Nursing the sense of Wit

A System for Sanity

Reading this you should know I have a bias.  I have been in the care of the Provincial Mental Health System of Alberta…repeatedly.  My thoughts are the observations of a person who has lived with Bi-polar Affected Disorder all my life.  It was only in 1986 my condition became diagnosed, until then I just thought I was charming, handsome and really smart.

The System will never work and for my hypothesis I offer myself as an example.  I am probably the most connected consumer and yet I fall through the cracks repeatedly.  Yes I know every new administration says they will fill the cracks but trust a long time user…there is not enough silly putty to cover them up.

The System relies on Doctors.  It has to fail for them to make a decent living.  This is not a slight on any one person, rather the profession as a whole in context to mental health.  If you follow the history of Doctors they were a battlefield creation to sew on injured limbs, amputate infected ones and provide combat surgery.  I agree sometimes my mental illness presents as battlefield wounds but not once has a Doctor tried to sew anything back on.  Doctors have their place in mental health, as researchers and administrators for which they excel. 

For the mental health system to work we need the charge and care of nurses.  I have visited most of Calgary’s finest psych facilities and highly recommend the care and discipline of all the nurses I had, except those that made me go to bed early.  Nurses not only know the patients in a way that the Doctor cannot due to their billing deadlines, nurses do it while recording every single twitch of the patients for the Doctor to ignore later in conferences.  A psych nurse would release you but not until the rest of the world is ready for our unique contribution and, unlike a System that assumes drugs will contain the demons have supports ready. Nurses connect with the community in a network that promotes the reintegration of the person to society, giving us the best chance to succeed.

Would it save money?  The estimates I have made during particularly long and lonely stays are staggering.  The current System relies on a basic charge of about $1000 a day with the move to confining individuals for longer periods.   Add to this the growing influx of new Canadians to Alberta is using mental health facilities and the numbers are staggering.  The System relies on these rates to pay for Doctors, blood testing and medications.  Nurses provide a more holistic approach, incorporating medications when needed to treat symptoms and withdrawals.     

We, Alberta, are leaders in new and innovative nursing practices and training which might make others follow our lead and maybe forget the tarsands.  An industry is waiting to be re-born and nowhere is it more needed than in mental health.

We now have 2 women in the position to make radical change in the Alberta Mental Health System and I am hoping both see the common sense in refining the role of nursing.  This is a political no brainer, just ask anyone who has ever been given a straight answer about their child’s potential.  They get it from a nurse and would be happy to support their administration.

Wisdom from April in September

Question to comic April Macie


Is it possible to learn comedy from an instructor or do you need to pick it up on the street like learning about diarrhea?


 April’s Answer:


 Just write and get on stage every day, that is the only way you learn. And I would watch every bit of stand-up you can. Figure out who you love and then dissect what qualities make them great... jokes, energy, physicality, cadence, story telling... watch their timing, study the nuances of greatness... you have to home school yourself with comedy... and the learning and growth should never stop.


 New Question Derek


A really wise person (you) once told me just write and get on stage everyday. Now they won't let me take a pencil on stage any more, nothing funny about a guy writing on stage. Is there not a structure like swimming strokes, to help me when I am drowning? Is comedy just for the Gods or those willing to undertake the sacrifice?


