tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post2663309436752949319..comments2024-02-04T05:13:04.501-05:00Comments on Nik at Nite: RIP Jim UngerNikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-1494337213923651792014-01-14T15:57:06.812-05:002014-01-14T15:57:06.812-05:00It has been a while since you wrote this post but ...It has been a while since you wrote this post but I just came across it after seeking out Herman's cartoons on Google.<br /> I really love his cartoons and I have since I was a kid but your description of humor hits it right on the button. I came to the same conclusion a long time ago but never wrote it down.Your description however succinctly captures the essence of humour just the way Unger's cartoons did.<br /><br />The brain kind of hiccups and capitulates when it is placed between the absurdity of precisely what we expect and precisely what is offered as an alternative reality.The only thing we can do when caught between these equally opposing streams is laugh because that is the only mental alternative to a situation so perfectly balanced the brain can no longer cope with it and seeks to express it's failings by surrendering to complete nonsense as if it were the absolute truth..<br /><br /> Thanks<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-33215699881155155092012-05-29T13:10:54.831-04:002012-05-29T13:10:54.831-04:00Like you, I liked Herman because my Dad did and be...Like you, I liked Herman because my Dad did and because God invented Chiropractor's offices for a reason and reading Herman Collections was that reason for me. <br /><br />Jim Unger had one of the finest explanations for what humour was from one of his Herman Treasuries that has stuck in my head for decades. It goes something like this: comedy is like a summer storm in the brain. Like a hot and cold front colliding and producing rain and sometimes thunder, laughter is a spontaneous reaction when the rational and creative hemispheres of our brain connect: a natural response to the dissonance between the rational and the non-rational, reality and perceived reality, a prison guard saying "try to stay out of trouble, Miller" to a prisoner with an overcoat and 8 pairs of legs...<br /><br />I learned that from Jim Unger. It's a wonderful lesson demonstrated in all those brilliant cartoons. He will be missed.Graemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14874622261770189776noreply@blogger.com