The Kings of Silent Comedy

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It has been said, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Especially in situations when you are feeling rather low, having a good laugh would definitely help in lifting your spirits. If you are happy or in good spirits, a fun item would let you share your joy to those around you. As the owner of a company, you may opt to give out fun promotional items that can brighten up your customers’ day and be able to put smiles on their faces.

A couple of the promotional items that offer the most fun in the market today are those small “logo bug’. These are cute and soft characters and animals that have googly eyes that can liven up any area they are left on. Since they are simple and cute, anyone who would be reading whatever is printed on the attached banners on them would certainly have smile on his face. Small and economical, you could give them out anywhere as promotional tools for your company.

Another good giveaway item that will provide fun would be yo-yos. Since they can easily contain your company’s brand or name or logo, they are a good choice for an item to be handed out at a function or event that your company will be participating in. Although you have ordered sophisticated items for promotions that cater to adults, it would be good to offer these promotional yo-yos to children. It would certainly bring out a lot of smiles and fun in them as they have promotional items made specifically for them.

Boomerangs and Frisbees and a lot of other ‘flying things’ can be great and fun items for all members of the family. Since they come in a great variety of colors and styles and designs, these things can surely offer a lot of entertainment and wholesome laughs. You can even opt to use these promotional items when you are focusing on pets, since there are a lot of customers who like receiving something that they can play with together with their pet.

There are also a number of stress toys that are available in the market today and are being used as promotional items. These are usually designed with fun character shapes and could be distributed to your employees or potential clients. Even if they do not actually laugh because of the item, these promotional goodies will certainly be able to relieve fatigue and stress, which would eventually help them to be in good spirits later on.

Similar to the other promotional items, these fun promotional items are available in the market in a broad range of sizes, prices and colors. Make sure that you will be looking and shopping around to locate the best promotional items that will be most effective for your company and will provide fun and laughter to those who would be receiving them.

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As an indication of the place Hope occupied in American public life, one of the first people to pay tribute was President Bush, with whose grandfather, Prescott, Hope used to play golf. “Today America lost a great citizen,” said Mr Bush, pausing on his way to a meeting to pay his respects. “We mourn the passing of Bob Hope. Bob Hope made us laugh and he lifted our spirits. Bob Hope served our nation when he went to battlefields to entertain thousands of troops from different generations. We extend our prayers to his family and we mourn the loss of a good man. May God bless his soul.”

As a mark of respect for Hope’s memory, Mr Bush ordered that, on the day of his interment, the US flag will be flown at half-staff at the White House, public buildings, American embassies, military posts, naval stations and US ships.

Less than an hour after the announcement of his death, television camera crews and neighbours had gathered at the gates of the Hope estate at Toluca Lake. Radio and television programmes broke off from their normal coverage to run clips of Hope’s many Road films, and recordings of the countless one-liners that hundreds of joke writers had helped to craft for him.

His wife of nearly 70 years, Dolores, 94, issued a statement from the family, in which they asked “friends and fans” to celebrate Bob Hope’s life. “It was a life that Bob loved and lived to the full,” said the statement. The couple had four adopted children, Linda, Anthony, Nora and Kelly.

There will be private family service and mass at the nearby St Charles parish church on August 27 followed by a celebration of his life at the Television Academy in LA by members of the entertainment community.

His granddaughter, Miranda Hope, said yesterday her grandfather had died peacefully. She recalled he had been in good spirits at his 100th birthday two months earlier and had still enjoyed jokes. He had wanted to carry on performing as long as possible and had been entertaining the troops into his old age. “At 84, he was still dedicated to those troops and to bringing happiness to them,” she said.

Frail

The comedian’s long-time publicist and friend, Ward Grant, said Hope had been frail for a number of years. He had not been able to appear in public for his centenary. His biographer, Lawrence Quirk, said that Hope told him not long before his death that he knew his time was coming. But when asked shortly before his death where he wanted to be buried, Hope was able to quip: “Surprise me”. Golfer Arnold Palmer, an old friend and former golf partner of Hope, said it was hard to think of anyone who equalled him as an entertainer. “He dedicated himself so much to the world of entertainment, it would be difficult to come close to it.”

Hope, who was born in London and emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, with his family at the age of three, “as soon as I realised that I couldn’t become king”, started his career in vaudeville and with a brief stint as a boxer. After breaking into radio, in 1940 he made Road to Singapore, first of the Road films that were to secure his reputation as a comic and took him and co-stars Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour from Morocco to Rio and even Utopia.

