Parrot asks, “What’d the frozen turkey want?”
Roger Ebert’s April 12th journal (that’s his title up above) examines the fine art of joke telling. He notes:
A joke should have the perfection of a haiku. Not one extra word. No wrong words. It should seem to have been discovered in its absolute form rather than created. The weight of the meaning should be at the end. The earlier words should prepare for the shift of the meaning. The ending must have absolute finality. It should present a world view only revealed at the last moment. Like knife-throwing, joke-telling should never be practiced except by experts.
Many fine examples follow. Well worth reading, and be prepared to laugh out loud. Ebert’s writing is a pleasure on all levels.