Aprils Answer


I read a great quote from Bernie Mac, it said, "Comedy isn't a career. Comedy isn't even a choice. Comedy is a calling." Yes, while there are sacrifices with comedy (I'm darting towards barren spinsterdom), I believe if it's your calling, comedy is never a sacrifice... "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." Comedy has also afforded me an amazing life and every day is a new memory or experience and I believe a great life can be measured by the amount of experienes we take in and lives we touch. As far as structure... yes, there is always structure to a great joke.... Here is one of my favorites by Dave Attell... If you look at the beats and rythm it's perfectly crafted... Some of you girls are pulling way too hard. (PREMISE/ SET UP) Some of you are pulling like you're trying to pull a better looking guy out of me. What is that? (SELF-DEPRECATING PUNCHLINE) I didn't swallow Patrick Dempsey. (TAG. A TAG IS AN ADDITIONAL LAUGH AND THROW AWAY BEAT TO A JOKE) I'm the same bald fat guy who met you on myspace. Deal with it. (ANOTHER SELF-DEPRECATING TAG) And you don't even have the class to spit on your hand first. (EXPANDED PREMISE) A dry hobo jerk-down. (PUNCHLINE) What are your stepfathers teaching you? (TAG) What a great joke. (SELF-CONGRATULATORY, BUT TRUE) The only thing missing from that joke is Oprah silently nodding. (PUNCHLINE. CLOSES WITH PHYSICALITY)


New Question Derek 


I really appreciate your earlier answers and thank you for your time. Now I will be a pain again and try to make my really poorly worded point. In every profession people are encouraged to learn, from instruction, to further their goals. Law, Medicine, Finance and even the Arts all have streams that allow for the passing of knowledge from one generation to another. Every profession but comedy where the answer is always watch,write and practice. There are aspects of comedy that can be taught (set-up-punchline, tag, call back, power of 3, physical sell and hold, the opposite etc.) to beginners which would give them a structure to explore their unique view of life. Like any profession the cream will rise to the top (that's me looking up at you) and the rest of us could enjoy the experience more not to mention inflicting less suffering on the audience.


How about this for my question... Would a beginner comic benefit from instruction in the basics of comedy performance and writing?


Answer April

There was a club manager at the Funnybone in South Bend (Janet) who would ask the headliners to watch the open-mic comics and give them notes. Every week the comics would get notes from a different comic. I always thought it was one of the nicest things I'd seen in the comedy business... Haven't seen it since. Comedy is one of those things that can only be learned by doing. Someone told me years ago it would take ten years to start to find my voice. At the time, I thought they were crazy. Ten years later, I have since realized, they were right. Part of being great is confidence and that takes years to build. I watch people who are ten years my senior and I realize how far I have to go. Just get on stage, write and watch people you think are great and you will learn.

New Question Derek

Thank you April, I posted our discussion as my students need to hear your words. They are learning comedy as a skill and wondered why it took so long to become "good". From you the words carry weight. Final questions When are you coming to Calgary Alberta Canada and do you have a white Stetson Cowboy hat? 

Answer April

I do not have a cowboy hat and feel free to request me at your local comedy club, I don't have Alberta on my schedule currently... feel free to tell your students the one thing they really need to learn in the comedy business is patience. 

A Big Bang

Comedy relies on assumptions, innuendoes, exaggerations and most of all stigmatised, racialist and gender inappropriate stereotypes. Thank the Gods for US Weekly!

As a female the question is not when to bring out the artillery of wit but how to chose the battles. So many battles... so little time. If you have a cannon for wit best not exercise it on a cashier or you will be mocked. Save it for the bag boy. If you are a conversational wit save it for when you are behind me. What I'm saying is by saving your wit you the unfunny female can create a big bang effect not unlike a delayed pee, long overdue orgasm or a hot coffee -chocolate cream pudding sous flay a la mode apres l'amour.

A big bang is when your wit collides with some half wit idea that is gaining momentum, and you triumph or fail in spectacular style. The ultimate celluloid example of this is the Dictator by Charlie Chaplin. Wit enlivens in peace and cuts in war was a saying I made up and should appear in a test somewhere.

The reason there is a perception women are not funny comes from the support system in place to help women survive like friends and co not workers, family and loved ones, vodka. No support group of women openly encourages a friend to expose their boss in a meeting using wit and a cutting barb aimed at the balls. Well, sometimes vodka. Usually it is just not done. If it happens it is applauded, afterwards over vodka, but would get no initial vote of support.

