The Game Of Humor

Humor, wit, and laughter surround each person. From everyday quips to the carefully contrived comedy of literature, newspapers, and television we experience humor in many forms, yet the impetus for our laughter is far from innocuous. Misfortune, stupidity, and moral or cultural defects, however faintly revealed in others and ourselves, seem to make us laugh. Although discomforting, such negative terms as superiority, aggression, hostility, ridicule, or degradation can be applied to instances of humor. According to scholars, Thomas Hobbes's "superiority theory"?that humor arises from mischances, infirmities, and indecencies, where there is no wit at all?applies to most humor. With the exception of good-natured play, Charles R. Gruner claims that humor is rarely as innocent as it first appears.Gruner's proposed superiority theory of humor is all-encompassing. In The Game of Humor, he expands the scope of Hobbes's theory to include and explore the contest aspect of "good-natured" play. As such, the author believes all instances of humor can be examined as games, in terms of competition and keeping score?winners and losers. Gruner draws on a broad spectrum of thought-provoking examples. Holocaust jokes, sexual humor, the racialist dialogue of such comic characters as Stepin Fetchit and Archie Bunker, simple puns, and many of the author's own encounters with everyday humor. Gruner challenges the reader to offer a single example of humor that cannot be "de-humorized" by its agonistic nature.The Game of Humor makes intriguing and enjoyable reading for people interested in humor and the aspects of human motivation. This book will also be valuable to professionals in communication and information studies, sociologists, literary critics and linguists, and psychologists concerned with the conflicts and tensions of everyday life.

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.

In The Game Culture Reader, editors Jason C. Thompson and Marc A. Ouellette propose that Game Studies—that peculiar multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary field wherein international researchers from such diverse areas as rhetoric, computer science, literary studies, culture studies, psychology, media studies and so on come together to study the production, distribution, and consumption of games—has reached an unproductive stasis. Its scholarship remains either divided (as in the narratologists versus ludologists debate) or indecisive (as in its frequently apolitical stances on play and fandom). Thompson and Ouellette firmly hold that scholarship should be distinguished from the repetitively reductive commonplaces of violence, sexism, and addiction. In other words, beyond the headline-friendly modern topoi that now dominate the discourse of Game Studies, what issues, approaches, and insights are being, if not erased, then displaced? This volume gathers together a host of scholars from different countries, institutions, disciplines, departments, and ranks, in order to present original and evocative scholarship on digital game culture. Collectively, the contributors reject the commonplaces that have come to define digital games as apolitical or as somehow outside of the imbricated processes of cultural production that govern the medium itself. As an alternative, they offer essays that explore video game theory, ludic spaces and temporalities, and video game rhetorics. Importantly, the authors emphasize throughout that digital games should be understood on their own terms: literally, this assertion necessitates the serious reconsideration of terms borrowed from other academic disciplines; figuratively, the claim embeds the embrace of game play in the continuing investigation of digital games as cultural forms. Put another way, by questioning the received wisdom that would consign digital games to irrelevant spheres of harmless child’s play or of invidious mass entertainment, the authors productively engage with ludic ambiguities.

When Katskills Wintergreen takes a pie in the face for her little sister Dim, she enters herself into the Humor Games, a comedy battle to the death. Her knack for impressions is all that stands between her and failure -- that and her faithful co-competitor Tweeta Mellish, who ropes her into a romcom, and her childhood friend Gable Sevenhouse, a member of the collective resistance against evil President Nobiz L. Shobiz. In this slapstick parody of The Hunger Games, who will have the last laugh?

The Don't Laugh Challenge(TM) - 10 Year Old Edition is HERE! Why did the t-shirt only text his girlfriend? He didn't like to COLLAR! Welcome to The Don't Laugh Challenge(TM) (A.K.A. The BEST kids joke book and game)! If you are open-minded about your kids learning new jokes, becoming more self-confident, AND developing a stronger sense of humor then this book is for you, well really... THEM! I'm sure by now you have heard of The Don't Laugh Challenge(TM) Joke Books Series, but in the rare case, you haven't, please allow me to explain what all of the fuss is about! The Don't Laugh Challenge(TM) Joke Books are unlike any other joke books on the market! It is not meant to be read in isolation, but instead, it is a game or a challenge that is to be played between friends, siblings, cousins, or any two people who like to tell jokes. In this case, our 6 Year Old Edition is the ultimate showdown between two players or '2 Jesters' that include kid's jokes AND silly scenarios! This book is hours of fun, and great gift ideas for 10 year old boys and girls! If you haven't heard of the rules, here they are: Each round is set up so that the 2 jokesters will take turns reading jokes to the other player. Next comes the Silly Scenarios, where each player will read the scenario to themselves, and act it out to get the other player to guess what in the world they are doing (think Charades)! Don't forget to use your silliest faces to get your opponent to crack a smile! When the person listening laughs or even cracks a smile, the joke teller gets a point. Follow the instructions at the bottom of each page until you tally up the final score and crown the Don't Laugh MASTER! Who should I get this new take on toy for, you ask? Do you know a boy or a girl that likes to laugh? The Don't Laugh Challenge(TM) game is good for all girls and boys age 10 and up! Give it as a stocking stuffer, Christmas gift or present! This imaginative book will spark your child's creative side all while being screen-free! Some old-fashioned, friendly competition never hurt anybody! Whether you are looking for the newest gifts, games, presents, best sellers, or toys on the market, this renovated classic is a guaranteed hit for all ages! Your children will love it and so will you. Try it today!: )