Out of order
Posted: November 25th, 2009 | Author: Jacky | Filed under: Observed and overheard | Tags: comedy, Mitch Hedberg | 1 Comment »My cousins first shared their love of Mitch Hedberg with me during Thanksgiving in 2005. I had absolutely no clue who this guy was and thought his voice was kind of weird. But I cracked up as my cousins quoted his lines, and the jokes were so funny that I downloaded some of his stand up acts (which I managed to misplace when I finally got a new computer last year).
When I went back to school after the holiday, I found out one of my roommates was already a Hedberg fan. We’d quote some of his acts together, citing lines about Smokey the Bear, Smackey the Frog and preventing forest fires. We’d finish eachother’s sentences when we recounted his hilarious take on waiting lists at restaurants (seriously, click on that link. There’s even a cute animation). Four years later, it’s not uncommon for one of us to randomly sign an e-mail “Love, Smackey.”
What I find most appealing about his sense of humor is how he plays on words, definitions and observations. It’s pretty basic, universal stuff but his twist — and drawn out delivery — really make it hilarious.
His comedy doesn’t ignore his drug use (if you watch any videos of him, it’s pretty apparent too) and I assumed his demographic was college kids. Imagine the kick I got from this e-mail my mom sent me:
Subject: quote
i think this is funny
“I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an escalator temporarily out of order sign, only an escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.”
- Mitch Hedberg
I was dying after I read this. My mom likes Mitch Hedberg. One of those “OMG!” moments (for those of us who admit to using “OMG”)
And because I want to make sure you laugh enough today, here are some other quotes:
• I like to play blackjack. I’m not addicted to gambling. I’m addicted to sitting in a semi-circle.
• I would imagine that if you could understand Morse code, a tap dancer would drive you crazy.
• I saw a human pyramid once. It was very unnecessary.
• I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.
• I wear a necklace, cause I wanna know when I’m upside down.
• My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.
• The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I’ll never be as good as a wall.
I really could go on and on. But I have to stop at some point.
Wait, one more.
• I was at this casino minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, “You’re gonna have to move, you’re blocking a fire exit.” As though if there was a fire, I wasn’t gonna run. If you’re flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.
OK, done.
