Hey y'all - get yourself on over to Cafe Disco, the latest worktime hotspot in Scranton! (Some of the links don't show when I read my own blog, but they are there! Roll your mouse over the text & they should make themselves visible.)
Last night's The Office (the one I watched at 6:3o a.m. today) was a classic. I was in stitches. As Michael Scott says, "Gotta keep 'em dehydrated," and I was laughing so hard, tears came. But even if the episode wasn't a classic, I'd still love it.
May 8, 2009
The sound of one voice laughing
See, I've slipped into an interesting routine. All week, busy, busy, busy. No TV. No movies. Not because I don't like all of that, although I don't have cable anymore, so if we watch, we watch tapes and DVDs we already own or discs that arrive via blockbuster.com. (Anyone for "The Aristocat" extras?)
More like, I'm asleep by 8:30 p.m. and if I was awake, I'd be writing the quiz I forgot I was giving in the morning OR eating a bowl of cereal OR wandering aimlessly from room to room, convincing myself I was getting work done, but really forgetting what I was doing in that room: putting away markers, right! Wait, I was supposed to shut the washer lid. Oh, dried mangos. I forgot I stuck those in a desk drawer so Annie wouldn't eat all of them. So yummy.
If I stay up until 10 p.m., I'm reading blogs, reading books, or reading articles in the New York Times real estate section about what kind of house you can purchase for $750,000 ... or $250,000 ... or $450,000. Funny, they never show $100,000 properties in central Texas.
On Thursday nights, my kids go with their dad. (I used to be annoyed when people referred to an ex as "his father" or "her dad," that kind of thing, although I see now that there aren't any other non-clumsy/excessively personal ways around it.) I often go to the store, blow a small fortune at the Target Dollar Spot ("I've been dreaming of pink space alien blow-up pool toys! Target always has just what I already needed before I walked in, and not just stuff that looks fun because I see it in a bin marked $1!"), do a little laundry, make a huge list of to-do tasks, then realize that I want downtime after a busy week. I am my own best cheerleader for sitting down and powering up the laptop. A fun night includes a little Amy's frozen vegetable korma, some sparkling Perrier (or in my case, warm Perrier that I left in my van, and yeah, my ice cube trays were empty, so it stayed warm), and nbc.com.
The two shows I watch - The Office and 30 Rock actually air on Thursday nights, which means I can't watch them until Friday mornings, but that doesn't stop me from watching last week's episodes again. That gives me lots of mileage out of 42 minutes worth of television. Take last week's episodes, for example - "The One" on 30 Rock and "Casual Fridays" on The Office. I watched them friday morning early, before I went to work, then I watched them again last night. So many smiles. Jena with a tuxedo-ed monkey. Toby sharing his 'passion' for HR.
On Thursday nights, my kids go with their dad. (I used to be annoyed when people referred to an ex as "his father" or "her dad," that kind of thing, although I see now that there aren't any other non-clumsy/excessively personal ways around it.) I often go to the store, blow a small fortune at the Target Dollar Spot ("I've been dreaming of pink space alien blow-up pool toys! Target always has just what I already needed before I walked in, and not just stuff that looks fun because I see it in a bin marked $1!"), do a little laundry, make a huge list of to-do tasks, then realize that I want downtime after a busy week. I am my own best cheerleader for sitting down and powering up the laptop. A fun night includes a little Amy's frozen vegetable korma, some sparkling Perrier (or in my case, warm Perrier that I left in my van, and yeah, my ice cube trays were empty, so it stayed warm), and nbc.com.
The two shows I watch - The Office and 30 Rock actually air on Thursday nights, which means I can't watch them until Friday mornings, but that doesn't stop me from watching last week's episodes again. That gives me lots of mileage out of 42 minutes worth of television. Take last week's episodes, for example - "The One" on 30 Rock and "Casual Fridays" on The Office. I watched them friday morning early, before I went to work, then I watched them again last night. So many smiles. Jena with a tuxedo-ed monkey. Toby sharing his 'passion' for HR.
I heard someone say, or maybe I read it somewhere, that we laugh harder and louder when viewing movies in public, hence the uproarious laughter of a movie theater or the inexplicable clapping that sometimes comes at the end of a movie. In my case, however, I find that I probably laugh louder by myself because I don't feel the need to check my response. And my response is, I love these shows!
The Office, well, that's no secret. Tons of people like it, deservedly so. It is a powerhouse, that rare thing that is both well-done and popular! 30 Rock hasn't yet reached its full audience. To my knowledge, my only friends who watch are Sara and Elizabeth. And I have to be careful about recommending it because one never knows when there will be a PG-never moment with Tracy Jordan. But then comes last night's "Mamma Mia," television for the whole family, or for men ages 9-11, TGS's most popular demographic. (Favorite line from that episode? When Liz Lemon, desperately trying to protect the show-within-a-show-TGS from cutbacks, announces to a consultant that TGS is in final talks to produce "exclusive content for America's jails.")
If that isn't funny to you, it's probably because you have no idea what any of that means. Out of context it falls flat. Or it just isn't your cup of tea. At Christmastime, Jonathan kindly watched several episodes from 30 Rock's season one with me, and while he was smiling, he wasn't writhing on the floor. (No, that was Phyllis in "Cafe Disco.") But on my MacBook early in the morning, the humor soars, baby!
My theory about why I like 30 Rock so much isn't too sophisticated. It's about a clumsy but well-meaning writer/worker in her late 30s who likes food and finds herself in crazy situations, surrounded by hilarious/frustrating co-workers, on a regular basis. The running joke is that Liz Lemon is one step away from totally falling apart.
I am a chattering but well-meaning teacher/wannabe writer in my mid to late 30s who likes food and finds myself in slightly less crazy/funny but still funny situations with my own hilarious cohorts, namely Graham and Annie and other family members via webcam. I am not one step away from falling apart, but I definitely do not take myself seriously, and I believe that laughing at the prospect of disaster helps stave off the real thing.
My theory about why I like The Office so much? It is hilarious, cringe-inducing, poignant brilliance.
One sign I may be internalizing these shows too much? The lines come to me throughout the day, as though they were things said by my real-life friends, and I chuckle again, mostly to myself, and I find myself bringing up bits of dialogues with my real life friends, i.e. "Well, you know what Jack says about that ...."
So what television shows or movies really stick to your ribs?
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3 comments:
Oh we haven't watched last night's yet but I can't wait. I usually don't go in for slapstick, but when Liz Lemon was trying to put the water jug in the water tank ... I was laughing hilariously. And now we use "Oh, TWIST!" all the time in life --- just like Tracy and Liz ...
Look at FLICKR today --- the prettiest picture of you and your children and Oliver and chubby me in front of Freebirds ...
All I can say is:
all you can eat espresso.
Jason and I always watch both of those shows. We've been told by several children to keep it down because we're laughing so hard.
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