A wit must swim upstream to the emotion. It does not make you a bad person but the symptoms are the same. Top 5 Reasons to have a serial killer as a room-mate. Best part about losing everything in the stock market... insert current mess here. If you came up with a witticism please share it with others. Exercising your wit in a responsible manner is an honourable pursuit but sometimes, the irresponsible and unexplained ferocity of an unsuspecting wit can illuminate an exchange and bring needed attention or ridicule. If you look around a lot of things need the attention of wit.

If you feel compelled to address the social issues most pressing to you by engaging both the process and players in wit know that it will win you few friends. Wit like the Tea Party should be non partisan but is often hijacked. The disturbing lack of original wit has polarized the process. A wit about the left will be used to incite the right. As Bill Mahr would say courageous.

Why aren't women funny? Because you are so nice you don;t want to to hurt society's feelings. As a part of society all I can ask is let it go, there are too many idiotic people and ideas being given credibility. The injustice or fraud you encounter and beat with wit today could prevent tomorrow's teachable moment. Yes my feelings will get hurt and if the action getting the attention of wit are illegal or immoral they will be punished. But, and this is the key, compared to the alternative your wit is apple pie.

Politics, Comedy and Women

A woman politician can only win when they have a wit that is bitingly funny and the confidence to use it. Facts are facts. Wit in politics is wielded like a machete, machine gun,or smart bomb. Sometimes you need to assassinate a policy or idea and sometimes you have to go for the character. In short a woman has to be wittier than a man... insert witticism here.

Margaret Thatcher is feared, to this day, for her Wit, as is Hillary Clinton and a select group of others. The rest are defined by the barbs from the men. Hey... don't shoot the messenger. Once you understand every joke has a motive... defence is easy. The trick is in determining what is a joke and when to use the wit.

I will use a successful Alberta politician as an example. For 2 years Danielle Smith has woven together a political party out of nothing but angry disaffected interests. The party is focused, has a structure in place and nomination meetings in almost every riding. Her policies are of the same voice for everyone on big issues. Danielle has done the almost impossible.

Last week the rival PC's came out against her, and here is where she missed the joke. Ted Morton, who had a dummy singing his praises on stage backfire, said he would change the slogan of Alberta from the Wildrose Province to a strong and free sheep or something. It is an obvious attack but it needs to be responded to in humour. Here is a suggestion on how to use wit...

Press Conference... 6 bored reporters and a podium.

Danielle Smith:

Gentleman I have read with interest the musings of a candidate for the nearly 1/2 century old PC's talk of renewal and change of the license plates and slogan for Alberta. I can see why license plates are in need of change as this is the last segment of Alberta to receive funding from the PC emergency recession pot of money. I also understand having a sheep on the license plate as they signify PC party unity.

An aide appears and whispers into Danielle's ear

Sorry I am mistaken, it seems the picture on the license is in fact a Ram so whatever Frueds your ship.

Removing the slogan "Wildrose Province" for "Strong and Free" is inspired and I can only applaud the courage they showed in the selection. I too am a proud Canadian and sing O'Canada during beer commercials of Olympic Hockey games as loud as the next person. I also understand wanting to please the Federal PC candidates who are supporting Ted's run for the ancient, weathered brass ring. I wonder if it is possible to put a Rob Anders picture in the license plate? A Where's Waldo kind of idea.

I as an Albertan seeking to represent Albertans kind of like Wildrose Province. As and Albertan who has seen the "benefits" of Federal Government forays into Alberta (hello NEP)I am a little confused as to why we need to have them represented on our license plates. But if Ted wishes to support Canada on the plates at least he should revise the Alberta Coat of Arms to signify the change. Perhaps a Beaver damning up a field of Wildrose to distribute the dirty oil soaked billions fairly to Quebec. I see a contest.

