Tag Archives: Comedy

I Just Want To Crack You Up

Spring arrives this week. Sunsets are getting later. The flowers are coming up, trees are blooming, pollen is in the air, there’s March Madness, preparations for Easter and Passover, thoughts of where we’re going to go on this year’s big summer vacation. Yes, March tends to be a pretty busy month for all of us.

But the moment my wife makes her monthly visit to all the calendars scattered around our home and flips them all to the new month, when I see March, I think, “OK, it’s time to start getting serious about National Gullible Day.”

Back in 2016, I had an idea. I’ve always loved April Fool’s Day and those clever gags it inspired, so I thought I would pile on and invent a holiday that always takes place on April 1st. Then, every year, I would produce a fake newscast, where I would show how the world celebrates National Gullible Day, of course, on the NGD Network. People who would dare watch would know going in, this was all just going to be a non-stop collection of silliness. Over the years, I’ve tried to drag as many friends into this embarrassment as possible.

Wow, that was 9 years ago. Before taking credit for the concept, I thought I would check to see if someone else had already thought of this idea of having a National Gullible Day. I put that into Google, and here’s what came up!

It appears to be, Tim, party of one.

I bought the website, nationalgullibleday.org and that’s where each year’s broadcast makes its world debut and then lives throughout the rest of the year.

As I work to think of ways I could make the next edition bigger and better, the project tends to take over my mind. I could be working on any of my many projects, when suddenly an idea pops up for the show and I write it down to make sure I don’t lose it.

Throughout the year, I set aside videos and appropriate photos for when March arrives. If I think of a bit, I make sure I at least write it down and save it in a folder. With the arrival of the month before, I begin crafting an overall script and writing up bits that I ask friends to do. While I have some go-to reporters, I like to drag new blood in each year as well. My goal is to have all of my resources rounded up by mid-month, which then gives me two weeks to produce the finished newscast and schedule it for a midnight broadcast on April 1st.

Last year, for the first time, I produced a promo to hype the event and I’ll probably do that again this year. Not to ruin any of the surprises, but here’s one of the commercials I produced for this year’s edition of National Gullible Day.

Use only as misdirected.

I can’t wait for you to see the whole production and while no one is making a penny on this, I’ve gotten to that point where, when it comes to the fun things I like to do, money is not my motivator. Life truly is about doing the things you love and appreciating the fact that you’re lucky enough to be able to do that.

I tell you, each year’s show is another serious labor of love.

There will come a day when I put together my last one of these newscasts. But until then, when every April 1st rolls around, you can always count on another fresh National Gullible Day Newscast.

I look forward to sharing this year’s labor of love and if I get you to crack up at least once, it was all worth it.

Tim Hunter

I’m A Very Lucky Guy

Think about it–when you first meet someone and you start prying to find out more about them, right after, “How are you?” we all tend to head straight for, “So, what do you do?”

I’m glad in recent years we’ve become familiar with the phrase, “work/life balance” because the way we earn our money doesn’t necessarily reflect on who we really are, or what kind of human being we’ve become. Maybe when you find out what a person does for a living, you think to yourself, “Oh, you’re one of those.”

For example, if I learn this person I’ve just met is a teacher, I’d probably assume they’re good people. Putting in long hours for less pay than they deserve, doing something that demonstrates they care about kids, etc. But maybe they aren’t so good. Perhaps they’re someone who thought they wanted to teach, but after going to college and heading out into the workforce, they discovered that they don’t really like it, or they’re tired of the disruptive kids and now have been doing it so long, they see no way out and feel trapped.

I’ve touched on this topic once before because my goal when I get to know people is, I’d like to be remembered as being funny. I get a kick out of making someone laugh, especially when they’re least expecting it. I’ve lied down on the couch with Dr. Tim before, psychoanalyzing how I got this way, and here’s my theory.

