FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
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April 4, 2023,
Humor can certainly create a funny moment.
Sometimes a lifetime memory.
Makes the rest of the day a little easier to get through.
Could be in your classroom.
At home during dinner, re-visiting the day.
In the office during a meeting.
Well timed humor, that doesn’t make fun of other people and make them feel bad, is like social gold.
Self-deprecating humor, that is thought out ahead of time, makes people see your humility in allowing you to laugh at yourself and be kind enough to bring them along for the journey.
The respected team at Psychology Today share, “Social psychology researchers look at how humor creates bonds among groups and communities. How it can persuade, influence and create cohesion or conformity.”
Why don’t we create a sense of community right here and share two comedy series that we think are extremely funny.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video.
Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a New York housewife who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy and pursues a career in it.
See the power of what a house wife can do.
It also stars Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Marin Hinkle, Tony Shalhoub, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Aaron, Jane Lynch and Luke Kirby.
The pilot episode received critical acclaim and the series was picked up by Amazon Studios. On February 17, 2022, Amazon renewed the series for a fifth and final season, which is set to premiere on April 14, 2023.
The series won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2017 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2018.
Others clearly found it funny as well.
Here is how it all began.
In season one, set in 1958 New York City, Miriam “Midge” Maisel is a young Jewish-American housewife and mother, living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Each week, Midge’s husband, Joel, performs at The Gaslight Café.
Midge considers it a shared hobby, unaware the untalented Joel wants to be a professional comic.
After a particularly dismal performance, a dejected Joel leaves Midge for his secretary. Midge, upset and drunk, returns to the Gaslight in her nightgown and stumbles onstage. In a bawdy impromptu set, Midge vents her predicament to the audience, then is arrested for obscenity.
You’re not going to believe the next one.
In the police car, Midge meets comic Lenny Bruce, also arrested for using obscenity.
Gaslight manager Susie Meyerson bails Midge out of jail, and Midge later bails out Lenny. Recognizing Midge’s raw talent, Susie coaches her to be a stand-up comic.
And so it goes.
What we loved about the series was their attention to detail for that unique time period coupled with the incredibly funny set ups.
We’re going to look at another one.
Parks and Recreation is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur.
This show is so funny, there is a whole lot of mocking going on.
The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons.
A special reunion episode aired on April 30, 2020.
The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana.
The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, Jim O’Heir as Garry “Jerry” Gergich, Retta as Donna Meagle, and Billy Eichner as Craig Middlebrooks.
Quite a cast and trust us, they all make their mark.
Here is the initial storyline.
The first season focuses on Leslie Knope, the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.
Local nurse Ann Perkins demands the construction pit beside her house created by an abandoned condo development be filled in after her boyfriend, Andy Dwyer, fell in and broke both legs.
Leslie promises to turn the pit into a park, despite resistance from the parks director Ron Swanson, an anti-government libertarian.
And so it goes.
We can’t say enough, how at times, the humor was side splitting. If you haven’t seen it, you really are missing out.
Always remember, humor is not about making fun of others and making them feel bad. It is about bringing people together through laughter.
Let’s walk over to the bookstore.
Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.) Hardcover – February 2, 2021
By Jennifer Aaker (Author), Naomi Bagdonas (Author)
“We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline.
This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high.
That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives.
In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better.
Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive.
President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.”
If it was good for a great President, it makes great sense to us.
As the expression goes, comedy is no laughing matter.
Point being?
Put some thought into your humor. Don’t just tell a joke off the cuff.
If you can get a little bit of humor right, it will go a long ways towards strengthening your family life, friendships and community relationships.
~ ~ ~
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https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/202204/the-benefits-humor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marvelous_Mrs._Maisel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_and_Recreation
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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