So in closing... well done. With such well reasoned and fiscally restrained policies like this coming from the most Conservative of the candidates I am sure the message of the Wildrose Party will be heard. At a time when the Province is billions in deficit the cost of implementing a new license plate fits well with other PC policy platforms and financial announcements. Maybe we could put some of the old plates in the new Museum or use the old plates for roofing material for the PC funded new home of the Edmonton Oilers.

Danielle, you don't have to ignore policy announcements like this. All Alberta would understand if you take the shot.

Jr Jokers

As I watch the staff at ZEDS prepare for another summer of Jr Joker training I am reminded why it started in the 1st place. The idea was to teach the skills and writing of comedy to children ages 12 - 17. They would learn set up and punchline, call back the 7 skills of joke, dealing with hecklers and group writing and participation. Sounded so easy.

Over the next 4 years 15 Jr Joker classes were run involving over 150 participants, 3 Board of Education Schools sponsored the events, radio, newspaper and TV tracked the progress. From mom's I heard glowing reviews of the method of instruction and results. From the kids I got grudging respect for the efforts and I learned kids are not funny.

I see the results of Jr Jokers in the person of Steele Duncan who will be running the class. Steele is a gifted artist stuck in the body of a comic as anyone who has witnessed his Harry Potter rap or Toys 'r Us set knows.

Kids who have the skill of stand up comedy have an advantage in life. Best of all it gets the whole family laughing. Of all the legacy project created by the CHEERS project Jr Jokers is one.

Election 2011 full of Fun!

Top 5 reasons to have another early election
# 5 Elected officials want to get it over before cottage season
# 4 Take the minds off hockey for Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto
# 3 Creates a new drinking game for Universities as they drink every time “coalition” is mentioned
# 2 The anger over money spent on an unnecessary election will keep us warm
# 1 Frozen Canadians have missed Elizabeth May talking about global warming

NDP leader Jack Layton was in Edmonton during Earth Hour which is how he spun the dimming prospects for the NDP in the province.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is excited to participate in his 1st election saying the leaves on the trees in Harvard are especially striking in June.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was denied an opportunity to perform at the Juno awards on Saturday. Officials refused to give the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois a chance to sing a response saying it would take too long. A spokesman for the oppositions groups denied this would be a problem saying they would save time by singing from the same songbook.

The CBC has embraced a new tool, Vote Compass, which has people filling out a survey to determine who will win. So far the clear leader is Justin Beaver followed by Drake and Nikki Payne.

I’m not sure why the opposition parties are so upset with the Conservatives building more prisons. At some point all of the Ministers getting convicted have to be housed somewhere.

Jack Layton spent time in Quebec to condemn the oil sands tax breaks and the results were fantastic. Next up Layton will tour BC and complain about Toronto getting all the movies, Saskatchewan to complain Toronto gets all the tax breaks and Toronto to chastise the rest of Canada for hating Toronto.

In an attempt to connect with the younger voters all of the Parties are fully engaged in Social Media with Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and YouTube videos of them puking up a JaggeBomb. The candidates all have Facebook profiles with each of the parties trying hard to get people on Facebook to poke them. Asked to comment former PM Jean Chretien was confused saying Canadians were mad when he poked voters.

I asked the Wit and Writing for Women (www.cheersproject.com) comedy group to suggest Twitter names for the candidates. Here are some of the best:
Stephen Harper @sweatervest, @grumpypants, @dictator-in-waiting
Michael Ignatieff @homeinengland @smartiepants @packingjustincase
Jack Layton @pickmepickme @justafleshwound @Iheartcoalitions
Elizabeth May @chickenlittle @badmenwon’tplaywithme @1millionpeopleloveme
Gilles Duceppe @whereismypension @canadasuckswhereismypension @let’sseperatewhereismypension

I hope the leaders of the other parties who don’t have an elected member in Parliament don’t sue me for leaving them out of the jokes!