My first six years of grade school, I went to a private Lutheran school. I’m talking small, like one classroom had grades 1-4, the other 5-8. I’ll bet there were 20 kids in the school, total. When the church decided the school was too much of a financial drain, they shut it down and I suddenly found myself being the new kid in a public school. As an easy target for the cool kids, yes, I got picked on. Over time, I discovered if I told a joke or said something funny while they were picking on me, the mean kids eventually thought I was O.K.. That instilled on me the formula, “Make ’em laugh and people will like you!”

I also have to give credit where credit is due, and that would be my mom. She is a naturally funny person who loves to laugh but grew up at a time when I’m sure women felt they weren’t supposed to be funny. Eventually, more and more women like Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Phyllis Diller and so many others made society O.K. with laughing at funny women.

But you can’t go to college and major in being funny. So, I had to go with a career path that allowed me to use that desire/gift and find a career that paid something, while allowing me to get the funny out of my system.

I’ve always had a fascination with humor. While growing up, every month, a Readers Digest would arrive in the mail and once mom and dad had read it, I’d go in and cut out the jokes I thought were the funniest and glue them into a scrapbook. I still have that around here somewhere.

When I ran for senior class president in high school, I didn’t give a speech. I gave a series of jokes and got elected. During my days at the University of Washington radio station, KCMU, I produced a daily comedy show for I don’t know how many weeks, which I hear they repeated for several years after I left.

After graduation, off I went into a radio career where I could really give that comedy a muscle a workout. I did silly bits for on the air, and also used humor in commercials I produced. I remember writing a Christmas spot for The Blossom Shop in Yakima, where Santa walked in, talking about all they offered for the holidays, and then uttered the line, “Oh, Rudolph! On their nice, clean floor!”

Years later, I did some TV spots for Western Carpet Center, showcasing a stain on the ceiling that looked like Australia. People would come into the store and the first thing they would ask would be, “So, where’s Australia?”

In fact, here it is!

Over the years, I also developed a fascination with parody songs. (Thanks, Alan Sherman) While working at KOMO radio with Larry Nelson, I got to meet Stan Boreson, who invited me over to his house several afternoons to work on some Christmas songs together. Several of them appear on this album (my name is on the inside cover)

Along the way, radio brother Matt Riedy hooked me up with a guy named Frank King, who was one of Jay Lenos’ “fax comedians.” Every day, I’d send Frank the jokes I had written, he’d fax them to Jay and if he told one in the Tonight Show monologue, I’d get $50. Eventually, that went up to $75!

Over time, I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities to “get it out of my system”, that I have no complaints. Emceeing events, being an auctioneer, event host, you name it. And you know, a good number of those aren’t necessarily for pay, they’re just things I enjoy doing. A couple of great examples are the Christmas parody songs I do with Alana Baxter every holiday season and my annual National Gullible Day broadcast.

If we don’t know each other and one day, we do meet, whatever you do, don’t ask what I do for a living. For those who insist, I tell them to hang on as I rattle off that I write radio show prep for Radio Online, I have my own marketing company, I work for an ad agency, do a slew of freelance voice, commercial and video production projects and then lots of fun stuff like auctions and events to fill in the gaps. And, by that time, I may have added a few more items to the list.

I’m doing the things I love to do at a nice, comfortable pace. I’m a very lucky guy.

Tim Hunter

We Have Nothing To Fear

It’s happened countless times throughout civilization.

For a while, we were shooting arrows with bows until these new-fangled contraptions called ‘guns’ came along.

Sure, you liked your horse, but those new automobile thingies are pretty cool.

And now, following a healthy dose of movies that fueled our fears, like “I, Robot” and the Terminator franchise, we keep hearing all about “A.I.–Artificial Intelligence” and how rapidly it is advancing.

Just today, there was a story in the news about the “Father of A.I.” quitting Google, concerned about where it’s all going. He even partly regretted breaking so much ground. You can read about that here.

I love innovation, so all this talk about breakthrough technology, an unseen electronic brain that can organize thoughts and write on almost any topic, and I’m like a kid in a candy store.

But do we need to slow down and go into this amazing new world a little more cautiously?

