Comedy gold, or just boullion?
Last week I asked readers to write a joke punchline with this news story as the set-up: "China is going to vaccinate all of its 5.2 billion chickens against the avian flu." Some good ones came in, but none hit the jackpot.
Now I realize that the news story ought to be part of the punchline, rather than the set-up. Something like this:
"Man, things are really going downhill in Chinatown. I was over there yesterday and I saw a guy in an alley behind a restaurant, vaccinating his chicken."
| Posted at 3:27 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (10)
iron pyrite
Posted by zac | November 21, 2005 4:27 AM
We tried, anyway.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 21, 2005 4:33 AM
Bouillon! (Chicken soup.) Though it's risky and often boring to analyze jokes, I'll say that the general subject -- avian flu -- doesn't lend itself to either irony or levity at this stage, leaving you only with some kind of racial or ethnic basis for humor, which is not so super funny either.
Posted by Allan L. | November 21, 2005 6:52 AM
Dear Allan,
It doesn’t have to be ethnic or racist with regards to China. You’re forgetting a cardinal rule of comedy: Always make fun of a police state. In fact, did you know they were adding a new event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008? Synchronized thinking.
Posted by bill mcdonald | November 21, 2005 7:50 AM
A chiken, behind a Chinese restaurant, with four legs, a tail and it clawed the Vaccinator?
Posted by Abe | November 21, 2005 10:20 AM
I thought mine was funnier. (I'm funny and immodest!)
Posted by raging red | November 21, 2005 10:26 AM
Dear Bill:
You said racist. I said racial. But you're right -- there's a political flavor here too.
Allan
Posted by Allan L. | November 21, 2005 12:53 PM
Guys, vaccinating your chicken is funny, I don't care what your ethnicity or political persuasion is. But since they're doing it only in China at the moment, they get to be the joke.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 21, 2005 1:57 PM
You’re forgetting a cardinal rule of comedy: Always make fun of a police state. In fact, did you know they were adding a new event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008? Synchronized thinking.
So Bill, does that mean we can make fun of the Bush-Cheney regime and Fox news? Or would that place the conservatives-in-name-only back in their familiar role of crying victim? Maybe we'll field a team of ringers from the Heritage Foundation, AEI, and AIPAC and go for the gold in '08.
Posted by rings | November 21, 2005 2:00 PM
nope. cant make fun of Bush/Cheney. But only because they are so often walking punchlines anyway. BUT! the sting goes out when chortling at just two of them, while so many others are also so deserving.
5.2 million vaccinated chickens... well i guess that's better than choking them all.
Posted by pril | November 21, 2005 3:15 PM