The Winner of the Rock the Garden Joke Contest Is……

Bill Mech for his joke:

Every good stand-up comic knows when to ignore hecklers: when they’re right.

That’s the first variation. The second one, although not far off, is this:

Every good-stand up comedian knows when to ignore hecklers: especially when they’re right.

According to Joseph, Mr. Mech was the one who followed the rules a little closer than the rest. It was indeed a joke about a joke, and it alsowon points because had a variation. Adding to the image that most comedians are perfectionist types. Also, the joke is self- deprecating, which is a trait of many classic comedians (Joseph talked about that on Thursday). Think Rodney Dangerfieldgoing onabout the lack of respect he receives from various family members, pets, and fellow community members.

Bill shared with me his motivation:

“When I saw the concert was sold out, and the only way to get in was the joke contest, I had to try for it, even though I’m not a natural jokester. The rules asked for a one-liner that was about jokes, so I thought: ‘What do standup comedians do under pressure? They often use self-deprecating humor to break the ice.’ And, having gotten teased a lot as a kid, I’ve had a lot of practice with self-deprecation, so.. it was pretty easy. When you agree with your critics in a gently funny way, you deflect their criticism—and often they back off. Try it, it works!”

Good anti-bullying tactics! Maybe this can be put to use in a statewide anti-bullying campaign in Minnesota schools.

Runner-up comes from Natalie Tranchilla, who sent us this funny, but kind of dirty joke. Be carefule Natalie, Richard Prince might steal this and you could end up earning more than a chance for concert tickets! Also, I hope this is appropriate for the Walker blog! Here goes:

Did you hear about the comedian who was arrested for sexual assault due to his literal translation of “tongue-in-cheek” humor?

I do have to give honorable mention to the Walker development staff’s Scott Winter. His joke is:

When I first met my colleague Joe King I said, “ You’ve got to be Joe King.”

I’m still awaiting a reply from Joe King, who works in registration here at the Walker.

Her are my favorites:

How many indie rockers does it take to unscrew a light bulb? What you haven’t heard?

I tried to do a play on words but a book is such a small stage.

I’ve always heard when God gives you lemons, make lemonade. God gave me iced tea. What the f*&$ am I supposed to do?

My financial situation.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Drop by on Thursday or any other time to see the Richard Prince show. I hope some of you get lucky and get a ticket or two to the show.