I don’t know. But I’ll bet the OpenAI chatbot has a thought or two on this topic. So, I asked it: Should I worry about artificial intelligence taking over the world?

It’s response:

No, you should not worry about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over the world. While there have been numerous works of science fiction that depict this scenario, in reality, AI is not capable of taking over the world on its own. AI is simply a tool that is designed and controlled by humans.

Furthermore, the development of AI is still in its early stages and there are many limitations to what AI can do. AI systems can only perform specific tasks that they have been programmed to do and they lack the creativity and flexibility of human beings. They also lack the ability to make decisions based on moral and ethical considerations.

That being said, it is important to be aware of the potential risks associated with AI, such as the possibility of unintended consequences or biases in AI systems. This is why many experts are calling for the development of ethical guidelines and regulations for the use of AI.

In summary, while it is important to be mindful of the potential risks associated with AI, there is no need to worry about AI taking over the world. AI is a tool that can be used to enhance our lives, but ultimately, it is humans who are in control.

So, we have nothing to fear, at least according to the machine. But that hasn’t stopped the media from fanning the flames of panic:

There’s the Belgian man who killed himself after a conversation with A.I.

What about those A.I. robots that supposedly killed a bunch of scientists in Japan?

Or this museum in San Francisco.

A.I. is going to destroy our world. It must be stopped. We can’t allow our children to be exposed to it!

Now, remember, I am of an age where we heard the same things about this group called, The Beatles.

It’s another step in our evolution. There will be some who embrace it, others who will fear it. I see it as a tool that can be used. I sure don’t want it to replace my creative efforts or even my joke writing. Wait, let me check.

Hey there, A.I., tell me the funniest joke you know.

We have nothing to fear.

By the way, that picture of the tomato with the salad dressing was created by the A.I.  You can try that out here.

Tim Hunter

 

Just One Week Away

The tradition will continue.

I was thinking about what could be the topic of my blog this week. Gun control? Oh, I’ve done that, multiple times. Besides, the last couple of posts to this corner of the Internet have been a bit on the sad side, so I need to lighten things up. I thought of a couple of really good ideas, but then they left my brain because of my current obsession.

So I thought, “Hey, why not write about that?”

While others spend this month focused on spring, college basketball and other timely topics, as soon as March 1st arrives, I know the clock is ticking and I only have a month to assemble another one of my “National Gullible Day” broadcasts.

This will mark the sixth year I’ve asked friends to give it up and be silly with me on April Fools’ Day, doing a mock newscast as if National Gullible Day was a real holiday. (or is it?) And, as it seems every year, this year’s effort is looking like it will out-do all the earlier versions. You can watch them on the website.

This year will feature some of the regular cast members, along with a few new ones.

         

             

And a sneak peek at one of the funniest parts of the video that makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it, it’s a Memorialioleum (yes, I meant to spell it that way) of the National Gullible Fans we’ve lost since our last broadcast.

You know, of all the things I do throughout the year, this is the one tradition I need to continue doing. It’s such an incredible outlet. 
I did have one idea that I self-censored. It’s a pretty hilarious concept, but in today’s uber-sensitive world, I just know it could hurt someone. While I’m usually fine with that, I just didn’t want a controversy to distract from the rest of the content.
If you want to know what it is, just ask the next time we chat.
So there’s your sneak preview. If you subscribe to my Wacky Week jokes, the link will be included there on April 1st. (If you’d like to be added to the list, just email me)
If you “like” the KRKO Facebook page, it’ll be posted there. Same is true of my Tim Hunter Creative Services page.
Anyway, you’ve been warned. I love this tradition. We can never laugh enough.
Thanks for the read.
 
Tim Hunter

Brothers in Comedy

I know I’m not the only one who can’t wait to think of the next one-liner and spends the majority of his life watching things go by, hoping for a good setup to a punchline.

Gosh, it goes back to my high school days when I started a notebook to collect jokes, those I had written, others I heard from friends or from comedians I admired on TV. Of course, I tried to write enough funnies to fill an air shift when I got into radio. As my involvement deepened, I’d write more jokes. Soon, I was putting out one-liners that went to Radio Online show prep for other disc jockeys to use and to be considered each night for Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” monologues. I sold quite a few over a 10-year run.

