Greg the Joker


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Greg the Joker

[Photo of The Slade Brothers]

My name is Greg, and I am a joker. I'm the guy who short-sheeted every bed on the floor in my dorm within the first week of school. I love making people laugh, and can't resist throwing out little bits of silliness whenever I think of them. Sometimes, at work, I will send out little topical limericks or haikus with my E-mails. I'm the guy who shaved my head to give my co-workers a laugh. I have a collection of over 60 .sig blocks (most of them silly) which my E-mail software picks from at random whenever I send a message.

The photo above shows that world famous rock band, The Slade Brothers, posing at Prospect Point, with our manager, Bob Dawson (in the hat), our press agent, Axel Schoeber (with the glasses), and, peering between Axel and Bob, the chauffeur from our limousine. You see, the whole "Slade Brothers" gig was a bit of what you might call "performance art." Bob and Axel went to school with my brother Rob, and I think it was a friends of Bob's who had rented the limo for his high school grad – except that you need to rent a limo for a minimum of three hours, and he only needed it for 20 minutes to pick up his date and take her to the grad at the Hotel Vancouver (which was, back then, the classiest hotel in town.) So, he let Bob have the rest of the time to do whatever he wanted (as long as he got it back in time) and so Bob, Axel, and Rob cooked up this scheme for a world famous rock band to come to town, and do a sightseeing tour before the concert. The rock band was composed of my brother Rob (in the purple leisure suit), my brother George (with the shorts and toe socks), and me (wearing Rob's army boots, faded jeans and a T-shirt, and the vest from one of Dad's suits.) So, we all dressed up, took our instruments (Rob's guitar, my trumpet, and a sports bag with a couple of strategically-placed drumsticks sticking out of it for George) down to the hotel to put into the trunk of the limo, and generally did everything we could think of to give a convincing performance, except that the "audience" was the chauffeur, and this photo is just about the only evidence that we did the whole thing. (I think we had the attitude right.) Still, it shows just how seriously my family takes being silly. If you've gone through certain of my book and music reviews, you'll know by now that I love to laugh. This page is for all the funny links which don't really belong anywhere else. I've included links to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and ChristianBook.com where they offer products which amuse me.

Book Links

If you've spent any time on my web sites, you'll know that I'll take just about any excuse to review a funny book. Therefore, here is a list of those books which have made me laugh the hardest. They are not all necessarily "comedies." in fact, some of them are bittersweet. But all of them made me laugh out loud, at least in places.

The High Crusade, by Poul Anderson.
The Warrior's Apprentice, A Civil Campaign, and Diplomatic Immunity, by Lois McMaster Bujold. (Actually, all of Bujold's books have very funny bits in them, but these three are the ones with the funniest lines, in my opinion.)
The Man Who Was Thursday and The Napoleon of Notting Hill, by G.K. Chesterton.
User Friendly: The Comic Strip, by J.D. Frazer.
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff.
Mirabile, by Janet Kagan.
Circus World, by Barry B. Longyear.
Off the Church Wall, by Rob Portlock.
The Callahan Chronicals, by Spider Robinson.
And the Beagles and the Bunnies Shall Lie Down Together, by Charles Schulz.
It Came from Beneath the Pew, by Rob Suggs.
Asterix and the Great Divide, by Goscinny & Uderzo.
Ballard Street, by Jerry Van Amerongen.
To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis.

CDs

Of course, probably the best-known Christian comedian these days is the very nutty Mark Lowry. His Mouth in Motion [Amazon.com/ChristianBook.com/cassette] has a cover which is a take off on Amy Grant's Heart in Motion, and he goes on to parody several popular Christian songs, including one track which is a parody of a Sandi Patti tune, which is also a duet with Sandi Patti! (While I'm not a big fan of her music, I have to admire her courage!)

One comedy album which I didn't expect to find still in print is Jerry Jordan's hilarious Phone Call From God. [Amazon.com] I have a very old vinyl version on my record shelf, but I'm pleased to see that it's been re-released on CD, because the title sketch is absolutely classic.

Comic Strips

One of the advantages of having broadband to my desk at work (and an IT department which isn't overly picky about personal use of the network in my off time) is that I can surf all my favourite comic strips at lunch time. For a while there, I used to E-mail the links for all the particularly funny comics each day to my co-workers, but then it got to the point where having fun was too much like work, having to check each link each day. On the other hand, the advantage to having a web site is that I only have to put things up once! Therefore, here is a selection of those comics which make me laugh more often than not:

Ballard Street
The Fifth Wave
Free Fall
Reverend Fun
Rose is Rose
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