... almost as good as the art of enjoying Happy Hour! ;-)

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  3. Laughter is one of the best gives you can share, it's contagious! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

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  4. Speaking of movies with farting....Still remember laughing my ass off to "Blazing Saddles." And even that Kevin Costner movie...."Dances with Wolves"..The campfire scene was so hysterical.

    Laughter is definitely a stress reliever. In fact a lot of good things are stress relievers.:)

    Question: What Carlin would you recommend?

    PS. I hope you're dancing now!!

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  5. Pratik: You will be more than happy to do that? How nice of you to offer. :)

    Penny: Ha ha. How true. Also- I did not know there was such an art. I must stop by your blog more often to fully understand this art form. ;)

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  6. Me-Me: Yep, tis true. It's better than a lot of Christmas gifts I've gotten in the past. Like a Looney Toons Characters toilet seat. Tweety Bird and all the rest :)

    Guy's Perspective: Yeah, Blazing Saddles was hysterical. And so was the campfire scene in DWW. I thought Costner's character was an uptight asshole, however. He made out like he was too good to fart.

    Yes, I'm dancing now, doing the Cha-Cha and scaring the hell out of my cats. :)

    Carlin books I recommend: "When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?", "Napalm and Silly Putty", "Brain Droppings" and the last one he made was a collaborative effort -part biography -part his own words. I believe it's called "Last Words". The reason for that title is because he passed away not long ago. It's in hard back at Barnes and Nobles. I don't own that one yet, but I will. Actually, all of those books can be found at pretty much any decent book store. There's even a set box for the first 3 books he wrote.

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  7. Kelly,
    You are awesome... BTW... I love "that's what she said moments"

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  8. Greetings Kelly,
    An excellent article you have submitted. I can so relate to what you have alluded too.
    I really hate folks who take everything you say literally. So by the time you explain to them that you weren't really go to shove a giant cactus up their butt..the well meaning, good natured banter is totally lost on them.
    I've always been a big admirer of George Carlin. Hell man, I even thought he was okay in 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' awesome dude.
    You bring up some very good points about humour (humor). Laughter is indeed good for your health. That is why, Kelly, having a good laugh with you has been a fantastic tonic and I am most grateful.
    In England, folks buy baseball bats but nobody plays baseball. Wonder why they do that? 'I say old chap' says the English dude as he bops you on the head with the baseball bat...
    It has been a pleasure interacting with you. Take very good care and y'all have a nice day.
    Yeah, I know, don't tell you what kinda' day to have:-)
    With respect, Gary

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  9. I hate where I work because the demographic of customers are "stick up the ass" people and most of the employees are the same way. It totally doesn't jive with my personality. So it's pretty much hell. Because I'm the "jokester" is the reason why I never would move up in the company. I can't tolerate being a prick. Good thing I'm quitting next month. HARHARHAR.

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  10. Pinkie: Thank you! You're awesome, too. Love PinkLatex. One of my faves in the Blogosphere.

    Gary/Klahanie: First, thanks for the compliment.

    "So by the time you explain to them that you weren't really go to shove a giant cactus up their butt..the well meaning, good natured banter is totally lost on them." That sure is a sweet image you just placed in my mind. :) Am I rubbing off on you? And I don't mean that, literally. Heh heh.

    Anyway, George Carlin is about as close to hero worship that I get to. I was listening to his first albums (LP's, ya know)when they first came out since I was 15 and bought every damn one. since then. Yeah, I'm that old. :(

    His last 3 HBO specials were his best, I thought. Hey, you better have a nice day too... or else. LOL.

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  11. "I can't tolerate being a prick" means that I won't conform to being one in order to climb a corporate ladder.

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  12. Oh, I get it now. Yeah, I didn't do that either when I was still able to work. There's a lot of people who do that, though, unfortunately.

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Go ahead! Write something clever! I dare ya!