I know that Pedro Bartes over at the Jet was also a contributor to Jay. We both would “fax” in our jokes, along with some other comedy-writing pals of mine, and then keep our fingers crossed when watching the monologues to see if any of our material was used.

These days, of course, you’ll hear my jokes on my morning radio show on KRKO, and all are posted each week on my joke website, wackyweek.com.  I send out a weekly collection to a lot of people in a mass email (and, if you’d like to be added to that list, just shoot me an email), including Seattle Times‘ sportswriter, Dwight Perry.  Every now and then, Dwight will sneak one of my lines into his column and for a comedy writer, it’s just great to get some kind of verification that someone else found your joke humorous.

Another comedy writer Dwight frequently quotes is Jim Barach of JokesByJim.blogspot.com.  Dwight’s column is where Jim caught my attention and so I visited his website and found out a few things about him. He’s a TV weather guy in Charleston, West Virginia, that loves to write jokes. He also lost his wife several years ago to cystic fibrosis. I loved that he described himself in his profile as “widower, dad.”

There was a part of me who saw all this and basically felt like this was me in a parallel universe, where life dealt him some blows, but the drive to keep funny kept him going. He likes to describe himself as “the most prolific joke writer on the planet.” I know, by quantity, he’s got me beat.

So, over time, I’ve occasionally dropped him a note about one of his jokes, or noticing a typo that he might want to fix and each time, he was gracious and appreciative. Then, on one of my recent visits to his site, I saw that he’s running for political office in the state of West Virginia.

Suddenly, the degrees of separation got smaller. You see, my dad was born in Scotland, but was raised in West Virginia. I wrote to Jim to report that connection and here’s what he wrote back:

I have read the Appalachian accent is basically Scottish in nature as a lot of Scots came over here early on to work the coal mines and then ended up settling here long term. Many thanks again!

Jim

Yes, my dad, his dad and brothers found their way to steel mills and other jobs, whatever they could get. At least, before they were drafted or enlisted.  By the way, what he was thanking me for was my donation to his political aspirations. I barely know the guy, but I know he’s a family man, that loved his wife and lives to write jokes. I think we need more of those kind of people in office these days.

Should you want to do something crazy and contribute to his political campaign, even just $5, I know that’ll freak people out as they wonder, “Why is all that Seattle money heading his way?” Donate here.

I give you laughs on a weekly basis. If you find yourself being unable to wait, always check out Jim’s blogspot.

My brother in comedy.

Tim Hunter

 

Oh, the Flashbacks You’re Missing Out On

As you know, I’ve got a new radio home, 1380-AM, 95.3FM KRKO. For most of you reading this, the best way to hear it is to stream the station over your phone, your computer or tablet at KRKO.com or to simply tell your Smart Speaker, “Alexa, Play KRKO, Everett’s Greatest Hits.”

I will admit, for most of my adult life, I followed contemporary music. I wanted to keep up with the younger generation, to hear what’s new and fresh and innovative. I always felt that people who listened to “oldies” never progressed and were stuck in their past. However, after decades of a general decline in the quality of pop music, I’m finding incredible comfort in revisiting all those songs I grew up with, or that I played on the radio when they were new.

It’s not like there isn’t brilliant stuff going on out there, but it’s become the exception, rather than the rule. I hear most of the songs today and wonder if this generation is really going to look back on this music as fondly as I look back on mine.

With KRKO’s musical range, from the late 1960s to the early 1980s,  I’m hearing songs that I used to listen to on KHJ “Boss Radio” in Los Angeles while growing up and hitting the beaches. Or, there’s a song from my Yakima radio days from the 70’s. And next thing you know, we’re playing something from the early 1980s that I eventually played during my early years on KLSY.

