Interesting discussion on CBC's The Current on the intents and effects of comedy. Whether anyone on CBC radio should ever try to be funny might be a question for another time (tip: First ask yourself, "Am I from Newfoundland?") But I'm reminded of something that happened to me a while ago, when I was feeling very low and happened to catch an SCTV re-run on TV. The skit was Scenes From An Idiot's Marriage, with Martin Short channeling Jerry Lewis through a screen of Bergman's classic style. And I distinctly remember by mood shooting upwards like an elevator rising from the basement to the penthouse suite. If I ever do meet Mr. Short, I feel I owe him a drink.

(Image: cover design of The Art of Comedy, by Paul Ryan, Back stage Books, 2007.)