I am currently listening to Lewis Black read his book I’M DREAMING OF A BLACK CHRISTMAS. I was trying to decide how to describe his comedic style and I finally found it: he’s a curmudgeon (although I would describe him only as “bad-tempered” and not “surly”).
I like to give myself a space where I can complain and vent and don’t have to worry about repercussions. Sometimes family and friends fulfill this role, but they do so only up to a point because often I need to complain and vent about them. Journaling provides this space for me. Now that I am journaling electronically and online, I have to be more careful or mark those entries as private. When I am actually feeling “bad-tempered,” it usually surfaces as sarcasm in daily interactions. Sarcastic one-liners are the most fun and my ex-husband used to give me a lot of opening. I don’t feel like its fair to use that kind of humor on lesser mortals however. (I define lesser mortals as oblivious individuals with limited interests and vocabularies … I ill probably get in trouble for this definition!)
Since I can’t make a living as a curmudgeon, I use my skills sparingly and restrict them to specific people and situations. And I read and listen to others who’ve honed their skills.
https://www.lewisblack.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Black