His work for the United Service Organisations (USO) as an entertainer to the American troops, a role which continued from the second world war to Desert Storm in 1991, further established him as a part of the American landscape. He had volunteered to fight but was told he would be more useful as a morale booster for the troops, who nicknamed him “GI Bob.” A US navy ship and plane have since been named after him.

A sign of the longevity of his career entertaining troops can be gauged from the lyrics of his theme song, which initially contained the lines: “Thanks to our brave allies/You gallant Russian bear/You British everywhere …”

Another indication of his staying power, recognised yesterday by President Bush, was that he entertained no fewer than 11 US presidents, some of whom provided him with his best one-liners. In honour of Hope’s 100th birthday, the famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street - Hollywood and Vine - was renamed Bob Hope Square. President Bush then announced the creation of the Bob Hope American Patriot Award.

But despite appearing in 50 films, Hope never won an Oscar, which provided him with a running gag that his family described the academy awards ceremony as “Passover.” As a consolation, he was given two honorary Oscars.

His success made him wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of a stonemason’s son, not least because of his investments in real estate in the nearby San Fernando Valley and Palm Springs, where his other home was. In 1983, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at more than $200m, although Hope angrily denied it.

Hope’s universal appeal did not survive the more political sixties and seventies and he alienated many with his ill-considered response to the assassination of Martin Luther King: “The Moguls shared something with that man in Atlanta - they had a dream.” His association with the prosecution of the war in Vietnam - he made nine trips there and on one occasion his hotel in Saigon was bombed five minutes before he was due to arrive - turned him into a figure of the conser vative establishment. His angry reaction to feminist protesters when he was hosting the Miss World contest in 1970 in London further cast him as a comedian no longer in tune with the times.

In a New Yorker profile, John Lahr portrayed a more driven character than the one presented to the public. But Hope acted as a reminder of simpler times, as evidenced by the outpourings of affection from servicemen past and present throughout the US on the announcement of his death yesterday.

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Humor In The Workplace

Leaders today face many challenges in striving to meet company goals and keep employees happy.

Encouraging teamwork and fostering an empowered work environment are key factors in creating a high performance workplace. Another, often under-utilized tool to creating high performance workplaces is humor.

There are several benefits to keeping things light at the office:

Improve Morale

Injecting a little fun into the workday helps improve morale.

One of my clients who leads a call centre, occasionally sets up game days where everyone dresses up in a theme and the teams compete against each other to get the most sales.

The laughter and joy in their voices bubble over into the phones and their customers pick up on the high morale rolling through the team.

Achieve Goals and Encourage Teamwork

Because humor in the workplace has the potential to enhance productivity, it often helps organizations complete goals and meet deadlines. Humor is especially helpful when leaders use it to get a team project through the necessary stages toward completion.

Why is humor so important during a project?

Most projects come across roadblocks and problems along the way that can derail progress and cause delays. Leaders who use humor to diffuse a stressful situation or face problems with a positive outlook are more likely to move past issues that crop up quickly and efficiently.

The effective use of humor also allows team members to use creative problem solving to resolve dilemmas because they feel safe to "think outside the box."

The appropriate use of humor develops a sense of trust between team leaders and members that promotes originality and imagination. However, it’s important to realize that the use of humor should not detract from the project at hand. Too much humor can have a negative effect on employees if it is overused, and harm the project rather than help it.

Temper humor with professionalism and stay away from sarcasm and ridicule, which have nothing to do with light hearted, work-appropriate humor.

Relieve Stress

Humor is a low-cost way to lessen workplace stress and boost productivity at the same time. Humor tends to relax people and create an environment more conducive to getting things done.

Humor is also effective at reducing conflict between individuals and averting potential problems before they arise or become too big.

Scientists have found that laughter releases specific chemicals in the body that increase energy and cultivate a positive attitude. When employees are happy and stress-free, the organization’s goals are easier to achieve.

Although humor doesn’t necessarily come naturally to everyone, it is possible to improve your leadership style by allowing humor to become a part of your work personality and how you deal with employees.

Allow moments requiring humor to spring up naturally - don’t force humor where it doesn’t belong, as people will sense the insincerity. Simply be more open to possibilities that may benefit from a sprinkling of humor, and don’t shy away from its application when a situation presents itself.