The big payoff has been knocking loose some long-lost memories that were buried pretty deep in my mind. The other morning, after playing “Twist & Shout”, I remembered back to growing up on 226th Street and that group of neighbor kids I spent so much time with. The Beatles reminded me of Kenny Vaughn, who came from a family of 7 down the street. The best I can do is Penny, Lori, Kenny, Sandy and Tina. Not bad. But what I remember about the Vaughn family is that Kenny had a cool mom who loved the Beatles. At a time when their mop-head haircuts alarmed the more conservative parents, Kenny’s mom actually kept her kids out of school to go see a Beatles movie when it came out.

And that flashback triggered another one on what had been designated “National Tell a Fairy Tale Day.”

I remembered a disc jockey and eventually the “Laugh In” announcer, Gary Owens, and his radio show on KMPC.  While I loved the “Boss Hits” KHJ was playing in my tween years, I still found myself twisting the radio dial over to Middle-of-The-Road KMPC every afternoon to catch Gary, hear his witty banter and enjoy those comedy features like, “How the West Was Won” and “The Story Lady.”

I had a lot of comedy influences while growing up—Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Red Skelton, Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges–but I have to say that Gary had a huge part in making me dream about being funny on the radio, with features like this:

While he’s no longer with us, a tip of the hat to Gary and his smooth yet silly style. He made me laugh, was a big inspiration to yours truly and left me with memories that have lasted a lifetime. Laughter is a wonderful emotion. It makes us feel good, lifts us up, and takes us to a positive place in a usually not-that-funny world.

It makes me that much more excited to see what other long-lost memories I’ll be able to shake loose during my next radio shift. I hope you can join me.

Tim Hunter

PS–Always pre-read your radio copy before reading it live on the air.

 

My Predictions for 2018

Right before the start of the New Year, I like to polish the old crystal ball (no really, I polish it. That’s not an euphemism) and create a collection of bold predictions of things I feel will happen in the year to come. I make them with 100% accuracy. Oh, they’re rarely correct, but it’s accurate to say that I always make them.

Nostradamus actually predicted the world would end in 2018. Then again, he also had the Mariners winning the World Series last year.

So, bet the house–here’s what I predict will happen in 2018:

  • President Donald Trump will post something offensive and awkward on Twitter. (OK, that’s my one softball)
  • A small girl from Kansas will throw a bucket of water on Hillary Clinton, causing her to melt.
  • Disney expands their Star Wars franchise by launching a new TV series, “Dancing with the Ewoks!”
  • Meryl Streep admits she knew it all along. Then reveals she meant that “She Devil” was her worst movie ever.
  • Bernie Sanders gives a riveting, 20-minute speech about the unfairness of our society. No one in the bathroom is impressed.
  • Al Franken announces that he’ll run for president as the candidate of the newly-formed “Honky-Honky” Party.
  • In an incident that causes Jeff Bezos to give up drinking, he gets so stewed one night that he actually buys Amazon from himself.
  • Speaking of Amazon, they introduce 30-minute deliveries of all beef products. Their new service is called Amazon Prime Rib.
  • The Seattle Times announces they are replacing all newspaper delivery boys with drones. Both of the remaining subscribers express concern.
  • YouTube introduces a new channel for video selfies, called MeTube.
  • Russia Vladimir Putin wins re-election by a landslide, two months before the actual election.
  • France bans Smartphones from elementary schools starting in September. In a popular move, congress votes to ban all cell phones from the oval office. Thank you.
  • After fighting bankruptcy for years, Sears finally closes all of their stores. However, no one notices until 2019.
  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchange vows in a ceremony performed by Mr. Bean. Meghan honors the memory of Benny Hill by tying a piece of elastic to her bouquet for the toss.
  • In December, Mommy accuses Santa Claus of forcibly kissing her, underneath the mistletoe last night.
  • In North Korea, Kim John-un is finally forced out and replaced by Christopher Plummer.
  • Melania Trump records a song to raise money for charity. The way it works is, if you make a donation, she won’t release it.
  • Garrison Keillor attempts a comeback, changing the name of his fictional town of Lake Wobegon, to Lake Whoa-is-Me!
  • Finally, TaylorMade announces the first ever self-driving golf ball, allowing golfers to focus on what’s really important–tracking down the beer cart.

