HUMOR ADDICTION:  HEALTHY OR DANGEROUS?

I have a serious addiction.  When I'm not laughing so hard that I'm gasping for air, I'm thinking about the next time I might be able to get my laughing fix.  Those of you who know me well are aware that I actually married my favorite comedy writer (Ian Taylor, author of Spindle, the funniest comedy scifi novel EVER, imho) just so I could be the most frequent recipient of his astonishing wit.  (For those of you who haven't read Spindle, find it on Amazon, read the excerpts using "Search Inside," and see if you can understand why it made me laugh so hard that I actually fell in love with the author!)
Like the rest of Ian's fans, I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel, which he's working on now.  In the meantime, I've recently gotten a lovely package of hilarity from my other favorite comedy savant, the one and only "Weird Al" Yankovic, who released his 12th CD, Straight Outta Lynwood, last month.  It's one of his best albums ever, and it's a Dualdisc (one side's the CD, the other is a DVD full of videos and extras), so it's WAY fun!  As many of you know, Al is the guy who brought Ian and I together in the first place, so he's pretty much an honorary member of our family, and since I'm a humor addict, he's also one of my primary, er...neurological stimulants.  Can't get enough of Al OR the crazy Aussie he hooked me up with.

They say laughter is the best medicine, but when I had cancer last year, the doctors insisted I have chemo instead.  Sure, it eradicated the cancer, but comedy - especially Al's and Ian's - makes me want to laugh and dance, and chemo made me want to drive my car into a tree.  So every day I listen to my "Weird Al" CDs and read Spindle for the gazillionth time and listen to Ian's funny stories and watch Comedy Central and wait for the next thing that'll make me laugh so hard that I sound like Muttley from those old cartoons.  (Ian once made me laugh so hard that chocolate-chip ice cream came out my nose.  Slightly painful, but worth it.)  Ian's a humor addict. too, but at least he's got enough comedic talent to amuse himself, plus he listens to Al and to stand-up comedy CDs (we recommend Patton Oswalt's Feeling Kinda Patton, which made Ian laugh so hard he had to pull the car over.)

So if you're a humor addict too, let me know what gives you that all-engrossing hysterical near-orgasmic laughing fit, and check out Straight Outta Lynwood by "Weird Al" Yankovic and read Spindle by Ian Taylor.

(free excerpt at: www.spindlebook.com)

I'm addicted to ice cream, too, but laughing doesn't make you fat(ter). If there were truly any justice in the world, laughing would burn so very many calories that humor addicts like me would be encouraged to eat more ice cream so we wouldn't waste away!  (And while I'm dreaming, can we impeach the fascist dictator now?)

Peace and love to you all.  Send your favorite jokes to kazian@verizon.net, and I'll send you one back...Hugs and smooches!

 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

                      Laugh like no one's listening!

Addicted to love, comedy, Breyer's ice cream, the entire Al Yankovic canon beginning with "Belvedere Cruisin'," wasting time on MySpace, dark chocolate, and Spindle,

Karen Taylor
Spindle Editor and Fan Club President