main | contents | previous | next
01 MAR 2004
We can be saved by playing our serious selves in an absurd context
That's a great formula, the secret placed early in the Manual, complete with drum roll.
9430
15 MAR 2004
Playing off serious world
Can we have a funny world without serious world? In theory we could ignore serious world entirely, but we need the material.The funny mission story is about escaping the sin of seriousness, and using serious as material in deadpan comedy. The negative adds drama, sets up an adventure, a journey, a story. The contrast between serious and funny worlds may be necessary for anything to happen.
And it's a fact we start serious, so that's where the story starts. The mission statement must include our predicament. Serious world is deplored, our sinful state acknowledged.
9473
THE TRICKSTER Many native traditions held clowns and tricksters as essential to any contact with the sacred. People could not pray until they had laughed, because laughter opens and frees from rigid preconception. Humans had to have tricksters within the most sacred ceremonies lest they forget the sacred comes through upset, reversal, surprise. The trickster in most native traditions is essential to creation, to birth.
-- Byrd Gibbens in Napalm and Silly Putty by George Carlin, 2001
9483
18 MAR 2004
Funny is a safe outlet for our energy
We like raising energy. That's abundant life, spirit flowing through us.Normally that energy goes into serious world, feeding the insanity. Then we tend to shut the flow down and turn to medication.
Funny is a safe outlet or sink. We can distribute our sacred spirit as laughter, or put our surplus energy to work building funny world.
9486
29 MAR 2004
Must be funny style changes applied to manual
mbf -- acronym, example: the mbf mission. Typically used as adjective.must be funny -- italics, example: Must be funny is the sacred meme and algorithm... Typically used for definitions.
"must be funny" -- quotes, example, "Must be funny" is all we need to know in every situation. Typically declarative, saying it .
must be funny -- bold, when first mentioned, and often at the start of a new theme, example, Must be funny works fine as a stand-alone religion...
must be funny -- retained whenever the words are read normally for their meaning.
Note the aversion to caps, though they did show up in three examples above, at the start of sentences. There could be caps in the acronym, initial caps, block caps, small caps. Why not?
The answer is ideological. Serious religions capitalize all over the place, and I capitalize The Serious One to show that he belongs to that milieu.
Must be funny comes from below, subverting serious religion, dragging it down to the funny level, so commonplace and lowercase. Typography is theology. Ironic capitalization allowed.
9515