Give humor a try and help your team members to incorporate a sense of joy into their daily routine.

By: breakthru-mentor

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Shelley Holmes is the creator of leadership-and-motivation-training.com a website designed for the high performance leader who wants to fast-track their career to enduring success by bringing out the best in themselves and others. Go to www.leadership-and-motivation-training.com to pick up your free audio on how to manage emotions in the workplace.

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Question: Which is stronger — concrete or bone?

Answer: Bone

Useless Fact: Human bones can actually resist 40 times more stress than concrete. Don’t believe it is true? Then picture a piece of concrete the size of a bone and imagine how easily it would break.

Question: What bird lays its egg in another bird’s nest?

Answer: Cuckoo, Cowbird, Whyda, Honeyguide and Black-headed Duck

Useless Fact: These birds, called brood parasites, lay their eggs in another bird’s nest and let the other bird parents feed and raise their chicks. The "egg abandoner" is then free to mate again and lay more eggs in another nest. The cuckoo is the best known brood parasite and an expert in the art of cruel deception. Its strategy involves stealth, surprise and speed. The mother removes one egg laid by the host mother, lays her own and flies off with the host egg in her bill. The whole process takes barely ten seconds. Cuckoos parasitize the nests of a large variety of bird species and carefully mimic the colour and pattern of their own eggs to match that of their hosts. Each female cuckoo specializes on one particular host species. How the cuckoo manages to lay eggs to imitate each host’s eggs so accurately is one of nature’s main mysteries.

Question: What is the largest invertebrate?

Answer: Colossal Squid

Useless Fact: A species of squid reported to be significantly larger than the giant squid, is called the Colossal squid, officially named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. In February 2007 a live colossal squid was brought to the surface in Antarctic waters by a New Zealand fishing boat. This enormous squid, which was determined to be a male of the species, was 10 meters (32.8 feet), and weighed 450 kilograms (992 pounds), making it the largest squid (the largest invertebrate) ever captured. What is even more astonishing is that, from what scientists know about squid species in general, there is great sexual dimorphism in squids, with females being significantly larger than the males. If that holds true for the Colossal squid, this male specimen that was captured could very well be dwarfed by a much larger female of the species.

Question: What does the first letter of a radio station’s call sign mean?

Answer: The location of the station

Useless Fact: Generally, in the United States, call signs begin with K west of the Mississippi River, and W to the east.

Question: Where was the first McD0nald’s located?

Answer: Arcada, California

Useless Fact: Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hot dog stand called the Airdome in Arcadia, California. In 1940, the brothers move to San Bernardino, California, on Route 66. After noting that almost all of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers close down the restaurant for several months in 1948 to implement their innovative "Speedee Service System", a streamlined assembly line for hamburgers.

Question: What is the largest insect?

Answer: Acteon Beetle or Longhorn Beetle

Useless Fact: There are different ways of measuring the size of an insect, most people would consider the largest insect to be the bulkiest and in that case the largest insect is the Acteaeom Beetle from South America. The male beetles can be 9cms long by 5cms wide by 4cms thick. If you want to measure largest by overall size, check out the South American Longhorn Beetle (Titanus giganteus) these giants can be over 16cms in body length (not including antennae) One other beetle, Dynastes hercules is also well known for reaching 16cms in length though it is not nearly as heavy. The longest insect in the world is the Stick-Insect (Pharnacia serritypes), the females of which can be over 36cm long.

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The term comedy was originally used to refer to a specific genre of play that deals with ordinary events and ends happily. Such plays are, essentially, the opposite of the traditional tragedy. Later, comedy began to encompass all performances eliciting laughter, with typical comedic characters including fools, cowards, misers, etc.

 Humor Jokes

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Ceo Humor: Breaking The Ice

CEO humor (including jokes about CEOs) is quite easy to come by, considering how stiff and uptight they’re usually required to be. What is it with nobility and Forbes-worthy citizens that makes them think that to appear as Very Important People (and I recognize that they are, mark my word, for I don’t use the Capital Letters of Great Importance on just anyone) , they have to master the art of strutting around as if they had random bits of cutlery shoved up their orifices? Really, I understand why the formal, business look reflects discipline and sacrifice, but I’d think the lesser workers would much better prefer a bright smile that encourages good work than a scowl that hints of hell to come. Heck, some CEO’s make people piss themselves by raising an eyebrow, and that’s not a sign of productivity at all.