I had to hurry up and get this list out before they all come true. Thanks for stopping by throughout the year and letting me take you on a tour of what’s running through my mind.

Have a very Happy New Year and all the best in 2018.

Notice I didn’t include my prediction about you and that…well, enough said.

Tim Hunter

 

Comedy Is Tough

Being funny has never been easy.

I’m not talking about me, but in general. We all love to laugh, but what cracks us up is as different as our individual lives. That’s why, over the years, I’ve paid attention and taken mental notes about what’s funny and what makes people laugh. Heck, I even put together a pamphlet (hardly a book) about how to write funny jokes that’s available for your Kindle on Amazon.

To save you the free download (and seriously, I can’t even remember when I wrote that) it’s based on the two golden rules of comedy–know your audience and go for the common experiences. I’ve spent my career going for the quick kill. Do a brief setup and while people are nodding their heads in agreement, you zing ’em with the punchline.

If you’re standing up there on the stage and setting up a joke by saying, “You know how you go the leper colony because they’ve got a great cigar bar in the back,” you’ve already lost the people who have never been to a leper colony, or don’t care that they have a cigar bar. If you go for the quicker, “President Trump met with the Pope today,” with those seven words, you’ve created a picture in the audiences’ mind of Trump, the Pontiff and the stereotypes that come with each of them. Where I went with it was “Their conversation began with one saying, “So what’s with that big thing on your head?” and the other replying, “Back at ya!”

Donald’s hair, the Pope’s hat, ha-ha, let’s all go home.

This week, Kathy Griffin (who I’ve always felt was a needy comic) thought it would be hilarious to do a photo shoot that included her holding onto a bloody Donald Trump head.  For the science of comedy, I would have loved to have been in that meeting where that concept turned into “a funny idea.”

You thought the leper colony set up didn’t work?  If your audience was the U.S., then you’re already heading down the path where 50% of the people who see the photo not only won’t think it’s funny, it would be viewed as offensive. Now, do you really want to instantly piss off half of your audience, some of whom might even have liked you as a comic until now? Next, let’s whittle down the prospective hysterical laughter even further by reducing it to just the part of the audience that thinks ISIS beheadings are funnier than Benny Hill. In a world where innocent kids are blown up at a pop concert, where reporters have their heads cut off live on the Internet, regardless of how you feel about the president (who, is still the president, by the way), holding a bloody Trump head is shocking, disturbing, and a lot of things, but not funny.

Remember that pursuit of shared experiences? OK, so if you think a bloody Trump head is funny, then we should probably do it with a Hillary head, too, right?  I mean, that’s a funny gag!  And while we’re at it, let’s grab the heads of two more former presidents, bloody them up and have an upside-down Mount Rushmore!

Can you imagine the outrage if someone had done this with an Obama head?  We’d be hearing how wrong it was and that it could only have come from the mind of someone who is a right-wing, white supremacist racist scumbag.

So, to summarize:

Kathy has now entered the Gilbert Gottfried zone, where one day, she might get to open for Michael Richards in a comedy club that offers a Groupon for two drinks and some laughs for $17.

I know that comedians who constantly reach for that edge have to keep stretching for the outer limits, but someone with Kathy’s experience should have seen at least a small warning light going off.  The same is true for Gilbert and Richards. Jokes about Tsunami victims days after the tragedy or thinking the N-word is funny when spoken by a white guy defies logic. I don’t get it, nor do I want to.

Oh, I’ve had my dark humor moments. I’ve thought of some pretty sick stuff over the years. It’s part of the spectrum. But then you go back to the “know your audience” part of the comedy formula and  make sure those jokes never see the light of day.

Even if you share Ms. Griffin’s contempt for the president, do you really want to live in a society where something like the above photo is considered mainstream funny?

Freedom of speech? Absolutely. Knock yourself out. Want to be a comedian?  Try being funny.

Tim Hunter