Giggle vs guffaw

Men complain that women aren't funny. Well, maybe it's because we're weighed down with a womb. Womb rhymes with tomb and who finds a tomb funny? How are we to be flouncy, frivolous and flippant with such serious matters as birth and death on our minds?

Besides, what makes men so funny? Well, OK, the tendency to develop a bald spot about the time a woman births her third child is good for a giggle. But what makes her giggle and him guffaw is often a difference in the taste in humor. Men gravitate to wisecracks, slapstick and gutter humor, while women prefer the sly, the dry and the wry humor. He rolls in the aisles when one stooge pokes two fingers in the eyes of another, while she smiles at the ironies of life and enjoys the last laugh. For without the womb there wouldn't be a single man around to complain that women aren't funny. Womb-envy, anyone?

Rhodiola and humour

There are studies and papers on the positive impact rhodiola has in the creation of fluids associated with laughter. Insert joke here...

I was hoping to introduce the Wits to rhodiola tea grown from Alberta, dried from Alberta and poured by a Saskatchewan boy. There are no Saskatchewan boys who know what rhodiola is so I am stuck with it...

We will not have time to do all the Wit class activities and fully appreciate the experience you have just been a part of in Wit Love. I try never to admit a show was great... it's a male thing... so... wow... Wit Love was great!

I am trying to acquire boxes of the 1st ever capsule... maybe...

The show demonstrated the reason I agreed to help. Women are funny and more important know haw to have a great time!

Happy Endings

It was my first night at Wit and Writing For Women.  I walked from the Bloggers room into the room of the Performers and noticed Eva on the stage.  She caught my attention when she shouted, “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” and starts to pant.  The other Wits laugh at her.  I wish I knew what she was talking about.

Eva gives the Wits an assignment to create an ending for their performance.  She goes around the room and helps them with endings.  Derek (The Lone Male) is helping the Wits out as well.  I keep thinking to myself…lucky man to be surrounded by all these beautiful vivacious women!  No wonder he wants to instruct! 

I feel envious of the Performing Wits…I wish I was going to be on stage on Valentine’s night with the rest of them.  If only I joined this Meetup sooner.  I have to admit that I was so impressed at finding out so many Wits were performing for the first time. 

Each Wit starts sharing their creative endings for their performance.  As they are sharing their endings, all that can go through my head is…Happy Endings.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Happy Endings…it is the type of ending that you get at the end of a massage at a parlor with special “add-ons” for their clients.  Yes, I have a twisted mind.  It may also explain why I think I am in the right Meetup group for me. 

There was so much laughter!  Eva and Derek helped each Wit with their creative endings by giving suggestions.  There is so much support in this group.  I am really looking forward to volunteering at the show.  Although it was my first night with this group, I felt like I belonged.  Thank you Eva for creating this group…and thank you for getting me out of my pajamas on Valentine’s night!

Is testosterone or dollars to blame?

There are many female comedy writers so we know women can write funny..., is it the female delivery that is to “blame” for the perception woman are not funny? Perhaps it is our presents. Our gift of sexy-ma!

Personally I think testosterone is up when a women’s in the room and sometimes, some fellows would rather lay than laugh. It must be so hard to laugh when, it’s hard. 


I read recently that when a male comic headliner is performing the bar sells more booze, women  comic they sell more food.  Is this simply an economics issue? Jeeps, that would be a relief!

~EvaPea

Top 5 signs it’s Valentine’s Day at your house

#5. You’re using chocolate body paint to sign cheques.

#4. Ripped photos of your ex mysteriously show up in the blender.

#3. There’s chocolate flavored vomit by the kitty litter box.*

#2. “You’ve Got Mail” has been a repeat DVD for 3 weeks.

Drumroll...

...and the #1 sign it’s Valentine’s Day at your house:

You use Fruits & Passion aromatherapy massage oil to fry your sweetie's bacon and eggs.

- "Sweet n' Sour Hearts", writer's group

Comedy can increase your fertility?

