Tuesday, August 25, 2009

In a Battle of Wits, I'm Half Way There...



Christopher Hitchens...Vanity Fair magazine article..."Why Women Aren't Funny."

"Probe a little deeper, though, and you will see what Nietzsche meant when he described a witticism as an epitaph on the death of a feeling. Male humor prefers the laugh to be at someone's expense, and understands that life is quite possibly a joke to begin with—and often a joke in extremely poor taste. Humor is part of the armor-plate with which to resist what is already farcical enough. (Perhaps not by coincidence, battered as they are by motherfucking nature, men tend to refer to life itself as a bitch.)"


But he has a point. Why the hell do we call it Mother Nature? And why is life a bitch and then you die? I know if a lady were in charge, no friggin' way would I have a visit each month from Aunt Flo and PMS would stand for Please Me, S'il vous plait. He says we don't need to be funny because guys will like us anyway for you know what. Yeah that.

"Wit, after all, is the unfailing symptom of intelligence."

So, in a battle of wits are you fully armed? Or like me...just a half wit.

11 comments:

mzbehavin said...

I'd be a half wit..... ( and kinda proud of it)

Let's start a club.....

will said...

I think wit and sadness are often holding hands. Life IS a joke, yet there is no punch line.

@eloh said...

It happens to be one of my few good points that I refuse to do the battle of wits with unarmed people. I fancy myself in full battle array...well maybe not so much anymore...

Housewife Savant said...

Is it possible to have wit IN LIEU OF intelligence? I don't want the burden of being smart.

MJenks said...

I think it's Mother Nature because women have been seen as creators and keepers of things natural, whereas men were the ones ripping the fields apart and killing each other in war.

As for the bitch thing...because it's like dealing with a mother dog protecting her pups? I dunno.

will said...

I went back and re-listened to the guy in the video. I thought dinosaurs were extinct. What a pompous jerk.

Amy said...

Ha! I'm a Hitchens fan even though I'm quite aware of the fact that he is indeed a "pompous jerk." (Actually, I would have used the word, "ass.") Mr. Hitchens writes extensively about atheism and evolution and his points here are interesting in that context.

As a female who has often been referred to as "funny" I would just like to say respectfully to my friend, Christopher, "May every lay you have, be one that is mindlessly boring and dull."

Aunt Juicebox said...

OK, there are more women in the world than men, which means some of us are going to get left out, which means your vajayjay may not be all you need to compete. I prefer to also be funny, and be able to cook. The way to a man's heart is to make a joke while serving him dinner in the nude. ;)

Happy Hour...Somewhere said...

@mzbehavin...Well, that's a mighty fine idea. Between the two of us we would be a whole wit~! (Two halves make a whole, right?)

@bill stankus...There is also a lot anger in humor, but Hitchens when I read his stuff and watch him, he makes me laugh. The man is a brainiac, yeah, but you're right, he sounds so pompous. He is such an odd combination. Did you read the article itself? It was fascinating and some of the videos in response are hilarious.

@eloh and Housewife Savant...In a battle of wits, I want you both on MY side. Otherwise I have to raise the white flag of surrender and just hope you don't diaper me with it. HS, sorry, intelligence and wit go together, so no lieu for you.

@mjenks...He says almost that exact thing in the article. I knew you were brilliant, too. I wanted to disagree with everything he said, but I spent most of the article going, "Uh huh, that's right." He nailed the humor of Roseanne Barr right between the eyes.

@amy...I knew you would like this! He has always struck me as a man who does not suffer fools well, but I wish he would practice being a pompous jerk less.

@aunt juicebox...Hey, you're right! There are so many witty and funny bloggers out there, women no less. Well, you can SERVE him dinner in the nude, just don't MAKE dinner in the nude. Hard to explain a splatter burn on your boobs to the emergency room doc.

@eloh said...

Cooking Tip #97: Never fry bacon in the nude.

Claudya Martinez said...

All I'm saying is I can be pretty frickin' funny and I'm a woman.