Jerry Holkins, Comedy Hero

I have peculiar taste with comedy. Being funny is hard. It is also pretty easy. It's something we get moment-to-moment. Life is short. It is good to enjoy a good laugh.

I'm certainly not that funny when in my natural (Internet-browsing-in-front-of-a-TV) condition. I consider this as a sad drawback. I am a very overweight male who is naturally shy bordering on social awkwardness. Consider too that I am turning 30. If the World Bank statistics are to be believed, the average life expectancy of a Filipino like myself born in the year I was born in is around 64 years. It is close to the peak, and every thing is downhill from here for me.

Yet, I have had some success with being funny around friends! In class I have become something of a class clown, and more so in my Group Therapy classes, where I soften blows by being off-the-cuff. When I sit with clients, when they tell me their sad stories, I make it a personal win when I get them to laugh, because for a moment, they found a spot that they enjoyed. Or maybe they found it awkward. I hope not. I'm still bad at my job like that.

Consider the video below. It is a clip from the Penny Arcade live documented series, "PATV". Some of you may have strong opinions about Penny Arcade, mostly due to the bad judgement of artist Mike Krahulik, and his poorly stated expressions on rape.

What wins PA for me over and over is the other half of the team, Jerry Holkins. Just listen to the guy. (He's the bald one). Listen to his timing. Especially that bit at the end!

My gosh.

Jerry Holkins is my comedic hero. He takes full advantage of his big vocabulary. He uses these big words to help him time his delivery. It's impeccably hilarious.

I've been listening to PA podcasts and watching episodes of PATV. He really does carry that jovial, spontaneous personality. I don't think he even tries very hard to bring that extra verve in his day-to-day life. I think it comes so naturally it's become interwoven into skin and grafted into his bones.

This is new to me. It's a "Breakthrough" as some call it. I never had a role model who I really felt I could brag to the world and say "yeah, that's the one". I've had heroes. I've had people I admired and loved to watch on TV or listen to music of, or read poetry of. I've had close friends, colleagues, and superiors at work or school who helped guide me here and there. Yet, few of the things I picked up over the years challenge me like the clip right there.

I suppose that's a good thing. Following Penny Arcade is not new. It's certainly not the most novel thing I've done, and I've started to outgrow some of the old standard jokes of their strip. But I do enjoy seeing the behavior of the people behind the scenes. They are by no means noble. Yet, they make no bones about their failings. "This is us. We're not great. But we're honest."

I am challenged to be that kind of honest, in what I write, what I say, and how I share of myself. I hope some of you help me get there too.