From today's Globe & Mail:

"A study of 229 Israeli women undergoing in-vitro fertilization shows that a 15-minute visit with a professionally trained 'medical clown' increased their likelihood of pregnancy to 36 per cent.Women who did not get a comedy routine had just a 20-per-cent chance. The researchers believe the clown eased them women's tension - significant since stress factors into infertility. So send in the clowns, just not the Stephen King kind."

In related news, a study of 165 Canadian men found that dressing as a clown was correlated to a 100 per cent decrease in sexual activity.

Hey handsome.

Women are funny!

I have a bias when I write this post. Over the past 15 years or so I have taught the skill and delivery of stand up comedy to hundreds of individuals in classes. I am often asked who is funnier men or women? The answer is simple... women.

The basis I have lie in watching each group perform and writing with all. The women are funnier in story, technically better in delivery and far superior in the writing. Women get what is being taught.

Men on the other hand come into class wanting me to validate their comic superiority over all who live. It is a man thing and an ego thing. I am better than all men by the way but that is taking us off topic. The point is women listen and apply the skills they are taught. The class graduation comedy shows prove they are funnier.

And yet...

If I ask someone... anyone... who is funnier the resounding reply is men. There is a belief that has no basis in reality supporting the idea men are funnier than women. It's almost like men are trying to prove their superiority without offering proof.

Man has created streams to reward comic performance and writing and then set up systems that support men only to be paid and valued. Why are there so many men in comedy? Because the game has been rigged in their favor.

The simple way to give credit for comic performance regardless of gender or religion or colour or weight, is to become aware the Emperor has no clothes. Once you challenge the assumption men are funnier than women you wind up acknowledging the talent of most women and you get to enjoy far more laughter.

My advice to everyone is look for the funny and you won't notice who is creating it. But it will mostly be women.

Funny Mood?

An emotion is a chemical reaction that happens in the brain, if the emotion is sustained it turns into a feeling …sometimes the feelings turn into moods.  Occasionally a feeling can turn into four children but that is another blog post.

Moods can be charming and not so charming.  A good mood can pick up an entire group and everyone wants to be your friend.  A bad mood is like dog dirt on the bottom of your shoe…sometimes you don’t know it’s there till the end of the day when there is no one around to blame for the funk in the air.

Using our humour to alter mood is cost effective like staying single. Growing up my family laughed always, often and we were constantly cutting up one another. More than once I received a smack to the back of the head for "making" my brother and sister laugh at the dinner table. I had help occasionally from the mashed potato-pea mixture at the end of my fork; for the most part the funny came from mocking, acting out, word play and mime. I was pretty funny.

As we grew up so did our humour. Through our teens we ventured into practical jokes, fake fire drills, changing our names for the substitute teacher and rolled on the floor rehashing the prank phone calls we made earlier in the evening. "I'd like to speak to Buddy" ensuring the response "there's nobody here" was the height of our creativity. We were all funny.

Laughing with girlfriends always lifted moods. When did we forget how effective laughing is or did we just never connect the two, laughing and mood?

I took my first stand-up course in January 2000. I learned to put my angst into joke. Nothing is more empowering than telling an accountable joke. Owning the less charming events in my life has made me in some ways untouchable by my past, leaving me present, which is the only place I can eat ice-cream with chocolate sauce.

I will leave you with an example of Owning the less Charming Events.

I let a him stay at my house while I took my kids on vacation. I came back to a voice mail from a hooker, the message made it clear that he called her, she came over and... well I burned the sheets.

Set Up of the Joke: While I was in Disneyland

Punch Line: He was making my house his happiest place on earth.

I told that joke instead of the portraying myself as a victim of him and his antics. Of course I had all the experiences of betrayal, anger, etc but after the initial shock wore off the joke made it easier to talk to my girlfriends about. Yes I used this joke, and several other about that experience, in my routine for a number of years.

I'm hilarious just ask him.