CEOs are visionaries with goals to make a difference in the world. The problem is, they tend to focus on that goal first before looking at their respective companies. It’s common sense to think that if you’re going to make a difference, you start with the roots you were given. So CEOs would do well to make themselves welcoming to the people that make their companies work instead, and inject a little humor and levity in the workplace to encourage people to do the same, for a happy workplace is a productive workplace.

The politics of humor are mostly classified by class, race and gender; some jokes are alright when spoken by a specific sector, but is tactless and offensive if spoken by another. There is a heirarchy in place as well– with jokes about certain kinds of people being progressively limited in terms of political correctness, the higher one is on the social food chain. Black people can make jokes about fellow black people, but if white people say the same thing, they get stamped with bigotry.

So what does history tell us? People have less politically correct jokes at their disposal the higher they are in the social food chain, which should explain why CEOs and those others with higher tax brackets are so tight-assed. When the spotlight’s on you, you always have to watch what you say and how you act.

The best humor that CEOs can inflict upon themselves are jokes about themselves. The most loved CEOs often turn to making fun of themselves to break the ice, to allow people to think that there’s more to this higher up than a much fatter paycheck. One of the hallmarks of good leadership is self-effacing humor, as it demonstrates an openness to people that is hard to find among those of similar rank.

Some CEOs begin their terms by spending time with their entry-level workers, while others begin with an open-hearted speech that every person in their company can relate to. Humor can do a lot to break the ice, and when you’re the head of a corporation, having your workers like you is another achievement worth investing in.

CEO humor usually involves their personal experiences and the little nuances they encounter just because they are CEOs. Scott McNealy for example, former CEO of Sun Microsystems had made a humorous list of things he’s glad for now that he’s not CEO, which included not having to apologize for anything he said in Wall Street Journal, or having someone else to blame, or being able to play golf because the new CEO can’t.

CEOs are not the funniest of people, which is why people appreciate it when they try to be. That’s where the difference begins– when people see you as someone who can do something significant for the world without having to be a curmudgeon in your own base. Remember that happy people make for better workers, and a CEO who is loved rather than feared makes for a better workplace.

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Humor Makes It Happen

I’m often asked, ‘How important is humor in a Safe Money Seminar? Can’t I just deliver the content without trying to get laughs?’ Yes you can. But in the words of Dr. Charles Jarvis, one of the great humorists of all time, ‘You only have to use humor if you want to get paid.’ As it applies to selling annuities, you only have to use humor if you want to set appointments. Besides, have you ever noticed how the people who take themselves so seriously are the only ones who do?

Humor is just as important to professional speaking as taste is to food. Laughter makes you likeable and your audience comfortable. There are plenty of meat-and-potato seminar speakers out there, but the ingredient that endears you to an audience as being authentic and personable is a generous helping of your sense of humor. Likewise, a key ingredient to adult learning is comfort. Comic relief comforts and opens the pathways to accepting new ideas, brings your audience to the present, and evokes thoughts of ‘I’ve been there… he’s just like me!’ Humor is truth after a couple of martinis.

The best kind of humor is always the self-effacing kind. Since most humor is based on someone’s discomfort, it’s always best to make yourself the target. By exposing your vulnerabilities and foibles, people will commiserate, sympathize and identify with your situation and your message. People will root for the underdog. Instead of resisting your words, people will cheer you on. Instead of pounding away at the gray matter between their ears, you will have settled comfortably into their hearts to persuade from within. You will have positioned yourself to achieve our Safe Money Seminar goal of allowing your audience to ‘laugh and learn.’

But people neither laugh nor learn at the same pace or in the same way. A knee-slapper to one person might be a subtle smirk to another. I recall a speaking engagement I had in Seattle before a group of aspiring speakers in a world semi-final speech contest. Four or five of my best lines had killed in previous speeches, and most of my present audience roared with laughter time after time. But there was one stodgy lady in the second row who refused to crack a smile. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to make her laugh if it’s the last thing I do!’ I delivered the next punch line squarely at her. Nothing! And so it continued through the end of my speech. Nothing, nothing, nothing. But imagine my surprise when she came up to my table after dinner and said, ‘Gary, thank you so much for your valuable message. You’re also one of the funniest speakers I’ve ever heard.’

