An invaluable guide on how to "lighten up" from a distinguished pro who has provided laughs for JAY LENO; BILLY CRYSTAL; STEVE MARTIN; ROBIN WILLIAMS; BRAD GARRETT; WHOOPI GOLDBERG; AND MANY MORE.Who hasnt wished for the perfect withering comeback line; a clever tension-breaking quip; or a winning flirtatious remark? Being funny is hard work and not everyone is a natural. How to Be Funny is a witty guide that teaches readers precisely how to be funnier in everyday life. Its a must-read for anyone who has to speak in public; be engaging and funny at work or at play; or who hopes to one day go out on a date.Jon Macks; a comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; the Academy Awards; the Emmy Awards; Hollywood Squares; and the nations top comedians; politicians; and corporate leaders; knows his funny business. Here he demystifies the process of making people laugh; breaks down the basic building blocks and types of humor -- which include self-deprecation; misdirection; deadpan delivery; sarcasm; and "the reverse" -- and reveals the best approaches to use in common situations.How to Be Funny features helpful (and hilarious) tips and anecdotes from the comic legends Macks worked with -- including Jay Leno; Arsenio Hall; Gilbert Gottfried; Billy Crystal; Rita Rudner; Dave Barry; and Carrie Fisher -- in his eleven years as one of the nations top television writers.Whether the goal is to give a memorable public address or deliver a killer line with friends; How to Be Funny is a charming; instructive; and practical read.
#1742860 in eBooks 2003-12-01 2003-12-01File Name: B003QXLMPK
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. ehh its ok.By h-manits written ok... loved jims flaming lips bio. but this reads more like a list of albums to check out. loosely put together by genre. paragraph or two about a band and then it moves on. oh well. not horrible. not horribly insightful either.10 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Outstanding psych (and neo-psych) historyBy Peter SykesTop music critic Jim DeRogatis does an outstanding job with a very difficult topic. As the manager of the Psychedelic 100 website I can attest to the fact that trying to identify what exactly makes a piece of music psychedelic is not always an easy thing. But DeRogatis does not claim to write definitively -- he simply states a very well-informed point of view that is as open-ended and subject to healthy debate as the music about which he writes.The "Ultimate Psychedelic Rock Library" appendix is a handy reference to the 189 albums DeRogatis considers to be the cream of the crop. Those with an eye on the stars should note that most negative reviews listed here focus on the fact that the book is simply an update of an earlier edition published under another title. In short. if you have Kaleidoscope Eyes you probably dont need this unless you are a rabid completist. With that in mind. this book certainly deserves much better than the three stars it was averaging at the time of writing this review.2 of 5 people found the following review helpful. disappointing...By jim warnerI didnt realize this is just a slightly updated version of Kaleidoscope Eyes.which Derogatis published.and I purchased.in 1996.The book itself is great.but I wouldnt have bought it a second time if id known it had been the same book that was simply re-titled.
