"Can We Talk?" Topic

Dear List

It's the oddest thing. I never liked her comedy or the public persona she exhibited (which I understand was clean different from her real character) which I thought was crude, low, and vulgar, but I was truly affected by the death of Joan Rivers yesterday. I felt a sadness and a loss that I have not felt for anyone in a long time. No, I did not cry, but I felt like it might be good to and was close to it. It is all very strange and I don't know why.

Joan Rivers comedy style can be epitomized as "with mercy towards none and with malice for all" yet her humor was always, in the end, as much as we might have hated it, both funny, and even worse-- true. She spared no one, especially the PC and the pompous. I think her worst offense to people was that her humor took down the self promoted high and mighty and said "you ain't so muckin fuch!" That is an unforgiveable sin to the people who think they ice cream.

Yet at the same time no one was harder on Joan Rivers than Joan Rivers and in so she lampooned the ludicrousness of the human condition. Joan Rivers, as I said, though I did not like her comedy was one of the first comedic genius' to realize their own ridiculousness, and the ridiculousness of the world in general.

It's good that she never discovered war games. It would have given her material for years. It might have brought the hobby down. On the other hand, maybe it's too bad, we always take ourselves too seriously.

It's sad really. Rivers was one of the only comics who not only allowed us to laugh at others but to laugh at ourself and realize, each and everyone of us, what frauds we really are.

I was not a fan, never watched her, but I will sorely miss her.

Otto

Let's just say we have differing opinions.

I cannot imagine how hard it was for her and her female contemporaries coming up in the 1950's and 60's as female comedians. She got annoying in the last decade with all the red carpet stuff with her daughter, but she really was a true pioneer in many ways and will be missed.

In recent years I thought she went WAY off the deep end. I'll leave it at that.

The bomber always gets through. Some of Ms River's humour found its target with devastating results – for better or for worse.

I don't know why it is that on occasion the death of someone who I do not know has such a profound effect on me (for example, TMP member Security Critter). Maybe life is about collecting and stacking building blocks of your life experiences and when some are removed you get a sense of your own vulnerability and immortality – your own time will come soon enough. I don't know. Just saying.

Anyway, I'm off to paint up some Eureka Soviet-Afghan War 28mm Muhjaddin figures – oh, lucky me.

On a lighter note…

Cheer up, Oschmidt. You know what they say:
Some things in life are bad.
They can really make you mad.
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle,
Don't grumble. Give a whistle.
And this'll help things turn out for the best. And…

I don't recall ever hearing anything positive come from her.

As my son so mean spiritedly told me, she died doing what she loved best. Getting plastic surgery.

I know I could not say that on the Obituary Board, where the rule is "De mortuis nil nisi bonum", but I think she would have liked it.