Her words resonate the fact that laughter is experienced and expressed in many different ways, all of them very personal.

‘But Gary,’ you say, ‘I’m the most un-funny person on Earth! When I tell a joke, people pound Excedrin.’ Well, it’s okay if you’re not funny. You probably don’t ‘think funny.’ But I’ve got an answer for you, too, and thank you for being honest. There is no more humbling experience than the eternal silence following a badly told joke. Save yourself the meltdown.

For now, here’s a quick fix for the un-funny. You can get just as much mileage from a well-told story as you can from humor. Stories, however, must come from your personal experience and must be told ‘from the heart.’ You get bonus points for any funny parts whether deliberate or accidental because, unlike an obvious joke, there is no setup and nobody expects a punch line. With colorful word pictures you might be surprised to look out over the audience and find people transfixed in your every word. Stories do that. The intent of a story is to alter the frame of mind of the listener, to lift your audience out of the current moment and into a new way of experiencing both the message and the messenger.

If you can’t think of any personal stories, hire a writer to write them for you. Seriously! You’ll be surprised at how many starving writers you can Google up with just a few key words. Remember, this is show biz, and the payoff gets you about a dozen pre-sold annuity prospects from each and every Safe Money Seminar. Never lose sight of your career objective. We’re talking a potential here of seven figures annually, and nothing that worthwhile is going to be that easy. Remember, “The worst day in a man’s life is when he sits down and begins thinking about how he can get something for nothing.” –Thomas Jefferson

Finally, if your stories (or even your jokes for that matter) tend to become a little, shall we say, embellished along the way… not to worry. I remember meeting one of the great raconteurs, Zig Ziglar, at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida years ago. After his speech, an audience member asked, ‘Did all your stories happen to you exactly the way you tell them?’ Zig’s reply was classic. He said, ‘It’s a mighty poor speaker who can’t tell a story better than it actually happened.’

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What Makes Redneck Humor Funny?

When Jeff Foxworthy, of You Might Be A Redneck fame, went to New York to pursue his comedy career, even though he was regarded as funny, he was constantly told he should lose the accent. They told him the larger audiences wouldn’t like listening to an accent.

Not only did he disagree with them, he ended up being right. Foxworthy, accent and all, is one of the funniest redneck humorists out there - and is currently the most successful funny man in the country. His albums have sold millions, his shows regularly sell out, he’s had two network television shows, movies, DVDs, and even a Sirius radio network dedicated to his trademark “blue collar humor”.

There are some significant differences between redneck humor and what you’d have to call New York humor, as there should be; both types of humor owe a lot to the cultures from which they came.

Redneck humor tends to poke fun at itself; New York humor tends to make fun of other people, often in an emotionally painful way.

Redneck humor relies as much on that slow, methodical delivery of the punchline as on the punchline itself. Other types of humor generally focus on the punchline or on shocking people.

Redneck humor tends to be gentle and, ultimately, loving. It laughs at your cousin George, who’s kind of slow but you still love him. New York humor doesn’t much love anyone - and often doesn’t even like anyone else.

Redneck humor does not put on airs. It knows it’s redneck and is comfortable with that. In contrast, a lot of Saturday Night Live humor seems forced, faked, and contrived. It originates from pain instead of from love.

Best of all, redneck humor is “got” by some three-quarters of America. Jeff Foxworthy is currently the most popular humorist in America, and his Blue Collar Comedy Tour helped make the careers of three other comics and sold millions of DVDs. Jerry Clower made a career of truly clean country humor, and he’s been followed by many others, all carrying forward the old tradition of sit-around-the-porch storytelling.

If you pay attention, you find out pretty quick: good redneck humor is the essence of being redneck and/or Southern. It is part of what binds us together, what lets us laugh at the world and at ourselves. A real redneck does not take himself or herself too seriously. And a real redneck uses humor the way we’ve always used it: to help the tough times a little easier to take and impart an ounce or two of wisdom at the same time.

If you grew up around it, try doing it yourself: ask some of your friends over for beer and barbecue, then sit out on the back porch as the sun goes down, telling stories, inventing new redneck humor and retelling the old stories you remember from your childhood. Light some tiki torches. As the end of the night approaches, let your friends drift away, as you and your love bask in the enjoyment of great food, beer and fun.

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