~EvaPea

Titillating Tuesdays

I started blogging--which has me loving Tuesdays, the funniest day of my week, 'cause I get to go to Wit and Writing for Women.

This is my comedy group, which is teaching me to be funny.

Not sure the teacher grasped what she was taking IN when she took us all ON. We're a big group, but you know what they say… the bigger the better…

I know from experience that each week we can't wait to come and roll around on stage. Once the dreaded Monday is over we spend Tuesday in a tizzy of titillated anticipation, excited for our next "let's make an ass of myself night," where we women get together rolling around with each other on stage, in the board room, laughing at ourselves and the things us girls do in front of one man and his video camera.

A few weeks ago some of the girls were getting ready for their first live stage performance. Eva coached them on their "happy endings", the finales to their bits of funniness performed for their kind audience of friends, family and loved ones. After all, who really cares to listen to us anyways? We're just a bunch of women, right? We can't be funny… can we…?

Our classes look something like this….

Women's IQ as it Relates to Their Funny Factor

A statistic I heard recently:

For every 1 point increase in a woman’s IQ, her marriageability drops 40%.

Haha, funny.

Perhaps I need to consult a math expert ..... ie. 2.5 points or greater increase in IQ = no marriage = just in this lifetime?

With an increased IQ, wouldn’t she intelligently be very marriageability-capable if she so desired - therefore her un-marriageabilty is largely male-culpable? And if not, is she too smart, or not smart enough? So many questions, so little time.

But the IQ quote does say ‘her marriageability drops’, implying her appealiveness (yes, I made up that word) to a potential male partner.

I digress.

“If women aren’t funny, it’s because....”:

- being taken seriously is a relatively new development.

- they’re waaay too smart.

- most of them are married.

Or catch22:

- being funny = no man = (usually) no funny.

- saying something 5 or more times for it to sink in (otherwise known as nagging), isn’t funny........... is that how we’ve come to be 5 times more verbal than the male gender!?

If none of this is funny, maybe I’m just too smart.

- submitted by (unmarried): “Her Wit Hermit”

Make me laugh, I'd rather be Amused than Titted or Tottled

Are women funny?

Type in any browser, “why are women not funny?”and you will get a return of over 690,000 results. Did you smirk?

It is weird that atop many women’s list of what you like most about your mate I often hear “he has a great sense of humor”. I have never heard the men in my crowd express “I really love her because she’s funny”.

Some say women expect less, meaning they are easy to make laugh. I agree with the first half of that statement.

From what I remember even as a girl we were easier to make cry too. 

 If I don’t count the time my brother hit himself in the head with an axe, I never saw a man cry until 1991, when my date lost his meatball, it rolled off the table and on to the floor and then his poor meatball rolled out of the door...

Is it physiological? Is it about our brain? Is it just BS?

~EvaPea

Some funny women in the blogosphere

To get those creative processes churning, check out these bloggers, who were mentioned in our last class.

The Bloggess
She's scathing and it's become clear that blogging is her day job. Along with her lengthy diatribes, she occasionally comments on her own experience with mental illness.

Ironic Mom
With six-year-old twins, this Calgary mom has plenty of content to fill her blog. Sarcastic and caring, blogger Leanne is a great humour blog role model.

Hyperbole and a Half
Blogger Allie has gained a huge following in the past year for her over-the-top depictions of her life, past and present. Her childhood memories come to life with 8-bit drawings and detailed commentary.

Welcome to the Wit & Women blog!

Wit & Writing for Women is a structured, vibrant and supportive, comic learning environment for women who want to improve their humorous writing and presentation skills. Humorous writing lessons and stage time is the focus.

This blog is a project currently in progress, featuring the work of a number of our Wits. Updates will include our views on funny women and some commentary on our own lives.

Think we're funny? Think we could be funnier? We are looking for your comments! Let us know how we're doing and we'll make sure to reimburse you with a clever response.