Saturday, September 1, 2012

"...No Cliche' Clint Eastwood Taglines Were Harmed In The Production Of This Piece..."

LOL.

One of the current spate of online acroynyms that is becoming as common place as its verbal cousins, "like", "you know" and, most gratingly, "awesome".

I'm a long time on record, both in print and on air, with the opinion that, in almost every case, LOL, as it is generally used, is, in fact, superfluous.

The admittedly simple logic being that most folks who add LOL to their own comments are, essentially, telling a joke and then laughing at it first to insure that everyone who reads the joke will understand that it's funny.

And, obviously, if you have to do anything to invoke a laugh from someone besides simply telling them the joke, then....hello....the joke isn't funny.

Of course, there is another common usage of the old LOLster people...the equivalent of "just kidding".

As in, "man, that picture of your wife must have been taken long before she went on Jenny Craig...LOL..."

The problem with trying to employ the "just kidding" defense, in pretty much any and every case, is that it only works (if it's going to work at all and let me assure you, as a professional smart ass of decades worth of experience, that it rarely works at all) if you can include certain facial expressions and tones of voice that will ideally go a long way toward convincing the recipient of said JK that you, in fact, JK.

And not just being a putz.

Simple written text lacks both expression and tone.

Pretty much guaranteeing your being classified as a putz.

I was reminded of my acronym aversion as I watched Clint Eastwood addressing the Republican Convention this week.




Most truly funny people will tell you, if asked, that there is nothing less funny than someone trying to be funny.

As opposed to, simply, being funny.

The same thing goes for hip, by the way, but that's a ha of a different color.

Now, in fairness to, not to mention empathy with, those humorists who have reached far only to fall flat, it should be said that anyone who spends a little time and thinks this whole thing through will realize what was going on.

Somebody in the Republican Party hierarchy, convinced that what would really sell the arena crowd, not to mention the entire voting population of the United States, on the merits of electing Mitt Romney President was an edgy, somewhat abstract, but certainly satirical skit performed by an iconic, ideally highly recognizable celebrity, deep red state faithful to the GOP, went out and recruited said icon to deliver said satirical skit.

So, let's see.

Edgy. Check.

Somewhat abstract. Check.

Certainly satirical. Check.

Icon. Check.

Highly recognizable. Check.

Deep red state faithful. Check.

Here's where, and why, it went off the rails.

The average American voter, hell, for that matter, most of the above average American voters, seldom take the time and effort involved to sit down and process the checklist like the one above.

So, instead of the kind of thunderous applause and unstoppable street buzz that results from a totally unexpected, Susan Boyle like home run over the center field fence, what apparently happened here is that a lot of viewers who were tuned in, or just tuning in, to see what Mitt Romney had to offer in the way of solutions to the myriad problems and fears that they, the average American voter, are struggling with found themselves wondering what the hell Clint Eastwood was doing talking to a chair.

Not that I was asked, but if somebody in the G.O.P. were interested, I would offer that what needs to happen from here on out is an inspiring, honest and very clear explanation from Romney and Ryan as to what they will, specifically, do in the next four years, if elected, to create solutions to the aforementioned problems and fears.

And leave the edgy, somewhat abstract, certainly satirical stuff to the professionals or, at the very least, to the comedically gifted.

Because nothing is less funny, or more embarrassing, than someone trying to be funny.

Instead of just, simply, being funny.

If only they had given Clint a way to add LOL at the end.




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