🎲 TREE 170: Silly Silly Silly

I took this photo a few days ago:

It’s one of my favourite works of 2021. Being silly is very important to me. I’m a strong believer in truth of the mangled Wilde quote: Life is too important to be taken seriously.

I delight/annoy my family daily with dad jokes, puns and general nonsense. I watch lots of comedy and John Wick films. When I’m in important meetings or bored, I doodle things like this:

and this:

and this:

Because all those things are fun. They help me see the world differently. They make me more creative. But mostly they are fun.

I urge you from the depths of my soul to devote large portions of your life to silliness.

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Update 3 June 2021: Not long after this post went out, Juli emailed me about my ‘stop cock’ photo. I’ve added our exchange below because I think she makes some very good points. (The emails have been lightly edited for clarity and privacy. The text in bold has been highlighted by me because I want you to notice it.)

From Juli:

Jeff, I've been loving the emails! 😁

170 is a bit off the mark, though. Really, mate? I know it's banter. But it's not silly to me. There isn't any other funny thing you could say about that tile that doesn't imply the stupidity of a group of people?

Still looking forward to 171. Cheers, Juli

I replied:

Hi, Juli

1. Thank you for taking the time to write and call me out. I genuinely appreciate it.

2. I’m really sorry that what I wrote was hurtful rather than silly to you.

3. I don’t want to imply that any group of people are stupid.

4. I think perhaps we don’t know each other and because I haven’t really done jokes on TREE before, there wasn’t a contextual framework to place that image in. Maybe it will be helpful if I give a little context.

Both my lesbian daughters (one is semi-adopted and in her late 20s, the other is a birth child and 17) thought the photo and caption were funny. I think feminism is one of the most important movements of the 20th century and continues to be very important. There is a way to go before proper equality is achieved. I have never thought that feminism is anti-male. That’s why the caption is funny to me. Of course, humour is subjective.

I hope that helps.

I would love to hear more from you. Please feel free to push back if you feel like I’ve missed your point or I’m not getting something.

Thanks again for reaching out. Writing TREE for you and all the FOREST is one of my most favourite things in life. Feedback helps me grow and make TREE better.

Happiness Jeff

Juli wrote back:

Thanks, Jeff. I think you've hit the nail on the head: context is hugely important and a meme's context is entirely encapsulated within itself for readers to impose their framework upon.

My context is that I heard two men in my life this past week say that feminists are out to destroy the world in sniggering tones. A friend of a friend on Facebook wrote this (the SAME day as yours) on a mutual friend's newsfeed: ‘Modern woman wants what guys have, enabled to invade and spoil male activity by weak men, and then complains and whines that men don’t behave like women. Color me shocked. Men and women really need to relearn their places.’

I hear this type of joke far too often from people who are intentionally demeaning – especially about ‘femi-nazis’.

In the media this past week an actor called Craig McLachlan told Australia that the six+ women AND MEN who've accused him of indecent behaviour was a result of ‘Me too gone mad’.

It isn’t that I found it hurtful so much as not silly, exhausting. My feeling is maybe a joke like that particular one might be best left at home in context. Imagine if that became a meme on the internet (anonymous and stand-alone, as it could do with the strength of Google search!) Would it be clear all on its own that it was supposed to be funny as irony or would someone like the one above post it on his newsfeed and cackle?

Thanks for your generous response and keep ’em coming.

All the very best, Juli

Something for the weekend

Of all the people I know, my mom is the best at seeing life as a game. Earlier this week, she and I recorded a conversation about her life-game skills to share with you. These 24 minutes contain a book’s worth of practical wisdom about how to live life as an adventure, deliberate practice and playfulness. I’m not exaggerating. Stick with it past my initial inability to complete a question. My mom will improve your life.

Richie Edwards wrote these incredibly verbose, disturbing lyrics. James Dean Bradfield thought, what am I supposed to do with these? Then he had the very silly idea of putting them in a show tune. Only it wasn’t silly, it was genius. And now we have the masterpiece that is ‘Mausoleum’ on the masterpiece that is The Holy Bible.

The Memory of TREE playlist – every song from every email: